JPH11255478A - Non-interference control device and method for automatic crane, non-interference control system for automatic crane and recording medium - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To perform non-interference control at a high speed without increasing a load of a computer and equipment cost. SOLUTION: This control devis is provided with a conveying instruction assignment part 2 assigning a conveying instruction relating to an automatic crane of empty car and a non-interference control part 3 generating either of a conveying instruction or retreat instruction relating to the empty car crane based on a previously formed interference table 5. An assigning process of the conveying instruction and non-interference control are separately performed, non-interference control by simulation is not performed as in the past, and non-interference control is performed by a simple logic using the interference table 5, so that the load of a CPU and consumption of computer resources of memory or the like are suppressed low and so that non-interference control can be calculated at a high speed.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a non-interference control apparatus and method for an automatic crane, a non-interference control system for an automatic crane, and a recording medium storing a program for realizing these.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a system using a plurality of automatic cranes has been used as a distribution system for transporting goods in a factory or a plant, for example. In this system using an automatic crane, each automatic crane and an operation management control device that manages the operations of the automatic crane communicate with each other via the crane control device. The object is automatically conveyed by giving a conveyance instruction designating the following.

[0003] In such a physical distribution system, when a plurality of automatic cranes are to be simultaneously transported, a collision may occur between the cranes if no control is performed.
Hereinafter, this is called "interference". When interference occurs between the cranes, one of the cranes may stop or run backward. This will be described with reference to FIG. In FIG. 12, the horizontal axis indicates the passage of time,
The leftmost shows the present time. The vertical axis is an automatic crane (in this example, the cranes Cr1 and Cr2).
The position of is shown.

FIG. 12 shows a crane Cr1 and a crane Cr.
No. 2 moves to the respective receiving positions from the current position to receive the conveyed goods, and then moves to the respective unloading positions and transfers the conveyed goods. In the case of performing such an operation, when the control for preventing the interference is not performed, as shown in FIG. 12, both the crane Cr1 and the crane Cr2 move for the time being in accordance with each other's transport command. As a result, interference occurs at the point X.

In this case, at the time of the occurrence of the interference, it is determined which of the transport commands has a higher priority, and the vehicle with the higher priority is run with priority. In FIG. 12, the crane Cr1
Has higher priority. At this time, the crane C
Although r2 originally wants to move as shown by the dotted line, it cannot proceed that way due to interference, and runs backward as shown by the solid line. And Crane Cr1
When the receiving of the vehicle is completed, the vehicle starts to travel again in accordance with the preceding transport instruction.

[0008] As described above, when the non-interference control is not performed, there is a problem that one crane needs to travel unnecessarily. In addition, since both the cranes Cr1 and Cr2 decelerate at the interference position due to the interference, a problem occurs in that the cycle time from when the empty vehicle is empty to when the cargo is received and conveyed, the unloading is completed, and the empty vehicle is returned again becomes longer. Also occurs. Therefore, it is important to perform control to prevent interference of the automatic crane.

Conventionally, as a method for performing such non-interference control of an automatic crane, there has been a method disclosed in, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 8-282968. The method described in this publication is a method in which a plurality of time schedules are created by changing the combination of transfer instruction data, and a combination in which an automatic crane is not performing transfer with the shortest waiting time is created using an online simulator. . That is, this is a method for simultaneously deriving an optimal solution to the assignment problem of the transfer command and the non-interference control problem.

[0008]

However, in the conventional method described in the above-mentioned publication, the number of patterns assigned to a plurality of cranes increases dramatically as the number of data of the transfer command increases. Therefore, when the simulation evaluation is performed on many of these allocation patterns, there is a problem in that the load on the CPU that performs the calculation increases, and a large amount of computer resources such as memories are consumed. Further, there is a problem that the cost of computer equipment increases as the demand for performing the simulation calculation at high speed increases.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve such a problem, and an object of the present invention is to enable high-speed non-interference control without increasing a computer load or an equipment cost. I do.

[0010]

A non-interference control device for an automatic crane according to the present invention is a non-interference control device for preventing interference when a plurality of automatic cranes are used for transportation.
Based on a command assignment means for assigning a transfer command to an empty automatic crane, and a transfer command assigned to an empty crane by the command assignment means, interference with another crane is predicted based on an interference table created in advance. And a non-interference control unit that outputs a retreat command in the case where the transfer command is issued, and outputs the transfer command as a transfer command otherwise.

Here, the interference table classifies cases according to the state of the cranes other than the empty cranes, the current position of each crane, the destination and the origin of the cranes, and determines whether or not interference occurs in each case. The information may be table information that is defined so as to predict and output either the transport command or the retreat command. Also, the evacuation command is
It may include information specifying the position where the empty crane and the other crane are closest to each other as a retreat position. In addition, the activation timing of the command assignment unit and the non-interference control unit may be at least one of the timing of completion of receiving the cargo and the timing of completion of unloading. Further, the activation timing of the command allocating means and the non-interference control means may be a fixed period timing instead of at least one of the completion of unloading and the completion of unloading, or in addition to the above timing. good.

Further, the non-interference control method for an automatic crane according to the present invention is a non-interference control method for preventing interference when a plurality of automatic cranes are used for transportation, and includes: An interference table is defined that classifies cases according to the current position of each crane, destination, and source, predicts whether interference will occur in each case, and outputs either a transport command or an evacuation command. It is created and stored in advance, and when the assignment of the transfer command to the empty crane is determined, based on the interference table created in advance, the transfer command assigned to the empty crane and the other crane are used. When the interference is predicted, the evacuation command is output; otherwise, the above-mentioned transport command is output as the transport command. It is characterized in.

Further, the non-interference control system for an automatic crane according to the present invention is a non-interference control system for an automatic crane having a crane control device for performing a process for preventing interference when a plurality of automatic cranes are transported and an operation management control device. An interference control system, wherein the crane control device includes a crane management unit that detects a current state and a position of the plurality of automatic cranes and notifies the operation management control device, and the operation management control device includes an empty vehicle. Command assignment means for assigning a transfer command to the automatic crane, and referring to an interference table created in advance based on the current states and positions of the plurality of automatic cranes notified from the crane control device. In the case where interference with other cranes is predicted by the transfer command assigned to the empty crane by the command assigning means, Outputs 避指 decree, in other cases, characterized in that it comprises a non-interference control means for outputting the transportation command as a transfer command.

Here, the interference table sorts cases according to the state of the cranes other than the empty cranes, the current position of each crane, the destination and the origin of the cranes, and determines whether or not interference occurs in each case. The information may be table information that is defined so as to predict and output either the transport command or the retreat command. In addition, the crane control device may include a priority control unit that performs control such that, when interference occurs between cranes, a predetermined higher priority is set to be prioritized to work.

The computer-readable recording medium according to the present invention is a non-interference control device for preventing interference when carrying with a plurality of automatic cranes, wherein a transfer command is assigned to an empty automatic crane. Command assignment means to be performed, and the state of the other cranes other than the empty automatic crane, the current position of each crane and the case according to the transfer destination and the transfer source, and predict whether interference will occur in each case. Based on a storage unit that stores in advance an interference table defined to output either a transport command or an evacuation command, based on the interference table,
Non-interference control which outputs a retreat command when interference with another crane is predicted by the transfer command assigned to the empty crane by the command assigning means, and outputs the transfer command as a transfer command otherwise. A program for causing a computer to function as means is recorded.

[0016]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS One embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a functional block diagram showing elemental features of a non-interference control device for an automatic crane according to the present invention. FIG. 2 is an overall configuration of a non-interference control system for an automatic crane using the functional configuration of FIG. FIG. In the following embodiment, an example in which the number of automatic cranes is two will be described.

First, the configuration and operation of the entire system will be described with reference to FIG. As shown in FIG. 2, the non-interference control system for an automatic crane according to the present embodiment includes a host computer such as a business computer 10 (hereinafter referred to as a vidicon) that outputs a transfer command and the like, and a transport input from the vidicon 10. An FA process computer 20 (hereinafter, referred to as FA process control) as an operation management control device that manages the transfer operation by the automatic crane based on the instruction;
The FA process control 20 and a plurality of cranes Cr1 and Cr2
And a crane ground station 30 as a crane control device that communicates with the ground.

In the internal configuration of the FA process controller 20, the B / C receiver 21 includes a transfer command or the like sent from the vidicon 10 (for example, when a steel manufacturing process is considered as an example of a physical distribution system, a coil Transport instruction)
To receive. The transfer command management unit 22 manages the transfer command received by the anti-B / C receiving unit 21 and outputs the command to the automatic crane C.
Detailed transfer instructions for coil yard where r1 and Cr2 move 23
Generate The detailed transfer instruction 23 includes, for example, information such as a coil number for identifying a coil to be transferred, and From / To indicating where to transfer the coil from where.

The automatic crane dispatching unit 24 performs an instruction assignment process for an empty automatic crane and non-interference control between the cranes based on the contents of the detailed transport instruction 23,
As a result, an automatic crane assignment file 25 is generated. In this process, the automatic crane dispatching unit 24 uses the timer 2
Use 6. The functional configuration of the automatic crane dispatch unit 24 is shown in FIG. 1, and details thereof will be described later.

The automatic crane setting control section 27 issues a work command for an empty automatic crane based on the contents of the automatic crane assignment file 25. In the present embodiment, two types of commands, a transfer command and a retreat command, are issued as work commands. The lower transmission unit 28 performs data communication between the FA processor 20 and the crane ground station 30 configured as described above. The data transmitted from the lower transmission unit 28 to the crane ground station 30 includes the above-described transfer command and evacuation command data.

The crane ground station 30 is connected to the lower transmission unit 2
8 is sent to each crane Cr
1 and Cr2 to control the operation of the automatic crane. Each of the cranes Cr1 and Cr2 actually performs the transport operation in accordance with the operation instruction. At this time, the crane ground station 30 detects the current work state and the current position of each of the cranes Cr1 and Cr2, and receives a notice of arrival at the receiving position, a notice of completion of receiving the cargo, a notice of arrival at the unloading position, a notice of completion of unloading,
Data such as a save completion notification and a status notification are transmitted to the lower
Send to

The crane ground station 30 performs control according to the same priority as described with reference to FIG. 12, separately from the non-interference control performed by the automatic crane dispatching unit 24 in the FA process controller 20. In other words, even when the non-interference control is performed by the automatic crane dispatching unit 24, when the two cranes Cr1 and Cr2 cause interference, the work with the higher priority set in advance is prioritized. Here, it is assumed that priority processing is performed in the following order: receiving or unloading> loading travel> priority of transport instruction.

Next, the configuration and operation of FIG. 1 will be described. In FIG. 1, the crane state management unit 1 controls each of the cranes Cr1 and Cr2 based on state notification data and the like sent from the crane ground station 30 into the FA processor 20.
Manage the current state and location of. In the present embodiment, data managed by the crane state management unit 1 includes:
Using the detailed transfer command 23 shown in FIG. 2, the transfer command allocating unit 2 allocates a transfer command to an empty crane, and the non-interference control unit 3 performs non-interference control between cranes.

As shown in FIG. 1, in this embodiment,
Unlike the method shown in the above-mentioned conventional example, the process of allocating the transfer command and the non-interference control between cranes are completely separated from each other. Usually, in the transport process, the priority is given to the transport command, and the order of operations to be performed by the automatic crane is almost determined. Therefore, even if the transfer command assignment and the non-interference control are treated as the same problem, many patterns in which the order of the transfer commands is violently changed cannot be generated.

Therefore, the transfer command assigning section 2 simply assigns the empty automatic cranes in order from the transfer command with the highest priority. Then, after the assignment command is determined, the non-interference controller 3 controls each of the cranes Cr1, Cr
It is determined how to move 2 to suppress interference and eliminate useless movement, and it is determined that either the transport command or the evacuation command is sent to the crane ground station 30.

That is, in the present embodiment, the process of assigning the transfer command waiting for assignment to the empty crane is executed in advance of the non-interference control.
Then, according to the result of performing the non-interference control process after the command assignment, the assignment result determined in the transfer command assignment process is transmitted as it is to the empty crane as a transfer command as it is, or to avoid interference with the working crane. The evacuation position is determined and the evacuation command is transmitted to the empty crane.

When there is no transfer command to be assigned to an empty crane, the non-interference controller 3 operates as follows.
That is, when the current position of the empty crane falls within the traveling range of the crane that is being transported, the empty crane is retracted to a position that does not interfere with the empty crane. On the other hand, when the current position of the empty crane is not included in the traveling range of the crane being conveyed, the state is left as it is without a command.

Here, the state transition of the automatic crane will be described in detail with reference to FIG. When the empty crane receives the transport command, the vehicle is in a required traveling state in which the empty traveling crane travels toward the load receiving position (From position in the transport command). Thereafter, the vehicle arrives at the receiving position and is in a receiving state, and after a lapse of a predetermined time, the receiving is completed. When the receiving of the cargo is completed, the loading traveling traveling state is performed in which the transporting travels toward the unloading position (To position in the transport command) of the transported object. Thereafter, the vehicle arrives at the unloading position and is in a state of unloading, and after a lapse of a predetermined time, the state of unloading is completed. When the unloading is completed, the state returns to the empty state again. Thus, one cycle from command assignment to transport is completed.

In the above-described cycle, for example, if an evacuation command (empty travel command) is received instead of a transport command when the vehicle is empty, the empty crane is in an empty vehicle escape travel state, and when it arrives at the stop position. It returns to an empty state again. Also, if an interference or the like occurs with another crane in the state of the required traveling, the lower priority crane is evacuated by the control of the crane ground station 30 in FIG. It will be in a stopped state. Then, when interference with other cranes is avoided, the state returns to the required traveling state. The same applies to the state during the loading traveling, and the state becomes the loading traveling evacuation traveling or the loading traveling stopped due to interference with other cranes or the like, and returns to the loading traveling traveling state again by avoiding it.

As shown in FIG. 3, the crane ground station 30
Transmits the data representing the current state to the FA processor 20 during the above state transition, which is managed by the crane state management unit 1 in FIG. The crane state management unit 1 performs not only the state such as the empty vehicle, the required traveling, the loaded traveling, but also the crane Cr1, Cr2.
Also manages the current location of. Transfer command assignment unit 2 in FIG.
Receives information on which crane is empty from the crane state management unit 1 and assigns a high-priority transfer command to the empty crane.

Further, the interference determination unit 4 in the non-interference control unit 3
Determines whether an empty crane performs an operation according to the assigned transfer command and interferes with another crane. Then, the command generator 6 generates either a transport command or an evacuation command according to the determination result.
At the time of this determination and command generation, the current position and state of each of the cranes Cr1 and Cr2 provided by the crane state management unit 1 and an interference table 5 described later are used. The interference table 5 is created in advance based on a basic concept of non-interference control according to the present embodiment described below.

That is, in the non-interference control between cranes according to the present embodiment, it is assumed that the work of the crane during transportation is never obstructed (at least not to make a reverse run). Under this assumption, the interference determination unit 4 determines whether or not the empty crane to which the transfer command is newly assigned interferes with the crane during the transfer. If there is no interference, as shown in FIG. 4 (a), the assigned transfer command is instructed to be executed as it is as a transfer command to the empty crane (a broken line, which is a transfer command of the empty crane,
The actual line command corresponds to the broken line of the solid line).

On the other hand, in the case of interference, as shown in FIG. 4 (b), the position where the currently transporting crane and the empty crane are closest to each other is set as the evacuation position, and the evacuation command to the evacuation position is sent to the empty crane. By sending, the empty crane is retracted to a position where it does not interfere until the operation of the crane during the transportation is completed. Based on the above concept, an empty crane non-interference control table for each state of the transporting crane is created in advance, and a transport command or an evacuation instruction for the empty crane is generated using this table.

Next, an example of the interference table 5 created based on the above concept will be described below. In this example, when there is a transfer command to be assigned to an empty crane (hereinafter referred to as own crane), what is the state of the other crane, and if the state of the other crane is being transferred, its From position, T
Refer to where the o position is, and determine how to move the own crane in relation to the From position and the To position of the transport that the own crane is about to execute. Create Table 5. The above-described operation when there is no transfer instruction to be assigned to an empty crane may be included in the interference table 5.

(1) When the other crane is empty The transfer command assigned to the own crane is output as the transfer command as it is. (2) When the other crane is in the required traveling state a) When the required traveling is stopped This is equivalent to the state after the other crane is made to wait for the unloading operation before the own crane becomes empty. Therefore, as soon as the own crane becomes empty, the own crane retreats to the From position of another crane.

A) During required traveling traveling In this case, the relationship between the loading traveling range of the other crane (the range from the From position to the To position of the other crane) and the current position, the From position, and the To position of the own crane. so,
Carrying or evacuation travel is performed as shown in FIG. FIG. 5 (a)
, Own crane and other cranes
It shall move in the axial direction. In this case, in the table shown in FIG.
(B) and (C) are classified into three areas and how the cranes interfere with each other.

Here, the area (B) shows the subsequent loading travel range (the range of Xt1 to Xt2) of the other crane that is currently traveling, and one of Xt1 and Xt2 is the From position of the other crane. Either is in the relationship of the To position. Further, the area (A) shows a range farther than the loading traveling range (B) of the other crane as viewed from the own crane, and this area is further farther than the current position Xt of the other crane as viewed from the own crane. It is divided into a range (A ′) and a range close to the range (A ′). The area (C) shows a range closer to the loading traveling range (B) of another crane when viewed from the own crane.

The dead zone range of the automatic crane indicated by Xd is a range set in consideration of the width of the automatic crane in the traveling direction so as not to cause interference. That is, each X coordinate shown in FIG. 5 (a) indicates a coordinate at which the center of the crane is located, and since the own crane cannot be retracted to exactly the same coordinate position, the position considering the crane width is used. The value for that purpose is set as the dead zone range Xd.

In FIG. 5, for example, when the From position of the own crane is in the area (A '), the loading traveling direction of the transfer command assigned to the own crane (toward the To position after receiving the cargo at the above From position). Regardless of whether the direction of travel is away from or approaching the other crane, if the vehicle is traveled in accordance with the transfer instruction as it is, there is a possibility of causing interference and causing the other crane to run backward. Retreat to position P2 (FIG. 5
(Top row of table of (b)).

The current position of the own crane is the area (A).
When the From crane's From position is in the area (B), when the loading traveling direction of the own crane is in the direction away from the other crane, the other crane is at the F position of the own crane.
Although there is a possibility that the vehicle may be waited before the rom position, but there is no possibility of reverse running, the assigned transport command is issued as it is as a transport command. On the other hand, if the loading and traveling direction of the own crane is a direction approaching another crane, if the traveling is performed in accordance with the transport instruction as it is, interference may occur and the other crane may run backward, so the own crane is retracted to the position P2. (3 from the top of the table in FIG.
Stage).

(3) When another crane is receiving the cargo a) When the loading traveling direction of the other crane after receiving the cargo is a direction away from the own crane In this case, there is no possibility that the other crane will run backward due to interference. Therefore, the assigned transfer command is output to the own crane as the transfer command as it is.

B) When the loading traveling direction of the other crane after receiving the cargo is a direction approaching the own crane. In this case, if there is no interference between the To position of the other crane and the From position of the own crane, interference occurs. Since there is no possibility that the other crane runs backward, the assigned transfer command is output to the own crane as the transfer command as it is. On the other hand, when there is interference between the To position of the other crane and the From position of the own crane, the vehicle is driven as shown in FIG. 6 due to the relationship between the From position and the To position of the own crane.

That is, Fr from the current position of the own crane
When the direction toward the om position is a direction approaching another crane, and the loading traveling direction of the own crane after receiving the cargo at the From position is a direction away from the other crane (case), and the From position of the own crane is different from the other crane. When the loading and traveling direction of the own crane is away from the other crane (case), there is no possibility that the other crane will run backward due to interference. Therefore, the transfer command is issued to the own crane as it is.

In the case, there is a possibility that the own crane during the requested traveling and another crane during the loading traveling may interfere with each other. In such a case, the adjustment is performed by the crane ground station 30 based on the priority. .

When the From position of the own crane is in the direction approaching another crane, and the loading traveling direction of the own crane is in the direction approaching another crane (case), the From position of the own crane is away from the other crane. so,
If the loading direction of the own crane approaches the other crane (case), there is a possibility that the other crane will run backward due to interference. Therefore, a retreat command to retreat the own crane to the To position of the other crane is issued. put out.

(4) When the other crane is loading and traveling a) When the loading and traveling are stopped In this case, the own crane is retracted to the To position of the other crane. A) During loading traveling This case is the same as when another crane is receiving cargo. (5) When the other crane is in a state other than the above (1) to (4), a transfer command is issued to the own crane as it is.

As described above, the non-interference controller 3 controls the empty crane to be transported according to the newly assigned transport command based on the interference table 5 according to the above (1) to (5). To determine if it will interfere with other cranes. If it is predicted that the other crane will move backwards due to interference, it issues an evacuation command to a position that does not interfere with the empty crane, and otherwise issues the assigned transfer command as it is as a transfer command. I do.

The operation of the non-interference control system for an automatic crane according to the present embodiment configured as described above will be described below in detail with reference to the flowcharts of FIGS.
FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing the entire operation of the automatic crane dispatching unit 24 for performing the assignment of the transfer command and the non-interference control. FIGS. 8 to 10 show the non-interference control unit 3 in the automatic crane dispatching unit 24. 6 is a flowchart showing an operation of non-interference control by the control of FIG.

In FIG. 7, it is first determined in step S1 whether or not there is an empty automatic crane. If not, the process is terminated. On the other hand, if there is an empty crane, the process proceeds to step S2 to determine and extract an executable transfer command. If there is no executable transfer instruction, the process proceeds from step S3 to step S13, outputs a corresponding message, and ends the process. On the other hand, if there is an executable transport command, the process proceeds from step S3 to step S4, where the extracted executable transport commands are arranged in descending order of priority, and the priority of the transport command is determined.

Next, in step S5, a crane to be assigned to each transfer command is determined. Here, when there is no crane assignment, the process proceeds from step S6 to step S13, a corresponding message is output, and the process ends. On the other hand, if there is a crane assignment, the processes in steps S7 to S12 are repeated in the order of the priority of the transfer command for the number of automatic cranes (two crane Cr1 and Cr2 in this embodiment).

That is, first, in step S8, it is determined whether or not the crane to be processed is empty, and if so, the flow proceeds to step S9 to perform non-interference control. That is, it is checked whether or not the automatic cranes interfere with each other based on the interference table 5, and it is determined whether the assigned transfer command should be immediately executed or whether the evacuation traveling is necessary. Then, after creating the automatic crane assignment information file 25 based on the result of the non-interference control in step S10, post-processing is performed in step S11. In the post-processing, the automatic crane setting control unit 27 is started.

In FIG. 8, in step S21, it is determined whether or not there is an assignment command for the own crane to be processed, and if not, the process proceeds to step S22, where interference with another crane is performed. Is included in the traveling range of another crane). And
If there is interference, the process jumps to step S30, and the own crane retreats to a position where it does not interfere with other cranes.
On the other hand, if there is no interference, the process ends without any instruction.

If it is determined in step S21 that there is an assignment command for the own crane, the process proceeds to step S2.
Proceed to 3. In step S23, it is determined whether or not the command is an initial assignment command. If not, in step S24, the state of the other crane is set to the required traveling. This is a process for coping with a case where both the cranes Cr1 and Cr2 are empty. If the assignment command of the own crane is the first assignment command, the process jumps to step S25 without performing the process of step S24.

In step S25, it is determined whether or not another crane is in the required traveling state.
Proceeding to 26, it is further determined whether another crane is running. Here, when it is determined that the other crane is in the required traveling but is not actually traveling, that is, in the case where the required traveling of the other crane is stopped, the process proceeds to step S27, and the own crane is retracted to the From position of the other crane. Let it run.

On the other hand, when the other crane is in the required traveling state, the evacuation traveling is determined in step S28 based on the contents of the table shown in FIG. 5, and in step S29, it is necessary to retract the own crane. Judge whether or not. If it is necessary to perform the evacuation travel, the own crane is caused to retreat to a position where it does not interfere with other cranes in step S30. If there is no need for evacuation traveling, step S
At 31, the transport command is assigned to the own crane, and the own crane is transported and traveled according to the transport command.

If it is determined in step S25 that the other crane is not in the required traveling, step S32 in FIG.
Proceed to. In step S32, it is determined whether another crane is receiving the cargo. If it is currently receiving the cargo, it is determined in step S33 whether the loading traveling direction of the other crane is away from the own crane, and if so, the process proceeds to step S38, and the transfer command is assigned to the own crane. On the other hand, if the loading traveling direction of the other crane is a direction approaching the own crane, the process proceeds to step S34, and it is determined whether or not the To position of the other crane interferes with the From position of the own crane.

If there is no interference, step S
Proceeding to 38, the transfer command is assigned to the own crane.
On the other hand, if there is interference, the evacuation traveling is determined in step S35 based on the contents of the table shown in FIG.
In step S36, it is determined whether there is interference. If there is interference, the flow proceeds to step S37 to retreat the own crane to a position where it does not interfere with other cranes. If there is no interference, the flow proceeds to step S38 to transport the own crane according to the transfer instruction.

If it is determined in step S32 that another crane is not receiving a cargo, the process proceeds to step S39 in FIG. In step S39, it is determined whether or not another crane is loading and running.
To determine whether or not another crane is running. Here, when it is determined that the other crane is loading and traveling but is not actually traveling, that is, when the loading and traveling of the other crane is stopped, the process proceeds to step S41.
Retract the own crane to the To position of another crane.

On the other hand, if the other crane is carrying and traveling, it is determined in step S42 whether or not the loading and traveling direction of the other crane is away from the own crane. To the own crane. On the other hand, when the loading traveling direction of the other crane is a direction approaching the own crane, the process proceeds to step S43, and it is determined whether or not the To position of the other crane interferes with the From position of the own crane.

If there is no interference, step S
Proceeding to 47, the transfer command is assigned to the own crane.
On the other hand, when there is interference, the evacuation traveling is determined in step S44 based on the contents of the table shown in FIG.
In step S45, it is determined whether there is interference. If there is interference, the flow proceeds to step S46 to retreat the own crane to a position where it does not interfere with other cranes. If there is no interference, the flow proceeds to step S47 to transport the own crane according to the transfer instruction.

The control by the automatic crane dispatching unit 24 is started at the time of completion of receiving and unloading of the cranes Cr1 and Cr2. That is,
At the timing of completion of unloading and unloading, first, the crane dispatch function by the transfer command assignment unit 2 is activated. Then, when a transfer command is assigned to an empty crane in the crane dispatch processing, the non-interference control function of the non-interference control unit 3 is activated.

Thus, the two cranes Cr1 and Cr
2 moves as shown in FIG. 11, for example. As is apparent from FIG. 11, since both the crane Cr1 and the crane Cr2 do not run backward due to interference, useless traveling when non-interference control is not performed can be eliminated.
In addition, since the cranes Cr1 and Cr2 do not decelerate due to the interference, the cycle time from completion of the conveyance from the empty state to the empty state again can be shortened.

Further, in the present embodiment, non-interference control by simulation is not performed as in the related art, but non-interference control is performed by simple logic using the interference table 5.
In other words, the interference table 5 is prepared in advance in which cases are classified according to the presence / absence of an assigned transfer command for an empty crane (own crane), the state of other cranes, the current position, the From position, and the To position of each crane. Then, by referring to the interference table 5, the possibility of reverse running due to interference between cranes is predicted. If reverse running is predicted, the empty crane is evacuated in advance. A transfer instruction is executed.

As a result, the calculation of the non-interference control can be performed at high speed while suppressing the load on the CPU and the consumption of the computer resources such as the memory. In the case where the number of cranes is as small as two as in the present embodiment and the order of the transfer commands to be implemented by each crane is determined in advance, it is better to perform the non-interference control with simpler logic, and the computer load is also reduced. A small and more reliable system can be constructed.

Here, the start timing of the non-interference control is set at the time of completion of unloading and unloading, but may be performed at a fixed period (for example, every 30 seconds). Further, it may be performed at a fixed period in addition to the time of completion of unloading and the time of completion of unloading. In this way, it is possible to prevent the inconvenience that the next start-up timing is eliminated when an empty automatic crane occurs at a certain timing but there is no transfer command to be assigned.

Each of the functional blocks 1 to 6 shown in FIG.
In the present embodiment, each functional block of the non-interference control system of the automatic crane as shown in FIG. 2 is configured by a microcomputer including a CPU or an MPU, a ROM, a RAM, and the like.
This is realized according to a work program stored in the M or the RAM. In addition, the present invention also provides a program code of software for realizing the function to supply the program code of the function block to the RAM so as to realize the function of the function block, and operates the function block according to the program. It is included in the category.

In this case, the program code itself of the software realizes the functions of the above-described embodiment, and the program code itself and means for supplying the program code to the computer, for example, storing the program code The recorded recording medium constitutes the present invention. As a recording medium for storing such a program code, in addition to the ROM and RAM, for example, a floppy disk, hard disk, optical disk, magneto-optical disk, CD-ROM, CD-I, CD-R, CD-R
W, DVD, zip, magnetic tape, a nonvolatile memory card, or the like can be used.

When the computer executes the supplied program code, not only the functions of the above-described embodiment are realized, but also the OS (operating system) or other operating system running on the computer. Needless to say, even when the functions of the above-described embodiments are realized in cooperation with application software or the like, such program codes are included in the embodiments of the present invention.

Further, after the supplied program code is stored in a memory provided in a function expansion board of a computer or a function expansion unit connected to the computer, the function expansion board or the function expansion unit is specified based on the instruction of the program code. It is needless to say that the present invention also includes a case where the CPU or the like provided in the first embodiment performs part or all of the actual processing, and the processing realizes the functions of the above-described embodiments.

Although the above embodiment has been described assuming that there are two automatic cranes, the present invention is not limited to this number and is applicable to a plurality of automatic cranes such as three or four. It is possible. In this case, three or four interference tables are created and prepared in advance.

[0071]

As described above, according to the present invention, the command allocating means for allocating the transfer command to the empty automatic crane and the command allocating means based on the interference table created in advance are assigned to the empty crane. Non-interference control means for outputting an evacuation command when interference with another crane is predicted by the received transfer command, and outputting the transfer command as a transfer command otherwise. Processing and non-interference control are performed separately, and non-interference control by simulation is not performed as in the past, but non-interference control is performed by simple logic using an interference table. , The calculation of the non-interference control can be performed at high speed while suppressing the consumption of the computer resources.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a functional block diagram showing elemental features of a non-interference control device for an automatic crane according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an overall configuration of a non-interference control system of the automatic crane according to the embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a diagram for explaining a state transition of the automatic crane.

FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining a basic concept of non-interference control according to the present embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating a part of the interference table according to the embodiment;

FIG. 6 is a diagram for explaining another part of the interference table according to the embodiment;

FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing an operation of the automatic crane dispatching unit of the embodiment.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart illustrating an operation of a non-interference control unit according to the present embodiment.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart illustrating an operation of the non-interference control unit according to the present embodiment.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart illustrating an operation of the non-interference control unit according to the present embodiment.

FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating an example of a result of performing non-interference control by the non-interference control system of the automatic crane according to the present embodiment.

FIG. 12 is a diagram illustrating a problem when non-interference control is not performed.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Crane state management part 2 Transport command allocation part 3 Non-interference control part 4 Interference determination part 5 Interference table 6 Command generation part 10 Vidicon 21 FA process control (Operation management control device) 24 Automatic crane dispatching part 30 Crane ground station (Crane control device) )

Claims (10)

[Claims] Claims: 1. A non-interference control device for preventing interference when a plurality of automatic cranes are used for conveyance, and a command allocating means for allocating a conveyance command to an empty automatic crane; If the transfer command assigned to the empty crane by the command assignment means predicts interference with other cranes based on the interference table, an evacuation command is output; otherwise, the transfer command is transferred. A non-interference control device for an automatic crane, comprising: a non-interference control unit that outputs a command. 2. The interference table classifies cases according to the state of the cranes other than the empty cranes, the current position of each crane, the transfer destination and the transfer source, and predicts whether interference occurs in each case. 2. The non-interference control device for an automatic crane according to claim 1, wherein the table information is defined so as to output one of the transfer command and the retreat command. 3. 3. The non-interference of an automatic crane according to claim 1, wherein the evacuation command includes information specifying a position where the empty crane and the other crane are closest to each other as an evacuation position. Control device. 4. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the activation timing of the command allocating means and the non-interference control means is at least one of a timing at the time of completion of unloading and a timing of completion of unloading. 3. The non-interference control device for an automatic crane according to claim 1. 5. The activation timing of the command allocating means and the non-interference control means may be replaced with at least one of the timing of the completion of the receiving of the cargo and the timing of the completion of the unloading, or may be a fixed period of time in addition to the above timing. The non-interference control device for an automatic crane according to claim 4, wherein: 6. A non-interference control method for preventing interference when carrying with a plurality of automatic cranes, wherein the state of a crane other than an empty crane, the current position of each crane, a transfer destination and a transfer source are provided. Depending on the case,
In each case, an interference table that is defined to predict whether or not interference will occur and output either a transfer command or an evacuation command is created and stored in advance, and a transfer command is assigned to the empty crane. When it is determined, based on the interference table created in advance, if the interference with the other cranes is predicted by the transfer command assigned to the empty crane, an evacuation command is output; otherwise, Wherein the transfer command is output as a transfer command. 7. A non-interference control system for an automatic crane, comprising: a crane control device for performing a process for preventing interference when a plurality of automatic cranes are used for transportation; and a crane control device, wherein the crane control device is Crane management means for detecting the current state and position of the plurality of automatic cranes and notifying the operation management control device, wherein the operation management control device assigns a transfer command to the empty automatic crane. The command allocating means is assigned to an empty crane by the command allocating means by referring to an interference table created in advance based on a current state and a position of the plurality of automatic cranes notified from the crane control device. If the transfer command is expected to cause interference with other cranes, output the evacuation command; otherwise, transfer the above-mentioned transfer command. A non-interference control system for an automatic crane, comprising: a non-interference control unit that outputs a transmission command. 8. The interference table classifies cases according to the state of the cranes other than the empty cranes, the current position of each crane, the transfer destination and the transfer source, and predicts whether or not interference will occur in each case. 8. The non-interference control system for an automatic crane according to claim 7, wherein the information is table information defined so as to output either the transfer command or the retreat command. 9. The crane control device according to claim 1, further comprising a priority control unit that controls, when an interference occurs between the cranes, to work with priority given to a predetermined higher priority. The non-interference control system for an automatic crane according to claim 7. 10. A non-interference control device for preventing interference when carrying with a plurality of automatic cranes, a command allocating means for allocating a transfer command to an empty crane; Other than the above, the cases are classified according to the state of the crane, the current position of each crane, the transfer destination and the transfer source, and it is predicted whether or not interference will occur in each case, and either the transfer command or the evacuation command is output. Storage means for storing an interference table defined in advance as described above; and evacuation when interference with another crane is predicted by a transfer command assigned to an empty crane by the command assignment means based on the interference table. Command, and
In other cases, a computer-readable recording medium is recorded with a program for causing a computer to function as non-interference control means for outputting the transport command as a transport command.