JP2006268652A - Autonomous traveling body system - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To calibrate a plurality of distance sensors in a short time without changing the direction of an autonomous traveling body. <P>SOLUTION: The autonomous traveling body system is composed of: an approximately elliptic autonomous traveling body 1 provoded with a battery and a power receiving terminal 10a for charging the battery; a power feeding terminal 37a for charging which is in contact with the power receiving terminal of the autonomous traveling body; and a battery charger 31 for charging the battery by feeding power from the power feeding terminal. The battery charger is provided with: a side-wall body 36, in which a front portion is approximately semicircular; and recessed portions 35a and 36b, which positions driving wheels 3a and 3b so as to be away from the wall surface of the side-wall body just for a predetermined distance required for calibration. The autonomous traveling body 1 is provided with: a plurality of ultrasonic wave transmitting sections 5a-9a; a plurality of ultrasonic wave receiving sections 5b-9b; a first time counting means 53 for counting the time from the reflection, on the sidewall body, of ultrasonic pulses from the transmitting sections to the reception thereof in the ultrasonic wave receiving sections; and a first calibration means for calibrating the deviation between a distance x0 calculated based on time count information of said time counting means and a distance (x) being set. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an autonomous traveling body system that calibrates a distance sensor provided in an autonomous traveling body.

For example, a calibration station is provided on the travel route of an unmanned carriage that is an autonomous traveling body equipped with a safety sensor that detects an obstacle ahead, and a standard reflector is attached at a predetermined position of the calibration station, so that the normal travel of the unmanned carriage Prior to this, the unmanned carriage is moved to the calibration station in advance, and the reference value obtained by measuring the standard reflector with the safety sensor is taught. And, when the unmanned carriage normally travels, every time the unmanned carriage reaches the calibration station, the sensor function of the safety sensor is compared by comparing the measured value obtained by measuring the standard reflector with the safety sensor. What is calibrated is known (for example, refer to Patent Document 1).
JP 2004-3987

  However, in the case where the standard reflector is provided at a predetermined position of the calibration station provided in the travel route and the safety sensor is calibrated, the calibration can be smoothly performed when only one safety sensor is provided in front of the unmanned carriage. However, for example, when the front part of the unmanned carriage is spherical, elliptical, or similar, and a plurality of safety sensors are arranged on its outer peripheral surface, the unmanned carriage is temporarily stopped at the calibration station. After that, the direction of the trolley must be changed several times to a position where each safety sensor can be calibrated with the standard reflector, and it takes time to calibrate and forces the useless operation of changing the direction to an unmanned trolley. was there.

  In the present invention, in the case where a plurality of distance sensors are arranged on the outer peripheral surface of the autonomous traveling body, the calibration of each distance sensor can be performed in a short time without changing the orientation of the autonomous traveling body, and as a place to calibrate An autonomous vehicle system that can effectively use existing locations is provided.

  The present invention provides a battery for supplying power to a traveling drive source for driving a wheel and the like, and an autonomous traveling body having a charging power receiving terminal for the battery provided on an outer peripheral surface, and a power receiving terminal in a state where the autonomous traveling body is mounted. In the autonomous traveling body system comprising a charging power transmission terminal in contact with the charging base and a charging base for charging the battery from the power transmission terminal via the power receiving terminal, the charging base is a wall surface shaped to match the outer peripheral surface of the autonomous traveling body And a recess for positioning the wheel so that the outer peripheral surface of the autonomous traveling body is separated from the wall surface of the autonomous traveling body by a predetermined distance necessary for calibration, and the autonomous traveling body is disposed on the outer peripheral surface. A plurality of distance sensors for measuring the distance to the side wall, distance measuring means for measuring the distance from the wall surface of the side wall by driving each distance sensor for calibration with the wheel positioned in the recess, and Distance measuring means in that provided with calibration means for comparing the reference value preset distance measured to calibrate the respective distance sensors.

  According to the present invention, in the case where a plurality of distance sensors are arranged on the outer peripheral surface of the autonomous traveling body, each distance sensor can be calibrated in a short time without changing the orientation of the autonomous traveling body, and further calibrated. Existing locations can be used effectively as locations.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
(First embodiment)
FIG. 1 and FIG. 2 are diagrams showing an external configuration of the autonomous traveling body 1. Driving wheels 3 a for traveling are provided on the left and right sides of the center of the bottom of a casing 2 that is substantially circular when viewed from above and rectangular when viewed from the side. 3b is provided. A driven wheel 4 whose direction freely changes is provided at the bottom rear end of the housing 2. The autonomous traveling body 1 moves forward in the direction indicated by the solid line by rotating the drive wheels 3a and 3b in the direction indicated by the dotted line in the figure, and moves backward by rotating in the direction opposite to the direction indicated by the dotted line. .

  In the front half of the outer peripheral surface of the casing 2, a plurality of distance sensors each having a pair of an ultrasonic transmission unit and an ultrasonic reception unit that measure the distance to a surrounding obstacle are arranged at a predetermined angle. That is, the ultrasonic transmission unit 5a and the ultrasonic reception unit 5b are arranged at a predetermined angle centering on the left side 90 ° toward the forward direction, and the ultrasonic transmission unit 6a is centered on the left side 45 ° position. The ultrasonic receiving unit 6b is arranged at a predetermined angle, the ultrasonic transmitting unit 7a and the ultrasonic receiving unit 7b are arranged at a predetermined angle centering on the position of 0 ° forward, and the position of 45 ° on the right side is centered. The ultrasonic transmission unit 8a and the ultrasonic reception unit 8b are arranged at a predetermined angle, and the ultrasonic transmission unit 9a and the ultrasonic reception unit 9b are arranged at a predetermined angle around the position of 90 ° on the right side.

  Charging power receiving terminals 10a and 10b are provided at 0 ° forward of the outer peripheral surface of the housing 2. A user interface unit 11 provided with various keys, lamps, and a display is provided behind the top of the housing 2. Wheel motors 12a and 12b and wheel rotation angle encoders 13a and 13b are arranged in the vicinity of the drive wheels 3a and 3b, respectively. The wheel motor 12a transmits the rotation to the drive wheel 3a, and the rotation is detected by the wheel rotation angle encoder 13a. The wheel motor 12b transmits the rotation to the drive wheel 3b, and the rotation is detected by the wheel rotation angle encoder 13b. is doing.

  The bottom end of the housing 2 is formed into a slope shape, and an optical distance sensor 15 for measuring the distance to the running surface is provided on the sloped portion 14, and a straight line perpendicular to the running surface is provided as an axis on the flat surface portion 16 of the bottom portion. A gyro sensor 17 for detecting the rotation angle is provided.

  FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a main circuit configuration of the autonomous vehicle 1, and a control unit 21 including a microprocessor or the like is provided, and the ultrasonic transmission units 5a, 6a, 7a, 8a, 9a are provided in the control unit 21. The ultrasonic receiving units 5b, 6b, 7b, 8b, 9b, the user interface unit 11, the wheel motors 12a, 12b, the wheel rotation angle encoders 13a, 13b, the optical distance sensor 15, and the gyro sensor 17 are connected. A memory 22 is connected to the control unit 21.

  The autonomous traveling body 1 is provided with a battery 23 for supplying electric power to each part including a driving unit for the wheel motors 12 a and 12 b, a user interface unit 11, and a control unit 21 in a housing 2. The battery charge / discharge management unit 24 manages the charge / discharge of the battery 23. The battery charge / discharge management unit 24 is connected to the control unit 21. The battery 23 is connected to the charging power receiving terminals 10a and 10b, and is charged through the power receiving terminals 10a and 10b.

  4 is a plan view of the charging base 31 for charging the battery 23 of the autonomous traveling body 1, and FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line AA of FIG. Grooves 34a and 34b for guiding the drive wheels 3a and 3b of the autonomous traveling body 1 are provided in the slope section 33 to be moved, and the autonomous traveling body 1 ascends the slope section 33 along the grooves 34a and 34b and stops on the plane section 32. It is supposed to be. Concave portions 35a and 35b are formed in the flat portion 32, and the autonomous traveling body 1 is positioned at a predetermined position when the driving wheels 3a and 3b are positioned in the concave portions 35a and 35b. The fact that the drive wheels 3a and 3b are positioned in the recesses 35a and 35b is detected from the vertical movement of the suspension of the drive wheels 3a and 3b.

  The charging stand 31 has a front portion of the flat portion 32 formed in a substantially semicircular shape, and a side wall 36 is formed along the edge of the flat portion 32. Charging power transmission terminals 37 a and 37 b connected to the charging power receiving terminals 10 a and 10 b of the autonomous traveling body 1 are arranged at the central part of the side wall body 36 located at the tip of the flat part 32.

  A charging box 39 containing a charger 38 is formed at the tip of the charging base 31, the charging power transmission terminals 37 a and 37 b are connected to the output terminal of the charger 38, and the commercial terminal is connected to the input terminal of the charger 38. A cord 41 from a plug 40 connected to an AC power source is connected.

  When the autonomous traveling body 1 is charged, the autonomous traveling body 1 goes up the slope portion 33 along the grooves 34a and 34b of the charging base 31, further travels on the flat portion 32, and once passes through the recess portions 35a and 35b, thereby receiving the charging terminals 10a and 10b. Is connected to the charging power transmission terminals 37a and 37b and stopped. In this state, the battery 23 is charged.

  When the autonomous traveling body 1 is stopped at the charging position and receives a command to start traveling from the user interface unit 11, it starts traveling away from the charging stand 31, but before that, it is slightly backed to drive wheels. 3a and 3b are positioned in the recesses 35a and 35b. That is, as shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, the autonomous traveling body 1 is stopped in a state where the drive wheels 3a and 3b are positioned in the recesses 35a and 35b. At this time, the intervals between the ultrasonic transmitters 5a, 6a, 7a, 8a, and 9a and the ultrasonic receivers 5b, 6b, 7b, 8b, and 9b and the wall surface of the side wall body 36 are constant. In this state, ultrasonic waves are sequentially transmitted from the ultrasonic wave transmitting units 5a, 6a, 7a, 8a, and 9a, and are sequentially received by the ultrasonic wave receiving units 5b, 6b, 7b, 8b, and 9b, and the respective sensors. Perform calibration.

  That is, as shown in FIG. 8, the control unit 21 controls the control unit 51 to control the ultrasonic transmission unit 5a (6a, 7a, 8a, 9a) under the control of the control unit 51. 52, a first time measuring means 53 controlled by the control means 51 to perform a time measuring operation, and a first distance measuring means controlled by the control means 51 to measure a distance based on time measuring information from the first time measuring means 53 54, a first calibration means 55 for calibrating the sensor based on the measured distance, a sensor driving means 56 for driving the optical distance sensor 15 under the control of the control means 51, and a timing operation under the control of the control means 51. The second time measuring means 57 and the control means 51 to be controlled are controlled by the second distance measuring means 58 and the control means 51 for measuring the distance based on the time measuring information from the second time measuring means 53, and the sensor is calibrated. I do And a second calibration unit 59.

  First, the control unit 21 clears the first timing unit 53 to start timing, and simultaneously controls the ultrasonic driving unit 52 to emit an ultrasonic pulse from the ultrasonic transmission unit 5a. The ultrasonic pulse is reflected on the wall surface of the side wall body 36. This is received by the ultrasonic receiver 5b. When the ultrasonic receiver 5b receives the ultrasonic pulse, the first time measuring unit 53 stops the time measuring operation. The time measured by the first time measuring means 53 is supplied to the first distance measuring means 54.

  The first distance measuring means 54 obtains the distance x0 from the time measured by the first time measuring means 53. That is, it is obtained by a calculation formula of x0 = α × timed time + β. On the other hand, since the distance between the ultrasonic transmitter 5a and the wall surface and the ultrasonic receiver 5b and the wall surface is determined, the ultrasonic pulse from the ultrasonic transmitter 5a is reflected by the wall surface and reaches the ultrasonic receiver 5b. The distance x is determined. That is, the distance x is preset in the memory 22 as a reference distance.

  The first calibration means 55 compares the distance x0 calculated by the first distance measurement means 54 with a preset reference distance x and adjusts so that x0 = x. That is, in the formula of α × time keeping time + β, α is determined by a constant, so that β is adjusted and adjusted so that x = x0.

  Such calibration is performed by combining the ultrasonic transmitter 6a and the ultrasonic receiver 6b, combining the ultrasonic transmitter 7a and the ultrasonic receiver 7b, and combining the ultrasonic transmitter 8a and the ultrasonic receiver 8b. The same applies to the combination of the ultrasonic transmitter 9a and the ultrasonic receiver 9b.

  Thus, when the calibration of the combination sensor of the ultrasonic transmitters 5a, 6a, 7a, 8a, and 9a and the ultrasonic receivers 5b, 6b, 7b, 8b, and 9b is completed, the control unit 21 continues to the second The timing means 57 is cleared to start timing, and at the same time, the sensor driving means 56 is controlled to emit a light pulse from the optical distance sensor 15. The optical distance sensor 15 receives the reflected light from the flat portion 32 and supplies the received light signal to the second time measuring means 57. As a result, the second time measuring means 57 stops the time measuring operation. The time measured by the second time measuring means 57 is supplied to the second distance measuring means 58.

  The first distance measuring means 58 measures the distance between the optical distance sensor 15 and the flat portion 32 from the time counted by the second time measuring means 57, and the second calibration means 59 preliminarily stores the measured distance and the memory 22 in advance. Is compared with the reference distance between the optical distance sensor 15 and the flat portion 32, and calibration is performed so as to match.

  In the charging stand 31, the autonomous traveling body 1 that has been charged and that has finished calibration of the sensor unit moves away from the charging stand 31 and travels in the traveling space 61. For example, as shown in FIG. 9, when zigzag traveling is performed, the vehicle first travels around the right side of the wall along the boundary walls 62, 63, 64, 65, 66, and 67. The size and shape of the traveling space 61 are grasped by the circular traveling and stored in the memory 22. Then, the zigzag travel route 68 based on the map is determined based on the stored information, and the zigzag travel is started.

  When the zigzag traveling is performed to the end, the autonomous traveling body 1 returns to the charging stand 31 again, and the charging power receiving terminals 10a and 10b are connected to the charging power transmitting terminals 37a and 37b to charge the battery 23.

  As described above, the autonomous traveling body 1 travels from the user interface unit 11 while charging the battery 23 by connecting the charging power receiving terminals 10a and 10b to the charging power transmitting terminals 37a and 37b on the charging stand 31. When the start command is received, the vehicle starts to travel away from the charging stand 31, but before that, the vehicle is slightly backed and the drive wheels 3a, 3b are positioned in the recesses 35a, 35b and temporarily stopped.

  When the driving wheels 3a, 3b are positioned in the recesses 35a, 35b, the autonomous traveling body 1 is in a predetermined position, and each ultrasonic transmission unit 5a, 6a, 7a, 8a, 9a and each ultrasonic reception unit 5b, 6b, 7b. , 8b, 9b and the wall surface of the side wall body 36 are constant. In this state, ultrasonic waves are sequentially transmitted from the ultrasonic wave transmitting units 5a, 6a, 7a, 8a, and 9a, and are sequentially received by the ultrasonic wave receiving units 5b, 6b, 7b, 8b, and 9b, and the respective sensors. Perform calibration.

  Thus, in a state where the autonomous traveling body 1 is stopped, the combination of the ultrasonic transmission unit 5a and the ultrasonic reception unit 5b, the combination of the ultrasonic transmission unit 6a and the ultrasonic reception unit 6b, and the ultrasonic transmission unit 7a. Can be calibrated for each distance sensor including a combination of the ultrasonic transmitter 8a and the ultrasonic receiver 8b, a combination of the ultrasonic transmitter 8a and the ultrasonic receiver 8b, and a combination of the ultrasonic transmitter 9a and the ultrasonic receiver 9b. Further, the optical distance sensor 15 can be calibrated. That is, each distance sensor can be calibrated without changing the orientation of the autonomous vehicle 1. Therefore, each distance sensor can be calibrated in a short time.

  In addition, calibration of each distance sensor is performed by using the existing charging base 31 that charges the battery 23 of the autonomous traveling body 1 without using a separate device, and forming the side wall body 36 on the charging base 31. Yes. Thus, the existing place can be used effectively.

(Second Embodiment)
This embodiment shows a modification of the charging base 31, and as shown in FIG. 10, only the grooves 34a and 34b are formed without forming the concave portion in the flat portion 32, and the tip of the flat portion 32 is formed. Charging power transmission terminals 71a and 71b that are protruded by a predetermined length are arranged in the central portion of the side wall body 36 located at the position.

  The length of the charging power transmission terminals 71a and 71b protruding is such that when the charging power receiving terminals 10a and 10b of the autonomous vehicle 1 are connected to the charging power transmission terminals 71a and 71b, the autonomous vehicle 1 is in a predetermined position. Thus, the distance between the ultrasonic transmitters 5a, 6a, 7a, 8a, 9a and the ultrasonic receivers 5b, 6b, 7b, 8b, 9b and the wall surface of the side wall body 36 is constant. .

  Therefore, in this case, each ultrasonic transmission is performed while the charging power receiving terminals 10a and 10b of the autonomous traveling body 1 are connected to the charging power transmission terminals 71a and 71b of the charging base 31 to charge the battery 23. The ultrasonic waves are sequentially transmitted from the units 5a, 6a, 7a, 8a, and 9a, and the ultrasonic reception units 5b, 6b, 7b, 8b, and 9b are sequentially received to calibrate the respective sensors.

  In this way, the charging power transmission terminals 71 a and 71 b of the charging stand 31 also serve as positioning for calibration of the autonomous traveling body 1. This makes the configuration easier. In addition, since the distance sensors can be calibrated while the battery 23 is being charged, it is not necessary to provide additional time for calibration, and the autonomously traveling body 1 that has been charged can immediately start traveling. .

  In each of the above-described embodiments, as the autonomous traveling body 1, the casing 2 viewed from above has a substantially circular shape, and the side wall body 36 formed on the charging base 31 is replaced with each ultrasonic transmission unit 5a. , 6a, 7a, 8a, 9a and the ultrasonic wave receiving parts 5b, 6b, 7b, 8b, 9b, the front part is formed in a substantially semicircular shape in accordance with the shape of the outer peripheral surface of the housing 2. If the shape of the outer peripheral surface of the housing | casing 2 which has arrange | positioned each ultrasonic transmission part and each ultrasonic receiving part differs, the shape of the body 36 will differ according to it.

Moreover, in each embodiment mentioned above, although the groove | channels 34a and 34b which guide the autonomous traveling body 1 were provided in the charging stand 31, this may not be sufficient.
In each of the above-described embodiments, the distance sensor that measures the distance to the surroundings is a distance sensor that uses a pair of an ultrasonic transmission unit and an ultrasonic reception unit, but the present invention is not limited to this. The distance sensor used or other distance sensors may be used.

The side view which shows the external appearance of the autonomous running body which concerns on 1st Embodiment of this invention. The top view which shows the external appearance of the autonomous running body which concerns on the embodiment. The block diagram which shows the control structure of the autonomous traveling body which concerns on the embodiment. The top view which shows the structure of the charging stand which concerns on the same embodiment. Sectional drawing along the AA line of FIG. The fragmentary sectional view for demonstrating the calibration operation | movement on the charging stand of the autonomous running body which concerns on the embodiment. The principal part top view for demonstrating the calibration operation | movement on the charging stand of the autonomous running body which concerns on the embodiment. The functional block diagram which shows the function structure of the control part which performs calibration control of the sensor of the autonomous running body which concerns on the embodiment. The figure which shows the autonomous running example of the autonomous running body which concerns on the embodiment. The fragmentary sectional view for demonstrating the relationship between the autonomous running body which concerns on 2nd Embodiment of this invention, and a charging stand.

Explanation of symbols

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Autonomous traveling body, 2 ... Housing | casing, 3a, 3b ... Drive wheel, 5a, 6a, 7a, 8a, 9a ... Ultrasonic transmitter, 5b, 6b, 7b, 8b, 9b ... Ultrasonic receiver, 10a, DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10b ... Receiving terminal for charge, 21 ... Control part, 23 ... Battery, 31 ... Charging stand, 35a, 35b ... Recessed part, 36 ... Side wall body, 37a, 37b ... Power transmission terminal for charging, 38 ... Charger, 51 ... Control means 53... First time measuring means, 54... First distance measuring means, 55.

Claims (2)

Provided is a battery for supplying power to a traveling drive source for driving the wheel, and an autonomous traveling body having a charging power receiving terminal for the battery provided on the outer peripheral surface, and the power receiving terminal in contact with the autonomous traveling body. In an autonomous vehicle system comprising a charging terminal for charging, and a charging stand for charging the battery from the power transmitting terminal via the power receiving terminal,
The charging stand includes a side wall body having a wall surface shaped to match the outer peripheral surface of the autonomous traveling body, and an outer peripheral surface of the autonomous traveling body separated from a wall surface of the side wall body by a predetermined distance necessary for calibration. A recess for positioning,
The autonomous traveling body includes a plurality of distance sensors arranged on an outer peripheral surface for measuring a distance from the surroundings, and the distance sensors are driven for calibration in a state where the wheels are positioned in the recesses. A distance measuring means for measuring a distance between the side wall and a calibration means for calibrating each distance sensor by comparing the distance measured by the distance measuring means with a preset reference value; Autonomous traveling body system. Provided is a battery for supplying power to a traveling drive source for driving the wheel, and an autonomous traveling body having a charging power receiving terminal for the battery provided on the outer peripheral surface, and the power receiving terminal in contact with the autonomous traveling body. In an autonomous vehicle system comprising a charging terminal for charging, and a charging stand for charging the battery from the power transmitting terminal via the power receiving terminal,
The charging stand is provided with a side wall body having a wall surface shaped to match the outer peripheral surface of the autonomous traveling body, and the autonomously traveling body is connected to the power transmission terminal for charging when the power receiving terminal of the autonomous traveling body contacts the power transmission terminal. Protruding a predetermined length so that the outer peripheral surface of the traveling body is separated from the wall surface of the side wall body by a predetermined distance necessary for calibration.The autonomous traveling body is disposed on the outer peripheral surface for measuring the distance to the surroundings. A plurality of distance sensors, and distance measuring means for driving each distance sensor for calibration in a state where a power receiving terminal of the autonomous traveling body is in contact with the power transmitting terminal, and measuring a distance from the wall surface of the side wall; An autonomous traveling body system comprising calibration means for calibrating each distance sensor by comparing the distance measured by the distance measurement means with a preset reference value.

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