JPH0412841B2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention relates to an optically guided moving vehicle control equipment for automatically driving a moving vehicle used for transporting goods, etc. A sensor for detecting travel control information from a guidance line for guiding the vehicle is provided on the mobile vehicle side, and travel control means is provided for automatically traveling the mobile vehicle along the travel route based on the information detected by the sensor. Relating to optically guided mobile vehicle control equipment.

[Conventional technology]

In such optically guided mobile vehicle control equipment,
The moving vehicle is redirected and controlled so as to automatically travel along the traveling route based on the detection result of travel control information from the guide line that guides the traveling route by a sensor provided on the moving vehicle side.

Conventionally, when configuring the guide line,
For example, by installing light-reflecting tape along the running path,
An optical sensor installed on the moving vehicle side reads the reflected light from the light-reflecting tape, and the traveling of the moving vehicle is controlled based on the read information. Alternatively, an electromagnetic induction wire may be provided along the running path, and a pickup coil serving as a sensor provided on the moving vehicle side may detect the induced electromagnetic waves from the electromagnetic induction wire, and the traveling of the moving vehicle may be controlled based on the guidance information. was under control.

The quality of the guidance lines that allow the vehicle to automatically travel along the route is checked by a person visually moving along the installed guidance lines, or by a sensor that detects guidance information. If a malfunction occurs or abnormal information is detected, a warning light, etc. will be installed on the moving vehicle to notify of the occurrence of an abnormality.
Based on the operation of this warning light, each part was checked manually to determine whether the guide line was good or not.

[Problem that the invention seeks to solve]

According to the above-mentioned conventional means, since the quality of the guidance information is artificially determined, when the driving route is long, not only does it take a lot of time and effort to determine the quality of the guidance information, but also defective areas may be Sometimes things are overlooked. In addition, even if there are defects that would not pose a problem when checked manually, there are also defects in which the sensor does not operate properly, making it impossible to accurately detect the location of the defect in the guidance information.

The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to enable reliable and automatic detection of defective positions in guidance information on a travel route.

[Means for solving problems]

The characteristic configuration of the optically guided mobile vehicle control equipment according to the present invention includes a detection information quality determining means for determining whether the information detected by the sensor is good or bad, a traveling road position detecting means for detecting position information of the traveling route, and a traveling road position detecting means for detecting position information of the traveling route, and The present invention is characterized in that a defective information storage means is provided which stores the defective information in correspondence with the position information of the traveling route when a defective detection information is detected by the means, and its effects are as follows. .

[Effect]

That is, when a defect occurs in the information detected by the sensor while the vehicle is traveling, the defect information is stored in correspondence with the position information of the traveling route.

〔Effect of the invention〕

Therefore, by reading out the stored defect information together with the information corresponding to the location of the defect on the traveling route, it is possible to accurately check not only whether or not a defect has occurred in the guide line, but also the location where the defect has occurred. Therefore, defective parts can be easily repaired. In the end, we have achieved an optical vehicle guidance system that has great practical advantages as a whole.

〔Example〕

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below based on the drawings.

As shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, a mobile vehicle A is provided with a loading platform 1 that can be driven up and down, and a plurality of load transfer stations ST are located on the lateral side of the traveling path of the mobile vehicle. The mobile vehicle A is provided so as to transport various loads while traveling between stations.

The mobile vehicle A is configured by providing a pair of left and right propulsion wheels 2 that can be independently driven by a pair of electric motors M, and a pair of left and right caster type idle wheels 3 provided at the front and rear ends of the vehicle body. The electric motors M
The structure is such that the gears are changed and the gears are redirected.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 5, a light reflective tape 4 for configuring a vehicle guiding line is provided on the traveling road surface, and the vehicle A is directed so as to automatically travel along the light reflective tape 4. Control means are provided to allow the mobile vehicle A to travel automatically between stations. The redirection control means is composed of a light emitter 5 that emits light toward the light reflective tape 4 and a light sensor 6 configured as an image sensor for reading traveling control information from the light reflective tape 4. Tape detection units S _F and S _R are provided below the front and rear ends of the mobile vehicle A, and a travel control device H includes a host controller 7, an image processing controller 8, and a digital servo controller 9.
An encoder e provided on the moving vehicle and attached to both electric motors M is connected to a digital servo controller 9, and the digital servo controller 9 is connected to a servo amplifier 10 for both electric motors M. The image processing controller 8 is configured to change the speed of both electric motors M in order to make the amount of lateral deviation of the vehicle body relative to the light reflective tape 4 zero.

It should be noted that of the two detection units S _F and _SR , the one on the front side is selectively used when the vehicle is moving forward, and the one on the rear side is selectively used when the vehicle is moving backward.

Also, the stop position of the mobile vehicle A with respect to the station ST, the branch start position at the intersection, and
Marks m ₁ , m ₂ , m ₃ that display travel control commands such as a deceleration travel start position, and a mark -mx that displays a travel address as travel position information are attached to the reflective tape 4, and In order to be able to transmit various information such as destination data and turning data from the ground side to the moving vehicle side, and to be able to transmit various information such as station arrival data and intersection arrival data from the moving vehicle side to the ground side, Optical communication devices 11 and 1 consisting of an infrared emitter a and an infrared receiver b
2 are provided on the moving vehicle side, the station section on the ground side, and the intersection section, and the moving vehicle side optical communication device 11 is provided as the host controller 7, and the ground side optical communication device 12 is provided as the central control device on the ground side. Then, based on various information such as information input to the central control device V and information stored in advance, the moving vehicle A automatically travels to a desired station ST while branching at the intersection. It has been made possible to do so.

In other words, the optical sensor 6 detects travel control command information by reading marks together with redirection control information derived from a tape detection section located at the front in the traveling direction, and the image processing controller 8 transmits mark discrimination signals to the host controller. The host controller 7 transmits traveling speed information, turning information, forward and backward movement information, etc. to the digital servo controller 9, and the digital servo controller 9 transmits the selection information section of the detection section to be used to the image processing controller 8. Furthermore, the digital servo controller 9 transmits information on whether or not it is running to the host controller 7,
The travel control of the moving vehicle A is performed while exchanging information between the vehicle A and the vehicle A. However, each station ST is provided with a command information input section for the central control device V, and the mobile vehicle A is provided with an information input section for the host controller 7.

To further explain the above-mentioned travel control operation, when a travel command such as destination data is transmitted to the moving vehicle A, the optical sensor 6 starts capturing an image and measures the amount of deviation of the light reflective tape 4 from the center. The redirection control is performed accordingly, and then the control command mark
Depending on the reading of m ₁ , m ₂ , m ₃ , and mx, the vehicle will be required to diverge at intersections, decelerate near the station, stop temporarily at station ST, etc., and confirm the travel route position (travel address). Become. In addition, when starting image capture, if there is no light reflective tape 4 (including when there are no control instruction marks m ₁ to m ₃ , mx), an emergency stop is made to increase safety. Also, the mobile vehicle A will be driven only when there is a start command (power ON signal for the mobile vehicle to run).

Furthermore, to explain the above-mentioned branching, as the moving vehicle A arrives near the intersection, the turning pattern is transmitted to the moving vehicle A by the optical communication devices 11 and 12, and based on the turning pattern, the traveling speed, steering The vehicle will be driven while determining the amount, etc.

To further explain the digital servo controller ₉ , as shown in FIG.
Based on the information transmitted via m ₃ , mx and the optical communication devices 11 and 12, the host controller 7
The position information of the travel route commanded by the encoder e, and the two-phase pulse signals Pa and Pb output from the encoder e.
Based on the deviation from the detected position information of the mobile vehicle A detected via the position data acquisition means 9G,
The position deviation calculation means 9A calculates the position deviation, and based on the position deviation Kp, the position gain calculation means 9B calculates the position gain Kp, and then calculates the target speed Vi. Then, the actual traveling speed detected by the speed feedback calculation means 9F based on the signal from the encoder e as described above.
The deviation Ve between Vf and the command information of the target speed Vi is calculated by the speed deviation calculation means 9C, and then the proportional control gain Gp and the integral control gain Gi are compensated for by the proportional compensation means 9D and integral compensation, respectively. Means 9E
Calculate by. After that, the D/A converter 9
It is configured to convert the signal into an analog voltage using H and output it to the servo amplifier 10 as a drive signal for the electric motor M.

The servo amplifier 10 is provided with a current feedback loop therein so that it can control the power output to the electric motor M by itself.

By performing feedback control on both the traveling speed and position of mobile vehicle A as a whole, the speed and position at the time of starting, stopping, etc. are controlled with high precision.

Although a description of the above control operation has been omitted, each moving vehicle A is given a machine number in advance, and the current position of each moving vehicle A is transmitted together with the machine number by the optical communication devices 11 and 12. The information is transmitted to the central control device V, and the entire mass moving vehicle A is monitored by the central control device V. Furthermore, when a plurality of moving vehicles A arrive at one merging intersection, a collision is avoided while giving start/stop commands to the moving vehicles A using the optical communication devices 11 and 12.

Although the light-reflecting tape 4 and the control instruction marks m ₁ , m ₂ , m ₃ , and mx attached thereto are not shown, the light-reflecting tape 4 is placed on both sides of a white part with a high light reflectance and a white part with a low light reflectance. Each mark m ₁ to _{m 3} , mx is guided by arranging a white part as a strip-shaped part with high light reflectance and a black part as a strip-shaped part with low light reflectance. It is formed into parallel stripes along the longitudinal direction of the path. However, each mark
In order to be able to measure the tape center even while passing through the installation points of m ₁ to m ₃ and mx, the center between the lateral outer edges of the white part located on both ends in the tape width direction is aligned with the tape sensor. be.

In other words, the image processing controller 8 calculates the amount of lateral deviation of the vehicle body with respect to the light reflective tape 4 based on the lateral outer edges of the white part on both ends in the tape width direction in the captured image and the tape center stored in advance. At the same time, each mark is identified by so-called pattern recognition, which compares and discriminates the captured image with a pre-stored reference pattern for mark reading.
m ₁ to m ₃ and mx are determined. Then, it determines whether the information read at that time is good or bad and detects defective information. For example, if the light reflective tape 4 is damaged or dirty and cannot be read normally, the defective information is transmitted to the host controller. 7, and also serves as means for determining whether the guide line is good or bad.

Hereinafter, the means for storing the detection failure information will be explained based on the flowchart shown in FIG. 3 and the explanatory diagram shown in FIG. 4.

That is, when defect information is detected by the guide line quality determination means, the control information from the optical communication devices 11 and 12 and the travel address mark are detected.
The route map table pre-stored in a predetermined storage area of the storage device (not shown) in the host controller 7 is referred to in correspondence with the travel route position information set based on the route position information Rn. The defect information is sequentially stored in the defect information storage table in a format corresponding to the following.

For example, while traveling at high speed in the section of the first address _R1 , an error in reading the light reflective tape 4 occurs, and an error in reading the branch mark _m2 occurs in the section of the second address _R2 . In such a case, the error, that is, the defective tape information is automatically stored in the defective information storage table in sequence along with the addresses R ₁ and R ₂ .

Therefore, by reading out the defect information stored in the defect information storage table, it is possible to easily and accurately know the location of the travel road where the defect information has occurred.

[Another example]

Next, another example will be described.

The tape detecting sections S _F and S _R are configured so that one optical sensor 6 selectively reads the light reception information from both the front and rear detecting sections S _F and S _R , or the light emitting section The light from 5 may be selectively projected.

In order to make mobile vehicle A run automatically, the specific means for each part may vary depending on the location of use, such as making the signal transmission and reception between mobile vehicle A and central control device V by guided radio system. Can be changed.

In addition, when configuring the mobile vehicle A, the specific configuration for redirection and the attached equipment for work are as follows:
Various changes can be made depending on the purpose of use, etc.

Further, as the optical sensor 6, a CCD camera is generally used, but a sensor having other configurations may also be used. For example, a camera equipped with an image pickup tube may be used, and a scanner unit that scans a laser beam in the width direction of the optical guide path and receives the reflected light, and processes signals from this scanner unit, A barcode reader equipped with a decoder section that outputs redirection control information or traveling control command information may be used. In this case, the redirection control information is provided with an angle sensor that detects the phase of a swinging or rotating mirror that scans the laser beam, and a pre-memorized mirror when the vehicle runs in the center of the guidance line. It is calculated based on the angle information and the detected mirror angle information.

In addition to the control instruction marks m ₁ , m ₂ , m ₃ , and mx described in the above embodiment, control instruction marks m 1 , m 2 , m 3 , and mx may be placed at set intervals in the direction of the travel route in order to detect the amount of movement of the vehicle along the travel route. Various types of counting marks can be considered, such as juxtaposed counting marks. In addition, in the above embodiment, the case where the amount of lateral deviation from the tape center can be calculated and determined from the mark reading image, that is, the case where redirection control is performed also when traveling at the mark installation location was exemplified. It may also be implemented in a form in which redirection control is not performed when the car is running, and in that case, the mark form can be changed in various ways. Further, the travel route position information may be obtained by reading the count mark instead of the information from the travel address mark mx. Furthermore, position detection data from the encoder e may be used.

Furthermore, even when an electromagnetic induction towpath wire is used in place of the light reflective tape 4 to construct the guide line, the occurrence of a defect in the control information from this wire can be handled in the same manner as described above to correspond to the travel path position information. It can be stored, and the configuration of the guide line can be changed in various ways.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

The drawings show an embodiment of the optically guided mobile vehicle control equipment according to the present invention, and FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the specific configuration of the travel control, FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the digital servo controller, and FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the digital servo controller. 4 is an explanatory diagram of storage of defective information, FIG. 5 is a schematic plan view showing a travel route, and FIG. 6 is a schematic side view of the moving vehicle. 4... Guidance line, 6... Sensor, A... Moving vehicle.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A sensor 6 for detecting travel control information from a guide line 4 for guiding the mobile vehicle A along the traveling route is provided on the mobile vehicle side, and based on the detection information of the sensor 6, the mobile vehicle A is guided along the travel path. Optical guided mobile vehicle control equipment equipped with a travel control means for automatically traveling along a road, and a detection information quality determination means for determining whether the information detected by the sensor 6 is quality;
a traveling road position detection means for detecting positional information of the traveling route; and a malfunction that stores the defective information in correspondence with the positional information of the traveling route when a defective detection information is detected by the discriminating means. Optically guided mobile vehicle control equipment equipped with information storage means.