JP2016115207A - Unmanned carrier and travelling program control method thereof - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an unmanned carrier and a traveling program control method thereof capable of easily correcting the program such as route change while preventing occurrence of problems of variation or skip of stop position.SOLUTION: An unmanned carrier 10 which automatically travels along a predetermined track line includes: a marker detection sensor that detects count-up type magnetic markers; and an RFID reader that reads information from RFID tags.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

  The present invention relates to an automatic guided vehicle and a traveling program control method thereof, and more particularly to an automatic guided vehicle that can easily modify a program such as a route change and hardly causes problems such as variations in stop positions and skipping of reading. Regarding the method.

Conventionally, an automatic guided vehicle that detects a track line with a sensor and automatically travels along the track line is known.
As a driving program method for such an automatic guided vehicle, when an N-pole marker is used on the track line of the traveling route, the S-segment marker intermittently arranged on the traveling route is sequentially counted to identify the traveling section. The operation instruction is given by counting a predetermined number of S pole markers.

  In such a count-up method, reading of the S pole marker is only on / off, there is no time lag at the time of reading, reading is difficult to skip, and control of the stop position is easy. However, when the travel route is changed, such as when the route is changed, it is necessary to correct all the travel programs, and there is a problem that it is difficult to cope with the route change.

  On the other hand, in the instruction method of the absolute address type driving program, the RFID tag is arranged on the route, the address unique to the traveling section is given, and the driving instruction is given to the automatic guided vehicle by the unique address, and the route is changed. However, the traveling program only needs to be corrected. For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a technique using an RFID for a guide line built-in unit.

  However, processing time is required when reading the RFID tag with the automatic guided vehicle, and variations such as the stop position are likely to occur. If it is necessary to pass through and communication is not completed, there is a problem in that an instruction is skipped and a running abnormality occurs.

JP 2005-309596 A

  The present invention has been made in view of the above situation, and provides an automatic guided vehicle that can easily modify a program such as a route change and is less likely to cause problems such as variations in stop positions and skipping of reading, and a traveling program control method thereof. For the purpose.

In a first aspect of the present invention that achieves the above object, in an automatic guided vehicle that automatically travels along a predetermined track line, a marker detection sensor that detects a count-up magnetic marker, and an RFID that reads information from an RFID tag An automatic guided vehicle includes a reader.
In this aspect, by using the magnetic marker count-up method and the RFID tag in combination, it is possible to easily modify the program such as a route change, and to control a running program that is less likely to cause problems such as variations in stop positions and skipping. be able to.

The second aspect of the present invention is equipped with a marker detection sensor that detects a count-up magnetic marker in an automatic guided vehicle that automatically travels along a predetermined track line, and an RFID reader that reads information from an RFID tag. The present invention provides a traveling program control method for an automated guided vehicle, wherein a traveling program for the automated guided vehicle is controlled using a magnetic marker and an RFID tag arranged along the track line.
In this mode, by using a magnetic marker count-up method and an RFID tag in combination, it is possible to easily execute program corrections such as route changes, and to realize a traveling program control method that is less prone to problems such as variations in stop positions and skipping. it can.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the traveling program control method for an automated guided vehicle according to the second aspect, the track line is divided into a plurality of sections, and the RFID tags are arranged at the entrance and the exit of each section. There is a traveling program control method for an automatic guided vehicle.
In such an aspect, by arranging the RFID tag at the entrance and exit of each section, even if the route is changed in a certain section, the program in the section may be modified, and the program in the other section is changed. There is no need to do it.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the traveling program control method for an automated guided vehicle according to the second or third aspect, a magnetic marker is arranged before branching from the main line of the track line to the branch line and after joining, The magnetic marker and the RFID tag are arranged on the main line and the branch line so that the number of subsequent magnetic marker counts up is the same regardless of the route of the main line and the branch line. It is in the traveling program control method of the automatic guided vehicle.
In this aspect, the count up number of the magnetic markers after merging is made the same regardless of the route of the main line and the branch line, so that the design and correction of the traveling program can be further facilitated. It becomes like this.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the traveling program control method for an automatic guided vehicle according to any one of the second to fourth aspects, the magnetic markers are alternately arranged on the left and right sides to be counted up. The present invention provides a traveling program control method for an automatic guided vehicle.
In such an aspect, the skipping of reading can be more reliably prevented by arranging the magnetic markers alternately on the left and right to count up.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, in the traveling program control method for an automatic guided vehicle according to any one of the second to fifth aspects, the count up of the magnetic marker is reset by reading information from the RFID tag. The present invention is a traveling program control method for an automated guided vehicle.
In this aspect, the program design and correction by the count-up method can be more easily performed by resetting the count-up of the magnetic marker by reading information from the RFID tag.

According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, in the traveling program control method for an automatic guided vehicle according to any one of the second to sixth aspects, the magnetic marker is disposed at a curved portion of the track line and a stop position, The RFID tag is in a traveling program control method for an automatic guided vehicle, wherein the RFID tag is disposed immediately after a straight line portion of the track line and the stop position.
In such an aspect, the magnetic marker is disposed at the curved line portion of the track line and the stop position, and the RFID tag is disposed immediately after the straight line portion of the track line and the stop position, thereby more reliably preventing skipping, Reliable execution of the traveling program can be realized with high reliability.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to provide an automatic guided vehicle that can easily modify a program such as a route change and that is less likely to cause problems such as variations in stop positions and skipping of reading, and a traveling program control method thereof.

It is the top view and side view of an automatic guided vehicle concerning one embodiment of the present invention. It is explanatory drawing explaining the traveling program control method which concerns on Example 1 of this invention. It is explanatory drawing explaining the traveling program control method which concerns on Example 1 of this invention.

  The automatic guided vehicle of this invention is demonstrated based on FIG. As shown in FIG. 1, the automatic guided vehicle 10 includes a pair of driving wheels 11 serving as front wheels and a pair of driven wheels 12 serving as rear wheels on the vehicle body. Are connected to each other, and a battery 14 for supplying electric power to the motor 13 is provided. Further, a control unit 15 for controlling the operation of the motor 13 is provided.

  As described above, the automatic guided vehicle 10 has two driving wheels 11 and two driven wheels (free casters) 12 and is directly connected to the motor 13 to be driven by a two-wheel speed difference control method. Is. Here, the two-wheel speed difference control system is a system in which the two driving wheels 11 are rotated forward or backward at a constant speed to move forward or backward, and both have a speed difference to perform turning and spin-turning. It is. By adopting the two-wheel speed difference control method in this way, it is possible to turn with high accuracy (good response), and in particular, downsizing and small turning are also possible. However, the operation control method is not limited to this, and it goes without saying that, for example, a method of steering the driven wheel may be used according to the amount of displacement.

  The vehicle main body is provided with a track line detection sensor 16 that detects a track line provided on the floor and detects a displacement in the left-right direction from the track line. The track line detection sensor 16 is, for example, a sensor that detects the magnetic force in an analog manner when the track line is an N-pole magnetic field line. The track line detection sensor 16 is not limited to this, and may be, for example, an optical sensor that optically detects a track line.

  Here, the control unit 15 controls the operation so that the left and right drive wheels 11 return to the track line from the displaced state based on the left / right displacement amount from the track line detection sensor 16. Yes. This operation control is performed regardless of the speed of the automatic guided vehicle 10. The operation control may be performed when the displacement amount occurs even a little, but in the present embodiment, the operation is performed when the first predetermined amount, that is, the displacement amount exceeds 5 mm in the present embodiment. Control is performed.

  In addition, the vehicle body is provided with a pair of magnetic markers arranged on the left and right of the track line, in this embodiment, a marker detection sensor 17 for detecting the S pole magnetic marker, and is arranged on the right side of the track line. An RFID reader 18 that reads information from the RFID tag is provided.

  The control unit 15 is provided with a travel control unit (not shown) that controls the travel of the automatic guided vehicle 10, and the travel control unit executes a separately stored travel program, and the travel route and travel speed of the automatic guided vehicle 10. Run control such as starting, stopping.

  Such an automatic guided vehicle 10 detects a magnetic marker provided on the floor surface by the marker detection sensor 17 and counts up, and is travel-controlled by a command according to a predetermined count-up number. Since the travel control is performed based on the information read out by the above, it is possible to easily modify the program such as a route change and to hardly cause problems such as variations in the stop position and skipping.

  Here, the magnetic marker can be surely prevented from being skipped by arranging the magnetic marker alternately on the left and right sides and counting up. The first magnetic marker can be prevented from being skipped by the first reading, for example, by unifying it on the left side.

On the other hand, the RFID tag can be disposed in place of the magnetic marker at a desired position, and predetermined traveling control can be performed.
When the RFID tag is read, the count up is reset in addition to the travel control command. Thereby, traveling program control by a magnetic marker can be performed more simply. That is, the magnetic marker placed after the RFID tag has a count number of 1, and is therefore always placed on the left side. Thus, since the count-up number is reset by the RFID tag, the traveling program can be designed more easily.

  Here, it is preferable that the magnetic marker is disposed at the curved line portion of the track line and the stop position, and the RFID tag is disposed immediately after the straight line portion of the track line and the stop position. It is preferable to arrange a magnetic marker that is not likely to be skipped in the curved portion. Moreover, the error of a stop position can be made small by making a stop position into a magnetic marker. On the other hand, the RFID tag can be reliably prevented from being skipped by being placed immediately after the straight line portion or the stop position. There is also an advantage that desired traveling control can be performed by arranging the RFID tag after the stop position.

  By using RFID tags together with magnetic markers in this way and arranging RFID tags at the entrance and exit of the section, even if there is a change in the track line, it is only necessary to change the traveling program only within the section where the change has occurred. There is an effect that it is not necessary to change the traveling program of other sections.

  In addition, even within the same section, before the track line branches from the main line to the branch line and after the main line and the branch line merge, the magnetic marker is counted, and the count up number of the magnetic marker after the merge is via the main line, By making it the same as when passing through the branch line, there is an effect that the design and correction of the traveling program can be performed more easily.

FIG. 2 shows a first embodiment of the travel control of the automatic guided vehicle described above.
FIG. 2 shows the track line of the section A and the magnetic marker and the RFID tag arranged along the track line.
A branch line L2 and a branch line L3 are branched and joined to the main line L1 of the section A. RFID tags ID1 and ID2 are arranged at the entrance and exit of the section A and are separated from other sections. Even when the track line is changed in the section A, only the traveling program in the section A is obtained. It only needs to be changed, so that it does not affect the driving program in other sections.

  The magnetic markers S1 to S15 are arranged along the main line L1 and the branch lines L2 and L3. And the automatic guided vehicle 10 can carry out traveling control as desired by executing a traveling program, counting up the magnetic markers S1-S15 by the marker detection sensor 17 (refer FIG. 1).

FIG. 2 illustrates travel programs P1 to P3. The traveling program P1 is a program for the stopping place 1, and by sequentially counting up the magnetic markers from 1, the main line L1 branches to the branch line L2, stops at the stopping place 1, and then travels back to the main line L1. It is something to control.
The traveling program P2 is a program bound for the stop location 2, and is controlled so as to branch from the main line L1 to the branch line L3, stop at the stop location 2, and then return to the main line L1.
The travel program P3 is a program that passes through the stop locations 1 and 2 and controls the vehicle to travel on the main line L1 without branching to the branch lines L2 and L3.

FIG. 3 shows a second embodiment of the traveling control of the automatic guided vehicle described above.
FIG. 3 illustrates the track line of the section A and the magnetic marker and the RFID tag arranged along the track line.
A branch line L2 and a branch line L3 are branched and joined to the main line L1 of the section A. The magnetic markers S1 to S11 and RFID tags ID3 to ID6 are arranged along the main line L1 and the branch lines L2 and L3. Then, by running the traveling program while counting up the magnetic markers S1 to S11 by the marker detection sensor 17 (see FIG. 1) and reading out the RFID tags ID1 to ID6 by the RFID reader 18 (see FIG. 1). The automatic guided vehicle 10 can be controlled to travel as desired.

  Note that RFID tags ID1 and ID2 are arranged at the entrance and exit of the section A and are separated from other sections. Even when the track line is changed in the section A, the traveling program in the section A As in the first embodiment, only the change is required, and the travel program in other sections is not affected.

  The RFID tags ID2 to ID6 are arranged before branching, after stopping, after joining. Further, for example, an RFID tag ID5 is provided so that the number of count-ups of the branched magnetic markers, that is, the magnetic markers S5 and S11, is the same regardless of which route is used.

FIG. 3 illustrates travel programs P11 to P13. The traveling program P11 is a program for the stopping place 1, and by counting up the magnetic markers sequentially from 1, the main line L1 branches to the branch line L2, stops at the stopping place 1, and then travels back to the main line L1. It is something to control.
The travel program P12 is a program for the stop place 2 and is controlled so as to branch from the main line L1 to the branch line L3, stop at the stop place 2, and then return to the main line L1.
The travel program P13 is a program that passes through the stop locations 1 and 2 and controls the vehicle to travel on the main line L1 without branching to the branch lines L2 and L3.

  As described above, according to the automatic guided vehicle and its traveling program control method of the present embodiment, it is possible to easily modify a program such as a route change, and to hardly cause problems such as variations in stop positions and skipping of reading. Play.

  The present invention can be applied to various automatic traveling vehicles in addition to automatic guided vehicles.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Automated guided vehicle 11 Drive wheel 12 Driven wheel 15 Control part 16 Track line detection sensor 17 Marker detection sensor 18 RFID reader

Claims (7)

  An automated guided vehicle that automatically travels along a predetermined track line, comprising a marker detection sensor that detects a count-up magnetic marker and an RFID reader that reads information from an RFID tag.   A marker detection sensor that detects a magnetic marker of a count-up type and an RFID reader that reads information from an RFID tag are mounted on an automatic guided vehicle that automatically travels along a predetermined track line, and a magnet that is arranged along the track line. A traveling program control method for an automated guided vehicle, wherein a traveling program for the automated guided vehicle is controlled using a marker and an RFID tag. In the traveling program control method of the automatic guided vehicle according to claim 2,
A traveling program control method for an automatic guided vehicle, wherein the track line is divided into a plurality of sections, and the RFID tag is disposed at an entrance and an exit of each section. In the traveling program control method of the automatic guided vehicle according to claim 2 or 3,
A magnetic marker is arranged before and after branching from the main line to the branch line of the track line, and the count-up number of the magnetic marker after joining is the same regardless of the route of the main line and the branch line. And a magnetic marker and an RFID tag are arranged on the main line and the branch line.   5. The automatic guided vehicle travel program control method according to claim 2, wherein the magnetic markers are alternately arranged on the left and right sides to count up. 6. Driving program control method.   In the traveling program control method of the automatic guided vehicle according to any one of claims 2 to 5, counting up of the magnetic marker is reset by reading information from an RFID tag. Driving program control method.   In the traveling program control method of the automatic guided vehicle according to any one of claims 2 to 6, the magnetic marker is arranged at a curved portion and a stop position of the track line, and the RFID tag is connected to the track line. A traveling program control method for an automatic guided vehicle, wherein the traveling program control method is arranged immediately after the straight line portion and the stop position.

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