JP2731054B2 - Work vehicle guidance system using beam light - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The present invention provides a light beam projecting means for projecting a plurality of guiding light beams while scanning at a set scanning speed along a set scanning direction on a ground side. The present invention relates to a work vehicle guidance device using a light beam provided with a photodetector for receiving the light beam for guidance.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art This type of work vehicle guidance apparatus using a beam light has been known as a light detection device provided on a work vehicle with a plurality of guidance light beams projected from a light beam projection means provided on the ground side. The position of the work vehicle is detected based on the detection information, and the work vehicle is guided to the target position. For this purpose, for example, by utilizing the fact that the interval between the light receiving positions of the two guiding light beams set to have an angle difference in the vertical direction increases in proportion to the distance from the light source, The position of the vehicle with respect to the light beam projecting means is detected (see Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 1-246606).

[0003]

However, for example, when a passage of a building or the like is to be cleaned in a cleaning work vehicle, in order to perform a cleaning operation corresponding to each of the plurality of passages, any one of the passages is required. A means to identify the presence is required. Therefore, for example, a serial number is assigned to a passage in advance, a display device that encodes and displays the passage number is attached on the ground side in the traveling route of the work vehicle, and a reading means is provided on the work vehicle side. However, since a means for identifying the passage is required separately, there is a disadvantage that the equipment configuration is complicated and expensive.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to make it possible to transmit different information regarding the current position of a work vehicle by using a configuration inherently provided in the device. It is in.

[0005]

The first characteristic feature of the work vehicle guidance system of the light beam utilization according to the invention According to an aspect of the plurality on the ground
Work areas are set, and
The beam light projecting means corresponds to each of the areas.
A plurality of light beam projecting means for applying a predetermined phase difference to the plurality of guiding light beams in the set scanning direction , and combining the phase difference and the set scanning direction;
The work vehicle is configured to project in a different state for each of the work areas , and the work vehicle is provided with a plurality of photodetectors that receive the plurality of guiding light beams at intervals, and the plurality of light detectors are provided at intervals. Which working area is the phase difference and the set scanning direction based on the detection information of the photodetector.
The point is that a determination means for determining as identification information for identification is provided.

[0006] A second characteristic configuration is that a plurality of units are provided on the ground side.
Work area is set, and the
A plurality of the light beam projecting means are provided for each of the rear lights.
The light beam projecting means is provided with a predetermined phase difference between the plurality of guiding light beams in the set scanning direction , and a combination of the phase difference and the set scanning speed.
The work vehicle is configured to project in a different state for each of the work areas , and the work vehicle is provided with a plurality of photodetectors that receive the plurality of guiding light beams at intervals, and the plurality of light detectors are provided at intervals. Which work area is the phase difference and the set scanning speed based on the detection information of the photodetector.
The point is that a determination means for determining as identification information for identification is provided.

[0007]

According to the first characteristic configuration, a plurality of guiding light beams scanned at a set scanning speed with a predetermined phase difference in a set scanning direction are output from a plurality of photodetectors of a work vehicle side. If the detection is performed by any one of the photodetectors, there is a time difference between the detection of the first guiding light beam and the detection of another guiding light beam, whereby the phase difference is determined. Here, it is also possible to perform the above-described phase difference determination in the same manner with another photodetector, and to process the phase difference information together.

Further, for example, one of the plurality of guiding beam lights is directed to a right or left line with respect to a straight line connecting a plurality of photodetectors provided at intervals on the working vehicle side. From the side of the vehicle body, and whether the scanning is performed from the front or rear side of the vehicle body along a straight line connecting the photodetectors, and setting of the guiding beam light based on these two pieces of detection information. The scanning direction is determined.

Then, a plurality of works set on the ground side
From each beam light projection means provided in each area,
Combination of phase difference and set scanning direction is different for each work area
Since the guiding light beams are projected in different states, the two pieces of information of the phase difference and the set scanning direction can be used in any operation
Is identified as identification information to identify the rear
Thus, the identification information of the plurality of work areas can be transmitted by receiving and detecting the guiding light beam from the light beam projecting means with the photodetector on the working vehicle side.

According to the second feature configuration, the phase difference is determined in the same manner as described in the first feature configuration. At the same time, for example, one of the plurality of guiding light beams scanned at the set scanning speed is detected by one of the plurality of light detectors on the working vehicle side. The set scanning speed is determined from the periodic information. Here, it is also possible to process together with period information detected by a combination of another light beam for guidance and a photodetector other than the above combination.

Then, a plurality of works set on the ground side
From each beam light projection means provided in each area,
Combination of phase difference and set scanning speed for each work area
Since the guiding light beams are projected in different states, the two pieces of information of the phase difference and the set scanning speed can be used in any operation
Is identified as identification information to identify the rear
Thus, the identification information of the plurality of work areas can be transmitted by receiving and detecting the guiding light beam from the light beam projecting means with the photodetector on the working vehicle side.

[0012]

Therefore, the configuration (ground) originally provided in the device is
Utilizing the upper beam light projecting means and the photodetector on the work vehicle side) to avoid the disadvantage that the device configuration becomes complicated and expensive as much as possible.
In addition , the position of the vehicle in each work area
Location information that is different from the information ,
More effective information can be transmitted to guide the vehicle in which of the work areas it is ,
Car guidance control can be performed more appropriately.

[0013]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment in which the present invention is applied to a guidance system for a cleaning work vehicle will be described below with reference to the drawings.

As shown in FIG. 4, a passage such as a building is divided into a plurality of work areas, with one straight work area extending along the longitudinal direction of the passage as one work area. And
The work vehicle V for cleaning is reciprocated along the longitudinal direction of the passage in each work area, thereby automatically cleaning the passage floor surface of each work area and sequentially moving between the adjacent work areas. It can automatically move to different work areas.

However, a different passage number is assigned to each of the work areas in advance, and the work vehicle V has map information relating to the layout of all the work areas set and stored in advance. Then, by instructing the work vehicle V of the passage number of the work area to be worked, the cleaner automatically moves to the work area instructed and performs the cleaning work. Although described in detail later, the working vehicle V
Can recognize the passage number of the current work area.

In each of the work areas, a plurality of work steps arranged in parallel with the passage width direction are set along the passage length direction, and are imaginary toward the passage length direction passing through the center of the work path in the passage width direction. A straight line is set as a travel locus L in each work process, and the work vehicle V is caused to automatically travel along the travel locus L. However, the respective work steps are set based on the information on the work width and the passage width of the work vehicle V so that the overlapping widths at which the cleaning work overlaps in the adjacent work steps are the same. In other words, the movement amount to the plurality of work steps arranged in parallel is the same, so that the movement to the next work step can be easily performed.

Next, a description will be given of a facility configuration for automatically driving the work vehicle V. As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the width of the work vehicle V in a state where the two guiding light beams A1 and A2 have an angle difference in the vertical direction on one of the wall surfaces along the longitudinal direction of the passage in each of the work areas. There is provided a light beam projecting means B which repeatedly scans at a set scanning speed Rv along a set scanning direction φ set in the longitudinal direction of the passage which is the traveling direction of the work vehicle V while projecting in the direction. Although not described in detail, the beam light projecting means B includes:
It is composed of a laser light emitting device, a scanning mirror, and the like. In the following description, the light beam projecting means B
May be simply referred to as a light source in some cases.

As described above, a plurality of work areas are provided on the ground side.
Is set, and each of the plurality of work areas is
In response, a plurality of the light beam projecting means B are provided.
I have. In the figure, S3 is an ultrasonic sensor for detecting a distance to an obstacle in the traveling direction of the vehicle, and is provided at each of the front and rear of the vehicle. The work vehicle V has a pair of left and right traveling wheels 1 which can be driven separately on the left and right sides by a traveling motor M1 and can be steered by a steering motor M2 on the front side of the vehicle body. One ground wheel 2
It has.

Above the work vehicle V, a pair of front and rear photodetectors S1, S2 is provided as light receiving means for detecting the light receiving positions of the two guiding light beams A1, A2 in the vertical direction.
Are provided diagonally in plan view. Then, each of the pair of photodetectors S1 and S2 can always direct its light receiving surface to the installation direction of the light beam projecting means B regardless of the position of the work vehicle V during traveling. A light source tracking process is carried out so that the light receiving surfaces of the pair of photodetectors S1 and S2 are constantly turned to the light source side while being attached around the vertical axis so as to be freely changeable. This process is performed separately for each of the pair of photodetectors S1 and S2, and the angle at which the photodetectors S1 and S2 start receiving the guiding beam beams A1 and A2 while rotating the photodetectors S1 and S2. And an angle in the middle of the angle at which light is no longer received. Thereby, light can be received efficiently.

The reason for disposing the pair of photodetectors S1 and S2 on a diagonal line will be described. When the guiding light beams A1 and A2 and the pair of photodetectors S1 and S2 are aligned, The light detector on the rear side with respect to the light source becomes a blind spot of the light detector on the front side, and cannot receive the guiding light beam. If the pair of photodetectors S1 and S2 are provided at the same position in the vehicle width direction, the work vehicle V
Travels in the longitudinal direction of the passage, that is, along the set scanning direction φ of the light beam, the position of the work vehicle V in the lateral direction of the passage is close to the light source side, and the distance from the light source in the longitudinal direction of the passage is large. In this case, even if the attitude of the work vehicle V is slightly inclined, the probability that a photodetector located on the rear side with respect to the light source becomes a blind spot of the photodetector on the front side increases. Therefore, by disposing the pair of photodetectors S1 and S2 diagonally with respect to the vehicle body, it is possible to reduce the probability that a photodetector located on the rear side with respect to the light source becomes a blind spot of the photodetector located on the front side. It is.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 4, the light beam projecting means B comprises two light beams A1, A for guiding.
2 has a predetermined phase difference θ in plan view in the set scanning direction φ so as to correspond to the passage number,
In addition, the set scanning direction φ is set to a forward direction (counterclockwise as viewed from above) or a reverse direction (clockwise as viewed from above), and the projection is performed while rotating about the vertical axis. I have. That is, the light beam projecting means B is
The combination of the phase difference θ and the set scanning direction φ
(A) Projection is performed in a different state for each (passage) , and information of a passage number for identifying which work area is used is a phase difference in the set scanning direction φ between the two guide light beams A1 and A2. The combination information of θ and the set scanning direction φ can be transmitted to the work vehicle V. Hereinafter, detection of the phase difference θ and the set scanning direction φ will be described.

The detection of the phase difference θ will be described. If the phase difference θ is present, the time between when each of the photodetectors S1 and S2 receives one guiding light beam and before the other receives the guiding light beam. A time difference corresponding to the phase difference θ occurs. That is, the set scanning direction φ of the two guiding light beams A1 and A2 is determined based on the time difference between when the photodetectors S1 and S2 receive the two guiding light beams A1 and A2.
Is determined so that the phase difference θ can be determined.

The detection of the set scanning direction φ will be described with reference to FIG. 6. First, the pair of photodetectors S1 and S2 are turned on by the above-described light source tracking processing to detect the two guiding light beams A1 and A2. The light detectors S1 and S2 at this time are directed in the incident direction.
1 and S2, that is, whether it is on the right side or on the left side in the traveling direction with the diagonal line of the vehicle body as the reference line, and detects one of the two guiding light beams A1 and A2. Depending on the order in which the guiding light beam (for example, A1) is received by the photodetector S1 on the front side of the vehicle body and the photodetector S2 on the rear side of the vehicle body, scanning is performed from the front side of the vehicle body to the rear side or in the opposite direction. Detects whether scanning is being performed. From the detected direction information and the light receiving order information of the pair of photodetectors S1 and S2, the two guiding light beams A1,
The setting scanning direction φ of A2 can be determined. That is,
When the directions of the photodetectors S1 and S2 are on the right side of the traveling direction and the light receiving order is from the front side to the rear side of the vehicle body;
When the direction of light receiving S1, S2 is the left side of the traveling direction and the light receiving order is from the rear side of the vehicle body to the front side, the scanning direction φ is the positive direction, and the direction of the photodetectors S1, S2 is the right side of the traveling direction. Is from the rear side of the vehicle body to the front side, and the photodetector S
When the direction of S1, S2 is the left side of the traveling direction and the light receiving order is from the front side to the rear side of the vehicle body, it can be understood that the scanning direction φ is the reverse direction (see FIG. 1).

Next, the position detection of the work vehicle V in each work area will be described. As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the two guide light beams A1 and A2 are vertically Since the light is projected from the lateral side of the vehicle body with an angle difference, the interval between the light receiving positions of the two guiding light beams A1 and A2 received by the photodetectors S1 and S2 is determined by the light beam projecting means B. Is proportional to the vehicle body position in the width direction of the passage with respect to the light source so that the distance from the light source in the width direction of the passage increases.

Since the pair of photodetectors S1 and S2 are provided at an interval in the front-rear direction of the vehicle body, the position of the vehicle body in the lateral direction of the passage can be detected at two positions in front and rear of the vehicle body. . Therefore, not only the vehicle body position in the width direction of the passage but also the inclination with respect to each work process in the longitudinal direction of the passage, that is, the azimuth of the vehicle body, can be obtained from the difference between the information on the vehicle body positions at the two front and rear positions of the vehicle body.

The two guiding light beams A1, A2
Is repeatedly scanned at the set scanning speed Rv along the longitudinal direction of the passage, and one of the pair of photodetectors S1 and S2 is provided with one of the pair of photodetectors S1 and S2 because the pair of photodetectors S1 and S2 is provided. There will be a time lag between receiving light A1 and A2 and receiving the other. And
Since this time difference becomes smaller as the light receiving position with respect to the light beam projecting means B is farther, the pair of photodetectors S1, S1
When the light receiving time difference of (2) is large, the relationship with the light beam projecting means B in the longitudinal direction of the passage is small.

That is, based on only the received light information of the pair of photodetectors S1 and S2, the work vehicle V is located in any of the plurality of work areas, and the position and the passage in the work longitudinal direction in the work area are determined. By detecting each of the positions in the width direction, the absolute position of the work vehicle V in the entire work range can be recognized. By using the azimuth information, not only the absolute position but also the orientation of the vehicle body, that is, the posture of the vehicle body with respect to the passage can be recognized.

Therefore, when cleaning the passage,
It is not necessary to start the work with the work vehicle V in a preset position, and it may be anywhere on the passage. The work vehicle V can automatically move to the work area where the work is to be performed by recognizing the current work area and the position in the work area. The work may be started in the passage.

Next, a control structure for automatically moving the work vehicle V will be described. As shown in FIG. 2, information of the pair of photodetectors S1 and S2, the ultrasonic sensor S
3 and, based on the information set and stored in advance,
A control device 20 using a microcomputer for controlling the operation of each part of the work vehicle V is provided. Although not described in detail, in the figure, reference numeral 4 denotes a cleaning device for cleaning the passage floor,
M1 and M2 denote the traveling motor and the steering motor, respectively, and 5 denotes the control device 20 for instructing the passage number of the work area to be cleaned or moving the work vehicle V by manual operation. An operation unit. M3 is an electric motor for changing the direction of the photodetectors S1 and S2, and S4 is a sensor for detecting the direction, which is constituted by using a potentiometer, and these are operated during the light source tracking processing described above. .

That is, using the control device 20, based on the difference between the light receiving positions of the two guiding light beams A1, A2 received by the photodetectors S1, S2, the work vehicle V
Position detecting means for detecting the position of the light beam projecting means B in the width direction of the passage and the longitudinal direction of the passage, and as described above, the phase difference θ between the two guiding light beams A1 and A2 and the two For setting the scanning direction φ of the guiding light beams A1 and A2 to which work area.
Based on information from the position detection means and the determination means 100, the determination means 100 determines the current position, and moves to the designated work area and controls the traveling of the work vehicle V based on the information from the determination means 100. The travel control means is constituted.

Next, an overall control operation for automatically moving the work vehicle V to the designated work area and performing a cleaning operation will be described with reference to a flowchart shown in FIG. As the work vehicle V becomes ready to travel, first, the passage number of the work area to be cleaned is input through the operation unit 5. However, information relating to the layout of the work area such as the length and width of the passage is set and stored in the control device 20 in advance in a state where the information is related to the passage number.

When the path number is designated, the light source tracking processing for directing the light receiving surfaces of the pair of photodetectors S1 and S2 to the light source is executed, and then, as described above, the pair of photodetectors S1 and S2 are used. The passage number of the current work area and the position and posture of the work vehicle V in the work area are determined based on the light receiving information in S2.

After determining the current position, it is determined whether or not the current work area is an uncleaned passage for which cleaning has been instructed. It moves to the set work start position (set at the corner near the wall at one end side in the longitudinal direction of the passage), and starts the cleaning work by operating the cleaning device 4.

After the cleaning operation is started, the pair of photodetectors S
Based on the received light information of S1 and S2, steering control is performed so that the vehicle travels straight along the set traveling locus L in each work process. During the traveling, the light source tracking processing is performed so that the light receiving surfaces of the pair of photodetectors S1 and S2 are always directed to the light source side.

As the end of each work step is reached, the presence or absence of a remaining work step is determined. If an unworked step remains, the next work adjacent to the next work step corresponding to the interval between work steps is performed. After moving to the process, the cleaning operation is performed in the same manner as when the operation is started from the operation start position. If there is no remaining work process, the cleaning work in that work area is ended. The end detection process for determining whether the end of each work process has been reached will be described later.

If the determined current path number is not an uncleaned path, or if the work with the current path number has been completed, it is determined whether or not there is a path serving as an uncleaned work area. If there is a passage serving as a cleaning work area, the robot moves to the uncleaned passage, and if there is no uncleaned passage, it is automatically moved to a preset home position for storage. Thus, all the processes are completed.

Next, an end detection process for determining whether or not the work vehicle V has reached the end of its travel will be described. First, it is determined whether there is another passage in the traveling direction of the work vehicle V. If there is no other passage, that is, if the end of the passage is partitioned by a wall or the like, the information of the ultrasonic sensor S3 is used. Based on this, it is determined whether the end of the passage has been reached.

On the other hand, when another path continues in the traveling direction of the work vehicle V, the traveling distance from the path end determined based on the information of the pair of photodetectors S1 and S2 and the setting storage. From the information on the length of the passage, it is determined whether or not the vehicle has approached another passage within a set distance, and the front photodetector S1 of the pair of photodetectors S1 and S2 is determined. toward the installation position of the light beam projection means B of another passage, the vehicle body front side to receive the guiding beam A1, A2 from another passage, and the induction passageway currently driving the vehicle body rear side While receiving the light beams A1 and A2 for use and detecting the position in the width direction of the passage in the working path by the received light information on the rear side, the distance to the light source in another passage is determined by the received light information on the front side. The distance to the middle passage end is detected.

In the end detection processing, the information on the distance to the end of the passage and the information on the vehicle body direction determined based on the light receiving information of the photodetector S1 on the front side end the work in the current work area. When moving between work areas to move to the next work area, the information is also used as information for controlling the traveling route of the work vehicle V.

[Alternative Embodiment] In the above embodiment, the set scanning direction φ is used as information to be combined with the phase difference θ information in the two guide light beams A1 and A2. The speeds Rv may be combined. In this case, one of the two guiding light beams is used.
The two guiding light beams are emitted from the two photodetectors S1 and S2.
The set scanning speed Rv can be determined from the cycle information detected by one of the photodetectors. And
The set scanning speed Rv is determined from the cycle information of all the combinations of the two guide light beams A1 and A2 and the two photodetectors S1 and S2, and the information of the plurality of set scanning speeds Rv is determined. It is possible to improve the accuracy of use and discrimination.

In the above embodiment, two and two light beams are provided as the number of the plurality of guiding light beams and the number of the plurality of photodetectors, respectively. The number is not limited to three (three) and can be any number. In addition to the case where the photodetectors S1 and S2 are provided in a pair at the front and rear of the vehicle body, three photodetectors S1 and S2 may be provided at the center of the vehicle body, or at a total of four at the front, rear, left and right of the vehicle body. is there.

Further, in the above embodiment, the present invention is applied to the guidance equipment of the cleaning work vehicle V, and the phase difference θ of the two guidance light beams A1, A2 and the set scanning direction φ,
Alternatively, the case where the combination information of the phase difference θ and the set scanning speed Rv is used as the identification information of the passage number of the work area serving as the cleaning work place has been described.
It can be used for position detection means of various work vehicles,
The combination information of the phase difference θ and the set scanning direction φ or the combination of the phase difference θ and the set scanning speed Rv of the two guide light beams A1 and A2 can be used as various types of information. .

Incidentally, reference numerals are written in the claims for convenience of comparison with the drawings, but the present invention is not limited to the configuration of the attached drawings by the entry.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram of a phase difference, a set scanning direction, and a set scanning speed in a guiding light beam.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a control configuration.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart of a control operation.

FIG. 4 is a schematic plan view showing a layout of a work area.

FIG. 5 is a front view of a work area and a work vehicle.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram of detection of a set scanning direction of a guiding light beam.

[Explanation of symbols]

 100 Discriminating means A1, A2 Guiding light beam B Beam light projecting means Rv Set scanning speed S1, S2 Photodetector V Work vehicle φ Setting scanning direction θ Phase difference

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuation of the front page (56) References JP-A-4-15711 (JP, A) JP-A-63-298411 (JP, A) JP-A-60-211510 (JP, A) JP-A-61-1986 32118 (JP, A)

Claims (2)

(57) [Claims] 1. A plurality of guiding light beams (A
1, A2) is provided along the set scanning direction (φ) at a set scanning speed (Rv) while projecting a beam light projecting means (B). A work vehicle guidance device using a light beam provided with photodetectors (S1, S2) for receiving A1, A2) , wherein a plurality of work areas are set on the ground side, and
The light beam corresponding to each of a plurality of work areas;
A plurality of projecting means (B) are provided, and the light beam projecting means (B) applies a predetermined phase difference (θ) to the plurality of guiding light beams (A1, A2) in the set scanning direction (φ). And the phase difference (θ)
The combination of the set scanning direction (φ) corresponds to each work area.
The work vehicle (V) is configured to project the plurality of guiding light beams (A
A plurality of photodetectors (S1, S2) for receiving the first and second photodetectors (S1, S2) are provided at intervals, and based on detection information of the plurality of photodetectors (S1, S2), the phase difference (θ) and any of the setting scanning direction (phi)
A work vehicle guidance device using a light beam provided with a determination unit (100) for determining as identification information for identifying whether the work area is the work area . 2. A plurality of guiding light beams (A
1, A2) is provided along the set scanning direction (φ) at a set scanning speed (Rv) while projecting a beam light projecting means (B). A work vehicle guidance device using a light beam provided with photodetectors (S1, S2) for receiving A1, A2) , wherein a plurality of work areas are set on the ground side, and
The light beam corresponding to each of a plurality of work areas;
A plurality of projecting means (B) are provided, and the light beam projecting means (B) applies a predetermined phase difference (θ) to the plurality of guiding light beams (A1, A2) in the set scanning direction (φ). And the phase difference (θ)
The combination of the set scanning speed (Rv) depends on each of the work areas.
The work vehicle (V) is configured to project the plurality of guiding light beams (A
A plurality of photodetectors (S1, S2) for receiving the first and second photodetectors (S1, S2) are provided at intervals, and based on detection information of the plurality of photodetectors (S1, S2), the phase difference (θ) and What is the set scanning speed (Rv)
Information for identifying the work area
Determine Te discriminating means (100) work vehicle guidance system of the light beam utilization is provided with.