JP2021087328A - Unmanned carrier and unmanned transportation system - Google Patents

Abstract

To perform power supply from a power supply device to a power receiving part of a carrier vehicle body without damaging, ss much as possible, degree of freedom of a device layout on a floor surface on which the carrier vehicle body travels, in an unmanned guided vehicle including a power receiving device having a power receiving part to receive power from a power supplying device and a power storage part to store power supplied from the power receiving part by cooperation of the carrying vehicle body and a power feeding device mounted on the carrying vehicle body and provided at a predetermined position.SOLUTION: A power receiving device 60 includes a plurality of power receiving coils 71a and 72a.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

According to the present invention, a power receiving unit that receives power from the power supply device and a power storage unit that stores electric power supplied from the power receiving unit in cooperation with the vehicle body and a power supply device attached to the vehicle body and provided at a predetermined position. The present invention relates to an automatic guided vehicle provided with a power receiving device having a unit, and an automatic guided vehicle provided with the automatic guided vehicle.

Conventionally, as an example of the above-mentioned automatic guided vehicle, an automatic guided vehicle disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2012-239334 (Patent Document 1 below) is known.

In this automatic guided vehicle, only one power receiving unit is provided on one side of the main body of the automatic guided vehicle. The power feeding device has a ground-side power feeding coil that faces the one power receiving coil when the transport vehicle main body stops in a predetermined stop area. The power receiving coil receives AC power in a non-contact manner by electromagnetic induction based on an AC magnetic field generated by the ground side feeding coil, and outputs the power to the power receiving circuit. The power receiving circuit converts the AC power input from the power receiving coil into DC power and supplies it to the power storage unit. Then, the power feeding device is configured to perform non-contact power feeding to the automatic guided vehicle stopped in the predetermined stop area.

In addition to the non-contact power feeding method described above, the power feeding method using the power feeding device is a contact power feeding method in which the power feeding electrode provided in the power feeding device and the power receiving electrode provided in the main body of the transport vehicle are brought into contact with each other to supply power. May be adopted.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2012-239334

In a configuration in which only one power receiving unit is provided on the side surface of the automatic guided vehicle as in the conventional automatic guided vehicle described above, it is necessary to arrange the ground-side power feeding coil or the like according to the height position of the power receiving unit. Therefore, for example, even if it is desired to arrange the power feeding device in a space below a predetermined height from the floor surface, if the power receiving unit is at a high position from the floor surface, the power feeding device cannot be accommodated in the space and is placed in another place. I have no choice but to place it in. As a result, there arises a problem that the layout of the device on the floor on which the automatic guided vehicle travels is limited.

Even if the power supply device can be arranged in a space corresponding to the height of the power receiving unit, if there is only one power receiving unit as in the conventional automatic guided vehicle, the automatic guided vehicle will be placed in the power receiving position (power receiving position). The movement path (for example, turning direction) is restricted when the unit and the power feeding device are moved to a position where they can cooperate with each other. When the movement route of the automatic guided vehicle is restricted, there arises a problem that the layout of peripheral devices is restricted in order to avoid interference with the automatic guided vehicle.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and power can be supplied from the power feeding device to the power receiving portion of the transport vehicle body without impairing the degree of freedom in the layout of the device on the floor on which the transport vehicle body travels. The purpose is to provide automatic guided vehicles and unmanned transportation systems.

In one aspect of the present invention for solving the above problems,
A power receiving unit having a power receiving unit that receives power from the power supply device and a power storage unit that stores power supplied from the power receiving unit in cooperation with the vehicle body and a power supply device attached to the vehicle body and provided at a predetermined position. An automated guided vehicle equipped with a device
The power receiving device includes a plurality of the power receiving units.

According to this automatic guided vehicle, one of a plurality of power receiving units receives power from the power supply device by cooperation with a power supply device provided at a predetermined position (for example, cooperation by non-contact power supply or contact power supply). Then, the electric power received by the one power receiving unit is supplied to the power storage unit and stored.

Since this automatic guided vehicle is provided with a plurality of power receiving units, for example, by making the height of each power receiving unit different, it is possible to give variation in the installation height of the power feeding device. Therefore, the degree of freedom in layout of the power feeding device can be increased as compared with the case where there is only one power receiving unit. In addition to making the height of each power receiving part different, for example, by making the position in the front-rear direction and the position in the left-right direction of each power receiving part different, the carrier body can be moved to a position where the power receiving part and the power feeding device can cooperate ( Hereinafter, it is possible to increase the degree of freedom of the movement route when moving to the power receiving position). As a result, the degree of freedom in layout of peripheral devices arranged so as not to interfere with the main body of the transport vehicle can be increased.

In this automatic guided vehicle, the main body of the automatic guided vehicle is configured to be linearly movable in the front-rear direction, which is a predetermined direction, and to be able to swivel and move in the left-right direction with reference to the front-rear direction. The plurality of power receiving units include at least a first power receiving unit and a second power receiving unit, and positions where the second power receiving unit is different from the first power receiving unit in the left-right direction with respect to the vehicle body. It is possible to adopt the embodiment arranged in.

According to this aspect, since the plurality of power receiving units include the first power receiving unit and the second power receiving unit having different positions in the left-right direction with respect to the transport vehicle main body, the transport vehicle main body is moved to the power receiving position. The degree of freedom in selecting the turning direction, turning position, number of turns, etc. of the transport vehicle body is increased. As a result, the degree of freedom of the movement route when moving the transport vehicle main body to the power receiving position is increased. Then, by increasing the degree of freedom of the movement path to the power receiving position of the transport vehicle body in this way, the degree of freedom of layout of the peripheral devices arranged so as not to interfere with the movement path is increased.

Further, in this automatic guided vehicle, the main body of the automatic guided vehicle is configured to be linearly movable in the front-rear direction, which is a predetermined one direction, and to be swivelly moved in the left-right direction with reference to the front-rear direction. The plurality of power receiving units include at least a first power receiving unit and a second power receiving unit, and the position of the second power receiving unit in the front-rear direction with respect to the first power receiving unit with respect to the vehicle body is It is possible to adopt an embodiment in which they are arranged at different positions.

According to this aspect, since the plurality of power receiving units include the first power receiving unit and the second power receiving unit having different positions in the front-rear direction with respect to the transport vehicle main body, the transport vehicle main body is moved to the power receiving position. The degree of freedom of the movement route is increased. As a result, the degree of freedom in layout of peripheral devices arranged so as not to interfere with the movement path of the main body of the transport vehicle is increased.

Further, in this unmanned transport vehicle, the transport vehicle main body is configured to be linearly movable in the front-rear direction, which is a predetermined direction, and to be able to swivel and move in the left-right direction with reference to the front-rear direction. The main body has a pair of outer walls facing each other in the front-rear direction and a pair of outer walls facing each other in the left-right direction, and has a rectangular shape in a plan view. It is possible to adopt a mode in which the portions are attached to two different outer walls of the front, rear, left and right outer walls of the transport vehicle main body.

According to this aspect, the degree of freedom of the movement path when the transport vehicle main body moves to the power receiving position can be increased as compared with the case where the first power receiving unit and the second power receiving unit are provided on the same one outer wall. As a result, the degree of freedom in layout of peripheral devices arranged so as not to interfere with the movement path of the transport vehicle body can be increased.

Further, in the automatic guided vehicle, the power receiving device can adopt a mode in which the first power receiving unit and the second power receiving unit are attached to the outer walls of the automatic guided vehicle body facing each other.

According to this aspect, it is possible to increase the degree of freedom in selecting the turning direction, turning position, number of turns, etc. of the transport vehicle body when moving the transport vehicle body to the power receiving position as much as possible. As a result, the degree of freedom of the movement path of the main body of the transport vehicle can be increased to increase the degree of freedom of layout of peripheral devices. Further, for example, when the moving path of the main body of the transport vehicle is linear, for example, power feeding devices can be provided on both sides of the moving path. Therefore, the degree of freedom in layout of peripheral devices of the automatic guided vehicle can be increased as much as possible.

Further, in this automatic guided vehicle, the power receiving device has one power storage unit, and includes a power distribution circuit unit that connects one of the plurality of power receiving units that is receiving power and the power storage unit. A mode can be adopted.

According to this aspect, when one of the plurality of power receiving units receives power from the power feeding device, the power receiving unit being received is connected to the power storage unit by the power distribution circuit.

By providing the power distribution circuit unit in this way, it is possible to supply all of the power received by one of the plurality of power receiving units to the power storage unit. Therefore, it is possible to prevent a part of the electric power received by one power receiving unit from flowing to the other power receiving unit and lowering the power supply efficiency to the power storage unit.

Further, in this automatic guided vehicle, a steering unit that changes the steering angle of the wheels of the vehicle body, a position relationship acquisition unit that acquires the positional relationship between the vehicle body and the power feeding device, and the position relationship acquisition unit. A route calculation unit that calculates a movement route that satisfies a predetermined condition in the transport vehicle main body based on the positional relationship acquired by the vehicle, and the transport vehicle main body that moves along the movement route calculated by the route calculation unit. An embodiment including a control unit that controls the steering unit can be adopted.

According to this aspect, when the automatic guided vehicle is traveling, the positional relationship between the transport vehicle main body and the power feeding device is acquired by the positional relationship acquisition unit, and the transport vehicle main body is based on the positional relationship acquired by the positional relationship acquisition unit. The steering unit of the transport vehicle body is controlled by the control unit so that the movement route satisfying the predetermined conditions in the above is calculated by the route calculation unit and the transport vehicle main body moves along the movement route calculated by the route calculation unit. Rudder. In this way, the automatic guided vehicle travels along a movement route satisfying a predetermined condition. As the predetermined condition, for example, a condition of minimizing the power consumption of the power storage unit mounted on the transport vehicle main body and a condition of minimizing the mileage from the transport vehicle main body to the power receiving device can be adopted. ..

In this way, in the mode in which the automatic guided vehicle calculates a movement route that satisfies a predetermined condition and travels along the calculated movement route, the trajectory of the movement route changes every time even if the movement route connects two points with the same movement route. Easy to do. When the locus of the movement path changes every time, the degree of freedom in layout of peripheral devices arranged so as not to interfere with the movement path tends to decrease. In such a case, providing a plurality of power receiving units on the transport vehicle main body to increase the degree of freedom of the movement path when the transport vehicle main body moves to the power receiving position is to avoid a decrease in the layout freedom of the peripheral device. Especially useful.

In other aspects of the invention
An automatic guided vehicle according to one aspect of the present invention, and a control device for remotely controlling the automatic guided vehicle.
The transport vehicle main body has a steering unit that changes the steering angle of the wheels of the transport vehicle main body.
The control device is
A positional relationship acquisition unit that acquires the positional relationship between the transport vehicle main body and the power feeding device, and
Based on the positional relationship acquired by the positional relationship acquisition unit, a route calculation unit that calculates a movement route that satisfies a predetermined condition in the transport vehicle main body, and a route calculation unit.
It is provided with a control unit that controls the steering unit so that the transport vehicle main body moves along the movement route calculated by the route calculation unit.

In this automatic guided vehicle, the automatic guided vehicle is remotely controlled by a control device different from the automatic guided vehicle. The control device has a positional relationship acquisition unit, a route calculation unit, and a control unit. Then, when the automatic guided vehicle is traveling, the positional relationship between the transport vehicle main body and the power feeding device is acquired by the positional relationship acquisition unit, and based on the positional relationship acquired by the positional relationship acquisition unit, predetermined conditions in the transport vehicle main body are set. The moving route to be satisfied is calculated by the route calculation unit, and the steering unit of the transport vehicle body is controlled by the control unit so that the transport vehicle main body moves along the movement route calculated by the route calculation unit. In this way, the automatic guided vehicle is controlled by the control device so as to travel along a movement route satisfying a predetermined condition.

As described above, even when the mode in which the automatic guided vehicle is remotely controlled by a control device different from the automatic guided vehicle is adopted, the same operations and effects as those in one aspect of the present invention described above can be obtained.

As described above, according to the automatic guided vehicle and the automatic guided vehicle system according to the present invention, by providing a plurality of power receiving units in the automatic guided vehicle body, the degree of freedom in the layout of the device on the floor on which the automatic guided vehicle body travels is increased. It is possible to supply power from the power supply device to the power receiving unit of the main body of the automatic guided vehicle without impairing the power supply as much as possible.

It is a perspective view which showed the automatic guided vehicle which concerns on 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is explanatory drawing for demonstrating the wheel composition of the automatic guided vehicle which concerns on 1st Embodiment. It is explanatory plan view for demonstrating an example of the use form of the automatic guided vehicle which concerns on 1st Embodiment. It is a control block diagram of the automatic guided vehicle which concerns on 1st Embodiment. It is a schematic diagram which shows the whole structure of the non-contact power feeding system which includes the power receiving device mounted on the automatic guided vehicle which concerns on 1st Embodiment, and the power feeding device which supplies electric power to the power receiving device. It is explanatory plan view for demonstrating an example of the power feeding mode to the automatic guided vehicle 1 by the non-contact power feeding system, and the automatic guided vehicle according to 1st Embodiment moves to a washing station via a measuring station. The power supply mode at the time of operation is shown. It is a figure corresponding to FIG. 6 which shows a comparative example. It is explanatory drawing for demonstrating another example of the use form of the automatic guided vehicle which concerns on 1st Embodiment. It is explanatory drawing for demonstrating another example of the use form of the automatic guided vehicle which concerns on 1st Embodiment. It is a perspective view which showed the automatic guided vehicle which concerns on 2nd Embodiment of this invention. It is a perspective view which showed the automatic guided vehicle which concerns on 3rd Embodiment of this invention. It is a control block diagram of the automatic guided vehicle which concerns on modification 1 of embodiment. FIG. 5 is a control block diagram of an automatic guided vehicle including an automatic guided vehicle according to a second modification of the embodiment and a control device for remotely controlling the automatic guided vehicle.

Hereinafter, specific embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

(First Embodiment)
First, the first embodiment of the present invention will be described. As shown in FIG. 1, the automatic guided vehicle 1 of this example has a transport vehicle main body 10 having a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape and a robot 20 mounted on the upper side of the transport vehicle main body 10. The work is conveyed by moving the transport vehicle main body 10 along a predetermined movement path while grasping the work.

Inside the transport vehicle main body 10, a power receiving device 60 including a power storage unit 95 (see FIG. 5) for storing the traveling power and the driving power of the robot 20 is provided. The power receiving device 60 receives electric power from the power feeding device 50 provided in the factory by non-contact power feeding and stores the electric power in the power storage unit 95. In this embodiment, a non-contact power feeding method by magnetic field resonance is adopted as an example of the power feeding method by the power feeding device 50. Details of the non-contact power feeding system including the power feeding device 50 and the power receiving device 60 will be described later.

As shown in FIG. 2, the transport vehicle main body 10 has a long rectangular shape in a predetermined direction (left-right direction in FIG. 2) when viewed in a plan view. In the present embodiment, this one direction (horizontal direction in FIG. 2) coincides with the front-rear direction of the transport vehicle main body 10, and the direction orthogonal to the one direction (vertical direction in FIG. 2) is the horizontal direction of the transport vehicle main body 10. Match. One front wheel 11 is attached to the front end portion on the lower surface of the transport vehicle main body 10, and a pair of left and right rear wheels 12 are attached to the rear end portion on the lower surface.

The front wheel 11 is located on the width direction center line C of the transport vehicle main body 10 when viewed in a plan view. The left and right rear wheels 12 are arranged symmetrically with the center line C in between when viewed in a plan view. The front wheel 11 is a drive wheel that is rotationally driven by a traveling motor 13 connected to the axle. The pair of rear wheels 12 are driven wheels that can turn following the traveling direction of the transport vehicle main body 10.

The front wheels 11 are connected to the steering motor 14 via a reduction mechanism (not shown). The transport vehicle main body 10 is configured to be able to turn left and right by changing the steering angle of the front wheels 11 by the steering motor 14 based on the state of linearly moving in the front-rear direction (the state of FIG. 2). In the following description, unless otherwise specified, the front side, the rear side, the left side and the right side mean the front side, the rear side, the left side and the right side of the automatic guided vehicle 1.

As shown in FIG. 1, the transport vehicle main body 10 is provided with the robot 20 mounted on the front end portion on the upper surface 10e thereof, and an operation panel 30 that can be operated by an operator.

The robot 20 is an articulated robot having three arms, a first arm 21, a second arm 22, and a third arm 23, and a hand 24 as an end effector is attached to the tip of the third arm 23. It is installed. The robot 20 is configured so that the work can be gripped by the hand 24.

The operation panel 30 includes an input / output unit for inputting / outputting data, a display capable of displaying a screen, and the like. By operating the operation panel 30, the operator can, for example, create map data in the factory and set the movement route of the automatic guided vehicle 1. In the explanatory plan view referred to in the present specification, the operation panel 30 is omitted from the viewpoint of easy viewing.

The transport vehicle main body 10 is provided with a sensor capable of recognizing its own position in the factory (for example, a distance measurement sensor using a laser beam), and is along a movement path preset by the operator via an operation panel 30. Drive on the floor of the factory.

As shown in FIG. 3, the automatic guided vehicle 1 is used, for example, in a work processing system using a machine tool 3. Specifically, this processing system starts with the material stocker 2, the machine tool 3, the measuring station 4, the cleaning station 5, the product stocker 6, and the control device 40 (see FIG. 4) that controls the automatic guided vehicle 1. It is composed.

The material stocker 2 is a device arranged on the left side of the machine tool 3 in FIG. 3 and stocks the material processed by the machine tool 3. The machine tool 3 is composed of, for example, a multi-tasking type NC machine tool. The measuring station 4 is a device arranged on the right side of the machine tool 3 in FIG. 3 and measures the accuracy (for example, roundness, surface roughness, etc.) of the product machined by the machine tool 3. The cleaning station 5 is arranged on the diagonally lower right side of the measurement station 4 in FIG. The cleaning station 5 is a device for cleaning products that meet the dimensional standards at the measuring station 4. The product stocker 6 is disposed at a distance from the cleaning station 5 on the left side of FIG. The product stocker 6 is a device for stocking products that have been washed. In the example of FIG. 3, the cleaning station 5 is arranged slightly offset to the right side of FIG. 3 without facing the measurement station 4 due to space restrictions in the factory.

Then, the movement path of the automatic guided vehicle 1 (see the alternate long and short dash line in FIG. 3) is set for each of the material stocker 2, the machine tool 3, the measurement station 4, the cleaning station 5, and the product stocker 6. It is set as a substantially trapezoidal circulation path that passes through each work position.

A power feeding device 50 is provided in the material stocker 2, the measuring station 4, the cleaning station 5, and the product stocker 6, and when the automatic guided vehicle 1 stops at each working position (hereinafter referred to as a predetermined power receiving position). In addition, the power receiving device 60 (described later) mounted on the automatic guided vehicle 1 receives the electric power from the power feeding device 50 to charge the power storage unit 95.

The control device 40 is stored in the transport vehicle main body 10, and as shown in FIG. 4, the operation program storage unit 40a, the movement route storage unit 40b, the map information storage unit 40c, the position recognition unit 40d, and the automatic operation control unit 40e , And an input / output interface 40f.

The control device 40 is connected to the operation panel 30, the traveling motor 13, the steering motor 14, and the robot 20 of the automatic guided vehicle 1 via the input / output interface 40f.

The control device 40 is composed of a computer including a CPU, RAM, ROM, etc., and the functions of the position recognition unit 40d, the automatic operation control unit 40e, and the input / output interface 40f are realized by a computer program, and the processing described later is performed. Execute. Further, the operation program storage unit 40a, the movement path storage unit 40b, and the map information storage unit 40c are appropriately composed of storage media such as RAM.

The operation program storage unit 40a is a functional unit that stores an automatic driving program for automatically driving the automatic guided vehicle 1. The automatic operation program is input from, for example, an input / output unit provided on the operation panel 30 and stored in the operation program storage unit 40a.

The movement route storage unit 40b stores command codes relating to the movement route (circulation route in the example of FIG. 3), the movement speed, and the orientation of the automatic guided vehicle 1 to which the automatic guided vehicle 1 moves. Further, the movement path storage unit 40b stores the working position of the automatic guided vehicle 1 set for each of the material stocker 2, the machine tool 3, the measurement station 4, the cleaning station 5, and the product stocker 6. Information on these movement paths and work positions is set by the operator via the operation panel 30.

The map information storage unit 40c is a functional unit that stores map information including arrangement information of machines, devices, devices, etc. (devices, etc.) arranged in the factory where the unmanned carrier 1 travels. This map information is input from the operation panel 30 by the operator. The map information may be automatically generated based on the information from the sensor mounted on the transport vehicle main body 10.

The position recognition unit 40d is a functional unit that recognizes the position of the automatic guided vehicle 1 in the factory based on the distance data detected by the sensor and the map information in the factory stored in the map information storage unit 40c. Is.

The automatic operation control unit 40e controls the traveling motor 13 and the steering motor 14 (an example of the steering unit) based on the position of the automatic guided vehicle 1 recognized by the position recognition unit 40d, and operates the automatic guided vehicle 1. The automatic guided vehicle 1 is stopped at each of the work positions set by the operator to execute the work by the robot 20 while traveling along the movement route set by.

FIG. 5 is a schematic configuration diagram of a non-contact power supply system for charging the power storage unit 95 of the automatic guided vehicle 1 of the present embodiment. This non-contact power feeding system includes a power feeding device 50 provided at the predetermined power receiving position described above and a power receiving device 60 provided in the transport vehicle main body 10.

The power feeding device 50 includes a power transmission coil 51 and a power transmission unit 55. The power transmission coil 51 is a non-contact power feeding coil capable of transmitting power to the power receiving coils 71a and 72a, which will be described later. The power transmission coil 51 is arranged so that its installation height matches the installation height of the power reception coils 71a and 72a.

The power transmission unit 55 is supplied with electric power from an external power source 57. The power source 57 may be a DC power source or an AC power source such as a commercial power source. The power transmission unit 55 includes a high-frequency power supply device 52, a power transmission side communication unit 53, and a power transmission control unit 54.

The high-frequency power supply device 52 is controlled by the power transmission control unit 54, converts the power supplied from the external power supply 57 into a high frequency (for example, 85 kHz), and transmits the power to the power transmission coil 51.

The power transmission side communication unit 53 performs two-way wireless communication with the power reception side communication unit 71b or the power reception side communication unit 72b provided in the power reception device 60. In the present embodiment, infrared communication based on the IrDA (Infrared Association) standard is performed as an example of this wireless communication.

The power transmission side communication unit 53 outputs a signal received from the power reception side communication unit 71b or the power reception side communication unit 72b to the power transmission control unit 54. The received signal includes a power transmission start signal instructing the start of power transmission, a power transmission stop signal instructing the stop of power transmission, and the like.

The power transmission control unit 54 is composed of a microcomputer having a CPU, a ROM, and a RAM, and controls the start and stop of the high frequency power supply device 52. Specifically, the power transmission control unit 54 starts the high-frequency power supply device 52 when it receives the power transmission start signal, and stops the high-frequency power supply device 52 when it receives the power transmission stop signal.

The power receiving device 60 is mounted on the transport vehicle main body 10, and includes a first power receiving coil unit 71, a second power receiving coil unit 72, a power distribution unit 80, a power receiving unit 90, and the power storage unit 95. ..

The first power receiving coil unit 71 and the second power receiving coil unit 72 have the same configuration, although the arrangement positions with respect to the transport vehicle main body 10 are different.

That is, the first power receiving coil unit 71 has a power receiving coil 71a as the first power receiving unit and a power receiving side communication unit 71b, and is attached to the left side wall 10c (see FIG. 1) of the transport vehicle main body 10. There is. The second power receiving coil unit 72 has a power receiving coil 72a as a second power receiving unit and a power receiving side communication unit 71b, and is attached to the right side wall 10d (see FIG. 1) of the transport vehicle main body 10.

The first power receiving coil unit 71 is covered with a flat rectangular sealed case, and the power receiving surface is arranged so as to be exposed from the front end portion of the left side wall 10c of the transport vehicle main body 10. The power receiving side communication unit 71b is provided at the center of the lower end of the first power receiving coil unit 71 in the front-rear direction. The power receiving side communication unit 71b outputs a charging start signal or a charging stop signal in the form of an infrared signal.

Similarly, the second power receiving coil unit 72 is also covered with a flat rectangular sealed case, and the power receiving surface is arranged so as to be exposed from the front end portion of the right side wall 10d of the transport vehicle main body 10. The power receiving side communication unit 72b is provided at the center of the lower end of the second power receiving coil unit in the front-rear direction. The power receiving side communication unit 72b outputs a charging start signal or a charging stop signal in the form of an infrared signal.

The first power receiving coil unit 71 and the second power receiving coil unit 72 are arranged so that the installation height and the front-rear direction position of the power receiving coil 71a and the power receiving coil 72a are the same. The power receiving coil a and the power receiving coil 72a may be arranged at diagonal positions when viewed in a plan view.

The power receiving coil 71a of the first power receiving coil unit 71 is used when power is supplied from the left side of the transport vehicle main body 10 by the power feeding device 50. At the time of this power supply, the automatic guided vehicle 1 stops at a predetermined power receiving position, so that the power receiving coil 71a approaches the power transmission coil 51 by a predetermined distance or less. In this state, when high-frequency power is supplied from the high-frequency power supply device 52 to the power transmission coil 51, the high-frequency power is transmitted from the power transmission coil 51 to the power reception coil 71a by magnetic field resonance. The power received by the power receiving coil 71a is output to the first rectifier circuit section 81 of the power distribution unit 80, which will be described later.

The power receiving coil 72a of the second power receiving coil unit 72 is used when power is supplied from the right side of the transport vehicle main body 10 by the power feeding device 50. At the time of this power supply, the automatic guided vehicle 1 stops at a predetermined power receiving position, so that the power receiving coil 72a approaches the power transmission coil 51 by a predetermined distance or less. In this state, when high-frequency power is supplied from the high-frequency power supply device 52 to the power transmission coil 51, high-frequency power is transmitted from the power transmission coil 51 to the power reception coil 72a by magnetic field resonance. The electric power received by the power receiving coil 72a is output to the second rectifier circuit unit 82 of the power distribution unit 80, which will be described later.

The power distribution unit 80 includes a first rectifier circuit unit 81, a second rectifier circuit unit 82, a power distribution circuit unit 83, and a communication circuit unit 84.

The first rectifier circuit unit 81 rectifies the high frequency power output from the power receiving coil 71a of the first power receiving coil unit 71 and converts it into DC power. The first rectifier circuit unit 81 has a full-wave rectifier circuit in which four diodes are bridge-connected. Further, although not shown, the first rectifying circuit unit 81 may have a smoothing circuit for smoothing the output after rectification. The DC power output from the first rectifier circuit unit 81 is supplied to the distribution circuit unit 83.

The second rectifier circuit unit 82 rectifies the high frequency power output from the power receiving coil 72a of the second power receiving coil unit 72 and converts it into DC power. The second rectifier circuit unit 82 has a full-wave rectifier circuit in which four diodes are bridge-connected. Further, although not shown, the second rectifying circuit unit 82 may have a smoothing circuit for smoothing the output after rectification. The DC power output from the second rectifier circuit unit 82 is supplied to the distribution circuit unit 83.

The power distribution circuit unit 83 has a switch circuit that selectively connects one of the first rectifier circuit unit 81 and the second rectifier circuit unit 82 to the power receiving unit 90. By controlling this switch circuit, the power distribution circuit unit 83 transfers one of the two power receiving coils 71a and 72a, which is receiving power (the power receiving coil 71a in the example of FIG. 5), to the power receiving unit 90 (and by extension, the power receiving coil 71a). Connect to the power storage unit 95).

In the power distribution circuit unit 83, it is necessary to discriminate which of the two power receiving coils 71a and 72a is receiving power. For example, this discriminating information may be received from the control device 40. When the control device 40 starts power supply with the left side surface of the automatic guided vehicle body 10 facing the power supply device 50 based on the orientation and working position of the automatic guided vehicle 1, the power receiving coil 71a on the left side is used. When it is determined that power is being received and power supply is started in a state where the right side surface of the transport vehicle main body 10 faces the power feeding device 50, it may be determined that the power receiving coil 72a on the right side is receiving power. In addition to this, for example, when the power receiving side communication unit 71b of the first power receiving coil unit 71 and the power receiving side communication unit 72b of the second power receiving coil unit 72 establish communication with the power transmission side communication unit 53, a communication establishment signal is transmitted. When the communication establishment signal is output and the power distribution circuit unit 83 receives the communication establishment signal, it may be determined that the power receiving coils 71a and 72a on the side receiving the communication establishment signal are receiving power.

The communication circuit unit 84 transmits the communication signal output from the power receiving unit 90 (infrared signal of IrDA communication standard in this embodiment) to the power receiving side communication unit 71b of the first power receiving coil unit 71 and the power receiving coil unit 72 of the second power receiving coil unit 72. It transmits to the side communication unit 72b.

The power receiving unit 90 includes a charge control unit 91, a charge power supply unit 92, and a communication circuit unit 93.

The charge control unit 91 is composed of a microcomputer having a CPU, a ROM, and a RAM. The charging power supply unit 92 outputs the electric power supplied from the power receiving device 60 to the power storage unit 95 based on the control by the charging control unit 91.

The charge control unit 91 controls the start and stop of charging the power storage unit 95. As a result, the charge control unit 91 controls the power supply from the power receiving coils 71a and 72a to the power storage unit 95.

Specifically, when the automatic guided vehicle 1 stops at the predetermined power receiving position, the charge control unit 91 receives a command from the control device 40 of the automatic guided vehicle 1 and receives a power transmission start signal from the communication circuit unit 93. Is output.

When the charge control unit 91 moves from a predetermined power receiving position, the charge control unit 91 receives a command from the control device 40 of the automatic guided vehicle 1 and outputs a transmission stop signal from the communication circuit unit 93. Further, the charge control unit 91 outputs a transmission stop signal from the communication circuit unit 93 even when it detects that the power storage unit 95 is fully charged or detects an abnormality in the power storage unit 95.

The signal output from the communication circuit unit 93 is input to the communication circuit unit 84 of the power distribution unit 80 as shown by the broken line arrow in FIG. 5, and is transmitted from the communication circuit unit 84 to the power receiving side communication unit 71b of the first power receiving coil unit 71. Is transmitted to the power receiving side communication unit 71b of the second power receiving coil unit 72, and is emitted as infrared rays from the power receiving side communication units 71b and 72b. Then, the infrared rays emitted from the power receiving side communication units 71b and 72b are incident on the power transmission side communication unit 53 of the power feeding device 50, and the infrared communication is established, so that the power transmission by the power transmission coil 51 is started.

The power storage unit 95 is composed of, for example, a rechargeable battery or a capacitor. The power storage unit 95 is electrically connected to the control device 40 and the automatic guided vehicle power supply unit 41. The automatic guided vehicle power supply unit 41 supplies the electric power supplied from the power storage unit 95 to the electric load 150 of the automatic guided vehicle 1 based on the control by the control device 40. Examples of the electric load 150 include an operation panel 30, a traveling motor 13 and a steering motor 14 of the automatic guided vehicle 1, a robot 20, and the like.

An example of the mode of feeding power to the automatic guided vehicle 1 by the non-contact power feeding system configured as described above will be described with reference to the explanatory plan view of FIG.

The solid line in FIG. 6 indicates a state in which the automatic guided vehicle 1 is stopped at the working position of the measurement station 4 and is receiving power from the power supply device 50 provided in the measurement station 4. Two points in FIG. The chain line indicates a state in which the automatic guided vehicle 1 is stopped at the working position of the cleaning station 5 and is receiving power from the power feeding device 50 provided in the cleaning station 5.

First, at the working position of the measurement station 4, a power transmission start signal is output from the power receiving side communication unit 71b of the first power receiving coil unit 71 provided on the left side wall 10c of the transport vehicle main body 10 and is incident on the power transmission side communication unit 53. .. When communication between the two is established, power transmission by the power transmission coil 51 is started, and power is supplied to the power storage unit 95 of the automatic guided vehicle 1 as described above.

When the robot 20 of the automatic guided vehicle 1 finishes the work at the measurement station 4, a power transmission stop signal is output from the power receiving side communication unit 71b of the first power receiving coil unit 71 to the power transmission side communication unit 53 of the measurement station 4, and the power transmission coil. Power transmission by 51 is stopped.

Then, the automatic guided vehicle 1 moves to the working position of the cleaning station 5 while drawing a gentle S-shape along a preset traveling path.

At the working position of the cleaning station 5, a power transmission start signal is output from the power receiving side communication unit 72b of the second power receiving coil unit 72 provided on the right side wall 10d of the transport vehicle main body 10 and is incident on the power transmission side communication unit 53. As a result, when communication between the two is established, power transmission by the power transmission coil 51 is started, and power is supplied to the power storage unit 95 of the automatic guided vehicle 1 as described above.

As described above, according to the automatic guided vehicle 1 of the present embodiment, the movement route of the automatic guided vehicle 1 can be set compactly with a relatively high degree of freedom as compared with the conventional example shown in FIG.

In the conventional example shown in FIG. 7, a code obtained by adding 200 to the code of the automatic guided vehicle of the embodiment is used. In the automatic guided vehicle 201 of the conventional example, the power receiving coil is provided only on the left side wall 210c of the automatic guided vehicle main body 210. Therefore, when moving from the working position of the measuring station 4 to the working position of the cleaning station 5 (that is, the power receiving position), the transport vehicle main body 210 is turned to the right so that the left wall 210c of the transport vehicle main body 210 faces the cleaning station 205. I had no choice but to let him.

On the other hand, in the present embodiment, since the power receiving device 60 of the automatic guided vehicle 1 includes two power receiving coils 71a and 72a, power may be received from either one of the power receiving coils 71a and 72a. It is possible to increase the degree of freedom (turning direction, turning position, etc.) of the moving path when moving the automatic guided vehicle 1 to the power receiving position. As a result, as shown in FIG. 6, the moving route of the automatic guided vehicle 1 becomes more compact than the moving route of the conventional example (see FIG. 7), and the floor space in the factory is effectively utilized and the peripheral device is used. The degree of freedom in layout can be increased.

Further, in the present embodiment, the automatic guided vehicle 1 is configured to be able to move linearly in the front-rear direction and to turn in the left-right direction with reference to the front-rear direction. In the automatic guided vehicle 1 having such steering characteristics, arranging one power receiving coil 72a at a position different from that of the other power receiving coil 71a in the left-right direction with respect to the transport vehicle body 10 is a transport vehicle body. This is useful for relaxing the restriction on the turning direction when moving the 10 to the power receiving position. Moreover, in the present embodiment, since one power receiving coil 71a and the other power receiving coil 72a are attached to the left side wall 10c and the right side wall 10d which are opposite outer walls, the transport vehicle main body 10 is placed in the power receiving position. It is possible to further relax the restriction on the turning direction when moving to.

In this way, the restrictions on the turning direction when the automatic guided vehicle body 10 moves to the power receiving position are relaxed, so that the degree of freedom of the moving route of the automatic guided vehicle 1 can be increased as much as possible.

Further, in the present embodiment, the power receiving device 60 has one power receiving coil 95, and one of the two power receiving coils 71a and 72a is receiving power (in the example of FIG. 5, the power receiving coil 71 and the power storage unit 95). It has a power distribution circuit unit 83 for connecting to and.

By providing the power distribution circuit unit 83 in this way, of the two power receiving coils 71a and 72a, only the power receiving coil (power receiving coil 71a in the example of FIG. 5) is connected to the power storage unit 95, and as a result, power is being received. The other power receiving coil (power receiving coil 72a in the example of FIG. 5) is electrically cut off from one power receiving coil. Therefore, it is possible to prevent a part of the electric power received by one of the two power receiving coils 71a and 72a from flowing to the other power receiving coil and lowering the power feeding efficiency to the power storage unit 95.

FIG. 8 is an explanatory plan view showing another usage mode of the automatic guided vehicle 1 of the present embodiment. In the example of this figure, the movement path of the automatic guided vehicle 1 (thick two-dot chain line in FIG. 8) and the positional relationship between the measurement station 4 and the cleaning station 5 with respect to this movement path are different from those in FIG.

That is, in this example, the moving route of the automatic guided vehicle 1 is set to the L-shaped route, the measurement station 4 is arranged inside the approach route in the L-shaped route, and the cleaning station 5 is the exit route in the L-shaped route. It is located on the outside. In this way, even if the measuring station 4 and the cleaning station 5 are arranged to face each other on the inside and the outside with the moving path in between, the automatic guided vehicle 1 turns the bent portion of the L-shaped path and then reverses its direction. The electric power from the power supply device 50 of the cleaning station 5 can be received by the electric power receiving coil 72a on the right side of the automatic guided vehicle 1 without being moved or retracted. Therefore, the degree of freedom in layout of the peripheral device can be improved without expanding the moving route of the automatic guided vehicle 1.

FIG. 9 is an explanatory plan view showing another usage mode of the automatic guided vehicle 1 of the present embodiment. In the example of this figure, the automatic guided vehicle 1 is moved in a straight line to construct a processing system. The measuring station 4 and the cleaning station 5 are arranged on one side and the other side of the automatic guided vehicle 1 with the moving path (thick two-dot chain line in FIG. 9) in between. Even in such a case, power can be received from the power supply devices 50 of the stations 4 and 5 by the power receiving coils 71a and the power receiving coils 72a provided on the left and right sides of the transport vehicle main body 10. Therefore, the devices can be arranged on one side and the other side across the moving path of the automatic guided vehicle 1, and the degree of freedom in layout of the devices is increased.

(Second Embodiment)
FIG. 10 shows a second embodiment of the present invention. In this embodiment, the arrangement configuration of the first power receiving coil unit 71 and the second power receiving coil unit 72 with respect to the transport vehicle main body 10 is different from that of the first embodiment. The same components as those in FIG. 1 are designated by the same reference numerals, and detailed description thereof will be omitted.

That is, in the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 10, the first power receiving coil unit 71 is attached to the central portion in the left-right direction of the front side wall 10a of the transport vehicle main body 10, and the second power receiving coil unit 72 is the transport vehicle. It is attached to the central portion in the left-right direction of the rear side wall 10b of the main body 10. The power receiving coil 71a of the first power receiving coil unit 71 and the power receiving coil 72a of the second power receiving coil unit 72 are set to have the same installation height and horizontal position, but differ only in the front-rear position. The power receiving coil 71a and the power receiving coil 72a may be arranged diagonally in a plan view.

According to the automatic guided vehicle 1 of the present embodiment, the automatic guided vehicle body 10 is provided with two power receiving coils 71a and 72a, and each of the power receiving coils 71a and 72a has a front side wall 10a and a rear side wall facing each other. It is attached to 10b. Therefore, as in the first embodiment, the degree of freedom of the movement route when moving the automatic guided vehicle 1 to the power receiving position is increased. As a result, the degree of freedom in layout of peripheral devices can be increased as much as possible.

(Third Embodiment)
FIG. 11 shows a third embodiment of the present invention. In this embodiment, the arrangement configuration of the first power receiving coil unit 71 and the second power receiving coil unit 72 with respect to the transport vehicle main body 10 is different from each of the above-described embodiments. The same components as those in FIG. 1 are designated by the same reference numerals, and detailed description thereof will be omitted.

That is, in the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 11, the first power receiving coil unit 71 and the second power receiving coil unit 72 have the same positions in the left-right direction and the front-back direction, but differ only in the installation height.

In this example, the first power receiving coil unit 71 and the second power receiving coil unit 72 are arranged on the left side wall 10c of the transport vehicle main body 10 at intervals in the vertical direction.

According to the automatic guided vehicle 1 of the present embodiment, the power receiving coil 71a of the first power receiving coil unit 71 and the power receiving coil 72a of the second power receiving coil unit 72 have different installation heights, so that the power receiving coil 71a , The installation height of the power supply device 50 linked with 72a can be varied. Therefore, the degree of freedom in layout of the power feeding device 50 can be increased as compared with the case where there is only one power receiving coil.

Although the automatic guided vehicle 1 according to the embodiment of the present invention has been described above, the modes that can be adopted by the automatic guided vehicle 1 are not limited to the modes described so far, and the following modifications are applied. May be good

(Modification example 1)
FIG. 12 shows a modification 1 of the embodiment of the present invention. In this modification 1, the configuration of the control device 40 mounted on the automatic guided vehicle 1 is different from that of the first embodiment. In FIG. 12, the same configurations as those in the first embodiment (see FIG. 4) are designated by the same reference numerals, and detailed description thereof will be omitted.

That is, the control device 40A according to the first modification has a configuration in which the movement path storage unit 40b is deleted from the control device 40 in the first embodiment, and the positional relationship acquisition unit 40g and the movement route calculation unit 40h are provided. doing.

The positional relationship acquisition unit 40g identifies the position of the power feeding device 50 in the factory based on the map information stored in the map information storage unit 40c, and the position of the automatic guided vehicle 1 recognized by the position recognition unit 40d (transport vehicle). The positional relationship between the main body 10) and the power feeding device 50 is acquired.

The movement route calculation unit 40h calculates the movement route of the transport vehicle main body 10 capable of executing the predetermined work by the robot 20 while satisfying the condition (an example of the predetermined condition) that minimizes the power consumption of the power storage unit 95. The calculation of this movement path is performed using, for example, artificial intelligence, a genetic algorithm, a neural network, or the like.

The automatic driving control unit 40e controls the traveling motor 13 and the steering motor 14 so that the transport vehicle main body 10 moves along the moving route calculated by the moving route calculating unit 40h.

According to the first modification, the automatic guided vehicle 1 moves along the movement route calculated by the movement route calculation unit 40h, instead of the movement route set in advance. In such an automatic guided vehicle 1, the locus of the moving route is likely to change every time even when connecting two points having the same moving route. When the locus of the movement path changes every time, the degree of freedom in layout of peripheral devices arranged so as not to interfere with the movement path tends to decrease. In the case of adopting such an embodiment, providing a plurality of power receiving coils 71a and power receiving coils 72a on the transport vehicle main body 10 to increase the degree of freedom of the movement path when the transport vehicle main body 10 moves to the power receiving position is a peripheral device. It is especially useful in avoiding a decrease in the degree of freedom in layout.

(Modification 2)
FIG. 13 shows a modification 2 of the embodiment of the present invention. In the modified example 2, the configuration of the control device 40 mounted on the automatic guided vehicle 1 is different from that of the modified example 1. In FIG. 13, the same configurations as those in the first modification (see FIG. 12) are designated by the same reference numerals, and detailed description thereof will be omitted.

That is, the control device 40B according to the second modification is installed at a predetermined position in the factory and is configured to remotely control the automatic guided vehicle 1.

The unmanned transfer system 100 is composed of the control device 40B and the automatic guided vehicle 1.

The control device 40B has a configuration in which a communication interface 40i is provided in place of the input / output interface 40f of the first modification.

The automatic guided vehicle 1 is also provided with a communication interface 15, which is provided by an operation panel 30, a traveling motor 13, a steering motor 14, and a robot via a control circuit unit 16 provided on the automatic guided vehicle 1. It is connected to 20.

The control device 40B controls the traveling motor 13 and the steering motor 14 of the automatic guided vehicle 10 via the communication interface 15 and the control circuit unit 16 provided on the automatic guided vehicle 1, so that the automatic guided vehicle 1 can be moved. It is moved along the movement path calculated by the calculation unit 40h.

According to the second modification, the same operation and effect as the first modification is exhibited in the automatic guided vehicle 100 including the automatic guided vehicle 1 and the control device 40 for remotely controlling the automatic guided vehicle 1.

(Other variants)
In the above embodiment, two power receiving coils 71a and 72a are provided, but the present invention is not limited to this, and three or more power receiving coils may be provided.

Further, the power receiving coils 71a and 72a may be attached to the lower surface or the upper surface 10e of the transport vehicle main body 10.

In the above embodiment, only one power storage unit 95 is provided, but the present invention is not limited to this, and the power storage unit 95 may be provided for each of the two power receiving coils 71a and 72a. In this case, the power distribution unit 80 may be abolished and the power receiving coils 71a and 72a may be connected to different power storage units 95.

In the above embodiment, the transport vehicle main body 10 is formed in a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape, but the present invention is not limited to this, and may be formed in, for example, a cylindrical shape or a conical shape.

In the above-described embodiment, the automatic guided vehicle 1 is configured to be able to turn in the left-right direction with reference to the front-rear direction, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the automatic guided vehicle 1 may be configured to be movable in a cross shape in the front-rear and left-right directions by providing four wheels on the automatic guided vehicle 1 and equipping each wheel with a steering motor.

In the above embodiment, the non-contact power feeding method is adopted as the power feeding method by the power feeding device 50, but the present invention is not limited to this, and the contact type in which the power feeding electrode and the power receiving electrode are brought into contact with each other to supply power. Power supply may be adopted.

In the above embodiment, the automatic guided vehicle 1 is not limited to the robot 20 mounted on the automatic guided vehicle body 10, and is not limited to this. For example, the robot 20 is abolished and the automatic guided vehicle 1 is composed only of the vehicle body 10. You may be.

The above description of each embodiment and each modification is exemplary in all respects and is not restrictive. Modifications and changes can be made as appropriate for those skilled in the art. The scope of the present invention is shown not by the above-described embodiment but by the scope of claims. Further, the scope of the present invention includes modifications from the embodiment within the scope of the claims and within the scope of the claims.

1 Automatic guided vehicle 10 Automatic guided vehicle body 14 Steering motor (steering unit)
40 Control device 40A Control device 40B Control device 40g Positional relationship acquisition unit 40h Movement route calculation unit 40e Automatic operation control unit (control unit)
50 Power supply device 60 Power receiving device 71a Power receiving coil (first power receiving unit)
72a Power receiving coil (second power receiving unit)
83 Distribution circuit unit 95 Power storage unit 100 Automatic guided vehicle system

Claims (8)

A power receiving unit having a power receiving unit that receives power from the power supply device and a power storage unit that stores power supplied from the power receiving unit in cooperation with the vehicle body and a power supply device attached to the vehicle body and provided at a predetermined position. An automated guided vehicle equipped with a device
The automatic guided vehicle is characterized in that the power receiving device includes a plurality of the power receiving units. The transport vehicle main body is configured to be linearly movable in the front-rear direction, which is a predetermined one direction, and to be able to turn and move in the left-right direction with reference to the front-rear direction.
The power receiving device includes at least a first power receiving unit and a second power receiving unit as a plurality of the power receiving units, and the second power receiving unit is left and right with respect to the first power receiving unit with respect to the transport vehicle main body. The automatic guided vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the automatic guided vehicles are arranged at different positions. The transport vehicle main body is configured to be linearly movable in the front-rear direction, which is a predetermined one direction, and to be able to turn and move in the left-right direction with reference to the front-rear direction.
The power receiving device includes at least a first power receiving unit and a second power receiving unit as a plurality of the power receiving units, and the second power receiving unit is before and after the first power receiving unit is referred to the transport vehicle main body. The automatic guided vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the automatic guided vehicles are arranged at different positions. The transport vehicle main body is configured to be linearly movable in the front-rear direction, which is a predetermined one direction, and to be able to turn and move in the left-right direction with reference to the front-rear direction.
The transport vehicle main body has a pair of outer walls facing each other in the front-rear direction and a pair of outer walls facing each other in the left-right direction, and has a rectangular shape in a plan view.
The power receiving device according to claim 2 or 3, wherein the first power receiving unit and the second power receiving unit are attached to two different outer walls of the front, rear, left and right outer walls of the vehicle body, respectively. Automated guided vehicle. The automatic guided vehicle according to any one of claims 2 to 4, wherein the power receiving device has the first power receiving unit and the second power receiving unit attached to outer walls facing each other in the main body of the vehicle. .. The power receiving device is characterized in that it has one power storage unit and includes a power distribution circuit unit that connects one of the plurality of power receiving units that is receiving power and the power storage unit. An automatic guided vehicle according to any one of 1 to 5. A steering unit that changes the steering angle of the wheels of the transport vehicle body,
A positional relationship acquisition unit that acquires the positional relationship between the transport vehicle main body and the power feeding device, and
Based on the positional relationship acquired by the positional relationship acquisition unit, a route calculation unit that calculates a movement route that satisfies a predetermined condition in the transport vehicle main body, and a route calculation unit.
Any of claims 1 to 6, wherein the route calculation unit includes a control unit that controls the steering unit so that the vehicle body moves along the movement path calculated by the route calculation unit. Automated guided vehicle. An automatic guided vehicle including any of the automatic guided vehicles according to claims 1 to 6 and a control device for remotely controlling the automatic guided vehicle.
The transport vehicle main body has a steering unit that changes the steering angle of the wheels of the transport vehicle main body.
The control device is
A positional relationship acquisition unit that acquires the positional relationship between the transport vehicle main body and the power feeding device, and
Based on the positional relationship acquired by the positional relationship acquisition unit, a route calculation unit that calculates a movement route that satisfies a predetermined condition in the transport vehicle main body, and a route calculation unit.
An automatic guided vehicle system including a control unit that controls the steering unit so that the vehicle body moves along the movement path calculated by the route calculation unit.

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