Article Transport Control for Partial Rack Operation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing article transport facilities experience a reduction in overall operating ratio when an abnormality occurs in one of the two transport units, as the normal unit must stop transporting articles to retract the abnormal unit, leading to inefficiencies.
Innovation Solution
The article transport facility is designed with a control device that executes a first abnormality control, allowing the normal unit to operate within a partial range of the storage rack without interfering with the abnormal unit, and subsequently executes a retraction control to move the abnormal unit to a retracted position, followed by a second abnormality control to expand the operational range.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the normal transport unit stops to retract the abnormal unit, then the abnormal unit can be moved to a retracted position, but the overall operating ratio of the facility is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The storage rack is divided into multiple storage sections, and the travel path is divided into multiple regions. The normal unit can operate in a first region while the abnormal unit is retracted to a second region, allowing simultaneous operation and retraction without complete system shutdown
Solution Approach 2:
The system pre-identifies retracted positions for abnormal units and pre-plans operation regions before abnormalities occur. When an abnormality is detected, the normal unit can immediately switch to operating in its designated region while the abnormal unit moves to its predetermined retracted position, minimizing downtime
2Reliability
If the normal unit operates in a limited range to avoid interfering with the abnormal unit, then interference is prevented, but the operational efficiency is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The operational range of the normal unit is dynamically adjusted based on the position of the abnormal unit. As the abnormal unit moves to its retracted position, the normal unit's operational range expands from a first region to a second region, allowing maximum utilization of available space at each moment
Solution Approach 2:
The normal unit maintains continuous operation by switching between different regions. While the abnormal unit is being retracted, the normal unit continues to service articles in the first region, and after retraction completes, it expands to service the second region as well, ensuring no idle time
Data Source
AI summary
A control device is capable of executing a first abnormality control, a retraction control, and a second abnormality control. The first abnormality control is a control in which a transferable range in which the normal unit is capable of transferring the article to and from the storage section without interfering with the abnormal unit is set to a partial range of the article storage rack, and the normal unit is operated using one or more of the storage sections included in the transferable range as the transfer target location. The second abnormality control is a state in which the abnormal unit is retracted to the retracted position, the transferable range is set to a range wider than the transferable range set in the first abnormality control, and the normal unit is operated using a plurality of the storage sections included in the transferable range as the transfer target location.