JPH0797293B2 - Operation control method for automated guided vehicles - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to an operation control method for an automated guided vehicle.

[Prior Art] In a conventional operation control method for an automated guided vehicle, as shown in FIG. 4, an automated guided vehicle 1 is provided between a home station (command station) 2 and a plurality of stations (designated station) 3. It is possible to travel along the running path by the laid guide wire 4, and travel from the home station 2 to a predetermined station 3 designated by the home station 2 to perform transfer work (loading / unloading of luggage). . Further, when the automated guided vehicle 1 inputs a transfer impossible signal from the detection device which detects whether or not the transfer operation is possible at the designated station 3, the transfer operation at the station 3 is not performed. It has become. Then, as a procedure after the transfer impossible signal is input, for example, an operator operates a keyboard or the like provided in the automatic guided vehicle 1 to specify a new station 3 to input destination data, or to the home station 2. Returning again, new destination data is received again, or destinations can be designated at any of the stations 3, and the arrived station 3 receives new destination data.

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] However, it is impossible to construct an unmanned system if the operator manually changes the destination, and if the operator returns to the home station 2, it takes time to make a round trip. The cost and cycle time increase, and further, when trying to give a destination instruction at each station, the communication line for the destination instruction increases and a huge cost is required, and the data is stored in the storage device of the automatic guided vehicle 1. There was a problem that the number of routes for traveling between stations increased.

The object of the present invention is to enable the design of a fully automated system by eliminating the manual action of an operator when a transfer impossible signal is input to a designated base (station 3), and also a command base (home station 2). You can quickly deal with it without turning back, and all designated bases (all stations 3)
It is to provide an operation control method in an automatic guided vehicle that can be dealt with without arranging a communication line for instructing a destination.

[Means for Solving the Problem] A command base and a plurality of designated bases are provided at a distance from the command base, and one of the plurality of designated bases is designated by the command base to reach the designated base. When an unmanned guided vehicle travels and performs transfer work at the same designated base, and when a transfer impossible signal is input at that designated base, it travels to another designated base without performing the transfer work at that designated base. In the operation control method for the automatic guided vehicle, the second command base is provided in the peripheral part of the specified base, and when the transfer impossible signal is input at the specified base specified by the command base, The gist is an operation control method in an automatic guided vehicle that travels to the second command base and specifies a new designated base at the second command base.

[Operation] When a transfer impossible signal is input to the designated base designated by the command base, the vehicle travels to the second designated base provided in the peripheral portion of the designated base and a new designated base is provided at the second designated base. Is specified. Therefore, a new designated base is designated without traveling to the command base separated from the designated base.

[Embodiment] An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

As shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, a home station Sh as a commanding base is provided on the premises of a factory or the like, and at a distance from the home station Sh, the first to tenth bases as a designated base are provided. Stations S1 to S10 are deployed. Home station Sh and each station S1
Guide wire 11 is laid on the floor between ~ S10, and automated guided vehicle 1
The traveling direction of the automatic guided vehicle 12 is controlled by detecting the guide wire 11 with a pair of left and right pickup coils 13 installed on the bottom surface of the front part of the second.

A transfer device (not shown) for loading and unloading the luggage W onto and from the unmanned guided vehicle 12 is arranged in the home station Sh and each of the stations S1 to S10. A detection device (not shown) for detecting whether or not the transfer work can be normally performed is provided. Further, an anomaly station Sa as a second command station is provided adjacent to the sixth station S6.
A guide wire is connected to Sa. The abnormality station Sa and the home station Sh are connected to the ground station 16 that controls the entire unmanned transportation system by communication lines L1 and L2.

The home station Sh, the anomaly station Sa, and each of the stations S1 to S10 are each provided with a ground-side optical communication device 14, and the automated guided vehicle 12 is provided with a vehicle-side optical communication device 15 on its side surface. When the side optical communicator 14 and the vehicle side optical communicator 15 are at positions facing each other, both 14 and 15 can communicate by light. As the contents of this communication, the home station Sh and the anomaly station Sa give a destination instruction by the ground station 16 and the home station Sh
Information communication and the like regarding whether or not the transfer operation by the detection device at Sh and the stations S1 to S10 can be normally performed are performed.

A microcomputer 17 is mounted on the automatic guided vehicle 12, and the microcomputer 17 includes an interface 18, a central processing unit (hereinafter referred to as CPU) 19, a program memory 20 including a read-only memory (ROM), a read The work memory 21 is composed of a rewritable memory (RAM). The CPU 19 operates according to the control program stored in the program memory 20. Further, the program memory 20 stores in advance travel data for traveling to the target station for the destination data. A vehicle side optical communication device 15 is connected to the CPU 19 via an interface 18, and destination data is transmitted from the ground side optical communication device 14 to the vehicle side optical communication device 15.
When received, the CPU 19 outputs an operation control signal to the drive mechanism 22 via the interface 18 to travel to the station based on the travel data stored in the program memory 20.

Next, the operation control of the automatic guided vehicle 12 will be described with reference to the flow chart shown in FIG.

First, the CPU 19 determines whether or not it has arrived at the home station Sh (step 1), and when it arrives at the home station Sh, the transfer work (loading or unloading of the luggage W) is performed and the vehicle side light The receiver 15 receives the destination data indicating the station to run (step 2). In the case of this embodiment, the destination is the fifth station S5.
Will be described below. The CPU 19 starts running from the home station Sh toward the fifth station S5 and runs (step 3).

When the CPU 19 determines that the vehicle has traveled to the target fifth station S5 and arrived at the target station S5 by the vehicle side optical communication device 15 (step 4), the transfer operation (loading of the luggage W, or It is determined whether or not loading and unloading is possible, and if the loading and unloading is possible, the loading work is performed and then the vehicle starts again toward the home station Sh (step 6).

Further, when the CPU 19 inputs the transfer impossible signal in step 5, the CPU 19 runs toward the abnormality station Sa (step 7). When the CPU 19 determines that the abnormal station Sa has arrived (step 8), the abnormal station Sa
A new station S1 at Sa on the vehicle side optical communication device 15
Destination data designating .about.S4 and S6 to S10 is received (step 9). Then, the CPU 19 starts from the abnormality station Sa toward the stations S1 to S4, S6 to S10 and runs (step 10).

Thus, in this embodiment, the abnormality station Sa
Around stations S1 to S10 (6th station S6
Home station Sh
If, for some reason, the station S5 arriving based on the command of (1) cannot be transferred (loading and unloading of the cargo W), it travels to the anomaly station Sa to receive new destination data and head for a new station. Since it is made to travel, it is possible to design a fully automated system by eliminating the operator's manual destination change processing, and return to the home station Sh away from the stations S1 to S10 to receive new destination data again. Stations S for anomaly deployed around stations S1 to S10
It is possible to go to a, receive new destination data, and quickly respond when an abnormality occurs. Further, since it is not necessary to wire the communication line for the destination instruction to all the stations S1 to S10, it suffices to provide the communication line L2 to the abnormality station Sa, and therefore the construction cost can be significantly reduced, and the program memory can be saved.
The number of routes of the automated guided vehicle 12 between the stations stored in 20 is also set when all the communication lines instructing the destination are arranged at the stations (eg, S5) designated by the home station Sh to other stations (S1 to S4). , S6 ~ S
9 routes for going to 10) and this is required for each station (S1 to S4, S6 to S10), so it is necessary to add a total of 9 × 10 = 90 routes. If L2 is provided, 10 stations are required to go from each station (S1 to S10) to the abnormal station Sa.
The total number of routes, that is, 20 routes, from the route and 10 routes for going from the abnormal station Sa to each station (S1 to S10), is sufficient, and the number of routes stored in the program memory 20 can be reduced.

[Effects of the Invention] As described in detail above, according to the present invention, when a transfer-disabled signal is input at a designated base, it is possible to design a fully-automated system without manual intervention by an operator. It has an excellent effect that it can be dealt with promptly without returning to the commanding base, and can be dealt with without arranging communication lines for destination instruction to all designated bases.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic plan view for explaining the traveling of an automated guided vehicle embodying the present invention, FIG. 2 is a schematic side view of the automated guided vehicle, and FIG. 3 is an operation control of the automated guided vehicle. FIG. 4 is a schematic plan view for explaining the traveling of the conventional automatic guided vehicle. 11 is a guide line, 12 is an automated guided vehicle, Sh is a home station as a command base, S1 to S10 are stations as designated bases, and Sa is an anomaly station as a second command base.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A command base and a plurality of designated bases are provided at a distance from the command base. Any one of the plurality of designated bases is designated by the command base, and an automatic guided vehicle is delivered to the designated base. While traveling, carrying out transfer work at the designated base, and when a transfer impossible signal is input at the designated designated base, it will move to another designated base without carrying out the transfer work at the designated base. In an operation control method for an automated guided vehicle, a second command base is provided in the peripheral portion of the specified base, and when a transfer impossible signal is input to the specified base specified by the command base, the second command base is input. An operation control method for an automated guided vehicle, in which the vehicle is driven to and a new designated base is designated at the second designated base.