JP2771366B2 - Traveling vehicle safety devices - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a safety device for a traveling vehicle such as a self-propelled robot.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art FIG. 5 is a view showing a conventional safety device for an unmanned vehicle disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 1-222889. In the figure, reference numeral 1 denotes a self-propelled robot, on which an articulated robot arm 3 is mounted on an unmanned vehicle 2. The unmanned traveling vehicle 2 can be driven forward, backward, traverse, and diagonally by four driving wheels 4, and the front and rear surfaces 5, 6 or both side surfaces 7, 8 of the unmanned traveling vehicle 2 are respectively used for detecting an obstacle. Light emitting and receiving sensors Sn1 to Sn6 are provided. Note that La and Lb are the light emitting / receiving sensors Sn1 to S
The range of light emitted and received from n6 is shown, and 9 shows the traveling direction of the unmanned traveling vehicle 2.

Next, the operation will be described. First, in the main control device, it is determined whether or not the next operation is traveling of the unmanned traveling vehicle 2, and if traveling, the operation proceeds to the operation of the light emitting / receiving sensors Sn1 to Sn6 for traveling. I do. That is, in the case of traveling, if the traveling direction 9 is the direction of the arrow in FIG. 5, the light emitting / receiving sensor Sn1 mounted on the front surface 5 of the unmanned traveling vehicle is turned on to operate while detecting an obstacle. At this time, the other light emitting / receiving sensors Sn2 to Sn
Reference numeral 6 denotes an OFF state, and no obstacle is detected.

The detection area of the light emitting / receiving sensor Sn1 depends on the range of light emitted from the light emitter, and if only a large light area La detects an obstacle, the unmanned traveling vehicle 2 is decelerated. When the narrow light area Lb is detected, the unmanned traveling vehicle 2 is stopped.

[0005]

A sensor for detecting an obstacle generally used in a conventional safety device for an unmanned traveling vehicle (a sensor of this kind generally manufactured) has a long detection distance. Then, the detection range is widened in the width direction, but if the detection distance is shortened, the width becomes narrow, and the distance and the width cannot be arbitrarily set. For this reason, it is not possible to cover the entire traveling area of the unmanned vehicle without interfering with the structure on the equipment side, or it is necessary to kill all obstacle sensor functions in places that interfere with the equipment side, etc. There was a problem.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems, and accurately detects an obstacle in a traveling area of an unmanned traveling vehicle and ignores a structure or the like on a facility side. An object of the present invention is to provide a safety device that does not erroneously detect an object.

[0007]

A traveling vehicle safety device according to the present invention includes a sensor set at a central portion in a traveling direction of the traveling vehicle so as not to interfere with equipment for detecting a wide range of obstacles. , A spot-like sensor that detects obstacles on the left and right end lines of the traveling vehicle, and an interference
About this information, teach it in advance as a dead zone.
It has a position detecting device . For the detection of obstacles on the left and right end lines, validity / invalidity is determined based on the presence or absence of a structure on the equipment side, etc. In the case of a structure on the equipment side, it is not detected as an obstacle, so that erroneous detection is prevented. It is.

[0008]

SUMMARY OF] According to the safety device of the vehicle of the present invention, combination a sensor having a sensor and spot detection area having a wide range of detection areas, major obstacle to widespread sensor
By causing an object to perform partial obstacle detection in the narrow range sensor, an obstacle in the traveling area is accurately detected. In addition, by ignoring only some of the spot-like sensors disposed at the left and right ends and the like of the structure on the equipment side, erroneous detection can be prevented and safety can be improved.

[0009]

[Embodiment 1] An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG.
In the figure, reference numeral 2 denotes an unmanned traveling vehicle, 4 denotes a driving wheel of the unmanned traveling vehicle 2, 5 and 6 respectively denote a front surface and a rear surface of the unmanned traveling vehicle 2, and an arrow 9 denotes a traveling direction (forward) of the unmanned traveling vehicle 2. Ten
Is a track on which the unmanned traveling vehicle 2 travels, 11a and 11b are wide-area obstacle detection sensors mounted at the center of the front surface 5 and the rear surface 6 of the unmanned traveling vehicle 2, and 12a to 12d are front surfaces 5 and 5 of the unmanned traveling vehicle 2. This is a narrow-area obstacle sensor attached to both ends of the rear surface 6. Ha indicates the detection area of the wide area obstacle sensor, and Na and Nb indicate the detection areas of the narrow area obstacle sensor. 14 is a motor which is a driving source of the driving wheel 4, 15 is a motor
The position detection device 15 detects the position (travel distance) of the unmanned traveling vehicle 2 attached to the vehicle 14. The position detection device 15 detects the traveling distance of the unmanned traveling vehicle 2 from the standby position and travels constantly. Know where you are. 2 and 3, reference numeral 13 denotes a fence which is a structure on the equipment side.

Next, the operation of the above embodiment will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. First, when the unmanned traveling vehicle 2 is driven, if it is started from the standby position, the position detection device 15 is reset to zero by the traveling distance correction function.
On the other hand, if it is not the standby position, the current traveling distance is used as the inspection vehicle position data. Thereafter, an obstacle sensor to be functioned in the future is selected according to the traveling direction command of the unmanned traveling vehicle 2. Specifically, assuming that the arrow direction 9 shown in FIG. 1 is the forward direction, the power of the wide area obstacle sensor 11a and the narrow area obstacle sensors 12a and 12b provided on the front surface 5 of the unmanned vehicle 2 is turned on.

Next, the operation will be shifted to an obstacle detection operation.
As for the obstacle such as the fence 13 which is a structure on the equipment side, the traveling vehicle position and the left and right information are determined in advance as a dead zone (a region where the structure or the like is not erroneously detected as an obstacle) by the position detection device 15.
Is taught. Then, the wide-area obstacle sensor 11a provided at the center of the unmanned traveling vehicle 2 constantly checks for an obstacle, and stops the unmanned traveling vehicle 2 when an obstacle detection signal is activated. On the other hand, the narrow-area obstacle sensors 12a and 12b provided on the left and right sides of the front side 5 of the unmanned traveling vehicle 2 determine whether or not the above-mentioned dead zone exists. Even if the obstacle detection is operated outside the dead zone, the unmanned traveling vehicle 2 is stopped.

In the above-described embodiment, the forward movement (in the direction of arrow 9) has been described. However, the same operation as described above may be performed for the backward movement by using the obstacle sensors 11b, 12c, and 12d on the rear surface 6 side.

Another embodiment. In the above embodiment, the wide-area and narrow-area obstacle sensors are provided on the front and rear surfaces, respectively. However, an optimal sensor may be selected according to the size and shape of the unmanned vehicle. The wide area and the narrow area represent the detection area, and the detection area may be changed using the same sensor. (The detection area shown in the figure is an example of adjustment, and it may be widened or narrowed according to the place where it is used.) There is no problem even if it is increased or decreased, and the same effect can be obtained with any of the detectors such as light, laser light, and ultrasonic waves. Although the interference position with the equipment has been described by teaching the distance, a limit switch may be provided near the track.

[0014]

As described above, according to the present invention, obstacle sensors having different detection ranges are combined to cover a traveling area with high accuracy and to prevent an obstacle on the equipment side from being erroneously detected as an obstacle. With this configuration, an unmanned vehicle can be run with peace of mind, and there is an effect that investment in safety equipment conventionally provided as a safety measure can be reduced.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a plan view showing a traveling vehicle safety device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an operational state diagram of the traveling vehicle safety device of the embodiment.

FIG. 3 is an operation state diagram of the traveling vehicle safety device of the embodiment.

FIG. 4 is an operation flowchart of the above embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a plan view showing a conventional self-propelled robot safety device.

[Explanation of symbols]

 2 Unmanned vehicle 4 Drive wheel 5 Front 6 Rear 10 Track 11a, b Wide area obstacle sensor 12a-d Narrow area obstacle sensor 14 Motor 15 Position detecting device

Claims (1)

(57) [Claims] 1. A safety device for a traveling vehicle equipped with a sensor that detects an obstacle by traveling on its own and includes a structure on a facility side.
For interferences that are
And a position detection device to be taught in the center of the traveling vehicle.
Be installed and constantly check for obstacles.
A wide-area obstacle that stops the traveling vehicle if the object detection signal operates.
A harmful object sensor, provided on the left and right of the traveling vehicle,
It is determined whether or not the signal is in the dead band, and
If the obstacle detection is activated, ignore it, and
Stop the traveling vehicle only when obstacle detection is activated by
And a narrow-area obstacle sensor .