JPH0544075B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Industrial Application Field] The present invention is an article conveyance device that moves a conveyance carrier on a conveyance path to convey articles between stations. The present invention relates to a power recovery processing method for performing power recovery processing to prevent a station from being left unattended.

The recent wave of development of office automation systems has been remarkable, and various systems have been introduced in various fields. One such office automation system is an article conveyance system. An article conveyance system is a system in which a conveyance path is provided in an office, a large number of stations are set on the conveyance path, and a conveyance carrier is moved between the stations along the conveyance path to convey documents, cash, etc. A linear motor car or the like is used as the transport means.

In such an article transport system, where the work of each station is determined in advance, each station is classified into a processing request station and a processing station according to the work, and the transfer between the processing request station and the processing station is performed. The transport carrier is configured to move. For example, in a certain business office, each workplace is designated as an accounting processing requesting station, the workplace that performs accounting processing is designated as a processing station, and the slips to be accounted for are sent from each workplace (i.e., the accounting processing requesting station) to the processing station using a transport carrier. Those that require accounting processing of such slips, financial stores and retail stores,
Each counter or sales floor is used as a processing request station, and the cash storage area is used as a processing station.In the deposit processing, cash and slips are sent from the processing request station at the counter or sales floor to the processing station by a transport carrier, and the sales are processed at the processing station. In cases where a receipt is issued and the receipt is returned to the processing request station using a transport carrier, or for cash withdrawal processing, the cash withdrawal location is used as the processing station, and the transport carrier is sent from the processing request station at the counter to the processing station. At the processing station, the cash to be disbursed is loaded onto a transport carrier, and the transport carrier loaded with cash is returned to the processing request station.

[Conventional technology]

FIG. 6 is a configuration diagram of such a conventional article conveyance system, in which processing request stations WS1,
This example shows a centralized cash withdrawal management system in which WS2, WS3, and WS4 are installed, and a processing station PS is installed at the cash withdrawal location. Figure 6A is a side view of the system, and Figure 6B is a top view of the system. It is.

Processing request station WS1, WS2, WS3,
A rail (conveyance path) RL is installed between the WS4 and the processing station PS, and stators S1, S2, S3, S4...Sn, SP are provided at intervals on the rail RL. The transport carriers CR1 to CR4 moving on the rail RL are located in a storage section C that stores articles.
, a cover S of the storage part C, wheels W1 and W2 that engage with the rail RL, and a secondary conductor D are provided,
Connect the secondary conductors D of transport carriers CR1 to CR4 to the rail.
The conveyor carriers CR1 to CR4 are configured as linear motor cars in which the transport carriers CR1 to CR4 start, accelerate, and stop by repulsion and attraction of magnetic fields by the stators S1 to SP of the RL. On the other hand, each processing request station WS1~
In addition to the stators S1 to S4 and SP mentioned above, the WS4 and processing station PS have article handling ports A1 to
A4, P and transport carriers CR1 to CR4 on rails
Lift it from RL, release it from rail RL, raise it to article handling ports A1 to A4, P, and lower transport carriers CR1 to CR4 from article handling ports A1 to A4, P to rail RL.
Lift mechanism L that returns 1 to CR4 to rail RL
1 to L4, LP, a cover opening/closing mechanism, and a shutter mechanism are provided. In addition, processing stations
The PS has a cash dispensing machine CD that takes out the requested cash from the cover opening/closing mechanism and the cash storage CS, sends it to the cash dispensing unit DU, and loads the cash from the cash dispensing unit DU to the transport carrier of the article handling port P. It is provided.

For example, in order to issue a withdrawal request from the processing request station WS4 and have the withdrawal processed at the processing station PS, the operator at the counter first inputs the amount of cash to be withdrawn from a teller terminal (not shown) provided at the counter, and then Instruct the transport request using a key or the like.

As a result, the transport carrier CR4 is lowered to the rail RL by the lift mechanism L4 and returned, the stator S4 is energized, and it departs toward the processing station PS, after which it is accelerated by the stator Sn of the acceleration station on the way. However, it reaches the processing station PS and is stopped by reverse excitation of its stator SP. The arriving transport carrier CR4 is then raised to the article handling port P by the lift mechanism LP, and is moved to the cash dispensing unit DU of the cash dispensing machine CD.
Located at the bottom of. The cash dispensing machine CD takes out cash equivalent to the amount of cash withdrawn from the above-mentioned teller terminal from the cash storage CS to the cash dispensing unit DU.
Cash is loaded from the cash discharge unit DU into the transport carrier CR4. At the end of this loading, the transport carrier
Return CR4 to rail RL using lift mechanism LP,
The stator SP is energized to cause the transport carrier CR4 to depart toward the processing request station WS4. The transport carrier CR4 is accelerated by the stator Sn of the acceleration station on the way when it reaches the processing request station WS4, is stopped by reverse excitation of the stator S4, and is stopped by the lift mechanism L4.
It is released from the rail RL and returns to its home position at the bottom of the article handling port A4. The counter operator takes out the loaded cash from the transport carrier CR4 and hands it to the customer who made the request. Such transport carriers CR1 to CR4 are at the home positions of the processing request stations WS1 to WS4 to which they belong (at the bottom of article handling ports A1 to A4) except when they are in transit.
It has been evacuated so as not to obstruct the movement of other carriers on the rail RL.

In such an article conveyance system, the seventh
As shown in Figures A and B, the article handling ports A1 to A4 are equipped with shutters ST and opening/closing mechanisms MP and ML to prevent foreign objects from falling onto the rail RL. A cover S is provided to prevent the contents in the section C from scattering. Then, in order to load articles into the transport carrier and issue a transport request, the operator must press the open/close key as shown in the time chart in Figure 8, and first open/close the shutter opening/closing mechanisms MP, ML and the cover opening/closing mechanism. Driving NP and NL, Fig. 7A
By opening the shutter ST and the cover S as shown in FIG.
NL is driven, shutter ST and cover S are closed, and after closing, a conveyance request is given to a main control section (not shown), and a conveyance operation is executed.

[Problem that the invention seeks to solve]

In such a conventional article conveyance system, if a power failure occurs while the conveyance carrier carrying articles is present at the station, there is a risk that the system may be left unattended even after power is restored.

For example, when an operator requests transport, after loading the article on the transport carrier and pressing the open/close key to close the shutter ST, the operator enters the waiting state for transport, and the power is turned off before the transport request is accepted by the main control unit. When the power is cut off, the transport request is canceled and remains unchanged even after the power is restored. Furthermore, if the power is cut off after the transport carrier loaded with goods reaches the station but before the shutter ST is opened, the goods will remain abandoned even after the power is restored. This situation is not noticed until the operator opens the shutter with the next operation, causing problems such as delays in the transport process.In addition, if the operator is unspecified, problems may occur in handling the loaded items, and in the worst case There was a problem of inducing dishonesty by operators.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide an improved method for restoring power to an article conveying apparatus so that a conveying carrier with articles loaded thereon is not left unattended at a station due to a power outage.

[Means for solving problems]

The present invention provides a plurality of stations having a station control unit and a transport request instruction means, a transport means for transporting an article by moving a transport carrier between the stations along a transport path, and a transport request for one station. Depending on the transport carrier,
a main controller for controlling the conveying means to move to another station; and a main controller for controlling the conveying means to move to another station; and a main controller for controlling the conveying means to move to another station; and an opening/closing drive unit that opens and closes, and in response to a transport request instruction from the transport request instructing means, the station control unit opens the cover or shutter, and after the opening/closing drive unit closes the cover or shutter, The article conveyance device that issues a conveyance request to the main control section is provided with a detection means for detecting the presence of the conveyance carrier at the station, and when the main control section or the station control section is restored, the detection means detects the presence of the transport carrier at the station by the output of
The present invention is characterized in that the opening/closing drive unit is controlled to open the cover of the transport carrier or the shutter of the article handling opening.

[Effect]

In the present invention, when the power is turned on and the presence of the transport carrier is detected by the output of the detection means, the main control unit or the station control unit controls the shutter of the article handling opening of the station or the cover of the transport carrier. The purpose is to open the system, have the operator check it, and release the state of being left unattended.

At this time, if a shutter is installed at the article handling opening and a cover is installed on the transport carrier, it is necessary to open the shutter and the cover. If the transport carrier is not equipped with a cover, only the shutter can be opened. If the goods handling port is not equipped with a shutter, the contents of the transport carrier can be checked by opening only the cover.

It is also possible to store transport requests in non-volatile memory and resend them when power is restored, but this would require expensive non-volatile memory and a backup power source for each station, increasing the cost of the device. This is not preferable, and the arriving carrier cannot be rescued.In this respect, the present invention can be realized at low cost.

〔Example〕

Hereinafter, the present invention will be explained in detail with reference to Examples.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an embodiment of the present invention.
In the figure, the same parts as shown in FIG. 6 are indicated by the same symbols, and 1 is a system controller, which determines the destination according to a transport request given via a linear motor controller, which will be described later. 10 is a processor that issues driving instructions and performs initial processing when the system is initialized; 11 is a processor that performs destination determination processing, initial processing, etc.; 11 is a memory that stores data and programs necessary for processing by the processor 10; 2 is a linear motor controller, which will be described later based on the determined destination from the system controller 1. It gives departure, acceleration, stop commands, and release commands to the control units of each processing request station WS1 to WS4, acceleration station AS, and processing station PS, and notifies the system controller 1 of transport requests from each control unit. 20 is a processor that determines and sends a travel pattern and performs status monitoring processing, and 21 is an interface that detects the position and running state of the transport carrier based on status information from the control unit. Those that exchange data and commands with
A memory 2 stores data and programs necessary for processing by the processor 20, and also has a running pattern storage area 22a and a running state storage area 2.
2b. In the travel pattern storage area 22a, the travel modes of each station for transporting the transport carrier from each departure station to the destination station are stored as patterns, where "1" is the departure mode, "2" is the acceleration mode, and " 3” indicates a stop mode, for example, processing request station WS1→processing station PS
(If WS1 is the departure station and PS is the stop station), there is a “1” (departure) in the station WS1 column and a “2” in the intermediate WS2 to AS columns.
(acceleration), and “3” (stop) is stored in the station PS column.

In addition, the running state storage area 22b stores the state of the transport carrier at each station WS1 to PS, and when a sensor of the stator (described later) detects the transport carrier on the rail at each station, it is set to "1", and when it is not detected, it is set to "1". “0” is stored.
T1 to T4 are transport request keys (open/close keys), and each processing request station WS1 to
DL1 to DL4 and DLP are lift sensors provided in WS4 and pressed by the operator to instruct the linear motor controller 2 to request transport via the control unit, and the transport carrier is connected to the lift mechanisms L1 to L.
4. DS1 to DS4, DA, and DSP are stator sensors for detecting that the LP is in the home position.
1 to S4, Sn, and SP, MP1 to MP4 are plungers of the shutter opening/closing mechanism, and opening/closing levers ML1 to ML4 (sixth
NP1 to NP4, NPP are plungers of the cover opening/closing mechanism, and opening/closing levers NL1 to NL4,
C1 to C4 are close keys that open and close the cover C of the transport carrier by driving the NLP (Fig. 7), and are provided at each processing request station WS1 to WS4, and the operator simply closes the shutter ST and cover S. It is something that is pressed down at times. 3a~
3d is a station control unit, which is provided in each of the processing requesting stations WS1 to WS4, controls each lift mechanism L1 to L4 and stator S1 to S4 according to commands from the linear motor controller 2, and monitors their status by each sensor DL1. ~DL4, DS1
~Detected by DS4 and notified to linear motor controller 2, and in response to pressing of transport request keys T1 to T4, plungers MP1 to MP of both opening/closing mechanisms are activated.
4. It opens and closes the shutter and cover by driving NP1 to NP4 and issues a conveyance request, and also opens and closes the shutter with an open command from the linear motor controller 2 and a close command from the close key.
It opens and closes the cover.

4 is a station control unit, which is provided in the acceleration station AS, controls the stator Sn according to commands from the linear motor controller 2, detects its state with a sensor DA, and notifies the linear motor controller 2; 5 is a station control unit; This is a control unit that is installed in the processing station PS and controls the cover opening/closing mechanism NPP, lift mechanism LP, and stator SP.
is controlled according to commands from the linear motor controller 2, and its status is detected by sensors DLP and DSP and notified to the linear motor controller 2. In addition, these control units 3a to 3d, 4, 5
When the departure command "1" is set from the linear motor controller 2, the controller enters the departure mode, lowers the lift mechanisms L1 to L4, LP to return the conveyance carrier to the rail RL, and switches the sensors DS1 to DS4,
After detecting these with DSP, stators S1 to S4,
When the SP is accelerated and the conveyance carrier is started and the acceleration command "2" is set, it becomes acceleration mode and the sensor DS installed at the entrance of the stator
1 - When DS4, DA, and DSP detect the transport carrier, they control the acceleration of the stator to accelerate the transport carrier, and when the stop command "3" is set,
In the stop mode, sensors DS1 to DS4 and DSP detect that the transport carrier has entered the stator, control the stator to stop, stop the transport carrier, and then move the lift mechanism upward to move the transport carrier from the rail RL. It raises the product to the article handling port P and opens the cover of the transport carrier, and when each station detects the transport carrier on the rail RL with the sensors DS1 to DS4, DA, and DSP of the stator, the sensor of the lift mechanism DL1～DL4,
When the DLP detects that there is a transport carrier in the lift mechanism, it notifies the linear motor controller 2 of status data of "2".

Next, regarding the operation of the configuration of the embodiment shown in FIG. 1, first, the normal transport processing operation will be explained using the processing flowchart shown in FIG.

First, processing request stations WS1 to WS4
When one of the transport request keys T1 to T4 is pressed, a transport request is input to the interface 21 via the control units 3a to 3d. The processor 20 of the linear motor controller 2 notifies the system controller 1 of this transport request.

In response to this transfer request, the processor 10 of the system controller 1 checks the determination area 11a of the memory 11 to check whether the processing request station has already been determined for the processing station PS, and if it has not been determined, it is determined that the transfer process is not in progress. If it has been determined, it is determined that the transport process is in progress, and is registered in the queue in the memory 11, and waits until the transport and return are completed.

If the conveyance process is not in progress, the processor 10
The processing request station where the transport request was made is the departure station, and the processing station
A traveling instruction is given to the linear motor controller 2 with the PS as the destination station, and the processing request station name is registered in the column of the processing station of the destination in the determination area 11a of the memory 11.

In the linear motor controller 2, the processor 20 receives this and determines a corresponding travel pattern. That is, the processor 20 uses the memory 22
The travel pattern storage area 22a of is indexed based on the departure station name and destination station name, the corresponding travel pattern is extracted, and the corresponding travel pattern included in the travel pattern is sent to each control unit 3a to 3d, 4, and 5 via the interface 21. Send running commands (start, acceleration, stop commands). For example, if the departure station is WS1 and the destination station is PS, the first running pattern in the pattern storage area 22a is selected, the departure command "1" is sent to the control unit 3a, the acceleration command "2" is sent to the control units 3b to 3d, 4, and the control unit 5, a stop command "3" is sent.

Each of the control units 3a to 3d, 4, and 5 is set to a start, acceleration, or stop mode in accordance with a given command, and each controls the lift mechanism and stator of its own station in accordance with this mode. For example, in the above example, the control unit 3a of the processing requesting station WS1 is set to the departure mode, and the lift mechanism L1 is first lowered to return the transport carrier CR1 to the rail RL, and the control unit 3a
detects this with the output of stator sensor DS1,
Next, the stator S1 is accelerated (departed) controlled to cause the transport carrier CR1 to depart along the rail RL, and the linear motor controller 2 is notified of "1" indicating the completion of the start. In addition, in the control units 3b to 3d, 4 of each processing request station WS2 to WS4 and acceleration station AS on the way,
It is set to acceleration mode, and each stator S2 to S
4. When the transport carrier CR1 enters Sn, it is detected by the sensors DS2 to DS4 and DA, and the acceleration coils of the stators S2 to S4 and Sn are excited.
The incoming transport carrier CR1 is accelerated and the linear motor controller 2 is notified of "1" indicating the end of acceleration. Furthermore, in the control unit 5 of the processing station PS, when the transport carrier CR1 enters the stator SP with the stop shade set, the stator sensor DSP detects this and the stator
The SP stop coil is energized to stop the incoming transport carrier CR1, thereby notifying the linear motor controller 2 of "1" indicating the end of the stop, and then the lift mechanism LP stops the transport carrier CR1. The lift is raised to the article handling port P (home position), and the output of the lift sensor DLP notifies the linear motor controller 2 of "2" indicating that the transport carrier is at the home position of the lift, that is, the rail RL is released.

In the linear motor controller 2, the interface 21 receives the status information notified by polling, the processor 20 stores it in the running status storage area 22b of the memory 22, confirms the position of the transport carrier, and processes it. When receiving "2" for rail RL release from the station PS, it is determined that the transport is complete, the contents of the running state storage area 22b are reset to "0", and the system controller 1 is notified of the completion of transport while preparing for the next run. .

Accordingly, the system controller 1 gives a cash loading (dispensing) instruction to the cash dispensing machine CD (FIG. 5) and waits for the completion of dispensing from the cash dispensing machine CD.
When the dispensing completion is issued from the cash dispensing machine CD, the system controller 1 starts the return process.
That is, the processor 1 of the system controller 1
0 obtains the requesting station name in the determination area 11a of the memory 11, and sets this processing requesting station as the destination station and the processing station as the destination station.
The PS is used as a starting station, and the linear motor controller 2 is instructed to travel.

On the other hand, the linear motor controller 2 receives the destination station and the departure station, and controls the return of the transport carrier from the processing station to the processing requesting station in the same manner as in the steps described above.

When the system controller 1 receives the conveyance/return process completion notification from the linear motor controller 2, the processor 10 erases the process requesting station name from the determination area 11a of the memory 11, and ends one conveyance process.

The present invention will be explained in more detail.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart of the transport request processing by the station control units 3a to 3d, and the operation of the processing requesting station WS1 will be described below, but the same applies to the other processing requesting stations WS2 to WS4.

(a) The station control unit 3a is the transport request key T1.
The presence or absence of depression is monitored, and when depression is detected, plunger MP of the shutter opening/closing mechanism and plunger NP of the cover opening/closing mechanism are driven, and levers ML,
NL opens the shutter ST of the article handling port A1 and the cover S of the transport carrier CR1.

(b) The station control unit 3a controls the transport request key T.
1 is pressed again, and when the operator loads the article onto the transport carrier CR1, the transport request key T1 is pressed.
is pressed again, and when the station control unit 3a detects this, the station control unit 3a drives the plunger MP and the plunger NP to close, and uses the levers ML and NL to close the shutter ST of the article handling port A1 and the transport carrier CR1. Close cover S.

(c) After this closing operation is completed, the station control unit 3
In response to polling from the linear motor controller 2, a sends a transport request to the linear motor controller 2.

Next, the initial processing at the time of power restoration according to the present invention will be explained with reference to FIG.

() The system controller 1 issues a status detection instruction to the linear motor controller 2 in the initial process when the power is restored after the power is turned off, and the linear motor controller 2 uses its processor 20 to detect the state of each station via the interface 21. Polling is sent to the control units 3a to 3d, 4, and 5, and their status is obtained via the interface 21 and stored in the running status storage area 22b of the memory 22. At this time, each station control unit 3a to 3d, 4, and 5 indicates that the transport carrier is not in its own station (sensors DL1 to DL1 to
DLP, DS1 to DSP (no output) and "0", and "1" to the stator on the rail RL of its own station (sensor, DS1 to DSP output present) and "1" to the lift mechanism of its own station (sensor DL1 to DLP output) and "2" are notified as the status.

() The contents of this storage area 22b are notified to the system controller 1, and the processor 10 analyzes them. i.e. processing request station
Among WS1 to WS4, the station in the "2" state determines that the transport carrier is present in the station itself and that the shutter and cover are in the closed state.

() Then, the system controller 1 instructs the linear motor controller 2 to give an opening instruction to the closed processing requesting station. In the linear motor controller 2, the processor 20 issues an open command via the interface 21 to the station control units 3a to 3d of the processing request station that is currently closed.

() The station control units 3a to 3d, which have received the opening command, drive the plunger MP of the shutter opening/closing mechanism and the plunger NP of the cover opening/closing mechanism to open, and open the shutters ST of the article handling ports A1 to A4 and the transport carrier. Open cover C.

In this way, during the initial process when the power is restored, the shutter and cover open and the operator can check the contents even if the station is closed.

If the transport carrier has arrived and the article is loaded, the operator takes it out, presses the close keys C1 to C4, and instructs the station control units 3a to 3d to close.
This drives the plungers MP and NP to close, closing the shutter and cover.

On the other hand, if the transport carrier is waiting to be transported, the operator presses the transport request keys T1 to T4 again.
Press to perform the same process as shown in FIG.

Next, another embodiment of the initial processing at power recovery according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIG.

() When a closed processing requesting station is found in the above-mentioned steps () and (), the processor 10 next checks the queue and determination area 11a of the memory 11 to see if a transport request has been received from the closed processing requesting station. Determine. If a transport request has been received, even if there is a transport carrier in the station, transport will start due to normal operation after initial processing, so there is no need to open the shutter and cover of this station and have the operator confirm it. Therefore, the processor 10 instructs the linear motor controller 2 to issue an opening instruction to the closed processing requesting stations other than the station that has received the transport request.

() Similarly to step (), the processor 20 issues an open command to the station control units 3a to 3d of the closed process requesting stations other than the designated transport request receiving station, and steps () and Similarly, the shutter and cover of the processing requesting station are opened.

In this embodiment, only the processing requesting station that requires confirmation can be checked by opening its shutter and cover. In the above-mentioned embodiment, both the shutter and the cover are controlled to open at the station, but if the article handling port does not have a shutter, it is only necessary to open the cover of the transport carrier, and if the transport carrier does not have a cover. In this case, it is only necessary to control the opening of the shutter of the article handling opening, and in short, it is sufficient that the operator can check the contents of the transport carrier. Further, although the system controller 1 and linear motor controller 2 determine whether or not they are closed and issue an open command, each station control section 3a to 3d may execute this locally when the power is restored. Furthermore, although the conveyance means was explained using a linear motor car, other well-known conveyance means may be used, the system controller and the linear motor controller may be integrated, and the application is not limited to cash. Any item is fine.

Although the present invention has been described above with reference to examples, the present invention can be modified in various ways according to the gist of the present invention.
These are not excluded from the present invention.

〔Effect of the invention〕

As explained above, according to the present invention, the following effects are achieved.

The main control unit or the station control unit detects the presence of the transport carrier at the station based on the output of the detection means when the power is restored;
Since the opening/closing drive unit is controlled to open the cover of the transport carrier or the shutter of the article handling port, the operator can check the contents of the transport carrier when the power is restored, and the goods can be transported without being loaded. It is possible to prevent carriers from being left unattended, eliminate transport leakage and transport delays, and configure a system that is also effective in crime prevention.

Moreover, since it is automatically executed when the power is restored, it can be realized without interfering with the operability, and the control can be realized easily and at low cost.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a flowchart of the conveyance process in the embodiment of FIG. 1, and FIG.
The figure is a flowchart of the transport request processing of the process in Figure 2, Figure 4 is a flowchart of an example of the power recovery process in the embodiment of Figure 1, and Figure 5 is another implementation of the power recovery process in the embodiment of Figure 1. 6 is a block diagram of the article conveyance system, FIG. 7 is a diagram of the shutter and cover opening/closing mechanism of the structure shown in FIG. 6, and FIG. 8 is a time chart for explaining the conveyance request processing. In the figure, 1... system controller (main control section),
2...Linear motor controller (main control section), 3
a~3d,4,5...Station control unit, WS1
~WS4, AS, PS...Station, RL...Rail (conveyance path), CR1~CR4...Transportation carrier, A1~
A4, P... Goods handling port, ST... Shutter, C... Cover, NP, MP... Opening/closing mechanism.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. A plurality of stations having a station control unit and a transport request instruction means; a transport means for transporting an article by moving a transport carrier between the stations along a transport path; a main controller for controlling the conveyance means to move the conveyance carrier to another station in response to a conveyance request from the station; and an opening/closing drive unit that opens and closes the cover of the transport carrier or the shutter of the article handling port, in response to a transport request instruction from the transport request instruction means,
In the article transport device, the station control unit issues a transport request to the main control unit after the opening/closing drive unit opens a cover or shutter and closes the cover or shutter, wherein the transport carrier is present at the station. A detection means for detecting this is provided, and the main control section or the station control section detects the presence of the transport carrier at the station based on the output of the detection means when power is restored, and the opening/closing drive section 1. A power recovery processing method for an article conveying apparatus, characterized in that the cover of the conveying carrier or the shutter of the article handling port is opened by controlling the opening of the conveying carrier.