JP3317380B2 - Automatic guided vehicle - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an automatic guided vehicle that autonomously travels by emitting laser light in all directions and detecting reflected light from a plurality of reflectors arranged along a traveling route to detect a current position. About.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art An unmanned transport vehicle that travels autonomously by using reflected light of a laser beam and transports articles has been put into practical use. FIG.
Shows an example of an automatic guided vehicle. The automatic guided vehicle 1 emits laser light L in four directions from a light emitting and receiving device 2 mounted on the automatic guided vehicle 1. A plurality of reflectors 3 are arranged along the traveling route, and the reflector 3 reflects the laser light L in a direction in which the laser light L is projected. The reflected light is received by the light emitter / receiver 2 and the angle and distance of the automatic guided vehicle 1 with respect to each reflector 3 are detected. The control device of the automatic guided vehicle 1 has a layout map including the position of each reflector 3 and, by referring to the layout map, knows the current position based on the principle of triangulation and travels autonomously. The automatic guided vehicle 1 performs wireless communication with the host computer 4 on the ground, receives a transfer command, and reports a work result.

[0003]

As shown in FIG. 2, the light emitting and receiving device 2 is mounted on the upper part of the automatic guided vehicle 1 so as to prevent the object from shielding the laser beam as much as possible. However, at this height, the laser beam may be blocked when there are many high objects around. Further, when the height of the article held by the automatic guided vehicle 1 is high, laser light cannot be received with the reflector 3 in front of the automatic guided vehicle 1.

Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide an automatic guided vehicle that can reliably receive light regardless of the presence of an object that blocks laser light.

[0005]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, a light emitting device emits laser light in four directions and receives reflected light from a plurality of reflectors arranged along a traveling route. in the automatic guided vehicle which is detected by the device for autonomous by knowing the current position, the light emitting device and light receiving device by operating the elevating means, Ri liftable der to AGV, said lifting means, receiving
When the intensity of the laser beam received by the device falls below a predetermined value
An automatic guided vehicle was configured to operate .

According to a second aspect of the present invention, a light emitting device is provided.
Laser light is emitted in all directions, and multiple laser lights are arranged along the travel path.
The reflected light from the reflected reflector is detected by the light receiving device.
By knowing the current position, an autonomous guided vehicle
The light emitting device and the light receiving device operate the lifting means.
And can move up and down with respect to the automatic guided vehicle,
When traveling in an area where there are many
The automatic guided vehicle was configured to make the optical device high .

[0007]

[0008]

According to the present invention, the following effects are provided.

In the automatic guided vehicle according to the first aspect of the present invention, the height of the light emitting device and the light receiving device for knowing the current position with respect to the automatic guided vehicle can be adjusted by operating the lifting / lowering means. , The ray that the light receiving device receives
When the intensity of the laser light falls below a predetermined value, the lifting / lowering means operates.
You.

In the automatic guided vehicle according to the second aspect of the present invention, a light emitting device and a light receiving device for knowing a current position are provided.
The height of the vehicle relative to the automatic guided vehicle
Can be adjusted according to the
When traveling in the area, raise the light emitting device and light receiving device.
The elevating means operates as follows.

[0011]

[0012]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The embodiment shown in the drawings will be described below.

FIG. 1 is a partially cutaway perspective view showing only a light emitting and receiving part of an automatic guided vehicle according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a main part of a control device of the same embodiment. FIG. This embodiment is applicable to the configuration shown in FIG.

In FIG. 1, an emitter / receiver 2 is an automatic guided vehicle 1
Is provided on the upper surface of the light emitting and receiving device support 5 fixed to the upper part of the light emitting and receiving device. A rack 6 extending downward is provided on the bottom surface of the light emitting and receiving device 2.
Is attached. A pinion 7 meshes with the rack 6. The pinion 7 is rotated by an elevating motor 8 with a speed reducer. The elevating motor 8 is fixed to an inner surface of a housing 9 attached to a lower surface of the light emitting and receiving device support 5. The rack 6 is guided so as to be slidable only in the vertical direction by a linear guide 10 attached to the lower surface of the light emitting and receiving device support 5.

The control device shown in FIG. 2 is built in the automatic guided vehicle 1. The intensity measuring unit 11 measures the intensity of the laser beam from the reflector 3 received by the light emitting and receiving unit 2 and notifies the height adjusting unit 12 of the intensity. The height adjustment unit 12 controls the rotation of the lifting motor 8. The setting unit 13 stores a height setting value for each area obtained by dividing the traveling route of the automatic guided vehicle into a plurality of sections, and based on the current position of the automatic guided vehicle 1 detected by the traveling control unit 14, the current position. Is transmitted to the height adjustment unit 12. The height setting value stored in the setting unit 13 can be changed by input from the operation unit 15.

Next, the operation of this embodiment will be described.

When the automatic guided vehicle 1 travels along the traveling route, the traveling control unit 14 detects the current position at any time.
The setting unit 13 can know the area where the vehicle is currently traveling based on the current position. When the area changes, the setting unit 13 transmits a height setting value corresponding to the new area to the height adjustment unit 12. The height adjusting unit 12 controls the elevation motor 8 according to the transmitted height setting value, and adjusts the height of the light emitting and receiving device 2.

According to such an automatic guided vehicle 1, for example, in an area where there are many high objects around the area, the corresponding height setting value is set high, and the light emitting and receiving device 2 Is increased, the laser light can be reflected by the reflector 3 without being blocked by the object, and the reflected light can be received, so that the position can be detected reliably.

The height of the light emitter / receiver 2 may be changed regardless of the area. For example, when traveling near the place where unexpectedly high objects are placed, or when transporting high objects, if reflected light from a specific direction is blocked, The intensity of the laser beam received by the intensity measuring unit 11 is measured. In response to this, the height adjusting unit 12 operates the elevating motor 8. If an obstacle can be avoided by increasing the height of the light emitter / receiver 2, the intensity of the received laser beam increases, and the position can be detected reliably. When the intensity of the laser light to be received exceeds a predetermined value, the height adjusting unit 12 stops the elevating motor 8 and maintains the light emitting and receiving device 2 at that height.

If the laser beam cannot be received even if the height is adjusted, it is determined that an abnormality has occurred, the running is stopped, an alarm is issued, and the operator is notified. The operator removes the cause of the abnormality by an alarm and restores the automatic guided vehicle 1.

As described above, according to the automatic guided vehicle according to the present embodiment, by adjusting the height of the light emitting and receiving device 2, the laser beam reflected from the reflector 3 is received regardless of the presence of the shielding object. As a result, the position can be reliably detected.

Further, when the intensity level of the laser beam to be received drops, the height of the light emitting and receiving device 2 is automatically adjusted, so that stable position detection can be performed.

Furthermore, since the height of the light emitting and receiving device 2 can be changed in accordance with the height set value preset for each area,
Position detection can be reliably performed even when traveling in an area where the presence of a shield is expected.

The embodiment of the present invention has been described above.
It is needless to say that the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and can be appropriately modified and implemented within the scope of the present invention.

[0025]

As described above, according to the automatic guided vehicle according to the first aspect of the present invention, the laser light received by the light receiving device is provided.
When the light intensity falls below a predetermined value, the light emitting device and light receiving device
Since the height of the position is adjusted, it is possible to reliably detect the position by receiving the laser beam reflected from the reflector regardless of the presence of the shield.

According to the automatic guided vehicle according to the second aspect of the present invention, when traveling in an area with many high objects around,
Adjusts the height of the light-emitting device and light-receiving device,
Laser reflected from reflector despite presence of object
-Light can be received and the position can be detected reliably.

[0027]

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a partially cutaway perspective view showing a light emitting and receiving part of an automatic guided vehicle according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing an automatic guided vehicle according to the embodiment of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a main part of a control structure according to the same embodiment as FIG. 1;

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Unmanned guided vehicle 2 Emitter / receiver 5 Emitter / receiver support 6 Rack 7 Pinion 8 Elevating motor

Claims (2)

(57) [Claims] An autonomous guided vehicle that autonomously travels by emitting laser light in all directions by a light emitting device, detecting reflected light from a plurality of reflectors arranged along a traveling path by a light receiving device to know a current position, the light emitting device and light receiving device by operating the elevating means, Ri liftable der to AGV, said lifting means, receiving the light-receiving device
An automatic guided vehicle , which is activated when the intensity of the emitted laser beam becomes lower than a predetermined value . 2. A laser light is emitted in all directions by a light emitting device.
From the reflectors arranged along the travel route.
Knowing the current position by detecting reflected light with a light receiving device
In autonomous guided vehicles that travel more autonomously,
The optical device operates an unmanned carrier by operating the elevating means.
Can move up and down, and run in areas with many high objects around.
Raise the light emitting device and light receiving device when performing
An automatic guided vehicle characterized by the following.