JP2016218736A - Unmanned conveyance system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an unmanned conveyance system capable of making an unmanned carrier restored to normal autonomous travel without making an operator go to a site even if the unmanned carrier cannot acquire positional information and thereby making an emergency stop.SOLUTION: A linear line 24 for visualizing a traveling route A is provided on the traveling route A. An unmanned carrier 10 for a container includes: transponder receivers 23 capable of receiving information from transponders 22; a front camera 26 for imaging a road surface in front of a vehicle body 11 of the unmanned carrier 10 for a container; and a rear camera 27 for imaging the road surface behind the vehicle body 11. An unmanned conveyance system includes: a display unit for displaying images of the front camera 26 and the rear camera 27; and a remote control unit capable of leading the unmanned carrier 10 for a container to a position viewable in the images of the display unit by remote control.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

  The present invention relates to an unmanned transport system, and more particularly to an unmanned transport system suitable for operation of an unmanned transport vehicle for containers that transports containers in a container terminal as a port facility.

As a prior art related to the automatic guided system, for example, an automatic guided vehicle disclosed in Patent Document 1 can be cited.
In the automatic guided vehicle disclosed in Patent Document 1, transponder receivers (information receiving units) are provided at both ends in the traveling direction of the vehicle body. The transponder receiver acquires position information from a plurality of transponders (information transmission units) embedded in the travel route of the automatic guided vehicle. The embedding pitch of each transponder is set to 1 / integer of the distance of the transponder receiver. Therefore, when the automatic guided vehicle travels along the travel route, the transponder receivers provided at both ends of the vehicle body are simultaneously positioned on different transponders. Each transponder receiver receives position information from the transponder, whereby a deviation amount between the transponder and the transponder receiver is calculated. The automatic guided vehicle includes a position / orientation correction device. The position / orientation correction apparatus calculates position / orientation correction data for the position and direction of the automatic guided vehicle based on the amount of deviation between the transponder and the transponder receiver. The travel position and direction of the automatic guided vehicle are corrected based on the position / direction correction data calculated by the position / direction correction device. As a result, the automatic guided vehicle travels autonomously along the travel route in a state where the travel position and direction of the automatic guided vehicle are corrected.

JP 2014-142663 A

  In some cases, the automatic guided vehicle disclosed in Patent Document 1 leaves the travel route for some reason and cannot acquire position information. In this case, the automatic guided vehicle is urgently stopped. However, in order for the automatic guided vehicle to travel normally again, it is necessary to move the automatic guided vehicle to the nearest transponder and acquire position information. However, for the movement of the automatic guided vehicle that has been urgently stopped, the operator needs to go to the stop position of the automatic guided vehicle, cancel the emergency stop of the automatic guided vehicle, and move the automatic guided vehicle to the nearest transponder. In particular, in the case of an automated guided vehicle that transports containers, when an operator enters a travel route, it is necessary to temporarily stop the operation of all automated guided vehicles other than the emergency stopped automated guided vehicle. Therefore, there is a problem that the time loss due to the operation for moving and returning of the operator and the stoppage of all the automatic guided vehicles is large in order to make the automatic guided vehicle that has stopped emergency because the position information cannot be acquired again normally. is there.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and the object of the present invention is to re-open the automatic guided vehicle again without the operator heading to the site even if the automatic guided vehicle cannot acquire position information and stops in an emergency. It is to provide an unmanned conveyance system capable of returning to normal autonomous traveling.

  In order to solve the above problems, the present invention includes a travel route having a plurality of information transmitting units embedded in a road surface, and an information receiving unit capable of receiving information from the information transmitting unit, the information transmitting unit And an automatic guided vehicle that automatically travels along the travel route, the marker for visualizing the travel route is provided in the travel route, and the automatic guided vehicle is Provided with a display device for displaying images of the front camera and the rear camera, comprising a front camera for imaging a road surface in front of a vehicle body of an automated guided vehicle and a rear camera for imaging a road surface behind the vehicle body In addition, a remote operation device that enables remote operation of the automatic guided vehicle is provided at a position where an image on the display device can be visually recognized.

In the present invention, when the automatic guided vehicle cannot acquire position information and stops urgently, images captured by the front camera and the rear camera are displayed on the display device. The operator confirms the images of the front camera and the rear camera displayed on the display device, operates the remote control device to move the automatic guided vehicle to the travel route by remote control, and acquires information from the information transmission unit . If the automatic guided vehicle for containers is remotely controlled so that the position of the marker in the image is a predetermined position, the position of the automatic guided vehicle with respect to the travel route can be easily adjusted.
According to the present invention, the operator does not need to go to the site where the automatic guided vehicle is stopped, and can move the automatic guided vehicle to the travel route by remote operation to acquire information from the information transmission unit. In addition, since the remote operation is performed using the position of the marker in the image, the remote operation for positioning the automatic guided vehicle with respect to the travel route is easy.

Further, in the automatic transport system, the automatic guided vehicle includes a front auxiliary camera that captures a side of the imaging range of the front camera, and a rear auxiliary camera that captures a side of the imaging range of the rear camera, It is good also as a structure provided with these.
In this case, the front auxiliary camera takes a picture of the side of the imaging range of the front camera, and the rear auxiliary camera takes a picture of the side of the imaging range of the rear camera, so the situation around the automatic guided vehicle can be confirmed more accurately. be able to.

In the above-described unmanned conveyance system, the marker may be a linear line that can be visually identified.
In this case, since the marker is a straight line that is easy to visually recognize, the marker is easily visible in the image, and the automatic operation of the automatic guided vehicle is further facilitated by using the straight line shown in the image.

In the above-described unmanned conveyance system, the front camera and the rear camera may be provided at the center of the vehicle body in the width direction of the vehicle body.
In this case, if the automatic guided vehicle is remotely controlled so that the direction in which the marker extends in the respective images of the front camera and the rear camera crosses the center of the image, the position of the automatic guided vehicle with respect to the travel route is adjusted. be able to.

In the above automatic transfer system, the display device may include a split screen that simultaneously displays images of the front camera and the rear camera.
In this case, since the images of the front camera and the rear camera are simultaneously displayed on the screen of the display device, the position of the automatic guided vehicle with respect to the travel route is easily confirmed.

  According to the present invention, there is provided an unmanned conveyance system capable of returning the automatic guided vehicle to normal autonomous traveling again without an operator going to the site even if the automatic guided vehicle cannot acquire position information and stops in an emergency. Can be provided.

It is a schematic block diagram of the unmanned conveyance system for containers which concerns on 1st Embodiment. It is a side view of the automatic guided vehicle for containers concerning a 1st embodiment. (A) is a bottom view of the automatic guided vehicle for containers, (b) is a front view of the automatic guided vehicle for containers. It is a block diagram which shows the control system in the automatic guided vehicle for containers. It is a block diagram which shows the control system of the central control apparatus in a central control room. It is a figure which shows the image displayed on the display part and display part of a central control apparatus. (A)-(c) is a top view explaining return to the driving route of the automatic guided vehicle for containers which stopped urgently. (A)-(c) is a figure which shows the screen of the display part which displayed the image imaged corresponding to FIG. 7 (a)-(c). (A) is a top view of the automatic guided vehicle for containers which concerns on 2nd Embodiment, (b) is a figure which shows the image displayed on the display part and display part which concern on 2nd Embodiment.

(First embodiment)
Hereinafter, an automatic transfer system according to a first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. The unmanned transport system of the present embodiment is an unmanned transport system for containers that operates a plurality of unmanned transport vehicles for containers that receive containers and carry containers between a ship and a container yard at a container terminal as a port facility. It is an example applied to.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the unmanned transport system for containers according to the present embodiment includes an unmanned transport vehicle for containers 10 as an unmanned transport vehicle, a travel route A of the unmanned transport vehicle for containers 10, and positions separated from the travel route A. Central control room B installed in Although only one container automatic guided vehicle 10 is illustrated in FIG. 1, in the present embodiment, a plurality of container automatic guided vehicles 10 are arranged, and a plurality of container automatic guided vehicles 10 are used at the same time. It is a system that performs cargo handling.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the vehicle body 11 of the automatic guided vehicle 10 for a container includes a loading platform 12 that supports the container C. A pair of left and right front wheels 13 are provided on the lower front side of the vehicle body 11, and a pair of left and right rear wheels 14 are provided on the lower rear side of the vehicle body 11. The front wheel 13 and the rear wheel 14 will be described. As shown in FIGS. 3A and 3B, a turning support portion 15 that is turnable in the horizontal direction with respect to the vehicle body 11 is provided. A shaft case 16 that houses an axle (not shown) and a differential mechanism (not shown) is connected to the lower end of the turning support portion 15. Tires 17 are respectively attached to both ends of the axle, and the front wheel 13 and the rear wheel 14 have a double tire structure including two tires 17. The shaft case 16 is provided with an electric motor 18 for traveling. In the present embodiment, a servo motor is used as the electric motor 18.

  A steering mechanism 19 is connected to the upper part of each turning support portion 15. Although not shown, the steering mechanism 19 includes an electric motor for steering and a speed reducer for turning the turning support portion 15. Therefore, the front wheel 13 and the rear wheel 14 can be steered independently of each other by the operation of the steering mechanism 19. In the automatic guided vehicle 10 for a container according to the present embodiment, the steering mechanism 19 is provided with an electric motor for steering so that the left and right wheels of the front wheel 13 and the rear wheel 14 are steered independently of each other. This configuration is not limited to this. The steering mechanism may include, for example, a steering cylinder (with a stroke sensor) and a link member that connects the left and right wheels and is controlled by the steering cylinder. In this case, the front wheel 13 and the rear wheel 14 are provided with cylinders and link members, respectively. The left and right wheels of the front wheel 13 and the rear wheel 14 are steered simultaneously by the extension of the corresponding cylinders.

  Near the edge in the width direction of the vehicle body 11, there are provided a plurality of stoppers 20 that regulate the positional displacement of the container C in the width direction with respect to the loading platform 12. Further, stoppers 21 are provided at the front portion and the rear portion of the vehicle body 11 to regulate the positional displacement of the container C mounted on the loading platform 12 in the length direction.

  As shown in FIGS. 1, 2, and 3 (a), as an information receiving unit that can receive information on the transponder 22 embedded in the road surface of the travel route A at the front and rear of the bottom of the vehicle body 11. The transponder receiver 23 is provided. The transponder receiver 23 performs position detection by reading the transponder 22.

  Here, the traveling route A of the automatic guided vehicle 10 for containers will be described. The travel route A in the container terminal is set by a plurality of transponders 22 embedded in the road surface. The transponder 22 according to the present embodiment corresponds to an information transmission unit, and is a magnetic tag embedded at a certain depth on the road surface of the travel route A. The transponder 22 includes ID information, position information, and the like for each transponder 22. Various information is held. The embedding pitch of each transponder 22 is mainly set to 1 / integer of the distance of the transponder receiver 23. Although the transponder 22 is embedded in the road surface, since the top of the transponder 22 is hardened with a transparent resin, the visibility of the position of the transponder 22 is good. It is preferable to make the position of the transponder 22 visible by marking. The traveling route A is formed by a combination of a straight portion S where the containerless guided vehicle 10 travels straight and a corner portion W where the traveling is curved. In FIG. 1, two traveling routes A are shown, one traveling route A close to the central control room B shows only the straight portion S, and the other traveling route A shows the straight portion S and the corner portion W. In the corner portion W, the route of the front wheel 13 and the rear wheel 14 of the automatic guided vehicle 10 for containers is basically different, and the transponder 22 in the corner portion W is installed according to the shape of the corner portion W. In the straight line portion S shown in FIG. 1, a straight line 24 connecting the transponders 22 is drawn on the road surface. The straight line 24 is coated with a visually identifiable yellow paint so as to visualize the travel route A. Incidentally, the loading / unloading area of the container C including the travel route A of the automatic guided vehicle 10 for containers is an area in which entry of carriers and people that allow the container C to enter and leave the loading / unloading area is restricted.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, a front camera 26 is installed at the front of the vehicle body 11. The front camera 26 is for imaging the road surface ahead of the vehicle body 11, and is provided at the center of the vehicle body 11 in the width direction of the vehicle body 11. The front camera 26 is fixed at a position where a part of the front portion of the vehicle body 11 (near the center of the vehicle body 11 in the width direction) is reflected in the captured image. A rear camera 27 is installed at the rear of the vehicle body 11. The rear camera 27 is for imaging the road surface behind the vehicle body 11, and is provided at the center of the vehicle body 11 in the width direction of the vehicle body 11. The rear camera 27 is fixed at a position where a part of the rear portion of the vehicle body 11 (near the center of the vehicle body 11 in the width direction) is reflected in the captured image. Accordingly, the front camera 26 and the rear camera 27 are located on the center line extending in the length direction of the vehicle body 11. The front camera 26 and the rear camera 27 are CCD cameras or C-MOS cameras having a predetermined number of pixels, and may be any cameras as long as image quality that can visually identify the straight line 24 on the road surface is ensured. Preferably, the transponder 22 can be identified.

  The vehicle body 11 is equipped with a controller 28 for controlling each part of the automatic guided vehicle 10 for containers. As shown in FIG. 4, the controller 28 includes an arithmetic processing unit 29, a memory 30, and a communication unit 31. The arithmetic processing unit 29 is electrically connected to a wheel encoder 32 that detects the angular velocity of each wheel, a steering angle encoder 33 that detects the steering angle of each wheel, and a gyroscope 34 that detects the turning angular velocity of the vehicle body 11. Yes. The arithmetic processing unit 29 is connected to the transponder receiver 23, and the controller 28 recognizes the position of the containerless automatic guided vehicle 10 based on the detection signal of the transponder receiver 23.

  The arithmetic processing unit 29 executes various programs and performs various data processing, and receives detection information detected by the wheel encoder 32, the steering angle encoder 33, and the gyroscope 34. Various programs and data are stored in the memory 30. As a program stored in the memory 30, there is a control program for calculating the travel position of the vehicle body 11 based on signals from the wheel encoder 32, the steering angle encoder 33, and the gyroscope 34. This control program is a program for allowing the containerless guided vehicle 10 to travel along the travel route A and reach the destination. The communication unit 31 communicates with the central control room B installed at a position separated from the travel route L. In the present embodiment, the automatic guided vehicle 10 for a container travels in the cargo handling area of the container terminal or stops at a predetermined position based on a command from the central control room B.

  In the present embodiment, the controller 28 is electrically connected to each electric motor 18 and has a function of performing drive control of the electric motor 18. Therefore, the controller 28 can perform vehicle speed control by drive control of the electric motor 18. The controller 28, for example, outputs an instruction for acceleration or deceleration in addition to a command for the electric motor 18 for high speed travel (25 km / h) and a command for low speed travel (0.5 km / h) to each electric motor 18. Can communicate against. The controller 28 corresponds to a vehicle speed control device.

  In the present embodiment, the controller 28 is connected to each steering mechanism 19, and each steering mechanism 19 steers the corresponding wheel based on a command from the controller 28. That is, the controller 28 corresponds to a steering control device. Each wheel is steered independently by a corresponding steering mechanism 19. The controller 28 controls each steering mechanism 19 so that the steering angle of the front wheels 13 and the rear wheels 14 becomes 0 degrees when traveling straight ahead. Further, when passing through a curved route, the controller 28 controls each steering mechanism 19 so as to obtain a steering angle necessary to correspond to the curved route of the front wheels 13 and the rear wheels 14. In the present embodiment, each steering mechanism 19 is controlled so as to travel obliquely (hereinafter referred to as “skew travel”) without changing the direction of the vehicle body 11. When the vehicle travels obliquely without changing the direction of the vehicle body 11, each steering mechanism 19 simultaneously steers the corresponding front wheel 13 and rear wheel 14 in the same direction with the same steering angle.

  Next, the central control room B will be described. The central control room B is a room where an operator who monitors the status of container handling is resident, and is installed at a position separated from the travel route A of the automatic guided vehicle 10 for containers. The area where the central control room B is installed is an area where entry of people is not restricted, unlike the cargo handling area including the travel route A of the automatic guided vehicle 10 for containers. In the central control room B, in addition to managing the operation of the container automated guided vehicle 10 at the container terminal, a central control device 35 for managing container handling at the container terminal is installed.

  As shown in FIG. 5, the central control device 35 is a computer that is higher than the controller 28 of the automatic guided vehicle 10 for containers, and includes an arithmetic processing unit 36, a memory 37, an input unit 38, a display unit 39, and communication. Part 40 is provided. The arithmetic processing unit 36 executes various programs and performs various data processing. Various programs and data are stored in the memory 37. In the input unit 38, data input by an operator and input of data and programs from an external storage medium are performed. The display unit 39 has a function of displaying various data, and a function of displaying various images such as charts, graphs, still images, and moving images. The communication unit 40 has a function of performing wireless communication with the controller 28 of the automatic guided vehicle 10 for containers.

  In the present embodiment, the display unit 39 of the central control device 35 can simultaneously display images captured by the front camera 26 and the rear camera 27 included in the automatic guided vehicle 10 for containers. The central control device 35 including the display unit 39 corresponds to a display device that displays images of the front camera 26 and the rear camera 27. When the images of the front camera 26 and the rear camera 27 are displayed at the same time, the screen of the display unit 39 of this embodiment is divided into two in the vertical direction of the upper screen 41 and the lower screen 42 as shown in FIG. The upper screen 41 displays the image of the front camera 26, and the lower screen 42 displays the image of the rear camera 27. The lower screen 42 displays the image of the rear camera 27 to be displayed so that it is upside down. The reason why the lower screen 42 displays the image of the rear camera 27 upside down is to facilitate remote operation of the containerless automatic guided vehicle 10 by the remote operation device described next. A center line P that crosses the lower screen 42 of the upper screen 41 up and down is displayed on the screen of the display unit 39. Center line P coincides with the traveling direction of automatic guided vehicle 10 for containers. In FIG. 6, images of the front camera 26 and the rear camera 27 when the containerless guided vehicle 10 is in a normal position with respect to the travel route A are displayed. In the state where the automatic guided vehicle for container 10 travels autonomously, the images of the front camera 26 and the rear camera 27 do not have to be displayed on the display unit 39, and the front camera 26 and the rear camera 27 do not take an image. Also good.

  The central control device 35 of the present embodiment corresponds to a part of a remote operation device for remotely operating the container automatic guided vehicle 10. The arithmetic processing unit 36 is electrically connected to the front wheel steering lever 43, the rear wheel steering lever 44, and the forward / reverse lever 45. The front wheel steering lever 43 has a function of changing the direction of the front wheel 13 of the containerless automatic guided vehicle 10 by the operation of the operator, and the rear wheel steering lever 44 is the direction of the rear wheel 14 of the automatic guided vehicle 10 for the container by the operation of the operator. The function to change. The front wheel steering lever 43 and the rear wheel steering lever 44 may be two levers so that the left and right wheels of the front wheel 13 and the rear wheel 14 can be steered independently, or the left and right wheels are selected and The left and right wheels may be steered by the lever. The forward / reverse lever 45 has a function of moving the container automatic guided vehicle 10 forward or backward by an operator's operation. Accordingly, the central control device 35, the front wheel steering lever 43, the rear wheel steering lever 44, and the forward / reverse lever 45 correspond to a remote operation device that enables remote operation of the automatic guided vehicle 10 for containers. The front wheel steering lever 43, the rear wheel steering lever 44, and the forward / reverse lever 45 are provided at positions where an image of the display unit 39 can be visually recognized by an operating operator.

  In the state in which the container automated guided vehicle 10 autonomously travels based on the control program, a program is set so that the front wheel steering lever 43, the rear wheel steering lever 44, and the forward / reverse lever 45 cannot be operated. The front-wheel steering lever 43, the rear-wheel steering lever 44, and the forward / reverse lever 45 are urgent when the automatic guided vehicle 10 deviates from the travel route A for some reason (slip due to sudden braking, etc.) or detects an obstacle. It can be operated only when stopped. The remote operation device is a device that performs a remote operation for moving the containerless guided vehicle 10 for emergency stop to the nearest transponder 22.

  Next, the operation of the unmanned transport system for containers according to this embodiment will be described. Usually, the automatic guided vehicle 10 for containers is autonomously driven based on a control program, but there is a case where the containerless vehicle 10 deviates from the travel route A for some reason (slip due to sudden braking, etc.) and stops urgently. The automatic guided vehicle for containers 10 that has deviated from the travel route A and stopped urgently cannot enter the current position. In this case, it is necessary to move the container automated guided vehicle 10 which has deviated from the travel route A and stopped urgently to the nearest transponder 22 and register the origin position based on the information held by the transponder 22. For example, as shown in FIG. 7A, when the containerless guided vehicle 10 departs from the travel route A and makes an emergency stop, the containerless automated guided vehicle 10 is moved to the nearest transponder 22 to return to the origin. A procedure for registering the position will be described.

  The automatic guided vehicle 10 for containers shown in FIG. 7A deviates from the straight line 24 of the travel route A and is urgently stopped, and the traveling direction of the automatic guided vehicle 10 for containers is inclined with respect to the straight line 24. . First, the operator instructs the controller 28 of the containerless automatic guided vehicle 10 through the central control device 35 so that the emergency stop of the containerless automatic guided vehicle 10 is canceled and the vehicle can run.

  Next, the operator confirms the image captured by the front camera 26 and the image captured by the rear camera 27 displayed on the display unit 39. The image captured by the front camera 26 and the image captured by the rear camera 27 of the containerless automatic guided vehicle 10 that has been urgently stopped are displayed on the display unit 39 when the containerless automatic guided vehicle 10 is urgently stopped. In the state of the container automated guided vehicle 10 illustrated in FIG. 7A, the image captured by the front camera 26 and the image captured by the rear camera 27 are images of the display unit 39 illustrated in FIG. As shown in FIG. 8A, the image of the imaging range F of the front camera 26 only shows the front part of the vehicle body 11 and the road surface, but does not show the straight line 24. In the image of the imaging range R of the rear camera 27, the rear part of the vehicle body 11, the road surface, and a part of the straight line 24 are shown. The straight line 24 in the image of the rear camera 27 is greatly inclined with respect to the center line P. Based on the image shown in FIG. 8A, the operator can recognize that the automatic guided vehicle 10 for container is obliquely deviated from the straight line 24 of the travel route A to the left in the traveling direction.

  Next, the operator operates the front wheel steering lever 43 and the rear wheel steering lever 44 to change the directions of the front wheels 13 and the rear wheels 14 so that the length direction of the vehicle body 11 and the straight line 24 are parallel to each other. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 7A, the front wheel 13 is turned to the right and the rear wheel 14 is turned to the left. In FIG. 7A, the front wheel 13 and the rear wheel 14 are arranged such that a line connecting the turning center (not shown) of the containerless automatic guided vehicle 10 and the center of each wheel is perpendicular to the rolling direction of each wheel. Is steered. Therefore, the steering angle of the right front wheel 13 and the rear wheel 14 close to the turning center is set larger than the steering angle of the left front wheel 13 and the rear wheel 14 far from the turning center. In the state of the front wheel 13 and the rear wheel 14 shown in FIG. 7A, the forward / reverse lever 45 is put forward to advance the containerless guided vehicle 10 forward. By advancing the containerless guided vehicle 10, the containerless guided vehicle 10 turns to the right so that the length direction of the vehicle body 11 is parallel to the straight line 24, as shown in FIG. 7B. Change direction. When the direction of the containerless guided vehicle 10 changes as it moves forward, the straight line 24 starts to appear in the image of the front camera 26, and the inclination of the straight line 24 with respect to the center line P decreases in the image of the rear camera 27. . As shown in FIG. 7B, when the length direction of the vehicle body 11 is parallel to the straight line 24, the advance of the automatic guided vehicle 10 for containers is stopped.

  In the state of the container automated guided vehicle 10 illustrated in FIG. 7B, the image captured by the front camera 26 and the image captured by the rear camera 27 are images of the display unit 39 illustrated in FIG. 8B. The length direction of the vehicle body 11 and the straight line 24 of the automatic guided vehicle 10 for a container shown in FIG. 7B are parallel to each other, but are not aligned with each other in the width direction of the vehicle body 11. As shown in FIG. 8B, the image of the imaging range F of the front camera 26 includes the front portion, road surface, and straight line 24 of the automatic guided vehicle 10 for containers. In the image of the imaging range R of the rear camera 27, the rear part of the vehicle body 11, the road surface, and a part of the straight line 24 are shown. Both straight lines 24 shown in the images of the front camera 26 and the rear camera 27 have moved to the right side of the screen. As shown in FIG. 8B, the image of the front camera 26 and the image of the rear camera 27 are substantially line symmetric with respect to the boundary line between the upper screen 41 and the lower screen 42. From the image shown in FIG. 8B, the operator can recognize that the center in the width direction of the vehicle body 11 of the automatic guided vehicle 10 for containers and the straight line 24 are not coincident but are parallel.

  Next, the operator operates the front wheel steering lever 43 and the rear wheel steering lever 44 to change the directions of the front wheels 13 and the rear wheels 14 so that the length direction of the vehicle body 11 and the straight line 24 are parallel to each other. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 7B, the front wheel 13 and the rear wheel 14 are turned to the right. That is, the containerless guided vehicle 10 is in a state where the vehicle 11 can run obliquely without changing the direction of the vehicle body 11. In the state where the front wheels 13 and the rear wheels 14 are oriented as shown in FIG. 7B, the forward / reverse lever 45 is put forward to advance the automatic guided vehicle 10 for containers. As the vehicle advances, the container guided vehicle 10 is skewed, and the center of the vehicle body 11 in the width direction is maintained parallel to the straight line 24 while the center of the vehicle body 11 in the width direction is maintained, as shown in FIG. It coincides with the straight line 24. When the center of the vehicle body 11 in the width direction coincides with the straight line 24 by the oblique traveling of the container automatic guided vehicle 10, the oblique traveling of the container automatic guided vehicle 10 is stopped.

  Next, the operator operates the front wheel steering lever 43 and the rear wheel steering lever 44 to change the directions of the front wheels 13 and the rear wheels 14 so that the containerless guided vehicle 10 can travel straight ahead. Then, the operator puts the forward / reverse lever 45 in the forward direction and moves the container automatic guided vehicle 10 forward. The nearest transponder 22 is preferably recognized by the image on the display unit 39. When the container automatic guided vehicle 10 reaches the nearest transponder 22, the origin registration for acquiring the position information is performed, and after the origin registration, the autonomous traveling based on the control program is returned.

According to the unmanned transport system for containers of the present embodiment, the following operational effects are obtained.
(1) When container automatic guided vehicle 10 cannot acquire position information and stops urgently, images captured by front camera 26 and rear camera 27 are displayed on display 39. The operator operates the front wheel steering lever 43, the rear wheel steering lever 44, and the forward / reverse lever 45 while checking the images of the front camera 26 and the rear camera 27 displayed on the display unit 39, and the automatic guided vehicle 10 for containers. Is moved to the travel route A by remote control. The information of the transponder 22 is acquired after the automatic guided vehicle 10 for containers is moved. If the container automated guided vehicle 10 is remotely controlled so that the position of the straight line 24 becomes a predetermined position in the image of the display unit 39, the position of the container automated guided vehicle 10 with respect to the travel route A can be easily adjusted. As a result, the operator does not need to go to the site where the containerless guided vehicle 10 is stopped, and can move the containerless guided vehicle 10 to the travel route A by remote operation and acquire information of the transponder 22. Further, since the remote operation is performed using the position of the straight line 24 in the image, the remote operation of the alignment of the container automatic guided vehicle 10 with respect to the travel route A is easy.

(2) Since the straight line 24 is a straight line 24 that is easy to visually recognize, the straight line 24 is easy to be visually recognized in the image. By using the straight line 24 shown in the image, the containerless guided vehicle 10 can be remotely operated. Is even easier.

(3) The front camera 26 and the rear camera 27 are provided at the center of the vehicle body 11 in the width direction of the vehicle body 11. For this reason, if the container automated guided vehicle 10 is remotely operated so that the direction in which the straight line 24 extends in the image is a position (center line P) that crosses the center of the image vertically, the container unmanned for the travel route A The position of the conveyance vehicle 10 can be adjusted.

(4) The display unit 39 has a divided screen that is divided into an upper screen 41 and a lower screen 42 that simultaneously display images of the front camera 26 and the rear camera 27. For this reason, the images of the front camera 26 and the rear camera 27 are displayed side by side on the screen of the display unit 39, so that the position of the automatic guided vehicle 10 for the container with respect to the travel route A can be easily confirmed. Furthermore, remote control becomes easier by displaying the images of the front camera 26 and the rear camera 27 side by side and displaying them simultaneously.

(5) Since the operator does not need to go to the site where the containerless automatic guided vehicle 10 is stopped, there is no need to stop the system to interrupt the operation of the containerless automatic guided vehicle 10 that is operating normally. For this reason, it is possible to prevent occurrence of a loss time due to a system stop.

(Second Embodiment)
Next, an unmanned conveyance system for containers according to a second embodiment will be described. This embodiment is different from the first embodiment in that the automatic guided vehicle for containers includes cameras other than the front camera and the rear camera, and the upper screen and the lower screen of the display unit are each divided into three. In the present embodiment, the description of the first embodiment is used for the configuration common to the first embodiment, and the reference numerals are used in common.

  The automatic guided vehicle 10 for containers shown in FIG. 9A includes a front camera 26 at the front portion of the vehicle body 11 and a pair of front auxiliary cameras 51 for photographing both sides of the imaging range of the front camera 26. I have. The automatic guided vehicle for containers 10 includes a rear camera 27 at the rear of the vehicle body 11 and a pair of rear auxiliary cameras 52 that capture both sides of the imaging range of the rear camera 27. The front auxiliary camera 51 and the rear auxiliary camera 52 are cameras having the same configuration as the front camera 26 and the rear camera 27. Images captured by the front auxiliary camera 51 and the rear auxiliary camera 52 are transmitted to the central controller 35 through the controller 28.

As shown in FIG. 9B, it can be said that the upper screen 41 and the lower screen 42 are each divided into three, and the screen of the display unit 39 is divided into six. An image of the imaging range F of the front camera 26 is displayed at the center of the upper screen 41. On the right side of the image of the front camera 26, an image of the imaging range FR of the front auxiliary camera 51 that captures the right side of the imaging range F of the front camera 26 is displayed. On the right side of the image of the rear camera 27, an image of the imaging range FL of the front auxiliary camera 51 that captures the left side of the imaging range F of the front camera 26 is displayed. The front auxiliary camera 51 is fixed at a position where a part of the front portion of the vehicle body 11 (near both sides of the vehicle body 11 in the width direction) is reflected in the captured image.
An image of the imaging range R of the rear camera 27 is displayed at the center of the lower screen 42. On the right side of the image of the rear camera 27, an image of the imaging range RR of the rear auxiliary camera 52 that captures the right side of the imaging range R of the rear camera 27 is displayed. On the right side of the image of the rear camera 27, an image of the imaging range RL of the rear auxiliary camera 52 that captures the left side of the imaging range R of the rear camera 27 is displayed. The rear auxiliary camera 52 is fixed at a position where a part of the rear portion of the vehicle body 11 (near both sides of the vehicle body 11 in the width direction) is reflected in the captured image.

  For example, as shown in FIG. 9A, when the object X exists on the front left side in the traveling direction of the containerless guided vehicle 10, the left front auxiliary camera 51 captures the object X, and FIG. ), The object X appears in the image of the imaging range FL of the display unit 39. Further, when the object Y is present at the right rear in the traveling direction of the containerless guided vehicle 10, the right rear auxiliary camera 52 images the object Y, and the object Y appears in the image of the imaging range RR of the display unit 39. In the present embodiment, the imaging range F of the front camera 26 and the imaging range R of the rear camera 27 are displayed larger than the imaging ranges FR and FL of the front auxiliary camera 51 and the imaging ranges RR and RL of the rear auxiliary camera 52. Yes. The display of the imaging ranges FR, FL, RR, RL may be the same size as the display of the imaging ranges F, R.

  In the present embodiment, the pair of front auxiliary cameras 51 captures both sides of the imaging range F of the front camera 26, and images both sides of the imaging range R of the pair of rear auxiliary cameras 52 and the rear camera 27. For this reason, the operator can grasp the situation around the automatic guided vehicle 10 for containers more reliably than the automatic guided vehicle 10 for containers provided with only the front camera 26 and the rear camera 27. For example, in the corner portion W of the travel route A, even if the container automated guided vehicle 10 stops urgently, the container automated guided vehicle can be visually checked for obstacles around the container automated guided vehicle 10. 10 can be moved to the straight line portion S by remote control.

  The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and various modifications are possible within the scope of the gist of the invention. For example, the following modifications may be made.

In the above-described embodiment, the unmanned conveyance system for containers that operates the automatic guided vehicle for containers as the unmanned conveyance system has been described. However, the unmanned conveyance system is not limited to the unmanned conveyance system for containers. The present invention can be applied to any automatic transport system using an automatic guided vehicle that autonomously travels by acquiring position information from an information transmission unit such as a transponder provided on a road surface.
In the above embodiment, the central control device has a function that combines the functions of a display device that displays images of the front camera and the rear camera and a remote operation device that enables remote operation of the automatic guided vehicle. However, this is not the case. For example, the display device that displays the images of the front camera and the rear camera and the remote control device may be provided independently of each other.
○ In the above embodiment, an example in which a continuous yellow straight line is provided as a marker in the travel route has been described. However, the straight line as a marker may be a discontinuous line or a combination of a continuous line and a discontinuous line. Good. Moreover, the color of the straight line is free as long as it can be visually distinguished from the road surface through the camera image. The visual distinction is, for example, a distinction by color in the case of a color image, and a distinction by lightness in the case of a monochrome image. In addition, it does not prevent providing the curve line as a marker in the corner part in a travel route.
In the above embodiment, the front camera and the rear camera are positioned at the center of the vehicle body in the width direction at the front and rear of the automatic guided vehicle, but the present invention is not limited to this. The front camera and the rear camera are preferably positioned at the center of the vehicle body in the width direction at the front and rear portions of the automatic guided vehicle, but may be provided at positions off the center of the vehicle body in the width direction.
In the above embodiment, the screen of the display device is divided vertically, the upper screen displays the image of the front camera, and the lower screen displays the screen of the rear camera. However, the division of the screen is not limited to the upper and lower sides. For example, the screen of the display device may be divided into left and right, the front camera image may be displayed horizontally on the right screen, and the rear camera image may be displayed horizontally on the left screen. In this case, in the state where the straight line in the images of the front camera and the rear camera extends to the left and right through the center of the screen, the center in the width direction of the automatic guided vehicle coincides with the straight line. Alternatively, the images of the front camera and the rear camera may be arranged side by side without being turned sideways. Further, an image of a specific camera may be enlarged or reduced on the display device. Furthermore, the images of the front camera and the rear camera may be displayed using a plurality of display devices, respectively.
In the above embodiment, the automatic guided vehicle can be remotely operated using the front wheel steering lever and the rear wheel steering lever, but this is not restrictive. For example, a steering mode switching button for switching the steering mode and a left and right steering lever for performing left and right steering may be provided to switch the steering mode. The steering mode may be, for example, a steering mode in which both front wheels and rear wheels are steered left and right, a mode in which only front wheels are steered left and right, and a steering mode in which only rear wheels are steered left and right.
In the second embodiment, the front auxiliary camera and the rear auxiliary camera are provided. However, the front camera and the rear camera may be cameras provided with wide-angle lenses. In this case, the front camera can image up to the imaging range of the front auxiliary camera, and the rear camera can image the imaging range of the rear auxiliary camera, and the same effect as the second embodiment can be expected. The images of the front camera, rear camera, front auxiliary camera, and rear auxiliary camera are not limited to color images, and may be monochrome images.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Automatic guided vehicle 11 Car body 13 Front wheel 14 Rear wheel 18 Electric motor 19 Steering mechanism 22 Transponder 23 Transponder receiver 24 Linear line 26 Front camera 27 Rear camera 28 Controller 35 Central controller 39 Display unit 41 Upper screen 42 Lower screen 43 Front wheel Steering lever 44 Rear wheel steering lever 45 Forward / reverse lever 51 Front auxiliary camera 52 Rear auxiliary camera A Travel path B Central control room C Containers F, R, FR, FL, RR, RL Imaging range P Center line S Straight line portion W Corner Part

Claims (5)

A travel route having a plurality of information transmitters embedded in the road surface;
In an unmanned transport system comprising an information receiving unit capable of receiving information from the information transmitting unit, and receiving an information from the information transmitting unit and autonomously traveling along the travel route,
A marker for visualizing the travel route is provided on the travel route,
The automatic guided vehicle is
A front camera that images the road surface in front of the body of the automatic guided vehicle;
A rear camera that images the road surface behind the vehicle body,
A display device for displaying images of the front camera and the rear camera;
An automatic transport system, wherein a remote control device that enables remote control of the automatic guided vehicle is provided at a position where an image of the display device can be visually recognized. The automatic guided vehicle is
A front auxiliary camera for photographing the side of the imaging range of the front camera;
The unmanned conveyance system according to claim 1, further comprising a rear auxiliary camera that captures a side of an imaging range of the rear camera.   The unmanned conveyance system according to claim 1, wherein the marker is a visually identifiable straight line.   The unmanned conveyance system according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the front camera and the rear camera are provided at a center of the vehicle body in a width direction of the vehicle body.   The unmanned conveyance system according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the display device has a divided screen for simultaneously displaying images of the front camera and the rear camera.

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