JPH0457013B2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Industrial Application Field] The present invention is applicable to various tools, for example, in a factory.
Concerning control equipment for automatically driving moving vehicles such as transport vehicles used when automatically transporting workpieces, etc. to a desired station, etc. The present invention relates to travel control equipment for a mobile vehicle, which is provided with a section and a means for automatically traveling the mobile vehicle along the guideway.

[Prior art]

In such control equipment, even if a plurality of moving vehicles traveling on each taxiway arrive near the merging point at the same time or almost simultaneously, the moving vehicles are temporarily stopped at the merging point to avoid collisions between the moving vehicles. It is necessary to stop the vehicle or determine the priority order for the vehicle to run. As a means for this purpose, a moving vehicle passing detector is installed near the merging point of each taxiway section, and the detector detects arrival near the merging point and the priority information stored in advance in the ground controller. A transmitter that sends a stop command to moving vehicles based on the running order information is installed near the junction of each taxiway section.
In other words, the earlier the vehicle arrives, the earlier it passes through the merging section, and the higher the priority ranking of the vehicles that arrive at the same time, the earlier it passes through the merging section. There are ways to stop and start a moving vehicle to achieve this.

[Problem that the invention seeks to solve]

According to the above-mentioned conventional means, a plurality of passage detectors and a plurality of stop command signal transmitters must be connected to a controller and installed at each junction, so that there are many junctions. When constructing a taxiway, there are disadvantages in that the equipment is expensive and the construction is complicated.

The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned circumstances, and its purpose is to provide a running control system for moving vehicles that can reliably suppress collisions at merging points while being advantageous from an economical and construction perspective. The point is to provide the following.

[Means for solving problems]

The characteristic configuration of the travel control equipment for moving vehicles according to the present invention is that an instruction means is installed for each taxiway section to instruct the moving vehicle to arrive near the merging point and which taxiway section it is on. a detecting means for detecting the indicating means; and a projector for projecting light of a wavelength preset in correspondence with each of the taxiway sections to the merging point based on the detection information of the detecting means; Each of the light receivers is provided on the side of the moving vehicle to receive light from a projector of another moving vehicle that has arrived near the merging point in a state where the wavelengths are separated, and the light receivers are set in advance according to each of the guideway portions. Based on the priority running order information and the light reception information of the light receiver, the moving vehicles that arrive near the merging area first are allowed to pass through the merging area first, and the moving vehicles that arrive at the same time The moving vehicle is provided with a means for stopping and starting the moving vehicle so that the moving vehicle with higher priority passes through the merging section first and runs. The effects are as follows.

[Effect]

In other words, when the moving vehicle arrives near the junction,
A light projector installed on the moving vehicle will project light with a wavelength corresponding to the taxiway section where the moving vehicle is located, and vehicles traveling on other taxiway sections will also arrive near the merging section. When the vehicle is moving, the light receiving unit provided in each of the multiple vehicles receives the light projected from the other vehicle side, separating the wavelengths, and then, while the following vehicle is temporarily stopped, merges into the first vehicle. Multiple vehicles that arrive near the merging point are driven by moving vehicles that have arrived near the merging point, and vehicles that arrive at the same time and are located on the higher priority taxiway section first. The moving vehicle will be stopped and started so as to pass through the junction.

〔effect〕

Therefore, since priority travel is performed at the merging point using optical signal transmission and reception between moving vehicles, the number of equipment installed on the ground side is reduced, which is advantageous from an economical and construction perspective. Since signals are exchanged between moving vehicles using multiple types of different wavelengths,
Appropriate signal transmission and reception can be performed regardless of external light, and since priority running order is set according to each taxiway section, compared to, for example, assigning priority running order to each moving vehicle in advance. Thus, it is possible to manage a large number of moving vehicles while simplifying the structure of the projector and receiver, and as a whole, we have obtained a running control equipment for moving vehicles that has great practical advantages.

〔Example〕

Next, embodiments of the present invention will be described based on the drawings.

As shown in FIG. 1, FIG. 4, and FIG. 5, a mobile vehicle D equipped with a loading platform 1 that can be driven up and down is provided,
By means of an electromagnetic induction towpath wire l buried in the running road surface, the moving vehicle taxiway L is brought into a state where it has a merging section G where the three first, second, and third taxiway sections La, Lb, and Lc merge. A load transfer station ST is provided at the side of the taxiway L, so that the moving vehicle D can transport various loads while traveling between the stations. It is configured.

The moving vehicle D is constructed by providing a pair of left and right propulsion wheels 2 that can be driven separately by a propulsion electric motor _M1 , and a steering wheel 3 on the front side of the vehicle body.
is rotatably operated around a vertical axis by a steering electric motor _M2 , and the steering wheel 3 is then operated to change its direction for steering.

To explain the means for automatically driving the moving vehicle D along the taxiway L, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 4, a low frequency current is applied to the towpath wire l, and the moving vehicle relative to the towpath wire l is A tracking sensor 4 equipped with a pair of left and right pickup coils 4a and 4b for detecting the amount of lateral deviation of D as a voltage is provided at the front end of the mobile vehicle D, and is also equipped with a control calculation section and a control information storage section. The tracking sensor 4 is connected to the travel control device H, and the steering electric motor M ₂ is connected so that the difference in detected voltage between the left and right pickup coils 4a and 4b becomes zero.
The mobile vehicle D is configured to automatically travel along the guideway L by operating the operating section 5 of the vehicle.

Also, a stop mark m indicating the stop position of the mobile vehicle D with respect to each of the stations ST, and a merging point G at each of the taxiway portions La, Lb, and Lc.
1st, 2nd, and 3rd merging point indication marks as indicating means to indicate arrival at nearby merging points A, B, and C
In addition to providing Ma, Mb, and Mc on the running road side,
A mark reading sensor T as a detection means for detecting the merging point indication marks Ma, Mb, and Mc is provided on the moving vehicle side, and information such as destination data can be transmitted from the station side to the moving vehicle side. In order to transmit various information such as arrival data from the moving vehicle side to the station side, optical signal transmitting and receiving devices 6 and 7 consisting of an infrared emitter a and an infrared receiver b are provided on the moving vehicle side and the station side, respectively. , the moving vehicle side optical signal transmitting/receiving device 6 is connected to the traveling control device H, and the station side signal transmitting/receiving device 7 is connected to the ground side central control device V, and the destination command information is input to the central control device V. The mobile vehicle D can be automatically driven to a desired station ST based on various information such as information stored in advance and information stored in advance.

In addition, the merging direction marks Ma, Mb, and Mc are composed of display bodies that indicate each taxiway section using barcodes, and the mark reading sensor T is composed of an image sensor that reads barcodes. , is configured to be able to detect arrival near the confluence.

Next, a description will be given of a means for causing the moving vehicle D to stop and start at the merging section G so as to prevent a collision from occurring.

As shown in Figures 1 and 2, each taxiway section is
The first, second, and third projectors 8a each project light of different wavelengths onto the merging portion, respectively, as projectors that project light with preset wavelengths corresponding to La, Lb, and Lc, respectively, onto the merging portion. , 8b, 8c,
The first, second, and third light projectors 8a, 8 serve as light receivers that receive light from the light projectors of other moving vehicles that have arrived near the merging point G in a state where the wavelengths are separated.
first, second, and third light receivers 9 that receive only light of predetermined wavelengths corresponding to the wavelengths b and 8c, respectively;
a, 9b, and 9c, respectively, are connected to the travel control device H and provided at the front end of the moving vehicle D, and based on the detection information of the merging point indication mark by the mark reading sensor T, the first to third Taxiway section La, Lb,
The first to third floodlights 8a, 8 according to each Lc
The system is configured to select a desired one from b and 8c and activate the light projection, and further, as priority running order information preset in accordance with the first to third taxiway portions La, Lb, and Lc, As shown in FIG. 3, when the light receiver 9 receives light of wavelengths corresponding to the respective taxiway sections La, Lb, and Lc emitted by moving vehicles D located on other taxiway sections, The configuration is configured to control the temporary stop of the moving vehicle D so that the moving vehicle D passes through the confluence G in the order of the first taxiway portion La, the second taxiway portion Lb, and the third taxiway portion Lc. The travel control information obtained is stored in the travel control device H in advance, and the priority travel order information and the first,
Based on the light reception information of the second and third light receivers 9a, 9b, and 9c, the moving vehicle D that arrives near the merging area first passes the merging area G first and runs higher, and the moving vehicles that arrive at the same time In order to cause the higher-priority moving vehicle D of the vehicles D to pass through the merging section G earlier, the operation unit ₁ of the propulsion electric motor M1 is operated.
The configuration is such that a stop/start command is inputted to 0.

More specifically, each taxiway section La, Lb, Lc
When a moving vehicle D traveling along a road is traveling toward a merging point G, if light emitted from another moving vehicle D is received before the merging point indication mark is read, the moving vehicle D moves toward a predetermined direction. After being stopped for a while, the vehicle passes through the junction G and continues running. Furthermore, if the arrivals near merging point G occur at the same time, based on the priority driving order, those on the higher priority side will drive to pass through merging point G first, and those on the lower priority side will pass through the merging point G first. After being stopped for a while, the vehicle will pass through the confluence G.

Incidentally, FIG. 3 shows a flowchart of the control operation described above. Also, in Figure 1, fa, fb,
Each of fc is the first to third light receivers 9a, 9b, 9c.
The first to third projectors 8a, 8b, 8 that can receive light
The light projection area of c is shown.

Next, another example will be described.

To configure the means for automatically driving the mobile vehicle D,
Instead of a towpath wire for electromagnetic induction, the moving vehicle guide path L is configured with a light reflective tape, and signals are exchanged between the moving vehicle D and the central control device V using a guided radio system. etc., the specific means of each part can be changed in various ways depending on the location to be used.

In addition, the taxiway portions La, Lb, which constitute the confluence part G,
The number of Lc can be changed in various ways, such as 2 or 4 or more, and the number of Lc can be changed to 2 or 4 or more.
The specific configurations of a, 9b, and 9c can also be changed in various ways depending on the configuration of the merging portion G and the like.

Further, the specific configuration of the moving vehicle D can be changed in various ways depending on the intended use.

Also, to detect arrival near the confluence,
A plurality of permanent magnets may be arranged as the merging section indicating marks Ma, Mb, and Mc so as to indicate each taxiway section according to their polarity, and a magnetic sensor may be provided on the moving vehicle side.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

The drawings show an embodiment of the traveling control equipment for moving vehicles according to the present invention, and FIG. 1 is a schematic plan view showing a confluence of moving vehicle guideways, FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a specific configuration of traveling control, and FIG. FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing the control operation at the merging section, FIG. 4 is a schematic plan view of the moving vehicle, and FIG. 5 is a schematic side view of the vehicle. 8a, 8b, 8c... Floodlight, 9a, 9b, 9
c...Receiver, D...Moving vehicle, G...merging section, L
...Moving vehicle taxiway, La, Lb, Lc... Taxiway part.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1 The moving vehicle taxiway L is divided into multiple taxiway portions La,
A traveling control equipment for a moving vehicle, which is provided with a merging section G where Lb and Lc merge, and is provided with a means for automatically driving a moving vehicle D along the guideway, the device having a merging section G where Lb and Lc merge, Instructing means Ma, Mb, Mc are installed for each of the taxiway sections La, Lb, Lc to instruct the moving vehicle D about the arrival of the vehicle and which taxiway section La, Lb, Lc, detection means T for detecting the instruction means Ma, Mb, Mc;
and projectors 8a, 8b, 8c that project light of preset wavelengths to the convergence point corresponding to each of the guideway sections La, Lb, and Lc based on the detection information of the detection means T, and Light receivers 9a, 9b, 9c that receive light from the projectors of other moving vehicles that have arrived near the merging point G in a state where the wavelengths are separated.
are provided on the moving vehicle D side, and priority running order information preset according to the guideway portions La, Lb, and Lc, respectively, and the light receivers 9a,
Based on the light reception information of 9b and 9c, the moving vehicle D that arrived near the merging point G first is made to pass through the merging point G first, and among the moving vehicles D that arrived at the same time, The moving vehicle D is provided with a means for stopping and starting the moving vehicle D so that the moving vehicle D having a higher priority passes through the merging section G first. Control equipment.