JP2639921B2 - Unmanned traveling system capable of detouring - Google Patents

Description

Description: BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an unmanned traveling system capable of performing detour control so as to avoid collision of unmanned vehicles.

2. Description of the Related Art As is well known, recently, unmanned vehicles are frequently used for transporting parts and the like in a factory. In general, a guide line that generates signals such as electromagnetic waves is laid on the floor, and a detector provided on an unmanned vehicle detects the signal and travels so as not to deviate from the guide line. In the transport system by car, compared to the transport system by conveyor, there is no equipment to be fixed on the floor, so there are fewer obstacles to logistics, and the traveling route is easily set by appropriately laying guide lines,
There are also advantages such as being changeable.

By the way, it is usual to arrange a plurality of unmanned vehicles in a single transport system, but in that case, in order to secure the freedom of travel or improve the transport efficiency, pass the unmanned vehicles ahead. It is necessary to perform a detour control such as that described above, and in the past, such control was performed by a device installed on the floor. In other words, the detour route is set by detouring the guide line at a predetermined location on the main taxiway, a detection switch for detecting that the unmanned vehicle is stopped, and the unpopulated person arrives at the entrance of the detour route. A detection switch is installed on the floor to detect that the vehicle has been turned off, and when a predetermined signal is input to a control device such as a computer from these switches, information is given from a signal device to a subsequent unmanned vehicle, or flows to a guide line. The signal was changed so that subsequent unmanned vehicles were directed to a detour.

However, in such a detour control device, there is a problem that the configuration of the equipment becomes large-scale and the cost increases.Moreover, since the number of devices to be fixed on the floor side increases, it becomes difficult to change the layout. The required costs are high, and the inherent advantages of an unmanned transport system are lost.

Conventionally, unmanned vehicles that resolve such inconveniences
-12106. This is to detour the following unmanned vehicle to another guide line when the preceding unmanned vehicle is stopped, and the detour command detector provided in the unmanned vehicle detects the detected object, A turning operation is performed irrespective of the line, and after traveling a predetermined distance along an adjacent guide line, the vehicle turns in the opposite direction to the previous case, and returns to the original guide line.

Also, conventionally, a device that changes the behavior of the following unmanned vehicle in relation to the preceding unmanned vehicle has been proposed by Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 56-7070, which emits light emitted from the floodlight ahead of the preceding unmanned vehicle. The light is reflected by a reflector, and the reflected light is detected by a light receiver.
When the light amount becomes equal to or higher than a certain level, the following unmanned vehicle is stopped.

Problems to be Solved by the Invention However, in the former unmanned vehicle described in Japanese Patent Publication No. 53-12106, since the unmanned vehicle can perform the turning operation for detouring itself, equipment to be fixed to the floor side However, there is an advantage that the detection target needs to be installed only when the preceding unmanned vehicle is stopped, and some device for performing the operation is required. If done, the problem would be that the equipment would be expensive, and if done manually, automation would be lost.

Therefore, it is conceivable to detect that the preceding unmanned vehicle is stopped by the device described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. Sho 56-7070, which eliminates the necessity of installing the object to be detected. The unmanned vehicle can also determine whether or not it is necessary to make a detour. However, in an apparatus using a projector, a light receiver, and a reflector described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 56-7070, if the front and rear unmanned vehicles are on the same straight line, the light receiver emits light even if both are considerably separated. Stops the driverless vehicle or starts the detour operation because the amount of light is maximized immediately before the front and rear unmanned vehicles collide, and the amount of light fluctuates depending on various factors such as the voltage and the degree of clouding of the reflector. It is difficult to set the signal level to be controlled, and there is a problem that the control cannot be performed accurately.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide an unmanned traveling system that does not require a fixed device on the floor side and that can accurately perform a detour operation.

Means for Solving the Problems In order to achieve the above object, the present invention is directed to a direction in which articles are transferred to an unmanned vehicle traveling along the guide line while detecting the guide line. A data communication device is installed to transmit data including the data to the rear in the traveling direction and to receive the data signal from the front, and the unmanned vehicles stopped forward in the traveling direction are being transferred. An unmanned vehicle is provided with a control device for causing the vehicle to deviate from the guidance line based on the received data according to a program set in advance so as to bypass the opposite side to the direction.

In the present invention, the data communication device can be a two-way communication device.

Operation In the system of the present invention, the vehicle travels along an unmanned vehicle, usually a guide line. Then, for example, when a subsequent unmanned vehicle approaches the preceding unmanned vehicle, the subsequent unmanned vehicle receives data generated by the preceding unmanned vehicle. The data transmitted / received here includes whether or not the preceding unmanned vehicle is stopped and, if stopped, the direction of transfer of the conveyed article. Therefore, the subsequent unmanned vehicle travels based on the received data. That is, if the preceding unmanned vehicle is stopped, a program for bypassing the direction opposite to the transfer direction of the preceding unmanned vehicle is selected based on the obtained data, and the program deviates from the guidance line and follows the program. And the subsequent unmanned vehicle exits forward past the side of the preceding unmanned vehicle. Also, for example, 2
If two unmanned vehicles approach and approach each other in opposite directions,
Since both have the two-way communication device, each obtains data from the oncoming vehicle, and as a result, each unmanned vehicle runs in a detour in a direction to avoid a collision according to a preset program.

Embodiment Next, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing a schematic configuration of an unmanned vehicle 1 according to the present invention. The unmanned vehicle 1 shown here has a pair of traveling wheels 2 and one steering wheel 3, and the traveling wheels 2 It is configured to be driven by a traveling motor 5 via a transmission 4, and the steering wheel 3 is configured to be given a steering angle by a steering motor 6. Further, a pair of left and right pickup coils 8R and 8L for detecting a signal emitted from the guide wire 7 is provided in the center of the lower surface of the vehicle body. Further, transceivers 9F and 9R for performing bidirectional optical data communication are provided at the center of both front and rear ends of the vehicle body, respectively. Here, these transceivers 9F and 9R are for transmitting and receiving predetermined data between the unmanned vehicles 1 adjacent to each other in the traveling direction of the unmanned vehicle 1, and the content of the data is determined based on whether the unmanned vehicle 1 is traveling or not. The information includes a stop state and a running direction, and in the case of a stop for transferring articles, the transfer direction.

The unmanned vehicle 1 is equipped with a control device 13 for controlling its running. The control device 13 is connected to the motors 5, 6 and the pickup coils 8R, 8L and the transceivers 9F, 9R. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the control device 13. Each pickup coil 8R, 8L is connected to an induction control circuit 14, and an output signal of the induction control circuit 14 is input to a steering servo driver 15. By driving the steering motor 6, steering is performed so as to travel along the guide line 7. Each of the transceivers 9F and 9R is connected to a sensor receiving circuit 16, and the sensor receiving circuit 16 is connected to a program steering drive circuit 17. When the program steering drive circuit 17 operates, the program steering drive circuit 17 outputs an off signal to the guidance control circuit 14 to stop the operation of the guidance control circuit 14, and outputs a signal to the arithmetic circuit 18. The arithmetic circuit 18 is connected to a steering data buffer 19 and a traveling data buffer 20 for outputting data for traveling irrespective of the guide line 7, and outputs the data to a steering function generating circuit 21 to correspond to the traveling distance. The steering angle is determined, and the signal is output to the steering servo driver 15. The steering wheel 3 is provided with an arithmetic circuit by detecting the steering angle.
A potentiometer 22 that outputs a signal to 18 and an encoder 23 that detects a traveling distance and outputs a signal to the arithmetic circuit 18 are attached. Therefore, the control device 13 drives the traveling motor 5 and drives the steering motor 6 based on signals input from the pickup coils 8R and 8L, thereby giving a predetermined steering angle to the steering wheel 3 and guiding the vehicle. Control to run along line 7, and when signals are input from transceivers 9F and 9R, perform steering according to a preset program and control to run off guide line 7. Have been.

Although not particularly shown, predetermined data such as the traveling / stopping and transfer directions of the unmanned vehicle 1 is transmitted to the transceivers 9F and 9R.
It is configured to always transmit from. FIG. 1 shows two unmanned vehicles, a leading unmanned vehicle 1 and a trailing unmanned vehicle 1. Of these, the trailing unmanned vehicle 1 has the same configuration as the leading unmanned vehicle 1, and therefore, FIG. It is omitted in FIG.

 Next, the operation will be described.

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram showing a process of bypassing the preceding unmanned vehicle 1 in the transfer state, in which the preceding unmanned vehicle (hereinafter, tentatively indicated by 1A) stops at the transfer station and moves from the left in the traveling direction. On the other hand, a subsequent unmanned vehicle (hereinafter, tentatively indicated by 1B) runs along the guide line 7.
Since the preceding unmanned vehicle 1A is stopped and the transfer is performed from the left side, data indicating the state is transmitted from the transmitter / receiver 9R on the rear end side (FIG. 3 (A)). When the following unmanned vehicle 1B approaches the unmanned vehicle 1A in such a state (FIG. 3 (B)), the transmitter / receiver 9F at the front end of the following unmanned vehicle 1 receives a signal, and the program steering drive circuit 17 is received. Output the signal. As a result, the control device 13 uses the induction control circuit.
Instead of 14, control is performed according to preset steering data and traveling data. That is, as shown in the flowchart of FIG. 4, when there is an input to the sensor, the program steering drive circuit is turned on, and then it is determined whether the direction to be steered is right or left. When the result is "right", right program steering for detouring to the right is executed, and when the result of determination is "left", left program steering for detouring to the left is executed. Therefore, in the case shown in FIG. 3, since the transfer is performed from the left side and the data is transmitted from the preceding unmanned vehicle 1, the right program steering is executed, and the unmanned vehicle 1B is moved to the unmanned vehicle 1B in FIG. As shown in ()), the vehicle detours to the right, passes the side of the preceding unmanned vehicle 1A, and returns to the position along the guide line 7 (FIG. 3 (D)).

As described above, when the subsequent unmanned vehicle 1B receives the signal emitted from the preceding unmanned vehicle 1, the following unmanned vehicle 1B travels in accordance with the program based on the data and travels avoiding the preceding unmanned vehicle 1. In that case, the starting point of the detour may be determined based on the result of measuring the distance from the preceding unmanned vehicle 1,
Generally, a detour must be performed at a predetermined location such as an article transfer station. Therefore, a mark plate to be detected by the subsequent unmanned vehicle 1 is provided on the floor in front of such a location, and the unmanned vehicle is provided. Preferably detects the mark plate and performs a detour operation when a signal is received from the preceding unmanned vehicle 1.

In the above-described embodiment, the detour in the case where the unmanned vehicle 1 is traveling in the same direction has been described. However, the present invention is configured to perform two-way communication, so that the two vehicles travel in opposite directions to approach each other. It can also be applied to avoid collision of two unmanned vehicles. That is, when the data received by the two unmanned vehicles 1 approaching each other indicates that the respective traveling directions are opposite directions, the respective unmanned vehicles 1 are moved in the respective traveling directions as shown in FIG. On the other hand, if the vehicle is turned in the same direction to perform the detour operation, it is possible to perform traveling control in which a collision is avoided.

Effect of the Invention As is clear from the above description, according to the unmanned traveling system of the present invention, the unmanned vehicle has a data communication function, and furthermore, has a guide line according to the content of the data indicating the detour direction based on the transfer direction. Since the vehicle travels according to a program that is not related to the vehicle, accurate detour control of unmanned vehicles can be performed, and since there is no equipment to be installed on the floor, the layout can be easily changed, and two-way communication can be performed. By performing the configuration, it is possible to control the detour even in the case of traveling in the opposite direction, and in that case, by appropriately setting the data content, the time when the distance between the unmanned vehicles is large In this case, a detour operation can be performed, so that practically excellent effects such as a reduction in the operation loss of the unmanned vehicle can be obtained.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a control device thereof, and FIGS.
(D) is a schematic diagram showing a detour process, FIG. 4 is a flowchart for controlling a subsequent unmanned vehicle, and FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram showing a detour process in the case of traveling in the opposite direction. 1 ... unmanned vehicle, 2 ... running wheels, 3 ... steering wheels, 5 ... running motor, 6 ... steering motor,
7 …… Induction wire, 8R, 8L …… Pickup coil, 9F, 9R…
... Transceiver, 13 ... Control device.

 ────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (72) Inventor Hiroshi Ogawa Nishi-Biwajima-cho, Nishi-Kasugai-gun, Aichi (No address) Inside the Meidensha Nagoya Plant (56) References JP-A-63-150710 (JP, A)

Claims (2)

(57) [Claims] The present invention transmits data including a direction in which articles are being transferred to an unmanned vehicle traveling along the guide line while detecting the guide line, toward the rear in the running direction, and A data communication device that receives data signals from the front is installed,
In addition, control for causing the unmanned vehicle stopped ahead of the traveling direction to travel off the guidance line based on the received data in accordance with a program set in advance so as to bypass the direction opposite to the direction in which transfer is performed. An unmanned traveling system capable of detour driving, wherein the device is mounted on an unmanned vehicle. 2. The unmanned detourable unmanned vehicle according to claim 1, wherein said data communication device is a two-way communication device capable of transmitting and receiving data in the same direction. Traveling system.