GB2102160A - Control device for driverless guided vehicle - Google Patents
Control device for driverless guided vehicle Download PDFInfo
- Publication number
- GB2102160A GB2102160A GB08214694A GB8214694A GB2102160A GB 2102160 A GB2102160 A GB 2102160A GB 08214694 A GB08214694 A GB 08214694A GB 8214694 A GB8214694 A GB 8214694A GB 2102160 A GB2102160 A GB 2102160A
- Authority
- GB
- United Kingdom
- Prior art keywords
- guided vehicle
- driverless
- driverless guided
- switch panel
- program switch
- Prior art date
- Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
- Granted
Links
- 230000000694 effects Effects 0.000 description 3
- 238000010276 construction Methods 0.000 description 2
- 230000000881 depressing effect Effects 0.000 description 2
- 230000001186 cumulative effect Effects 0.000 description 1
- 230000000994 depressogenic effect Effects 0.000 description 1
- 230000007257 malfunction Effects 0.000 description 1
- 238000000034 method Methods 0.000 description 1
Classifications
-
- G—PHYSICS
- G05—CONTROLLING; REGULATING
- G05D—SYSTEMS FOR CONTROLLING OR REGULATING NON-ELECTRIC VARIABLES
- G05D1/00—Control of position, course or altitude of land, water, air, or space vehicles, e.g. automatic pilot
- G05D1/02—Control of position or course in two dimensions
- G05D1/021—Control of position or course in two dimensions specially adapted to land vehicles
- G05D1/0259—Control of position or course in two dimensions specially adapted to land vehicles using magnetic or electromagnetic means
- G05D1/0265—Control of position or course in two dimensions specially adapted to land vehicles using magnetic or electromagnetic means using buried wires
-
- G—PHYSICS
- G05—CONTROLLING; REGULATING
- G05D—SYSTEMS FOR CONTROLLING OR REGULATING NON-ELECTRIC VARIABLES
- G05D1/00—Control of position, course or altitude of land, water, air, or space vehicles, e.g. automatic pilot
- G05D1/0055—Control of position, course or altitude of land, water, air, or space vehicles, e.g. automatic pilot with safety arrangements
- G05D1/0061—Control of position, course or altitude of land, water, air, or space vehicles, e.g. automatic pilot with safety arrangements for transition from automatic pilot to manual pilot and vice versa
Abstract
A driverless guided vehicle has a cargo loads receiving floor (4), an upright (5) mounted on the vehicle in perpendicular relation to the floor, and a control means (6-8) attached to the upright at a height easy to access by an operator on the route along which the driverless vehicle is guided. The control means includes a program switch panel, a manual dispatch switch, a manual stop switch, and a pair of handles. <IMAGE>
Description
SPECIFICATION
Control device for driverless guided vehicle
This invention relates to a control device for
guiding a driverless guided vehicie. The invention
is applied to such a driverless guided vehicle of a
type that the vehicle follows a predetermined
route along which a guide path, such as
electrically detectable guide wires, is positioned
on or in the floor of factories and warehouses or
the like, and that the vehicle is used for conveying a various kind of cargo loads.
An object of the present invention is to provide a novel control device for guiding a driverless
guided vehicle capable of being operated by an operator on the floor with ease and correctly.
Briefly, in accordance with the present
invention, in a driverless guided vehicle having a
cargo loads receiving floor at the top of the
driverless guided vehicle, a novel control device for the driverless guided vehicle is provided which
comprises a holding upright mounted on the
driverless guided vehicle in perpendicular relation
to the cargo loads receiving floor, and a control
means attached to the holding upright at the
height easy to access by an operator on the route
along which the driverless guided vehicle is
guided.
In one aspect of the present invention, the
control means is selected from the group
consisting of a manual stop switch, a program switch panel, a manual dispatch or start switch, and a pair of operating handles. Preferably, the
holding upright adapted to attach the control
means thereto is mounted on the driverless guided vehicle at the back end thereof, that is, at the backward region relative to the drive direction of the driverless guided vehicle.- Furthermore, the program switch panel is preferably mounted on the holding upright in such an arrangement that the upper portion thereof is tilted backward relative to the lower portion, the manual dispatch switch being preferably mounted on the holding upright at the backward region relative to the drive direction of the driverless guided vehicle, and the pair of operating handles being mounted on the holding upright at both sides with respect to the driver guided vehicle, that is, at both sides of the holding upright forming parallel planes to the drive direction of the driver guided vehicle.
The foregoing and other objects, the features and the advantages of the present invention will be pointed out in, or apparent from, the following description of the preferred embodiments considered together with the accompanying drawings.
In the drawing:
Figure 1 is a perspective view showing a control device mounted on a driverless guided vehicle and an operator using the control device, and
Figure 2 is a side elevational view showing in part the control device shown in Figure 1, in which a program switch panel is shown in a
dotted line in order to clearly illustrate a mounting
method on the control panel.
Detailed description of the preferred
embodiment
A preferred embodiment of a control device for
a driverless guided vehicle according to the
invention will now be described more concretely
with reference to the accompanying drawing.
Referring now to Figure 1 and 2, there is
illustratively shown a driverless guided vehicle
generally designated at 1 to which a control
device according to the present invention is
applied. The driverless guided vehicle 1 used
herein for the application of the control device
according to the invention is of a type that the
driverless guided vehicle 1 has a route sensor or
sensors (not shown) at the bottom of the vehicle
frame. The sensor aboard the driverless guided
vehicle 1 detects, for example, a magnetic field
generated by guide paths 2 and 2', and controls a
steering mechanism in order to keep the
driverless guided vehicle 1 centered over the
magnetic field. The steering mechanism steers
drive wheels 3 and 3' rotatably mounted beneath
the vehicle frame at its correct route.The driverless guided vehicle 1 is provided further with a motor for driving the drive wheels 3 and 3'
in accordance with the output of a driver circuit which is actuated by a present program
hereinafter described, and with a power source, such as a battery for feeding a power supply to the motor. The steering mechanism, and power source are mounted within the vehicle frame upon which a cargo loads receiving floor 4 is formed for use in conveyance of cargo loads. The cargo loads receiving floor 4 covers substantially all the top area of the driverless guided vehicle 1.
A control device for driving the driverless guided vehicle 1 with such a construction comprises a holding upright 5 and a control means attached to the holding upright 5. The control means includes a program switch panel 6, a manual dispatch switch 7, a manual stop switch 8, and a pair of operating handles 9.
The holding upright 5 is made of an elongated
rectangular prism having front and rear sides respectively positioning at and corresponding to the forward and backward regions relative to the drive direction of the driverless guided vehicle 1, and both sides corresponding to the sides of the driverless guided vehicle 1. The holding upright 5 is mounted on the driverless guided vehicle preferably at the backward region relative to the drive direction of the driverless guided vehicle 1 in perpendicular relation to the cargo loads receiving floor 4. The height of the holding upright 5 is preferably as high as that which is suitable for the access by an operator working on the route along which the driverless guided vehicle 1 is guided.
The reason why the height should be determined at such a level is described later in detail.
The program switch panel 6 is used for entering a drive route program of the driverless guided vehicle 1 prior to the dispatch thereof by sequentially pushing a series of switches 6bl, 6b2- - -. The destination station is capable of being displayed by a numerical number on a display panel 6a secured to the upper part of the program switch panel 6. The program switch panel 6 is preferably mounted on or slightly embedded in the holding upright in such a manner that the upper portion of the program switch panel 6 is inclined or tilted backward relative to the lower portion thereof thus ensuring an easy access and a clear vision by the operator.
There is provided the manual dispatch or start switch 7 for actuating the driverless guided vehicle 1 to start to move along the route predetermined by the setting of the program switch panel 6. The manual dispatch switch 7 is mounted adjacent the program switch panel 6.
Reference numeral 8 designates the manual stop switch for use in an emergency case. Upon depressing the manual stop switch 8, the driver circuit for the motor or the power source is inactivated thus effecting in turn a braking operation to halt immediately the driverless guided vehicle 1 at the position corresponding to the time instant when the manual stop switch 8 is depressed. The manual stop switch 8 is mounted on the holding upright 5 at the height easy to access by the operator on the floor of factories or warehouses. In this preferred embodiment, the manual stop switch 8 may be mounted either on the top of the holding upright 5 as shown is a solid line in Figure 1, or on the upper side of the holding upright 5 as shown in one dotted line in
Figure 1. The pair of operating handles 9 are also provided extending out from both upper sides of the holding upright 5.The pair of operating handles 9 are used in an emergency when the drive mechanism equipped with the driverless guided vehicle 1 falls in malfunction due to uncertain troubles. In this case, the operator releases the engagement of a brake mechanism by means of an additional brake reieasing switch, and thereafter pushes or pulls the driverless guided vehicle 1 to the certain location by using the above pair of operating handles 9.
With such a construction described above of the control device for driving the driverless guided vehicle 1 according to the present invention, the operation thereof is in the following: irst, the operator sets a program how the driverless guided vehicle 1 is guided, by entering a desired drive route program with the series of switches 6b, 6b- - - of the program switch panel 6. After making sure that the correct identification number of the destination station is displayed on the display panel 6a, the operator actuates the manual dispatch switch 7 to allow the present program to deliver a command signal to the drive circuit for the motor. Thus, the driverless guided vehicle 1 is guided in accordance with the program along the predetermined route by sensing the guide paths 2 and 2' with the sensor or sensors.
It is necessary to stop the driverless guided vehicle 1 at a time when a dangerous article exists on or at the vicinity of the drive route, which article is liable to catch fire or to explode due to an impact effected thereupon. In such an instant, as shown illustratively in Figure 1, the operator rushes to the driverless guided vehicle 1 and can stop it immediately by depressing the manual stop switch 8. After removing the dangerous article on the drive route, or after changing the previously set program to a new one for another route by using the series of switches 6b1, 6b2 - - - of the program switch panel 6, the operator can start the driverless guided vehicle 1 once again upon actuating the manual start switch 7.
Alternatively, when the driverless guided vehicle 1 is subjected to any troubles of the steering mechanism or the like, and forced to a condition of disabling the driving of the driverless guided vehicle 1, it is required to move the driverless guide vehicle 1 away from the guide paths 2 and 2' on the route for reparing and checking purposes or for avoiding a possible collision with another driverless guided vehicle on the route. In this case, the brake mechanism is automatically activated to effect a brake function to stop the driverless guided vehicle 1 and
maintains its halt, so that the operator releases the engagement of the brake mechanism by
means of the additional brake releasing switch, and then pushes or pulls the driverless guided vehicle 1 to the certain desired location by using the pair of operating handles 9.
As is apparent, from the foregoing description of the preferred embodiment of the control device according to the invention, the control means, such as a program switch panel, a manual dispatch switch, a manual stop switch, or a pair of operating handles, is mounted on a holding upright at the height accessable by an operator with easy so that cumulative effects is attained to perform an easy and adequate control of the driverless guided vehicle, and of course an identical effect is obtained from each of the control means which is described in order one by one in the following: (1) The manual stop switch for emergency use is mounted on the holding upright at the top thereof or the like where the operator can easily handle the manual stop switch by merely stretching his arm, thereby ensuring a quick access to and a proper handling of the manual stop switch.
(2) The manual dispatch switch is mounted on the holding upright at the backward region relative to the drive direction of the driverless guided vehicle, and the mounting position is also easy to access by the operator. As a result, the operator is sheltered from a dangerous environment because of the drive direction of the driverless guided vehicle which moves away from the operator.
(3) The program switch panel for use in entering a destination location is mounted on the holding upright in such a way as to tilt the upper portion of the program switch panel backward relative to the lower portion thereof. Therefore, the program switch panel can be readily seen by the operator whose eyes and gage is schematically shown in Figure 2.
(4) Since the pair of operating handles are mounted on both sides of the driverless guided vehicles at the upper portion thereof to extend outwardly, it is extremely convenient for the operator to handle them when it is required to move the driverless guided vehicle to the desired location.
The above identical effect of the control means can be multiplied when the control means is used in combination so that the operation of the driverless guided vehicle is improved to a large extent.
While a preferred embodiment has been described, variations thereof will occur to those skilled in the art within the scope of the present invention which are delineated by the following
Claims (12)
1. In a driverless guided vehicle having a cargo load receiving floor covering substantially all the top area of the driverless guided vehicle, a control device for the driverless guided vehicle which comprises a holding upright mounted on said driverless guided vehicle in substantially perpendicular relation to said cargo loads receiving floor, and a control means attached to said holding upright at a height easy to access by an operator on the route along which said driverless guided vehicle is guided.
2. A control device for the driverless guided vehicle according to Claim 1, wherein said control means comprises a manual stop switch for halting in an emergency said driverless guided vehicle.
3. A control device for the driverless guided vehicle according to Claim 1, wherein said control means comprises a program switch panel for entering a destination setting, said program switch panel being mounted on said holding upright in such an arrangement that the upper portion of said program switch panel is inclined backward relative to the lower portion thereof.
4. A control device for the driverless guided vehicle according to Claim 1, wherein said control means comprises a manual dispatch switch mounted on said holding upright at the backward region relative to the drive direction of said driverless guided vehicle.
5. A control device for the driverless guided vehicle according to Claim 1, wherein said control means comprises a pair of operating handles for use in an emergency, said pair of operating handles being mounted on said holding upright at both sides with respect to said driverless guided vehicle.
6. A control device for the driverless guided vehicle according to Claim 1, wherein said control means comprises a manual stop switch for halting in an emergency said driverless guided vehicle, and a program switch panel for entering a destination setting, said program switch panel being mounted on said holding upright in such an arrangement that the upper portion of-said program switch panel is inclined backward relative to the lower portion thereof.
7. A control device for the driverless guided vehicle according to Claim 1, wherein said control means comprises a program switch panel for entering a destination setting, said program switch panel being mounted on said holding upright in such an arrangement that the upper portion of said program switch panel is inclined backward relative to the lower portion thereof, and a manual dispatch switch mounted on said holding upright at the backward region relative to the drive direction of said driverless guided vehicle.
8. A control device for the driverless guided vehicle according to Claim 1, wherein said control means comprises a manual stop switch for halting in an emergency said driverless guided vehicle, a program switch panel for entering a destination setting, said program switch panel being mounted on said holding upright in such an arrangement that the upper portion of said program switch panel is inclined backward relative to the lower portion thereof, and a manual dispatch switch mounted on said holding upright at the backward region relative to the drive direction of said driverless guided vehicle.
9. A control device for the driverless guided vehicle according to Claim 1, wherein said control means comprises a program switch panel for entering a destination setting, said program switch panel being mounted on said holding upright in such an arrangement that the upper portion of said program switch panel is inclined backward relative to the lower portion thereof, a manual dispatch switch mounted on said holding upright at the backward region relative to the drive direction of said driverless guided vehicle, and a pair of operating handles for use in an emergency, said pair of operating handles being mounted on said holding upright at both sides with respect to said driverless guided vehicle.
10. A control device for the driverless guided vehicle according to Claim 1, wherein said control means comprises a manual stop for halting in an emergency said driverless guided vehicle, a program switch panel for entering a destination setting, said program switch panel being mounted on said holding upright in such an arrangement that the upper portion of said program switch panel is inclined backward relative to the lower portion thereof, a manual dispatch switch mounted on said holding upright at the backward region relative to the drive direction of said driverless guided vehicle, and a pair of operating handles for use in an emergency, said pair of operating handles being mounted on said holding upright at both sides with respect to said driverless guided vehicle.
11. A control device for the driverless guided vehicle according to Claim 1, wherein said holding upright is adapted to attach said control means is mounted on said driverless guided
vehicle at the backward region relative to the
drive direction of said driverless guided vehicle.
12. A vehicle according to any preceding claim wherein the receiving floor is disposed in the region of the top of the vehicle and extends to cover substantially the whole of the upper area of the vehicle.
1 3. A driverless guided vehicle constructed and arranged substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to and as shown in the accompanying drawings.
Applications Claiming Priority (1)
| Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| JP56077241A JPS57191707A (en) | 1981-05-20 | 1981-05-20 | Operation device for unattended inductive vehicle |
Publications (2)
| Publication Number | Publication Date |
|---|---|
| GB2102160A true GB2102160A (en) | 1983-01-26 |
| GB2102160B GB2102160B (en) | 1985-02-20 |
Family
ID=13628361
Family Applications (1)
| Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| GB08214694A Expired GB2102160B (en) | 1981-05-20 | 1982-05-20 | Control device for driverless guided vehicle |
Country Status (4)
| Country | Link |
|---|---|
| JP (1) | JPS57191707A (en) |
| DE (1) | DE3219246A1 (en) |
| FR (1) | FR2506476B1 (en) |
| GB (1) | GB2102160B (en) |
Cited By (2)
| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CN101825902A (en) * | 2010-04-30 | 2010-09-08 | 天津朗誉科技发展有限公司 | Intelligent electric motor car and control method thereof |
| WO2020087490A1 (en) * | 2018-11-02 | 2020-05-07 | Lingdong Technology (Beijing) Co. Ltd | Manual direction control for self-driving vehicle |
Families Citing this family (3)
| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| JPS6218703U (en) * | 1985-07-12 | 1987-02-04 | ||
| US5386364A (en) * | 1993-06-02 | 1995-01-31 | Translogic Corporation | Communication of control signals to a vehicle using its bumper switch |
| DE102013205097A1 (en) * | 2013-03-22 | 2014-09-25 | Robert Bosch Gmbh | Emergency stop procedure for a comparatively slow-moving vehicle by a road user |
Family Cites Families (3)
| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| FR1523534A (en) * | 1967-04-11 | 1968-05-03 | Conveyor installation without rails | |
| US3933099A (en) * | 1971-07-29 | 1976-01-20 | H. Jungheinrich & Co. | Vehicle control apparatus for a closed transporting system |
| US4137984A (en) * | 1977-11-03 | 1979-02-06 | Jennings Frederick R | Self-guided automatic load transporter |
-
1981
- 1981-05-20 JP JP56077241A patent/JPS57191707A/en active Pending
-
1982
- 1982-05-19 FR FR8208992A patent/FR2506476B1/fr not_active Expired
- 1982-05-20 GB GB08214694A patent/GB2102160B/en not_active Expired
- 1982-05-21 DE DE19823219246 patent/DE3219246A1/en not_active Withdrawn
Cited By (3)
| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CN101825902A (en) * | 2010-04-30 | 2010-09-08 | 天津朗誉科技发展有限公司 | Intelligent electric motor car and control method thereof |
| WO2020087490A1 (en) * | 2018-11-02 | 2020-05-07 | Lingdong Technology (Beijing) Co. Ltd | Manual direction control for self-driving vehicle |
| US11215990B2 (en) | 2018-11-02 | 2022-01-04 | Lingdong Technology (Beijing) Co. Ltd | Manual direction control component for self-driving vehicle |
Also Published As
| Publication number | Publication date |
|---|---|
| GB2102160B (en) | 1985-02-20 |
| FR2506476B1 (en) | 1986-02-14 |
| DE3219246A1 (en) | 1982-12-09 |
| FR2506476A1 (en) | 1982-11-26 |
| JPS57191707A (en) | 1982-11-25 |
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Legal Events
| Date | Code | Title | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| PCNP | Patent ceased through non-payment of renewal fee |
Effective date: 19940520 |