Transport vehicle system and transport vehicle control device

Abstract

The invention relates to a transport vehicle system and a transport vehicle control device. This transport vehicle system is provided with: a rail having a plurality of branch sections and a converging section; a plurality of transport vehicles that travel along the rails and transport articles; a plurality of temporary placement parts which are arranged on the periphery of the rail and on which articles are placed; and a transport vehicle controller that allocates a transport command to the transport vehicle. When an unknown cargo transport vehicle, which is a transport vehicle that cannot complete transport of loaded articles, is generated, a transport vehicle controller determines a temporary placement section as a destination on the basis of an unknown cargo transport destination table in which a plurality of temporary placement sections located within a prescribed range from the unknown cargo transport vehicle are listed. And assigns an unknown cargo transport command for transporting the articles to the determined temporary placement part to the unknown cargo transport vehicle.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to a transport vehicle system and a transport vehicle control device. Background Technology

[0002] A known conveyor system comprises: a track having multiple branches and confluences; multiple conveyor vehicles that travel along the track and convey items; and a conveyor vehicle controller that assigns conveying instructions to the conveyor vehicles (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

[0003] Patent Document 1: Japanese Patent No. 7306588

[0004] In the aforementioned transport vehicle system, if, for some reason, a transport vehicle (i.e., an unidentified cargo transport vehicle) becomes unable to complete the transport of its loaded items, then sometimes the items loaded on the unidentified cargo transport vehicle (hereinafter also referred to as "unidentified cargo") are temporarily placed in a temporary placement section arranged along the track. However, in this case, for example, the transport of the unidentified cargo to the temporary placement section is sometimes very time-consuming, and there is a possibility that the unidentified cargo cannot be placed efficiently. Summary of the Invention

[0005] The purpose of this invention is to provide a transport vehicle system and a transport vehicle control device that can efficiently temporarily place an unidentified cargo transport vehicle that is unable to complete the transport of loaded goods.

[0006] (1) The transport vehicle system of the present invention comprises: a track having multiple branches and a confluence section; multiple transport vehicles that travel along the track and transport articles; multiple temporary placement sections disposed around the track and carrying articles; and a transport vehicle controller that assigns transport instructions to the transport vehicles. When a transport vehicle that cannot complete the transport of loaded articles, i.e., an unidentified goods transport vehicle, is generated, the transport vehicle controller determines the temporary placement section as the destination based on a list of unidentified goods transport destinations of multiple temporary placement sections located within a specified range from the unidentified goods transport vehicle, and assigns an unidentified goods transport instruction to the unidentified goods transport vehicle to transport articles to the determined temporary placement section.

[0007] In this transport vehicle system, the temporary placement location (i.e., the destination of the unidentified goods transport instruction) located outside the designated area from the unidentified goods transport vehicle is not designated as the temporary placement destination. Instead, the temporary placement destination can be determined from multiple temporary placement locations located within the designated area of ​​the unidentified goods transport vehicle. As a result, for example, the time required to transport unidentified goods to the temporary placement location can be reduced, and unidentified goods can be temporarily placed efficiently.

[0008] (2) In the transport vehicle system described in (1) above, the transport vehicle controller may also perform path searching from the unidentified cargo transport vehicle to multiple temporary placement units and create an unidentified cargo transport destination table when an unidentified cargo transport vehicle is generated, and determine the temporary placement unit as the destination based on the created unidentified cargo transport destination table. In this case, an unidentified cargo transport destination table corresponding to the situation when the unidentified cargo transport vehicle is generated can be obtained.

[0009] (3) In the transport vehicle system described in (1) or (2) above, each of the multiple temporary placement units in the destination table for unidentified goods can also be set with a maximum simultaneous transport quantity. The transport vehicle controller can also assign unidentified goods transport instructions to multiple unidentified goods transport vehicles. If the destinations of the assigned multiple unidentified goods transport instructions overlap with the same temporary placement unit, and the number of overlaps reaches the maximum simultaneous transport quantity of the temporary placement unit, when assigning an unidentified goods transport instruction to a new unidentified goods transport vehicle, the temporary placement unit that is different from the temporary placement unit that has reached the maximum simultaneous transport quantity will be determined as the destination. In this case, it is possible to suppress the situation where multiple unidentified goods are temporarily placed in a concentrated manner in a specific temporary placement unit, and it is possible to temporarily place multiple unidentified goods in multiple temporary placement units in a dispersed manner.

[0010] (4) In any of the transport vehicle systems described in (1) to (3) above, the destination list for unidentified goods can also be a table that prioritizes and lists multiple temporary placement locations based on the unidentified goods transport vehicle and its current location, from closest to furthest. The transport vehicle controller can also select temporary placement locations as candidates for destinations, starting from the one with the highest priority in the destination list. In this case, unidentified goods can be temporarily placed in a temporary placement location that is closer to the current location of the unidentified goods transport vehicle.

[0011] (5) In any of the transport vehicle systems described in (1) to (4) above, the transport vehicle controller may, if the unidentified cargo transport vehicle is unable to complete the unidentified cargo transport instruction to the temporary placement unit determined based on the unidentified cargo transport destination table, again determine the temporary placement unit as the destination based on the unidentified cargo transport destination table, and assign a new unidentified cargo transport instruction to the unidentified cargo transport vehicle to transport the item to the newly determined temporary placement unit. Even if temporary placement cannot be completed using the unidentified cargo transport instruction using the unidentified cargo transport destination table, temporary placement can be completed using the same unidentified cargo transport instruction using the same unidentified cargo transport destination table, even if various situations change subsequently. In this invention, such a possibility is considered, and unidentified cargo can be placed temporarily efficiently.

[0012] (6) In any of the transport vehicle systems described in (1) to (5) above, the unidentified goods transport vehicle can also be a transport vehicle whose transport of goods has failed or whose transport has been interrupted during the transport of goods, and a transport vehicle that has been in a state of not being assigned a new transport instruction for a certain period of time. In this invention, unidentified goods in such unidentified goods transport vehicles can be placed efficiently and temporarily.

[0013] (7) The transport vehicle control device of the present invention, in a transport vehicle system comprising: a track having multiple branches and a confluence section; multiple transport vehicles that travel along the track and transport articles; and multiple temporary placement sections disposed around the track and carrying articles, controls the transport vehicles to determine the destination temporary placement section based on a list of multiple temporary placement sections located within a specified range from the unidentified goods transport vehicle, in the event that a transport vehicle, i.e., an unidentified goods transport vehicle, is unable to complete the transport of its loaded articles, based on a list of unidentified goods transport destinations located within a specified range from the unidentified goods transport vehicle, and issues an unidentified goods transport instruction to the unidentified goods transport vehicle to transport articles to the determined temporary placement section. In this transport vehicle control device, similar to the transport vehicle system described above, it is also possible to efficiently temporarily place unidentified goods in the event of an unidentified goods transport vehicle.

[0014] According to the present invention, a transport vehicle system and a transport vehicle control device are provided for efficiently temporarily placing an unidentified cargo transport vehicle that is unable to complete the transport of loaded goods. Attached Figure Description

[0015] Figure 1 This is a simplified diagram showing an example layout of a transport vehicle system.

[0016] Figure 2 It is a block diagram representing the functional structure of the transport vehicle system.

[0017] Figure 3 This is a block diagram illustrating an example of the hardware structure of a transport vehicle controller.

[0018] Figure 4(a) is a diagram showing the first example of a table of destinations for unidentified goods. Figure 4(b) is a diagram showing the second example of a table of destinations for unidentified goods.

[0019] Figure 5 This is a simplified diagram showing other layout examples of the transport vehicle system.

[0020] Figure 6(a) is a diagram showing the third example of a table of destinations for unidentified goods. Figure 6(b) is a diagram showing the fourth example of a table of destinations for unidentified goods. Detailed Implementation

[0021] Hereinafter, one embodiment will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the description of the drawings, the same or equivalent components are often labeled with the same reference numerals, and repeated descriptions are omitted.

[0022] like Figure 1 As shown, the transport vehicle system 1 of this embodiment includes: a track 10, a plurality of transport vehicles 2 traveling along the track 10, a temporary placement part P disposed around the track 10, and a transport vehicle controller 20 that assigns transport instructions to the transport vehicles 2.

[0023] Track 10 is a transport route in which the transport vehicle 2 can travel in a predetermined direction. Track 10 is laid, for example, in a factory or other facility. Track 10 is formed by connecting multiple path sections 11 to each other. Track 10 has multiple branch sections 12 where one path section 11 branches into multiple path sections 11, and multiple confluence sections 13 where multiple path sections 11 merge.

[0024] The transport vehicle 2 is, for example, an unmanned transport vehicle for transporting items. The transport vehicle 2 can be, for example, a bridge crane, a rail-mounted trolley, etc. As an example, the transport vehicle 2 is an elevated transport vehicle configured to travel along track 10. For example, the transport vehicle 2 is an overhead hoist transport (OHT). As an example, the items transported by the transport vehicle 2 are boxes containing multiple semiconductor wafers (so-called FOUP (Front Opening Unified Pod)).

[0025] The temporary placement section P is a location on the transport vehicle 2 where items can be temporarily placed and loaded. The temporary placement section P serves as a buffer zone for temporarily storing items. For example, the temporary placement section P can be at least one of a storage rack, a suspended temporary storage device, or a conveyor belt. The temporary placement sections P are distributed around the perimeter of the track 10. Each temporary placement section P can temporarily hold one or more items.

[0026] like Figure 1 as well as Figure 2 As shown, the conveyor controller 20 receives conveying instructions from the host controller 50. The conveyor controller 20 controls the movement of the conveyor 2 by distributing the conveying instructions received from the host controller 50 to the conveyor 2 selected from a plurality of conveyor 2.

[0027] The transport vehicle controller 20 determines the transport path of the transport instruction (i.e., the travel path from the current position of the transport vehicle 2, via the From point, to the To point) by performing a path search using a pre-determined path search algorithm (e.g., the shortest path retrieval algorithm such as Dijkstra's method) based on the link costs associated with the path section 11, branch section 12, and merging section 13. The transport vehicle controller 20 then assigns the transport instruction to the transport vehicle 2 along the determined transport path.

[0028] The conveyor 2, assigned a conveying instruction, travels towards location From. After picking up the item to be conveyed at location From, it conveys the item towards location To and unloads the item at location To. The path search algorithm is not particularly limited, and various algorithms can be used (the same applies to path search below). The conveyor controller 20 constitutes the conveyor control device for controlling the conveyor 2 in the conveyor system 1.

[0029] like Figure 3 As shown, the conveyor controller 20 can be configured as a computer system, which includes one or more processors such as CPUs (Central Processing Units) 201, one or more RAMs (Random Access Memory) 202 as main storage devices, one or more ROMs (Read Only Memory) 203, input devices such as keyboards for operator input 204, output devices such as displays for providing information to operators 205, a communication module 206 for communicating with the conveyor 2, and auxiliary storage devices such as HDDs and SSDs 207. The conveyor controller 20 can be composed of a single computer device or multiple computer devices (e.g., multiple sub-controllers).

[0030] The various functions of the transport vehicle controller 20 are achieved, for example, by reading a prescribed program into a memory such as RAM 202, activating the input device 204 and the output device 205 based on the control of the processor 201, activating the communication module 206, and reading and writing data from RAM 202 and auxiliary storage device 207.

[0031] like Figure 1 as well as Figure 2As shown, in this embodiment, when an unidentified cargo transport vehicle 3 is generated, the transport vehicle controller 20 determines the temporary placement unit P as the destination based on a table listing multiple temporary placement units P located within a predetermined range from the unidentified cargo transport vehicle 3, and issues an unidentified cargo transport instruction to the unidentified cargo transport vehicle 3 to transport items to the determined temporary placement unit P. The transport vehicle controller 20, as a functional structure, includes a table creation unit 21, a storage unit 22, a determination unit 23, and an allocation unit 24.

[0032] The unidentified cargo transport vehicle 3 is a transport vehicle 2 that is unable to complete the transport of its loaded goods. The unidentified cargo transport vehicle 3 is loaded with goods (hereinafter, the goods loaded in the unidentified cargo transport vehicle 3 will also be referred to as "unidentified cargo"). The unidentified cargo transport vehicle 3 can also be a transport vehicle 2 whose transport of goods has failed. The unidentified cargo transport vehicle 3 can also be a transport vehicle 2 whose transport was interrupted (cancelled) during the transport of goods. The unidentified cargo transport vehicle 3 can also be a transport vehicle 2 that has been in a state where no new transport instruction has been assigned (the state where the transport vehicle controller 20 has not received the transport instruction from the upper controller 50) for a certain period of time. The unidentified cargo transport vehicle 3 can also be a transport vehicle 2 with an unknown destination, a transport vehicle 2 that has not been assigned an instruction related to the To location, or a transport vehicle 2 that has lost an instruction related to the To location.

[0033] For example, the unidentified cargo transport vehicle 3 could also be a transport vehicle 2 that stops due to contact with other transport vehicles 2, etc. Additionally, the unidentified cargo transport vehicle 3 could also be a transport vehicle 2 that repeatedly performs loading or unloading actions due to errors, reaching a certain number of repetitions. Furthermore, the unidentified cargo transport vehicle 3 could also be a transport vehicle 2 that experiences a communication anomaly. Finally, the unidentified cargo transport vehicle 3 could also be a transport vehicle 2 that, from the receipt of a transport instruction, fails to complete the instruction and exceeds a certain time limit.

[0034] When an unidentified cargo transport vehicle 3 is generated, the table creation unit 21 performs a path search from the unidentified cargo transport vehicle 3 to multiple temporary placement units P and creates a table of unidentified cargo transport destinations. The determination of whether an unidentified cargo transport vehicle 3 has been generated in the table creation unit 21 can be performed, for example, based on various information sent from the transport vehicle 2, etc.

[0035] As shown in Figure 4, the Unidentified Cargo Delivery Destination Table TB is based on a table listing multiple temporary placement units P located within a specified range from the Unidentified Cargo Transport Vehicle 3. Specifically, the Unidentified Cargo Delivery Destination Table TB prioritizes the multiple temporary placement units P located within the specified range according to their current position relative to the Unidentified Cargo Transport Vehicle 3, from closest to furthest. The Unidentified Cargo Delivery Destination Table TB is set on a per-unidentified cargo transport vehicle 3 basis. The specified range is not specifically limited and can be a pre-set range, for example, it can be set via the input device 204 (see Figure 4). Figure 3 The range is variable. "Close" can mean a shorter distance along the path, a shorter arrival time, or a lower link cost.

[0036] Each of the multiple temporary placement units P in the unidentified cargo delivery destination table TB has a maximum simultaneous delivery capacity. The maximum simultaneous delivery capacity is the upper limit on the number of times a shipment can simultaneously become the destination of multiple unidentified cargo delivery orders. The maximum simultaneous delivery capacity can also be determined, for example, via input device 204 (see reference). Figure 3 The number of temporary storage units P in the Unidentified Goods Delivery Destination Table TB is variable. Each of these units has a currently possible delivery quantity (so-called capacity). The currently possible delivery quantity is the remaining quantity that can be set as the destination of an Unidentified Goods delivery instruction. The currently possible delivery quantity is obtained by subtracting the "quantity already set as the destination value of the Unidentified Goods delivery instruction" from the "maximum simultaneous delivery quantity".

[0037] Storage unit 22 is a database that stores various information related to the transport vehicle system 1. Storage unit 22 can be composed of a single database device or multiple database devices. Storage unit 22 stores the unidentified cargo transport destination table TB created by table creation unit 21.

[0038] The decision unit 23 determines the temporary placement unit P as the destination of the unidentified cargo transportation order based on the unidentified cargo transportation destination table TB created by the table creation unit 21 and stored in the storage unit 22. The decision unit 23 selects temporary placement units P sequentially from the highest priority temporary placement unit P in the unidentified cargo transportation destination table TB as candidates for destination. The decision unit 23 then determines the selected temporary placement units P as the destination for the unidentified cargo transportation order.

[0039] The allocation unit 24 performs a path search to determine a transport route for delivering the unidentified goods to the determined temporary placement unit P, and generates an unidentified goods transport instruction to transport the unidentified goods along the determined transport route and unload them at the temporary placement unit P. The allocation unit 24 then assigns the generated unidentified goods transport instruction to the unidentified goods transport vehicle 3. Alternatively, the allocation unit 24 can also use the path search results performed by the table creation unit 21 to generate the unidentified goods transport instruction.

[0040] In particular, in this embodiment, the decision unit 23 assigns unidentified cargo transport instructions to multiple unidentified cargo transport vehicles 3. When the destination of the multiple unidentified cargo transport instructions is the same as that of the temporary placement unit P, and the number of such repetitions reaches the maximum simultaneous transport capacity of the temporary placement unit P (when the "current possible transport capacity" becomes 0), when assigning unidentified cargo transport instructions to a new unidentified cargo transport vehicle 3, the temporary placement unit P that is different from the temporary placement unit P that has reached the maximum simultaneous transport capacity is determined as the destination.

[0041] As an example, the decision unit 23 selects temporary placement units P, starting from the one with the highest priority in the unidentified cargo delivery destination table TB, as candidates for destinations in sequence. If the "current possible delivery quantity" of a selected temporary placement unit P as a candidate destination is 0, the decision unit 23 selects the next temporary placement unit P with the highest priority as a candidate destination. The decision unit 23 repeats this selection process until a temporary placement unit P with a "current possible delivery quantity" that is not 0 becomes a candidate destination. Furthermore, the decision unit 23 determines the selected candidate destinations as the destinations for the unidentified cargo delivery instruction.

[0042] Furthermore, if the unidentified cargo transport vehicle 3 is unable to complete the unidentified cargo transport instruction to the temporary placement unit P determined based on the unidentified cargo transport destination table TB, the decision unit 23 will again determine the temporary placement unit P as the destination based on the same unidentified cargo transport destination table TB. In this case, the allocation unit 24 will allocate the new unidentified cargo transport instruction to the newly determined temporary placement unit P to the unidentified cargo transport vehicle 3.

[0043] Next, we will explain a processing example related to the allocation of unidentified cargo transport instructions in the transport vehicle system 1.

[0044] For example, such as Figure 1As shown, an example is given where an unidentified cargo transport vehicle 3A is generated, and an unidentified cargo transport instruction is generated by the transport vehicle controller 20 and assigned to the unidentified cargo transport vehicle 3A. First, the table creation unit 21 performs a path search from the unidentified cargo transport vehicle 3A to multiple temporary placement units P located within a specified range, and creates the unidentified cargo transport destination table TB1 shown in FIG. 4(a). The table creation unit 21 stores the created unidentified cargo transport destination table TB1 in the storage unit 22.

[0045] The Unidentified Cargo Delivery Destination Table TB1 lists three temporary storage locations (PA, PB, and PC) within a specified range starting from Unidentified Cargo Transport Vehicle 3A. In Table TB1, the temporary storage location PA, which is closest to Unidentified Cargo Transport Vehicle 3A, is given first priority; the next closest is PB, which is given second priority; and the next closest is PC, which is given third priority. The current possible delivery quantity and the maximum simultaneous delivery quantity are the same for all temporary storage locations PA, PB, and PC in Table TB1.

[0046] The decision unit 23 selects candidate destinations for unidentified cargo transport orders sequentially, starting with the temporary placement unit P, which has the highest priority in the unidentified cargo transport destination table TB1. In the illustrated example, the decision unit 23 selects the temporary placement unit PA, which has the highest priority, and determines the destination of the unidentified cargo transport order. The allocation unit 24 generates an unidentified cargo transport order to transport the unidentified cargo to the determined temporary placement unit PA and allocates the generated unidentified cargo transport order to the unidentified cargo transport vehicle 3A. As a result, the unidentified cargo transport vehicle 3A, which has been allocated the unidentified cargo transport order, transports and unloads the unidentified cargo to the temporary placement unit PA and performs temporary placement of the unidentified cargo temporarily stored in the temporary placement unit PA.

[0047] Next, for example Figure 1 As shown, an example is given where an unidentified cargo transport vehicle 3B is generated, and an unidentified cargo transport instruction is generated by the transport vehicle controller 20 and assigned to the unidentified cargo transport vehicle 3B. First, the table creation unit 21 performs a path search from the unidentified cargo transport vehicle 3B to multiple temporary placement units P located within a specified range, and creates the unidentified cargo transport destination table TB2 shown in FIG. 4(b). The table creation unit 21 stores the created unidentified cargo transport destination table TB2 in the storage unit 22.

[0048] The Unidentified Cargo Delivery Destination Table TB2 lists four temporary placement stations (PJ, PK, PL, and PM) located within a specified range starting from Unidentified Cargo Transport Vehicle 3B. In Table TB2, the temporary placement station PJ, closest to Unidentified Cargo Transport Vehicle 3B, is given first priority; the next closest, PK, is given second priority; the next closest, PL, is given third priority; and the next closest, PM, is given fourth priority. The current possible delivery quantity and the maximum simultaneous delivery quantity are the same for all temporary placement stations PJ, PK, PL, and PM in Table TB2.

[0049] The decision unit 23 selects candidate destinations for unidentified cargo transport orders sequentially, starting with the temporary placement unit P, which has the highest priority in the unidentified cargo transport destination table TB2. In the illustrated example, the decision unit 23 selects the temporary placement unit PJ, which has the highest priority, and determines the destination of the unidentified cargo transport order. The allocation unit 24 generates an unidentified cargo transport order to transport unidentified cargo to the determined temporary placement unit PJ and allocates the generated unidentified cargo transport order to the unidentified cargo transport vehicle 3B. As a result, the unidentified cargo transport vehicle 3B, which has been allocated the unidentified cargo transport order, transports and unloads the unidentified cargo to the temporary placement unit PJ, and performs temporary placement of the unidentified cargo temporarily stored in the temporary placement unit PJ.

[0050] Next, for example, such as Figure 5 As shown, an example is given of assigning an unidentified cargo transport instruction to an unidentified cargo transport vehicle 3C when multiple unidentified cargo transport vehicles 3 are generated, and multiple unidentified cargo transport instructions are generated by the transport vehicle controller 20 and assigned to each of the multiple unidentified cargo transport vehicles 3.

[0051] First, the table creation unit 21 performs a path search from the unidentified cargo transport vehicle 3C to multiple temporary placement units P located within a specified range, and creates the unidentified cargo transport destination table TB3 shown in FIG. 6(a). The table creation unit 21 stores the created unidentified cargo transport destination table TB3 in the storage unit 22.

[0052] The Unidentified Cargo Delivery Destination Table TB3 lists three temporary storage locations, PA, PB, and PC, located within a specified range starting from Unidentified Cargo Transport Vehicle 3C. In TB3, PA, the temporary storage location closest to Unidentified Cargo Transport Vehicle 3C, is given first priority; PB, the next closest, is given second priority; and PC, the next closest, is given third priority.

[0053] Regarding the temporary placement units PA and PB of the Unidentified Goods Delivery Destination Table TB3, they have already been used as destinations for unidentified goods delivery orders from multiple other unidentified goods delivery vehicles 3, and the current possible delivery quantity is 0. Regarding the temporary placement unit PC of the Unidentified Goods Delivery Destination Table TB3, although it has been used as a destination for unidentified goods delivery orders from multiple other unidentified goods delivery vehicles 3, the maximum simultaneous delivery quantity has not yet been reached, and the current possible delivery quantity is 1.

[0054] The decision unit 23 selects candidate destinations for unidentified cargo transport orders sequentially, starting with the temporary placement unit P, which has the highest priority in the unidentified cargo transport destination table TB3. In the illustrated example, since the current possible transport quantities of temporary placement units PA and PB are 0, the decision unit 23 selects the temporary placement unit PC, which has a current possible transport quantity of 1 or more and the highest priority, and decides it as the destination for the unidentified cargo transport order. The allocation unit 24 generates an unidentified cargo transport order to transport the unidentified cargo to the determined temporary placement unit PC and allocates the generated unidentified cargo transport order to the unidentified cargo transport vehicle 3C. As a result, the unidentified cargo transport vehicle 3C, which has been allocated the unidentified cargo transport order, transports and unloads the unidentified cargo to the temporary placement unit PC and performs temporary placement of the unidentified cargo temporarily placed in the temporary placement unit PC.

[0055] Next, for example, Figure 5 As shown, an example of assigning unidentified cargo transport instructions to unidentified cargo transport vehicles 3D will be explained when multiple unidentified cargo transport vehicles 3 are generated and multiple unidentified cargo transport instructions are generated by the transport vehicle controller 20 and assigned to each of the multiple unidentified cargo transport vehicles 3.

[0056] First, the table creation unit 21 performs a path search from the unidentified cargo transport vehicle 3D to multiple temporary placement units P located within a specified range, and creates the unidentified cargo transport destination table TB4 shown in Figure 6(b). The table creation unit 21 stores the created unidentified cargo transport destination table TB4 in the storage unit 22.

[0057] The Unidentified Cargo Delivery Destination Table TB4 lists four temporary placement stations (PA, PB, PC, and PD) located within a specified range starting from Unidentified Cargo Transport Vehicle 3D. In TB4, the temporary placement station PA, which is closest to Unidentified Cargo Transport Vehicle 3D, is given first priority; the next closest is PB, which is given second priority; the next closest is PC, which is given third priority; and the next closest is PD, which is given fourth priority.

[0058] The temporary placement units PA, PB, and PC of the Unidentified Goods Delivery Destination Table TB4 have already been used as destinations for unidentified goods delivery orders from multiple other unidentified goods delivery vehicles 3, and the current possible delivery quantity is 0. The temporary placement unit PD of the Unidentified Goods Delivery Destination Table TB4 has not been used as a destination for unidentified goods delivery orders from multiple other unidentified goods delivery vehicles 3, and the current possible delivery quantity is 5, which is the same as the maximum number of simultaneous deliveries.

[0059] The decision unit 23 selects candidate destinations for unidentified cargo transport orders sequentially, starting with the temporary placement unit P, which has the highest priority in the unidentified cargo transport destination table TB4. In the illustrated example, the current possible transport quantities of temporary placement units PA, PB, and PC are 0, so the decision unit 23 selects the temporary placement unit PD, which has a current possible transport quantity of 1 or more and the highest priority, and decides it as the destination for the unidentified cargo transport order. The allocation unit 24 generates an unidentified cargo transport order to transport the unidentified cargo to the determined temporary placement unit PD and allocates the generated unidentified cargo transport order to the unidentified cargo transport vehicle 3D. As a result, the unidentified cargo transport vehicle 3D, which has been allocated the unidentified cargo transport order, transports and unloads the unidentified cargo to the temporary placement unit PD and performs temporary placement of the unidentified cargo temporarily placed in the temporary placement unit PD.

[0060] In addition, such as Figure 3 As shown, the auxiliary storage device 207 stores the transport vehicle control program 5, and by having the processor (computer) 201 execute the transport vehicle control program 5, various controls related to the aforementioned unidentified cargo transport instruction are performed on the transport vehicle 2. That is, the transport vehicle control program 5 is a program executed by the processor 201 to control the transport vehicle 2 in the transport vehicle system 1, and the processor 201 performs the following steps: when an unidentified cargo transport vehicle 3 is generated, the temporary placement unit P as the destination is determined based on the unidentified cargo transport destination table TB, and the unidentified cargo transport instruction to transport items to the determined temporary placement unit P is assigned to the unidentified cargo transport vehicle 3.

[0061] [Effects]

[0062] In the above, the temporary placement location P outside the specified range from the unidentified goods transport vehicle 3 is not designated as the temporary placement destination (i.e., the destination of the unidentified goods transport instruction). Instead, the temporary placement destination can be determined from among multiple temporary placement locations P located within the specified range from the unidentified goods transport vehicle 3. As a result, for example, the time required to transport unidentified goods to the temporary placement location P can be reduced, and unidentified goods can be temporarily placed efficiently.

[0063] In the transport vehicle system 1, when an unidentified cargo transport vehicle 3 is generated, the transport vehicle controller 20 performs a path search from the unidentified cargo transport vehicle 3 to multiple temporary placement units P and creates an unidentified cargo transport destination table TB. Based on the created unidentified cargo transport destination table TB, it determines the temporary placement unit P as the destination. In this case, the unidentified cargo transport destination table TB corresponding to the situation when the unidentified cargo transport vehicle 3 was generated can be obtained.

[0064] In the transport vehicle system 1, each of the multiple temporary placement stations P in the unidentified goods transport destination table TB has a maximum simultaneous transport capacity. The transport vehicle controller 20 assigns unidentified goods transport instructions to multiple unidentified goods transport vehicles 3. If the destinations of the assigned multiple unidentified goods transport instructions overlap with the same temporary placement station P, and the number of overlaps reaches the maximum simultaneous transport capacity of the temporary placement station, when assigning an unidentified goods transport instruction to a new unidentified goods transport vehicle 3, the destination will be a temporary placement station P that is different from the temporary placement station P that has reached its maximum simultaneous transport capacity. In this case, it is possible to prevent multiple unidentified goods from being concentrated and temporarily placed in temporary placement stations P exceeding the maximum simultaneous transport capacity. Multiple unidentified goods can be temporarily placed in multiple temporary placement stations P in a dispersed manner. Traffic congestion of the unidentified goods transport vehicles 3 can be reduced.

[0065] In the transport vehicle system 1, the destination table TB for unidentified goods is a list of multiple temporary placement units P, prioritized based on the unidentified goods transport vehicle 3 and arranged according to their current location. The transport vehicle controller 20 selects temporary placement units P, starting with the one with the highest priority in the destination table TB, as candidates for destination. In this case, unidentified goods can be temporarily placed in the temporary placement unit P closest to the current location of the unidentified goods transport vehicle 3.

[0066] Here, in the case of unidentified cargo transport instructions using the Unidentified Cargo Transport Destination Table TB, sometimes, for some reason, the unidentified cargo transport vehicle 3 cannot properly complete the temporary placement to the temporary placement unit P. Even in this case, when various situations subsequently change, the unidentified cargo transport vehicle 3 can still properly complete the temporary placement by using the same unidentified cargo transport instruction using the same unidentified cargo transport destination table TB. Therefore, even if the unidentified cargo transport vehicle 3 cannot complete the unidentified cargo transport instruction to the temporary placement unit P determined based on the unidentified cargo transport destination table TB, the transport vehicle controller 20 of the transport vehicle system 1 retains the unidentified cargo transport destination table TB and does not delete it. Moreover, the transport vehicle controller 20 again determines the temporary placement unit P as the destination based on the unidentified cargo transport destination table TB again, and assigns a new unidentified cargo transport instruction to the unidentified cargo transport vehicle 3 to transport items to the newly determined temporary placement unit P. Thus, considering the above possibilities, the unidentified cargo can be placed temporarily efficiently.

[0067] In the transport vehicle system 1, the unidentified goods transport vehicle 3 is a transport vehicle where the transport of goods has failed or where the transport of goods has been interrupted during the transport process, and which has been in a state where no new transport instruction has been assigned for a constant period of time. In this embodiment, unidentified goods in such unidentified goods transport vehicles 3 can be efficiently temporarily placed.

[0068] [Variation Example]

[0069] The above-described embodiment of the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and various changes can be made without departing from its spirit.

[0070] In the above embodiments, the transport vehicle controller 20 does not particularly limit the number of transport vehicles 2 or the width of the area being considered. For example, the transport vehicle controller 20 may also consider the area containing at least a portion of the track 10 as the object. Moreover, for example, the transport vehicle controller 20 may also consider at least a portion of all transport vehicles 2 existing on the track 10 as the object.

[0071] In the above embodiment, although the table production unit 21 produces an unknown cargo destination table TB for each unknown cargo transport vehicle 3, it is not limited to this. For example, each unknown cargo transport vehicle 3 can also obtain the unknown cargo destination table TB from the outside via communication or the like. Moreover, for example, the unknown cargo destination table TB can be pre-stored for each transport vehicle 2.

[0072] In the above embodiment, although a FOUP containing multiple semiconductor wafers is shown as the item transported by the transport vehicle 2, the items are not limited to this. For example, other containers or other items such as glass wafers and marking sheets can also be used. In addition, the location for installing the transport vehicle system 1 is not limited to a semiconductor manufacturing plant, and the transport vehicle system 1 can also be installed in other facilities.

[0073] Explanation of reference numerals in the attached figures

[0074] 1…Conveyor system, 2…Conveyor, 3, 3A, 3B, 3C, 3D…Unidentified cargo transport vehicle, 10…Railway, 12…Branch, 13…Merging section, 20…Conveyor controller (conveyor control device), P, PA, PB, PC, PD, PE, PF, PG, PH, PI, PJ, PK, PL, PM…Temporary placement section, TB, TB1, TB2, TB3, TB4…Unidentified cargo transport destination list.

Claims

1. A conveyor system comprising: The track has multiple branches and confluence sections; Multiple transport vehicles travel along the aforementioned tracks and transport goods; Multiple temporary placement sections are arranged around the aforementioned tracks and are used to hold items; and The conveyor controller assigns conveying instructions to the conveyor vehicles. When the aforementioned transport vehicle controller generates a transport vehicle, i.e. an unidentified cargo transport vehicle, that is unable to complete the transport of the loaded items, it determines the destination of the aforementioned temporary placement unit based on a list of unidentified cargo transport destinations of multiple aforementioned temporary placement units located within a specified range of the aforementioned unidentified cargo transport vehicle, and assigns an unidentified cargo transport instruction to the aforementioned unidentified cargo transport vehicle to transport items to the determined aforementioned temporary placement unit.

2. The conveyor system according to claim 1, wherein, When the aforementioned unidentified cargo transport vehicle is generated, the aforementioned transport vehicle controller performs a path search from the aforementioned unidentified cargo transport vehicle to the plurality of aforementioned temporary placement units and creates the aforementioned unidentified cargo transport destination table, and determines the aforementioned temporary placement unit as the destination based on the created aforementioned unidentified cargo transport destination table.

3. The conveyor system according to claim 1 or 2, wherein, Each of the aforementioned temporary storage units listed in the table of destinations for unidentified goods is configured with a maximum simultaneous transport capacity. The aforementioned transport vehicle controller assigns the aforementioned unidentified cargo transport instructions to multiple aforementioned unidentified cargo transport vehicles. If the destinations of the multiple assigned unidentified cargo transport instructions are the same as the aforementioned temporary placement units, and the number of such repetitions reaches the aforementioned maximum simultaneous transport capacity of the aforementioned temporary placement units, when assigning the aforementioned unidentified cargo transport instructions to new aforementioned unidentified cargo transport vehicles, a temporary placement unit that is different from the aforementioned temporary placement unit that has reached the aforementioned maximum simultaneous transport capacity will be determined as the destination.

4. The conveyor system according to claim 1 or 2, wherein, The aforementioned unidentified cargo transport destination table is organized by the unidentified cargo transport vehicle, prioritizing it according to its current location from closest to furthest, and lists multiple temporary placement locations. The aforementioned transport vehicle controller selects the temporary placement unit, which is ranked first in the priority list of the aforementioned unknown cargo transport destinations, as candidates for the destination in sequence.

5. The conveyor system according to claim 1 or 2, wherein, If the unidentified cargo transport vehicle is unable to complete the unidentified cargo transport instruction to the temporary placement unit determined based on the unidentified cargo transport destination table, the transport vehicle controller will again determine the temporary placement unit as the destination based on the unidentified cargo transport destination table, and assign a new unidentified cargo transport instruction to the unidentified cargo transport vehicle to transport items to the newly determined temporary placement unit.

6. The conveyor system according to claim 1 or 2, wherein, The aforementioned unidentified cargo transport vehicle is a transport vehicle whose transport of goods has failed or whose transport has been interrupted during the transport of goods, and which has been in a state of not being assigned a new transport instruction for a certain period of time.

7. A conveyor vehicle control device comprising: a track having multiple branches and a confluence section; multiple conveyor vehicles that travel along the track and convey items; and multiple temporary placement sections disposed around the periphery of the track and carrying items in a conveyor vehicle system, wherein the conveyor vehicles are controlled, In the event that the aforementioned transport vehicle, i.e., the unidentified cargo transport vehicle, is unable to complete the transport of the loaded goods, an unidentified cargo transport instruction is assigned to the aforementioned unidentified cargo transport vehicle to transport the goods to the determined temporary placement location, based on a list of unidentified cargo transport destinations of multiple temporary placement locations located within a specified range of the aforementioned unidentified cargo transport vehicle.

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