Rail guided carriage system and method for estimating abnormal section of rail guided carriage system

Abstract

In this rail guided carriage system, a plurality of carriages selectively travel in a plurality of sections of a railway. The rail guided carriage system includes a state information acquisition unit that acquires state information of a plurality of carriages, a travel history information acquisition unit that acquires travel history information of the plurality of carriages, and an abnormal section estimation unit that estimates an abnormal section, which is a section in which an abnormality is occurring, on the basis of the state information acquired by the state information acquisition unit and the travel history information acquired by the travel history information acquisition unit.

Description

Rail-guided vehicle system and method for estimating abnormal section of rail-guided vehicle system

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a rail-guided vehicle system and a method for estimating an abnormal section of a rail-guided vehicle system.

[0002] A known rail-guided vehicle system is one in which multiple vehicles selectively travel along multiple sections (routes) on a track. As a technology of this type, Patent Document 1 describes a vehicle system that, when an abnormality is detected by an abnormality detection sensor in the vehicle while it is traveling, determines whether the cause of the abnormality is in the section (rail, etc.) or in the vehicle itself.

[0003] JP 2011-221687 A

[0004] In a rail-guided vehicle system, it is desirable to quickly identify abnormal sections where abnormalities (such as the peeling off of a portion of a magnetic plate) are occurring in the track in order to more reliably prevent further damage from spreading.

[0005] Therefore, an object of the present disclosure is to provide a track-guided vehicle system and a method for estimating an abnormal section of a track in an early stage.

[0006] (1) The tracked vehicle system according to the present disclosure is a tracked vehicle system in which multiple vehicles selectively travel along multiple sections of a track, and includes a status information acquisition unit that acquires status information for the multiple vehicles, a running history information acquisition unit that acquires running history information for the multiple vehicles, and an abnormal section estimation unit that estimates an abnormal section, which is a section in which an abnormality has occurred, based on the status information acquired by the status information acquisition unit and the running history information acquired by the running history information acquisition unit.

[0007] When an abnormal section occurs, it is found that the condition of one of the multiple bogies that traveled through the abnormal section changes (such as damage to the LDM (Linear DC Motor) or wear to the wheels). Therefore, in the track-guided bogie system disclosed herein, by correlating and evaluating the condition information and running history information of the multiple bogies, it becomes possible to estimate the abnormal section of the track early and more reliably prevent the damage from spreading.

[0008] (2) In the track-guided vehicle system described in (1) above, the condition information may be information indicating a damage state of the vehicle, the running history information may be information indicating a plurality of sections on which the vehicle has run, and the abnormal section estimation unit may group the plurality of vehicle into a first group having damage and a second group having no damage, and estimate an abnormal section based on at least one of a first frequency at which the plurality of vehicle in the first group ran in the plurality of sections and a second frequency at which the plurality of vehicle in the second group ran in the plurality of sections. In this case, by grouping the plurality of vehicle based on the presence or absence of damage, it becomes possible to easily estimate an abnormal section of the track.

[0009] (3) In the rail guided vehicle system described in (2) above, the abnormal section estimation unit may display a heat map on the display unit that indicates the multiple sections distinguished according to a difference value between the first frequency and the second frequency. In this case, the degree of abnormality in the multiple sections can be effectively visualized.

[0010] (4) In the track-guided vehicle system described in (1) above, the status information may be information indicating the damage state of the bogie, the running history information may be information indicating multiple sections through which the bogie has run, and the abnormal section estimation unit may estimate an abnormal section based on the proportion of damaged or undamaged bogies among the multiple bogies that have run or have not run through each of the multiple sections. The stronger the bias in the proportion of damaged (or undamaged) bogies among the multiple bogies that have run (or have not run through) a certain section, the more likely the section is to be an abnormal section (or not be an abnormal section). Therefore, the track-guided vehicle system according to the present disclosure utilizes such knowledge to easily estimate an abnormal section of the track.

[0011] (5) The rail-guided vehicle system described in (4) above may include a vehicle selection unit that selects, from the plurality of vehicle units, a portion of vehicle units that, when combined, cover all sections of the track when traveled through a plurality of sections, and the status information acquisition unit acquires status information of the portion of vehicle units selected by the vehicle selection unit. The abnormal section estimation unit may estimate, as an abnormal section, a section where the proportion of the number of damaged vehicle units among the plurality of traveled vehicle units is equal to or greater than a threshold value. In this case, it becomes possible to easily estimate an abnormal section from all sections of the track.

[0012] (6) The method for estimating an abnormal section in a track-guided vehicle system according to the present disclosure is a method for estimating an abnormal section, which is a section where an abnormality has occurred, in a track-guided vehicle system in which multiple vehicle trains selectively travel on multiple sections of a track, and includes a status information acquisition step for acquiring status information of the multiple vehicle trains, a running history information acquisition step for acquiring running history information of the multiple vehicle trains, and an abnormal section estimation step for estimating an abnormal section, which is a section where an abnormality has occurred, based on the status information acquired by the status information acquisition step and the running history information acquired by the running history information acquisition step.

[0013] This method of estimating abnormal sections is also based on the condition information and running history information of multiple bogies, making it possible to estimate abnormal sections of the track early and more reliably prevent damage from spreading.

[0014] According to the present disclosure, it is possible to provide a track guided vehicle system and a method for estimating an abnormal section of a track in an early stage.

[0015] FIG. 1 is a schematic plan view showing a rail guided vehicle system according to a first embodiment. FIG. 2 is a rear view showing the overhead traveling vehicle of FIG. 1. FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing the controller of FIG. 1. FIG. 4(a) is a diagram showing a first heat map. FIG. 4(b) is a diagram showing a second heat map. FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an abnormal section heat map. FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing an example of an abnormal section estimation method implemented in the rail guided vehicle system of FIG. 1. FIG. 7 is a block diagram showing a controller of a rail guided vehicle system according to a second embodiment. FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing an example of an abnormal section estimation method implemented in the rail guided vehicle system of FIG. 7. FIG. 9 is a diagram showing an example of a display relating to a damage rate displayed on the display of FIG. 7.

[0016] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present disclosure will be described with reference to the drawings. In the description of the drawings, the same elements are denoted by the same reference numerals, and duplicated explanations will be omitted. In some drawings, the directions "upper," "lower," "left," "right," "front," and "rear" are defined for the convenience of explanation.

[0017] First Embodiment As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 , a rail-guided vehicle system 1 according to a first embodiment is a system for transporting articles 10 between multiple placement units (not shown) using overhead traveling vehicles (carriages) 6 that are movable along a track 4. The articles 10 include, for example, front-opening unified pods (FOUPs) for storing multiple semiconductor wafers, containers for storing glass substrates, containers such as reticle pods, and general components. The placement units include buffers and delivery ports. In the rail-guided vehicle system 1, multiple overhead traveling vehicles 6 selectively travel along multiple sections 41 of the track 4. The rail-guided vehicle system 1 includes the track 4, the multiple overhead traveling vehicles 6, a controller 8, a data server DS, and a display 12 (see FIG. 3 ).

[0018] The track 4 is installed near the ceiling, which is the overhead space for workers. The track 4 is suspended from the ceiling, for example. The track 4 is a predetermined one-way running path for the overhead traveling vehicle 6. The track 4 is supported by supports 40A, 40A. The track 4 includes multiple sections 41 constituting the main track and a work section 42 in which a work area 160 for inspecting the overhead traveling vehicle 6 is provided. The sections 41 are portions of the track between branching points or junctions. The sections 41 may be, for example, intrabays (intra-section tracks) that are provided independently of each other, or interbays (connecting tracks) that connect multiple intrabays. In the illustrated example, the track 4 includes at least the first to eighteenth sections 41A to 41R. The configuration of the sections 41 is not particularly limited, as long as they are part of the track 4.

[0019] The track 4 has a cylindrical rail main body 40 consisting of a pair of lower surface portions 40B, a pair of side surface portions 40C, 40C, and a top surface portion 40D, and a power supply portion 40E. The rail main body 40 houses (encloses) the running portion 50 of the overhead traveling vehicle 6. The lower surface portion 40B extends in the running direction of the overhead traveling vehicle 6 and forms the lower surface of the rail main body 40. The lower surface portion 40B is a plate-shaped member on which the running rollers 51 of the overhead traveling vehicle 6 roll. The side surface portion 40C extends in the running direction of the overhead traveling vehicle 6 and forms the side surface of the rail main body 40. The top surface portion 40D extends in the running direction of the overhead traveling vehicle 6 and forms the upper surface of the rail main body 40. A magnetic plate 40F is attached to the top surface portion 40D.

[0020] The power supply unit 40E supplies power to the power supply core 57 of the overhead traveling vehicle 6 and transmits and receives signals to and from the power supply core 57. The power supply unit 40E is fixed to each of the pair of side portions 40C, 40C and extends along the traveling direction. The power supply unit 40E supplies power to the power supply core 57 in a non-contact manner. The magnetic plate 40F generates a magnetic force in the LDM (Linear DC Motor) 59 of the overhead traveling vehicle 6 to cause it to travel or stop. The magnetic plate 40F is fixed to the top surface portion 40D by a bracket or the like (not shown) and extends along the traveling direction. The overhead traveling vehicle 6 is a linear motor-driven track-guided vehicle.

[0021] The overhead traveling vehicle 6 travels on the track 4 and transports the article 10. The overhead traveling vehicle 6 travels on the track 4 means that the travel rollers 51 of the overhead traveling vehicle 6 roll on the underside 40B of the track 4. The overhead traveling vehicle 6 is configured to be able to transfer the article 10. The overhead traveling vehicle 6 is an overhead traveling unmanned vehicle. The number of overhead traveling vehicles 6 provided in the track guided vehicle system 1 is not particularly limited and may be more than one. The overhead traveling vehicle 6 has a main body unit 7, a travel unit 50, and a control unit 35.

[0022] The main body 7 includes a main body frame 22, a lateral feed unit 24, a θ drive 26, a lifting drive unit 28, a lifting platform 30, and a cover 33. The main body frame 22 is connected to the travel unit 50 and supports the lateral feed unit 24, the θ drive 26, the lifting drive unit 28, the lifting platform 30, and the cover 33. The lateral feed unit 24 collectively moves the θ drive 26, the lifting drive unit 28, and the lifting platform 30 laterally in a direction perpendicular to the running direction of the track 4. The θ drive 26 rotates at least one of the lifting drive unit 28 and the lifting platform 30 within a predetermined angle range in a horizontal plane. The lifting drive unit 28 raises and lowers the lifting platform 30 by winding or unwinding a suspending member such as a wire, rope, or belt. The lifting platform 30 is provided with a chuck that can freely grip or release the article 10. A pair of covers 33 are provided, for example, at the front and rear of the overhead traveling vehicle 6 in the traveling direction. The covers 33 have protruding claws or the like (not shown) to prevent the articles 10 from falling during transportation.

[0023] The traveling unit 50 causes the overhead traveling vehicle 6 to travel along the track 4. The traveling unit 50 has various rollers, such as traveling rollers 51 and side rollers 52, as well as a power supply core 57 and an LDM 59. The power supply cores 57 are arranged at the front and rear of the traveling unit 50 so as to sandwich the LDM 59 in the left-right direction. They perform contactless power supply and contactless transmission and reception of various signals with a power supply unit 40E arranged on the track 4. The power supply core 57 exchanges signals with the control unit 35. The LDM 59 is arranged at the front and rear of the traveling unit 50. The LDM 59 generates a magnetic force for traveling or stopping by using an electromagnet between it and a magnetic plate 40F arranged on the top surface of the track 4.

[0024] The control unit 35 is an electronic control unit including a CPU (Central Processing Unit), a ROM (Read Only Memory), a RAM (Random Access Memory), etc. The control unit 35 controls various operations of the overhead traveling vehicle 6. Specifically, the control unit 35 controls the traveling unit 50, the lateral feed unit 24, the θ drive 26, the lifting drive unit 28, and the lifting platform 30. The control unit 35 can be configured as software in which a program stored in the ROM is loaded onto the RAM and executed by the CPU, for example. The control unit 35 may also be configured as hardware including electronic circuits, etc. The control unit 35 may communicate with the controller 8 and the data server DS using a power supply unit (power supply line) 40E or a feeder line of the track 4.

[0025] The control unit 35 transmits the travel history information of the overhead traveling vehicle 6 to the data server DS. The travel history information is information relating to the route of the track 4 on which the overhead traveling vehicle 6 has traveled. The travel history information may also include time information. For example, the travel history information may be information in which each section 41 of the track 4 on which the overhead traveling vehicle 6 has traveled is associated with the time at which each section was traveled.

[0026] The work area 160 is provided in the work section 42, and is an area for inspecting the condition of the overhead traveling vehicle 6. An inspection device 70 is provided in the work area 160. The inspection device 70 inspects the condition of the overhead traveling vehicle 6. The inspection device 70 inspects the damage state (presence or absence of damage) of at least one of the traveling rollers 51 and the LDM 59 of the traveling section 50 included in the overhead traveling vehicle 6. Examples of the damaged state include the presence or absence of scratches on the LDM 59 caused by peeling of a portion of the magnetic plate 40F, or the presence or absence of scratches formed on the traveling roller 51 extending in the vertical direction.

[0027] The inspection device 70 has a camera (inspection unit) that captures images of at least one of the traveling roller 51 and the LDM 59. For example, in the inspection device 70, the damage state (presence or absence of scratches, etc.) may be determined by an operator observing the image captured by the camera, or the damage state may be automatically determined based on the image using techniques such as image analysis. The inspection device 70 is capable of communicating with the controller 8 and transmits the damage state determination result to the controller 8. Note that when the operator determines the damage state, the operator may input the determination result into the inspection device 70.

[0028] The controller 8 is an electronic control unit including a CPU, a ROM, a RAM, etc. The controller 8 can be configured as software in which a program stored in the ROM is loaded onto the RAM and executed by the CPU, for example. The controller 8 may also be configured as hardware including electronic circuits, etc. The controller 8 transmits a transport command to the overhead traveling vehicle 6 to transport the article 10. The controller 8 also transmits a travel command to the overhead traveling vehicle 6 to be inspected for damage to travel to the work area 160.

[0029] 3, the controller 8 has, as functional components, a status information acquisition unit 81, a travel history information acquisition unit 82, and an abnormal section estimation unit 83. The status information acquisition unit 81 acquires status information of the multiple overhead traveling vehicles 6. The status information acquisition unit 81 here acquires, as status information, the results of damage state determination made by the inspection device 70 for the multiple overhead traveling vehicles 6 from the inspection device 70. The travel history information acquisition unit 82 acquires travel history information of the multiple overhead traveling vehicles 6 from the data server DS.

[0030] The abnormal section estimation unit 83 estimates an abnormal section, which is a section 41 where an abnormality has occurred, based on the status information acquired by the status information acquisition unit 81 from the inspection device 70 and the driving history information acquired by the driving history information acquisition unit 82 from the data server DS. In the present embodiment, the abnormal section estimation unit 83 groups the multiple overhead traveling vehicles 6 into a first group having damage and a second group having no damage based on the status information. The abnormal section estimation unit 83 estimates an abnormal section based on a first frequency at which the multiple overhead traveling vehicles 6 of the first group traveled in the multiple sections 41, and a second frequency at which the multiple overhead traveling vehicles 6 of the second group traveled in the multiple sections 41. Here, the abnormal section estimation unit 83 estimates a difference value between the first frequency and the second frequency in the multiple sections 41 as a degree of abnormality in the abnormal section, and causes the display 12 to display a heat map showing the multiple sections 41 differentiated according to the difference value.

[0031] As an example, the abnormal section estimation unit 83 calculates a first frequency at which a first group of multiple overhead traveling vehicles 6 have traveled in the multiple sections 41, based on the status information and the traveling history information. The abnormal section estimation unit 83 generates a first heat map H1 (see FIG. 4( a) ) for the multiple sections 41, in which the greater the first frequency, the darker the color, and the smaller the first frequency, the lighter the color, and no color is displayed when no overhead traveling vehicles 6 are traveling. Furthermore, the abnormal section estimation unit 83 calculates a second frequency at which a second group of multiple overhead traveling vehicles 6 have traveled in the multiple sections 41, based on the status information and the traveling history information. The abnormal section estimation unit 83 generates a second heat map H2 (see FIG. 4( a) ) for the multiple sections 41, in which the greater the second frequency, the darker the color, and the smaller the second frequency, the lighter the color, and no color is displayed when no overhead traveling vehicles 6 are traveling. 5 , the abnormal section estimation unit 83 subtracts the second heat map H2 from the first heat map H1 to generate an abnormal section heat map H3, which is a differential heat map, as an estimate of the abnormal section. The controller 8 displays the generated abnormal section heat map H3 on the display 12.

[0032] The data server DS is configured to be able to communicate with each overhead traveling vehicle 6 and the controller 8 via wired or wireless communication. The data server DS receives and stores (accumulates) traveling history information from each overhead traveling vehicle 6. The display 12 is a display unit that displays various types of information. The display 12 is connected to the controller 8, and displays the abnormal section heat map H3 under the control of the controller 8.

[0033] Next, an example of an abnormal section estimation method implemented in the above-described rail guided vehicle system 1 will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

[0034] In the track-guided vehicle system 1, for example, the timing when the inspection device 70 first determines that there is damage is used as a trigger, and the following processing is carried out by the controller 8 after a predetermined time has passed from the trigger timing or after a predetermined number of overhead traveling vehicles 6 have been inspected by the inspection device 70.

[0035] That is, first, the status information acquisition unit 81 acquires status information of the multiple overhead traveling vehicles 6 from the inspection device 70 (status information acquisition step: step S1). In step S1, status information of the multiple overhead traveling vehicles 6 inspected by the inspection device 70 from the trigger timing to the present time is acquired. Next, the abnormal section estimation unit 83 groups the multiple overhead traveling vehicles 6 for which status information has been acquired (step S2). In step S2, based on the status information of the multiple overhead traveling vehicles 6, the multiple overhead traveling vehicles 6 are grouped into a first group having damage and a second group having no damage.

[0036] Next, the travel history information acquisition unit 82 acquires the travel history information of the multiple overhead traveling vehicles 6 for which the status information has been acquired from the data server DS (travel history information acquisition step: step S3). The travel history information of each overhead traveling vehicle 6 in step S3 is information about the travel history of the overhead traveling vehicle 6 between the latest inspection by the inspection device 70 (the inspection corresponding to the status information in step S1) and the previous inspection (the inspection immediately before the latest inspection).

[0037] Next, based on the status information and the running history information, the abnormal section estimation unit 83 calculates a first frequency at which multiple overhead traveling vehicles 6 belonging to the first group (i.e., damaged) have traveled for each section 41, and generates a first heat map H1 (see FIG. 4(a)) having shading corresponding to the first frequency (step S4). Based on the status information and the running history information, the abnormal section estimation unit 83 calculates a second frequency at which multiple overhead traveling vehicles 6 belonging to the second group (i.e., undamaged) have traveled for each section 41, and generates a second heat map H2 (see FIG. 4(a)) having shading corresponding to the second frequency.

[0038] Next, the abnormal section estimation unit 83 subtracts the second heat map H2 from the first heat map H1 to generate an abnormal section heat map H3 (see FIG. 5 ) as an estimate of the abnormal section (abnormal section estimation step: step S6).The abnormal section estimation unit 83 then displays the generated abnormal section heat map H3 on the display 12 (step S7).

[0039] As described above, in the track guided vehicle system 1 and the abnormal section estimation method, when an abnormal section occurs, it is found that the overhead traveling vehicle 6 that traveled through the abnormal section among the multiple overhead traveling vehicles 6 has a change in its condition (such as damage to the LDM 59 or wear to the traveling rollers 51). Therefore, in the track guided vehicle system 1, by correlating and evaluating the condition information and running history information of the multiple overhead traveling vehicles 6, it is possible to estimate the abnormal section of the track 4 early and more reliably prevent the damage from spreading. It is possible to quickly determine which section 41 the abnormality occurred in from the condition information and running history information, before the damage spreads.

[0040] In the rail guided vehicle system 1, the status information is information indicating the damage state of the overhead traveling vehicles 6, and the travel history information is information indicating the multiple sections 41 that the overhead traveling vehicles 6 have traveled on. The abnormal section estimation unit 83 groups the multiple overhead traveling vehicles 6 into a first group that has damage and a second group that has no damage, and estimates the abnormal section based on at least one of a first frequency at which the multiple overhead traveling vehicles 6 of the first group have traveled on the multiple sections 41 and a second frequency at which the multiple overhead traveling vehicles 6 of the second group have traveled on the multiple sections 41. In this case, by grouping the multiple overhead traveling vehicles 6 based on the presence or absence of damage, it becomes possible to easily estimate the abnormal section of the track 4.

[0041] In the rail guided vehicle system 1, the abnormal section estimation unit 83 displays an abnormal section heat map H3 indicating a plurality of sections 41 distinguished according to the difference value between the first frequency and the second frequency on the display 12. This makes it possible to effectively visualize the degree of abnormality in the abnormal sections of the plurality of sections 41.

[0042] In the rail guided vehicle system 1, time information is included in the travel history information of the overhead traveling vehicle 6. Therefore, the time information included in the travel history information of the overhead traveling vehicle 6 may be used to weight the status information of the overhead traveling vehicle, for example.

[0043] Second Embodiment Next, a second embodiment will be described. In the description of this embodiment, differences from the first embodiment will be described, and overlapping descriptions will be omitted where appropriate.

[0044] As shown in FIG. 7 , in the rail-guided vehicle system 101 according to the second embodiment, the controller 8 further includes a vehicle selection unit 84 as a functional component. The vehicle selection unit 84 references the travel history information stored in the data server DS and selects some overhead traveling vehicles 6 from the multiple overhead traveling vehicles 6. The some overhead traveling vehicles 6 (hereinafter simply referred to as "some overhead traveling vehicles 6") selected by the vehicle selection unit 84 are multiple vehicles relating to a combination of multiple sections 41 that, when combined, cover all sections 41 of the track 4. The some overhead traveling vehicles 6 travel so as to cover all sections 41 of the track 4. In other words, when combined, the multiple sections 41 that each of the some overhead traveling vehicles 6 has traveled cover all sections 41 of the track 4.

[0045] The status information acquisition unit 81 acquires status information of some of the overhead traveling vehicles 6 from the inspection device 70. When acquiring status information of some of the overhead traveling vehicles 6, the controller 8 may sequentially assign driving commands to some of the overhead traveling vehicles 6 to drive them to the work area 160, and inspect some of the overhead traveling vehicles 6 sequentially using the inspection device 70. Alternatively, when acquiring status information of some of the overhead traveling vehicles 6, if inspection of some of the overhead traveling vehicles 6 has already been completed by the inspection device 70, the inspection results may be used.

[0046] The abnormal section estimation unit 83 estimates an abnormal section based on the ratio of the number of damaged overhead traveling vehicles 6 that have traveled through each of the multiple sections 41 (here, all sections 41) (hereinafter simply referred to as the "damage ratio"). As an example, if N overhead traveling vehicles 6 are traveling through a certain section 41 and k (k≦N) of them are damaged, the damage ratio of the multiple overhead traveling vehicles 6 that have traveled through the certain section 41 may be expressed as (k / N)×100. The abnormal section estimation unit 83 estimates, as an abnormal section, a section 41 among the multiple sections 41 whose damage ratio is equal to or greater than a threshold value. The threshold value is a predetermined value that may be a fixed value or a variable value. When an abnormal section is estimated by the abnormal section estimation unit 83, the controller 8 outputs a warning (visual, audio, etc.) indicating the presence of an abnormal section via, for example, the display 12 and a speaker (not shown).

[0047] Next, an example of a method for estimating an abnormal section performed in the rail guided vehicle system 101 will be described with reference to the flowchart in Fig. 8. In the rail guided vehicle system 1, the following process is performed by the controller 8, triggered, for example, by a pre-scheduled timing or a timing (manual) operation by an operator.

[0048] That is, first, the travel history information acquisition unit 82 acquires the travel history information of the multiple overhead traveling vehicles 6 from the data server DS (step S11). Based on the acquired travel history information of the multiple overhead traveling vehicles 6, the bogie selection unit 84 selects some overhead traveling vehicles 6 relating to a combination that covers all the sections 41 of the track 4 when the multiple sections 41 that have been traveled are combined (step S12).

[0049] Next, the status information acquisition unit 81 acquires status information of the selected portion of the overhead traveling vehicles 6 from the inspection device 70 (step S13). In step S13, for example, the controller 8 sequentially assigns a travel command to the portion of the overhead traveling vehicles 6 to travel to the work area 160, and the portion of the overhead traveling vehicles 6 is inspected sequentially by the inspection device 70, and the inspection results are acquired as status information.

[0050] Next, the abnormal section estimation unit 83 calculates the damage rate of the multiple overhead traveling vehicles 6 that have traveled in each section 41 based on the status information and travel history information of some of the overhead traveling vehicles 6 (step S14). The abnormal section estimation unit 83 determines whether there is a section 41 in which the damage rate of the multiple overhead traveling vehicles 6 that have traveled is equal to or greater than a threshold (i.e., whether there is a high possibility that at least one of the multiple sections 41 is abnormal) (step S15). If the result of step S15 is YES, the abnormal section estimation unit 83 estimates the section 41 in which the damage rate is equal to or greater than the threshold as an abnormal section (step S16). Then, a warning (visual, audio, etc.) that an abnormal section exists is output via, for example, the display 12 and a speaker (not shown) (step S17).

[0051] In the rail guided vehicle system 101, it is possible to obtain knowledge that the stronger the bias in the damage rate (or the rate of undamaged vehicles) among the multiple overhead traveling vehicles 6 that have traveled (or have not traveled) on a certain section 41, the more likely that section 41 is an abnormal section (or is not an abnormal section). Therefore, the abnormal section estimation unit 83 estimates abnormal sections based on the damage rate of the multiple overhead traveling vehicles 6 that have traveled on each of the multiple sections 41. In this way, it is possible to easily estimate abnormal sections of the track 4 by utilizing the above knowledge.

[0052] The rail-guided vehicle system 101 includes a vehicle selection unit 84. The vehicle selection unit 84 selects some overhead traveling vehicles 6 from among the multiple overhead traveling vehicles 6, the combination of which, when combined with the multiple sections 41 on which each vehicle has traveled, covers all sections of the track 4. The status information acquisition unit 81 acquires status information of the some overhead traveling vehicles 6 selected by the vehicle selection unit 84. The abnormal section estimation unit 83 estimates, based on the travel history information and status information of the some overhead traveling vehicles 6, sections among all sections 41 in which the damage rates of multiple overhead traveling vehicles 6 are equal to or greater than a threshold, as abnormal sections. This makes it possible to easily estimate abnormal sections from among all sections 41 of the track 4.

[0053] In this embodiment, as an indication of the damage rate, for example, as shown in Fig. 9, the overhead traveling vehicle 6 that has traveled through each section 41 and its status may be displayed on the display 12. In the example of Fig. 9, the number following the "#" is the identification number of the overhead traveling vehicle 6. "OK" corresponds to the fact that the overhead traveling vehicle 6 is not damaged, and "NG" corresponds to the fact that the overhead traveling vehicle 6 is damaged. This allows the worker to easily grasp the damage rate of each section 41.

[0054] Although the embodiments have been described above, one aspect of the present disclosure is not limited to the above-described embodiments.

[0055] In the above embodiment, the status information of the overhead traveling vehicle 6 is not particularly limited, and may be various information as long as it is information about the status of the overhead traveling vehicle 6. For example, the status information may be information about whether or not rollers such as the traveling rollers 51 are worn, information about whether or not dust is adhering to the overhead traveling vehicle 6, information about various dimensions of the overhead traveling vehicle 6 (the width of the traveling section 50), information about a state in which the location of the occurrence cannot be identified, and the like.

[0056] In the first embodiment, the abnormal section heat map H3 (see FIG. 5 ) is generated to estimate the abnormal section, but this is not limited to this. For example, the abnormal section may be estimated based on the first heat map H1, in which case the second heat map H2 and the abnormal section heat map H3 do not need to be generated. Furthermore, for example, the abnormal section may be estimated based on the second heat map H2, in which case the first heat map H1 and the abnormal section heat map H3 do not need to be generated. Furthermore, for example, the abnormal section may be estimated by generating a table showing the possibility of abnormality for each section 41.

[0057] In the above embodiment, the timing to start estimating an abnormal section (start timing of the abnormal section estimation method) is not particularly limited. For example, in order to estimate an abnormal section early, it is preferable to start the method before all of the overhead traveling vehicles 6 are damaged, or it may be before half of all of the overhead traveling vehicles 6 are damaged. The start timing of the abnormal section estimation method may be determined by a trained model using parameters such as the number of damaged overhead traveling vehicles 6 and / or the number of undamaged overhead traveling vehicles 6. The trained model may be a model automatically set by machine learning. The type and / or configuration of the algorithm used to generate the trained model is not particularly limited. Examples of the type of algorithm include a random forest decision tree and a multilayer perceptron (neural network). The configuration of the algorithm includes the number of intermediate layers, the number of units in each layer, the number of branches, the objective variable, the explanatory variable, etc. The type and / or configuration of the algorithm may be generated by deep learning.

[0058] In the second embodiment described above, abnormal sections are estimated based on the damage ratio of the multiple overhead traveling vehicles 6 that have traveled in each of the multiple sections 41, but instead of or in addition to this, abnormal sections may be estimated based on the damage ratio of the multiple overhead traveling vehicles 6 that have not traveled in each of the multiple sections 41. Alternatively, abnormal sections may be estimated based on the damage ratio (or the ratio of undamaged vehicles) of the multiple overhead traveling vehicles 6 that have traveled (or have not traveled) in each of the multiple sections 41.

[0059] In the above embodiment, the controller 8 may be configured by one electronic control unit or by multiple electronic control units. The data server DS may be part of the controller 8. In the above embodiment, the running history information is information about the running history of the overhead traveling vehicle 6 from the previous inspection by the inspection device 70 to the most recent inspection, but is not limited to this and may be information about the running history for a predetermined period of time.

[0060] The above-described embodiments and configurations are not limited to the above-described shapes, and various shapes can be applied. Some of the configurations in the above-described embodiments can be omitted as appropriate without departing from the spirit of one aspect of the present invention.

[0061] 1...rail-guided vehicle system, 4...track, 6...overhead traveling vehicle (vehicle), 12...display (display unit), 41...section, 81...status information acquisition unit, 82...travel history information acquisition unit, 83...abnormal section estimation unit, 84...vehicle selection unit, H3...abnormal section heat map (heat map).

Claims

1. A track-guided vehicle system in which a plurality of bogies selectively travel on a plurality of sections on a track, comprising: a status information acquisition unit that acquires status information of the plurality of bogies; a running history information acquisition unit that acquires running history information of the plurality of bogies; and an abnormal section estimation unit that estimates an abnormal section, which is the section in which an abnormality is occurring, based on the status information acquired by the status information acquisition unit and the running history information acquired by the running history information acquisition unit.

2. A track-guided vehicle system as described in claim 1, wherein the status information is information indicating a damage state of the bogie, the running history information is information indicating a plurality of the sections through which the bogie has run, and the abnormal section estimation unit groups the plurality of bogies into a first group having damage and a second group having no damage, and estimates the abnormal section based on at least one of a first frequency with which the plurality of bogies of the first group ran in the plurality of sections and a second frequency with which the plurality of bogies of the second group ran in the plurality of sections.

3. A rail-guided vehicle system as described in claim 2, wherein the abnormal section estimation unit is provided with a display unit that displays a heat map showing the multiple sections, distinguishing them according to the difference value between the first frequency and the second frequency.

4. A track-guided vehicle system as described in claim 1, wherein the status information is information indicating a damage state of the bogie, the running history information is information indicating a plurality of the sections on which the bogie has run, and the abnormal section estimation unit estimates the abnormal section based on the proportion of damaged or undamaged bogies that have run or have not run for each of the plurality of sections.

5. A track-guided bogie system as described in claim 4, further comprising a bogie selection unit which selects from a plurality of the bogies a portion of the bogies which, when combined with the plurality of sections which have been traveled, cover all of the sections of the track; the status information acquisition unit acquires the status information of the portion of the bogies selected by the bogie selection unit; and the abnormal section estimation unit estimates as the abnormal section a section among all of the sections in which the proportion of the number of damaged bogies among the plurality of bogies which have been traveled is equal to or greater than a threshold value.

6. A method for estimating an abnormal section, which is a section where an abnormality has occurred, in a track guided vehicle system in which a plurality of bogies selectively run on a plurality of sections on a track, comprising: a status information acquisition step for acquiring status information of the plurality of bogies; a running history information acquisition step for acquiring running history information of the plurality of bogies; and an abnormal section estimation step for estimating the abnormal section, which is the section where an abnormality has occurred, based on the status information acquired by the status information acquisition step and the running history information acquired by the running history information acquisition step.