Overhead Conveyance Vehicle Swivel Control for Stable Article Orientation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Overhead transport vehicles experience variations in article orientation and sway during travel, which can be problematic for sensitive items.
Innovation Solution
The overhead transport vehicle system includes a traveling cart and a swiveling body with a controller that maintains a constant orientation of articles by aligning the body with the travel direction, using anti-sway structures and obstacle sensors to stabilize the article during travel.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If the body is allowed to swivel freely with respect to the traveling cart, then the transfer device can adapt to different transfer directions, but the orientation of the article varies during travel causing variable sway
Solution Approach 1:
The body is made swivelable with respect to the traveling cart, allowing dynamic adjustment of the body's orientation. The controller actively controls the swiveling of the body to maintain constant article orientation during travel while enabling adaptability to different transfer directions. This dynamic control resolves the contradiction by making the system adaptable yet stable through active management.
Solution Approach 2:
The controller monitors the travel state of the traveling cart and adjusts the body's swivel angle accordingly to maintain constant article orientation. This feedback mechanism ensures that despite the body's ability to swivel for adaptability, the article orientation remains stable during travel by continuously adjusting based on travel conditions.
2Stability of the object's composition
If the body is fixed relative to the traveling cart, then article orientation remains constant during travel, but the transfer device cannot adapt to different transfer directions
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of fixing the body, the system uses dynamic control where the body can swivel but is actively managed by the controller. The controller adjusts the body's swivel angle in real-time based on travel state, providing adaptability to different transfer directions while maintaining constant article orientation during travel through coordinated control.
3Reliability
If the obstacle sensor is fixed on the body, then obstacle detection works when the body is aligned with travel direction, but detection fails when the body is swiveled at an angle
Solution Approach 1:
The obstacle sensor is configured to detect obstacles in the travel direction regardless of the body's swivel angle. The sensor's detection function is made universal by orienting it to monitor the travel direction specifically, allowing it to function reliably whether the body is aligned or swiveled, thus supporting both detection reliability and body adaptability.
Solution Approach 2:
The controller coordinates the obstacle sensor's orientation or activation with the body's swivel state. When the body swivels, the controller ensures the obstacle sensor remains effective for detecting obstacles in the travel direction, using feedback from the body's position to maintain reliable obstacle detection capability.
Data Source
AI summary
An overhead transport vehicle includes a traveling cart configured to move in a first direction by traveling on a pair of first rails adjacent to each other in a second direction, and move in the second direction by traveling on a pair of second rails adjacent to each other in the first direction, a body configured to swivel with respect to the traveling cart, a transfer device configured to swivel together with the body with respect to the traveling cart and to move an article, and a controller configured or programmed to swivel the body so that when the traveling cart starts traveling, an orientation of the article held by the transfer device is constant with respect to a travel direction of the traveling cart.