KR-20260067320-A - ARTICLE TRANSPORT FACILITY

KR20260067320AKR 20260067320 AKR20260067320 AKR 20260067320AKR-20260067320-A

Abstract

In a goods conveying facility, each of a plurality of conveying vehicles is equipped with a speed detection unit that detects a current speed V and a distance detection unit that detects an inter-vehicle distance index D, which is an index based on the distance to another conveying vehicle located ahead in the direction of travel. The control system executes a first target speed determination process to determine a control target speed V2 based on a distance-corresponding target speed V1, a current speed V, and an inter-vehicle distance index D, which are set to increase as the inter-vehicle distance index D increases. The first target speed determination process includes an acceleration determination process that determines whether to execute an acceleration process to make the control target speed V2 a distance-corresponding target speed V1, which is higher than the current speed V. In the acceleration determination process, the control system executes an acceleration process when the relationship between the current speed V and the distance-corresponding target speed V1 satisfies an acceleration condition and that state persists for a determination time T or longer.

Inventors

무카이 아쓰히코
고노 마코토
이와미쓰 가즈히로

Assignees

가부시키가이샤 다이후쿠

Dates

Publication Date: 20260512
Application Date: 20251027
Priority Date: 20241105

Claims (6)

A plurality of transport vehicles that transport goods by traveling along a driving path; and A control system for controlling a plurality of the above-mentioned transport vehicles; As a product return facility equipped with, Each of the plurality of the above-mentioned transport vehicles is equipped with a speed detection unit that detects a current speed, which is its current driving speed, and a distance detection unit that detects a vehicle distance indicator, which is an indicator based on the distance to another said transport vehicle located ahead in the driving direction. The above control system is configured to execute a first target speed determination process to determine a control target speed, which is a target value for controlling the driving speed, based on a distance-corresponding target speed, which is a target value for the driving speed that is preset to increase as the distance-between-vehicle index increases, the current speed, and the distance-between-vehicle index. The above first target speed determination process includes an acceleration determination process for determining whether to execute an acceleration process in which the control target speed is set to the distance-corresponding target speed which is higher than the current speed. In the above acceleration determination process, the control system determines that it executes the acceleration processing when the relationship between the current speed and the distance-corresponding target speed becomes an acceleration suitability state satisfying a preset acceleration condition, and the acceleration suitability state is continuous for a preset determination time or longer. Goods return equipment.
In paragraph 1, The above acceleration determination process includes a determination of whether to execute a constant speed process with the control target speed as the current speed, and A product conveying facility that, in the above acceleration determination process, the control system determines that if the time during which the acceleration suitability state is continuous is less than the determination time, it does not execute the acceleration process and executes the constant speed process.
In paragraph 2, A goods conveying facility that, when the increase in the above-mentioned inter-vehicle distance index per hour of the regulation is less than or equal to a preset reference value, the control system executes the acceleration determination processing by setting the current speed as the distance-corresponding target speed and the difference between the current speed and the distance-corresponding target speed as the acceleration condition.
In paragraph 3, A product conveying facility that, in the above acceleration determination process, the control system determines that even if the current speed is less than the distance-corresponding target speed, if the difference between the current speed and the distance-corresponding target speed is less than or equal to the determination threshold, it does not execute the acceleration process and executes the constant speed process.
In paragraph 3 or 4, The above first target speed determination process further includes a deceleration determination process for determining whether to execute a deceleration process in which the control target speed is set to the distance-corresponding target speed which is lower than the current speed. A product conveying facility, wherein in the above deceleration determination process, the control system determines to execute the deceleration process when the relationship between the current speed and the distance-corresponding target speed satisfies a preset deceleration condition.
In paragraph 5, The above control system is configured to further execute a second target speed determination process for determining the control target speed when the increase in the above inter-vehicle distance index per hour of the regulation is greater than the above reference value, and In the above second target speed determination process, the control system, If the above control target speed was set to the above distance-corresponding target speed, the state of setting the above control target speed to the above distance-corresponding target speed is continued, and In the case where the above constant speed processing was being executed, if the above current speed is higher than the above distance-corresponding target speed, it is determined that the above deceleration processing is to be executed, and A product conveying facility that, in the case where the above constant speed processing was being executed, if the above current speed is less than the distance-corresponding target speed, executes the above acceleration determination processing by making the fact that the above current speed is less than the distance-corresponding target speed the acceleration condition.

Description

Article Transport Facility The present invention relates to a goods conveying facility comprising a plurality of conveying vehicles that travel along a travel path to convey goods, and a control system that controls the plurality of conveying vehicles. An example of such a goods conveying facility is disclosed in Japanese Patent Publication No. Hei 3-6603 (hereinafter referred to as “Patent Document 1”). In the goods conveying facility of Patent Document 1, each of a plurality of conveying vehicles is equipped with a distance detection unit that detects the distance (distance between vehicles) to another conveying vehicle located in front of the driving direction. Based on the distance between vehicles detected by the distance detection unit, the control system calculates the amount of change in the distance between vehicles per unit time (amount of change in distance) and also calculates the difference between the distance between vehicles and a preset appropriate set distance (distance difference). Then, the control system increases or decreases the acceleration of the conveying vehicle according to the amount of change in distance and the distance difference. In this way, the goods conveying facility of Patent Document 1 drives the conveying vehicle while changing the acceleration to maintain an appropriate distance between vehicles. [Fig. 1] Schematic diagram showing the overall configuration of a product return facility related to an embodiment [Fig. 2] Side view of a conveyor vehicle equipped with a product conveying facility related to an embodiment [Fig. 3] Block diagram showing the configuration of a product return facility related to an embodiment [Fig. 4] Flowchart showing an example of control processing by a control system [Fig. 5] Drawing showing the inter-vehicle distance indicator related to other embodiments [Fig. 6] Drawing showing the inter-vehicle distance indicator related to other embodiments Hereinafter, an item return facility (100) related to an embodiment will be described with reference to the drawings. As shown in FIG. 1, the item conveying facility (100) is equipped with a plurality of conveying vehicles (1) that travel along a driving path (P) to convey an item (W) (see FIG. 2). In this embodiment, the driving path (P) comprises one main path (Pa) formed in an annular shape, a plurality of auxiliary paths (Pb) each formed in an annular shape passing through a plurality of stations (S), and a plurality of connecting paths (Pc) connecting the main path (Pa) and the plurality of auxiliary paths (Pb). The station (S) is configured to allow the receiving and transfer of goods (W) to be performed between the station (S) and the transport vehicle (1) that has stopped at a location corresponding to the station (S). The targets for receiving and transferring goods (W) at the station (S) are, for example, a load port of a processing device for processing goods (W), an input/output port of a storage device for storing goods (W), a storage shelf for temporarily storing goods (W), etc. As shown in FIG. 2, in this embodiment, the item conveying facility (100) further comprises a driving rail (2) suspended from the ceiling. The driving rail (2) is arranged along a driving path (P). In this embodiment, the conveyor vehicle (1) is a ceiling conveyor vehicle that is guided by the driving rail (2) and travels along the driving path (P). In addition, the item (W) is, for example, a FOUP (Front Opening Unified Pod) that accommodates a semiconductor substrate or a glass substrate that is a material for a display. In this embodiment, the transport vehicle (1) is equipped with a driving unit (11) and a transfer unit (12). The driving unit (11) is equipped with a plurality of driving wheels (11a) that drive along the driving rail (2). In this embodiment, at least one of the plurality of driving wheels (11a) rotates by the driving force of a driving motor (not shown) and drives along the driving rail (2), thereby causing the driving unit (11) to drive along the driving path (P). The transfer loading unit (12) transfers and loads an item (W) between the station (S). Although a detailed description is omitted, the transfer loading unit (12) is provided with, for example, a holding unit that holds the item (W) and a lifting unit that moves the holding unit up and down relative to the driving unit (11). Additionally, the transfer loading unit (12) is provided with, if necessary, a horizontal moving unit that moves the holding unit horizontally relative to the driving unit (11) and a pivoting unit that rotates the holding unit relative to the driving unit (11) around a rotation axis following the vertical direction. Furthermore, the transfer loading unit (12) is provided with the necessary configuration for transferring and loading an item (W) between the station (S), and is not limited to the above configuration. And, in the following description, any transport vehicle (1) is referred to as the “target vehi