JP2003034496A - Announcing device for cargo handling support in industrial vehicle and industrial vehicle - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a announcing device for cargo handling support in an industrial vehicle and the industrial vehicle capable of restraining useless work caused by a determination error in a driver by giving proper indication to the driver when moving the vehicle or a cargo handling apparatus to a cargo handling object for positioning. SOLUTION: An image of a cargo handling work area photographed by a camera lifting together with a fork is reflected on an image screen 28A of a display device arranged in a forklift. A controller recognizes a mark M1 arranged on the cargo handling object (a pallet) as an image on the basis of an image of the cargo handling work area, and arithmetically operates the positional relationship (relative coordinates) between the mark M1 and the camera. A lateral dislocation quantity |Yr| of the fork and the mark M1 and the widthwise aligning direction for matching the fork in the car width direction with the mark M1 are determined on the basis of these relative coordinates. When this dislocation quantity |Yr| exceeds a preset value S, an indication guide 88 is displayed on the image screen 28A to indicate widthwise alignment to the driver.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention detects the position of a cargo handling target in advance when an industrial vehicle approaches a cargo handling target such as a load (pallet), and wastes when the vehicle works on the cargo handling target. The present invention relates to a cargo handling support informing device for an industrial vehicle and an industrial vehicle that gives an appropriate instruction or guidance to eliminate the problem.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In industrial vehicles such as forklifts, for example, when performing a cargo handling operation, a cargo handling device such as a fork movably mounted on a vehicle body is first aligned with a cargo handling target such as a pallet or a shelf (storage section). To do. That is, when the vehicle is brought close to a cargo handling target such as a pallet or a shelf (storage) for carrying out cargo handling work, for example, at the time of unloading,
The vehicle is steered so that the fork faces the holes in the pallet, and the vehicle is advanced toward the object to be loaded. Further, when the load is stored in the storage unit of the shelf, the vehicle is positionally adjusted within the width of the storage unit while steering the vehicle so that the load can be stored in the storage unit.

Some forklifts are provided with a side shift function for moving the fork in the vehicle width direction (left and right direction) so that the position of the fork can be adjusted even if the fork is slightly displaced from the pallet in the vehicle width direction. By using the side shift function, even if the fork is slightly displaced in the vehicle width direction with respect to the object to be loaded, by moving the fork in the vehicle width direction, the fork can be positioned so that it can be inserted into the pallet hole. You can

[0004]

However, if the side shift function is used, the driver cannot be sure to determine whether the fork can reach the target position with respect to the object of cargo handling up to a deviation amount. could not. As a result, it was sometimes found that the fork could not reach the position where the fork could be inserted into the hole of the pallet when the fork was actually side-shifted after approaching the cargo handling target by mistake. In this case, the vehicle had to be backed once and then turned back to approach again, which led to work loss. This also applies to a forklift without a side shift function, and if the fork cannot be inserted into the pallet hole after approaching the cargo handling target, the vehicle must be turned back in the same way, leading to work loss.

That is, as shown in FIG. 13 (a), if the driver mistakenly makes a prediction decision and cannot approach the forklift 91 into the hole 93A of the pallet 93 after approaching the object of cargo handling, the forklift 91 is temporarily stopped. It was necessary to turn the steering wheel 94 while retreating, and then turn the steering wheel 94 again as shown in FIG. 7B to make the width closer, and reposition the vehicle at the correct position shown in FIG.

[0006] In addition, even when the reach operation is performed in the reach type forklift, it may be found that the operation cannot be performed after the actual work is started. For example, it may be found that the forklift was intended to be close enough to the pallet but not close enough that it should have begun to reach and start moving a little further. In this case as well, the vehicle has to be moved forward again by the shortage amount after the reach operation, resulting in an extra operation, resulting in a work loss.

A similar problem may occur during the lift operation for further raising the fork. For example, if multiple types of forklifts with different maximum lifts of forks are used in the factory and there are forklifts that do not reach the top shelf of the shelf, try to raise the forks until the fork does not reach the desired number of steps. May be understood. In this case, it is necessary to change the storage unit for cargo handling to a lower stage, and an extra operation for lowering the once-raised fork is required. On the other hand, if there is no suitable storage for the change destination below the row, switch back the vehicle,
The cars had to be relocated to different rows of shelves. Thus, there was a work loss due to the fact that it was not possible to proceed once the work was completed.

The present invention has been made to solve the above problems, and a first object thereof is to give an appropriate instruction to a driver when moving a vehicle or cargo handling equipment to a cargo handling target for alignment. Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to provide a cargo handling support informing device for an industrial vehicle and an industrial vehicle that can suppress wasteful work due to a driver's erroneous judgment or the like.

A second object is to provide a driver with an appropriate instruction so that the vehicle can be guided to a position where the cargo handling work can be appropriately performed. A third object is to give an appropriate instruction or notification to the driver in consideration of the movement range of the cargo handling equipment.

[0010]

In order to achieve the above first and second objects, the invention according to claim 1 is a cargo handling device movably provided on a vehicle body for carrying out cargo handling work, and a vehicle. Detecting means for detecting the position of the cargo handling object in advance before approaching the cargo handling object, and computing means for computing the positional relationship between the cargo handling target and the vehicle whose position is detected by the detecting means,
The present invention is summarized as including a notifying unit for notifying a steering instruction for guiding the vehicle so that the cargo handling device can catch the cargo handling target based on the calculation result of the calculation unit. Here, the cargo handling equipment is a cargo handling tool such as a fork,
The attachment may be a replaceable attachment, or may be a non-replaceable fixed type, such as a clamp having a drive mechanism itself. For example, it is a concept that includes all attachments used in a forklift, and includes a boom type (bucket, etc.) used in other industrial vehicles other than the forklift.

According to the present invention, the position of the cargo handling target is detected by the detecting means before the vehicle approaches the cargo handling target. The positional relationship between the cargo handling target whose position is detected and the vehicle is calculated by the calculation means. Then, based on the calculation result of the calculating means, the notifying means notifies the steering instruction for guiding the vehicle so that the cargo handling device can catch the cargo handling target. If the driver brings the vehicle closer to the cargo handling target in accordance with the notified steering instruction, the driver can arrange the vehicle so that the cargo handling target can be captured by the cargo handling equipment, so that the vehicle does not need to be turned back.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the present invention, the calculating means guides the vehicle so that the cargo handling target whose position is detected by the detecting means can be captured by the cargo handling equipment. The gist of the present invention is to calculate the right direction and to give the direction to guide the vehicle as the steering instruction based on the calculation result of the calculation means.

According to the present invention, the notifying means indicates the direction in which the vehicle should be guided so that the cargo handling equipment can catch the cargo handling target based on the calculation result of the calculation means. Therefore,
If the driver steers the vehicle in the instructed direction, it becomes possible to bring the vehicle closer to the cargo handling target without having to switch the vehicle back.

A third aspect of the present invention is the invention according to the second aspect, wherein the direction calculated by the calculation means and instructed by the notification means is a vehicle width direction. .

According to the present invention, the notifying means indicates the direction in which the vehicle is approaching the width. Therefore, the driver only has to steer the vehicle in the instructed width direction. The invention described in claim 4 is the same as the invention described in claim 3,
The calculating means calculates a width-shifting direction and a width-shifting distance for shifting the vehicle so that the cargo-handling target whose position is detected by the detecting means is captured by the cargo-handling equipment, and the notifying means calculates the calculation means. The gist is to instruct the widthwise direction and the widthwise distance based on the result.

According to the present invention, the notifying means indicates the width-approaching direction and the width-approaching distance in which the vehicle needs to be laterally moved so that the cargo-handling target can be grasped by the cargo-handling equipment based on the calculation result of the calculation means. Therefore, the driver only has to steer the vehicle in the instructed lateral movement direction by the instructed lateral movement distance.

According to a fifth aspect of the invention, in the invention according to any one of the first to fourth aspects, whether or not the cargo handling target can be grasped by the cargo handling equipment when the vehicle is advanced in the current steering state. The determination means for determining whether or not the notification means
The gist is to give the steering instruction only when the determination means determines that the cargo handling target cannot be captured by the cargo handling equipment.

According to the present invention, the judging means judges whether or not the object of cargo handling can be captured by the cargo handling equipment when the vehicle is advanced in the current steering state. And
If it is determined that the cargo handling device will not be able to be grasped by the cargo handling equipment if the current steering state is advanced, the steering instruction is issued by the notifying means. That is, the steering instruction is notified only when there is a fear of inconvenience such as turning back when the vehicle is advanced in the current steering state in order to avoid such inconvenience.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, in the invention according to any one of the first to fifth aspects, the cargo handling device is provided so as to be movable in the vehicle width direction with respect to the vehicle body, and the cargo handling target is the cargo handling target. The gist of the device is to capture the cargo handling target within the movement range of the cargo handling device in the vehicle width direction.

According to the present invention, in the operation of the invention described in any one of claims 1 to 5, the vehicle is guided so that the object of cargo handling can be captured within the movement range of the cargo handling equipment in the vehicle width direction. The steering instruction is notified by the notification means.
Of course, since the cargo handling target can be captured within the movement range of the cargo handling device in the vehicle width direction, a vehicle guide that allows the cargo handling target to be captured by moving the cargo handling device in the vehicle width direction, It includes both the guidance of the vehicle that allows the target of the cargo handling to be captured as it is without moving the cargo handling equipment in the vehicle width direction. In the former case, it may be necessary to move the cargo handling device in the vehicle width direction, but it is possible to avoid turning the vehicle. On the other hand, in the latter case, it is not necessary to switch back the vehicle, and it is not necessary to move the cargo handling device in the vehicle width direction. Further, in the case of quoting the invention of claim 5, in its operation, it is determined whether or not the cargo handling target can be captured within the movement range of the cargo handling device in the vehicle width direction when the vehicle is advanced in the current steering state. And the steering instruction is notified by the notifying unit only when it is determined that the cargo handling target cannot be captured within the movement range of the cargo handling equipment in the vehicle width direction. That is,
When it is possible to respond by moving the cargo handling equipment in the vehicle width direction, no instruction is given by the notification means.If the cargo handling equipment cannot be moved even if the cargo handling equipment is moved in the vehicle width direction and it is necessary to turn back, the notification means gives an instruction. Will be issued.

[0021] According to a seventh aspect of the invention, in the invention according to the sixth aspect, the notifying means performs the cargo handling as it is without moving the cargo handling equipment in the vehicle width direction based on the calculation result of the calculation means. The gist is to give an instruction for the steering so that an object can be captured by the cargo handling device.

According to the present invention, the notifying means gives the steering instruction so that the cargo handling device can catch the cargo handling target as it is without moving the cargo handling device in the vehicle width direction based on the calculation result of the calculation means. . Therefore, if the driver steers the vehicle according to the instructed steering instruction to bring the vehicle closer to the cargo handling target, the driver can immediately move directly to the cargo handling work for the cargo handling target without adjusting the cargo handling equipment in the vehicle width direction. become.

The invention according to claim 8 is the invention according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein the detecting means is
The notification means includes: photographing means for photographing the cargo handling target; and image recognition means for recognizing the position of the cargo handling target by recognizing the mark provided on the cargo handling target based on the image data photographed by the photographing means. The means is provided with a display means for displaying the image photographed by the photographing means, and the gist is to display the instruction content on the screen of the display means.

According to the present invention, the position of the cargo handling target is determined by image-recognizing the mark provided on the cargo handling target based on the image data photographed by the photographing means. Then, the steering instruction to guide the vehicle, which is determined based on the calculation result of the calculation means, is displayed on the screen of the display means for displaying the image photographed by the photographing means.

According to a ninth aspect of the present invention, in the eighth aspect of the present invention, the calculation means obtains a display position for avoiding a cargo handling target recognized by the image recognition means on the screen of the display means. The gist is that the notification means includes a determining means, and the informing means displays the instruction content at the display position on the screen of the display means.

According to this invention, in addition to the operation of the invention described in claim 8, the display position is determined on the screen by the display position determining means so as to avoid the cargo handling object recognized by the image recognition means. The steering instruction issued by the notification means is displayed at the display position on the screen. Therefore, the steering instruction displayed on the screen of the display means is displayed without obstructing the cargo handling object displayed on the screen, and there is no fear that the cargo handling object on the screen becomes difficult to see.

The invention described in claim 10 is the invention according to claims 1 to 7.
In the invention described in any one of the above items, the gist is that the notifying unit includes a display unit, and the steering instruction based on the calculation result is displayed on the screen of the display unit.

According to the present invention, the steering instruction to guide the vehicle, which is determined based on the calculation result, is displayed on the screen of the display means by the notification means. Therefore, the driver can arrange the vehicle in an appropriate state that does not need to be turned back by steering the vehicle in accordance with the instruction displayed on the screen of the display means.

The invention described in claim 11 is the invention according to claims 1 to 1.
In the invention described in any one of 0 above, it is a gist that the notifying unit includes a voice notifying unit which outputs the steering instruction by voice.

According to the present invention, the steering instruction is given by voice by the voice notifying means. The driver can hear the steering instruction by voice. In order to achieve the first and second objects, the invention according to claim 12 is that a cargo handling device provided so as to be movable at least in the front-rear direction with respect to a vehicle body for carrying out cargo handling work, and the vehicle approaching a cargo handling target. Detecting means for detecting the position of the cargo handling object in advance, computing means for computing the positional relationship between the cargo handling object and the vehicle detected by the detecting means, and the cargo handling object based on the computation result of the computing means. And a notifying means for notifying the position where the vehicle should approach the object of cargo handling so that the vehicle can be captured within the range of movement of the cargo handling equipment in the front-rear direction.

According to the present invention, the position of the cargo handling target is detected by the detecting means before the vehicle approaches the cargo handling target. The positional relationship between the cargo handling target and the vehicle detected by the detection means is calculated by the calculation means. Then, based on the calculation result of the calculation means, the notification means notifies the position where the vehicle should approach the cargo handling target so that the cargo handling target can be captured within the range of movement of the cargo handling device in the front-rear direction. Therefore, it is possible to eliminate the waste of moving the vehicle forward again because the vehicle did not approach the cargo handling target after moving the vehicle closer to the cargo handling target to the next work.

In order to achieve the first and third objects, the invention according to claim 13 is a cargo handling device which is provided so as to be movable at least in the front-rear direction with respect to a vehicle body for carrying out cargo handling work, and a cargo handling target. Detecting means for detecting a position, calculating means for calculating the positional relationship between the cargo handling target and the vehicle whose position is detected by the detecting means, and the cargo handling equipment should be moved forward based on the calculation result of the calculating means. The gist is that it is provided with an informing means for instructing the position.

According to the present invention, the positional relationship between the cargo handling target and the vehicle whose position is detected by the detecting means is calculated by the calculating means. The position at which the cargo handling equipment should be moved forward is instructed by the notification means based on the calculation result of the calculation means. Therefore, the forward movement of the cargo handling equipment is insufficient, and it is possible to save the trouble of moving the cargo handling equipment forward again after moving to the next work.

In order to achieve the second object, the invention according to claim 14 is that a cargo handling device provided movably on the vehicle body for carrying out cargo handling work, and the cargo handling machine in advance before the vehicle approaches the cargo handling target. Detecting means for detecting the position of the object, computing means for computing the positional relationship between the cargo handling target and the vehicle whose position has been detected by the detecting means, and the cargo handling equipment based on the computation result of the computing means. The gist is that it is provided with a judging means for judging whether or not it is caught within the moving range of the above, and a notifying means for notifying the judgment result of the judging means.

According to the present invention, the position of the cargo handling target is detected by the detecting means before the vehicle approaches the cargo handling target. The positional relationship between the cargo handling target whose position is detected and the vehicle is calculated by the calculation means. Then, based on the calculation result of the calculation means, the determination means determines whether or not the cargo handling target can be captured within the movement range of the cargo handling equipment, and the notification result is notified by the notification means. Therefore, when the cargo handling target cannot be captured beyond the movement range of the cargo handling equipment, the driver knows whether or not the cargo handling work can be performed on the cargo handling target from the left-hand content, and thus wasteful work can be avoided.

In order to achieve the first and third objects, the invention according to claim 15 is a cargo-handling device provided on a vehicle body so as to be movable at least in the vertical direction for carrying out cargo-handling work,
Before the vehicle approaches the cargo handling target, a detection unit that detects the height of the cargo handling target in advance, a determination unit that determines whether the cargo handling device can be raised to a height that reaches the cargo handling target, and a determination made by the determination unit It is a gist to provide an informing means for informing a result.

According to the present invention, the height of the object of cargo handling is detected by the detecting means before the vehicle approaches the object of cargo handling. The determination means determines whether or not the cargo handling equipment can be raised to a height that reaches the cargo handling target, and the determination result is notified by the notification means. Therefore, it is possible to know in advance that the cargo handling work cannot be performed before the cargo handling equipment is actually raised.

The invention described in claim 16 is according to claims 1 to 1.
In an industrial vehicle equipped with the cargo handling support notification device according to any one of items 5, According to this invention, the same operation as that of the invention described in any one of claims 1 to 15 can be obtained.

[0039]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS (First Embodiment) A first embodiment in which the present invention is embodied in a forklift position detection device will be described below with reference to the drawings.

As shown in FIG. 1, a reach type forklift truck (hereinafter referred to as a forklift) 1 as an industrial vehicle performs a cargo handling operation using a fork 2 as a cargo handling device. Left and right front wheels (driven wheels) 5 are attached to the front ends of a pair of left and right reach legs 4 extending forward from the front of the vehicle body 3, and the drive steered wheels 6 as rear wheels are
The vehicle is driven by the power of a traveling motor 8 that uses a battery 7 provided in the vehicle body 3 as a power source. The driver operates the forklift 1 by operating the steering wheel 10 to steer the driving steered wheels 6 while standing on the standing seat type driver's seat 9 provided on the rear right side of the vehicle body 3.

The cargo handling device (mast device) 11 arranged on the front side of the vehicle body 3 is moved in the front-rear direction along the left and right reach legs 4 by the drive of the reach cylinder 12 (reach operation).
It is possible. The cargo handling device 11 includes a multi-stage (three-stage in this example) mast 13, a carriage 14 for cargo handling, and a pair of left and right lift cylinders 15 (only one side is shown). When the lift cylinder 15 is driven, the mast 13 slides and expands and contracts, so that the carriage 1
4 moves up and down along the mast 13. The fork 2 rises, for example, up to about 6 meters.

The forklift 1 includes a cargo handling operation support device (fork positioning operation support device) 20 for assisting the alignment operation of the fork 2 in a high place (high lift range).
Is provided. The cargo handling operation support device 20 includes a camera elevating device 21 which is assembled in a vertically elongated state at the center of the front surface of the side shifter 16 which constitutes the carriage 14. The camera lifting device 21 is a lifting type camera unit 2.
3, the camera unit 23 includes a carriage 14
It moves up and down between a retracted position where it is stored in the housing 22 assembled in the central part of the front surface of the housing 22 and a lowered position where it projects from the lower end of the housing 22. The camera unit 23 has a camera (for example, a CCD camera) as a photographing means at the lower end thereof.
With the built-in 24, it is possible to photograph the cargo handling work area in front of the fork from the photographing unit (lens unit) 24A. Further, even from the storage position, the cargo handling work area in front of the fork can be photographed by the camera 24 through the photographing window 22A formed in the lower front surface of the housing 22. That is, the camera 24 can photograph the cargo handling work area in front of the fork from two positions, the storage position and the lowered position. The side shifter 16 is movable in the left-right direction with respect to the mast 13, and at the time of the side shift, the fork 2 and the camera elevating device 21 are also left-right shifted.

A display device (liquid crystal display device (LCD)) 28 is attached to the roof 27 at a position where it can be easily seen by a driver standing on the driver's seat 9. Display device 2
An image of the front of the fork captured by the camera 24 during the cargo handling work is displayed on the screen of No. 8.

An operation lever (multi lever) 31 shown in FIG. 2 is provided on the instrument panel. The operation lever 31 is capable of performing all the traveling operation and the cargo handling operation by itself, and is provided with a plurality of types of operation portions.

The operating lever 31 is provided with a lever body 33 that tilts in the front-rear direction along a slot 32 formed at a predetermined position on the instrument panel. When the lever body 33 is not operated, it is returned to a neutral position substantially perpendicular to the panel surface by the urging force of a spring (not shown). A grip 34 is attached to the upper end portion of the lever body 33 in a posture inclining at an angle of about 30 to 60 degrees with respect to the vehicle width direction. At the left end of the grip 34, a substantially cylindrical knob 35 is provided rotatably around the axis C. A seesaw switch 36 is provided on the front edge of the left portion of the grip 34, a cross switch 37 is provided on the rear surface of the left portion of the grip 34, and an operation switch 38 is provided on the front surface of the left portion of the grip 34.
Are provided respectively. The grip 34 is gripped by the right hand of the driver with the right elbow attached. Grip 34
When you are holding, hold the knob 35 and cross switch 37 with your thumb.
Can be operated, the seesaw switch 36 can be operated with the index finger, and the operation switch 38 can be operated with the middle finger. In addition, the inside of the circle in the figure is the cross switch 37 viewed from the direction A.

The lever body 3 is held by the right hand holding the grip 34.
When 3 is tilted forward, the forklift 1 moves forward, and when the lever body 33 is tilted backward, the forklift 1 moves backward. When the protrusion 35A formed on the knob 35 is pushed upward with the thumb and the knob 35 is turned upward, the fork 2 is raised, and when the protrusion 35A is pushed downward with the thumb and the knob 35 is turned downward, the fork 2 is lowered. Further, when the front end of the seesaw switch 36 is pushed with the index finger, the cargo handling device 11 moves forward, and when the rear end of the seesaw switch 36 is pushed with the index finger, the cargo handling device 11 moves backward. The cross switch 37 can be operated in four directions of up / down / left / right, and the tilt of the mast 13 is operated by the up / down operation, and the side shift is operated by the left / right operation. Pushing the upper end of the cross switch 37 with the thumb tilts the mast 13 forward, and pushing the lower end of the cross switch 37 tilts the mast 13 backward. If you press the right end of the cross switch 37 with your thumb, the fork 2 will move to the right,
When the left end of the cross switch 37 is pressed, the fork 2 moves leftward.

As shown in FIG. 3, in the present embodiment, the marks M1, which are position targets when the forks 2 are aligned with the shelves 40 or the pallet 41, are provided on the shelves 40 and the pallets 41 which are objects of cargo handling. M2 is attached. That is, two insertion holes 41A are provided on the front and back of the pallet 41.
A pallet position detection mark M1 is provided at the center of the space. On the other hand, the shelf portion (beam) 42 of the shelf 40 is provided with a shelf position detecting mark M2 at the center of the front surface thereof. Here, the mark M1 attached to the pallet 41 and the shelf 42
The mark M2 attached to is a figure having a pattern in which black and white are mutually inverted. Mark M taken by camera 24
Left and right (Y direction) of the fork 2 and the cargo object (pallet 41 or shelf 42) from the position of 1 (or M2) on the screen
-Fork automatic alignment control is performed to calculate the amount of vertical (Z direction) displacement and to automatically align the fork 2 with the cargo handling target so as to eliminate the amount of displacement.

Next, the electrical construction of the cargo handling operation support device 20 will be described with reference to FIG. The cargo handling operation support device 20 includes a controller 45. The controller 45 includes an image control unit 46, a cargo handling control unit 47, drive circuits 48 and 49, and a solenoid drive circuit 50.

A camera 24 is connected to the image controller 46, a video signal (image signal) is input, and a display device 28 and a speaker 51 are connected to the output side thereof. The image control unit 46 displays a captured image on the screen of the display device 28 based on the video signal (image signal) from the camera 24. Further, the image control unit 46 performs image recognition processing (template matching processing) for recognizing a mark in the image, grasps the position of the cargo handling target from the position of the mark on the screen (screen coordinate system), and uses the fork 2 to carry the cargo. Notification processing is performed to guide the route of the vehicle so that the target can be captured. In this notification processing, as a method of guiding the route of the vehicle, a method of displaying an instruction guide on the screen of the display device 28 and a method of notifying by a voice guide from the speaker 51 are used together. Of course, it is possible to adopt only one of the notification methods, and for example, only the display of the instruction guide or only the voice guide may be adopted. This notification process will be described in detail later.

On the other hand, the cargo handling control unit 47 includes an upper limit position detection switch 52, a lower limit position detection switch 53, potentiometers 54 and 55 of the multi-lever 31, switches 38, 56 and 57, a lift sensor 58 and a load sensor 59. , A tilt angle sensor 60, etc. are connected. In addition, the cargo handling control unit 47 includes an electric actuator 61 and a cargo handling motor (electric motor) via drive circuits 48 and 49.
62 are connected to each other, and solenoids of various electromagnetic proportional valves 66 to 69 assembled to the oil control valve 65 are connected via the solenoid drive circuit 50.

The cargo handling control unit 47 controls each potentiometer 5
4, 55 and the switches 56, 57 are used to control the current values of the electromagnetic proportional valves 66 to 69 and the cargo handling motor 62. The cargo handling pump 62 (hydraulic pump) 73 is driven by the operation of the cargo handling motor 62, so that hydraulic oil is supplied to the oil control valve 65. Based on the operation signal of the multi-lever 31, each electromagnetic proportional valve 66-
The lift cylinder 1 is controlled by proportionally controlling 69.
5, reach cylinder 12, side shift cylinder 71,
The tilt cylinder 72 is hydraulically controlled, and the lifting operation, the reach operation, the side shift operation, and the tilt operation of the fork 2 are possible.

The cargo handling control section 47 controls the lifting and lowering control of the camera unit 23 and the automatic fork alignment control in addition to the cargo handling control at the time of operating the multi-lever. The fork automatic alignment control is for supporting the cargo handling work at a high place performed by raising the fork 2 to a certain height or more, and the lift of the fork 2 detected by the lift sensor 58 is set to the set lift. Only when it is above (for example, about 2 meters) or more. The cargo handling control unit 47 determines whether or not there is a load on the fork 2 based on the detection value of the load sensor 59, and in the "unloading mode" in which there is no load on the fork 2, the camera unit 23 is arranged at the storage position and the fork 2 is loaded. In the "loading mode" in which there is a load above, the camera unit 23 is placed in the lowered position. The electric actuator 61 driven to raise and lower the camera unit 23 operates when the camera unit 23 reaches the upper limit position and the upper limit position detection switch 52 turns on, and when the camera unit 23 reaches the lower limit position and the lower limit position detection switch 53 operates. Driving is stopped when it is turned on.

The image control unit 46 includes a display processing unit 75, an image processing unit 76, a drawing display unit 77, a drawing data storage unit 78 and a voice synthesizing unit 79. The display processing unit 75 outputs the video signal input from the camera 24 to the display device 28 so that the image captured by the camera 24 is displayed on the screen. Further, the voice synthesizing unit 79 performs a voice synthesizing process for a voice announcement and outputs a voice signal to the speaker 51. The image data from the display processing unit 75 is also input to the image processing unit 76.

The image processing section 76 displays the mark M1, on the screen.
An image recognition process for calculating the position of M2 and a positional relationship between the vehicle (fork 2) and the cargo handling target are calculated based on the calculated mark position. The image processing unit 76 includes an image recognition processing unit 81 as an image recognition unit, a template storage unit 82,
An image calculation unit 83 as a calculation unit and a display position determination unit 84 as a display position determination unit are provided. The image recognition processing unit 81 performs image recognition processing by pattern matching processing. When the deviation amount between the vehicle and the cargo-handling target in the vehicle width direction exceeds the allowable range, the image calculation unit 83 calculates the vehicle lateral movement direction and the lateral movement distance required to eliminate the deviation amount. The display position determination unit 84 determines the display position at which position on the screen the display indicating the width-shifting direction and the width-shifting distance should be displayed. The camera 24,
The image recognition processing unit 81 and the template storage unit 82 constitute a detection means.

FIG. 5 shows marks and templates. The figure (a) shows the mark M1 for pallet position detection, and the figure (c) shows the mark M2 for shelf position detection. Further, FIG. 7B is a template T1 for the mark M1, and FIG.
Is a template T2 for the mark M2.

The mark M1 is formed by arranging two patterns P1 and P1 and the mark M2 is formed by arranging two patterns P2 and P2. The mark refers to the entire pattern, and the pattern refers to the two patterns that make up the mark. The templates T1 and T2 used for the pattern matching process have the same pattern as the patterns P1 and P2. Two marks M1,
Each of the patterns P1 and P2 of M2 has a pattern in which white and black are reversed.

Each of the patterns P1 and P2 has a pattern in which white and black are color-coded by a plurality of boundary lines extending straight in a radial pattern with one point as the center. Each of the patterns P1 and P2 of the present embodiment is a pattern in which four areas divided by two diagonal lines of a square are color-coded in white and black. However, the contour line corresponding to the side of the quadrangle of the template is not a part of the pattern. Screen 2 depending on the distance between the mark and the camera
Even if the sizes of the marks M1 and M2 displayed on the 8A change, a pattern of the same size as the templates T1 and T2 always exists in the center portion of the photographed patterns P1 and P2, so that one template T1 , M2, T2 by pattern matching process
2 can be recognized. Template T1,
T1 is set to a predetermined size in which the marks M1 and M2 must be recognized, and all the marks M1 and M2 photographed within a predetermined distance can be recognized.

The template storage section 82 shown in FIG.
Data of two templates T1 and T2 are stored. The image recognition processing unit 81 uses the template T1 if the cargo handling mode notified from the cargo handling control unit 47 is the "unloading mode", and the template T1 if it is the "loading mode".
Use 2. That is, the pattern matching process for recognizing the pallet position detection mark M1 is performed in the loading mode, and the shelf position detection mark M is performed in the loading mode.
A pattern matching process for recognizing 2 is performed.

FIG. 6A shows the screen coordinate system set on the screen. In the screen coordinate system, coordinates are handled in units of pixels, where H is the number of horizontal pixels of the screen 28A and V is the number of vertical pixels of the screen 28A. Here, the mark M2 is described as an example. Image recognition processing unit 81
Is a mark M on the image data, as shown in FIG.
The two patterns P2 and P2 forming the pattern 2 are matched by the template T2 at two positions, and each pattern P
2, recognize P2. The image calculation unit 83 includes the image recognition unit 8
The coordinates (I1, J1), (I2, J2) of the center points (radiation center points) of the respective patterns P2, P2 recognized by 1 are calculated,
The center of gravity (I, J) of the mark M2 based on these two coordinate values
And the distance D between the centers of the patterns P2 and P2 is obtained. In addition,
The method of obtaining the I, J, and D values for the mark M1 is the same.

Next, using the coordinates (I, J) in the screen coordinate system and the value of the distance D, geometric transformation is performed to convert the camera 24 and the mark M in the real coordinate system (XYZ coordinate system) shown in FIG. Three
Dimensional relative position coordinates (Xc, Yc, Zc) are calculated. The coordinates (Xc, Yc, Zc) of the camera 24 are calculated by the following equation. Xc == − Hd / (2Dtan α) Yc = d / D (I−H / 2) Zc = d / D (JV / 2) where “α” is 2 minutes of the horizontal angle of view of the camera 24. 1, d
Are two patterns P2 of the mark M2 in the real coordinate system.
It is the distance between the centers of P2. Since the H, V, α, and d values are known values, if the I, J, and D values are calculated, the coordinates (Xc,
Yc, Zc) is obtained. Then, the positional deviation amount of the fork 2 is calculated based on the relative coordinates (Xc, Yc, Zc) of the camera 24 obtained in this real coordinate system.

7 and 8 show a screen 28A of the display device 28.
Indicates. On the screen 28A, a target mark 87 is displayed at a target position where the marks M1 and M2 should be located when the fork 2 is aligned. By moving the fork 2 so that the center point (movement target point) of the target mark 87 coincides with the center point of the mark M1 attached to the pallet 41, the fork 2 coincides with the insertion hole 41A. On the other hand, by moving the fork 2 so that the target mark 87 coincides with the mark M2 attached to the shelf 42, the fork 2 moves to the shelf surface 42.
It is placed at a loading position about 10 to 20 cm above A.

Since the camera 24 is arranged at the center position between the pair of forks 2 in the vehicle width direction, the Y direction component of the movement target point is equal to the coordinate Yc of the camera 24. Therefore, the difference (deviation) in the Y-direction component between the movement target point and the center point (origin) of the mark M1 is equal to Yc. Lateral displacement Yc
However, if Yc> 0, the fork 2 is displaced leftward (that is, the mark is rightward) on the screen 28A, and Yc
When <0, the fork 2 is displaced to the right (that is, the mark is to the left) on the screen, and when Yc = 0, the fork 2 is not displaced in the lateral direction.

Here, Yc is a value including the side shift amount Sshift if the fork 2 is in the side-shifted state, so that it is assumed that the fork 2 is not side-shifted (vehicle width center arrangement). A shift amount Yr in the Y direction between the moving target point and the mark is obtained. This deviation amount Yr is the side shift amount Ssh when the fork 2 is right-shifted.
ift <0, side shift amount Ssh when shifting to the left
If the value of ift> 0 is taken, it is calculated by Yr = Yc-Sshift. However, in the screen 28A of FIG. 7, the fork 2 is arranged at the vehicle width center position, and the side shift amount Sshif
The case where t = 0 is shown.

The shift amount | Yr | is the maximum side shift amount Sma.
If the value is within x, the fork 2 can be aligned with the cargo target by side-shifting the fork 2.
When the deviation amount | Yr | exceeds Smax, it is no longer possible to catch the cargo handling target with the fork 2 even if the fork 2 is side-shifted. Therefore, it is the same as the maximum side shift amount Smax or a small set value S (≤S
(max) is set in advance, and when | Yr |> S (S = 150 mm in this example) is satisfied, it is determined that the side shift cannot be performed, and a width adjustment instruction is displayed on the screen 28.
The driver is notified by the display on A and the voice from the speaker 51. At this time, the direction of the width adjustment is judged based on whether the value of Yc is positive or negative. If Yc> 0, it is judged that the fork 2 is displaced to the left, so that the width should be adjusted to the right, and Yc <0. If so, it is determined that the fork 2 should be moved to the left because the fork 2 is displaced to the right. On the screen 28A, an instruction guide 88 as shown in FIG. 7 (in the case of the right-width adjustment instruction) is displayed. The mark M2 is omitted in FIG.

The display position determining section 84 performs a process of determining the display position of the instruction guide 88. If Yc> 0, it is determined that the fork 2 is displaced to the left and the cargo handling target is located in the right half of the screen as shown in FIG. 7, and the left area of the screen is determined as the display position of the instruction guide 88. If <0, it is determined that the fork 2 is displaced to the right and the cargo handling target is located in the left half of the screen, and the display position of the instruction guide 88 is determined in the right area of the screen. Just decide whether to display the instruction guide 88 on the right side of the screen or the left side of the screen,
Each display position is fixed on the screen. Deviation amount ｜
When Yr | becomes | Yr | ≦ S (150 mm in this example), the display of the instruction guide 88 disappears.

When the display position is determined when it is necessary to display the instruction guide, the display position determination section 84 draws the drawing display section 7.
Send data to 7. The instruction guide 88 is made up of an arrow figure that points in the width-shifting direction, and a character string of "width number" (numerical value) mm and a width-shifting distance displayed in the arrow shape.
The value of the actual shift amount | Yc |

The drawing data storage unit 78 stores graphic data of two types of instruction guides and font data for displaying the width-shifting distance | Yc |. Two types of graphic data are prepared: a graphic for right justification (see FIG. 7) and a graphic for left justification (an arrow graphic in which the arrow direction is opposite to that of FIG. 7). The drawing display unit 77 includes the display position determination unit 8
According to the instruction from 4, the necessary graphic data and font data are read from the drawing data storage unit 78, and an instruction guide 88 as shown in FIG. 7 is displayed at a predetermined position so as to be superimposed on the photographed image. Further, when the display of the instruction guide is necessary, the display position determination unit 84 outputs the instruction of the voice guide according to the content to the voice synthesis unit. The image processing unit 76 is composed of program data stored in a microcomputer, a memory (ROM), or the like. The drawing display unit 77 and the drawing data storage unit 78 are composed of a drawing control gate array and a drawing VRAM.

In this embodiment, the guide display processing routine shown in the flowchart of FIG. 9 is stored as the processing executed by the microcomputer to display the instruction guide.
The instruction guide display process will be described below with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG.

First, step (hereinafter simply referred to as "S") 1
At 0, image processing (mark recognition processing) is executed. That is, in the loading mode, the template T1 is used to recognize the mark M1, and in the loading mode, the template T2 is used to recognize the mark M2. Then, the mark position data I, J, D values are obtained.

In next step S20, the relative position displacement Yr between the fork and the target is calculated. That is, the relative position (Xc, Yc, Zc) is obtained based on the mark position data I, J, D values. Then, Yr (= Yc-Sshift) is calculated from the Yc value.

At S30, it is determined whether or not | Yr |> S is satisfied. If | Yr |> S is not satisfied, the routine is terminated, and if | Yr |> S is satisfied, S40.
Proceed to.

In step S40, a width-shift instruction is given. Ie Y
If c> 0, a right-justified instruction guide as shown in FIG. 7 is displayed in the left area of the screen, and if Yc <0, a left-justified instruction guide is displayed in the right area of the screen. At this time, the speaker 51 also gives a voice notification so that the widths of the characters are aligned.

Therefore, as shown in FIG. 10 (a), it is assumed that the forklift 1 is largely displaced to the left in the vehicle width direction with respect to the object of cargo handling while facing the object of cargo at a predetermined distance (for example, 2 to 3 m). . At this time, as shown in FIG. 7, on the screen 28A, an instruction guide 88 for instructing the widthwise movement to the right direction.
Is displayed and there is an instruction from the voice guide that the width should be shifted to the right. Then, the driver turns the steering wheel 10 to the right according to the instruction, and moves the steering wheel to the right side. When the vehicle is corrected to a position where it is not necessary to move the steering wheel further, the instruction guide 88 disappears from the screen. Therefore, it is possible to reduce the frequency of inconveniences in which the forklift 1 has to be turned back after the forklift 1 is brought closer to the cargo handling target and the lateral displacement between the fork 2 and the cargo handling target is large. After the instruction guide 88 disappears, the fork 2 can be inserted into the insertion hole 41A of the pallet 41 by using the side shift, if necessary.

The display position of the instruction guide 88 is set to the left side of the screen when "right-justified" and to the right side of the screen when "left-justified". That is, the display position of the instruction guide 88 is set in the area on the left and right opposite to the side where the mark M is shifted with respect to the movement target point. For example, when the vehicle body is deviated to the left side, the instruction guide 88 is displayed on the left side, so the cargo handling target is not blocked by the display of the instruction guide 88. When the cargo handling target on the screen approaches the center of the screen due to the width of the vehicle, the instruction guide 8
8 disappears, the instruction guide 8 displayed on the screen 28A
8 makes it difficult for the portion to be viewed to be aligned due to the alignment of the cargo handling target.

When the operation switch 38 of the multi-lever 31 is operated while at least the side shift is used to insert the fork 2 into the insertion hole 41A of the pallet 41, the automatic fork position adjustment control is started. The control amount is obtained from the relative position coordinates (Xc, Yc, Zc), and the lift solenoid proportional valve 73 and the side shift solenoid proportional valve 75 are current value controlled via the solenoid drive circuit 44 based on the control amount, and the lift is increased. The fork 2 is aligned by driving and controlling the cylinder 15 and the side shift cylinder 71 as necessary.

In this embodiment, the following effects can be obtained. (1) Before approaching the cargo handling target, the position of the cargo handling target on the image captured by the camera 24 in advance is grasped by using image recognition processing, and the shift amount of the fork 2 and the pallet 41 in the vehicle width direction is calculated. When the deviation amount | Yr | exceeds the set value S, the width-shift instruction guide 88 is displayed on the screen 28A. For this reason, if the vehicle is approached to the cargo handling target while being moved toward the side according to the instruction guide 88, the vehicle can be arranged at a position where the fork 2 can be directly inserted into the hole 41A of the pallet 41 when approaching the cargo handling target.

(2) Since the direction guide 88 not only indicates the direction of the width adjustment but also the distance of the width adjustment, the driver is instructed by the direction guide 88 because the direction and the distance to be moved can be known. The vehicle can be correctly arranged with respect to the cargo handling target by moving the vehicle in the width direction by the instructed distance.

(3) The instruction guide 88 is displayed on the screen 28A only when the fork 2 cannot be inserted into the hole 41A of the cargo handling object (pallet 41) even if the fork 2 is side-shifted.
Is displayed. Therefore, when it is possible to deal with the side shift, the vehicle can be advanced as it is without having to shift the width.

(4) The timing for turning off the display of the instruction guide 88 is when the deviation amount | Yr | is within the set value S. Therefore, if the width adjustment is performed according to the instruction of the instruction guide 88,
The vehicle can be modified to a position that can be handled by side shift.

(5) The instruction guide 88 is displayed on the screen 28A at a position avoiding the object of cargo handling. That is, when the cargo handling target is displaced to the right of the screen 28A, the instruction guide 88
Is displayed on the left side of the screen and the instruction guide 88 is displayed on the right side of the screen when the cargo handling target is displaced to the left side of the screen 28A. Therefore, the display of the instruction guide 88 does not obstruct the portion desired to be seen for the alignment of the cargo handling target displayed on the screen 28A.

(6) The speaker 51 gives a voice notification of the width-shifting instruction. Therefore, even when the driver is not looking at the screen 28A, the driver can know in advance that the vehicle body is displaced in the vehicle width direction with respect to the cargo handling target by listening to the voice instruction. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the vehicle from turning back due to missing the instruction guide 88 on the screen 28A.

(7) Since the method of detecting the position of the cargo handling target by the image recognition processing using the image captured by the camera 24 is adopted, the position of the cargo handling target can be detected reliably even from a position several meters away from the cargo handling target. it can.

(8) Since the camera 24 and the display device 28 provided to support the cargo handling work at a high place are used and the instruction guide 88 is displayed on the screen 28A of the display device 28, only the addition of software is required. You can easily add the width-shift instruction notification function.

(Second Embodiment) In this embodiment, when the forklift 1 is brought closer to the object of cargo handling, it is determined how close the forklift 1 should be, and the driver is instructed accordingly. For example, after the vehicle approaches the cargo handling target, the cargo handling device 11 is reached to insert the fork 2 into the hole 41A of the pallet 41. At this time, if the approach of the vehicle to the cargo handling target is insufficient, the reach operation is Afterwards the vehicle has to be advanced again. In order to avoid such an inconvenience, an instruction is given to the screen 28A until the vehicle approaches the cargo handling target as much as necessary. The forklift 1 is provided with a reach sensor (not shown) for detecting the reach amount,
The controller 45 calculates the reach amount from the signal input from the reach sensor.

In this embodiment, the guide display processing routine shown in the flowchart of FIG. 11 is stored as the processing executed by the microcomputer to display the instruction guide. The instruction guide display process will be described below with reference to this flowchart.

First, in S110, image processing (mark recognition processing) is executed. That is, in the loading mode, the template T1 is used to recognize the mark M1, and in the loading mode, the template T2 is used to recognize the mark M2. Then, the mark position data I, J, D values are obtained.

In next step S120, the relative distance Xr between the fork and the target is calculated. That is, the relative position (Xc, Yc, Zc) is obtained based on the mark position data I, J, D values. Then, Xr (= -Xc-Rshift) is calculated from the Xc value. Here, Rshift is the reach amount grasped based on the detection signal of the reach sensor.

In S130, it is determined whether or not Xr> R is satisfied. If Xr> R is not satisfied, the routine is ended, and if Xr> R is satisfied, the process proceeds to S140.
Here, R is a set value equal to or less than the maximum reach amount.

In S140, a forward instruction is given. That is, an instruction guide for instructing to move forward is displayed on the screen 28A, and the speaker 51 also instructs to move forward by voice. Therefore, when the vehicle approaches the cargo handling target, the screen 2
If the vehicle is stopped according to the instruction of the instruction guide by the display or voice on 8A, the object of cargo handling can be surely grasped if the fork 2 is reached from the stop position. For this reason, it is possible to avoid unnecessary time and effort to move the vehicle forward again by the shortage amount after shifting to the reach operation due to insufficient forward movement of the vehicle.

(Third Embodiment) In this embodiment, it is determined whether or not the fork 2 reaches the target height, and if the fork 2 does not reach the target height, the driver is notified to that effect. The instrument panel is provided with a lift confirmation switch (not shown) that is operated to confirm whether the target height of the shelf exceeds the maximum lift Hmax of the forklift 1. ing. In the case where there are a plurality of marks displayed on the screen 28A, the target is the mark M1 (M2) located at the uppermost position, and in the loading mode, the hole 41 of the pallet 41 corresponding to the mark M1.
If the height is A, and the loading mode is set, the loading height of the shelf 42 corresponding to the mark M2 is calculated as the target height.

For example, the uppermost stage of the shelf 40 is projected by the camera 24 from a position separated from the shelf 40 by a certain distance. In this case, a sufficient distance may be taken from the shelf 40, or the fork 2 may be raised slightly so that the uppermost stage can be easily projected. In this state, operate the lift confirmation switch. Then, the controller 45 sets the mark M1 (M2) located at the uppermost position as a target in the image displayed on the screen 28A. The lift sensor 58 used is one that can continuously detect the lift of the fork 2.

In this embodiment, as the processing executed by the microcomputer for displaying the confirmation of the lift, the lift confirmation processing routine shown in the flowchart of FIG. 12 is stored.
The lift confirmation process will be described below with reference to this flowchart.

First, in S210, image processing (mark recognition processing) is executed. That is, in the loading mode, the template T1 is used to recognize the mark M1, and in the loading mode, the template T2 is used to recognize the mark M2. Then, the mark position data I, J, D values are obtained.

In the next S220, the target height Hr is calculated. That is, the relative position (Xc, Yc, Zc) is obtained based on the mark position data I, J, D values. And Zc
The target height Hr (= Zc + Hf) is calculated using the value and the value of the lift Hf obtained from the detection signal of the lift sensor 58.

In S230, it is determined whether or not Hr> Hmax is satisfied. If Hr> Hmax is not satisfied, the routine is ended, and if Hr> Hmax is satisfied, S2
Proceed to 40.

At S240, the fact that the cargo handling is impossible due to insufficient lifting height is notified. That is, a display is displayed on the screen 28A to inform that the fork 2 does not reach the target and the lift is insufficient, and the speaker 51 also informs that by a voice.

Therefore, the target cargo handling target is displayed on the screen 28A.
If you operate the lift confirmation switch so that
Since the target height is detected and it is determined whether or not the fork 2 reaches the target, and if the fork 2 does not reach the target, the fact (insufficient elevation) is notified by the display on the screen 28A and the voice from the speaker 51. The driver can know that the cargo handling target must be changed before actually approaching the shelf or raising the fork 2. Therefore, it is possible to avoid the waste of the work of changing the cargo handling target after it is found that the target cannot be reached by actually approaching the shelf 40 or raising the fork 2.

The embodiment is not limited to the above, and can be implemented in the following modes. In the first embodiment, the timing for turning off the display of the instruction guide 88 is set to | Yr | ≦ S (for example, S = 150 m).
It is set when m) is established, and the vehicle is guided to a position that can be handled by side shift. On the other hand, in order to allow the vehicle to be moved to a position where it can be inserted into the hole 41A of the pallet 41 as it is without side-shifting the fork 2, the erase timing of the display of the instruction guide 88 is | Yr | ≦ S (for example, S = Within 40 mm). If this method is adopted, the fork 2 can be inserted into the insertion hole 41A of the pallet 41 as it is without side-shifting, if the vehicle is laterally moved according to the instruction of the instruction guide 88. Therefore, the labor of the side shift operation can be eliminated, and the work efficiency is further improved.

The content notified by the notification means is not limited to the direction and the distance. You may notify only the direction. For example, if the vehicle is position-corrected within a range in which the cargo handling target can be captured only by moving the fork, the notification of “OK” is given or the notification is ended in the meaning of “OK”. Adopt a notification method. In addition, the direction may be an indication of a traveling direction instead of the width-shifting direction. For example, the display method is such that the angle of the instruction guide in the arrow direction is changed according to the course to be advanced.

The detecting means is not limited to the camera. A sensor may be used as long as it can detect the position of the cargo handling target.
For example, a plurality of laser beams are horizontally irradiated from a predetermined height of a shelf, while an industrial vehicle is provided with a plurality of sensors in the vehicle width direction at the laser beam irradiation height. The position of the industrial vehicle may be determined by observing the array of sensors that have received the light, and the direction and distance to correct the vehicle may be indicated from the determined position.

Further, when the camera is used, the camera does not need to be provided on the industrial vehicle. A method of shooting from the ceiling with a camera, and after calculating the position of the industrial vehicle based on the image data taken by the camera, adopt a method of notifying the calculated vehicle position data to the controller of the industrial vehicle by wireless communication. You can also The controller determines the direction and distance to be corrected based on the received vehicle position data, and notifies the driver by display or voice.

The display place for displaying the instruction guide on the screen of the display device is not limited to being fixed. For example, calculate the position of the mark, calculate the work area you want to see on the screen from the position of the mark, calculate the position that can avoid the work area predicted from the position of the mark each time, and display it. Display control contents for displaying the instruction guide at the position can be adopted.

As an instruction to be displayed on the screen 28A,
You may display the course route (travel line) which should guide a vehicle. The steering direction is instructed by displaying a graphic or the like that is easy to understand visually on the screen of the display device, but the steering direction may be displayed in characters. For example, the characters "Move to the right" and "Move to the left" are displayed.

The present invention is not limited to an indicator sign having a directional shape such as an arrow. For example, a shape that does not have directionality (circle,
The direction may be notified by the position on the screen where a mark such as a square is displayed. The driver recognizes that if the mark is displayed on the left side of the screen, it is an instruction to move to the left, and if the mark is displayed on the right side of the screen, it is an instruction to move to the right.

The instrument panel in the driver's cab may be provided with two types of lamps, left and right, and indicator lights such as LEDs, and the direction of the vehicle to be corrected may be indicated by lighting the indicator lights. In this case, the indicator light constitutes a notification means.

Although the position detecting mark is a radial figure, it is not limited to such a figure. It may be a simple figure such as a circle (●), a square (■) or a triangle (▲). Of course, a method of preparing many templates by pattern matching may be used. An image recognition method other than pattern matching may be adopted to detect the position of the cargo handling target.

It is not limited to the industrial vehicle in which the fork (cargo handling equipment) is movably provided in the vehicle width direction. For example, it can be applied to a forklift without a side shift function. In this case, a notification that guides the course of the forklift so that the fork can be inserted into the hole of the pallet,
If the configuration is such that display or voice is used, the same effect as in the above embodiment can be obtained.

The direction indicator such as the instruction guide 88 for indicating the direction to guide the vehicle by display is not limited to the arrow mark. It is sufficient if the direction can be visually recognized from the direction indicator displayed on the screen. For example, it is a diagram in which an arrow in the direction of rotation is indicated on the design of the steering wheel, or a diagram in which the vehicle is tilted in a direction according to the course. Of course, the direction indicator may be a moving image (animation) as well as a still image. Further, the direction indicator sign may blink.

In the above embodiment, it is premised that the cargo handling object is approached from the front, but the correct instruction is given, for example, even in the process of approaching the cargo handling object a little diagonally or approaching the cargo handling subject a little diagonally for width adjustment. Thus, the steering angle may be taken into consideration when issuing the instruction. That is, the vehicle attitude angle with respect to the cargo handling target (mark) is calculated from the steering angle that is detected from the signal input from the tire angle sensor (steering angle sensor) that detects the steering angle (tire angle) of the driving steered wheels, and the detected steering angle It is possible to employ a method in which the direction in which the steering wheel should be steered is obtained from the relationship between the change and the change in the distance Yc between the movement target point and the mark, and the content to be steered is indicated on the screen or voiced.

○ An industrial vehicle that does not adopt the automatic fork alignment control, and displays an image of the cargo handling work area on the screen of the display device provided in the cab to support the cargo handling operation performed by the driver. In such a configuration, it is possible to employ a configuration in which the driver only informs the direction in which the steering wheel (steering) or the operation lever should be operated for positioning the fork. In this case, the notification method is an instruction by display on the screen, or an instruction of voice or sound.

In the first embodiment, the notification for guiding the position correction is given only when the vehicle is displaced with respect to the cargo handling target, but when the position of the vehicle is matched with the cargo handling target. Alternatively, a notification may be given to inform that effect.

The industrial vehicle is not limited to the reach type forklift. A counterbalanced forklift may be used. Further, industrial vehicles are not limited to forklifts.
For example, a power shovel may be used. It should be noted that the cargo that is the target of the cargo handling work includes luggage, pallets, rolls, logs, earth and sand, and the like.

The technical idea understood from the above embodiment and other examples will be described below. (1) In the invention of claim 1, before the vehicle is brought closer to the cargo handling target means that the cargo handling equipment is not moved to a distance where the cargo handling work can be performed by moving the cargo handling equipment.

(2) In the technical idea of claim 1 or (1), the informing means displays a traveling route for guiding the vehicle as a steering instruction on the screen. (3) In the invention of claim 9, the display position determination means determines the display position to the left of the screen when the notification means indicates the width-shifting direction, and determines the display position to the left of the screen, When the direction is left, the display position is determined to the right of the screen.

(4) In any one of claims 12 to 15, the detecting means is provided for the cargo object based on the photographing means for photographing the cargo object and the image data photographed by the photographing means. Image notifying means for determining the position of the cargo handling target by image recognition of the mark, and the notifying means includes display means for displaying the image photographed by the photographing means, and the display means displays the image on the screen of the display means. Display the notification content.

(5) In the technical idea of (4) above,
The computing means includes a display position determining means for determining a display position for avoiding the cargo handling object recognized by the image recognizing means on the screen of the display means, and the notifying means is provided at the display position on the screen of the display means. Display the notification content.

(6) In any one of claims 12 to 15, the notification means includes a display means, and the notification content based on the calculation result is displayed on the screen of the display means.

(7) In any one of claims 12 to 15, the notifying means includes a voice notifying means for outputting the contents of the notification by voice. (8) In any one of the technical ideas of claims 1 to 16 and (1) to (7), the cargo handling device is provided so as to be movable at least in the vertical direction with respect to the vehicle body.

(9) In the invention according to any one of claims 2 to 10, the informing means displays an instruction mark (88) visually informing the width-approaching direction on the screen of the display means. Use as a summary. Therefore, the driver can recognize the width-shifting direction at a glance by looking at the instruction sign displayed on the screen.

(10) In the invention according to any one of claims 1 to 16, the object of cargo handling is a pallet or a shelf. Here, the shelf part is a part of the shelf which is a target of alignment of the cargo handling equipment (2) during the cargo handling work of storing the load in the shelf or taking out the load from the shelf.

[0121]

As described in detail above, according to the invention described in claims 1 to 16, when the vehicle or the cargo handling equipment is moved for alignment with respect to the cargo handling subject, the driver is given an appropriate instruction. As a result, useless work due to a driver's erroneous judgment can be suppressed.

According to the invention described in claims 1 to 12, it is possible to give a proper instruction to the driver so that the vehicle can be guided to a position where the cargo handling work can be appropriately performed. According to the invention described in claims 13 to 15 and 16, the driver can be appropriately instructed or notified in consideration of the movement range of the cargo handling equipment.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a forklift according to a first embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a plan view of an operation lever.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a state of cargo handling work on a shelf.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing an electrical configuration of a cargo handling operation support device.

FIG. 5 is a front view showing a mark and a template.

6A is a screen diagram illustrating a screen coordinate system, and FIG. 6B is a screen diagram.
Explanatory drawing of a matching method.

FIG. 7 is a screen diagram in which an instruction guide is displayed.

FIG. 8 is a screen view after the position of the vehicle is corrected.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart of an instruction display processing routine.

FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram for correcting the position of the vehicle.

FIG. 11 is a flowchart of an instruction display processing routine according to the second embodiment.

FIG. 12 is a flowchart of an instruction display processing routine according to the third embodiment.

FIG. 13 is an explanatory diagram when correcting the position of a conventional vehicle.

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Forklift as an industrial vehicle, 2 ... Fork as cargo handling equipment, 3 ... Car body, 11 ... Cargo handling equipment, 13 ... Mast, 14 ... Carriage, 23 ... Camera unit, 24
... a camera which serves as a photographing means and a camera which serves as a photographing means, a display device which constitutes a notifying means, 28A ... a screen, 40 ... a shelf, 42 a shelf as a cargo handling target, 41 ... a pallet as a cargo handling target, 41A ... Insertion hole, 45 ... Controller, 51 ... Speaker configuring notification means, 75 ... Display processing unit, 76 ... Image processing unit, 77 ... Drawing display unit configuring notification unit, 78 ... Drawing data storage unit configuring notification unit , 79 ... A voice synthesizing unit constituting an informing unit, 81 ... An image recognition processing unit constituting an image recognizing unit and 56 ... A template storage unit constituting an image processing unit, 83 ... An image calculation as an arithmetic unit Display position determining unit as display position determining means, 88 ... Instruction guide, M1, M2 ... Mark.

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Claims (16)

[Claims] 1. A cargo-handling device movably provided on a vehicle body for carrying out cargo-handling work, detecting means for detecting a position of the cargo-handling target before the vehicle approaches the cargo-handling target, and position detection by the detecting means. Computing means for computing the positional relationship between the cargo handling target and the vehicle, and a steering instruction for guiding the vehicle so that the cargo handling equipment can catch the cargo handling target based on the computation result of the computing means. Cargo handling assistance notification device in an industrial vehicle, comprising: 2. The calculation means calculates a direction in which the vehicle should be guided so that the cargo handling device whose position is detected by the detection means can be captured by the cargo handling equipment, and the notifying means calculates the calculation result of the calculation means. The direction in which the vehicle should be guided is instructed as the steering instruction based on
A cargo handling support notification device for an industrial vehicle as set forth in. 3. The cargo handling assistance notification device for an industrial vehicle according to claim 2, wherein the direction calculated by the calculation means and instructed by the notification means is a vehicle width direction. 4. The calculating means calculates a width-shifting direction and a width-shifting distance for shifting the vehicle so that the cargo-handling target whose position is detected by the detecting means can be captured by the cargo-handling equipment. The cargo handling assistance notification device for an industrial vehicle according to claim 3, wherein the widthwise direction and the widthwise distance are instructed based on a calculation result of the calculation means. 5. A judgment means for judging whether or not a cargo handling target can be captured by a cargo handling device when the vehicle is being advanced in a current steering state, and the notifying means is a judgment device for the cargo handling target by the cargo handling device. The cargo handling assistance notification device for an industrial vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the steering instruction is issued only when it is determined that the vehicle cannot be captured. 6. The cargo handling device is provided so as to be movable in the vehicle width direction with respect to a vehicle body, and that the cargo handling device is caught by the cargo handling device within a movement range of the cargo handling device in the vehicle width direction. The cargo handling assistance notification device in an industrial vehicle according to any one of claims 1 to 5, which is to be captured. 7. The informing unit instructs the steering based on the calculation result of the calculating unit so that the cargo handling target can be directly grasped by the cargo handling device without moving the cargo handling device in the vehicle width direction. A cargo handling support notification device for an industrial vehicle according to claim 6. 8. The position of the cargo-handling target is detected by image-recognizing means for photographing the cargo-handling target and image-recognizing a mark provided on the cargo-handling target based on the image data photographed by the photographing means. 8. An image recognition unit for indexing, the notifying unit includes a display unit for displaying an image captured by the image capturing unit, and displays the instruction content on a screen of the display unit. A cargo handling support notification device for an industrial vehicle as set forth in claim 1. 9. The calculating means comprises display position determining means for determining a display position for avoiding a cargo handling object recognized on the screen of the display means by the image recognizing means, and the notifying means on the screen of the display means. The cargo handling assistance notification device for an industrial vehicle according to claim 8, wherein the instruction content is displayed at the display position. 10. The cargo handling in an industrial vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the notification unit includes a display unit, and the steering instruction based on the calculation result is displayed on a screen of the display unit. Support notification device. 11. The cargo handling support notifying device for an industrial vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the notifying unit includes a voice notifying unit that outputs the steering instruction by voice. 12. A cargo handling device, which is provided so as to be movable at least in the front-rear direction with respect to a vehicle body for carrying out cargo handling work, and detection means for detecting the position of the cargo handling target before the vehicle approaches the cargo handling target. A calculating means for calculating the positional relationship between the cargo handling target and the vehicle detected by the detecting means, and the cargo handling target based on the calculation result of the computing means so that the cargo handling target can be captured within the movement range of the cargo handling equipment in the front-rear direction. A cargo handling support notification device for an industrial vehicle, comprising: a notification means for reporting a position where a vehicle should approach a cargo handling target. 13. A cargo-handling device which is provided so as to be movable at least in the front-rear direction with respect to a vehicle body for carrying out cargo-handling work, detection means for detecting the position of the cargo-handling target, and the cargo-handling target whose position is detected by the detecting means. A cargo handling assistance notification device for an industrial vehicle, comprising: computing means for computing the positional relationship between the cargo handling vehicle and a vehicle; and informing means for instructing the position at which the cargo handling equipment should be moved forward based on the computation result of the computing means. 14. A cargo-handling device movably provided on a vehicle body for carrying out cargo-handling work, detecting means for detecting a position of the cargo-handling target in advance before the vehicle approaches the cargo-handling target, and position detection by the detecting means. Calculating means for calculating the positional relationship between the cargo handling target and the vehicle, and judging means for judging whether or not the cargo handling target can be captured within the movement range of the cargo handling equipment based on the calculation result of the computing means. A cargo handling support informing device for an industrial vehicle, comprising: an informing unit for informing a determination result of the determining unit. 15. A cargo handling device, which is provided on a vehicle body so as to be movable at least in an up-and-down direction for carrying out cargo handling work, detection means for detecting in advance the height of the cargo handling target before the vehicle approaches the cargo handling target, A cargo handling support informing device for an industrial vehicle, comprising: a determination unit that determines whether or not a device can be raised to a height that reaches the cargo handling target; and a notification unit that notifies the determination result of the determination unit. 16. An industrial vehicle equipped with the cargo handling assistance notification device according to claim 1.