Article conveying facility

Abstract

In an article transport facility, a control system (30) performs path search processing for setting a first movement path, which is a movement path from a specified movement start point to a specified movement end point. A determination is made as to whether or not first predicted power consumption, which is predicted power consumption derived using a movement operation on a candidate path of a first movement path as a target operation, exceeds available power consumption, and a path for which it has been determined that the first predicted power consumption exceeds the available power consumption is excluded from candidates of the first movement path during the search of the candidate path. A search of candidate paths at least partially different from the excluded path is continued.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to an article conveying device comprising a conveying vehicle that moves along a movable path to convey articles and a control system that controls the conveying vehicle. Background Art

[0002] An example of an article conveying device as listed above is disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2012-38134 (Patent Document 1). In the following description of the background technology, the figure marks in Patent Document 1 are quoted in brackets. The article conveying device described in Patent Document 1 includes: a ceiling traveling vehicle (16) as a conveying vehicle that moves along a movable path to convey articles, and a ground-side controller (20) as a control system for controlling the conveying vehicle. The ceiling traveling vehicle (16) includes a secondary battery (28), and the traveling motor (60) and the transfer system motor (61) of the ceiling traveling vehicle (16) are driven by the power stored in the secondary battery (28), and are driven by the power from the non-contact power supply line (14) in the section where the non-contact power supply line (14) exists (paragraph 0024). Summary of the Invention

[0003] But, in patent documentation 1, do not clearly record, but usually search and set the moving path of transport vehicle by the control system of control transport vehicle.The path that transport vehicle can move, i.e., the moving path comprises that the electric power that is accumulated in the storage device (in patent documentation 1, secondary battery) drives the drive unit (in patent documentation 1, travel motor and transfer system motor) of transport vehicle as the interval that the transport vehicle can not accept the supply of electric power from the outside needs to utilize, need to set the transport vehicle during before arriving at the destination and be difficult for the appropriate moving path of power shortage.And, certainly ideally, the processing load of the control system that is used to set the appropriate moving path of transport vehicle like this is suppressed to be lower.But, in patent documentation 1, do not exist about the record of this aspect.

[0004] Therefore, it is desirable to realize a technology that, in a configuration in which a transport vehicle includes a power storage device and a drive device driven by the power stored in the power storage device, can set an appropriate movement path in which the transport vehicle is less likely to run out of power before reaching a destination, while simultaneously reducing the processing load of a control system for setting the appropriate movement path of the transport vehicle.

[0005] The article conveying equipment involved in the present disclosure is an article conveying equipment including a conveying vehicle that conveys articles by moving along a movable path and a control system for controlling the conveying vehicle, wherein the conveying vehicle includes a power storage device and a driving device driven by the electric power stored in the power storage device, and the control system executes: an electric energy acquisition process for acquiring information indicating the amount of electric power stored in the power storage device; a path search process for searching for a candidate path as a candidate for the moving path of the conveying vehicle and setting the searched candidate path as the moving path; an available electric energy determination process for determining available electric energy based on the amount of electric power stored in the power acquisition process, the available electric energy being the upper limit of the electric energy that can be used by the conveying vehicle; and a prediction process for electric energy consumption. A derivation process for deriving a prediction of the electric energy used by the transport vehicle in the action that becomes the object, namely, the object action, i.e., the predicted consumed electric energy. The control system, in the path search process for setting the first moving path as the moving path from the specified moving starting point to the specified moving end point, determines whether the predicted consumed electric energy, namely, the first predicted consumed electric energy, derived by taking the moving action in the candidate path of the first moving path as the object action, exceeds the usable electric energy. In the middle of the search for the candidate path, the path that has been determined to have the first predicted consumed electric energy exceeding the usable electric energy is excluded from the candidate for the first moving path, and the search for the candidate path that is at least partially different from the excluded path is continued.

[0006] According to this configuration, in the path search process for setting a first moving path from a designated moving starting point to a designated moving end point, paths whose first predicted power consumption exceeds the available power are excluded from the candidate first moving path, thereby enabling candidate paths whose first predicted power consumption falls below the available power to be set as the first moving path. Therefore, the path search process enables setting an appropriate first moving path that is less likely to cause a power shortage before the transport vehicle reaches the destination, serving as the moving end point. In this case, by setting the available power so that the power required by the transport vehicle after reaching the destination is retained in the power storage device, the set first moving path can be set to a path that is less likely to cause a power shortage not only before the transport vehicle reaches the destination, but also after the transport vehicle reaches the destination.

[0007] Furthermore, according to this configuration, during the route search process for setting the first moving path, a determination is made as to whether the first predicted power consumption exceeds the available power. During the search of candidate routes, routes determined to have the first predicted power consumption exceeding the available power are excluded from the candidate list for the first moving path. Therefore, for routes that were not set as the first moving path due to the first predicted power consumption exceeding the available power, the route search for those routes can be terminated at the moment the first predicted power consumption is determined to have exceeded the available power. This reduces the load on the route search process for setting the first moving path compared to a scenario where the route search is not terminated in this manner. As described above, according to this configuration, an appropriate moving path (the first moving path) can be set that is less likely to cause the transport vehicle to run out of power before reaching its destination, while simultaneously reducing the processing load on the control system for setting the appropriate moving path (the first moving path) for the transport vehicle.

[0008] Further features and advantages of the article transport facility will become apparent from the following description of the embodiments described with reference to the accompanying drawings. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0009] Figure 1 This is a diagram showing an example of the layout of an article transport facility. Figure 2 It is a side view showing an example of a transport vehicle. Figure 3 This is a front view showing an example of a transport vehicle. Figure 4 This is a control block diagram according to the embodiment. Figure 5 It is an explanatory diagram of the first movement path and the second movement path. Figure 6 This is an explanatory diagram of the second route re-search process. Figure 7 This is an explanatory diagram of the first route re-search process. Figure 8 This is a diagram for explaining the destination change process. Figure 9 This is an explanatory diagram of the route search process for setting the second movement route. Figure 10 This is an explanatory diagram of the route search process for setting the first movement route. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0010] The embodiment of the article conveying device will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. Figure 1 and Figure 4 As shown, the article transport device 100 has a movable path 40 for transporting articles 2 (see Figure 2) of the transport vehicle 1 and the control system 30 for controlling the transport vehicle 1. The various technical features of the control system 30 disclosed in this specification can also be applied to a method for controlling the transport vehicle 1 or a program for controlling the transport vehicle 1 (a program for causing a computer to function as the control system 30), and this specification also discloses such a method or program and a storage medium storing such a program (for example, a computer-readable recording medium such as a flash memory of an optical disc).

[0011] The technology disclosed in the present invention can also be applied to the case where a single transport vehicle 1 moves on the movable path 40, but if Figure 1 As shown, in this embodiment, a plurality of transport vehicles 1 are configured to move along a movable path 40. Article 2 (see Figure 2 ) is configured as a FOUP (Front Opening Unified Pod) for accommodating semiconductor wafers.

[0012] The movable path 40 is a path along which the transport vehicle 1 can move. Figure 1 As shown, a positive direction F is set in each part of the movable path 40, and the transport vehicle 1 basically moves along the positive direction F in each part of the movable path 40. The movable path 40 includes a confluence portion 42 where multiple paths merge into one path and a branch portion 43 where one path branches into multiple paths. The movable path 40 means the entire path for the transport vehicle 1 to move, and the movable path 40 is composed of a collection of multiple paths (paths between locations connecting locations). Figure 9 and Figure 10 In the example shown, the node N corresponds to a "point" and the link L corresponds to a "path between points". The moving path R of the transport vehicle 1 is represented by a combination of multiple paths between points (see Figure 5 ).

[0013] The movable path 40 may be defined physically or virtually. That is, the transport vehicle 1 may be a track-guided transport vehicle or a trackless transport vehicle such as an AGV (Automated Guided Vehicle). Figure 2 and Figure 3As shown, in this embodiment, the movable path 40 is physically defined by a track 41 (here, a pair of tracks 41 arranged at intervals along the left-right direction Y described later). Different from such a configuration, it is also possible to set the configuration in which the movable path 40 is physically defined by the shape of the passage for the transport vehicle 1 to move. In this case, for example, the movable path 40 is physically defined by a structure that divides the passage. In addition, it is also possible to set the following configuration: a magnetic tape, a QR code, an RF (Radio Frequency) tag, etc., which is a detected object to be detected by the transport vehicle 1, is placed on the ground, and the movable path 40 is virtually defined by the detected object. In this case, for example, the movable path 40 is virtually defined along the detected object or in a manner that connects multiple detected objects.

[0014] Here, if Figure 2 and Figure 3 As shown, the direction in which the transport vehicle 1 moves and along the movable path 40 (here, the direction along the extension direction of the rail 41) is defined as the front-rear direction X, and the direction perpendicular to both the front-rear direction X and the up-down direction Z (vertical direction) is defined as the left-right direction Y. Figure 2 and Figure 3 In the illustrated example, rails 41 defining the movable path 40 are suspended from the ceiling 7. Therefore, in this example, the transport vehicle 1 is a ceiling transport vehicle that moves along the movable path 40 formed along the ceiling 7. The movable path 40 is not limited to being formed on the ceiling 7, but may also be formed on the ground, etc.

[0015] Figure 2 and Figure 3 The transport vehicle 1 (here, an unmanned transport vehicle) is constructed as follows. The transport vehicle 1 includes a traveling portion 10 and a main body 20. The traveling portion 10 includes traveling wheels 11 that roll on a traveling surface of a track 41 and a traveling drive portion 12 (for example, an electric motor such as a servo motor) that rotates the traveling wheels 11. The traveling drive portion 12 rotates the traveling wheels 11, so that the traveling portion 10 travels along the track 41, thereby moving the transport vehicle 1 along the movable path 40. In this example, the traveling portion 10 includes guide wheels 14 that roll on a guide surface of the track 41, and the traveling portion 10 travels along the track 41 in a state where the guide wheels 14 are in contact with and guided by the guide surface.

[0016] The travel drive unit 12 may also be a collection of drive units that drive a plurality of drive objects. For example, the travel unit 10 may be configured as follows: the travel unit 10 includes a switching branch unit 43 (see Figure 1) is a mechanism for switching the travel direction of the transport vehicle 1 at a position where the travel drive unit 12 drives the switching mechanism in addition to driving the travel wheels 11. Although details are omitted, the switching mechanism is configured to, for example, switch the position of the guided portion provided on the travel unit 10 between a position where the guided portion contacts a guide rail provided along the movable path 40 from one side in the left-right direction Y and a position where the guided portion contacts the guide rail from the other side in the left-right direction Y.

[0017] The main body 20 is connected to the traveling portion 10. Here, the main body 20 is arranged on the lower side Z2 relative to the traveling portion 10. The main body 20 includes a holding portion 21 for holding the article 2. The article 2 is transported by the transport vehicle 1 while being held by the holding portion 21. The main body 20 includes a transfer drive unit (not shown) (for example, an electric motor such as a servo motor) for performing a transfer operation of the article 2 between the transport vehicle 1 and a transfer target portion (for example, the article support portion 6 described later). The holding portion 21 is driven by the transfer drive unit to perform a holding operation of holding the article 2 and a holding release operation of releasing the holding of the article 2.

[0018] The transfer drive unit may also be a collection of drive units that drive multiple drive objects. Figure 2 In the illustrated example, the main body 20 includes a lifting device 22 for raising and lowering the holding portion 21 and a moving device 24 for moving the holding portion 21 in the left-right direction Y. The transfer drive unit is configured to drive these lifting device 22 and moving device 24 in addition to driving the holding portion 21. In this example, the lifting device 22 is configured to raise the holding portion 21 by winding a wound member 23 (e.g., a belt or wire) that suspends the holding portion 21 around a rotating body (e.g., a drum) (not shown), and to lower the holding portion 21 by unwinding the wound member 23 from the rotating body. Furthermore, in this example, the moving device 24 is configured to move the lifting device 22 in the left-right direction Y, thereby moving the holding portion 21 supported by the lifting device 22 in the left-right direction Y. Alternatively, the main body 20 may include a rotating device that rotates the holding portion 21 about a vertical axis extending along the vertical direction Z, with the rotating device driven by the transfer drive unit.

[0019] like Figure 1 As shown, a plurality of stations 3 are set along the movable path 40. The station 3 is provided with an article support portion 6 (see Figure 2), at station 3, the article 2 is transferred between the transport vehicle 1 and the article support 6. The article support 6 may be, for example, a loading port of a processing device 4 that processes the article 2 (or the contents contained in the article 2), an inlet / outlet port of a storage device that stores the article 2, or a storage rack that stores the article 2. Herein, "storage" includes temporary storage. Hereinafter, a device that stores the article 2, such as the storage device or storage rack listed above, will be referred to as an article storage device 5.

[0020] When transferring the article 2 between the transport vehicle 1 and the article support 6, the transport vehicle 1 travels to the station 3 where the article support 6 is provided. When the transport vehicle 1 travels, the holding portion 21 is arranged at a reference height H1 (refer to Figure 2 ). The reference height H1 is the height at which the holding portion 21 and the article 2 held by the holding portion 21 are accommodated in the main body 20. The reference height H1 is set at a position Z1 higher than the transfer height H2 described later. Moreover, after the transport vehicle 1 arrives at the station 3, the transport vehicle 1 performs a transfer operation of the article 2 between the transport vehicle 1 and the article support portion 6. In a case where the article support portion 6 is not arranged directly below the movable path 40 but is arranged at a position offset in the left-right direction Y relative to the movable path 40, the transport vehicle 1 performs a transfer operation of the article 2 after moving the holding portion 21 in the left-right direction Y to a position directly above the article support portion 6 by the moving device 24.

[0021] In the transfer operation of the article 2 when transferring the article 2 from the transport vehicle 1 to the article support 6, the following steps are performed in order: the holding portion 21 holding the article 2 is lowered from the reference height H1 to the transfer height H2 by the lifting device 22; the holding is released by the holding portion 21; and the holding portion 21 not holding the article 2 is raised from the transfer height H2 to the reference height H1 by the lifting device 22. Figure 2 ) is a height set according to the height of the article support 6. Furthermore, in the article transfer operation when transferring the article 2 from the article support 6 to the transport vehicle 1, the lifting device 22 sequentially performs a lowering operation of the holding portion 21, which is not holding the article 2, from the reference height H1 to the transfer height H2; a holding operation of the holding portion 21; and an raising operation of the lifting device 22, which is to raise the holding portion 21, which is holding the article 2, from the transfer height H2 to the reference height H1.

[0022] like Figure 4As shown, the transport vehicle 1 includes a power storage device 52 and a drive device 51 driven by the electric power stored in the power storage device 52. The power storage device 52 is a device that stores electric power. The power storage device 52 is configured to be chargeable and dischargeable. For example, the power storage device 52 may be a battery, a capacitor, or a combination of a battery and a capacitor. The power storage device 52 is provided with a power storage sensor for detecting the amount of stored electricity. The power storage sensor may include, for example, one or both of a voltage sensor and a current sensor.

[0023] The drive device 51 is constructed in such a manner as to generate the driving force required to move the transport vehicle 1 along the movable path 40, i.e., the driving force for movement. In this embodiment, the transport vehicle 1 moves the article 2, thereby transferring the article 2 between the transport vehicle 1 and the transfer target portion. Therefore, in this embodiment, the drive device 51 is constructed in such a manner as to generate the driving force required to transfer the article 2 between the transport vehicle 1 and the transfer target portion, i.e., the driving force for transfer. For example, in the above-mentioned Figure 2 and Figure 3 In the illustrated transport vehicle 1, the travel drive unit 12 generates the driving force for movement, while the transfer drive unit (not shown) generates the driving force for transfer. Therefore, in this transport vehicle 1, the drive device 51 includes both the travel drive unit 12 and the transfer drive unit. Alternatively, the drive device 51 may not include the transfer drive unit. In this case, for example, the article 2 is moved by a device located at the transfer target location, thereby transferring the article 2 between the transport vehicle 1 and the transfer target location.

[0024] like Figure 1 As shown, in this embodiment, a power supply area A is provided in a portion of the movable path 40 to supply power to the transport vehicle 1. The power supply area A is configured to be able to supply power to at least one (in this embodiment, both) of the transport vehicle 1 while it is stationary or while it is moving. The power supply to the transport vehicle 1 in the power supply area A can be either contactless or contact-based. The power supplied to the transport vehicle 1 in the power supply area A is stored in the power storage device 52 or used to drive the drive device 51.

[0025] Figure 3 The illustrated transport vehicle 1 includes a power receiving device 15 that receives power in a contactless manner from a power supply line 8 arranged along a movable path 40 within a power supply area A. The power receiving device 15 includes, for example, a pickup coil. AC power is induced in the pickup coil by the magnetic field generated around the power supply line 8, which is supplied with AC current. This AC power is converted into DC power, for example, and supplied to a power storage device 52 or a drive device 51.

[0026] like Figure 4As shown, the transport vehicle 1 includes a control device 50 for controlling the transport vehicle 1. The control device 50 or the superior control device 31 described later includes, for example, a CPU (Central Processing Unit) and other arithmetic processing devices and peripheral circuits such as a memory. For example, the various functions of the control device 50 or the superior control device 31 are realized by the cooperation of hardware such as the arithmetic processing device and the program executed on the hardware. The control device 50 controls the drive device 51. The control device 50 controls the drive device 51 (for example, the above-mentioned travel drive unit 12) to enable the transport vehicle 1 to perform a moving action of moving on the movable path 40. In this embodiment, the control device 50 further controls the drive device 51 (for example, the above-mentioned transfer drive unit) to enable the transport vehicle 1 to perform a transfer action of the article 2 between the transport vehicle 1 and the transfer target portion.

[0027] The control system 30 controls the transport vehicle 1 (in this embodiment, multiple transport vehicles 1). Figure 4 As shown, in this embodiment, the control system 30 has an upper-level control device 31. The upper-level control device 31 can also be a collection of multiple devices that can communicate with each other. The upper-level control device 31 is communicatively connected to the control device 50 possessed by the transport vehicle 1, and the control device 50 controls the action of the transport vehicle 1 in accordance with the instructions from the upper-level control device 31. The upper-level control device 31 assigns the task of transporting the article 2 (for example, the task of transporting the article 2 from the station 3 at the starting point of the transport to the station 3 at the end point of the transport) to one of the multiple transport vehicles 1. The task can be generated by the upper-level control device 31 or by other devices that can communicate with the upper-level control device 31. Moreover, the upper-level control device 31 instructs the transport vehicle 1 to which the task is assigned to perform the task, and the control device 50 possessed by the transport vehicle 1 that has received the instruction controls the transport vehicle 1 in a manner that performs the action for performing the task.

[0028] In this embodiment, the upper control device 31 and the control device 50 (here, the control device 50 provided in each transport vehicle 1) cooperate to form the control system 30, but the control system 30 may be formed solely by the upper control device 31. Alternatively, the upper control device 31 may not be provided, and the control devices 50 of each transport vehicle 1 that are communicatively connected may cooperate to form the control system 30.

[0029] The control system 30 (in the present embodiment, the superior control device 31) grasps the current position of the transport vehicle 1 (in the present embodiment, the current position of each of the multiple transport vehicles 1). In the present embodiment, the transport vehicle 1 is constructed in a manner to identify its own current position, and the superior control device 31 obtains the information of the current position of the transport vehicle 1 from the transport vehicle 1. Although the details are omitted, it can be set as follows: the detected body (for example, one-dimensional code, two-dimensional code, RF tag, etc.) that stores the position information is set at multiple positions along the movable path 40, and the transport vehicle 1 identifies its own current position by reading the position information stored by the detected body. The transport vehicle 1 identifies its own current position based on the position information read out and the travel distance after reading the position information. It can also be set as follows: the transport vehicle 1 identifies its own current position based on the output of a position measuring device such as a GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite System) receiver.

[0030] The control system 30 (in this embodiment, the superior control device 31) performs power acquisition processing, route search processing, usable power determination processing, and predicted power consumption derivation processing. The route search processing is a process of searching for a candidate route C that is a candidate for the movement route R of the transport vehicle 1 and setting the searched candidate route C as the movement route R.

[0031] The electric energy acquisition process is a process for acquiring information indicating the amount of storage capacity of the storage device 52. For example, the amount of storage capacity is represented by the ratio (percentage) of the remaining capacity to the fully charged capacity. In this case, the amount of storage capacity in the fully charged state is 100%, and the amount of storage capacity in the fully discharged state is 0%. The amount of storage capacity of the storage device 52 can be estimated based on the output voltage of the storage device 52, or based on the accumulated value of the charging energy to the storage device 52 and the accumulated value of the discharging energy from the storage device 52, or by a combination thereof. When the control device 50 of the transport vehicle 1 estimates the amount of storage capacity of the storage device 52, the control device 50 transmits information indicating the estimated amount of storage capacity to the upper control device 31. When the upper control device 31 estimates the amount of storage capacity of the storage device 52, the upper control device 31 obtains the information required for estimating the amount of storage capacity of the storage device 52 from the transport vehicle 1 (for example, information using the detection value of the above-mentioned storage capacity sensor).

[0032] The usable electric energy determination process is a process in which the usable electric energy is determined based on the stored electric energy obtained through the electric energy acquisition process, and the usable electric energy is the upper limit of the electric energy that can be used by the transport vehicle 1. That is, the usable electric energy is the upper limit of the electric energy that can be used in the action of the transport vehicle 1 (moving action or transfer action of the article 2, etc.). The usable electric energy is basically determined to be a value less than the stored electric energy of the storage device 52. In addition, in this specification, the stored electric energy of the storage device 52 means, for example, the current stored electric energy of the storage device 52. The usable electric energy is determined to be, for example, a value obtained by subtracting the margin from the stored electric energy of the storage device 52. The margin is set to, for example, a value greater than the electric energy predicted to be consumed during the period from the above-listed action of the transport vehicle 1 to the start of the next charging of the storage device 52.

[0033] The predicted power consumption derivation process is a process for deriving the power consumption that is predicted to be used by the transport vehicle 1 (specifically, the drive device 51) in the target action, namely, the target action. The target action includes the movement action along the movement path R and the transfer action (receiving action or handing over action) of the article 2 at the transfer target position. In the predicted power consumption derivation process, the first predicted power consumption or the second predicted power consumption, etc., described later, are derived as the predicted power consumption. In this embodiment, the control system 30, in the predicted power consumption derivation process, sets the same power consumption for multiple transport vehicles 1 if the target action is the same (that is, does not distinguish between multiple transport vehicles 1), thereby deriving the predicted power consumption.

[0034] During the movement of the transport vehicle 1 while holding the article 2, the drive device 51 sometimes uses the power for holding the article 2 (for example, the power for maintaining the holding portion 21 holding the article 2 at the reference height H1). In such a case, it is possible to have a configuration as follows: considering the power for holding the article 2, a predicted consumed electric energy is derived to predict the movement of the transport vehicle 1 while holding the article 2 (for example, the movement on the first moving path R1 described later). In this case, the accuracy of the derived predicted consumed electric energy can be improved. In addition, in a case where the power for holding the article 2 can be ignored, it is also possible to have a configuration in which the predicted consumed electric energy is derived without considering the power for holding the article 2. In this case, it is possible to simplify the configuration for deriving the predicted consumed electric energy.

[0035] For example, based on the statistics of the past results of the power consumption of the transport vehicle 1 for the object movement, the predicted power consumption for the object movement can be derived. In the case of considering the difference in power consumption caused by the presence or absence of the object 2, the power consumption results for the moving movement can be managed separately according to the presence or absence of the object 2. For example, the path between locations (in Figure 9 and Figure 10In the example shown, the results of the power consumption of the moving action are collected and managed in units of link L). In this case, the predicted power consumption of the moving action of the candidate path C can be set as the sum of the statistics of the paths between the various locations that constitute the candidate path C. In addition, it can also be set to derive the composition of the predicted power consumption of each object action by calculating based on the power used in each object action (for example, a design value or a learning value). In this calculation, for example, the power required for the moving action of the transport vehicle 1 to move a unit distance, the power required for the receiving action to receive the article 2 once from the transfer object part, and the power required for the transfer action to transfer the article 2 once to the transfer object part are used. Regenerated power (for example, regenerated power when the transport vehicle 1 decelerates) can also be considered when deriving the predicted power consumption.

[0036] As described above, in the present embodiment, a power supply area A is provided in a portion of the movable path 40. Furthermore, in the present embodiment, the control system 30 is configured as follows: in the process of deriving the predicted power consumption, when the power supply area A is included in the candidate path C, the power used by the transport vehicle 1 (specifically, the drive device 51) located in the power supply area A is set to zero or a negative value, and the predicted power consumption is derived. For example, when a section of the candidate path C is included in the power supply area A, the power used by the transport vehicle 1 in the movement action of the section is set to zero or a negative value, and the predicted power consumption for the movement action of the candidate path C is derived. In addition, for example, when the transfer object portion serving as the starting point or end point of the candidate path C is included in the power supply area A, the power used by the transport vehicle 1 in the transfer action (receiving action or handover action) of the article 2 is set to zero or a negative value, and the predicted power consumption for the transfer action is derived.

[0037] A configuration can be configured such that, when it is predicted that the electric energy supplied to the transport vehicle 1 in the power supply area A will be greater than the electric energy predicted to be used by the transport vehicle 1 within the power supply area A, and the amount of power stored in the power storage device 52 within the power supply area A is predicted to increase, a negative value corresponding to the predicted increase in power stored is used as the electric energy used by the transport vehicle 1 within the power supply area A to derive the predicted electric energy consumption. In this case, it is easy to make the derived predicted electric energy consumption close to the actual decrease in the amount of power stored in the power storage device 52 accompanying the target operation. Furthermore, regardless of whether the amount of power stored in the power storage device 52 within the power supply area A is predicted to increase, the predicted electric energy consumption can be derived by setting the electric energy used by the transport vehicle 1 within the power supply area A to zero. In this case, the load for deriving the predicted electric energy consumption can be easily reduced.

[0038] The control system 30 performs a path search process for setting a first moving path R1 as a moving path R from a specified moving start point to a specified moving end point. These moving start points and moving end points can be set at any location, but as will be described later, in this embodiment, the conveying start point P1 of the article 2 is set as the moving start point, and the conveying end point P2 of the article 2 is set as the moving end point. In the path search process for setting the first moving path R1, the control system 30 determines whether the first predicted consumed power exceeds the usable power. Here, the first predicted consumed power is the predicted consumed power derived by taking the moving action on the candidate path C of the first moving path R1 as the object action (that is, the predicted power used by the transport vehicle 1 in the moving action on the candidate path C of the first moving path R1). For example, the usable power used in the above determination is determined based on the amount of power stored in the power storage device 52 when the path search process for setting the first moving path R1 is executed. If the amount of power stored in the power storage device 52 at the start of movement along the first movement path R1 can be predicted, the usable electric energy used in the above-described determination may be determined based on the amount of power stored in the power storage device 52 at the start of movement along the first movement path R1 .

[0039] In the path search process for setting the first moving path R1, the control system 30 does not derive the first predicted power consumption after searching the entire candidate path C from the moving start point to the moving end point, but derives the first predicted power consumption for the candidate path C in the middle of the search for the candidate path C (that is, in parallel with the search for the candidate path C), and determines whether the derived first predicted power consumption exceeds the available power. In the middle of the search for the candidate path C, the control system 30 excludes the path that has been determined to have the first predicted power consumption exceeding the available power from the candidates for the first moving path R1, and continues the search for the candidate path C that is at least partially different from the excluded path. Moreover, if the control system 30 finds a candidate path C (a candidate path C representing the entire section of the first moving path R1) in which the first predicted power consumption becomes less than the available power, the candidate path C is set as the first moving path R1. Refer to the following for details. Figure 10 Next, details of the route search process for setting the first movement route R1 will be described.

[0040] In this embodiment, the control system 30 performs a path search process for setting a movement path R, i.e., a second movement path R2, from the current location of any one of the multiple transport vehicles 1, i.e., the target transport vehicle, to a specified movement destination. This movement destination can be set at any location, but as described later, in this embodiment, the transport starting point P1 of the article 2 is set as the movement destination. During the path search process for setting the second movement path R2, the control system 30 determines whether the second predicted consumed power exceeds the target available power of the candidate transport vehicle that is a candidate for the target transport vehicle. Here, the second predicted consumed power is the predicted consumed power derived using the movement action on the candidate path C of the second movement path R2 as the target action (i.e., the predicted power used by the transport vehicle 1 during the movement action on the candidate path C of the second movement path R2). The target available power will be described later, but in the path search process for setting the second movement path R2, the available power can also be used instead of the target available power, similar to the path search process for setting the first movement path R1. For example, the usable electric energy in this case is determined based on the amount of electricity stored in the power storage device 52 when the route search process for setting the second movement route R2 is executed.

[0041] During the route search process for setting the second travel route R2, if the candidate route C becomes a route connecting the current location of any candidate transport vehicle with the travel destination during the search for the candidate route C, the control system 30 determines whether the second predicted power consumption of the candidate route C exceeds the target available power of the candidate transport vehicle. During the search for the candidate route C, the control system 30 excludes the candidate transport vehicle whose second predicted power consumption has been determined to exceed the target available power from the candidate transport vehicle and continues the search for the candidate route C. If the control system 30 finds a candidate transport vehicle whose second predicted power consumption falls below the target available power, it selects the candidate transport vehicle as the target transport vehicle and sets the candidate route C, which is a route connecting the current location of the candidate transport vehicle with the travel destination, as the second travel route R2.

[0042] In this embodiment, the control system 30 searches for a candidate path C starting from the transport starting point P1 in the upstream direction opposite to the direction of travel of the target transport vehicle in the path search process for setting the second moving path R2. Furthermore, when the candidate path C reaches a candidate transport vehicle whose second predicted power consumption is less than the target usable power, the control system 30 selects the candidate transport vehicle as the target transport vehicle and sets the path from the current location of the candidate transport vehicle along the candidate path C that reaches the candidate transport vehicle to the transport starting point P1 as the second moving path R2. Figure 9 Next, details of the route search process for setting the second movement route R2 will be described.

[0043] The control system 30 controls the movement of the transport vehicle 1 so that it moves along the movement route R set by the route search process. In this embodiment, the control system 30 is configured such that, when the difference between the available power and the predicted power consumption is less than a predetermined threshold, the transport vehicle 1 is operated in a power-saving mode that reduces power consumption compared to the normal mode. For example, the control system 30 controls the transport vehicle 1 to operate in the power-saving mode for a movement operation or a transfer operation. For example, if the difference between the available power at the start of movement along the first movement route R1 and the first predicted power consumption is less than a threshold, the control system 30 controls the transport vehicle 1 to move along the first movement route R1 in the power-saving mode. Furthermore, if the difference between the available power at the start of movement along the second movement route R2 and the total predicted power consumption, described later, is less than a threshold, the control system 30 controls the transport vehicle 1 to move along the second movement route R2 in the power-saving mode. The control system 30 may be configured to operate only the transport vehicle 1 transporting an article 2 in the power saving mode when the difference between the available power and the predicted power consumption is smaller than a predetermined threshold.

[0044] Here, the normal mode is a mode in which the transport vehicle 1 is moved without limiting acceleration and maximum speed (specifically, allowed to a predetermined upper limit). The power-saving mode is a mode in which the transport vehicle 1 is moved with at least one of acceleration and maximum speed (for example, only acceleration) limited (specifically, limited to a value less than the upper limit value listed above). In the case where the transport vehicle 1 is moved in the power-saving mode, it is also possible to configure as follows: one or more limit thresholds are predetermined to be values ​​less than the determination threshold listed above, and the control system 30, in the power-saving mode, more strictly limits at least one of acceleration and maximum speed whenever the difference in the above-listed values ​​is less than the limit threshold. In this case, there are multiple power-saving modes with different degrees of limitation.

[0045] If, during the route search process for setting the first moving route R1, no candidate route C is found whose first predicted power consumption falls below the usable power, the control system 30 terminates the route search process for setting the first moving route R1. Furthermore, if, during the route search process for setting the second moving route R2, no candidate transport vehicle is found whose second predicted power consumption falls below the target usable power, the control system 30 terminates the route search process for setting the second moving route R2. Upon terminating the route search process, the control system 30, for example, discards the task associated with the completed route search process or modifies the content of the task (e.g., changing the transport destination of the article 2 to a closer station 3), and then executes the route search process again. Furthermore, if the power supply equipment supplying power to the transport vehicle 1 in the power supply area A fails or if traffic congestion occurs, it may be predicted before executing the route search process that no candidate route C is found whose first predicted power consumption falls below the usable power, or no candidate transport vehicle is found whose second predicted power consumption falls below the target usable power. In such a case, the control system 30 may be configured to not accept the task (in other words, not execute the route search process related to the task) or to execute the route search process while changing the content of the task, for example.

[0046] In this embodiment, the control system 30 executes a first movement path R1 (see FIG. 1 ) for setting the first movement path R1 with the transport starting point P1 as the movement starting point and the transport end point P2 as the movement end point in response to a transport instruction (transport task) for transporting the article 2 from the transport starting point P1 to the transport end point P2. Figure 5 ) path search process. Figure 5 As shown, the transport starting point P1 or the transport end point P2 is set to any station 3. In addition, in this embodiment, the control system 30 executes a second movement path R2 (refer to FIG. 1 ) for setting the current location of the target transport vehicle, which is any one of the plurality of transport vehicles 1, as the movement starting point and the transport starting point P1 as the movement end point in response to the transport instruction. Figure 5 ) route search processing. The transport task is assigned to the transport vehicle 1 selected as the target transport vehicle by the route search processing for setting the second movement route R2. Transport vehicles 1 assigned to other tasks, such as the transport vehicle 1 holding the article 2, are basically excluded from the candidate transport vehicles.

[0047] The control system 30 controls the transport vehicle 1 (target transport vehicle) assigned with the transport task to sequentially perform the movement action of moving to the transport starting point P1 along the set second movement path R2, the receiving action of receiving the article 2 at the transport starting point P1, the movement action of moving from the transport starting point P1 to the transport end point P2 along the first movement path R1, and the handover action of handing over the article 2 at the transport end point P2. To prevent the transport vehicle 1 (the target transport vehicle) from running out of power before the completion of this series of operations, in this embodiment, the target available power is calculated by subtracting the sum of the first predicted power consumption, the predicted power consumption derived for the target operation of receiving the item 2 at the transport starting point P1 (i.e., the power consumption predicted to be used by the transport vehicle 1 during the receiving operation), and the predicted power consumption derived for the target operation of transferring the item 2 at the transport end point P2 (i.e., the power consumption predicted to be used by the transport vehicle 1 during the transferring operation) from the available power (e.g., the power consumption determined based on the amount of power stored in the power storage device 52 during the route search process for setting the second travel route R2). The first predicted power consumption here refers to the first predicted power consumption for the entire candidate route C, not the candidate route C representing a portion of the first travel route R1. By setting the object usable electric energy used in the path search process for setting the second moving path R2 in this way, the first moving path R1 and the second moving path R2 can be set so that the "total predicted electric energy consumption" which is the sum of the first predicted electric energy consumption, the second predicted electric energy consumption, the predicted electric energy consumption derived by taking the receiving action of the article 2 at the conveying starting point P1 as the object action, and the predicted electric energy consumption derived by taking the handing over action of the article 2 at the conveying end point P2 as the object action does not exceed the usable electric energy.

[0048] As described above, in this embodiment, the target usable electric energy is set based on the first predicted electric energy consumption. Therefore, the first predicted electric energy consumption is required in the route search process for setting the second movement route R2. Alternatively, the route search process for setting the first movement route R1 can be executed to derive the first predicted electric energy consumption used to determine the target usable electric energy. However, in this case, the start of the route search process for setting the second movement route R2 must be delayed until the route search process for setting the first movement route R1 is completed. Furthermore, considering that the status of the movable route 40 (e.g., whether passage is permitted or congestion conditions) may change over time, it is ideal to execute the route search process for setting the first movement route R1 at a time close to the time when the transport vehicle 1 begins movement on the first movement route R1. However, if the route search process for setting the first movement route R1 is executed again after the route search process for setting the second movement route R2 is executed, the control load of the control system 30 will increase.

[0049] In view of the above aspects, in this embodiment, the control system 30 executes a path search process for setting the first moving path R1 after executing a path search process for setting the second moving path R2. Furthermore, the control system 30 is configured to derive a first predicted consumed electric energy used by the set object's usable electric energy without executing a path search process for setting the first moving path R1. Specifically, the control system 30 is configured as follows: based on statistics of past results (when the results are managed separately based on the presence or absence of the article 2 being held) of the consumed electric energy consumed by the transport vehicle 1 for each combination of two locations for movement between the two locations, the statistics corresponding to the combination of the two locations, the transport starting point P1 and the transport end point P2, which have been specified by the transport instruction, are derived as the first predicted consumed electric energy.

[0050] In this embodiment, a plurality of transport vehicles 1 are configured to move along a movable path 40. The control system 30 determines the available electric energy for each transport vehicle 1 during the available electric energy determination process. Furthermore, during the path search process for setting the second movable path R2, the control system 30 searches for a candidate path C, excluding the transport vehicle 1 whose available electric energy has fallen below zero from the candidate target transport vehicles.

[0051] In this embodiment, the control system 30 is configured to perform a low-cost path search process during the path search process. This low-cost path search process uses a cost (weight) to preferentially search for a path with a lower cost from among multiple paths as a candidate path C. The cost (weight) is a value corresponding to the main factor affecting the travel time of the transport vehicle 1 and increases as the travel time increases. The cost is equivalent to the predicted travel time. For example, in the low-cost path search process, a search for candidate paths C is performed using a path search algorithm based on the Dijkstra method, etc., which can search for a path with the lowest cost. Among the candidate paths C that meet predetermined conditions (for example, when setting the first travel path R1, the first predicted power consumption is less than the available power), the candidate path C with the lowest cost can be set as the travel path R.

[0052] As the main reasons that affect the travel time of the transport vehicle 1, there are, for example, the distance of the path, the structure of the path, the congestion of the path (the length of the congestion or the number of other transport vehicles 1 present on the path, etc.). The cost listed above is set in a manner that becomes larger as the travel time of the transport vehicle 1 becomes longer due to such main reasons. Thus, for example, the cost listed above can be set to include at least one of the distance cost, construction cost, congestion cost and other vehicle costs. Here, "including" means being included as an element for deriving cost. Therefore, the cost is derived based on at least one of the distance cost, construction cost, congestion cost and other vehicle costs. Distance cost, construction cost, congestion cost and other vehicle costs can be set as "element cost", for example, the cost is derived by adding element costs to each other, multiplying element costs to each other or a combination thereof.

[0053] The distance cost is a cost that increases as the moving distance of the transport vehicle 1 becomes longer. The distance cost can be determined accordingly with the distance of the path, for example, it can be set to a value obtained by multiplying the distance by a coefficient. The construction cost is a cost that increases as the movable speed (for example, maximum speed) of the transport vehicle 1 decreases according to the structure of the path. The structure of the path is a structure that affects the moving speed of the transport vehicle 1, such as the junction 42, the branching portion 43, the elevator (a lifting device that lifts the transport vehicle 1 in the path where the transport vehicle 1 is lifted), and the curve. The construction cost can be determined accordingly with the movable speed of the transport vehicle 1 at each structure, for example, it can be set to a value obtained by multiplying the inverse of the movable speed by a coefficient.

[0054] The congestion cost increases as at least one of the length of the congestion on the route and the number of transport vehicles 1 involved in the congestion increases. If a transport vehicle 1 is equipped with a collision avoidance sensor that monitors other transport vehicles 1 ahead of it, congestion can be defined as the presence of a transport vehicle 1 that has stopped for a set time or longer due to the collision avoidance sensor detecting other transport vehicles 1. In this case, the number of transport vehicles 1 that have stopped for a set time or longer constitutes the number of transport vehicles 1 involved in the congestion. If the congestion cost is determined based on the number of transport vehicles 1 involved in the congestion on the route, the congestion cost can be set to, for example, a value obtained by multiplying this number by a coefficient. Alternatively, if the congestion cost is determined based on the length of the congestion on the route, the congestion cost can be set to, for example, a value obtained by multiplying this length by a coefficient. The other vehicle cost increases as the number of other transport vehicles 1 on the route increases. In this embodiment, the "other transport vehicles 1" can be either moving or stationary. Other vehicle costs can be determined accordingly with the number of other transport vehicles 1 present in the path, for example, can be set to a value obtained by multiplying the number by a coefficient. The length of the congestion present in the path, the number of transport vehicles 1 present in the congestion present in the path, and the number of other transport vehicles 1 present in the path can be either values ​​(actual values) at the time of executing the low-cost path search process or predicted values ​​at the time when the transport vehicle 1 arrives at the path. In addition, the length of the congestion present in the path, the number of transport vehicles 1 present in the congestion present in the path, and the number of other transport vehicles 1 present in the path can also be statistics based on past results.

[0055] In this embodiment, the control system 30 is configured such that, in the route search process, the search for a candidate route C using the low-cost route search process and the derivation of the predicted power consumption for the candidate route C during the search are performed in parallel, and the movement route R is set at the same time. Figure 9 and Figure 10 Next, the route search process according to this embodiment will be described.

[0056] exist Figure 9 and Figure 10 In FIG. 4 , a movable path 40 is represented by a node N and a link L connecting the nodes N. In the following, when a plurality of nodes N are distinguished, the node N is described in parentheses. Figure 9 and Figure 10The letter shown inside the circle representing the node N in question is represented. For example, node N(a) represents node N indicated by "a." In the following, when multiple candidate paths C are distinguished, the nodes N that constitute the candidate path C are listed in order from the starting point of the path search within the parentheses following the candidate path C. The arrow within the parentheses indicates the direction from the upstream node N to the downstream node N. For example, candidate path C(a→b→c) and candidate path C(c←b←a) both represent paths that go from node N(a) to node N(c) via node N(b).

[0057] Node N corresponds to the junction 42 or the branch 43 (see Figure 1 ), the link L corresponds to the inter-point path connecting the specific points. In the path search process, the control system 30 sequentially connects the links L to search for the candidate path C. Figure 9 and Figure 10 In the example, each link L is annotated with a numerical value (s, t%). Here, s represents the weight assigned to link L, i.e., the cost (link cost), and t is expressed as the ratio (percentage) of the predicted power consumption assigned to link L relative to a reference stored power level (e.g., the fully charged capacity of the power storage device 52). While the predicted power consumption is expressed as a ratio relative to the reference stored power level as an example, the predicted power consumption may alternatively be a value of the power consumption. To account for differences in power consumption due to the presence or absence of the held object 2, the value of t varies depending on the presence or absence of the held object 2.

[0058] Regarding the cost of link L, the aforementioned cost (a value related to the main factor affecting the travel time of the transport vehicle 1, which increases as the travel time increases) is set for each link L. That is, the cost of link L corresponds to the predicted transit time of that link L. During the low-cost path search process, the control system 30 derives the cost of the candidate path C based on the sum of the costs of each link L included in the candidate path C. In this embodiment, the cost of the candidate path C is represented by the sum of the costs of each link L included in the candidate path C. Although details are omitted, if a cost is also set for a node N, during the low-cost path search process, the control system 30 derives the cost of the candidate path C based on the sum of the costs of each link L included in the candidate path C and the sum of the costs of each node N included in the candidate path C. In this case, for example, the cost of the candidate path C is represented by the sum of the costs of each link L and each node N included in the candidate path C.

[0059] Regarding the predicted power consumption of the links L, the power consumption that the transport vehicle 1 will use during its movement is predicted to be set for each link L. As described above, the predicted power consumption of the links L is derived, for example, based on statistics of past results or by calculation based on design values, learned values, or the like. During the predicted power consumption derivation process, the control system 30 derives the predicted power consumption for the candidate path C based on the sum of the predicted power consumption for each link L included in the candidate path C. In this embodiment, the predicted power consumption for the candidate path C is represented by the sum of the predicted power consumption for each link L included in the candidate path C. Although details are omitted, if the predicted power consumption is also set for the nodes N, the control system 30 derives the predicted power consumption for the candidate path C based on the sum of the predicted power consumption for each node N included in the candidate path C, in addition to the sum of the predicted power consumption for each link L included in the candidate path C. In this case, for example, the predicted power consumption of the candidate path C is represented by the sum of the predicted power consumption of each link L and each node N included in the candidate path C.

[0060] Figure 9 by Figure 9 (a) Figure 9 (b) Figure 9 (c) Figure 9 The procedure of (d) shows the route search process for setting the second travel route R2 in a time series. Here, it is assumed that there are candidate transport vehicles at the node N(c) and the node N(f).

[0061] exist Figure 9 , a search for a candidate path C starting from the node N(a) serving as the transport starting point P1 is performed toward the upstream side, which is the opposite direction of the target transport vehicle's travel direction. Figure 9 As shown in (a), there are three candidate paths C from other nodes N to node N(a). Figure 9 (a) shows the case where the candidate path C(a←b), candidate path C(a←c), and candidate path C(a←d) with the minimum cost are selected. Figure 9 On the right side of (a), the numerical values ​​of (S, T%) for each candidate path C are recorded. Here, S is the cost obtained by adding the costs (s) of all links L constituting the candidate path C, and T is the power obtained by adding the predicted power consumption (t) of all links L constituting the candidate path C. In other words, S represents the cost of the candidate path C, and T represents the predicted power consumption of the candidate path C. Figure 9 In (a), the selected candidate path C is shown by a thick solid line, and the unselected candidate path C is shown by a thick dotted line. Figure 9 Other pictures in Figure 10 The same is true.

[0062] Figure 9 (b) shows a scenario where the candidate path C(a←d←c) ​​with the lower cost is selected, that is, candidate path C(a←d←c). Here, a candidate transport vehicle exists at node N(c), and thus candidate path C(a←d←c) ​​becomes the path that connects the current location of any candidate transport vehicle to the transport starting point P1. Here, it is assumed that the target available power set for the candidate transport vehicle is less than 2%. In this case, the second predicted power consumption of candidate path C(a←d←c), that is, 2%, exceeds the target available power of the candidate transport vehicle. Therefore, it is determined that the second predicted power consumption exceeds the target available power, and the candidate transport vehicle at node N(c) is excluded from the candidate target transport vehicle, and the search for candidate path C continues.

[0063] Figure 9 (c) shows the case where the candidate path C (a←d←c←b) with the lower cost is selected from the candidate path C (a←d←c←e). Figure 9 (d) shows the situation where a candidate path C (a←d←c←b←f) is searched. Here, there is a candidate transport vehicle at node N(f), and thus the candidate path C (a←d←c←b←f) becomes the path connecting the current location of any candidate transport vehicle with the transport starting point P1. Here, it is assumed that the target available electric energy set for the candidate transport vehicle is 12% or more. In this case, the second predicted electric energy consumption of the candidate path C (a←d←c←b←f), that is, 12%, does not exceed the target available electric energy of the candidate transport vehicle. Therefore, it is determined that the candidate path C has reached a candidate transport vehicle whose second predicted electric energy consumption is less than the target available electric energy. Thus, the candidate transport vehicle is selected as the target transport vehicle, and the path from the current location of the candidate transport vehicle along the candidate path C (a←d←c←b←f) that reaches the candidate transport vehicle to the transport starting point P1 is set as the second moving path R2.

[0064] In addition, Figure 9In the example shown, the cost and predicted power consumption of each link L are set so that candidate path C (a←d←c←b←f) becomes the candidate path C with the lowest cost among candidate paths C whose second predicted power consumption falls below the target usable power. However, if, for example, the cost of candidate path C (a←b) is not "7" but is lower than the cost of candidate path C (a←d←c←b), which is "5," candidate path C (a←b←f) can become the candidate path C with the lowest cost among candidate paths C whose second predicted power consumption falls below the target usable power. Taking this into account, for example, a configuration can be adopted in which, when candidate path C (a←d←c←b) is found during the low-cost path search process, the cost of candidate path C (a←d←c←b) is compared with the cost of a candidate path C (a←b) having the same starting and ending points as the candidate path C, and the candidate path C (a←b) with the lower cost is selected. In this case, if the second predicted power consumption of the candidate route C(a←b←f) does not exceed the target available power of the candidate transport vehicle at the node N(f), the candidate route C(a←b←f) is set as the second movement route R2.

[0065] Figure 10 by Figure 10 (a) Figure 10 (b) Figure 10 (c) Figure 10 The procedure of (d) shows the route search process for setting the first movement route R1 in time series.

[0066] exist Figure 10 , the following situation is shown: To set the first moving path R1 connecting node N(a) serving as the transport starting point P1 and node N(f) serving as the transport end point P2, a path search is performed downstream, which is in the same direction as the target transport vehicle's travel direction, starting from node N(a) serving as the transport starting point P1. Alternatively, a path search can be performed upstream, which is in the opposite direction of the target transport vehicle's travel direction, starting from the transport end point P2, or starting from both the transport starting point P1 and the transport end point P2. In the latter case, candidate paths C include a path found by searching downstream from the transport starting point P1 and a path found by searching upstream from the transport end point P2. These two paths are combined at any node N to form a candidate path C representing the entire section of the first moving path R1.

[0067] Here, it is assumed that the usable electric energy determined for the transport vehicle 1 to which the transport task is assigned (that is, the transport vehicle 1 selected as the target transport vehicle) is 6%. Figure 10(a) shows a case where the candidate path C(a→d) having the minimum cost is selected among the three candidate paths C: the candidate path C(a→b), the candidate path C(a→c), and the candidate path C(a→d). Figure 10 (b) shows a case where the candidate path C (a→d→c) having the lower cost between the candidate path C (a→d→c) and the candidate path C (a→d→e) is selected.

[0068] exist Figure 10 In (c), the candidate path C (a→d→c→b) has the lower cost between candidate path C (a→d→c→b) and candidate path C (a→d→c→e). However, the first predicted power consumption of candidate path C, 7%, exceeds the available power of transport vehicle 1, 6%. Therefore, it is determined that the first predicted power consumption exceeds the available power, and candidate path C (a→d→c→b) is excluded from the candidate list for the first moving path R1. The search continues for a candidate path C that differs from this candidate path C in at least a portion.

[0069] exist Figure 10 In the example shown in (c), a search is performed for a candidate path C from the node N(c) toward a node N other than the node N(b) as a candidate path C that is at least partially different from the candidate path C (a→d→c→b). Figure 10 (c) shows the case where the candidate route C (a→d→c→e) is selected, where the first predicted consumed power does not exceed the available power. Figure 10 (d) shows the case where a candidate route C (a→d→c→e→f) has been found. Here, the first predicted power consumption of candidate route C (a→d→c→e→f), which is 4%, does not exceed the available power of transport vehicle 1, which is 6%. Therefore, candidate route C (a→d→c→e→f) is set as the first travel route R1.

[0070] In addition, Figure 10In the example shown, the cost and predicted power consumption of each link L are set in the candidate path C (a→d→c→e→f) in such a manner that the candidate path C with the lowest cost becomes the candidate path C where the first predicted power consumption becomes less than the usable power. However, for example, if the cost of the candidate path C (b→f) is not "3" but smaller than "2", the candidate path C (a→b→f) can become the candidate path C with the lowest cost among the candidate paths C where the first predicted power consumption becomes less than the usable power. Taking this into account, for example, the following configuration can be employed: In the low-cost route search process, not only is candidate route C (a→d→c→e→f) searched, but also candidate route C (a→b→f) is searched if the first predicted power consumption of candidate route C (a→b→f) does not exceed the available power of transport vehicle 1. The costs of candidate route C (a→d→c→e→f) and candidate route C (a→b→f) are compared, and the candidate route C (a→b→f) with the lower cost is selected. In this case, candidate route C (a→b→f) is set as first travel route R1.

[0071] However, in this embodiment, the control system 30 is configured as follows: a first path re-search process is executed on the transport vehicle 1 (hereinafter sometimes referred to as "the first transport vehicle in motion") that is moving along the first moving path R1 set by the path search process. The first path re-search process is for re-setting the first partial path R1a (see Figure 7 ) path search processing. In addition, in the present embodiment, the control system 30 is configured as follows: a second path re-search processing is executed on the transport vehicle 1 (hereinafter sometimes referred to as "the second transport vehicle in motion") that is moving on the second moving path R2 set by the path search processing. The second path re-search processing is for resetting the second partial path R2a (refer to Figure 6 ) route search process. If a section that is impassable or congested due to, for example, an abnormally stopped transport vehicle 1 is included in the currently set travel route R, the control system 30 executes the first route re-search process or the second route re-search process. By executing the first route re-search process or the second route re-search process, a more appropriate travel route R can be set that corresponds to the current status of the movable route 40.

[0072] During the first route re-search process, the control system 30 determines whether the predicted power consumption (i.e., the first partial predicted power consumption) derived from the movement action of the candidate route C of the first partial route R1a as the target action exceeds the available power. The available power used in this determination is determined, for example, based on the amount of power stored in the power storage device 52 at the time the first route re-search process is executed. During the search for the candidate route C, the control system 30 excludes any route determined to have exceeded the available power consumption from the candidate search for the first partial route R1a and continues the search for a candidate route C that differs in at least a portion from the excluded route. The first route re-search process is identical to the route search process for setting the first movement route R1, except that the current location of the transport vehicle during the first movement serves as the movement starting point, rather than the transport starting point P1. Therefore, details regarding the first route re-search process are omitted.

[0073] If the control system 30 finds a candidate path C in which the first part predicts that the power consumption will be less than the usable power, the control system 30 sets the candidate path C as the first partial path R1a, and controls the movement of the transport vehicle 1 in such a manner as to move along the set first partial path R1a. On the other hand, if the control system 30 does not find a candidate path C in which the first part predicts that the power consumption will be less than the usable power, the control system 30 executes a destination change process for changing the destination of the transport vehicle 1 from the transport terminal P2 to an article storage device 5 (hereinafter referred to as "transfer location P3") that is within a range that can be reached with power less than the usable power. Specifically, the control system 30 executes a process for setting a third moving path R3 (refer to Figure 8 ) is executed to control the first moving transport vehicle so that it moves along the established third moving route R3 to the transfer location P3 and transfers the article 2 to the transfer location P3. The path search process for setting the third moving route R3 is identical to the path search process for setting the first moving route R1, except that the current location of the first moving transport vehicle serves as the starting point of movement instead of the transport starting point P1, and the transfer location P3 serves as the transport ending point instead of the transport ending point P2. Therefore, details of the path search process for setting the third moving route R3 are omitted.

[0074] Furthermore, the control system 30 executes a path search process for causing another transport vehicle 1 (specifically, another transport vehicle 1 that does not hold the article 2) to transport the article 2 from the transfer location P3 to the transport destination P2. Specifically, the control system 30 executes a process for setting a fourth moving path R (referring to the fourth moving path R4) from the current location of any one of the plurality of transport vehicles 1, i.e., the target transport vehicle, to the transfer location P3. Figure 8) and executes a path search process for setting a fifth moving path R5 (see Figure 8 ). Furthermore, the control system 30 controls the other transport vehicle 1 selected as the target transport vehicle by the path search process for setting the fourth moving path R4 so that it moves along the fourth moving path R4 and heads to the transfer location P3. Furthermore, the control system 30 controls the other transport vehicle 1 so that it moves along the fifth moving path R5 and transports the article 2 from the transfer location P3 to the transport destination P2. Furthermore, the path search process for setting the fourth moving path R4 is the same as the path search process for setting the second moving path R2, except that the transfer location P3 serves as the transport starting point P1 instead of the transport starting point P1. Therefore, the details of the path search process for setting the fourth moving path R4 are omitted. Furthermore, the path search process for setting the fifth moving path R5 is the same as the path search process for setting the first moving path R1, except that the transfer location P3 serves as the transport starting point P1 instead of the transport starting point P1. Therefore, the details of the path search process for setting the fifth moving path R5 are omitted.

[0075] During the second route re-search process, the control system 30 determines whether the second partial predicted power consumption, derived from the movement action of the candidate route C of the second partial route R2a as the target action, exceeds the target available power. For example, the available power used to set the target available power for this determination is determined based on the amount of power stored in the power storage device 52 at the time the second route re-search process is executed. During the search for the candidate route C, the control system 30 removes any route determined to have the second partial predicted power consumption exceeding the target available power from the candidate search for the second partial route R2a and continues the search for candidate routes C that differ in at least a portion from the removed route. The second route re-search process is identical to the route search process for setting the first route R1, except that the current location of the transport vehicle during the second movement serves as the starting point instead of the transport starting point P1, and the transport starting point P1 serves as the end point instead of the transport end point P2. Therefore, details of the second route re-search process are omitted.

[0076] If the control system 30 finds a candidate path C in which the second portion of the predicted power consumption falls below the target usable power, it sets the candidate path C as the second partial path R2a and controls the movement of the transport vehicle 1 so that it moves along the set second partial path R2a. On the other hand, if the control system 30 fails to find a candidate path C in which the second portion of the predicted power consumption falls below the target usable power, it executes a path search process for setting the second movement path R2 and directs another transport vehicle 1 (specifically, another transport vehicle 1 not holding an article 2) toward the transport starting point P1. Specifically, the control system 30 controls the other transport vehicle 1 selected as the target transport vehicle by the path search process for setting the second movement path R2 so that it moves along the newly set second movement path R2 toward the transport starting point P1. Furthermore, the control system 30 controls the other transport vehicle 1 so that it moves along the first movement path R1 and transports the article 2 from the transport starting point P1 to the transport end point P2.

[0077] Below, refer to Figures 5 to 8 The first path re-search process, the second path re-search process and their accompanying processes will be described. Figures 5 to 8 In FIG, the first transport vehicle 1A, the second transport vehicle 1B, the third transport vehicle 1C, and the fourth transport vehicle 1D represent mutually different transport vehicles 1 .

[0078] Figure 5 The following situation is shown: the second moving route R2 shown by the thick solid line is set among a plurality of second moving route R2 candidates (the second moving route R2 shown by the thick solid line and the second moving route R2 shown by the thick dotted line) by the route search process for setting the second moving route R2, and the transport task is assigned to the first transport vehicle 1A located at the departure point of the set second moving route R2. Figure 5 The diagram shows a situation in which the first movement route R1 indicated by a thick solid line is set among a plurality of first movement route R1 candidates (the first movement route R1 indicated by a thick solid line and the first movement route R1 indicated by a thick dotted line) by the route search process for setting the first movement route R1.

[0079] Figure 6 Show Figure 5 An example of the following scenario. Figure 6 The following situation is shown: the first transport vehicle 1A (the second transport vehicle in motion) is on the second moving path R2 (in Figure 5 The second moving path R2 is shown by the thick solid line in Figure 6 During the period when the second moving path R2 shown by the thick dotted line moves toward the transport starting point P1, the portion marked with "×" is impassable and the second path re-search process is executed. Here, the following situation is assumed: Figure 6The second partial route R2a indicated by a single dot-dash line is a route where the second partial predicted power consumption exceeds the target usable power. In the second path re-search process, no candidate route C is found where the second partial predicted power consumption becomes less than the target usable power. Therefore, a route search process is executed to move another transport vehicle 1 that does not hold an article 2 to the transport starting point P1 (a route search process for setting the second moving route R2). Figure 6 , a situation is shown in which the second movement route R2 indicated by the thick solid line is set by the route search process, and the transport task is assigned to the third transport vehicle 1C located at the departure point of the set second movement route R2.

[0080] Figure 7 Show Figure 5 Another example of the following scenario. Figure 7 The following situation is shown: the first transport vehicle 1A (the first transport vehicle in motion) that has received the article 2 at the transport starting point P1 is on the first moving path R1 ( Figure 5 The first moving path R1 shown by the thick solid line in Figure 7 During the period when the first moving path R1 shown by the thick dotted line moves toward the transport terminal P2, the portion marked with "×" is impassable and the first path re-search process is executed. Figure 7 The first partial route R1a shown by the thick solid line in the figure is a route in which the first partial predicted power consumption falls below the usable power. Therefore, in the first route re-search process, the first partial route R1a shown by the thick solid line is set, and the first transport vehicle 1A moves along the set first partial route R1a to the transport destination P2.

[0081] Figure 8 Show Figure 5 Yet another example of the following scenario. Figure 8 and Figure 7 Similarly, the situation in which the first route re-search process is executed is shown, but here it is assumed that the candidate route C in which the first part of the predicted power consumption becomes less than the usable power is not found in the first route re-search process, and the destination change process is executed. Figure 8 In the embodiment, the transfer place P3 is an article storage device 5 (for example, an entry and exit port of the storage device or an empty storage rack) within the range that can be reached by the power less than the usable power of the first transport vehicle 1A (the first moving transport vehicle). The first transport vehicle 1A moves on the third moving path R3 and transfers the article 2 to the transfer place P3.

[0082] Moreover, in Figure 8In the process, a path search process is executed for transporting the article 2 from the transfer location P3 to the transport destination P2 by another transport vehicle 1 that does not hold the article 2. The fourth moving path R4 and the fifth moving path R5 are set by this path search process. Figure 8 In the example, the fourth transport vehicle 1D located at the starting point of the set fourth travel route R4 moves along the fourth travel route R4 to receive the article 2 from the transfer site P3, and then moves along the fifth travel route R5 to deliver the article 2 to the transport destination P2.

[0083] [Other Implementation Methods] (1) In the above-listed embodiments, the following configuration is described as an example: when the difference between the available electric energy and the predicted electric energy consumption is smaller than a predetermined threshold, the control system 30 causes the transport vehicle 1 to operate in the power saving mode. However, the present disclosure is not limited to such a configuration, and a configuration may be adopted in which the control system 30 causes the transport vehicle 1 to operate in the normal mode regardless of whether the difference between the available electric energy and the predicted electric energy consumption is smaller than a predetermined threshold.

[0084] (2) In the above-listed embodiments, a configuration in which a power supply area A is provided in a portion of the movable path 40 is described as an example. However, the present disclosure is not limited to such a configuration, and a configuration in which the power supply area A is not provided in the movable path 40 is also possible. In this case, for example, a power storage device 52 with a reduced remaining capacity (storage capacity) is replaced with a fully charged power storage device 52 at a replacement station.

[0085] (3) In addition, as long as no contradiction occurs, the configurations disclosed in each of the above-mentioned embodiments can also be combined with the configurations disclosed in other embodiments and applied (including combinations of the embodiments described as other embodiments). Even with respect to other configurations, the embodiments disclosed in this specification are merely illustrative in all respects. Therefore, various modifications can be made as appropriate without departing from the scope of the present disclosure.

[0086] [Summary of this embodiment] Hereinafter, a summary of the embodiments related to the article transport facility described above will be described.

[0087] An article conveying device is an article conveying device comprising a conveying vehicle that conveys articles by moving along a movable path and a control system for controlling the conveying vehicle, the conveying vehicle comprising a power storage device and a driving device driven by the electric power stored in the power storage device, the control system executing: an electric energy acquisition process for acquiring information indicating the amount of electric power stored in the power storage device; a path search process for searching for a candidate path as a candidate for the moving path of the conveying vehicle and setting the searched candidate path as the moving path; an available electric energy determination process for determining available electric energy based on the amount of electric power stored in the power acquisition process, the available electric energy being an upper limit of the electric energy that can be used by the conveying vehicle; and a prediction process for the electric energy consumption. The control system further comprises a process for deriving a prediction of the electric energy used by the transport vehicle in the target action, namely, the target action, and determining whether the predicted electric energy consumption, namely, the first predicted electric energy consumption, derived by taking the moving action in the candidate path of the first moving path as the target action, exceeds the usable electric energy in the path search process for setting the first moving path as the moving path from the specified moving starting point to the specified moving end point. The control system further comprises a process for excluding the path for which the first predicted electric energy consumption is determined to exceed the usable electric energy from the candidate path for the first moving path during the search for the candidate path, and continuing the search for the candidate path that is at least partially different from the excluded path.

[0088] According to this configuration, in the path search process for setting a first moving path from a designated starting point to a designated end point, paths whose first predicted power consumption exceeds the available power are excluded from the candidate first moving path, thereby enabling candidate paths whose first predicted power consumption falls below the available power to be set as the first moving path. Therefore, the path search process enables setting an appropriate first moving path that is less likely to cause the transport vehicle to run out of power before reaching the destination, which serves as the end point of the movement. In this case, by setting the available power so that the power required by the transport vehicle after reaching the destination is retained in the power storage device, the set first moving path can be set as a path that is less likely to cause the transport vehicle to run out of power not only before reaching the destination, but also after reaching the destination.

[0089] Furthermore, according to this configuration, during the route search process for setting the first moving path, a determination is made as to whether the first predicted power consumption exceeds the available power. During the search of candidate routes, routes determined to have the first predicted power consumption exceeding the available power are excluded from the candidate list for the first moving path. Therefore, for routes that were not set as the first moving path due to the first predicted power consumption exceeding the available power, the route search for those routes can be terminated at the moment the first predicted power consumption is determined to have exceeded the available power. This reduces the load on the route search process for setting the first moving path compared to a scenario where the route search is not terminated in this manner. As described above, according to this configuration, an appropriate moving path (the first moving path) can be set that is less likely to cause the transport vehicle to run out of power before reaching its destination, while simultaneously reducing the processing load on the control system for setting the appropriate moving path (the first moving path) for the transport vehicle.

[0090] Here, preferably, the control system executes the path search process for setting the first moving path having the transport start point as the moving start point and the transport end point as the moving end point in response to a transport instruction to transport the article from the transport start point to the transport end point.

[0091] According to this configuration, during the route search process for setting the first travel route, a first travel route can be set in which the first predicted power consumption from the transport starting point to the transport destination of the article is less than the available power. Therefore, according to this configuration, the transport vehicle can be caused to appropriately transport the article from the transport starting point to the transport destination in response to the article transport instruction.

[0092] In the above-listed configuration, it is suitable that the control system is configured as follows: the path search processing for resetting the first partial path of the movement path from the current position of the transport vehicle to the transport destination is executed on the transport vehicle while it is moving along the first movement path set by the path search processing; the control system, in the path search processing for resetting the first partial path, determines whether the predicted power consumption, i.e., the first partial predicted power consumption, derived by using the movement action along the candidate path of the first partial path as the target action, exceeds the usable power energy; during the search for the candidate path, the control system excludes from the candidates for the first partial path any path determined to have the first partial predicted power consumption exceeding the usable power energy; the search for the candidate path is continued for at least a portion different from the excluded path; and if no candidate path is found in which the first partial predicted power consumption becomes less than the usable power energy, the destination of the transport vehicle is changed from the transport destination to an item storage device within a range that can be reached with power less than the usable power energy.

[0093] In the route search process for resetting the first partial route for the transport vehicle moving along the first moving route, even if a candidate route in which the first partial predicted power consumption falls below the usable power consumption is not found, there is a possibility that a candidate route in which the first partial predicted power consumption falls below the usable power consumption may be found later due to the charging of the transport vehicle's power storage device or the change in the status (congestion level or whether or not the routes constituting the movable route) of the transport vehicle. However, waiting until a candidate route in which the first partial predicted power consumption falls below the usable power consumption is found may delay the completion of the transport task of delivering the article to the transport destination.

[0094] With regard to the above aspects, according to this configuration, if no candidate route is found during the route search process for resetting the first portion of the route where the predicted power consumption for the first portion falls below the usable power, the destination of the transport vehicle can be changed to an item storage device within reach of the vehicle using power below the usable power, and the item being transported can be transferred to the item storage device. This allows, for example, another transport vehicle to transport the item from the item storage device to the transport destination, thereby minimizing or avoiding delays in completing the transport task.

[0095] In addition, it is suitable that the plurality of transport vehicles are constructed in such a manner that they move on the movable path, and the control system, in the path search process for setting the moving path, i.e., the second moving path, from the current location of any one of the plurality of transport vehicles, i.e., the target transport vehicle, to the specified moving end point, determines whether the predicted consumed electric energy, i.e., the second predicted consumed electric energy, derived by taking the moving action on the candidate path of the second moving path as the target action, exceeds the usable electric energy of the candidate transport vehicle serving as a candidate for the target transport vehicle, and excludes the candidate transport vehicle for which it has been determined that the second predicted consumed electric energy exceeds the usable electric energy from the candidate for the target transport vehicle in the middle of the search for the candidate path, and continues the search for the candidate path.

[0096] According to this configuration, during the route search process for setting the second travel route, candidate transport vehicles whose second predicted power consumption exceeds the available power are excluded from candidate transport vehicles. Consequently, a candidate transport vehicle whose second predicted power consumption falls below the available power can be selected as the candidate transport vehicle, and a second travel route is set from the candidate transport vehicle's current location to the travel destination, where the second predicted power consumption falls below the available power. Consequently, an appropriate second travel route can be set that is less likely to cause the selected transport vehicle to run out of power before reaching the destination, which is the travel destination.

[0097] In addition, it is suitable that the plurality of transport vehicles are configured to move on the movable path, and the control system executes the path search processing for setting the first moving path with the transport starting point as the moving starting point and the transport end point as the moving end point in response to the transport instruction for transporting the article from the transport starting point to the transport end point, and the path search processing for setting the moving path from the current position of any one of the plurality of transport vehicles, i.e., the target transport vehicle, to the transport starting point, i.e., the second moving path, and sets the target usable power as the sum of the first predicted consumed power from the usable power, the predicted consumed power derived from the receiving action of the article at the transport starting point as the target action, and the predicted consumed power derived from the handing over action of the article at the transport end point as the target action. In the path search processing for setting the second moving path, the control system moves in a direction that is consistent with the previous one. The search for the candidate path starting from the transport starting point is performed on the upstream side in the direction opposite to the traveling direction of the target transport vehicle, and a determination is made as to whether the predicted power consumption, i.e., the second predicted power consumption, derived by taking the moving action in the candidate path of the second moving path as the target action, exceeds the target available power of the candidate transport vehicle serving as a candidate for the target transport vehicle. During the search for the candidate path, the candidate transport vehicle for which it is determined that the second predicted power consumption exceeds the target available power is excluded from the candidate for the target transport vehicle, and the search for the candidate path is continued. When the candidate path reaches the candidate transport vehicle whose second predicted power consumption becomes less than the target available power, the candidate transport vehicle is selected as the target transport vehicle, and a path from the current position of the candidate transport vehicle along the candidate path that reaches the candidate transport vehicle to the transport starting point is set as the second moving path.

[0098] According to this configuration, during the path search process for setting a first moving path, a first moving path can be set in which the first predicted power consumption from the starting point of an article's transport to the end point of the article's transport can be set to be less than the available power. Furthermore, during the path search process for setting a second moving path, a candidate transport vehicle whose second predicted power consumption is less than the target available power can be selected as the target transport vehicle, and a second moving path can be set in which the second predicted power consumption from the current location of the candidate transport vehicle to the starting point of the article's transport can be set to be less than the target available power. Here, the target available power is the value obtained by subtracting the sum of the first predicted power consumption, the predicted power consumption derived from the action of receiving the article at the transport starting point as the target action, and the predicted power consumption derived from the action of handing over the article at the transport end point as the target action from the available power. Therefore, the first and second moving paths can be set so that the total predicted power consumption used by the transport vehicle selected as the target transport vehicle during the series of actions, from moving to the transport starting point to receive the article, to moving to the transport end point to hand over the article, does not exceed the available power. Therefore, according to this configuration, the transport vehicle selected as the target transport vehicle can be caused to appropriately transport the article from the transport start point to the transport end point in response to the article transport instruction.

[0099] However, the current location of any transport vehicle serving as the starting point of the second moving path is determined after the path search process for setting the second moving path is executed. In contrast, the transport starting point of the article serving as the end point of the second moving path is specified by the article transport instruction and is thus determined before the path search process for setting the second moving path is executed. Regarding this aspect, according to this configuration, during the path search process for setting the second moving path, a search is performed for candidate paths directed upstream from the end point (the transport starting point), whichever of the starting point and the end point of the second moving path was determined before the path search process was executed. This facilitates and efficiently executes the path search process for setting the second moving path.

[0100] In the above-listed configuration, it is suitable that the control system: in the usable electric energy determination process, determines the usable electric energy for each of the transport vehicles; in the path search process for setting the second moving path, searches for the candidate path by excluding the transport vehicle whose usable electric energy is below zero from the candidates for the target transport vehicle.

[0101] With respect to a transport vehicle for which the available electric energy falls below zero, there is essentially no movement path (i.e., a path combining the first and second movement paths) from the current location of the transport vehicle via the transport starting point to the transport destination where the total predicted electric energy consumption used in the series of actions from moving to the transport starting point to receive an item to moving to the transport destination to hand over the item falls below the available electric energy. This configuration allows the path search process for setting the second movement path to be performed without such a transport vehicle, making it easy and efficient to perform the path search process for setting the second movement path.

[0102] In addition, it is suitable that the control system is constructed as follows: for the transport vehicle moving on the second moving path set by the path search process, the path search process for resetting the second partial path as the moving path from the current position of the transport vehicle to the transport starting point is executed. In the path search process for resetting the second partial path, the control system determines whether the predicted power consumption, i.e., the second partial predicted power consumption, derived by using the moving action on the candidate path of the second partial path as the target action, exceeds the usable power energy of the target. During the search of the candidate path, the path determined to have the second partial predicted power consumption exceeding the usable power energy of the target is excluded from the candidates for the second partial path, and the search for the candidate path that is at least partially different from the excluded path is continued. If no candidate path is found in which the second partial predicted power consumption becomes less than the usable power energy of the target, the path search process for setting the second moving path is executed to cause another transport vehicle to proceed to the transport starting point.

[0103] In the route search process for resetting the second partial route for the transport vehicle moving along the second moving path, even if a candidate route in which the second partial predicted power consumption falls below the target usable power energy is not found, there is a possibility that a candidate route in which the second partial predicted power consumption falls below the target usable power energy may be found later due to charging of the transport vehicle's power storage device or changes in the status (congestion level or whether or not traffic is permitted) of the various routes constituting the movable path. However, waiting until a candidate route in which the second partial predicted power consumption falls below the target usable power energy is found may delay the completion of the transport task of receiving the article at the transport starting point and transporting the article to the transport end point.

[0104] With regard to the above aspects, according to this configuration, if no candidate route is found during the route search process for resetting the second partial route in which the second partial predicted power consumption falls below the target usable power, the route search process for setting the second moving route can be executed, and another transport vehicle can be directed to the starting point of the transport of the item. This can avoid or minimize delays in the completion of the transport task.

[0105] In the article conveying equipment of each of the above-mentioned structures, it is appropriate that the control system causes the conveying vehicle to operate in a power-saving mode in which power consumption is suppressed to a lower level than in the normal mode when the difference between the available power and the predicted consumed power is smaller than a predetermined judgment threshold.

[0106] According to this configuration, even when the margin of available electric energy is smaller than the predicted electric energy consumption, the margin of electric energy can be increased, thereby improving the reliability that the transport vehicle can move to the destination.

[0107] In addition, it is appropriate that a power supply area for supplying power to the above-mentioned transport vehicle is provided in a part of the above-mentioned movable path, and in the above-mentioned predicted power consumption derivation process, when the above-mentioned power supply area is included in the above-mentioned candidate path, the above-mentioned control system sets the power used by the above-mentioned transport vehicle located in the above-mentioned power supply area to zero or a negative value, and derives the above-mentioned predicted power consumption.

[0108] According to this configuration, even when a power supply area is provided in a part of the movable path, the predicted power consumption can be appropriately derived by the predicted power consumption derivation process.

[0109] In addition, it is suitable that the control system is configured as follows: a low-cost path search process is executed in the path search process, and the low-cost path search process uses a cost that is a value related to a major factor affecting the travel time of the transport vehicle and increases as the travel time becomes longer to preferentially search for a path with a smaller cost from among multiple paths as the candidate path.

[0110] According to this configuration, it is possible to increase the possibility that a candidate route set as a travel route in the route search process will be a route with a short time until reaching the destination.

[0111] Among the above-listed configurations, it is suitable that the control system: in the above-mentioned path search processing, the inter-point paths between the connecting points are sequentially connected to search for the above-mentioned candidate path; in the above-mentioned low-cost path search processing, the above-mentioned cost of the candidate path is derived based on the sum of the above-mentioned costs of each of the above-mentioned inter-point paths included in the above-mentioned candidate path; in the above-mentioned predicted power consumption derivation processing, the above-mentioned predicted power consumption of the candidate path is derived based on the sum of the above-mentioned predicted power consumption of each of the above-mentioned inter-point paths included in the above-mentioned candidate path.

[0112] According to this configuration, the cost and predicted power consumption set for each inter-point route can be used to appropriately derive the cost and predicted power consumption of a candidate route consisting of a set of inter-point routes.

[0113] The article transport facility according to the present disclosure only needs to be able to achieve at least one of the above-mentioned effects. [Description of Reference Numerals]

[0114] 1: Transport vehicle 2: Items 5: Item storage device 30: Control System 40: Movable Path 51: Drive device 52: Power storage device 100: Goods conveying equipment A: Power supply area C: Alternative path L: Link (path between locations) N: Node (location) P1: conveying starting point P2: Delivery end point R: Movement path R1: First movement path R1a: Part 1 Path R2: Second movement path R2a: Part 2 Path

Claims

1. An article transport device comprising a transport vehicle that moves along a movable path to transport articles and a control system that controls the transport vehicle. The article conveying equipment has the following characteristics: The transport vehicle includes a power storage device and a drive device driven by the electric power stored in the power storage device. The control system performs: an electric energy acquisition process for acquiring information indicating the amount of storage in the power storage device; a route search process for searching for a candidate route that is a candidate for the movement route of the transport vehicle, and setting the searched candidate route as the movement route; a usable electric energy determination process for determining usable electric energy based on the amount of stored electricity acquired by the electric energy acquisition process, the usable electric energy being an upper limit of electric energy that can be used by the transport vehicle; as well as The predicted power consumption deriving process derives the predicted power consumption, which is the power that is predicted to be used by the transport vehicle in the target operation, that is, the target operation. The control system, in the path search process for setting the first moving path as the moving path from the designated moving starting point to the designated moving end point, determines whether the predicted power consumption, i.e., the first predicted power consumption, derived by taking the moving action of the candidate path in the first moving path as the object action, exceeds the usable power. In the middle of the search for the candidate path, the control system excludes the path for which the first predicted power consumption has been determined to exceed the usable power from the candidates for the first moving path, and continues the search for the candidate path that is at least partially different from the excluded path.

2. The article conveying device according to claim 1, wherein: The control system executes the route search process for setting the first travel route having the transport start point as a travel start point and the transport end point as a travel end point in response to a transport instruction to transport the article from a transport start point to a transport end point.

3. The article conveying device according to claim 2, wherein: The control system is configured to execute the route search process for resetting a first partial route as the movement route from the current position of the transport vehicle to the transport destination, with respect to the transport vehicle moving along the first movement route set by the route search process; The control system, in the path search process for resetting the first partial path, determines whether the predicted power consumption, i.e., the first partial predicted power consumption, derived by taking the moving action of the candidate path of the first partial path as the object action, exceeds the usable power energy. In the middle of the search for the candidate path, the control system excludes the path determined to have the first partial predicted power consumption exceeding the usable power energy from the candidates for the first partial path, and continues to search for the candidate path that is at least partially different from the excluded path. If the control system fails to find the candidate path in which the first partial predicted power consumption becomes less than the usable power energy, the destination of the transport vehicle is changed from the transport end point to an item storage device within the range that can be reached with power less than the usable power energy.

4. The article conveying device according to claim 1, wherein: The plurality of transport vehicles are configured to move along the movable path. The control system, in the path search process for setting the moving path, i.e., the second moving path, from the current location of any one of the plurality of transport vehicles, i.e., the target transport vehicle, to the specified moving destination, determines whether the predicted power consumption, i.e., the second predicted power consumption, derived by using the moving action of the candidate path of the second moving path as the target action, exceeds the available power of the candidate transport vehicle serving as a candidate for the target transport vehicle. During the search of the candidate path, the control system excludes the candidate transport vehicle for which the second predicted power consumption is determined to exceed the available power, from the candidate for the target transport vehicle, and continues the search of the candidate path.

5. The article conveying device according to claim 1, wherein: The plurality of transport vehicles are configured to move along the movable path. The control system executes the path search process for setting the first moving path having the transport starting point as the moving starting point and the transport end point as the moving end point, and the path search process for setting the moving path from the current position of any one of the plurality of transport vehicles, i.e., the target transport vehicle, to the transport starting point, in response to a transport instruction for transporting the article from the transport starting point to the transport end point. The target usable electric energy is obtained by subtracting the first predicted electric energy consumption from the usable electric energy, the predicted electric energy consumption derived by taking the receiving action of the article at the transport starting point as the target action, and the predicted electric energy consumption derived by taking the handing over action of the article at the transport end point as the target action, The control system searches for the candidate route with the transport starting point as the starting point in the upstream direction that is opposite to the traveling direction of the target transport vehicle in the route search process for setting the second moving route, and determines whether the predicted power consumption, i.e., the second predicted power consumption, derived by using the moving action of the candidate route in the second moving route as the target action, exceeds the target available power energy of the candidate transport vehicle as a candidate for the target transport vehicle. During the search for the candidate route, the candidate transport vehicle determined to have the second predicted power consumption exceeding the target available power energy is excluded from the candidate for the target transport vehicle, and the search for the candidate route is continued. When the candidate route reaches the candidate transport vehicle whose second predicted power consumption becomes less than the target available power energy, the candidate transport vehicle is selected as the target transport vehicle, and a route from the current position of the candidate transport vehicle along the candidate route that reaches the candidate transport vehicle to the transport starting point is set as the second moving route.

6. The article conveying device according to claim 5, wherein: The control system: In the usable electric energy determination process, the usable electric energy for each of the transport vehicles is determined. In the route search process for setting the second movement route, the candidate routes are searched while excluding the transport vehicle whose usable electric energy is zero or less from candidates for the target transport vehicle.

7. The article conveying device according to claim 5, wherein: The control system is configured to execute the route search process for resetting the second partial route of the movement route from the current position of the transport vehicle to the transport starting point for the transport vehicle moving along the second movement route set by the route search process, The control system, in the path search process for resetting the second partial path, determines whether the predicted power consumption, i.e., the second partial predicted power consumption, derived by taking the moving action of the candidate path of the second partial path as the object action, exceeds the available power energy of the object. In the middle of searching the candidate path, the control system excludes from the candidates of the second partial path the path for which the second partial predicted power consumption has been determined to exceed the available power energy of the object, and continues searching for the candidate path that is at least partially different from the excluded path. If no candidate path is found in which the second partial predicted power consumption becomes less than the available power energy of the object, the control system executes the path search process for setting the second moving path and causes the other transport vehicle to proceed to the transport starting point.

8. The article transport device according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein: A power supply area for supplying power to the transport vehicle is provided in a portion of the movable path. In the predicted power consumption derivation process, the control system derivates the predicted power consumption by setting the power used by the transport vehicle within the power supply area to zero or a negative value when the power supply area is included in the candidate route.

9. The article transport device according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein: The control system is configured as follows: in the route search process, a low-cost route search process is executed, wherein the low-cost route search process preferentially searches for a route with a lower cost from among a plurality of routes as the candidate route using a cost, the cost being a value related to a factor affecting the travel time of the transport vehicle and increasing as the travel time increases.

10. The article transport device according to claim 9, wherein: The control system: In the route search process, the candidate routes are searched by sequentially connecting the inter-point routes between the connecting points. In the low-cost route search process, the cost of the candidate route is derived based on the sum of the costs of the respective inter-point routes included in the candidate route. In the predicted power consumption derivation process, the predicted power consumption for the candidate route is derived based on the sum of the predicted power consumption for each of the inter-point routes included in the candidate route.

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