JP4605805B2 - Vehicle travel control device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a vehicle travel control device that controls travel on a travel path on which a plurality of unmanned vehicles or manned vehicles travel.

  In a mine site in a wide area, it is necessary to transport ore by a dump truck over several tens of kilometers one way. Unmanned vehicles are widely used for this type of work. The unmanned vehicle is equipped with a position measurement device such as GPS (Global Positioning System), and the position measured by this position measurement device is compared with the position on the stored course data so that they match. Is done. Thereby, the unmanned vehicle travels along a predetermined course.

  In addition to unmanned vehicles (dump trucks), various vehicles such as graders and water trucks, transport vehicles that transport excavators, and light vehicles that transport operators and perform maintenance work on the roads at the mine site. Is present.

  The speeds of these various vehicles are often extremely different. Some vehicles, such as graders, have extremely slow working speeds of around 7 km / h, while other vehicles, such as dump trucks and light vehicles, run at high speeds (about 50 km / h). For this reason, the presence of a low-speed vehicle for a high-speed vehicle may be an obstacle to travel. Also, when there is a faulty vehicle in front of the vehicle or when there are obstacles such as falling rocks, it becomes an obstacle to traveling.

  For this reason, if a grader is present in front of the dump truck (unmanned vehicle) and repair work is performed at an extremely low speed, or if a broken vehicle or falling rocks occur in front of the dump truck (unmanned vehicle) Until the grading work was completed or the obstacles were removed, the transportation work by the dump truck had to be interrupted. The interruption of the conveyance work causes a reduction in work efficiency. Especially in the rainy season, grading work needs to be performed frequently, and the reduction of work efficiency becomes remarkable.

  Therefore, when there is an obstacle ahead of the unmanned vehicle, the obstacle is detected by the obstacle sensor, and a route for avoiding the obstacle is searched based on the detection result, and the avoidance route is traveled. Various patent applications have already been filed for the invention.

  For example, Patent Document 1 discloses an invention in which when an obstacle is detected by an obstacle sensor, the direction of the vehicle is changed to search for a direction in which no obstacle exists, and the vehicle is moved in the searched direction. Are listed.

  Further, in Patent Document 2, when an obstacle does not exist ahead, an unmanned vehicle is driven along a guide provided on the road surface. When an obstacle is detected by an obstacle sensor, An invention is described in which a detour route that has deviated is set and an unmanned vehicle travels along the detour route.

  However, these conventional techniques are based on the premise that a flat and sufficiently wide space is secured on which the unmanned vehicle can travel on the shoulder of the traveling path, such as indoors, where the distance of the traveling path is short. It cannot be directly applied to an outdoor work site where the distance of the traveling path is as long as several tens of kilometers one way, such as a mine site, and a flat and sufficiently large space for overtaking a vehicle cannot be secured.

  Further, even if a flat overtaking area can be provided on both sides of the traveling road, there is a possibility that the shoulder of the road may collapse in the case of a heavy dump truck. That is, the dump truck has a weight exceeding 200 tons in a loaded state. For this reason, tires may get stuck when traveling on a fragile and unmaintained road shoulder, and in the worst case, the vehicle may slide down due to the collapse of the road shoulder. In addition, it is actually difficult to accurately sense the state of the road surface of the shoulder.

  In general, mining sites in a wide area often create a two-lane traveling route. For this reason, when there is an obstacle ahead, it is conceivable to pass the obstacle and drive in the oncoming lane. Since the opposite road surfaces are maintained, the above-described problems such as stacking and collapse caused by insufficient maintenance like the road shoulder do not occur. However, if the vehicle is driven on the oncoming lane, there is a risk of a frontal collision with the oncoming vehicle.

  Here, when the oncoming vehicle traveling in the oncoming lane is a manned vehicle, it cannot be predicted in advance that the unmanned vehicle will protrude into the oncoming lane. For this reason, the danger of a frontal collision cannot be avoided. Even when the oncoming vehicle is an unmanned vehicle, it is not possible to stop at a safe position after confirming the presence of the vehicle being overtaken by the obstacle sensor mounted on the vehicle. This is because the effective detection distance of the obstacle sensor has an upper limit. Although it is possible to safely stop with a sufficient stopping distance after detecting obstacles that are stopped with an obstacle sensor, it is sufficient to stop after detecting a vehicle running at high speed with an obstacle sensor. It is not possible to stop safely by securing a distance. For this reason, the danger of a frontal collision cannot be avoided.

  As described above, in the related art, when the vehicle is driven on the oncoming lane to avoid an obstacle ahead, the oncoming vehicle cannot secure a sufficient stop distance and may cause a frontal collision.

  Now, unlike an unmanned vehicle traveling indoors such as a factory, the traveling conditions of an unmanned vehicle traveling outdoors like a mine site vary depending on various external factors.

  For example, not only obstacles such as broken cars and falling rocks may occur on the road on which the vehicle travels, but the road surface of the road may deteriorate due to rain or fog, and the effective distance of the obstacle sensor may be shortened. . In addition, at the mine site, only a part of the road surface may become muddy or slippery depending on the pavement condition of the road surface of the road.

  Accordingly, it is necessary to change the traveling conditions such as the position and speed of the vehicle so that safety can be maintained in consideration of such changes in the state of the traveling path.

In a conventional wide-area work site, when a change occurs in the vehicle driving conditions, the monitoring station newly recreates the driving condition data for the entire wide driving path, and this re-created data is applied to all vehicles. Had to send to.
JP-A-62-88006 JP-A-9-269828

  If it is attempted to transmit the travel condition data for the entire travel route over a wide area to all the vehicles, the radio load becomes extremely large. Therefore, a method of temporarily stopping all the vehicles and transmitting data to all the vehicles is taken. However, temporary suspension of all vehicles causes a problem that production efficiency is lowered. Further, instead of taking a method of temporarily stopping all the vehicles, a method of taking a long time by converting the data of the traveling conditions of the entire traveling road in the wide area into data of a small size is used. However, if data of a small size is transmitted over a long period of time, the time delay until all data changes are completed becomes significant. This causes a safety problem such as interference between vehicles due to a delay in data change.

  The present invention has been made in view of such a situation, and in the event that travel conditions are set or changed, there is no problem of a decrease in production efficiency due to stoppage of all vehicles, and there is a safety problem due to a delay in data change. The first problem to be solved is to enable data to be transmitted quickly without incurring this problem.

  By the way, a manned vehicle travel path may be temporarily provided so as to cross the unmanned vehicle travel path. In this case, it is necessary to temporarily stop the unmanned vehicle in front of the temporarily provided travel path. However, in this case as well, the monitoring station newly recreates the travel condition data for the entire wide travel route, and transmits the recreated data to all the vehicles.

  For this reason, as described above, there has been a problem of a decrease in production efficiency due to the stop of all the vehicles, and a safety problem has occurred due to a delay in data change.

  The present invention has been made in view of such a situation, and when it is necessary to temporarily stop the vehicle, there is no problem of a decrease in production efficiency due to the stop of all the vehicles, and in addition to safety due to a delay in data change. The second problem to be solved is to enable data to be transmitted quickly without incurring this problem.

Therefore, the first invention of the present invention is to achieve the above first problem.
In a travel control device for a vehicle that sets a travel condition of a travel path on which the vehicle travels by a monitoring station and gives a travel command according to the travel condition from the monitoring station to the vehicle.
An upper limit speed setting means for setting an upper limit speed in a part of the travel path;
Command means for giving a running condition including the set upper limit speed in association with the partial section as a running command to the vehicle;
The vehicle is
When a travel command is given from the command means, the vehicle travels on the travel path at a speed not exceeding the upper limit speed in the partial section.

  The first invention will be described with reference to FIG.

  That is, according to the first aspect of the invention, the upper limit speed is set in a part of the section 47 of the travel path. A travel condition including an upper limit speed set in association with a part of the section 47 is given to the vehicle as a travel command. When a travel command is given, the vehicle travels on a travel path at a speed that does not exceed the upper limit speed in some sections 47.

  As described above, according to the first aspect of the present invention, it is only necessary to newly create a traveling condition associated with a part of the section 47 and give it as a traveling command without newly creating a traveling condition for the entire section of the traveling path. Therefore, the data transmission load is minimized. For this reason, when driving conditions are set, data can be transmitted quickly without incurring the problem of reduced production efficiency due to all vehicle stops and without incurring safety problems due to delays in changing data. It becomes like this.

The second invention of the present invention is:
In a travel control device for a vehicle that changes a travel condition of a travel path on which the vehicle travels at a monitoring station and gives a travel command according to the changed travel condition from the monitoring station to the vehicle.
Travel speed changing means for changing the travel speed in a part of the travel path;
Command means for giving a running condition including the changed running speed in association with the partial section as a running command to the vehicle;
The vehicle is
When a traveling command is given from the command means, the traveling road travels at the changed traveling speed in the partial section.

  The second invention will be described with reference to FIG.

  That is, according to the second aspect, the traveling speed in a part of the section 47 of the traveling path is changed. A travel condition including a travel speed changed in association with a part of the section 47 is given to the vehicle as a travel command. When a travel command is given, the vehicle travels on the travel path at a changed travel speed in some sections 47.

  As described above, according to the second aspect of the present invention, it is only necessary to newly create a travel condition associated with a part of the section 47 and give it as a travel command without newly creating a travel condition for the entire travel route section. Therefore, the data transmission load is minimized. For this reason, when there is a change in driving conditions, data can be transmitted quickly without incurring the problem of reduced production efficiency due to all vehicle stops and without incurring safety problems due to delays in changing data. It becomes like this.

The third invention of the present invention is
Applied to a traveling road where the vehicle slips according to a lateral acceleration acting laterally with respect to the traveling direction of the vehicle, a traveling condition of the traveling path on which the vehicle travels is set by a monitoring station, and the monitoring station In a vehicle travel control device that gives a travel command corresponding to the travel condition to the vehicle,
Lateral acceleration setting means for setting an upper limit value of lateral acceleration in a part of the travel path;
Command means for giving a traveling condition including an upper limit speed corresponding to the lateral acceleration in association with the partial section to the vehicle as a traveling command;
The vehicle is
When a travel command is given from the command means, the vehicle travels on the travel path at a speed not exceeding the upper limit speed in the partial section.

  The third invention will be described with reference to FIG.

  That is, according to the third aspect of the invention, the upper limit value of the lateral acceleration in the partial section 47 of the traveling road is set. A traveling condition including an upper limit speed corresponding to the lateral acceleration in association with a part of the section 47 is given to the vehicle as a traveling command. When a travel command is given, the vehicle travels on the travel path at a speed that does not exceed the upper limit speed in some sections 47.

  As described above, according to the third aspect of the present invention, it is only necessary to newly create travel conditions associated with some sections 47 and give them as travel commands without recreating the travel conditions for all sections of the travel path. Therefore, the data transmission load is minimized. For this reason, when driving conditions are set, data can be transmitted quickly without incurring the problem of reduced production efficiency due to all vehicle stops and without incurring safety problems due to delays in changing data. It becomes like this.

The fourth invention of the present invention is to achieve the above second solution,
In a travel control device for a vehicle that sets a travel condition of a travel path on which the vehicle travels by a monitoring station and gives a travel command according to the travel condition from the monitoring station to the vehicle.
A stop point setting means for setting a stop point at which the vehicle should stop traveling to one point on the travel path;
Comprising command means for giving a running condition including the stop point as a running command to the vehicle;
The vehicle stops traveling at the stop point when a traveling command is given from the commanding means.

  The fourth invention will be described with reference to FIG.

  That is, according to the fourth aspect of the invention, the stop point where the vehicle should stop traveling is set at one point 49 on the travel path. A traveling condition including the stop point 49 is given to the vehicle as a traveling command. The vehicle stops traveling at the stop point 49 when the traveling command is given.

  Thus, according to the fourth aspect of the present invention, it is only necessary to newly create a travel condition associated with a single spot 49 and give it as a travel command without recreating the travel conditions for the entire section of the travel path. Data transmission load is minimized. For this reason, when it becomes necessary to temporarily stop the vehicle, the data can be quickly acquired without incurring the problem of a decrease in production efficiency due to the stoppage of all the vehicles and without causing a safety problem due to a delay in data change. It can be sent.

The fifth invention of the present invention is the first to fourth inventions described above,
The vehicle is
When a travel command is given from the command means, the travel speed is gradually reduced so that the travel speed commanded in the partial section is reached or the travel is stopped at the stop point. Features.

  That is, according to the fifth aspect, when the travel command is given, the vehicle gradually decelerates the travel speed until the travel speed commanded in some sections 47 is reached. Further, the traveling speed is gradually reduced until the traveling is stopped at the stop point 49. For this reason, it is prevented that the vehicle enters an unstable traveling state due to sudden deceleration and rolls over.

  Embodiments of a travel control device for a vehicle according to the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

  The vehicle travel control system of the embodiment is configured such that the monitoring station 30 controls the unmanned vehicle 10 and the manned vehicle 20. In the present embodiment, it is assumed that a plurality of unmanned vehicles 10 and manned vehicles 20 represented by dump trucks are present at a wide-area work site (such as a mine site) and carry out a work of transporting loads such as ores. A reciprocating two-lane traveling path on which the unmanned vehicle 10 and the manned vehicle 20 travel is provided in the wide-area work site.

  FIG. 1 is a functional block diagram showing the configuration of the unmanned vehicle 10 according to the embodiment. FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram showing the configuration of the manned vehicle 20 of the embodiment. FIG. 3 is a functional block diagram showing the configuration of the monitoring station 30 of the embodiment.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the unmanned vehicle 10 includes a communication device 11, a position measurement device 12, an obstacle detection sensor 13, a higher controller 14, and a lower controller 15. As shown in FIG. 2, the manned vehicle 20 includes a communication device 11, a position measurement device 12, a vehicle control device 21, and a display device 22. Each of the vehicles 10 and 20 communicates with the monitoring station 30 periodically on the position, speed, and other travel state of the host vehicle measured by the position measurement device 12 and every time it passes a predetermined position on the travel path. Report via device 11.

  That is, the communication device 11 includes two wireless channels, a wireless channel 1 that can perform communication over a wide range at a low speed and a wireless channel 2 that can perform communication in a local range at a high speed. Therefore, communication with the monitoring station 30 can be performed by using the wireless channel 1. Further, communication between vehicles can be performed by using the wireless channel 2.

  The position measuring device 12 is provided with a GPS position measuring device. In GPS, the current positions of the vehicles 10 and 20 are measured by receiving radio waves transmitted from GPS satellites. Also, a front wheel rotation speed measuring device that measures the rotation speed of the front wheels of the vehicles 10 and 20, a rear wheel rotation speed measurement device that measures the rotation speed of the rear wheels of the vehicles 10 and 20, and a gyro that measures the direction of the vehicles 10 and 20 ( For example, an optical fiber gyro) is provided. Based on the wheel rotational speed measured by the front wheel and rear wheel rotational speed measuring device and the vehicle orientation measured by the gyro, the current positions of the host vehicles 10 and 20 are measured. Further, the current speed v of the vehicles 10 and 20 is measured by sequentially measuring the current position.

  The upper controller 14 and the lower controller 15 are controllers that perform control for causing the host vehicle 10 to travel along the travel path.

  The host controller 14 includes a course data storage device 14a that stores a travel route on which the host vehicle 10 should travel as point sequence data (course data). That is, the travel path is expressed by a point sequence indicating each point P1, P2,... Pn on the travel path. Each point P1, P2,... Pn is associated with the XY coordinate position (X, Y), the directional angle θ of the vehicle 10, and the traveling speed v of the vehicle 10, respectively, and the course data P1 (X1, Y1, θ1). , V1), P2 (X2, Y2, θ2, v2),... Pn (Xn, Yn, θn, vn). The obstacle detection sensor 13 is a sensor that detects an obstacle on the travel path of the unmanned vehicle 10.

  The host controller 14 performs wireless communication with the outside. The upper controller 14 holds a certain amount of course data previously commanded from the monitoring station 30. The host controller 14 selects the course data according to the target position and the travel route instructed from the monitoring station 30.

  In addition, when the host controller 14 does not hold the course data corresponding to the commanded travel route, or when the checksum of the course data to be held is different from the instructed content, the host controller 14 transmits the course data. Is requested to the monitoring station 30.

  Based on the current position of the vehicle 10 and the course data, the host controller 14 creates travel data that travels a predetermined distance (about 200 m) within the instructed permission area and stops. This travel data is created periodically (every second) according to the change in the current position, and is transmitted to the lower controller 15 via the in-vehicle LAN (local area network). When the permission area is not instructed again from the monitoring station 30, this travel data finally becomes data that moves to the end of the permission area and stops.

  The lower controller 15 controls the traveling of the vehicle 10 by controlling the steering, the accelerator and the brake based on the traveling data. In the vehicle control device 21 of the unmanned vehicle 10, the steering angle, the brake, the transmission, the engine speed, and the like are driven and controlled by the lower controller 15. In the vehicle control device 21 of the manned vehicle 20, the brake, the engine speed, and the like are driven and controlled according to the operation of the operator. Further, the lower controller 15 determines whether or not the obstacle detected by the obstacle detection sensor 13 is on the traveling road based on the traveling data and the current position, current direction and inclination data of the vehicle 10.

  The current position and current speed of the manned vehicle 20 are displayed on the display device 22 of the manned vehicle 20.

  On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 3, the monitoring station 30 includes a communication device 11, a storage device 12, a storage device 31, a destination / route setting unit 32, a travel permission region setting unit 33, and a working region setting unit. / An overtaking setting unit 34, a traveling condition setting unit 35, and a graphic console 36.

  The storage device 31 stores the cycle time of each loader (loading operation time for the loader on one vehicle), the operating status, the components of the ore being loaded, and the processing per hour of each hopper (ore processing facility). Capacity, operation status, composition of ore being processed, composition of ore in stock yard, allowable capacity of stock yard, current position of each manned / unmanned dump truck 10 and 20 managed, operation status, presence / absence of loading, loading The contents of are stored.

  The destination / route setting unit 32 stores the cycle time of each loader (loading operation time that the loader takes on one vehicle) stored in the storage device 31, the operating status, the components of the ore being loaded, and each hopper ( The processing capacity per hour of the ore processing facility, operation status, composition of the ore being processed, composition of the ore in the stockyard, allowable capacity of the stockyard, current position of each manned / unmanned dump truck 10 and 20 being managed Depending on the operating status, presence / absence of loading, and contents of loading, the destination (target position) of each vehicle and the congestion of the driving path are taken into consideration, and a driving route that can move to that destination in the shortest time is created. Commands the vehicles 10 and 20.

  In order to avoid the interference of each vehicle, the travel permission area setting unit 33 instructs each vehicle as a travel permission area that can travel without interfering with other vehicles. This travel permission area is calculated as needed according to the movement of the vehicle and is indicated to each vehicle.

  The work area setting unit / passing setting unit 34 operates on the road when an obstacle, a broken vehicle, a low-speed vehicle, or the like is detected on the road by the obstacle detection sensor 13 or is set by the graphic console 36. A middle region E is set (see FIG. 6A). Further, an overtaking course is set so that the vehicles 10 and 20 can pass the set work area E (see FIG. 6A).

  In the traveling condition setting unit 35, traveling conditions of the unmanned vehicle 10 and the manned vehicle 20 are set. Here, the traveling conditions include an upper limit speed, a speed overwrite ratio, an upper limit lateral acceleration value, a temporary stop, and the like.

  In the graphic console 36, the working area E and the traveling conditions are set. The contents set by the graphic console 36 are displayed on the display screen.

  FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a display example of the display screen of the graphic console 36.

  In FIG. 4, a black regular triangle 40 indicates the unmanned vehicle 10 (unmanned dump truck) in a loaded state, a white regular triangle 41 indicates an unmanned dump truck 10 in an empty state, and a white right angle. The triangle 42 indicates the manned vehicle 20, the hexagon 43 indicates an excavator, the pentagon 44 indicates a wheel loader, the trapezoid 45 having a long upper side indicates a hopper, and the rectangle 46 indicates a stock yard (temporary storage place).

  The operator can set an arbitrary range on the graphic console 36 and change the traveling condition of the range.

  That is, when the operator designates two points A and B on the diagonal line with the mouse, a condition setting range 47 indicated by a broken line in the figure is set. Further, an upper limit speed, a speed overwrite ratio, and an upper limit lateral acceleration value in the condition setting range 47 are instructed and set.

  The speed override ratio is the speed v of course data P1 (X1, Y1, θ1, v1), P2 (X2, Y2, θ2, v2), ... Pn (Xn, Yn, θn, vn) (in the case of the unmanned vehicle 10) ) Or a ratio for changing the current traveling speed v (in the case of the manned vehicle 20). A ratio to the current speed v is set, and the current speed v is changed by multiplying the current speed v by this set ratio. The lateral acceleration value is an acceleration in the lateral (left / right) direction with respect to the traveling direction of the vehicles 10 and 20 that are instructed and set so that the vehicles 10 and 20 do not slip. Lateral acceleration can be indicated numerically. Alternatively, the lateral acceleration may be set by associating the lateral acceleration with each of the three preset weather conditions (fine weather, rain, drooping) and selecting the weather condition.

  Further, by sequentially instructing two points 48 and 49 on the traveling path, the temporary stop position and the temporary stop direction of the vehicles 10 and 20 are set. In other words, a traveling condition is set in which the vehicle 10 and 20 travels in a direction 50 connecting both points 48 and 49, passes through the vicinity of the point 48 first designated, and then the vehicles 10 and 20 are temporarily stopped at the second point 49 designated. Is done.

  When the monitoring station 30 is instructed about the type of travel condition (upper limit speed, speed overwrite ratio, upper limit lateral acceleration, pause), the condition setting range 47 and the set value, the condition setting range 47 and the set value are The upper limit speed command, the speed overwrite command, the upper limit lateral acceleration command, and the temporary stop command are transmitted to the unmanned vehicle 10 and the manned vehicle 20 via the communication device 11.

  Hereinafter, a process when the upper limit speed command, the speed overwrite command, the upper limit lateral acceleration command, and the temporary stop command are transmitted from the monitoring station 30 to the unmanned vehicle 10 will be described in detail.

  When the above commands are received by the communication device 11 of the unmanned vehicle 10, the host controller 14 creates travel data based on these commands.

  That is, the speed data in the condition setting range 47 is changed according to the command content. Further, the speed data before the condition setting range 47 is changed so that the traveling speed is gradually reduced until the traveling speed commanded at the entrance of the condition setting range 47 is reached. In the case of a temporary stop command, the speed data is changed so that the traveling is stopped at the stop point 49. Further, the speed data before the temporary stopping point 49 is changed so that the traveling speed is gradually reduced until the traveling is stopped at the stopping point 49.

  These changed speed data vnew are different from the course data P1 (X1, Y1, θ1, v1), P2 (X2, Y2, θ2, v2),... Pn (Xn, Yn, θn, vn). 14a. Finally, the speed data v1 of course data P1 (X1, Y1, θ1, v1), P2 (X2, Y2, θ2, v2),... Pn (Xn, Yn, θn, vn) is determined by the changed speed data vnew. Is updated.

  In the host controller 14, the course data stored in the course data storage device 14a and the changed speed data vnew are read out and travel data is created. Then, the travel data is transmitted from the upper controller 14 to the lower controller 15, and the travel of the vehicle 10 is controlled.

  Hereinafter, processing when each command of the upper limit speed command, the speed overwrite command, the upper limit lateral acceleration command, and the temporary stop command is transmitted will be individually described.

  When the upper limit speed command is given, the host controller 14 compares the speed v of the course data P (X, Y, v) within the condition setting range 47 with the upper limit speed value vu, and the course data P ( If the speed v of X, Y, v) is higher than the upper limit speed vu, the upper limit speed vu is set as a new speed vnew. On the other hand, if the speed v of the course data P (X, Y, v) is equal to or lower than the upper limit speed vu, the host controller 14 sets the speed v of the course data P (X, Y, v) as a new speed vnew. Travel data is created according to the speed data vnew thus changed.

  Speed Overwrite Command When the above speed overwrite command is given, the host controller 14 performs the calculation of the following equation (1), and overruns the speed v of the course data P (X, Y, v) within the condition setting range 47. The speed multiplied by the write ratio α is set as a new speed vnew.

vnew = v · α (1)
Travel data is created according to the speed data vnew thus changed.

  Upper limit lateral acceleration command When an upper limit lateral acceleration command is given, the host controller 14 calculates an upper limit speed corresponding to the upper limit lateral acceleration value. This upper limit speed is set as a new speed vnew.

  The contents of the calculation process of the upper limit speed vnew will be described with reference to FIG.

  In FIG. 5, a point on the traveling road is designated as Sp, and a next point on the traveling road is designated as Mp.

  First, based on the point Sp on the travel road and its azimuth angle, a reference vector sv is obtained which is perpendicular to the direction of the vehicle 10 at the point Sp and faces the next point Mp.

  Next, based on the reference vector sv, the point Sp on the traveling road, and the next point Mp, the turning radius r of the vehicle 10 is obtained using the following equation (2).

r = | Mp-Sp | 2/2 (Mp-Sp, sv) (2)
Accordingly, the lateral acceleration gdata of the vehicle 10 is obtained from the following equation (3) using the speed v and the turning radius r.

gdata = v2 / 2r (3)
When the lateral acceleration gdata obtained by the above equation (3) is larger than the upper limit lateral acceleration value gmax, a new speed vnew corresponding to the upper limit lateral acceleration value gmax is obtained from the following equation (4).

vnew = √ (2 rgmax) (4)
When the lateral acceleration gdata obtained by the expression (3) is equal to or lower than the upper limit lateral acceleration gmax, the speed v of the course data P (X, Y, v) within the condition setting range 47 is set as a new speed vnew. .

  Travel data is created with the speed data vnew thus changed as the upper limit speed.

  Next, the contents of the control that gradually decelerates at the entrance of the condition setting range 47 so as to reach the changed speed vnew will be described.

  As shown in FIG. 8, the speed at the point Pi before the condition setting range 47 is vnew, and the speed at the entrance point P0 of the condition setting range 47 is v0. If the distance between the point Pi and the point P0 is S and the deceleration is a, the speed vnew at the point Pi before the condition setting range 47 can be obtained from the following equation (5).

vnew = √ (Sa + v02) (5)
If the speed vi of the course data Pi (Xi, Yi, vi) before the condition setting range 47 is smaller than the speed vnew determined by the above equation (5), the course data Pi (Xi, Yi, vi) ) Is set to vnew.

  In this way, velocity data vnew at each point Pi before the condition setting range 47 is obtained.

  Although the case where the velocity data vnew at each point Pi before the condition setting range 47 has been described has been described, the velocity data vnew at each point Pi before the pause point 49 is similarly applied when pausing at the pause point 49. Is required.

  Based on the newly obtained speed data vnew as described above, course data P1 (X1, Y1, θ1, v1), P2 (X2, Y2, θ2, v2),... Pn (Xn, Yn, θn, vn) Speed data v is rewritten.

  The vehicle 10 is controlled to travel according to the newly rewritten course data. Specifically, at the entrance of a part of the travel path (condition setting range) 47, the travel speed is gradually reduced with the deceleration a until the changed travel speed v0 is reached. When the vehicle 10 enters the entrance of a part of the section 47 of the travel path, the part 10 travels through the part 47 at the changed traveling speed v0.

  Alternatively, the vehicle 10 is gradually decelerated with a deceleration a until the vehicle 10 stops traveling at the temporary stop point 49. The vehicle 10 stops traveling at the temporary stop point 49.

  Since the vehicle 10 is gradually decelerated in this way, it is avoided that the vehicle 10 is in an unstable traveling state, such as a rear wheel slipping due to sudden deceleration, and a rollover is prevented.

  Further, according to the present embodiment, it is only necessary to newly create a travel condition associated with a part of the section 47 and give it as a travel command without newly creating a travel condition for all sections of the travel path. The data transmission load is minimized. For this reason, when travel conditions are set or changed, data can be quickly acquired without incurring the problem of reduced production efficiency due to the stoppage of all vehicles and without incurring safety problems due to delays in data changes. It can be sent.

  In the above embodiment, it is assumed that the commands such as the upper limit speed command, the speed overwrite command, the upper limit lateral acceleration command, and the temporary stop command do not overlap. However, if the commands overlap, the calculation process is performed for each case. It is sufficient to set the smallest speed among them as a new speed vnew.

  Next, an embodiment in which the vehicle 10 can travel safely without causing a frontal collision when traveling on the opposite lane to avoid a front obstacle will be described.

The monitoring station 30 instructs the vehicle 10 to perform an overtaking operation when any of the following five overtaking necessary conditions is satisfied. That is,
(B) When an obstacle is found by the obstacle sensor 13 of the own vehicle 10 on the traveling road in the traveling direction of the vehicle 10 and has not yet been removed (b) An obstacle of another vehicle on the traveling road in the traveling direction of the vehicle 10 When an obstacle is found by the object sensor 13 or visually observed by an operator of the manned vehicle 20 and has not yet been removed (c) When there is a broken vehicle on the travel path in the traveling direction of the vehicle 10 (d) The vehicle 10 (E) When a low-speed vehicle, such as a grader, that is slower than the host vehicle 10 exists on the traveling path in the traveling direction of the vehicle 10 Here, an obstacle or failure occurs on the traveling path. When the vehicle is detected by the obstacle detection sensor 13 and the detected positions of the obstacle and the faulty vehicle are stored in the storage device 31, the area where the obstacle and the faulty vehicle are present is being operated by the monitoring station 30. The area setting unit 34 sets it as a working area. As a result, the above conditions (A), (B), and (C) are satisfied. The set work area can be changed by an operator of the monitoring station 30 instructing on the graphic console 36.

  In addition, when the operator of the monitoring station 30 indicates on the graphic console 36 the work area where the grader should maintain the road surface, the working area is set in the working area setting unit 34 of the monitoring station 30. Thus, the above condition (d) is satisfied.

  In addition, when the position of each vehicle on the travel path is reported to the monitoring station 30 and the position of each vehicle is stored in the storage device 31, an area where a low-speed vehicle such as a grader is present is in operation by the monitoring station 30. The area setting unit 34 sets it as a working area. Thus, the above condition (e) is satisfied.

  When any of the above conditions (A) to (D) is satisfied, the overtaking setting unit 34 of the monitoring station 30 prohibits the vehicle 10 from entering the working area (obstacle, broken vehicle, working area). An overtaking course K is created so as to avoid the entry prohibited area E, which is set as the area E.

  That is, as shown in FIG. 6A, the length of the entry prohibition area E in front of the vehicle 10 is a, the length required to return from the opposite lane to the original lane is b, and the current lane is If the distance from the current position to the forward entry prohibition area E is c, the travel distance L required for the overtaking operation is obtained from the following equation (6).

L = a + b + c (6)
An overtaking course K having a length corresponding to the travel distance L is created by the overtaking setting unit 34 of the monitoring station 30.

  Similarly, when the condition (e) is satisfied, the overtaking setting unit 34 of the monitoring station 30 sets the working area (low-speed vehicle) as the entry prohibition area E for the vehicle 10. The overtaking course K is set so as to overtake the low-speed vehicle.

  That is, as shown in FIG. 6B, the speed of the own vehicle (unmanned vehicle 10) Jm is vmy, the distance required for the own vehicle Jm to change the lane + the distance to the low speed vehicle Js to be overtaken + the margin is Lc (however, , “Distance required for own vehicle Jm to change lane> distance with overtaken low speed vehicle Js”), the speed of low speed vehicle Js overtaken is vslow, the distance that oncoming vehicle Jt can safely stop is Lsafe, and overtaking If the time required for t is t, the following equation (7) is established.

vslow × t + Lc = vmy × t (6)
Therefore, the time t required for overtaking is calculated from the following equation (8):
t = Lc / (vmy-vslow) (8)
Is required. Therefore, the distance L required for the overtaking operation is expressed by the following equation (9):
L = Lc × vmy / (vmy−vslow) (9)
Is required. It is desirable to add a delay time due to communication as a margin to the distance L required for the overtaking operation. An overtaking course K having a length corresponding to the travel distance L is created by the overtaking setting unit 34 of the monitoring station 30.

The monitoring station 30 gives a command to perform the overtaking operation on the host vehicle Jm when the following three overtaking operation enabling conditions are simultaneously satisfied. That is,
(A) When the own vehicle Jm is a distance required for the lane change <distance with the overtaking low speed vehicle Js (b) When within a certain distance from the overtaking target Js (c) From the current position of the overtaking low speed vehicle Js When the oncoming vehicle Jt and the intersection do not exist in the oncoming lane of L + Lsafe When the above conditions (a) to (c) are satisfied at the same time, the monitoring station 30 first selects the current low speed vehicle Js to be overtaken. A command to travel with the speed vslow as the upper limit speed is transmitted. The travel permission area setting unit 33 creates a new travel permission area from which the L section (part of the opposite lane in which the host vehicle 10 travels) is removed, and travels in this new travel permission area. Is transmitted to the oncoming vehicle Jt traveling in the oncoming lane.

  When the low speed vehicle Js overtaken by the oncoming vehicle Jt receives a command from the monitoring station 30, the low speed vehicle Js determines the feasibility of the command content. Then, the determination result is returned to the monitoring station 30 as a reception response. The overtaking setting unit 34 of the monitoring station 30 creates an overtaking course K for the host vehicle Jm based on the reception response from the oncoming vehicle Jt and the low speed vehicle Js returned to the monitoring station 30. The monitoring station 30 transmits an overtaking command to drive along the overtaking course K to the host vehicle Jm. As a result, the own vehicle Jm travels along the overtaking course K, overtakes the low speed vehicle Js ahead, temporarily travels on the opposite lane, and returns to the original lane again.

  The own vehicle Jm that has overtaken travels the overtaking course K, then transmits an overtaking completion signal to the monitoring station 30, and continues traveling. Upon receiving this overtaking completion signal, the monitoring station 30 uses the travel permission area setting unit 33 to add a new travel permission to which the section of L previously removed (part of the opposite lane in which the host vehicle 10 travels) is added. An area is created and a command to travel in this new travel permission area is transmitted to the oncoming vehicle Jt traveling in the oncoming lane.

  Hereinafter, a procedure of processing performed in the monitoring station 30 will be described with reference to a flowchart shown in FIG.

  As shown in FIG. 7, it is determined whether or not any of the overtaking necessary conditions (a) to (e) is satisfied (step 701).

  When any of the above-mentioned necessary conditions for overtaking (A) to (E) is satisfied (Yes in step 701), the low-speed vehicle Js is present in front of the host vehicle Jm. A simple distance L is obtained (step 702).

  On the other hand, when none of the above overtaking necessary conditions (a) to (e) are satisfied (determination no in step 701), since the low speed vehicle Js does not exist in front of the host vehicle Jm, the overtaking is performed again. It is determined whether the necessary conditions (A) to (E) are satisfied.

  Further, it is determined whether or not the overtaking enabling conditions (a) to (c) are simultaneously satisfied (step 703).

  As a result, when the overtaking operation enabling conditions (a) to (c) are not satisfied (determined no in step 703), the procedure proceeds to the first step 701.

  On the other hand, if the overtaking operation enable conditions (a) to (c) are satisfied at the same time (Yes in Step 703), an upper limit speed command with the current speed vslow as the upper limit is transmitted to the low speed vehicle Js to be overtaken. The As a result, the low speed vehicle Js can continue traveling at a low speed without increasing the speed (step 704).

  Next, in the travel permission area setting unit 33, a new travel permission area is created by removing the section of the distance L from the travel permission area of the oncoming vehicle Jt, and a command to travel in this new travel permission area is issued by the monitoring station. 30 to the oncoming vehicle Jt. Therefore, the oncoming vehicle Jt can travel without entering a part of the section L of the oncoming lane in which the host vehicle Jm travels (step 705).

  Next, it is determined whether or not the monitoring station 30 has received reception responses from the low speed vehicle Js and the oncoming vehicle Jt within a predetermined time after giving the commands to the low speed vehicle Js and the oncoming vehicle Jt (step 706). .

  As a result, when it is determined that the reception response has not been received by the monitoring station 30 (No in Step 706), the process proceeds to Step 709 below.

  On the other hand, if it is determined that the reception response has been received by the monitoring station 30 (determination yes in step 706), the overtaking course K is created by the overtaking setting unit 34 and the overtaking course K travels with respect to the own vehicle Jm. Then, an overtaking command for performing the overtaking operation is transmitted. As a result, the host vehicle Jm travels along the overtaking course K, overtakes the low speed vehicle Js ahead, temporarily travels in the oncoming lane, and returns to the original lane again. At this time, the oncoming vehicle Jt can travel without entering a part of the section L of the oncoming lane in which the host vehicle Jm travels. For this reason, the risk of a frontal collision with the oncoming vehicle Jt when the host vehicle Jm travels in the oncoming lane is avoided (step 707).

  Next, it is determined whether or not the overtaking completion signal from the host vehicle Jm is received by the monitoring station 30 (step 708).

  When the overtaking completion signal from the host vehicle Jm is received by the monitoring station 30 (Yes in Step 708), the travel permission area setting unit 33 first removes it from the travel permission area of the oncoming vehicle Jt. A section indicated by the distance L is added, and a new travel permission area is created. This new travel permission area is transmitted to the oncoming vehicle Jt. As a result, the oncoming vehicle Jt can continue to run by passing the own vehicle Jm (step 709).

  On the other hand, if the overtaking completion signal from the host vehicle Jm has not been received by the monitoring station 30 (determination no in step 708), the procedure returns to step 708 to determine again whether or not the overtaking completion signal has been received. .

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, the entry prohibition area E (obstacle, faulty vehicle, low-speed vehicle Js) is set in front of one vehicle Jm that travels in one of the two round-trip lanes. The vehicle Jm is allowed to travel in a section L of the opposite lane facing one lane while avoiding the entry prohibition area E, and for the oncoming vehicle Jt traveling in the opposite lane, Since the vehicle is allowed to travel while prohibiting entry into the section L, even if one vehicle Jm avoids the forward entry prohibition area E and travels on the opposite lane, It is possible to travel safely without fear of a frontal collision with the vehicle Jt facing the vehicle.

  In the present embodiment, it is assumed that the low-speed vehicle Js to be overtaken travels while maintaining substantially the current speed. However, the low-speed vehicle Js may be temporarily stopped or decelerated for safety.

  In this embodiment, it is assumed that the operation of a normal mine is such that the mutual distance between vehicles exceeds 1 km. For this reason, in a normal working environment, there is no standby vehicle in one side lane. However, a waiting vehicle may occur depending on the density of the vehicle. In this case, priority can be given to the standby vehicle according to the number of queues and the priority of work.

  Furthermore, if the overtaking operation is performed only on the vehicle in one lane of the two lanes, the vehicle in the opposite lane may not be able to travel. In view of this, it is possible to set a time for the vehicle to perform the overtaking operation for each lane, and alternately cause the vehicle traveling in each lane to perform the overtaking operation. In either case, the monitoring station 30 performs control control so that the travel route of the vehicle Jt traveling in the oncoming lane and the travel route of the own vehicle Jm that is overtaking do not interfere with each other.

  In the embodiment, as shown in FIG. 3, the monitoring station 30 is provided separately from the vehicles 10 and 20. However, the function of the monitoring station 30 may be provided in the unmanned vehicle 10. In this case, a communication device that performs wireless communication between the unmanned vehicle 10 and the external monitoring station 30 becomes unnecessary. It is only necessary to provide a communication device that can perform wireless communication between vehicles.

FIG. 1 is a functional block diagram illustrating the configuration of the unmanned vehicle according to the embodiment. FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram illustrating a configuration of the manned vehicle according to the embodiment. FIG. 3 is a functional block diagram illustrating a configuration of the monitoring station according to the embodiment. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a display example on the display screen of the graphic console. FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram for explaining a lateral acceleration command. 6A and 6B are explanatory diagrams for explaining the overtaking operation of the embodiment. FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating the procedure of the overtaking operation according to the embodiment. FIG. 8 is a diagram for explaining the contents of the deceleration control.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Unmanned vehicle 11 ... Manned vehicle 30 ... Monitoring station 34 ... Working area setting part / overtaking setting part 35 ... Driving condition setting part 36 ... Graphic console

Claims (3)

In a vehicle control device that gives a running command to each vehicle that passes face-to-face from a monitoring station,
The monitoring station and each vehicle are connected by a communication device so as to be able to transmit and receive,
In each vehicle, an unmanned vehicle is provided with a travel control device that controls travel according to the travel command when the travel command is received,
The monitoring station
An entry prohibition area setting means for setting an area in which a vehicle subject to overtaking ahead of the same lane as the unmanned vehicle may exist as an entry prohibition area of the unmanned vehicle;
An overtaking course setting means for setting an overtaking course in which the unmanned vehicle avoids the entry prohibition area through the oncoming lane, and is provided.
A monitoring command is transmitted from the monitoring station to the unmanned vehicle via the communication device to the effect that the vehicle passes the overtaking course, and the current speed is maintained for the vehicle that is overtaking ahead of the same lane as the unmanned vehicle. The vehicle control device is characterized in that a travel command is transmitted to the effect that the vehicle travels, pauses, or decelerates. Travel that permits the oncoming vehicle that travels on the opposite lane of the unmanned vehicle to travel in an area in the opposite lane of the unmanned vehicle that excludes a portion of the opposite lane on which the unmanned vehicle travels A travel permission area setting means for setting as a permission area is provided in the monitoring station ,
Via the communication device from the monitoring station, control device for a vehicle according to claim 1, wherein said traveling traveling instruction to run the permission area to the oncoming vehicle is characterized in that it is transmitted. When the unmanned vehicle completes traveling on the overtaking course, an area where the part of the opposite lane in which the unmanned vehicle has traveled is added to the oncoming vehicle from the monitoring station via a communication device. The vehicle control device according to claim 2, wherein a travel command for setting a proper travel permission area is transmitted.

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