Traveling vehicle controller and traveling vehicle system

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11513534-B2
Application number	US-201916978015-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jan 30, 2019
Priority date	Mar 15, 2018
Publication date	Nov 29, 2022
Grant date	Nov 29, 2022

Abstract

A traveling vehicle controller includes a command assignment controller to detect a first-to-arrive traveling vehicle that is able to reach a destination point first among traveling vehicles, based on travel route candidates on which the traveling vehicles travel along a travel path from respective positions to reach the destination point, and assign the command to the first-to-arrive traveling vehicle. During detection of the first-to-arrive traveling vehicle, when a traveling vehicle traveling toward a branch point on the travel path is located within a range of a branch-switching impossible distance from the branch point and is scheduled to proceed toward a main way at the branch point, the command assignment controller performs pseudo-shift processing by which this traveling vehicle is determined to be located in a position downstream of the branch point and on a side of the main way.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A traveling vehicle controller to assign, to any one of a plurality of traveling vehicles that each travels on a travel path including a branch point, a command to travel to a destination point on the travel path, the traveling vehicle controller comprising:
a command assignment controller configured or programmed to detect a first-to-arrive traveling vehicle that is able to reach the destination point first among the plurality of traveling vehicles, based on travel route candidates on which the plurality of traveling vehicles travel along the travel path from respective positions to reach the destination point, and to assign the command to the first-to-arrive traveling vehicle to cause the first-to-arrive traveling vehicle to travel to the destination point based on the command; wherein
during detection of the first-to-arrive traveling vehicle, when one of the plurality of traveling vehicles traveling toward the branch point on the travel path is located within a range of a branch-switching impossible distance from the branch point, which corresponds to a shortest distance from the branch point at which the one of the plurality of traveling vehicles is able to switch course, and is scheduled to proceed toward a main way at the branch point, the command assignment controller is configured or programmed to perform pseudo-shift processing by which an actual position of the one of the plurality of traveling vehicles upstream of the branch point is determined to be virtually located in a pseudo-position downstream of the branch point and on a side of the main way.

2. The traveling vehicle controller according to claim 1 , wherein the command assignment controller is configured or programmed to:
calculate, for each of the travel route candidates, a period of time for each of the plurality of traveling vehicles to travel thereon; and
detect, as the first-to-arrive traveling vehicle, a traveling vehicle corresponding to a travel route candidate on which the period of time is shortest.

3. The traveling vehicle controller according to claim 2 , wherein, after performing the pseudo-shift processing, the command assignment controller is configured or programmed to add a period of time to travel between the pseudo-position of the one of the plurality of traveling vehicles subjected to the pseudo-shift processing and the actual position of the one of the plurality of traveling vehicles to the period of time calculated for the travel route candidate corresponding to the traveling vehicle.

4. The traveling vehicle controller corresponding to claim 1 , wherein, in the pseudo-shift processing, the command assignment controller is configured or programmed to determine the one of the plurality of traveling vehicles to be located downstream of the branch point and within a distance range equal or substantially equal to or shorter than a vehicle length of the one of the plurality of raveling vehicles from the branch point.

5. The traveling vehicle controller according to claim 1 , wherein the branch-switching impossible distance is set to increase continuously or stepwise as a vehicle speed of the one of the plurality of traveling vehicles increases.

6. A traveling vehicle controller to assign, to any one of a plurality of traveling vehicles that each travels on a travel path including a branch point, a command to travel to a destination point on the travel path, the traveling vehicle controller comprising:
a command assignment controller configured or programmed to detect a first-to-arrive traveling vehicle that is able to reach the destination point first among the plurality of traveling vehicles, based on travel route candidates on which the plurality of traveling vehicles travel along the travel path from respective positions to reach the destination point, and to assign the command to the first-to-arrive traveling vehicle to cause the first-to-arrive traveling vehicle to travel to the destination point based on the command; wherein
during detection of the first-to-arrive traveling vehicle, in a case when one of the plurality of traveling vehicles traveling toward the branch point on the travel path is located within a range of a branch-switching impossible distance from the branch point, which corresponds to a shortest distance from the branch point at which the one of the plurality of traveling vehicles is able to switch course, and is scheduled to travel toward a main way at the branch point, the command assignment controller is configured or programmed to exclude, from the travel route candidates, a post-course-switch travel route on which the one of the plurality of traveling vehicles proceeds toward a branch way when passing through the branch point first after the moment of the case as a starting point.

7. A traveling vehicle system comprising:
a travel path including a branch point;
a plurality of traveling vehicles that each travels along the travel path; and
the traveling vehicle controller according to claim 1 .

8. The traveling vehicle controller according to claim 2 , wherein the branch-switching impossible distance is set to increase continuously or stepwise as a vehicle speed of the one of the plurality of traveling vehicles increases.

9. The traveling vehicle controller according to claim 3 , wherein the branch-switching impossible distance is set to increase continuously or stepwise as a vehicle speed of the one of the plurality of traveling vehicles increases.

10. The traveling vehicle controller according to claim 4 , wherein the branch-switching impossible distance is set to increase continuously or stepwise as a vehicle speed of the one of the plurality of traveling vehicles increases.

Assignees

• Murata Machinery Ltd

Inventors

• Harasaki Kazumi

Classifications

• H10P72/3218

  Conveying cassettes, containers or carriers · CPC title

• H10P72/3221

  Overhead conveying · CPC title

• H10P72/3208

  Changing the direction of the conveying path · CPC title

• H10P72/0612

  Production flow monitoring, e.g. for increasing throughput · CPC title

• B65G37/02 Primary

  Flow-sheets for conveyor combinations in warehouses, magazines or workshops · CPC title