US 8,428,770 B2 · Automated transport control system

Abstract

Each load-carrier of a system is always controlled by one of a series of MCUs (monitoring and control units) that are assigned to contiguous regions along guideways. Each carrier is slowed down to maintain a safe distance behind a carrier ahead, or to avoid collision with another carrier when approaching a merge point of a convergent Y-junction or when otherwise desirable. Distance measurements take into account the lengths of carriers and of assigned regions and the counts of speed pulses sent to MCUs since entry of carriers into their respective regions. For merge control, arrival data are developed that include the times and speeds to and at arrival of two carriers at a merge point. Through repeated comparisons of arrival data developed from one carrier with arrival data previously developed and stored as to the other carrier, the one carrier is gradually slowed down as necessary to avoid a collision.

Claims11

Dependent claims

A control system for carriers moving along guideways, comprising:

MCUs (monitoring and control units) assigned to contiguous regions along guideways, each MCU including processor means that are active for monitor and control of a passing carrier during movement of the passing carrier through its assigned region,
said processor means including position means for developing position data defining the distance of travel of said passing carrier since entering said assigned region,
wherein said MCUs are arranged for sending data rearwardly from each active processor means to the next active processor means behind,
each active processor means being operative to respond to corresponding control data to a passing carrier to maintain a safe following distance behind a carrier ahead,
wherein data that is received by a next active processor means behind in response to data sent rearwardly from an active processor means ahead includes speed data as to the speed of the carrier ahead and distance data that corresponds to the sum of said position data and data as to the assigned lengths of any intervening MCUs with inactive processor means.

2 more elements

A control system for carriers moving along guideways of a system of guideways that includes divergent Y-junctions each allowing a carrier entering from an entrance guideway to exit on either of two exit guideways, comprising:

MCUs (monitoring and control units) assigned to contiguous regions along said guideways, each MCU including processor means that are active for monitor and control of a passing carrier during movement of the passing carrier through its assigned region,
wherein first and second groups of MCUs are assigned to contiguous regions along said first and second exit guideways of each divergent Y-junction and third and fourth groups of MCUs precede said first and second groups and are assigned to parallel contiguous regions along said entrance guideway,
each MCU of each group including processor means operative during passing of a carrier through its assigned region to develop data to be sent rearwardly to MCUs behind as carrier ahead data, and a connection between each MCU of each group and the preceding MCU of the same group to enable each MCU to obtain said carrier ahead data.

A control system for carriers that are movable in a network of guideways to automatically carry loads of different types from entrance stations to exit stations along said guideways,

wherein each carrier is arranged for selective connection of any one of said different types of loads,
wherein each of said stations is arranged to handle one of said different types of loads, and
wherein said network may include divergent Y-junctions in each of which first and second exit guideways diverge from an end of an entrance guideway and may include convergent Y-junctions in each of which first and second entrance guideways merge into an exit guideway,
said control system being arranged for operation with carriers that include memory circuits for storage of data including destination data and that include means for control of the carrier in response to applied data including drive and steer control data,
said control system also being arranged for operation with loads that include memory circuits for storage of destination data for download to said memory circuits of said carrier and that may include loading control circuits,
said control system comprising MCUs (monitoring and control units) assigned to contiguous regions along said guideways,
wherein each of said MCUs has an active condition in which it obtains data as to a carrier passing through its assigned region and sends distance data rearwardly to be received by the next MCU behind,
wherein each MCU when not in said active condition operates to send distance data from a MCU ahead to a MCU behind after adding data as to the length of its assigned region, and in which each MCU when in said active condition operates to respond to data received from a MCU ahead to determine and send drive data to a passing carrier for maintaining at least a safe following distance behind a carrier ahead,
wherein an MCU that is behind a divergent Y-junction ahead may download destination data from the memory circuit of a passing carrier and determine and send steer data to the passing carrier to effect exit on the appropriate one of said first and second exit guideways, and
wherein merge control means are provided such that a MCU that is along one of said first and second entrance guideways behind a convergent Y-junction is supplied with data as to carriers moving on the opposite of said first and second entrance guideways and operates to send drive data to decelerate a passing carrier as necessary to avoid any collision with a carrier moving on said opposite of said first and second guideways.

7 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Automated transport control system

Life of this patent

Automated transport control system

Life of this patent

Abstract

Claims11