JP5935745B2 - Position / orientation discrimination system for article transport vehicles - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an article transport vehicle that travels along a trackless travel route and transfers an article to be transported to and from a station disposed on the side of the travel route, and a travel operation of the article transport vehicle. And a control unit for controlling the posture of the article transport vehicle in plan view, wherein the article transport vehicle is stopped at the transfer position for transferring the article to the station, or the article transport vehicle. In a state where the vehicle is traveling at a position close to the transfer position, the posture of the article transport vehicle in a plan view with respect to a reference direction perpendicular to the transfer direction of the article with respect to the station and along the horizontal direction, and with respect to the station The present invention relates to a position / posture determination system for an article transport vehicle provided with a detection device for detecting a position in the front-rear direction of the article transport vehicle.

As a detection device in such a position and orientation discrimination system, as shown in FIGS. 10 and 11 , conventionally, transfer is performed on the side of the article transport vehicle that faces the station when the article transport vehicle is located at the transfer position. The three distance sensors 201a, 202, 201b that can detect the distance in the direction along the direction are arranged side by side along the front-rear direction of the article transport vehicle, and the article is transported on the side facing the transfer position side in the station. There has been provided a detected body 60 that includes detected portions 61a, 62, and 61b that are detected by the three distance sensors included in the vehicle along the reference direction (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

  In Patent Document 1, the detected portions 61a, 61b, and 62 are provided with a flat detected surface along the vertical direction. Further, the detected surface of the detected portion 61a and the detected surface of the detected portion 61b are located on the same plane, and the detected surface is in a direction along the reference direction in plan view. Is formed. Further, the detection surface of the detection portion 62 is formed so as to be inclined at a set angle with respect to the reference direction in plan view.

  Of the three distance sensors 201a, 202, and 201b that are separated from each other along the front-rear direction of the article transport vehicle, the distance sensor 201a detects the distance from the detected surface of the detected portion 61a, and the distance sensor 201b The distance between the detected portion 61b and the surface to be detected is detected, and the controller conveys the article with respect to the reference direction of the station of the article conveying vehicle based on the distance detected by the distance sensor 201a and the distance detected by the distance sensor 201b. The posture of the car in plan view is discriminated. That is, when the distance detected by the distance sensor 201a is equal to the distance detected by the distance sensor 201b, it is determined that the posture of the article transport vehicle with respect to the reference direction is not inclined, and the distance and the distance detected by the distance sensor 201a are detected. When the distance detected by the sensor 201b is different, it is determined that the posture of the article transport vehicle with respect to the reference direction is inclined by an angle corresponding to the difference between the detection distances of both sensors.

After determining the posture of the article transport vehicle as described above, the control unit detects the position of the article transport vehicle in the front-rear direction with respect to the station based on the distance between the distance sensor 202 and the detected surface of the detected portion 62. To do. In other words, since the detection surface of the detection portion 62 is inclined at a set angle with respect to the reference direction in plan view, the distance detected by the distance sensor 202 is the front-rear direction (see FIG. 11 in the left-right direction). For this reason, the control part can discriminate | determine the position of the front-back direction of the article conveyance vehicle with respect to a station with the distance which the distance sensor 202 detects.
In the autonomous traveling system and the remote operation system, control is performed so that the article transport vehicle travels toward the transfer position. Although the control for stopping the article transport vehicle from the traveling state to the transfer position is performed based on the position measured by the traveling position measurement system, the position measurement accuracy of the traveling position measurement system is determined. In general, since the height is not high, there is a problem in the positional deviation of the article transport vehicle in the front-rear direction with respect to the transfer position and the inclination of the article transport vehicle in plan view with respect to the reference direction. The position / orientation determination system of Patent Document 1 is used to accurately measure the positional deviation of the article transport vehicle in the front-rear direction with respect to the transfer position and the inclination of the article transport vehicle in plan view with respect to the reference direction. .

JP 2000-194418 A

  However, the detection device in the position and orientation determination system of Patent Document 1 stops the article transport vehicle at the transfer position with respect to the station or runs at a low speed in the vicinity of the transfer position, and the detection apparatus transfers the article to the station. It is for detecting the posture of the vehicle in plan view and the position of the article transport vehicle in the front-rear direction relative to the station. The stop position is corrected based on the detection result, or the transfer device provided in the article transport vehicle is transferred. Or reflected in operation. Therefore, the detection device does not always approach the transfer position with high accuracy from the beginning of detecting the posture of the article transport vehicle in plan view with respect to the station and the position of the article transport vehicle in the front-rear direction with respect to the station. For this reason, even if the article transport vehicle is deviated from the transfer position, the detected parts 61a, 62 are designed so that the distance sensors 201a, 202, 201b can detect the detected parts 61a, 62, 61b, respectively. , 61b needs to be set along the reference direction. And since the to-be-detected parts 61a, 62, 61b are arranged side by side along the reference direction, the dimension of the to-be-detected body 60 in the reference direction is large.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and the object thereof is to be detected in a detection device that detects the posture of the article transport vehicle in plan view with respect to the station and the position of the article transport vehicle in the front-rear direction with respect to the station. An object of the present invention is to provide a position and orientation determination system capable of reducing the size of the body in the reference direction.

A first characteristic configuration of a position and orientation determination system for an article transport vehicle according to the present invention is to travel along a trackless travel route, and to transfer an article to be transported with a station arranged on the side of the travel route. An article transfer vehicle to be transferred; and a control unit that controls a travel operation of the article transfer vehicle and a plan view posture of the article transfer vehicle, and the article transfer vehicle transfers the article to the station. A reference direction perpendicular to the transfer direction of the article with respect to the station and along the horizontal direction in a state where the transfer is stopped at the transfer position or the article transport vehicle is running at a position close to the transfer position. A position / posture discrimination system for an article transport vehicle provided with a detection device for detecting a posture of the article transport vehicle in plan view relative to the station and a position of the article transport vehicle in the front-rear direction with respect to the station,
The detection apparatus is fixed to the article carrier so that the detection object is fixed to the station, and the detection direction is along the width direction of the article carrier, and at least predetermined detection is performed in the front-rear direction of the article carrier. And a detection unit that detects a surface shape of the detection surface along the vertical direction of the detection target, and the detection unit is capable of detecting the shape of the detection surface in the transfer direction. The detected surface includes a posture detection region for detecting the posture of the article transport vehicle and a front / rear position detection for detecting a position in the front / rear direction of the article transport vehicle. The posture detection region includes the front / rear position detection region in the front-rear direction of the article transport vehicle, and the detected surface further includes the region of the article transport vehicle with respect to the station. The position in the front-rear direction is Even in this case, the detected range corresponding to the detection range of the detection unit includes a posture detection portion that is a part of the posture detection region and a front and rear position detection portion that is a part of the front and rear position detection region. to include, and the surface shape is formed differently in the object detection range corresponding to the longitudinal position of the article transport vehicle to said station, before Symbol controller, the plurality of by the detection unit The posture of the article transport vehicle is determined based on detection information about the position detection portion, and the correspondence between the position of the article transport vehicle in the front-rear direction with respect to the station and the surface shape of the detected surface in the detected range. to determine the longitudinal position of the article transport vehicle on the basis of the relation, each of the posture detection region and the front and rear position detecting area, different in and the transfer direction along the reference direction The posture detection region is distributed to the plurality of posture detection portions along the reference direction, and the front-rear position detection region is along the reference direction. Distributed in a plurality of the front and rear position detection parts, and the detected surface is formed by alternately arranging the posture detection parts and the front and rear position detection parts in the reference direction, and the control unit has the shape Based on the uneven shape in the reference direction of the detected surface detected by the sensor, the distance in the transfer direction at the detection point corresponding to the posture detection portion and the detection corresponding to the front and rear position detection portion It is in the point comprised so that the distance in the said transfer direction in a point may be detected .

That is, the detection unit determines a planar view posture of the article transport vehicle based on distance information to a plurality of posture detection areas, and a position in the front-rear direction of the article transport vehicle with respect to the station and a detection range of the front-rear position detection area The position of the article transport vehicle in the front-rear direction with respect to the station can be determined based on the correspondence relationship with the surface shape.
And even if the position in the front-rear direction of the article transport vehicle with respect to the station is different, the detected surface is a part of the posture detection region within the detected range of the detected surface corresponding to the detection range of the detection unit. Since the posture detection part and the front / rear position detection part that is a part of the front / rear position detection region are included, the detection unit detects the surface shape of the detection surface in the detection range. It is possible to obtain both detection information necessary for determining the planar view posture of the article transport vehicle and detection information necessary for determining the position of the article transport vehicle in the front-rear direction. Therefore, the object to be detected is for detecting a plurality of posture detection areas necessary for determining the planar view posture of the article transport vehicle and for detecting the front-rear position necessary for determining the position of the article transport vehicle in the front-rear direction. It is not necessary to arrange the areas side by side in the reference direction.
Thus, the dimensions possible position to reduce the size of the in the reference direction of the detection object in the attitude and detection device for detecting the longitudinal position of the article transport vehicle for stations in a plan view of the article transport vehicle against the station An attitude discrimination system can be provided.

In addition , since the posture detection portion and the front / rear position detection portion are arranged alternately in the reference direction, the detection portion detects the surface shape of the detected surface in the detection range, thereby detecting the posture detection portion. And the distance to the front-rear position detection part, and the plan view of the article transport vehicle based on the distance to the posture detection part and the distance to the front-rear position detection part. It is possible to discriminate both the posture at the front and the position in the front-rear direction of the article transport vehicle with respect to the station.
In order to form such an object to be detected, for example, a flat plate having a reference surface along the vertical direction and the reference direction is provided with reference to recessed grooves or protrusions corresponding to a plurality of front and rear position detecting portions. It is conceivable to prepare them in a state of being separated in the direction. In other words, since the portion where there is no recessed groove or protrusion provided in a state of being separated in the reference direction with respect to the reference surface is the posture detection portion, the detection target can be easily formed. .
Thus, according to this characteristic configuration, it is possible to provide a position / orientation determination system including a detected body that can be reduced in size in the reference direction and can be easily formed.

Furthermore , since the detection unit is configured by a shape sensor that can detect the shape of the detection surface in the transfer direction with respect to the article transport vehicle, the uneven shape in the reference direction of the detection surface can be detected. Based on the detected concavo-convex shape, the control unit extracts a detection point corresponding to the position detection portion in the concavo-convex shape and a detection point corresponding to the front-rear position detection portion in the concavo-convex shape, and the distance to the extracted detection point based on, it is possible to detect the longitudinal position of the article transport vehicle for attitude and station in plan view of the article transport vehicle against the station.
For example, when the detection unit includes a part for detecting the posture detection part and a part for detecting the front-rear position detection part separately, in order to properly detect the posture detection part and the front-rear position detection part, It is necessary to perform complicated work of adjusting the interval between the posture detection portion and the front-rear position detection portion and the interval between the portion detecting the posture detection portion and the portion detecting the front-rear position detection portion in the detection unit. However, according to the present feature configuration, it is not necessary to perform such a complicated operation.

The second characteristic configuration of the position and orientation determination system of the article transport vehicle according to the present invention, in addition to the first feature structure, the control section, based on the detection information of the detecting device, the article transport relative to the station The plan view posture of the car is an appropriate posture for transfer, and the article transport vehicle is stopped in a state where the position of the article transport vehicle in the front-rear direction with respect to the station is an appropriate travel position for transfer. There is in point.

That is, the by first applying the configuration as feature configuration, the detection in the detection device which detects the longitudinal position of the article transport vehicle for attitude and station in plan view of the article transport vehicle against the station Although the size of the body in the reference direction can be reduced, the position of the article transport vehicle in plan view with respect to the station is the proper posture for transfer, and the position of the article transport vehicle in the front-rear direction relative to the station is shifted. It can be stopped appropriately in a state where it is in the proper travel position.

The perspective view which shows the article conveyance vehicle of embodiment The top view which shows the positional relationship of the detection part of an article conveyance vehicle, and the to-be-detected body of a station Control block diagram of control unit Overall perspective view of detected object Top view showing the recessed groove of the object to be detected A flowchart showing processing executed by the control unit The figure explaining discrimination | determination of the attitude | position of an article conveyance vehicle The figure explaining the discrimination of the position of the article conveyance vehicle in the front-rear direction Top view showing another form of recessed groove in the object to be detected The figure which shows the to-be-detected body in the conventional article conveyance equipment The figure which shows the identification effect | action of the identification part with respect to the to-be-detected body in the conventional article conveyance equipment

Hereinafter, embodiments of the position and orientation determination system of the present invention will be described. This embodiment is an example in which the position and orientation determination system of the present invention is applied to an article transport facility.
As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the article transport facility includes an article transport vehicle 10, and the article transport vehicle 10 transfers the article B between the station ST and itself. The article B is conveyed between the plurality of stations ST. Goods carrier 10
The vehicle travels along a trackless travel route, and a plurality of stations ST are arranged on the side of the travel route.

The cart body 11 of the article transporting vehicle 10 is formed in a rectangular shape in plan view, and driving wheels (not shown) are provided apart from both ends in the front-rear direction with the longitudinal direction as the front-rear direction. A pair of drive wheels are provided spaced apart at the center in the lateral direction of the carriage body 11 in plan view and at both ends in the longitudinal direction in plan view. In addition, a pair of driven wheels (not shown) are provided at a central portion in the front-rear direction of the carriage main body 11 in a plan view and at both ends in a short direction in the plan view.

  The transfer device 12 includes a retracting / moving part 12a that can be moved back and forth along a lateral direction perpendicular to the front-rear direction of the article transport vehicle 10 in a plan view, and the lifting / lowering operation part 12a is moved up and down along the vertical direction. And a freely raising / lowering operation part 12b. A pair of support bodies 13 that place and support both ends of the support rod R inserted into the air core of the roll-shaped article as the article B are vertically spaced apart from each other in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle body. Has been. At the upper ends of the pair of support bodies 13, a placement portion 13 s is provided. When the article B is supported by the pair of support bodies 13, a support rod-like body is provided on each placement portion 13 s of the pair of support bodies 13. Both ends of R are supported, and the roll-shaped article B is positioned between the pair of supports 13.

As shown in FIG. 3, the article transport vehicle 10 is provided with a control unit H that controls the travel of the article transport vehicle 10.
The controller H is electrically connected to a steering actuator 15a that changes the traveling direction of each of the pair of front and rear drive wheels, and a travel motor 15m that travels and drives the drive wheels. Further, the control unit H is electrically connected to a drive unit for moving the moving-out / out operation unit 12a of the transfer device 12 and a driving unit for moving up / down the moving-up / down operation unit 12b. It has become so. Furthermore, the control unit H is connected to a two-dimensional shape sensor 20 that can detect the shape of the detection surface of the detection target, which will be described later, in the transfer direction, and can read the detection information of the two-dimensional shape sensor 20. It has become.
The control unit H includes a posture determination unit H1 that determines the posture of the article transport vehicle 10 in plan view based on the detection information of the two-dimensional shape sensor 20, and the detection information of the two-dimensional shape sensor 20. And a position discriminating section H2 for discriminating the position of the article transport vehicle 10 in the front-rear direction with respect to the station ST.

Based on a command from an external management device (not shown), the control unit H controls each of the pair of front and rear drive wheels to transport the article B to be transported from the transport source station ST to the transport destination station ST. The operation of the direction actuator 15a and the traveling motor 15m is controlled. Accordingly, the control unit H can control the traveling operation of the article transport vehicle 10 and the planar view posture of the article transport vehicle 10.
The article transport facility is provided with a position detection device (not shown) so that the travel position of the article transport vehicle 10 on the travel route can be detected. The control unit H controls the travel of the article transport vehicle 10 based on the travel position information of the article transport vehicle 10 from the position detection device and the command from the management device.

  When the article B is transferred to or from the station ST, the control unit H causes the withdrawal / operation unit 12a to protrude to the transfer position overlapping the station ST. The station ST is provided with a pair of station side supports (not shown) for placing and supporting both ends of the support rod R for the article B. The pair of station-side supports are positioned outside the pair of supports 13 in the direction in which the pair of supports 13 in the article transport vehicle 10 are arranged in a state where the retracting / moving operation portion 12a is located at the transfer position. The support rod-like body is supported by the pair of station-side supports and the state in which the support rod-like body R is supported by the pair of support bodies 13 in the article transporting vehicle 10 by the raising / lowering operation of the raising / lowering operation portion 12b. By switching the state of supporting R, the article B is transferred between the transfer device 12 and the station ST.

  As described above, when the article transport vehicle 10 transfers the article B to and from the station ST, the exit / retreat operation unit 12a and the pair of support bodies 13 provided therein and the station support body provided in the station ST are provided. In order to avoid interference, the posture of the article transport vehicle 10 with respect to a reference direction perpendicular to the transfer direction of the article B with respect to the station ST and along the horizontal direction is set to a predetermined posture, and the front and rear direction of the article transport vehicle 10 with respect to the station ST It is necessary to stop in a state where the position at is a predetermined position.

For this reason, in the article conveyance facility of the present embodiment, the article conveyance vehicle 10 is stopped at the transfer position where the article B is transferred to the station ST, or the article conveyance vehicle 10 is at the transfer position. In a state where the vehicle travels toward the transfer position at a close position, the posture of the article transport vehicle 10 in the plan view with respect to the reference direction with respect to the station ST and the position of the article transport vehicle 10 in the front-rear direction with respect to the station ST are determined. A detection device for detection is provided.
Then, based on the detection information of the detection device, the control unit H has a plan view posture of the article transport vehicle 10 with respect to the station ST as an appropriate posture for transfer, and a position in the front-rear direction of the article transport vehicle 10 with respect to the station ST. In order to stop the article transport vehicle 10 in a state where is an appropriate travel position for transfer, the travel operation of the article transport vehicle 10 and the planar view posture of the article transport vehicle 10 are controlled.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the detection device includes a detection target 50 fixed to the station ST, and a two-dimensional shape sensor 20 fixed to the article transport vehicle 10 so that the detection direction is along the lateral width direction of the article transport vehicle 10. And. As shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, the two-dimensional shape sensor 20 has a predetermined detection range in the front-rear direction of the article transport vehicle 10, and transports the article on the detected surface along the vertical direction of the detected body 50. The shape of the transfer direction with the car 10 is configured to be freely detected.

As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the detected object 50 is configured by a flat plate-like body that is long along the reference direction, and a plurality of recessed grooves 52 are provided in the flat plate-like body so as to be spaced apart from each other. It has been.
As shown in FIG. 5, the plurality of recessed grooves 52 are configured to be recessed from the reference surface 50 m of the detected object 50 by a distance equal to or less than the thickness of the detected object 50. That is, as shown in FIG. 5, on both sides of the recessed groove 52 c that is recessed by a distance L <b> 13 from the reference surface 50 m in the top view of the detection target 50, only a distance L <b> 12 from the reference surface 50 m in the top view of the detection target 50. A recessed groove 52b and a recessed groove 52d that are recessed are provided, and a recessed groove 52a and a recessed groove 52e that are recessed from the reference surface 50m by a distance L11 when viewed from above are provided on both sides thereof. ing. In the present embodiment, the detected object 50 is attached so that the recessed groove 52c is at the center of the station ST in the reference direction.

As shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, the control unit H detects the detection point P1 that is separated in the reference direction and corresponds to the reference surface 50m in the uneven shape in the reference direction of the detection surface detected by the two-dimensional shape sensor 20. Are selected (steps # 1 and # 2 in FIG. 6). The two detection points P1 are selected so as to be separated from both ends of the detection range S corresponding to the detection range of the two-dimensional shape sensor 20 in the reference direction.
The controller H stores correspondence information between the positions of the plurality of recessed grooves 52a to 52e and the position of the station ST in the reference direction.
And the control part H calculates the difference (deviation amount) from the distance to each of the two points P1, and the planar view posture of the article transport vehicle 10 is an appropriate posture for transfer along the reference direction. (Steps # 3 and 4 in FIG. 6).
If it is determined in step # 4 that there is a deviation from the appropriate posture, the control unit H continues to determine the difference between the distances to the two points P1 (shown as Y1 and Y2 in FIG. 7). An angle with respect to the reference direction is obtained, and this is temporarily stored as information indicating the posture of the article transport vehicle 10. And the attitude | position which controls the action | operation of the steering actuator 15a and the traveling motor 15m based on the information which shows the attitude | position of the said article conveyance vehicle 10 so that the planar view attitude | position of the article conveyance vehicle 10 may be made into the appropriate attitude | position for transfer. A correction movement process is executed (step # 5).

When it is determined in step # 4 that there is no deviation from the proper posture, or when the process of step # 5 is completed, subsequently, the detected surface detected by the two-dimensional shape sensor 20 as shown in FIG. In the uneven shape in the reference direction, the detection point P2 corresponding to the recessed groove 52 is selected.
The control unit H calculates the amount of deviation from the proper transfer position of the article transport vehicle 10 based on correspondence information between the position of the station ST and the positions of the plurality of recessed grooves 52a to 52e in the reference direction. Once stored, it is determined whether or not the position of the article transport vehicle 10 in the front-rear direction is an appropriate position for transfer (steps # 7 and # 8 in FIG. 6).
In the present embodiment, since the state in which the recessed groove 52c is detected at the detection point P is set as an appropriate position for transfer, the control unit H detects the amount of deviation from the recessed groove 52c. Become. That is, whether or not the distance X between the midpoint P2 ′ of the detected range S (that is, the point at which the distance W2 from both ends of the detected range becomes equal) and the detected point P2 corresponding to the recessed groove 52c is greater than or equal to the allowable range. Is determined.
If it is determined in step # 8 that the amount of deviation from the appropriate position is greater than or equal to the allowable range, the control unit H stores the position in the front-rear direction of the article transport vehicle 10 as the appropriate position for transfer. Based on the amount of deviation, position correction movement processing for controlling the operation of the steering actuator 15a and the traveling motor 15m is executed (step # 9).
When it is determined in step # 8 that the amount of deviation from the appropriate position is within the allowable range, or when the process of step # 9 is completed, the process of this flowchart is terminated.

In the present embodiment, the two-dimensional shape sensor 20 corresponds to a detection unit, each of the plurality of reference surfaces 50m corresponds to a posture detection portion, and each of the plurality of recessed grooves 52 corresponds to a front / rear position detection portion. . That is, each of the posture detection area constituted by the plurality of reference surfaces 50m and the front / rear position detection area constituted by the plurality of recessed grooves 52 is located at different positions along the reference direction and in the transfer direction. It is set on the surface to be positioned. The posture detection areas are distributed on the plurality of reference surfaces 50m along the reference direction, and the front and rear position detection areas are distributed on the plurality of recessed grooves 52 along the reference direction. The surfaces 50m and the recessed grooves 52 are formed alternately in the reference direction. The two-dimensional shape sensor 20 is configured to measure the distance to the reference surface 50 m and the distance to the recessed groove 52.
Further, based on the concavo-convex shape in the reference direction of the detected surface detected by the two-dimensional shape sensor 20, the control unit H determines the distance in the transfer direction and the recessed groove at the detection point P1 corresponding to the reference surface 50m. 52 is configured to detect the distance in the transfer direction at the midpoint P2 ′ corresponding to the bottom of 52.
Therefore, the detected surface includes a posture detection region for detecting the posture of the article transport vehicle 10 and a front / rear position detection region for detecting the front / rear position of the article transport vehicle 10. Even if the position of the article transporting vehicle 10 in the front-rear direction with respect to ST is different, the reference surface 50m, which is a part of the posture detection region, and the front-rear position detection region are detected in the detection range S corresponding to the detection range of the two-dimensional shape sensor 20. The surface shape in the detection range S is different so as to include any one of the plurality of recessed grooves 52 that are a part and corresponding to the position of the article transport vehicle 10 in the front-rear direction with respect to the station ST. Is formed.
Thereby, it is possible to reduce the size of the detection target 50 in the reference direction.

[Another embodiment]
(1) In the above embodiment, the configuration in which the article B is a roll-shaped article has been described. However, the article B is an article other than the roll-shaped article (for example, an article placed on a pallet, a semiconductor storage or transport container, etc.). There may be.

( 2 ) In the above embodiment, the detection unit is a two-dimensional shape sensor. However, the detection unit is not limited to such a configuration. A three-dimensional shape sensor or a camera is used as the detection unit, and the detected object is analyzed by image analysis. The surface shape may be detected. Further, as the detection unit, a plurality of distance sensors may be provided so as to detect the distance to the posture detection portion and the distance to the front and rear position detection portion.

( 3 ) In the above embodiment, as shown in FIG. 5, the plurality of recessed grooves 52 are formed on both sides of the recessed grooves 52c that are recessed from the reference surface 50m by a distance L13 as viewed from above. A recessed groove 52b and a recessed groove 52d that are recessed by a distance L12 from the reference surface 50m in the top view of the detection body 50 are provided, and further, recessed on both sides thereof by a distance L11 from the reference surface 50m in the top view. However, the present invention is not limited to such a configuration. For example, as shown in FIG. 9 , at one end side along the reference direction of the detected object 50, the concave groove 52a and the concave groove 52e are provided. You may comprise so that the distance from the reference surface 50m may become large gradually in the top view toward the concave groove 52e provided in the other end side from the concave groove 52a provided. 9 shows an example in which the distances L21 to L25 from the reference surface 50m of the recessed grooves 52a to 52e are formed in an equal shape, but the distance from the reference surface 50m of the recessed grooves 52a to 52e is shown. The distance may be varied randomly regardless of the arrangement order in the reference direction.
Furthermore, in the said embodiment, although the number of the recessed grooves 52 was five, the number of the recessed grooves 52 is not restricted to this, It is good also as 4 or less or 6 or more. Furthermore, in the said embodiment, although the front-back position detection part was made into the linear recessed groove | channel 52 along an up-down direction, it can also be made into a protrusion, for example. Further, the front / rear position detecting portion may have a shape other than a linear shape, for example, a bottomed circular hole shape or a bottomed polygonal shape recessed from the reference surface 50m, a circular protrusion or a polygonal protrusion protruding from the reference surface 50m. .

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Article conveyance vehicle 20 Detection part 50 Detected object 52 Recessed groove B Article H Control part P1 Detection point P2 Detection point S Detection range ST Station

Claims (2)

An article transport vehicle that travels along a trackless travel route and transfers an article to be transported to and from a station disposed on the side of the travel route;
A control unit for controlling the travel operation of the article transport vehicle and the planar view posture of the article transport vehicle,
In a state where the article transport vehicle is stopped at a transfer position for transferring the article relative to the station, or in a state where the article transport vehicle is running at a position close to the transfer position, Article provided with a detection device for detecting a posture of the article transport vehicle in a plan view with respect to a reference direction orthogonal to a transfer direction of the article with respect to the station and along a horizontal direction, and a position of the article transport vehicle in the front-rear direction with respect to the station A position and orientation determination system for a transport vehicle,
The detection apparatus is fixed to the article carrier so that the detection object is fixed to the station, and the detection direction is along the width direction of the article carrier, and at least predetermined detection is performed in the front-rear direction of the article carrier. A detection unit for detecting a surface shape of a detection surface along a vertical direction provided in the detection object, and having a range;
The detection unit is configured by a shape sensor capable of detecting the shape of the detection surface in the transfer direction,
The detected surface includes an attitude detection area for detecting the attitude of the article transport vehicle, and a front / rear position detection area for detecting a position in the front / rear direction of the article transport vehicle , and In the front-rear direction of the article transport vehicle, the posture detection region includes the front-rear position detection region,
The posture detection is further part of the posture detection region in the detection range corresponding to the detection range of the detection unit even if the position of the article transport vehicle in the front-rear direction with respect to the station is different. A surface in the detected range corresponding to a position in the front-rear direction of the article transporting vehicle with respect to the station so as to include a front-rear position detecting portion that is a part of the front-rear position detecting region Formed in different shapes ,
Prior Symbol controller, based on the detected information about said plurality of posture detection portion by the detector to determine the orientation of the article transport vehicle, the front and rear direction of the position of the article transport vehicle to said station to be Determining the position of the article transport vehicle in the front-rear direction based on the correspondence with the surface shape in the detected range of the detection surface ;
Each of the posture detection region and the front-rear position detection region is set on a surface located at a different position along the reference direction and in the transfer direction,
The posture detection region is distributed to the plurality of posture detection portions along the reference direction, and the front and rear position detection region is distributed to the plurality of front and rear position detection portions along the reference direction. And
The detected surface is formed by alternately arranging the posture detection portions and the front-rear position detection portions in the reference direction,
Based on the concavo-convex shape in the reference direction of the detected surface detected by the shape sensor, the control unit detects the distance in the transfer direction and the front-rear position at a detection point corresponding to the posture detection portion. A position / posture determination system for an article transport vehicle configured to detect a distance in the transfer direction at a detection point corresponding to a detection portion . Based on the detection information of the detection device, the control unit has an appropriate posture for transfer of the article transport vehicle with respect to the station, and the position of the article transport vehicle in the front-rear direction with respect to the station is shifted. The position / posture determination system for an article transporting vehicle according to claim 1 , wherein the article transporting vehicle is configured to stop in a state where the proper traveling position is set .

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