JP2022066058A - Unmanned transport system - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide an unmanned transport system capable of transporting goods smoothly even when some of unmanned transport vehicles thereof break down.SOLUTION: Unmanned transport vehicles 12 are provided with transfer devices 34. When a travelable unmanned transport vehicle 12 and a broken-down unmanned transport vehicle 12 are sitting next to each other, goods 26 being transported is transferred by the transfer device 34 from the broken-down unmanned transport vehicle 12 to the travelable unmanned transport vehicle 12.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 4

Description

The present invention relates to an automatic guided vehicle system.

The following Patent Document 1 discloses an invention relating to an automatic guided vehicle. In this automatic guided vehicle, the rescue vehicle is brought closer to the automatic guided vehicle whose main power supply or control device has failed, and the operation switch of the brake release device of the automatic guided vehicle that has failed is operated by the operation piece provided on the rescue vehicle. Release the brake on the drive wheel of the automatic guided vehicle that has failed. Then, the rescue vehicle uses this operation piece to tow the automatic guided vehicle. Therefore, in the following prior art, the automatic guided vehicle that has failed can be quickly evacuated from the traveling path.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 11-5520

However, in the above-mentioned prior art, since the transported object placed on the failed automatic guided vehicle cannot be transported by the rescue vehicle, there is room for improvement in terms of smoothly transporting the transported object.

In consideration of the above facts, an object of the present invention is to obtain an unmanned transfer system capable of smoothly transporting a transported object even if a part of the automatic guided vehicle breaks down.

The automatic guided vehicle according to the present invention according to claim 1 includes a first automatic guided vehicle for transporting a transported object, a travelability determining unit for determining whether or not the first automatic guided vehicle can travel, and the traveling vehicle. At least one of the first communication unit that outputs the first signal when the first unmanned guided vehicle is determined by the pass / fail determination unit to be unable to travel, and the first signal and the second signal based on the first signal. A second automatic guided vehicle that is provided with a receivable second communication unit and approaches the first automatic guided vehicle when the second communication unit receives the transmitted signal, the first automatic guided vehicle, and the above-mentioned automatic guided vehicle. It is arranged on at least one of the second automatic guided vehicles, and the transported object can be moved from the first automatic guided vehicle to the second automatic guided vehicle in a state where the first automatic guided vehicle and the second automatic guided vehicle are close to each other. It has a moving device.

According to the first aspect of the present invention, the first unmanned guided vehicle is provided, and the transported object is conveyed by the first automatic guided vehicle. Further, the present invention includes a travelability determination unit and a first communication unit, and the travelability determination unit determines whether or not the first automatic guided vehicle can travel. Then, when the travelability determination unit determines that the first automatic guided vehicle cannot travel, the first communication unit outputs the first signal.

Further, the present invention includes a second automatic guided vehicle, and the second automatic guided vehicle includes a second communication unit capable of receiving at least one of a first signal and a second signal based on the first signal. ing. Then, when the second communication unit receives at least one of the transmitted first signal and the second signal, the second automatic guided vehicle approaches the first automatic guided vehicle.

Here, in the present invention, the moving device is arranged on at least one of the first automatic guided vehicle and the second automatic guided vehicle, and the moving device is in a state where the first automatic guided vehicle and the second automatic guided vehicle are close to each other. As a result, the transported object is moved from the first automatic guided vehicle to the second automatic guided vehicle. Therefore, even if the first automatic guided vehicle becomes inoperable, the transferred vehicle mounted on the first automatic guided vehicle is moved to the second automatic guided vehicle, and the second unmanned guided vehicle transports the transported vehicle. can do.

As described above, the unmanned transfer system according to the first aspect of the present invention has an excellent effect that even if a part of the automatic guided vehicle breaks down, the transported object can be smoothly transported.

It is a perspective view which shows typically the transport situation of the transported object by the unmanned transport system which concerns on this embodiment. It is a block diagram which shows the hardware composition of the automatic guided vehicle which constitutes a part of the unmanned transfer system which concerns on this embodiment. It is a block diagram which shows the functional structure of the unmanned transfer system which concerns on this embodiment. It is a side view which shows typically the structure of the automatic guided vehicle which constitutes a part of the unmanned transfer system which concerns on this embodiment.

Hereinafter, an example of an embodiment of the "automated guided vehicle system 10" according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 5. As shown in FIG. 1, the automatic guided vehicle 10 is configured to include a plurality of "automated guided vehicles 12" as a first automatic guided vehicle and a second automatic guided vehicle, and a server 14.

As shown in FIG. 4, the automatic guided vehicle 12 includes a vehicle body portion 16, a pair of drive wheels 18, and a pair of casters 20, and travels on the road surface 24 in the factory 22 to carry the “transported object 26”. It is said that it can be transported. The arrow FR shown in FIG. 4 indicates the front side in the front-rear direction of the automatic guided vehicle 12, and the arrow UP indicates the upper side in the vertical direction of the automatic guided vehicle 12. In the following, unless otherwise specified, the front-rear direction means the front-rear direction of the unmanned carrier 12, the vertical direction means the vertical direction of the unmanned carrier 12, and the width direction means the width direction of the unmanned carrier 12. It shall mean.

The vehicle body portion 16 has a rectangular parallelepiped shape with the longitudinal direction in the front-rear direction, and drive wheels 18 are provided on both sides in the width direction in the central portion in the front-rear direction. As shown in FIG. 2, each drive wheel 18 is connected to a motor 28 that applies a driving force to the drive wheels 18 via a power shaft (not shown). Further, casters 20 are provided at the central portions in the width direction in the portions on both sides of the vehicle body portion 16 in the front-rear direction.

Further, a pair of motor drivers 30 and a control device 32 are mounted on the vehicle body portion 16. The motor driver 30 is electrically connected to the corresponding motor 28 and the control device 32, respectively, and can control the rotation speed of the motor 28 and the like based on the signal input from the control device 32.

Here, in the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 4, when the automatic guided vehicle 12 fails during transportation of the automatic guided vehicle 26, the automatic guided vehicle 26 is transferred to another automatic guided vehicle 12 by the “moving device 34”. The first feature is that it is movable. Further, as shown in FIG. 1, the second feature is that the operation of the automatic guided vehicle 12 is managed by the communication between the control device 32 and the server 14. Hereinafter, the description will be continued focusing on the configurations of the mobile device 34, the control device 32, and the server 14.

The moving device 34 includes a moving device main body 36 that can be rotated with respect to the vehicle body 16, and a lock device 38 that can limit the rotation of the moving device main body 36. In the following, the description will proceed on the premise that the rotation of the moving device main body 36 is restricted by the lock device 38 in a normal time.

Specifically, the moving device main body portion 36 includes a frame body portion 40, a plurality of roller portions 42, and an urging portion 44. The frame body portion 40 has a rectangular frame shape along the peripheral edge portion of the vehicle body portion 16 when viewed from the vertical direction, and is arranged in a state of being spaced vertically from the upper surface portion 16A of the vehicle body portion 16. .. The frame body portion 40 is attached to a portion on the rear side in the front-rear direction of the vehicle body portion 16 via a shaft portion 46 extending in the width direction.

The roller portion 42 has a cylindrical shape with the axial direction in the width direction, and is rotatably fixed to the frame body portion 40 in the axial direction. A plurality of roller portions 42 are arranged in the front-rear direction, and a part of the roller portions 42 is exposed on the upper side in the vertical direction of the frame body portion 40 when viewed from the width direction. In the present embodiment, when the transported object 26 is transported by the automatic guided vehicle 12, the transported object 26 is placed on the upper side of the roller portion 42 in the vertical direction.

The urging portion 44 includes a torsion spring 48 wound around the shaft portion 46, and the torsion spring 48 has one end thereof in the vicinity of the shaft portion 46 in the frame body portion 40. The other end is fixed to the rear portion of the vehicle body portion 16 in the front-rear direction.

Then, the urging portion 44 urges the frame body portion 40 so that the end portion of the frame body portion 40 opposite to the shaft portion 46 is separated from the vehicle body portion 16. The vehicle body portion 16 is provided with a support portion (not shown) capable of supporting the frame body portion 40 when the frame body portion 40 is rotated by a predetermined angle or more in the direction opposite to the direction urged by the urging portion 44. Has been done.

On the other hand, the lock device 38 includes a lock piece 50 and a lock actuator 52. The lock piece portion 50 is projected from the plate-shaped base plate portion 50A extending in the width direction as well as the plate thickness direction in the front-rear direction and the upper end portion in the vertical direction of the base plate portion 50A to the rear side in the front-rear direction. It is configured to include the locking portion 50B. The lock piece portion 50 is attached to the vehicle body portion 16 so as to be rotatable in the width direction around the lower end portion in the vertical direction. Then, in a normal state, the locking portion 50B is locked to the front end portion in the front-rear direction of the frame body portion 40.

The lock actuator 52 includes a motor (not shown) and the like that can be controlled based on a signal from the control device 32. The lock actuator 52 normally limits the rotation of the lock piece 50 and is driven by inputting a predetermined signal from the control device 32 to move the lock piece 50 away from the vehicle body 16. It is possible to rotate it. Then, by rotating the lock piece portion 50 as described above, the frame body portion 40 is urged and rotated by the urging portion 44.

On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 2, the control device 32 includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 54, a ROM (Read Only Memory) 56, a RAM (Random Access Memory) 58, a storage 60, and a communication I / O, which are examples of the processor. It is configured to include an F (Inter Face) 62 and an input / output I / F 64. The CPU 54, ROM 56, RAM 58, storage 60, communication I / F 62, and input / output I / F 64 are connected to each other so as to be communicable with each other via the bus 66.

The CPU 54 is a central arithmetic processing unit, and is capable of executing various programs related to various controls of the automatic guided vehicle 12. Specifically, the CPU 54 can read the program from the ROM 56 and execute the program using the RAM 58 as a work area. Then, the execution program stored in the ROM 56 is read out by the CPU 54 and executed, so that the control device 32 can exhibit various functions as described later.

The storage 60 is configured to include an HDD (Hard Disk Drive) or an SSD (Solid State Drive), and stores various programs including an operating system and various data. Further, as will be described later, the storage 60 can store various information and the like necessary for the operation of the automatic guided vehicle 12.

The communication I / F 62 is an interface used for connecting the control device 32 and the network N, and the communication I / F 62 can communicate with the server 14 or the like via the network N. For this interface, for example, communication standards such as Ethernet (registered trademark), FDDI, and Wi-Fi (registered trademark) are used.

The input / output I / F 64 is an interface for the control device 32 to communicate with each device mounted on the automatic guided vehicle 12. The control device 32 is connected to each device described later via the input / output I / F 64 so as to be communicable with each other. It should be noted that these devices may be directly connected to the bus 66.

Specifically, the motor driver 30, the lock actuator 52, the external sensor 68, and the internal sensor 70 are connected to the input / output I / F 64. The motor driver 30 outputs a control signal to the motor 28 based on the command signal input from the control device 32, and is capable of controlling the rotation speed, rotation direction, and the like of the motor 28. Then, in the present embodiment, the traveling direction of the automatic guided vehicle 12 is changed by independently controlling the rotation speed, the rotation direction, and the like of the pair of motors 28 by the control device 32 and the pair of motor drivers 30. Is possible.

The external sensor 68 is a group of sensors used for detecting the surrounding environment of the automatic guided vehicle 12. The external sensor 68 includes a camera that captures a predetermined range and a millimeter wave radar that transmits an exploration wave to the predetermined range. Further, the data acquired by the external sensor 68 such as the image captured by the camera is stored in the storage 60, and is transmitted from the communication I / F 62 to be transmitted to the server 14.

The internal sensor 70 is a group of sensors used for detecting the traveling state of the automatic guided vehicle 12, and includes at least one of an encoder, a speed sensor, and an acceleration sensor for detecting the rotation of the motor 28. The data acquired by the internal sensor 70 is stored in the storage 60.

Next, the configuration of the server 14 will be described. The server 14 includes a CPU, ROM, RAM, storage, and a communication I / F (not shown). The CPU, ROM, RAM, storage, and communication I / F are connected to each other via a bus (not shown) so as to be communicable with each other. The CPU, ROM, RAM, storage, and communication I / F have basically the same functions as those constituting the control device 32 described above.

In the storage of the server 14, 3D map data in which a 3D model including the shape and arrangement location of the pillar 72 (see FIG. 1) arranged in the factory 22 and the image data of each location in the factory 22 are associated with each other is stored. It is remembered. Further, the storage stores information about the transported object 26, for example, the type and number of parts included in the transported object 26, and a location in the factory 22 where the component is required. Then, the execution program stored in the ROM is read out by the CPU and executed, so that the server 14 can exert various functions as described later.

Next, the functional configuration of the control device 32 will be described with reference to FIG. The control device 32 reads the execution program stored in the ROM 56 by the CPU 54, and by executing the execution program, the "communication unit 74", the drive control unit 76, the image data acquisition unit 78, the "travelability determination unit 80", and the lock. It functions as an aggregate of the release unit 82.

The communication unit 74 receives a signal transmitted from the server 14 via the network N and acquires various information. Further, the communication unit 74 transmits the data acquired by the external sensor 68 and the internal sensor 70 to the server 14.

The drive control unit 76 controls the motor driver 30 based on a drive signal from the server 14, which will be described later, and controls the drive amount of the motor 28 and the like.

The image data acquisition unit 78 acquires data such as an image from the external sensor 68 and detects the presence or absence of an object around the automatic guided vehicle 12.

The travelability determination unit 80 determines whether or not the automatic guided vehicle 12 can travel based on the data acquired from the internal sensor 70. Then, when the automatic guided vehicle 12 is determined by the travelability determination unit 80 that the automatic guided vehicle 12 cannot travel, the "travelability signal 84" as the first signal is transmitted to the server 14 via the communication unit 74.

The lock release unit 82 drives the lock actuator 52 based on the release signal from the server 14, which will be described later, to release the restriction on the rotation of the moving device main body unit 36 by the lock device 38.

Next, the functional configuration of the server 14 will be described. The server 14 reads the execution program stored in the ROM by the CPU, and by executing this, the communication unit 86, the map data storage unit 88, the transported object information acquisition unit 90, the traveling route setting unit 92, and the transport vehicle position estimation. It functions as an aggregate of the unit 94 and the drive amount calculation unit 96.

The communication unit 86 receives a signal transmitted from the control device 32 of the automatic guided vehicle 12 via the network N, and acquires various information. Further, the communication unit 86 transmits various signals to the control device 32 as described later.

The map data storage unit 88 manages the 3D map data of the factory 22 to be up to date based on the 3D model of the factory 22 input from the user, the image data transmitted from the control device 32, and the like. There is.

The transported item information acquisition unit 90 uses information about the parts included in the transported object 26 and the parts in the factory 22 based on the information of the transported items carried into the factory 22 input from the user. Get the location etc.

The traveling route setting unit 92 is based on the information acquired by the transported material information acquisition unit 90 and the three-dimensional map data of the factory 22 stored in the map data storage unit 88, and the transport route of the transported object 26, that is, unmanned transport. Set the travel route of the car 12.

The automatic guided vehicle position estimation unit 94 estimates the position of each automatic guided vehicle 12 based on the image data transmitted from the control device 32 and the three-dimensional map data of the factory 22 stored in the map data storage unit 88.

The drive amount calculation unit 96 determines the predetermined position of each automatic guided vehicle 12 based on the travel route of the automatic guided vehicle 12 set by the travel route setting unit 92 and the position of the automatic guided vehicle 12 estimated by the automatic guided vehicle position estimation unit 94. The driving amount of the driving wheel 18 for each hour is calculated. Then, a drive signal based on this drive amount is transmitted to the control device 32 via the communication unit 86.

Further, in the present embodiment, when the server 14 receives the non-travelable signal 84 from the communication unit 74 of the automatic guided vehicle 12 that cannot travel, the server 14 determines the travel path of the automatic guided vehicle 12 and the position of each automatic guided vehicle 12. Based on the information, it is possible to identify the automatic guided vehicle 12 that is closest to the automatic guided vehicle 12 that cannot travel and does not carry the transported object 26.

Further, the server 14 sets the travel route of the specified automatic guided vehicle 12 to the non-travelable automatic guided vehicle 12 by the travel route setting unit 92, and second to the communication unit 74 of the specified automatic guided vehicle 12. By transmitting the "drive signal 98" as a signal, it is possible to bring the specified automatic guided vehicle 12 closer to the automatic guided vehicle 12 that cannot travel.

In the present embodiment, the communication unit 74 of the automatic guided vehicle 12 that cannot travel functions as the first communication unit, and the communication unit 74 of the specified automatic guided vehicle 12 functions as the second communication unit. are doing. Further, the non-travelable signal 84 may be set to be transmitted to the server 14 from the non-travelable automatic guided vehicle 12 via the communication unit 74 of the automatic guided vehicle 12 traveling within a predetermined range. The server 14 may specify the automatic guided vehicle 12 that has transmitted the non-travelable signal 84 as the automatic guided vehicle 12 closest to the non-travelable automatic guided vehicle 12.

More specifically, in the specified automatic guided vehicle 12, the portion on the rear side in the front-rear direction cannot travel based on the image data or the like in which the automatic guided vehicle 12 that cannot travel is captured from the external sensor 68. The automatic guided vehicle 12 that cannot travel is approached so as to be close to the rear portion of the automatic guided vehicle 12 in the front-rear direction.

Then, the server 14 sends a release signal to the unlocking unit 82 of the automatic guided vehicle 12 that cannot travel when the specified automatic guided vehicle 12 and the automatic guided vehicle 12 that cannot travel are close to each other to a predetermined distance. It is designed to transmit and release the restriction on the rotation of the moving device main body 36. As a result, it is possible to move the transported object 26 of the automatic guided vehicle 12, which cannot travel, to the specified automatic guided vehicle 12.

(Action and effect of this embodiment)
Next, the operation and effect of this embodiment will be described.

In the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 1, an automatic guided vehicle 12 is provided, and the automatic guided vehicle 12 transports the transported object 26. Further, in the present embodiment, the travelability determination unit 80 and the communication unit 74 are provided, and the travelability determination unit 80 determines whether or not the automatic guided vehicle 12 can travel. Then, when the automatic guided vehicle 12 is determined by the travelability determination unit 80 that the automatic guided vehicle 12 cannot travel, the communication unit 74 outputs a travelability signal 84.

Further, in the present embodiment, an automatic guided vehicle 12 different from the automatic guided vehicle 12 is provided, and the automatic guided vehicle 12 includes a communication unit 74 capable of receiving a drive signal 98 based on the non-travelable signal 84. .. Then, when the communication unit 74 receives the transmitted drive signal 98, the automatic guided vehicle 12 that can travel approaches the automatic guided vehicle 12 that cannot travel.

Here, in the present embodiment, the moving device 34 is arranged on the automatic guided vehicle 12, and in a state where the automatic guided vehicle 12 that can travel and the automatic guided vehicle 12 that cannot run are close to each other, the moving device 34 causes the automatic guided vehicle 12. The transported object 26 is moved from the non-travelable automatic guided vehicle 12 to the automatic guided vehicle 12 that can travel. Therefore, even if the automatic guided vehicle 12 carrying the transported object 26 becomes unable to travel, the transported object 26 mounted on the automatic guided vehicle 12 that cannot travel is moved to the automatic guided vehicle 12 that can travel. The transported object 26 can be transported by the automatic guided vehicle 12 that can be driven. Therefore, in the present embodiment, even if a part of the automatic guided vehicle 12 breaks down, the transported object 26 can be smoothly transported.

10 Automated guided vehicle 12 Automated guided vehicle (first automatic guided vehicle, second automated guided vehicle)
26 Transported goods 34 Mobile device 74 Communication unit (1st communication unit, 2nd communication unit)
80 Travelability determination unit 84 No travelability signal (first signal)
98 drive signal (second signal)

Claims (1)

The first automatic guided vehicle that transports the transported items,
A travelability determination unit that determines whether or not the first automatic guided vehicle can travel, and a travelability determination unit.
A first communication unit that outputs a first signal when the first automatic guided vehicle is determined by the travelability determination unit to be unable to travel.
The automatic guided vehicle is provided with a second communication unit capable of receiving at least one of the first signal and the second signal based on the first signal, and when the second communication unit receives the transmitted signal, the first automatic guided vehicle. The second automatic guided vehicle approaching
The automatic guided vehicle is placed on at least one of the first automatic guided vehicle and the second automatic guided vehicle, and the transported object is transferred from the first automatic guided vehicle in a state where the first automatic guided vehicle and the second automatic guided vehicle are close to each other. A moving device that can be moved to the second automatic guided vehicle,
An unmanned transfer system with.

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