JP2011065609A - System for restricting range of activity of a plurality of mobile bodies - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a system for controlling a slave mobile body which has departed from a set range of activity so as to return to the range of activity, in a plurality of mobile bodies. <P>SOLUTION: A range of activity restricting system includes: one or more slave sets to be operated by occupants; a specifying machine for controlling the positions of the slave sets; and a positioning instrument for supplying position information of the slave sets and the specifying machine. The specifying machine 202M acquires the current position information of the specifying machine and the slave sets from the positioning instrument 206, determines whether the position of the slave set 202S has departed from a control area 302 determined in advance by the specifying machine, and then, transmits to the slave set 202S instruction information to move to a target return position within the control area 302 when the slave set has departed. The slave set 202S receives the instruction information, and then, controls a movement operation part 5 so as to move to the target return position, based on the position information. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2011,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a system for limiting the action range of a plurality of moving objects.

  As the omnidirectional vehicle that can move in all directions (two-dimensional omnidirectional) on the floor surface, for example, those shown in Patent Documents 1 and 2 have been proposed by the present applicant. In the omnidirectional mobile vehicle found in these Patent Documents 1 and 2, a spherical or wheel-like or crawler-like moving operation unit capable of moving in all directions on the floor surface while being in contact with the floor surface; An actuator device having an electric motor or the like for driving the moving operation unit is assembled to a vehicle body. And this vehicle moves on a floor surface by driving a movement operation part with an actuator device.

  Further, as a technique for controlling the moving operation of this type of omnidirectional vehicle, for example, a technique found in Patent Document 3 has been proposed by the present applicant. In this technique, a vehicle base is provided so as to be tiltable in the front-rear and left-right directions with respect to a spherical moving operation unit. Then, the vehicle is moved according to the tilting motion of the base by measuring the tilt angle of the base and controlling the torque of the electric motor that drives the moving operation unit so as to keep the tilt angle at a required angle. I have to.

International Publication No. 2008/132778 International Publication No. 2008/132777 Japanese Patent No. 3070015 JP 2005-267079 A

  In situations where the supervised person can freely drive in a vehicle as disclosed in Patent Documents 1 and 2, in many cases, the behavior of the supervised person is within a preset range of action. However, the control device disclosed in Patent Document 3 has a problem that such control cannot be performed.

A system for monitoring the range of action of the supervisor is disclosed in Patent Document 4. However, in the technique described in Patent Document 4, when the supervisor deviates from the scheduled action range, the supervisor is merely warned, so that the supervisor is surely returned to the scheduled action range. There is a problem that can not be.

  The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problem, and the purpose of the present invention is to ensure that if the moving body on which the supervised person departs from the scheduled action range, the supervised person's moving object is within the action range. It is to provide a system that controls to return to the system.

  In order to solve the above-described problem, the invention described in claim 1 includes one or more slave units (for example, the slave unit 202S according to the embodiment) and a specific unit (for example, the embodiment) that controls the position of the slave unit. Action range restriction system (for example, action range restriction system according to the embodiment), which includes a position measurement device (for example, the position measurement device 206 according to the embodiment) that supplies position information of the slave unit and the specific machine. 200), and the slave unit includes a receiving unit (for example, the receiving device 212S according to the embodiment) that receives information, and the specific unit receives the receiving unit (for example, the receiving device 212M according to the embodiment). ), A transmission unit for transmitting information (for example, the transmission device 214M according to the embodiment), and a first region (for example, real The specific device and the slave unit from the position measurement device via the first region setting unit (for example, the limited range restriction processing unit 220M according to the embodiment) for setting the limited region 300 according to the form and the receiving unit of the specific device A position acquisition unit that acquires the current position information (for example, the action range restriction processing unit 220M according to the embodiment), and based on the current position information of the specific device and the child device, the position of the child device determines the first region. A first area determination unit (for example, an action range restriction processing unit 220M according to the embodiment) that determines whether or not the vehicle has deviated and the first area determination unit have determined that the child device has deviated from the first area. A slave unit control unit for controlling the slave unit to move to a predetermined position in the first region via the transmitter unit of the specific unit and the receiver unit of the slave unit. Action range restriction system It is. As a result, when the slave unit departs from the preset limit range, the specific unit can return the slave unit to the limit range.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, the specific machine calculates a distance between the specific machine and the slave unit based on current position information of the specific machine and the slave unit acquired by the position acquisition unit. A distance calculation unit (for example, the action range restriction processing unit 220M according to the embodiment), and the first region determination unit determines whether the position of the child device is the first region based on a calculation result of the distance calculation unit. It is characterized by judging whether it deviated from. Thereby, based on the distance between the current position of the specific machine and the child machine, it can be accurately determined whether or not the child machine is out of the limit range.

  In the invention described in claim 3, when the slave unit control unit determines that the slave unit has deviated from the first region by the first region determination unit, the slave unit control unit, via the transmission unit of the specific unit, A feedback command and target feedback position information are transmitted to the slave unit, and the slave unit is driven to drive the driven mechanism (for example, the moving operation unit 5 according to the embodiment) that can move the traveling surface, and to drive the driven mechanism. A driving unit that generates force (for example, the actuator device 7 according to the embodiment), a base body (for example, the base body 9 according to the embodiment) on which the driven mechanism and the driving unit are assembled, and a target that is movable on the traveling surface. A position acquisition unit (for example, an action according to the embodiment) that acquires current position information of the slave unit from the position measurement device via a drive mechanism (for example, the moving operation unit 5 according to the embodiment) and a receiver unit of the slave unit. Range restriction processing unit 220 ) And the feedback command and the target feedback position information from the specific machine, the slave unit returns the target feedback in the first area based on the current position information and the target feedback position information of the slave unit. A drive control unit (for example, the drive control unit 228M according to the embodiment) that controls the drive unit so as to move to a position is provided. Thereby, the subunit | mobile_unit can return within the restriction | limiting range based on the present position and the target feedback position according to the instruction | indication from a specific machine.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, the drive control unit is configured to set a target speed at a predetermined representative point of the slave unit based on a deviation of the current position with respect to the target feedback position and a temporal change rate of the deviation. Are sequentially determined, and the drive unit is controlled according to the target speed. Thereby, it is possible to sequentially determine an appropriate moving speed until the slave unit arrives at the target return position.

  The invention described in claim 5 is characterized in that the slave unit is a movable body that can be boarded and can be operated by a passenger of the slave unit. As a result, when the supervised person is on the child machine, the supervised person who deviates from the restricted area can be surely returned to the restricted area.

  According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, the slave unit includes a travel speed acquisition unit (for example, the control unit 50 according to the embodiment) that acquires the travel speed at the representative point, and whether the travel speed is equal to or higher than a predetermined speed. A driving speed determining unit (for example, an action range restriction processing unit 220S according to an embodiment) that determines whether or not the driving speed is determined by the traveling speed determining unit to be equal to or higher than a predetermined speed; Prior to the control of the drive unit according to the above, a warning unit (for example, the notification device 224S and / or the display device 226S according to the embodiment) that warns at least once so as to decelerate the passenger of the slave unit. Features. As a result, it is possible to safely and reliably return the occupant on the child machine to the restricted area.

  The invention described in claim 7 is a second area setting unit (for example, action range restriction according to the embodiment) in which the specific machine sets a second area (for example, the permission area 304 according to the embodiment) in the first area. A second area determination unit (for example, according to the embodiment) that determines whether the position of the slave unit has deviated from the second region based on the current position information of the processing unit 220M) and the specific unit and the slave unit Action range restriction processing unit 220M), and when the second region determination unit determines that the child device has deviated from the second region, the specific unit has a warning unit for the child device. The determination result of the second area determination unit is transmitted to the slave unit via the transmission unit of the specific machine so as to warn an occupant of the aircraft not to depart from the first area. . As a result, when the child device is likely to depart from the restricted area, it is possible to warn the passenger of the child device in advance so as not to depart from the restricted area.

  The invention described in claim 8 is characterized in that the slave unit is an omnidirectional vehicle. Thereby, when the omnidirectional vehicle on which the supervised person departs from the restricted area, the vehicle can be returned to the restricted area.

The invention described in claim 9 is characterized in that the handset is an inverted pendulum type moving vehicle.
Thereby, when the inverted pendulum type moving vehicle on which the supervised person departs from the restricted area, the vehicle can be returned to the restricted area.

  The invention described in claim 10 is characterized in that the drive control unit controls the drive unit so that the traveling speed of the driven mechanism is larger than the traveling speed of the representative point, After the occupant's entire center of gravity is positioned almost directly above the ground contact surface of the driven mechanism, the drive unit is then moved to the target return position and stopped at the target return position. It is characterized by controlling the part. Thereby, it is possible to control the inverted pendulum type moving vehicle on which the supervised person is boarded so as to move to the target return position within the restricted area.

  According to an eleventh aspect of the present invention, the specific machine is a movable body that can be boarded and operated by a user of the specific machine. Thereby, the supervisor can restrict the action range of the child machine while getting on the moving body and moving by himself / herself.

  The invention described in claim 12 is characterized in that the specific machine is an omnidirectional vehicle. Thereby, the supervisor can restrict the action range of the child device while getting on the omnidirectional vehicle and moving by himself / herself.

  The invention described in claim 13 is characterized in that the specific machine is an inverted pendulum type moving vehicle. As a result, the supervisor can limit the action range of the child machine while riding on the inverted pendulum type moving vehicle and moving by himself / herself.

  The invention described in claim 14 is characterized in that the position measuring device is a GPS device or an inter-vehicle communication device. Thereby, the specific machine and the subunit | mobile_unit can acquire the exact positional information easily.

  According to the invention described in claim 1, the specific machine can monitor whether or not the slave unit is located within a preset restriction area based on the position information of the slave unit from the position measuring device. When the vehicle deviates from the area, the slave unit can be controlled to return to the restricted area.

  According to the invention described in claim 2, it is possible to limit the behavior of the slave unit while keeping the distance between the specific unit and the slave unit within a certain range.

  According to the invention described in claim 3, when the slave unit receives an instruction from the specific unit to move to the target return position, the drive control device in the slave unit does not require any driving by the occupant. It can be controlled to move itself to the target return position.

  According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, it is possible to reduce the psychological and physical burden received by the passenger of the child device by moving the child device to the target return position at an appropriate moving speed.

  According to the invention described in claim 5, by being able to control the supervised person who has boarded the slave unit to surely return to the restricted area, it is possible to prevent the supervised person from getting lost and The supervisor's actions can be kept within a safe area that is supervised by the supervisor.

  According to the invention described in claim 6, before starting the operation of the child machine to move to the target return position, by warning the occupant in advance, the psychological burden on the occupant due to the start of the feedback control is reduced, Safety can be improved.

  According to the seventh aspect of the present invention, it is possible to guide the occupant of the child machine to move within the restricted area by giving a warning in advance before the child machine leaves the restricted area.

  According to the invention described in claim 8, it is possible to limit the action range of the supervised person boarding the omnidirectional vehicle within the restricted area.

  According to the ninth aspect of the present invention, it is possible to limit the action range of the supervised person who gets on the inverted pendulum type moving vehicle within the restricted area.

  According to the invention described in claim 10, it is possible to control the vehicle so that the supervised person boarding the inverted pendulum type moving vehicle can safely and surely return to the restricted area.

  According to the eleventh aspect of the invention, the supervisor can restrict the region in which the child device can act while dynamically changing by moving on its own intention after boarding the moving body. it can.

  According to the invention described in claim 12, the supervisor restricts the area in which the child machine can act by dynamically changing by moving on the omnidirectional vehicle and moving by his / her own intention. be able to.

  According to the invention described in claim 13, the supervisor restricts while dynamically changing the region in which the child machine can act by boarding the inverted pendulum type moving vehicle and moving by his / her own intention. can do.

  According to the fourteenth aspect of the present invention, the specific machine can perform accurate movement range restriction on the child machine by always obtaining accurate position information.

It is a front view of the omnidirectional vehicle in one embodiment of the present invention. It is a side view of the omnidirectional vehicle in one embodiment of the present invention. It is a figure which expands and shows the lower part of the omnidirectional vehicle in one Embodiment of this invention. It is a perspective view of the lower part of the omnidirectional mobile vehicle in one Embodiment of this invention. It is a perspective view of the movement operation part (wheel body) of the omnidirectional vehicle in one embodiment of the present invention. It is a figure which shows the arrangement | positioning relationship between the movement operation part (wheel body) and free roller of the omnidirectional vehicle in one Embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows the process of the control unit of the omnidirectional mobile vehicle in one Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the inverted pendulum model expressing the dynamic behavior of the omnidirectional mobile vehicle in one Embodiment of this invention. It is a block diagram which shows the processing function regarding the process of FIG.7 S9. It is a block diagram which shows the processing function of the gain adjustment part shown in FIG. It is a block diagram which shows the processing function of the limit process part (or limit process part shown in FIG. 12) shown in FIG. It is a block diagram which shows the processing function of the gravity center speed restriction | limiting part 76 shown in FIG. It is a block diagram which shows the processing function of the attitude | position control calculating part 80 shown in FIG. It is a flowchart which shows the process of the request | requirement gravity center speed production | generation part 74 shown in FIG. It is a flowchart which shows the subroutine process of step S23 of FIG. It is a flowchart which shows the subroutine process of step S23-5 of FIG. It is a flowchart which shows the subroutine process of step S23-5 of FIG. It is a flowchart which shows the subroutine process of step S23-6 of FIG. It is a flowchart which shows the subroutine process of step S24 of FIG. It is a flowchart which shows the subroutine process of step S25 of FIG. It is a block diagram which shows the action range restriction | limiting system in one Embodiment of this invention. It is the schematic which shows the action range restriction | limiting of the subunit | mobile_unit in one Embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows the process of the action range restriction | limiting mode in one Embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows the process of the position control mode in one Embodiment of this invention.

  One embodiment of the present invention will be described below. As shown in FIG. 21, the action range restriction system 200 in the present embodiment includes a specific machine 202M, a slave machine 202S, and a position measurement device 206. Hereinafter, when “M” is added to the end of the reference symbol, these components are identified as components of the specific machine 202M, and when “S” is added to the end of the reference symbol, It identifies as a component of the subunit | mobile_unit 202S.

  The moving bodies of the specific machine 202M and the child machine 202S exemplified in the present embodiment are omnidirectional vehicles 1 as illustrated in FIGS. 1 to 6 and have the same structure. The vehicle 1 can be configured to operate as the specific machine 202M by setting any one of the plurality of vehicles 1 as a specific machine in advance. At the same time, the remaining vehicle 1 can be set to operate as the slave unit 202S by the specific unit 202M.

  In the modification, the specific machine 202M and the slave machine 202S are not limited to the omnidirectional vehicle 1 using an inverted pendulum model described later, but may be any other movable body. Further, the specific machine is not limited to a mobile object, and may be a device arranged at a fixed position such as a server device.

  The position measuring device 206 supplies the current position information of the specific device 202M and the slave device 202S to the specific device 202M and the slave device 202S. The position measurement device 206 exemplified in the present embodiment may be a device using other known position measurement technology such as GPS satellite and inter-vehicle communication technology.

  In the present embodiment, the identification device 202M includes a communication unit 210M, a position information acquisition unit 216M, a storage unit 218M, an action range restriction processing unit 220M, a user interface (UI) unit 222M, and a drive control unit 228M. Although not shown, the components that operate in these action range restriction processes are respectively arranged at appropriate positions of the vehicle 1.

  The identification device 202M includes a communication unit 210M including a reception device 212M and a transmission device 214M in order to receive each current position information from the position measurement device 206 and to perform mutual communication with the child device 202S. In the present embodiment, communication between the specific device 202M and the slave device 202S is directly performed using an existing wireless communication technology. For example, a hot spot or a base station generally used in the wireless communication technology is used. It may be established by indirect communication through the network.

  The position information acquisition unit 216M acquires the current position information supplied by the position measurement device 206 via the reception device 212M.

  The storage unit 218M stores information used to limit the action range of the child device 202S, such as current position information, restriction area information, permission area information, target return position, and vehicle identification number.

  The action range restriction processing unit 220M controls processing related to action range restriction in FIG. 23 described in detail below.

  The UI unit 222M includes a notification device 224M that audibly transmits information related to the state of the child device 202S to the occupant of the vehicle 1 using sound and a display device 226M that visually transmits characters and images. . More specifically, the notification device 224M and the display device 226M may be, for example, a speaker and a liquid crystal display. Note that the user interface unit 222M may include an input device that can receive an input from an occupant of the specific device 202M and the slave device 202S, such as a button, a touch panel display, and a microphone.

  The drive control unit 228M refers to a control unit 50 that controls driving of the vehicle 1 described in detail below.

  The configuration of the slave unit 202S exemplified in this embodiment is the same as the configuration of the specific unit 202M described above, and includes a communication unit 210S, a position information acquisition unit 216S, a storage unit 218S, an action range restriction processing unit 220S, a user interface (UI). ) Unit 222S and drive control unit 228S.

  However, in a modification, the slave unit 202S may be configured to acquire the position information of the slave unit 202S directly from the position measurement device 206, but not via the specific unit 202M.

  When the vehicle 1 operates as the child device 202S, the action range restriction processing unit 220S operates based on information from the specific device 202M received via the receiving device 212S, as described below with reference to FIG. To do.

  Similarly, the drive control unit 228S refers to the control unit 50 described later.

  The specific machine 202M identifies a plurality of other vehicles 1 located in the communicable region 300 via the communication unit 210M before starting the action range restriction mode, which will be described in detail below. You may make it select one or more subunit | mobile_units used as the object of range restriction | limiting.

  Next, with reference to FIGS. 1-6, the structure of the omnidirectional vehicle 1 in this embodiment is demonstrated. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the omnidirectional mobile vehicle 1 according to the present embodiment is omnidirectional (front-rear direction and left-right direction) on the floor surface while being in contact with the passenger (driver) riding section 3 and the floor surface. A moving operation unit 5 movable in all directions including two directions), an actuator device 7 for applying power for driving the moving operation unit 5 to the moving operation unit 5, and the riding unit 3, And a base 9 on which the operating unit 5 and the actuator device 7 are assembled.

  Here, in the description of the present embodiment, “front-rear direction” and “left-right direction” respectively match or substantially coincide with the front-rear direction and the left-right direction of the upper body of the occupant who has boarded the riding section 3 in a standard posture. Means direction. Note that the “standard posture” is a posture assumed by design with respect to the riding section 3, and the trunk axis of the occupant's upper body is generally directed vertically and the upper body is not twisted. It is posture.

  In this case, in FIG. 1, the “front-rear direction” and the “left-right direction” are the direction perpendicular to the paper surface and the left-right direction of the paper surface, respectively. In FIG. It is the left-right direction of the paper surface and the direction perpendicular to the paper surface. In the description of the present embodiment, the suffixes “R” and “L” attached to the reference numerals are used to mean the right side and the left side of the vehicle 1, respectively.

  The base 9 includes a lower frame 11 in which the moving operation unit 5 and the actuator device 7 are assembled, and a support frame 13 extending upward from the upper end of the lower frame 11.

  A seat frame 15 projecting forward from the column frame 13 is fixed to the upper portion of the column frame 13. A seat 3 on which an occupant sits is mounted on the seat frame 15. In this embodiment, this seat 3 is a passenger's boarding part. Therefore, the omnidirectional vehicle 1 (hereinafter simply referred to as the vehicle 1) in the present embodiment moves on the floor surface while the occupant is seated on the seat 3.

  Further, on the left and right sides of the seat 13, grips 17R and 17L are disposed for the passengers seated on the seat 13 to grip as necessary. These grips 17R and 17L are respectively provided to the support frame 13 (or the seat frame 15). It is being fixed to the front-end | tip part of bracket 19R, 19L extended from.

  The lower frame 11 includes a pair of cover members 21R and 21L arranged so as to face each other in a bifurcated manner with a space in the left-right direction. The upper end portions (bifurcated branch portions) of these cover members 21R and 21L are connected via a hinge shaft 23 having a longitudinal axis, and one of the cover members 21R and 21L is hinged relative to the other. It can swing around the shaft 23. In this case, the cover members 21R and 21L are urged by a spring (not shown) in a direction in which the lower end side (the bifurcated tip side) of the cover members 21R and 21L is narrowed.

  Further, on each outer surface portion of the cover members 21R and 21L, a step 25R for placing the right foot of the occupant seated on the seat 3 and a step 25L for placing the left foot are respectively projected so as to protrude rightward and leftward. Yes.

  The moving operation unit 5 and the actuator device 7 are disposed between the cover members 21R and 21L of the lower frame 11. The structures of the moving operation unit 5 and the actuator device 7 will be described with reference to FIGS.

  The moving operation unit 5 and the actuator device 7 exemplified in the present embodiment have the same structure as that disclosed in FIG. Therefore, in the description of the present embodiment, the matters described in Patent Document 2 regarding the configurations of the moving operation unit 5 and the actuator device 7 are simply described.

  In the present embodiment, the moving operation unit 5 is a wheel body formed in an annular shape from a rubber-like elastic material, and has a substantially circular cross-sectional shape. Due to its elastic deformation, the moving operation unit 5 (hereinafter referred to as the wheel body 5) has a circular cross section center C1 (more specifically, a circular cross section center C1 as shown by an arrow Y1 in FIGS. 5 and 6). And can be rotated around a circumferential line that is concentric with the axis of the wheel body 5.

  The wheel body 5 is disposed between the cover members 21R and 21L with its axis C2 (axis C2 orthogonal to the diameter direction of the entire wheel body 5) directed in the left-right direction. Ground to the floor at the lower end of the outer peripheral surface.

  The wheel body 5 rotates around the axis C2 of the wheel body 5 as shown by an arrow Y2 in FIG. 5 (operation to rotate on the floor surface) by driving by the actuator device 7 (details will be described later). And an operation of rotating around the cross-sectional center C1 of the wheel body 5 can be performed. As a result, the wheel body 5 can move in all directions on the floor surface by a combined operation of these rotational operations.

  The actuator device 7 includes a rotating member 27R and a free roller 29R interposed between the wheel body 5 and the right cover member 21R, and a rotating member interposed between the wheel body 5 and the left cover member 17L. 27L and a free roller 29L, an electric motor 31R as an actuator disposed above the rotating member 27R and the free roller 29R, and an electric motor 31L as an actuator disposed above the rotating member 27L and the free roller 29L. .

The electric motors 31R and 31L have their respective housings attached to the cover members 21R and 21L. In addition, although illustration is abbreviate | omitted, the power supply (electric storage device) of electric motor 31R, 31L is mounted in the suitable place of the base | substrates 9, such as the support | pillar flame | frame 13.
The rotating member 27R is rotatably supported by the cover member 21R via a support shaft 33R having a horizontal axis. Similarly, the rotating member 27L is rotatably supported by the cover member 21L via a support shaft 33L having a horizontal axis. In this case, the rotation axis of the rotation member 27R (axis of the support shaft 33R) and the rotation axis of the rotation member 27L (axis of the support shaft 33L) are coaxial.

  The rotating members 27R and 27L are connected to the output shafts of the electric motors 31R and 31L via power transmission mechanisms including functions as speed reducers, respectively, and the power (torque) transmitted from the electric motors 31R and 31L, respectively. It is rotationally driven by. Each power transmission mechanism is of a pulley-belt type, for example. That is, as shown in FIG. 3, the rotating member 27R is connected to the output shaft of the electric motor 31R via the pulley 35R and the belt 37R. Similarly, the rotating member 27L is connected to the output shaft of the electric motor 31L via a pulley 35L and a belt 37L.

  The power transmission mechanism may be constituted by, for example, a sprocket and a link chain, or may be constituted by a plurality of gears. In addition, for example, the electric motors 31R and 31L are arranged to face the rotating members 27R and 27L so that the respective output shafts are coaxial with the rotating members 27R and 27L, and the electric motors 31R and 31L are respectively arranged. The output shaft may be connected to each of the rotating members 27R and 27L via a speed reducer (such as a planetary gear device).

  Each rotating member 27R, 27L is formed in the same shape as a truncated cone that decreases in diameter toward the wheel body 5, and its outer peripheral surface is a tapered outer peripheral surface 39R, 39L.

  A plurality of free rollers 29R are arranged around the tapered outer peripheral surface 39R of the rotating member 27R so as to be arranged at equal intervals on a circumference concentric with the rotating member 27R. Each of these free rollers 29R is attached to the tapered outer peripheral surface 39R via a bracket 41R and is rotatably supported by the bracket 41R.

  Similarly, a plurality (the same number as the free rollers 29R) of free rollers 29L are arranged around the tapered outer peripheral surface 39L of the rotating member 27L so as to be arranged at equal intervals on a circumference concentric with the rotating member 27L. Yes. Each of these free rollers 29L is attached to the taper outer peripheral surface 39L via the bracket 41L, and is rotatably supported by the bracket 41L.

  The wheel body 5 is disposed coaxially with the rotating members 27R and 27L so as to be sandwiched between the free roller 29R on the rotating member 27R side and the free roller 29L on the rotating member 27L side.

  In this case, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 6, each of the free rollers 29 </ b> R and 29 </ b> L has the axis C <b> 3 inclined with respect to the axis C <b> 2 of the wheel body 5 and the diameter direction of the wheel body 5 (the wheel body 5. When viewed in the direction of the axis C2, it is arranged in a posture inclined with respect to the radial direction connecting the axis C2 and the free rollers 29R and 29L. In such a posture, the outer peripheral surfaces of the free rollers 29R and 29L are in pressure contact with the inner peripheral surface of the wheel body 5 in an oblique direction.

  More generally speaking, the free roller 29R on the right side has a frictional force component in the direction around the axis C2 at the contact surface with the wheel body 5 when the rotating member 27R is driven to rotate around the axis C2. (The frictional force component in the tangential direction of the inner periphery of the wheel body 5) and the frictional force component in the direction around the cross-sectional center C1 of the wheel body 5 (the tangential frictional force component in the circular cross section) The wheel body 5 is pressed against the inner peripheral surface in such a posture that it can act on the wheel body 5. The same applies to the left free roller 29L.

  In this case, as described above, the cover members 21R and 21L are urged in a direction in which the lower end side (the bifurcated tip side) of the cover members 21R and 21L is narrowed by a spring (not shown). Therefore, the wheel body 5 is sandwiched between the right free roller 29R and the left free roller 29L by this urging force, and the free rollers 29R and 29L are in pressure contact with the wheel body 5 (more specifically, free The pressure contact state in which a frictional force can act between the rollers 29R and 29L and the wheel body 5 is maintained.

In the vehicle 1 having the structure described above, when the rotating members 27R and 27L are driven to rotate at the same speed in the same direction by the electric motors 31R and 31L, the wheel body 5 has the same direction as the rotating members 27R and 27L. Will rotate around the axis C2. Thereby, the wheel body 5 rotates on the floor surface in the front-rear direction, and the entire vehicle 1 moves in the front-rear direction. In this case, the wheel body 5 does not rotate around the center C1 of the cross section.
Further, for example, when the rotating members 27R and 27L are rotationally driven in opposite directions at the same speed, the wheel body 5 rotates around the center C1 of the cross section. As a result, the wheel body 4 moves in the direction of the axis C2 (that is, the left-right direction), and as a result, the entire vehicle 1 moves in the left-right direction. In this case, the wheel body 5 does not rotate around the axis C2.

  Furthermore, when the rotating members 27R and 27L are rotationally driven at different speeds (speeds including directions) in the same direction or in the opposite direction, the wheel body 5 rotates around its axis C2, It will rotate about the cross-sectional center C1.

  At this time, the wheel body 5 moves in a direction inclined with respect to the front-rear direction and the left-right direction by a combined operation (composite operation) of these rotational operations, and as a result, the entire vehicle 1 moves in the same direction as the wheel body 5. Will be. The moving direction of the wheel body 5 in this case changes depending on the difference in rotational speed (rotational speed vector in which the polarity is defined according to the rotational direction) including the rotational direction of the rotating members 27R and 27L. .

  Since the moving operation of the wheel body 5 is performed as described above, by controlling the respective rotational speeds (including the rotational direction) of the electric motors 31R and 31L, and by controlling the rotational speeds of the rotating members 27R and 27L, The moving speed and moving direction of the vehicle 1 can be controlled.

  Next, the operation of the action range restriction system 200 in FIG. 21 will be described with reference to the schematic diagram of action range restriction for the child device 202S shown in FIG. 22 and the flowchart shown in FIG.

  When the specific machine 202M starts the action range restriction mode according to an instruction from the occupant of the specific machine, the action range restriction processing unit 220M of the specific machine 202M restricts the action range of the child machine 202S in step S100 of FIG. 302 is set. In the present embodiment, the restricted area 302 is an area within the communicable area 300 and an area within a range having a predetermined radius from the specific machine 202M, as shown in FIG.

  In step S <b> 102, the action range restriction processing unit 220 </ b> M sets the permission area 304 in the restriction area 302.

  When the position of the handset 202S deviates from the permission area 304, a warning is issued to the passenger of the handset 202S via the notification device 224S and / or the display device 226S so as not to exceed the restriction area 302. In the present embodiment, the permitted area 304 is an area within the restricted area 302 and an area within a range having a predetermined radius from the specific machine 202M.

  That is, the communicable area 300, the restricted area 302, and the permitted area 304 illustrated in the present embodiment are circular areas centered on the specific machine 202M. However, these areas are not limited only by the relative positional relationship based on the position of the specific machine 202M as described above, and are defined using absolute positions such as GPS coordinates. May be.

  Information regarding the restriction area 302 and the permission area 304 set by the specific machine 202M is stored in the storage unit 218M of the specific machine 202M. Further, the specific device 202M transmits information related to the restriction area 302 and the permission area 304 to the child device 202S via the transmission device 214M, so that it can be similarly stored in the storage unit 218S of the child device 202S.

  In step S104, the position information acquisition unit 216M of the specific device 202M acquires the current position information of the specific device 202M and the child device 202S from the position measurement device 206 via the reception device 212M.

  In step S106, the action range restriction processing unit 220M uses a known distance calculation method based on the current position information of the specific device 202M and the child device 202S acquired by the position information acquisition unit 216M to identify the distance between the specific device 202M and the child device 202S. The distance is calculated.

  In step S108, the action range restriction processing unit 220M determines whether or not the handset 202S has deviated from the permitted area 304 set based on the calculation result in step S106.

  As a result of the determination, if it is determined that the handset 202S has not deviated from the permission area 304, the process returns to step S104.

  If it is determined that the handset 202S has deviated from the permission area 304, the process proceeds to step S110.

  If it is determined in step S110 that the child device 202S has deviated from the permission area 304, the action range restriction processing unit 220M calculates again the distance between the specific device 202M and the child device 202S.

  In step S112, based on the calculation result in step S110, the action range restriction processing unit 220M determines whether or not the handset 202S departs from the set restriction area 302.

  As a result of the determination, if it is determined that the handset 202S has not deviated from the restricted area 302, the process proceeds to step S114.

  If it is determined that the handset 202S has deviated from the restricted area 302, the process proceeds to step S116.

  If it is determined in step S112 that the child device 202S has not deviated from the restricted area 302, in step 114, the specific device 202M receives the determination result (ie, the notification device 224M and / or the display device 226M). The slave unit 202S notifies the occupant of the specific unit 202M of information regarding the fact that the slave unit 202S has not deviated from the restriction area 302 but has deviated from the permission area 304, and transmits the information to the slave unit 202S.

  When receiving information related to the determination result via the receiving device 212S, the child device 202S warns the passenger of the child device 202S not to depart from the restricted area 302 via the notification device 224S and / or the display device 226S. To do.

  If it is determined in step S112 that the slave unit 202S has deviated from the set restriction area 302, the identifying unit 202M transmits a feedback command to the slave unit 202S via the transmission device 214M in step S116. To do.

  When the slave unit 202S receives the feedback command via the receiving device 212S, the slave unit 202S shifts to the position control mode described in detail below, and the drive control unit 228S (control unit 50) sets the target feedback position (for example, within the limited region 302). Control is performed so as to move to a position immediately before the departure from the restriction area 302.

  In step S118, when the handset 202S arrives at the target return position and the position control mode ends, the handset 202S reacquires the current position of the handset 202S via the position information acquisition unit 216S, and also transmits the transmission device 214S. The information indicating that the slave unit 202S has returned to the target return position in the restriction area 302 is transmitted to the specific unit 202M.

  When the specific device 202M receives the information via the receiving device 212M, the specific device 202M notifies the occupant of the specific device 202M that the slave device 202S has returned to the restricted area 302 via the notification device 224M and / or the display device 226M. To do.

  For example, the action range restriction mode may be configured to be ended by an instruction from a passenger of a specific aircraft.

  Further, when there are a plurality of slave units 202S, the above-described series of steps can be executed sequentially and in parallel on each slave unit 202S.

  In order to reduce power consumption due to communication, when the handset 202S deviates from the permission area 304 and is located in the restriction area 302, the specific machine 202M and the handset 202S increase the communication frequency while the handset 202S When 202S is located in the permission area 304, the communication frequency may be reduced.

  Furthermore, in the embodiment, two different areas, the restricted area 302 and the permitted area 304, are set, but one of the areas can be omitted.

  For example, in a modification in which the restriction area 302 is omitted, when the child device 202S departs from the permission region 304, the position control mode may not be executed and a warning may be issued from the child device 202S.

  Alternatively, in a modification in which the permission area 304 is omitted, the mobile device 202S may be configured to execute the position control mode without issuing a warning when the restriction area 302 is deviated.

  In the flowchart of FIG. 23, part of the processing performed by the action range restriction processing unit 220M of the specific device 202M may be configured to be performed by the action range restriction processing unit 220S of the slave device 202S.

  Next, the operation of the position control mode in the slave unit will be described. When receiving the feedback command from the specific device 202M, the slave device 202S shifts to the position control mode and executes a series of processes shown in the flowchart of FIG.

  In step S200, the action range restriction processing unit 220M of the specific machine 202M sets a target return position in the restricted area 302 to which the child machine 202S should move.

  The target return position can be set automatically or set to a position instructed by the occupant of the specific machine 202M. For example, the target return position can be set arbitrarily such as a position immediately before deviating from the restriction area 302. Can do.

  The specific machine 202M transmits information related to the target feedback position to the slave unit 202S via the transmission device 214M, so that the information related to the target feedback position is also stored in the storage unit 218S of the slave unit 202S.

  In step S202, the traveling speed at the representative point of the slave unit 202S is acquired. More precisely, as will be described in detail below, based on the output of the tilt sensor 52 measured in step S1 of FIG. 7, the center-of-gravity speed calculation unit 72 of the control unit 50 moves the vehicle system center-of-gravity point movement speed. Is calculated as an observed value of the center-of-gravity velocity Vb_xy.

  In step S204, the action range restriction processing unit 220S of the child device 202S determines whether or not the traveling speed of the representative point calculated in step S202 is equal to or higher than a predetermined speed. As a result of the determination, if it is determined that the traveling speed of the representative point of the slave unit 202S is equal to or higher than a predetermined speed, the process proceeds to step S206. If it is determined that the traveling speed of the representative point of the slave unit 202S is not equal to or higher than the predetermined speed, the process proceeds to step S214.

  If it is determined in step S204 that the traveling speed of the representative point of the slave unit 202S is equal to or higher than a predetermined speed, the notification device 224S and / or the display device 226S of the slave unit 202S decelerates the occupant in step S206. To warn you at least once. For example, it may be configured to issue a plurality of warnings at a fixed period, or may be configured so that the occupant of the specific machine 202M can set the warning frequency in advance.

  In step S208, at a predetermined timing from the occurrence of the warning, the control unit 50 controls the moving operation unit 5 so that the traveling speed of the moving operation unit 5 is larger than the traveling speed of the representative point. The moving operation unit 5 is controlled so that the upper body of the base body 9 is raised from the state in which the base body 9 is inclined by the occupant (that is, the state in which the base body 9 is moving in the inclination direction). In this case, the base body 9 may be configured to be stationary in a stop posture for a certain period of time.

  Next, in step S210, the control unit 50 of the child device 202S moves the child device 202S toward the target feedback position in the direction opposite to the traveling direction (that is, the direction immediately after deviating from the restriction region 302). Next, the moving operation unit 5 is controlled. Here, when the upper body of the vehicle 1 moves from the state where it has been raised to the target feedback position, the moving operation unit 5 is moved away from the target feedback point in order to tilt the upper body of the vehicle 1 toward the target feedback point. Control. That is, as will be described in detail below, a process for giving a control command from the control unit 50 is performed so that the inclination angle for the vehicle 1 to move toward the target return position is set as the target inclination angle (or the moving speed is the target speed). Give the speed command value so that it is generated toward the return position).

  In this case, the moving speed of the child device 202S is sequentially determined by the control unit 50 based on the current position and the target feedback position of the child device 202S, as will be described later. The current position of the slave unit 202S is acquired as needed by the position measurement acquisition unit 216S. However, in a modification, when the child device 202S does not acquire its own position, the child device 202S may be configured to obtain relative position information from the specific device 202M using, for example, an inter-vehicle communication technique.

  As a modification, for example, when the handset 202S is a movable body that can be turned, the traveling direction is maintained by turning the handset 202S instead of moving toward the target return position in the opposite direction to the traveling direction. It may be moved toward the target return position.

  If it is determined in step S212 that the traveling speed of the representative point of the slave unit 202S is not equal to or higher than the predetermined speed, the same process as in step S208 is performed in S212.

  Further, step S214 is the same as step S216.

  The position control mode ends when the slave unit 202S arrives at the target return position.

  In the position control mode, the action range restriction processing unit 220S and the control unit 50 operate in cooperation. Therefore, the action range restriction processing unit 220 </ b> S may be configured in the control unit 50 or integrated with the control unit 50.

  The above is an exemplary operation of the action range restriction system 200 in the present embodiment.

Hereinafter, detailed operation control in the vehicle 1 of the present embodiment will be described in detail together with a more specific configuration. In the following description, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, an XYZ coordinate system is assumed in which the horizontal axis in the front-rear direction is the X axis, the horizontal axis in the left-right direction is the Y axis, and the vertical direction is the Z axis. The direction and the left-right direction may be referred to as the X-axis direction and the Y-axis direction, respectively.
First, schematic operation control of the vehicle 1 will be described. In the present embodiment, basically, when an occupant seated on the seat 3 tilts its upper body (specifically, the occupant and the vehicle 1 are combined). When the upper body is tilted so as to move the position of the entire center of gravity (the position projected on the horizontal plane), the base body 9 tilts together with the sheet 3 on the tilted side of the upper body. At this time, the moving operation of the wheel body 5 is controlled so that the vehicle 1 moves to the side on which the base body 9 is inclined. For example, when the occupant tilts the upper body forward, and consequently tilts the base body 9 together with the seat 3, the movement operation of the wheel body 5 is controlled so that the vehicle 1 moves forward.

  That is, in the present embodiment, the operation of the occupant moving the upper body and thus tilting the base body 9 together with the seat 3 is one basic control operation (operation request of the vehicle 1) for the vehicle 1, and the control The moving operation of the wheel body 5 is controlled via the actuator device 7 in accordance with the operation.

  Here, in the vehicle 1 of the present embodiment, the ground contact surface of the wheel body 5 as the entire ground contact surface has an area compared to a region where the entire vehicle 1 and the passengers riding on the vehicle 1 are projected on the floor surface. It becomes a small single local region, and the floor reaction force acts only on the single local region. For this reason, in order to prevent the base body 9 from tilting, it is necessary to move the wheel body 5 so that the center of gravity of the occupant and the vehicle 1 is positioned almost directly above the ground contact surface of the wheel body 5.

  Therefore, in the present embodiment, the center of gravity of the entire occupant and vehicle 1 is positioned almost directly above the center point of the wheel body 5 (center point on the axis C2) (more precisely, the center of gravity point is The posture of the base body 9 in a state (which is located almost directly above the ground contact surface of the wheel body 5) is set as a target posture, and basically, the actual posture of the base body 9 is converged to the target posture. The movement operation is controlled.

  In addition, when starting the vehicle 1 and the like, apart from the propulsive force by the actuator device 7, for example, the occupant kicks the floor with his / her foot as necessary, thereby increasing the moving speed of the vehicle 1 ( When the driving force (the propulsive force generated by the frictional force between the occupant's foot and the floor) is applied to the vehicle 1 as an additional external force, the moving speed of the vehicle 1 (more precisely, the occupant and the entire vehicle) The movement operation of the wheel body 5 is controlled so that the movement speed of the center of gravity of the wheel body increases. In the state where the addition of the propulsive force is stopped, the moving operation of the wheel body 5 is performed so that the moving speed of the vehicle 1 is once held at a constant speed and then attenuated to stop the vehicle 1. Control is performed (braking control of the wheel body 5 is performed).

  Further, in a state where no occupant is on board the vehicle 1, a state where the center of gravity of the single vehicle 1 is located almost directly above the center point of the wheel body 5 (center point on the axis C <b> 2) (more accurately, (The state where the center of gravity is located almost directly above the ground contact surface of the wheel body 5) is the target posture, and the actual posture of the base 9 is converged to the target posture. The movement operation of the wheel body 5 is controlled so that the vehicle 1 can stand on its own without tilting.

  In the present embodiment, in order to control the operation of the vehicle 1 as described above, as shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, it is constituted by an electronic circuit unit including a microcomputer and drive circuit units of the electric motors 31R and 31L. An occupant is on board the control unit 50, an inclination sensor 52 for measuring the inclination angle θb of the predetermined portion of the base body 9 with respect to the vertical direction (the direction of gravity) and its changing speed (= dθb / dt), and the vehicle 1. A load sensor 54 for detecting whether or not there is a rotary encoder 56R, 56L as an angle sensor for detecting the rotational angle and rotational angular velocity of the output shafts of the electric motors 31R, 31L, respectively It is mounted on.

  In this case, the control unit 50 and the inclination sensor 52 are attached to the column frame 13 in a state of being accommodated in the column frame 13 of the base body 9, for example. The load sensor 54 is built in the seat 3. The rotary encoders 56R and 56L are provided integrally with the electric motors 31R and 31L, respectively. The rotary encoders 56R and 56L may be attached to the rotating members 27R and 27L, respectively.

  More specifically, the tilt sensor 52 includes an acceleration sensor and a rate sensor (angular velocity sensor) such as a gyro sensor, and outputs detection signals of these sensors to the control unit 50. Then, the control unit 50 performs a predetermined measurement calculation process (this may be a known calculation process) based on the outputs of the acceleration sensor and the rate sensor of the tilt sensor 52, and thereby the part on which the tilt sensor 52 is mounted. The measured value of the inclination angle θb with respect to the vertical direction (the column frame 13 in this embodiment) and the measured value of the inclination angular velocity θbdot, which is the change speed (differential value) thereof, are calculated.

  In this case, the tilt angle θb to be measured (hereinafter also referred to as the base body tilt angle θb) is more specifically, the component θb_x in the Y axis direction (pitch direction) and the X axis direction (roll direction), respectively. It consists of component θb_y. Similarly, the measured tilt angular velocity θbdot (hereinafter also referred to as the base tilt angular velocity θbdot) is also measured in the Y-axis direction (pitch direction) component θbdot_x (= dθb_x / dt) and the X-axis direction (roll direction). Component θbdot_y (= dθb_y / dt).

  In the description of the present embodiment, a variable such as a motion state quantity having a component in each direction of the X axis and the Y axis (or a direction around each axis) such as the base body inclination angle θb, or a relation to the motion state quantity. For a variable such as a coefficient to be processed, a suffix “_x” or “_y” is added to the reference symbol of the variable when each component is expressed separately.

  In this case, for a variable related to translational motion such as translational speed, a subscript “_x” is added to the component in the X-axis direction, and a subscript “_y” is added to the component in the Y-axis direction.

  On the other hand, for variables related to rotational motion, such as angle, rotational speed (angular velocity), angular acceleration, etc., the subscript “_x” is added to the component around the Y axis for convenience in order to align the subscript with the variable related to translational motion. In addition, the subscript “_y” is added to the component around the X axis.

  Further, when a variable is expressed as a set of a component in the X-axis direction (or a component around the Y-axis) and a component in the Y-axis direction (or a component around the X-axis), the reference numeral of the variable The subscript “_xy” is added. For example, when the base body tilt angle θb is expressed as a set of a component θb_x around the Y axis and a component θb_y around the X axis, it is expressed as “base body tilt angle θb_xy”.

  The load sensor 54 is built in the seat 3 so as to receive a load due to the weight of the occupant when the occupant sits on the seat 3, and outputs a detection signal corresponding to the load to the control unit 50. Then, the control unit 50 determines whether or not an occupant is on the vehicle 1 based on the measured load value indicated by the output of the load sensor 54.

  Instead of the load sensor 54, for example, a switch type sensor that is turned on when an occupant sits on the seat 3 may be used.

  The rotary encoder 56 </ b> R generates a pulse signal each time the output shaft of the electric motor 31 </ b> R rotates by a predetermined angle, and outputs this pulse signal to the control unit 50. Then, the control unit 50 measures the rotational angle of the output shaft of the electric motor 53R based on the pulse signal, and further calculates the temporal change rate (differential value) of the measured value of the rotational angle as the rotational angular velocity of the electric motor 53R. Measure as The same applies to the rotary encoder 56L on the electric motor 31L side.

  The control unit 50 determines a speed command that is a target value of the rotational angular speed of each of the electric motors 31R and 31L by executing a predetermined calculation process using each of the measured values, and the electric motor is operated according to the speed command. The rotational angular velocities of the motors 31R and 31L are feedback controlled.

  The relationship between the rotational angular velocity of the output shaft of the electric motor 31R and the rotational angular velocity of the rotating member 27R is proportional to the constant reduction ratio between the output shaft and the rotating member 27R. In the description of this embodiment, for the sake of convenience, the rotational angular velocity of the electric motor 31R means the rotational angular velocity of the rotating member 27R. Similarly, the rotational angular velocity of the electric motor 31L means the rotational angular velocity of the rotating member 27L.

  Hereinafter, the control process of the control unit 50 will be described in more detail.

  The control unit 50 executes the process (main routine process) shown in the flowchart of FIG. 7 at a predetermined control process cycle.

First, in step S <b> 1, the control unit 50 acquires the output of the tilt sensor 52.
Next, the process proceeds to step S2, and the control unit 50 calculates the measured value θb_xy_s of the base body tilt angle θb and the measured value θbdot_xy_s of the base body tilt angular velocity θbdot based on the acquired output of the tilt sensor 52.

  In the following description, when an observed value (measured value or estimated value) of an actual value of a variable (state quantity) such as the measured value θb_xy_s is represented by a reference symbol, a subscript is added to the reference symbol of the variable. Add “_s”.

  Next, after acquiring the output of the load sensor 54 in step S3, the control unit 50 executes the determination process in step S4. In this determination process, the control unit 50 determines whether or not an occupant is on the vehicle 1 depending on whether or not the load measurement value indicated by the acquired output of the load sensor 54 is larger than a predetermined value set in advance ( Whether or not an occupant is seated on the seat 3).

  If the determination result in step S4 is affirmative, the control unit 50 sets a target value θb_xy_obj for the base body tilt angle θb, and constant parameters for controlling the operation of the vehicle 1 (basic values for various gains). Etc.) are set in steps S5 and S6, respectively.

In step S5, the control unit 50 sets a predetermined target value for the boarding mode as the target value θb_xy_obj of the base body tilt angle θb.
Here, the “boarding mode” means an operation mode of the vehicle 1 when an occupant is on the vehicle 1. The target value θb_xy_obj for this boarding mode is such that the overall center of gravity of the vehicle 1 and the occupant seated on the seat 3 (hereinafter referred to as the vehicle / occupant overall center of gravity) is located almost directly above the ground contact surface of the wheel body 5. The posture of the base body 9 in a state is set in advance so as to coincide with or substantially coincide with the measured value θb_xy_s of the base body tilt angle θb measured based on the output of the tilt sensor 52.

  In step S <b> 6, the control unit 50 sets a predetermined value for the boarding mode as a constant parameter value for controlling the operation of the vehicle 1. The constant parameters are hx, hy, Ki_a_x, Ki_b_x, Ki_a_y, Ki_b_y (i = 1, 2, 3, 4, 5), which will be described later.

  On the other hand, if the determination result of step S4 is negative, the control unit 50 sets a target value θb_xy_obj for the base body tilt angle θb_xy and sets a constant parameter value for controlling the operation of the vehicle 1. Are executed in steps S7 and S8.

  In step S7, the control unit 50 sets a predetermined target value for the independent mode as the target value θb_xy_obj of the inclination angle θb.

  Here, the “self-supporting mode” means an operation mode of the vehicle 1 when no occupant is on the vehicle 1. The target value θb_xy_obj for the self-supporting mode is an inclination sensor in the posture of the base body 9 in which the center of gravity point of the vehicle 1 (hereinafter referred to as the vehicle center of gravity point) is located almost directly above the ground contact surface of the wheel body 5. It is set in advance so as to coincide with or substantially coincide with the measured value θb_xy_s of the base body tilt angle θb measured based on the output of 52. The target value θb_xy_obj for the self-supporting mode is generally different from the target value θb_xy_obj for the boarding mode.

  In step S <b> 8, the control unit 50 sets a predetermined value for the independent mode as a constant parameter value for controlling the operation of the vehicle 1. The value of the constant parameter for the independent mode is different from the value of the constant parameter for the boarding mode.

  The difference in the value of the constant parameter between the boarding mode and the independent mode is due to the difference in the height of the center of gravity, the overall mass, etc. in each mode, and the response of the operation of the vehicle 1 to the control input. This is because the characteristics are different from each other.

  Through the processes in steps S4 to S8 described above, the target value θb_xy_obj of the base body tilt angle θb_xy and the value of the constant parameter are set separately for each operation mode of the boarding mode and the independent mode.

  Note that it is not essential to execute the processes of steps S5 and S6 or the processes of steps S7 and S8, and may be executed only when the determination result of step S4 changes.

  Supplementally, in both the boarding mode and the self-supporting mode, the target value of the component θbdot_x in the direction around the Y axis of the base body tilt angular velocity θbdot and the target value of the component θbdot_y in the direction around the X axis are both “0”. For this reason, the process which sets the target value of base | substrate inclination angular velocity (theta) bdot_xy is unnecessary.

  After executing the processing of steps S5 and S6 or the processing of steps S7 and 8 as described above, the control unit 50 next executes the vehicle control calculation processing in step S9, thereby causing the electric motors 31R and 31L, respectively. Determine the speed command. Details of this vehicle control calculation processing will be described later.

  Next, the process proceeds to step S10, and the control unit 50 executes an operation control process for the electric motors 31R and 31L according to the speed command determined in step S9. In this operation control process, the control unit 50 determines the difference between the speed command of the electric motor 31R determined in step S9 and the measured value of the rotational speed of the electric motor 31R measured based on the output of the rotary encoder 56R. The target value (target torque) of the output torque of the electric motor 31R is determined so that the deviation converges to “0”. Then, the control unit 50 controls the energization current of the electric motor 31R so that the output torque of the target torque is output to the electric motor 31R. The same applies to the operation control of the left electric motor 31L.

  The above is the overall control process executed by the control unit 50.

  Next, details of the vehicle control calculation process in step S9 will be described.

  In the present embodiment, in the vehicle control calculation process in step S9, the operation of the attitude control calculation unit 80 in the control unit 50 described in detail below differs depending on whether or not the slave unit 202S is in the position control mode.

In the following description, the vehicle / occupant overall center-of-gravity point in the boarding mode and the vehicle single body center-of-gravity point in the autonomous mode are collectively referred to as a vehicle system center-of-gravity point. When the operation mode of the vehicle 1 is the boarding mode, the vehicle system center-of-gravity point means the vehicle / occupant overall center-of-gravity point, and when it is in the self-supporting mode, it means the vehicle single body center-of-gravity point.
In the following description, regarding the value (value to be updated) determined by the control unit 50 in each control processing cycle, the value determined in the current (latest) control processing cycle is the current value, and the control processing immediately before that The value determined by the cycle may be referred to as the previous value. A value not particularly different from the current value and the previous value means the current value.

  Further, regarding the speed and acceleration in the X-axis direction, the forward direction is a positive direction, and regarding the speed and acceleration in the Y-axis direction, the left direction is a positive direction.

  In the present embodiment, the dynamic behavior of the center of gravity of the vehicle system (specifically, the behavior seen by projecting from the Y-axis direction onto a plane (XZ plane) orthogonal thereto, and orthogonal to the X-axis direction) As shown in FIG. 8, the behavior of the inverted pendulum model (the dynamic behavior of the inverted pendulum) is approximately expressed as the behavior observed by projecting on the plane (YZ plane). Vehicle control calculation processing is performed.

  In FIG. 8, reference numerals without parentheses are reference numerals corresponding to the inverted pendulum model viewed from the Y-axis direction, and reference numerals with parentheses refer to the inverted pendulum model viewed from the X-axis direction. Corresponding reference sign.

  In this case, the inverted pendulum model expressing the behavior seen from the Y-axis direction has a mass point 60_x located at the center of gravity of the vehicle system and a rotation axis 62a_x parallel to the Y-axis direction. Wheel 62_x (hereinafter referred to as virtual wheel 62_x). The mass point 60_x is supported by the rotation shaft 62a_x of the virtual wheel 62_x via the linear rod 64_x, and can swing around the rotation shaft 62a_x with the rotation shaft 62a_x as a fulcrum.

  In this inverted pendulum model, the motion of the mass point 60_x corresponds to the motion of the vehicle system center of gravity as viewed from the Y-axis direction. Further, the inclination angle θbe_x of the rod 64_x with respect to the vertical direction coincides with the deviation θbe_x_s (= θb_x_s−θb_x_obj) between the measured base body tilt angle value θb_x_s and the base body tilt angle target value θb_x_obj in the direction around the Y axis. Further, the changing speed (= dθbe_x / dt) of the inclination angle θbe_x of the rod 64_x is set to coincide with the measured body inclination angular velocity θbdot_x_s in the direction around the Y axis. Further, the movement speed Vw_x (translation movement speed in the X-axis direction) of the virtual wheel 62_x is the same as the movement speed in the X-axis direction of the wheel body 5 of the vehicle 1.

  Similarly, an inverted pendulum model (refer to the reference numerals in parentheses in FIG. 8) expressing the behavior seen from the X-axis direction includes a mass point 60_y located at the center of gravity of the vehicle system and a rotation axis 62a_y parallel to the X-axis direction. And virtual wheels 62_y (hereinafter referred to as virtual wheels 62_y) that can rotate on the floor surface. The mass point 60_y is supported by the rotation shaft 62a_y of the virtual wheel 62_y via a linear rod 64_y, and can swing around the rotation shaft 62a_y with the rotation shaft 62a_y as a fulcrum.

  In this inverted pendulum model, the motion of the mass point 60_y corresponds to the motion of the vehicle system center-of-gravity point viewed from the X-axis direction. In addition, the inclination angle θbe_y of the rod 64_y with respect to the vertical direction coincides with the deviation θbe_y_s (= θb_y_s−θb_y_obj) between the measured base body tilt angle value θb_y_s and the base body tilt angle target value θb_y_obj in the direction around the X axis. In addition, the change speed (= dθbe_y / dt) of the inclination angle θbe_y of the rod 64_y coincides with the measured base body inclination angular velocity θbdot_y_s in the direction around the X axis. Further, the moving speed Vw_y (translational moving speed in the Y-axis direction) of the virtual wheel 62_y is set to coincide with the moving speed in the Y-axis direction of the wheel body 5 of the vehicle 1.

  The virtual wheels 62_x and 62_y are assumed to have predetermined radii of predetermined values Rw_x and Rw_y, respectively.

  Further, the rotational angular velocities ωw_x and ωw_y of the virtual wheels 62_x and 62_y and the rotational angular velocities ω_R and ω_L of the electric motors 31R and 31L (more precisely, the rotational angular velocities ω_R and ω_L of the rotating members 27R and 27L), respectively. The relationship of the following formulas 01a and 01b is established.

ωw_x = C · (ω_R−ω_L) / 2 …… Formula 01a
ωw_y = (ω_R + ω_L) / 2 …… Formula 01b

  Note that “C” in the expression 01a is a coefficient of a predetermined value depending on the mechanical relationship between the free rollers 29R and 29L and the wheel body 5 and slippage.

  Here, the dynamics of the inverted pendulum model shown in FIG. 8 is expressed by the following equations 03x and 03y. The expression 03x is an expression expressing the dynamics of the inverted pendulum model viewed from the Y-axis direction, and the expression 03y is an expression expressing the dynamics of the inverted pendulum model viewed from the X-axis direction.

d ² θbe_x / dt ² = α_x · θbe_x + β_x · ωwdot_x ...... Formula 03x
d ² θbe_y / dt ² = α_y · θbe_y + β_y · ωwdot_y ...... Formula 03y

  In equation 03x, ωwdot_x is the rotational angular acceleration of the virtual wheel 62_x (first-order differential value of the rotational angular velocity ωw_x), α_x is a coefficient that depends on the mass and height h_x of the mass 60_x, and β_x is the inertia (moment of inertia of the virtual wheel 62_x ) And the radius Rw_x. The same applies to ωwdot_y, α_y, and β_y in Expression 03y.

  As can be seen from these equations 03x and 03y, the motions of the mass points 60_x and 60_y of the inverted pendulum (and hence the motion of the center of gravity of the vehicle system) are the rotational angular acceleration ωwdot_x of the virtual wheel 62_x and the rotational angular acceleration ωwdot_y of the virtual wheel 62_y, respectively. It is defined depending on.

  Therefore, in the present embodiment, the rotational angular acceleration ωwdot_x of the virtual wheel 62_x is used as an operation amount (control input) for controlling the motion of the vehicle system center of gravity point viewed from the Y-axis direction, and viewed from the X-axis direction. The rotational angular acceleration ωwdot_y of the virtual wheel 62_y is used as an operation amount (control input) for controlling the motion of the vehicle system center of gravity.

  The vehicle control arithmetic processing in step S9 will be described schematically. The control unit 50 determines that the motion of the mass point 60_x seen in the X-axis direction and the motion of the mass point 60_y seen in the Y-axis direction are the vehicle system center of gravity. Virtual wheel rotational angular acceleration commands ωwdot_x_cmd and ωwdot_y_cmd, which are command values (target values) of the rotational angular accelerations ωwdot_x and ωwdot_y as the operation amounts, are determined so as to correspond to the desired motion. Further, the control unit 50 integrates the virtual wheel rotation angular acceleration commands ωwdot_x_cmd and ωwdot_y_cmd, and the virtual wheel rotation that is the command values (target values) of the respective rotation angular velocities ωw_x and ωw_y of the virtual wheels 62_x and 62_y. The angular velocity commands are determined as ωw_x_cmd and ωw_y_cmd.

  Then, the control unit 50 moves the virtual wheel 62_x corresponding to the virtual wheel rotational angular velocity command ωw_x_cmd (= Rw_x · ωw_x_cmd) and the virtual wheel 62_y corresponding to the virtual wheel rotational angular velocity command ωw_y_cmd (= Rw_y · ωw_y_cmd). ) As the target movement speed in the X-axis direction and the target movement speed in the Y-axis direction of the wheel body 5 of the vehicle 1, and the respective speeds of the electric motors 31 </ b> R and 31 </ b> L so as to realize these target movement speeds. The commands ω_R_cmd and ωL_cmd are determined.

  In this embodiment, under the position control mode, the virtual wheel rotation angular acceleration commands ωwdot_x_cmd and ωwdot_y_cmd as the operation amount (control input) are respectively set to five operation amounts as shown in equations 06x and 06y described later. Determined by adding ingredients.

  On the other hand, when not in the position control mode, the virtual wheel rotation angular acceleration commands ωwdot_x_cmd and ωwdot_y_cmd as the operation amount (control input) of the present embodiment respectively include three operation amount components shown in equations 07x and 07y described later. Determined by adding together.

  As described above, the control unit 50 has the function shown in the block diagram of FIG. 9 as a function for executing the vehicle control calculation process in step S9.

  That is, the control unit 50 calculates the base body tilt angle deviation measured value θbe_xy_s, which is a deviation between the base body tilt angle measured value θb_xy_s and the base body tilt angle target value θb_xy_obj, and the moving speed of the vehicle system center-of-gravity point. It is estimated that the center of gravity speed calculation unit 72 that calculates the center of gravity speed estimated value Vb_xy_s as an observed value of a certain center of gravity speed Vb_xy and the operation of the vehicle 1 by the occupant or the like (operation for adding propulsion to the vehicle 1) The required center-of-gravity speed generation unit 74 for generating the required center-of-gravity speed V_xy_aim as the required value of the center-of-gravity speed Vb_xy, and the allowable rotational angular speed of the electric motors 31R and 31L from these estimated center-of-gravity speed Vb_xy_s and the required center-of-gravity speed V_xy_aim A center-of-gravity speed limiting unit 76 that determines a control target center-of-gravity speed Vb_xy_mdfd as a target value of the center-of-gravity speed Vb_xy in consideration of a limit according to the range; And a gain adjustment unit 78 determines the gain adjustment parameter Kr_xy for adjusting the value of the in-factor.

The control unit 50 further calculates the virtual wheel rotation angular velocity command ωw_xy_cmd, the attitude control calculation unit 80, and the virtual wheel rotation angular velocity command ωw_xy_cmd from the speed command ω_R_cmd (rotational angular velocity command value) of the right electric motor 31R. And a motor command calculation unit 82 for converting into a set with a speed command ω_L_cmd (rotation angular velocity command value) of the left electric motor 31L.
Note that the reference numeral 84 in FIG. 9 indicates a delay element for inputting the virtual wheel rotation angular velocity command ωw_xy_cmd calculated by the attitude control calculation unit 70 for each control processing cycle. The delay element 84 outputs the previous value ωw_xy_cmd_p of the virtual wheel rotation angular velocity command ωw_xy_cmd in each control processing cycle.

  In the vehicle control calculation process in step S9, the processes of the above-described respective processing units are executed as described below.

  That is, the control unit 50 first executes the process of the deviation calculation unit 70 and the process of the gravity center speed calculation unit 62.

  The deviation calculation unit 70 receives the base body tilt angle measurement value θb_xy_s (θb_x_s and θb_y_s) calculated in step S2 and the target values θb_xy_obj (θb_x_obj and θb_y_obj) set in step S5 or step S7. . Then, the deviation calculating unit 70 subtracts θb_x_obj from θb_x_s to calculate a measured body tilt angle deviation value θbe_x_s (= θb_x_s−θb_x_obj) around the Y axis, and subtracts θb_y_obj from θb_y_s to obtain X A base body tilt angle deviation measurement value θbe_y_s (= θb_y_s−θb_y_obj) in the direction around the axis is calculated.

  The process of the deviation calculation unit 70 may be performed before the vehicle control calculation process of step S9. For example, you may perform the process of the deviation calculating part 70 in the process of the said step S5 or 7.

  The center-of-gravity velocity calculation unit 62 receives the current value of the base body inclination angular velocity measurement value θbdot_xy_s (θbdot_x_s and θbdot_y_s) calculated in step S2 and the previous value ωw_xy_cmd_p (ωw_x_cmd_p and ωw_y_cmd_p) of the virtual wheel speed command ωw_xy_cmd. Is input from the delay element 84. Then, the center-of-gravity speed calculation unit 62 calculates the center-of-gravity speed estimated values Vb_xy_s (Vb_x_s and Vb_y_s) from these input values using a predetermined arithmetic expression based on the inverted pendulum model.

  Specifically, the center-of-gravity velocity calculation unit 62 calculates Vb_x_s and Vb_y_s by the following equations 05x and 05y, respectively.

Vb_x_s = Rw_x · ωw_x_cmd_p + h_x · θbdot_x_s ...... 05x
Vb_y_s = Rw_y · ωw_y_cmd_p + h_y · θbdot_y_s …… 05y

  In these expressions 05x and 05y, Rw_x and Rw_y are the respective radii of the virtual wheels 62_x and 62_y as described above, and these values are predetermined values set in advance. H_x and h_y are the heights of the mass points 60_x and 60_y of the inverted pendulum model, respectively. In this case, in the present embodiment, the height of the vehicle system center-of-gravity point is maintained substantially constant. Therefore, predetermined values set in advance are used as the values of h_x and h_y, respectively. Supplementally, the heights h_x and h_y are included in the constant parameters whose values are set in step S6 or 8.

  The first term on the right side of the formula 05x is the moving speed in the X-axis direction of the virtual wheel 62_x corresponding to the previous value ωw_x_cmd_p of the speed command of the virtual wheel 62_x, and this moving speed is the X-axis direction of the wheel body 5 This corresponds to the current value of the actual movement speed. Further, the second term on the right side of the expression 05x is the movement speed in the X-axis direction of the vehicle system center-of-gravity point caused by the base body 9 tilting at the inclination angular velocity of θbdot_x_s around the Y axis (relative to the wheel body 5). This is equivalent to the current value of the movement speed. The same applies to Formula 05y.

  Note that a set of measured values (current values) of the respective rotational angular velocities of the electric motors 31R and 31L measured based on the outputs of the rotary encoders 56R and 56L becomes a set of rotational angular velocities of the virtual wheels 62_x and 62_y. The rotational angular velocities may be converted and used in place of ωw_x_cmd_p and ωw_y_cmd_p in equations 05x and 05y. However, it is advantageous to use the target values ωw_x_cmd_p and ωw_y_cmd_p in order to eliminate the influence of noise included in the measured value of the rotational angular velocity.

  Next, the control unit 50 executes the processing of the required center-of-gravity velocity generation unit 74 and the processing of the gain adjustment unit 78. In this case, the center-of-gravity speed estimation value Vb_xy_s (Vb_x_s and Vb_y_s) calculated by the center-of-gravity speed calculation unit 72 as described above is input to the required center-of-gravity speed generation unit 74 and the gain adjustment unit 78, respectively.

  The required center-of-gravity speed generation unit 74, as will be described in detail later, when the operation mode of the vehicle 1 is the boarding mode, the requested center-of-gravity speed V_xy_aim is based on the input center-of-gravity speed estimated value Vb_xy_s (Vb_x_s and Vb_y_s). (V_x_aim, V_y_aim) is determined. In the present embodiment, when the operation mode of the vehicle 1 is the self-supporting mode, the requested center-of-gravity speed generation unit 74 sets both the requested center-of-gravity speeds V_x_aim and V_y_aim to “0”.

  Further, the gain adjustment unit 78 determines the gain adjustment parameter Kr_xy (Kr_x and Kr_y) based on the input center-of-gravity velocity estimated value Vb_xy_s (Vb_x_s and Vb_y_s).

  The processing of the gain adjusting unit 78 will be described below with reference to FIGS.

  As shown in FIG. 10, the gain adjustment unit 78 inputs the input center-of-gravity velocity estimated values Vb_x_s and Vb_y_s to the limit processing unit 86. In the limit processing unit 86, output values Vw_x_lim1 and Vw_y_lim1 are generated by appropriately adding limits corresponding to the allowable ranges of the rotational angular velocities of the electric motors 31R and 31L to the gravity center speed estimated values Vb_x_s and Vb_y_s. The output value Vw_x_lim1 has a meaning after limiting the moving speed Vw_x in the X-axis direction of the virtual wheel 62_x, and the output value Vw_y_lim1 has a meaning as a value after limiting the moving speed Vw_y in the Y-axis direction of the virtual wheel 62_y. .

  The processing of the limit processing unit 86 will be described in more detail with reference to FIG. Note that the reference numerals with parentheses in FIG. 11 indicate processing of the limit processing unit 104 of the gravity center speed limiting unit 76 described later, and may be ignored in the description of the processing of the limit processing unit 86.

  First, the limit processing unit 86 inputs the center-of-gravity velocity estimated values Vb_x_s and Vb_y_s to the processing units 86a_x and 86a_y, respectively. The processing unit 86a_x divides Vb_x_s by the radius Rw_x of the virtual wheel 62_x to calculate the rotational angular velocity ωw_x_s of the virtual wheel 62_x when it is assumed that the moving speed in the X-axis direction of the virtual wheel 62_x matches Vb_x_s. . Similarly, the processing unit 86a_y calculates the rotational angular velocity ωw_y_s (= Vb_y_s / Rw_y) of the virtual wheel 62_y when it is assumed that the moving speed of the virtual wheel 62_y in the Y-axis direction matches Vb_y_s.

  Next, the limit processing unit 86 converts the set of ωw_x_s and ωw_y_s into a set of the rotation angular velocity ω_R_s of the electric motor 31R and the rotation angular velocity ω_L_s of the electric motor 31L by the XY-RL conversion unit 86b.

  In this embodiment, this conversion is performed by solving simultaneous equations obtained by replacing ωw_x, ωw_y, ω_R, and ω_L in the equations 01a and 01b with ωw_x_s, ωw_y_s, ω_R_s, and ω_L_s, with ω_R_s and ω_L_s as unknowns. Done.

  Next, the limit processing unit 86 inputs the output values ω_R_s and ω_L_s of the XY-RL conversion unit 86b to the limiters 86c_R and 86c_L, respectively. At this time, if the limiter 86c_R is within the allowable range for the right motor having a predetermined upper limit value (> 0) and lower limit value (<0), the limiter 86c_R keeps ω_R_s as it is. Output as output value ω_R_lim1. Further, when ω_R_s deviates from the right motor allowable range, the limiter 86c_R outputs the boundary value closer to ω_R_s between the upper limit value and the lower limit value of the right motor allowable range as the output value ω_R_lim1. Output as. As a result, the output value ω_R_lim1 of the limiter 86c_R is limited to a value within the allowable range for the right motor.

  Similarly, when the limiter 86c_L is within the allowable range for the left motor having a predetermined upper limit value (> 0) and lower limit value (<0), the limiter 86c_L keeps ω_L_s as it is. Output as output value ω_L_lim1. Further, when ω_L_s deviates from the left motor allowable range, the limiter 86c_L outputs the boundary value closer to ω_L_s between the upper limit value and the lower limit value of the left motor allowable range as the output value ω_L_lim1. Output as. As a result, the output value ω_L_lim1 of the limiter 86c_L is limited to a value within the left motor allowable range.

  The allowable range for the right motor is set so that the rotational angular velocity (absolute value) of the right electric motor 31R does not become too high, and in turn prevents the maximum value of torque that can be output by the electric motor 31R from decreasing. Tolerance. The same applies to the allowable range for the left motor.

  Next, the limit processing unit 86 converts the pair of output values ω_R_lim1 and ω_L_lim1 of the limiters 86c_R and 86c_L into a pair of rotational angular velocities ωw_x_lim1 and ωw_y_lim1 of the virtual wheels 62_x and 62_y by the RL-XY conversion unit 86d. .

  This conversion is a reverse conversion process of the conversion process of the XY-RL conversion unit 86b. This processing is performed by solving simultaneous equations obtained by replacing ωw_x, ωw_y, ω_R, and ω_L in the equations 01a and 01b with ωw_x_lim1, ωw_y_lim1, ω_R_lim1, and ω_L_lim1 as ωw_x_lim1 and ωw_y_lim1.

  Next, the limit processing unit 86 inputs the output values ωw_x_lim1 and ωw_y_lim1 of the RL-XY conversion unit 86d to the processing units 86e_x and 86e_y, respectively. The processing unit 86e_x converts ωw_x_lim1 into the moving speed Vw_x_lim1 of the virtual wheel 62_x by multiplying ωw_x_lim1 by the radius Rw_x of the virtual wheel 62_x. Similarly, the processor 86e_y converts ωw_y_lim1 into the moving speed Vw_y_lim1 (= ωw_y_lim1 · Rw_y) of the virtual wheel 62_y.

  It is assumed that the movement speed Vw_x of the virtual wheel 62_x in the X-axis direction and the movement speed Vw_y of the virtual wheel 62_y in the Y-axis direction are made to coincide with the center-of-gravity speed estimated values Vb_x_s and Vb_y_s, respectively, by the above processing of the limit processing unit 86. In other words (in other words, assuming that the moving speed in the X-axis direction and the moving speed in the Y-axis direction of the wheel body 5 are respectively matched with Vb_x_s and Vb_y_s), it is necessary to realize those moving speeds. When the rotational angular velocities ω_R_s and ω_L_s of the electric motors 31R and 31L are both within the allowable range, a set of output values Vw_x_lim1 and Vw_y_lim1 that respectively match Vb_x_s and Vb_y_s is obtained from the limit processing unit 86. Is output.

  On the other hand, when both or one of the rotational angular velocities ω_R_s and ω_L_s of the electric motors 31R and 31L deviate from the allowable range, both or one of the rotational angular velocities is limited within the allowable range. A set of movement speeds Vw_x_lim1 and Vw_y_lim1 in the X-axis direction and the Y-axis direction corresponding to each set of rotational angular velocities ω_R_lim1 and ω_L_lim1 of the electric motors 31R and 31L after limitation is output from the limit processing unit 86.

  Therefore, the limit processing unit 86 can make the rotation angular velocities of the electric motors 31R and 31L corresponding to the set of the output values Vw_x_lim1 and Vw_y_lim1 not to deviate from the permissible range under the necessary conditions. As long as the output values Vw_x_lim1 and Vw_y_lim1 coincide with Vb_x_s and Vb_y_s, a set of output values Vw_x_lim1 and Vw_y_lim1 is generated.

  Returning to the description of FIG. 10, the gain adjustment unit 78 next executes the processing of the calculation units 88_x and 88_y. The calculation unit 88_x receives the estimated center-of-gravity velocity value Vb_x_s in the X-axis direction and the output value Vw_x_lim1 of the limit processing unit 86. Then, the calculation unit 88_x calculates and outputs a value Vover_x obtained by subtracting Vb_x_s from Vw_x_lim1. Further, the Y-axis direction center of gravity velocity estimated value Vb_y_s and the output value Vw_y_lim1 of the limit processing unit 86 are input to the arithmetic unit 88_y. The computing unit 88_y calculates and outputs a value Vover_y obtained by subtracting Vb_y_s from Vw_y_lim1.

  In this case, when the output values Vw_x_lim1 and Vw_y_lim1 are not limited by the limit processing unit 86, Vw_x_lim1 = Vb_x_s and Vw_y_lim1 = Vb_y_s are satisfied, so that the output values Vover_x and Vover_y of the arithmetic units 88_x and 88_y are Both are “0”.

  On the other hand, when the output values Vw_x_lim1 and Vw_y_lim1 of the limit processing unit 86 are generated by limiting the input values Vb_x_s and Vb_y_s, the correction amount (= Vw_x_lim1−Vb_x_s) of Vw_x_lim1 from Vb_x_s and Vw_y_lim1 The amount of correction (= Vw_y_lim1-Vb_y_s) from Vb_y_s is output from the arithmetic units 88_x and 88_y, respectively.

  Next, the gain adjustment unit 78 determines the gain adjustment parameter Kr_x by sequentially passing the output value Vover_x of the calculation unit 88_x through the processing units 90_x and 92_x. Further, the gain adjustment unit 78 determines the gain adjustment parameter Kr_y by sequentially passing the output value Vover_y of the calculation unit 88_y through the processing units 90_y and 92_y. The gain adjustment parameters Kr_x and Kr_y are both values in the range from “0” to “1”.

  The processing unit 90_x calculates and outputs the absolute value of the input Vover_x. Further, the processing unit 92_x generates Kr_x so that the output value Kr_x monotonously increases with respect to the input value | Vover_x | and has a saturation characteristic. The saturation characteristic is a characteristic in which the change amount of the output value with respect to the increase of the input value becomes “0” or approaches “0” when the input value increases to some extent.

  In this case, in this embodiment, when the input value | Vover_x | is equal to or less than a predetermined value set in advance, the processing unit 92_x sets a value obtained by multiplying the input value | Vover_x | by a proportional coefficient of the predetermined value. Output as Kr_x. In addition, when the input value | Vover_x | is larger than a predetermined value, the processing unit 92_x outputs “1” as Kr_x. The proportional coefficient is set so that the product of | Vover_x | and the proportional coefficient is “1” when | Vover_x | matches a predetermined value.

  The processing of the processing units 90_y and 92_y is the same as the processing of the above-described processing units 90_x and 92_x, respectively.

  When the output values Vw_x_lim1 and Vw_y_lim1 are not limited by the limit processing unit 86 by the processing of the gain adjusting unit 78 described above, that is, the moving speeds Vw_x of the wheel body 5 in the X-axis direction and the Y-axis direction, respectively. , Vw_y, when the electric motors 31R, 31L are operated so as to coincide with the center-of-gravity speed estimated values Vb_x_s, Vb_y_s, respectively, the rotational angular velocities of the electric motors 31R, 31L are within the allowable range. The gain adjustment parameters Kr_x and Kr_y are both determined to be “0”.

  On the other hand, when the output values Vw_x_lim1 and Vw_y_lim1 of the limit processing unit 86 are generated by limiting the input values Vb_x_s and Vb_y_s, that is, the moving speeds Vw_x of the wheel body 5 in the X-axis direction and the Y-axis direction, respectively. , Vw_y are operated so that the electric motors 31R, 31L are made to coincide with the center-of-gravity velocity estimated values Vb_x_s, Vb_y_s, respectively, when the rotational angular velocity of either of the electric motors 31R, 31L deviates from the allowable range (whichever When the absolute value of the rotational angular velocity becomes too high), the gain adjustment parameters Kr_x and Kr_y are determined according to the absolute values of the correction amounts Vover_x and Vover_y, respectively. In this case, Kr_x is determined to have a larger value as the absolute value of the correction amount Vx_over increases with “1” as the upper limit. The same applies to Kr_y.

Returning to the description of FIG. 9, the control unit 50 executes the processes of the center-of-gravity speed calculation unit 72 and the requested center-of-gravity speed generation unit 74 as described above, and then executes the process of the center-of-gravity speed restriction unit 76.
The center-of-gravity speed limiting unit 76 includes an estimated center-of-gravity speed value Vb_xy_s (Vb_x_s and Vb_y_s) calculated by the center-of-gravity speed calculation unit 72, and a requested center-of-gravity speed V_xy_aim (V_x_aim and V_y_aim) determined by the required center-of-gravity speed generation unit 74. Is entered. Then, the center-of-gravity speed limiter 76 uses these input values to determine the control target center-of-gravity speed V_xy_mdfd (V_x_mdfd and V_y_mdfd) by executing the processing shown in the block diagram of FIG.

  Specifically, the center-of-gravity speed limiting unit 76 first executes the processes of the steady deviation calculating units 94_x and 94_y.

  In this case, the steady-state deviation calculating unit 94_x receives the estimated center-of-gravity velocity value Vb_x_s in the X-axis direction and the previous value Vb_x_mdfd_p of the control target center-of-gravity velocity Vb_x_mdfd in the X-axis direction via the delay element 96_x. . The steady deviation calculating unit 94_x first inputs the input Vb_x_s to the proportional / differential compensation element (PD compensation element) 94a_x. The proportional / differential compensation element 94_x is a compensation element whose transfer function is represented by 1 + Kd · S, and is obtained by multiplying the input Vb_x_s and its differential value (time change rate) by a predetermined coefficient Kd. Add the value and output the result of the addition.

  Next, the steady deviation calculating unit 94_x calculates a value obtained by subtracting the input Vb_x_mdfd_p from the output value of the proportional / differential compensation element 94_x by the calculating unit 94b_x, and then outputs the output value of the calculating unit 94b_x to the phase compensation It inputs into the low-pass filter 94c_x which has a function. The low-pass filter 94c_x is a filter whose transfer function is represented by (1 + T2 · S) / (1 + T1 · S). The steady deviation calculating unit 94_x outputs the output value Vb_x_prd of the low-pass filter 94c_x.

  In addition, the steady-state deviation calculating unit 94_y receives the Y-axis centroid speed estimated value Vb_y_s and the previous value Vb_y_mdfd_p of the Y-axis control target centroid speed Vb_y_mdfd via the delay element 96_y.

  Then, similarly to the above-described steady deviation calculation unit 94_x, the steady deviation calculation unit 94_y sequentially executes the processing of the proportional / differential compensation element 94a_y, the calculation unit 94b_y, and the low-pass filter 94c_y, and outputs the output value Vb_y_prd of the low-pass filter 94c_y. To do.

  Here, the output value Vb_x_prd of the steady deviation calculating unit 94_x is based on the current motion state of the vehicle system center of gravity as viewed from the Y-axis direction (in other words, the motion state of the mass point 60_x of the inverted pendulum model as viewed from the Y-axis direction). It has a meaning as a steady deviation with respect to the control target center-of-gravity speed Vb_x_mdfd of the estimated predicted center-of-gravity speed estimated value in the X-axis direction. Similarly, the steady deviation calculating unit 94_y output value Vb_y_prd is estimated from the current motion state of the vehicle system center of gravity as viewed from the X-axis direction (in other words, the motion state of the mass point 60_y of the inverted pendulum model as viewed from the X-axis direction). The convergence predicted value of the estimated center-of-gravity speed value in the future Y-axis direction has a meaning as a steady deviation with respect to the control target center-of-gravity speed Vb_y_mdfd. Hereinafter, the respective output values Vb_x_prd and Vb_y_prd of the steady deviation calculation units 94_x and 94_y are referred to as center-of-gravity velocity steady deviation prediction values.

  The center-of-gravity speed limiter 76 executes the processes of the steady-state deviation calculators 94_x and 94_y as described above, and then adds the requested center-of-gravity speed Vb_x_aim to the output value Vb_x_prd of the steady-state deviation calculator 94_x and the steady-state deviation calculator 94_y. Processing for adding the requested center-of-gravity velocity Vb_y_aim to the output value Vb_y_prd is executed by the calculation units 98_x and 98_y, respectively.

  Therefore, the output value Vb_x_t of the calculation unit 98_x is a speed obtained by adding the required center-of-gravity speed Vb_x_aim in the X-axis direction to the center-of-gravity speed steady-state deviation predicted value Vb_x_prd in the X-axis direction. Similarly, the output value Vb_y_t of the calculation unit 98_y is a speed obtained by adding the requested center-of-gravity speed Vb_y_aim in the Y-axis direction to the center-of-gravity speed steady-state deviation predicted value Vb_y_prd in the Y-axis direction.

  Note that, when the required center-of-gravity velocity Vb_x_aim in the X-axis direction is “0”, such as when the operation mode of the vehicle 1 is the self-sustaining mode, the calculation unit 98_x Output value Vb_x_t. Similarly, when the required center-of-gravity speed Vb_y_aim in the Y-axis direction is “0”, the predicted center-of-gravity speed deviation deviation value Vb_y_prd in the Y-axis direction is directly used as the output value Vb_y_t of the calculation unit 98_y.

  Next, the center-of-gravity speed limiting unit 76 inputs the output values Vb_x_t and Vb_y_t of the calculation units 98_x and 98_y to the limit processing unit 100, respectively. The processing of the limit processing unit 100 is the same as the processing of the limit processing unit 86 of the gain adjustment unit 78 described above. In this case, only the input value and the output value of each processing unit of the limit processing unit 100 are different from the limit processing unit 86, as indicated by reference numerals in parentheses in FIG.

  Specifically, in the limit processing unit 100, it is assumed that the moving speeds Vw_x and Vw_y of the virtual wheels 62_x and 62_y respectively match the Vb_x_t and Vb_y_t, respectively. ωw_y_t is calculated by the processing units 86a_x and 86a_y, respectively. Then, a set of the rotational angular velocities ωw_x_t and ωw_y_t is converted into a set of rotational angular velocities ω_R_t and ω_L_t of the electric motors 31R and 31L by the XY-RL converter 86b.

  Further, these rotational angular velocities ω_R_t and ω_L_t are limited by the limiters 86c_R and 86c_L to values within the allowable range for the right motor and values within the allowable range for the left motor, respectively. Then, the values ω_R_lim2 and ω_L_lim2 after the restriction process are converted into the rotational angular velocities ωw_x_lim2 and ωw_y_lim2 of the virtual wheels 62_x and 62_y by the RL-XY conversion unit 86d.

  Next, the moving speeds Vw_x_lim2 and Vw_y_lim2 of the virtual wheels 62_x and 62_y corresponding to the rotational angular velocities ωw_x_lim2 and ωw_y_lim2 are calculated by the processing units 86e_x and 86e_y, respectively, and the moving speeds Vw_x_lim2 and Vw_y_lim2 are output from the limit processing unit 100. The

  By the above processing of the limit processing unit 100, the limit processing unit 100, like the limit processing unit 86, has the rotational angular velocities of the electric motors 31R and 31L corresponding to the set of output values Vw_x_lim2 and Vw_y_lim2 deviate from the allowable range. It is an essential requirement that the output values Vw_x_lim2 and Vw_y_lim2 are generated so that the output values Vw_x_lim2 and Vw_y_lim2 coincide with Vb_x_t and Vb_y_t, respectively, as much as possible under the necessary conditions.

  Note that the permissible ranges for the right motor and the left motor in the limit processing unit 100 need not be the same as the permissible ranges in the limit processing unit 86, and may be set to different permissible ranges.

  Returning to the description of FIG. 12, the center-of-gravity speed limiting unit 76 next calculates the control target center-of-gravity speeds Vb_x_mdfd and Vb_y_mdfd by executing the processing of the calculation units 102_x and 102_y, respectively. In this case, the calculation unit 102_x calculates a value obtained by subtracting the X-axis direction center-of-gravity velocity steady deviation predicted value Vb_x_prd from the output value Vw_x_lim2 of the limit processing unit 100 as the control target center-of-gravity velocity Vb_x_mdfd. Similarly, the calculation unit 102_y calculates a value obtained by subtracting the Y-axis direction center-of-gravity velocity steady-state deviation predicted value Vb_y_prd from the output value Vw_y_lim2 of the limit processing unit 100 as the Y-axis direction control center-of-gravity velocity Vb_y_mdfd.

  The control target center-of-gravity velocities Vb_x_mdfd and Vb_y_mdfd determined as described above are the cases where the output values V_x_lim2 and V_y_lim2 are not limited by the limit processing unit 100, that is, the X-axis direction and the Y-axis of the wheel body 5 Even if the electric motors 31R and 31L are operated so that the respective movement speeds in the directions coincide with the output value Vb_x_t of the calculation unit 98_x and the output value Vb_y_t of the calculation unit 98_y, respectively. When the rotational angular velocity falls within the allowable range, the required center-of-gravity speeds Vb_x_aim and Vb_y_aim are determined as control target center-of-gravity speeds Vb_x_mdfd and Vb_y_mdfd, respectively.

  In this case, if the required center-of-gravity speed Vb_x_aim in the X-axis direction is “0”, the control target center-of-gravity speed Vb_x_mdfd in the X-axis direction is also “0”, and the required center-of-gravity speed Vb_y_aim in the Y-axis direction is “0”. If there is, the control target center-of-gravity velocity Vb_y_mdfd in the Y-axis direction is also “0”.

  On the other hand, when the output values Vw_x_lim2 and Vw_y_lim2 of the limit processing unit 100 are generated by limiting the input values Vb_x_t and Vb_y_t, that is, the moving speeds of the wheel body 5 in the X-axis direction and the Y-axis direction, respectively. When the electric motors 31R and 31L are operated so as to match the output value Vb_x_t of the calculation unit 98_x and the output value Vb_y_t of the calculation unit 98_y, respectively, the rotational angular velocity of either of the electric motors 31R and 31L deviates from the allowable range. In the case where the absolute value of one of the rotational angular velocities becomes too high, the amount of correction from the input value Vb_x_t of the output value Vw_x_lim2 of the limit processing unit 100 (= Vw_x_lim2-Vb_x_t) in the X-axis direction Thus, a value obtained by correcting the required center-of-gravity velocity Vb_x_aim (a value obtained by adding the correction amount to Vb_x_aim) is determined as the control center-of-gravity velocity Vb_x_mdfd in the X-axis direction.

  For the Y-axis direction, a value obtained by correcting the requested center-of-gravity velocity Vb_y_aim by the correction amount (= Vw_y_lim2-Vb_y_t) from the input value Vb_y_t of the output value Vw_y_lim2 of the limit processing unit 100 (the correction amount is added to Vb_y_aim) Is determined as the control target center-of-gravity velocity Vb_y_mdfd in the Y-axis direction.

  In this case, for example, regarding the speed in the X-axis direction, if the requested center-of-gravity speed Vb_x_aim is not “0”, the control target center-of-gravity speed Vb_x_mdfd is closer to “0” than the requested center-of-gravity speed Vb_x_aim or The speed is opposite to the speed Vb_x_aim. When the requested center-of-gravity speed Vb_x_aim is “0”, the control target center-of-gravity speed Vb_x_mdfd is a speed opposite to the X-axis center of gravity speed steady deviation predicted value Vb_x_prd output by the steady deviation calculator 94_x. . The same applies to the velocity in the Y-axis direction.

  The above is the process of the gravity center speed limiting unit 76.

  Returning to the description of FIG. 9, the control unit 50 executes the processes of the center-of-gravity speed calculation unit 72, the center-of-gravity speed limit unit 76, the gain adjustment unit 78, and the deviation calculation unit 70 as described above, and then performs posture control. The processing of the calculation unit 80 is executed.

  The processing of the attitude control calculation unit 80 will be described below with reference to FIG. In FIG. 13, reference numerals without parentheses are reference numerals related to processing for determining the virtual wheel rotation angular velocity command ωw_x_com that is a target value of the rotation angular velocity of the virtual wheel 62_x rotating in the X-axis direction. The reference numerals with parentheses are reference numerals related to the process of determining the virtual wheel rotational angular velocity command ωw_y_com that is the target value of the rotational angular velocity of the virtual wheel 62_y that rotates in the Y-axis direction.

  As described above, the operation of the attitude control calculation unit 80 differs depending on whether or not the position control mode is set. Specifically, information input to the attitude control calculation unit 80 first differs depending on whether or not the position control mode is set.

  When operating in the position control mode, as shown in FIG. 9, the attitude control calculation unit 80 includes the base body tilt angle deviation measurement value θbe_xy_s calculated by the deviation calculation unit 70 and the base body tilt angular velocity measurement calculated in step S <b> 2. Value θbdot_xy_s, the center of gravity speed estimated value Vb_xy_s calculated by the center of gravity speed calculator 72, the target center of gravity speed Vb_xy_cmd calculated by the center of gravity speed limiter 76, the gain adjustment parameter Kr_xy calculated by the gain adjuster 78, and the position The current position P_xy_s acquired by the information acquisition unit 216S and the target feedback position P_xy_aim set in the storage unit 218S are input.

  The attitude control calculation unit 80 first calculates a virtual wheel rotation angular acceleration command ωdotw_xy_cmd by using the following values 06x and 06y using these input values.

ωwdot_x_cmd = K1_x ・ θbe_x_s + K2_x ・ θbdot_x_s
+ K3_x ・ (Vb_x_s−Vb_x_mdfd)
+ K4_x ・ (P_x_s−P_x_aim)
+ K5_x · Pedot_x_s …… Formula 06x
ωwdot_y_cmd = K1_y ・ θbe_y_s + K2_y ・ θbdot_y_s
+ K3_y ・ (Vb_y_s−Vb_y_mdfd)
+ K4_y ・ (P_y_s−P_y_aim)
+ K5_y · Pedot_y_s …… Formula 06y

  However, Pedot_x_s in the fifth term on the right side of the expression 06x represents a temporal change rate of P_x_s−P_x_aim in the fourth term. Similarly, Pedot_y_s in the fifth term on the right side of Expression 06y represents the temporal change rate of P_y_s−P_y_aim in the fourth term.

  On the other hand, when not operating in the position control mode, the current position P_xy_s and the target feedback position P_xy_aim are not input to the attitude control calculation unit 80, or “0” is input instead.

  Therefore, in this case, the attitude control calculation unit 80 calculates the virtual wheel rotation angular acceleration command ωdotw_xy_cmd by the following expressions 07x and 07y.

ωwdot_x_cmd = K1_x ・ θbe_x_s + K2_x ・ θbdot_x_s
+ K3_x ・ (Vb_x_s−Vb_x_mdfd) ...... Formula 07x
ωwdot_y_cmd = K1_y ・ θbe_y_s + K2_y ・ θbdot_y_s
+ K3_y · (Vb_y_s−Vb_y_mdfd) ...... Formula 07y

  That is, the difference between the expressions 06x and 06y and the expressions 07x and 07y is that the fourth term depending on the deviation of the current position with respect to the target feedback position and the fifth term depending on the temporal change rate of the deviation are added to the right side. It is being done. Accordingly, in equations 07x and 07y, the virtual wheel rotation angular acceleration command ωdotw_xy_cmd is calculated according to the base body tilt angle deviation measurement value θbe_xy_s given by the occupant of the slave unit 202S tilting the base body 9.

  On the other hand, in the position control mode, even if the base body tilt angle deviation measurement value θbe_xy_s is given, if the current position P_xy_s of the slave unit 202S does not coincide with the target feedback position P_xy_aim, By dominating the fifth term, the virtual wheel rotation angular acceleration command ωdotw_xy_com can be calculated so as to move the handset 202S to the target feedback position P_xy_aim.

  As described above, in the position control mode according to the present embodiment, the operation for controlling the motion of the mass point 60_x of the inverted pendulum model viewed from the Y-axis direction (and hence the motion of the vehicle system center-of-gravity point viewed from the Y-axis direction). To control the virtual wheel rotation angular acceleration command ωdotw_x_com as a quantity (control input) and the motion of the mass point 60_y of the inverted pendulum model viewed from the X-axis direction (and hence the motion of the center of gravity of the vehicle system viewed from the X-axis direction) The virtual wheel rotation angular acceleration command ωdotw_y_com as the operation amount (control input) is determined by adding the five operation amount components (the five terms on the right side of the equations 06x and 06y).

  In this case, the gain coefficients K1_x, K2_x, K3_x, K4_x, and K5_x related to each manipulated variable component in Expression 06x are variably set according to the gain adjustment parameter Kr_x, and the gain coefficient K1_y related to each manipulated variable component in Expression 06y. , K2_y, K3_y, K4_y, and K5_y are variably set according to the gain adjustment parameter Kr_y.

  However, when not operating in the position control mode, the gain coefficients K1_x, K2_x, K3_x and the gain coefficients K1_y, K2_y, K3_y are used, and the gain coefficients K4_x, K5_x and the gain coefficients K4_y, K5_y are not used, or “0”.

  Hereinafter, the gain coefficients K1_x, K2_x, K3_x, K4_x, and K5_x in Expression 06x are referred to as a first gain coefficient K1_x, a second gain coefficient K2_x, a third gain coefficient K3_x, a fourth gain coefficient K4_x, and a fifth gain coefficient K5_x, respectively. There is. The same applies to the gain coefficients K1_y, K2_y, K3_y, K4_y, and K5_y in Expression 06y.

  The i-th gain coefficient Ki_x (i = 1, 2, 3, 4, 5) in Expression 06x and the i-th gain coefficient Ki_y (i = 1, 2, 3, 4, 5) in Expression 06y are shown in FIG. However, as shown in the drawing, it is determined according to the gain adjustment parameters Kr_x and Kr_y by the following equations 06x and 06y.

Ki_x = (1−Kr_x) · Ki_a_x + Kr_x · Ki_b_x ...... Expression 09x
Ki_y = (1−Kr_y) · Ki_a_y + Kr_y · Ki_b_y ...... Equation 09y
(I = 1, 2, 3, 4, 5)

  Here, Ki_a_x and Ki_b_x in Expression 09x are preliminarily set as the gain coefficient value on the minimum side (side closer to “0”) and the gain coefficient value on the maximum side (side away from “0”) of the i-th gain coefficient Ki_x, respectively. It is a set constant value. The same applies to Ki_a_y and Ki_b_y in Expression 09y.

  Accordingly, each i-th gain coefficient Ki_x (i = 1, 2, 3, 4, 5) used for the calculation of Expression 09x is determined as a weighted average value of the corresponding constant values Ki_a_x and Ki_b_x. In this case, the weights applied to Ki_a_x and Ki_b_x are changed according to the gain adjustment parameter Kr_x. Therefore, when Kr_x = 0, Ki_x = Ki_a_x, and when Kr_x = 1, Ki_x = Ki_b_x. As Kr_x approaches “1” from “0”, the i-th gain coefficient Ki_x approaches Ki_b_x from Ki_a_x.

  Similarly, each i-th gain coefficient Ki_y (i = 1, 2, 3, 4, 5) used in the calculation of Expression 09y is determined as a weighted average value of the corresponding constant values Ki_a_y and Ki_b_y. In this case, the weights applied to Ki_a_y and Ki_b_y are changed according to the gain adjustment parameter Kr_y. Therefore, as in the case of Ki_x, as the value of Kr_y changes between “0” and “1”, the value of the i-th gain coefficient Ki_y changes between Ki_a_y and Ki_b_y.

  Supplementally, the constant values Ki_a_x, Ki_b_x and Ki_a_y, Ki_b_y (i = 1, 2, 3, 4, 5) are included in the constant parameters whose values are set in step S6 or 8.

  When operating in the position control mode, the attitude control calculation unit 80 performs the calculation of the expression 06x using the first to fifth gain coefficients K1_x, K2_x, K3_x, K4_x, and K5_x determined as described above. A virtual wheel rotation angular acceleration command ωwdot_x_cmd related to the virtual wheel 62_x rotating in the axial direction is calculated.

  In more detail, with reference to FIG. 13, the posture control calculation unit 80 sets the manipulated variable component u1_x obtained by multiplying the base body tilt angle deviation measured value θbe_x_s by the first gain coefficient K1_x and the base body tilt angular velocity measured value θbdot_x_s. The operation amount component u2_x obtained by multiplying the two gain coefficients K2_x is calculated by the processing units 80a and 80b, respectively. The posture control calculation unit 80 calculates a deviation (= Vb_x_s−Vb_x_mdfd) between the center-of-gravity velocity estimated value Vb_x_s and the control target center-of-gravity velocity Vb_x_mdfd by the calculation unit 80d, and multiplies the deviation by the third gain coefficient K3_x. The result u3_x is calculated by the processing unit 80c.

Under the position control mode, the attitude control calculation unit 80 calculates a deviation (= P_x_s−P_x_aim) between the current position P_x_s and the target feedback position P_x_aim by the calculation unit 80d, and multiplies this deviation by the fourth gain coefficient K4_x. The operation amount u4_x is calculated by the processing unit 80c. Further, the operation unit 80d calculates a temporal change rate Pedot_x_s of a deviation (= P_x_s−P_x_aim) between the current position P_x_s and the target feedback position P_x_aim, and an operation amount obtained by multiplying the temporal change rate by the fifth gain coefficient K5_x. The result u5_x is calculated by the processing unit 80c.

Then, the attitude control calculation unit 80 adds the operation amount components u1_x, u2_x, u3_x, u4_x, u5_x in the calculation unit 80e, thereby calculating the virtual wheel rotation angular acceleration command ωwdot_x_com.

  On the other hand, when not in the position control mode, the attitude control calculation unit 80 calculates the expression 07x using the first to third gain coefficients K1_x, K2_x, and K3_x, so that the virtual wheel 62_x that rotates in the X-axis direction is obtained. The related virtual wheel rotation angular acceleration command ωwdot_x_cmd is calculated.

  Similarly, when operating in the position control mode, the posture control calculation unit 80 performs the calculation of Expression 06y using the first to fifth gain coefficients K1_y, K2_y, K3_y, K4_y, and K5_y determined as described above. The virtual wheel rotation angular acceleration command ωwdot_y_cmd related to the virtual wheel 62_y rotating in the Y-axis direction is calculated.

  In this case, the posture control calculation unit 80 multiplies the operation amount component u1_y obtained by multiplying the base body tilt angle deviation measurement value θbe_y_s by the first gain coefficient K1_y and the base body tilt angular velocity measurement value θbdot_y_s by the second gain coefficient K2_y. The operation amount component u2_y is calculated by the processing units 80a and 80b, respectively. The attitude control calculation unit 80 calculates a deviation (= Vb_y_s−Vb_y_mdfd) between the estimated center-of-gravity velocity value Vb_y_s and the control target center-of-gravity velocity Vb_y_mdfd by the calculation unit 80d, and multiplies the deviation by the third gain coefficient K3_y. The result u3_y is calculated by the processing unit 80c.

  Further, under the position control mode, the attitude control calculation unit 80 calculates a deviation (= P_y_s−P_y_aim) between the current position P_y_s and the target feedback position P_y_aim by the calculation unit 80d, and multiplies this deviation by the fourth gain coefficient K4_y. Is calculated by the processing unit 80c, and the temporal change rate Pedot_y_s of the deviation (= P_y_s-P_y_aim) between the current position P_y_s and the target feedback position P_y_aim is calculated by the arithmetic unit 80d, and this temporal change rate An operation amount u5_y obtained by multiplying the value by the fifth gain coefficient K5_y is calculated by the processing unit 80c.

  Then, the attitude control calculation unit 80 adds the operation amount components u1_y, u2_y, u3_y, u4_y, u5_y in the calculation unit 80e, thereby calculating the virtual wheel rotation angular acceleration command ωwdot_x_com.

  Here, the first term (= first manipulated variable component u1_x) and the second term (= second manipulated variable component u2_x) on the right side of the expressions 06x and 07x are the measured values of the base body tilt angle deviation θbe_x_s in the direction around the X axis. Is converged to “0” by the PD law (proportional / differential law) as a feedback control law (meaning that the measured base body tilt angle value θb_x_s converges to the target value θb_x_obj).

  Further, the third term (= third manipulated variable component u3_x) on the right side of the expressions 06x and 07x converges to “0” by the proportional law as the feedback control law for the deviation between the center of gravity speed estimated value Vb_x_s and the target center of gravity speed Vb_x_mdfd. It has a meaning as a feedback manipulated variable component for causing Vb_x_s to converge to Vb_x_mdfd.

  Further, under the position control mode, the fourth term (= the fourth manipulated variable component u4_x) and the fifth term (= the fifth manipulated variable component u5_x) on the right side of the expression 06x are the current position P_x_s in the direction around the X axis. As a feedback manipulated variable component for causing the deviation from the target feedback position P_x_aim to converge to “0” (to converge the current position P_x_s to the target feedback position P_x_aim) by the PD rule (proportional / derivative law) as a feedback control law Meaningful.

  The same applies to the first to fifth terms (first to fifth manipulated variable components u1_y, u2_y, u3_y, u4_y, u5_y) on the right side of the expressions 06y and 07y.

  The attitude control calculation unit 80 calculates the virtual wheel rotation angular acceleration commands ωwdot_x_com and ωwdot_y_com as described above, and then integrates the ωwdot_x_com and ωwdot_y_com with the integrator 80f, respectively. ωw_x_com and ωw_y_com are determined.

  The details of the processing of the posture stabilization control calculation unit 80 have been described above.

  Supplementally, the third term on the right side of equations 06x and 07x is divided into an operation amount component (= K3_x · Vb_x_s) according to Vb_x_s and an operation amount component (= −K3_x · Vb_x_mdfd) according to Vb_x_mdfd. The virtual wheel rotation angular acceleration command ωdotw_x_com may be calculated. Similarly, the third term on the right side of the expressions 06y and 07y is divided into an operation amount component (= K3_y · Vb_y_s) according to Vb_y_s and an operation amount component (= −K3_y · Vb_y_mdfd) according to Vb_y_mdfd. The virtual wheel rotation angular acceleration command ωdotw_y_com may be calculated.

  Further, the fourth term on the right side of the expression 06x is converted into the virtual wheel rotation by the expression separated into the operation amount component (= K4_x · P_x_s) according to P_x_s and the operation amount component (= −K4_x · P_x_aim) according to P_x_aim. Similarly, the angular acceleration command ωdotw_x_cmd may be calculated, and similarly, the fourth term on the right side of the expression 06y is an operation amount component corresponding to P_y_s (= K4_y · P_y_s) and an operation amount component corresponding to P_y_aim (= − The virtual wheel rotation angular acceleration command ωdotw_y_cmd may be calculated by an equation separated into K4_y · _y_aim.

  In the present embodiment, the rotational angular acceleration commands ωw_x_cmd and ωw_y_cmd of the virtual wheels 62_x and 62_y are used as the operation amount (control input) for controlling the behavior of the vehicle system center-of-gravity point. 62_x, 62_y, or a translational force obtained by multiplying the driving torque by the radii Rw_x, Rw_y of the virtual wheels 62_x, 62_y (that is, frictional forces between the virtual wheels 62_x, 62_y and the floor surface). You may make it use as.

  Returning to the description of FIG. 9, the control unit 50 next inputs the virtual wheel rotational speed commands ωw_x_com and ωw_y_com determined as described above by the posture stabilization control calculation unit 80 to the motor command calculation unit 82, and the motor command By executing the processing of the calculation unit 82, the speed command ω_R_com of the electric motor 31R and the speed command ω_L_com of the electric motor 31L are determined. The processing of the motor command calculation unit 82 is the same as the processing of the XY-RL conversion unit 86b of the limit processing unit 86 (see FIG. 11).

  Specifically, the motor command calculation unit 82 replaces ωw_x, ωw_y, ω_R, and ω_L in the equations 01a and 01b with ωw_x_com, ωw_y_com, ω_R_cmd, and ω_L_cmd, respectively, and sets ω_R_cmd and ω_L_cmd as unknowns. By solving, the speed commands ω_R_com and ω_L_com of the electric motors 31R and 31L are determined.

  Thus, the vehicle control calculation process in step S9 is completed.

  As described above, the control unit 50 executes the control calculation process, so that the attitude of the base body 9 basically has the base body tilt angle deviation measured value θbe_x_s in any of the operation modes of the boarding mode and the independent mode. , Θbe_y_s so as to maintain a posture where both are “0” (hereinafter, this posture is referred to as a basic posture), in other words, the vehicle system center-of-gravity point (vehicle / occupant overall center of gravity point or vehicle individual center-of-gravity point) The virtual wheel rotation angular acceleration command ωdotw_xy_com as the operation amount (control input) is determined so that the position is maintained almost directly above the ground contact surface of the wheel body 5. More specifically, the virtual wheel rotation is performed so that the center-of-gravity speed estimated value Vb_xy_s as the estimated value of the moving speed of the vehicle system center-of-gravity point converges to the control target center-of-gravity speed Vb_xy_mdfd while keeping the attitude of the base body 9 in the basic attitude. An angular acceleration command ωdotw_xy_com is determined. Note that the control target center-of-gravity velocity Vb_xy_mdfd is normally “0” (specifically, unless the passenger or the like gives additional propulsive force of the vehicle 1 in the boarding mode). In this case, the virtual wheel rotation angular acceleration command ωdotw_xy_com is determined so that the center of gravity of the vehicle system is almost stationary while maintaining the posture of the base body 9 in the basic posture.

  Then, the rotational angular velocities of the electric motors 31R and 31L obtained by converting the virtual wheel rotational angular velocity command ωw_xy_com obtained by integrating the components of ωdotw_xy_com are determined as the speed commands ω_R_cmd and ω_L_cmd of the electric motors 31R and 31L. Further, the rotational speeds of the electric motors 31R and 31L are controlled according to the speed commands ω_R_cmd and ω_L_cmd. As a result, the moving speeds of the wheel body 5 in the X-axis direction and the Y-axis direction are controlled so as to coincide with the moving speed of the virtual wheel 62_x corresponding to ωw_x_com and the moving speed of the virtual wheel 62_y corresponding to ωw_y_com, respectively. The

  For this reason, for example, if the actual base body tilt angle θb_x shifts forward from the target value θb_x_obj in the direction around the Y axis, the wheel body 5 is adjusted to eliminate the shift (to converge θbe_x_s to “0”). Move forward. Similarly, when the actual θb_x shifts backward from the target value θb_x_obj, the wheel body 5 moves rearward in order to eliminate the shift (to converge θbe_x_s to “0”).

  Further, for example, when the actual base body tilt angle θb_y shifts to the right tilt side from the target value θb_y_obj in the direction around the X axis, the wheel body 5 faces right to eliminate the shift (to converge θbe_y_s to “0”). Move to. Similarly, when the actual θb_y shifts to the left tilt side from the target value θb_y_obj, the wheel body 5 moves to the left in order to eliminate the shift (to converge θbe_y_s to “0”).

  Further, when both the actual base body tilt angles θb_x and θb_y deviate from the target values θb_x_obj and θb_y_obj, respectively, in order to eliminate the shift operation of the wheel body 5 to eliminate the shift of θb_x and the shift of θb_y. And the horizontal movement of the wheel body 5 are combined, and the wheel body 5 moves in the X-axis direction and the Y-axis direction (direction inclined with respect to both the X-axis direction and the Y-axis direction). It becomes.

  Thus, when the base body 9 is tilted from the basic posture, the wheel body 5 moves toward the tilted side. Therefore, for example, in the boarding mode, when the occupant intentionally tilts the upper body, the wheel body 5 moves to the tilted side.

  When the control target center-of-gravity speeds Vb_x_mdfd and Vb_y_mdfd are “0”, the movement of the wheel body 5 almost stops when the posture of the base body 9 converges to the basic posture. Further, for example, if the inclination angle θb_x in the direction around the Y axis of the base body 9 is maintained at a constant angle inclined from the basic posture, the moving speed of the wheel body 5 in the X axis direction is a constant moving speed ( The target center-of-gravity speed Vb_x_mdfd and the movement speed having a constant steady deviation are converged. The same applies to the case where the inclination angle θb_y of the base 9 in the direction around the X axis is maintained at a constant angle inclined from the basic posture.

  Further, for example, in a situation where both the required center-of-gravity speeds Vb_x_aim and Vb_y_aim generated by the required center-of-gravity speed generation unit 74 are “0”, the tilt amount of the base body 9 from the basic posture (base tilt angle deviation measurement) The values θbe_x_s and θbe_y_s) are relatively large, and are eliminated or one or both of the moving speeds of the wheel body 5 in the X-axis direction and the Y-axis direction necessary to maintain the inclination amount (the moving speeds thereof) (Corresponding to the center-of-gravity velocity steady deviation predicted values Vb_x_prd and Vb_y_prd shown in FIG. 12, respectively)) In the situation where the moving speed is reached, the speeds that are opposite to the moving speed of the wheel body 5 (specifically, Vw_x_lim2-Vb_x_prd and Vw_y_lim2-Vb_y_prd) are the control target center-of-gravity speed Vb_x_mdfd. , Vb_y_mdfd. Then, the operation amount components u3_x and u3_y among the operation amount components constituting the control input are determined so as to converge the center-of-gravity speed estimated values Vb_x_s and Vb_y_s to the control target center-of-gravity speeds Vb_x_mdfd and Vb_y_mdfd, respectively. For this reason, it is prevented that the inclination amount of the base body 9 from the basic posture becomes excessive, and consequently, the rotational angular velocity of one or both of the electric motors 31R and 31L is prevented from becoming too high.

  Further, in the gain adjusting unit 78, one or both of the center-of-gravity velocity estimated values Vb_x_s and Vb_y_s are increased, and as a result, it is necessary for eliminating the inclination of the base body 9 from the basic posture or maintaining the inclination amount. The moving speed of one or both of the X-axis direction and the Y-axis direction of the wheel body 5 may be an excessive moving speed that causes the rotational angular speed of one or both of the electric motors 31R and 31L to deviate from the allowable range. In some circumstances, as the deviation becomes more prominent (specifically, as the absolute values of Vover_x and Vover_y shown in FIG. 10 increase), one or both of the gain adjustment parameters Kr_x and Kr_y change from “0” to “1”. It can be approached.

  In this case, each i-th gain coefficient Ki_x (i = 1, 2, 3, 4, 5) calculated by the above-mentioned expression 09x is set to the maximum value from the minimum constant value Ki_a_x as Kr_x approaches “1”. It approaches the constant value Ki_b_x. The same applies to each i-th gain coefficient Ki_y (i = 1, 2, 3, 4, 5) calculated by the expression 09y.

  As the absolute value of the gain coefficient increases, the sensitivity of the operation amount (virtual wheel rotation angular acceleration commands ωdotw_x_cmd, ωdotw_y_cmd) with respect to a change in the tilt of the base body 9 increases. Therefore, if the inclination amount of the base body 9 from the basic posture is increased, the moving speed of the wheel body 5 is controlled so as to quickly eliminate the inclination amount. Accordingly, it is strongly suppressed that the base body 9 is largely inclined from the basic posture, and consequently, the moving speed of one or both of the wheel body 5 in the X-axis direction and the Y-axis direction is the rotation of one or both of the electric motors 31R and 31L. It is possible to prevent an excessive movement speed that causes the angular speed to deviate from the allowable range.

  Further, in the boarding mode, the requested center-of-gravity speed generation unit 74 generates the requested center-of-gravity speeds Vb_x_aim and Vb_y_aim (the requested center-of-gravity speed where one or both of Vb_x_aim and Vb_y_aim are not “0”) in response to a request by a steering operation such as a passenger In this case, unless one or both of the electric motors 31R and 31L have a high rotational angular velocity that deviates from the allowable range (specifically, as long as Vw_x_lim2 and Vw_y_lim2 shown in FIG. 12 match Vb_x_t and Vb_y_t, respectively) ), The required center-of-gravity speeds Vb_x_aim and Vb_y_aim are determined as the control target center-of-gravity speeds Vb_x_mdfd and Vb_y_mdfd, respectively. For this reason, the moving speed of the wheel body 5 is controlled so as to realize the required center-of-gravity speeds Vb_x_aim and Vb_y_aim (so that the actual center-of-gravity speed approaches the required center-of-gravity speeds Vb_x_aim and Vb_y_aim).

Next, details of the processing of the required center-of-gravity velocity generation unit 74, which will be described later, will be described.
In the present embodiment, the required center-of-gravity speed generation unit 74 sets the required center-of-gravity speeds Vb_x_aim and Vb_y_aim to “0” as described above when the operation mode of the vehicle 1 is the self-supporting mode.

  On the other hand, when the operation mode of the vehicle 1 is the boarding mode, the requested center-of-gravity speed generation unit 74 performs the operation according to the operation of the vehicle 1 by the occupant or the like (the operation of adding a propulsive force to the vehicle 1) The required center-of-gravity speeds Vb_x_aim and Vb_y_aim estimated to be required are determined.

  Here, for example, when an occupant of the vehicle 1 tries to actively increase the moving speed of the vehicle 1 (the moving speed of the center of gravity of the vehicle system) when the vehicle 1 starts, etc. Thus, the vehicle 1 is subjected to kicking the floor, thereby applying to the vehicle 1 a propulsive force that increases the moving speed of the vehicle 1 (a propulsive force generated by the frictional force between the passenger's foot and the floor). Alternatively, for example, an external assistant or the like may add a propulsive force that increases the moving speed of the vehicle 1 in response to a request from an occupant of the vehicle 1.

  In such a case, the required center-of-gravity velocity generation unit 74 determines the vehicle based on the temporal change rate of the magnitude (absolute value) of the actual velocity vector (hereinafter referred to as the center-of-gravity velocity vector ↑ Vb) of the vehicle system center-of-gravity point. While determining whether or not an acceleration request as a request to increase the moving speed of 1 has occurred, in response to this, two required gravity center velocity vectors ↑ Vb_aim (required gravity center velocity Vb_x_aim, Vb_y_aim as two target values of ↑ Vb) The velocity vector as a component) is sequentially determined.

  The process is schematically described. When the acceleration request is generated, the requested gravity center velocity vector ↑ Vb_aim is increased so that the magnitude of the requested gravity center velocity vector ↑ Vb_aim is increased until the acceleration request is canceled. Is determined. When the acceleration request is resolved, the required center-of-gravity velocity vector ↑ Vb_aim is determined so as to attenuate the magnitude of the required center-of-gravity velocity vector ↑ Vb_aim stepwise. In this case, in the present embodiment, basically, the magnitude of the required center-of-gravity velocity vector ↑ Vb_aim is kept constant for a predetermined time period after the acceleration request is canceled. After that, the magnitude of the required center-of-gravity velocity vector ↑ Vb_aim is continuously attenuated to “0”. At the time of this attenuation, the direction of the required center-of-gravity velocity vector ↑ Vb_aim is brought closer to the X axis direction as appropriate.

  The required center-of-gravity velocity generation unit 74 that executes such processing will be described in detail below with reference to the flowcharts of FIGS.

With reference to FIG. 14, the requested center-of-gravity velocity generation unit 74 first executes the process of step S <b> 21. In this process, the requested center-of-gravity speed generation unit 74 has an estimated center-of-gravity speed vector ↑ Vb_s that is a speed vector (observed value of the actual center-of-gravity speed vector ↑ Vb) having the input center-of-gravity speed estimated values Vb_x_s and Vb_y_s as two components. The rate of temporal change (differential value) DVb_s of the magnitude of || Vb_s | (= sqrt (Vb_x_s ² + Vb_y_s ² )) is calculated. This DVb_s has a meaning as an observed value (estimated value) of the temporal change rate of the magnitude of the actual center-of-gravity velocity vector ↑ Vb. Hereinafter, DVb_s is referred to as an estimated gravity center velocity absolute value change rate DVb_s. The sqrt () is a square root function.

  Further, in step S21, the requested center-of-gravity speed generation unit 74 calculates center-of-gravity acceleration estimated values Vbdot_x_s and Vvdot_y_s that are respective temporal change rates (differential values) of the input center-of-gravity speed estimated values Vb_x_s and Vb_y_s. A vector having two components of Vbdot_x_s and Vvdot_y_s means an observed value of an actual acceleration vector at the vehicle system center of gravity.

  Next, the process proceeds to step S22, and the requested center-of-gravity speed generation unit 74 determines which mode is the current calculation processing mode for calculating the requested center-of-gravity speed Vb_x_aim.

  Here, in the present embodiment, the requested center-of-gravity velocity generation unit 74 determines a basic value of the requested center-of-gravity velocity vector ↑ Vb_aim (hereinafter, referred to as a basic requested center-of-gravity velocity vector ↑ Vb_aim1), and then the basic requested gravity-center velocity vector ↑. The requested center-of-gravity velocity vector ↑ Vb_aim is determined so that the requested center-of-gravity velocity vector ↑ Vb_aim follows Vb_aim1 (in a consistent manner).

  The arithmetic processing mode represents a type of how to determine the basic required center-of-gravity velocity vector ↑ Vb_aim1. In this embodiment, there are three types of calculation processing modes: a braking mode, a speed tracking mode, and a speed hold mode.

  The braking mode is a mode in which ↑ Vb_aim1 is determined so that the magnitude of the basic required center-of-gravity velocity vector ↑ Vb_aim1 is attenuated to “0” or held at “0”. The speed follow-up mode is a mode in which the basic required center-of-gravity speed vector ↑ Vb_aim1 is determined so as to follow (match or substantially match) the estimated center-of-gravity speed vector ↑ Vb_s. The speed hold mode is a mode for determining ↑ Vb_aim1 so as to keep the magnitude of the basic required center-of-gravity velocity vector ↑ Vb_aim1 constant.

  Note that the calculation processing mode (initial calculation processing mode) in a state in which the control unit 50 is initialized when the control unit 50 is started is a braking mode.

  The requested center-of-gravity speed generation unit 74 determines whether the current calculation processing mode is the braking mode, the speed follow-up mode, or the speed hold mode in step S22. The calculation process of step S24, the calculation process of step S24, and the calculation process of step S25 are executed to determine the basic required center-of-gravity velocity vector ↑ Vb_aim1.

  The arithmetic processing corresponding to each of these modes is executed as follows.

  The braking mode calculation process in step S23 is executed as shown in the flowchart of FIG. Specifically, the requested center-of-gravity velocity generation unit 74 firstly sets DVb_s> DV1 and | Vbdot_x_s | with respect to the estimated center-of-gravity velocity absolute value change rate DVb_s calculated in step S21 and the center-of-gravity acceleration estimated values Vbdot_x_s and Vbdot_y_s. It is determined in step S23-1 whether the condition> a1 * | Vbdot_y_s | is satisfied. This determination process is a process for determining whether or not there is an acceleration request for increasing the moving speed of the vehicle 1 in the general front-rear direction of the vehicle 1.

  The DV1 is a positive first threshold value DV1 (> 0) set in advance. And DVb_s> DV1 means a situation where the magnitude | ↑ Vb | of the actual center-of-gravity velocity vector ↑ Vb increases at a temporal change rate larger than the first threshold value DV1.

The a1 is a positive coefficient value set in advance. And | Vbdot_x_s |> a1 * | Vbdot_y_s | means that the actual acceleration vector of the center of gravity of the vehicle system has a component in the X-axis direction that is not “0”, and the acceleration vector is in the X-axis direction. This means that the acute angle (= tan ⁻¹ (| Vbdot_y_s | / | Vbdot_x_s |) is closer to “0” than the predetermined angle (= tan ⁻¹ (1 / a1)). In the embodiment, a1 is set to, for example, “1” or a value close thereto.

  Accordingly, the situation in which the determination result in step S23-1 is affirmative is that a maneuvering operation (in the vehicle 1) is attempted to increase the magnitude of the center-of-gravity velocity vector ↑ Vb in the front-rear direction by an occupant or an external assistant. This is a situation in which a maneuvering operation that adds a propulsive force in a substantially longitudinal direction is being performed.

  When the determination result of step S23-1 is negative, that is, when there is no acceleration request for the vehicle 1 (a request for acceleration of the vehicle 1 in the general front-rear direction), the requested center-of-gravity velocity generation unit 74 then The determination process of step S23-4 is executed.

  In the determination process of step S23-4, the requested center-of-gravity velocity generation unit 74 determines that the estimated center-of-gravity velocity absolute value change rate DVb_s calculated in step S21 is greater than a preset negative third threshold DV3 (<0). Judge whether it is small or not. This determination process determines whether or not a deceleration request has been made for the occupant of the vehicle 1 to actively reduce the magnitude of the center-of-gravity velocity vector ↑ Vb. In this case, if the passenger of the vehicle 1 intentionally grounds his / her foot and generates a frictional force in the braking direction of the vehicle 1 between his / her foot and the floor, the determination result of step S23-4 Will be positive.

  And the required gravity center speed production | generation part 74 performs a 1st braking calculation process by step S23-5, when the judgment result of step S23-4 is negative (when the deceleration request | requirement has not generate | occur | produced). Therefore, the magnitude of the basic required center of gravity velocity vector ↑ Vb_aim1 | ↑ Vb_aim1 | (hereinafter referred to as the basic required center of gravity velocity vector absolute value | ↑ Vb_aim1 |) and the azimuth θvb_aim1 (hereinafter referred to as the basic required centroid velocity vector azimuth θvb_aim1) And the process of FIG. 15 is terminated. Further, when the determination result of step S23-4 is affirmative (when a deceleration request is generated), the requested center-of-gravity speed generation unit 74 executes the second braking calculation process in step S23-6, The basic required center-of-gravity velocity vector absolute value | ↑ Vb_aim1 | and the basic required center-of-gravity velocity vector azimuth angle θvb_aim1 are determined, and the processing in FIG. 15 ends.

  In this embodiment, the basic required center-of-gravity velocity vector azimuth angle θvb_aim1 is an angle (180 ° ≦ θVb_aim1) = sin (θvb_aim1) = Vb_x_aim1 / | ↑ Vb_aim1 |, cos (θvb_aim1) = Vb_y_aim1 / | ↑ Vb_aim1 | °) as defined. When | ↑ Vb_aim | = 0, it is assumed that θVb_aim = 0 °.

  The first braking calculation process of step S23-5 is executed as shown in the flowcharts of FIGS.

  In the first braking calculation process, the requested center-of-gravity velocity generation unit 74 firstly sets a positive positive value preset in advance from the previous value | ↑ Vb_aim_p | of the basic requested center-of-gravity velocity vector absolute value | ↑ Vb_aim1 | in step S23-5-1. A value that is decreased by a predetermined value ΔVb1 is calculated as a candidate value ABS_Vb of | ↑ Vb_aim1 |. ΔVb1 is a set value that defines the amount of decrease in | ↑ Vb_aim1 | (and the temporal change rate of | ↑ Vb_aim1 |) for each control processing cycle.

  Next, in step S23-5-2, the requested center-of-gravity velocity generation unit 74 sets the larger value max (0, ABS_Vb) of the candidate value ABS_Vb and “0” as the current value of | ↑ Vb_aim1 |. Determine as. Therefore, when ABS_Vb ≧ 0, ABS_Vb is determined as it is as the current value of | ↑ Vb_aim1 |, and when ABS_Vb <0, the current value of | ↑ Vb_aim1 | is set to “0”.

  Next, the requested center-of-gravity velocity generation unit 74 determines in step S23-5-3 whether or not | ↑ Vb_aim1 | determined as described above is “0”. If this determination result is affirmative, the requested center-of-gravity velocity generation unit 74 next sets the current value of θvb_aim1 to 0 ° in step S23-5-4, and ends the processing of FIG.

  If the determination result of step S23-5-3 is negative, the requested center-of-gravity velocity generation unit 74 then sets the previous value θvb_aim1_p of θvb_aim1 to 0 by the processing from step S23-5-5. ° ≦ θvb_aim1_p ≦ θth1 +, θth1- ≦ θvb_aim1_p <0 °, θth2 + ≦ θvb_aim1_p ≦ 180 °, −180 ° ≦ θvb_aim1_p ≦ θth2-, θth1 + <θvb_aim1_p <θth2 +, any of θth2- <θvb_a Depending on whether or not, the current value of θvb_aim1 is determined.

  Here, θth1 + is a positive azimuth angle threshold preset with a value between 0 ° and 90 °, and θth1- is a negative azimuth preset with a value between 0 ° and −90 °. Angle threshold, θth2 + is a positive azimuth threshold preset with a value between 90 ° and 180 °, and θth2- is a negative negative preset with a value between -90 ° and -180 °. Azimuth angle threshold. In the present embodiment, the absolute values of θth1 + and θth1- are set to the same value (for example, 45 ° or an angle value in the vicinity thereof). The absolute values of θth2 + and θth2- are set to the same value (for example, 135 ° or an angle value in the vicinity thereof). Note that the difference between θth1 + and θth1- (= (θth1 +)-(θth1-)) and the difference between θth2 and θth2- (= (θth2 +)-(θth2-)) are not necessarily the same. .

  The processing from step S23-5-5 is executed as described below. That is, the required center-of-gravity velocity generation unit 74 determines whether or not 0 ° ≦ θvb_aim1_p ≦ θth1 + in step S23-5-5. If this determination result is affirmative, the requested center-of-gravity velocity generation unit 74 decreases a value obtained by reducing the previous value θvb_aim1_p of θvb_aim1 by a predetermined positive value Δθvb1 in step S23-5-6. , Θvb_aim1 is calculated as a candidate value ANG_Vb. Δθvb1 is a set value that defines the amount of change in θvb_aim1 (and thus the temporal change rate of θvb_aim1) for each control processing cycle.

  In step S23-5-7, the requested center-of-gravity velocity generation unit 74 determines the larger angle value max (0, ANG_Vb) of the candidate value ANG_Vb and 0 ° as the current value of θvb_aim1, The process of FIG. 16 is terminated. Therefore, when ANG_Vb ≧ 0 °, ANG_Vb is determined as it is as the current value of θvb_aim1, and when ANG_Vb <0 °, the current value of θvb_aim1 is 0 °.

  If the determination result of step S23-5-5 is negative, the requested center-of-gravity velocity generation unit 74 next determines whether or not θth1- ≦ θvb_aim1_p <0 ° in step S23-5-8. to decide. If this determination result is affirmative, the required center-of-gravity velocity generation unit 74 sets a value obtained by increasing the previous value θvb_aim1_p of θvb_aim1 by the predetermined value Δθvb1 in step S23-5-9 as a candidate value for θvb_aim1 Calculate as ANG_Vb.

  In step S23-5-10, the requested center-of-gravity velocity generation unit 74 determines the smaller angle value min (0, ANG_Vb) of the candidate value ANG_Vb and 0 ° as the current value of θvb_aim1, The process of FIG. 16 is terminated. Therefore, when ANG_Vb ≦ 0 °, ANG_Vb is determined as it is as the current value of θvb_aim1, and when ANG_Vb> 0 °, the current value of θvb_aim1 is 0 °.

  If the determination result of step S23-5-8 is negative, the requested center-of-gravity velocity generation unit 74 then determines whether θth2 + ≦ θvb_aim1_p ≦ 180 ° in step S23-5-11 of FIG. Determine whether. If this determination result is affirmative, the required center-of-gravity velocity generation unit 74 sets a value obtained by increasing the previous value θvb_aim1_p of θvb_aim1 by the predetermined value Δθvb1 in step S23-5-12 as a candidate value for θvb_aim1. Calculate as ANG_Vb.

  In step S23-5-13, the requested center-of-gravity velocity generation unit 74 determines the smaller angle value min (180, ANG_Vb) of the candidate value ANG_Vb and 0 ° as the current value of θvb_aim1, The process of FIG. 17 is terminated. Therefore, when ANG_Vb ≦ 180 °, ANG_Vb is determined as it is as the current value of θvb_aim1, and when ANG_Vb> 180 °, the current value of θvb_aim1 is 180 °.

  If the determination result of step S23-5-11 is negative, the requested center-of-gravity velocity generation unit 74 next determines whether or not −180 ° ≦ θvb_aim1_p ≦ θth2− in step S23-5-14. Judging. If this determination result is affirmative, the required center-of-gravity velocity generation unit 74 sets a value obtained by reducing the previous value θvb_aim1_p of θvb_aim1 by the predetermined value Δθvb1 in step S23-5-15 as a candidate value for θvb_aim1. Calculate as ANG_Vb.

  Then, in step S23-5-16, the required center-of-gravity velocity generation unit 74 determines the larger angle value max (180, ANG_Vb) of the candidate value ANG_Vb and -180 ° as the current value of θvb_aim1. Then, the process of FIG. Therefore, when ANG_Vb ≧ −180 °, ANG_Vb is determined as it is as the current value of θvb_aim1, and when ANG_Vb <−180 °, the current value of θvb_aim1 is set to −180 °.

  If the determination result in step S23-5-14 is negative, that is, if θth1 + <θvb_aim1_p <θth2 + or θth2- <θvb_aim1_p <θth1-, then the required center-of-gravity velocity generation unit 74 performs step S23-5-5. 17, the current value of θvb_aim1 is determined to be the same value as the previous value θvb_aim1_p, and the processing of FIG.

  The above is the details of the first braking calculation process in step S23-5.

  On the other hand, the second braking calculation process of S23-6 is executed as shown in the flowchart of FIG.

  In the second braking calculation process, the requested center-of-gravity velocity generation unit 74 firstly sets a positive positive value preset in advance from the previous value | ↑ Vb_aim_p | of the basic requested center-of-gravity velocity vector absolute value | ↑ Vb_aim1 | in step S23-6-1. A value that is decreased by a predetermined value ΔVb2 is calculated as a candidate value ABS_Vb of | ↑ Vb_aim1 |. ΔVb2 is a set value that defines the amount of decrease in | ↑ Vb_aim1 | (and the temporal change rate of | ↑ Vb_aim1 |) for each control processing cycle in the second braking calculation process. In this case, ΔVb2 is set to a value larger than the predetermined value ΔVb1 used in the first braking calculation process.

  Next, the requested center-of-gravity velocity generation unit 74 executes the same process as in step S23-5-2 in step S23-6-2, and sets the candidate value ABS_Vb calculated in step S23-6-1 to “0”. The larger value max (0, ABS_Vb) is determined as the current value of | ↑ Vb_aim1 |.

  Next, the required center-of-gravity velocity generation unit 74 determines in step S23-6-3 whether or not | ↑ Vb_aim1 | determined as described above is “0”. If this determination result is affirmative, the requested center-of-gravity velocity generation unit 74 next sets the current value of θvb_aim1 to “0” in step S23-6-4, and ends the processing of FIG.

  If the determination result in step S23-6-3 is negative, the requested center-of-gravity velocity generation unit 74 next sets the current value of θvb_aim1 to be the same as the previous value θvb_aim1_p in step S23-6-5. The value is determined, and the processing in FIG. 18 is terminated.

  The above is the details of the second braking calculation process in step S23-6.

  Returning to the description of FIG. 15, when the determination result of step S23-1 is affirmative, that is, when there is a request for acceleration of the vehicle 1 in the general front-rear direction, the requested center-of-gravity velocity generation unit 74 performs step In S23-2, the basic required centroid speed vector absolute value | ↑ Vb_aim1 | and the basic required centroid speed vector azimuth θvb_aim1 are determined. The requested center-of-gravity velocity generation unit 74 changes the calculation processing mode from the braking mode to the velocity follow-up mode in step S23-3, and ends the processing in FIG.

In step S23-2, specifically, a ratio of a predetermined value set in advance to the magnitude | ↑ Vb_s | (= sqrt (Vb_x_s ² + Vb_y_s ² )) of the estimated gravity center velocity vector ↑ Vb_s (current value). A value obtained by multiplying γ is determined as the basic required center-of-gravity velocity vector absolute value | ↑ Vb_aim1 |. In the present embodiment, the ratio γ is set to a positive value (for example, 0.8) slightly smaller than “1”.

Further, in step S23-2, the azimuth angle θvb_s (= sin ⁻¹ (Vb_x_s / | ↑ Vb_s |)) of the estimated centroid velocity vector ↑ Vb_s is determined as the basic required centroid velocity vector azimuth angle θvb_aim1. Accordingly, in step S23-2, as a result, a vector obtained by multiplying the estimated centroid velocity vector ↑ Vb_s by the ratio γ is determined as the basic required centroid velocity vector ↑ Vb_aim1.

  Such processing in step S23-2 is to match the method of determining | ↑ Vb_x_aim1 | and θvb_aim1 with the speed following mode starting from the next control processing cycle.

  Note that it is not essential that the value of the ratio γ is slightly smaller than “1”. For example, the value of the ratio γ may be set to “1” or a value slightly larger than that. In the present embodiment, in order to prevent the movement speed of the vehicle 1 that the occupant perceives sensibly (sensually) from being recognized as if it is higher than the actual movement speed, the ratio γ The value is set to a value slightly smaller than “1”.

  The above is the calculation process of the braking mode in step S23.

  If the determination result in step S23-1 is negative, the arithmetic processing mode is not changed, and therefore the arithmetic processing mode is maintained in the braking mode even in the next control processing cycle.

  Next, the speed follow-up mode calculation process in step S24 is executed as shown in the flowchart of FIG. Specifically, the requested center-of-gravity velocity generation unit 74 first executes in step S24-1 the same determination process as in step S23-4, that is, a determination process as to whether or not a deceleration request for the vehicle 1 has occurred. .

  If this determination result is affirmative, the requested center-of-gravity velocity generation unit 74 next executes the same processing as the step S23-6 (the processing shown in the flowchart of FIG. 18) in step S24-6. Thus, the basic required centroid speed vector absolute value | ↑ Vb_aim1 | and the basic required centroid speed vector azimuth θvb_aim1 are determined. Further, the requested center-of-gravity velocity generation unit 74 changes the calculation processing mode from the velocity follow-up mode to the braking mode in step S24-7, and ends the processing of FIG.

  On the other hand, when the determination result of step S24-1 is negative, that is, when the deceleration request for the vehicle 1 is not generated, the requested center-of-gravity velocity generation unit 74 next performs the process of step S24-2. Execute. In step S24-2, the required center-of-gravity velocity generation unit 74 executes the same processing as in step S23-2, and determines the basic required center-of-gravity velocity vector absolute value | ↑ Vb_aim1 | and the basic required center-of-gravity velocity vector azimuth θvb_aim1. To do. That is, | ↑ Vb_x_s | * γ is determined as | ↑ Vb_aim1 |, and θvb_s is determined as θvb_aim1.

  Next, in step S24-3, the requested center-of-gravity velocity generation unit 74 determines whether or not the estimated center-of-gravity velocity absolute value change rate DVb_s (the value calculated in step S21) is smaller than a preset second threshold DV2. to decide. In the present embodiment, the second threshold value DV2 is set to a predetermined negative value that is larger than the third threshold value DV3 (closer to “0” than DV3). The second threshold DV2 may be set to “0” or a positive value slightly larger than “0” (however, a value smaller than the first threshold DV1).

  The determination process in step S24-3 is to determine the transition timing from the speed following mode to the speed hold mode. Then, when the result of determination in step S24-3 is negative, the requested center-of-gravity velocity generation unit 74 ends the process of FIG. 19 as it is. In this case, since the arithmetic processing mode is not changed, the arithmetic processing mode is maintained in the speed tracking mode even in the next control processing cycle.

  If the determination result in step S24-3 is affirmative, the requested center-of-gravity velocity generation unit 74 considers that the acceleration request for the vehicle 1 has been completed, and initializes the countdown timer in step S24-4. To do. Then, the requested center-of-gravity velocity generation unit 74 changes the calculation processing mode from the velocity follow-up mode to the velocity hold mode in step S24-5, and ends the processing in FIG.

  The countdown timer is a timer that measures the elapsed time after the start of the speed hold mode that starts from the next control processing cycle. In step S24-4, a preset initial value Tm is set in the timer time value CNT. The initial value Tm_x means a set value of time for which the speed hold mode is to be continued.

  The above is the calculation process of the speed follow-up mode in step S24.

  Next, the calculation processing in the speed hold mode in step S25 is executed as shown in the flowchart of FIG. Specifically, the required center-of-gravity velocity generation unit 74 first executes the same determination process as in step S23-4 in step S25-1, that is, a determination process as to whether or not a deceleration request for the vehicle 1 has occurred. .

  If the determination result in step S25-1 is affirmative (when a deceleration request for the vehicle 1 is generated), the requested center-of-gravity velocity generation unit 74 then performs step S23 in step S25-2. The basic required centroid velocity vector absolute value | ↑ Vb_aim1 | and the basic required centroid velocity vector azimuth angle θvb_aim1 are determined by executing the same processing as −6 (the processing shown in the flowchart of FIG. 18). Further, the requested center-of-gravity velocity generation unit 74 changes the calculation processing mode from the velocity hold mode to the braking mode in step S25-3, and ends the processing of FIG.

  On the other hand, when the determination result of the step S25-1 is negative (when the deceleration request for the vehicle 1 is not generated), the requested center-of-gravity velocity generation unit 74 performs the same determination process as that of the step S23-1. That is, the process of determining whether or not there is a request for acceleration of the vehicle 1 in the general front-rear direction is executed in step S25-4.

  And when the judgment result of step S25-4 is affirmative (when the acceleration request | requirement of the vehicle 1 in the substantially front-back direction generate | occur | produced again), the request | requirement gravity center speed production | generation part 74 is the said in step S25-5. By executing the same processing as step S23-2, the basic required centroid speed vector absolute value | ↑ Vb_aim1 | and the basic required centroid speed vector azimuth θvb_aim1 are determined. That is, | ↑ Vb_x_s | * γ is determined as | ↑ Vb_aim1 |, and θvb_s is determined as θvb_aim1.

  Further, the requested center-of-gravity velocity generation unit 74 changes the calculation processing mode from the velocity hold mode to the velocity follow-up mode in step S25-6, and ends the processing of FIG.

  When the determination result of step S25-4 is negative (when the state where there is no approximate acceleration request in the front-rear direction continues), the required center-of-gravity velocity generation unit 74 determines that the step S25-7 Decrement the count value CNT of the countdown timer. That is, the time value CNT is updated by subtracting the predetermined value ΔT (time of the control processing cycle) from the current value of the time value CNT.

  Next, the requested center-of-gravity velocity generation unit 74 determines whether or not the count value CNT of the countdown timer is greater than “0”, that is, whether or not the countdown timer has ended in step S25-8.

  If the determination result in step S25-8 is affirmative, the time represented by the initial value Tm of the countdown timer has not yet elapsed since the start of the speed hold mode. In this case, the requested center-of-gravity velocity generation unit 74 assumes that the calculation processing mode is maintained in the velocity hold mode, and obtains the basic requested center-of-gravity velocity vector absolute value | ↑ Vb_aim1 | and the basic requested center-of-gravity velocity azimuth θvb_aim1 in step S25- 9 to complete the processing of FIG.

  In this case, in step S25-9, the current value of | ↑ Vb_aim1 | is determined to be the same value as the previous value | ↑ Vb_aim1_p |. Also, the current value of θvb_aim1 is determined to be the same value as the previous value θvb_aim1_p. Accordingly, the previous value of the basic required center-of-gravity velocity vector ↑ Vb_aim1_p is determined as it is as the velocity vector of the current value of ↑ Vb_aim1.

  If the determination result in step S25-8 is affirmative, the arithmetic processing mode is not changed, and therefore the arithmetic processing mode is maintained in the speed hold mode even in the next control processing cycle.

  If the determination result in step S25-8 is negative, that is, if the predetermined time represented by the initial value Tm of the countdown timer has elapsed since the start of the speed hold mode, the required gravity center speed In step S25-10, the generation unit 74 executes the same processing as that in step S23-5 (the processing in the flowcharts of FIGS. 16 and 17), thereby obtaining the basic required center-of-gravity velocity vector absolute value | ↑ Vb_aim1 | The center-of-gravity velocity azimuth θvb_aim1 is determined.

  Further, the requested center-of-gravity speed generation unit 74 changes the calculation processing mode from the speed hold mode to the braking mode in step S25-11, and ends the process of FIG.

  The above is the calculation process of the speed hold mode in step S25.

  Returning to the description of FIG. 14, the requested center-of-gravity velocity generation unit 74 executes any one of the calculation processes in steps S23 to S25 as described above, and then determines | ↑ Vb_aim1 | and θvb_aim1 determined by the calculation process. Is input to the filter (filtering process) in step S26.

  Here, the filters that respectively input | ↑ Vb_aim1 | and θvb_aim1 are the sizes of the required gravity center velocity vector ↑ Vb_aim | ↑ Vb_aim |, immediately after the arithmetic processing mode is changed from the braking mode to the speed following mode. This is a low-pass filter having a first-order lag characteristic for preventing the azimuth angle θvb_aim from changing suddenly in a step shape. In this case, the time constant of the filter that inputs | ↑ Vb_aim | is set to a relatively short time constant, and the output value of the filter matches | ↑ Vb_aim1 | in a situation other than immediately after | ↑ Vb_aim1 | Or they are almost identical. The same applies to the filter that inputs θvb_aim1.

  In step S26, the output value of the filter to which θvb_aim1 is input is determined as it is as the azimuth angle θvb_aim of the required centroid velocity vector ↑ Vb_aim (hereinafter referred to as the required centroid velocity vector azimuth angle θvb_aim).

  Next, the process proceeds to step S27, where the required center-of-gravity velocity generation unit 74 finally sets the value obtained by passing the output value of the filter to which | ↑ Vb_aim1 | is passed through the limiter as the magnitude of the required center-of-gravity velocity vector ↑ Vb_aim ↑ Vb_aim | (hereinafter referred to as a required gravity center velocity vector absolute value | ↑ Vb_aim |). In this case, the limiter is for preventing | ↑ Vb_aim | from becoming excessive. When the output value of the filter to which | ↑ Vb_aim1 | is input is equal to or lower than a predetermined upper limit value set in advance. Outputs the output value of the filter as | ↑ Vb_aim | as it is. Further, when the output value of the filter exceeds the upper limit value, the limiter outputs the upper limit value as | ↑ Vb_aim |. In other words, the limiter outputs the smaller value of the output value of the filter and the upper limit value as | ↑ Vb_aim |.

  Next, the process proceeds to step S28, and the required center-of-gravity velocity generation unit 74 determines the X-axis direction component (required center-of-gravity velocity in the X-axis direction) of the required center-of-gravity velocity vector ↑ Vb_aim from | ↑ Vb_aim | and θvb_aim determined as described above. Vb_x_aim and a Y-axis direction component (required center of gravity speed in the Y-axis direction) Vb_y_aim are calculated. More specifically, | ↑ Vb_aim | * sin (θvb_aim) is calculated as Vb_x_aim, and | ↑ Vb_aim | * cos (θvb_aim) is calculated as Vb_y_aim.

  The above is the details of the processing of the required center-of-gravity velocity generation unit 74.

  By the processing of the requested center-of-gravity velocity generation unit 74 described above, the requested center-of-gravity velocity vector ↑ Vb_aim (and thus the requested center-of-gravity velocity Vb_x_aim, Vb_y_aim) is determined in the following manner.

  That is, for example, in order to increase the moving speed of the vehicle 1, an occupant kicks the floor with his / her foot, or an assistant or the like pushes the vehicle 1, A case is assumed in which a propulsive force in the approximate X-axis direction (specifically, a propulsive force that makes the determination result in Step S23-1 positive) is added.

  It is assumed that the arithmetic processing mode before applying the propulsive force is the braking mode. Here, for convenience of understanding, the output value of the filter that inputs | ↑ Vb_aim1 | in step S26 of FIG. 14 is a value that falls within a range that is not limited by the limiter in step S27 (the upper limit value of the limiter). The following value). Similarly, it is assumed that the estimated center-of-gravity values Vb_x_s and Vb_y_s fall within a range where the output values V_x_lim2 and V_y_lim2 are not limited by the limit processing unit 104.

  In this case, if the determination result in step S23-1 becomes affirmative by applying propulsive force to the vehicle 1, the processing mode is changed from the braking mode to the speed following mode by the processing in step S23-3 in FIG. Will be changed.

  In this speed follow-up mode, in a situation where a deceleration request is not generated (a situation where the determination result in step S24-1 is negative), a ratio γ of a predetermined value is set to the current value (current value) of the estimated center-of-gravity velocity vector ↑ Vb_s. A vector obtained by multiplication, that is, a velocity vector slightly smaller than ↑ Vb_s and in the same direction as ↑ Vb_s is sequentially determined as a basic required centroid velocity vector ↑ Vb_aim1.

  Therefore, the requested center-of-gravity velocity vector ↑ Vb_aim, which is sequentially determined by the requested center-of-gravity velocity generation unit 74, substantially matches the actual center-of-gravity velocity vector ↑ Vb that is accelerated (increased in magnitude) by the propulsive force applied to the vehicle 1. The speed vector ↑ Vb_aim1 (= γ * ↑ Vb_s) to be followed is determined.

  Then, the X-axis direction component and the Y-axis direction component of the required center-of-gravity velocity vector ↑ Vb_aim determined in this way are determined as the control target center-of-gravity velocity Vb_x_mdfd and Vb_y_mdfd. Further, the operation amount components u3_x and u3_y included in the virtual wheel rotation angular acceleration commands ωdotw_x_cmd and ωdotw_y_cmd are determined so that the center-of-gravity speed estimated values Vb_x_s and Vb_y_s converge to the control target center-of-gravity speeds Vb_x_mdfd and Vb_y_mdfd, respectively.

  As a result, the actual moving speed of the vehicle system center of gravity (acceleration in the front-rear direction) due to the propulsive force applied by the occupant to the vehicle 1 is promptly performed in accordance with the request by the propulsive force. The moving speed of the wheel body 5 is controlled. Therefore, the vehicle 1 is smoothly accelerated by the added driving force.

  In addition, when the braking force is applied to the vehicle 1 in the speed tracking mode and the determination result in step S24-1 in FIG. 19 becomes affirmative (when a deceleration request is generated), the arithmetic processing mode is changed to the braking mode. To do. For this reason, the moving speed of the vehicle 1 is attenuated. In this case, while the deceleration request is being generated, | ↑ Vb_aim1 | and θvb_aim1 are determined by the second braking calculation process (the process of FIG. 18) in step S23-6, so the basic required center-of-gravity velocity vector ↑ Vb_aim1 or The required center-of-gravity velocity vector ↑ Vb_aim that follows this attenuates at a constant temporal change rate (temporal change rate defined by the predetermined value ΔVb2) while maintaining the direction constant. Will be determined.

  Next, in the speed following mode, when the addition of the propulsive force to the vehicle 1 is finished and the estimated gravity center speed absolute value change rate DVb_s becomes smaller than the second threshold value DV2 (the determination result in step S24-3 in FIG. 19 is If affirmative), the processing mode is changed from the speed following mode to the speed hold mode by the process of step S24-5 of FIG.

  In this speed hold mode, the acceleration request and the deceleration request are not generated (the determination result of steps S25-1 and 25-4 in FIG. 19 is both negative) until the countdown timer finishes counting. The basic required center-of-gravity velocity vector ↑ Vb_aim1 is set to the same velocity vector as the previous velocity vector ↑ Vb_aim1_p.

  Therefore, the basic required center-of-gravity velocity vector ↑ Vb_aim1 is set immediately before the start of the speed hold mode in a predetermined time period (the time of the initial value Tm of the countdown timer) after the start of the speed hold mode. Thus, the speed vector is held constant at the same speed vector as the determined speed vector.

  For this reason, the required center-of-gravity velocity vector ↑ Vb_aim determined so as to follow ↑ Vb_aim1 is also maintained at a constant velocity vector (a velocity vector that coincides with or substantially coincides with ↑ Vb_aim determined immediately before the velocity hold mode starts). It will be decided to sag.

  Then, the X-axis direction component and the Y-axis direction component of the required center-of-gravity velocity vector ↑ Vb_aim determined as described above are determined as the control target center-of-gravity velocity Vb_x_mdfd and Vb_y_mdfd. Further, the operation amount components u3_x and u3_y included in the virtual wheel rotation angular acceleration commands ωdotw_x_cmd and ωdotw_y_cmd are determined so that the center-of-gravity speed estimated values Vb_x_s and Vb_y_s converge to the control target center-of-gravity speeds Vb_x_mdfd and Vb_y_mdfd, respectively.

  As a result, it is necessary to frequently adjust the occupant's body posture in the period (time period represented by the initial value Tm) until the countdown timer finishes counting after the vehicle 1 is accelerated. Instead, the moving speed of the wheel body 5 is controlled so that the magnitude and direction of the actual speed vector ↑ Vb of the vehicle system center-of-gravity point are kept constant. Therefore, the actual running state of the vehicle 1 in this situation is a state in which the occupant slides at a substantially constant speed vector without performing a steering operation that actively moves the upper body.

  In addition, in the speed hold mode, when the driving force in the roughly forward / backward direction is applied to the vehicle 1 again, and the determination result in step S25-4 in FIG. Return to the speed following mode. For this reason, the vehicle 1 is accelerated in the substantially front-rear direction again.

  In addition, when the braking force is applied to the vehicle 1 in the speed hold mode and the determination result in step S25-1 in FIG. 20 becomes affirmative (when a deceleration request is generated), the arithmetic processing mode is changed to the braking mode. To do. For this reason, the moving speed of the vehicle 1 is attenuated. In this case, as in the case where the deceleration request is generated in the speed following mode, during the generation of the deceleration request, | ↑ Vb_aim1 | and θvb_aim1 are determined by the second braking calculation process (the process of FIG. 18) in step S23-6. It is determined

  Next, in the speed hold mode, the countdown timer is maintained while maintaining a situation in which neither an acceleration request nor a deceleration request is generated (a situation where the judgment results in steps S25-1 and 25-4 in FIG. 20 are both negative). When the time measurement is completed, the calculation processing mode is changed from the speed hold mode to the braking mode by the processing of step S25-11 in FIG.

  In this braking mode, in a situation where neither an acceleration request nor a deceleration request is generated (a situation where the judgment results in steps S23-1 and 23-4 in FIG. 15 are both negative), step S23-5-1 in FIG. By executing the processing of 23-5-2 every control processing cycle, the basic required center-of-gravity velocity vector absolute value | ↑ Vb_aim1 | becomes a constant rate of change (time defined by ΔVb1) until “0”. The rate of decay is continuously reduced. Then, after | ↑ Vb_aim1 | is attenuated to “0”, | ↑ Vb_aim1 | is held at “0”.

  Further, in the braking mode, the processing after step S23-5-3 in FIG. 16 is executed every control processing cycle in a situation where neither an acceleration request nor a deceleration request is generated. In this case, the direction of the basic required center-of-gravity velocity vector ↑ Vb_aim1 determined immediately before the transition from the speed hold mode to the braking mode (one step before the control processing cycle in which the determination result in step S25-8 in FIG. 20 is negative) When the direction of ↑ Vb_aim1 determined in the control processing cycle is different from the X-axis direction and is relatively close to the X-axis direction (more precisely, the azimuth angle of ↑ Vb_aim1 determined immediately before the transition) When θvb_aim1 is an angle value within the range of 0 ° <θvb_aim1_p ≦ θth1 +, θth1- ≦ θvb_aim1_p <0 °, θth2 + ≦ θvb_aim1_p <180 °, −180 ° <θvb_aim1_p ≦ θth2-) In the period until ↑ Vb_aim1 | decays to “0”, θvb_aim1 approaches 0 °, 180 °, or −180 ° as a convergence target angle value at a constant rate of time change, and finally, The convergence target angle value is held. Therefore, the direction of the basic required center-of-gravity velocity vector ↑ Vb_aim continuously approaches the X-axis direction within a period until | ↑ Vb_aim1 | attenuates to “0” after the start of the braking mode. In other words, during the period, the ratio of the absolute value of the Y-axis direction component Vb_y_aim1 to the absolute value of the X-axis direction component Vb_x_aim1 of the basic required center-of-gravity velocity vector ↑ Vb_aim approaches “0”. When the direction of ↑ Vb_aim1 reaches the same direction as the X-axis direction (when Vb_y_aim1 = 0) until | ↑ Vb_aim1 | attenuates to “0”, the direction of ↑ Vb_aim1 becomes the same direction as the X-axis direction. Retained.

  Therefore, ↑ Vb_aim1 is determined such that the direction thereof approaches (converges) in the X-axis direction while the magnitude is attenuated. Thus, in the situation where ↑ Vb_aim1 is determined, the required gravity center velocity vector ↑ Vb_aim determined so as to follow ↑ Vb_aim1 is also determined so that its direction approaches the X-axis direction while the magnitude is attenuated. The Rukoto.

  Further, when the direction of the basic required center-of-gravity velocity vector ↑ Vb_aim1 determined immediately before the transition from the speed hold mode to the braking mode is different from the X-axis direction and is relatively deviated from the X-axis direction (more accurately If the azimuth angle θvb_aim1 of ↑ Vb_aim1 determined immediately before the transition is an angle value in any of θth1 + <θvb_aim1_p <θth2 +, θth2- <θvb_aim1_p <θth1-)), | ↑ Vb_aim1 In the period until | is attenuated to “0”, θvb_aim1 is held constant at the same angle value as the azimuth angle θvb_aim1 of ↑ Vb_aim1 determined immediately before the transition.

  Therefore, ↑ Vb_aim1 is determined such that its direction is kept constant while its magnitude is attenuated. Thus, in the situation where ↑ Vb_aim1 is determined, the required center-of-gravity velocity vector ↑ Vb_aim determined so as to follow ↑ Vb_aim1 is also determined so that its direction is kept constant while its magnitude is attenuated. The Rukoto.

  In the present embodiment, in the speed hold mode, the magnitude and direction of ↑ Vb_aim1 is held constant, so that the basic required center-of-gravity speed vector ↑ Vb_aim1 determined immediately before the transition from the speed hold mode to the braking mode is established. As a result, ↑ Vb_aim1 determined immediately before the transition from the speed following mode to the speed hold mode (in this embodiment, determined in the control processing cycle in which the determination result in step S24-3 in FIG. 19 becomes affirmative) ↑ Vb_aim1).

  Then, the X-axis direction component and the Y-axis direction component of the required center-of-gravity speed vector ↑ Vb_aim determined as described above in the braking mode are determined as the control target center-of-gravity speeds Vb_x_mdfd and Vb_y_mdfd. Further, the operation amount components u3_x and u3_y included in the virtual wheel rotation angular acceleration commands ωdotw_x_cmd and ωdotw_y_cmd are determined so that the center-of-gravity speed estimated values Vb_x_s and Vb_y_s converge to the control target center-of-gravity speeds Vb_x_mdfd and Vb_y_mdfd, respectively.

  As a result, when the calculation processing mode prior to the braking mode is the speed hold mode, the actual speed vector of the vehicle system center-of-gravity point is increased even if the occupant does not actively perform the steering operation by the movement of the upper body. Therefore, the moving speed of the wheel body 5 is controlled so as to continuously attenuate from the magnitude in the speed hold mode.

  In this case, the direction of ↑ Vb_aim1 determined immediately before the transition from the speed hold mode to the braking mode (= ↑ Vb_aim1 determined immediately before the transition from the speed follow mode to the speed hold mode) is different from the X-axis direction, and If the direction is relatively close to the X-axis direction, the speed vector is reduced while the magnitude of the speed vector at the center of gravity of the vehicle system is attenuated without the occupant performing an aggressive maneuvering operation by the movement of the upper body. The direction of the vector automatically approaches the X-axis direction (the occupant's front-rear direction). Accordingly, the straight traveling performance of the vehicle 1 with respect to the front-rear direction of the occupant is enhanced.

  Here, when the vehicle 1 is to be accelerated, it is often required to accelerate the vehicle 1 particularly in the front-rear direction of the occupant. In this case, since the vehicle 1 of the present embodiment has high rectilinearity in the front-rear direction as described above, even if the direction of the propulsive force applied to the vehicle 1 slightly deviates from the front-rear direction, the subsequent speed hold mode is continued. In the braking mode, the moving speed of the wheel body 5 is controlled so that the speed vector of the vehicle system center of gravity is automatically directed in the front-rear direction.

  For this reason, a variation in the moving direction of the vehicle 1 is less likely to occur, and a vehicle 1 (a vehicle 1 that easily travels in the front-rear direction of the occupant) that has high straightness with respect to the occupant front-rear direction is realized. As a result, when the vehicle 1 is moved in the front-rear direction, the vehicle 1 can be moved in the front-rear direction without directing the propulsive force applied to the vehicle 1 in the front-rear direction. As a result, the steering operation for moving the vehicle 1 in the front-rear direction is facilitated.

  In addition, the direction of the basic required center-of-gravity velocity vector ↑ Vb_aim1 (= ↑ Vb_aim1 determined immediately before the transition from the speed follow mode to the speed hold mode) determined immediately before the transition from the speed hold mode to the braking mode is the X-axis direction. In contrast, when the direction is relatively deviated from the X-axis direction, the magnitude of the velocity vector at the vehicle system center-of-gravity point is attenuated even if the occupant does not actively control the body movement. However, the direction of the velocity vector is kept almost constant. That is, if the direction of ↑ Vb_aim1 determined immediately before the transition from the speed hold mode to the braking mode is a direction that is relatively deviated from the X-axis direction, the vehicle system that is finally intended by the occupant in the speed tracking mode. There is a high possibility that the direction of the velocity vector of the center of gravity is different from the X-axis direction. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the vehicle system center-of-gravity point from moving in a direction deviating from the direction intended by the occupant after the speed following mode.

  The action range restriction system 200 determines whether or not the action range restriction processing unit 220M of the specific device 202M has deviated from a preset restriction area with respect to the plurality of child devices 202S. When deviating from the area, the supervisor can easily and efficiently monitor the action ranges of a plurality of supervisors by returning the handset 202S to the restricted area 302 according to a command from the specific 202M. .

  The behavior range restriction processing unit 220S of the child device 202S controls the movement operation unit 5 by the drive control unit 228S so as to move to the target feedback position according to the command from the behavior range restriction processing unit 220M of the specific device 202M. The supervised person boarding the handset 202S can be returned to the restricted area 302.

  In the process in step S206, when the traveling speed of the slave unit 202S is equal to or higher than a predetermined speed, a warning is given to the passenger of the slave unit to decelerate prior to the control of the moving operation unit 5 by the drive control unit 228S. As a result, the psychological and physical burden on the supervisor by the control of the moving operation unit 5 in the position control mode can be reduced, and the safety can be improved.

5 Movement unit (driven mechanism)
7 Actuator device (drive unit)
9 Substrate (Substrate)
50 control unit (travel speed acquisition unit)
200 Action Range Limiting System 202M Specific Machine 202S Child Machine 206 Position Measuring Device 212M, 212S Receiver (Receiver)
214M Transmitter (Transmitter)
216M, 216S Position information acquisition unit (position information acquisition unit)
220M, 220S Action range restriction processing unit (first region setting unit, first region determination unit, slave unit control unit, distance calculation unit, speed determination unit, second region setting unit, second region determination unit)
224M, 224S notification device (warning unit)
228M, 222S Drive controller (drive controller)
302 Restricted area (first area)
304 Permitted area (second area)

Claims (14)

An action range restriction system comprising one or more child devices, a specific device that controls the position of the child device, and a position measurement device that supplies position information of the child device and the specific device,
The slave is
A receiving unit for receiving information;
The specific machine is
A receiving unit for receiving information;
A transmission unit for transmitting information;
A first area setting unit for setting a first area for restricting the action range of the slave unit with respect to the position of the specific machine;
A position acquisition unit for acquiring current position information of the specific machine and the slave unit from the position measurement device via the reception unit of the specific machine;
A first area determination unit that determines whether the position of the child machine has deviated from the first area based on the current position information of the specific machine and the child machine;
When the first region determination unit determines that the child device has deviated from the first region, the child device is in the first region via the transmission unit of the specific device and the reception unit of the child device. And a slave unit control unit that controls the mobile unit to move to a predetermined position. The specific machine is
Based on the current position information of the specific machine and the slave unit acquired by the position acquisition unit, further comprising a distance calculation unit that calculates the distance between the specific machine and the slave unit,
The first area determination unit
The action range restriction system according to claim 1, wherein it is determined whether or not the position of the child device has deviated from the first region based on a calculation result of the distance calculation unit. The handset controller is
When it is determined by the first area determination unit that the slave has deviated from the first area, a feedback command and target feedback position information are transmitted to the slave via the transmission unit of the specific machine,
The slave is
A driven mechanism capable of moving the traveling surface;
A drive unit for generating a drive force for driving the driven mechanism;
A base on which the driven mechanism and the driving unit are assembled; and
A position acquisition unit for acquiring current position information of the slave unit from the position measurement device via the receiver of the slave unit;
When the feedback command and the target feedback position information are received from the specific machine, the slave moves to the target feedback position in the first area based on the current position information and the target feedback position information of the slave. The action range restriction system according to claim 1, further comprising: a drive control unit that controls the drive unit. The drive control unit
Based on a deviation of the current position with respect to the target feedback position and a temporal change rate of the deviation, a target speed at a predetermined representative point of the slave unit is sequentially determined, and the driving unit is controlled according to the target speed. 4. The action range restriction system according to claim 3, wherein the action range restriction system is controlled. The slave is
5. The action range restriction system according to claim 4, wherein the action range restriction system is a mobile body that can be boarded and that can be driven by a passenger of the slave unit. The slave is
A traveling speed acquisition unit that acquires a traveling speed at the representative point;
A traveling speed determination unit that determines whether or not the traveling speed is equal to or higher than a predetermined speed;
When the traveling speed determining unit determines that the traveling speed is equal to or higher than a predetermined speed, prior to control of the driving unit by the driving control unit, at least once so as to decelerate the occupant of the slave unit The action range restriction system according to claim 5, further comprising a warning unit that warns. The specific machine is
A second region setting unit for setting a second region in the first region;
A second area determination unit that determines whether the position of the child machine has deviated from the second area based on the current position information of the specific machine and the child machine;
With
The specific machine is
When the second area determination unit determines that the child device has deviated from the second area, the warning unit of the child device warns an occupant of the child device not to deviate from the first area. The behavior range restriction system according to claim 6, wherein the determination result of the second area determination unit is transmitted to the slave unit via the transmission unit of the specific device. The slave is
It is an omnidirectional mobile body, The action range restriction | limiting system of any one of Claims 1-7 characterized by the above-mentioned. The slave is
It is an inverted pendulum control type moving body, The action range restriction | limiting system of any one of Claims 1-8 characterized by the above-mentioned. The drive control unit
By controlling the driving mechanism so that the traveling speed of the driven mechanism is larger than the traveling speed of the representative point, the center of gravity of the slave unit and the occupant is almost directly above the grounding surface of the driven mechanism. 9. The action range according to claim 8, wherein the driving unit is controlled so as to move the slave unit to the target feedback position and stop at the target feedback position. Limit system. The specific machine is
The action range restriction system according to any one of claims 1 to 10, wherein the action range restriction system is a movable body that can be boarded and operated by a user of the specific machine.   The action range restriction system according to claim 11, wherein the specific machine is an omnidirectional mobile body.   The action range restriction system according to claim 11 or 12, wherein the specific machine is an inverted pendulum control type moving body.   The action range restriction system according to claim 1, wherein the position measurement device is a GPS device or a vehicle-to-vehicle communication device.

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