Moving body system and moving body

• US 20050021196A1
• Filed: 06/15/2004
• Published: 01/27/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 07/23/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Murata Machinery Limited (Muratec)
• Original Assignee: Murata Machinery Limited (Muratec)
• Inventors: Moriguchi, Toshiki
• Granted Patent: US 7,529,604 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 701/23
• CPC Class Codes: B61L 25/021 Measuring and recording of train speed
• CPC Class Codes: B61L 25/026 Relative localisation, e.g. using odometer
• CPC Class Codes: G01D 5/2457 Incremental encoders having reference marks

Abstract

It is an object of the present invention to provide a moving body system which can determine a moved position of a moving body such as a guided vehicle or a stacker crane wherever it is on a moving path, which can stop the moving body anywhere, and which can quickly move the moving body to a stopped position. The present invention provides a moving body system including a guided vehicle 1 moving along running rails 2, 2 constituting a moving path and a detected member 20 laid along the running rails 2, 2. The detected member 20 includes a large number of mark members 21, 21, . . . in a direction in which the guided vehicle 1 moves. The guided vehicle 1 includes a first detecting sensor 11 and a second detecting sensor 12 which detect the mark members 21, 21, . . . of the detected member 20.

Claims

1. A moving body system comprising a moving body that moves along a moving path and a detected member laid along the moving path, the system being characterized in that said detected member comprises a large number of mark members in a direction in which the moving body moves, and the moving body comprises detecting means for detecting the mark members of the detected member.

2. A moving body system according to claim 1, characterized in that each of said mark members comprises a detected portion that can be detected by said detecting means an a non-detected portion that is not detected by said detecting means.

3. A moving body system according to claim 2, characterized in that said detected member is configured like comb teeth in which a comb tooth portion is the detected portion, while a void between the comb teeth is the non-detected portion.

4. A moving body system according to claim 2 or claim 3, characterized in that in the moving direction of the moving body, the width of said detected portion is equal to the width of said non-detected portion.

5. A moving body system according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that said detecting means comprises first detecting means and second detecting means which are arranged in the moving direction of the moving body.

6. A moving body system according to claim 5, characterized in that a spacing W between said first detecting means and said second detecting means and the width D of the detected portion of said detected member in the moving direction of the moving body are configured in accordance with the following relation:

W=(2n+1/2)D (n=0, 1, 2, . . . )

7. A moving body system according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized by further comprising a plurality of sensed members arranged in parallel along the moving path of said moving body and in that the moving body is provided with sensing means for sensing the sensed members.

8. A moving body system according to claim 7, characterized in that each of said sensed members has positional information, and said sensing means is configured to read the positional information from the sensed members.

9. A moving body system according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that said moving body comprises an encoder that measures a moved distance and control means for controlling a moving speed of the moving body until the mark member located immediately in front of a stop target position is reached, by using said detecting means to detect the mark members of the detected member to determine a moved position of the moving body, and then using the encoder to measure the moved distance of the moving body from the mark member located immediately in front of the stop target position before stopping the moving body at the stop target position.

10. A moving body system according to claim 9, characterized in that said control means resets the measurement of the moved distance by said encoder to an origin every time said detecting means detects a detection point on the mark member of said detected member.

11. A moving body comprising driving wheels located on a front and rear sides in its moving direction, the moving body being characterized by comprising first rotation speed detecting means for detecting a rotation speed of the driving wheels on the front side in the moving direction, second rotation speed detecting means for detecting a rotation speed of the driving wheels on the rear side in the moving direction, and control means for referencing the rotation speed of the driving wheels on the rear side in the moving direction which speed is detected by the second rotation speed detecting means, while the moving body is being accelerated, and referencing the rotation speed of the driving wheels on the front side in the moving direction which speed is detected by the first rotation speed detecting means, while the moving body is being decelerated.

12. A moving body according to claim 11, characterized in that said control means references the rotation speed detected by either the first rotation speed detecting means or the second rotation speed detecting means while the moving body is moving at a uniform speed.

13. A moving body according to claim 12, characterized in that said control means calculates a moved distance by summing the rotation speeds referenced by the respective rotation speed detecting means.

14. A moving body according to any one of claims 11 to 13, characterized in that said control means comprises determining means for determining that the moving body is being accelerated if a variation in rotation speed per unit time referenced by the first rotation speed detecting means or second rotation speed detecting means is positive and determining that the moving body is being decelerated if a variation in rotation speed per unit time referenced by the first rotation speed detecting means or second rotation speed detecting means is negative.

15. A moving body comprising driving wheels located on a front and rear sides in its moving direction, the moving body being characterized by further comprising control means for setting a torque on the driving wheels located on the rear side in the moving direction to be larger than a torque on the driving wheels located on the front side in the moving direction while the moving body is being accelerated, and setting a torque on the driving wheels located on the front side in the moving direction to be larger than a torque on the driving wheels located on the rear side in the moving direction while the moving body is being decelerated.

16. A moving body according to claim 15, characterized in that said torque control means comprises first torque control means for controlling the torque on the driving wheels located on the front side in the moving direction and second torque control means for controlling the torque on the driving wheels located on the rear side in the moving direction.

17. A moving body according to claim 15 or claim 16, characterized in that said moving body comprises first rotation speed detecting means for detecting a rotation speed of the driving wheels located on the front side in the moving direction, second rotation speed detecting means for detecting a rotation speed of the driving wheels located on the rear side in the moving direction, and comparing means for comparing the rotation speed detected by the first rotation speed detecting means with the rotation speed detected by the second rotation speed detecting means, and the torque on the driving wheels located on the front side in the moving direction and the torque on the driving wheels located on the rear side in the moving direction can be adjusted on the basis of a result of the comparison by the comparing means.