JPH0339615B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION (Field of Industrial Application) The present invention relates to a device for emitting a light beam such as a laser beam, and is used for guiding the running of an unmanned vehicle.

(Prior art) In general, as a light beam emitting device for guiding an unmanned vehicle, a laser beam etc. generated from a light source is emitted into a slit-shaped wide parallel beam using a projection mechanism using a combination of lenses, as disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 60-17504. There was something shining on my driving path.

(Problems to be Solved by the Invention) The above-mentioned conventional technology has the disadvantage that it cannot produce perfectly parallel light beams unless the precision of the lens is high, and that the light is diffused. However, due to the size of the lens or space constraints, there is a limit to the width of the light.

(Embodiment) The present invention solves such problems, and the embodiment thereof will be explained below with reference to the drawings. 1 is a light beam emitting device, a light source 2 that generates a He-Ne gas laser, and a column in front of it. A prism 301 provided at the bottom of the support column 3, a prism 302 provided at the top of the support column 3, a prism 303 provided at the center of rotation of the rotating plate 4 behind it, and a firing section provided near the outer periphery of the rotating plate 4. The main configuration is a prism 304 as a. Prisms 301 and 302 are fixed to the front of the pedestal 5 and reflect the laser beam generated from the light source 2 via the expander 6 upward and backward. The prism 303 reflects the laser beam reflected by the prism 302 to the prism 304 on the outer periphery, and the prism 304 emits the laser beam forward so as to be approximately parallel to the road surface, and rotates with the rotating plate 4 to form a cylinder according to the rotation radius. shaped beam B
The vehicle will be launched after forming a travel path.
Reference numeral 8 denotes a drive motor, which is provided on the upper part of the pedestal 5 and has a rotating shaft connected to the center of the rotary plate 4.

In this embodiment, the rotating plate 4 is used as the rotating body, but a rotating arm may also be used, and prisms 303 and 304 may be provided at the center of rotation and at the tip of the arm. In addition, the laser beam generated from the light source 2 is expanded to a diameter of 20 mm by the expander 6 to become a substantially parallel beam (strictly speaking, it is focused at 500 m ahead, but it is better to use up to 200 m ahead, depending on the situation) (The focusing distance should be long; in any case, there will be no diffusion.)

On the other hand, 20 is an unmanned vehicle, which has a front wheel 21 controlled by a running motor 30 and a steering motor 31, and a pair of driven rear wheels 22, and a light receiving section 24 for straight-line control at the front of the vehicle body 23. It is provided.

The light receiving section 24 has a pair of left and right light receiving elements 25, 26 such as phototransistors arranged side by side, so that when the vehicle body 23 deviates from the traveling route and the laser beam B hits the left or right elements 25, 26, the vehicle returns to the traveling route. Steering control of the front wheels 21 is performed.

In addition, light receiving sections 70 and 71 are provided on the sides of the unmanned vehicle 20 to receive optical signals for turning left and right and for stopping, and in front of the unmanned vehicle 20 there is an ultrasonic sensor 72 and a transmitting section that temporarily stop the vehicle when an obstacle is detected. is provided.

Further, based on the detection signals of the respective light receiving sections 24, 70, 71 and the ultrasonic sensor 72, the unmanned vehicle 20
a travel motor 30 for steering, running, and stopping the
A microcomputer 32 is mounted to output a control signal to the steering motor 31. The control priorities are: 1. Obstacle, 2. Stop signal, 3. Turn signal, and 4. Go straight ahead.

Further, light receiving elements 27 and 28 for confirming the reception of the laser beam are vertically installed above and below the light receiving section 24, and detect whether or not the vehicle body 23 has deviated from the traveling route.

Next, the operation of the present invention will be explained. In the light beam emitting device 1, when the driving motor 8 is driven to rotate the rotary plate 4, the laser beam generated from the light source 2 is transmitted to the expander 6, the prism 30, etc.
The rotating prism 303,3 via 1,302
04, and is emitted from the emitting device 1 through the prism 304 into a cylindrical shape substantially parallel to the road surface.

Thus, the unmanned vehicle 20 travels following the travel guidance signal from the cylindrical beam B, but as shown in FIG. , both elements do not receive light and the vehicle travels without any steering control being performed (when the light receiving elements 27 and 28 for confirming light reception receive light, a detection signal is sent to the microcomputer 32, and the unmanned vehicle 20 It can be seen that the vehicle follows the travel guidance signal from the shaped beam B).

As the traveling continues, when the traveling direction shifts and the light receiving element 26 receives the cylindrical beam B as shown in FIG. 5, the microcomputer 3
2, the steering motor 31 is activated, and the trajectory is corrected by steering the vehicle body 23 in the direction of the arrow (FIG. 5) until the light receiving element 26 no longer receives light.

Further, when the light receiving element 25 receives the cylindrical beam B as shown in FIG. 6, the steering motor 31 is similarly activated, and the vehicle body
3 in the direction of the arrow (Fig. 6).

Furthermore, when the light receiving elements 25 and 26 deviate from the cylindrical beam B as shown in FIG.
7 and 28 are blocked, the unmanned vehicle 20 may be stopped based on this detection.

Note that the tracking accuracy of the unmanned vehicle 20 can be improved by arbitrarily selecting the diameter of the cylindrical beam B by changing the distance between the prisms 303 and 304, and by arbitrarily selecting the distance between the left and right light receiving elements 25 and 26. Can be selected arbitrarily. In addition, most of the time during straight-line control, the light-receiving element for straight-line control exists within the cylindrical beam, so the light-receiving element does not need to operate at this time, and there is no need to send a detection signal, so it is necessary to perform steering control in small steps. There is no.

In addition to the laser beam, other light beams such as infrared rays may be used as the light beam.

(Effects of the Invention) As described above, according to the present invention, a light source such as a laser beam or infrared rays and a reflecting prism are provided on the pedestal,
A rotating body is installed on the top of the mount, and the rotating body is equipped with a firing prism that emits a beam parallel to the road surface. When the rotating body rotates, the firing prism rotates with a constant diameter, which creates a cylindrical beam. formed,
This cylindrical beam is used as a travel guidance signal for an unmanned vehicle having a light receiving section.The light beam emitting device has the following effects.

(a) Regardless of the distance of the light beam from the emitting device,
A beam of uniform dimensions that is approximately parallel to the road surface without scattering can be obtained even at a remote location, allowing accurate control of the unmanned vehicle even when the unmanned vehicle moves up and down due to uneven roads or when driving at a remote location. can.

(b) By selecting the diameter of the light beam or the mounting distance of the light-receiving part, it is possible to accurately receive light even when the unmanned vehicle shakes sideways, and in combination with vertical movement, it can sufficiently withstand driving on rough roads.

(c) The emission position (ground height) of the light beam can be selected arbitrarily, and it can be emitted within a range that does not hit people's eyes.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

Fig. 1 is a side view showing the entire invention, Fig. 2 is a front view of the launcher, Fig. 3 is a front view of the main parts of the unmanned vehicle, Fig. 4 is a control block diagram of the unmanned vehicle, and Fig. 5. ,
FIGS. 6 and 7 are operating state diagrams. 1... Launcher, 301, 302, 303...
Prism, 304... Prism (launching part), B...
...Cylindrical beam (travel path).

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1 A light source such as a laser beam or infrared rays and a reflective prism are installed on the mount, and a rotating body is installed on the top of the mount.
The rotating body is equipped with a firing prism that emits a beam parallel to the road surface. When the rotating body rotates, the firing prism rotates with a constant diameter to form a cylindrical beam, and this cylindrical beam receives light. A light beam emitting device characterized in that it is used as a travel guidance signal for an unmanned vehicle having a part.