Article conveyance facility

Abstract

To realize an article conveyance facility in which generation of congestion in sections located upstream from a pre-meeting section can be easily suppressed.SOLUTION: A control system is configured to issue an entrance approval to an entrance approval number X of transportation vehicles Va waiting to enter of transportation vehicles Va in a first pre-meeting section when entrance approval issuing processing of issuing an entrance approval to approve entrance of a plurality of transportation vehicles Va waiting to enter to a meeting place 43. When a first number, which is the number of transportation vehicles Va waiting to enter in the first pre-meeting section, is N1, a second number, which is the number of transportation vehicles Va waiting to enter in a second pre-meeting section, is N2, and an adjustment number as the number of 0 or more is M, the relation of X=N1-N2+M is established.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to an article conveying facility including a plurality of carrier vehicles that move along a predetermined movable path.

Background Art

[0002] An example of such an article conveying facility is disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2018-128914 (Patent Document 1). In the article conveying facility of Patent Document 1, a first stop position (P3) and a second stop position (P4) are set upstream of a merging position (P2). For example, a carrier vehicle (3) that has entered a pre-merging section where the second stop position (P4) is located waits at the second stop position (P4) until entry into a merging section where the merging position (P2) is located is permitted.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] In the article conveying facility of Patent Document 1, even if the number of carrier vehicles stopped in a pre-merging section where the second stop position is located becomes extremely large, the carrier vehicles stopped in a pre-merging section where the first stop position is located and the carrier vehicles stopped in a pre-merging section where the second stop position is located are made to enter a merging section under the same conditions. For this reason, an uneven state in which the number of carrier vehicles stopped in a pre-merging section where the second stop position is located is large continues, and there is a possibility that congestion occurs in a section upstream of the pre-merging section due to carrier vehicles that cannot enter the pre-merging section where the second stop position is located. And if such congestion occurs, there is a risk that the article conveying efficiency of the entire article conveying facility will decrease.

[0005] Therefore, it is desired to realize an article conveying facility that can easily suppress the occurrence of congestion in a section upstream of a pre-merging section.

Means for Solving the Problem

[0006] The article conveying facility according to the present disclosure is an article conveying facility including a plurality of carrier vehicles that move along a predetermined movable path to convey articles, and a control system that controls the plurality of carrier vehicles. The movable path has a merging section where paths merge from two pre-merging sections into one post-merging section. Among the two pre-merging sections, the one with a larger number of carrier vehicles waiting to enter the merging section is defined as the first pre-merging section, and the other is defined as the second pre-merging section. When the control system executes an entry permission issuance process for issuing an entry permission to the merging section for a plurality of the carrier vehicles waiting to enter, it is configured to issue the entry permission to the carrier vehicles waiting to enter corresponding to X vehicles in the carrier vehicles waiting to enter in the first pre-merging section. Let the first number, which is the number of the carrier vehicles waiting to enter in the first pre-merging section, be N1, the second number, which is the number of the carrier vehicles waiting to enter in the second pre-merging section, be N2, and the adjustment number, which is a number of 0 or more, be M. Then X = N1 - N2 + M.

[0007] According to this configuration, since a larger number of carrier vehicles preferentially obtain entry permission to the merging section from the pre-merging section with a larger number of carrier vehicles waiting to enter, the inequality in the number of carrier vehicles waiting to enter in the two pre-merging sections can be alleviated. For this reason, it is easy to reduce the possibility that the situation where the movement of other carrier vehicles in the section upstream of the pre-merging section is affected due to a very large number of carrier vehicles waiting to enter in one of the pre-merging sections. Therefore, it is easy to suppress the occurrence of congestion in the section upstream of the pre-merging section.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0008]

Figure 1

Figure 2

Figure 3

Figure 4

Figure 5

Figure 6

Mode for Carrying Out the Invention

[0009] 〔First Embodiment〕 Hereinafter, the article conveyance equipment 10 according to the first embodiment will be described with reference to the drawings.

[0010] As schematically shown in FIG. 1, the article conveyance equipment 10 includes a plurality of carrier vehicles V that move along a predetermined movable path 30 to convey the article U. The movable path 30 is a path (travel path) on which the carrier vehicle V can travel. The movable path 30 means the entire path on which the carrier vehicle V travels. The movable path 30 is composed of a set of a plurality of paths (partial paths).

[0011] The article conveyance equipment 10 includes a control system 100 that controls the plurality of carrier vehicles V. Each function of the control system 100 is realized, for example, by the cooperation of hardware such as an arithmetic processing unit and a program executed on the hardware. The control system 100 may all be provided on the carrier vehicle V, or part may be provided on the carrier vehicle V and part may be provided on an external control device (a control device provided outside the carrier vehicle V and capable of communicating with the carrier vehicle V). The control system 100 may all be provided on the external control device. Here, the external control device may be not a single device but a set of a plurality of devices capable of communicating with each other. The control system 100 controls the travel of the plurality of carrier vehicles V so as to reach their respective destinations. Examples of the "destination of the carrier vehicle" include the conveyance source station and the conveyance destination station described later.

[0012] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of the carrier V. The carrier V includes a controller (device controller) that controls a traveling drive unit 13 and a guiding drive unit 20, which will be described later. When at least a part of the control system 100 is provided in an external control device, the controller included in the carrier V operates in response to a command from the external control device. When at least a part of the control system 100 is provided in the carrier V, the controller included in the carrier V may constitute at least a part of the control system 100.

[0013] As shown in FIG. 2, the direction along the movable path 30 is defined as the traveling direction W, and the direction orthogonal to the traveling direction W in the vertical direction view along the vertical direction Z (vertical direction) (here, the horizontal direction orthogonal to the traveling direction W) is defined as the width direction Y. As shown in FIG. 1, a forward direction F is set for each part of the movable path 30. With the direction opposite to the forward direction F defined as the reverse direction R (see FIG. 2), the carrier V basically travels along the movable path 30 in the forward direction F. In the present embodiment, the movable path 30 is configured such that the carrier V can circulate between the conveyance source and the conveyance destination of the article U by traveling in the forward direction F.

[0014] As shown in FIG. 2, the side facing the forward direction F along the movable path 30 is defined as the downstream side W1, and the side facing the reverse direction R along the movable path 30 is defined as the upstream side W2. The traveling direction W can be rephrased as the front-rear direction of the carrier V, the downstream side W1 can be rephrased as the front side of the carrier V, and the upstream side W2 can be rephrased as the rear side of the carrier V. Also, one side of the width direction Y (here, the right side facing the forward direction F) is defined as the first width side Y1, and the other side of the width direction Y (here, the left side facing the forward direction F) is defined as the second width side Y2.

[0015] The transport vehicle V travels along the movable path 30 to transport the article U. The article U is, for example, a FOUP (Front Opening Unified Pod) that houses a semiconductor wafer. The transport vehicle V is an automated guided vehicle. The transport vehicle V may or may not be provided with wheels. The movable path 30 may be physically formed or virtually formed. In the present embodiment, the movable path 30 is physically formed by the running rails 36 (here, a pair of running rails 36 arranged at intervals in the width direction Y). The running rails 36 are, for example, suspended and supported from the ceiling.

[0016] In FIG. 2, it is assumed that the movable path 30 is formed along the ceiling, but the movable path 30 may be formed on the floor surface or the like. When the movable path 30 is formed on the floor surface, for example, the movable path 30 is physically formed by rails or passages installed on the floor surface, or the movable path 30 is virtually formed by two-dimensional codes, RF (Radio Frequency) tags, magnetic tapes, etc. installed on the floor surface. The movable path 30 may be a path calculated based on the recognition result of the surrounding environment of the transport vehicle V. Note that the floor surface may be a floor surface suspended and supported from the ceiling.

[0017] As shown in FIG. 2, the transport vehicle V includes a first traveling unit 11 as a traveling unit. The first traveling unit 11 includes traveling wheels 14 that roll on the traveling surface of the running rail 36 (here, the surface facing the upper side Z1), and a traveling drive unit 13 (for example, an electric motor such as a servo motor) that rotates the traveling wheels 14. By rotating the traveling wheels 14 by the traveling drive unit 13, the first traveling unit 11 travels along the running rail 36. In the present embodiment, the transport vehicle V further includes a second traveling unit 12 on the upstream side W2 with respect to the first traveling unit 11. The second traveling unit 12 is configured in the same manner as the first traveling unit 11, and by rotating the traveling wheels 14 by the traveling drive unit 13, it travels along the running rail 36.

[0018] The transport vehicle V includes a main body portion 15 connected to the first traveling portion 11. The article U is transported by the transport vehicle V while being housed in the main body portion 15. In the present embodiment, the main body portion 15 is supported by the first traveling portion 11 in a state of being disposed on the lower side Z2 with respect to the first traveling portion 11. In the present embodiment, the main body portion 15 is connected to both the first traveling portion 11 and the second traveling portion 12, and is supported by the first traveling portion 11 and the second traveling portion 12 in a state of being disposed on the lower side Z2 with respect to the first traveling portion 11 and the second traveling portion 12.

[0019] In the example shown in FIG. 2, the transport vehicle V includes a collision prevention sensor 17 that detects another transport vehicle V existing on the downstream side W1 with respect to the transport vehicle V. When the collision prevention sensor 17 detects another transport vehicle V, the transport vehicle V on which the collision prevention sensor 17 is mounted decelerates or stops to avoid a collision with the other transport vehicle V.

[0020] As shown in FIG. 2, in the present embodiment, information holders 38 such as two-dimensional codes and RF tags are installed at a plurality of locations on the movable path 30. The information holder 38 is installed at a location where the transport vehicle V can stop, such as a station, a pre-merging section 41 (see FIG. 3), and a post-merging section 45 (see FIG. 3), which will be described later. The information holder 38 holds position information that is information on the position where the information holder 38 is installed. The transport vehicle V includes a reading device 16 that reads the position information held by the information holder 38, and recognizes its current position based on the position information read by the reading device 16. The transport vehicle V recognizes its current position based on, for example, the position information read by the reading device 16 and the traveling distance after the reading device 16 reads the position information. The traveling distance of the transport vehicle V is measured using, for example, a rotary encoder. Note that the transport vehicle V may be configured to recognize its current position based on the output of a positioning device such as a GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite System) receiver.

[0021] The control system 100 grasps the current position of each of the plurality of carrier vehicles V. In the present embodiment, as described above, the carrier vehicle V is configured to recognize its own current position, and the control system 100 grasps the current position of each of the plurality of carrier vehicles V by acquiring information on the current position of the carrier vehicle V from each carrier vehicle V. The control system 100 may be configured to grasp the number N of the incoming carrier vehicles Va to be described later, the number of carrier vehicles V in the pre-merging section 41, the number of carrier vehicles V in the merging section 43, or the number of carrier vehicles V in the post-merging section 45 by acquiring information on the current position of the carrier vehicle V from each carrier vehicle V.

[0022] A plurality of stations that are the destinations of the carrier vehicle V are set on the movable path 30. The carrier vehicle V transfers the article U to and from the article support provided at the station at the station. The operations of the carrier vehicle V include a traveling operation of traveling along the movable path 30, an operation of receiving the article U from the article support at the station, and an operation of unloading the article U to the article support at the station. After the carrier vehicle V travels to the source station and receives the article U at the station, the carrier vehicle V travels to the destination station and unloads the article U at the station.

[0023] Examples of the "article support" include a load port of a processing device 34 that performs processing such as processing and sorting on the article U, an input / output port of a storage device 35, and a storage shelf (not shown) that temporarily stores the article U. The article support is disposed, for example, directly below the movable path 30 at the station.

[0024] The "destination" of the carrier vehicle V includes a processing device station 34s for transferring the article U to and from a processing device 34 that processes the article U (shown in FIG. 1). The "destination" of the carrier vehicle V includes a storage device station 35s for transferring the article U to and from a storage device 35 that stores the article U (shown in FIG. 1). A maintenance station (not shown) for the carrier vehicle V may be included in the destination of the carrier vehicle V.

[0025] As shown in FIG. 2, a guide rail 37 is provided in a part of the movable path 30. In the present embodiment, the guide rail 37 is disposed above the traveling rail 36 in the upper side Z1. In the present embodiment, the guide rail 37 is disposed between the pair of traveling rails 36 spaced apart in the width direction Y in a top-down view in the width direction Y.

[0026] The carrier V includes a guided part (21, 22) guided by the guide rail 37 by contacting the guide rail 37 from either side in the width direction Y, and a guide driving part 20 (for example, a solenoid or an electric motor) that moves the guided part in the width direction Y. The movement of the guided part in the width direction Y by the guide driving part 20 is performed, for example, by driving only the guided part in the width direction Y, or by driving the guided part in the width direction Y together with a support part that supports the guided part.

[0027] In the present embodiment, the first traveling part 11 includes a first guide wheel 21 that rotates (here, idles) around an axis along the vertical direction Z as a guided part, and a guide driving part 20 provided on the first traveling part 11 moves the first guide wheel 21 in the width direction Y. In the example shown in FIG. 2, the first traveling part 11 includes two first guide wheels 21 arranged in the traveling direction W, and the guide driving part 20 moves these two first guide wheels 21 in the width direction Y by moving a support part that supports these two first guide wheels 21 in the width direction Y.

[0028] In the present embodiment, the second traveling part 12 includes a second guide wheel 22 that rotates (here, idles) around an axis along the vertical direction Z as a guided part, and a guide driving part 20 provided on the second traveling part 12 moves the second guide wheel 22 in the width direction Y. In the example shown in FIG. 2, the second traveling part 12 includes two second guide wheels 22 arranged in the traveling direction W, and the guide driving part 20 moves these two second guide wheels 22 in the width direction Y by moving a support part that supports these two second guide wheels 22 in the width direction Y. Hereinafter, when describing matters common to the first guide wheel 21 and the second guide wheel 22, they will be described as "guide wheels" without distinction.

[0029] The transport vehicle V is provided with a movement detection unit that detects movement in the width direction Y of the guide wheels. In the present embodiment, the first guide wheel 21 and the second guide wheel 22 are the guide wheels, and the first movement detection unit 21a and the second movement detection unit 21b are the movement detection units. The control system 100 detects that the guide wheel has moved in the width direction Y by acquiring the detection result of the movement in the width direction Y of the guide wheel by the movement detection unit.

[0030] FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of a merging section 43 provided in the movable path 30. Since the reverse direction R, the traveling direction W, the downstream side W1, the upstream side W2, the width direction Y, the first side Y1 in the width direction, and the second side Y2 in the width direction described above are determined based on the forward direction F which is the traveling direction in which they merge at the merging section 43, in FIG. 3, only the forward direction F is shown omitting these illustrations. In the movable path 30, a merging section 43 is provided where paths merge from two pre-merging sections 41 into one post-merging section 45. In the movable path 30, a branching section 47 (see FIG. 1) is provided where a path branches from one pre-branching section into two post-branching sections.

[0031] The pre-merging section 41 is a section preset for each merging section 43. The two pre-merging sections 41 may be a part of the movable path 30 and each may be one region. One or both of the two pre-merging sections 41 may be composed of a plurality of regions. The pre-merging section 41 may include the post-merging section 45 on the upstream side W2 of the pre-merging section 41. In the present embodiment, the pre-merging section 41 is a section that does not include the merging section 43 on the upstream side W2 of the pre-merging section 41. The pre-merging section 41 does not include other pre-merging sections 41. The pre-merging section 41 does not include the above-mentioned station. The pre-merging section 41 is a section where the guide rail 37 is not provided. In the illustrated example, the pre-merging section 41 is a straight section.

[0032] In the present embodiment, the end on the upstream side W2 of the pre-merging section 41 is the point where the transport vehicle V makes a passage permission request to the control system 100 for permission to pass through the merging section 43. The end on the downstream side W1 of the pre-merging section 41 is the point where the leading transport vehicle V waiting to enter the merging section 43 stops.

[0033] The post - confluence section 45 is a section preset for each confluence part 43. The post - confluence section 45 is a part of the movable path 30 and may be a single region. The post - confluence section 45 may be composed of a plurality of regions. The post - confluence section 45 may include the pre - confluence section 41 on the downstream side W1 of the post - confluence section 45. In the present embodiment, the post - confluence section 45 is a section that does not include the confluence part 43 on the downstream side W1 of the post - confluence section 45. The post - confluence section 45 does not include other post - confluence sections 45. The post - confluence section 45 does not include the above - mentioned stations. The post - confluence section 45 is a section where the guide rail 37 is not provided. In the illustrated example, the post - confluence section 45 is a straight section.

[0034] Here, among the two pre - confluence sections 41, the one with a larger number N of the waiting - to - enter carrier vehicles Va (the carrier vehicle V waiting to enter the confluence part 43) is defined as the "first pre - confluence section", and the other is defined as the "second pre - confluence section". The state in FIG. 3 shows a situation where the pre - confluence section 41b is the first pre - confluence section and the pre - confluence section 41a is the second pre - confluence section.

[0035] Examples of the waiting - to - enter carrier vehicle Va include the carrier vehicle V stopped in the pre - confluence section 41, the carrier vehicle V running in the pre - confluence section 41, etc. The waiting - to - enter carrier vehicle Va may include a carrier vehicle V running in a section on the upstream side W2 of the pre - confluence section 41. The waiting - to - enter carrier vehicle Va is obtained, for example, by various sensors, image recognition with an imaging device (not shown) that images the pre - confluence section 41, etc. The control system 100 obtains the number N of the waiting - to - enter carrier vehicles Va in each of the two pre - confluence sections 41 and determines the one with a larger number N of the waiting - to - enter carrier vehicles Va as the first pre - confluence section and the other as the second pre - confluence section.

[0036] When the control system 100 executes an entry permission issuance process for issuing an entry permission to the confluence section 43 for a plurality of waiting transfer vehicles Va, among the waiting transfer vehicles Va in the first pre-confluence section, entry permission is issued to the waiting transfer vehicles Va corresponding to the entry permission number X. The entry permission number X is expressed by the following formula (1), where the first number N1 is the number N of the waiting transfer vehicles Va in the first pre-confluence section, the second number N2 is the number N of the waiting transfer vehicles Va in the second pre-confluence section, and the adjustment number M is a number of 0 or more. X = N1 - N2 + M ··· (1)

[0037] In the example shown in FIG. 3, the adjustment number M is 0. Therefore, when the first number N1 is 4 and the second number N2 is 2, the entry permission number X is 2. When the adjustment number M is 1 in the example shown in FIG. 3, the entry permission number X is 3. The adjustment number M is an arbitrary value, and may be, for example, 3, 4, etc., or may be different for each confluence section 43. Examples of the adjustment number M include numbers of 0 or more, numbers of 1 or more, integers of 0 or more, integers of 1 or more, integers of 2 or more, etc. When the value of the entry permission number X calculated by formula (1) is not an integer, rounding up, rounding down, rounding to the nearest integer, etc. are performed.

[0038] In this embodiment, in the entry permission issuance process, the control system 100 issues entry permissions to the waiting transfer vehicles Va corresponding to the entry permission number X at the same time, but entry permissions may be issued with a time difference. In this embodiment, in the entry permission issuance process, the entry permissions are configured to be issued to the waiting transfer vehicles Va corresponding to the entry permission number X from the side closer to the confluence section 43, but may be configured to issue entry permissions regardless of the distance from the confluence section 43.

[0039] FIG. 4 shows an example of the state after the entry permission issuance process is executed and immediately before the next entry permission issuance process is executed. After executing the entry permission issuance process, the control system 100 executes the next entry permission issuance process after all the waiting transfer vehicles Va that have received the entry permission by the entry permission issuance process have exited the first pre-merging section. Note that the next entry permission issuance process may be executed before all the waiting transfer vehicles Va have exited the merging section 43. In this way, the transfer vehicle V can be efficiently made to enter the merging section 43. The next entry permission issuance process may be executed after all the waiting transfer vehicles Va have exited the merging section 43. In this way, the transfer vehicle V can be safely made to enter the merging section 43.

[0040] FIG. 5 is a diagram showing the next state of FIG. 4, and shows a state in which all the waiting transfer vehicles Va that have received the entry permission by the entry permission issuance process have entered the post-merging section 45. After executing the entry permission issuance process, the control system 100 may be configured to execute the next entry permission issuance process after all the waiting transfer vehicles Va that have received the entry permission by the entry permission issuance process have entered the post-merging section 45.

[0041] FIG. 5 shows an example of a state where the number N of waiting transfer vehicles Va in the two pre-merging sections 41 is the same. When executing the entry permission issuance process, if the number N of waiting transfer vehicles Va in the two pre-merging sections 41 is the same, the control system 100 is configured to issue an entry permission to the waiting transfer vehicles Va in the pre-merging section 41 that meets the predetermined conditions and has at least one more vehicle than the adjustment number M. In the example shown in FIG. 5, when the adjustment number M is 0, the control system 100 issues an entry permission to one waiting transfer vehicle Va obtained by adding one vehicle to the adjustment number M. When the adjustment number M is 1, the control system 100 issues an entry permission to two waiting transfer vehicles Va obtained by adding one more vehicle to the adjustment number M.

[0042] Examples of the "pre-merger section that meets the predetermined conditions" include the pre-merger section 41 where the waiting time of the leading transfer vehicle Va waiting to enter is long, the pre-merger section 41 on the different sides alternately for each entry permission issuance process, one of the pre-merger sections 41, the pre-merger section 41 with fewer transfer vehicles V that can enter among the two pre-merger sections 41, the pre-merger section 41 with a shorter length among the two pre-merger sections 41, and the like. In the illustrated example, the number of transfer vehicles V that can enter in the pre-merger section 41 is indicated by the number of transfer vehicles V shown by the two-dot chain line in the pre-merger section 41. The number of transfer vehicles V that can enter in the pre-merger section 41 is a value obtained by subtracting the number of transfer vehicles V waiting in the pre-merger section 41 from the upper limit value of the number of transfer vehicles V that can wait in the pre-merger section 41.

[0043] As the length of the pre-merger section 41, the actual length of the pre-merger section 41 may be used, or the upper limit value of the number of transfer vehicles V that can wait in the pre-merger section 41 may be used. In the illustrated example, the upper limit value of the pre-merger section 41a is 3 vehicles, and the upper limit value of the pre-merger section 41b is 4 vehicles.

[0044] When the value of the number of entry permits X exceeds the predetermined entry upper limit value Xa, the control system 100 replaces the value of the number of entry permits X with the entry upper limit value Xa and executes the entry permit issuance process. Examples of the entry upper limit value Xa include values set for each pre-merger section 41, values set for each post-merger section 45, values set for each merging section 43, and the like.

[0045] When the value of the number of entry permits X is less than the predetermined entry lower limit value Xb, the control system 100 replaces the value of the number of entry permits X with the entry lower limit value Xb and executes the entry permit issuance process. Examples of the entry lower limit value Xb include values set for each pre-merger section 41, values set for each post-merger section 45, values set for each merging section 43, and the like.

[0046] The control system 100 acquires information on the number of enterable carriers Xc, which is the number of carriers V that can enter the post-merger section 45. When the permitted entry number X exceeds the enterable number Xc, the control system 100 replaces the value of the permitted entry number X with a value equal to or less than the enterable number Xc and executes the permitted entry issuance process. In the present embodiment, the control system 100 replaces the value of the permitted entry number X with the value of the enterable number Xc and executes the permitted entry issuance process. The control system 100 periodically acquires information on the enterable number Xc.

[0047] Examples of the enterable number Xc include a value obtained by subtracting the number of carriers V actually waiting in the post-merger section 45 from the upper limit value of the number of carriers V that can wait in the post-merger section 45, a value set for each post-merger section 45, and the like. The enterable number Xc may be obtained by image recognition using an imaging device (not shown) that images the post-merger section 45, or may be calculated from values obtained by various sensors, set values, and the like. In the illustrated example, the enterable number Xc is indicated by the number of carriers V shown by the two-dot chain line in the post-merger section 45. For example, in the example shown in FIG. 3, the upper limit value of the number of carriers V that can wait in the post-merger section 45 is 4, and the number of carriers V waiting in the post-merger section 45 is 1. Therefore, the enterable number Xc is 3.

[0048] In the present embodiment, when a carrier Va waiting to enter exceeds a predetermined stop time in the second pre-merger section, the control system 100 is configured to issue an entry permit to the carrier Va waiting to enter in the second pre-merger section with higher priority than the carrier Va waiting to enter in the first pre-merger section. By doing so, it is possible to avoid the situation where the time for the carrier Va waiting to enter in the second pre-merger section to enter the merging section 43 becomes too long.

[0049] FIG. 6 shows an example of a state where the number N of transfer vehicles Va waiting to enter in the pre-merge section 41b is larger than that in the pre-merge section 41a. In the present embodiment, in the state of FIG. 6, the pre-merge section 41a is the second pre-merge section, and the pre-merge section 41b is the first pre-merge section. The difference between the first number N1, which is the number N of transfer vehicles Va waiting to enter in the first pre-merge section, and the second number N2, which is the number N of transfer vehicles Va waiting to enter in the second pre-merge section, is one vehicle. Here, when the adjustment number M is an integer of 1 or more, the entry permission number X becomes two vehicles. In this way, by configuring the control system 100 to issue entry permission for at least two transfer vehicles Va waiting to enter, the conveyance efficiency of articles can be increased.

[0050] 〔Second Embodiment〕 Hereinafter, the article conveyance facility 10 according to the second embodiment will be described with reference to the drawings. In this embodiment, it is different from the first embodiment in that the corrected number Nk of transfer vehicles waiting to enter is used. Hereinafter, the description will focus on the differences from the first embodiment described above. For points not particularly described, the same applies as in the first embodiment described above.

[0051] In this embodiment, the control system 100 executes the entry permission issuance process using the corrected number Nk of transfer vehicles waiting to enter in the pre-merge section 41, where the value of the number N of transfer vehicles waiting to enter in the pre-merge section 41 is corrected to a larger value as the length of the pre-merge section 41 becomes shorter according to the length of each of the two pre-merge sections 41.

[0052] In this embodiment, the control system 100 executes at least one of the determination of which pre-merge section 41 is the first pre-merge section and the calculation of the entry permission number X using the corrected number Nk of transfer vehicles waiting to enter. In this embodiment, the control system 100 executes both the above determination and calculation using the corrected number Nk of transfer vehicles waiting to enter.

[0053] In this embodiment, examples of the corrected number Nk of carrier vehicles waiting to enter include a value obtained by adding a correction value K1, which becomes a larger value as the length of the pre-merging section 41 becomes shorter, to the number N of carrier vehicles waiting to enter, a value obtained by multiplying the number N of carrier vehicles Va waiting to enter by a correction value K1, which becomes a larger value as the length of the pre-merging section 41 becomes shorter, and the like. Examples of the correction value K1 include a number of 0 or more, an integer of 1 or more, and the like. The correction value K1 may or may not be directly proportional to the length of the pre-merging section 41.

[0054] In this embodiment, when the number N of carrier vehicles Va waiting to enter in the two pre-merging sections 41 is the same, the control system 100 executes an entry permission issuance process using the corrected number Nk of carrier vehicles waiting to enter. In this embodiment, when the number N of carrier vehicles Va waiting to enter in the two pre-merging sections 41 is different, the control system 100 executes an entry permission issuance process using the corrected number Nk of carrier vehicles waiting to enter.

[0055] In this embodiment, of the two pre-merging sections 41, the one with the larger corrected number Nk of carrier vehicles waiting to enter is defined as the first pre-merging section, and the other is defined as the second pre-merging section. For example, in the state shown in FIG. 5, the number N of carrier vehicles Va waiting to enter in the two pre-merging sections 41 is the same, but the corrected number Nk of carrier vehicles waiting to enter becomes a larger value as the length of the pre-merging section 41 becomes shorter. Therefore, the pre-merging section 41 with the shorter length (in the illustrated example, the pre-merging section 41a) becomes the first pre-merging section.

[0056] In the state shown in FIG. 6, the number N of carrier vehicles Va waiting to enter is 2 for the longer one of the lengths of the pre-merge sections 41 (in the illustrated example, the pre-merge section 41b), and the number N of carrier vehicles Va waiting to enter is 1 for the shorter one of the lengths of the pre-merge sections 41 (in the illustrated example, the pre-merge section 41a). However, for example, when the correction value K1 for the longer one of the lengths of the pre-merge sections 41 (in the illustrated example, the pre-merge section 41b) is 0.5 vehicle, and the correction value K1 for the shorter one of the lengths of the pre-merge sections 41 (in the illustrated example, the pre-merge section 41a) is 2 vehicles, and the correction value K1 is added to the number N of carrier vehicles waiting to enter, the corrected number Nk of carrier vehicles waiting to enter for the former is 2.5 vehicles, and the corrected number Nk of carrier vehicles waiting to enter for the latter is 3 vehicles. Therefore, the shorter one of the lengths of the pre-merge sections 41 (in the illustrated example, the pre-merge section 41a) becomes the first pre-merge section.

[0057] In the present embodiment, the corrected number Nk1 of carrier vehicles waiting to enter in the first pre-merge section is used as the first number N1, and the corrected number Nk2 of carrier vehicles waiting to enter in the second pre-merge section is used as the second number N2, and the entry permission number X is calculated.

[0058] When the value of the entry permission number X exceeds a predetermined entry upper limit value Xa, the control system 100 replaces the value of the entry permission number X with the entry upper limit value Xa and executes the entry permission issuance process. Examples of the entry upper limit value Xa include values set for each of the pre-merge sections 41, values set for each of the post-merge sections 45, values set for each of the merge sections 43, and the like.

[0059] When the value of the entry permission number X is less than a predetermined entry lower limit value Xb, the control system 100 replaces the value of the entry permission number X with the entry lower limit value Xb and executes the entry permission issuance process. Examples of the entry lower limit value Xb include values set for each of the pre-merge sections 41, values set for each of the post-merge sections 45, values set for each of the merge sections 43, and the like.

[0060] 〔Other Embodiments〕 Next, other embodiments of the article conveyance facility 10 will be described.

[0061] (1) In the first and second embodiments, the pre-merge section 41 is a section preset for each merge section 43 and is a section that does not include other pre-merge sections 41. However, without being limited to such an example, for example, the pre-merge section 41 may include a pre-merge section 41 upstream of the pre-merge section 41, a merge section 43, a post-merge section 45, a station, a curved section, etc. on the upstream side W2 of the pre-merge section 41.

[0062] (2) In the first and second embodiments, the post-merge section 45 is a section preset for each merge section 43 and is a section that does not include other post-merge sections 45. However, without being limited to such an example, for example, the post-merge section 45 may include a pre-merge section 41, a merge section 43, a post-merge section 45, a station, a curved section, etc. on the downstream side W1 of the post-merge section 45.

[0063] (3) In the first and second embodiments, after the control system 100 executes the entry permission issuance process, after all the waiting transfer vehicles Va that have received the entry permission by the entry permission issuance process have exited the first pre-merge section, the next entry permission issuance process is executed as an example. However, without being limited to such an example, for example, the next entry permission issuance process may be executed before all the waiting transfer vehicles Va that have received the entry permission by the entry permission issuance process have exited the first pre-merge section.

[0064] (4) In the first embodiment, when the control system 100 executes the entry permission issuance process, when the number of carrier vehicles Va waiting to enter in the two pre-merging sections 41 is the same, among the carrier vehicles Va waiting to enter in the pre-merging section 41 that meets the predetermined conditions, an example of the configuration is described in which entry permission is given to the carrier vehicle V whose number is at least one more than the adjustment number M. However, it is not limited to such an example. For example, when the number of carrier vehicles Va waiting to enter in the two pre-merging sections 41 is the same, entry permission may be randomly given to a plurality of carrier vehicles Va in either of the two pre-merging sections 41. For example, it may be configured to give entry permission to the carrier vehicle Va whose number is at least two more than the adjustment number M.

[0065] (5) In the first and second embodiments, an example of the configuration is described in which when the value of the entry permission number X exceeds the predetermined entry upper limit value Xa, the control system 100 replaces the value of the entry permission number X with the entry upper limit value Xa and executes the entry permission issuance process. However, it is not limited to such an example. For example, the entry upper limit value Xa may not be predetermined. For example, the entry permission issuance process may be executed by replacing the value of the entry permission number X with a value less than the entry upper limit value Xa.

[0066] (6) In the first and second embodiments, an example of the configuration is described in which the control system 100 periodically acquires information on the number of enterable carrier vehicles Xc, which is the number of carrier vehicles V that can enter the post-merging section 45, and when the entry permission number X exceeds the number of enterable carrier vehicles Xc, the control system 100 replaces the value of the entry permission number X with a value less than or equal to the number of enterable carrier vehicles Xc and executes the entry permission issuance process. However, it is not limited to such an example. For example, the control system 100 may be configured to acquire the information on the number of enterable carrier vehicles Xc not periodically but in the entry permission issuance process. For example, the control system 100 may be configured not to acquire the information on the number of enterable carrier vehicles Xc.

[0067] (7) In the second embodiment, the control system 100 was described by taking as an example a configuration in which, when the number N of carrier vehicles Va waiting to enter in the two pre-merge sections 41 is the same and when it is different, the entry permission issuance process is executed using the corrected number Nk of carrier vehicles waiting to enter. However, without being limited to such an example, for example, the control system 100 may be configured to execute the entry permission issuance process using the corrected number Nk of carrier vehicles waiting to enter in either one of the cases where the number N of carrier vehicles Va waiting to enter in the two pre-merge sections 41 is the same or different. For example, after the first pre-merge section and the second pre-merge section are determined using the number Nk of carrier vehicles, the corrected number Nk of carrier vehicles waiting to enter may not be used in calculating the entry permission number X. For example, after the first pre-merge section and the second pre-merge section are determined without using the number Nk of carrier vehicles, the corrected number Nk of carrier vehicles waiting to enter may be used in calculating the entry permission number X.

[0068] (8) In the first and second embodiments, the configuration in which the merging section 43 merges the paths from only two pre-merge sections 41 into only one post-merge section 45 was described as an example. However, without being limited to such an example, for example, a branching section 47 that branches into a path different from the post-merge section 45 may be provided between the pre-merge section 41 and the merging section 43 or between the merging section 43 and the post-merge section 45, and the carrier vehicle V waiting to enter the branching section 47 may also wait in the pre-merge section 41. In such a configuration where the carrier vehicle V waiting to enter the branching section 47 also waits in the pre-merge section 41, the branching section 47 may be considered to be included in the merging section 43, and the number of carrier vehicles V waiting to enter the branching section 47 may be included in the number of carrier vehicles Va waiting to enter the merging section 43. The merging section 43 may be configured such that paths merge from three or more pre-merge sections 41 into one post-merge section 45, and an entry permission issuance process using the entry permission number X may be executed in at least two of the three or more pre-merge sections 41.

[0069] (9) In addition, the configurations disclosed in each of the above-described embodiments can be applied in combination with the configurations disclosed in other embodiments (including combinations of the embodiments described as other embodiments) as long as there is no contradiction. Regarding other configurations as well, all the embodiments disclosed in this specification are merely examples in all respects. Therefore, various modifications can be made as appropriate without departing from the spirit of the present disclosure.

[0070] [Outline of the Present Embodiment] Hereinafter, the article conveying equipment according to the present disclosure will be described.

[0071] In one aspect, there is provided an article conveying equipment including a plurality of carrier vehicles that move along a predetermined movable path to convey articles, and a control system that controls the plurality of carrier vehicles. In the movable path, there is a merging section where the paths merge from two pre-merging sections into one post-merging section. Among the two pre-merging sections, the one with a larger number of carrier vehicles waiting to enter the merging section, which are the carrier vehicles waiting to enter, is defined as the first pre-merging section, and the other is defined as the second pre-merging section. When the control system executes an entry permission issuing process for issuing an entry permission to the merging section for a plurality of the carrier vehicles waiting to enter, the control system is configured to issue the entry permission to the carrier vehicles waiting to enter corresponding to X vehicle units among the carrier vehicles waiting to enter in the first pre-merging section. Let the first number, which is the number of the carrier vehicles waiting to enter in the first pre-merging section, be N1, the second number, which is the number of the carrier vehicles waiting to enter in the second pre-merging section, be N2, and the adjustment number, which is a number of 0 or more, be M. Then X = N1 - N2 + M.

[0072] According to this configuration, since a larger number of carrier vehicles will preferentially obtain permission to enter the merging section from the pre-merging section with a larger number of carrier vehicles waiting to enter, the inequality in the number of carrier vehicles waiting to enter in the two pre-merging sections can be alleviated. Therefore, it is easier to reduce the possibility that the situation where the number of carrier vehicles waiting to enter in one of the pre-merging sections becomes extremely large will affect the movement of other carrier vehicles in the section upstream of the pre-merging section. Therefore, it is easier to suppress the occurrence of congestion in the section upstream of the pre-merging section.

[0073] As one aspect, when the control system executes the entry permission issuance process, if the number of carrier vehicles waiting to enter in the two pre-merging sections is the same, among the carrier vehicles waiting to enter in the pre-merging section that meets the predetermined conditions, the control system is configured to issue the entry permission to the carrier vehicles whose number is at least one more than the adjustment number M.

[0074] According to this configuration, even when the number of carrier vehicles waiting to enter in the two pre-merging sections is the same when the entry permission issuance process is executed, it is possible to appropriately issue the entry permission to the carrier vehicles and allow them to pass through the merging section. And by issuing the entry permission to the carrier vehicles through this process, it is possible to increase the possibility that the number of carrier vehicles waiting to enter in the two pre-merging sections will be different when the next entry permission issuance process is executed. Therefore, the entry permission issuance process can be appropriately repeated.

[0075] As one aspect, the control system uses the corrected number of carrier vehicles waiting to enter in the pre-merging section, which corrects the value of the number of carrier vehicles waiting to enter in the pre-merging section so that it becomes a larger value as the length of the pre-merging section becomes shorter according to the length of each of the two pre-merging sections, and executes at least one of the determination of which of the pre-merging sections is the first pre-merging section and the calculation of the entry permission number X.

[0076] According to this configuration, as the length of the pre-merging section becomes shorter, it becomes easier for the carrier waiting to enter the pre-merging section to obtain permission to enter the merging section. Therefore, it is easy to reduce the possibility that the short pre-merging section is crowded with carriers waiting to enter, which may affect the movement of other carriers in the section upstream of it.

[0077] As one aspect, when the value of the number of entry permits X exceeds a predetermined upper limit value, the control system replaces the value of the number of entry permits X with the upper limit value and executes the entry permit issuance process.

[0078] According to this configuration, it is possible to avoid the value of the number of entry permits X becoming extremely large, so it is possible to avoid the time when the carriers waiting to enter in the second pre-merging section cannot enter the merging section becoming too long.

[0079] As one aspect, the control system acquires information on the number of carriers that can enter the post-merging section, which is the number of enterable carriers, and when the value of the number of entry permits X exceeds the number of enterable carriers, the control system replaces the value of the number of entry permits X with a value less than or equal to the number of enterable carriers and executes the entry permit issuance process.

[0080] According to this configuration, it is possible to avoid congestion in the post-merging section. Also, when there is a branching section between the carrier waiting to enter and the post-merging section, it is possible to select to bypass the post-merging section for the carrier waiting to enter. Therefore, it is easy to improve the conveyance efficiency by the carriers.

[0081] As one aspect, after the control system executes the entry permit issuance process, after all the carriers waiting to enter that have received the entry permit by the entry permit issuance process have exited the first pre-merging section, the control system executes the next entry permit issuance process.

[0082] According to this configuration, since the entry permission issuance process is repeatedly executed, it is possible to appropriately issue an entry permission to the carrier vehicles that successively enter the pre-merging section and allow them to pass through the merging section. Also, according to this configuration, since the next entry permission issuance process is executed after all the carrier vehicles that received the entry permission in the previous entry permission issuance process have exited the first pre-merging section, it is possible to execute the next entry permission issuance process while appropriately considering the number of carrier vehicles that entered the pre-merging section after the previous entry permission issuance process.

[0083] The article conveying facility according to the present disclosure only needs to be able to exhibit at least one of the above-described effects.

Explanation of Signs

[0084] 10: Article conveying facility 30: Movable path 41: Pre-merging section 43: Merging section 45: Post-merging section 100: Control system U: Article V: Carrier vehicle Va: Carrier vehicle waiting to enter N: Number of carrier vehicles waiting to enter N1: First number N2: Second number M: Adjustment number X: Number of entry permissions Xa: Entry upper limit value Xc: Number of vehicles that can enter

Claims

**Claim 1** An article conveying facility comprising a plurality of carrier vehicles that move along a predetermined movable path to convey articles, and a control system that controls the plurality of carrier vehicles, wherein the movable path has a merging section where paths merge from two pre-merging sections into one post-merging section, of the two pre-merging sections, the one with a larger number of carrier vehicles waiting to enter the merging section, which are the carrier vehicles waiting to enter, is defined as the first pre-merging section, and the other is defined as the second pre-merging section, when the control system executes an entry permission issuance process for issuing an entry permission to the merging section for a plurality of the carrier vehicles waiting to enter, among the carrier vehicles waiting to enter in the first pre-merging section, the entry permission is configured to be issued to the carrier vehicles waiting to enter corresponding to X units of the number of entry permission vehicles, where the number of carrier vehicles waiting to enter in the first pre-merging section is defined as N1, the number of carrier vehicles waiting to enter in the second pre-merging section is defined as N2, and an adjustment number which is a number of 0 or more is defined as M, then X = N1 - N2 + M. An article conveying facility. **Claim 2** When the control system executes the entry permission issuance process, when the number of carrier vehicles waiting to enter in the two pre-merging sections is the same, among the carrier vehicles waiting to enter in the pre-merging section that conforms to a predetermined condition, the entry permission is configured to be issued to the carrier vehicles waiting to enter corresponding to the number of carrier vehicles waiting to enter obtained by adding at least one vehicle to the adjustment number M. The article conveying facility according to claim 1. **Claim 3** The control system uses a corrected number of carrier vehicles waiting to enter in the pre-merging section, which corrects the value of the number of carrier vehicles waiting to enter in the pre-merging section so as to have a larger value as the length of the pre-merging section becomes shorter according to the length of each of the two pre-merging sections, to execute at least one of the determination of which of the pre-merging sections is the first pre-merging section and the calculation of the entry permission number X. The article conveying facility according to claim 1 or 2. **Claim 4** When the value of the entry permission number X exceeds a predetermined entry upper limit value, the control system replaces the value of the entry permission number X with the entry upper limit value and executes the entry permission issuance process. The article conveying facility according to claim 1 or 2. **Claim 5** The control system acquires information on the number of transport vehicles that can enter the post-merging section, which is the number of vehicles that can enter. When the value of the permitted entry number X exceeds the number of vehicles that can enter, the control system replaces the value of the permitted entry number X with a value less than or equal to the number of vehicles that can enter and executes the permitted entry issuance process. The article transport facility according to claim 1 or 2.

Images