JPH052213U - Automated guided vehicle management device - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] [Purpose] To provide an automated guided vehicle management device capable of easily managing an autonomous guided vehicle and quickly investigating the cause of an accident. [Structure] Since the automatic guided vehicle is provided with an external storage device, the program and operation data of the automatic guided vehicle are transferred from the external storage device to the memory in the automatic guided vehicle, and vice versa. Labor is reduced, reliability is improved, and the cause of an accident can be quickly investigated.

Description

[Detailed description of the device]

[0001]

[Industrial applications]

 The present invention relates to a device for managing data and the like handled by an automated guided vehicle.

[0002]

[Prior Art]

 Currently, unmanned guided vehicles are being developed and commercialized in order to make the distribution system unmanned and labor-saving. This automated guided vehicle autonomously travels on guide lines such as electromagnetic, magnetic, and reflective tapes according to a program depending on each system, and transports luggage.

The management items of this automatic guided vehicle are mainly as follows. Program management Management of reading, writing, and storage of programs. Self-diagnosis Management of whether there is an abnormality. PI / O management Management of external DI / DO interface. Sequencer management This is the management of the external DI / DO interface. Optical communication control management This is the management of the interface with the optical communication unit. Console panel management Manages the interface with the console panel.

[0004]

[Problems to be solved by the device]

 Currently, as the distribution system becomes unmanned and labor-saving, the scale of the system expands and becomes more complicated.Therefore, multiple automated guided vehicles are operated on one line, and it is timely required to recover from a failure. The burden on manufacturers is increasing.

In such a situation, conventionally, management of an automated guided vehicle is performed as follows. The program for the automatic guided vehicle is input by the operator directly from the console or by connecting a tool such as a personal computer each time. For this reason, a lot of labor is required to input a program for many automated guided vehicles. When the automated guided vehicle fails, only the details of the failure are displayed. For this reason, it takes time to understand the process leading up to the failure and the progress. The parameters required for the automated guided vehicle to travel must be repeated by repeating the same operation as above, even though the same automated guided vehicle has the same contents. The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned prior art, and an object of the present invention is to provide an apparatus capable of managing data handled by an automated guided vehicle via an external storage device.

[0006]

[Means for Solving the Problems]

 In the configuration of the present invention which achieves such an object, an unmanned guided vehicle that autonomously travels along a guide line according to a program stored in a memory and stores operation data in the memory is provided with a removable external storage device, A program or operation data stored in the memory is transferred to the external storage device.

[0007]

【Example】

 Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the embodiments shown in the drawings. FIG. 1 shows a block diagram of a management apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 shows the processing contents.

In the figure, 1 is a CPU, 2 is a memory, 3 is an address bus, 4 is a data bus, 5 is an arbiter, 6 is an I / O, 7 is a controller, 8 is an external storage device, and 9 is an external storage device. Interface. The arbiter 5 arbitrates the CPU 1, memory 2, buses 4 and 5, and the controller 7 sends a control signal to the memory 2 and I / O 6. As the external storage device 8, for example, a removable device such as a floppy disk or a memory IC card can be used.

The processing procedure in the management apparatus of the present embodiment having the above configuration is divided into normal processing and abnormal processing as shown in FIG. The initialization process is common. (1) Normal processing In the man-machine routine, the controller 7 monitors the I / O 6 and reads the operation data from the memory 2 and writes it to the external storage device 8 when there is a request for input or output, and vice versa. The operation data read from the storage device 8 is written in the memory 2. Here, the operation data are control parameters and route data. Further, in the case of program management, the controller 7 writes the program read from the memory 2 to the external storage device 8, and conversely writes the program read from the external storage device 8 to the memory 2. In this case, the external storage device 8 is controlled by the controller 7 or the like, and no special tool such as a personal computer is required. In the control routine, the CPU 1 calculates a command to the motor control device (not shown) via the address bus 3 and the data bus 4 based on the program and control parameters stored in the memory 2. As a result, the automated guided vehicle can autonomously travel along the guide line to carry the luggage.

(2) Abnormal Processing In the abnormal routine, the operation parameter, the abnormal code, and the control state (for example, the state of the motor voltage, current, running sensor, potentiometer, speed sensor, DO, DI, etc.) when the abnormality occurs are Write to the external storage device 8. By analyzing such operation data, it is possible to investigate the cause of the accident, such as the history and progress.

The unmanned guided vehicle management apparatus of this embodiment having the above-described configuration has the following effects. The programs and operation data of the automatic guided vehicle can be easily transferred from the memory 2 to the external storage device 8 or vice versa without the need for special tools, which not only helps the labor of the operator. In other words, it contributes to speeding up work and increasing reliability. When the automatic guided vehicle fails, it is possible to determine the cause of the failure by analyzing the program and operation data stored in the external storage device 8. Since the external storage device 8 can be removed from the automatic guided vehicle, it is possible to quickly and temporarily restore the accidental automatic guided vehicle when the storage device 8 is analyzed. Since the external storage device 8 can be removed and sent to the manufacturer for analysis, it is not necessary to send a technician to investigate the cause. Although a floppy disk or an IC memory is used as the external storage device 8 in the above embodiment, it is not particularly limited as long as it is removable.

[0012]

[Effect of the device]

 As described above in detail with reference to the embodiments, the present invention can store the program and the operation data in the removable external storage device, so that the management of the automatic guided vehicle is simplified and the automatic guided vehicle is managed. In the unlikely event of an accident, restoration work can be carried out quickly.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an apparatus for managing an automated guided vehicle according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing a processing procedure of an automatic guided vehicle management apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 CPU 2 Memory 3 Address Bus 4 Data Bus 5 Arbiter 6 I / O 7 Controller 8 External Storage Device 9 Interface for External Storage Device

Claims (1)

Claims for utility model registration: Claims: 1. An automated guided vehicle that autonomously travels along a guide line according to a program stored in a memory and stores operation data in the memory, is provided with a removable external storage device, An automated guided vehicle management device, which transfers a program or operation data stored in the memory to the external storage device.