JP2000099147A - Console panel for unmanned carrier system, and unmanned carrier starting method - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To more surely carry a baggage to a desired destination while reducing operation errors in an unmanned carrier system. SOLUTION: When an unmanned carrier is instructed for the destination from an operating part 10 by a user, a control part 11 reads out audio data, which express the section name of the destination, previously stored in an audio data storage part 12. An audio processing part 13 converts the said audio data into analog signals and outputs them from a speaker 14 as a message for destination confirmation. By listening to the message for destination confirmation, the user can confirms whether the destination intended by himself is correct or not, namely, whether the instructing operation of the destination is correct or not. When a wrong destination button is operated, the instructed destination is canceled and the destination is newly instructed from the operating part 10. When the destination is correct, on the other hand, the start button of the operating part 10 is pressed and the unmanned carrier is started and moved to the desired section.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an operation panel of an automatic guided vehicle system suitable for use as an operation panel when indicating a destination of an automatic guided vehicle and a method of starting the automatic guided vehicle.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a self-propelled trolley capable of loading luggage and the like travels along a predetermined rail track laid in a facility, and an unmanned vehicle that transports luggage from any department in the facility to any department. A carrier system has been proposed and put into practical use.
The automatic guided vehicle in the automatic guided vehicle system has route information (map information) based on a rail track, and uses a predetermined track information transmitting means provided on the rail track to transmit the state (curve, branch point, etc.) of the rail track. It is configured so that it can acquire, refer to the map information, and perform some autonomous traveling.

In the automatic guided vehicle system described above, when transporting a load, a user first calls an empty automatic guided vehicle and loads articles such as luggage on the empty automatic guided vehicle that has come in response to the call. Then, a desired destination is indicated on the operation panel. The automatic guided vehicle travels autonomously to the designated destination section in accordance with the user's instruction from the operation panel while referring to the map information and the information acquired from the track information transmitting means provided on the rail track.

[0004]

In the conventional operation panel, for example, a key switch (push button switch) indicating the name of the department in the facility is provided on the operation panel, or the name of the department in the facility is also displayed on the display unit. Is displayed, and the user indicates the destination by pressing these push-button switches or touching (or indicating with a mouse or the like) the buttons displayed on the display unit. However, in the conventional operation panel, even if the operation of the push button switch or the software button displayed on the display unit is erroneously performed, the automatic guided vehicle starts autonomously to the destination as instructed. May not know the operation mistake. For this reason, there is a problem that the luggage and the like are transported to an incorrect department.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned circumstances, and it is possible to reduce operation errors in an automatic guided vehicle system and to more surely transport a load to a desired destination. It is an object of the present invention to provide an operation panel and an automatic guided vehicle starting method.

[0006]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, according to the first aspect of the present invention, a destination is instructed to an unmanned guided vehicle traveling on a track and a start to the destination is made. In the operation panel in the automatic guided vehicle system for instructing, input means for inputting a destination for the automatic guided vehicle, storage means for storing the name of the destination as voice data, and when the destination is input by the input means, Voice output means for reading out voice data corresponding to the destination from the storage means and outputting it as voice.

[0007] According to the second aspect of the present invention, the first aspect is provided.
In the operation panel of the automatic guided vehicle system according to the above, destination confirmation detection means for detecting that the destination input by the input means is confirmed to be correct by a user who has heard the voice output by the voice output means, And starting instruction means for instructing the automatic guided vehicle to start to the destination inputted from the input means when the destination confirmation detecting means detects that the destination is correct. .

[0008] According to the third aspect of the present invention, the first aspect of the present invention.
Or in the operation panel of the automatic guided vehicle system according to 2,
Cancellation detection means for detecting that the destination input by the input means has been canceled by a user who has heard the sound output by the sound output means, and when the cancellation is detected by the cancellation detection means, the input means And canceling means for canceling the input destination.

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems,
According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the automatic guided vehicle starting method for instructing the automatic guided vehicle traveling on a track to a destination and instructing start to the destination, the destination is input to the automatic guided vehicle. And reading the voice data corresponding to the input destination from the storage means for storing the name of the destination as voice data, and outputting the voice data as a voice, by a user who has heard the voice,
A step of detecting that the entered destination is confirmed to be correct; and a step of detecting that the inputted destination is confirmed to be correct.
Instructing the automatic guided vehicle to start to the input destination.

Further, according to the invention described in claim 5, according to claim 4,
In the automatic guided vehicle starting method described above, further, a step of detecting that the input destination is canceled by the user who has heard the voice, and canceling the input destination when the cancellation is detected. And a step.

According to the present invention, when the destination is input from the input means before the automatic guided vehicle is started, the voice output means reads out the voice data corresponding to the destination from the storage means and outputs the voice data as voice to be output as voice. I do. Therefore, since the user can confirm the input destination by voice, operation errors can be reduced, and the luggage can be more reliably transported to the desired destination.

[0012]

Embodiments of the present invention will now be described with reference to the drawings. In the following, a case where the automatic guided vehicle system is applied to a hospital facility will be described, but the present invention is not limited to this.

FIG. 1 is a conceptual diagram showing a schematic configuration of an automatic guided vehicle system (rail track) according to the present invention. In the figure, reference numeral 1 denotes a rail track on which the automatic guided vehicle 5 travels. A rail track 1 has a branch rail 2 for guiding an automated guided vehicle from a predetermined location to each section in the facility.
a to 2h are provided. These branch rails 2a-2
h are provided with stations 3a to 3h for the automatic guided vehicle 5 to carry in / out the luggage. The stations 3a to 3h (hereinafter, collectively referred to as stations 3) are arranged corresponding to the respective departments, call up the automatic guided vehicle from a storage (not shown), or go to an automatic guided vehicle loaded with luggage. And operation panels 4a to 4h (hereinafter, collectively referred to as operation panel 4) for instructing start and start. Next, the automatic guided vehicles 5a to 5c (hereinafter, collectively referred to as the automated guided vehicle 5) usually have a storage (not shown) (not shown) in an empty state where no luggage is loaded. It moves to a predetermined station in accordance with a call instruction from the stations 3a to 3h. In addition, automatic guided vehicles 5a to 5
In the stations 3a to 3h, map information and information obtained from a track information transmitting means (not shown) provided on a rail track are referred to in the stations 3a to 3h in accordance with destination / start instructions from the operation panels 4a to 4h. While moving, it moves to the station corresponding to the designated destination department.

Next, FIG. 2 shows an operation panel 4 according to this embodiment.
It is a block diagram which shows schematic structure of. In the figure, the operation panel 4 includes an operation unit 10, an audio data storage unit 11, a control unit 12, an audio processing unit 13, a speaker 14, and a display unit 15.
It is composed of The operation unit 10 includes an automatic guided vehicle 5
A destination button for instructing a destination station, a start button for instructing departure, a cancel button for canceling the destination in response to a destination confirmation message (described later) for confirming the instructed destination,
And a call button for calling the empty automatic guided vehicle 5 to the station.

The voice data storage unit 11 stores the station 3
For each of a to 3h, voice data for outputting the designated department name by voice is stored, voice data for destination confirmation attached to the voice data, and cancellation for notifying that the destination has been canceled. Voice data, input voice data for inputting a destination, and start voice data for starting the automatic guided vehicle 5.

The control unit 11 detects a button operation of the operation unit 10, reads out corresponding audio data from the audio data storage unit 12 in accordance with the operated button, and supplies it to the audio processing unit 13. Further, when a predetermined button (start button: described later) of the operation unit 10 is pressed, the control unit 11 sends a start command to the automatic guided vehicle. The start command includes at least information on the destination input by the user. The voice processing unit 13 includes the control unit 1
The audio data supplied from 1 is converted into an analog signal,
Output from the speaker 14. The display unit 15 displays, as character information, a designated department name, a destination confirmation message, various operating conditions, and the like. The character information may be stored in the voice data storage unit 12 in association with the voice data, may be stored in another area, or may be stored in a separately provided storage unit.

Next, FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram showing the appearance of the operation panel on the operation panel 4. As shown in FIG. On the operation panel, various buttons of the operation unit 10, a speaker 14, and a display unit 15 are provided. The operation unit 10 includes the station 3a
To 3h, a destination button 10a for designating a destination department, and a start button 1 for instructing start
0b and a cancel button 10d for canceling the designated destination. In the example shown,
Although the alphabet is simply written on each key top of the destination button 10a, a corresponding department name may be written in order to improve operability and visibility. Alternatively, various buttons including the destination button 10a may be displayed on the display unit 15 with their functions and assigned department names so that the user can refer to them.

Next, FIG. 4 is a conceptual diagram for explaining the data structure of the audio data storage unit 12 described above. The voice data storage unit 12 stores, for each station, the name of the department in which the station is provided as voice data. For example, for station 3a "A",
For the "nurse station" and the station 3b "B", "Horse station (radiation room)" is stored. Hereinafter, in the same manner, the station 3c “C” includes “Choice (dispensing room)” and the station 3d.
"D" includes "Shujutsu Shitsue (Operating Room A)",
Station 3e “E” is “Shujutsu Sitby (operating room B)”, Station 3f “F” is “Gairai Shinryoichi (outpatient 1)”, and Station 3g “G” is “Gairai Shinryonei (outpatient clinic)” 2) "and station 3h" H "
The “medical record (medical record room)” is stored.

The audio data storage section 12 stores audio data relating to various operations. First, the voice data for guidance is output to confirm the destination. "(Destination) Aikimas.
(I'm going to (destination). Are you sure?) "Is memorized in part. In the (destination) portion, voice data corresponding to the department name which is the destination designated by the user is inserted. For example, when the user instructs a nurse station (station 4a, "A" of destination button 10a) as a destination, "Nurse Station Ikimas. Yoshiidedeska. (Go to nurse station. Are you sure?)" Become. As described above, in the present embodiment, the department name of the destination specified by the user is output by voice. Therefore, even if the user performs a wrong button operation to specify the destination, the destination specified by voice output is repeated, so that it is possible to confirm whether or not there is an operation error before starting the automatic guided vehicle.

The voice data for cancellation is output when the user notices that the destination is different from the desired department due to an operation error or the like by the destination confirmation message and cancels the specified destination. Then, "Ikisaki キ ャ ン セ ル Cancel Shimashita. (Destination was canceled.)" Is stored. Next, the input voice data is output when prompting the user to specify a destination station.
(Please enter the destination). " Further, the start voice data is output when the user who has heard the destination confirmation message has directed the correct destination and instructed the automatic guided vehicle 5 to start. Shimasu (starts). "

B. Operation of Embodiment Next, the operation of the above-mentioned operation panel will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 5 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of the operation panel. FIG. 6 is a conceptual diagram showing an operation transition on the operation unit 10 and a display transition on the display unit 15 in the operation panel.

First, the user pushes the call button 1 of the operation unit 10 so that the empty automatic guided vehicle 5 comes to the station where the user is (for example, the station 3f: outpatient care 1).
Called by pressing 0d. Empty guided vehicle 5
Arrives at the station 3f, the user loads a predetermined baggage (such as a medical chart) into the container of the automatic guided vehicle 5.
At this time, in the operation panel 4f of the station 3f, a destination input request is made in step S1 shown in FIG. The control unit 11 reads out the audio data for input “Skipsticks” from the audio data storage unit 12, supplies it to the audio processing unit 3, and displays the character data “Please input the destination” on the display unit 15. To supply. The voice processing unit 3 converts the input voice data “Skipsticks” into an analog signal and outputs it from the speaker 14, and the display unit 15 displays the character data “Please input the destination”. (See FIG. 6A).

Next, in step S2, the control section 11 determines whether or not any of the destination buttons 10a has been operated. If not, the control section 11 waits by repeatedly executing step S2. Then, the operation button 10
When any one of the buttons a is pressed, the process proceeds to step S3, and the voice data storage unit 12 is referred to to obtain voice data corresponding to the destination. For example, when the user presses the button “A” corresponding to the nurse station (station 3a) as the destination, the control unit 11 reads out the voice data “nurse station”. Next, in step S4, the read voice data "Nurse Station" is connected to the voice data for guidance "Aikimas. Yoshidesuka.", Supplied to the voice processing unit 13, and the character data "Nurse Station" is read.
+ “To go. Are you sure?” Is supplied to the display unit 15. In the voice processing unit 3, the voice data "Nurse Station Ikimas. Yoshiideska." Is converted into an analog signal and output from the speaker 14 as a voice message for confirming the destination. In the display section 15, the character data "go to the nurse station."
Is it OK. Is displayed (see FIG. 6B).

After outputting the destination confirmation message, the control unit 11 proceeds to step S5 and starts the timer. The timer is for outputting a destination confirmation voice message again when the user does not perform any operation for a predetermined time or more in response to a destination confirmation message that repeats the destination inputted by the user by voice. belongs to. Next, in step S6, it is determined whether or not the start button 10b has been pressed, and if not, it is determined in step S8 whether or not the cancel button 10c has been pressed. If neither the start button 10b nor the cancel button 10c is pressed, the process proceeds to step S8.
It is determined whether or not the timer has expired. If the time has not elapsed, the process returns to step S6, and the above-described determination is repeatedly executed. On the other hand, if the user does not perform any operation on the destination confirmation voice message and the time is up, the process returns to step S4, and the destination confirmation voice message is output again to output the next destination voice message. Prompt for an operation (start instruction or cancel instruction).

If the user hears the voice message for confirming the destination and finds that the destination is not the designated destination, the user presses the cancel button 10c. For example, even though the user intended to operate the destination button 10a in order to carry the luggage to the nurse station, a voice message for confirming the destination is, for example, "Shujutsu SBI EKIMAS. YOSHI IDESKA. (Go to the operating room B. ?) ", It is considered that the destination button 10a is erroneously operated, so the cancel button 10c is pressed to cancel the input destination. Thus, the cancel button 10
When c is pressed, the control unit 11 proceeds from step S7 to step S9, and deletes the destination input by the user in step S1.

At this time, the control unit 11 reads out the audio data “Skipstick Cancel Cancel” from the audio data storage unit 12 and supplies it to the audio processing unit 13, and displays the character data “Destination was canceled” on the display unit. 15 In the audio processing unit 3, the audio data for cancellation “IKIZAKI キ ャ ン セ ル Cancel Shimashita.” Is converted into an analog signal and output from the speaker 14 as an audio message for cancellation. Also,
The display section 15 displays the character data "Destination has been canceled." (See FIG. 6C). After that, the process returns to step S1, and the above-mentioned processing is repeatedly executed again to re-input a new destination (correct destination). Thereby, even if there is an operation error in the input of the destination, it is possible to correct the destination before starting the automatic guided vehicle 5, and it is possible to reduce the operation error in the automatic guided vehicle system, and more reliably. The package can be transported to a desired destination.

When the user confirms that the desired destination has been correctly specified by listening to the voice message for confirming the destination, the user presses the start button 10b. When the start button 10b is pressed, the control unit 11 proceeds from step S6 to step S10, and sends a start command to the automatic guided vehicle 5 on which a predetermined load is loaded.
Thereby, the automatic guided vehicle moves to the station (in this case, the nurse station 3a) corresponding to the destination department specified by the start command. Also, at this time, the control unit 11 reads out the audio data “Hassin Shimas” from the audio data storage unit 12 and supplies it to the audio processing unit 13, and displays the character data “Start” on the display unit 1.
5 The voice processing unit 3 converts the starting voice data “Hassin Shimas” into an analog signal, and outputs the analog signal from the speaker 14 as a voice message for starting. In addition, the display section 15 displays the above-described character data "start." (See FIG. 6D). Then, the process ends.

C. Modification Next, a modification of the present invention will be described. In this modification, a touch panel is provided on the display unit 15, and the destination button 10a and the start button 10
b, cancel button 10c, call button 10d
Is displayed on the display unit 15 by software, and various instructions are issued to the control unit 11 by touching the display surface, or the buttons displayed on the display unit 15 are selected and instructed by a pointing device such as a mouse. so,
Various instructions are given to the control unit 11.

Each of the automatic guided vehicles 5a to 5b is set so as to be able to move only to a predetermined destination different from each other. As mentioned above, the automatic guided vehicle is
In the empty state where no luggage is loaded, a storage (not shown) (part of the rail track branched from the rail track 1)
Is stored in For example, the automatic guided vehicle 5a transports the load only to the stations 3a, 3b, and 3c, the automatic guided vehicle 5b transports the load only to the stations 3d, 3e, and 3f, and the automatic guided vehicle 5c includes the stations 3g and 3h. Decide to carry your luggage only to Then, a storage is provided for each of the destinations (for each type of the automatic guided vehicle), and a corresponding automatic guided vehicle is made to stand by in each storage. And if the user wants to carry the luggage,
First, the destination station is conscious, and the corresponding automatic guided vehicle is called. When the empty AGV arrives at the user's station in response to the above call, the display unit 15 of the operation panel displays only the destination button (by software processing) indicating the destination preset for the AGV. Is displayed.

FIGS. 7A to 7C are schematic diagrams showing display examples of the display unit on the operation panel according to the present modification. Note that the same reference numerals are given to portions corresponding to FIG. 3 and description thereof is omitted. FIG. 7A shows an automatic guided vehicle 5a.
Is an example of a display when an unmanned transport vehicle 5a that transports luggage only to the stations 3a, 3b, and 3c arrives. FIG. 4B shows an unmanned transport vehicle that transports luggage only to the stations 3d, 3e, and 3f. FIG. 5C is a display example when the vehicle 5b arrives, and FIG. 7C is a display example when the automatic guided vehicle 5c that transports the package only to the stations 3g and 3h arrives. The user instructs a desired destination (department) from among the destination buttons displayed on the display unit 15 of the operation panel 4 (instruction by touch or pointing device). At this time, since only the destination buttons corresponding to the destinations to which the automatic guided vehicle can move are displayed on the display unit 15, the probability of the user making an operation error can be reduced. The operation after the destination is instructed, that is, outputting a voice message for destination confirmation and actually starting the automatic guided vehicle after confirming that there is no mistake is the same as the operation described above. Description is omitted.

As described above, in the present modified example, it is set so that each unmanned guided vehicle can move to only a limited station in advance, calls the unmanned guided vehicle according to the destination desired by the user, and By displaying the destination buttons 10a corresponding to only predetermined stations on the automatic guided vehicle, the number of operable destination buttons 10a can be reduced, and operation errors can be further reduced.

[0032]

As described above, according to the present invention, when a destination is input from the input means before the automatic guided vehicle is started, the voice output means outputs the voice corresponding to the destination from the storage means. The data is read out and output as a voice. Since the voice is output as a voice, the input destination can be confirmed by a voice, so that an operation mistake in the automatic guided vehicle system can be reduced, and the luggage can be more reliably obtained. This has the advantage that it can be transported to a destination where

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a conceptual diagram showing a schematic configuration of an automatic guided vehicle system (rail track) according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of an operation panel according to the present embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram showing an appearance of an operation panel on an operation panel.

FIG. 4 is a conceptual diagram illustrating a data configuration of an audio data storage unit 12.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of the operation panel.

FIG. 6 is a conceptual diagram showing an operation transition on the operation unit 10 and a display transition on the display unit 15 in the operation panel.

FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram showing a display example of a display unit on an operation panel according to the present modification.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Rail track 2a-2h Branch rail 3a-3h Station 4a-4h Operation panel 5a-5c Automatic guided vehicle 10 Operation part 10a Destination button 10b Start button 10c Cancel button 10d Call button 11 Control part 12 Voice data storage part 13 Voice processing part 14 Speaker 15 Display

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. An operation panel in an automatic guided vehicle system for instructing an unmanned guided vehicle traveling on a track and instructing a start to the destination, and inputting a destination for the unmanned guided vehicle. Input means, storage means for storing the name of the destination as audio data, and audio output means for reading audio data corresponding to the destination from the storage means when the destination is input by the input means, and outputting the audio data as audio. An operation panel of an automatic guided vehicle system, comprising: 2. A destination confirmation detecting means for detecting that a user who has heard the voice output by the voice output means has confirmed that the destination input by the input means is correct, and 2. An unmanned unmanned vehicle according to claim 1, further comprising: start instruction means for instructing said automatic guided vehicle to start to a destination input from said input means when said confirmation is made. Operation panel of carrier system. 3. A cancellation detecting means for detecting that a destination input by said input means is canceled by a user who has heard the sound output by said sound output means, and a cancellation is detected by said cancellation detecting means. The operation panel of an automatic guided vehicle system according to claim 1, further comprising: a cancellation unit configured to cancel a destination input from the input unit. 4. An automatic guided vehicle starting method for instructing a destination on an unmanned guided vehicle traveling on a track and instructing start to said destination, wherein a destination is input to the unmanned guided vehicle. Reading out voice data corresponding to the input destination from the storage means for storing the name of the destination as voice data, and outputting the voice data as voice; and a user who has heard the voice confirms that the input destination is correct. Detecting that the vehicle is correct and, when it is detected that the vehicle is correct, instructing the automatic guided vehicle to start to an input destination. Method. 5. The method according to claim 1, further comprising a step of detecting that the input destination is canceled by the user who has heard the voice, and a step of canceling the input destination when the cancellation is detected. 5. The method according to claim 4, wherein
The automatic guided vehicle starting method described.