JP2003005833A - Radio controller for movable cart - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a radio controller for a movable cart which has high operating efficiency by avoiding an uncommunicable area beforehand to be able to reach a destination even under an environment where the uncommunicable area exists. SOLUTION: This radio controller for a movable cart having a movable cart 101, a ground side controller 102, ground side radio communication equipment 103, cart side radio communication equipment 106, a movable cart driving part 109 and a movable cart controlling part 110 for controlling the driving part 109 according to an instruction from the ground side controller 102, has an environment map storing part 112 for storing obstacle information as an environment map, a receiving intensity detecting means 111 for measuring receiving intensity of the truck side radio communication equipment 106 and writing a virtual obstacle in the environment map storing part 112 while considering that movable cart 101 comes close to and comes into contact with the virtual obstacle in the case the receiving intensity falls below a fixed value, and an obstacle avoiding device 113 for approaching the destination while avoiding the virtual obstacle on the basis of the information in the environment map storing part 112.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a wireless control device for realizing stable running of an unmanned mobile trolley that performs various tasks such as a factory, medical welfare facility, home, or outdoors.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A mobile communication vehicle is equipped with a wireless communication device,
When receiving a wireless operation command from the ground side controller, due to the effect of fading due to reflection and absorption of surrounding radio waves, the electric field strength may momentarily enter the shadow of the radio waves and the communication may be lost. . When the mobile vehicle enters the shadow of this radio wave, the operation command from the ground controller is not received by the mobile vehicle control unit, and the mobile vehicle is in an inoperable state.

As a measure for solving this, in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 7-123472, in regard to a track-type mobile carriage that travels along a guide line laid on the ground, communication is restored when communication is lost. The method is described. This will be described below with reference to FIGS. 11 and 12. FIG. 11 shows
It is a figure which shows the structure of the conventional radio controller. In FIG. 11, reference numeral 1101 is a moving carriage 1102, and 1102 is a moving carriage 110.
Ground side controller existing in the traveling environment of No. 1, 110
Reference numeral 3 is a ground-side wireless communication device connected to the ground-side controller 1102. The ground-side wireless communication device 1103 includes a ground-side modem 1104 and a ground-side antenna 1105. Reference numeral 1106 denotes a vehicle-side wireless communication device mounted on the mobile vehicle 1101 and capable of wirelessly communicating with the ground-side wireless communication device 1103. Cart side wireless communication device 1
106 is a trolley-side modem 1107 and a trolley-side antenna 1
And 108. 1109 is a moving carriage 11.
01 is a drive unit mounted on the mobile unit 01 and allows the mobile carriage 1101 to move to any position in the traveling environment. 1110
Is a moving carriage control unit mounted on the moving carriage 1101, and based on an operation command instructed by wireless communication from the ground controller 1102 via the ground wireless communication device 1103 and the carrier wireless communication device 1106, the driving unit 1
By controlling 109, the moving carriage 1101 can be run or stopped, and various operations can be performed. A method described in the conventional example for recovering communication when the wireless communication becomes impossible in the above system will be described with reference to FIG. In FIG. 12, 1201
Is a guide wire laid on the floor of the running environment, and uses a light-reflecting tape of a predetermined width or a magnetic tape. Reference numerals 1202 and 1203 denote movable carriages that can travel along the guide wire 1201 and move according to commands from the ground controller 1204 with the stations 1205-1208 existing in the route defined by the guide wire 1201 as target points. . Stop points 1210 and 1211 are present before acquisition of the confluence point 1209 of the guide line, and the mobile carriages 1202 and 1203 are allowed to enter the confluence point 1209 before reaching the stop point marks 1210 and 1211. Contact the ground controller 1204. Here, if the wireless communication with the ground side controller 1204 becomes incommunicable for some reason and there is no response, the mobile carriages 1202 and 1203 have the stop point mark 1
Stop at 210 and 1211. If there is no response even after a certain period of time, the moving carriages 1202 and 1203 move backward along the guide line 1201 for a certain distance, and then wait for a response again. By the above method, even when the mobile communication vehicle 1202 and 1203 enter the incommunicable area, the mobile carriages 1202 and 1203 move backward regardless of the instruction from the ground controller 1204, and the communication can be recovered from the incommunicable area. .

[0004]

In the system shown in the above-mentioned conventional example, since the traveling area is limited on the guide line laid on the determined route, the traveling area is basically within the communicable area. It is intended to deal with the above-mentioned temporary communication inability due to the shadow of the radio wave on the assumption that the above condition exists. However, in a trackless autonomous mobile vehicle that travels by estimating its own position from the information of the internal sensor without a guide line, the traveling area covers a wide area such as the entire facility or outdoors, so it is necessary to cover all of this without exception. Placing a large number of terrestrial wireless communication devices has a problem of increasing cost. In order to solve this problem, instead of keeping the number of ground side wireless communication devices to the minimum necessary, it is assumed that there is a permanent communication incommunicable area in the traveling area, and it is necessary to proceed while avoiding this. is necessary. Also, due to the obstacles present in the running area,
It is also expected that there will be a permanent incommunicable area on the path of the mobile vehicle. In this respect, the conventional example aims to restore communication with the ground-side controller, and even in an environment that includes a permanent incommunicable area, it is possible to avoid the incommunicable area and reach the target point. It does not present a simple method. In addition, when applied to a trackless autonomous mobile vehicle, the obstacle avoidance operation that detects and avoids obstacles existing in the traveling environment and the avoidance operation in the incommunicable area are not consistent, and in the worst case an obstacle occurs. May cause contact with objects. In addition, since the information about the incommunicable area is not shared by multiple mobile vehicles, even if the next vehicle passes through the same place, the same escape operation as the previous vehicle is performed, resulting in poor operation efficiency. There was a problem. Therefore, the present invention relates to a trackless autonomous mobile vehicle that travels by estimating its own position from information of an internal sensor without a guide wire,
Even in an environment where there is an incommunicable area, it is possible to avoid this in advance and reach the target point, and the avoiding operation of the incommunicable area and the obstacle avoiding operation can be compatible with each other. An object of the present invention is to provide a wireless control device for a mobile vehicle with high operational efficiency by sharing information regarding the incommunicable area detected by the mobile vehicle.

[0005]

In order to solve the above problems, a wireless control device for a mobile vehicle according to claim 1 comprises: a mobile vehicle 101; and a ground-side controller 102 existing in a traveling environment of the mobile vehicle. A ground-side wireless communication device 103 connected to the ground-side controller, a carriage-side wireless communication device 106 mounted on the mobile carriage and capable of wirelessly communicating with the ground-side wireless communication equipment, and mounted on the mobile carriage. In a wireless control device for a mobile vehicle, the mobile vehicle includes a drive unit 109 for moving the mobile vehicle into a traveling environment by a vehicle, and a mobile vehicle control unit 110 for controlling the drive unit according to a command from the ground side controller. The environment map storage unit 112 that stores obstacle information around the vehicle as an environment map, and the reception strength of the trolley-side wireless communication device are measured, and When the reception intensity at a point becomes a certain value or less, it is determined that the moving carriage approaches or contacts the virtual obstacle at the point, and the reception intensity is written in the environment map storage unit. Based on the means 111 and the information in the environment map storage unit,
An obstacle avoiding device 113 for correcting the trajectory so as to approach the target point while avoiding the virtual obstacle. According to the wireless control device for a mobile vehicle according to claim 1, the avoidance action for the virtual obstacle is started when the reception intensity becomes equal to or lower than a certain value, so that the avoidance action is avoided in advance without entering the incommunicable area. In addition, the operation of approaching the target point can be realized. The wireless control device for a mobile vehicle according to claim 2, further comprising obstacle detection means for detecting an obstacle existing around the mobile vehicle, and the detection result of the obstacle is overwritten on the environment map storage unit. It is characterized by including. According to the wireless control device for a mobile vehicle of claim 2, the virtual obstacle representing the incommunicable area detected by the reception strength detection means and the actual obstacle detected by the obstacle detection means are environmental maps. Since the obstacle avoidance device is stored together with the storage unit, the avoidance operation is collectively performed without distinguishing between the virtual obstacle and the actual obstacle. Therefore, the avoidance operation of the incommunicable area and the obstacle avoidance operation can be compatible with each other.
The wireless control device for a mobile vehicle according to claim 3 has a ground-side environment map storage unit connected to the ground-side controller, and transfers information of the vehicle-side environment map storage unit to the ground-side environment map storage unit. In addition, when another moving vehicle passes the vicinity, a route for avoiding the obstacle is given in advance based on the information in the ground side environment map storage unit. According to the wireless control device for a mobile vehicle according to claim 3, an environment map created as a result of the first mobile vehicle searching for an avoidance route can also refer to a mobile vehicle passing near the second vehicle. it can. As a result, it is possible to take a route that does not approach the incommunicable area in advance, so that no searching action is required and the operation efficiency of the mobile carriage can be improved.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the wireless control device for a mobile vehicle, the virtual obstacle detected by the reception intensity detecting means and the obstacle detecting means in the environment map storage section and the ground side environment map storage section. It is characterized in that it is written so as to be distinguishable from the obstacle detected by. According to the wireless control device for a mobile vehicle of claim 4,
With a virtual obstacle that is not incapable of traveling just because communication becomes impossible,
Since it is possible to perform route planning separately from an actual obstacle that is physically incapable of traveling, it is possible to continue autonomous traveling even if it enters the incommunicable area. The wireless control device for a mobile vehicle according to claim 5, wherein, when the obstacle avoidance device cannot find a route to avoid the obstacle, the environment map storage unit and the ground side environment map. In the storage unit, if the virtual obstacle detected by the reception intensity detecting means exists on the route and the obstacle detected by the obstacle detecting means does not exist, a route passing through the virtual obstacle is set. It is characterized by allowing. According to the wireless control device for a mobile vehicle according to claim 5, even in the case where there is an incommunicable area on the travel route and it is unavoidable to temporarily fall into the incommunicable state, it is possible to communicate again by passing through this. You can drive up to. The wireless control device for a mobile vehicle according to claim 6, wherein the obstacle avoidance device receives the command from the ground wireless communication device when the vehicle wireless communication device becomes incommunicable. It is characterized in that it autonomously travels toward a target point so as to avoid the obstacle detected by the obstacle detection means, and continues traveling as it is when communication is restored during traveling. . According to the wireless control device for a mobile vehicle of claim 6, even when an unexpected communication failure occurs during traveling,
It is possible to continue traveling toward the original target point.
The wireless control device for a mobile vehicle according to claim 7, wherein, in the obstacle avoidance device, when the vehicle-side wireless communication device falls into an incommunicable state, the wireless controller does not receive a command from the ground-side wireless communication device. In order to avoid the obstacle detected by the obstacle detecting means, the vehicle autonomously travels toward the target point, and when communication is impossible when the target point is reached,
The feature is that the vehicle travels toward an adjacent target point until communication is restored. According to the wireless control device for a mobile vehicle of claim 7, even when the target point is in the incommunicable area when the target point is reached by autonomous traveling, the communication is restored by moving to the communicable area. be able to.

[0007]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 1, 101 is a moving carriage, 102 is a ground side controller existing in the traveling environment of the moving carriage 101,
Reference numeral 103 is a ground-side wireless communication device connected to the ground-side controller 102. The ground side wireless communication device 103 includes a ground side modem 104 and a ground side antenna 105. Reference numeral 106 denotes a vehicle-side wireless communication device mounted on the mobile vehicle 101 and capable of wirelessly communicating with the ground-side wireless communication device 103. The vehicle-side wireless communication device 106 includes a vehicle-side modem 107 and a vehicle-side antenna 108. Reference numeral 109 denotes a drive unit mounted on the moving carriage 101, which allows the moving carriage 101 to move to an arbitrary position within the traveling environment. Reference numeral 110 denotes a moving carriage control unit mounted on the moving carriage 101. By controlling the driving unit 109, the moving carriage 101 can be run or stopped, and various operations can be performed. Mobile trolley control unit 11
0 is also based on internal sensor information such as a rotational speed sensor of a drive wheel and a gyro sensor (not shown).
The estimated current position of is calculated. Reference numeral 111 is a reception strength detection means connected to the vehicle-side wireless communication device 106, and 112 is an environment map storage unit connected to the reception strength detection means 111. The reception intensity detection means 111 measures the reception intensity of the trolley-side wireless communication device 106, and when the reception intensity becomes a certain value or less at a running point,
The position of the virtual obstacle is written in the environment map storage unit 112 assuming that the moving carriage approaches or contacts the virtual obstacle at the point. Reference numeral 113 is an obstacle avoidance device, which is a trolley-side wireless communication device 106 and an environment map storage unit 11.
2 and the mobile carriage control unit 110. The obstacle avoidance device 113 is provided from the ground-side controller 102 via the vehicle-side wireless communication device 106 and the ground-side wireless communication device 103 while avoiding the virtual obstacle based on the information in the environment map storage unit 112. The trajectory is corrected so as to approach the target point and transmitted to the moving carriage control unit 110.

FIG. 2 shows an example of the environment map stored in the environment map storage unit. In FIG. 2A, 200 is a moving carriage, 210 is a starting point of the moving carriage 200, and 220 is a target point. The current position of the moving carriage 200 is estimated by the moving carriage control unit 110 (FIG. 1) on the basis of internal sensor information such as a rotational speed sensor of a driving wheel and a gyro sensor.
It is being updated sequentially on the environment map. The mobile carriage 200 sends an operation command to the target point 220 to the ground side controller 102.
The ground side wireless communication device 10 is in motion while being received from (FIG. 1).
3 (FIG. 1) and the trolley-side wireless communication device 106 (FIG. 1) are separated by a distance, and the reception intensity of the radio wave falls below a preset threshold value, the reception intensity detection means 111 detects this, and FIG.
As shown in (b), the virtual obstacle 231 is arranged immediately before the moving carriage 200 on the environment map. Then, the obstacle avoidance device 113 (FIG. 1) calculates a movement route for avoiding the virtual obstacle 231 as shown in FIG. 2C, and transmits the movement route to the moving carriage control unit 110 (FIG. 1). By the moving carriage control unit 110 controlling the drive unit 109 (FIG. 1) according to this route,
The target point can be reached while avoiding the incommunicable area. If the incommunicable area is wide,
Each time the reception intensity of the radio wave falls below a preset threshold value, a plurality of virtual obstacles 231 to 231 as shown in FIG.
233 is arranged and a route for avoiding this is calculated.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an operation according to the embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 3, reference numeral 301 denotes a moving carriage, 302
Is a ground-side controller, and the ground-side wireless communication device 30
3 and 304 are connected to the ground controller 302 by wire. Generally, in wireless communication, the radio wave intensity decreases as the distance from the antenna increases, so the communicable area of the ground side wireless communication apparatuses 303 and 304 is a circular area centered on the ground side wireless communication apparatus as indicated by 305 and 306. Reference numeral 307 denotes an area in which the communicable areas 305 and 306 are overlapped with each other. When the mobile carriage passes through this area, the processing for switching the ground side wireless communication device to communicate with is performed.
It is automatically performed by the ground-side wireless communication device. 308
Is an incommunicable region in which neither the ground side wireless communication devices 303 and 304 can communicate, and when the mobile carriage 301 enters this region, it becomes impossible to receive an operation command from the ground side controller 302. In the traveling environment described above, when the moving carriage 301 moves from the starting point 309 toward the target point 310, for example, it tries to move along the route indicated by the dotted line 311 in the figure, but communication is not possible on the moving route. Because of the existence of the area, if it is left as it is, communication with the ground-side controller will be lost during traveling. If the device of the present invention is used here, the mobile carriage 301 corrects the operation to the route shown by the solid line 312 in the figure, thereby avoiding the incommunicable region 308 and reaching the target point 310 without falling into the incommunicable state. Can be reached

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an embodiment of the invention described in claim 2. In FIG. 4, reference numeral 401 denotes a mobile carriage, 40
Reference numeral 2 is a ground-side controller existing in the traveling environment of the mobile carriage 401, and 403 is a ground-side wireless communication device connected to the ground-side controller 402. Ground-side wireless communication device 4
03 is a ground side modem 404 and a ground side antenna 405.
It consists of and. Reference numeral 406 denotes a vehicle-side wireless communication device mounted on the mobile vehicle 401 and capable of wirelessly communicating with the ground-side wireless communication device 403. Car side wireless communication device 4
06 is a trolley-side modem 407 and a trolley-side antenna 408.
It consists of and. Reference numeral 409 denotes a drive unit mounted on the moving carriage 401, which allows the moving carriage 401 to move to any position in the traveling environment. 410 is a moving carriage 40
1 is a moving carriage control unit mounted on the control unit 1. By controlling the driving unit 409, the moving carriage 401 can be run, stopped, and various operations can be performed. The moving carriage control unit 410 also calculates the estimated current position of the moving carriage 401 based on internal sensor information such as a rotational speed sensor of a drive wheel and a gyro sensor (not shown). Reference numeral 411 is a reception strength detection means connected to the vehicle-side wireless communication device 406, and 412 is an environment map storage portion connected to the reception strength detection means 411. Reception strength detection means 41
1 measures the reception intensity of the trolley-side wireless communication device 406,
When the reception intensity becomes less than or equal to a certain value at a running point, the position of the virtual obstacle is stored in the environment map storage unit 412 on the assumption that the moving carriage approaches or contacts the virtual obstacle at the point. Write. An obstacle detection unit 413 is mounted on the moving carriage 401 and can detect the position of the obstacle. The obstacle detecting means is, for example, a distance sensor that emits ultrasonic waves or infrared rays, detects a received wave that is reflected by an obstacle and returns, or a vision sensor that processes an image obtained by a camera, or a bumper. A contact sensor that directly detects contact with an obstacle with an embedded switch can be considered. The obstacle detection means 413 is
When the obstacle is detected, the position of the obstacle is overwritten on the environment map storage unit 412. Reference numeral 414 denotes an obstacle avoidance device, which is a trolley-side wireless communication device 406 and an environment map storage unit 41.
2 and the mobile carriage control unit 410. The obstacle avoidance device 414 avoids the virtual obstacle and the actual obstacle based on the information of the environment map storage unit 412, and the terrestrial side via the trolley side wireless communication device 406 and the ground side wireless communication device 403. The trajectory is corrected so as to approach the target point given from the controller 402 and transmitted to the moving carriage control unit 410.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an operation based on the invention described in claim 2. FIG. 5 shows the same radio wave condition as FIG. 3, but obstacles 501 and 502 are newly installed. In such an environment, the actual obstacle detected by the obstacle detecting means and the virtual obstacle detected by the reception strength detecting means are described without distinction on the environment map. Therefore, the obstacle avoidance device does not move along the route indicated by the dotted line 511 in the figure,
While avoiding 01 and 502, it is possible to calculate a route that does not enter the incommunicable area 503 as shown by the solid line 512 in the same way as in normal obstacle avoidance. Thereby, the consistency between the obstacle avoidance operation and the escape operation from the incommunicable area can be ensured.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an embodiment of the invention described in claim 3. In FIG. 6, 601 and 602 are mobile carriages having the configuration described in claim 2, and 603 is a ground side controller. Encounter while mobile trolley 601 is running,
The avoidable communication area and the actual obstacle are stored in the environment map storage unit 604 as obstacle information. The ground-side controller 603 acquires this environment map from the mobile vehicle 601 after completion of traveling through wireless communication, and stores it in the ground-side environment map storage unit 605 connected to the ground-side controller 603. Then, with respect to the moving carriage 602 which travels on the same route next, before the start of travel, the ground side environment map storage unit 6 is stored in the environment map storage unit 606 through wireless communication.
The contents of 05 are transferred. As a result, the moving carriage 602 is
By traveling on a track that avoids obstacles in accordance with pre-given obstacle information, the same wireless communication as that of the mobile carriage 601 does not require route search action in a weak area, thereby realizing highly efficient traveling. be able to. Mobile trolley 60
The timing of transferring the contents of the environment map storage unit 604 in 1 above to the ground-side environment map storage unit 605 may be sequentially performed during traveling, not after completion of traveling. Similarly, the timing of transferring the contents of the ground-side environment map storage unit 605 to the environment map storage unit 606 on the moving carriage 602 may not be before the start of traveling but may be sequentially performed during traveling.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an embodiment of the invention described in claim 4. In FIG. In FIG. 7, reference numeral 701 is an example of an environment map stored in the environment map storage unit and the ground side environment map storage unit. The environment map 701 is composed of grids obtained by equally dividing the traveling environment, and the attributes of obstacles at the positions are entered in each grid. For example, in FIG. 7, 702 is a place where no obstacle exists, and 0 is stored in the grid. Reference numeral 703 denotes a location where an obstacle is actually detected by the obstacle detecting means, and 1 is stored in the grid. Reference numeral 704 denotes a place where the reception intensity becomes less than a certain value by the reception intensity detecting means, and 2 is stored in the grid as a virtual obstacle. By storing information about the type of obstacle in each grid in this way, it is not only the presence or absence of the obstacle, but also a virtual obstacle that does not make it impossible to run because it becomes incommunicable, or it cannot physically run. You can judge whether it is an actual obstacle.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an embodiment of the invention described in claim 5. In FIG. 8, reference numeral 801 denotes a moving carriage, which moves from a starting point 802 to a target point 803. As already described with reference to FIG. 3, the moving carriage 8
01 corrects the trajectory so as to avoid the incommunicable area 804, but in the case of FIG. 8, the target point 803 cannot be reached unless the incommunicable area P is temporarily exceeded. Therefore, the obstacle avoidance device cannot find a route for avoiding the obstacle and falls into a deadlock. At this time, since the virtual obstacle and the actual obstacle can be discriminated from each other on the environment map as described in claim 4, the virtual obstacle detected by the reception intensity detecting means on the route to be advanced. When there is an object and the actual obstacle detected by the obstacle detecting means does not exist, the route passing through the virtual obstacle is allowed as shown in FIG. As a result, even when there is an incommunicable area on the travel route and it is inevitable to temporarily fall into the incommunicable state, it is possible to pass through this and travel to the communicable state again. Also at this time, the actual obstacle 805 can be avoided and proceed.

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing an embodiment of the invention described in claim 6. In FIG. 9, reference numeral 901 denotes a moving carriage, which moves from a starting point 902 to a target point 903. If an unexpected communication failure occurs during movement, there is a possibility that the communication failure area 904 may enter before or during obstacle avoidance. As in this case, even if the surroundings are surrounded by virtual obstacles detected by the reception intensity detection means, if there is no actual obstacle detected by the obstacle detection means, the obstacles are mounted inside the moving carriage. The autonomous traveling is performed toward the target point 903 by using the information of only the sensor. Then, during the traveling, communication is restored at the position of 905, and the traveling continues to the target point 903 as it is. As a result, even if an unexpected communication failure occurs while driving,
It is possible to continue traveling toward the original target point.

FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an embodiment of the invention described in claim 7. In FIG. 10, reference numeral 1001 denotes a moving carriage, which moves from a starting point 1002 toward a target point 1003. If the target point 1003 is the incommunicable area 10
When it is within 04, the mobile carriage 1001 runs around the area avoiding the incommunicable area 1004, but the target point 100
3 can't be reached and falls into a deadlock. Next, the mobile vehicle allows the route passing through the virtual obstacle and autonomously travels to reach the target point 1003, but in this state, it cannot receive the next command from the ground side wireless communication device. Therefore, the moving carriage moves backward from here toward the immediately preceding target point (here, the starting point 1002). 1 while driving
Since communication is restored at the position of 001, the mobile carriage can receive the next command from the ground side wireless communication device. As described above, even when the target point is in the incommunicable area when the target point is reached by autonomous traveling, the communication can be restored by retreating to the communicable area. In the above example, although the vehicle retreats to the previous target point, if the next target point after the target point 1003 is given in advance, the vehicle may move forward toward the next target point without retreating. In this case as well, when the communication is restored during traveling, the traveling is continued as it is.

[0017]

According to the wireless control device for a mobile vehicle according to the first aspect of the invention, the avoidance action for the virtual obstacle is started at the stage when the reception intensity becomes equal to or lower than a certain value, so that the incommunicable area is not entered. This has the effect of avoiding this and realizing the action of approaching the target point. Claim 2
According to the wireless control device for a moving carriage described above, the virtual obstacle representing the incommunicable area detected by the reception strength detection means and the actual obstacle detected by the obstacle detection means are stored in the environment map storage unit. Since they are stored together, the obstacle avoidance device collectively performs the avoidance operation without distinguishing between the virtual obstacle and the actual obstacle. Therefore, there is an effect that the avoidance operation of the incommunicable area and the obstacle avoidance operation can be compatible with each other. Claim 3
According to the wireless control device for a moving carriage described above, the environment map created as a result of the first moving carriage searching for the avoidance route,
You can also refer to a moving vehicle that passes by the second vehicle. As a result, it is possible to take a route that does not approach the incommunicable area in advance, and there is an effect that a search action is unnecessary and the operation efficiency of the mobile carriage can be improved.
According to the wireless control device for a mobile vehicle of claim 4, it is possible to separately perform a route plan by dividing a virtual obstacle that is incapable of traveling but is incapable of communicating and an actual obstacle that is physically incapable of traveling. Therefore, it is possible to continue autonomous traveling even if the vehicle enters the incommunicable area. According to the wireless control device for a mobile vehicle according to claim 5, even in the case where there is an incommunicable area on the travel route and it is unavoidable to temporarily fall into the incommunicable state, it is possible to communicate again by passing through this. You can drive up to. Also at this time, the actual obstacle can be avoided and the vehicle can proceed. According to the wireless control device for a mobile vehicle of the sixth aspect, it is possible to continue traveling toward the initial target point even when an unexpected communication failure occurs during traveling. According to the wireless control device for a mobile vehicle of claim 7, even when the target point is in the incommunicable area when the target point is reached by autonomous traveling, the communication is restored by moving to the communicable area. be able to.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of an environment map according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an operation according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an embodiment of the invention according to claim 2;

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an operation based on the invention described in claim 2;

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an embodiment of the invention according to claim 3;

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an embodiment of the invention according to claim 4;

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an embodiment of the invention according to claim 5;

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing an embodiment of the invention according to claim 6;

FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an embodiment of the invention according to claim 7;

FIG. 11 is a diagram showing a configuration of a conventional example.

FIG. 12 is a diagram showing an operation based on a conventional example.

[Explanation of symbols] 101 mobile trolley 102 Ground controller 103 Ground-side wireless communication device 104 Ground modem 105 Ground antenna 106 Car side wireless communication device 107 Car modem side 108 Cart Antenna 109 Drive 110 Mobile trolley control unit 111 Reception strength detection means 112 Environmental map storage section 113 Obstacle avoidance device 200 mobile dolly 210 Starting point 220 target point 231-233 Virtual obstacles 301 Mobile trolley 302 Ground controller 303, 304 Ground wireless communication device 305, 306 Communication area 307 Communication area 305 and 306 overlap area 308 Incommunicable area 309 Starting Point 310 target point 401 mobile trolley 402 Ground controller 403 Ground-side wireless communication device 404 Ground modem 405 Ground antenna 406 Car side wireless communication device 407 Car Modem 408 trolley side antenna 409 drive unit 410 Mobile cart control unit 411 Reception intensity detection means 412 Environmental map storage section 413 Obstacle detection means 414 Obstacle avoidance device 501,502 new obstacles 601, 602 mobile cart 603 Ground controller 604 Mobile cart environment map storage unit 605 Ground environment map storage unit 701 Environmental map 702 Place where no obstacle exists 703 Obstacle detection location 704 Place where the reception intensity is below a certain level 801 mobile trolley 802 Starting point 803 Target point 804 Incommunicable area 805 Actual obstacle 901 Mobile cart 902 Starting point 903 Target point 904 Incommunicable area 1001 mobile trolley 1002 starting point 1003 target point 1004 Incommunicable area

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Claims (7)

[Claims] 1. A mobile vehicle 101, a ground-side controller 102 existing in a traveling environment of the mobile vehicle, and a ground-side wireless communication device 10 connected to the ground-side controller.
3 and a trolley-side wireless communication device 106 mounted on the mobile trolley and capable of wirelessly communicating with the ground-side wireless communication device.
And a radio unit for a mobile vehicle having a drive unit 109 mounted on the mobile vehicle for moving the mobile vehicle into a traveling environment, and a mobile vehicle control unit 110 for controlling the drive unit according to a command from the ground side controller. In the control device, the reception strength of the environment map storage unit 112 that stores the obstacle information around the moving carriage as an environment map and the reception strength of the carriage-side wireless communication device are measured, and the reception strength is constant at the point where the vehicle is running. When the value is less than or equal to the value, it is determined that the moving carriage approaches or contacts the virtual obstacle at the point, and the reception strength detection unit 111 that writes the virtual obstacle in the environment map storage unit and the environment map. And an obstacle avoidance device 113 for correcting the trajectory so as to approach the target point while avoiding the virtual obstacle based on the information in the storage unit. A wireless control device for a moving carriage. 2. An obstacle detecting means for detecting an obstacle existing around the moving carriage, wherein the detection result of the obstacle is written in the environment map storage portion in an overlapping manner. 1. A wireless control device for a moving carriage according to 1. 3. A ground-side environment map storage unit connected to the ground-side controller is provided, and information of the trolley-side environment map storage unit is transferred to the ground-side environment map storage unit while another mobile trolley is used. 3. The wireless control device for a mobile vehicle according to claim 1, wherein a route for avoiding the obstacle is given in advance based on the information in the ground side environment map storage unit when passing the vicinity. 4. The environment map storage unit and the ground-side environment map storage unit can distinguish between the virtual obstacle detected by the reception intensity detection unit and the obstacle detected by the obstacle detection unit. The wireless control device for a mobile carriage according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein writing is performed. 5. If the obstacle avoidance device cannot find a route for avoiding the obstacle, the obstacle avoidance device sets the route on the route in the environment map storage unit and the ground side environment map storage unit. When the virtual obstacle detected by the reception intensity detection means is present and the obstacle detected by the obstacle detection means is not present, a route passing through the virtual obstacle is allowed. Item 1
5. The wireless control device for a mobile carriage according to any one of 4 above. 6. The obstacle avoiding device detects the obstacle by the obstacle detecting means without receiving a command from the ground wireless communication device when the cart wireless communication device becomes incommunicable. 6. The vehicle autonomously travels toward a target point so as to avoid an obstacle, and when the communication is restored during the travel, the travel is continued as it is, and the travel is continued. Wireless trolley control device. 7. The obstacle avoiding device detects the obstacle by the obstacle detecting means without receiving a command from the ground wireless communication device when the cart wireless communication device becomes incommunicable. Characterized by autonomously traveling toward the target point so as to avoid obstacles, and if communication is not possible when the target point is reached, the vehicle travels toward the adjacent target point until communication is restored. The wireless control device for a mobile vehicle according to any one of claims 1 to 6.