Murata Machinery, Ltd.

Kazumi Harasaki

Kazunori Shimamura

A transport vehicle system includes a track, transport vehicles, placement units to deliver or receive articles, and area controllers that each receive a conveyance instruction from a host controller and control a transport vehicle in a jurisdiction area to execute various instructions. The area controller, in response to receiving from the host controller a conveyance instruction destined for one special placement unit belonging to a jurisdiction area, transmits to another area controller a movement instruction to control an empty transport vehicle to move toward the jurisdiction area, and also controls an empty transport vehicle that has become available in the jurisdiction area after transmission of the movement instruction to execute the conveyance instruction.

Conveyance vehicle system

A transport system includes a track, transport vehicles, an area controller, buffers, and a host controller. The area controller, when a number of the transport vehicles present within a control area is a predetermined number and when receiving a first transport command to convey an article from a transfer port to a transport destination outside the control area from the host controller, stores the first transport command and transmits a report that the first transport command is not able to be assigned to the transport vehicle to the host controller. The host controller, when receiving the report, when the buffer is present, transmits a command to delete the stored first transport command to the area controller, generates a second transport command to convey the article from the transfer port to the buffer, and transmits the second transport command to the area controller.

Conveyance system

A traveling vehicle system includes a determiner to determine, upon receiving from a traveling vehicle an entry permission request for an area under control, whether or not a remaining number of vehicles to a maximum number of vehicles allowed to enter the area is equal to or less than a threshold value, and an entry permitter to temporarily hold the entry permission request from the traveling vehicle if the determiner determines the threshold value has not been exceeded and upon arrival of the traveling vehicle at an entry region for the area, grant the traveling vehicle permission to enter the area if a sum of a number of traveling vehicles within the area and a number of traveling vehicles already permitted to enter the area is less than a maximum number of vehicles, but does not grant entry permission if the sum has reached the maximum number of vehicles.

Traveling vehicle system and traveling vehicle control method

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.

Traveling vehicle controller and traveling vehicle system

A deviation amount is a difference between a first error that occurs when an article is placed on a first transfer destination by a first transport vehicle and a second error that occurs when the article is placed on a second transfer destination by the first transport vehicle. An nth error that occurs when the article is placed on an nth transfer destination other than the first transfer destination and the second transfer destination is acquired. In an mth transport vehicle other than the first transport vehicle, a stop position of an mth traveling body is corrected by the nth error and an mth-1 error occurring when the article is placed on the first reference platform, or by the nth error and an mth-2 error as well as the deviation amount, the mth-2 error occurring when the article is placed on the second reference platform.

Transport system and transport method

A traveling vehicle system includes a plurality of traveling vehicles; and a host controller in which: a first deriver derives a first traveling vehicle scheduled to pass through a branching part through which a priority traveling vehicle selected by a priority traveling vehicle selector is scheduled to pass; a merging part deriver derives a merging part through which the first traveling vehicle is scheduled to pass after the branching part; and passage permission for the merging part is transmitted to the first traveling vehicle in priority to a second traveling vehicle scheduled to pass through the merging part from a direction different from a direction from which the first traveling vehicle is scheduled to pass through the merging part.

Traveling vehicle system, and control method for traveling vehicle system

A transport vehicle system includes a controller that controls multiple transport vehicles. The controller performs, push out control to, when a transport vehicle travelling on a main route approaches a push out target vehicle, transmit a travel command to the push out target vehicle, and travel stop control, when there is no transport vehicle to which a transport command is assigned on the main route, sequentially transmit a travel stop command to the multiple transport vehicles travelling on the main route. In push out control, when there is a transport vehicle to which a transport command is assigned on the main route, a first travel command for a first distance is transmitted, and when there is no transport vehicle to which a transport command is assigned on the main route, a second travel command for a second distance smaller than the first distance is transmitted.

Transport vehicle system

A transport system includes: an image capturer included in a transport vehicle; a positional deviation detector that detects a positional deviation between a pre-correction position at a time when the article is placed on a reference transfer destination and a reference placement position; a corresponding relationship calculator that finds a pixel deviation between a pre-correction image and a post-correction image and calculates an actual deviation amount per unit pixel, the pre-correction image being captured at an initial position of the transport vehicle by the image capturer, and the post-correction image being captured by the image capturer at a position of the transport vehicle deviated by the positional deviation; and the correction amount calculator that finds a pixel deviation between the post-correction image and a transfer destination image captured of another transfer destination and calculates a correction amount from the pixel deviation and the actual deviation amount per unit pixel.

A track in a transport system includes a standby section associated with a certain processing apparatus to allow a transport vehicle to wait. When determining a transport request to transport a FOUP to a load port of the certain processing apparatus exists, the controller allocates, to the transport vehicle, a first transport command to transport the FOUP to the standby section. When reaching the standby section, the transport vehicle waits while holding the FOUP. Subsequently, when determining that the FOUP is transportable to the load port of the certain processing apparatus, the controller allocates, to the transport vehicle, a second transport command to transport the FOUP to the load port of the certain processing apparatus.

A transport system includes a track, overhead transport vehicles, and a controller. The controller provides a traveling command to travel to a destination point, to a first overhead transport vehicle that is able to receive a transport command to acquire a FOUP from a station and that is less than a first distance from the station. When a second of the overhead transport vehicles that is able to receive the transport command and is less than the first distance from the station, is detected before providing the transport command to the overhead first transport vehicle, the controller provides the traveling command to the second overhead transport vehicle. Then, the controller provides the transport command to the one of the first and second overhead transport vehicles that first passes through the destination point.

A travelling vehicle system that allows smooth travelling of a priority travelling vehicle includes travelling vehicles that travel along a route and a host controller that controls the travelling vehicles. The host controller includes a priority travelling vehicle transmitter that selects a priority travelling vehicle among the travelling vehicles, a passage command transmitter that transmits a passage command to a normal travelling vehicle to pass through a point in a predetermined range on the route which the priority travelling vehicle is scheduled to pass through, the normal travelling vehicle having a stop command to schedule to stop at the point, and a cancel command transmitter that transmits a cancel command to the normal travelling vehicle to cancel the given passage command when the priority travelling vehicle passes through the point. The normal travelling vehicle stops at the point in accordance with the stop command of the normal travelling vehicle, when the normal travelling vehicle receives the cancel command from the cancel command transmitter.

Travelling vehicle system and method for controlling travelling vehicle system

In a transport vehicle system, when a first transport vehicle passes through a predetermined point, a controller determines whether picking up an article at a high-priority transfer point would slow down or stop other transport vehicles, which pick up articles at transfer points on a downstream side, according to states of the other transport vehicles. If the other transport vehicles would be slowed down or stopped, a command is issued to the first transport vehicle to pick up the article at the transfer point on the downstream side. If the other transport vehicles will not be slowed down or stopped, a command is issued to the first transport vehicle to pick up the article at the high-priority transfer point.

Transport vehicle system and transport method

A transporting vehicle system includes a prohibited travel zone setter that sets a first prohibited travel zone where entry of a travelling vehicle is prohibited, an additional prohibited travel zone setter that sets a second prohibited travel zone upstream of the first prohibited travel zone according to rules, and a transporting vehicle controller that controls a transporting vehicle to prevent the vehicle from entering the first prohibited travel zone or the second prohibited travel zone.

Transporting vehicle system, and method of controlling transporting vehicle

A travelling vehicle system additionally sets a waiting point such that a number of waiting points is equal to a number of empty travelling vehicles present on a travelling route upon detection of an empty travelling vehicle. The system searches a route from a start point to an end point when the additionally set one waiting point is taken as the start point and a position of one empty travelling vehicle is taken as the end point, the one empty travelling vehicle being detected by a detection portion and not waiting at the waiting point. The system allocates to the other empty travelling vehicle the travelling command to move to the one waiting point and allocates to the one empty travelling vehicle the travelling command to move to the other waiting point which becomes empty by movement of the other empty travelling vehicle.

Travelling vehicle system

A ground controller in a travelling vehicle system stores travel permissions for a curved section that are provided to travelling vehicles, and deletes the travel permissions when the travelling vehicles leave the curved section. When a request for a permission to travel in the curved section is received from a travelling vehicle, the ground controller references the memory, provides a first travel permission if a permission to travel has not been provided to another travelling vehicle, and provides a low-order travel permission that permits travel with a lower speed than the first travel permission if a permission to travel has been provided to another travelling vehicle.

Growing community of inventors

Inuyama, Japan

Kazumi Harasaki