Patent Publication Number: US-9834238-B2

Title: Transporting vehicle system, and method of controlling transporting vehicle

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The present invention relates to a transporting vehicle system that causes a transporting vehicle to travel along a predetermined travelling route, and a method of controlling the transporting vehicle. 
     2. Description of the Related Art 
     There is a transporting vehicle system for causing an unmanned transporting vehicle to automatically travel under a computer control along a travelling route that includes a plurality of one-way circulating routes preinstalled on, for example, a ceiling or a floor. In such a transporting vehicle system, for example, when a fault occurs in the transporting vehicle, other transporting vehicles are not able to travel in a certain zone of the travelling route including the position where the transporting vehicle is stopped. Additionally, when a track forming the travelling route is under construction, or the like, the transporting vehicle is unable to travel in a certain zone of the travelling route that is under construction. 
     Thus, if a situation occurs where there is a position that the transporting vehicle cannot travel, the conventional transporting vehicle system sets a certain zone of the travelling route including the aforementioned position as a prohibited travel zone. When selecting a route to the prescribed station, the transporting vehicle system selects such a route that the transporting vehicle does not travel the prohibited travel zone. (Refer to Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 11-85280, for example.) 
     However, the prohibited travel zone could have been set on the downstream side of the prescribed station. If there is no branch point between the prescribed station and the prohibited travel zone, the transporting vehicle has nowhere to go resulting in the transporting vehicle being unable to travel after the transporting vehicle arrives at the prescribed station. In this regard, if the number of transporting vehicles getting caught in a so-called dead end increases, the transporting efficiency of the entire transporting vehicle system decreases. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     Thus, preferred embodiments of the present invention provide a transporting vehicle system that reduces the number of transporting vehicles that become unable to travel and a method of controlling the transporting vehicle system. 
     A transporting vehicle system according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention is a transporting vehicle system including a plurality of transporting vehicles that travel along a route including node points that include branch points where the route branches off and merge points where the route merges into, and zones located between the node points; a first prohibited travel zone setter that sets a first prohibited travel zone that is one of the zones where entry of the transporting vehicles is prohibited; a second prohibited travel zone setter that sets a second prohibited travel zone upstream of the first prohibited travel zone according to rules; and a transporting vehicle controller that controls the transporting vehicles to prevent the transporting vehicles from entering the first prohibited travel zone or the second prohibited travel zone. The rules include a rule that, if one of the node points upstream of the first prohibited travel zone is one of the merge points, all of the zones that merge into the one of the merge points are set as additional prohibited travel zones; and a rule that, if one of the node points upstream of the first prohibited travel zone is one of the branch points and all of the zones branching off from the one of the branch points are the additional prohibited travel zones, one of the zones upstream of the one of the branch points is set as one of the additional prohibited travel zones. 
     A method of controlling a transporting vehicle according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention is a method of controlling a transporting vehicle system including transporting vehicles capable of traveling along a route including node points that include branch points where the route branches off and merge points where the route merges into, and zones located between the node points, the method including setting a first prohibited travel zone that is one of the zones where entry of the transporting vehicles is prohibited; setting a second prohibited travel zone upstream of the first prohibited travel zone according to rules; and controlling the transporting vehicles to prevent the transporting vehicles from entering the first prohibited travel zone or the second prohibited travel zone; wherein the rules include a rule that, if one of the node points upstream of the first prohibited travel zone is one of the merge points, all of the zones that merge into to the one of the merge points are set as additional prohibited travel zones; and a rule that, if one of the node points upstream of the first prohibited travel zone is one of the branch points and all of the zones branching off from the one of the branch points are the additional prohibited travel zones, the zone upstream of the one of the branch points is additionally set as one of the additional prohibited travel zones. 
     According to preferred embodiments of a transporting vehicle system and a method of controlling the transporting vehicle, for example, a zone in which the transporting vehicle that experienced a fault stops or a zone in which construction is underway is not only set as a prohibited travel zone, but a prohibited travel zone is additionally set according to rules including a rule that, if one of the node points upstream of the first prohibited travel zone is one of the merge points, all of the zones that merge into to the one of the merge points are set as additional prohibited travel zones, and a rule that, if one of the node points upstream of the first prohibited travel zone is one of the branch points and all of the zones branching off from the one of the branch points are the additional prohibited travel zones, the zone upstream of the one of the branch points is additionally set as one of the additional prohibited travel zones. 
     In a transporting vehicle system according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, a transport vehicle is controlled to be prevented from entering the prohibited travel zone that has been set according to such rules, to avoid a situation in which only a prohibited travel zone is located downstream in the travel direction of the transporting vehicle, that is, a situation where the transporting vehicle gets caught in a dead end, has nowhere to go and thus is unable to travel. As a result, the number of transporting vehicles that become unable to travel is able to be significantly reduced. 
     Additionally, in a preferred embodiment of the present invention, each of the transporting vehicles includes a vehicle body controller that requests authorization for the transporting vehicle to enter one of the node points when the transporting vehicle reaches a front of the one of the node points. If the transporting vehicle controller authorizes one of the plurality of transporting vehicles, which requests authorized entry into the one of the node points, to enter the one of the node points, the transporting vehicle controller controls others of the plurality of transporting vehicles to prevent the others of the plurality of transporting vehicle from entering the one of the node points. 
     According to such a transporting vehicle system, it is possible to prevent two or more transporting vehicles from colliding with each other at the node point. 
     Additionally, in a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the transporting vehicle system may further include a fault determiner that determines a fault has occurred when the one of the plurality of transporting vehicles authorized by the transporting vehicle controller to enter the one of the node points does not reach the one of the node points within a predetermined time. 
     According to such a transporting vehicle system, it is possible to determine a fault in the transporting vehicle with a simple configuration without having to install a detection unit such as a sensor to detect a fault in the transporting vehicle. 
     Additionally, in a preferred embodiment of the present invention, if the fault determiner determines a fault in the one of the plurality of transporting vehicles authorized by the transporting vehicle controller to enter the one of the node points, the second prohibited travel zone setter sets one of the zones adjacent to the one of the node points as one of the additional prohibited travel zones. 
     According to such a transporting vehicle system, even if a fault occurs in the transporting vehicle that obtained authorization to enter a certain node point, it is possible to avoid a situation where other transporting vehicles are not able to enter the node point and have nowhere to go resulting in being unable to travel through. 
     Additionally, in a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the route may include a main route, and a first route, wherein the first route branches off from the main route at one of the branch points, the main route includes a first one of the merge points that merges with a second route downstream of the one of the branch points; and the first route merges into the main route at a second one of the merge points downstream of the first one of the merge points. 
     According to a transporting vehicle system with such a configuration, even if the authorized entry into the first merge point is provided to one of the transporting vehicles and then a fault occurs in the one of the transporting vehicles, other transporting vehicles are able to go back to the main route again from the second merge point by diverting past the first merge point. Thus, if a destination is located farther on the downstream side than the second merge point, an object to be transported is able to be transported without changing the destination. 
     According to various preferred embodiments of the present invention, the number of transporting vehicles that become unable to travel is significantly reduced. 
     The above and other elements, features, steps, characteristics and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments with reference to the attached drawings. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a configuration diagram illustrating a configuration of a transporting vehicle system according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 2  is a functional block diagram illustrating a functional configuration of the transporting vehicle system of  FIG. 1 . 
         FIG. 3  is an explanatory diagram for describing an additional setting method of a prohibited travel zone according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 4  is an explanatory diagram for describing an additional setting method of a prohibited travel zone according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 5  is an explanatory diagram for describing an additional setting method of a prohibited travel zone according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 6  is a flowchart showing a setting method of a prohibited travel zone. 
         FIG. 7  is an explanatory diagram for describing an additional setting method of a prohibited travel zone according to an alternative preferred embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 8  is an explanatory diagram for describing an additional setting method of a prohibited travel zone according to an alternative preferred embodiment of the present invention. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     Preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described hereinafter with reference to the drawings. In the description of the drawings, the same reference signs are given to the same elements to omit duplicated explanation. The dimension ratio of the drawings does not always match each other. 
     A transporting vehicle system  1  is a system for transporting an object to be transported by using an overhead travelling vehicle (transporting vehicle)  5  that is able to move along a track (travelling route). Here, for example, a description will be given by taking as an example the transporting vehicle system  1  in a factory or the like in which the overhead travelling vehicle  5  travels along a one-way track that is installed on a ceiling of the factory or the like. As shown in  FIG. 1 , the transporting vehicle system  1  mainly includes a track  11 , a plurality of overhead travelling vehicles  5 , and a system controller  3 . 
     The track  11  is where the overhead travelling vehicle  5  travels along and is suspended from the ceiling, for example. As shown in  FIG. 1 , the track  11  on the transporting vehicle system  1  includes branch points (N 1 , N 2 , N 4 , N 5 ) and merge points (N 3 , N 6 , N 7 , N 8 ) which are node points, and zones between the node points (L 12 , L 13 , L 23 , L 24 , L 35 , L 46 , L 47 , L 56 , L 58 , L 67 , L 78 , L 81 ). Along the track  11 , stations which transfer the object to be transported (ST 1 , ST 2 , ST 3 , ST 4 , ST 5 ) are positioned. 
     The overhead travelling vehicle  5  is able to transfer a general article which is an object to be transported. The object to be transported includes, for example, a semiconductor wafer, a glass substrate, and a general component. Apart from a mechanism to transfer the object to be transported, the overhead travelling vehicle  5  includes, as shown in  FIG. 2 , a position acquirer  51  and a vehicle body controller  53 . 
     The position acquirer  51  acquires the position of the vehicle along the track  11 . The position acquirer  51  may include, for example, a reader that reads a barcode or the like showing point information on the track  11  and an encoder. The position acquirer  51  sends the point information, which is acquired by the reader, and a travel distance after passing through the point, which is acquired by the encoder, as position data to the system controller  3 . 
     The vehicle body controller  53  controls the travel of the overhead travelling vehicle  5 , and is an electronic controller including, for example, a CPU (Central Processing Unit), a ROM (Read Only Memory) and a RAM (Random Access Memory). When the vehicle body controller  53  reaches the front of one of the node points, it requests a transporting vehicle controller  49  mentioned later for authorization to enter the node point. A so-called blocking control performed by the transporting vehicle controller  49  will be detailed later. 
     The system controller  3  controls the overhead travelling vehicle  5  (Step of controlling a transporting vehicle). The system controller  3 , as shown in  FIG. 2 , includes an input interface  31 , a display  32 , a communicator  33  and a controller  40 . The input interface  31  includes, for example, a keyboard and a mouse, and a user inputs various operations and various setting values. The display  32  includes, for example, a liquid crystal display, and displays various setting screens and also displays input screens or the like that are entered from, for example, the input interface  31 . 
     The communicator  33  includes a processor that is configured or programmed to communicate with other devices or the like, and sends the overhead travelling vehicle  5  information on the station that the overhead travelling vehicle  5  should reach and information to control the vehicle body controller  53  and receives the present position of the overhead travelling vehicle  5  from the position acquirer  51  via a wireless communication network, for example. In addition, the communicator  33  receives a transport instruction including information of stations serving as a starting point and end point from a host controller, for example, via LAN (Local Area Network). 
     The controller  40  runs various control processes on the transporting vehicle system  1  (control methods of the transporting vehicle) which are detailed later, and includes, for example, a CPU, a ROM, a RAM and a hard disk. As shown in  FIG. 2 , the controller  40  is configured or programmed to include a receiver  41 , a fault determiner  43 , a prohibited travel zone setter  45 , an additional prohibited travel zone setter  47 , and a transporting vehicle controller  49  as conceptual elements or functional units that run various control processes on the transporting vehicle system  1 . Such a conceptual element or functional unit may be configured as software where a program stored in the ROM is loaded on the RAM and then executed by a CPU. Furthermore, the controller  40  may be configured as hardware by an electronic circuit or the like. 
     The receiver  41  receives a prohibited travel zone that is a zone where entry of the overhead travelling vehicle  5  is prohibited. The receiver  41  receives the zone to be set as a prohibited travel zone via the input interface  31  in the system controller  3 . For example, the receiver  41  receives an ID (identification) number of the zone that a user has inputted to the input interface  31 . 
     The fault determiner  43  determines that when one of the overhead travelling vehicles  5 , which has been authorized by the transporting vehicle controller  49  to enter one of the node points, does not reach the node point within the prescribed time, a fault has occurred in the overhead travelling vehicle  5 . The fault determiner  43  outputs the information about the occurrence of a fault to the prohibited travel zone setter  45  when fault determiner  43  determines that a fault has occurred in the overhead travelling vehicles  5 . 
     The prohibited travel zone setter  45  sets a prohibited travel zone that is a zone where entry of the overhead travelling vehicle  5  is prohibited (Step of setting a prohibited travel zone). The prohibited travel zone setter  45  sets the prohibited travel zone based on position information that is sent by the overhead travelling vehicle  5  determined by the fault determiner  43 . Moreover, the prohibited travel zone setter  45  sets the prohibited travel zone based on information that the receiver  41  has received. 
     The additional prohibited travel zone setter  47  extracts a prohibited travel zone according to the following Rules 1 and 2 from the track  11  located on the upstream side of the zone that has been set as a prohibited travel zone, and automatically additionally sets the prohibited travel zone (Step of additionally setting a prohibited travel zone). Rules 1 and 2 are described hereinafter with reference to  FIG. 3  to  FIG. 5 . 
     Rule 1: If a node point adjacent to the upstream side of the prohibited travel zone that has been set by the prohibited travel zone setter  45  is a merge point, all of the zones that merge into to the merge point are additionally set as prohibited travel zones. 
     Rule 2: If a node point adjacent to the upstream side of the prohibited travel zone that has been set by the prohibited travel zone setter  45  is a branch point and also all of the zones branching off from the branch point are prohibited travel zones, a zone on the upstream side adjacent to the branch point is additionally set as a prohibited travel zone. 
     Rule 1 is specifically described with reference to  FIG. 3 . For example, as shown in  FIG. 3 , the zone L 67  has been set as a prohibited travel zone by the prohibited travel zone setter  45 . At that time, a node point adjacent to the upstream side of the zone L 67  which has been set as a prohibited travel zone by the prohibited travel zone setter  45  is the merge point N 6 . In this case, Rule 1 is applied, and all of the zones that merge into the merge point N 6  (zones L 46  and L 56 ) are additionally set as prohibited travel zones. 
     Rule 2 is specifically described with reference to  FIG. 4 . For example, as shown in  FIG. 4 , the zone L 56  has been set as a prohibited travel zone by the prohibited travel zone setter  45 . At this time, a node point adjacent to the upstream side of the zone L 56  which has been set as a prohibited travel zone by the prohibited travel zone setter  45  is the branch point N 5 . In this case, whether or not all zones on the downstream side that branch off from the branch point N 5  (zones L 56  and L 58 ) are prohibited travel zones is confirmed. 
     If all zones branching off from the branch point N 5  (zones L 56  and L 58 ) are prohibited travel zones, Rule 2 is applied, and the zone L 35  on the upstream side adjacent to the branch point N 5  is additionally set as a prohibited travel zone. In a case shown in  FIG. 4 , the other zone branching off from the branch point (the zone L 58 ) is not a prohibited travel zone. Thus, Rule 2 is not applied, and a prohibited travel zone is not additionally set by the additional prohibited travel zone setter  47 . 
     On the other hand, as shown in  FIG. 5 , for example, if the zone L 58  has been set as a prohibited travel zone before setting the zone L 56  as a prohibited travel zone by the prohibited travel zone setter  45 , both zones branching off from the branch point (zones L 56  and L 58 ) become prohibited travel zones. Thus, Rule 2 is applied, and the zone L 35  on the upstream side adjacent to the branch point N 5  is additionally set as a prohibited travel zone. 
     Next, the additional prohibited travel zone setter  47  also additionally sets a prohibited travel zone according to Rules 1 and 2 for the track  11  located on the upstream side of the zone that has been additionally set as a prohibited travel zone by the additional prohibited travel zone setter  47 . As shown in  FIG. 5 , the zone L 35  is, as mentioned above, a zone that has been additionally set as a prohibited travel zone by the additional prohibited travel zone setter  47 . At this time, a node point adjacent to the upstream side of the zone L 35  that has been set as a prohibited travel zone by the prohibited travel zone setter  45  is the merge point N 3 . Thus, Rule 1 is applied, and all of the zones that merge into the merge point N 3  (zones L 13  and L 23 ) are additionally set as prohibited travel zones. 
     The transporting vehicle controller  49  controls the overhead travelling vehicle  5  to prevent the vehicle  5  from entering the prohibited travel zone that has been set by the prohibited travel zone setter  45  or the additional prohibited travel zone setter  47  (Step of controlling a transporting vehicle). Specifically, for example, if a prohibited travel zone is set on one of the zones branching off from a branch point, the transporting vehicle controller  49  does not authorize the entry of the overhead travelling vehicle  5  into the prohibited travel zone even if the target station is located in the prohibited travel zone. The transporting vehicle controller  49  controls the overhead travelling vehicle  5  so as to travel to another zone that is not a prohibited travel zone. 
     Additionally, if the transporting vehicle controller  49  authorizes one of the overhead travelling vehicles  5  to enter one of the node points, it controls other overhead travelling vehicles  5  so as not to enter the node point (Blocking control). Blocking control is hereinafter described in detail. 
     The transporting vehicle controller  49  stores one of the node points in association with an ID of an overhead travelling vehicle  5  which has been authorized to travel through the node point. Data where an ID of an overhead travelling vehicle  5  is associated with a node point is sometimes hereinafter referred to as blocking data. There are a plurality of node points that include branch points and merge points on the travelling route of the overhead travelling vehicle  5 , so that blocking data is stored for each node point. 
     If the vehicle body controller  53  in one of the overhead travelling vehicles  5  requests the authorized entry into one of the node points, the transporting vehicle controller  49  refers to the blocking data and confirms whether or not the authorized entry into the aforementioned node point is not given to other overhead travelling vehicles  5 . If there is no information on other overhead travelling vehicles  5  that are associated with the aforementioned node point in the blocking data, the transporting vehicle controller  49  provides entry authorization into the node point for the vehicle body controller  53  in the overhead travelling vehicle  5  and also updates the blocking information. If the overhead travelling vehicle  5 , that has been authorized to enter the node point, passes through the aforementioned node point, the transporting vehicle controller  49  deletes the blocking information for the aforementioned node point. 
     Next, setting control of a prohibited travel zone in the system controller  3  is described hereinafter with reference to  FIG. 6 . The receiver  41  receives information on a zone which is preferably set as a prohibited travel zone, or the fault determiner  43  determines a fault in the overhead travelling vehicle  5  and also identifies the position of the overhead travelling vehicle  5  where a fault has occurred, thus starting the setting control (Step S 1 ). 
     Specifically, the receiver  41  receives information which can identify a zone such as an ID of the zone that a user has inputted into the input interface  31 . In addition, when one of the overhead travelling vehicles  5 , which has been authorized by the transporting vehicle controller  49  to enter one of the node points does not reach the node point within the prescribed time, the fault determiner  43  determines that a fault has occurred in the overhead travelling vehicle  5 . 
     Next, the prohibited travel zone setter  45  sets a zone, which the receiver  41  has received, or a zone, which the fault determiner  43  has identified, as a prohibited travel zone (Step S 2 : Step of setting a prohibited travel zone). The transporting vehicle controller  49  controls the vehicle body controller  53  to prevent the overhead travelling vehicle  5  from entering the zone set as a prohibited travel zone. 
     Next, the additional prohibited travel zone setter  47  extracts a zone to be a prohibited travel zone according to the prescribed rules (preferably Rules 1 and 2 described above) from the track  11  that is located on the upstream side of the zone set as a prohibited travel zone by the prohibited travel zone setter  45 , and additionally sets the extracted zone as a prohibited travel zone (refer to the description above for Rules 1 and 2). First, the additional prohibited travel zone setter  47  considers whether or not Rule 1 can be applied (Step S 3 ). Specifically, it determines whether or not a node point adjacent to the upstream side of the prohibited travel zone set by the prohibited travel zone setter  45  is a merge point. 
     Here, if the additional prohibited travel zone setter  47  has determined that the aforementioned node point is a merge point (S 3 : YES), the additional prohibited travel zone setter  47  additionally sets all of the zones that merge into the merge point as prohibited travel zones (Step S 5 ). On the other hand, if the additional prohibited travel zone setter  47  has determined that the aforementioned node point is not a merge point (S 3 : NO), the additional prohibited travel zone setter  47  considers whether or not Rule 2 is applicable (Step S 4 ). Specifically, it determines whether or not a node point adjacent to the upstream side of the prohibited travel zone set by the prohibited travel zone setter  45  is a branch point. 
     Here, the additional prohibited travel zone setter  47  has determined that the aforementioned node point is a branch point and also all of the zones branching off from the branch point are prohibited travel zones (S 4 : YES), the additional prohibited travel zone setter  47  additionally sets a zone on the upstream side adjacent to the branch point as a prohibited travel zone (Step S 5 : Step of additionally setting a prohibited travel zone). On the other hand, if the additional prohibited travel zone setter  47  has determined that the aforementioned node point is a branch point and all of the zones branching off from the branch point are not prohibited travel zones (S 4 : NO), the additional prohibited travel zone setter  47  terminates a series of processes without additionally setting a new zone as a prohibited travel zone. 
     Additional setting of a prohibited travel zone by the additional prohibited travel zone setter  47  in Steps S 3  and S 4  is performed in a similar method for the zone additionally set by the additional prohibited travel zone setter  47  in Step S 5 . That is, regardless of whether a prohibited travel zone is set initially or additionally, if a new zone is set as a prohibited travel zone, whether or not there is a zone to be added as a prohibited travel zone for the newly set prohibited travel zone is determined. 
     According to the transporting vehicle system  1  of the present preferred embodiment, a zone, where the overhead travel vehicle  5  with a fault having occurred stops, or a zone, where a user has arbitrarily inputted, is not only set as a prohibited travel zone, but also a prohibited travel zone is automatically additionally set according to Rules 1 and 2. The overhead travelling vehicle  5  is controlled so as not to enter the prohibited travel zone additionally set according to Rules 1 and 2, so that a situation where there is only a prohibited travel zone located on the downstream side in the travel direction of the overhead travelling vehicle  5 , that is, a situation where the overhead travelling vehicle  5  gets caught in a dead end, in which it has nowhere to go resulting in being unable to travel, is avoided. As a result, the number of overhead travelling vehicles  5  that become unable to travel is significantly reduced. That is, it is possible to prevent the decline in transporting efficiency of the entire transporting vehicle system  1  arising from the increased number of overhead travelling vehicles  5  that become unable to travel. 
     In the transporting vehicle system  1  of the present preferred embodiment, if the transporting vehicle controller  49  authorizes the overhead travelling vehicle  5 , which requests authorized entry to a node point, to enter the aforementioned node point, it performs blocking control where the authorized entry into the node point is not provided to other overhead travelling vehicles  5 . This prevents two or more overhead travelling vehicles  5  from colliding with each other at the node point. 
     In the transporting vehicle system  1  of the present preferred embodiment, if the overhead travelling vehicles  5 , which has been authorized by the transporting vehicle controller  49  to enter the node points, does not reach the node point within the prescribed time, the fault determiner  43  determines that a fault has occurred in the overhead travelling vehicle  5 . According to the transporting vehicle system  1  with such a configuration, a fault in the overhead travelling vehicle  5  is able to be detected with a simple configuration without newly installing a detection unit such as a sensor to detect a fault in the overhead travelling vehicle  5   
     In the transporting vehicle system  1  of the present preferred embodiment, the track  11  includes a first route including the first zone L 47 , which branches off at the first branch point N 4  from a main route including zones L 12 , L 24 , L 46 , L 67 , L 78  and L 81 . The main route includes the first merge point N 6  that is a merge point with a second route including the second zone L 56  on the downstream side of the first branch point N 4 , and the first zone merges into the main route at the second merge point N 7  on the downstream side of the first merge point. According to the transporting vehicle system  1  with such a configuration, even if one of the overhead travelling vehicles  5  has been authorized to enter the first merge point N 6  and a fault has occurred in the aforementioned overhead travelling vehicle  5 , other overhead travelling vehicles  5  divert past the first merge point N 6  (via the first zone L 47 ) and return the main route again from the second merge point N 7 . Thus, if a destination is located farther on the downstream side than the second merge point N 7  (for example, the station ST  5 ), an object to be transported is able to be transported without changing the destination. 
     Although one preferred embodiment of the present invention has been described above, the present invention is not limited to the aforementioned preferred embodiment, and various modifications can be made in a range not deviating from the gist of the present invention. 
     First Alternative Preferred Embodiment 
     In the transporting vehicle system  1  of the aforementioned preferred embodiment, the description has been made by giving the non-limiting example where a zone which is to be a prohibited travel zone is additionally set according to Rules 1 and 2, however the present invention is not limited to this. For example, in addition to a configuration in which the additional prohibited travel zone setter  47  additionally sets a prohibited travel zone according to Rules 1 and 2, a transporting vehicle system  101  may have a configuration in which when the fault determiner  43  detects a fault in the overhead travelling vehicle  5  that has been authorized by the transporting vehicle controller  49  to enter a node point, the additional prohibited travel zone setter  47  also additionally sets a zone, which is adjacent to the node point where the entry has been authorized, as a prohibited travel zone. 
     A specific description will be made with reference to  FIG. 7  by giving the example in which a subsequent one of the overhead travelling vehicles  5  travelling on the zone L 56  has requested the transporting vehicle controller  49  for authorization to enter the merge point N 6 , a fault has occurred on the zone L 56 . If the transporting vehicle controller  49  confirms that there is no blocking data registered for the merge point N 6 , it authorizes the overhead travelling vehicle  5  to enter the merge point N 6 . Subsequently, the transporting vehicle controller  49  registers blocking data for the merge point N 6 . 
     In this state, if the fault determiner  43  detects a fault in the overhead travelling vehicle  5 , which has been authorized by the transporting vehicle controller  49  to enter the merge point N 6 , the additional prohibited travel zone setter  47  additionally sets zones L 46  and L 67 , which are adjacent to the merge point N 6  where the entry was authorized, as prohibited travel zones. 
     Here, if a fault occurs in the overhead travelling vehicle  5  while having obtained authorization to enter the merge point N 6 , other overhead travelling vehicles  5  are not authorized to enter the merge point N 6 . This is because that blocking data has been registered for the merge point N 6 . According to the transporting vehicle system  101  of this preferred embodiment, the zone L 46  is also additionally set as a prohibited travel zone, so that it is possible to prevent a situation where other overhead travelling vehicles  5  enter the zone L 46 , but are unable to enter the merge point N 6  resulting in getting caught in a dead end. That is, as shown in the aforementioned preferred embodiment, it is possible to prevent subsequent overhead travelling vehicles  5  from getting caught in a so-called dead end, not only in a situation, where the overhead travelling vehicle  5  in which a fault has occurred blocks the track resulting in the subsequent overhead travelling vehicles  5  being physically unable to travel through, but also in a situation, where the subsequent overhead travelling vehicles  5  are physically able to travel, but are controlled so as not to travel through as described in the aforementioned blocking control. 
     Next, a concrete description will be made with reference to  FIG. 8  by giving the example where subsequent to one of the overhead travelling vehicles  5  travelling on the zone L 35  has requested the transporting vehicle controller  49  for authorization to enter the branch point N 5  and the merge point N 6 , a fault has occurred on the zone L 35 . If the transporting vehicle controller  49  confirms that there is no blocking data registered for the branch point N 5  and the merge point N 6 , it authorizes the overhead travelling vehicle  5  to enter the branch point N 5  and the merge point N 6 . Subsequently, the transporting vehicle controller  49  registers blocking data for the branch point N 5  and the merge point N 6 . 
     In this state, if the fault determiner  43  detects a fault in the overhead travelling vehicle  5 , which has been authorized by the transporting vehicle controller  49  to enter the branch point N 5  and the merge point N 6 , the prohibited travel zone setter  45  sets the zone L 35  as a prohibited travel zone based on position information that is sent by the overhead travelling vehicle  5  determined by the fault determiner  43 . Next, the additional prohibited travel zone setter  47  additionally sets the zones L 13  and L 23  as prohibited travel zones according to Rule 1 from the track  11  located on the upstream side of the zone L 35 . Furthermore, the additional prohibited travel zone setter  47  additionally sets the zones L 58  and L 56 , which are adjacent to the branch point N 5  where the entry has been authorized, and the zones L 46  and L 67 , which are adjacent to the merge point N 6 , as prohibited travel zones. 
     Here, if a fault occurs in the overhead travelling vehicle  5  while having obtained authorization to enter the branch point N 5  and the merge point N 6 , other overhead travelling vehicles  5  are not authorized to enter the branch point N 5  and the merge point N 6 . This is because that blocking data has been registered for the branch point N 5  and the merge point N 6 . According to the transporting vehicle system  101  of this preferred embodiment, the zone  35 , where the overhead traveling vehicle  5  with a fault having occurred stops, is not only set as a prohibited travel zone, but also the zones L 13  and L 23  are automatically additionally set as prohibited travel zones according to the aforementioned Rule 1. Thus, a situation where there is only a prohibited travel zone located on the downstream side in the travel direction of the overhead travelling vehicle  5 , that is, a situation where the overhead travelling vehicle  5  gets caught in a dead end, in which it has nowhere to go resulting in being unable to travel, is able to be avoided. According to the transporting vehicle system  101  of this preferred embodiment, the zone L 46  is also additionally set as a prohibited travel zone, so that it is possible to prevent a situation where other overhead travelling vehicles  5  enter the zone L 46 , but are unable to enter the merge point N 6  resulting in getting caught in a dead end. That is, it is possible to prevent subsequent overhead travelling vehicles  5  from getting caught in a so-called dead end, not only in a situation where the overhead travelling vehicle  5  in which a fault has occurred blocks the track resulting in the subsequent overhead travelling vehicles  5  being physically unable to travel through, but also in a situation where the subsequent overhead travelling vehicles  5  are physically able to travel, but are controlled so as not to travel through as described in the aforementioned blocking control. 
     Additionally, in the transporting vehicle system.  101  of the aforementioned alternative preferred embodiment, the description has been made by giving the example of a method where block data is set for each node point, however blocking data may be set for each zone, for example. In this case, the transporting vehicle controller  49  stores both node points, which include a node point on the entrance side of a zone and a node point on the exit side of the zone, in association with an ID of the overhead travelling vehicle  5  to which travel authorization has been provided. For example, as shown in  FIG. 7 , if the transporting vehicle controller  49  authorizes the overhead travelling vehicle  5  to enter from the zone L 35  to the zone L 56 , the transporting vehicle controller  49  stores the branch point N 5 , which is on the entrance side of the zone L 35 , and the merge point N 6 , which is on the exit side of the zone L 56 , in association with an ID of the overhead travelling vehicle  5 , to which travel authorization has been provided. 
     Even if such a blocking control is performed, as is the case with the transporting vehicle system  101  according to the aforementioned alternative preferred embodiments, the additional prohibited travel zone setter  47  is also able to additionally set a zone adjacent to the node point, where the entry has been authorized, as a prohibited travel zone, thus being able to obtain effects similar to the transporting vehicle system  101  according to the aforementioned alternative preferred embodiments. 
     Other Alternative Preferred Embodiments 
     In the transporting vehicle systems  1 ,  101  of the aforementioned preferred embodiments and alternative preferred embodiments, the description has been made by describing the overhead travelling vehicle  5  as one example of the transporting vehicle, however other examples of the transporting vehicle include an unmanned transporting vehicle and a stacker crane which travel on a track installed on the ground or a frame, for example. 
     While preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described above, it is to be understood that variations and modifications will be apparent to those skilled in the art without departing from the scope and spirit of the present invention. The scope of the present invention, therefore, is to be determined solely by the following claims.