JP4213661B2 - Deviation prevention system for autonomous vehicles - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a departure prevention system for an autonomous driving vehicle, such as a porcelain induction type vehicle that can automatically operate according to a magnetic marker, and in particular, an autonomous driving vehicle can run on a general road so as not to be an obstacle for automobiles and pedestrians. The present invention relates to a deviation prevention system for an automatic driving vehicle.

Conventionally, for the purpose of automatic driving by controlling the traveling of the vehicle, a magnetic marker is embedded in the traveling path to set a traveling target line, and one vehicle has a magnetic sensor for detecting the magnetic marker, An automatic driving vehicle that travels on a predetermined course so as not to deviate from the travel target line has been proposed. Examples of trackless transportation that is based on unmanned automatic driving include a trolley bus for an unrailed train and a magnetic induction railway (IMTS).
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 10-105894 (page 2-3, FIG. 1)

By the way, when performing automatic driving with conventional trackless transportation, in order to avoid the danger that the vehicle will deviate from the driving target line due to a failure of the automatic driving device, about 200 mm in height on both sides of the driving path. It was necessary to provide a guide wall.
However, such a guide wall cannot be provided on a flat general road used by general vehicles and pedestrians. For this reason, the traveling path for the autonomous driving vehicle to travel must be a dedicated line such as an overhead line, and the construction cost becomes enormous. Therefore, it is required that the autonomous driving vehicle can travel safely on a general road without providing a guide wall.

  SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a deviation prevention system for an autonomous driving vehicle that prevents deviation without providing a guide wall.

  An automatic driving vehicle departure prevention system according to the present invention is an automatic driving vehicle that can automatically run while confirming a predetermined traveling course set by using a communication means, a sensor, and the like. This is for emergency stop of the driving vehicle so as not to deviate from the driving course, and a deviation prevention rail is laid on the road surface along the driving course, and the automatic driving vehicle has a deviation prevention rail between the front tires. A vehicle body side device having a grooved wheel that rolls and an air spring provided between the grooved wheel and the vehicle body is provided, and air is supplied to the air spring during an emergency stop to lift the vehicle body, and the front tire It is made to drive | work with the grooved wheel of a deviation prevention rail, and a rear tire.

In the departure prevention system for an autonomous driving vehicle according to the present invention, the departure prevention rail is embedded in a recessed groove formed on a road surface along a traveling course, and a top portion thereof is substantially the same height as the road surface. It is preferable that
Further, the departure prevention system for an autonomous driving vehicle according to the present invention is such that the autonomous driving vehicle can travel without distinction between front and rear, and the vehicle side device is provided between tires on both sides of the vehicle body. Preferably there is.

Further, in the departure prevention system for an autonomous driving vehicle according to the present invention, the vehicle body side device is configured such that a grooved wheel and an air spring provided integrally with the upper and lower sides are coupled to the vehicle body by a pair of left and right air cylinders. It is preferable that the grooved wheel and the air spring are configured so as to move in the left-right direction with respect to the vehicle body by expansion and contraction.
Further, in the departure prevention system for an autonomous driving vehicle according to the present invention, the grooved wheel is pivotally supported by a wheel cover, and the air spring is pivoted on a rod formed so as to protrude by supplying air. A support bracket connected to the wheel cover via a ball joint is fixed to the wheel cover via a bearing, and a roller or a sliding part for rolling the vehicle body is provided on the top of the air spring body. It is preferable.

  The autonomous driving vehicle runs unmanned on a set traveling course, and is used, for example, in a new transportation system in which passengers get on and off at a predetermined stop on the way. Under such circumstances, when an abnormality occurs in the autonomous driving vehicle due to some cause and the control becomes impossible, the emergency driving is stopped for ensuring safety. The departure prevention system for an automatically driven vehicle according to the present invention prevents the departure from the traveling course even when such control becomes impossible.

  During normal driving, the grooved wheel of the vehicle body side device simply rolls on the departure prevention rail in a substantially no-load state, and the steering of the autonomous driving vehicle is performed by operating the tire. However, in the event that control becomes impossible due to an abnormality, air is urgently supplied to the air spring, the vehicle body is lifted, the front tire is lifted, and the vehicle is driven by the grooved wheel and the rear tire of the departure prevention rail. To do. Therefore, the autonomously driven vehicle at the time of emergency stop takes a course by rolling the grooved wheel supporting the vehicle body on the front side along the deviation prevention rail, and is prevented from coming off the traveling course.

  According to the departure prevention system for an autonomous driving vehicle according to the present invention, the grooved wheel rolls on the departure prevention rail at the time of emergency stop, and is configured to ensure a safe course so as not to depart from the course. As a result, it is no longer necessary to provide guide walls on both sides to prevent deviation. For this reason, the construction of a dedicated lane, such as an elevated line, was required for the traveling of a conventional autonomous driving vehicle that requires a guide wall, but in the present invention, it is only necessary to install a deviation prevention rail, The initial cost during construction can be greatly reduced.

And, if a deviation prevention rail is embedded in the groove formed on the road surface, it will not protrude from the road surface, so it can be used by ordinary cars and pedestrians. Automatic driving on the road.
Further, the vehicle side device provided on the autonomous driving vehicle side also has an inexpensive and simple configuration including a grooved wheel, an air spring and an air cylinder.
Furthermore, since the vehicle-side device is provided with an air cylinder, the vehicle body can be forcibly moved to the left and right by its expansion and contraction, so that it is easy to get on and off by approaching the platform.

Next, an embodiment of a departure prevention system for an autonomous driving vehicle according to the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a diagram conceptually showing an autonomous driving vehicle and a deviation prevention system for the autonomous driving vehicle.
On the course road on which the autonomous driving vehicle 1 travels, for example, a magnetic marker is installed on the road surface. The autonomous driving vehicle 1 detects a lateral position with reference to the magnetic marker, and steers based on the detected information. In addition, speed control is performed, and unmanned traveling along the course road is possible.

  The control device provided in the automatic driving vehicle 1 includes, for example, an automatic driving ECU, a steering ECU, an accelerator ECU, and a braking ECU, and performs arithmetic processing based on detection signals transmitted from various sensors. Done. A vehicle speed signal corresponding to the vehicle speed is provided from the vehicle speed sensor provided in the autonomous driving vehicle 1, a steering angle signal corresponding to the steering angle is provided from the steering angle sensor, and a traveling course on the road is provided from the position sensor. A position signal that detects the installed magnetic marker is output and transmitted to the control device.

  The memory of the control device stores information related to the course on which the autonomous driving vehicle 1 travels. The information on the course is, for example, the steering angle at each position in the course, the target vehicle speed, and other positions such as a stop. The autonomous driving vehicle 1 according to the present embodiment, for example, travels on a predetermined course at a predetermined speed on the basis of such information stored in advance and information transmitted from each sensor, and stops at a stop. It is configured so that it can be transported.

  The autonomous driving vehicle 1 travels a predetermined course according to a predetermined traveling pattern based on detection signals from the sensors and information from the memory unit, and control signals for the steering ECU, the accelerator ECU, and the braking ECU are transmitted. Generated. Therefore, for example, in the steering ECU, the steering actuator provided in the steering mechanism is controlled based on the control signal, and in the accelerator ECU, the accelerator actuator that drives the throttle valve of the engine is controlled based on the control signal. To do.

  And in such an autonomous driving vehicle 1, the vehicle side apparatus 2 which comprises a departure prevention system is provided in the front and rear wheel parts. In the departure prevention system of this embodiment, the departure prevention rail 3 is laid along the traveling course as ground side equipment, and the wheels 11 provided in the vehicle side device 2 always roll on the departure prevention rail 3. Thus, it is configured so that a safe path can be secured so that the autonomous driving vehicle 1 does not go off the course even in an emergency.

  This automatic driving vehicle 1 has no distinction between front and rear, and can run in front of the left side of the drawing and in front of the right side of the drawing. Therefore, in the autonomous driving vehicle 1, vehicle-side devices 2 configured in the same manner so as to be adaptable to traveling in both the front and rear directions are provided on both sides of the vehicle body 8. Here, the case of traveling with the left side of the drawing as the traveling direction will be described. When the vehicle can travel without distinction between the front and rear as in the present embodiment, it is necessary to provide the vehicle body side device 2 on both the front and rear sides of the vehicle body 8. The side device 2 may be provided. Here, FIGS. 2 to 4 are a side view, a front view, and a plan view conceptually showing deviation prevention means of the autonomous driving vehicle.

  In addition to the magnetic marker, a departure preventing rail 3 is laid on the course on which the autonomous driving vehicle 1 travels. As the departure prevention rail 3, for example, a JIS standard steel-making rail used for railways is used as it is. Here, FIG. 5 is an enlarged cross-sectional view showing the departure prevention rail 3. A concave groove 4 is formed on the road surface 50 along the traveling course of the autonomous driving vehicle 1, and the deviation preventing rail 3 is housed therein. The departure prevention rail 3 is embedded in the bottom of the concave groove 4, and the top 3 a is installed so as to be almost the same height as the road surface 50. A side protection guide 5 having an L-shaped cross section is provided on the left and right sides from the side wall of the groove 4 to the road surface 50.

  The concave groove 4 is formed with a width and a depth so that the left and right sides are formed substantially evenly between the departure prevention rail 3 and the side surface of the side protection guide 5, and the wheel 11 enters the gap on both sides thereof. That is, in the vehicle-side device 2, the wheels 11 roll on the departure prevention rail 3. In this embodiment, in particular, the course of the autonomous driving vehicle 1 is swung from side to side during an emergency stop. In order not to deviate from the above, a grooved wheel (hereinafter, referred to as a grooved wheel 11) having a groove formed in the center so as to hit the rail 3 from both sides is used to restrain the movement in the left-right direction.

  By the way, there are gaps on the left and right sides of the departure prevention rail 3 provided as the ground side equipment of the departure prevention system. For example, the deviation preventing rail 3 has a width of about 63 mm, and the width of the concave groove 4 into which the deviation preventing rail 3 is inserted is 150 mm. Accordingly, since the gaps on the left and right sides of the departure prevention rail 3 formed on the road surface 50 are narrow gaps of about 43.5 mm, even when the departure prevention rail 3 is crossed, human feet and wheels are stuck. There is no such thing.

Next, the vehicle-side device 2 provided in the autonomous driving vehicle 1 has a groove slightly forward in the direction of travel relative to the tires 6 and 6 disposed at the front and rear sides of the vehicle body 8 at substantially the center in the lateral direction of the vehicle body 8. It is installed so that the wheel 11 is located.
In the vehicle-side device 2, a grooved wheel 11 is rotatably supported with respect to a wheel cover 12, and the wheel cover 12 is connected to a rod 14 projecting downward from an air spring 13 via a swivel bearing 15. Are connected. The air spring 13 is connected to a rod 14 by a bellophram to form a pressurizing chamber that can be expanded and contracted, compressed air is supplied by switching a valve from an air tank (not shown) provided in the vehicle body 8, and the rod 14 is moved relative to the air spring 13. It is configured to protrude downward.

  Thus, the grooved wheel 11, the wheel cover 12, and the air spring 13 are integrally provided, and are installed in an installation space 10 provided before and after the vehicle body of the autonomous driving vehicle 1. The grooved wheels 11 and the like are provided so as to be slidable in the left-right direction of the vehicle body. Therefore, first, the wheel cover 12 is integrally formed with a support bracket 16 connected to the front axle 7 via a ball joint. Accordingly, the grooved wheel 11 and the air spring 13 are configured to swing in the left-right direction of the vehicle body with the joint portion with the front axle 7 as a fulcrum. A plate 17 is attached to the chassis ceiling constituting the installation space 10 so that the grooved wheel 11 can be smoothly swung, and a roller 18 provided on the air spring 13 rolls the plate 17. It is configured.

  Further, in the installation space 10 of the vehicle body 8, air cylinders 19 and 20 are connected symmetrically with respect to the rod 14 integrated with the grooved wheel 11. The air cylinders 19 and 20 have a piston rod connected to the rod 14 and a cylinder head side of the cylinder tube connected to the chassis side surface by a ball joint or the like. The air cylinders 19 and 20 are also piped so that compressed air can be supplied and exhausted by switching a valve from an air tank (not shown) provided in the vehicle body 8, and is configured to swing freely along with expansion and contraction.

Next, unmanned traveling of the autonomous driving vehicle 1 provided with such a vehicle side device 2 will be described.
In the autonomous driving vehicle 1, detection signals such as a vehicle speed, a steering angle, and a position of a magnetic marker installed along a traveling course on a road are sent to a control device by a vehicle speed sensor, a steering angle sensor, and a position sensor. Then, traveling control for traveling according to the course information stored in the memory is performed. Normally, the steering angle by the four-wheel tire 6 that contacts the road surface 50 is controlled, and the course along the course is taken according to the magnetic marker.

  During normal traveling, the grooved wheel 11 of the vehicle body side device 2 constituting the departure prevention means is in a state where the rod 14 of the air spring 13 is contracted, and the grooved wheel 11 presses the departure prevention rail 3. A large load is acting. Therefore, the departure prevention rail 3 provided along the course only rolls as the autonomous driving vehicle 1 travels, and does not itself guide the course.

  When the vehicle passes through a curved portion, the vehicle travels so that the departure prevention rail 3 is positioned approximately in the center of the front tires 6, 6. Will swing. At this time, the wheel cover 12 and the air spring 13 integral with the grooved wheel 11 swing left and right with a support bracket 16 as a fulcrum at a ball bearing provided at a connection portion with the front axle 7. Further, the air spring 13 can smoothly swing from side to side because the roller 18 provided on the top rolls the plate 17 attached to the vehicle body 8 and the vertical posture is stable.

  Further, since the grooved wheel 11 and the air spring 13 are supported by the air cylinders 19 and 20 from the left and right, a stable posture in the vertical direction is maintained. The air cylinders 19 and 20 are filled with compressed air so that an appropriate air pressure is applied. Therefore, during normal travel, the air cylinders 19 and 20 function as air springs that support the grooved wheels 11 and the like from the left and right, and when the autonomous driving vehicle 1 passes through a curved portion, the air cylinders 19 and 20 expand and contract to follow the curve. Alternatively, the position of the grooved wheel 11 is changed from side to side with respect to the vehicle body 8 by shaking. In the straight traveling portion, the grooved wheel 11 is returned to the center position of the vehicle body 8 by the air cylinders 19 and 20.

  The autonomous driving vehicle 1 is programmed to travel on a predetermined course determined on a general road like a route bus and stop at a stop. In the self-driving vehicle 1, the step portion to get on and off is at a height of about 200 mm from the road surface 50 in the same manner as a bus. Therefore, the platform is barrier-free with a platform that matches the height of the steps at the stop so that people using wheelchairs and the elderly can get on and off easily. In such a case, if the distance between the platform and the elevator opening of the autonomous driving vehicle 1 is increased, the boarding / alighting operation is hindered even when the floor of the autonomous driving vehicle 1 and the platform are at the same height. Therefore, in the autonomous driving vehicle 1 of the present embodiment, the vehicle body 8 is brought closer to the platform at the stop. FIG. 6 is a front view showing the autonomous driving vehicle 1 that stops along the platform.

  When the automatic driving vehicle 1 is traveling normally, the air cylinders 19 and 20 function as an air spring so that the grooved wheel 11 returns to the center position of the vehicle body 8 as described above. However, the air cylinders 19 and 20 are moved closer to the platform 60 when the autonomous driving vehicle 1 stops at the stop. For this purpose, the air pressure is supplied to the front and rear air cylinders 19 or 20 located on the platform 60 side when the autonomous driving vehicle 1 enters the stop. Then, since the grooved wheel 11 is restrained from moving in the left-right direction by the deviation prevention rail 3, the air cylinder 19 or 20 pushes the vehicle body 8 toward the platform 60 side.

In the case shown in FIG. 6, the air cylinder 19 on the left side is extended to push the vehicle body 8 of the autonomous driving vehicle 1 in the direction indicated by the arrow, and the vehicle body 8 approaches the platform 60 toward the left side. At this time, the grooved wheel 11 and the air spring 13 are in a state of being shifted to the right as the roller 18 provided on the top of the air spring 13 rolls on the plate 17 by the movement of the vehicle body 8.
As for the position of each platform 60, since the distance from the departure prevention rail 3 is stored in the memory in advance, there is no problem in getting on and off by extending the air cylinders 19 and 20 by a predetermined stroke when entering the stop. It can be close to the distance. When the vehicle starts again from the stop, the pressurized state of the extended air cylinder 19 or 20 is released, and the air cylinders 19 and 20 are returned to the air spring state again.

When the stable operation is continued, the grooved wheel 11 receives a slight load from the left and right sides by the air springs 19 and 20, but in the vertical direction, the grooved wheel 11, the air spring 13, etc. As described above, the automatic driving vehicle 1 is steered by the tire 6 because it is only placed on the departure prevention rail 3.
However, in the unlikely event that the control device fails and the driving control becomes impossible, there is a risk that the steering operation by the tire 6 cannot be performed and the driving course is lost. Therefore, in the present embodiment, an emergency stop is performed in order to avoid danger at the time of failure, and at that time, the automatic driving vehicle 1 can be safely stopped without departing from the traveling course.

The automatic driving vehicle 1 according to the present embodiment detects a certain failure state, and when the detection signal is confirmed, emergency stop measures such as stopping the engine and applying an emergency brake are taken. Therefore, the departure prevention system of the present embodiment prevents departure so that the autonomous driving vehicle 1 does not leave the course until the emergency stop is applied and the vehicle is completely stopped.
That is, when an emergency stop signal is input, a valve (not shown) is switched, and compressed air is rapidly supplied from the air tank provided in the vehicle body 8 to the air spring 13 of the vehicle-side device 2 that hits the front side. Therefore, in the vehicle side device 2, the air spring 13 is instantaneously expanded to the maximum. On the other hand, the air spring 13 of the rear-side vehicle-side device 2 is not operated at all. Here, FIG. 7 is a diagram conceptually showing an autonomous driving vehicle in an emergency stop state and a deviation prevention system for the autonomous driving vehicle.

  The air spring 13 to which the compressed air is supplied expands so that the rod 14 protrudes downward, but actually the main body of the air spring 13 rises and the vehicle body 8 is lifted. At this time, since the stopper 14 is formed at the upper end of the rod 14 integrated with the belofram, the rod 14 extends by a certain amount and stops. By pushing up the rod 14 by the air spring 13, the front of the vehicle body is lifted, the grooved wheel 11 is strongly pressed against the departure prevention rail 3, and the front tire 6 is separated from the road surface 50. Accordingly, the vehicle body 8 is supported by the three points of the front grooved wheel 11 and the rear tire 6 during an emergency stop.

  In this way, the autonomously driven vehicle 1 in the three-wheel running state rolls with the front-side grooved wheel 11 constrained to move left and right by the departure prevention rail 11, so that the movement until stopping is guided by the departure prevention rail 3. Is done. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the autonomous driving vehicle 1 from coming off the traveling course after the emergency stop is started until the vehicle body 8 is stopped.

  Therefore, in the departure prevention system of this embodiment, the grooved wheel 11 is configured to ensure a safe course so as not to deviate from the course by rolling the departure prevention rail 3 during an emergency stop. There is no need to provide guide walls on both sides specifically to prevent departure. Therefore, automatic driving on a road used by ordinary cars and pedestrians becomes possible. This is because the departure prevention rail 3 laid along the traveling course does not protrude from the road surface 50 and thus has a structure that can be crossed by a general vehicle or the like.

In addition, the construction of a dedicated lane requires a large construction cost, such as using an elevated cable for traveling a conventional autonomous driving vehicle that requires a guide wall. In this embodiment, it is only necessary to install a deviation prevention rail. The initial cost during construction can be greatly reduced. Further, the vehicle side device 2 provided on the side of the autonomous driving vehicle 1 also has an inexpensive and simple configuration including the grooved wheel 11, the air spring 13, the air cylinders 19 and 20, and the like.
Furthermore, in the autonomous driving vehicle 1 of the present embodiment, the vehicle body 8 can be forcibly moved to the left and right by expanding and contracting the air cylinders 19 and 20, so that it is easy to get on and off the vehicle by approaching the platform 60.

Although one embodiment of the departure prevention system according to the present invention has been described above, the present invention is not limited to this, and various modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the present invention.
For example, in the above embodiment, the automatic driving vehicle 1 capable of traveling in both the front and rear directions is shown and described. However, the vehicle side device 2 may be provided only on the front side if the vehicle has a front and rear distinction.

It is the figure which showed notionally the automatic driving vehicle and the deviation prevention system of the automatic driving vehicle. 1 is a side view conceptually showing a departure prevention system for an autonomous vehicle. 1 is a front view conceptually showing a departure prevention system for an autonomous vehicle. 1 is a plan view conceptually showing a departure prevention system for an autonomous vehicle. It is an expanded sectional view showing a deviation prevention rail. It is the front view which showed the self-driving vehicle which stops along a platform. It is the figure which showed notionally the automatic driving vehicle of an emergency stop state, and the deviation prevention system of the automatic driving vehicle.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Auto-driving vehicle 2 Vehicle side apparatus 3 Deviation prevention rail 4 Groove 6 Tire 8 Car body 11 Grooved wheel 12 Wheel cover 13 Air spring 16 Support bracket 18 Roller 19, 20 Air cylinder 50 Road surface 60 Platform

Claims (5)

An autonomous driving vehicle that can automatically travel while confirming a predetermined traveling course set by using a communication means, a sensor, etc., and stops the emergency driving vehicle so as not to deviate from the traveling course at the time of failure In an automatic driving vehicle deviation prevention system for
A deviation prevention rail is laid along the road course on the road surface,
The self-driving vehicle is provided with a vehicle body side device having a grooved wheel that rolls a deviation prevention rail between front tires, and an air spring provided between the grooved wheel and the vehicle body,
In the event of an emergency stop, the air spring is supplied with air to lift the vehicle body to float the front tire and travel with the grooved wheel of the departure prevention rail and the rear tire. system. In the automatic driving vehicle departure prevention system according to claim 1,
The departure prevention system for an autonomous driving vehicle, wherein the departure prevention rail is embedded in a concave groove formed on a road surface along a traveling course, and a top portion thereof is substantially the same height as the road surface. In the deviation prevention system of the autonomous driving vehicle according to claim 1 or 2,
An automatic driving vehicle departure prevention system, wherein the automatic driving vehicle is capable of traveling without distinction between front and rear, and the vehicle side device is provided between tires on both sides of a vehicle body. In the deviation prevention system of the automatic driving vehicle according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
In the vehicle body side device, a grooved wheel and an air spring, which are integrally provided on the upper and lower sides, are connected to the vehicle body by a pair of left and right air cylinders, and the grooved wheel and the air springs are A deviation prevention system for an autonomous driving vehicle, wherein the system is configured to move in a direction. In the deviation prevention system of the automatic driving vehicle according to any one of claims 1 to 4,
The grooved wheel is pivotally supported by a wheel cover, and the air spring is connected to a rod formed so as to protrude by supply of air via a swivel bearing,
A support bracket connected to an axle through a ball joint is fixed to the wheel cover, and the air spring body is provided with a roller or a sliding portion for rolling the vehicle body at the top. Deviation prevention system for autonomous vehicles.

Images