Traveling Vehicle System and Self-Diagnosis Method for the Traveling Vehicle System

• US 20110251735A1
• Filed: 04/05/2011
• Published: 10/13/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 04/07/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Murata Machinery Limited (Muratec)
• Original Assignee: Murata Machinery Limited (Muratec)
• Inventors: Hayashi, Takao
• Granted Patent: US 8,712,600 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 701/2
• CPC Class Codes: B61L 27/57 for vehicles or trains, e.g. trackside supervision of train conditions
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/0212 with means for defining a desired trajectory involving a plurality of land vehicles G05D1/0287
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/0214 in accordance with safety or protection criteria, e.g. avoiding hazardous areas monitoring the location of vehicles within a certain area, e.g. forbidden or allowed areas, in traffic control systems for road vehicles G08G1/13
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 7/00 Methods or arrangements for processing data by operating upon the order or content of the data handled logic circuits H03K19/00
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/67288 Monitoring of warpage, curvature, damage, defects or the like
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/67294 using identification means, e.g. labels on substrates or labels on containers
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/67724 by means of a cart or a vehicule
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/67733 Overhead conveying

Abstract

Self-diagnosis of a system including a travel route and a plurality of traveling vehicles traveling along the travel route in accordance with instructions from a ground controller is performed. The ground controller provides an instruction to the traveling vehicle regarding a position designated for performing detection using an abnormal condition detection sensor based on an absolute coordinate for uniquely identifying a position on the travel route. The traveling vehicle performs detection at the designated position using the abnormal condition detection sensor, and reports detection data including a detection position and detection time to the ground controller.

Claims

1. A traveling vehicle system including a travel route and a plurality of traveling vehicles traveling along the travel route, an abnormal condition being reported to a ground controller when the abnormal condition is detected,

the ground controller including a designation unit configured to provide instructions for the traveling vehicles of positions for performing detection with abnormal condition detection sensors in the traveling vehicles based on absolute coordinates for uniquely identifying the positions on the travel route;

and

the traveling vehicles including the abnormal condition detection sensors and reporting units configured to detect the abnormal condition at the designated positions with the abnormal condition detection sensors and report detection data including the detection positions and detection times to the ground controller.

2. The traveling vehicle system according to claim 1, the ground controller being configured to provide instructions for the traveling vehicles of target positions in each predetermined control cycle, and designate positions for performing detection during communication of instructing the target positions;

and

the traveling vehicles being configured to carry out velocity control in each control cycle to arrive at the target positions, and perform detection at the designated positions.

3. The traveling vehicle system according to claim 1, a storage unit configured to store the detection data from the sensor being provided in the ground controller, the detection data being associated with at least velocities and accelerations of the traveling vehicles.

4. The traveling vehicle system according to claim 1, the traveling vehicles having abnormal condition detection sensors for detecting an abnormal condition related to traveling and abnormal condition detection sensors for detecting an abnormal condition related to transfer,

the ground controller being configured to designate a joint between travel rails on the travel route, a diverging point, a merging point, and a curve segment as positions for performing detection with the abnormal condition detection sensors for detecting the abnormal condition related to traveling, and designate positions for transferring articles between a transfer apparatus of the traveling vehicle and transfer equipment as positions for performing detection with the abnormal condition detection sensors for detecting the abnormal condition related to transfer.

5. The traveling vehicle system according to claim 1, the ground controller having an identification unit configured to identify positions requiring maintenance on the travel route and traveling vehicles requiring maintenance based on the detection data from a plurality of traveling vehicles at the same position or the detection data from the same traveling vehicle at a plurality of positions.

6. The traveling vehicle system according to claim 1, further including a time series analysis unit for performing time series analysis of the detection data.

7. The traveling vehicle system according to claim 1, the traveling vehicles including vibration sensors and sound volume sensors as the abnormal condition detection sensors;

and

a frequency analyzing unit for performing frequency analysis of data from the vibration sensors and data from the sound volume sensors being provided in the traveling vehicles or the ground controller.

8. The traveling vehicle system according to claim 1, the ground controller having a traveling vehicle analysis unit for analyzing a condition of the traveling vehicles based on the detection data from the abnormal condition detection sensor sand an infrastructure analysis unit for analyzing a condition on the travel route based on the detection data from the abnormal condition detection sensors;

and

each of the traveling vehicle analysis unit and the infrastructure analysis unit including an instantaneous value analysis unit for analyzing the abnormal condition based on an instantaneous value of the detection data, and a time series analysis unit for performing time series analysis of the detection data, and a group analysis unit for analyzing the detection data of all of the traveling vehicles or the detection data of the entire travel route.

9. A self-diagnosis method for a traveling vehicle system including a travel route and a plurality of traveling vehicles traveling along the travel route for reporting an abnormal condition to a ground controller when the abnormal condition is detected,

the method including the steps of:

providing an instruction from the ground controller to the traveling vehicle regarding positions designed for performing detection with the abnormal condition detection sensors based on absolute coordinates for uniquely identifying positions on the travel route; and

performing detection at the designated positions with the abnormal condition detection sensors in the traveling vehicles, and reporting detection data including the detection positions and detection times from the traveling vehicles to the ground controller.