JPS593768B2 - Self-driving car driving control system - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a travel control device for an optically guided self-propelled vehicle, and particularly to a control device suitable for traveling on branch roads.

When driving on a branch road with a conventional optically guided self-propelled vehicle,
The steering angle of the steering wheel of the self-propelled vehicle is forcibly set according to the branching direction such as going straight, turning right, turning left, etc., and the self-propelled vehicle is driven, and guidance control using a photodetector is not performed.

Therefore, not only is the running performance of a self-propelled vehicle in a branching section poor, but also if the branching road is curved and there are multiple branching roads with different curvatures, it is necessary to forcefully set multiple pieces of steering angle information. Must be prepared.

Additionally, there are drawbacks such as self-propelled vehicles meandering around the entrances and exits of branching roads. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide a travel control device for a self-propelled vehicle that can guide the self-propelled vehicle onto a branch road using a signal from a photodetector even on a branch road.

The present invention prioritizes signals from a photodetector for guiding a self-propelled vehicle according to a branch command signal from a sequencer, determines the amount of steering based on this signal, and causes the self-propelled vehicle to travel along a guide tape. This is how it was done.

The present invention will be explained in detail below using examples.

FIG. 1 shows an embodiment of a self-propelled vehicle equipped with a self-propelled vehicle travel control device according to the present invention. 1 is a front view, and the front view is a plan view. 1 is a self-propelled vehicle, 2 and 3 are photodetectors, 4 and 5 are steering and driving wheels, and 6 and 7 are steering wheels. Photodetectors 2 and 3 are self-propelled vehicle 1
It is attached to the outermost part of the The self-propelled vehicle 1 has steering and driving wheels 4,
5, and depending on the steering angle of these wheels and the steering wheels 6 and 7, the vehicle travels straight, turns right, or turns left. The self-propelled vehicle 1 detects the relative position of the self-propelled vehicle 1 and the guide tape 8 shown in FIG. Run. Light receiving element 1F to 9F
, 1B to 9B send out output signals only when they receive the reflected light from the guide tape 8 of the light from the light sources 2A and 3A. Here, when the self-propelled vehicle 1 moves forward, the signal from the photodetector 2 takes priority, and when it moves backward, the signal from the photodetector 3 takes priority (details will be described later). When the self-propelled vehicle 1 overflows the guide tape 8 and moves forward, the guide tape 8
When the light receiving element 5F receives the reflected light from the vehicle, the self-propelled vehicle 1 moves straight. When light receiving elements 4F to 1F receive light, it turns left, and when light receiving elements 6F to 9F receive light, it turns right. The amount of steering when turning left or right increases as the outside of the light receiving element 5F receives more light. That is, when the light receiving elements 4F and 6F receive light, the amount of steering becomes the minimum, and when the light receiving elements 1F and 9F receive light, the amount of steering becomes the maximum. Hereinafter, when the above-mentioned self-propelled vehicle 1 runs on a branch road, its operation will be explained using the embodiment shown in FIG. 5 while referring to FIGS. 3 and 4. When the self-propelled vehicle 1 moves forward in the direction of arrow A along the guide tape 8 shown in FIG. 3 and the photodetector 2 reaches the branch start mark 10 (notch), the reflected light from the guide tape 8 disappears. The outputs of the light receiving elements 1F to 9F (however, 2F to 8F are omitted) shown in FIG. 5 are O', and the gate 31 outputs '0'.

Here, the output signal of the gate 31 is input to the sequencer 30. Here, for convenience of explanation, the configuration of the sequencer will be explained with the self-propelled vehicle 1 moving forward. The sequencer 30 presets the branching direction at an arbitrary branching route among the plurality of branching routes. That is, the sequencer 30 has a travel route map for the self-propelled vehicle 1. Therefore, the sequencer 30 determines whether to go straight, turn right, or turn left at an arbitrary branch point in accordance with the travel route map. Therefore, once the self-propelled vehicle 1 determines the starting point, the photodetector 2 detects the branch start mark (cutting point of the guide tape) 10, and updates the travel route map data according to the number of detected cuts. The self-propelled vehicle 1 can reach the destination position. Explaining according to FIG. 5, when the photodetector 2 reaches the branch start mark 10, a signal of "1" is output from the gate 31, indicating that the self-propelled vehicle 1 has approached the branch point. Along with informing
The travel route map data will be updated.

Then, according to the data of the travel route map, the sequencer 30
outputs an SR signal when turning right, and an SL signal when turning left.

In the case of going straight, the sequencer 30
outputs three types of signals.

As shown in Figure 3, at the junction of going straight and turning right, the SL signal (self-propelled vehicle 1 meandered slightly to the left), and at the junction of going straight and turning left, the S signal.
R signal (self-propelled vehicle 1 meandering slightly to the right), go straight + turn right +
Nothing is output at the left turn junction (if the shape of the branch road is symmetrical, the self-propelled vehicle 1 will not meander).

As a result, when traveling straight, the self-propelled vehicle 1 meanderes slightly, but it has been confirmed through experiments that the amount of meandering is practically negligible.

Next, for convenience of explanation, the following operation will be explained with the self-propelled vehicle 1 making a right turn. A right branch signal SR is output from the sequencer 30, and the priority determiner 23 is selected.

Here, when the self-propelled vehicle 1 moves further forward and the relative position of the photodetector 2 and the guide tape 8 comes to the position shown in FIG. 3, the light receiving element 5F and the light receiving element 6F become "1", and the others become " 0
, and is input to gates 41 to 49 (however, gates 42 to 48 are omitted) and priority determiners 23 and 24. Here, since the right branch signal SR from the sequencer 30 is input (inhibit signal) to the gates 41 to 49 via the gate 33, all the output signals of the gates 41 to 49 are O.
It is. Note that the inhibit signal referred to here is 0
Indicates the output of R element 33, and when this signal is 1, 1F
The gate elements 41 to 49 have the function of blocking the passage of signals from ~9F. Also, since the priority determiner 24 is not selected, all outputs are 0''. Therefore, the signals of the light receiving elements 1F to 9F are only the signals that have passed through the priority determiner to the gates 51 to 59 (however, (gates 52 to 58 are omitted) to the switch 32.
The priority determiner 23 outputs a signal with a high priority among a plurality of "1" input signals. The signal from light receiving element 9F has the highest priority, and the signal from light receiving element 8F and light receiving element 7
The values decrease in the order of F, and the light receiving element 1F is the lowest. Therefore, in the case of the position of the light receiver 2 shown in FIG.
Only the signal from the forward automatic steering controller 29A outputs "1", and all others output "O".
B is shown as a block, but its configuration is based on the controller 29A.
It selects and outputs the output signal from (approximately the same as). The selection of the controllers 29A and 29B is based on the forward signal F1.
This is done using the reverse signal B. Here, self-propelled car 1
Since the vehicle is moving forward, it outputs a signal from the forward automatic steering controller 29A. This signal is input to the steering amount setter 27. As for the input signals, only the signal corresponding to the light-receiving element 6F is "1", and all the others are O", as described above. The steering amount setter 27 outputs the steering amount when the light receiving element 6F is "1", and this signal is transmitted to the steering 1 drive device 28, where the steering and driving wheels 4 and 5 shown in FIG. This causes the steering wheels 6 and 7 to turn to the left, causing the self-propelled vehicle 1 to turn right. As the self-propelled vehicle 1 moves further forward in this manner, it turns right with a steering amount corresponding to the "1" signal of the light receiving element 7F, as shown in FIG. When reaching the branch end mark (notch), all of the light receiving elements 1F to 9F become 0, and the right branch signal SR from the sequencer 30 shown in FIG. 5 becomes 0, and the selection of the priority determiner 23 is canceled. Gates 41 to 49 open and light receiving element 1F
The signals from ~9F are input directly to the steering amount setter 27 via the switch 32, and the steering amounts corresponding to the output signals of the light receiving elements 1F ~ 9F are sent to the steering drive device, and the self-propelled vehicle 1 is directed to the branch road. It runs overflowing onto the card tape 9. Although the operation in the case where the self-propelled vehicle 1 turns right has been described above, the operation is similar when the self-propelled vehicle 1 turns left. However, in this case, the priority determiner 2
4 is selected. In the priority determiner 24, the signal from the light receiving element 1F has the highest priority, and the priority goes down in the order of the light receiving element 2F, the light receiving element 3F, and the light receiving element 9F has the lowest priority. As explained above, according to the present invention, the self-propelled vehicle 1 runs along the branch road guide tape even on a branch road, so stable running is possible.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

Figure 1 is a diagram showing the structure of a self-propelled vehicle, Figure 2 is a diagram explaining the relative positions of the photodetector and guide tape, and Figures 3 and 4 are diagrams showing the structure of a self-propelled vehicle when it travels on a branch road. FIG. 5 is a diagram showing the relative positions of the guide tape and the photodetector, and FIG. 5 is a diagram showing the circuit configuration of the automatic steering controller. 1...Self-propelled vehicle, 2,3...Photodetector,
8... Guide tape, 23, 24...
Priority determiner, 27... Steering amount determiner, 28.
... Steering drive device, 29A ... Forward automatic steering controller, 29B ... Reverse automatic steering controller, 30 ... Sequencer.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A traveling guide means provided on a traveling road surface, cut at a predetermined interval just before a branch point in the traveling direction, and having a light reflectance different from that of the traveling road surface, and provided on a self-propelled vehicle,
A plurality of light receiving elements detect reflected light from the traveling guide means, and a cut point of the traveling guide means is detected based on an output signal from the light receiving element, the number of times of cutting is detected, and the number of times of cutting is detected. means for outputting a signal specifying a predetermined traveling direction of the self-propelled vehicle; and receiving an output from the traveling direction specifying means and outputting an output from a specific light receiving element according to a predetermined priority order. and means for determining the amount of steering of the self-propelled vehicle according to the selected output signal of the light receiving element and guiding the self-propelled vehicle in a predetermined direction. Travel control system for self-propelled vehicles.