JP2003069475A - Drive assisting device for unattended truck - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a drive assisting device for an unattended truck with high absolute position precision for detecting a mark, that can accurately identify a relative positional posture between the unattended truck and an outer environmental transmitter-receiver when the communication is established. SOLUTION: The drive assisting device for an unattended truck of this invention includes; an unattended truck side transmitter-receiver 102 consisting of an unattended truck side communication means provided with an unattended truck side transmitter provided to the unattended truck 101 and transmitting a trigger signal and with an unattended truck side receiver for receiving various kinds of drive information such as an absolute position required for driving from an outer environment in which the unattended truck is driven and of an unattended truck side arithmetic means for conducting various arithmetic operations on the basis of the drive information; and an outer environment side transmitter-receiver 104 consisting of an outer environment side communication means provided with an outer environment side receiver placed in an outer environment and receiving the trigger signal and with an outer environment side transmitter for transmitting the drive information when the outer environment side receiver receives the trigger signal, and of an outer environment side arithmetic means, and both the communication means are placed so as to enhance the communication directivity.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a traveling support device for an unmanned vehicle for carrying work such as transportation, and particularly to a traveling support device for notifying an accurate current position or notifying that entry is impossible. Regarding

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art When running an unmanned trolley, a method of estimating the current position and orientation from the internal information of the unmanned trolley such as the number of rotations of the wheels is generally used. There is a problem that the error of is accumulated. In order to solve this, in a conventional travel assistance device for an unmanned trolley, a guide wire has been laid so far on the road surface, and the unmanned trolley travels along the guide line,
There has been a method in which absolute position information is stored in the guide wire by a magnetic action, and the unmanned vehicle reads the information to obtain the absolute position (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2000-3218). However, this method uses an AGV (Automatic Guided Veh
icle) and cannot be applied to unguided unmanned bogies that do not require guide lines on the road surface. Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 11-305832 describes a traveling support method for an unguided guided vehicle that does not use a guide wire. Hereinafter, this driving support method will be described. FIG. 8 shows an external environment side transmitter / receiver laid on the floor. The outside environment transmitter / receiver 801 is a resin housing 802.
It is covered with an LSI (Large Scale Integrated Circuit) 803,
An antenna 804 connected to the LSI 803 is arranged. FIG. 9 shows a position correction method in the case where the transceiver on the outside environment side is laid on the floor and an unmanned trolley passes by in the vicinity. In FIG. 9, 901 is an unmanned trolley, and 902 is an unmanned trolley-side transceiver device mounted on the unmanned trolley 901. Now, the unmanned trolley 901 is passing near the environment-side transceiver 903 and is heading toward the environment-side transceiver 904. The unmanned trolley-side transceiver device 902 radiates a trigger signal to the surroundings at regular intervals, and when it reaches a distance communicable with the external environment transceiver device 903, the external environment transceiver device 903 receives this trigger signal, Returns the reception notification signal. When the unmanned trolley-side transceiver device 902 receives this reception notification signal, this time it transmits an absolute position data request signal. External environment transmitter / receiver 90
When receiving the absolute position data request signal, 3 returns the absolute position data peculiar to the external environment side transmitting / receiving device 903 stored in advance. The unmanned trolley-side transceiver device 902 receives the absolute position data and compares the absolute position data with the relative position data from the start point measured and accumulated by the internal sensor to calculate the deviation D. In the driving support device for the unmanned trolley as described above, the unmanned trolley receives the absolute position data from the external environment side transmitter / receiver,
The position / orientation error can be corrected by calculating a trajectory correction amount θe to be performed from the current position of the unmanned vehicle to the next external environment transmitting / receiving device 904 and operating according to the correction amount θe.

[0003]

However, since the above-mentioned conventional travel support device for an unmanned vehicle uses radio wave communication, there is no directivity, and in fact, the communicable range is wide. Therefore, even if the unmanned carriage and the mark can communicate with each other, the position of the unmanned carriage from the actual mark cannot be accurately specified. FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a problem of the conventional example. In FIG. 10, 1001
Is an unmanned trolley, 1002 is an unmanned trolley-side transceiver, 1003 is an outside environment transceiver, 1004 is an unmanned trolley transceiver communication area, and 1005 is an outside environment transceiver transceiver area. 10A is a perspective view, and FIGS. 10B and 10C are top views. When communication is established between the unmanned vehicle side transmitter / receiver and the external environment side transmitter / receiver, the state may be as shown in FIG. 10 (b) or may be as shown in FIG. 10 (c). is there. In these states, all of the unmanned carts 1001 recognize that the current position is the absolute position stored in the external environment side transmitting / receiving device 1003, and therefore the Δ in the X-axis direction (travel direction).
A measurement error of Δy occurs in the x and Y axis directions (horizontal direction). In order to reduce Δx and Δy, if a communication means having a small communicable area is used, there is a problem that a mark may not be detected and the mark may pass due to a trajectory error. As described above, the conventional travel support device for an unmanned trolley has a problem in that the absolute position accuracy is poor because the relative position and orientation between the unmanned trolley and the transceiver on the external environment side cannot be accurately specified even when communication is established. It was Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide an unmanned trolley traveling support device capable of accurately specifying the relative position and orientation between the unmanned trolley and the external environment side transmitting / receiving device when communication is established, and having high absolute position accuracy of mark detection.

[0004]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, a traveling support device for an unmanned trolley according to claim 1 is installed in an unmanned trolley and an outside environment in which the unmanned trolley travels. In an unmanned trolley traveling support device that supports traveling of the unmanned trolley by exchanging information necessary for traveling with the environment, an unmanned trolley side transceiver device on the unmanned trolley and the outside environment side on the outside environment The wireless communication means is arranged so as to improve the directivity of communication between the transmitting and receiving devices and the directivity of each communication. According to the travel support device for an unmanned trolley of claim 1, the position accuracy of the unmanned trolley can be improved.
The driving assistance device for an unmanned trolley according to claim 2, wherein the directivity of communication between the unmanned trolley-side transceiver device and the external environment-side transceiver device is such that the communicable area of the external environment-side transceiver device faces the unmanned trolley. It is characterized by arranging as described above. According to the traveling support device for an unmanned trolley of the second aspect, the unmanned trolley can be guided to the stop station, whereby the absolute position and orientation can be corrected. The unmanned trolley-side transceiver device according to claim 3, wherein a plurality of the unmanned trolley-side transceiver devices are arranged on an outer periphery of the unmanned trolley, and the unmanned trolley-side transceiver device succeeds in communication with the outside environment transceiver device. Based on the place where is installed,
It is characterized in that the relative position or orientation between the unmanned trolley and the outside environment side transceiver is estimated. According to the traveling support device for an unmanned vehicle described in claim 3, it is possible to reliably correct the wireless communication with the external environment transmitting / receiving device regardless of the posture change due to the accumulated error during traveling of the unmanned vehicle. The travel support device for an unmanned trolley according to claim 4, wherein the unmanned trolley-side transceiver device has one or a plurality of the unmanned trolley-side transceiver devices, and the unmanned trolley-side transceiver device turns on the unmanned trolley. It is characterized by doing. According to the travel support device for an unmanned trolley of claim 4, it is possible to more reliably perform wireless communication with the external environment transmitting / receiving device. In addition, the position and orientation detection accuracy can be improved. According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the traveling support device for an unmanned vehicle, the external environment side transmitting / receiving device is mounted on a portable remote control device and transmits a traveling command of the unmanned vehicle. According to the traveling support device for an unmanned trolley of claim 5, workability of an operator who operates the unmanned trolley can be improved. The travel support device for an unmanned trolley according to claim 6, wherein the external environment side transceiver device is
It is characterized in that it is arranged in front of an obstacle or a step that should not be approached by the unmanned trolley, and information on the obstacle or the step is transmitted to the unmanned trolley. According to the traveling support device for an unmanned trolley of claim 6, it is possible to avoid an obstacle that should not be approached, a step, a dead end, or the like. The traveling support device for an unmanned vehicle according to claim 7,
The external environment side transmitting / receiving device is installed on another unmanned bogie, and exchanges external environment information such as obstacle data and current position information between the unmanned bogies. According to the traveling support device for the unmanned bogie of claim 7,
It is possible to prevent a plurality of unmanned trolleys from colliding with each other. In addition, the amount of information can be increased and work can be made more efficient. The traveling assistance device for an unmanned trolley according to claim 8, wherein the directivity of communication between the unmanned trolley-side transceiver device and the external environment-side transceiver device includes two communication means, a wide area directivity and a narrow area directivity, respectively. It is characterized by being equipped. According to the traveling support device for an unmanned trolley of claim 8, it is possible to perform accurate position correction in a wide range.

[0005]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. (First Embodiment) FIG. 1 shows a first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing a driving support device for an unmanned trolley,
(a) is a perspective view and (b) and (c) are top views. In FIG. 1, 101 is an unmanned trolley, 102 is an unmanned trolley side transceiver device, 103
Is a wall surface of the external environment, 104 is an external environment transmitting / receiving apparatus fixed to the wall surface 103, 105 is a communicable area of the unmanned vehicle side transmitting / receiving apparatus 102, and 106 is a communicable area of the external environment side transmitting / receiving apparatus 104. FIG. 2 shows a wireless communication means used for an unmanned trolley and a transmitting / receiving device provided on the wall of the external environment. FIG. 2 is a detailed view showing a wireless communication means having high directivity. This wireless communication means uses infrared communication, and its communicable area is set to have directivity. In FIG. 2, 201 is a transmission / reception unit for infrared communication, 202 is an infrared transmitter, and 203 is an infrared receiver. The transmission / reception unit 201 is covered with a cone 204 to narrow the infrared transmission / reception range 205 to narrow the directivity width. Next, the operation of this embodiment will be described. Although the unmanned trolley-side transceiver device 102 transmits a trigger signal at regular intervals, even when the unmanned trolley 101 comes near the external environment-side transceiver device 104 as shown in FIG. Since the directivity is high, communication does not occur between the unmanned vehicle-side transceiver device 102 and the external environment-side transceiver device 104. As shown in FIG. 1 (c), when the communicable area 105 of the unmanned trolley-side transceiver 102 and the communicable area 106 of the outside environment transceiver 104 overlap, the outside environment transmitter / receiver 104 transmits / receives to the unmanned truck for the first time. A trigger signal for the device 102 is received. Then, the external environment transmitting / receiving device 104 transmits a reception notification signal. Although the unmanned trolley-side transceiver device 102 is in the vicinity having an error of 1/2 of the directivity width of the wireless communication means with respect to the external environment-side transceiver device 104 at the time of receiving the reception notification signal, the wireless communication means Since the directivity of the unmanned trolley is narrowed by making the directivity of the communication range narrower, the error of the position of the unmanned trolley with respect to the external environment side transmitter / receiver can be reduced especially in the X-axis direction (travel direction) when communication is established. Can be specified. Since the absolute position of the external environment transmitter / receiver is registered in the unmanned trolley in advance, the absolute position of the external environment transmitter / receiver and the relative position from the start point measured by the internal sensor are calculated by the unmanned trolley side calculator. The self position can be corrected based on comparison with the position data. When there are a plurality of outside environment side transmitting / receiving devices on the travel route, the content of the reception notification signal transmitted by the outside environment side transmitting / receiving device may be something like an ID number for identifying the outside environment side transmitting / receiving device. (Second Embodiment) FIG. 3 shows a second embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of a travel support device for an unmanned vehicle showing a second embodiment of the present invention. The present embodiment is an example in which the traveling support devices are installed on both sides of the passage. In the figure, 30
1 to 306 have the same functions as 101 to 106 in FIG. 1, 307 is an unmanned trolley-side transmitter / receiver on the opposite side, 308 is a wall of the opposite outside environment, and 309 is an outside environment transmitter / receiver fixed to the wall 108. ,
Reference numeral 310 is a communicable area of the transceiver apparatus 307 on the unmanned vehicle side, and 311 is a communicable area of the transceiver apparatus 309 on the external environment side. Next, the operation of this embodiment will be described. By arranging the external environment side transceivers on both sides of the aisle, the posture of the unmanned trolley 301 can be adjusted depending on whether the unmanned trolley side transceivers 302 and 307 are receiving when the unmanned trolley 301 enters at an angle due to accumulated error. Can be detected. Further, by changing the posture of the unmanned trolley 301 so that both the unmanned trolley side transceiver devices 302 and 307 can receive, the accumulated posture error can be corrected. To send the absolute position information of the external environment, do the following. That is, FIG. 1 (c)
When the trigger signal of the unmanned trolley-side transceiver device 102 is received by the external environment-side transceiver device 104, the external environment-side transceiver device 104 transmits a reception notification signal. When the unmanned trolley-side transceiver device 102 receives this reception notification signal, it transmits an absolute position data request signal. Upon receiving the absolute position data request signal, the external environment side transmitting / receiving device 104 transmits the absolute position data unique to the external environment side transmitting / receiving device 104 stored in advance. The unmanned trolley-side transceiver device 102 receives this data as absolute position data of the external environment-side transceiver device 104. That is, according to this method, it is possible to detect that the unmanned trolley is in the vicinity of the external environment side transmitting / receiving device and also to detect the absolute position / orientation of the external environment side transmitting / receiving device by the establishment of communication. This makes it possible to correct the absolute position and orientation without registering the absolute position of the external environment transmitting / receiving device in the unmanned vehicle in advance. (Third Embodiment) FIG. 4 shows a third embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram of a traveling support device for an unmanned vehicle showing a third embodiment of the present invention. In this embodiment, the communication areas are arranged so as to face each other, and one of them has a narrow area directivity, and the other has a wide area directivity. An embodiment equipped with communication means is shown. In FIG. 4, 401 is an unmanned trolley, 402 is an unmanned trolley-side transceiver, and 403 is a communicable area of the unmanned trolley-side transceiver 402. Further, 404 is a transmitter / receiver on the external environment side attached to a station or the like, and 405 is a communicable area of the transmitter / receiver 404 on the external environment side. The directivity of the transceiver 402 on the unmanned vehicle side is narrow, and the directivity of the transceiver 404 on the external environment side is wide. For example, when the unmanned trolley 401 arrives in front of the station with an attitude error as shown in FIG.
No communication is established between 2 and the external environment transmitting / receiving device 403. Here, since the unmanned trolley 401 repeats the mode of turning and going straight, communication is performed between the unmanned trolley side transceiver device 402 and the external environment side transceiver device 403 in a certain posture as shown in FIG. 4B. To establish. By running the unmanned bogie 401 in the direction in which this communication is established, the unmanned bogie 401 can be guided to the stop station. The absolute position and orientation can be corrected by using the absolute position of the stationary station registered in advance at the time of reaching the stationary station. In this embodiment, the directivity of the unmanned trolley-side transceiver device 402 is set to be narrow and the directivity of the external environment-side transceiver device 404 is set to be wide, but the opposite effect is also obtained. (Fourth Embodiment) A fourth embodiment of the present invention is shown in FIG. FIG. 5: is a schematic diagram of the driving assistance device of an unmanned vehicle which shows the 4th Embodiment of this invention. This embodiment is described in claim 3, and is an example in which a plurality of unmanned trolley-side transceiver devices are arranged on the outer periphery of the unmanned trolley. In FIG. 5, 501 is an unmanned trolley, 502 to 504 are unmanned trolley side transceivers, and 505 to 507 are communicable areas of the unmanned trolley side transceivers 502 to 504. Further, 508 is a transmitting / receiving device on the outside environment side attached to a station or the like, and 509 is a communicable area of the transmitting / receiving device 508 on the outside environment side. As shown in the figure, a plurality of external environment side transceivers are arranged in the horizontal plane,
As shown in FIG. 5 (a), when the left-side environment-side transceiver 502 succeeds in communication instead of the front-side environment-side transceiver 503 on the front,
It is determined that the unmanned carriage 501 is tilted to the right, and as shown in FIG. 5B, the unmanned carriage 501 turns until the front environment-side transceiver device 506 becomes communicable. As described above, by disposing a plurality of unmanned trolley-side transceiver devices on the outer periphery of the unmanned trolley, it is possible to correct the posture change due to the accumulated error during traveling and head in the correct direction. (Fifth Embodiment) A fifth embodiment of the present invention is shown in FIG. FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram of a traveling support device for an unmanned vehicle showing a fifth embodiment of the present invention. The present embodiment provides claim 4.
It is described in the description, and is an example in which the unmanned vehicle side transmitting / receiving means is configured to turn on the unmanned vehicle. The unmanned trolley-side transceiver device 602 mounted on the unmanned trolley 601
A motor 603 rotates about a vertical axis. At this time, the angle of the motor 603 is measured by the angle measuring device 604.
As a result, the communicable area 605 can scan the inside of the horizontal plane without a break, and can reliably detect the external environment transmitting / receiving device. In addition, when the communication is established, the unmanned trolley-side transceiver device 60
Since the angle of 2 with respect to the unmanned trolley 601 is accurately measured by the angle measuring device 604, it is possible to accurately recognize the direction of the external environment side transceiver device with respect to the unmanned trolley 601. (Sixth Embodiment) FIG. 7 shows a sixth embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 7: is a schematic diagram of the driving assistance device of an unmanned vehicle which shows the 6th Embodiment of this invention. The present embodiment provides claim 5.
It is described in the description, and is an example in which the external environment side transmitting / receiving device is mounted on the portable remote control device. When pressing the buttons 703 to 706 installed on the portable remote control device 702 to operate the unmanned trolley 701 that is movable in all directions and instructing the traveling direction by wireless communication, the unmanned trolley 701 and the portable remote control device 702 are operated. If the postures do not match, the direction of the button of the portable remote operation device 702 seen by the operator who operates the unmanned trolley 701 and the direction in which the unmanned trolley 701 actually travels are different, and workability for the operator. Is bad. Therefore, the portable remote control device 702 has an external environment transmitter / receiver 707, and the unmanned mobile trolley 701 has an unmanned trolley side transmitter / receiver 708.
Install ~ 715. As a result, the unmanned transport vehicle 701 estimates from which direction the infrared ray of the portable remote control device 702 was emitted based on the position of the unmanned vehicle side transmitting / receiving device that has been successfully received, and is pushed from the communication content. Determine the type of button. By converting the direction of the pressed button into the direction in which infrared rays are emitted, the automated guided vehicle 701 can be operated in the direction intended by the operator. As a matter of course, the unmanned trolley-side transmitter-receiver according to the present embodiment is provided by claim 4.
It may be a turning type reception device as shown in FIG. (Seventh Embodiment) This embodiment is described in claim 6, in which the external environment transmitting / receiving device is attached in advance to an obstacle which the unmanned vehicle should not approach, a step, a dead end, or the like. It should be installed on the wall where it should not pass. When the unmanned trolley comes to the vicinity, the unmanned trolley side transmitter / receiver receives a trigger signal transmitted at regular intervals by the obstacle transmitter or the external environment side transmitter / receiver installed on the wall,
A command to stop or turn back is transmitted from the external environment transmitting / receiving device. When the unmanned vehicle that receives this takes an avoidance action, it is possible to avoid encountering an obstacle that should not approach, a step, a dead end, or the like. (Eighth Embodiment) This embodiment is described in claim 7, and in an environment in which a plurality of unmanned trolleys travel on the same floor, the external environment side transmission / reception device is provided on all unmanned trolleys. is set up. When multiple unmanned trolleys approach each other,
Each unmanned vehicle side transmitting / receiving device and the external environment side transmitting / receiving device communicate with each other to communicate current position information. This allows
It is possible to avoid collision by detecting the approach of each other. Also, by exchanging environmental information such as obstacle data on the floor with each other and sharing the information obtained by other unmanned trolleys, it is possible to increase the amount of information and improve work efficiency. (Ninth Embodiment) Since the present embodiment is described in claim 8, the unmanned vehicle side transmitter / receiver and the external environment side transmitter / receiver respectively perform two communications of wide-area directivity and narrow-area directivity. Equipped with means. The two communication means are independent of each other and are set so as not to cause interference. The unmanned trolley is a communication means having a wide area directivity, and reliably recognizes the external environment side transmitting / receiving device from a wide range, and after approaching the external environment side transmitting / receiving device, a communication means having a narrow area directivity, By accurately recognizing the external environment transmitting / receiving device, it is possible to perform position correction in a wide range and with high accuracy.

[0006]

According to the traveling support device for an unmanned trolley according to claim 1, since the wireless communication means is provided with the directivity of a narrow area and the communicable range is narrowed, the outside environment side when communication is established. The position of the unmanned trolley with respect to the transmission / reception device can be accurately specified particularly in the X-axis direction (traveling direction), and the position and orientation accuracy of the unmanned trolley can be improved by correcting the self-position based on this. Also, due to the establishment of communication,
Since it is possible to detect the relative position and orientation of the unmanned trolley and the outside environment side transceiver at the same time as the absolute position and orientation of the outside environment side transceiver, the absolute position of the outside environment side transceiver is not registered to the unmanned trolley in advance, The position and orientation can be corrected. According to the traveling support device for an unmanned trolley of claim 2, the unmanned trolley can be guided to the stop station by causing the unmanned trolley to travel in the direction in which the communication is established, thereby correcting the absolute position and orientation. It can be performed. According to the traveling support device for an unmanned trolley of claim 3, the communication area of the unmanned trolley-side transceiver device can cover a wide range around the unmanned trolley, so that the posture change due to the accumulated error during traveling of the unmanned trolley. Regardless, it is possible to reliably correct wireless communication with the external environment transmitting / receiving device. According to the traveling support device for an unmanned trolley of claim 4, the communicable area of the transceiver of the unmanned trolley can scan the inside of the horizontal plane of the unmanned trolley seamlessly, so that the external environment side is more reliable than the unmanned trolley. It is possible to perform wireless communication with the transmitting / receiving device. Also, by detecting the direction of the external environment side transceiver with an angle measuring device,
The position and orientation detection accuracy can be improved. According to the traveling support device for an unmanned trolley of claim 5, if an operator who operates the unmanned trolley pushes a button of the portable remote control device toward the unmanned trolley, the direction of the pushed button is the same as that of the operator. By moving the unmanned cart in the direction, the workability of the operator can be improved. According to the traveling support device for an unmanned trolley of claim 6, when the unmanned trolley reaches an obstacle which should not approach, or near a step, a dead end, etc., the unmanned trolley stops or stops from the external environment side transceiver device. A command such as turning back is transmitted,
When the unmanned vehicle that receives this takes an avoidance action, it is possible to avoid encountering an obstacle that should not approach, a step, a dead end, or the like. According to the traveling support device for an unmanned trolley of claim 7, when a plurality of unmanned trolleys approach each other, each unmanned trolley side transceiver device communicates with each other to communicate the current position information, thereby avoiding a collision with each other. can do. Also, by exchanging environmental information such as obstacle data on the floor with each other and sharing the information obtained by other unmanned trolleys, it is possible to increase the amount of information and improve work efficiency. According to the driving support device for an unmanned trolley of claim 8, first, the external environment side transmitting / receiving device is surely recognized from a wide range by the communication means having wide-range directivity.
Further, after approaching the external environment side transmitting / receiving device, the external environment side transmitting / receiving device can be accurately recognized by the communication means having directivity in a narrow range, so that position correction can be performed in a wide range and with high accuracy.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a travel support device for an unmanned bogie showing a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a detailed diagram showing a highly directional wireless communication means used in the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of a travel support device for an unmanned bogie showing a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram of a traveling support device for an unmanned vehicle showing a third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram of a travel support device for an unmanned vehicle showing a fourth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram of a driving support device for an unmanned bogie showing a fifth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram of a travel assistance device for an unmanned vehicle showing a sixth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a conventional travel support device for an unmanned bogie.

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing a position correction method for a conventional travel support device for an unmanned bogie.

FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a problem of a conventional travel support device for an unmanned bogie.

[Explanation of symbols]

101, 301, 401, 501, 601, 701, 901, 1001 Unmanned bogies 102, 302, 402, 502-504, 602, 708-715, 902, 1002
Unmanned trolley side transceiver 103, 303 Wall surface 104, 304, 404, 508, 707, 801, 903, 904, 1003 Outside environment side transceiver 105, 305 Unmanned trolley side transceiver range 106, 306 Outside environment side transceiver Device communication area 201 Infrared transmission / reception unit 202 Infrared transmitter 203 Infrared receiver 204 Cone 205 Infrared transmission / reception range 307 Opposite unmanned trolley side transceiver 308 Opposite outside wall 309 Fixed to wall 108 Outside environment side transmitter / receiver 310 Communication area of unmanned trolley side transmitter / receiver 307 311 Communication area of outside environment side transmitter / receiver 309 Communication area of unmanned truck side transmitter / receiver 402 405 Communication area of outside environment side transceiver 404 507 is an unmanned trolley side transceiver device 502 to 504 communicable area 509 Outside environment transceiver device 508 communicable area 603 Motor 604 Angle measuring device 702 Portable remote operation device 703 to 706 Button 802 Housing 803 LSI 804 Antenna 1004 Unmanned Trolley Communicable area of the transceiver, the communication area of 1005 outside environment side transceiver device

   ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continued front page    F term (reference) 5H301 AA01 BB05 FF05 FF11 GG08                       GG16 LL01                 5K067 BB21 DD20 EE02 EE12 FF03                       JJ51 JJ54 KK02

Claims (8)

[Claims] 1. An unmanned trolley-side transmitter that is provided on an unmanned trolley and transmits a trigger signal, and an unmanned trolley-side receiver that receives various traveling information such as an absolute position necessary for traveling from the outside environment side on which the unmanned trolley travels. And an unmanned trolley-side transceiver means provided with an unmanned trolley-side communication means and an unmanned trolley-side computing means for performing various calculations based on the traveling information, and an external environment installed in the external environment and receiving the trigger signal. Environment side transmission / reception comprising an outside environment side communication means and an outside environment side computing means provided with an outside environment side transmitter and an outside environment side transmitter for transmitting the traveling information when the outside environment side receiver receives the trigger signal. In the travel support device for an unmanned trolley, the communication means for both of the devices includes a wireless communication means arranged to enhance the directivity of communication. 2. The outside environment side wireless communication means is arranged such that its communicable area faces the unmanned trolley, and a narrow area is provided in either the unmanned trolley side wireless communication means or the outside environment side wireless communication means. 2. The traveling support device for an unmanned vehicle according to claim 1, further comprising a communication means having the directivity of 1) and a communication means having the directivity of a wide area on the other side. 3. A plurality of the unmanned trolley side communication means are arranged on the outer periphery of the unmanned trolley, and the unmanned trolley side computing means is based on the installation location of the outside environment side transceiver device with which communication has already been established. The travel support device for an unmanned trolley according to claim 1 or 2, wherein a relative position or a posture between the unmanned trolley and the external environment side transceiver is calculated. 4. The traveling support device for an unmanned trolley according to claim 1, wherein the unmanned trolley side communication means turns on the unmanned trolley. 5. The outside environment side transmitter / receiver is mounted on a portable remote operation device for an operator to remotely control the traveling direction of the unmanned trolley, and transmits a traveling command of the unmanned trolley. The travel support device for an unmanned trolley according to any one of claims 1 to 4. 6. The outside environment side transmitting / receiving device is arranged in front of an obstacle or a step that the unmanned trolley should not approach, and transmits information on the obstacle or the step to the unmanned trolley. Item 5. A travel assistance device for an unmanned vehicle according to any one of items 1 to 4. 7. The external environment side transmitter / receiver is installed on another unmanned trolley, and transmits / receives external environment information such as obstacle data and current position information between each unmanned trolley. Item 5. A travel assistance device for an unmanned vehicle according to any one of items 1 to 4. 8. The directivity of communication between the unmanned trolley-side transceiver device and the external environment-side transceiver device is provided with two communication means, a wide area directivity and a narrow area directivity, respectively. Item 7. A travel support device for an unmanned vehicle according to any one of items 1 to 7.