Ground Controller Travel Permission Management for Curved Vehicle Sections
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing systems for controlling traveling vehicles in curved sections face inefficiencies due to difficulty in detecting leading vehicles, leading to potential interference and reduced throughput, as obstacle sensors struggle with fan-like monitoring ranges and changing light directions.
Innovation Solution
A traveling vehicle system that includes an obstacle sensor for curved travel and a communication unit, allowing vehicles to request travel permissions from a ground controller before entering a curved section, with permissions managed to prevent interference by adjusting speeds and allowing multiple vehicles to pass through simultaneously.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If exclusion control is performed to limit the number of travelling vehicles in a curved section to one vehicle at a time, then interference between vehicles is prevented, but the productivity of the system decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The ground controller performs preliminary blocking control by determining in advance whether multiple vehicles can safely travel through the curved section simultaneously. Before vehicles enter the curved section, the controller evaluates the monitoring capabilities and adjusts speeds preemptively to prevent interference, rather than reacting after interference occurs.
Solution Approach 2:
The system dynamically adjusts the travel speed of individual vehicles based on real-time conditions in the curved section. The ground controller can lower the speed of specific vehicles to extend their monitoring range, allowing more vehicles to coexist safely in the section simultaneously, thus adapting the system behavior to current traffic conditions.
2Extent of automation
If obstacle sensors are used for curved travel detection, then autonomous interference avoidance is enabled, but detection reliability decreases due to fan-like monitoring range spread and changing reflected light direction
Solution Approach 1:
The ground controller acts as an intermediary that supplements the obstacle sensor system. While vehicles have autonomous obstacle sensors for curved travel, the ground controller provides additional monitoring and verification, cross-checking sensor data and vehicle positions to compensate for the limitations of fan-like monitoring ranges and changing light directions.
Solution Approach 2:
The system implements feedback mechanisms where the ground controller continuously receives information from obstacle sensors and adjusts vehicle speeds or positions based on detection reliability. When detection becomes uncertain due to curved geometry, the controller requests speed reductions or position adjustments to improve detection accuracy before allowing vehicles to proceed.
Data Source
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AI summary
This invention reliably prevents interference between travelling vehicles in a curved section, and makes it possible for travelling vehicles to efficiently travel in a curved section. A ground controller in a travelling vehicle system stores travel permissions for a curved section that are given to travelling vehicles, and deletes the travel permissions when the travelling vehicles leave the curved section. When a request for a permission to travel in the curved section is received from a travelling vehicle, the ground controller references the memory, gives a first travel permission if a permission to travel has not been given to another travelling vehicle, and gives a low-order travel permission that permits travel with a lower speed than the first travel permission if a permission to travel has been given to another travelling vehicle.