JP2011098617A - Getting on/off system of movable body and control method of the same - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a getting on/off system of a movable body capable of safely getting on/off a vehicle, and a control method of the same. <P>SOLUTION: The getting on/off system of the movable body 1 has a first detection means for detecting peripheral information, and includes: a wheel chair type movable body 10 which self-directively moves based on the peripheral information detected by the first detection means; a second detection means which is provided in the vehicle 30 causing the movable body 10 to get on/off, and detects the peripheral information of the movable body 10; and a transmission means which transmits the peripheral information of the movable body 10 detected by the second detection means to the movable body 10. The movable body 10 self-directively gets on/off the vehicle 30 based on the peripheral information detected by the first detection means and the peripheral information transmitted by the transmission means. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2011,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a moving body getting on and off system for getting on and off a wheelchair-type moving body that can move autonomously, and a control method therefor.

  For example, an elderly person who has difficulty walking can use an electric wheelchair for a physically handicapped person. However, when moving in a small place such as when getting on and off the electric wheelchair, it is necessary to be proficient in the operation to some extent, and it may be difficult for the elderly themselves to perform the operation. For this reason, there is known a wheelchair-type moving body that can move autonomously without having to perform such an operation (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

JP 2005-206362 A

  However, when the wheelchair-type mobile body that can move autonomously detects peripheral information using its own sensor, there is a possibility that the peripheral information is insufficient because the detection range of the sensor is limited. is there. In particular, when moving in a narrow place such as when getting on and off a vehicle, there may be a blind spot in the sensor, and it may be difficult to get on and off after sufficiently confirming the safety around the moving body.

  The present invention has been made to solve such problems, and a main object of the present invention is to provide a mobile body getting-on / off system that can safely get on / off by a vehicle and a control method thereof.

  One aspect of the present invention for achieving the above object is a wheelchair type having first detection means for detecting peripheral information and autonomously moving based on the peripheral information detected by the first detection means. A moving body, a second detecting means for detecting surrounding information of the moving body, and peripheral information of the moving body detected by the second detecting means. A mobile boarding / alighting system comprising: transmission means for transmitting to a body, wherein the mobile body includes the peripheral information detected by the first detection means and the peripheral information transmitted from the transmission means. Based on this, it is a mobile body getting-on / off system characterized by autonomously getting on and off the vehicle.

  In this aspect, the vehicle is provided with an opening / closing door that automatically opens and closes when the moving body gets on and off the vehicle, and the second detection means is attached to the opening / closing door. Good.

  In this aspect, the second detection unit may detect peripheral information of the moving body when the opening / closing door is opened / closed.

  Furthermore, in this aspect, the vehicle may include a slope device that develops from the entrance / exit of the opening / closing door to the road surface when the moving body gets on / off.

  Furthermore, in this one aspect, the vehicle may include a suspension device that performs control to lower a vehicle height when the moving body gets on and off.

  On the other hand, one aspect of the present invention for achieving the above object includes first detection means for detecting peripheral information, and autonomously moves based on the peripheral information detected by the first detection means. A wheelchair-type moving body, a second detection means that is provided in a vehicle that gets on and off the moving body, detects peripheral information of the moving body, and peripheral information of the moving body detected by the second detecting means, A mobile body getting-on / off system control method comprising: a transmission means for transmitting to the mobile body, wherein the mobile body is transmitted from the transmission means and the peripheral information detected by the first detection means. It may be a control method for a mobile body getting-on / off system characterized by autonomously getting on and off the vehicle based on surrounding information.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, the moving body getting on / off system which can be boarded / alighted safely with a vehicle, and its control method can be provided.

1 is a block diagram showing a schematic system configuration of a mobile body getting on / off system according to an embodiment of the present invention. 1 is a perspective view schematically showing a wheelchair-type moving body and a vehicle according to an embodiment of the present invention. It is a flowchart which shows an example of the control processing flow of a moving body getting on / off system when a moving body gets in a vehicle. It is a figure which shows an example of a state when a moving body gets in a vehicle. It is a flowchart which shows an example of the control processing flow of a mobile body getting on / off system when a mobile body gets off from a vehicle. It is a figure which shows an example of a state when a moving body gets off from a vehicle.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a schematic system configuration of a mobile boarding / alighting system according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 2, the mobile body getting-on / off system 1 according to the present embodiment is a system for safely getting on and off a wheelchair-type mobile body 10 such as an electric wheelchair.

  The mobile body getting-on / off system 1 according to the present embodiment is provided in a wheelchair-type mobile body 10 that can move autonomously and a vehicle 30 that gets on and off the mobile body 10, and detects the surrounding information of the mobile body 10. The sensor 31 is a specific example of a transmission unit, and includes an in-vehicle communication device 32 that transmits peripheral information of the moving body 1 detected by the second detection sensor 31 to the moving body 1.

  The vehicle 30 is, for example, a welfare car or the like on which an electric wheelchair or the like can be loaded at the rear. Moreover, the mobile body 10 is an electric wheelchair on which a passenger such as an elderly person or a disabled person can ride.

  The moving body 10 includes a moving body main body 11 on which a passenger rides, a pair of left and right drive wheels 12L and 12R rotatably attached to the moving body main body 11, and a left and right pair rotatably attached to the moving body main body 11. Auxiliary wheels 13L, 13R, a pair of motors 14L, 14R for driving the drive wheels 12L, 12R, a pair of rotation sensors 15L, 15R for detecting the rotation of the drive wheels 12L, 12R, and the movable body 11 A first detection sensor 16 that detects peripheral information, a communication device 17 that transmits and receives data, a control device 19 that controls the motors 14L and 14R via drive circuits 18L and 18R, and an operation that can be operated by a passenger The unit 20 includes an input / output device 21 that can input and output various types of information, and a battery 22 that serves as a power source.

  The mobile main body 11 is connected to the seating part 11a on which the passenger sits, the back support part 11b connected to the seating part 11a to support the back of the passenger, and the back support part 11b to support the arm part of the passenger. It has a pair of arm support parts 11c and a leg support part 11d that is connected to the seating part 11a and supports the legs of the passenger.

  Each drive wheel 12L, 12R is independently driven by each motor 14L, 14R. Each auxiliary wheel 13L, 13R is connected to the leg support portion 11d, and can follow the drive wheels 12L, 12R to change the direction in any direction.

  Each motor 14L, 14R can drive each drive wheel 12L, 12R independently. The motors 14L and 14R change the rotational torque applied to the drive wheels 12L and 12R, respectively, according to a control signal from the control device 19. Thereby, the movement (acceleration / deceleration, stop, forward / backward movement, left / right turning, etc.) of the moving body 10 can be arbitrarily changed, and the traveling direction of the moving body 11 can be changed with the minimum turning radius. Become.

  The rotation sensors 15L and 15R are attached to the axles of the drive wheels 12L and 12R, respectively, and can detect the rotation angles (or rotation angular velocities) of the drive wheels 12L and 12R, respectively. For example, a rotary encoder or the like can be used as the rotation sensors 15L and 15R. Each rotation sensor 15L, 15R outputs a rotation signal corresponding to the detected rotation angle of each drive wheel 12L, 12R to the control device 19.

  Note that the control device 19 can calculate the moving amount, moving speed, moving acceleration, and the like of the moving body 10 based on the rotation signals of the drive wheels 12L, 12R from the rotation sensors 15L, 15R. Further, the control device 19 can calculate the current position of the moving body 10 based on the calculated movement amount of the moving body 10. Note that the control device 19 may calculate the current position of the moving body 10 using a GPS device or the like.

  The first detection sensor 16 is attached to the mobile body 11 and can detect peripheral information (obstacles, road surface state, inclination state, etc.) of the mobile body 10. The first detection sensor 16 includes, for example, an ultrasonic sensor, a radar sensor, an infrared sensor, a camera, and the like. The first detection sensor 16 can detect, for example, the relative position and size of an object or the like existing around the moving body 10, unevenness of a road surface such as a groove, inclination of the road surface, and the like. The first detection sensor 16 outputs the detected peripheral information to the control device 19.

  The communication device 17 is provided in the mobile body 11 and receives the peripheral information of the mobile body 10 transmitted from the in-vehicle communication device 32 using wireless communication such as Bluetooth or infrared. The communication device 17 outputs the peripheral information of the moving body 10 received from the in-vehicle communication device 32 to the control device 19.

  The control device 19 is provided in the mobile body 11 and is transmitted from the rotation signals from the rotation sensors 15L and 15R, the peripheral information of the mobile body 10 from the first detection sensor 16, and the in-vehicle communication device 32. Based on the peripheral information of the moving body 10, the motors 14L and 14R are controlled to control the driving of the driving wheels 12L and 12R, thereby moving the moving body 10 autonomously.

  For example, the control device 19 calculates a travel route from the current position of the moving body 10 calculated based on the rotation signals from the rotation sensors 15L and 15R to the target position set by the input / output device 21 at a predetermined cycle. . At this time, the control device 19 is based on the surrounding information of the moving body 10 from the first detection sensor 16 and the surrounding information of the moving body 10 detected by the second detection sensor 31 and transmitted by the in-vehicle communication device 32. Thus, for example, a travel route that safely avoids an obstacle or the like is calculated. And the control apparatus 19 controls each motor 14L and 14R so that it may drive | work according to the calculated driving | running route, and controls the drive of each driving wheel 12L and 12R.

  As described above, the mobile body 10 uses not only the peripheral information of the first detection sensor 16 provided in the mobile body 10 itself but also the peripheral information of the second detection sensor 31 provided in the vehicle 30, so that the first The peripheral information that cannot be detected due to the blind spot of the detection sensor 16 can be detected by the second detection sensor 31.

  In particular, when the moving body 10 gets on and off from the narrow vehicle 30 to the outside of the vehicle 30, a blind spot may occur in the first detection sensor 16 of the moving body 10 due to interior parts such as a seat in the vehicle 30. Even in this case, the second detection sensor 31 of the vehicle 30 can be used to get out of the vehicle 10 from a different viewpoint while sufficiently confirming the safety around the moving body 10.

  In addition, the control device 19 and a vehicle-mounted control device 34 to be described later store, for example, CPU (Central Processing Unit) 19a and 34a that perform control processing, arithmetic processing, and the like, control programs executed by the CPUs 19a and 34a, arithmetic programs, and the like. The hardware is mainly configured by a microcomputer including ROM (Read Only Memory) 19b and 34b, RAM (Random Access Memory) 19c and 34c for storing processing data and the like.

  The operation unit 20 is a device for a passenger to manually operate the moving body 10, and is provided on one of the arm support portions 11 c of the moving body main body 11, for example. The passenger can freely operate the traveling of the moving body 10 by operating the operation unit 20 in an emergency, for example. The operation unit 20 includes, for example, a plurality of switches and joysticks that can be operated by the passenger. In addition, the operation unit 20 outputs an operation signal corresponding to a vehicle operation (such as a forward / backward operation, a left / right turning operation, an acceleration / deceleration operation, a stop operation) by the passenger to the control device 19.

  The input / output device 21 is a device in which a touch panel, a speaker, a microphone, a light, and the like are installed as necessary. The touch panel is used, for example, to input a target position or the like when the moving body 10 gets into the vehicle 30 or gets off from the vehicle 30, and starts the getting-on / off control of the moving body 10 using this input operation as a trigger. Can do.

  The speaker is used for notifying the passenger of the moving body 10 of the driving situation information, the microphone is used for inputting voice information of the target position, etc., and the light is used for notifying the passenger of an alarm. Used for. In addition to setting the target position by the input / output device 21, necessary information at the time of automatic traveling is transmitted to the passenger by voice or light as necessary in order to resolve anxiety during automatic traveling.

  The battery 22 is, for example, a lithium ion battery that can store electric power, and is provided in the mobile body 11, and can supply electric power to the motors 14 </ b> L and 14 </ b> R and the control device 19.

  The moving body 10 can autonomously get into the vehicle 30 or get off from the vehicle 30 to the outside of the vehicle 30. Further, an opening / closing door 33 such as a hatchback for moving the moving body 10 on and off the vehicle 30 is provided behind the vehicle 30. The open / close door 33 is configured to be opened and closed by being driven by an electric motor or the like. Further, the vehicle 30 is provided with an in-vehicle control device 34 that controls various devices mounted on the vehicle 30. The open / close door 33 performs an open / close operation according to a control signal from the in-vehicle control device 34, for example.

  The 2nd detection sensor 31 is attached to the lower end part of the opening-and-closing door 33, and rock | fluctuates with the opening / closing operation | movement. Similar to the first detection sensor 16, the second detection sensor 31 can detect peripheral information (an obstacle, a road surface state, an inclined state, etc.) of the moving body 10. The second detection sensor 31 includes, for example, an ultrasonic sensor, a radar sensor, an infrared sensor, a camera, and the like. The second detection sensor 31 outputs the detected peripheral information of the moving body 10 to the in-vehicle communication device 32.

  Here, it is preferable that the second detection sensor 31 detects the peripheral information of the moving body 10 when the opening / closing door 33 is opened / closed. As a result, as shown in FIG. 2, the second detection sensor 31 can move the detection ranges S1, S2, S3... To detect a wider range of peripheral information.

  A slope device 35 is provided at the rear end portion of the vehicle 30 so as to develop from the entrance / exit of the opening / closing door 33 to the road surface when the moving body 10 gets on / off. The moving body 10 can smoothly move between the vehicle 30 and the road surface by traveling on the slope of the slope device 35. For example, the slope device 35 automatically expands or contracts the slope in response to a control signal from the in-vehicle control device 34.

  The vehicle 30 is provided with a suspension device 36 that controls the vehicle height in accordance with a control signal from the in-vehicle control device 34. The suspension device 36 can control the vehicle height by expanding and contracting the piston in the cylinder, for example, by controlling the hydraulic pressure or the atmospheric pressure in the cylinder. For example, when the moving body 10 gets on and off the vehicle 30, the in-vehicle control device 34 controls the suspension device 36 so as to lower the vehicle height. Thereby, since the slope angle at the time of the mobile body 10 getting on / off the vehicle 30 can be suppressed small, safe and smooth boarding / alighting becomes possible.

  Next, the control method of the moving body getting on / off system 1 according to the present embodiment will be described in detail. FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing an example of a control processing flow of the moving body getting on / off system according to the present embodiment when the moving body gets on the vehicle.

  As shown in FIG. 3, when the passenger inputs a boarding position in the vehicle 30 that is a target position on the touch panel of the input / output device 21, the input / output device 21 outputs the set target position to the control device 19. (Step S101).

  Next, when the control device 19 receives the target position from the input / output device 21, as shown in FIG. 4A, a control signal is sent to the in-vehicle control device 34 via the communication device 17 and the in-vehicle communication device 32. And the open / close door 33 is controlled to be in an open state (step S102).

  At this time, the second detection sensor 31 of the vehicle 30 detects the peripheral information of the moving body 10 in the process of opening and closing the door 33 (step S103), and the in-vehicle communication device 32 detects the detected peripheral information of the moving body 10. And transmitted to the control device 19 via the communication device 17. Note that the second detection sensor 31 detects the peripheral information of the moving body 10 and transmits it to the control device 19 in a predetermined cycle after this time.

  Thereafter, the control device 19 transmits a control signal to the in-vehicle control device 34 via the communication device 17 and the in-vehicle communication device 32, and the slope of the slope device 35 is developed as shown in FIG. 4B. Control is performed as follows (step S104). Further, the in-vehicle control device 34 controls the suspension device 36 of the vehicle 30 to perform a control for lowering the vehicle height (step S105).

  Further, as shown in FIG. 4C, the first detection sensor 16 of the moving body 10 detects the peripheral information of the moving body 10 and transmits it to the control device 19 (step S106). Thereby, the safety confirmation of a driving | running route can be performed using the 1st detection sensor 16 of the mobile body 10 itself.

  Next, as shown in FIG. 4 (d), the control device 19 receives rotation signals from the rotation sensors 15 </ b> L and 15 </ b> R, peripheral information about the moving body 10 from the first detection sensor 16, and the in-vehicle communication device 32. Based on the transmitted peripheral information of the moving body 10, the motors 14 </ b> L and 14 </ b> R are controlled to control the driving of the driving wheels 12 </ b> L and 12 </ b> R, so that the moving body 10 is stopped at the stop position in the vehicle 30. It autonomously moves to a certain target position (step S107).

  After that, when the control device 19 determines that the current position of the moving body 10 is the target position based on the rotation signals from the rotation sensors 15L and 15R, the on-vehicle control is performed via the communication device 17 and the on-vehicle communication device 32. A control signal is transmitted to the device 34, and as shown in FIG. 4E, for example, the moving body 10 is connected to the fixing device 37 in the vehicle 30 and fixed (step S108).

  And the control apparatus 19 transmits a control signal with respect to the vehicle-mounted control apparatus 34 via the communication apparatus 17 and the vehicle-mounted communication apparatus 32, and as shown in FIG.4 (f), the slope of the slope apparatus 35 contracts. Control is performed as follows (step S109). Moreover, the vehicle-mounted control apparatus 34 controls the suspension apparatus 36 of the vehicle 30, and performs control which raises a vehicle height to the original height (step S110).

  Further, as shown in FIG. 4G, the control device 19 transmits a control signal to the in-vehicle control device 34 via the communication device 17 and the in-vehicle communication device 32, and controls the open / close door 33 to be closed. (Step S111).

  FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing an example of a control processing flow of the moving body getting on / off system according to the present embodiment when the moving body gets off the vehicle.

  As shown in FIG. 5, when the passenger inputs the getting-off position outside the vehicle 30, which is the target position, on the touch panel of the input / output device 21, the input / output device 21 outputs the set target position to the control device 19. (Step S201).

  Next, when the control device 19 receives the target position from the input / output device 21, as shown in FIG. 6A, a control signal is sent to the in-vehicle control device 34 via the communication device 17 and the in-vehicle communication device 32. And the open / close door 33 is controlled to be opened (step S202).

  At this time, the second detection sensor 31 of the vehicle 30 detects the peripheral information of the moving body 10 in the process of opening and closing the door 33 (step S203), and the in-vehicle communication device 32 detects the detected peripheral information of the moving body 10. And transmitted to the control device 19 via the communication device 17. Note that the second detection sensor 31 detects the peripheral information of the moving body 10 and transmits it to the control device 19 in a predetermined cycle after this time.

  Thereafter, the control device 19 transmits a control signal to the in-vehicle control device 34 via the communication device 17 and the in-vehicle communication device 32, and the slope of the slope device 35 is developed as shown in FIG. 6B. Control is performed as described above (step S204). Further, the in-vehicle control device 34 controls the suspension device 36 of the vehicle 30 to control the vehicle height to be lowered (step S205).

  Further, as shown in FIG. 6C, the first detection sensor 16 of the moving body 10 detects the peripheral information of the moving body 10 and transmits it to the control device 19 (step S206).

  Moreover, the control apparatus 19 transmits a control signal with respect to the vehicle-mounted control apparatus 34 via the communication apparatus 17 and the vehicle-mounted communication apparatus 32, and as shown in FIG.6 (d), for example, the mobile body 10 and the vehicle 30 are transmitted. The connection with the inner fixing device 37 is released (step S207).

  Next, as shown in FIG. 6 (e), the control device 19 receives the rotation signals from the rotation sensors 15L and 15R, the peripheral information of the moving body 10 from the first detection sensor 16, and the in-vehicle communication device 32. Based on the transmitted peripheral information of the moving body 10, the motors 14 </ b> L and 14 </ b> R are controlled to control the driving of the driving wheels 12 </ b> L and 12 </ b> R, so that the moving body 10 is stopped at the stop position outside the vehicle 30. It autonomously moves to a certain target position (step S208).

  Thereafter, when the control device 19 determines that the current position of the moving body 10 is the target position outside the vehicle 30 based on the rotation signals from the rotation sensors 15L and 15R, the communication device 17 and the in-vehicle communication device 32 are used. Then, a control signal is transmitted to the in-vehicle control device 34, and control is performed so that the slope of the slope device 35 contracts as shown in FIG. 6 (f) (step S209). Further, the in-vehicle control device 34 controls the suspension device 36 of the vehicle 30 to increase the vehicle height to the original height (step S210).

  Further, as shown in FIG. 6G, the control device 19 transmits a control signal to the in-vehicle control device 34 via the communication device 17 and the in-vehicle communication device 32, and controls the open / close door 33 to be closed. (Step S211).

  As described above, in the mobile body getting-on / off system 1 according to the present embodiment, the mobile body 10 is detected by the second detection sensor 31 and the peripheral information of the mobile body 10 detected by the first detection sensor 16, from the in-vehicle communication device 32. The vehicle 30 autonomously gets on and off based on the transmitted peripheral information of the moving body 10. Thereby, the mobile body 10 uses the peripheral information of the second detection sensor 31 provided in the vehicle 30 as well as the peripheral information of the first detection sensor 16 provided in the mobile body 10 itself, thereby performing the first detection. The peripheral information that becomes a blind spot of the sensor 16 and is undetectable or difficult can be reliably detected by the second detection sensor 31. That is, the moving body 10 can safely get on and off the vehicle 30.

  Note that the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and can be changed as appropriate without departing from the spirit of the present invention.

  For example, in the above embodiment, one second detection sensor 31 is attached to the open / close door 33 at the rear of the vehicle 30, but the present invention is not limited thereto, and is attached to, for example, a slope, a bumper, a lift device or the like of the slope device 35. The vehicle 30 may be attached at any position and in any number. Similarly, the first detection sensor 16 can be attached to any position of the moving body 10 and any number.

  Moreover, in the said embodiment, although the moving body 10 is the structure which gets on / off from the opening / closing door 33 of the back of the vehicle 30, it is not restricted to this, For example, it gets on / off from the opening / closing door (sliding door etc.) of the side of the vehicle 30. It may be configured to.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Mobile body getting on / off system 10 Mobile body 11 Mobile body main body 12L, 12R Drive wheel 13L, 13R Auxiliary wheel 14L, 14R Motor 15L, 15R Rotation sensor 16 1st detection sensor 17 Communication apparatus 18L, 18R Drive circuit 19 Control apparatus 20 Operation part DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 21 Input / output device 22 Battery 30 Vehicle 31 2nd detection sensor 32 Vehicle-mounted communication device 33 Opening / closing door 34 Vehicle-mounted control device 35 Slope device
36 Suspension device 37 Fixing device

Claims (6)

A wheelchair-type moving body that has first detection means for detecting peripheral information, and moves autonomously based on the peripheral information detected by the first detection means;
A second detection means provided in a vehicle for getting on and off the moving body, for detecting peripheral information of the moving body;
Transmitting means for transmitting peripheral information of the moving object detected by the second detecting means to the moving object;
A mobile body getting-on / off system comprising
The moving body autonomously gets on and off the vehicle based on the surrounding information detected by the first detecting means and the surrounding information transmitted from the transmitting means. Mobile body getting on and off system. The mobile body getting on / off system according to claim 1,
The vehicle is provided with an opening / closing door that automatically opens and closes when the moving body gets on and off the vehicle,
The moving body getting on / off system, wherein the second detection means is attached to the opening / closing door. The mobile body getting on / off system according to claim 2,
The moving body getting-on / off system characterized in that the second detecting means detects surrounding information of the moving body when the opening / closing door is opened and closed. The mobile body getting-on / off system according to claim 2 or 3,
The vehicle has a slope device that develops from the entrance / exit of the opening / closing door onto a road surface when the mobile body gets on / off. The mobile boarding / alighting system according to any one of claims 1 to 4,
The vehicle has a suspension device that performs control to lower the vehicle height when the vehicle gets on and off. A wheelchair-type moving body that has first detection means for detecting peripheral information, and moves autonomously based on the peripheral information detected by the first detection means;
A second detection means provided in a vehicle for getting on and off the moving body, for detecting peripheral information of the moving body;
Transmitting means for transmitting peripheral information of the moving object detected by the second detecting means to the moving object;
A control method for a mobile boarding / exiting system comprising:
The moving body autonomously gets on and off the vehicle based on the surrounding information detected by the first detecting means and the surrounding information transmitted from the transmitting means. Control method of moving body getting on / off system.

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