JP2015022694A - Conveyance vehicle system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a conveyance vehicle system capable of speedily placing a spare machine while minimizing the number of spare machines.SOLUTION: A conveyance vehicle system 1 includes bar codes 7 arranged continuously along a rail 5 and capable of being uniquely identified. The conveyance vehicles 9a to 9c have a bar code reader 10 for detecting the bar codes 7 and a controller 12 for controlling actions of conveyance vehicles 9a to 9c. The controller 12 has: a mark arrangement storage section 20 storing the bar codes 7 and respective areas where the bar codes 7 are arranged associated with each other; area discriminator 22 for referring to the mark arrangement storage unit 20 based on the bar code 7 detected by the bar code reader 10 and discriminating the area where the conveyance vehicles 9a to 9c exists from the bar codes 7; and a set value reading unit 26 for reading out a set value according to areas of the conveyance vehicles 9a to 9c discriminated by the area discriminator 22 from the set value storage unit 24.

Description

  The present invention relates to a transport vehicle system.

  As a conventional transport vehicle system, for example, one described in Patent Document 1 is known. In the transport vehicle system described in Patent Document 1, a reference mark is provided on a route traveled by the transport vehicle, and a transfer mark is provided at a position where the load is transferred. In this transport vehicle system, when the reference mark is detected, the internal coordinates of the transport vehicle are updated with the coordinates of the reference mark, and stopped at the position of the transfer mark to transfer the load.

JP 2006-331054 A

  In the transport vehicle system, a spare machine of the transport vehicle is made to stand by when a problem or the like occurs in the transport vehicle. Here, in the conveyance vehicle system, it may be divided into a plurality of areas, and the setting of the conveyance vehicle may be different for each area. In this case, it is necessary to manually set the spare machine to be put into the area according to the area. For this reason, if one spare machine is used to deal with a plurality of areas, it is necessary to set the spare machine according to the area, and there is a problem that it takes time to put the spare machine into the area. On the other hand, if standby units set for each area are put on standby, the number of spare units required for each area is required, and an increase in cost is inevitable.

  SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide a transport vehicle system that can quickly put in a spare machine while minimizing the number of spare machines.

  A transport vehicle system according to the present invention is a transport vehicle system including two or more divided areas, and a transport vehicle that travels along a route defined in each area and transports a load. And an identification mark that is continuously arranged along the route and includes a uniquely identifiable identification mark, and the transport vehicle includes a detection unit that detects the identification mark, and a controller that controls the operation of the transport vehicle. The controller refers to the mark placement storage means based on the identification mark detected by the detection means and a mark placement storage means for storing the identification mark and each area where the identification mark is placed in association with the identification mark. An area discriminating unit for discriminating an area where the transport vehicle exists, and a set value reading for reading out a set value corresponding to the area of the transport vehicle determined by the area discriminating unit from the set value storage unit And having a stage, a.

  In this transport vehicle system, since the identification marks are continuously arranged along the route, the transport vehicle can immediately recognize where the transport vehicle is located by detecting the identification marks. Therefore, for example, when a transport vehicle as a spare device is put into the area, the transport vehicle can recognize the position of the own device by detecting the identification mark. In such a configuration, the transport vehicle refers to the mark arrangement storage unit based on the identification mark, discriminates the area where the own vehicle exists, and reads the set value corresponding to the area. Thereby, in the transport vehicle system, it is not necessary to set a preset value in the spare machine in advance before being introduced into the area, and the set value is automatically set in the transport vehicle when being introduced into the area. Therefore, even when the spare machines in each area are shared, the spare machines can be quickly put into the area. Therefore, in the transport vehicle system, the spare machines can be quickly introduced while minimizing the number of spare machines.

  In one embodiment, the apparatus includes a host controller that transmits a transport command to the transport vehicle, and the controller determines whether the transport command received from the host controller corresponds to an area where the transport vehicle exists. And a conveyance command receiving unit that receives the conveyance command when the conveyance command is determined to be a command corresponding to an area where the conveyance vehicle exists. Thereby, since the conveyance vehicle system does not accept a conveyance command that does not correspond to the area where the conveyance vehicle exists, the conveyance command impossible in the area where the conveyance vehicle exists can be ignored. Therefore, it is possible to prevent malfunction of the transport vehicle.

  In one embodiment, the area discriminating unit may discriminate an area where the transport vehicle exists when the power is turned on. Thus, in the transport vehicle system, even if the transport vehicle is moved to another area while holding the transport command, the transport command is sent to the existing area to determine the area when the power is turned on. Can be determined whether or not. Therefore, the operation can be appropriately started.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to quickly put in a spare machine while minimizing the number of spare machines.

It is a figure which shows the structure of the conveyance vehicle system which concerns on one Embodiment. It is a figure which shows the rail provided with the barcode. It is a figure which shows the function structure of a conveyance vehicle system.

  Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the description of the drawings, the same or equivalent elements will be denoted by the same reference numerals, and redundant description will be omitted.

  FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a transport vehicle system according to an embodiment. A transport vehicle system 1 shown in FIG. 1 is a system that transports loads (for example, general packages, semiconductor wafer carriers, etc.) by transport vehicles 9a, 9b, and 9c. Examples of the transport vehicles 9a, 9b, and 9c include an overhead transport vehicle and a traveling carriage. In the present embodiment, an overhead transport vehicle (OHT: Overhead Hoist Transport) will be described as an example of the transport vehicles 9a, 9b, and 9c.

  The transport vehicle system 1 has an area divided into two or more. As shown in FIG. 1, in this embodiment, it is divided into two areas A1 and A2. Independent control is performed in each of the areas A1 and A2.

  The transport vehicle system 1 includes a host controller 3 (see FIG. 3) that controls the entire operation of the transport vehicle system 1, a rail 5, a bar code 7 (see FIG. 2) provided on the rail 5, and a rail 5. Traveling vehicles 9a and 9b that travel. Each of the areas A1 and A2 includes a rail (path) 5, a bar code (identification code) 7, and conveyance vehicles 9a and 9b. In the present embodiment, a configuration in which one transport vehicle 9a, 9b is provided in each area A1, A2 will be described as an example, but the number of transport vehicles provided in each area A1, A2 depends on the design. What is necessary is just to set suitably. In the transport vehicle system 1, as an initial setting, the transport vehicle 9a is registered in the area A1, and the transport vehicle 9b is registered in the area A2.

  In the transport vehicle system 1, one transport vehicle 9c as a spare machine is provided outside the areas A1 and A2. The transport vehicle 9c as a spare machine is inserted into any of the areas A1 and A2 as a substitute for the transport vehicles 9a and 9b when a problem occurs in the transport vehicles 9a and 9b disposed in the areas A1 and A2. Is done. Specifically, the transport vehicle 9c is put into the rails 5 in the areas A1 and A2 via maintenance rails (not shown).

  The host controller 3 controls the transport operation of the transport vehicles 9a, 9b, 9c in the transport vehicle system 1. The host controller 3 includes, for example, a CPU (Central Processing Unit), a ROM (Read Only Memory), a RAM (Random Access Memory), a hard disk, and the like. The host controller 3 can communicate with a controller 12 of a transport vehicle 9a, 9b, 9c, which will be described later, wirelessly or by wire. The host controller 3 is a transfer instruction device that creates a load transfer schedule and issues a transfer instruction to the controller 12 of each of the transfer vehicles 9a, 9b, and 9c based on the transfer schedule. The host controller 3 has a function of transmitting a transport instruction to the controller 12 in a timely manner and processing reports from the controller 12 together. The transfer instruction includes information related to the area where the load is transferred, transfer points P1 to P6 described later, and the like.

  The host controller 3 sends a transport command to the transport vehicles 9a and 9b registered in each of the areas A1 and A2. Specifically, a transport command is sent according to the channel set in the communication device mounted on each transport vehicle 9a, 9b. Therefore, for example, when the transport vehicle 9c is put into the area A1 instead of the transport vehicle 9a, the communication device (amplifier) mounted on the transport vehicle 9a is mounted on the transport vehicle 9c. As a result, the transport command sent from the host controller 3 can be received by the transport vehicle 9c without changing the setting in the host controller 3. Note that the channel of the communication device of the transport vehicle 9c may be switched without exchanging the communication device.

  In addition, the host controller 3 monitors the number of transport vehicles 9a to 9c existing in the areas A1 and A2. The host controller 3 corresponds to the case where there are more transport vehicles in each area A1, A2 than the predetermined number (one each in this embodiment) registered in each area A1, A2. Do not activate a transport vehicle that has been put into the area.

  The rail 5 is laid on the ceiling or near the ceiling. Transfer points P <b> 1 to P <b> 6 are set along the rail 5. In this embodiment, transfer points P1, P2, P3, and P4 are set in the area A1, and transfer points P5 and P6 are set in the area A2. The transfer points P1 to P6 are points at which the transport vehicles 9a, 9b, and 9c transfer the load. Each of the transfer points P1 to P6 has a unique identifier (for example, a unique number).

  The bar code 7 is uniquely identifiable and generates position information of the transport vehicles 9a, 9b, 9c. As shown in FIG. 2, the bar code 7 is continuously provided along the rail 5 on the side surface of the rail 5. The bar code 7 uniquely determines the positions of the transport vehicles 9a, 9b, 9c.

  Next, the transport vehicles 9a, 9b, 9c will be described. The transport vehicles 9a, 9b, 9c all have the same configuration. In the following description, the conveyance vehicle 9c will be described as an example. The transport vehicle 9 c includes a bar code reader (detection means) 10 and a controller 12.

  The barcode reader 10 detects (reads) the barcode 7 provided on the rail 5. The barcode reader 10 is disposed at a position where the barcode 7 can be read in the transport vehicle 9c. When the barcode reader 10 detects the barcode 7, it outputs detection information including barcode information to the controller 12.

  The controller 12 controls the operation of the transport vehicle 9c. The controller 12 is composed of, for example, a CPU, ROM, RAM, hard disk, and the like. FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a functional configuration of the transport vehicle system. As shown in FIG. 3, the controller 12 includes a mark arrangement storage unit (mark arrangement storage unit) 20, an area determination unit (area determination unit) 22, a set value storage unit (set value storage unit) 24, and a set value. A reading unit (set value reading unit) 26, a command receiving unit 28, a transport command determining unit (transport command determining unit) 30, and a transport finger receiving unit (transport command receiving unit) 32 are provided. The controller 12 further includes a control unit that controls the traveling of the transport vehicle 9c and the transfer of the load in the transport vehicle 9c.

  The mark arrangement storage unit 20 stores the barcode 7 and the position where the barcode 7 is arranged in association with each other. That is, the mark arrangement storage unit 20 has a table in which the barcode 7 and the arrangement position of the barcode 7 are linked. The arrangement position of the barcode 7 is uniquely set in all the areas A1 and A2. That is, the area is uniquely set by the barcode 7. Thereby, based on the barcode 7, the position on the rail 5 and the areas A1 and A2 are specified. In the mark arrangement storage unit 20, information can be updated (rewritten).

  The area discriminating unit 22 discriminates the area (area A1 or A2) where the transport vehicle 9c exists. The area discriminating unit 22 discriminates an area where the transport vehicle 9c exists when the power of the transport vehicle 9c is turned on. The area discriminating unit 22 discriminates the area where the transport vehicle 9c exists based on the barcode 7 provided on the rail 5. Specifically, when receiving the detection information output from the barcode reader 10, the area determination unit 22 refers to the mark arrangement storage unit 20 based on the barcode information indicated by the detection information. The area discriminating unit 22 extracts an area corresponding to the detection information and discriminates an area where the transport vehicle 9c exists. The area discriminating unit 22 outputs area information indicating the discriminated area to the set value reading unit 26.

  In addition, when the area determination unit 22 holds the conveyance command when performing the area determination, the area determination unit 22 inquires the determined area information and information related to the area included in the conveyance command, and the area included in the conveyance command. It is determined whether or not the information relating to the area where the transport vehicle 9c exists matches. If the area determination unit 22 determines that the information related to the area included in the conveyance command matches the area where the conveyance vehicle 9c is present, the area determination unit 22 holds the conveyance command. If the area determination unit 22 determines that the information related to the area included in the conveyance command does not match the area where the conveyance vehicle 9c exists, the area determination unit 22 discards (deletes) the conveyance command.

  If the area determination unit 22 holds a load and does not hold a conveyance command when performing area determination, the area determination unit 22 transmits information indicating that to the host controller 3. That is, if the area determination unit 22 does not hold the transfer command indicating the transfer point that is the transfer destination of the held load, the area determination unit 22 requests the higher order controller 3 for the transfer command. Whether or not the load is held is determined based on whether or not the load is detected by a detection means (not shown) for detecting the load.

  The set value reading unit 26 reads the set value set for each of the areas A1 and A2 from the set value storage unit 24. When the setting value reading unit 26 receives the area information output from the area determination unit 22, the setting value reading unit 26 reads the setting value corresponding to the area information from the setting value storage unit 24. In the set value storage unit 24, set values are stored in association with area information (areas A1 and A2). The set value is information related to the operation (travel, load transfer, etc.) of the transport vehicle 9c set for each of the areas A1 and A2, and for example, the travel speed, the travel acceleration / deceleration, the transfer in the areas A1 and A2 are set. The loading points P1 to P6, the maximum / minimum travel positions, and the like.

  The command receiving unit 28 receives the transport command transmitted from the host controller 3. When receiving the transport command, the command receiving unit 28 outputs the transport command to the transport command determining unit 30.

  The conveyance command determination unit 30 determines whether or not the received conveyance command is appropriate in the current area of the conveyance vehicle 9c. When the conveyance command output from the command receiving unit 28 is received, the conveyance command determination unit 30 determines whether the conveyance command corresponds to an area where the conveyance command exists based on information indicating the area included in the conveyance command. Is determined. The conveyance command determination unit 30 outputs determination information indicating the determination result to the conveyance command reception unit 32.

  The conveyance command receiving unit 32 receives a conveyance command. When the conveyance command receiving unit 32 receives the discrimination information from the conveyance command discrimination unit 30, the conveyance command reception unit 32 determines whether or not the conveyance command can be adapted to the own machine based on the discrimination information. The conveyance command receiving unit 32 receives the conveyance command and outputs the conveyance command to various control units when the determination information indicates that the conveyance command corresponds to the area where the conveyance vehicle 9c exists. To do. If the determination information does not indicate that the conveyance command corresponds to the area where the conveyance vehicle 9c exists, the conveyance command reception unit 32 outputs abnormal response information indicating that fact to the host controller 3. .

  Next, the introduction of the spare machine (the transport vehicle 9c) in the transport vehicle system 1 will be described. For example, when a problem occurs in the transport vehicle 9a existing in the area A1, the transport vehicle 9a is detached from the area A1, and the communication device mounted in the transport vehicle 9a is mounted in the transport vehicle 9c. Subsequently, the transport vehicle 9c is put into the area A1, and the power of the transport vehicle 9c is turned on. In the transported vehicle 9c that is turned on, the bar code 7 arranged on the rail 5 is detected by the bar code reader 10, the area where the transport vehicle 9c is present is determined based on the bar code 7, and the above processing is performed. carry out.

  As described above, in the present embodiment, since the bar code 7 is continuously arranged along the rail 5, the transport vehicles 9a to 9c are detected by detecting the bar code 7 by the transport vehicles 9a to 9c. Can immediately recognize where it is located. Therefore, for example, when the transport vehicle 9c as a spare machine is put into the area, the transport vehicle 9c can recognize the position of the own device by detecting the barcode 7. In such a configuration, the transport vehicle 9 c refers to the mark arrangement storage unit 20 based on the barcode 7, determines an area where the own vehicle exists, and reads a set value corresponding to the area. As a result, in the transport vehicle system 1, it is not necessary to set a preset value in the spare machine in advance before being introduced into the area, and the set value is automatically set in the transport vehicle when being introduced into the area. Therefore, even when the spare machines in each area are shared, the spare machines can be quickly put into the area. Therefore, in the transport vehicle system 1, the spare machines can be quickly introduced while minimizing the number of spare machines.

  In the present embodiment, the transport vehicles 9a to 9c determine whether or not the transport command from the host controller 3 corresponds to an area where the transport vehicles 9a to 9c exist, and the transport vehicles 9a to 9c exist. Only when the transport command corresponds to the area, the transport command is accepted. In other words, if it is not a transport command corresponding to the area where the transport vehicles 9a to 9c exist, the transport command is not accepted. Thereby, the conveyance vehicles 9a-9c can disregard the conveyance command impossible in the area where the own machine exists. Therefore, malfunction of the transport vehicles 9a to 9c can be prevented. Further, since it is not necessary to select the transport vehicles 9a to 9c and send a transport command on the host controller 3 side, the processing load on the host controller 3 can be reduced.

  In the present embodiment, the transport vehicles 9a to 9c determine areas where the transport vehicles 9a to 9c exist when the power is turned on. For example, if the transport vehicle 9a is turned off while the transport vehicle 9a located in the area A1 holds the transport command and the transport vehicle 9a is moved to the area A2, the transport vehicle 9a in the area A2 When it starts, the malfunction that the transfer point contained in the conveyance command which the conveyance vehicle 9a is holding does not exist in an area may arise. On the other hand, in the transport vehicle system 1, when the transport vehicles 9a to 9c are turned on, the transport vehicles 9a to 9c determine the area where the own vehicle exists and the transport command does not correspond to the area where the own vehicle exists. In that case, the conveyance command is discarded. Therefore, in the transport vehicle system 1, the operations of the transport vehicles 9a to 9c can be appropriately started.

  The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment. For example, in the above embodiment, the barcode 7 is described as an example of the identification mark. However, the identification mark may be a two-dimensional code or the like as long as it can be uniquely identified. Accordingly, in the above-described embodiment, the barcode reader 10 is described as an example of the detection unit. However, the detection unit may be provided according to the identification mark, and may be, for example, a laser.

  In the above embodiment, the configuration in which the controller 12 includes the command receiving unit 28 and the transport command determining unit 30 has been described as an example. However, the command receiving unit 28 and the transport command determining unit 30 may have the same configuration.

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Conveyance vehicle system, 3 ... High-order controller, 5 ... Rail (path | route), 7 ... Bar code (identification code), 10 ... Bar code reader (detection means), 9a-9c ... Conveyance vehicle, 12 ... Controller, 20 ... Mark arrangement storage unit (mark arrangement storage unit), 22... Area determination unit (area determination unit), 24... Setting value storage unit (setting value storage unit), 26... Setting value reading unit (setting value reading unit), 30. Transport command determining unit (transport command determining unit), 32... Transport command receiving unit (transport command receiving unit).

Claims (3)

A transport vehicle system comprising two or more divided areas, and a transport vehicle that travels along a route defined in each area and transports a load,
It is continuously arranged along the path, and has an identification mark that can be uniquely identified,
The transport vehicle is
Detecting means for detecting the identification mark;
A controller for controlling the operation of the transport vehicle,
The controller is
Mark arrangement storage means for storing the identification mark and each area where the identification mark is arranged in association with each other;
Area discrimination means for referring to the mark arrangement storage means based on the identification mark detected by the detection means and discriminating an area where the transport vehicle exists from the identification mark;
And a set value reading means for reading a set value corresponding to the area of the transport vehicle determined by the area determining means from a set value storage means. A host controller that transmits a transport command to the transport vehicle,
The controller is
A transport command determining means for determining whether or not the transport command received from the host controller corresponds to an area where the transport vehicle exists;
The conveyance command reception unit that receives the conveyance command when the conveyance command determination unit determines that the conveyance command is a command corresponding to an area where the conveyance vehicle exists. 1. The transport vehicle system according to 1.   The carrier system according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the area discriminating unit discriminates an area where the carrier vehicle exists when power is turned on.

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