Segmented Route Control for Concurrent Article Transport
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing article transport facilities face inefficiencies due to the inability of a single control segment to handle multiple transport vehicles simultaneously, especially at branching or merging portions of the travel route, which limits overall transport efficiency.
Innovation Solution
The article transport facility is designed with a particular segment that covers a first route section, a second route section that does not intersect with the first, and a connecting route section. Transport vehicles request passage permissions for each section, allowing them to travel concurrently on the first and second route sections if the connecting route section is not used, thereby optimizing passage through the segment.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a single control segment determines whether to permit a transport vehicle to travel past a lock point, then the transport vehicle can be controlled safely, but the control segment cannot receive two or more transport vehicles at the same time, leading to inefficiency
Solution Approach 1:
The control segment is divided into multiple independent route sections (first route section, second route section, and connecting route section). Each route section can be independently controlled and occupied by transport vehicles. This segmentation allows multiple transport vehicles to travel concurrently on different route sections while maintaining safe control through individual passage permission requests for each section.
2Reliability
If the control segment prohibits other transport vehicles from entering when one vehicle is present, then collision prevention is achieved, but overall transport efficiency is limited
Solution Approach 1:
Different route sections within the control segment have different occupancy statuses. The segment controller tracks which specific route sections (first passage location, second passage location, connecting route section) are occupied by which transport vehicles. This local quality approach allows simultaneous occupancy of different sections by different vehicles while preventing collisions through localized permission control at each passage location.
Data Source
AI summary
An article transport facility includes a transport vehicle and a segment controller. When the transport vehicle is to travel on a first route section, the transport vehicle requests first passage permission, which is passage permission to travel past a first passage location, from the segment controller. When the transport vehicle is to travel on a second route section, the transport vehicle requests second passage permission, which is passage permission to travel past a second passage location, from the segment controller. In response to the request for both the first passage permission and the second passage permission, the segment controller, if the first passage location and the second passage location are both unoccupied by preceding transport vehicles, permits the transport vehicle to travel from the first route section or second route section into a connecting route section and to occupy both the first passage location and the second passage location.