JP2816706B2 - Driving instruction creation device for automatic guided vehicles - Google Patents

Description

Description: BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an apparatus for creating a travel command for an automatic guided vehicle such as a forklift.

[Conventional technology]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, when an unmanned guided vehicle (hereinafter, referred to as a vehicle) such as a forklift travels along a predetermined traveling route on a taxiway, it is necessary to first create a vehicle-mounted map required for vehicle traveling control.

This map is created, for example, by an operator dividing the taxiway into a plurality of sections based on the layout drawing of the taxiway and analyzing the connection state of the plurality of sections.

Further, it is necessary to create a travel command for the vehicle to travel along the predetermined travel route based on the map.

In this case, the operator selects a section in the traveling section up to the destination of the vehicle while referring to the map, and rearranges the section in the traveling order of the vehicle, and obtains the order of the sections (traveling route) thus obtained. To create a travel command for running the vehicle.

In this case, the operator needs to create a map describing the operation of the vehicle at each point on the travel route while referring to the map.

The map and the content indicating the travel command are stored and stored in the memory of the vehicle, and the vehicle is driven based on the stored content of the memory.

[Problems to be solved by the invention]

However, creating a map to be stored in the memory is extremely time-consuming and requires a great deal of man-hours because it depends on human labor.

In addition, the creation of a travel command often relies on manual calculations and so-called intuition while referring to a map.Therefore, even if the travel command is a travel command determined by a skilled person, it may not be created as an appropriate travel command. It has a problem of lack of performance.

Further, the creation of the travel command requires more time and effort than the creation of the map, and thus requires a large number of man-hours.

In addition, since the map and the travel command need to be individually created and prepared for each change in the layout of the guideway and the change in the travel route, there is a problem that the layout and the route are not flexibly changed.

As described above, the conventional technology has a problem that the development cost of the system is increased, and the reliability and layout of the created traveling command and the flexibility for changing the route are lacking.

The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and has as its object to provide an automatic guided vehicle travel command creation device that solves these problems.

[Means and actions for solving the problem]

Therefore, in the present invention, map information input means for inputting map information of a taxiway on which an unmanned guided vehicle travels, and the guideway is divided into a plurality of sections based on the map information of the taxiway input by the map information input means. Map information creating means for creating map information having section connection data indicating to which section these sections are connected to each other and in what manner; and Travel start / end point input means for inputting a travel start point and a travel end point of the car; map information created by the map information creation means; and travel start / end points entered by the travel start / end point input means. Traveling section creation means for creating traveling section information indicating a traveling order of a section corresponding to a traveling section in which the automatic guided vehicle should travel among the plurality of sections based on A transmission unit for transmitting the map information created by the map information creation unit and the travel zone information created by the travel zone information creation unit to the automatic guided vehicle; and the transmission unit. Receiving means for receiving the transmission content of the section, traveling based on the traveling order of the sections received by the receiving means, and based on the section connection data, traveling including presence / absence of turning and a direction of turning when traveling between adjacent sections. The automatic guided vehicle is provided with a traveling instruction creating means for creating an instruction, and the automatic guided vehicle is caused to travel along the guideway from the traveling start point to the traveling end point based on the traveling instruction.

That is, by simply inputting the map information of the taxiway, that is, the information on the layout of the taxiway, the map information obtained by dividing the taxiway into a plurality of sections is automatically created. The map information has section connection data indicating which section and how the plurality of sections are connected to each other.

Then, only by inputting the traveling start point and traveling end point of the automatic guided vehicle, traveling section information of the automated guided vehicle, that is, traveling route, is automatically created based on the created map information.

If map information and travel section information are obtained in this way, these are transmitted to the AGV, received by the AGV, and based on the received travel order of the sections and the section connection data, A travel command including the presence or absence of a turn and the direction of the turn when traveling between adjacent sections is automatically created.

The automatic guided vehicle can automatically travel from the traveling start point to the traveling end point of the taxiway based on the traveling command automatically created, and can travel with the control of the bevel.

〔Example〕

Hereinafter, an embodiment of an automatic guided vehicle travel command creation device according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 2 shows a part of a guideway on which an automatic guided vehicle such as a forklift travels.

As shown in FIG. 1, the taxiway R is composed of travel lines 14, 15, 16, 17, 18 and 19 on which an automatic guided vehicle (hereinafter abbreviated as "vehicle") travels. A and stations B, C on tracks 16, 17 and 18
And D are respectively set. In addition, the traveling line
14 intersects with travel lines 19 and 15 at intersections 20 and 21, respectively, and travel line 15 intersects with travel lines 16, 17 and 18 at intersections 22, 23 and 24, respectively.

The taxiway R is divided into a plurality of sections as shown by dotted lines in FIG.
2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12 and 13 are assigned.
Also, in the figure, reference numeral 25 denotes a wall in the site where the taxiway R is laid, and reference numeral 26 denotes a pillar in the site.

In the embodiment, a guide line buried under a road surface for guiding a vehicle (that is, the guide path R), an excitation power supply for supplying a current to the guide line, and travel route information for the vehicle. And a central control unit 30 for providing map information and controlling traffic, and a cargo handling station for exchanging loads with processing machines, assembly lines, automatic racks, and the like (that is, the stations A to D).
And a vehicle-mounted device 40 mounted on the vehicle and having a traveling function of running along the taxiway R and a work function of automatically loading and unloading cargo at the cargo handling station. FIG. 1 is a block diagram for explaining the central control device 30 and the on-board device 40 in the unmanned transport system, and is an example of a travel command creating device according to the present invention. Is conceptually shown.

In the following, a technique for controlling the steering of the vehicle so as not to deviate from the course along the guidance line is well-known, and a description thereof will be omitted. The traveling route information and the map information are provided from the central control device 30 to the on-board device 40 via the communicator 31 of the central control device 30 and the communicator 41 of the on-board device 40.

As shown in FIG. 2, the traveling pattern of the vehicle on the taxiway R includes a station (stand-by point) as a starting point and a station (destination where cargo is loaded and unloaded by the vehicle). Work point), point A → point B, point B → point A, point A →
Point C, Point C → Point A, Point A → Point D, Point D → Point A, Point B → C
Point, point C → point B, point C → point D, point D → point C, point B → D
Point, point D → point B.

The guideway layout input device 32 of the central control device 30 shown in FIG. 1 includes a keyboard, a mouse, a digitizer, and a CR.
The layout of the taxiway R, which is configured around T,
In other words, each station A, B, C, D, running lines 14 to 19, intersection 20
24, and the two-dimensional coordinate positions (hereinafter, referred to as layout data) of the wall 25, the pillar 26, and the like are input using a method such as CAD.

When the layout data of the taxiway R is input by the taxiway layout input device 32, the layout data is stored in the taxiway layout storage device 33.

Next, in the taxiway layout analysis device 34, based on the stored contents of the taxiway layout storage device 33, the division process for dividing the taxiway R into the sections 1 to 13 is executed as described above, and the map for the vehicle is obtained. Can be

That is, as shown in the table on page 12, the guide path R is divided into sections 1 to 13 as shown by the broken lines in FIG. 2 based on the layout data. compartment connection data indicating which connected in any manner to the partition (,, ...) and the length l ₁ induction line and in the same direction of each section 1~13, l _2, ..., a partition length data representing the l ₁₃ Although not shown in the table, turning occupied distance data that defines the distance (turning occupied distance) required for the vehicle to turn in each crossing direction of a traveling line crossing at an intersection in accordance with various turning methods is shown. Calculation processing is performed. Further, by the guideway layout input device 32, the forward / reverse data F, R, indicating the forward / reverse state of the vehicle in each of the stations A to D and the sections 1 to 13,
B, etc., data required for vehicle travel control is input, and these input data and the data subjected to the arithmetic processing are:
It is stored and stored in the on-vehicle map storage device 35 as the on-vehicle map required for the traveling control of the vehicle.

Here, as shown in FIG. 3, the section connection data is a code for identifying the direction in which the adjacent sections exist when each of the sections 1 to 13 is represented by a graphic E whose longitudinal direction is the same direction as the traveling line. Hereinafter, this is referred to as a terminal).

In addition, the forward / reverse data F, R, and B are used when traveling with a work machine (fork) of a vehicle ahead (hereinafter, this is referred to as forward traveling) and traveling with a vehicle body ahead (hereinafter, referred to as forward traveling). This is a symbol representing the case in which either of the forward direction and the reverse direction may be sufficient (hereinafter, referred to as bidirectional traveling). Here, the symbols F and R relating to the stations A to D may be read as "traveled and arrived at the station" and "traveled backward and arrived at the station" or "departed from the station by traveling backward.""And" Leave the station in forward travel ".

That is, for example, taking the section 1 as an example in the same table, the section 1 is connected to the station A at the terminal, to the section 2 at the terminal, to the section 12 at the terminal, and to the section 11 at the terminal. Is ₁ and it can be seen that in section 1 both forward traveling and reverse traveling are possible (symbol B).

The contents stored in the in-vehicle map storage device 35 are transmitted by the communication device 31 to the communication device 41 of the on-board device 40, and received by the communication device 41. The contents received by the communicator 41 are stored in an in-vehicle map storage device.
Stored and stored in 42. Here, at the same time as receiving the signal indicating the in-vehicle map, the communicator 41 transmits a signal indicating that the symbol indicating the in-vehicle map has been received to the CPU 43.
Output to 3.

At the same time as the input of the reception, the CPU 43 outputs to the communication device 41 a signal indicating that the traveling start / end points and the work input are permitted to the communication device 41. Then, a signal having this content is transmitted from the communication device 41 to the communication device 31 and received by the communication device 31.

The received contents are output to the traveling start / end point / work input device 36, and when the device 36 inputs the traveling start / end point and the signal for permitting the work input, the CRT of the device 36 is mainly configured. The input operation is permitted by, for example, displaying “input permitted” on the display screen.

Then, the operator operates a keyboard or the like to perform the operation at each of these starting stations (starting stations) and ending points (stations) of the vehicle according to the work mode. Processing for designating and inputting cargo handling operations such as loading and unloading is executed.

The travel route creation device 37 creates a travel route on which the vehicle travels based on the input content and the storage content of the in-vehicle map storage device.

That is, if a traveling pattern of point A → point B is input, the traveling route for the traveling pattern is determined by changing the arrangement order of the block identification numbers (the traveling order of the vehicles) to 1-2-3-3 in the form of the shortest route. 6 is created.

The travel route data thus created and the input work data are stored and stored in the travel route storage device 44 of the on-board device 40 via the communication devices 31 and 41.

Hereinafter, the CPU 43 creates a travel command including a work command based on the stored contents of the on-vehicle map storage device 42 and the travel route storage device 44 and the outputs of the position mark detector 45 and the travel distance measurement device 46. The traveling command is output to the traveling control circuit 47 and the turning control circuit 48 to cause the vehicle to travel to the station B corresponding to the destination.

Here, the position mark detector 45 detects the end of the passage of the vehicle in each section. That is, when the mark provided at the end of the section is detected by the detector 45, it is determined that “passing is completed”.

The moving distance measuring device 46 is configured around a pulse encoder attached to wheels of the vehicle, and measures the moving distance of the vehicle.

In addition, without providing a mark at the end of each section, an induced magnetic field generated in the traveling lines 15, 19,... Is detected by a predetermined sensor as shown in FIG. May be detected. That is, it is also possible to use a traveling line perpendicular to the traveling direction instead of the position mark.

Further, without providing the position mark detector 45 and the like, the moving distance measured by the moving distance measuring device 46 and the storage map of the in-vehicle map storage device 42 are sequentially compared to determine the end of section passage. You may.

The traveling control circuit 47 and the turning control circuit 48
Based on the output result of 3, the driving motor and the steering motor (not shown) are controlled to drive the vehicle to a station corresponding to the destination.

Hereinafter, as described above, it is assumed that the vehicle travels from the station A to the station B, and performs the loading operation at the station A and the unloading operation at the station B.
A processing procedure performed by the CPU 43 will be described.

First, the travel route data 1-2 is stored in the travel route storage device 44.
-3-6 is read.

Then, the section connection data of the section 1 through which the vehicle first passes is read from the in-vehicle map storage device 42. As is clear from the above table, it is known that the station A is connected to the section 1. Therefore, if the vehicle is currently located at the station A, it is determined that the instruction is appropriate.

However, if it is clear that the current vehicle is located at a station or a section other than the station A, and that the station or the like at the current position is not connected to the section 1,
Since the instruction is not valid, a process for instructing the operator to disable execution is executed.

That is, specifically, a signal indicating that execution is not possible is transmitted from the on-board device 40 to the central control device 30 so that the content of the signal can be displayed on a predetermined display device of the central control device 30. I do. In this case, as the vehicle, the central control device 30
Until the next command is transmitted, all processes are stopped and the process waits.

In this case, the current position of the vehicle is determined by the travel distance measuring device.
Detected based on 46 outputs.

If the command is appropriate, a series of work commands for loading the luggage by the work machine (fork) of the vehicle at the station A based on the work data stored in the travel route storage device 44. Are generated, and a control signal for executing these operations is output to a work implement control circuit (not shown), whereby a work actuator (not shown) is controlled.

When the loading operation at the station A is completed in this way, the next command, the section connection data of the section 2, is read from the in-vehicle map storage device 42. As is clear from the above table, since the section 2 is connected to the section 1 by a terminal, it can be seen that in order to shift from the section 1 to the section 2, the vehicle should travel straight in the section 1. Thus, a traveling control signal and a turning control signal for causing the vehicle to travel straight in section 1 are created, and these are respectively supplied to the traveling control circuit 47.
And output to the turning control circuit 48. As a result, the vehicle
The vehicle travels straight on the traveling line 14 in the section 1 at a predetermined vehicle speed and keeping the steering angle at zero. Here, since the forward / reverse data relating to the station A is a departure (symbol R) in forward travel as apparent from the contents of the above Table 1, in section 1, the vehicle travels forward.

When the position mark detector 45 detects that the vehicle has moved to the end of the section 1, the next instruction, the section connection data of the section 3, which is the next command, is read from the in-vehicle map storage device 44. As is clear from the above table, since the section 3 is connected to the section 2 by terminals, it is understood that a turn to the right is required at the intersection 21 between the sections 2 and 3 at the intersection 21 between the sections.

Therefore, based on the turning occupied distance data and the forward / reverse data of the sections 2 and 3 in the respective intersection directions of the traveling lines 14 and 15 intersecting at the intersection 21 stored in the in-vehicle map storage device 42, the optimal turning method Will be selected. This turning method selection processing is performed by the applicant's prior application (Japanese Patent Application No. 63-63).
No. 250537), which is different from the gist of the present application and will not be described in detail. So, for example, section 2
It is assumed that the turning method by the switchback in which is shifted to section 3 while moving forward → section 10 and moving backward in section 10 is selected.

When the turning method by the switchback is selected, a running control signal and a turning control signal for turning the vehicle are generated by the turning method, and these signals are output to the running control circuit 47 and the turning control circuit 48.

That is, first, the vehicle is moved in the traveling lines in section 2 and section 10.
A travel control signal and a turn control signal for causing the vehicle to travel straight ahead are generated on 14 and output to the drive control circuit 47 and the turn control circuit 48, respectively. As a result, the vehicle travels straight on the traveling line 14 in the section 2 and the section 10 at a predetermined vehicle speed and with a zero angle. During this time,
Position mark detector that the vehicle has moved to the end of section 10
When detected by 45, the next instruction, section connection data of section 6, which is the next instruction, is read from the in-vehicle map storage device.
As is clear from the above table, since the section 6 is connected to the section 3 by the terminal, it is necessary to turn left at the intersection 22 between the section 3 and the section 6 at the intersection 22 between the sections.

Therefore, the intersection stored in the in-vehicle map storage device 42
The optimum turning method at the intersection 22 is selected based on the turning occupied distance data of the traveling lines 15 and 16 intersecting at 22 in the respective crossing directions and the forward / reverse data of the sections 3 and 6.

When it is determined by the detection of the mark of the position mark detector 45 that the vehicle has traveled forward and has moved to the end of the section 10, a travel control signal and a turning control for stopping the vehicle at the end and switching back the vehicle are provided. A signal is output. As a result, the vehicle shifts from forward traveling to reverse traveling, and at the same time, the straight angle is maintained at zero and the straight traveling starts along the traveling line 14 in the section 10 again.

Next, the vehicle makes a left turn in section 10 → section 3. In order for the vehicle to smoothly move on the traveling line 15 in section 3 after the turn, it is necessary to make an appropriate position on the traveling line 14 in section 10 You need to start turning the steering. It is assumed that the appropriate position is preset as a turning position separated by a predetermined distance from the intersection 21 using the wheelbase and running (turning) speed of the vehicle as parameters.

The current position of the vehicle is calculated based on the output of the moving distance measuring device 46, and the calculated current position is compared with the turning position as needed.

Eventually, when the current position coincides with the turning position, a traveling control signal and a turning control signal for turning the steering wheel to the left by giving a steering angle a predetermined angle are output. As a result, as a vehicle, section 10 to section 3
Turn left.

In addition, in order to smoothly move the vehicle on the traveling line 15 in the section 3 after turning, it is necessary to continue steering by an appropriate distance. This appropriate turning distance is also given as a preset distance using the wheelbase and running (turning) speed of the vehicle as parameters.

Thus, the travel distance of the vehicle from the turning position and the preset distance are compared at any time based on the output of the travel distance measuring device 46.

Eventually, when the moving distance matches the preset distance, the steering angle is returned to zero and the section 3
A traveling control signal and a turning control signal for causing the vehicle to travel straight on the traveling line 15 are output. As a result, the vehicle is in a state where the attitude angle of the vehicle is substantially zero with respect to the traveling line 15 at a predetermined point on the traveling line 15, and
Travel straight on the traveling line 15 inside.

Thereafter, the vehicle turns at the intersection 22 in the section 3 → section 6 according to the selected optimum turning method, travels along the traveling line 16 in the section 6, and reaches the station B as the destination.

At this time, in the station B, a series of work commands for performing the unloading work of the load by the work machine (fork) of the vehicle is created, and a control signal for executing these operations is output to the work control circuit. Thus, the working machine actuator is controlled. CP at the end of work
All the processing in U43 ends.

As described above, according to the embodiment, the information on the layout of the taxiway, the traveling start / end points of the automatic guided vehicle, and the map information and the traveling route information for the vehicle can be automatically transmitted without relying on the manual only by instructing the operation. Created. Further, based on these pieces of information, travel commands are automatically and sequentially generated without relying on humans, and the automatic guided vehicle travels to the destination.

Therefore, the development cost of the system is increased, the reliability of the generated travel command, the layout, and the flexibility for changing the route are greatly improved.

〔The invention's effect〕

As described above, according to the present invention, instead of individually and manually relying on the layout of the taxiway and the traveling route of the automatic guided vehicle, and determining the vehicle-mounted map and the traveling command, the automatic guided vehicle Since an optimal travel command only for instructing the travel start point and the travel end point is automatically created, a reliable and low-cost system can be realized.

Furthermore, the effect that the flexibility with respect to the change of the guideway layout and the traveling route is improved can be obtained.

Furthermore, in the related art, a travel command is created for each point on the map of the route on which the automatic guided vehicle travels, and these are all stored in the onboard memory. However, according to the present invention, the travel command is required. Since they are created one by one at the appropriate time, the effect that the memory capacity can be significantly reduced can be obtained.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram conceptually showing an embodiment of an automatic guided vehicle travel command generating apparatus according to the present invention, FIG. 2 is a conceptual diagram illustrating a layout of an automatic guided vehicle guideway, and FIG. The figure is used to explain the contents stored in the map information storage device shown in FIG. 1 to 13 sections, 14 to 19 traveling lines, 20 to 24 intersections, 30 central control units 31, 41 communication units, 32 guideway layout input devices, 34 guidance Road layout analysis device, 36: travel start / end / work input device, 37: travel route creation device, 40: on-board device, 42: on-board map storage device, 43: CPU, 44: travel Route storage device 47 running control circuit 48 turning control circuit.

Claims (1)

(57) [Claims] 1. Map information input means for inputting map information of a taxiway on which an automatic guided vehicle travels, and a plurality of sections of the taxiway based on the map information of the taxiway input by the map information input means. Divided into
Map information creating means for creating map information having section connection data indicating to which section the plurality of sections are connected to each other and in what manner; And a travel start / end point input means for inputting a travel end point, based on the map information created by the map information creation means and the travel start / end point input by the travel start / end point input means, Traveling section creating means for creating traveling section information indicating a traveling order of sections corresponding to traveling sections in which the automatic guided vehicle should travel among the plurality of sections; map information created by the map information creating means; Transmitting means for transmitting the traveling section information created by the traveling section information creating means to the automatic guided vehicle; and Receiving means for receiving the transmission content of the section, traveling based on the traveling order of the sections received by the receiving means, and based on the section connection data, traveling including presence / absence of turning and a direction of turning when traveling between adjacent sections. A traveling command creation unit for creating a command, and the automatic guided vehicle is provided with the automatic guided vehicle, and the automatic guided vehicle is caused to travel along the taxiway from the traveling start point to the traveling end point based on the traveling command. A feature is a travel command creation device for automatic guided vehicles.