JP2000330629A - Traveling and stopping position changing mechanism for unmanned carrier - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To change the traveling and stopping position of an unmanned carrier according to the movement of a position detector by changing a relative position relation between a guiding means which specifies a traveling path and the unmanned carrier without changing the position of the guiding means, and to easily change the traveling path by making it unnecessary to execute any construction work for changing the position of the guiding means which specifies the traveling path. SOLUTION: This traveling and stopping position changing mechanism of an unmanned carrier is constituted so that traveling and stopping control can be executed by detecting a guiding means which specifies a traveling path by a position detector 4. In this case, the position detector 4 is set at an unmanned carrier 1 so as to be movable to a horizontal direction or both vertical and horizontal directions with respect to the traveling direction of the carrier, and the traveling and stopping position of the unmanned carrier for the traveling path can be corrected by the movement of the position detector 4 without changing the position of a guiding means 2.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a traveling / stop position changing mechanism for an automatic guided vehicle.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Generally, an automatic guided vehicle (AGV) for transporting products, materials, and the like in a production factory or the like is generally of an electromagnetic or magnetic induction type, a light reflection induction type, or the like.
In the former method, a guide line is buried on the floor surface on which the automatic guided vehicle travels to define a desired traveling route, and a current is passed through this route.
In this system, traveling / stop control is performed by detecting electromagnetic waves and magnetic fields generated in the guide line by a position detector installed in the automatic guided vehicle. In the latter method, a light reflecting tape is attached to the floor on which the automatic guided vehicle travels to define a desired traveling route, and the reflected light from the light reflecting tape is detected by a position detector installed on the automatic guided vehicle. This is a configuration for performing traveling / stop control.

In such a guidance system, when the stop position or the traveling route is changed due to a change in the layout of a factory or the like, floor construction is performed to change the embedment position of the guide line, or a light reflecting tape is used. When changing the route, the position of the guidance means was changed, for example, by changing the route. FIGS. 4A and 4B schematically show how the traveling route is changed. FIG. 4A shows a state before the traveling route is changed, and FIG. 4B shows a state after the traveling route is changed. Reference numeral 1 denotes an automatic guided vehicle, and reference numeral 2 denotes guide means for defining a traveling route of the automatic guided vehicle 1. The guide means 2 is a guide wire buried on the floor surface as described above, or a light reflecting surface attached to the floor surface. It is a tape. In this traveling route, a location described as address B in the figure is a predetermined stop position of the automatic guided vehicle 1, and the conveyor 3 is installed at this stop position. In addition, the automatic guided vehicle 1 is provided with a position detector 4 for detecting the guiding means 2, and the position detector 4 is provided with a predetermined position such as the bottom center of the automatic guided vehicle 1 as a reference position. I have. In the places described as addresses A and B in the figure, information corresponding to each address is stored in the automatic guided vehicle 1.
An address identification medium (not shown) to be detected by the address detector 5 installed in the apparatus is embedded in the floor. The address detector 5 and the address identification medium can detect an address even if their relative positions are separated to some extent.

In the above configuration, the conveyor 3 at address B is changed as shown in FIG.
Considering the case where the position of the end portion is retracted by the distance L from the position indicated by the two-dot chain line to the position indicated by the solid line in FIG.
Since the gap between the automatic guided vehicle 1 stopped at the address and the end of the conveyor 3 is increased by L, the transfer of the conveyed goods cannot be performed smoothly. Therefore, conventionally, as shown in FIG.
The guide means 2 installed at the position shown by the dashed line is shifted by the distance L at the address B, and the position is changed so as to form an oblique path at both ends.

[0005]

As described above, conventionally,
When changing the stop position or travel route due to a change in the layout of the factory, etc., change the position of the guide means, such as changing the buried position of the guide line by replacing the floor with a floor work or replacing the light reflection tape. In particular, when the guide line is buried on the floor, the operation becomes large and the running route cannot be changed easily. An object of the present invention is to solve such a problem.

[0006]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, according to the present invention, there is provided an automatic guided vehicle which performs traveling / stop control by detecting a guiding means for defining a traveling route by a position detector. Is mounted on the automatic guided vehicle so as to be movable in the lateral direction with respect to the traveling direction, and the traveling / stop position of the automatic guided vehicle with respect to the traveling path is corrected by moving the position detector. -It proposes a stop position changing mechanism.

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention relates to an automatic guided vehicle that performs travel / stop control by detecting guidance means for defining a travel route by a position detector.
The position detector is installed on the automatic guided vehicle so as to be movable in the vertical and horizontal directions with respect to the traveling direction, and the traveling / stop position of the automatic guided vehicle with respect to the traveling path is corrected by moving the position detector. The present invention proposes a vehicle traveling / stop position changing mechanism.

According to the present invention, as in the prior art, the guide means such as a guide wire or a light reflecting tape for defining the travel route is detected by the position detector to control the traveling / stop of the automatic guided vehicle. Since the detector can be moved to change the relative positional relationship with the automatic guided vehicle, the relative position between the guiding means and the automatic guided vehicle can be changed without changing the position of the guiding means that defines the traveling route. The positional relationship can be changed, and the traveling / stop position of the automatic guided vehicle can be changed by moving the position detector.

[0009]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Next, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.
This will be described with reference to FIG. In these figures, the same reference numerals are given to the same elements as those in FIG.
Duplicate description will be omitted. FIG. 1 schematically shows a configuration of the automatic guided vehicle 1, and a position detector 4 is supported by a moving device 6 so as to be movable in parallel with the floor surface. FIG. 2 is an enlarged perspective view showing a portion related to the position detector 4 from the bottom surface side. As shown in FIG.
The moving device 6 supports the position detector 4 so as to be movable in the vertical and horizontal directions with respect to the traveling direction (the direction of the arrow a) of the automatic guided vehicle 1. That is, reference numeral 7 denotes a first linear guide disposed in a direction b perpendicular to the direction of the arrow a. The first linear guide 7 movably supports the position detector 4, The first linear guide 7 is driven by a linear actuator 8 to change the position.
Is movably supported by a second linear guide 9 disposed in the direction of arrow a, and is configured to be changeable in position by a second linear actuator 10. In this moving device 6,
By driving the first linear actuator 8,
The position detector 4 can be moved to an appropriate position in a direction orthogonal to the traveling direction of the automatic guided vehicle 1, that is, in a lateral direction, and by driving the second linear actuator 10, the position detector 4 is unmanned. The position detector 4 can be moved to a suitable position in the vertical and horizontal directions by driving both of them, in a direction parallel to the traveling direction of the carrier 1, that is, in a vertical direction.

On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 1, an address detector 5 is installed on the automatic guided vehicle 1, and the address detector 5
The information of the address identification medium 11 embedded in the floor surface is read separately from the guidance means 2, and the position of the automatic guided vehicle 10 is identified as an address. The address detector 5 and the address identification medium 11 identify the position of the automatic guided vehicle 10 as an address, but do not specify the traveling / stop position. For this reason, the address detector 5 and the address identification medium are configured to be able to detect an address even if their relative positions are far apart to some extent.

Reference numeral 12 denotes a traveling wheel, and reference numeral 13 denotes a wheel steering device. Reference numeral 14 denotes an automatic control device for controlling each of the above elements, and reference numeral 15 denotes input means for the automatic control device 14. The automatic control device 14 detects the guiding means 2 by the position detector 4 and drives the traveling wheels 12 by the wheel steering device 13 based on the information inputted and stored by the input means 15 while following the guiding means 2. ,
The vehicle travels to the destination address, stops there, and transfers the conveyed goods to and from the conveyor 3 or the like.

The operation of the present invention in the above configuration will be described first with reference to the schematic diagram of FIG. Similar to the above-described conventional example, considering the case where the position of the end of the conveyor 3 at the address B has receded from the position indicated by the two-dot chain line in FIG. Then B
Since the gap between the automatic guided vehicle 1 stopped at the address and the end of the conveyor 3 is increased by L, the transfer of the conveyed goods cannot be performed smoothly. Therefore, conventionally, the work of changing the guidance means 2 installed at the position shown by the solid line in FIG. 3B to the position shown by the two-dot chain line in the figure was performed, but in the present invention, The position of the guiding means 2 is not changed. Instead, the input address 15 inputs the destination address and the correction amount corresponding to the distance L at the address to the automatic control device 14. Thus, the automatic control device 14 keeps the position detector 4 at the reference position, for example, the center position of the movement range as shown in FIG. While detecting the guidance means 2, the automatic guided vehicle 1 travels along the detection means. In this way, the vehicle is driven to the vicinity position of the address B (point u in the figure), and when the vehicle reaches the vicinity position u, the moving device 6 is controlled to move the position detector 4 to the distance L.
Is gradually moved to the right in the traveling direction with the correction amount corresponding to as the final target value. For this reason, although the guidance means 2 remains the same, the automatic guided vehicle 1 skews for a while to the left in the traveling direction as shown by the two-dot chain line in the figure, and thereafter, the moving amount of the position detector 1 is reduced. After reaching the target value, the vehicle travels again in parallel with the direction in which the guidance means 2 is provided, and stops at a predetermined position at address B. In the state where the vehicle stops at the predetermined position at the address B, the position detector 1 moves the distance L with respect to the reference position.
Therefore, since the reference position of the automatic guided vehicle 1 is shifted by the distance L with respect to the guidance means 2, the automatic guided vehicle 1 corrects the retreat distance L of the conveyor 3 and the transfer of the conveyed goods is smooth. Will stop at the position. Next, when the vehicle travels leftward in the figure from the stop position at address B, the automatic control device 14
Controls the moving device 6 and gradually moves the position detector 4 to the left in the traveling direction with the reference position as a target. For this reason, the automatic guided vehicle 1 skews to the vicinity position v of the address B, and then the position detector 4 reaches the reference position at the vicinity position v, and thereafter, travels in a normal state. The near positions u and v at which the above-described skew starts or ends are determined by the automatic control device 1.
4, it may be set in advance as a default value,
The input means 15 may be capable of inputting a distance from a predetermined stop position.

The correction of the stop position of the automatic guided vehicle 1 in the above description covers only the distance in a direction perpendicular to the traveling direction of the automatic guided vehicle 1, so that the position detector 4 is used for the correction when the automatic guided vehicle 1 is corrected. The position detector 4 is movable only in the lateral direction with respect to the traveling direction of the automatic guided vehicle 1 when only such correction is performed. It can also be configured.
However, when the position detector 4 is configured to be movable in the vertical and horizontal directions with respect to the traveling direction of the automatic guided vehicle 1, the correction is performed even when the correction of the stop position includes a component in the traveling direction of the automatic guided vehicle 1. be able to.

Although only the change of the traveling route at the stop position has been described above, the present invention can be applied to a case where the route is changed at a part of the traveling route other than the stop position. .

[0015]

As described above, the present invention has the following effects. a. Without changing the position of the guidance means that defines the travel route,
The relative positional relationship between the guidance means and the automatic guided vehicle can be changed, and thus the traveling / stop position of the automatic guided vehicle can be changed by moving the position detector. b. Therefore, it is not necessary to change the position of the guidance means that defines the traveling route, and the traveling route can be changed very easily.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing a configuration of an automatic guided vehicle to which the present invention is applied.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a main part showing an example of a moving device of the position detector.

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of a traveling route changing operation according to the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of a conventional operation of changing a traveling route.

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Unmanned guided vehicle 2 Guidance means 3 Conveyor 4 Position detector 5 Address detector 6 Moving device 7 First linear guide 8 First linear actuator 9 Second linear guide 10 Second linear actuator

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. An automatic guided vehicle that performs travel / stop control by detecting guidance means for defining a traveling route by a position detector, wherein the position detector is provided on the automatic guided vehicle in a direction transverse to its traveling direction. It is installed movably and is configured to correct the traveling / stop position of the automatic guided vehicle with respect to the traveling route by moving the position detector.
Stop position change mechanism 2. An automatic guided vehicle that performs travel / stop control by detecting guidance means for defining a traveling route by a position detector, wherein the position detector is provided on the automatic guided vehicle in a vertical and horizontal direction with respect to the traveling direction. A mechanism for changing the traveling / stop position of the automatic guided vehicle, wherein the traveling / stop position of the automated guided vehicle relative to the traveling route is corrected by moving the position detector.