JP2007017326A - Position detection method for highly precisely positioning self-running mobile object and mechanism thereof - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To enable highly precise positioning without at least two positioning sensors by employing a unitized digitizer as a final positioning sensor for controlling precise positioning and functioning the digitizer as the sensor. <P>SOLUTION: A detection body provided with a resonance circuit for storing energy by the action of a magnetic field including a coil and a capacitor at a fixation system positioning point or in the vicinity thereof in a mobile object provided with a stop position sensor 13 of a cart 11 and a lift is installed. A plurality of loop coils arranged regularly with respect to the detection body on a mobile object side facing the detection body are successively selected to generate the magnetic field to store energy in the resonance circuit. The magnetic field generated in the loop coil is detected by a sensor board 1 provided for detecting the generation position of magnetic field as position data, thereby detecting by receiving the action of the energy, the stop position of the mobile object by detection precision possessed by a sensor board 1. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an object that moves in a horizontal direction and / or a vertical direction by an external driving force or a mounting driving force, such as a carriage or an automatic conveyance carriage that is self-propelled in a plane or the like, or a lift such as an elevator. The present invention relates to a position detection method for positioning with high accuracy and a mechanism therefor.

  Conventionally, a self-propelled movable body such as a self-propelled carriage, an automatic conveyance carriage, a lift, a stacker crane of an automatic warehouse, etc. has a movement data of each axis in an XY coordinate system or an XYZ coordinate system. Thus, known positioning control is performed, and finally positioning control is performed based on the detection position by the position detection sensor.

  However, if the accuracy of the final positioning sensor is increased in conventional positioning control, it is necessary to increase the data accuracy for each axis, such as X and Y data in the controller, and the amount of processing data becomes large. is there. In order to keep the amount of data of each axis such as X and Y data at the conventional level, at least two sensors, that is, a sensor for roughly detecting the position with the same accuracy as the machine side and a sensor for finally positioning are required. To do.

  Although it is good to increase the detection accuracy of the final positioning sensor, the overall positioning accuracy cannot be improved unless the mechanical accuracy of the controlled self-propelled moving body is raised to the level of the positioning sensor. Therefore, there is a problem that a great deal of labor and cost are indispensable for improving the machine accuracy on the moving body side, which is not realistic.

  In view of the problem in the case where the positioning accuracy of the self-propelled moving body is to be high, the present invention uses a unitized digitizer as a final positioning sensor for high-precision positioning control. It is an object of the present invention to provide a position detection method that enables high-accuracy positioning without using at least two positioning sensors by using this digitizer as a final positioning sensor, and a mechanism therefor. And

  The first configuration of the method of the present invention made for the purpose of solving the above problems is that a magnetic field including a coil and a capacitor at or near a fixed system positioning point in a moving body having a stop position sensor such as a carriage or a lift. While installing a detection body equipped with a resonance circuit that stores energy by the action of the above, on the moving body side facing the detection body, a plurality of loop coils regularly arranged with respect to the detection body are sequentially selected to generate a magnetic field By providing a sensor board for storing energy in the resonance circuit and detecting a magnetic field generated in the loop coil under the action of the energy and detecting the generation position of the magnetic field as position data. The stop position is detected by the detection accuracy provided in the sensor board.

  In addition, the second configuration of the method of the present invention that can solve the above-described problem is that the electromagnetic wave includes a coil and a capacitor at or near the fixed system positioning point in the moving body having a stop position sensor such as a carriage or a lift. While installing a detection body equipped with a tuning circuit to be tuned, a plurality of regularly arranged loop coils and the loop coil are sequentially selected on the side of the moving body facing the detection body, and an excitation signal is applied to the loop coil. An excitation circuit that transmits the excited electromagnetic wave to the detection body, and a transmission circuit that detects an induced voltage generated in the loop coil by the electromagnetic wave generated in the detection body. By providing a sensor board that detects the position data, the stop position of the moving body is detected by the detection accuracy of the sensor board. It is characterized in that.

  The first configuration of the mechanism of the present invention for carrying out the above-described method of the present invention is that a fixed system positioning point in a moving body such as a cart or a lift provided with a stop position sensor or a coil and a capacitor installed in the vicinity thereof. A sensor board including a resonance body including a resonance circuit that stores energy by the action of a magnetic field, and a plurality of regularly arranged loop coils provided on a side surface of the moving body facing the detection body, the sensor board The loop coil of the board generates a magnetic field for the detection body, so that energy is stored in the resonance circuit of the detection body, and the magnetic field generated in the loop coil is detected by the action of the energy and the position where the magnetic field is generated is positioned. And a sensor board for detecting the stop position of the moving body detected by the stop position sensor. It is characterized in that it has to be detected based on the position data obtained by the cooperative action.

  Furthermore, the second configuration of the mechanism of the present invention is that a tuning circuit generates a magnetic signal including a coil and a capacitor installed at or near a positioning point of a fixed system in a moving body such as a carriage or a lift provided with a stop position sensor. A sensor board provided on a side surface of a detection body and a moving body facing the detection body, and the sensor board generates an electromagnetic wave to the detection body, thereby generating an electromagnetic wave in a tuning circuit of the detection body and the electromagnetic wave And a sensor board that detects the positions of regularly arranged loop coils that generate an induced voltage and detects the positions as position data, and the stop position of the moving body detected by the stop position sensor, The detection is based on position data obtained by the cooperative action of the detection body and the sensor board.

  In the present invention, a detector including a resonance circuit that stores energy by the action of a magnetic field is installed at or near a positioning point of a fixed system in a movable body including a stop position sensor such as a carriage or a lift. A sensor that generates a magnetic field for the sensing body on the side of the moving body facing the sensor, stores energy in the resonance circuit, detects a magnetic field generated by the action of the energy, and detects a position where the magnetic field is generated as position data By providing the board, the stop position of the moving body is detected by the detection accuracy of the sensor board, so that the high accuracy can be achieved without using two mechanical configuration positioning sensors. Enables positioning.

  Next, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. 1 is a schematic plan view of an example in which the method of the present invention is used for positioning a self-propelled carriage, FIG. 2 is a schematic side view of an example in which the method of the present invention is used for positioning a lift, and FIG. FIG. 4 and FIG. 5 are schematic plan views of an example in which the method is applied to a transfer device portion of a stacker crane in an automatic warehouse. FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram viewed from the side, FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram viewed from the side, and FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram for explaining an example of a sensor unit using an electromagnetic induction tablet used in the present invention.

  FIG. 6 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a sensor unit SU using an electromagnetic induction type tablet (also referred to as a digitizer) used in the present invention, in which a sensor coil Sc in which a plurality of loop coils are regularly arranged is arranged inside. The marker 1 includes a board 1, a liquid crystal panel 2 indicating a movement axis or coordinates disposed on the upper surface of the board 1, and a marker 3 as a thin rod-shaped detector disposed opposite to the board 1. As an example, a resonance circuit Hs including a coil and a capacitor is built in the.

  The operation principle of the sensor unit SU is that when a current is passed through the sensor coil Sc of the sensor board 1 with the marker 3 facing the sensor board 1, a magnetic field is generated on the front surface of the board 1, and the resonance circuit of the marker 3 Energy is stored in Hs. In this state, when the current on the coil side of the sensor board 1 is stopped and the magnetic field from the marker 3 side is sent to the sensor coil Sc side using the energy stored in the marker 3, the marker 3 on the sensor board 1 is Location information is obtained. The present invention intends to use this position information as final position determination information. Incidentally, in the sensor unit SU, the effective reading length of the sensor board 1 is 4 to 15 mm, the reading resolution is 0.05 mm, the coordinate accuracy is ± 0.4 mm, and the distance between the surface of the sensor board 1 and the tip of the marker 3 is 4 to 4 mm. It is a 14mm unit. Since this sensor unit SU is marketed by Wacom Co., Ltd. under the trade name “Pen Tablet Device”, this commercial product is used in the present invention.

  The palletizer-type sensor unit SU of the above aspect is used as a final positioning sensor for performing high-precision positioning control in the aspects of FIGS. 1 to 3 and FIGS. 4 and 5. Will be described.

  In FIG. 1, 11 is a self-propelled carriage, 12a and 12b are guide rails that support and guide the running of the carriage 11, and 13 is a stop position of the carriage 11 with the carriage 11 using light, sound waves, or the like. In the conventional technology, the self-propelled carriage 11 is positioned based on the movement data related to the movement axis (X-axis in FIG. 1). When the sensor 13 detects this, the travel drive source of the self-propelled carriage 11 is controlled to stop. However, in this positioning mode, the accuracy tends to be rough and the positioning accuracy is limited.

  Therefore, in the present invention, as illustrated in FIG. 1, the self-propelled carriage 11 is caused to travel based on the movement data related to the movement axis and is stopped by the action of the stop sensor 13, which is basically the same as the conventional method. However, while the sensor board 1 of the sensor unit SU is attached to the self-propelled carriage 11, the marker 3 is installed opposite to the sensor board 1 in the final stop position of the carriage 11 or a fixed system in the vicinity thereof. .

  1, when the self-propelled carriage 11 is stopped by the action of the stop sensor 13 or the like, the stop position of the self-propelled carriage 11 is set to ± 0.4 as an example by starting the sensor unit SU. Since it can be detected with a coordinate accuracy of mm, the final position can be determined with this accuracy. The reason for this will be described next.

  It is assumed that the positioning accuracy of the self-propelled carriage 11 in FIG. 1 by the stop sensor 13 is, for example, ± 7 mm with respect to the destination (final stop point) set on the movement axis (here, the X axis). At this time, the marker 3 disposed in the fixed system facing the sensor board 1 attached to the self-propelled carriage 11 is fixed to the fixed system such as the rail 12a with the midpoint of the effective reading length of 15 mm of the sensor board 1 at the stop point as the origin. It is prepared in.

  As an example, when the carriage 11 stops within a range of ± 7 mm of the stop point based on the detection output of the stop sensor 13, the position of the marker 3 relative to the origin set on the sensor board 1 is detected, and the detected value is the sensor Whether or not it coincides with the origin set in advance on board 1 (the midpoint of the effective reading length of 15 mm of sensor board 1), and if not, how much distance (amount) from origin to + or – side ) It is detected whether the vehicle is separated, and if it is a detected value that is not coincident with the origin, the self-propelled carriage 11 is caused to perform a correction operation for setting the detected value to zero. In this way, the self-propelled carriage 11 can be positioned and controlled at the stop point with the accuracy of the coordinate accuracy ± 0.4 mm of the sensor board 1 in the sensor unit SU.

  FIG. 2 shows an example in which the sensor unit SU is applied to the lift lift 21 in place of the self-propelled carriage 11. 1 differs from the self-propelled carriage 11 in FIG. 1 in that the movement axis is the up and down direction, that is, the Y axis, and the traveling guide rails 12a and 12b become the elevating rails 22a and 22b in the Y axis direction. The relationship between the sensor board 1 and the marker 3 of the sensor unit SU is common in that the sensor board 1 is disposed on the lift lift 21 and the marker 3 is disposed on the fixed system. Is basically the same as the example of FIG. In FIG. 2, reference numeral 23 denotes an elevation stop sensor.

  FIG. 3 shows an example in which the configuration shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 is applied to an automatic conveyance carriage 31 mainly composed of a battery and a motor that do not have rails. Since the automatic conveyance carriage 31 is automatically conveyed and positioned at at least one or a plurality of stations 32 installed at a predetermined position like a charging station, the automatic conveyance carriage 31 moves automatically as in the above-described embodiment. The sensor board 1 of the sensor unit SU is attached to the transport carriage 31, while the marker 3 facing the sensor board 1 is provided in the stationary system station 32. 33 is a stop sensor. The stop by the stop sensor 33 or the like of the automatic conveyance carriage 31 in the example of FIG. 3, the detection of a highly accurate stop position using the function of the sensor unit SU, and the correction of positioning based on this detection are also shown in FIGS. This is basically the same as the second example.

The picker 41 of the stacker crane, which is a transfer means such as an automatic warehouse in FIG. 4, performs the operation in the vertical direction (up and down) along the Y axis and the operation in the horizontal direction along the X axis shown in FIG. Perform along pole 42y and rail 42x. Therefore, the sensor unit SU may use two sets of units along each axis (X axis and Y axis), but the sensor board 1 in one sensor unit SU is a distance in the X axis direction and the Y axis direction. Since it has a data reading capability, the sensor board 1 for both the X axis and the Y axis can be shared by a single sensor board 1, and the marker 3 provided in the fixed system is replaced with the marker 3y for the Y axis system and the X axis system. The marker 3x is divided into the marker 3x, and the markers 3x and 3y of each axis are arranged in each section 42m in the storage shelf 42z.
Then, the position detection of the final stop position of the picker 41 on each axis (Y axis or X axis) and the correction control based thereon are performed for each axis with the same content as the example of FIGS.

  In the stacker crane shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, a switch (switch) having a mechanical configuration is inserted into the resonance circuit of the markers 3x and 3y as an example, and the load W existing in an arbitrary section 42m of the storage shelf 42z is obtained. If the switch is pushed, the switch pushed by the load opens the closed resonance circuit in the marker or provides a configuration for closing the opened resonance circuit. For example, the marker 3x or 3y is used to determine whether or not there is a load W inside the section 42m when the picker 41 moves to a section 42m in cooperation with the sensor board 1. Since the signal can be formed on the sensor board 1, it can be used as a mechanism for detecting the presence or absence of the luggage W in the section 42m.

The marker 3 of the above embodiment is configured with no power source, but in the present invention, it may be one having an internal power source such as a battery, or one having an external power source introduced through a cable or the like. The marker 3 having a power supply has an advantage that a sensor function such as a barcode sensor can be provided so that information relating to the parcels in the compartment, such as the parcel name and code, can be output to the outside via the marker. However, the internal power supply needs to be replaced due to wear, and the external power supply requires wiring, which is troublesome.
Further, by using a marker 3 whose operating conditions are changed, the present invention can be implemented in a mode in which relative position detection and absolute position detection of a positioning target are selected.

The present invention is as described above, and the following unique effects can be obtained.
(1) If the accuracy of the final positioning sensor is increased by the conventional method, it is necessary to increase the accuracy of the X and Y data in the controller for positioning control. However, in the present invention, the peripheral position of the sensor unit (effective reading length Since the final position can be recognized as position data on the X and Y axes on the board sensor, positioning with high accuracy can be achieved with rough control. Incidentally, in the conventional method, a combination of two or more sensors, that is, a sensor for roughly detecting the position and a sensor for finally detecting the position is necessary, but this is not necessary.
(2) When the marker side of the sensor unit is placed at a fixed position, there is no contact between the sensor board and the marker. In addition, the non-contact distance is larger than the non-contact distance (usually about 5 mm) of the metal detection sensor. Because it is large (for example, about 15mm), the accuracy on the machine side becomes easy. By the way, the sensor unit used in the present invention can detect the position even when the sensor unit is separated from the detection object by more than three times the conventional method (average of about 15 mm), so that it is difficult to cause obstacles due to contact. Freedom can be taken.
(3) Cost can be reduced compared to the conventional method using a plurality of general sensors.

The typical top view of the example which used the method of the present invention for positioning of a self-propelled cart. The typical side view of the example which used the method of this invention for positioning of the raising / lowering lift. The typical top view of the example which used the method of the present invention for positioning of an automatic conveyance trolley. The schematic diagram seen from the plane of the example which applied this invention method to the transfer apparatus part of the stacker crane of an automatic warehouse. The schematic diagram seen from the side of the example which applied this invention method to the transfer apparatus part of the stacker crane of an automatic warehouse. The schematic diagram for demonstrating an example of the sensor unit by the electromagnetic induction type tablet used by this invention.

Explanation of symbols

SU Sensor unit 1 Sensor board 2 LCD panel 3 Marker
11 Self-propelled cart
12a, 12b Traveling guide rail
13 Stop sensor
21 Lifting lift
22a, 22b Elevating rail
31 Automatic transport cart
32 Stationary station

Claims (5)

  In the movable body provided with a stop position sensor such as a carriage or a lift, a detection body having a resonance circuit for storing energy by the action of a magnetic field including a coil and a capacitor is installed at or near the fixed system positioning point. A plurality of loop coils regularly arranged with respect to the detection body are sequentially selected on the side of the moving body facing to generate a magnetic field to store energy in the resonance circuit and receive the action of the energy to receive the loop coil. In addition, a sensor board is provided that detects a magnetic field generated in the sensor and detects a position where the magnetic field is generated as position data, thereby detecting the stop position of the moving body with the detection accuracy of the sensor board. A position detection method for high-precision positioning of a self-propelled moving body.   A detection body having a tuning circuit that includes a coil and a capacitor and is tuned to an electromagnetic wave is installed at or near a fixed system positioning point in a moving body having a stop position sensor such as a carriage or a lift, and faces the detection body. A plurality of regularly arranged loop coils and the loop coils are sequentially selected on the moving body side, and an excitation circuit for applying an excitation signal to the loop coils and an excited electromagnetic wave are transmitted to the detection body and the detection body By providing a sensor board that includes a transmission circuit that detects an induced voltage generated in the loop coil due to an electromagnetic wave generated in the position, and detects a position of the loop coil that generated the induced voltage as position data, Position detection for high-accuracy positioning of a self-propelled moving body, which is detected by detection accuracy provided in the sensor board. Method.   A detection body including a resonance circuit that stores energy by the action of a magnetic field, including a coil and a capacitor installed at or near a fixed system positioning point in a movable body such as a carriage or a lift provided with a stop position sensor, and the detection body A sensor board having a plurality of regularly arranged loop coils provided on a side surface of a moving body facing each other, wherein the loop coil of the sensor board generates a magnetic field with respect to the detection body, thereby energizing a resonance circuit of the detection body. And a sensor board for detecting the magnetic field generated in the loop coil under the action of the energy and detecting the generation position of the magnetic field as position data, and stopping the moving body detected by the stop position sensor The position is detected based on position data obtained by the cooperative action of the detection body and the sensor board. Position detecting mechanism for precision positioning of the self-propelled mobile, wherein.   A detecting body including a coil and a capacitor installed in or near a fixed system positioning point in a moving body such as a carriage or a lift provided with a stop position sensor, and a moving body facing the detecting body, the tuning circuit generating an electromagnetic signal The sensor board is provided on the side surface of the sensor board, and the sensor board generates an electromagnetic wave to the detection body, thereby generating an electromagnetic wave in a tuning circuit of the detection body and receiving the electromagnetic wave to generate an induced voltage regularly. And a sensor board for detecting the position of the loop coil as position data, and the stop position of the moving body detected by the stop position sensor is obtained by the cooperative action of the detection body and the sensor board. A position detection mechanism for high-accuracy positioning of a self-propelled moving body, characterized in that the detection is based on position data. The position detection mechanism for high-precision positioning of the self-propelled mobile body according to claim 3 or 4, wherein the detection body is provided with a power supply inside or introduced from the outside.

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