JP3128455B2 - Automatic operation control device for transport vehicles - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an automatic driving control device for a transporting trolley, which transports the trolley while accurately tracing to a predetermined position of a traveling reference line determined on a vast site, indoors and outdoors. To a control device.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, an electromagnetic induction type automatic guided vehicle which lays a guide line on a road surface in advance and automatically runs on a predetermined road along the guide line while detecting a guide signal output from the guide line. (Japanese Patent Publication No. 4-67641) or for a vehicle that detects the relative displacement between a white line laid on a road and a transport trolley with a CCD camera and moves the transport trolley along the white line based on the relative displacement. Automatic driving device (JP-A-4-27
No. 331) is generally used as an automatic driving system for an automatic guided vehicle.

However, laying the guide line on all the running reference lines has limitations in terms of cost, and there are many inconveniences such as disconnection failures caused by vehicles passing through the guide line. Moving a traveling line while recognizing it by image recognition processing is not suitable for outdoor traveling, such as in a clean room where dust is hardly generated.

[0004] From such a viewpoint, there has been proposed a system in which a marker made of a magnet is buried at a constant interval in a traveling reference line, and the traveling is guided while detecting this (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 3-1).
No. 77905). In this method, a traveling path in which magnets are embedded at regular intervals is formed, and a sensor for calculating a displacement by detecting a magnetic force of each magnet is attached to the vehicle body. An azimuth sensor based on geomagnetism detection is provided on the vehicle body, and a deviation from azimuth information set in advance between adjacent magnets is calculated. Such an autonomous traveling vehicle travels from the departure magnet position toward the second magnet ahead of the traveling route, and when it reaches the second magnet position, calculates the deviation of its own position and the deviation of the azimuth, and the next traveling A new travel route is set for the third magnet position in front of the route, and the vehicle is caused to automatically travel along the target route.

[0005]

However, in the above-mentioned conventional automatic traveling system, when a sign placed on the traveling reference line is detected, the positional deviation and the directional deviation of the transport vehicle are calculated, and based on the deviation, the next deviation is calculated. Since the reference line is reset, it is impossible to perform highly-accurate automatic traveling unless the interval between signs installed on the traveling reference line is reduced. This is because while detecting the marker magnet, the traveling direction toward the next marker magnet is determined, and a new traveling reference line is set along the existing reference line. This is because the correction process cannot be performed, and there is a disadvantage that the interval between the marker magnets must be set sufficiently small to reduce the error.
In such a system, the number of marker magnets to be installed is greatly increased when attempting to perform automatic traveling on a large site.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide an automatic guided vehicle for an automatic guided vehicle in a vast site at a low cost while minimizing a decrease in system reliability due to environmental factors and the like. It is to provide a control device.

[0007]

In order to achieve the above object, an automatic operation control apparatus for a transport vehicle according to the present invention comprises:
In a control device for automatically operating the transport vehicle along a traveling reference line set in advance on the site, a reference position installed at an interval along the traveling reference line set in the automatic operation site. Identification member, a reference position detection means provided on the transport vehicle and detecting the reference position identification member,
Steering angle control means for independently controlling the steering angles of the front and rear wheels of the transport vehicle, and calculating the attitude angle deviation and the line deviation of the transport vehicle with respect to the traveling reference line for each detection of the reference position identification member by the reference position detection means. , The reference position detection
Traveling in which the reference position identification member is not detected by means
In the area, the vehicle speed sensor mounted on the transport vehicle detects
Speed signal and the front and rear wheel steering angle
Estimated attitude angle deviation ψ _E (n) based on steering angle signal detected by sensor
And the estimated line deviation ε _E (n), and calculates the steering angle θf of the front wheels,
The steering angle θr of the rear wheel is

[0008]

[Equation 3] θf = −k ₁ · ψ _E (n) −k ₂ · ε _E (n) θr = k ₁ · ψ _E (n) −k ₂ · ε _E (n) (where k ₁ and k ₂ is a positive constant.), And a controller that outputs the steering angles of the front and rear wheels to make the estimated attitude angle deviation and the estimated line deviation both zero to the steering angle control means and causes the vehicle to travel. The configuration is as follows.

Secondly, a control device for automatically operating a transport vehicle along a traveling reference line set in advance on the site has absolute position information of the traveling reference line in the automatic driving site. An absolute position identification member installed at intervals along a traveling reference line set in the automatic driving site, and mounted on a carriage that detects the absolute position identification member and outputs an absolute position identification signal. An absolute position detecting means,
A reference position identification member provided at intervals along a traveling reference line set in the automatic driving site, reference position detection means provided on the transport trolley for detecting the reference position identification member, and a front and rear of the transport trolley A steering angle control means for independently controlling the steering angle of the wheels; and an absolute position identification signal detected by the absolute position detection means for updating the transport vehicle absolute position information in the traveling premises, and a reference position identification by the reference position detection means. Each time a member is detected, the attitude angle deviation and the line deviation of the transport vehicle with respect to the traveling reference line are calculated, and the reference position detection is performed.
The reference position identification member is not detected by the output means.
In the traffic area, the vehicle speed sensor mounted on the transport vehicle detects
The speed signal to be output and the steering angle of the front and rear wheels mounted on the carriage
Estimated attitude angle deviation based on steering angle signal detected by sensor ψ
_E (n) and the estimated line deviation ε _E (n) are calculated, and the steering angle θ of the front wheels is calculated.
f, the rear wheel steering angle θr,

[0010]

[Equation 4] θf = −k ₁ · ψ _E (n) −k ₂ · ε _E (n) θr = k ₁ · ψ _E (n) −k ₂ · ε _E (n) (where k ₁ and k ₂ is a positive constant.), And a controller that outputs the steering angles of the front and rear wheels to make the estimated attitude angle deviation and the estimated line deviation both zero to the steering angle control means and causes the vehicle to travel. The configuration is as follows.

In the above structure, the reference position identification members form a pair corresponding to the front and rear positions of the carrier,
The magnetic force generating means installed at an interval along a traveling reference line set in the automatic driving site, and the reference position detecting means is provided by the magnetic force generating means provided at two positions before and after the carrier. What is necessary is just to comprise so that it may be the magnetic force detection means which detects magnetism.

[0012]

According to the above construction, the carriage starts moving along the reference line according to the automatic operation command from the departure position to the arrival position of the reference line to be traveled, and is installed at intervals along the travel reference line. By detecting the reference position of the reference position identification member detected by the detecting means arranged on the transport vehicle, the attitude angle deviation and the line deviation at the detected position can be grasped. If the carriage continues to move after detecting this deviation, the reference position signal from the reference position identification member cannot be detected, but thereafter, the detection speed signal of the carriage and the front and rear wheel detection steering angle signal and , The attitude angle deviation and the line deviation are estimated and calculated by the controller. The controller independently controls the steering angles of the front and rear wheels of the transport trolley so as to eliminate these deviations, and controls the front and rear wheels in any steering pattern from in-phase steering to anti-phase steering according to the deviation. Thereby, the posture angle of the transport vehicle is corrected and driven so as to coincide with the traveling reference line early, and when the next reference position identification member is detected, the actual deviation is obtained and the estimated deviation is updated with the actually measured value deviation. However, it can be used for trajectory correction in the next section. Therefore,
Even if the transport vehicle deviates from the reference line due to disturbance such as road surface inclination, wind pressure, wheel diameter imbalance, eccentric load, wheel slip, etc. from the reference line, it can return to the reference line early by independent steering of the front and rear wheels. .

Further, by providing an absolute position identification member on the traveling reference line, the transport vehicle can detect the absolute position information in the site. By detecting this absolute position information in conjunction with the reference position detection by the reference position identification member, the self-position of the transport vehicle can be reliably detected, and erroneous recognition during automatic driving traveling can be prevented.

[0014]

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an automatic operation control device for a transporting vehicle according to the present invention.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an automatic driving control device according to an embodiment, and FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a system configuration. In FIG. 1, a transport vehicle 10 for performing automatic driving includes a front wheel steering mechanism 12F and a rear wheel steering mechanism 12R, and is driven via a hydraulic source driven by a diesel engine 13 mounted as a traveling drive source. The motor 14 is driven by the rear wheel drive. Further, the front and rear wheel steering mechanisms 12F and 12R have steering angle sensors 16F and 16R.
However, a vehicle speed sensor 18 is provided in the differential gear section 17 of the traveling drive section, and can detect the front and rear wheel steering angles and traveling speed of the transport vehicle.

A reference line R for moving the transport carriage 10 is set in the premises, and a magnetic plate 20 as a magnetic force generating means is installed on the reference line R at intervals. The magnetic plate 20 has a permanent magnet housed in a cover container, and is buried with the surface cover exposed along a traveling reference line. On the other hand, a detecting means for detecting the magnetic force generated from the magnetic plate 20 is provided on the side of the carriage 10, and is constituted by a front sensor 22 </ b> F and a rear sensor 22 </ b> R of the carriage. Both sensors 22F, 22
R is formed so as to extend along the vehicle width direction, and detects the maximum intensity position of the generated magnetic force of the magnetic plate 20 so that a deviation from the carrier center on each sensor can be detected. The magnetic plate 20 is provided with a transport vehicle front / rear sensor 22.
It is installed so as to match the span of F, 22R.
For example, the front and rear sensors 22F and 22 in the transport vehicle 10
When the interval (sensor span) L of R is 12 m,
The installation interval of the magnetic plate 20 is similarly set to be 12 m. As a result, the transport vehicle 10 is positioned on the traveling reference line 2
The magnetic forces from the magnetic plates 20 at the two locations can be detected at the same time, and the posture angle (posture angle deviation) of the transport vehicle 10 with respect to the traveling reference line R can be obtained by the detection of the magnetic force. The displacement (line deviation) can be obtained.

The carriage 10 has a carriage controller 30 mounted thereon. This controller 30
As shown in FIG. 2, traveling is communicated via a radio modem 36 with a management control computer 34 of a control center 32 for controlling the operation of unmanned vehicles outside the vehicle, and traveling output from the management control computer 34. Travel control, starting, and braking toward the target position are performed by a start command and a target travel route command.

The transport vehicle controller 30 receives various signals from the transport vehicle. The signals are transmitted from the above-mentioned steering angle sensors 16F and 16R to the average steering angle signal of the front left and right wheels, and the average of the rear wheel left and right steering angles. The driving speed signal from the vehicle speed sensor 18 and the magnetic force detection sensor 2
A deviation signal from 2F, 22R is input. Further, an engine control circuit 38 is connected to the output side of the carriage controller 30 to transmit a start command, a stop command, and a rotation speed command. The controller 30 has a steering / drive / brake control hydraulic circuit 40 for performing steering control and running / stopping during running.
Are connected, and the steering signals to the front and rear steering mechanisms 12F and 12R, as well as the traveling drive and the braking drive, are output to each operation unit of the transport vehicle.

The carriage controller 30 generates a control signal to the control circuits 38 and 40 based on the input signal. Basically, the control signal is generated from information from the control center 32 or generated in the controller 30. The traveling speed and the steering angle command value thus output are output to the carriage driving control circuits 38 and 40 to perform various types of driving, and actual measured values of the steering angle and the vehicle speed are sampled by the sensors provided on the vehicle body side. The measured values are taken into the controller 30 and fed back so that the deviation between the measured speed and the commanded speed and the deviation between the measured steering angle and the commanded steering angle become zero, thereby controlling the traveling of the transport vehicle. In such basic control, in the present invention, control is performed so as to maintain an accurate attitude angle with respect to a particularly defined traveling reference line.

For this purpose, the controller 30 has an estimated deviation calculating section 42, and the estimated deviation calculating section 42 calculates an estimated attitude angle deviation ψ _E (n) and an estimated line deviation ε _E (n). This is a pair of front and rear magnetic plates 2 at the first starting position.
0 is detected by the magnetic force detection sensors 22F and 22R at the front and rear of the carriage, and the detected longitudinal deviation d from the center of the carriage is detected.
It is calculated by the following equation using f and dr and the sensor span L.

[0021]

Ψ _E (n) = Arctan [(df−dr) / L] + ψ ₀ ε _E (n) = (df + dr) / 2 + ε ₀ where ψ _E (n) is the estimation at the current sampling time. Attitude angle deviation (deg), ε _E (n) is the estimated line deviation (cm) at the current sampling time, and df is the deviation amount (cm) of the front magnetic plate 20 from the vehicle body center line at the position of the front magnetic force detection sensor of the carriage. , Dr is the amount of displacement (c) of the rear magnetic plate 20 from the center line of the vehicle at the position of the rear magnetic force detection sensor of the carriage.
m) and L are the span (cm) of the front and rear magnetic force detection sensors. In the above equations, ψ ₀ and ε ₀ of the second term are a control target attitude angle deviation and a control target line deviation specified by a target travel route command.

In this state, the traveling start command is issued to the control center 3
2, the transport vehicle 10 starts traveling along the instructed travel reference line, but from the moment when the transport vehicle 10 starts to move and one of the front and rear magnetic plates is no longer detected, the estimated deviation calculation unit At 42, the estimated attitude angle deviation and the estimated line deviation based on the virtual transport vehicle model are calculated based on the following equation.

[0023]

６ _E (n) = ψ _E (n−1) + (1/2) · [ψ ′ (n) + ψ ′ (n−1)] · T ε _E (n) = ε _E (n -1) + (1/2) ・ [sin {ψ _E (n) + β (n)} + sin {ψ _E
(n-1) + β (n-1)}] · V · T where ψ ′ (n) and β (n) are

[0024]

７ '(n) = (180 / π) · (V / l _h ) · (tanδf-tanδr) / √
It is given by ^{{1+ (tanδf + tanδr) 2} /4} β (n) = Arctan {(tanδf + tanδr) / 2}. The symbol "'" indicates differentiation. In addition,
δf is the front left / right average steering angle [deg], δr is the rear left / right average steering angle.
[deg], V is the vehicle speed at the vehicle body center [cm / sec], l _h is the inter-axle distance before and after (wheelbase) [cm].

Where ψ '(n) is the yaw rate calculated from the detected vehicle speed and the detected front and rear wheel steering angles by the vehicle motion equation.
(deg / sec), β (n) are the sideslip angle (deg) of the vehicle center calculated from the front and rear wheel detection steering angles by the vehicle motion equation, V is the vehicle speed (cm / sec) at the vehicle center, and T is the sampling period. (se
c). Note that (n-1) means a value one sample before.

The estimated deviation calculated in this way is output to a target steering angle calculating unit 44, which calculates the estimated attitude angle deviation ψ _E (n) and the estimated line deviation ε _E The steering control is performed with the front and rear wheels of the transport vehicle as independent control targets so that (n) is always “0”.
This is because when the front and rear wheel control target steering angles are θf and θr,

[0027]

[Equation 8] _{θf = -k 1 · ψ E (} n) -k 2 · ε E (n) θr = k 1 · ψ E (n) -k 2 · ε E (n) where, k _1, k ₂ Is a positive constant.

According to the result calculated based on the above equation,
A command voltage calculated by the following equation is output to an actuator such as a control amplifier of a flow control proportional valve that steers the front and rear wheels to independently control the steering angles of the front and rear wheels.

[0029]

Vf = ks · (θf−δf) vr = ks · (θr−δr) where vf is a command voltage (volt) for the front wheel steering actuator control amplifier, and vr is a command voltage for the rear wheel steering actuator control amplifier. (volt) and δf are front wheel left / right average steering angles (detected steering angle, deg), δr are rear wheel left / right average steering angles (detected steering angle, deg), and ks is a control constant. FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram showing the relationship between the vehicle body posture and the front and rear wheel average steering angles described above.

Such command voltage values are output to the front and rear wheel drive control drivers 46F and 46R, and the front and rear wheel drive currents Cf and Cr corresponding to the control amounts of the output signals are output to the driver 4.
The signals are output from 6F and 46R, and the hydraulic control circuit 40 activates the steering mechanism of the carriage. With this attitude control logic, both the estimated attitude angle deviation ψ _E (n) and the estimated line deviation ε _E (n) are finally controlled to “0”, and the vehicle body of the transport vehicle 10 will reach the next target position. The center line is coincident with the traveling reference line R, and the direction of the vehicle body is set to the target traveling direction.

FIG. 4 shows an example of the configuration of the hydraulic control circuit 40. As shown in this figure, front and rear wheel steering mechanisms 12F and 12R of the transport vehicle are provided so that the front and rear wheels can be controlled independently. The steering angle command voltages vf, vr for the front and rear wheels calculated by the controller 30 are output to the respective drive drivers 46F, 46R for the front and rear wheels, and each of the drive drivers 46F, 46R is an electromagnetic proportional valve interposed in a hydraulic circuit. 56F and 56R are driven, and control is performed so that the steering amount based on the calculation result from the controller 30 is given to each of the steering mechanisms 12F and 12R.

In the above-described embodiment, the magnetic plates 20 are installed on the traveling reference line R at substantially vehicle length intervals. On this reference line, the magnetic plate 20 is used as an absolute position identifying member having absolute position information in the automatic driving site. The ID tags 58 can be installed at intervals. Then, in correspondence with the ID tag 58, an absolute position detecting means 60 for reading address information from the ID tag 58 may be mounted on the side of the carrier 10. For this, as shown in FIG. 5, an ID tag 58 is installed at an intermediate position of the magnetic plate 20. A detection sensor capable of facing the ID tag 58 is provided on the lower surface at the center of the transport vehicle 10.
The identification signal of the D tag 58 is read, and the address information of all the traveling reference lines stored in the memory or the like of the controller 30 is read, so that the absolute position of the driver on the premises can be recognized. Therefore, the carrier 10 can detect the absolute position information on the traveling reference line R simultaneously with the detection of the magnetic plate 20, and the control accuracy is improved.

Referring to FIG. 6, a specific control method of the automatic operation control device for a transport vehicle having the above-described configuration will be described.
As shown in FIG. 6 (1), when the transport vehicle 10 at the position of ID = 2 is moved to the position of ID = 9, target travel route command data as shown in FIG. 6 (2) is created. I do.

Thus, first, ID = 2 is detected,
In addition, when the front and rear magnetic plates are detected, the pointer (array element) of the target traveling route command is updated from “0” to “1”, the next target ID = 3, and the ID = 2 to ID = 3. In the attitude control data of, both the control target attitude angle deviation and the control target line deviation are “0”, and the vehicle goes straight.
Similarly, when ID = 3 is detected, the pointer is updated from “1” to “2”, the target ID = 6, the control target attitude angle deviation relative to the target = −90 degrees, and the control target line deviation = 18.
00 cm, and a 90-degree left turn is performed. Thereafter, it is possible to perform automatic conveyance by repeating such processing to the final target position.

The details of such control processing are as follows. Now, the transport vehicle 10 is stopped on ID = 2,
It is assumed that the front and rear magnetic plates are detected. At this time, the estimated attitude angle deviation and the estimated line deviation based on the virtual vehicle model reach the next target ID = 3 according to the actually measured values detected by the front and rear magnetic plate detection sensors and the target travel route command data. Is set as follows according to the attitude control data of

[0036]

Ψ _E (n) = Arctan [(df−dr) / 1200] +0 ε _E (n) = (df + dr) / 2 + 0 In this state, when a traveling start command is issued from the control center, the transport is performed. The carriage 10 starts traveling toward ID = 3. From the moment when the carrier 10 starts moving and one of the front and rear magnetic plates is no longer detected, the estimated attitude angle deviation and the estimated line deviation based on the virtual vehicle model are calculated as follows.

[0037]

１１ _E (n) = ψ _E (n−1) + (1/2) · [ψ ′ (n) + ψ ′ (n−1)] · T ε _E (n) = ε _E (n -1) + (1/2) ・ [sin {ψ _E (n) + β (n)} + sin {ψ _E
(n-1) + β (n-1)}] · V · T The attitude control logic of the transport vehicle 10 performs steering in a direction in which the estimated attitude angle deviation and the estimated line deviation are always zero. That is, the front and rear wheel control target steering angles θf and θr are

[0038]

Equation 12 θf = −k ₁ · ψ _E (n) −k ₂ · ε _E (n) θr = k ₁ · ψ _E (n) −k ₂ · ε _E (n) Each steering mechanism 12F, 12R to be steered
Drive drivers 46F and 46R for driving the

[0039]

## EQU13 ## The command voltage calculated by vr = ks. (. Theta.f-.delta.f) vr = ks. (. Theta.r-.delta.r) is output to control the steering angles of the front and rear wheels.

Here, in the target steering angle determination logic based on the formulas 11 to 13, when the attitude deviation from the target is detected by the magnetic plate during the straight-ahead control, the attitude correction control is performed as follows.

(1) When the attitude angle deviation ≠ 0 and the line deviation = 0, this means that when the magnetic plate passes, the vehicle body center line is on the running reference line, but the target traveling direction and the vehicle body center line deviate from each other. Means that. In this case, the above equation (12) is

[0042]

(14) θf = −k ₁ · ψ _E (n) It is equivalent to θr = k ₁ · ψ _E (n), so that the steering direction of the front wheels and the rear wheels is reversed, that is, so-called anti-phase steering. . As a result, a steering pattern for correcting the attitude angle deviation in the shortest time is selected.

(2) When the attitude angle deviation = 0 and the line deviation ≠ 0, this means that when passing through the magnetic plate, the vehicle body center line is shifted to the left or right from the running reference line. Means that they match.

In this case, the above equation (11) is

Equation 15] .theta.f = become -k ₂ · ε _E and _{(n) θr = -k 2 ·} ε E (n) equal, so the steering direction of the front and rear wheels and a so-called in-phase steering to steer in the same direction . As a result, a steering pattern that corrects only the line deviation in the shortest time without causing a posture angle deviation is selected.

In actual running, combined control of (1) and (2) is performed, and any steering pattern from in-phase steering to anti-phase steering can be arbitrarily selected according to the state of occurrence of the attitude angle deviation and the line deviation. As a result, the posture deviation can be corrected in the shortest time.

According to the above logic, the estimated attitude angle deviation ψ
_E (n) and the estimated line deviation ε _E (n) are both finally controlled to be zero, and by the time the next target ID address is reached, the center line of the vehicle body of the transport vehicle 10 is on the target line. The direction of the vehicle body is controlled to the target traveling direction.

With the above control, when the ID reaches 3 and the front and rear magnetic plates are detected, the pointer (array element) of the target travel route command is updated from 1 to 2 (FIG. 6 (2)).
Reference), and the next target ID = 6. Further, target ID = 6
The estimated attitude angle deviation and the estimated line deviation are determined by the attitude control data for reaching

[0048]

１６ _E (n) = Arctan [(df−dr) / 1200] −90 ε _E (n) = (df + dr) / 2 + 1800

Immediately after passing ID = 3, head for ID = 6.
While traveling,_E(n), ε Control E (n) to zero
The front wheels are steered to the left and the rear wheels are steered to the right.
As a result, a left turn is started. ID = 3, the front and rear magnetic plates
From the point when either one is no longer detected,
The posture estimation logic during non-detection of the front and rear magnetic plates
The posture is estimated, and the front and rear wheels are steered according to the situation.
When the vehicle passes ID = 6, the vehicle runs in the target traveling direction.
It is controlled so that the vehicle center line coincides with the line reference line.
And

Further, when the magnetic plate is detected on ID = 6, the control is performed in the same manner as the running control to ID = 3, and finally, on ID = 9, the transport vehicle moves on the running reference line in the target traveling direction. Are controlled so that the vehicle center lines coincide with each other.
Then, at the time point when ID = 9 is detected, a series of control sequences based on the target travel route command is completed, and the transport vehicle 10 automatically stops.

When the next target travel route command is issued from the ground station, the same control is performed, and the vehicle automatically travels to the final target ID.

The above attitude control logic has been described in a simplified manner to explain the basic concept. However, in an actual transport vehicle control system, when the travel control sequence of the target travel route command is straight ahead, lane change is performed. , The coefficients (K ₁ , K ₂ ) for the target steering angle calculation are optimally set according to the case of cornering or the like.

Further, it is needless to say that the traveling speed is controlled to an appropriate traveling speed according to the situation immediately before going straight, changing lanes, cornering and stopping.

[0054]

As described above, according to the present invention,
One point section (for example, 12m) on the traveling path in the automated driving site
Since the magnets may be embedded every time, the cost can be reduced. In addition, since it is not affected by disconnection, dirt, rain, snow, etc. as in the case of the induction wire type or white line type, the reliability of the system is not affected by the environment on the operation site, and the deterioration of the system over time is reduced. It becomes possible.

Also, by using the ID tag for address identification and the magnetic plate information together, it is possible to accurately detect the absolute position of the transport trolley in the automatic driving site, thereby preventing erroneous recognition of the current position. Control accuracy can be improved. By estimating the attitude angle using the motion model of the transport vehicle, low-cost and high-accuracy attitude control becomes possible.

Further, when a gyro is mounted to monitor the estimated attitude angle, the gyro angle is corrected each time the vehicle passes through the reference position, thereby causing rotation of the earth, body vibration, and the like. Monitoring with high accuracy without being affected by the drift of the detected attitude angle with time. Due to the situation where the vehicle deviates from the transport vehicle motion model due to tire slip or the like, an unacceptable error occurs between the actual attitude angle of the transport vehicle and the estimated attitude angle, and the vehicle deviates from the predetermined traveling path. Can be prevented.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a system configuration diagram of an automatic operation control device for a transport trolley according to an embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a configuration block diagram of a control device of the embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram for explaining a running state using virtual tires.

FIG. 4 is a detailed view of a steering unit of the transport vehicle.

FIG. 5 is a plan view showing the relationship between an ID tag and a magnetic force generating means of a transport vehicle traveling reference line and various sensors on the transport vehicle.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram showing a data sequence of a control sequence of a traveling reference line of a transport vehicle and a target traveling route command.

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Conveyance trolley 12F, 12R Steering mechanism 13 Diesel engine 14 Hydraulic motor 16F, 16R Steering angle sensor 17 Differential gear 18 Vehicle speed sensor 20 Magnetic plate 22F, 22R Magnetic force detection sensor 30 Transport trolley controller 32 Control center 34 Management control computer 36 Radio modem Reference Signs List 38 engine control circuit 40 steering / drive / brake control hydraulic circuit 42 estimated deviation calculation unit 44 target steering angle calculation and steering command voltage calculation unit 46 drive control driver 48 ID tag (absolute position identification member) 50 absolute position detection means

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuation of front page (56) References JP-A-1-282615 (JP, A) JP-A-1-96706 (JP, A) JP-A-4-291404 (JP, A) JP-A-63-1988 104111 (JP, A) JP-A-7-179140 (JP, A) JP-A-63-19010 (JP, A) (58) Fields investigated (Int. Cl. ⁷ , DB name) G05D 1/02

Claims (3)

(57) [Claims] 1. A control device for automatically operating a transport vehicle along a traveling reference line preset in a site, wherein the control device is installed at intervals along a traveling reference line set in the automatic driving site. Reference position identification member, reference position detection means provided on the transport trolley for detecting the reference position identification member, steering angle control means for independently controlling the steering angles of the front and rear wheels of the transport trolley, and the reference position detection means Calculates the attitude angle deviation and the line deviation of the transport vehicle with respect to the traveling reference line each time the reference position identification member is detected by the reference position identification member .
In the traveling area where the reference position identification member is not detected,
The speed detected by a vehicle speed sensor mounted on the transport vehicle
Signal and the front and rear wheel steering angle sensors
The estimated attitude angle deviation ψ _E (n) and the estimated line deviation ε _E (n) based on the output steering angle signal are calculated, and the front wheel steering angle θf and the rear wheel steering angle θr are calculated as follows: And a controller that outputs the steering angles of the front and rear wheels to both the estimated attitude angle deviation and the estimated line deviation to be zero to the steering angle control means and causes the vehicle to travel. Automatic operation control device. 2. A control device for automatically operating a transport vehicle along a traveling reference line set in advance on a premises, the control device having absolute position information of the traveling reference line in the automatic driving premises, and An absolute position identification member disposed at intervals along a set traveling reference line; and an absolute position detection means mounted on a transport vehicle that detects the absolute position identification member and outputs an absolute position identification signal. A reference position identification member provided at intervals along a traveling reference line set in the automatic driving site; a reference position detection means provided on the transport trolley for detecting the reference position identification member; A steering angle control means for independently controlling the steering angles of the front and rear wheels; and an absolute position identification signal detected by the absolute position detection means to update the absolute position information of the transport vehicle in the traveling site by detecting the reference position detection means. The attitude angle deviation and the line deviation of the transport vehicle with respect to the traveling reference line are calculated for each detection of the reference position identification member by the step, and the reference position detection means
In the traveling area where the reference position identification member is not detected
Is the speed signal detected by the vehicle speed sensor mounted on the carrier.
Is detected by the front and rear wheel steering angle sensors
The estimated attitude angle deviation ψ _E (n) and the estimated line deviation ε _E (n) based on the steering angle signal are calculated, and the steering angle θf of the front wheels and the steering angle θr of the rear wheels are calculated as follows: And a controller that outputs the steering angles of the front and rear wheels to both the estimated attitude angle deviation and the estimated line deviation to be zero to the steering angle control means and causes the vehicle to travel. Automatic operation control device. 3. A magnetic force generation device wherein the reference position identification members form a pair corresponding to the front and rear positions of the carrier, and are spaced apart along a traveling reference line set in the automatic operation site. 3. The conveyance according to claim 1, wherein the reference position detection means is a magnetic force detection means for detecting magnetism from the magnetic force generation means provided at two places before and after the conveyance carriage. Automatic operation control device for bogie.