US-12617293-B2 - Article transport vehicle with power operation function, article transport system, and method for operation of article transport vehicle

US12617293B2US 12617293 B2US12617293 B2US 12617293B2US-12617293-B2

Abstract

Proposed are an article transport vehicle with a power operation function, an article transport system, and a method for operation of an article transport vehicle. More particularly, proposed is a technology that controls a traveling state and power operation of an article transport vehicle for each situation according to a traveling condition suitable for an energy storage means selected and mounted according to the requirements of an article transport system, thereby improving the operational efficiency of the entire article transport system.

Inventors

Ki Sub YOON
Ji Yoon JUNG

Assignees

SEMES CO., LTD.

Dates

Publication Date: 20260505
Application Date: 20221219
Priority Date: 20211221

Claims (18)

1 . A method for operation of an article transport vehicle having an energy storage means, the method comprising: an energy storage means type determination step of determining a type of the energy storage means mounted in the article transport vehicle, wherein when it is impossible to determine the type of the energy storage means in the energy storage means type determination step, a determination result of the energy storage means type not being determined is reported to a higher-level management device, and a transport vehicle maintenance area for mounting the energy storage means is allocated to the article transport vehicle from the higher-level management device; a traveling condition information determination step of determining traveling condition information corresponding to the energy storage means mounted in the article transport vehicle among sets of traveling condition information which are differently set for each type of the energy storage means; and a traveling state control step of controlling a traveling state and power operation of the article transport vehicle on the basis of the traveling condition information, wherein the traveling state control step further comprises a charging step of performing charging through a rail while the article transport vehicle travels in a power feeding section on a travel route having the power feeding section and a non-power feeding section, wherein the charging step is performed by performing the charging according to charging condition information differently set on the basis of an output according to a weight of an article transported by the article transport vehicle, wherein the charging step comprises controlling a charging level of the energy storage means to be a low level in response to the weight of the article being equal to or higher than a predetermined level, wherein the low level is set to be lower than a charging level applied when the weight of the article being less than the predetermined level, and wherein the charging level corresponds to an intensity of a charging current when converting a static current supplied to the energy storage means into a variable current.
2 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the traveling condition information determination step comprises: a step of determining a capacity of a capacitor included in the energy storage means; and a step of determining first traveling condition information, among the sets of traveling condition information, corresponding to the capacity of the capacitor, and wherein the traveling state control step is performed by controlling a maximum traveling speed, acceleration, and deceleration of the article transport vehicle on the basis of the first traveling condition information.
3 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the traveling condition information determination step comprises: a step of measuring an amount of remaining energy in a battery included in the energy storage means; and a step of determining second traveling condition information, among the sets of traveling condition information, corresponding to the measured amount of the remaining energy, and wherein the traveling state control step is performed by controlling a maximum traveling speed, acceleration and deceleration of the article transport vehicle based on the second traveling condition information.
4 . The method of claim 3 , wherein the traveling state control step further comprises: a non-power feeding section determination step of determining whether the article transport vehicle is expected to enter the non-power feeding section on the travel route having the power feeding section and the non-power feeding section; and a non-power feeding section entry determination step of determining whether to allow the article transport vehicle to enter the non-power feeding section on the basis of the measured amount of the remaining energy.
5 . The method of claim 4 , wherein the traveling state control step further comprises a preceding vehicle determination step of determining whether to allow the article transport vehicle to enter the non-power feeding section on the basis of whether a preceding article transport vehicle exists in the non-power feeding section on the travel route.
6 . The method of claim 4 , wherein the traveling state control step further comprises a charging maintenance step of maintaining charging in the power feeding section when it is determined that the article transport vehicle is not allowed to enter the non-power feeding section.
7 . The method of claim 4 , wherein the non-power feeding section entry determination step further comprises: a step of reporting a non-entry situation to the higher-level management device when it is determined that the article transport vehicle is not allowed to enter the non-power feeding section; and a step of receiving a travel route changed to the power feeding section from the higher-level management device.
8 . The method of claim 3 , wherein the traveling state control step further comprises: a maintenance area allocation step of comparing a lifespan of the battery with a reference value, reporting a battery replacement situation to the higher-level management device when it is necessary to replace the battery, and allocating the transport vehicle maintenance area from the higher-level management device; and a maintenance area route traveling step of traveling the article transport vehicle to the allocated transport vehicle maintenance area on the basis of traveling condition information set corresponding to the battery replacement situation.
9 . The method of claim 3 , wherein the charging step is performed by performing the charging according to charging condition information differently set on the basis of an output according to the traveling state of any one or more of traveling speed, acceleration, deceleration, and standby.
10 . The method of claim 9 , wherein the charging step is performed by measuring a temperature of a power receiving means of the article transport vehicle, and performing the charging on the basis of charging condition information differently set on the basis of a temperature range.
11 . The method of claim 10 , wherein the charging step is performed by comparing the measured temperature of the power receiving means of the article transport vehicle with a reference value or a threshold value, and controlling a charging current or stopping the charging.
12 . An article transport system comprising: an article transport vehicle having: an energy storage means; a power receiving means configured to receive power from a power feeding line of a rail; a power supply means configured to supply the received power of the power receiving means to the energy storage means and provide energy stored in the energy storage means to a driving unit; and a control means configured to determine a type of the energy storage means, determine traveling condition information among sets of traveling condition information which are differently set for each type of the energy storage means, and control a traveling state of the article transport vehicle on the basis of traveling condition information corresponding to the energy storage means, wherein the control means is configured further to report, when it is impossible to determine the type of the energy storage means, a determination result of the energy storage means type not being determined to a higher-level management device, and a transport vehicle maintenance area for mounting the energy storage means is allocated to the article transport vehicle from the higher-level management device, wherein the control means is configured to control a charging level of the energy storage means to be a low level in response to a weight of an article transported by the article transport vehicle being equal to or higher than a predetermined level, wherein the low level is set to be lower than a charging level applied when the weight of the article being less than the predetermined level, and wherein the charging level corresponds to an intensity of a charging current when converting a static current supplied to the energy storage means into a variable current.
13 . The article transport system of claim 12 , wherein the control means comprises: an energy storage means setting unit configured to determine the type of the energy storage means; a traveling condition determination unit configured to retain the sets of traveling condition information, and determine traveling condition information, among the sets of traveling condition information, corresponding to the determined type of the energy storage means; and an operation state control unit configured to manage and control power operation for the energy storage means, and control the traveling state of the article transport vehicle on the basis of the traveling condition information.
14 . The article transport system of claim 12 , wherein the energy storage means comprises a capacitor, and wherein the control means controls the traveling state of the article transport vehicle on the basis of first traveling condition information, among the sets of traveling condition information, corresponding to a capacity of the capacitor of the energy storage means.
15 . The article transport system of claim 12 , wherein the energy storage means comprises a battery and a battery management unit configured to measure an amount of remaining energy and a lifespan of the battery and manage charging and discharging of the battery, and wherein the control means controls the traveling state of the article transport vehicle on the basis of second traveling condition information, among the sets of traveling condition information, corresponding to the amount of the remaining energy in the energy storage means.
16 . The article transport system of claim 12 , further comprising: a rail network connecting a plurality of ports, including a power feeding section rail and a non-power feeding section rail, and configured to support traveling of the article transport vehicle, wherein the higher-level management device configured to issues a command to the article transport vehicle to transport an article and manage the traveling state of the article transport vehicle.
17 . The article transport system of claim 16 , wherein the higher-level management device sets a travel route on the basis of the traveling state of the article transport vehicle and provides the travel route to the article transport vehicle.
18 . A method for operation of an article transport vehicle having an energy storage means, the method comprising: an energy storage means type determination step of determining whether the type of the energy storage means mounted in the article transport vehicle is a capacitor or a battery, wherein when it is impossible to determine the type of the energy storage means in the energy storage means type determination step, a determination result of the energy storage means type not being determined to a higher-level management device, and a transport vehicle maintenance area for mounting the energy storage means is allocated to the article transport vehicle from the higher-level management device; a traveling condition information determination step of determining traveling condition information, among sets of traveling condition information which are differently set for each type of the energy storage means, determining a capacity of the capacitor and determining traveling condition information corresponding thereto in the case of the capacitor, and determining an amount of remaining energy in the battery and determining traveling condition information corresponding thereto in the case of the battery; and a traveling state control step of controlling a traveling state and power operation of the article transport vehicle on the basis of the traveling condition information, wherein the traveling state control step is performed by: determining whether to allow the article transport vehicle to enter a non-power feeding section on the basis of the amount of the remaining energy in the energy storage means comprising the battery or whether a preceding article transport vehicle exists; determining a lifespan of the battery, comparing the lifespan with a reference value, reporting a battery replacement situation to the higher-level management device when it is necessary to replace the battery, and allocated the transport vehicle maintenance area from the higher-level management device; and performing charging according to charging condition information differently set on the basis of (i) an output according to the traveling state in a power feeding section and (ii) a temperature according to reception of power through a rail, and (iii) a weight of an article transported by the article transport vehicle, wherein performing charging comprises controlling a charging level of the energy storage means to be a low level in response to a weight of an article transported by the article transport vehicle being equal to or higher than a predetermined level, wherein the low level is set to be lower than a charging level applied in response to the weight of the article being less than the predetermined level, and wherein the charging level corresponds to an intensity of a charging current when converting a static current supplied to the energy storage means into a variable current.

Description

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION The present application claims priority to Korean Patent Application No. 10-2021-0183773, filed Dec. 21, 2021, the entire contents of which is incorporated by reference herein for all purposes. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Field of the Invention The present disclosure relates generally to an article transport vehicle with a power operation function, an article transport system, and a method for operation of an article transport vehicle. More particularly, the present disclosure relates to a technology that controls a traveling state and power operation of an article transport vehicle for each situation according to a traveling condition suitable for an energy storage means selected and mounted according to the requirements of an article transport system, thereby improving the operational efficiency of the entire article transport system. Description of the Related Art In semiconductor manufacturing, a variety of numerous processes are performed to yield the final product, and hundreds of thousands of article transports occur in the process of performing the semiconductor manufacturing process. To prevent contamination and damage to semiconductor materials and delivery accidents during the article transport process, an overhead hoist transport (OHT) is utilized as an automated transport system on the semiconductor manufacturing line. The OHT is a system that automates article transport between numerous semiconductor processes. An OHT vehicle transports wafers contained in a front opening unified pod (FOUP) to manufacturing equipment for each manufacturing process along a rail installed on the ceiling. FIG. 1 illustrates a block diagram illustrating power operation of an OHT vehicle according to the related art. The OHT vehicle 10 is operated in such a way that a power receiving unit 13 receives power in a non-contact manner through a power feeding line on the rail, a power storage unit 12 configured as a capacitor is provided, and driving power is provided to a driving unit 15 through the control of a power control unit 11. The power operation of the OHT vehicle 10 depends on a predetermined capacitor capacity of the power storage unit 12, so there is a problem in that it is impossible to control power output. In particular, the output of the OHT vehicle needs to be controlled according to various factors such as the specification of an article transport system to which the OHT vehicle is applied, the amount of articles loaded in the OHT vehicle, and different speeds required for each rail section. However, there is a problem in that power operation cannot be properly controlled according to various situations in terms of the configuration of power operation of the OHT vehicle. Furthermore, an article transport automation system can be configured by connecting ports between numerous semiconductor process equipment through a rail network. When designing such a rail network, there may be an area where a power feeding rail cannot be constructed depending on situations. However, since the conventional OHT vehicle cannot operate on a non-power feeding rail in terms of the power operation, there is a problem in that the rail network has to be designed so that the vehicle bypasses around the area where the power feeding rail cannot be constructed. The foregoing is intended merely to aid in the understanding of the background of the present disclosure, and is not intended to mean that the present disclosure falls within the purview of the related art that is already known to those skilled in the art. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Accordingly, the present disclosure has been made keeping in mind the above problems occurring in the related art, and the present disclosure provides a method that selectively applies various types of energy storage means according to the requirements of an article transport system, and controls power operation of an article transport vehicle, such as OHT vehicle, in consideration of the energy storage means, thereby improving the operational efficiency of the entire article transport system. In particular, the present disclosure is intended to solve the problem in which when the output of an OHT vehicle needs to be controlled according to various factors such as the specification of an article transport system to which the OHT vehicle is applied, the amount of articles loaded in the OHT vehicle, and different speeds required for each rail section, power operation cannot be properly controlled according to various situations in terms of the configuration of power operation of the OHT vehicle. The objectives of the present disclosure are not limited to those mentioned above, and other objectives not mentioned will be clearly understood by those skilled in the art from the following description. In order to achieve the above objectives, according to one aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a method for operation of an article transport vehicle