JP2022059320A - Unmanned carrier - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide an unmanned carrier which reduces a failure rate.SOLUTION: Three or more wheel units 12 to 15 comprise wheels 21 that are mounted to a vehicle body 11 and support the vehicle body 11, and are capable of traveling in one direction respectively. The wheel units 12 to 15 respectively include: a traveling drive motor allowing the wheel 21 to perform normal and reverse rotation driving; and a steering motor for steering in a travelable direction of the vehicle body 11. A travelable direction of the wheels 21 respectively steered by the steering motor is restricted to be steered toward 180° or less. Further, the vehicle body 11 is enabled to travel in all directions at 360° by performing normal and reverse rotation driving of the wheels 21 using the traveling drive motor.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 20

Description

The present invention relates to an automatic guided vehicle.

Automated guided vehicles (AGVs) that move autonomously from the starting point to the target point have been developed. This type of automatic guided vehicle determines a route from the starting point to the target point and moves at high speed based on the route. The automatic guided vehicle is configured to be movable in all directions by 360 ° in order to change the movement route flexibly and quickly. A mechanism has been proposed in which the wheels themselves, such as omni wheels and mecanum wheels, are devised so that the automatic guided vehicle can move in all directions. On the other hand, even in an automatic guided vehicle, the wheels rotate in one direction, and a method of changing the traveling direction by changing the direction of the wheels using a steering mechanism has also been proposed.

In the case of the latter structure, a general automatic guided vehicle adopts a structure in which a motor is connected to a drive shaft of a wheel. Therefore, when the drive shaft is steered by the steering mechanism, the motor also moves together with the drive shaft.
For example, when the automatic guided vehicle changes the direction of travel by 180 ° and moves backward, the steering is steered by 180 °, which causes a large bending or twisting of the electric wiring. Moreover, if such steering is repeated by the steering mechanism, the reliability of transmitting the electric signal may be lacking and the failure rate may increase.

Tanaka, 1 outside, "Research on undercarriage of automatic traveling robot in Robocon", [online], 2016 Independent Research Encouragement Project Research Results Report by Undergraduate Students, March 2017, [Reiwa 2 July 1-day search], Internet <URL: http://hdl.handle.net/11094/60351>

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide an automatic guided vehicle capable of reducing the failure rate.

In order to achieve the above object, the invention according to claim 1 comprises an automatic guided vehicle provided with three or more wheel units, which are mounted on a vehicle body and have wheels that support the vehicle body and can travel in each direction. It is targeted.
Each wheel unit includes a drive unit capable of driving the wheels in forward and reverse rotations, and a steering unit for steering a direction in which the wheels can travel with respect to the automatic guided vehicle body. The drive unit also enables forward rotation drive and reverse rotation drive of the wheels, and the steering unit enables the automatic guided vehicle body to travel 360 ° in all directions while limiting the steerable direction of each wheel to 180 ° or less. Therefore, steering exceeding 180 ° is not performed, and the failure rate can be suppressed.

Further, when the automatic guided vehicle suddenly changes the traveling direction, it is desirable to temporarily stop the traveling in order to maintain the stability of the vehicle body, to complete the steering of the wheel rotation direction by the steering mechanism, and then restart the traveling. The longer the wheel steering time, the longer the automatic guided vehicle will stop, and the longer it will take to transport.

Therefore, according to the invention of claim 2, when the vehicle body goes straight, sideways, or rotates, the steering unit limits the steering to ± 90 ° around a 45 ° diagonal direction with respect to the reference direction of the traveling direction of the vehicle body. Therefore, steering is not performed in an angle range exceeding 90 °. For example, it is not necessary to steer 180 ° even when the vehicle body moves backward, and the waiting time required for transportation can be reduced.

It is a figure explaining 1st Embodiment, and is the perspective view which shows typically the whole structure of the four-wheel drive automatic guided vehicle. Bottom view schematically showing the orientation of the wheels when the automatic guided vehicle moves sideways Front view showing the main part of the structure of the wheel unit constituting the automatic guided vehicle Top view showing the main part of the structure of the wheel unit Side view showing the main part of the structure of the wheel unit Electrical configuration diagram of automatic guided vehicle Bottom view schematically showing the orientation of the wheels when the automatic guided vehicle goes straight Bottom view schematically showing the orientation of the wheels when the automatic guided vehicle rotates Part 1 of the bottom view schematically showing the installation mode of the wheel unit of an automatic guided vehicle driven by four-wheel drive and two-wheel drive. Part 2 of the bottom view schematically showing the installation mode of the wheel unit of an automatic guided vehicle driven by four wheels and two wheels. Bottom view schematically showing the orientation of the wheels when a six-wheel drive automatic guided vehicle goes straight Bottom view schematically showing the orientation of the wheels when a six-wheel drive automatic guided vehicle moves sideways Bottom view schematically showing the orientation of the wheels when a six-wheel drive automatic guided vehicle rotates. A bottom view schematically showing the orientation of the wheels when a six-wheel drive two-wheel drive automatic guided vehicle goes straight. A bottom view schematically showing the orientation of the wheels when a six-wheel drive two-wheel drive automatic guided vehicle moves sideways. A bottom view schematically showing the orientation of the wheels when a six-wheel drive two-wheel drive automatic guided vehicle rotates. It is a figure explaining the 2nd Embodiment, and is the functional block diagram of the automatic guided vehicle control device. Part 1 of the figure schematically showing the detection range of the non-contact sensor when the automatic guided vehicle moves. Part 2 of the figure schematically showing the detection range of the non-contact sensor when the automatic guided vehicle moves. It is a figure explaining the 3rd Embodiment, and the figure 1 which shows the steering angle range in the four-wheel drive automatic guided vehicle. Part 2 of the figure showing the steering angle range in a four-wheel drive automatic guided vehicle Bottom view schematically showing the steering mode of the wheels when moving from the loading platform to the loading platform. Part 1 of the figure showing the steering angle range in an automatic guided vehicle driven by four-wheel drive and two-wheel drive. Part 2 of the figure showing the steering angle range of an automatic guided vehicle driven by four-wheel drive and two-wheel drive. Part 3 of the figure showing the steering angle range of an automated guided vehicle driven by four-wheel drive and two-wheel drive. Part 4 of the figure showing the steering angle range in an automatic guided vehicle driven by four-wheel drive and two-wheel drive. It is a figure explaining the 4th Embodiment, and is the perspective view which shows typically the whole structure of the automatic guided vehicle. The figure which shows typically the mode when the automatic guided vehicle transports a load from a loading platform to a loading platform.

Hereinafter, some embodiments will be described with reference to the drawings. In each of the embodiments described below, configurations that perform the same or similar operations are designated by the same or similar reference numerals, and the description thereof will be omitted as necessary. In addition, as shown in the figure, it will be described using the XY coordinate system. Unless otherwise specified, the XY direction will be considered as the horizontal direction. For convenience of explanation, the XY direction is referred to as a horizontal direction, but the direction is not limited to the horizontal direction.

(First Embodiment)
1 to 8 show explanatory views of the first embodiment. The automatic guided vehicle 10 (corresponding to the main body of the automatic guided vehicle) shown in FIG. 1 is configured to be capable of autonomously traveling in a target range in various facilities, and the wheel units 12 ... 15 are mounted on the vehicle body 11. Consists of. Each wheel unit 12 ... 15 corresponds to a modularized wheel unit module. Further, the wheel units 12 ... 15 are configured to have the same structure as each other, and each is configured as a drive wheel unit provided with a drive source for the wheels 21.

As shown in FIG. 1, the vehicle body 11 is composed of a rectangular box-shaped body as a whole. The vehicle body 11 includes a mounted portion 11a to which the wheel units 12 ... 15 can be mounted. The wheel units 12 ... 15 support the vehicle body 11 by using the wheels 21, so that the automatic guided vehicle 10 can travel in the passage in the facility. The wheel units 12 to 15 are configured to have at least three or more, and it is sufficient that the vehicle body 11 can be stably controlled to travel by contacting three or more points with the passage. Here, an example in which four wheel units 12 ... 15 are incorporated will be described.

The safety laser scanners 18 and 19 are composed of non-contact sensors capable of recognizing at least front, rear, left and right obstacles of the automatic guided vehicle 10, and are, for example, by a radar unit called LIDAR. The safety laser scanners 18 and 19 are provided on the vehicle body 11 so as to be capable of sensing all horizontal directions of the vehicle body 11.

For example, the safety laser scanners 18 and 19 may be installed at two diagonal corners of the four horizontal corners of the vehicle body 11. Then, the safety laser scanners 18 and 19 can efficiently sense 270 degrees in the horizontal direction from the diagonal positions of the vehicle body 11. The installation locations of the safety laser scanners 18 and 19 are not limited to these installation positions, and may be installed in any position as long as the object can be detected in all directions of front, back, left, and right. As a result, the safety laser scanners 18 and 19 can detect an object such as an obstacle such as a pillar or a wall over the front, rear, left, and right directions of the vehicle body 11.

As shown in FIG. 2 is a bottom view of the automatic guided vehicle 10, wheels 21 are mounted on the wheel units 12 ... 15, respectively. The individual wheel units 12 ... 15 are drive wheel units having the same structure as each other, and all of them are configured to be detachably attached to the mounted portion 11a.
Hereinafter, the structure of the wheel unit 12 will be described with reference to FIGS. 3 to 5, and the description of the other wheel units 13 ... 15 will be omitted. As shown in FIGS. 3 to 5, the wheel unit 12 is configured as a drive wheel unit including a traveling drive motor 33 for driving the wheels 21. The wheel unit 12 mainly serves as a safety control device, as a safety encoder 35 as a speed detecting unit for detecting the speed in the traveling direction of each wheel 21, and as a steering angle detecting unit for detecting the steering angle of the wheels 21. A safety non-contact switch 28 and an electromagnetic brake 36 as a braking device for braking the rotation of the wheel 21 are incorporated. Details will be described later.

The wheel unit 12 is composed of a fixing plate 22 as a fixing portion fixed to the mounted portion 11a of the vehicle body 11 and a movable portion 23 that can rotate horizontally with respect to the fixing plate 22.
On the fixing plate 22, a pulleys 24 and 25 rotatably installed along the upper surface of the fixing plate 22 and a timing belt 26 connecting the pulleys 24 and 25 are installed. A steering motor 27 as a steering unit is connected to the shaft of the pulley 24. The steering motor 27 is capable of rotating the pulley 25 in conjunction with the timing belt 26 by rotationally driving the pulley 24 via the motor shaft. The steering motor 27 can rotate the wheels 21 in the horizontal direction and can steer in a travelable direction. Further, the encoder 34 is engaged with the timing belt 26 via the pulley 43, so that the steering angle can be detected.

A safety non-contact switch 28 is fixed to the fixing plate 22 by using bolts, nuts, and the like. The safety non-contact switch 28 is used to improve the safety performance, and is used as a steering angle detecting unit for detecting the steering angle of the wheel 21. As illustrated in FIG. 4, the safety non-contact switch 28 penetrates from above to below the fixing plate 22 and its tip extends to the side of the frame 30. At the tip of the safety non-contact switch 28, an induction detection coil that outputs a magnetic field using an oscillation circuit is installed. The safety non-contact switch 28 functions as an inductive proximity switch together with the protrusions 31 and 32 provided on the frame 30 described later. Any method may be used as long as the steering angle can be detected by a method conforming to the safety standard.

A bearing 29 is installed on the lower surface of the fixing plate 22. A frame 30 is connected to the lower side of the bearing 29. The frame 30 is fixed to the bearing 29 using screws.

The movable portion 23 is configured with the frame 30 as a base material, and is directly or indirectly connected to the frame 30, with protrusions 31, 32, wheels 21, traveling drive motors 33, encoders 34, safety encoders 35, and electromagnetic waves. A brake 36 is provided. In addition, the movable portion 23 also includes a rotating shaft 21a and the like. The movable portion 23 is configured to be rotatable in the horizontal direction by integrating the components 30 ... 36 with respect to the fixing plate 22 through the bearing 29.

The protrusions 31 and 32 are fixed around the frame 30 in a predetermined angle step (for example, 90 ° step), and are integrally rotatable in the horizontal direction together with the frame 30. Therefore, when the movable portion 23 rotates in the horizontal direction, which is the rotation direction of the bearing 29, the protrusions 31 and 32 are displaced or coincide with the tip position of the safety non-contact switch 28. The safety non-contact switch 28 fixed to the fixed plate 22 detects the proximity state to the protrusions 31 and 32 by the magnetic field generated by the induction detection coil at the tip thereof, so that the wheel 21 can be stepped in a specific direction, for example, 90 ° step. , Steering state can be detected. Thereby, it can be determined which direction the wheel 21 is facing at an angle with respect to the traveling direction, for example, which direction is front, rear, left, or right.

The traveling drive motor 33 is used as a drive unit for driving the wheels 21. The traveling drive motor 33 can drive the wheels 21 in forward and reverse rotations, and enables the wheels 21 to travel in one direction, for example, in the Y direction, the X direction, or other directions in the drawing. In the present embodiment, the traveling drive motor 33 is provided integrally with the safety encoder 35 and the electromagnetic brake 36. These may be composed of separate parts.

The traveling drive motor 33 is fixed to the frame 30, and the rotating shaft 21a of the traveling drive motor 33 is directly connected to the wheels 21. The safety encoder 35 detects the rotation speed of the wheel 21. The rotation speed may be detected by converting the gear ratio. As a result, the safety encoder 35 is used as a speed detection unit that detects the speed of each wheel unit 12 ... 15 in the traveling direction.

The electromagnetic brake 36 is provided integrally with the traveling drive motor 33 and the safety encoder 35, and is used as a braking device for braking the rotation of the wheels 21. The electromagnetic brake 36 brakes the rotation of the wheel 21 through the rotating shaft 21a. As shown in FIG. 3, an electric wiring 42 connecting various electric configurations is installed along the rotation axis of the bearing 29.

FIG. 6 illustrates an electrical configuration. The automatic guided vehicle 10 is equipped with a wheel unit 12 ... 15, a safety laser scanner 18 and 19 as an environment recognition unit, a control unit 50, and an emergency stop switch 55. The control unit 50 is configured by combining a travel control controller 51, a safety controller 52, a contactor 53, and a drive circuit 54a mounted on the control board 54.

Further, as described above, the safety laser scanners 18 and 19 are mounted on the vehicle body 11. The safety laser scanners 18 and 19 are electrically connected to the safety controller 52 of the control unit 50. Each wheel unit 12 ... 15 includes an encoder 34 in addition to the steering motor 27, a safety non-contact switch 28, a traveling drive motor 33, a safety encoder 35, and an electromagnetic brake 36 described above. The encoder 34 can detect the steering angle of the wheel 21 in detail for traveling control.

The travel control controller 51 is mainly composed of a microcomputer that is responsible for travel control. The travel control controller 51 is realized by the CPU executing a program stored in a ROM or the like. That is, although it is realized by software, the drive control controller 51 may be realized by hardware.

The travel control controller 51 drives the travel drive motor 33 through the drive circuit 54a mounted on the control board 54, and also drives the steering motor 27 to control the rotation of each wheel 21 of the wheel units 12 ... 15. At this time, the travel control controller 51 detects the detailed steering angle of each wheel 21 by the encoder 34 and performs feedback control to control the travel of the automatic guided vehicle 10.

The safety controller 52 is a controller mainly responsible for safety control and is composed of a PLC. The safety controller 52 determines information on the surrounding environment such as the presence / absence of an obstacle and the distance to the obstacle within the scan detection range of the safety laser scanners 18 and 19. The safety controller 52 can send and receive information to and from the travel control controller 51, and can transmit information on the surrounding environment acquired from the safety laser scanners 18 and 19 to the travel control controller 51. The travel control controller 51 can autonomously travel by controlling in cooperation with the safety controller 52.

Further, the safety controller 52 directly inputs the signals of the safety non-contact switch 28 and the safety encoder 35. The safety controller 52 can detect the steering state of each wheel unit 12 ... 15 in a specific direction by the safety non-contact switch 28 of each wheel unit 12 ... 15. Further, the safety controller 52 can detect the speed of each wheel unit 12 ... 15 by the safety encoder 35 of each wheel unit 12 ... 15. As a result, the safety controller 52 can detect various states of the automatic guided vehicle 10.

Although the safety controller 52, safety laser scanners 18 and 19, safety non-contact switch 28, safety encoder 35, and electromagnetic brake 36 are not used as the main body of driving control, they are necessary equipment to meet the safety standard ISO3691-4. It is configured as a safety device with safety certification. The speed monitoring function and steering detection function are certified as safety category 3 and performance level D as defined by ISO13849.
The encoder 34 detects the steering angle of the wheel 21 in detail for traveling control. For example, the safety non-contact switch 28 is provided as an indispensable device for detecting a specific direction as described above. .. Further, if the driving force of the traveling drive motor 33 becomes small, or if the power of the traveling drive motor 33 fails to be cut off due to some trouble, the electromagnetic brake 36 is used to safely and surely stop the automatic guided vehicle 10. Is assembled.

The contactor 53 is an electromagnetic switch that opens and closes the power supply according to the control of the safety controller 52. The contactor 53 is configured to be able to energize the electromagnetic brake 36 with the electric power required for the braking action according to the control of the safety controller 52.

Further, the contactor 53 is capable of transmitting and disconnecting a power source that is energized to the control board 54 according to the control of the safety controller 52. The emergency stop switch 55 is a switch that can be operated by an external user and is electrically connected to the safety controller 52 so that a stop instruction can be given from the outside in an emergency.

Even while the travel control controller 51 is autonomously controlling travel through the drive circuit 54a using the drive motor 33 for travel, the steering motor 27, and the encoder 34, the emergency stop switch 55 is turned on to turn on the safety controller 52. , The power supply energized in the drive circuit 54a can be cut off through the contactor 53. As a result, autonomous driving control can be stopped.

Further, the safety controller 52 collates the state of the wheel units 12 ... 15 of the automatic guided vehicle 10 with the information of the surrounding environment of the automatic guided vehicle 10 and can secure a certain distance or more from the obstacles existing in the vicinity. For example, when the automatic guided vehicle 10 is colliding with an obstacle, the safety controller 52 can brake the automatic guided vehicle 10 by energizing the electromagnetic brake 36 with a power source through the contactor 53.

The travel control controller 51 drives and controls the travel drive motors 33 of the wheel units 12 ... 15, so that the wheels 21 of the wheel units 12 ... 15 can be driven in forward and reverse rotations.

Therefore, as shown in FIG. 2, the control unit 50 can laterally move the vehicle body 11 by steering the wheels 21 of all the wheel units 12 ... 15 in the X direction. Further, as shown in FIG. 7, the control unit 50 can steer the wheels 21 of all the wheel units 12 ... 15 in the Y direction to allow the vehicle body 11 to go straight.

Further, as shown in FIG. 8, the control unit 50 can rotate the automatic guided vehicle 10 around its vertical axis by inclining the wheels 21 of all the wheel units 12 ... 15 in the XY directions. As a result, the automatic guided vehicle 10 can be moved in any direction in the horizontal direction, and the automatic guided vehicle 10 can be driven in all directions by 360 °.

As shown in the automatic guided vehicle 10a of FIG. 9, some of the wheel units 12 and 15 of all the wheel units 12 ... 15 may be configured by driven wheel units 312 and 315 that follow the drive wheel unit. Although the driven wheel units 312 and 315 are equipped with wheels 21 that can move freely in the horizontal direction on the frame 30, they have an electrical configuration, that is, a traveling drive motor 33, a steering motor 27, an encoder 34, and an electromagnetic brake 36. , Safety non-contact switch 28, safety encoder 35, etc. are not attached. That is, the driven wheel units 312 and 315 are configured as casters. Similarly, as shown in the automatic guided vehicle 10b of FIG. 10, some of the wheel units 14 and 15 of all the wheel units 12 ... 15 are composed of driven wheel units 314 and 315 that follow the drive wheel unit. May be.

In the example of the automatic guided vehicle 10a shown in FIG. 9, the wheel units 13 and 14 are configured to be detachably attached to the mounted portions 11b and 11c provided in the diagonal direction of the vehicle body 11, respectively, and are for traveling to drive the wheels 21. It is composed of a drive wheel unit including a drive motor 33. Further, the driven wheel units 312 and 315 are configured to be detachably attached to the mounted portions 11a and 11d other than the mounted portions 11b and 11c on which the wheel units 13 and 14 are mounted.

In the figure, the wheel units 13 and 14 have hatches on the wheels 21, and the driven wheel units 312 and 315 do not have hatches on the wheels 21. The steering motors 27 of the wheel units 13 and 14 steer the wheels 21 in the same direction in the Y direction, and the traveling drive motor 33 drives the wheels 21 in the same direction to apply a driving force in the Y direction. be able to. Since the wheels 21 of the driven wheel units 312 and 315 follow the direction in which the driving force of the wheel units 13 and 14 is applied, the automatic guided vehicle 10 can move in the Y direction.

Further, the steering motors 27 of the wheel units 13 and 14 steer the wheels 21 in the same direction in the X direction, and the traveling drive motor 33 drives the wheels 21 in the same direction to drive the wheels 21 in the X direction. Can be applied. Since the wheels 21 of the driven wheel units 312 and 315 follow the direction in which the driving force of the wheel units 13 and 14 is applied, the automatic guided vehicle 10 can move in the X direction. As a result, the automatic guided vehicle 10 can go straight in the Y direction or laterally in the X direction.

Further, after the steering motors 27 of the wheel units 13 and 14 steer the wheels 21 of the wheel units 13 and 14 in the XY tilting direction, the traveling drive motors 33 of the wheel units 13 and 14 each steer the wheels 21. By driving in the opposite direction, a turning force is generated around the center of gravity of the vehicle body 11.

The driven wheel units 312 and 315 are driven by this turning force, and the automatic guided vehicle 10 can turn with the central axis of the vehicle body 11 as the turning axis. Since the automatic guided vehicle, the lateral movement, and the rotation are possible, the automatic guided vehicle 10a can be moved in any direction in the horizontal direction, and the automatic guided vehicle 10a can be driven in all directions by 360 °.

In the example of the automatic guided vehicle 10b shown in FIG. 10, the wheel units 12 and 13 are configured to be detachably attached to the mounted portions 11a and 11b provided on the front portion of the vehicle body 11, respectively, and are for traveling to drive the wheels 21. It is composed of a drive wheel unit including a drive motor 33. Further, the driven wheel units 314 and 315 are configured to be detachably attached to the mounted portions 11c and 11d other than the mounted portions 11a and 11b on which the wheel units 12 and 13 are mounted. In the example of the automatic guided vehicle 10b shown in FIG. 10, the automatic guided vehicle 10a can also go straight, sideways, and rotate, but the description thereof will be omitted.

11 to 16 show an example of six-wheel drive. As illustrated in FIG. 11, six-wheel drive may be achieved by mounting the wheel units 12 ... 17 on the mounted portions 11a ... 11f, respectively. The automatic guided vehicle 310 is provided with mounted portions 11a ... 11f at the apex positions of a regular hexagon with respect to the vehicle body 311 configured in a rectangular frame shape in the horizontal direction, and the wheel units 12 are provided on these mounted portions 11a ... 11f. ... 17 is attached. The wheel units 12 ... 17 are all configured with the same structure and electrical configuration.

As illustrated in FIG. 11, the automatic guided vehicle 310 can be moved forward or backward by the control unit 50 steering all the wheels 21 in the Y direction. Further, as illustrated in FIG. 12, the automatic guided vehicle 310 can be moved laterally by the control unit 50 steering all the wheels 21 in the X direction.

Further, as illustrated in FIG. 13, the control unit 50 tilts the wheels 21 of the wheel units 12 ... 15 in the XY directions and steers the wheels 21 of the wheel units 16 and 17 along the Y direction, whereby the unmanned vehicle is used. The carrier 310 can be swiveled around its vertical axis. As a result, the automatic guided vehicle 10 can be moved in any direction in the horizontal direction, and the automatic guided vehicle 10 can be driven in all directions by 360 °.

Further, FIG. 14 illustrates an automatic guided vehicle 310a. In the automatic guided vehicle 310a shown in FIG. 14, a part of all the wheel units 12 ... 17 is composed of driven wheel units 312, 315 ... 317 that follow the drive wheel units, respectively. Although the driven wheel units 312, 315 ... 317 are equipped with wheels 21 that can move freely in the horizontal direction with respect to the frame 30, the driving drive motor 33, the steering motor 27, the encoder 34, the electromagnetic brake 36, The safety non-contact switch 28, the safety encoder 35, and the like are not attached. That is, the driven wheel units 312, 315 ... 317 are configured as so-called casters.

In the example shown in FIG. 14, the wheel units 13 and 14 provided in the diagonal direction of the vehicle body 311 are used as drive wheel units, and the driven wheel units 312, 315 ... 317 are also provided. The wheels 21 are hatched on the wheel units 13 and 14, and the driven wheel units 312, 315 ... 317 are not hatched on the wheels 21.

As shown in FIG. 14, the control unit 50 steers the wheels 21 of the wheel units 13 and 14 in the Y direction, and drives the wheels 21 in the same direction by the traveling drive motor 33. Then, the wheels 21 of the other driven wheel units 312, 315 ... 317 are driven along the direction of the driving force of the wheel units 13 and 14. As a result, the automatic guided vehicle 10 can be made to go straight.

Further, as shown in FIG. 15, the control unit 50 steers the wheels 21 of the wheel units 13 and 14 in the X direction, and drives the wheels 21 in the same direction by the traveling drive motor 33. Then, the wheels 21 of the driven wheel units 312, 315 ... 317 are driven according to the direction of the driving force of the wheel units 13 and 14. As a result, the automatic guided vehicle 10 can be moved sideways.

Further, as shown in FIG. 16, the control unit 50 steers the wheels 21 of the wheel units 13 and 14 in the XY tilting direction and drives the wheels 21 in opposite directions. Then, a turning force is generated around the center of gravity of the vehicle body 11. Since the wheels 21 of the driven wheel units 312, 315 ... 317 are driven according to the turning force of the wheel units 13 and 14, the automatic guided vehicle 310a can be turned around the vertical axis of the vehicle body 311. As a result, the automatic guided vehicle 310a can be moved in any direction in the horizontal direction, and the automatic guided vehicle 310a can be driven in all directions by 360 °.

By making the vehicle body 311 on which the wheel units 12 ... 17 are installed larger, the weight of the transported object that can be transported by the automatic guided vehicle 10 can be increased. The automatic guided vehicles 10, 10a, 10b, 310, and 310a described above are designed according to the weight and size of the transported object because the number of drive wheel units installed in the wheel units 12 ... 17 can be changed for general purposes. Easy to make.

According to the present embodiment, the wheel units 12 ... 17 are configured to be detachably attached to the mounted portions 11a ... 11f of the automatic guided vehicles 10, 10a, 10b, 310, 310a as drive wheel units. Therefore, the driving force and the like can be easily designed and manufactured and changed according to the weight and size of various conveyed objects depending on the number of the wheel units 12 ... 17 mounted.

Each wheel unit 12 ... 17 realizes a speed detection function by a safety encoder 35, a steering angle detection function of a wheel 21 by a safety non-contact switch 28, and an electromagnetic brake 36 of a wheel 21 in an emergency. The rotation can be braked. By combining the wheel units 12 ... 17, it can be configured to meet international safety standards.

(Second Embodiment)
17 to 19 show explanatory views of the second embodiment. As illustrated in FIG. 17, the control unit 50 has functions as a detection range setting unit 56, a traveling direction detection unit 57, and a detection range change control unit 58.

As illustrated in FIG. 18, while the automatic guided vehicle 10 is traveling on the route R having walls on both sides, the detection range setting unit 56 of the control unit 50 uses the safety laser scanners 18 and 19 to drive the automatic guided vehicle. The detection range of objects existing around 10 can be changed.

The traveling direction detecting unit 57 of the control unit 50 detects the direction in which the wall does not exist based on the scan information of the safety laser scanners 18 and 19. The travel control controller 51 of the control unit 50 can determine the traveling direction based on the travel map stored in advance in the internal memory and the steering angle detection information by the encoder 34. Further, the travel control controller 51 detects the rotation speed of the wheels 21 of each wheel unit 12 ... 15 by the safety encoder 35, and controls the lowest speed among the travel speeds of each wheel 21 as the detection speed.

The detection range change control unit 58 of the control unit 50 changes and controls so that the detection range of the detection range setting unit 56 is directed to the traveling direction detected by the traveling direction detecting unit 57. As shown in FIG. 18, the detection range change control unit 58 of the control unit 50 enables the Y direction in the traveling direction as the scan detection range of the safety laser scanners 18 and 19, and scans in directions other than the Y direction in the traveling direction. Disable the detection range. The detection range change control unit 58 of the control unit 50 sets the scan detection range in the Y direction in the traveling direction as a predetermined distance L1.

Further, as shown in FIG. 18, after the automatic guided vehicle 10 travels in the Y direction, the wheel units 12 ... 15 of the automatic guided vehicle 10 are steered, the L-shaped intersection angle is bent, and the vehicle is oriented in the X direction in FIG. Consider the case of driving.

The detection range change control unit 58 of the control unit 50 enables the X direction in the traveling direction as the scan detection range of the safety laser scanners 18 and 19, and invalidates the scan detection range in the direction other than the traveling direction X direction. The detection range change control unit 58 of the control unit 50 sets the scan detection range in the traveling direction X direction to a predetermined distance L2.

Therefore, the detection range by the detection range setting unit 56 can be changed according to the traveling direction of the automatic guided vehicle 10, and the scan detection range by the safety laser scanners 18 and 19 can be changed according to the situation.

As described above, since the detection range change control unit 58 changes and controls the detection range setting unit 56 so as to direct the detection range to the traveling direction detected by the traveling direction detecting unit 57, the automatic guided vehicle 10 has a change control unit. Objects within the detection range in the traveling direction can be detected with high accuracy, and the presence or absence of an object Ob existing within the detection range in the traveling direction can be reliably determined.

Further, the control unit 50 may control the scan detection range of the safety laser scanners 18 and 19 so as to narrow the detection range as the speed at which the automatic guided vehicle 10 travels in the traveling direction decreases. In particular, it is preferable to monotonically reduce the detection range or reduce the detection range stepwise as the traveling speed decreases. For example, as shown in FIG. 19, when the traveling speed of the automatic guided vehicle 10 is relatively high, the detection range L1c in the traveling direction is set, and the detection range L1d in the traveling direction when the object Ob approaches in the traveling direction (however, L1c). > L1d) should be set. Then, even if the object Ob is close to the object Ob, the object Ob can be gradually approached.

(Third Embodiment)
20 to 26 show explanatory views of the third embodiment. Since the electric wirings 42 of the individual wheel units 12 ... 15 are wired along the rotation axis of the bearing 29, the electric wirings 42 are twisted by the steering motor 27 steering the wheels 21. In order to suppress the twist of the electric wiring 42 as much as possible, it is desirable to limit the angle at which the steering motor 27 steers each wheel 21 to 180 ° or less.

At this time, the steering motors 27 of the individual wheel units 12 ... 15 can travel the automatic guided vehicle 10 in all directions by 360 ° while limiting the steerable direction of each wheel 21 to 180 ° or less. No longer steers above °. By limiting the steering angle, the travelable direction of the wheel 21 is limited, but the failure rate due to the twist of the electric wiring 42 or the like can be reduced.

When the automatic guided vehicle 10 suddenly changes the traveling direction, the automatic guided vehicle 10 may temporarily stop traveling in order to maintain the stability of the vehicle body 11, and after the steering motor 27 completes steering the rotation direction of the wheels 21, the automatic guided vehicle 10 may resume traveling. desirable. The longer the time for steering the wheels 21, the longer the stop time of the automatic guided vehicle 10, and the longer it takes to transport.

When the automatic guided vehicle 10 goes straight, sideways, or rotates, it is desirable that the steering motor 27 is steered to ± 90 ° or less centered on a 45 ° oblique direction with respect to the reference direction of the traveling direction of the vehicle body 11. Then, it will not be steered in an angle range exceeding 90 °. In this case, for example, it is not necessary to steer 180 ° even when the vehicle body 11 moves backward, and the waiting time required for transportation can be reduced.

20 to 26 show an example of a steering angle range of the steering motor 27 satisfying the above conditions. The numerical values of the angles shown in the figure indicate the central angle of the steering angle counterclockwise with respect to the Y direction. An example of the steering angle range shown in FIG. 20 will be described.
The reference traveling direction of the wheel 21 of the wheel unit 12 of the right front wheel portion shown in FIG. 20 is oriented diagonally 45 ° to the right with respect to the Y direction. When the central angle of the steering angle of the wheel 21 of the wheel unit 12 is + 45 °, the steering angle range of the steering motor 27 is limited to ± 90 ° or less.

The reference traveling direction of the wheel 21 of the wheel unit 13 of the left front wheel portion is diagonally 45 ° to the left with respect to the Y direction. When the central angle of the steering angle of the wheel 21 of the wheel unit 13 is set to −45 °, the steering angle range of the steering motor 27 is limited to ± 90 ° or less.

The reference traveling direction of the wheel 21 of the wheel unit 14 of the right rear wheel portion is diagonally 45 ° to the left with respect to the Y direction. When the central angle of the steering angle of the wheel 21 of the wheel unit 14 is set to −45 °, the steering angle range of the steering motor 27 is limited to ± 90 ° or less.

The reference traveling direction of the wheel 21 of the wheel unit 15 of the left rear wheel portion is diagonally 45 ° to the right with respect to the Y direction. When the central angle of the steering angle of the wheel 21 of the wheel unit 15 is + 45 °, the steering angle range of the steering motor 27 is limited to ± 90 ° or less.

In this case, the steering motor 27 of each wheel unit 12 ... 15 can steer the wheel 21 of each wheel unit 12 ... 15 in both the Y direction and the X direction. Therefore, the automatic guided vehicle 10 can go straight in the Y direction or laterally in the X direction. Further, the steering motor 27 can turn the automatic guided vehicle 10 by steering the wheels 21 shown in FIG. 20 by + 90 ° or −90 °, respectively. Therefore, the vehicle body 11 of the automatic guided vehicle 10 can be driven in all directions by 360 °.

The reference traveling direction of the wheel 21 of the wheel unit 12 of the right front wheel portion shown in FIG. 21 is diagonally 45 ° to the right with respect to the Y direction. When the central angle of the steering angle of the wheel 21 of the wheel unit 12 is +225 °, the steering angle range of the steering motor 27 is limited to ± 90 ° or less.

The reference traveling direction of the wheel 21 of the wheel unit 13 of the left front wheel portion is diagonally 45 ° to the left with respect to the Y direction. When the central angle of the steering angle of the wheel 21 of the wheel unit 13 is + 135 °, the steering angle range of the steering motor 27 is limited to ± 90 ° or less.

The reference traveling direction of the wheel 21 of the wheel unit 14 of the right rear wheel portion is diagonally 45 ° to the left with respect to the Y direction. When the central angle of the steering angle of the wheel 21 of the wheel unit 14 is + 135 °, the steering angle range of the steering motor 27 is limited to ± 90 ° or less.

The reference traveling direction of the wheel 21 of the wheel unit 15 of the left rear wheel portion is diagonally 45 ° to the right with respect to the Y direction. When the central angle of the steering angle of the wheel 21 of the wheel unit 15 is +225 °, the steering angle range of the steering motor 27 is limited to ± 90 ° or less.

Also in this case, the steering motor 27 can steer the wheels 21 of each wheel unit 12 ... 15 in both the Y direction and the X direction. Therefore, the automatic guided vehicle 10 can go straight in the Y direction or laterally in the X direction. Further, the steering motor 27 can turn the automatic guided vehicle 10 by steering the wheels 21 shown in FIG. 21 by + 90 ° or −90 °, respectively. Therefore, the automatic guided vehicle 10 can be driven in all directions by 360 °.

As shown in FIG. 22, an example of a case where the luggage 66 is delivered from the loading platform 61 to the loading platform 62 will be described. The route R from the loading platform 61 to the loading platform 62 moves in the X direction from the proximity position of the loading platform 61, bends at a right angle at the node Ra, moves in the Y direction, and then bends at a right angle at the node Rb. It becomes a route that moves in the X direction.

When the automatic guided vehicle 10 moves along this route R, first, when the automatic guided vehicle 10 travels in the X direction from the loading platform 61 and reaches the node Ra, the steering motor 27 moves the wheel units 12 ... 15 The wheel 21 can be turned at a right angle by steering + 90 ° to the right or −90 ° to the left.

Further, the automatic guided vehicle 10 travels from the node Ra to the node Rb and reaches the node Rb by driving the wheels 21 until the traveling drive motor 33 reaches the node Rb from the node Ra. When the automatic guided vehicle 10 reaches the node Rb, the steering motor 27 can turn the wheels 21 of each wheel unit 12 ... 15 at a right angle by steering + 90 ° to the right or −90 ° to the left. Then, the automatic guided vehicle 10 travels from the node Rb to the loading platform 62 by driving the wheels 21 until the traveling drive motor 33 reaches the loading platform 62 from the node Rb. In this way, the automatic guided vehicle 10 can travel from the loading platform 61 to the loading platform 62.

As described above, even if the steering motor 27 is steered to ± 90 ° or less with respect to the reference direction of the traveling direction of the vehicle body 11 at an angle of 45 °, the automatic guided vehicle 10 has a loading platform 61. Can travel from to the loading platform 62. As a result, the automatic guided vehicle 10 can reduce the waiting time required for transporting the luggage 66.

FIG. 23 shows an example of a steering angle range when applied to an unmanned transport vehicle 10a using the driven wheel units 312 and 315. In the automatic guided vehicle 10a shown in FIG. 23, the wheel units 13 and 14 are mounted on the left front wheel portion and the right rear wheel portion, respectively, and the driven wheel units 312 and 315 are mounted on the right front wheel portion and the left rear wheel portion, respectively. Has been done.

The reference traveling direction of the wheel 21 of the wheel unit 13 of the left front wheel is diagonally 45 ° to the left with respect to the Y direction. When the central angle of the steering angle of the wheel 21 of the wheel unit 13 is set to −45 °, the steering angle range of the steering motor 27 is limited to ± 90 ° or less. The reference traveling direction of the wheel 21 of the wheel unit 14 of the right rear wheel is diagonally 45 ° to the left with respect to the Y direction.

When the central angle of the steering angle of the wheel 21 of the wheel unit 14 is set to −45 °, the steering angle range of the steering motor 27 is limited to ± 90 ° or less. The wheel 21 of the driving wheel unit 315 of the left rear wheel can be driven in all directions of XY, and the wheel 21 of the driving wheel unit 312 of the right front wheel is also movable in all directions of XY.

Even within such a steering angle range, the steering motors 27 of the wheel units 13 and 14 can steer each wheel 21 in both the Y direction and the X direction. Further, the steering motors 27 of the wheel units 13 and 14 steer the wheels 21 of the wheel units 13 and 14 by + 90 ° and −90 °, respectively, and the traveling drive motors 33 of the wheel units 13 and 14 reverse the wheels 21, respectively. When driven in the direction, a turning force is generated around the center of the vehicle body 11.

Since the wheels 21 of the driven wheel units 312 and 315 are driven by this turning force, the automatic guided vehicle 10 turns around the center of the vehicle body 11. As a result, the automatic guided vehicle 10 can go straight, go sideways, and rotate even in the steering angle range as described above.

FIG. 24 also shows an example of a steering angle range when applied to an automatic guided vehicle 10a using the driven wheel units 312 and 315. In the automatic guided vehicle 10a shown in FIG. 24, the wheel units 13 and 14 are mounted on the left front wheel portion and the right rear wheel portion, respectively, and the driven wheel units 312 and 315 are mounted on the right front wheel portion and the left rear wheel portion, respectively. Has been done.

The reference traveling direction of the wheel 21 of the wheel unit 13 of the left front wheel is diagonally 45 ° to the left with respect to the Y direction. When the central angle of the steering angle of the wheel 21 of the wheel unit 13 is set to −135 °, the steering angle range of the steering motor 27 is limited to ± 90 ° or less.

The reference traveling direction of the wheel 21 of the wheel unit 14 of the right rear wheel is diagonally 45 ° to the left with respect to the Y direction. When the central angle of the steering angle of the wheel 21 of the wheel unit 14 is + 135 °, the steering angle range of the steering motor 27 is limited to ± 90 ° or less. The wheel 21 of the driving wheel unit 315 of the left rear wheel can be driven in all directions of XY, and the wheel 21 of the driving wheel unit 312 of the right front wheel is also movable in all directions of XY.

Even within such a steering angle range, the steering motors 27 of the wheel units 13 and 14 can steer each wheel 21 in both the Y direction and the X direction. Further, the steering motors 27 of the wheel units 13 and 14 steer the wheels 21 of the wheel units 13 and 14 by + 90 ° and −90 °, respectively, and the traveling drive motors 33 of the wheel units 13 and 14 reverse the wheels 21, respectively. When driven in the direction, a turning force is generated around the center of the vehicle body 11.

Since the wheels 21 of the driven wheel units 312 and 315 are driven by this turning force, the automatic guided vehicle 10 turns around the center of the vehicle body 11. As a result, the automatic guided vehicle 10 can go straight, go sideways, and rotate even in the steering angle range as described above.

FIG. 25 also gives an example of a steering angle range when applied to an automatic guided vehicle 10b using the driven wheel units 314 and 315. In the automatic guided vehicle 10b shown in FIG. 25, the wheel units 12 and 13 are mounted on the right front wheel portion and the left front wheel portion, respectively, and the driven wheel units 314 and 315 are mounted on the right rear wheel portion and the left rear wheel portion, respectively. Has been done.

The reference traveling direction of the wheel 21 of the wheel unit 12 of the right front wheel is diagonally 45 ° to the right with respect to the Y direction. When the central angle of the steering angle of the wheel 21 of the wheel unit 12 is + 45 °, the steering angle range of the steering motor 27 is limited to ± 90 ° or less. The reference traveling direction of the wheel 21 of the wheel unit 13 of the left front wheel is diagonally 45 ° to the left with respect to the Y direction. When the central angle of the steering angle of the wheel 21 of the wheel unit 13 is set to −45 °, the steering angle range of the steering motor 27 is limited to ± 90 ° or less.

The wheel 21 of the driving wheel unit 315 of the left rear wheel can be driven in all directions of XY, and the wheel 21 of the driving wheel unit 312 of the right front wheel is also movable in all directions of XY.

Even within such a steering angle range, the steering motors 27 of the wheel units 12 and 13 can steer each wheel 21 in both the Y direction and the X direction. Further, the steering motors 27 of the wheel units 12 and 13 steer the wheels 21 of the wheel units 12 and 13 by −90 ° and + 90 °, respectively, and the traveling drive motors 33 of the wheel units 12 and 13 reverse the wheels 21, respectively. When driven in the direction, a turning force is generated around the center of the vehicle body 11.

Since the wheels 21 of the driven wheel units 314 and 315 are driven by this turning force, the automatic guided vehicle 10 turns around the center of the vehicle body 11. As a result, the automatic guided vehicle 10 can go straight, go sideways, and rotate even in the steering angle range as described above.

FIG. 26 also gives an example of a steering angle range when applied to an automatic guided vehicle 10b using the driven wheel units 314 and 315. In the automatic guided vehicle 10b shown in FIG. 26, the wheel units 12 and 13 are mounted on the right front wheel portion and the left front wheel portion, respectively, and the driven wheel units 314 and 315 are mounted on the right rear wheel portion and the left rear wheel portion, respectively. Has been done.

The reference traveling direction of the wheel 21 of the wheel unit 12 of the right front wheel is diagonally 45 ° to the right with respect to the Y direction. When the central angle of the steering angle of the wheel 21 of the wheel unit 12 is +225 °, the steering angle range of the steering motor 27 is limited to ± 90 ° or less. The reference traveling direction of the wheel 21 of the wheel unit 13 of the left front wheel is diagonally 45 ° to the left with respect to the Y direction. When the central angle of the steering angle of the wheel 21 of the wheel unit 13 is + 135 °, the steering angle range of the steering motor 27 is limited to ± 90 ° or less.

The wheel 21 of the driving wheel unit 315 of the left rear wheel can be driven in all directions of XY, and the wheel 21 of the driving wheel unit 312 of the right front wheel is also movable in all directions of XY.

Even within such a steering angle range, the steering motors 27 of the wheel units 12 and 13 can steer each wheel 21 in both the Y direction and the X direction. Further, the steering motors 27 of the wheel units 12 and 13 steer the wheels 21 of the wheel units 12 and 13 by + 90 ° and −90 °, respectively, and the traveling drive motors 33 of the wheel units 12 and 13 reverse the wheels 21, respectively. When driven in the direction, a turning force is generated around the center of the vehicle body 11.

Since the wheels 21 of the driven wheel units 314 and 315 are driven by this turning force, the automatic guided vehicle 10 turns around the center of the vehicle body 11. As a result, the automatic guided vehicle 10 can go straight, go sideways, and rotate even in the steering angle range as described above.

(Fourth Embodiment)
27 and 28 show explanatory views of the fourth embodiment. A fourth embodiment describes an automatic guided vehicle 510 that delivers the load 66 received from the delivery point 67 of the delivery platform 61 to the delivery point 68 of the loading platform 62.

As illustrated in FIG. 27, the automatic guided vehicle 510 includes a trolley 510a and a belt conveyor 63 as a transport unit mounted on the trolley 510a. The dolly 510a has the same function as that of the automatic guided vehicle 10, for example, and is configured to be movable in all directions by 360 ° by using the wheels 21.

The belt conveyor 63 is provided with pulleys 63a at both ends for receiving and delivering the load 66, and a large number of rollers 63b are provided between the pulleys 63a, and the conveyor belt 63c is laid on the pulleys 63a and the rollers 63b. It is a general belt conveyor configured in the above. A load receiving portion 64 is provided on one end of the conveyor belt 63c of the belt conveyor 63.

The load receiving unit 64 of the belt conveyor 63 enables the load 66 to be received from the delivery point 67 of the delivery table 61 shown in FIG. 28 to the carriage 510a. The delivery section 65 and the load receiving section 64 are separated from each other. When the conveyor belt 63c of the belt conveyor 63 is rotationally driven by a motor (not shown), the conveyor belt 63c moves around the pulleys 63a and the rollers 63b.

Then, the belt conveyor 63 can convey the load 66 in one direction between the load receiving section 64 and the delivery section 65. The loading section 65 of the belt conveyor 63 enables the loading 66 to be delivered from the trolley 510a to the receiving point 68 of the receiving platform 62.

As shown in FIG. 28, an operation example in the case of delivering the load 66 from the delivery table 61 to the load receiving table 62 will be described. The route R from the loading platform 61 to the loading platform 62 moves in the X direction from the proximity position of the loading platform 61, bends at a right angle at the node Ra, moves in the Y direction, and then bends at a right angle at the node Rb. It is a route that moves in the X direction and reaches a position close to the loading platform 62.

A belt conveyor (not shown) is installed at the delivery point 67 of the delivery platform 61. By flowing the luggage 66 from the loading platform 61 in the X direction, the automatic guided vehicle 510 receives the luggage 66 in the loading unit 64. The transport direction of the load 66 flowing on the belt conveyor 63 is one direction in the X direction.

When the automatic guided vehicle 510 travels in the X direction from the loading platform 61 along the route R and moves to the node Ra or reaches the node Ra, the belt conveyor 63 is operated to move the luggage 66 in the X direction. Move it. At this time, the luggage 66 is placed in the center of the belt conveyor 63.

When the automatic guided vehicle 510 reaches the node Ra, it changes the moving direction to the Y direction and moves from the node Ra to the node Rb. At this time, by using the straight-ahead and lateral-traveling techniques of the automatic guided vehicle 10 described in the above-described embodiment, the route R can be moved while maintaining the transport direction of the load 66 by the belt conveyor 63 in the X direction.

When the automatic guided vehicle 510 reaches the node Rb, the belt conveyor 63 is operated again to move the luggage 66 to the delivery section 65. Then, the moving direction of the automatic guided vehicle 510 is changed to the X direction again, and the automatic guided vehicle 510 moves in the X direction from the node Rb to the proximity position of the load receiving platform 62.

When the automatic guided vehicle 510 reaches a position close to the loading platform 62, the belt conveyor 63 can be operated again to move the luggage 66 in the X direction and deliver it to the receiving point 68 of the loading platform 62.

According to the present embodiment, the load 66 is first-in and first-out in one direction from the delivery point 67 to the load receiving section 64, the belt conveyor 63, the delivery section 65, and the load receiving point 68. Therefore, the luggage 66 received at the delivery point 67 can be efficiently put in and out at the receiving point 68.

(Other embodiments)
The embodiment is not limited to the above, and for example, the following modifications or extensions are possible.
For example, the configuration of each of the above-described embodiments is conceptual, and the functions of one component may be distributed to a plurality of components, or the functions of a plurality of components may be integrated into one component. You may. Further, at least a part of the configuration of the above-described embodiment may be replaced with a known configuration having the same function. Further, a part or all of the configurations of the above two or more embodiments may be added or replaced in combination with each other as necessary.

Although the present invention has been described in accordance with the above-described embodiment, it is understood that the present invention is not limited to the embodiment or structure. The present invention also includes various modifications and variations within a uniform range. In addition, various combinations and forms, as well as other combinations and forms including one element, more, or less, are within the scope and scope of the invention.

In the drawings, 10 is an automatic guided vehicle, 11 is a vehicle body, 12 to 15 are wheel units, 21 is wheels, 27 is a steering motor (steering unit), and 33 is a traveling drive motor (driving unit).

Claims (2)

Three or more wheel units (12 to 15) that are mounted on the vehicle body and have wheels that support the vehicle body and can travel in one direction, respectively.
Each of the wheel units includes a drive unit (33) that enables the wheels to be driven in forward and reverse rotations, and a steering unit (27) that steers the vehicle body in a travelable direction.
The steering unit limits the travelable direction of each of the wheels to 180 ° or less, and the drive unit drives the wheels in forward and reverse rotations to enable the vehicle body to travel in all directions of 360 °. Automated guided vehicle. The first aspect of the present invention, wherein the steering unit limits steering to ± 90 ° around a 45 ° direction in which the vehicle body can be steered with respect to a reference direction in the traveling direction of the vehicle body when the vehicle body moves straight, laterally, or rotates. Automated guided vehicle.

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