JP2023051013A - Carrier cart and method of controlling carrier cart - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide a carrier cart allowing for control of changing over travel modes more efficiently by making use of operational characteristics thereof.SOLUTION: A carrier cart, having a manual travel mode for a user to operate and an autonomous travel mode so as to carry a load, comprises a hand-operated handle to be operated by the user, a cage unit for loading a load, wheels for travel, a body unit connected with the hand-operated handle, the cage unit and the wheels, and a control unit that controls travelling of the carrier cart in the autonomous travel mode. The control unit carries out control of transition to the autonomous travel mode in accordance with a carrying situation of the carrier cart.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a carriage or a transport cart (hereinafter simply referred to as a transport cart) on which loads, products, etc. are loaded, and a technique for controlling the operation thereof.

2. Description of the Related Art At present, transport carts are used in facilities such as supermarkets, factories, and buildings to transport articles (loads) such as luggage and products. The transport cart may have an autonomous running mode and a manual running mode. Here, Patent Literature 1 discloses a technology related to a vehicle having an autonomous driving mode and a manual driving mode although it is not a transport cart.

Patent Literature 1 addresses the issue of "applying and canceling autonomous driving". To solve this problem, Patent Document 1 discloses that in order to "switch between an autonomous driving mode and a manual driving mode", the computer 110 of the vehicle must set a series of environment, system, and driving conditions to identify certain states. can perform a check of the The computer may correct some of these conditions and provide the driver with a checklist of tasks 810-850, 910-940 to complete. Once the task is complete and the state has changed, computer 110 may allow the driver to switch from manual driving mode to autonomous driving mode. Computer 110 may also determine that switching from an autonomous driving mode to a manual driving mode would be detrimental to driver safety and comfort under certain conditions. ” is stated.

JP 2016-212905 A

In Patent Literature 1, when a request for switching from manual operation mode to autonomous operation mode is received, switching is performed on the condition of the running state. As described above, in Patent Document 1, switching is performed according to the switching request and the running state, but the time and effort of making the request and the judgment processing of the running state (task) cause a load.

Therefore, in the present invention, it is an object of the present invention to make use of this operation characteristic and more efficiently perform control related to switching of the travel mode of the transport cart.

The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems, and executes control regarding transition to the autonomous traveling mode according to the situation of the transportation of the transportation cart in the manual traveling mode. More specifically, in a transport cart that has a manual running mode and an autonomous running mode operated by a user and transports a load, a push handle operated by the user;
A loading unit for loading a load, wheels for traveling, a body unit connected to the hand push handle, the loading unit and the wheels, and a control unit for controlling the traveling of the transport cart in the autonomous traveling mode. and the control unit is a transport cart that performs control regarding transition to the autonomous travel mode according to a situation regarding transport of the transport cart.

The present invention also includes a control method for this transport cart.

According to the present invention, it is possible to more efficiently control the switching of the traveling mode of the transport cart.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing the appearance of a transport cart in one embodiment of the present invention; It is a figure which shows the side surface of the conveyance cart in one Example of this invention. 1 is a functional block diagram of a system including transport carts in one embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 4 is a flow chart showing a control flow of a transport cart in one embodiment of the present invention; It is a flowchart which shows the detail of automatic driving mode processing in one Example of this invention.

An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. In the present embodiment, an autonomously traveling transport cart 1 will be described as an example, but the present invention is not limited to this. Any transport cart that exerts a driving force can be used. For example, the present invention can be applied to a transport cart that has a function of assisting manual travel. Further, the transport cart 1 is a device having a function of manually transporting a load, and includes various shapes such as shopping carts and various types of trolleys. Further, in this embodiment, the transport cart 1 performs control for autonomous travel.

First, the structure of the transport cart 1 of this embodiment will be described. FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the appearance of a transport cart 1 in this embodiment. FIG. 2 is a side view of the transport cart 1 in this embodiment. 1 and 2, the transport cart 1 has a basket portion 11, a push handle 12, a main body portion 13, a free-wheel rotary follower wheel 14, a drive wheel 15, and a drive mechanism 16. As shown in FIG.

The transport cart 1 of this embodiment is connected to another basket portion 11, a push handle 12, a free-wheel rotation follower wheel 14, and a drive mechanism 16 or a drive wheel 15 via a main body portion 13. As shown in FIG. Either one of the drive wheels 15 and the drive mechanism 16 may be connected to the body portion 13 . Therefore, the body portion 13 can be realized by a so-called frame.

Moreover, the basket part 11 is a kind of loading part for loading a load. It should be noted that the loading section only needs to be able to load a load, and can be realized by a platform other than the cage section 11, or the like. Here, the cage portion 11 has a weight sensor 19 for detecting the presence or absence of a load. This weight sensor 19 detects the amount of load applied to the car portion 11 . More desirably, the weight sensor 19 detects whether the load on the car portion 11 is equal to or less than a predetermined amount. This predetermined amount includes a load of zero. Although the weight sensor 19 is used in this embodiment, a sensor other than the weight sensor 19 may be used as long as it can determine the presence or absence of a load. For example, a camera, an ultrasonic sensor, a LiDAR, or the like may be used to detect whether or not there is an object including a load in the car portion 11 . Moreover, the presence or absence of a load may be determined by combining a plurality of sensors. For example, it may be determined that there is a load when at least one of the weight sensor 19 and the camera determines that there is a load. As described above, in the present embodiment, it is sufficient to provide a load detecting section for detecting the presence of a load. The loaded object detection unit may detect at least one of whether the load is equal to or less than a predetermined amount and whether or not the loaded object exists.

Further, the push handle 12 is operated by the user. In other words, when the user grasps the push handle 12 and pushes it, the transport cart 1 is manually moved. Further, as shown in FIG. 1, the push handle 12 is composed of a right push handle 12-1 and a left push handle 12-2, but is not limited to this.

Further, a display unit 18 and an input unit 17 are installed on the push handle 12 . Here, the display unit 18 displays information related to autonomous driving. In addition, the input unit 17 receives an instruction regarding autonomous driving from a user's operation or from the terminal device 2 (see FIG. 4). Operations related to autonomous driving include starting and ending autonomous driving, setting speed and destination, and the like. In addition, the display unit 18 and the input unit 17 may be installed in the basket unit 11 and the main body unit 13 . Furthermore, the display unit 18 and the input unit 17 may be configured integrally like a touch panel. The display unit 18 and the input unit 17 can directly or indirectly communicate with the transport cart 1, and may be an information terminal such as a computer owned by the user.

In addition, the free-wheel rotary driven wheel 14 is a rotary driven wheel that rotates according to the user's manual push or the driving of the driving wheel 15 . The free-wheel rotating follower 14 can be realized with a rotating follower that rotates in response to the drive of another device. Incidentally, as shown in FIG. 1, the free wheel rotation driven wheel 14 is composed of two wheels (14-1, 14-2). However, the number of free-wheel rotation driven wheels 14 is not limited to two. In this embodiment, the free-wheel rotation driven wheel 14 is a so-called free wheel.

In addition, the driving wheels 15 are arranged behind the free-wheel rotating driven wheels 14, and realize the autonomous travel of the transport cart 1 according to the driving force. In this embodiment, the driving wheel 15 is arranged behind the free-wheel rotation driven wheel 14, but it is not limited to this. Note that the drive mechanism 16 will be described later with reference to FIG. 3 . Further, as described above, the free-wheel rotating follower wheel 14 and the driving wheel 15 are used. In addition, the concept of wheels includes parts for movement and running, such as rollers (including spherical ones) and endless tracks.

This completes the description of the structure of the transport cart 1 of the present embodiment. Next, the autonomous traveling function will be described. In this embodiment, the user uses the transport cart 1 in the manual travel mode to transport the load to the destination and returns the transport cart 1 to the return location, using the autonomous travel mode. That is, in this embodiment, switching (transition) between the manual driving mode and the autonomous driving mode is performed.

The configuration of the drive mechanism 16 will also be described here. Here, FIG. 3 shows a configuration for realizing the autonomous driving function. FIG. 3 is a functional block diagram of a system including the transport cart 1 in this embodiment. In the system of FIG. 3, the transport cart 1 is connected to the terminal device 2 and computer device 3 . The terminal device 2 is connected to the input unit 17 using near field communication. Also, the computer device 3 communicates with the communication unit 161 via a network 4 such as the Internet. The terminal device 2 and the computer device 3 output instructions regarding autonomous travel of the transport cart 1 . The terminal device 2 and the computer device 3 can be realized by smart phones, tablets, PCs, etc., which are information processing devices (computers). The above instructions will be explained later.

First, the drive mechanism 16 will be explained. As shown in FIG. 3, the drive mechanism 16 has a communication section 161, a control section 162, a motor 163 and a variable suspension 164. The communication unit 161 and the control unit 162 are connected to the input unit 17 and the motor 163 via communication paths. Although not shown, the display unit 18 is also connected to the communication channel. A weight sensor 19 shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 is also connected to the communication path.

Also, the communication unit 161 may be connected via the network 4 to control devices of other devices such as elevators, security gates, mechanical parking lots, and the like. As a result, the status of other devices can be displayed on the display unit 18 of the transport cart 1 . Also, the input unit 17 may be used for inputting control of other devices. For example, the display unit 18 may display the car position of the elevator and the congestion status. Further, the input unit 17 may be configured to be able to call an elevator car. Further, an operation instruction to other equipment such as an elevator car call may be given not only by a person through the input unit 17 but also by the control unit 162 based on a control program. Further, the control of other devices may include a process of determining whether or not control is possible based on position information obtained from means for obtaining position information of the transport cart 1, which will be described later. For example, an elevator car call may be made from the input unit 17 only when the elevator is within a certain distance from the installation position of the elevator. That is, the control unit 162 can be configured to change display and controllable devices according to the position of the transport cart 1 .

Here, the control unit 162 generates a control signal for controlling autonomous travel according to the control program of itself according to the above instructions, instructions from the user, etc., and outputs this to the motor 163 .

Also, the motor 163 outputs power according to a control signal from the control unit 162 . As a result, the drive wheels 15 and the variable suspension 164 operate according to the control signal. Also, the variable suspension 164 is a suspension that actively operates and functions according to the motor 163 . A normal suspension may be used as the variable suspension 164, or may be omitted. Also, in this embodiment, the motor 163 is provided for each of the left and right drive wheels 15 . It should be noted that the drive wheels 15 need only generate different drive, and the motor 163 need not be provided for each of the left and right drive wheels 15 .

Next, the details of the autonomous travel control of the transport cart 1 will be described. FIG. 4 is a flow chart showing the control flow of the transport cart 1 in this embodiment. This flowchart shows a process of executing the autonomous driving mode process when a predetermined condition is satisfied. The details will be described below with reference to FIG.

First, in step S1, the control unit 162 determines whether the transport cart 1 is in the autonomous travel mode. That is, it is determined whether the mode is the manual driving mode or the autonomous driving mode. For this purpose, the control unit 162 can use whether or not an autonomous travel instruction is received from the terminal device 2 or the user. As a result, if the vehicle is running autonomously (YES), this process is terminated. Moreover, when it is manual driving mode (NO), it changes to step S2.

Next, in step S2, the control unit 162 determines whether or not there is a load. For this purpose, the control unit 162 uses the measurement result of the weight sensor 19 . As a result, when there is a load, the process proceeds to step S3. Moreover, when there is no load, it changes to step S5.

Next, in step S3, the control unit 162 determines whether the load detected in step S2 has been unloaded. For this purpose, a load detection unit detects whether the load has been removed, that is, whether the load is present. Then, the control unit 162 receives this detection result and uses it. As a result, when the load is unloaded (there is no load), the process proceeds to step S4. Also, if there is a load remaining (there is a load), the process proceeds to step S5. For this purpose, it is desirable that the control unit 162 uses the weight sensor 19 . In this step, it is determined that the transport cart 1 has been unloaded and can be returned.

Here, in step S3, the following processing may be further performed. First, at least one of the position and attitude (orientation) of the transport cart 1 is detected by a travel detection unit represented by a gyro sensor or a GPS device. Then, the control unit 162 determines whether the transport cart 1 can travel autonomously, using the detection result of the travel detection unit, which is at least one of the position and orientation. As a result, if the vehicle can autonomously travel without a load, the process proceeds to step S4. Otherwise, the process proceeds to step S5. The details of this configuration will be described later in steps S65 and S66. If this configuration is adopted, the results of this step can be used for the processing of steps S65 and S66.

Next, in step S4, the controller 162 determines whether the transport cart 1 has changed direction. This determines whether or not the user has changed the direction in order to transport the load to a destination such as his/her own room and return the transport cart 1 by autonomous travel.

For this purpose, the controller 162 can use a traveling direction detector such as a gyro sensor provided in the transport cart 1 . In other words, the direction detection unit detects the direction change of the transport cart 1 . Then, the control unit 162 receives this detection result from the direction detection unit. As a result, if the direction is changed to satisfy the predetermined condition (YES), the process proceeds to step S6. Moreover, when the direction change satisfying the predetermined condition is not performed (NO), the process proceeds to step S5. Note that the predetermined condition includes a change of speed or acceleration equal to or greater than a predetermined speed, or a change of travel angle equal to or greater than a predetermined angle. Additionally, location information may be used to determine if a turn at a given location has occurred.

Also, in step S5, the control unit 162 determines whether the transport cart 1 has been left unattended. For this reason, the control unit 162 has map information and determines whether the transport cart 1 has stayed at a predetermined position for a predetermined time or longer. judged to have been abandoned. For this reason, the transport cart 1 has a sensor such as LiDAR that scans the surroundings, and after the sensor determines that the user has left a certain range, the transport cart 1 measures the time to determine whether the user is left alone. good too. That is, in this step, it is detected whether or not the residence has remained for a predetermined time or longer by the residence detector including the sensor. Then, the control unit 162 receives this detection result from the stay detection unit. The predetermined location includes locations other than the return location and the temporary storage location (temporary storage location). In this step, it is determined that the transport cart 1 needs to be moved to the return location.

Then, the automatic driving mode process of step S6 is executed. As described above, the status of the transportation of the transportation cart 1 in steps S3 to S5 is detected, and the automatic travel mode processing is executed accordingly. That is, it is determined whether the return of the transport cart 1 is possible or necessary, and if it is possible or necessary, the return is realized by transitioning to the automatic traveling mode. Here, the status of the transport of the transport cart 1 may be a status other than the return of the transport cart 1 .

In this embodiment, determination is made in the order of steps S3 to S5, but only one or a combination of each step may be executed, or parallel processing may be performed. When this step S6 is executed, this processing flow ends.

Here, the details of the automatic driving mode processing in step S6 will be described. FIG. 5 is a flow chart showing the details of automatic driving mode processing in this embodiment.

First, in step S61, the control unit 162 determines whether to notify or transition to the self-running mode as the automatic running mode process. This may be performed by selecting a predetermined process by the control unit 162, or by executing only one of them.

As a result, if notification is to be made, the process proceeds to step S62. Further, when transitioning to the self-running mode, the process proceeds to step S64.

Next, in step S62, the control unit 162 notifies the display unit 18 of whether or not to change to the automatic driving mode. In response to this, the user inputs to the input unit 17 whether to permit the transition to the automatic driving mode. Further, when there is a load on the transport cart 1, the user may be prompted to enter whether to switch to the automatic travel mode after notifying the user that the load remains.

Then, in step S63, the control unit 162 determines whether the transition to the automatic driving mode is permitted. As a result, in the case of disapproval, this processing ends. If permitted, the process proceeds to step S64.

Note that steps S61 to S63 can be controlled as follows. First, in step S61, the control unit 162 determines whether or not autonomous travel is possible by satisfying a predetermined condition. As a result, when it cannot do, it changes to step S62. Note that the conditions include unloading the load, changing the direction of the transport cart 1, and the like.

Next, in step S62, the control unit 162 uses the display unit 18 to notify to prepare conditions for autonomous travel.

Then, in step S63, the control unit 162 permits the transition to the autonomous driving mode when the user satisfies the conditions (transition to step S64). Further, in step S63, when the user meets the relevant conditions, the input unit 17 may manually receive an instruction to switch to the autonomous driving mode from the user.

Next, in step S64, the control unit 162 starts the automatic driving mode, that is, transitions to the automatic driving mode. In this embodiment, permission for notification is a condition, but step S64 may be executed with notification itself as a condition.

Next, in step S<b>65 , the control unit 162 acquires the position and orientation of the transport cart 1 . For this purpose, the control unit 162 uses a gyro sensor or a GPS device provided on the transport cart 1 . That is, at least one of the position and orientation (orientation) of the transport cart 1 is detected by a travel detection unit represented by a gyro sensor or a GPS device.

Next, in step S66, the control unit 162 uses its own map information and the detection result of the traveling detection unit, which is at least one of the position and orientation (direction) acquired in step S65, to determine the position of the transport cart 1. Determine whether it is possible to move to the return location. In addition, whether or not the weight of the load can be transported in the automatic travel mode is also determined as a movable condition. As a result, if it is not possible, the process proceeds to step S67, and if it is possible, the process proceeds to step S68.

The determination that the transport cart 1 can be moved to the return location by the control unit 162 includes the following processes. That is, the control unit 162 detects that the posture (direction) of the transport cart 1 is in a predetermined direction by the travel detection unit and/or that the transport cart 1 is positioned at a predetermined position based on the detection result of the travel detection unit. If so, it is determined that the transition itself to the autonomous driving mode is possible, and this is executed. In this case, if the transition itself to the autonomous driving mode is not possible, the notification process of step S62 is executed.

Further, the determination of whether the transport cart 1 can be moved to the return location includes determination of whether the posture of the transport cart 1 can be changed. This includes the position of the transport cart 1 being close to an obstacle such as a wall. Also, in this determination, it may be determined whether autonomous driving is possible.

In step S67, the control section 162 notifies the display section 18 or the terminal device 2 and the computer device 3 that it cannot be moved to the return location. In addition, the control unit 162 outputs a control signal for moving the transport cart 1 to the temporary storage site storing its own map information. These may be executed together, or only one of them may be executed. Note that the user or the administrator of the transport cart 1 can determine the necessity of the return from the above notification. In this case, it is desirable that the user or administrator manually return the transport cart 1 . Moreover, after notifying the condition which obstructs movement in automatic driving mode, and having the said condition eliminated, it may progress to step S68 and may be returned in automatic driving mode. The cancellation of the condition here means, for example, unloading the load, moving the direction or position of the vehicle to a specific state, or the like. Further, the temporary storage site corresponds to a partial storage site provided in the vicinity (for example, on the same floor) where the transport cart 1 exists.

In step S68, the control unit 162 uses its own map information to move the transport cart 1 to a predetermined return location in the autonomous travel mode. In the above-described embodiment, at least one of the presence or absence of the load on the transport cart 1 and the position and posture of the transport cart 1 is used to determine whether to perform the autonomous running mode process in step S3.

This completes the description of this embodiment, but the present invention is not limited to this embodiment, and includes various modifications such as those described below.

(1) The transport cart 1 may be provided with a lamp or a display device such as a display screen or a device that emits a sound to notify the surroundings that the cart is autonomously traveling, that is, that it is automatically driving. Further, the display device may display the content of the judgment as to whether or not the autonomous travel is to be performed. Further, the display may be implemented as the display 18 described above.

(2) The user interface may be provided with a function of producing voice, and the user's input may be performed by means of voice instructions. There may be a mechanism for making an emergency stop when a command such as "stop" is issued loudly while the vehicle is running.

(3) A function of calling an elevator from a user interface attached near the push handle 12 may be provided. This function is desirably used when pushing by hand, that is, when traveling manually.

In addition, in the transport cart 1 of the above-described embodiment, one example of an operation can be assumed in which transported objects such as commodities, articles, parts, etc. are manually transported and returned to the return location by autonomous travel. Also, in this example, it may be necessary to change the traveling direction of the transport cart 1 toward the return location. Therefore, in this embodiment, by utilizing the characteristics of the operation of the transport cart 1 as described above, it is possible to control the transport cart 1 according to the transport situation.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1... Conveyance cart, 11... Basket part, 12... Manual push handle, 13... Main body part, 14... Free wheel rotary follower wheel, 15... Drive wheel, 16... Drive mechanism, 161... Communication part, 162... Control part, 163 Motor 164 Variable suspension 17 Input unit 18 Display unit 19 Weight sensor 2 Terminal device 3 Computer device 4 Network

Claims (14)

In a transport cart that has a manual running mode and an autonomous running mode operated by the user and transports the load,
a push handle operated by the user;
a loading unit for loading a load;
wheels for running;
a body portion connected to the pushing handle, the loading portion and the wheels;
Having a control unit that controls traveling of the transport cart in the autonomous travel mode,
The control unit is a transport cart that controls transition to the autonomous traveling mode according to the transport status of the transport cart. In the transport cart according to claim 1,
The control unit performs control for outputting a transition itself to the autonomous traveling mode or a notification about the transition to the autonomous traveling mode as control relating to the transition to the autonomous traveling mode. In the transport cart according to claim 2,
moreover,
a load detection unit that detects the load;
a travel detection unit that detects at least one of the position and direction of the transport cart;
The control unit receives the detection results of the load detection unit and the travel detection unit, and controls the transition to the autonomous travel mode. In the transport cart according to claim 3,
The load detecting section detects at least one of whether or not the load amount on the loading section is equal to or less than a predetermined amount, and whether or not the loading section is present with the load. In the transport cart according to claim 3,
The control unit determines that the transport cart is in a predetermined direction by the travel detection unit while the load is not detected by the load detection unit, and/or the transport cart is in a predetermined position by the travel detection unit. is detected to be located in the cart, and outputs the notification when the transition to the autonomous driving mode is not possible. In the transport cart according to claim 2,
The conveying cart indicating that the notification has transitioned to the autonomous traveling mode or prompts the transition to the autonomous traveling mode. In the transport cart according to claim 2,
further comprising a retention detection unit that detects that the transport cart remains at a predetermined position for a predetermined time or longer;
The control unit controls transition to an autonomous traveling mode when the retention detection unit detects that the transportation cart stays for a predetermined time or longer. In the transport cart according to claim 1,
The control unit makes a transition to the autonomous traveling mode as control related to the transition to the autonomous traveling mode, and returns the transportation cart to a predetermined return location. In the transport cart according to claim 1,
moreover,
an input unit that receives input from the user;
a communication unit that communicates with a control device of another device;
a display unit for displaying information of the other device;
The communication unit is a transport cart that communicates an operation instruction to the other device according to the input from the input unit. In the transport cart according to claim 9,
the other device is an elevator,
The display unit displays operation information of the elevator,
The input unit is a transport cart that receives a car call for the elevator. In the transport cart according to claim 9,
The control unit is configured to change other devices that can be displayed and controlled on the display unit based on the position information of the transportation cart. In a control method for a transport cart that transports a load and has a manual running mode and an autonomous running mode operated by a user,
The transport cart includes a push handle operated by the user, a loading section for loading a load, wheels for traveling, and a body section connected to the push handle, the loading section, and the wheels. and a control unit for controlling the travel of the transport cart in the autonomous travel mode,
By the control unit,
Detect the status of the transportation of the transportation cart,
A control method for a transport cart that controls transition to the autonomous traveling mode according to the transport status of the transport cart. In the transport cart control method according to claim 12,
By the control unit,
A transport cart control method that performs control for outputting a transition itself to the autonomous traveling mode or a notification about the transition to the autonomous traveling mode as control relating to the transition to the autonomous traveling mode. In the method for controlling a transport cart according to claim 13,
The transport cart further includes a load detection unit that detects the load, a travel detection unit that detects the direction of the transport cart, and detects that the transport cart stays at a predetermined position for a predetermined time or longer. has a retention detection unit,
A transport cart control method in which the control unit receives detection results of the load detection unit, the travel detection unit, and the retention detection unit, and controls transition to the autonomous travel mode.

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