Traveling vehicle system, and control method for traveling vehicle system

A traveling vehicle system comprising:

• a host controller;
• and
• a plurality of traveling vehicles that travel on a track having an intersection in a form of either a branching part or a merging part, transmit to the host controller a passage permission request for the intersection through which the traveling vehicle is scheduled to pass, and pass through the intersection if a passage permission for the passage permission request is received from the host controller, but stop before the intersection if the passage permission is not received;
• wherein
• the host controller includes:
• a memory storage that stores traveling vehicle information in which the passage permission request received from the traveling vehicle is associated with the traveling vehicle of the transmission origin thereof;
• a priority traveling vehicle selector that selects a priority traveling vehicle from the plurality of traveling vehicles;
• a first deriver that derives a first traveling vehicle, which is the transmission origin of the passage permission request for the branching part, from the traveling vehicle information already stored in the memory storage, at the time of receiving the passage permission request for the branching part from the priority traveling vehicle;
• a merging part deriver that derives, from the traveling vehicle information stored in the memory storage, a merging part through which the first traveling vehicle is scheduled to pass after the branching part;
• and
• an intersection controller that transmits the passage permission for the derived merging part to the first traveling vehicle in priority to a second traveling vehicle scheduled to pass through the merging part from a direction different from a direction from which the first traveling vehicle is scheduled to pass through the merging part.

A method of controlling a traveling vehicle system comprising:

• a host controller;
• and
• a plurality of traveling vehicles that travel on a track having an intersection in a form of either a branching part or a merging part, transmit to the host controller a passage permission request for the intersection through which the traveling vehicle is scheduled to pass, and pass through the intersection if a passage permission, for the passage permission request is received from the host controller, but stop before the intersection if the passage permission is not received;
• the method comprising:
• receiving the passage permission request from the traveling vehicle;
• transmitting the passage permission to one of the plurality of traveling vehicles requesting the passage permission;
• storing traveling vehicle information in which the passage permission request received from the traveling vehicle is associated with the traveling vehicle of the transmission origin thereof;
• selecting a priority traveling vehicle from the plurality of traveling vehicles;
• deriving a first traveling vehicle, which is the transmission origin of the passage permission request for the branching part, from the traveling vehicle information already stored at the time of receiving the passage permission request for the branching part from the priority traveling vehicle;
• deriving from the stored traveling vehicle information the merging part through which the first traveling vehicle is scheduled to pass after the branching part;
• and
• transmitting the passage permission for the derived merging part to the first traveling vehicle in priority to a second traveling vehicle scheduled to pass through the merging part from a direction different from a direction from which the first traveling vehicle is scheduled to pass through the merging part.