Automatic conveyance system
First Claim
1. An automatic conveyance system for conveying unit racks, each rack being capable of containing at least one unit, the system comprising:
- a buffer storage for storing a plurality of unit racks, said unit racks being empty or containing units;
a plurality of test cells for testing said units contained in said unit racks;
a plurality of test cell controllers each being provided in one of said test cells and each being constructed to accept a requirement from an operator to remove a unit rack from said buffer storage, to store a unit rack into said buffer storage and to convey a unit rack from one of said test cells to another one of said test cells;
a plurality of automatic guided vehicles each conveying a unit rack; and
a computer connected to said buffer storage and containing information on said unit racks, said computer being also connected to said test cell controllers and to each of said automatic guided vehicles, said computer including means for controlling each automatic guided vehicle, based on the requirement accepted by a respective one of said test cell controllers and said information on said unit racks stored in said buffer storage, so that a respective automatic guided vehicle conveys an assigned unit rack from said buffer storage to a desired one of said test cells, between two of said test cells, and from one of said test cells to another process,said computer automatically generating a combination of instructions for the plurality of automatic guided vehicles to run through different running routes in one run of each automatic guided vehicle,each of said automatic guided vehicles comprising a forklift means, and each of said test cells comprising means for loading and unloading the unit racks to and from each of the automatic guided vehicles.
1 Assignment
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Accused Products
Abstract
An automatic conveyance system comprises a buffer storage for storing a plurality of unit racks containing units; a plurality of test cells for testing the units contained in the unit racks; and a plurality of test cell controllers, each being provided in one of the test cells and each accepting an operator'"'"'s requirement to take out a unit rack from the buffer storage, to store a unit rack into the buffer storage, or to convey a unit rack from one of the test cells to another one of the test cells. The system is provided with a plurality of automatic guided vehicles for conveying unit racks. A computer is connected to the test cell controllers by a single bus and has information on the unit racks stored in the buffer storage. The computer controls each vehicle based on the requirement accepted by one of the test cell controllers and the information on the unit racks stored in the buffer storage so that the automatic guided vehicle conveys the unit rack from the buffer storage to a desired one of the test cells, between two of the test cells, or from one of the test cells to the buffer storage, whereby by supplying a requirement by an operator without knowing what, where, and when the units are stored in the buffer storage, a desired conveyance is made possible.
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Citations
21 Claims
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1. An automatic conveyance system for conveying unit racks, each rack being capable of containing at least one unit, the system comprising:
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a buffer storage for storing a plurality of unit racks, said unit racks being empty or containing units; a plurality of test cells for testing said units contained in said unit racks; a plurality of test cell controllers each being provided in one of said test cells and each being constructed to accept a requirement from an operator to remove a unit rack from said buffer storage, to store a unit rack into said buffer storage and to convey a unit rack from one of said test cells to another one of said test cells; a plurality of automatic guided vehicles each conveying a unit rack; and a computer connected to said buffer storage and containing information on said unit racks, said computer being also connected to said test cell controllers and to each of said automatic guided vehicles, said computer including means for controlling each automatic guided vehicle, based on the requirement accepted by a respective one of said test cell controllers and said information on said unit racks stored in said buffer storage, so that a respective automatic guided vehicle conveys an assigned unit rack from said buffer storage to a desired one of said test cells, between two of said test cells, and from one of said test cells to another process, said computer automatically generating a combination of instructions for the plurality of automatic guided vehicles to run through different running routes in one run of each automatic guided vehicle, each of said automatic guided vehicles comprising a forklift means, and each of said test cells comprising means for loading and unloading the unit racks to and from each of the automatic guided vehicles. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21)
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Specification