Patent ID: 8639380

Claim:
A control system for carriers that are movable in a network of guideways to automatically carry loads from entrance stations to exit stations along said guideways, wherein said network includes convergent Y-junctions in each of which first and second entrance guideways merge into an exit guideway, said control system comprising: monitoring means for monitoring carriers moving along said guideways to develop speed data that is related to the speeds of said carriers, said monitoring means including processor means operative for periodically determining from said speed data arrival data that includes the expected times of arrival at a merge point of a convergent Y-junction of carriers that are moving along said first and second entrance guideways of said convergent Y-junction and that are within a certain distance behind said merge point, said monitoring means including means for temporarily storing said arrival data when so determined, and said processor means being operative to develop comparison data from comparisons of arrival data currently determined as to carriers moving along one of said entrance guideways with arrival data previously obtained and stored as to carriers moving along the other of said entrance guideways, and said processor means being operative to develop from said comparison data deceleration data usable to so decelerate each carrier moving along said one of said entrance guideways as may be required to avoid eventual collision with any carrier moving on the other of said entrance guideways, and control means for applying said deceleration data to decelerate the corresponding carrier moving along said one of said entrance guideways.