Article transportation facility

Abstract

To realize a technique that can set an appropriate movement route that is less likely to cause a guided vehicle to run out of power before arriving at a destination and reduce processing load of a control system for setting the appropriate movement route of the guided vehicle in a configuration where the guided vehicle is equipped with a power storage device and a drive device powered by electricity stored in the power storage device.SOLUTION: In route search processing for setting a first movement route, which is a movement route from a designated movement source to a designated movement destination, a control system 30 determines whether a first estimated power consumption, which is an estimated power consumption derived from a movement operation of a candidate route of the first movement route as a target operation, exceeds a usable power amount. The control system 30 excludes a route determined that the first estimated power consumption exceeds the usable power amount during searching for the candidate route from a candidate of the first movement route, and continues searching for the candidate route which is at least partially different from the removed route.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 4

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to an article transport facility including a transport vehicle that moves along a movable path to transport articles, and a control system that controls the transport vehicle. [Background technology]

[0002] An example of such an article transport facility is disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2012-38134 (Patent Document 1). Hereinafter, in the description of the background art, reference numerals in Patent Document 1 will be cited in parentheses. The article transport facility described in Patent Document 1 includes an overhead traveling vehicle (16) as a transport vehicle that moves along a movable path to transport articles, and a ground controller (20) as a control system that controls the transport vehicle. The overhead traveling vehicle (16) includes a secondary battery (28), and a travel motor (60) and a transfer motor (61) included in the overhead traveling vehicle (16) are driven by power stored in the secondary battery (28) and, in a section where the non-contact power feeder (14) is present, are driven by power from the non-contact power feeder (14) (paragraph 0024). [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2012-38134 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] Although Patent Document 1 does not explicitly state this, the travel route of a transport vehicle is usually searched for and set by a control system that controls the transport vehicle. When a travel route, which is a route that the transport vehicle can travel, includes a section where the drive device (travel motor and transfer motor in Patent Document 1) of the transport vehicle needs to be driven by power stored in a power storage device (secondary battery in Patent Document 1), such as a section where the transport vehicle cannot receive power from an external source, it is necessary to set an appropriate travel route that is less likely to cause a power shortage for the transport vehicle before reaching the destination. Naturally, it is desirable to keep the processing load of the control system for setting such an appropriate travel route for the transport vehicle low. However, Patent Document 1 does not mention this point.

[0005] Therefore, it is desirable to realize a technology that can reduce the processing load of the control system for setting an appropriate travel route for the transport vehicle, in a configuration in which the transport vehicle is equipped with a storage device and a drive device powered by the electricity stored in the storage device, while setting an appropriate travel route that is less likely to cause a power shortage for the transport vehicle before reaching its destination. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] An article transport facility according to the present disclosure is an article transport facility including a transport vehicle that moves along a movable route to transport articles, and a control system that controls the transport vehicle, wherein the transport vehicle includes a power storage device and a drive device that is driven by power stored in the power storage device, and the control system includes an electric power amount acquisition process that acquires information indicating the amount of stored power in the power storage device, a route search process that searches for candidate routes that are candidates for the transport vehicle's movement route and sets the searched candidate routes as the movement route, an available electric power amount determination process that determines an available electric power amount that is an upper limit of the amount of power that can be used by the transport vehicle based on the amount of stored power acquired by the electric power amount acquisition process, and a target motion control process that controls a target operation. and a predicted power consumption derivation process for deriving a predicted power consumption, which is the amount of power that the transport vehicle is predicted to use in the operation, in the route search process for setting a first movement route, which is the movement route from a specified movement source to a specified movement destination, the control system determines whether or not a first predicted power consumption, which is the predicted power consumption derived using the movement action of the candidate route of the first movement route as the target movement, exceeds the available power consumption, and excludes a route for which it is determined that the first predicted power consumption exceeds the available power consumption during the search of the candidate route from the candidates for the first movement route, and continues searching for the candidate route that is at least partially different from the excluded route.

[0007] According to this configuration, in the route search process for setting a first movement route from a specified movement source to a specified movement destination, routes for which the first predicted power consumption exceeds the available power amount are excluded from the candidates for the first movement route, and a candidate route for which the first predicted power consumption is equal to or less than the available power amount can be set as the first movement route. Therefore, an appropriate first movement route that is unlikely to experience a power shortage until the transport vehicle reaches the destination can be set by the route search process. In this case, by setting the available power amount so that the amount of power required by the transport vehicle after reaching the destination is left in the power storage device, the set first movement route can be a route that is unlikely to experience a power shortage not only until the destination but also after the destination is reached.

[0008] According to this configuration, in the route search process for setting the first travel route, a determination is made as to whether the first predicted power consumption exceeds the available power, and a route for which it is determined that the first predicted power consumption exceeds the available power is excluded from the candidates for the first travel route during the search for candidate routes. Therefore, for a route that is not set as the first travel route because the first predicted power consumption exceeds the available power, further route search can be stopped at the time it is determined that the first predicted power consumption exceeds the available power, thereby reducing the load of the route search process for setting the first travel route compared to when the route search is not stopped in this manner. As described above, according to this configuration, it is possible to set an appropriate travel route (first travel route) that is unlikely to cause a power shortage for the transport vehicle before reaching the destination, while also reducing the processing load of the control system for setting an appropriate travel route (first travel route) for the transport vehicle.

[0009] Further features and advantages of the article transport installation will become apparent from the following description of the embodiments, which is given with reference to the drawings. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0010] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of the layout of an article transport facility. [Figure 2] A side view showing an example of a transport vehicle. [Figure 3] A front view showing an example of a transport vehicle. [Figure 4] Control block diagram according to an embodiment [Figure 5] An explanatory diagram of a first movement path and a second movement path [Figure 6] An explanatory diagram of the second route re-searching process [Figure 7] An explanatory diagram of the first route re-searching process [Figure 8] Destination change process diagram [Figure 9] FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram of a route search process for setting a second movement route; [Figure 10] FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram of a route search process for setting a first movement route; DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0011] An embodiment of an article conveying facility will be described with reference to the drawings. As shown in Figures 1 and 4, an article conveying facility 100 includes a transport vehicle 1 that moves along a movable path 40 to convey an article 2 (see Figure 2), and a control system 30 that controls the transport vehicle 1. Various technical features of the control system 30 disclosed in this specification can also be applied to a method for controlling the transport vehicle 1 and a program for controlling the transport vehicle 1 (a program for causing a computer to function as the control system 30), and this specification also discloses such a method and program, as well as a storage medium on which such a program is stored (for example, a computer-readable storage medium such as an optical disk flash memory).

[0012] The technology of the present disclosure can also be applied to a case where a single transport vehicle 1 moves along a movable path 40, but as shown in Fig. 1, in this embodiment, a plurality of transport vehicles 1 are configured to move along the movable path 40. The article 2 (see Fig. 2) is, for example, a FOUP (Front Opening Unified Pod) that stores semiconductor wafers.

[0013] The movable path 40 is a path along which the transport vehicle 1 can travel. As shown in FIG. 1, a forward direction F is set for each section of the movable path 40, and the transport vehicle 1 basically travels along each section of the movable path 40 in the forward direction F. The movable path 40 includes a junction 42 where multiple paths merge into one path, and a branching section 43 where one path branches into multiple paths. The movable path 40 refers to the entire path along which the transport vehicle 1 travels, and is composed of a collection of multiple paths (point-to-point paths connecting points). In the examples shown in FIGS. 9 and 10, which will be referred to later, a node N corresponds to a "point," and a link L corresponds to a "point-to-point path." The travel path R of the transport vehicle 1 (see FIG. 5) is represented by a combination of multiple point-to-point paths.

[0014] The movable path 40 may be defined physically or virtually. That is, the guided vehicle 1 may be a rail-guided vehicle or a railless guided vehicle such as an AGV (Automated Guided Vehicle). As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3 , in this embodiment, the movable path 40 is physically defined by rails 41 (here, a pair of rails 41 arranged at an interval in the left-right direction Y, which will be described later). Alternatively, the movable path 40 may be physically defined by the shape of a passageway along which the guided vehicle 1 moves. In this case, the movable path 40 is physically defined, for example, by a structure that partitions the passageway. Alternatively, a detectable object, such as a magnetic tape, a two-dimensional code, or an RF (Radio Frequency) tag, that can be detected by the guided vehicle 1 may be provided on the floor or the like, and the movable path 40 may be virtually defined by the detectable object. In this case, the movable path 40 is virtually defined, for example, along the detectable object or by connecting multiple detectable objects.

[0015] 2 and 3, the direction in which the transport vehicle 1 moves and that is along the movable path 40 (here, the direction along the extension direction of the rail 41) is defined as the front-rear direction X, and the direction perpendicular to both the front-rear direction X and the up-down direction Z (vertical direction) is defined as the left-right direction Y. In the example shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the rail 41 that defines the movable path 40 is suspended and supported from the ceiling 7. Therefore, in this example, the transport vehicle 1 is a ceiling transport vehicle that moves along the movable path 40 that is formed along the ceiling 7. The movable path 40 is not limited to being formed on the ceiling 7, but may also be formed on the floor surface or the like.

[0016] The guided vehicle 1 (here, an automated guided vehicle) illustrated in FIGS. 2 and 3 is configured as follows. The guided vehicle 1 includes a running unit 10 and a main body unit 20. The running unit 10 includes running wheels 11 that roll on the running surfaces of rails 41, and a running drive unit 12 (for example, an electric motor such as a servo motor) that rotates the running wheels 11. The running wheels 11 are rotationally driven by the running drive unit 12, causing the running unit 10 to run along the rails 41, and thereby the guided vehicle 1 moves along the movable path 40. In this example, the running unit 10 includes guide wheels 14 that roll on the guide surfaces of the rails 41, and the running unit 10 runs along the rails 41 with the guide wheels 14 in contact with and guided by the guide surfaces.

[0017] The travel drive unit 12 may be a collection of drive units that drive a plurality of drive targets. For example, the travel unit 10 may be provided with a switching mechanism that switches the traveling direction of the transport vehicle 1 at the branching unit 43 (see FIG. 1 ), and the travel drive unit 12 may drive the switching mechanism in addition to the running wheels 11. Although details are omitted, this switching mechanism is a mechanism that switches the position of the guided part provided on the travel unit 10 between a position where it contacts a guide rail provided along the movable path 40 from one side in the left-right direction Y, and a position where it contacts the guide rail from the other side in the left-right direction Y.

[0018] The main body 20 is connected to the running part 10. Here, the main body 20 is arranged on the lower side Z2 relative to the running part 10. The main body 20 is equipped with a holding part 21 that holds the item 2, and the item 2 is transported by the transport vehicle 1 while held by the holding part 21. The main body 20 is equipped with a transfer drive part (e.g., an electric motor such as a servo motor) not shown in the figure for performing the transfer operation of the item 2 between the transport vehicle 1 and the transfer target location (e.g., an item support part 6 described below). The holding part 21 is driven by the transfer drive part to perform a holding operation to hold the item 2 and a holding release operation to release the hold of the item 2.

[0019] The transfer drive unit may be a collection of drive units that drive multiple drive targets. In the example shown in FIG. 2, the main body 20 includes an elevator 22 that raises and lowers the holding unit 21 and a moving device 24 that moves the holding unit 21 in the left-right direction Y. The transfer drive unit is configured to drive the elevator 22 and the moving device 24 in addition to the holding unit 21. In this example, the elevator 22 is configured to raise the holding unit 21 by winding a take-up member 23 (e.g., a belt or wire) that suspends the holding unit 21 onto a rotating body (e.g., a drum) (not shown), and to lower the holding unit 21 by unwinding the take-up member 23 from the rotating body. In addition, in this example, the moving device 24 is configured to move the elevator 22 in the left-right direction Y, thereby moving the holding unit 21 supported by the elevator 22 in the left-right direction Y. The main body 20 may be provided with a rotation device that rotates the holding part 21 around a vertical axis along the vertical direction Z, and the rotation device may be driven by the transfer drive part.

[0020] As shown in FIG. 1, a plurality of stations 3 are set along a movable path 40. Each station 3 is provided with an item support section 6 (see FIG. 2) that supports the item 2, and the item 2 is transferred between the transport vehicle 1 and the item support section 6 at the station 3. The item support section 6 may be, for example, a load port of a processing device 4 that processes the item 2 (or the contents contained in the item 2), an in / out port of a storage device that stores the item 2, or a storage shelf that stores the item 2. Here, "storage" includes temporary storage. Hereinafter, a device that stores the item 2, such as the storage device or storage shelf, will be referred to as an item storage device 5.

[0021] When transferring an item 2 between the transport vehicle 1 and the item support unit 6, the transport vehicle 1 travels to the station 3 where the item support unit 6 is provided. When the transport vehicle 1 travels, the holder 21 is positioned at a reference height H1 (see FIG. 2). The reference height H1 is the height at which the holder 21 and the item 2 held by the holder 21 are accommodated in the main body 20. The reference height H1 is set at a position Z1 above a transfer height H2, which will be described later. After the transport vehicle 1 reaches the station 3, the transport vehicle 1 performs the transfer operation of the item 2 between the transport vehicle 1 and the item support unit 6. If the item support unit 6 is not positioned directly below the movable path 40 but is positioned offset in the left-right direction Y from the movable path 40, the transport vehicle 1 moves the holder 21 in the left-right direction Y by the moving device 24 to a position directly above the item support unit 6, and then performs the transfer operation of the item 2.

[0022] In the transfer operation of the article 2 when transferring the article 2 from the transport vehicle 1 to the article support unit 6, the following operations are performed in sequence: a lowering operation in which the lifting device 22 lowers the holding unit 21, which is holding the article 2, from the reference height H1 to the transfer height H2; a release operation by the holding unit 21; and an ascending operation in which the lifting device 22 raises the holding unit 21, which is not holding the article 2, from the transfer height H2 to the reference height H1. Here, the transfer height H2 (see FIG. 2) is a height that is set according to the height of the article support unit 6. In addition, in the transfer operation of the article 2 when transferring the article 2 from the transport vehicle 1 to the article support unit 6, the following operations are performed in sequence: a lowering operation in which the lifting device 22 lowers the holding unit 21, which is not holding the article 2, from the reference height H1 to the transfer height H2; a holding operation by the holding unit 21; and an ascending operation in which the lifting device 22 raises the holding unit 21, which is holding the article 2, from the transfer height H2 to the reference height H1.

[0023] As shown in FIG. 4, the transport vehicle 1 includes a power storage device 52 and a drive device 51 that is driven by the power stored in the power storage device 52. The power storage device 52 is a device that stores power. The power storage device 52 is configured to be capable of charging and discharging. The power storage device 52 is, for example, a battery, a capacitor, or a combination of a battery and a capacitor. The power storage device 52 is provided with a power storage amount sensor that detects the amount of stored power. The power storage amount sensor includes, for example, one or both of a voltage sensor and a current sensor.

[0024] The drive unit 51 is configured to generate a movement drive force, which is the drive force required for the transport vehicle 1 to move along the movable path 40. In this embodiment, the transport vehicle 1 moves the item 2 to transfer the item 2 between the transport vehicle 1 and the target transfer location. Therefore, in this embodiment, the drive unit 51 is also configured to generate a transfer drive force, which is the drive force required for transferring the item 2 between the transport vehicle 1 and the target transfer location. For example, in the transport vehicle 1 illustrated in FIGS. 2 and 3 above, the travel drive unit 12 generates the movement drive force, and a transfer drive unit (not shown) generates the transfer drive force. Therefore, in this transport vehicle 1, the drive unit 51 includes both the travel drive unit 12 and the transfer drive unit. Note that the drive unit 51 may also be configured without a transfer drive unit. In this case, for example, the transfer of the item 2 between the transport vehicle 1 and the target transfer location is performed by a device provided at the target transfer location moving the item 2.

[0025] As shown in FIG. 1, in this embodiment, a power supply area A for supplying power to the transport vehicle 1 is provided in a part of the movable path 40. The power supply area A is configured to be able to supply power to at least one of a stopped transport vehicle 1 and a traveling transport vehicle 1 (in this embodiment, both). The power supply method for the transport vehicle 1 in the power supply area A may be a contactless method or a contact method. The power supplied to the transport vehicle 1 in the power supply area A is stored in a power storage device 52 or used to drive a drive device 51.

[0026] The transport vehicle 1 illustrated in Fig. 3 includes a power receiving device 15 that receives power in a contactless manner from a power supply line 8 arranged along a movable path 40 in a power supply area A. The power receiving device 15 includes, for example, a pickup coil. AC power is induced in the pickup coil by a magnetic field generated around the power supply line 8 to which AC current is supplied. This AC power is converted into, for example, DC and supplied to a power storage device 52 or a drive device 51.

[0027] As shown in FIG. 4, the transport vehicle 1 is equipped with a control device 50 that controls the transport vehicle 1. The control device 50 and a later-described upper control device 31 are equipped with, for example, an arithmetic processing device such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit) and peripheral circuits such as a memory. Each function of the control device 50 and the upper control device 31 is realized, for example, by cooperation between hardware such as an arithmetic processing device and a program executed on the hardware. The control device 50 controls the drive device 51. The control device 50 controls the drive device 51 (for example, the travel drive unit 12 described above) to cause the transport vehicle 1 to perform a movement operation to move along the movable path 40. In this embodiment, the control device 50 further controls the drive device 51 (for example, the transfer drive unit described above) to cause the transport vehicle 1 to perform a transfer operation of the item 2 between the transport vehicle 1 and a transfer target location.

[0028] The control system 30 controls the guided vehicle 1 (in this embodiment, a plurality of guided vehicles 1). As shown in FIG. 4, in this embodiment, the control system 30 includes a host controller 31. The host controller 31 may be a collection of a plurality of devices that can communicate with each other. The host controller 31 is communicatively connected to a controller 50 provided in the guided vehicle 1, and the controller 50 controls the operation of the guided vehicle 1 in response to a command from the host controller 31. The host controller 31 assigns a task for transporting an article 2 (for example, a transport task for transporting the article 2 from a source station 3 to a destination station 3) to one of the plurality of guided vehicles 1. The task may be generated by the host controller 31 or by another device that can communicate with the host controller 31. The host controller 31 then instructs the guided vehicle 1 to which the task has been assigned to perform the task, and the controller 50 provided in the guided vehicle 1 that has received the command controls the guided vehicle 1 to perform an operation for executing the task.

[0029] In this embodiment, the control system 30 is configured by cooperation between the host controller 31 and the controller 50 (here, the controller 50 provided in each transport vehicle 1), but the control system 30 may also be configured by only the host controller 31. Also, the control system 30 may be configured by cooperation between the controllers 50 of each transport vehicle 1 that are connected to each other so as to be able to communicate with each other, without providing the host controller 31.

[0030] The control system 30 (in this embodiment, the host control device 31) is aware of the current position of the guided vehicle 1 (in this embodiment, the current positions of each of the multiple guided vehicles 1). In this embodiment, the guided vehicle 1 is configured to recognize its own current position, and the host control device 31 acquires information on the current position of the guided vehicle 1 from the guided vehicle 1. Although details are omitted, for example, detectable objects (e.g., one-dimensional codes, two-dimensional codes, RF tags, etc.) that hold position information can be provided at multiple positions along the movable path 40, and the guided vehicle 1 can recognize its own current position by reading the position information held by the detectable objects. The guided vehicle 1 recognizes its own current position, for example, based on the read position information and the distance traveled since the position information was read. The guided vehicle 1 can also be configured to recognize its own current position based on the output of a positioning device such as a GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite System) receiver.

[0031] The control system 30 (in this embodiment, the upper control device 31) executes an electric energy acquisition process, a route search process, a usable electric energy determination process, and a predicted power consumption calculation process. The route search process is a process of searching for a candidate route C that is a candidate for the travel route R of the transport vehicle 1, and setting the searched candidate route C as the travel route R.

[0032] The power amount acquisition process is a process of acquiring information indicating the amount of power stored in the power storage device 52. The amount of power stored is expressed, for example, as a ratio (percentage) of the remaining capacity to the fully charged capacity. In this case, the amount of power stored in a fully charged state is 100%, and the amount of power stored in a fully discharged state is 0%. The amount of power stored in the power storage device 52 can be estimated, for example, based on the output voltage of the power storage device 52, or based on an integrated value of the amount of power charged to the power storage device 52 and an integrated value of the amount of power discharged from the power storage device 52, or based on a combination of these. When the amount of power stored in the power storage device 52 is estimated by the control device 50 of the transport vehicle 1, the control device 50 transmits information indicating the estimated amount of power stored to the upper control device 31. When the amount of power stored in the power storage device 52 is estimated by the upper control device 31, the upper control device 31 acquires information necessary for estimating the amount of power stored in the power storage device 52 (for example, information on the value detected by the above-mentioned power storage amount sensor) from the transport vehicle 1.

[0033] The usable power amount determination process is a process for determining the usable power amount, which is the upper limit of the amount of power that can be used by the transport vehicle 1, based on the amount of stored power acquired by the power amount acquisition process. In other words, the usable power amount is the upper limit of the amount of power that can be used for the operation of the transport vehicle 1 (movement operation, operation of transferring the article 2, etc.). The usable power amount is basically determined to a value equal to or less than the amount of stored power in the power storage device 52. Note that in this specification, the amount of stored power in the power storage device 52 means, for example, the current amount of stored power in the power storage device 52. The usable power amount is determined, for example, to a value obtained by subtracting the surplus amount from the amount of stored power in the power storage device 52. This surplus amount is set, for example, to a value equal to or greater than the amount of power predicted to be consumed from the end of the above-mentioned operation of the transport vehicle 1 until the start of the next charging of the power storage device 52.

[0034] The predicted power consumption derivation process is a process for deriving predicted power consumption, which is the amount of power predicted to be used by the transport vehicle 1 (specifically, the drive device 51) for the target operation, which is the target operation. The target operation includes the movement operation along the movement route R and the transfer operation (receiving operation or handing over operation) of the item 2 at the transfer target location. The first predicted power consumption amount and the second predicted power consumption amount, which will be described later, are derived as predicted power consumption in the predicted power consumption derivation process. In this embodiment, in the predicted power consumption derivation process, the control system 30 derives predicted power consumption assuming that multiple transport vehicles 1 will consume the same amount of power for the same target operation (i.e., without distinguishing between multiple transport vehicles 1).

[0035] While the transport vehicle 1 is moving while holding the item 2, the drive device 51 may use power to hold the item 2 (for example, power to maintain the holding section 21 holding the item 2 at a reference height H1). In such a case, the predicted amount of power consumption that the transport vehicle 1 is expected to use during its movement while holding the item 2 (for example, movement along the first movement path R1 described below) can be derived taking into account the power for holding the item 2. In this case, the accuracy of the derived predicted amount of power consumption can be improved. Furthermore, in cases where the power for holding the item 2 can be ignored, the predicted amount of power consumption can also be derived without taking into account the power for holding the item 2. In this case, the configuration for deriving the predicted amount of power consumption can be simplified.

[0036] The predicted power consumption for a target operation can be derived, for example, based on statistics of past actual power consumption consumed by the transport vehicle 1 for the target operation. When considering the difference in power consumption depending on whether or not an item 2 is carried, the actual power consumption for the movement operation is managed separately depending on whether or not the item 2 is carried. The actual power consumption for the movement operation is collected and managed, for example, for each point-to-point route (link L in the example shown in Figures 9 and 10). In this case, the predicted power consumption for the movement operation of candidate route C can be the sum of statistics for each point-to-point route that constitutes candidate route C. Alternatively, the predicted power consumption for each target operation can be derived by calculation based on the amount of power used for each target operation (e.g., a design value or a learned value). In this calculation, for example, the amount of power required for the movement operation of the transport vehicle 1 to move a unit distance, the amount of power required for one operation of receiving the item 2 from the target transfer location, and the amount of power required for one operation of handing over the item 2 to the target transfer location are used. When deriving the predicted power consumption amount, regenerative power (for example, regenerative power when the guided vehicle 1 decelerates) may be taken into consideration.

[0037] As described above, in this embodiment, the power supply area A is provided in a portion of the movable route 40. In this embodiment, when the power supply area A is included in the candidate route C in the predicted power consumption derivation process, the control system 30 is configured to derive the predicted power consumption by setting the amount of power used by the transport vehicle 1 (specifically, the drive device 51) in the power supply area A as zero or a negative value. For example, when a portion of the candidate route C is included in the power supply area A, the predicted power consumption for the movement operation of the candidate route C is derived by setting the amount of power used by the transport vehicle 1 for the movement operation of the portion as zero or a negative value. Furthermore, for example, when the transfer target location that is the start point or end point of the candidate route C is included in the power supply area A, the predicted power consumption for the transfer operation (receiving operation or handing over operation) of the item 2 is derived by setting the amount of power used by the transport vehicle 1 for the transfer operation (receiving operation or handing over operation) as zero or a negative value.

[0038] When the amount of power predicted to be supplied to the transport vehicle 1 in the power supply area A is greater than the amount of power predicted to be used by the transport vehicle 1 in the power supply area A and it is predicted that the amount of power stored in the power storage device 52 in the power supply area A will increase, the predicted power consumption can be derived as the amount of power used by the transport vehicle 1 in the power supply area A, using a negative value corresponding to the predicted increase in the amount of stored power. In this case, it is easy to make the derived predicted power consumption closer to the actual amount of decrease in the amount of stored power in the power storage device 52 caused by the target operation. Furthermore, regardless of whether the amount of power stored in the power storage device 52 in the power supply area A is predicted to increase, it is also possible to derive the predicted power consumption by setting the amount of power used by the transport vehicle 1 in the power supply area A to zero. In this case, it is easy to reduce the load required to derive the predicted power consumption.

[0039] The control system 30 executes a route search process to set a first movement route R1, which is a movement route R from a specified movement source to a specified movement destination. The movement source and the movement destination can be set at any point. However, as will be described later, in this embodiment, the movement source P1 of the item 2 is set as the movement source, and the movement destination P2 of the item 2 is set as the movement destination. In the route search process to set the first movement route R1, the control system 30 determines whether the first predicted power consumption exceeds the available power. Here, the first predicted power consumption is the predicted power consumption derived using the movement operation of the candidate route C of the first movement route R1 as the target movement (i.e., the amount of power predicted to be used by the guided vehicle 1 for the movement operation of the candidate route C of the first movement route R1). The available power used in the above determination is determined, for example, based on the amount of power stored in the power storage device 52 at the time of execution of the route search process to set the first movement route R1. If the amount of electricity stored in the power storage device 52 at the start of movement along the first movement route R1 can be predicted, the amount of available electricity used in the above judgment may be determined based on the amount of electricity stored in the power storage device 52 at the start of movement along the first movement route R1.

[0040] In the route search process for setting the first travel route R1, the control system 30 does not search the entire candidate route C from the source to the destination and then derive the first predicted power consumption. Instead, the control system 30 derives the first predicted power consumption for the candidate route C during the search for the candidate route C (i.e., in parallel with the search for the candidate route C) and determines whether the derived first predicted power consumption exceeds the available power. The control system 30 excludes from the candidates for the first travel route R1 any route for which it determines that the first predicted power consumption exceeds the available power during the search for the candidate route C, and continues searching for a candidate route C that is at least partially different from the excluded route. Then, if the control system 30 finds a candidate route C whose first predicted power consumption is equal to or less than the available power (a candidate route C representing the entire section of the first travel route R1), it sets the candidate route C as the first travel route R1. Details of the route search process for setting the first travel route R1 will be described later with reference to FIG. 10.

[0041] In this embodiment, the control system 30 executes a route search process to set a second movement route R2, which is a movement route R from the current location of a target transport vehicle, which is one of the multiple transport vehicles 1, to a specified destination. This destination can be set to any location, but as will be described later, in this embodiment, the origin P1 of the item 2 is set as the destination. In the route search process to set the second movement route R2, the control system 30 determines whether the second predicted power consumption exceeds the target usable power of a candidate transport vehicle, which is a candidate for the target transport vehicle. Here, the second predicted power consumption is the predicted power consumption derived using the movement of candidate route C of the second movement route R2 as the target movement (i.e., the amount of power predicted to be used by the transport vehicle 1 for the movement of candidate route C of the second movement route R2). The target usable power will be described later. However, in the route search process to set the second movement route R2, the usable power can be used instead of the target usable power, as in the route search process to set the first movement route R1. In this case, the amount of available power is determined based on, for example, the amount of power stored in the power storage device 52 at the time of executing the route search process for setting the second travel route R2.

[0042] In the route search process for setting the second movement route R2, if the candidate route C becomes a route connecting the current location and destination of any of the candidate transport vehicles during the search for the candidate route C, the control system 30 determines whether the second predicted energy consumption for the candidate route C exceeds the target usable energy for the candidate transport vehicle. The control system 30 excludes the candidate transport vehicle for which it is determined that the second predicted energy consumption exceeds the target usable energy during the search for the candidate route C from the candidates for the target transport vehicle, and continues searching for the candidate route C. Then, if the control system 30 finds a candidate transport vehicle whose second predicted energy consumption is equal to or less than the target usable energy, it selects the candidate transport vehicle as the target transport vehicle and sets the candidate route C, which becomes a route connecting the current location and destination of the candidate transport vehicle, as the second movement route R2.

[0043] In this embodiment, in the route search process for setting the second movement route R2, the control system 30 searches for a candidate route C starting from the origin P1 toward the upstream side, which is the opposite direction to the traveling direction of the target guided vehicle. Then, when the candidate route C reaches a candidate guided vehicle whose second predicted power consumption amount is equal to or less than the target usable power amount, the control system 30 selects the candidate guided vehicle as the target guided vehicle and sets a route from the current location of the candidate guided vehicle to the origin P1 along the candidate route C that reached the candidate guided vehicle as the second movement route R2. Details of the route search process for setting the second movement route R2 will be described later with reference to FIG. 9.

[0044] The control system 30 controls the operation of the transport vehicle 1 so that the transport vehicle 1 moves along the travel route R set by the route search process. In this embodiment, the control system 30 is configured to operate the transport vehicle 1 in a power-saving mode, which reduces power consumption compared to a normal mode, when a difference value obtained by subtracting the predicted power consumption amount from the available power amount is smaller than a predetermined determination threshold. The control system 30 operates the transport vehicle 1 in the power-saving mode, for example, for a travel operation, one of a travel operation and a transfer operation. For example, when a difference value obtained by subtracting the first predicted power consumption amount from the available power amount at the start of travel along the first travel route R1 is smaller than a determination threshold, the control system 30 causes the transport vehicle 1 to move along the first travel route R1 in the power-saving mode. Furthermore, when a difference value obtained by subtracting the total predicted power consumption amount described below from the available power amount at the start of travel along the second travel route R2 is smaller than a determination threshold, the control system 30 causes the transport vehicle 1 to move along the second travel route R2 in the power-saving mode. The control system 30 can also be configured to operate the transport vehicle 1 in a power-saving mode only for the transport vehicle 1 transporting an item 2 when the difference value obtained by subtracting the predicted power consumption amount from the available power amount is smaller than a predetermined judgment threshold value.

[0045] Here, the normal mode is a mode in which the guided vehicle 1 operates without limiting the acceleration and maximum speed (specifically, allowing them up to a predetermined upper limit value). The power saving mode is a mode in which the guided vehicle 1 operates with a limit on at least one of the acceleration and maximum speed (for example, only the acceleration) (specifically, limiting it to a value less than the upper limit value). When the guided vehicle 1 operates in the power saving mode in this way, one or more limit thresholds may be predetermined to be smaller than the above-mentioned judgment threshold, and the control system 30 may be configured to more strictly limit at least one of the acceleration and maximum speed in the power saving mode each time the above-mentioned difference value falls below the limit threshold. In this case, there will be multiple power saving modes with different degrees of limitation.

[0046] When the control system 30 does not find a candidate route C whose first predicted power consumption is equal to or less than the available power amount in the route search process for setting the first movement route R1, the control system 30 terminates the route search process for setting the first movement route R1. Furthermore, when the control system 30 does not find a candidate guided vehicle whose second predicted power consumption is equal to or less than the target available power amount in the route search process for setting the second movement route R2, the control system 30 terminates the route search process for setting the second movement route R2. When terminating the route search process in this manner, the control system 30, for example, discards the task related to the terminated route search process, or changes the content of the task (e.g., changes the destination of the item 2 to a closer station 3, etc.), and executes the route search process again. Note that, when the power supply equipment for supplying power to the guided vehicle 1 in the power supply area A is broken or heavy traffic is occurring, it may be possible to predict before executing the route search process related to the task that a candidate route C whose first predicted power consumption is equal to or less than the available power amount or a candidate guided vehicle whose second predicted power consumption is equal to or less than the target available power amount will not be found. In such a case, the control system 30 can be configured, for example, to not accept the task (in other words, not execute the route search process related to the task), or to change the content of the task and execute the route search process.

[0047] In this embodiment, the control system 30 executes a route search process in response to a transport command (transport task) for transporting an item 2 from a source P1 to a destination P2 to set a first movement route R1 (see FIG. 5) having the source P1 as a movement origin and the destination P2 as a movement destination. As shown in FIG. 5, the source P1 and the destination P2 are set to any of the stations 3. In addition, in this embodiment, the control system 30 executes a route search process in response to the transport command to set a second movement route R2 (see FIG. 5) having the current location of a target transport vehicle, which is one of the multiple transport vehicles 1, as a movement origin and the source P1 as a movement destination. The transport task is assigned to a transport vehicle 1 selected as the target transport vehicle by the route search process for setting the second movement route R2. A transport vehicle 1 to which another task, such as a transport vehicle 1 carrying an item 2, is assigned is basically excluded from candidates for the target transport vehicle.

[0048] The control system 30 controls the transport vehicle 1 (target transport vehicle) to which the transport task has been assigned so that it sequentially performs a movement operation of moving along the set second movement path R2 to the source P1, a receiving operation of receiving the item 2 at the source P1, a movement operation of moving along the first movement path R1 from the source P1 to the destination P2, and a handover operation of handing over the item 2 at the destination P2. In order to prevent the transport vehicle 1 (target transport vehicle) from running out of power while completing this series of operations, in this embodiment, the target available power is calculated by subtracting the sum of the first predicted power consumption, the predicted power consumption derived for the target operation of receiving the item 2 at the transport source P1 (i.e., the power consumption predicted to be used by the transport vehicle 1 in the operation of receiving the item 2), and the predicted power consumption derived for the target operation of delivering the item 2 at the transport destination P2 (i.e., the power consumption predicted to be used by the transport vehicle 1 in the operation of delivering the item 2) from the available power (e.g., the available power determined based on the amount of power stored in the power storage device 52 at the time of executing the route search process for setting the second movement route R2). Note that the first predicted power consumption here is the first predicted power consumption for the candidate route C representing the entire section of the first movement route R1, not for the candidate route C representing a partial section of the first movement route R1. By setting the target available power amount used in the route search process for setting the second movement route R2 in this manner, the first movement route R1 and the second movement route R2 can be set so that the "total predicted power amount," which is the sum of the first predicted power amount, the second predicted power amount, the predicted power amount derived using the receiving operation of item 2 at the source P1 as the target operation, and the predicted power amount derived using the handover operation of item 2 at the destination P2 as the target operation, does not exceed the available power amount.

[0049] As described above, in this embodiment, the target available power amount is set based on the first predicted power consumption amount, and therefore the first predicted power consumption amount is required in the route search process for setting the second movement route R2. The first predicted power consumption amount used to determine the target available power amount can also be derived by executing the route search process for setting the first movement route R1. In this case, however, the start of the route search process for setting the second movement route R2 must wait until the completion of the route search process for setting the first movement route R1. Considering that the conditions of the movable route 40 (such as passability and traffic congestion) may change over time, it is desirable to execute the route search process for setting the first movement route R1 close to the time when the transport vehicle 1 starts moving along the first movement route R1. However, executing the route search process for setting the first movement route R1 before executing the route search process for setting the second movement route R2 and then executing it again increases the control load on the control system 30.

[0050] In view of the above, in this embodiment, the control system 30 executes a route search process for setting the second movement route R2, and then executes a route search process for setting the first movement route R1. The control system 30 is configured to derive the first predicted power consumption used to set the target available power amount without executing the route search process for setting the first movement route R1. Specifically, the control system 30 is configured to derive, as the first predicted power consumption, a statistical amount corresponding to the combination of two points, the source point P1 and the destination point P2, specified in the transportation command, based on statistics of past results of the power consumption consumed by the transportation vehicle 1 for the movement operation between the two points for each combination of two points (in the case where the results are managed separately depending on whether the item 2 is held or not, the results when the item 2 is held).

[0051] In this embodiment, a plurality of transport vehicles 1 are configured to move along the movable route 40, and in the usable power amount determination process, the control system 30 determines the usable power amount for each transport vehicle 1. Then, in the route search process for setting the second travel route R2, the control system 30 searches for a candidate route C by excluding transport vehicles 1 whose target usable power amount is zero or less from the candidates for the target transport vehicles.

[0052] In this embodiment, the control system 30 is configured to execute a low-cost route search process in which a route with the lowest cost is preferentially searched for as a candidate route C from among multiple routes using a cost (weight) that is a value for a factor affecting the travel time of the transport vehicle 1 and that increases as the travel time increases. The cost corresponds to the predicted travel time. For example, in the low-cost route search process, by searching for the candidate route C based on a route search algorithm that can search for a route with the lowest cost, such as Dijkstra's algorithm, it becomes possible to set the candidate route C with the lowest cost as the travel route R among the candidate routes C that satisfy a predetermined condition (for example, in the case of setting a first travel route R1, the first predicted power consumption amount is equal to or less than the available power amount).

[0053] Factors that affect the travel time of the guided vehicle 1 include, for example, the distance of the route, the structure of the route, and the degree of congestion on the route (the length of congestion, the number of other guided vehicles 1 on the route, etc.). The above cost is set to increase as the travel time of the guided vehicle 1 increases due to such factors. Therefore, for example, the above cost can be configured to include at least one of a distance cost, a structure cost, a congestion cost, and a foreign vehicle cost. Here, "including" means that it is included as an element for deriving the cost. Therefore, the cost is derived based on at least one of the distance cost, the structure cost, the congestion cost, and the foreign vehicle cost. The distance cost, the structure cost, the congestion cost, and the foreign vehicle cost are considered "element costs," and the cost can be derived, for example, by adding element costs together, multiplying element costs together, or by combining these.

[0054] The distance cost is a cost that increases as the travel distance of the transport vehicle 1 increases. The distance cost can be determined according to the distance of the route, and can be set to a value obtained by multiplying the distance by a coefficient, for example. The structural cost is a cost that increases as the possible travel speed (e.g., maximum speed) of the transport vehicle 1 decreases depending on the structure of the route. The structure of the route is a structure that affects the travel speed of the transport vehicle 1, such as a junction 42, a branching section 43, a lifter (a lifting device that raises and lowers the transport vehicle 1 on the route along which the transport vehicle 1 rises and lowers), a curve, etc. The structural cost can be determined according to the possible travel speed of the transport vehicle 1 in each structure, and can be set to a value obtained by multiplying the reciprocal of the possible travel speed by a coefficient, for example.

[0055] The congestion cost increases as at least one of the length of a congestion on the route and the number of guided vehicles 1 involved in the congestion increases. When a guided vehicle 1 is equipped with a collision prevention sensor that detects other guided vehicles 1 ahead of the guided vehicle 1, a congestion can be defined as a state in which a guided vehicle 1 has been stopped for a set time or longer after detecting other guided vehicles 1 by the collision prevention sensor. In this case, the number of guided vehicles 1 that have been stopped for a set time or longer is the number of guided vehicles 1 involved in the congestion. When the congestion cost is determined based on the number of guided vehicles 1 involved in the congestion on the route, for example, the congestion cost can be set to a value obtained by multiplying the number of vehicles by a coefficient. When the congestion cost is determined based on the length of a congestion on the route, for example, the congestion cost can be set to a value obtained by multiplying the length by a coefficient. The other vehicle cost increases as the number of other guided vehicles 1 on the route increases. In this embodiment, it does not matter whether the "other guided vehicles 1" are moving or stopped. The other vehicle cost can be determined according to the number of other guided vehicles 1 present on the route, and can be set to a value obtained by multiplying the number by a coefficient, for example. The length of congestion on the route, the number of guided vehicles 1 included in the congestion on the route, and the number of other guided vehicles 1 present on the route may be values ​​(actual values) at the time of execution of the low-cost route search process, or may be predicted values ​​at the time the guided vehicle 1 arrives at the route. In addition, the length of congestion on the route, the number of guided vehicles 1 included in the congestion on the route, and the number of other guided vehicles 1 present on the route may be statistical values ​​based on past performance.

[0056] In this embodiment, the control system 30 is configured to set a travel route R while simultaneously searching for a candidate route C using a low-cost route search process and deriving a predicted power consumption amount for the candidate route C during the search. Hereinafter, the route search process according to this embodiment will be described with reference to Figs. 9 and 10.

[0057] In Figures 9 and 10, a possible route 40 is represented using nodes N and links L connecting the nodes N. In the following, when multiple nodes N are distinguished, the alphabet shown inside the circle representing the node N in Figures 9 and 10 is written in parentheses after the node N. For example, node N(a) represents the node N represented by "a." In the following, when multiple candidate routes C are distinguished, the nodes N constituting the candidate route C are written in parentheses after the candidate route C in order from the starting point of the route search. The arrow in the parentheses represents the direction from the upstream node N to the downstream node N. For example, candidate route C(a → b → c) and candidate route C(c ← b ← a) both represent routes from node N(a) to node N(c) via node N(b).

[0058] Node N corresponds to a specific point such as a junction 42 or a branching point 43 (see FIG. 1), and link L corresponds to a point-to-point route connecting specific points. In the route search process, the control system 30 sequentially connects links L to search for a candidate route C. In FIGS. 9 and 10, a numerical value (s, t%) is assigned to each link L. Here, s represents a cost (link cost) that is a weight set for link L, and t represents the predicted power consumption set for link L as a ratio (percentage) of the reference amount of stored power (for example, the full charge capacity of the power storage device 52). Here, as an example, the predicted power consumption is expressed as a ratio of the reference amount of stored power, but the predicted power consumption may be a power consumption value or the like. When considering the difference in power consumption depending on whether or not an item 2 is held, the value of t will be different depending on whether or not an item 2 is held.

[0059] The cost of link L is the above-mentioned cost (a value for a factor that affects the travel time of the transport vehicle 1, and the cost increases as the travel time becomes longer) set for each link L. In other words, the cost of link L corresponds to the predicted travel time of the link L. In the low-cost route search process, the control system 30 derives the cost of a candidate route C based on the sum of the costs of each of the links L included in the candidate route C. In this embodiment, the cost of a candidate route C is expressed as the sum of the costs of each of the links L included in the candidate route C. Although details will be omitted, if a cost is also set for node N, the control system 30 derives the cost of the candidate route C in the low-cost route search process based on the sum of the costs of each of the links L included in the candidate route C as well as the sum of the costs of each of the nodes N included in the candidate route C. In this case, the cost of the candidate route C is expressed, for example, as the sum of the costs of each of the links L and nodes N included in the candidate route C.

[0060] The predicted power consumption of a link L is set for each link L as the amount of power predicted to be used by the transportation vehicle 1 during its travel. As described above, the predicted power consumption of a link L is derived, for example, based on statistics of past performance or by calculation based on design values, learning values, etc. In the predicted power consumption derivation process, the control system 30 derives the predicted power consumption of a candidate route C based on the sum of the predicted power consumption of each link L included in the candidate route C. In this embodiment, the predicted power consumption of a candidate route C is expressed as the sum of the predicted power consumption of each link L included in the candidate route C. Although details will be omitted, if a predicted power consumption is also set for a node N, the control system 30 derives the predicted power consumption of the candidate route C in the predicted power consumption derivation process based on the sum of the predicted power consumption of each link L included in the candidate route C and the sum of the predicted power consumption of each node N included in the candidate route C. In this case, the predicted power consumption of the candidate route C is expressed, for example, as the sum of the predicted power consumption of each link L and node N included in the candidate route C.

[0061] 9 shows the route search process for setting the second movement route R2 in chronological order in the order of Fig. 9(a), Fig. 9(b), Fig. 9(c), and Fig. 9(d). Here, it is assumed that there are candidate transport vehicles at nodes N(c) and N(f).

[0062] FIG. 9 illustrates a situation in which a search for a candidate route C is performed starting from node N(a), which is the source node P1, toward the upstream side, which is opposite to the traveling direction of the target guided vehicle. As shown in FIG. 9(a), there are three candidate routes C heading from another node N to node N(a). FIG. 9(a) illustrates how the candidate route C(a←d), which has the lowest cost, is selected from the three candidate routes C: candidate route C(a←b), candidate route C(a←c), and candidate route C(a←d). Note that the numerical values ​​(S, T%) for each candidate route C are listed on the right side of FIG. 9(a). Here, S is the sum of the costs (s) of all links L constituting candidate route C, and T is the sum of the predicted power consumption (t) of all links L constituting candidate route C. In other words, S represents the cost of candidate route C, and T represents the predicted power consumption of candidate route C. 9(a), the selected candidate route C is indicated by a thick solid line, and the unselected candidate route C is indicated by a thick dashed line. This notation is the same for the other figures in FIG. 9 and FIG. 10.

[0063] FIG. 9(b) shows how candidate route C(a←d←c), which has the smaller cost, is selected from candidate route C(a←d←c) ​​and candidate route C(a←d←e). Here, since a candidate transport vehicle exists at node N(c), candidate route C(a←d←c) ​​becomes a route connecting the current location of one of the candidate transport vehicles with the transport source P1. Here, it is assumed that the target available power amount set for the candidate transport vehicle is less than 2%. In this case, the second predicted power consumption of candidate route C(a←d←c), which is 2%, exceeds the target available power amount of the candidate transport vehicle. Therefore, it is determined that the second predicted power consumption exceeds the target available power amount, and the candidate transport vehicle existing at node N(c) is excluded from the candidates for the target transport vehicle, and the search for candidate route C continues.

[0064] FIG. 9(c) shows how candidate route C(a←d←c←b) is selected, which has the smaller cost, from candidate route C(a←d←c←b) and candidate route C(a←d←c←e). FIG. 9(d) shows how candidate route C(a←d←c←b←f) is searched for. Here, since a candidate transport vehicle exists at node N(f), candidate route C(a←d←c←b←f) is a route connecting the current location of one of the candidate transport vehicles with the transport source P1. Here, it is assumed that the target usable power amount set for the candidate transport vehicle is 12% or more. In this case, the second predicted power consumption amount of candidate route C(a←d←c←b←f), which is 12%, does not exceed the target usable power amount of the candidate transport vehicle. Therefore, it is determined that candidate route C has reached a candidate transport vehicle whose second predicted power consumption is less than or equal to the target available power consumption, and as a result, the candidate transport vehicle is selected as the target transport vehicle, and the route from the current location of the candidate transport vehicle to the transport source P1 along candidate route C (a←d←c←b←f) that reached the candidate transport vehicle is set as the second movement route R2.

[0065] In the example shown in FIG. 9, the cost and predicted power consumption of each link L are set so that candidate route C (a←d←c←b←f) is the candidate route C with the lowest cost among the candidate routes C whose second predicted power consumption is equal to or less than the target available power consumption. However, if the cost of candidate route C (a←b) is not "7" but is less than the cost of candidate route C (a←d←c←b), which is "5," then candidate route C (a←b←f) may be the candidate route C with the lowest cost among the candidate routes C whose second predicted power consumption is equal to or less than the target available power consumption. Taking such a case into consideration, for example, in the low-cost route search process, once candidate route C (a←d←c←b) has been searched, the cost of candidate route C (a←d←c←b) may be compared with the cost of candidate route C (a←b) whose start point and end point are the same as those of candidate route C, and the candidate route C (a←b) with the lower cost may be selected. In this case, if the second predicted power consumption of candidate route C (a←b←f) does not exceed the target available power consumption of the candidate transport vehicle present at node N(f), candidate route C (a←b←f) is set as the second travel route R2.

[0066] FIG. 10 shows the route search process for setting the first movement route R1 in chronological order of FIG. 10(a), FIG. 10(b), FIG. 10(c), and FIG. 10(d).

[0067] FIG. 10 shows a situation in which a route search is performed starting from node N(a) as the source P1 toward the downstream side, which is the same direction as the traveling direction of the target guided vehicle, to set a first movement route R1 connecting node N(a) as the source P1 and node N(f) as the destination P2. It is also possible to perform a route search starting from node N(a) as the source P1 toward the upstream side, which is the opposite direction to the traveling direction of the target guided vehicle, or to perform a route search starting from both source P1 and destination P2. In the latter case, candidate route C includes a route searched for downstream from source P1 and a route searched for upstream from destination P2, and these two routes are joined at one of nodes N to form candidate route C representing the entire section of first movement route R1.

[0068] Here, it is assumed that the available power amount determined for the transport vehicle 1 to which the transport task is assigned (i.e., the transport vehicle 1 selected as the target transport vehicle) is 6%. FIG. 10(a) shows how the candidate route C(a→d), which has the lowest cost, is selected from three candidate routes C, namely, candidate route C(a→b), candidate route C(a→c), and candidate route C(a→d). FIG. 10(b) shows how the candidate route C(a→d→c), which has the lowest cost, is selected from candidate route C(a→d→c) and candidate route C(a→d→e).

[0069] In FIG. 10(c), of candidate route C (a→d→c→b) and candidate route C (a→d→c→e), candidate route C (a→d→c→b) has the smaller cost, but the first predicted power consumption of candidate route C, 7%, exceeds the available power consumption of the transport vehicle 1, which is 6%. Therefore, it is determined that the first predicted power consumption exceeds the available power consumption, and candidate route C (a→d→c→b) is excluded from the candidates for the first movement route R1, and the search for candidate route C that is at least partially different from candidate route C continues.

[0070] In the example shown in FIG. 10(c), a candidate route C from node N(c) to a node N other than node N(b) is searched for as a candidate route C that is at least partially different from candidate route C (a→d→c→b). FIG. 10(c) shows how candidate route C (a→d→c→e) is selected, for which the first predicted power consumption does not exceed the available power. FIG. 10(d) shows how candidate route C (a→d→c→e→f) is searched for. Here, the first predicted power consumption of candidate route C (a→d→c→e→f), which is 4%, does not exceed the available power of the transport vehicle 1, which is 6%. Therefore, candidate route C (a→d→c→e→f) is set as the first travel route R1.

[0071] In the example shown in FIG. 10 , the cost and predicted energy consumption of each link L are set so that candidate route C (a → d → c → e → f) is the candidate route C with the lowest cost among the candidate routes C whose first predicted energy consumption is equal to or less than the available energy. However, if the cost of candidate route C (b → f) is less than "2" instead of "3," candidate route C (a → b → f) may be the candidate route C with the lowest cost among the candidate routes C whose first predicted energy consumption is equal to or less than the available energy. In consideration of such a case, for example, the low-cost route search process may be configured to search not only candidate route C (a → d → c → e → f) but also candidate route C (a → b → f) if the first predicted energy consumption of candidate route C (a → b → f) does not exceed the available energy of the transportation vehicle 1, and then compare the costs of candidate route C (a → d → c → e → f) and candidate route C (a → b → f) to select the candidate route C (a → b → f) with the lower cost. In this case, the candidate route C (a→b→f) is set as the first movement route R1.

[0072] In the present embodiment, the control system 30 is configured to execute a first route re-searching process, which is a route searching process for resetting a first partial route R1a (see FIG. 7 ), which is a route R from the current location of the transport vehicle 1 to the destination P2, for the transport vehicle 1 (hereinafter, sometimes referred to as the “first moving transport vehicle”) traveling along the first travel route R1 set by the route searching process. Furthermore, in the present embodiment, the control system 30 is configured to execute a second route re-searching process, which is a route searching process for resetting a second partial route R2a (see FIG. 6 ), which is a route R from the current location of the transport vehicle 1 to the origin P1, for the transport vehicle 1 (hereinafter, sometimes referred to as the “second moving transport vehicle”) traveling along the second travel route R2 set by the route searching process. The control system 30 executes the first route re-searching process or the second route re-searching process, for example, when the currently set travel route R includes a section that is impassable due to the presence of the transport vehicle 1 that has stopped abnormally or a section where congestion has occurred. By executing the first route re-searching process and the second route re-searching process, it is possible to set a more appropriate travel route R according to the state of the travelable route 40 at that time.

[0073] In the first route re-searching process, the control system 30 determines whether the first partial predicted power consumption, which is the predicted power consumption derived for the movement of the candidate route C of the first partial route R1a as the target movement, exceeds the available power. The available power used in this determination is determined, for example, based on the amount of power stored in the power storage device 52 at the time of execution of the first route re-searching process. The control system 30 excludes from the candidates for the first partial route R1a any route for which it is determined that the first partial predicted power consumption exceeds the available power during the search for the candidate route C, and continues searching for a candidate route C that is at least partially different from the excluded route. The first route re-searching process is similar to the route search process for setting the first movement route R1, except that the current location of the first moving guided vehicle is used as the movement source instead of the movement source P1. Therefore, details of the first route re-searching process will be omitted.

[0074] If the control system 30 finds a candidate route C in which the first partial predicted power consumption is equal to or less than the available power amount, it sets the candidate route C as a first partial route R1a and controls the operation of the transport vehicle 1 to travel along the set first partial route R1a. On the other hand, if the control system 30 does not find a candidate route C in which the first partial predicted power consumption is equal to or less than the available power amount, it executes a destination change process to change the destination of the transport vehicle 1 from the destination P2 to an item storage device 5 (hereinafter referred to as "relay location P3") within a reachable range with power equal to or less than the available power amount. Specifically, the control system 30 executes a route search process to set a third movement route R3 (see FIG. 8), which is a movement route R from the current location of the first moving transport vehicle to the relay location P3, and controls the first moving transport vehicle to travel along the set third movement route R3 to the relay location P3 and hand over the item 2 to the relay location P3. The route search process for setting the third movement route R3 is the same as the route search process for setting the first movement route R1, except that the current location of the first moving transport vehicle becomes the source of movement instead of the source of transport P1, and the relay location P3 becomes the destination of movement instead of the destination of transport P2. Therefore, details of the route search process for setting the third movement route R3 will be omitted.

[0075] Then, the control system 30 executes a route search process to have another transport vehicle 1 (specifically, another transport vehicle 1 not holding the article 2) transport the item 2 from the relay point P3 to the destination P2. Specifically, the control system 30 executes a route search process to set a fourth movement route R4 (see FIG. 8), which is a movement route R from the current location of a target transport vehicle, which is one of the multiple transport vehicles 1, to the relay point P3, and also executes a route search process to set a fifth movement route R5 (see FIG. 8), which is a movement route R from the relay point P3 to the destination P2. Then, the control system 30 controls the other transport vehicle 1 selected as the target transport vehicle by the route search process to set the fourth movement route R4 to move along the fourth movement route R4 toward the relay point P3. Then, the control system 30 controls the other transport vehicle 1 to move along the fifth movement route R5 to transport the item 2 from the relay point P3 to the destination P2. The route search process for setting the fourth movement route R4 is the same as the route search process for setting the second movement route R2, except that the relay location P3 is the destination instead of the source location P1, so details of the route search process for setting the fourth movement route R4 will be omitted. Also, the route search process for setting the fifth movement route R5 is the same as the route search process for setting the first movement route R1, except that the relay location P3 is the source instead of the source location P1, so details of the route search process for setting the fifth movement route R5 will be omitted.

[0076] In the second route re-searching process, the control system 30 determines whether the second partial predicted power consumption, which is the predicted power consumption derived for the movement of the candidate route C of the second partial route R2a as the target movement, exceeds the target available power consumption. The available power consumption for setting the target available power consumption used in this determination is determined, for example, based on the amount of power stored in the power storage device 52 at the time of execution of the second route re-searching process. The control system 30 excludes from the candidates for the second partial route R2a any route for which it determines that the second partial predicted power consumption exceeds the target available power consumption during the search for the candidate route C, and continues searching for a candidate route C that is at least partially different from the excluded route. The second route re-searching process is similar to the route search process for setting the first movement route R1, except that the current location of the second moving guided vehicle becomes the movement source instead of the movement source P1, and the movement destination P2 becomes the movement source P1. Therefore, details of the second route re-searching process will be omitted.

[0077] If the control system 30 finds a candidate route C whose second partial predicted power consumption is equal to or less than the target available power amount, it sets the candidate route C as a second partial route R2a and controls the operation of the guided vehicle 1 to travel along the set second partial route R2a. On the other hand, if the control system 30 does not find a candidate route C whose second partial predicted power consumption is equal to or less than the target available power amount, it executes a route search process to set a second movement route R2 and causes another guided vehicle 1 (specifically, another guided vehicle 1 not carrying an item 2) to head toward the origin P1. Specifically, the control system 30 controls the other guided vehicle 1 selected as the target guided vehicle by the route search process to set the second movement route R2 to travel along the newly set second movement route R2 toward the origin P1. Then, the control system 30 controls the other guided vehicle 1 to travel along the first movement route R1 to transport the item 2 from the origin P1 to the destination P2.

[0078] The first route re-searching process, the second route re-searching process, and the processes associated therewith will be described below with reference to Figures 5 to 8. In Figures 5 to 8, the first transport vehicle 1A, the second transport vehicle 1B, the third transport vehicle 1C, and the fourth transport vehicle 1D represent transport vehicles 1 that are different from one another.

[0079] 5 shows a situation in which the second movement route R2 shown by the thick solid line among multiple candidates for the second movement route R2 (the second movement route R2 shown by the thick solid line and the second movement route R2 shown by the thick dashed line) is set by a route search process for setting the second movement route R2, and a transportation task is assigned to the first transport vehicle 1A that is located at the departure point of the set second movement route R2. Also, FIG. 5 shows a situation in which the first movement route R1 shown by the thick solid line among multiple candidates for the first movement route R1 (the first movement route R1 shown by the thick solid line and the first movement route R1 shown by the thick dashed line) is set by a route search process for setting the first movement route R1.

[0080] FIG. 6 shows an example of a scene after FIG. 5. FIG. 6 shows a situation in which, while the first transport vehicle 1A (second moving transport vehicle) is traveling along the second travel route R2 (the second travel route R2 shown by a thick solid line in FIG. 5 and the second travel route R2 shown by a thick dashed line in FIG. 6) toward the origin P1, the location marked with an "x" becomes impassable, and the second route re-search process is executed. Here, the second partial route R2a shown by the dashed-dotted line in FIG. 6 is a route in which the second partial predicted power consumption exceeds the target available power amount, and the second route re-selection process assumes a case in which no candidate route C is found in which the second partial predicted power consumption is equal to or less than the available power amount. Therefore, a route search process (route search process for setting the second travel route R2) is executed to direct another transport vehicle 1 not carrying the item 2 toward the origin P1. Figure 6 shows a situation in which this route search process sets a second movement route R2, shown by a thick solid line, and a transport task is assigned to a third transport vehicle 1C located at the starting point of the set second movement route R2.

[0081] FIG. 7 shows another example of the scene after FIG. 5. FIG. 7 shows a situation in which, while a first transport vehicle 1A (first moving transport vehicle) that has received an item 2 at a source P1 is traveling along a first travel route R1 (the first travel route R1 shown by a thick solid line in FIG. 5 and the first travel route R1 shown by a thick dashed line in FIG. 7) toward a destination P2, the location marked with an "x" becomes impassable, and a first route re-search process is executed. Here, the first partial route R1a shown by a thick solid line in FIG. 7 is assumed to be a route in which the first partial predicted power consumption is equal to or less than the available power amount. Therefore, the first partial route R1a shown by a thick solid line is set in the first route re-selection process, and the first transport vehicle 1A travels along the set first partial route R1a toward the destination P2.

[0082] Figure 8 shows another example of the scene after Figure 5. Like Figure 7, Figure 8 shows a situation in which the first route re-searching process is executed, but here it is assumed that the first route re-searching process does not find a candidate route C in which the first partial predicted power consumption amount is equal to or less than the available power amount, and the destination change process is executed. In Figure 8, the relay point P3 is an item storage device 5 (for example, an in / out port of the storage device or an empty storage shelf) within a range that can be reached with power equal to or less than the available power amount of the first transport vehicle 1A (first moving transport vehicle), and the first transport vehicle 1A travels along the third movement route R3 to deliver the item 2 to the relay point P3.

[0083] 8, a route search process is executed to have another transport vehicle 1 that is not carrying the item 2 transport the item 2 from the relay point P3 to the destination P2. A fourth movement route R4 and a fifth movement route R5 are set by this route search process. In FIG. 8, a fourth transport vehicle 1D that is present at the starting point of the set fourth movement route R4 travels along the fourth movement route R4 to receive the item 2 from the relay point P3, and then travels along the fifth movement route R5 to deliver the item 2 to the destination P2.

[0084] Other Embodiments (1) In the above embodiment, an example has been described in which the control system 30 operates the transport vehicle 1 in the power saving mode when the difference value obtained by subtracting the predicted power consumption amount from the available power amount is smaller than a predetermined determination threshold. However, the present disclosure is not limited to such a configuration, and the control system 30 may also operate the transport vehicle 1 in the normal mode regardless of whether the difference value obtained by subtracting the predicted power consumption amount from the available power amount is smaller than a predetermined determination threshold.

[0085] (2) In the above embodiment, an example has been described in which a power supply area A is provided in a part of the movable path 40. However, the present disclosure is not limited to such a configuration, and a configuration in which a power supply area A is not provided in the movable path 40 is also possible. In this case, for example, a power storage device 52 with a low remaining capacity (amount of stored power) is exchanged for a charged power storage device 52 at an exchange station.

[0086] (3) Note that the configurations disclosed in the above-described embodiments can be applied in combination with configurations disclosed in other embodiments (including combinations of embodiments described as other embodiments) as long as no contradictions arise. Regarding other configurations, the embodiments disclosed in this specification are merely examples in all respects. Therefore, various modifications can be made as appropriate within the scope of the present disclosure.

[0087] [Summary of this embodiment] The embodiment of the article transport facility described above will be summarized below.

[0088] The article transport facility includes a transport vehicle that moves along a movable route to transport articles, and a control system that controls the transport vehicle, wherein the transport vehicle includes a power storage device and a drive device that is driven by power stored in the power storage device, and the control system includes an electric power amount acquisition process that acquires information indicating the amount of power stored in the power storage device, a route search process that searches for candidate routes that are candidates for the transport vehicle's movement route and sets the searched candidate routes as the movement route, an available electric power amount determination process that determines an available electric power amount that is an upper limit of the amount of power that can be used by the transport vehicle based on the amount of power stored acquired by the electric power amount acquisition process, and a target operation control process that determines a target operation in advance of the target operation. and a predicted power consumption derivation process for deriving a predicted power consumption, which is the amount of power predicted to be used by the transport vehicle. In the route search process for setting a first movement route, which is the movement route from a specified movement source to a specified movement destination, the control system determines whether or not the first predicted power consumption, which is the predicted power consumption derived using the movement action of the candidate route of the first movement route as the target action, exceeds the available power consumption, and excludes from the candidates for the first movement route any route for which it is determined that the first predicted power consumption exceeds the available power consumption during the search for the candidate route, and continues searching for the candidate route that is at least partially different from the excluded route.

[0089] According to this configuration, in the route search process for setting a first movement route from a specified movement source to a specified movement destination, routes for which the first predicted power consumption exceeds the available power amount are excluded from the candidates for the first movement route, and a candidate route for which the first predicted power consumption is equal to or less than the available power amount can be set as the first movement route. Therefore, an appropriate first movement route that is unlikely to experience a power shortage until the transport vehicle reaches the destination can be set by the route search process. In this case, by setting the available power amount so that the amount of power required by the transport vehicle after reaching the destination is left in the power storage device, the set first movement route can be a route that is unlikely to experience a power shortage not only until the destination but also after the destination is reached.

[0090] According to this configuration, in the route search process for setting the first travel route, a determination is made as to whether the first predicted power consumption exceeds the available power, and a route for which it is determined that the first predicted power consumption exceeds the available power is excluded from the candidates for the first travel route during the search for candidate routes. Therefore, for a route that is not set as the first travel route because the first predicted power consumption exceeds the available power, further route search can be stopped at the time it is determined that the first predicted power consumption exceeds the available power, thereby reducing the load of the route search process for setting the first travel route compared to when the route search is not stopped in this manner. As described above, according to this configuration, it is possible to set an appropriate travel route (first travel route) that is unlikely to cause a power shortage for the transport vehicle before reaching the destination, while also reducing the processing load of the control system for setting an appropriate travel route (first travel route) for the transport vehicle.

[0091] Here, it is preferable that the control system executes the route search process to set the first movement route with the source of the item as the movement source and the destination of the item as the movement destination in response to a transport command to transport the item from the source of the item to the destination of the item.

[0092] According to this configuration, in the route search process for setting the first movement route, it is possible to set a first movement route from the origin of the item to the destination of the item such that the first predicted power consumption is equal to or less than the available power amount. Therefore, according to this configuration, it is possible to cause the transport vehicle to appropriately transport the item from the origin to the destination in response to the transport command for the item.

[0093] In the above configuration, the control system is configured to execute the route search process for the transport vehicle moving along the first movement route set by the route search process to reset a first partial route, which is a portion of the first movement route from the current location of the transport vehicle to the destination, and in the route search process for resetting the first partial route, the control system determines whether the first partial predicted power consumption, which is the predicted power consumption derived using the movement operation of the candidate route of the first partial route as the target operation, exceeds the available power amount, and excludes from the candidates for the first partial route any route for which it is determined that the first partial predicted power consumption exceeds the available power amount during the search for the candidate route, and continues to search for the candidate route that is at least partially different from the excluded route, and if no candidate route is found for which the first partial predicted power consumption is equal to or less than the available power amount, it is preferable that the control system changes the destination of the transport vehicle from the destination to an item storage device within a range that can be reached with power equal to or less than the available power amount.

[0094] In the route search process for resetting the first partial route for the transport vehicle traveling on the first movement route, even if a candidate route in which the first partial predicted power consumption amount is equal to or less than the available power amount is not found, there is a possibility that a candidate route in which the first partial predicted power consumption amount is equal to or less than the available power amount may be found later due to the charging of the power storage device of the transport vehicle, changes in the status of each route constituting the movable route (congestion level, passability), etc. However, waiting until a candidate route in which the first partial predicted power consumption amount is equal to or less than the available power amount is found may delay the completion of the transport task of transporting the item to the destination.

[0095] In regard to the above point, according to this configuration, if a candidate route in which the first partial predicted power consumption is equal to or less than the available power amount is not found in the route search process for resetting the first partial route, the destination of the transport vehicle can be changed to an item storage device within a reachable range with power equal to or less than the available power amount, and the item being transported can be handed over to the item storage device. This makes it possible, for example, to have another transport vehicle transport the item from the item storage device to the destination, thereby making it possible to avoid or minimize delays in completing the transport task.

[0096] Furthermore, the control system is preferably configured so that a plurality of the transport vehicles move along the movable route, and in the route search process for setting a second movement route, which is the movement route from the current location of a target transport vehicle, which is one of the plurality of transport vehicles, to a specified destination, the control system determines whether or not the second predicted power consumption, which is the predicted power consumption derived using the movement operation of the candidate route of the second movement route as the target operation, exceeds the available power consumption of a candidate transport vehicle that is a candidate for the target transport vehicle, and excludes the candidate transport vehicle for which it is determined during the search for the candidate route that the second predicted power consumption exceeds the available power consumption from the candidates for the target transport vehicle, and continues searching for the candidate route.

[0097] According to this configuration, in the route search process for setting the second movement route, candidate transport vehicles whose second predicted power consumption exceeds the available power amount are excluded from candidates for target transport vehicles, so that candidate transport vehicles whose second predicted power consumption is equal to or less than the available power amount can be selected as target transport vehicles, and a second movement route can be set from the current location of the candidate transport vehicle to its destination, in which the second predicted power consumption is equal to or less than the available power amount. Therefore, it is possible to set an appropriate second movement route that is less likely to experience a power shortage before the selected transport vehicle reaches its destination.

[0098] The present invention is also configured such that a plurality of the transport vehicles move along the available route, and the control system executes, in response to a transport command to transport the item from a transport source to a transport destination, the route search process for setting the first movement route with the transport source as the movement source and the transport destination as the movement destination, and the route search process for setting the second movement route, which is the movement route from a current location of a target transport vehicle that is one of the plurality of transport vehicles to the transport source, and the control system determines, as a target available power amount, a value obtained by subtracting from the available power amount the sum of the first predicted power consumption amount, the predicted power consumption amount derived with a receiving operation of the item at the transport source as the target operation, and the predicted power consumption amount derived with a handing over operation of the item at the transport destination as the target operation, and It is preferable to search for the candidate route starting from the source of transport toward the upstream side, which is opposite to the traveling direction, and to determine whether the second predicted power consumption, which is the predicted power consumption derived using the movement operation of the candidate route of the second movement route as the target operation, exceeds the target usable power amount of a candidate transport vehicle that is a candidate for the target transport vehicle, and to continue searching for the candidate route, if it is determined during the search for the candidate route that the second predicted power consumption exceeds the target usable power amount, to exclude the candidate transport vehicle from the candidates for the target transport vehicle, and to continue searching for the candidate route, when the candidate route reaches a candidate transport vehicle whose second predicted power consumption is equal to or less than the target usable power amount, to select the candidate transport vehicle as the target transport vehicle, and to set the route from the current location of the candidate transport vehicle to the source of transport along the candidate route on which the candidate transport vehicle is reached as the second movement route.

[0099] According to this configuration, in the route search process for setting a first movement route, it is possible to set a first movement route from the origin of an item to the destination of the item such that the first predicted power consumption is equal to or less than the available power. Furthermore, in the route search process for setting a second movement route, it is possible to select a candidate transport vehicle whose second predicted power consumption is equal to or less than the target available power consumption as a target transport vehicle, and set a second movement route from the current location of the candidate transport vehicle to the origin of the item such that the second predicted power consumption is equal to or less than the target available power consumption. Here, the target available power consumption is a value obtained by subtracting from the available power consumption the sum of the first predicted power consumption, the predicted power consumption derived for the target operation of receiving the item at the origin, and the predicted power consumption derived for the target operation of delivering the item at the destination. Therefore, it is possible to set the first movement route and the second movement route so that the total predicted power consumption predicted to be used by the transport vehicle selected as the target transport vehicle for the series of operations from traveling to the origin to receive the item, to traveling to the destination to deliver the item, does not exceed the available power. Therefore, according to this configuration, it is possible to have the transport vehicle selected as the target transport vehicle transport the article appropriately from the transport source to the transport destination in response to a transport command for the article.

[0100] Meanwhile, the current location of any of the transport vehicles, which is the starting point of the second movement route, is determined after the route search process for setting the second movement route is executed, whereas the origin of the item, which is the end point of the second movement route, is determined before the route search process for setting the second movement route by being specified in the article transport command. In this regard, according to this configuration, in the route search process for setting the second movement route, a candidate route is searched for upstream from the end point (origin), which is the start point or end point of the second movement route that is determined before the route search process is executed, so that the route search process for setting the second movement route can be easily performed efficiently.

[0101] In the above configuration, it is preferable that the control system, in the usable power amount determination process, determines the usable power amount for each of the transport vehicles, and in the route search process for setting the second movement route, excludes from the candidates for the target transport vehicle those transport vehicles for which the target usable power amount is zero or less, and searches for the candidate route.

[0102] For a transport vehicle whose target available power amount is zero or less, there is basically no travel route (i.e., a route combining the first and second travel routes) from the current location of the transport vehicle to the destination via the source, such that the total amount of predicted power consumption predicted to be used for a series of operations, from traveling to the source to receive an item and then traveling to the destination to deliver the item, is equal to or less than the available power amount. According to this configuration, the route search process for setting the second travel route can be performed excluding such transport vehicles, making it easy to efficiently perform the route search process for setting the second travel route.

[0103] Furthermore, the control system is preferably configured to execute the route search process for the transport vehicle moving along the second movement route set by the route search process to reset a second partial route, which is a portion of the second movement route from the current location of the transport vehicle to the origin of the transport, and in the route search process for resetting the second partial route, the control system determines whether the second partial predicted power consumption, which is the predicted power consumption derived using the movement operation of the candidate route of the second partial route as the target operation, exceeds the target available power amount, and excludes from the candidates for the second partial route any route for which it is determined that the second partial predicted power consumption exceeds the target available power amount during the search for the candidate route, and continues searching for the candidate route at least partially different from the excluded route, and if no candidate route for which the second partial predicted power consumption is equal to or less than the target available power amount is found, execute the route search process for setting the second movement route and cause another transport vehicle to head toward the origin of the transport.

[0104] In the route search process for resetting the second partial route for the transport vehicle traveling on the second movement route, even if a candidate route in which the second partial predicted power consumption amount is equal to or less than the target usable power amount is not found, it is possible that a candidate route in which the second partial predicted power consumption amount is equal to or less than the target usable power amount may be found later due to the charging of the power storage device of the transport vehicle, changes in the status of each route constituting the movable route (congestion level, passability), etc. However, waiting until a candidate route in which the second partial predicted power consumption amount is equal to or less than the target usable power amount is found may delay the completion of the transport task of receiving an item at the transport source and transporting the item to the transport destination.

[0105] In this regard, according to the present configuration, if the route search process for resetting the second partial route does not find a candidate route in which the second partial predicted power consumption is equal to or less than the target available power amount, the route search process for setting the second movement route is executed, and another transport vehicle can be directed to the source of the item, thereby making it possible to avoid or minimize delays in completing the transport task.

[0106] In the item transport equipment of each of the above configurations, it is preferable that the control system operates the transport vehicle in a power-saving mode that consumes less power than in normal mode when the difference value obtained by subtracting the predicted power consumption amount from the available power amount is smaller than a predetermined judgment threshold value.

[0107] According to this configuration, even if there is little margin in the amount of available power compared to the predicted power consumption, the margin in the amount of power can be increased, thereby increasing the reliability with which the transport vehicle can travel to its destination.

[0108] In addition, a power supply area for supplying power to the transport vehicle is provided on part of the movable route, and if the power supply area is included in the candidate route in the predicted power consumption derivation process, the control system preferably derives the predicted power consumption by setting the amount of power used by the transport vehicle within the power supply area to a zero or negative value.

[0109] According to this configuration, even if a power supply area is provided in part of the movable route, the predicted power consumption amount can be appropriately derived by the predicted power consumption amount derivation process.

[0110] Furthermore, it is preferable that the control system is configured to execute a low-cost route search process in the route search process, in which a cost, which is a value for a factor that affects the travel time of the transport vehicle and increases as the travel time becomes longer, is used to preferentially search for a route with the lowest cost from among multiple routes as the candidate route.

[0111] According to this configuration, it is possible to increase the likelihood that the candidate route set as the travel route in the route search process will be a route that takes the shortest time to reach the destination.

[0112] In the above configuration, it is preferable that the control system, in the route search process, searches for the candidate route by sequentially connecting point-to-point routes that connect points, and in the low-cost route search process, derives the cost for the candidate route based on the sum of the costs for each of the point-to-point routes included in the candidate route, and in the predicted power consumption derivation process, derives the predicted power consumption for the candidate route based on the sum of the predicted power consumption for each of the point-to-point routes included in the candidate route.

[0113] According to this configuration, it is possible to appropriately derive the cost and predicted power consumption of a candidate route formed by a set of inter-point routes, using the cost and predicted power consumption set for each inter-point route.

[0114] It is sufficient for the article transport facility according to the present disclosure to achieve at least one of the above-described effects. [Explanation of symbols]

[0115] 1: Transport vehicle 2: Goods 5: Goods storage device 30: Control system 40: Possible routes 51: Drive unit 52: Power storage device 100: Goods transport equipment A: Power supply area C: Candidate pathway L: Link (path between points) N: Node (point) P1: Origin P2: Destination R: Movement path R1: First movement route R1a: First partial pathway R2: Second movement route R2a: Second partial pathway

Claims

1. An article transport facility comprising: a transport vehicle that moves along a movable path to transport an article; and a control system that controls the transport vehicle, the transport vehicle includes a power storage device and a drive device driven by the power stored in the power storage device; The control system includes: an electric power amount acquisition process for acquiring information indicating the amount of stored electric power in the electric power storage device; a route search process for searching for candidate routes that are candidates for the travel route of the transport vehicle and setting the searched candidate routes as the travel route; a usable power amount determination process for determining a usable power amount, which is an upper limit of the amount of power that can be used by the transportation vehicle, based on the stored power amount acquired by the power amount acquisition process; a predicted power consumption derivation process for deriving a predicted power consumption amount, which is the amount of power predicted to be used by the transportation vehicle for the target operation, which is a target operation; In the route search process for setting a first movement route, which is the movement route from a specified start point to a specified destination point, the control system determines whether a first predicted power consumption, which is the predicted power consumption derived using the movement action of the candidate route of the first movement route as the target movement, exceeds the available power consumption, and excludes from the candidates for the first movement route any route for which it is determined that the first predicted power consumption will exceed the available power consumption during the search for the candidate route, and continues searching for the candidate route that is at least partially different from the excluded route.

2. 2. The item transport equipment according to claim 1, wherein the control system executes the route search process to set the first movement route with the source as the movement source and the destination as the movement destination in response to a transport command to transport the item from the source to the destination.

3. the control system is configured to execute the route search process for resetting a first partial route, which is the movement route from a current location of the transport vehicle to the destination, for the transport vehicle moving along the first movement route set by the route search process; 3. The item transport facility according to claim 2, wherein, in the route search process for resetting the first partial route, the control system determines whether a first partial predicted power consumption, which is the predicted power consumption derived using the movement of the candidate route of the first partial route as the target operation, exceeds the available power consumption, excludes from the candidates for the first partial route any route for which it is determined that the first partial predicted power consumption exceeds the available power consumption during the search for the candidate route, and continues searching for the candidate route that is at least partially different from the excluded route, and if no candidate route is found for which the first partial predicted power consumption is equal to or less than the available power consumption, changes the destination of the transport vehicle from the destination to an item storage device within a reachable range with power equal to or less than the available power consumption.

4. A plurality of the transport vehicles are configured to move along the movable path, 2. The item transport facility according to claim 1, wherein, in the route search process for setting a second movement route, which is the movement route from a current location of a target transport vehicle that is one of the plurality of transport vehicles to a specified destination, the control system determines whether a second predicted power consumption amount, which is the predicted power consumption amount derived using the movement operation of the candidate route of the second movement route as the target operation, exceeds the available power amount of a candidate transport vehicle that is a candidate for the target transport vehicle, and excludes a candidate transport vehicle for which it is determined during the search of the candidate route that the second predicted power consumption amount exceeds the available power amount from the candidates for the target transport vehicle, and continues searching the candidate route.

5. A plurality of the transport vehicles are configured to move along the movable path, the control system executes, in response to a transport command to transport the item from a transport origin to a transport destination, the route search process for setting the first movement route with the transport origin as a movement origin and the transport destination as a movement destination, and the route search process for setting the second movement route which is the movement route from a current location of a target transport vehicle which is any one of the plurality of transport vehicles to the transport origin, a value obtained by subtracting from the available power amount the sum of the first predicted power consumption amount, the predicted power consumption amount derived with the receiving operation of the item at the transport source as the target operation, and the predicted power consumption amount derived with the handing over operation of the item at the transport destination as the target operation; and 2. The item transport facility according to claim 1, wherein, in the route search process for setting the second movement route, the control system searches for the candidate route starting from the origin toward an upstream side that is opposite to a traveling direction of the target transport vehicle, and determines whether or not a second predicted power consumption amount, which is the predicted power consumption amount derived using a movement operation of the candidate route of the second movement route as the target operation, exceeds the target usable power amount of a candidate transport vehicle that is a candidate for the target transport vehicle, and continues searching the candidate route, excluding a candidate transport vehicle for which it is determined during the search for the candidate route that the second predicted power consumption amount exceeds the target usable power amount, and when the candidate route reaches a candidate transport vehicle whose second predicted power consumption amount is equal to or less than the target usable power amount, the control system selects the candidate transport vehicle as the target transport vehicle and sets a route from a current location of the candidate transport vehicle to the origin along the candidate route on which the candidate transport vehicle is reached as the second movement route.

6. The control system includes: In the usable power amount determination process, the usable power amount for each of the transportation vehicles is determined; 6. The article transport facility according to claim 5, wherein in the route search process for setting the second movement route, the transport vehicles for which the target available power amount is zero or less are excluded from the candidates for the target transport vehicles to search for the candidate route.

7. the control system is configured to execute the route search process for resetting a second partial route, which is the movement route from a current location of the transport vehicle to the origin, for the transport vehicle moving along the second movement route set by the route search process; 6. The item transport facility according to claim 5, wherein, in the route search process for resetting the second partial route, the control system determines whether a second partial predicted power consumption, which is the predicted power consumption derived using a movement operation of the candidate route of the second partial route as the target operation, exceeds the target available power amount, excludes from the candidates for the second partial route any route for which it is determined that the second partial predicted power consumption exceeds the target available power amount during the search for the candidate route, and continues searching for the candidate route that is at least partially different from the excluded route, and if no candidate route for which the second partial predicted power consumption is equal to or less than the target available power amount is found, executes the route search process for setting the second movement route and causes another transport vehicle to head toward the source of transport.

8. a power supply area for supplying power to the transport vehicle is provided in a part of the movable path; 8. The item transport equipment according to claim 1, wherein, in the process of deriving the predicted power consumption, if the power supply area is included in the candidate route, the control system derives the predicted power consumption by setting the amount of power used by the transport vehicle within the power supply area to a zero or negative value.

9. 8. The item transport facility according to claim 1, wherein the control system is configured to execute a low-cost route search process in which, in the route search process, a cost is used as a value for a factor that affects the travel time of the transport vehicle, the cost increasing as the travel time increases, and the route with the lowest cost is preferentially searched for as the candidate route from among a plurality of routes.

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

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