Method for controlling movement of travelling carriers

• US 8,825,205 B2
• Filed: 06/20/2013
• Issued: 09/02/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 02/02/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Daifuku Company Limited
• Original Assignee: Daifuku Company Limited
• Inventors: Yokota, Toshiaki, Miyoshi, Kazuhiko, Kamei, Masatsugu, Iseki, Atsunobu
• Primary Examiner(s): Crawford, Gene
• Assistant Examiner(s): LOGAN, KYLE O
• Application Number:
  US13/923,107
• Publication Number:
  US 20130282168A1
• Time in Patent Office: 439 Days
• Field of Search: 700/213, 700/230
• US Class Current: 700/230
• CPC Class Codes: B62D 65/18 Transportation, conveyor or haulage systems specially adapted for motor vehicle or trailer assembly lines conveyors and haulage in general B65G
• CPC Class Codes: B65G 43/00 Control devices, e.g. for safety, warning or fault-correcting

Abstract

A method for controlling movement of travelling carriers includes providing, to a rear travelling carrier approaching a work area at a high speed, current location information corresponding to distances from a measurement starting point to the rear travelling carrier and a front travelling carrier, the rear travelling carrier calculating a following distance between the front and rear travelling carriers based on the current location information, and the rear travelling carrier performing deceleration control to the operating speed based on decremental changes of the following distance.

Claims

1. A method for

controlling movement of travelling carriers in conveying equipment where variable-moving-speed, self-propelled travelling carriers move on their own at a fixed low operating speed in a work area within a moving path for the travelling carriers while maintaining continuous motion in a moving direction and where travelling carriers approach the work area at a high speed, the method comprising:

providing each of the travelling carriers with data communication means to perform data communication between front and rear adjacent travelling carriers;

setting a measurement starting point upstream of the work area in the moving path;

providing a control device installed in each travelling carrier operable to calculate a current location information of an associated travelling carrier corresponding to a moving distance from the measurement starting point;

the front travelling carrier transmitting a current location information of the front travelling carrier to the control device of the adjacent rear travelling carrier via the data communication means;

the control device of the rear travelling carrier calculating a following distance between the front and rear travelling carriers based on a current location information of the rear travelling carrier and the current location information of the front travelling carrier received from the front travelling carrier via the data communication means;

the control device of the rear travelling carrier performing a deceleration control based on decremental changes of the calculated following distance between the front and rear travelling carriers until the following distance reaches a set value; and

each of the travelling carriers being self-propelled at the operating speed and entering into the work area by means of the control device installed in each travelling carriers.

2. The method for controlling movement of travelling carriers according to claim 1, further comprising:

the rear travelling carrier terminating speed control after a docking completion based on the following distance between the front and rear travelling carriers; and

all of the travelling carriers moving within the work area on their own at the operating speed without coupling to each other.

3. The method for controlling movement of travelling carriers according to claim 1, wherein the data communication means comprise optical communication means using a photo transmitter-receiver.

4. The method for controlling movement of travelling carriers according to claim 1, further comprising:

providing each of the travelling carriers with an obstacle sensor for detecting an obstacle ahead; and

the rear travelling carrier performing deceleration control based on decremental changes of the following distance between the front and rear travelling carriers from a time when the rear travelling carrier approaching the work area at a high speed detects the front travelling carrier by the obstacle sensor.

5. The method for controlling movement of travelling carriers according to claim 2, wherein the data communication means comprise optical communication means using a photo transmitter-receiver.

6. The method for controlling movement of travelling carriers according to claim 2, further comprising:

providing each of the travelling carriers with an obstacle sensor for detecting an obstacle ahead; and

the rear travelling carrier performing deceleration control based on decremental changes of the following distance between the front and rear travelling carriers from a time when the rear travelling carrier approaching the work area at a high speed detects the front travelling carrier by the obstacle sensor.