Automated guided vehicle and automated guided vehicle control system
AssigneeFuji Corporation
InventorKohei Ishikawa
Life of this patent
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Abstract
Provided is an automated guided vehicle that travels on a traveling path by loading at least one of a member required for a production work in which production equipment produces a product and a production tool detachable to the production equipment, and shares at least a portion of the traveling path with another automated guided vehicle, in which a traveling priority is variably set based on a work priority determined from a status of the production work, and when the traveling priority of the automated guided vehicle is higher than the traveling priority of the another automated guided vehicle, the automated guided vehicle is prioritized for traveling on the traveling path.
Claims9
An automated guided vehicle which travels on a traveling path by loading at least one of a member required for a production work, in which production equipment produces a product, and a production tool detachable to the production equipment, and which shares at least a portion of the traveling path with an other automated guided vehicle, the automated guided vehicle comprising:
- a drive configured to move the automated guided vehicle;
- a marker detector configured to detect location markers;
- a communicator configured to transmit and received communications;
- and
- a controller configured to control the drive,
- wherein a traveling priority is variably set based on a work priority determined from a status of the production work of the product, and when a traveling priority of the automated guided vehicle is higher than a traveling priority of the other automated guided vehicle, the automated guided vehicle is prioritized for traveling on the traveling path such that the controller controls the driver to move the automated guided vehicle on the path before the other automated guided vehicle,
- wherein the status of the production work of the product is determined as at least one of production work is interrupted because of a missing part, missing part notice generated during lot production, and setup work necessary for a next lot production, and
- wherein:
- a highest work priority is given to the status of the production work of the product corresponding to production work is interrupted because of the missing part,
- a lowest work priority is given to the status of the production work of the product corresponding to setup work necessary for the next lot production, and
- a middle work priority is given to the status of the production work of the product corresponding to the missing part notice generated during lot production, the middle priority being between the highest priority and the lowest priority.
An automated guided vehicle control system, comprising:
- multiple automated guided vehicles configured to travel on a traveling path by loading at least one of a member required for a production work in which production equipment produces a product and a production tool detachable to the production equipment as control targets;
- a computer configured to:
- set a traveling priority of each of the multiple automated guided vehicles based on a work priority of the product determined from a status of the production work to prevent the multiple automated guided vehicles from impeding each other on the traveling path;
- and
- when the multiple automated guided vehicles are scheduled to enter a part of the traveling path together, control an availability for an entry into the part of the traveling path for each of the automated guided vehicles based on the traveling priority set for each of the automated guided vehicles,
- wherein the status of the production work of the product is determined as at least one of production work is interrupted because of missing part, missing part notice generated during lot production, and setup work necessary for a next lot production, and
- wherein:
- a highest work priority is given to the status of the production work of the product corresponding to production work is interrupted because of the missing part,
- a lowest work priority is given to the status of the production work of the product corresponding to setup work necessary for the next lot production, and
- a middle work priority is given to the status of the production work of the product corresponding to the missing part notice generated during lot production, the middle priority being between the highest priority and the lowest priority.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.