Traveling Vehicle Shutter Control Using Lock-Section Thresholds
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing traveling vehicle systems face inefficiencies in transport efficiency due to the need for time-consuming checks to determine the presence or absence of vehicles in blocking areas, which can cause activated shutters to catch vehicles and disrupt fire prevention mechanisms.
Innovation Solution
A controller permits vehicles to enter an interference section without checking presence in the section until a specified number is reached in an adjacent lock section, and prohibits entry when the number exceeds this threshold, allowing continuous vehicle entry and preventing vehicles from staying in the interference section, thus ensuring proper shutter operation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If blocking control is performed to determine presence or absence of traveling vehicles in the blocking area, then the possibility of shutter catching vehicles is reduced, but transport efficiency is reduced due to time consumption
Solution Approach 1:
The track is divided into three distinct sections: interference section (where shutter operates), lock section (downstream buffer zone), and free section (upstream area). This segmentation allows different control strategies to be applied to different areas, enabling vehicles to flow freely in the free section while only the lock section requires monitoring, thus reducing overall control time while maintaining safety.
Solution Approach 2:
The system performs preliminary checks only in the lock section (downstream area) before vehicles enter the interference section. By checking the downstream area first and allowing vehicles to proceed if the lock section has fewer than 2 vehicles, the system proactively prevents potential conflicts without requiring time-consuming checks in the interference section itself, thereby maintaining transport efficiency.
2Productivity
If vehicles are permitted to continuously enter the interference section without checking presence, then transport efficiency is increased, but the risk of shutter catching vehicles increases
Solution Approach 1:
The controller performs a preliminary check of the lock section (downstream area) before permitting vehicles to enter the interference section. By verifying that fewer than 2 vehicles are present in the lock section ahead of time, the system ensures safe entry without requiring continuous monitoring during vehicle passage, thus maintaining both efficiency and safety.
Solution Approach 2:
The lock section acts as an intermediary buffer zone between the free section (upstream) and the interference section (downstream). Vehicles must pass through this intermediate lock section where monitoring occurs, and only vehicles that clear this intermediate checkpoint are permitted to enter the interference section, thus mediating between free flow and safety requirements.
3Reliability
If the controller checks presence in the interference section before permitting entry, then shutter safety is improved, but the number of vehicles entering per unit time is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The track is segmented into interference section, lock section, and free section, with monitoring applied only to the lock section (downstream) rather than the interference section itself. This selective segmentation reduces the area requiring time-consuming checks while maintaining safety, allowing more vehicles to enter the interference section per unit time.
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of checking the interference section (upstream area) before vehicle entry as in conventional systems, this invention inverts the check to the lock section (downstream area). By checking downstream before allowing upstream entry and permitting continuous passage when the downstream area is clear, the system eliminates waiting time and maximizes throughput while maintaining safety.
Data Source
AI summary
A traveling vehicle system includes a track of, traveling vehicles, and a controller configured or programmed to control each of the traveling vehicles. A portion of a traveling area for the traveling vehicles is shut off by a shutter activatable upon detection of an anomaly by a detector. The controller is configured or programmed to permit the traveling vehicles to enter an interference section without checking the presence or absence of the traveling vehicles in the interference section upon determining that a number of the traveling vehicles present in a lock section has not reached a specified number of two or more, and prohibits the traveling vehicles from entering the interference section upon determining that the specified number has been reached.