Moving body system

• US 20050203699A1
• Filed: 03/11/2005
• Published: 09/15/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 03/12/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Murata Machinery Limited (Muratec)
• Original Assignee: Murata Machinery Limited (Muratec)
• Inventors: Moriguchi, Toshiki
• Granted Patent: US 7,426,424 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 701/200
• CPC Class Codes: B61L 23/005 Automatic control or safety means for points for operator-less railway, e.g. transportation systems
• CPC Class Codes: B61L 25/026 Relative localisation, e.g. using odometer
• CPC Class Codes: B61L 27/04 Automatic systems, e.g. controlled by train; Change-over to manual control
• 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 the moving position of a vehicle, stacker crane, or other moving body wherever on a moving path having a branching portion or a joining portion the moving body is, the system being able to precisely stop the moving body at any position and enabling the moving body to move fast to a stop position. A moving body system includes a vehicle 1 moving along running rails 2, 2 constituting a moving path having a joining portion 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 vehicle 1 moves. The vehicle 1 includes a first detecting sensor 11 and a second detecting sensor 12 which detect the mark members 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 moving path system being characterized in that:

the 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,

each of the mark members comprises a detected portion that can be detected by the detecting means and a non-detected portion that is not detected by the detecting means,

the 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,

the width of the detected portion in the moving direction of the moving body is equal to that of the non-detected portion in the moving direction of the moving body,

the detecting means comprises first detecting means and second detecting means arranged in the moving direction of the moving body, and

the moving path of the moving body has a branching portion that branches to at least two paths, and a second detected member is provided on each of the branching paths, while the moving body is provided with second detecting means for detecting the second detected member.

3. The moving body system according to claim 1 or claim 2, characterized in that the detected members have positional information, and the detecting means read the positional information from the detected members.

4. The moving body system according to claim 1 or claim 2, characterized in that the moving body comprises an encoder that measures a moving distance and control means for controlling the moving speed of the moving body by determining a moving position while using the detecting means to detect the mark members of the detected member until the mark member of the detected member located immediately before a stop target position is reached, the control means then using, between the mark member located immediately before the stop target position and the stop target position, the encoder to measure the moving distance from the mark member located immediately before the stop target position, the control means then stopping the moving body at the stop target position.

5. The moving body system according to claim 4, characterized in that the control means resets the measurement of the moving distance by the encoder to an origin every time the detecting member detects a detecting point on the mark member of the detected member.

2. A moving body system comprising a moving body that moves along a moving path and a detected member laid along the moving path, the moving body system being characterized in that:

the 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,

each of the mark members comprises a detected portion that can be detected by the detecting means and a non-detected portion that is not detected by the detecting means,

the 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,

the width of the detected portion in the moving direction of the moving body is equal to that of the non-detected portion in the moving direction of the moving body,

the detecting means comprises first detecting means and second detecting means arranged in the moving direction of the moving body, and

a moving path of the moving body has a joining portion in which at least two paths are joined together, and a third detected member is provided on a resulting path so that the second detecting means can detect the third detected member.