JP2775835B2 - How to transfer unmanned vehicles - Google Patents

Description

Description: BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a method of transferring an unmanned vehicle guided by a guide line laid on a road surface.

[Conventional technology]

FIG. 2 shows a traveling path of the unmanned vehicle system. In the figure, 1 is an X-direction traveling road, 2 is a Y-direction traveling road, 3 is an intersection (corner part), 4X and 4Y are magnetic tape guide wires, 5 is an unmanned vehicle, and one example is a side view. As shown in FIG. In the figure, 6 is a fixed type guide sensor, 7 is a drive wheel, 8F is a front idle wheel, 8R is a rear idle wheel, and this unmanned vehicle 5 individually controls the speed of the left and right drive wheels 7 to perform curved running, This is a type that performs a turning run.

The unmanned vehicle 5 detects the magnetic field intensity from the magnetic tape guide line 4X or 4Y by the mounted guide sensor 6 and performs feedback, finds a left-right shift with respect to the magnetic tape guide line, and steers to eliminate this shift. Run while doing.

In the conventional unmanned vehicle system, the section where the operation of attaching the magnetic tape guide wire is troublesome, such as the intersection 3, is a section without the magnetic tape guide wire, and the unmanned vehicle 5 is connected to the magnetic tape guide wires 4Y to 4X. Until the vehicle is moved to, the vehicle travels blindly at the predetermined steering angle set in the unmanned vehicle mounted control device, processes information from the mounted position detector (encoder), and the travel distance obtained from this information is determined in advance. If the magnetic tape guide wire 4X cannot be detected even if the traveling distance set for the intersection 3 is exceeded, it is determined that the vehicle has gone off-route and the traveling of the unmanned vehicle is stopped. I have.

[Problems to be solved by the invention]

As described above, an unmanned vehicle system having a section where a part of the magnetic tape guide line is partially provided, particularly, when the section is the intersection 3 that curves, the unmanned vehicle travels off-route depending on the traveling road surface. As a result, there is a problem that it is necessary to stop running frequently, which hinders smooth operation of the unmanned vehicle system.

In the unmanned vehicle 5 of this type, the guide sensor 6 is located at the lower part of the vehicle body, and the width of the magnetic tape guide wires 4X and 4Y is small (usually around 30 mm). To move on the magnetic tape guide wire 4Y, that is, the magnetic tape guide wire 4Y
In order to control the position so as to repeat, considerable attention was required and it was troublesome.

The present invention has been made to solve the above problems,
An object of the present invention is to provide a method for transferring an unmanned vehicle to a guide line, which makes it easier to transfer the unmanned vehicle to a guide line than in the past and makes the operation smoother.

[Means for solving the problem]

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides, in claim 1, when making a transfer on a guide line, temporarily stop at a planned transfer point, move the vehicle body left and right by a predetermined swing angle in a spin shape, and change this swing angle. The configuration is such that the guide line is gradually expanded until the guide line is detected. According to the second aspect, the temporary stop is performed when the transfer fails at the scheduled transfer point.

[Action]

In the present invention, the unmanned vehicle swings the vehicle body right and left at the scheduled transfer point to the guide line and widens its swing angle until the guide line is found. Even if the off route is missing, if there is a guide line within the swing range, the guide line can be reliably detected, and the frequency of off route is reduced.

〔Example〕

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

FIG. 1 shows that the unmanned vehicle 5 is a magnetic tape guide wire 4X of the traveling path 1.
This shows a state where the vehicle has arrived at the scheduled transfer point.

Next, a guide line transfer sequence of the unmanned vehicle 5 will be described.

(A) Until the unmanned vehicle 5 transfers from the magnetic tape guide line 4Y to 4X, the speed of the right and left drive wheels 7 is controlled so as to follow the traveling route set in the unmanned vehicle mounted controller, and the vehicle runs blind. The information from the position detector (encoder) is processed, and the traveling distance obtained from this information is used as the traveling distance (scheduled transfer point) preset for the intersection 3.
When the guide sensor 6 detects the magnetic tape guide line 4X when the vehicle reaches the unmanned vehicle 5, the unmanned vehicle 5 keeps traveling.

(B) If the magnetic tape derivative 4X cannot be detected even when the unmanned vehicle 5 reaches the scheduled transfer point, the unmanned vehicle 5 stops running. The unmanned vehicle 5 in FIG. 1 shows this stopped state, and the guide sensor 6 is a magnetic tape guide wire.
It is out of 4X.

(C) Next, at this stop position, the unmanned vehicle 5 moves right and left in a spin shape with the vehicle center 0 as the turning center, as shown by the broken line. The deflection angle at this time is θ ₁ (for example, + 5 °)
And When the unmanned vehicle 5 in the illustrated position moves rightward in the direction indicated by the solid arrow, the guide sensor 6 detects the magnetic tape guide wire 4X.

(D) When the magnetic tape guide line 4X is detected, the unmanned vehicle 5 is guided by the magnetic tape guide line 4X and starts running.

(E) If the magnetic tape guide wire 4X cannot be detected, the unmanned vehicle 5 further sets the deflection angle to θ ₂ again (for example, +2
10 ゜), when the spinning left and right movements are repeated and the magnetic tape guide wire 4X is detected, the unmanned vehicle 5 starts running.

If the magnetic tape guide wire 4X is not detected by the second spin-shaped left / right movement, it is determined that the off-route has occurred. Of course, once again, the deflection angle is θ
₃ (for example, + 15 °), and the spinning left-right movement may be repeated.

As described above, in the present embodiment, the unmanned vehicle 5 is swung right and left in a spinning manner when transferring to the magnetic tape guide wire 4X, so that the actual traveling route of the unmanned vehicle 5 is caused by unevenness or slippage of the road surface. Thus, even if the traveling route is relatively largely deviated from the set traveling route, the magnetic tape guide wire 4X can be detected, and the probability of an off route is reduced.

In the above embodiment, the unmanned vehicle 5 has the magnetic tape guiding wires 4Y to 4X.
Although the description has been given of the case where the vehicle is transferred, the case where the unmanned vehicle 5 enters the traveling path and is mounted on the magnetic tape guide line can be easily performed by implementing the present invention.

In the above embodiment, even when the unmanned vehicle 5 reaches the scheduled transfer point, the vehicle stops temporarily when the magnetic tape guide line 4X cannot be detected, but the unmanned vehicle 5 reaches the scheduled transfer point. In such a case, the operation may be temporarily stopped.

〔The invention's effect〕

As described above, the present invention has a configuration in which the unmanned vehicle is swung right and left in a spin shape at the scheduled transfer point of the unmanned vehicle to the guidance line, even if it becomes an off route as it is, Since the guidance line detection probability increases and the vehicle easily enters the guidance line, the frequency of off-route stops is reduced, and the operation of unmanned vehicles can be performed smoothly.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a plan view for explaining one embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a plan view showing an intersection of an unmanned vehicle traveling road, and FIG. 3 is a side view showing an example of an unmanned vehicle. 1, 2, ... running path, 3 ... intersection, 4X, 4Y ... magnetic tape guide wire, 5 ... unmanned vehicle.

Claims (2)

(57) [Claims] 1. An unmanned vehicle that travels while detecting a guide line laid on a road surface by a guide sensor, temporarily stops at a planned transfer point when transferring to the guide line,
A method for transferring a guide line to an unmanned vehicle, wherein the vehicle body is moved left and right by a predetermined swing angle in a spin shape, and the swing angle of the spin left and right movement is gradually increased until a guide line is detected. 2. The method of transferring unmanned vehicles according to claim 1, wherein the temporary stop is performed at a scheduled transfer point when the transfer fails.