JP5137092B2 - Automated transport system - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an unmanned conveyance system, and more particularly to an unmanned conveyance system that controls travel of an automatic guided vehicle from a current location to a destination along a guide line having at least one branch portion.

  Conventionally, in order to efficiently transport goods in factories or warehouses, the automatic guided vehicle is configured to travel and be controlled to move to various destinations along a guide line having at least one branch portion. In addition, unmanned conveyance systems are known (see, for example, Patent Documents 1 and 2).

FIG. 6 is a plan view showing a schematic configuration of the unmanned conveyance system described in Patent Documents 1 and 2. As shown in FIG. 6, this unmanned transport system 1 ′ includes a guide line L ′ laid on the road surface, an automatic guided vehicle 2 ′ traveling along the guide line L ′, and a position near the guide line L ′. Provided travel instruction members 6A to 6F and branch instruction members 6G to 6J.
The guide line L ′ has, for example, four branch portions G to J, and forms a plurality of traveling paths that reach the points A to F. These guide lines L ′ all have the same color.
The travel instruction members 6A to 6F provide travel instruction information for performing a travel instruction such as forward, reverse, and stop of the automatic guided vehicle 2 ′ when the automatic guided vehicle 2 ′ is positioned at the points A to F, respectively. Have. On the other hand, the branch instruction members 6G to 6J are provided with branch instructions for performing branch instructions such as selection of the traveling direction of the automatic guided vehicle 2 ′ when the automatic guided vehicle 2 ′ is positioned at the branch portions G to J, respectively. Have information.

An unmanned conveyance system 1 ′ described in Patent Document 1 includes a storage medium in which the travel instruction members 6 </ b> A to 6 </ b> F and the branch instruction members 6 </ b> G to 6 </ b> J are formed of a storage medium (ID tag) and read by a reader (not shown). Based on the travel instruction information and the branch instruction information, the travel control device (not shown) controls the automatic guided vehicle 2 ′ from the current position to the destinations (points A to F) along the guide line L ′. It is configured.
In addition, in the unmanned conveyance system 1 ′ described in Patent Document 2, the travel instruction members 6 </ b> A to 6 </ b> F and the branch instruction members 6 </ b> G to 6 </ b> J are composed of command code pieces, and command codes captured by a visual recognition device (not shown). Based on the piece of travel instruction information and branch instruction information, a travel control device (not shown) is configured to control the automatic guided vehicle 2 'from the current location to the destination along the guidance line L'. .
In particular, the unmanned transport system 1 ′ described in Patent Documents 1 and 2 includes the branch instruction information of the branch instruction members 6G to 6J when the automatic guided vehicle 2 ′ is located at the branch portions G to J. Based on this, the traveling direction of the automatic guided vehicle 2 ′ is selected, and the automatic guided vehicle 2 ′ is travel controlled along the selected guide line L ′.

By the way, in such an unmanned conveyance system, when the number of branch portions of the guide line increases, the number of branch instruction members increases accordingly. It was.
Further, in such an unmanned conveyance system, the branching instruction member made of an ID tag or a command code piece has a relatively small structure as compared with the guide line. There is also a problem that the travel control device may not be able to reliably recognize the branch instruction information because it is easily affected.

JP 2008-097500 A JP 2001-188610 A

  The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and it takes time for construction and eliminates the need for a branching instruction member that is vulnerable to dirt and damage. The automatic guided vehicle can be reliably moved to the destination along the guide line. It is an object of the present invention to provide an unmanned conveyance system capable of traveling control.

In order to solve the above-described problems, the present invention provides a plurality of guide lines that have at least one branch portion and form a plurality of travel paths, an automatic guided vehicle that travels along the guide lines, and the automatic guided vehicle. An imaging device that captures an image including the guide line, and a travel control device that travels the automatic guided vehicle from a current location to a destination along the guide line based on image information related to the image; A destination information input unit in which each guide line has an identification pattern of a different color or pattern, and the travel control device receives input of destination information regarding the destination Identification pattern information related to the identification pattern of each guide line is stored in advance, and the destination information input to the destination information input unit In order of the line, when the automatic guided vehicle is located at the branching section, the traveling path information setting unit that sets the traveling path information by giving priority order information to the identification pattern information of each guide line, Based on the travel route information set by the travel route information setting unit, a guide line having a high priority identification pattern is selected from a plurality of guide lines included in the image, and the selected guide line is selected. And a travel control unit that controls travel of the automatic guided vehicle along the automatic transport system.
According to the present invention, each guide line is configured with an identification pattern having a different color or pattern, and the travel control device is configured with a destination information input unit, a travel route information setting unit, and a travel control unit. When the destination information is input by the unit, the traveling route information setting unit gives priority order information to the identification pattern information of each guide line stored in advance in the order of the guide line closest to the destination, and travels. When the route information is set and the automatic guided vehicle is located at the branching portion, the automatic control vehicle is moved along the high priority guide line by the traveling control unit based on the priority information included in the traveling route information. Travel control is performed .
Therefore, according to the present invention, the priority control information given to the identification pattern information of the identification pattern of the guidance line is determined by the traveling control unit of the traveling control device , and the automatic guided vehicle can be travel-controlled from the current location to the destination. Therefore, it is possible to eliminate the branch instruction member that is troublesome in construction as in the prior art.
In addition, although the branch instruction member is vulnerable to dirt and damage, instead of this, traveling control of the automatic guided vehicle is performed by a guide line that is relatively large in structure with respect to the branch instruction member and is less susceptible to dirt and damage. Therefore, reliable traveling control of the automatic guided vehicle is possible.
In addition, all of the guide lines of the prior art are made of the same color, but each guide line of the present invention has an identification pattern of a different color or pattern, which makes it possible to clearly distinguish each guide line from each other. It is also possible to improve workability at the time of construction or repair.
Furthermore, in the present invention, the travel route information obtained by adding priority information to the identification pattern information of each guide line is set by the travel control device simply by inputting destination information. Thus, a desired guide line can be selected and more reliable traveling control of the automatic guided vehicle can be performed.

In the above-described configuration, the plurality of guide lines have at least one branch part, and form a main road guide line that forms a travel path to be a main road, and after branching from the branch part of the main road guide line And a plurality of branch guide lines that form a plurality of travel roads that become branch roads, and the colors or patterns of the branch guide lines preferably belong to the same system. .
Here, “the color of the branch guide line belongs to the same system” means that the color of the branch guide line belongs to a system that is close to each other in hue, brightness, saturation, or the like. Shall. In addition, “the pattern of the branch guide line belongs to the same system” means that the pattern of the branch guide line belongs to a system that is close to each other in the pattern such as a diagram on the surface. Means.
In the invention of this configuration, each branch road guide line after branching from the branch section of the trunk road guide line is configured so that its color or pattern belongs to the same system.
Therefore, the branch guide line after branching from the branch part belongs to the same system while having a different identification pattern, so that the relationship between the trunk guide line and the branch guide line becomes clearer. It is possible to distinguish and further improve the visibility, and it is possible to further improve the workability at the time of construction or repair.

  According to the present invention, there is provided an unmanned conveyance system that requires troublesome construction and does not require a branch instruction member that is vulnerable to dirt and damage, and can reliably control the unmanned conveyance vehicle to the destination along the guide line. be able to.

(A) is a top view which shows the schematic structural example of the automatic guided system which concerns on this invention, (B) (i)-(vi) is an automatic guided vehicle moving from the point A to the point F, respectively. Take an image with the imaging device when at the position of A, the position of the branch part G, the position of the branch part H, the position immediately after passing through the branch part H, the position of the branch part J, or the position immediately after passing through the branch part J It is the figure which showed an example of the image performed. It is a block diagram which shows the structural example of the automatic guided vehicle of FIG. It is a flowchart for demonstrating operation | movement of the traveling control apparatus of FIG. 2 is an example of travel route information set by the travel route information setting unit in FIG. 2, (A) is a diagram showing travel route information in an initial state before destination information is input, and (B) is a destination. The figure which shows driving | running route information when information (point F) is input, (C) is a figure which shows driving | running route information when destination information (point C) is input. 2 is another example of the travel route information set by the travel route information setting unit in FIG. 2, (A) is a diagram showing the travel route information in the initial state before the destination information is input, (B), The figure which shows driving path information when the destination information (point F) is input, (C) is a figure which shows driving path information when the destination information (point C) is input. It is a top view which shows schematic structure of the conventional unmanned conveyance system.

  Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

  As shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, the unmanned conveyance system 1 includes a plurality of guide lines L laid on the road surface (for the sake of convenience, each guide line L is distinguished as L100, L110, L111, L120, L121), An automatic guided vehicle 2 that travels along a guide line L, and an imaging device 3 and a travel control device 4 that are mounted on the automatic guided vehicle 2 are provided.

  Each of the guide lines L100, L110, L111, L120, and L121 has a different identification pattern as shown below as an example. Here, the identification pattern includes, for example, a color or a pattern. Hereinafter, a case where a color identification pattern is taken as an example will be described.

The guidance line L100 is a trunk road guidance line that has two branch portions G and H and forms a running road that becomes a trunk road. The guide line L100 is made of green, for example.
The guide lines L110 and L111 are both branch lines from the branch part G of the guide line L100, and are branch path guide lines that form a travel path that becomes a branch path. The guide line L110 has a branch part I and is made of red, for example. The guide line L111 is further branched from the branch part I of the guide line L110, and is made of orange, for example. In this way, the guide lines L110 and L111 forming the branch belong to, for example, a warm color system.
The guide lines L120 and L121 are both branch lines from the branch portion H of the guide line L100 and are branch path guide lines that form a travel path that becomes a branch path. The guide line L120 has a branch portion J and is made of blue, for example. The guide line L121 is further branched from the branch portion J of the guide line L120, and is made of purple, for example. In this way, the guide lines L120 and L121 forming the branch belong to, for example, a cold system.
The color of the road surface excluding the laying portions of the guide lines L100, L110, L111, L120, and L121 is completely different from the colors of the guide lines L, for example, white or yellow.

As shown in FIG. 2, the automatic guided vehicle 2 includes an imaging device 3, a travel control device 4, and wheels 5 provided at the lower part of the vehicle body.
The image pickup apparatus 3 optically picks up an image of the image pickup region P including the road guidance line L, and outputs image information about the image at a frequency of 15 seconds / second, for example, a CCD camera or the like. Consists of.
The traveling control device 4 specifies the center position of the guide line L based on the image information of the imaging device 3, and controls each wheel 5 so that the center position becomes the center of the imaging region P. 2 is made to travel along the guide line L. The travel control device 4 further sets a guide line L that forms a travel route connecting the current location and the destination in the procedure described later, and the color of the guide line L included in the image captured by the imaging device 3 The automatic guided vehicle 2 is controlled to travel from the current location to the destination along the set color guide line L while collating with the set guide line L color.

The travel control device 4 includes a destination information input unit 4a, a travel route information setting unit 4b, and a travel control unit 4c.
The destination information input unit 4a receives input of destination information related to the destinations A to F via an external input device (not shown).
As will be described later, the travel route information setting unit 4b stores color information (identification pattern information) relating to the color of each guide line L in advance and uses the destination information input to the destination information input unit 4a. Priority information is assigned to the color information of each guide line L in the order of proximity to the ground, and is set as travel route information.
As will be described later, when the automatic guided vehicle 2 is located at the branch portions G to J, the travel control unit 4c is configured to display the image of the imaging unit 3 based on each priority order information set by the travel route information setting unit 4b. The guide line L having a high priority color is selected from the guide lines L included in the guide line L, and the automatic guided vehicle 2 is travel-controlled along the guide line L of the selected color.

Next, with respect to the operation of the automatic transport system 1 according to the present invention, <1> when the automatic guided vehicle 2 located at the point A is traveled to the destination point F ; and <2> the unmanned located at the point F The case where the transport vehicle 2 is traveled to the destination point C will be briefly described as an example.

<1> When the automatic guided vehicle 2 located at the point A is traveled to the destination point F:
As shown in FIG. 4 (A), in the travel route information setting unit 4b, as the initial state (default state) before the automatic guided vehicle 2 travels from the current location to the destination, priority order information regarding each guide line L, Color information and guide line name information are set in advance.
In this initial state, the green guidance line L100, which is a trunk guidance line, has priority 1, and the branch guidance lines are a red guidance line L110, an orange guidance line L111, and a blue guidance line L120. And the purple guide line L121 have priority 2, priority 3, priority 4, and priority 5, respectively.

  First, destination information regarding the destination point F is input to the destination information input unit 4a via an external input device (not shown) (see step S1 in FIG. 3). The input destination information is sent to the travel route information setting unit 4b by the destination information input unit 4a.

  Since the guide lines that form the travel route connecting the point A and the point F are L100, L120, and L121, the travel route information setting unit 4b is connected to the destination information input unit 4a as shown in FIG. 4B. In order from the input destination F in order of priority, priority information is assigned to the purple guidance line L121, the blue guidance line L120, and the green guidance line L100 with priority levels 1, 2, and 3, respectively. Information is set (see step S2 in FIG. 3). Other than these, the red guide line 110 with priority 2 and the orange guide line L111 with priority 3 have the priorities lowered to 4 and 5 respectively.

  Next, when the traveling control unit 4c receives the traveling instruction for forward movement by a known instruction means and advances the automatic guided vehicle 2 from the position A in the traveling direction, as shown in FIGS. 1 (B) and (i). In addition, image information (including green information) related to the image including the guide line L100 is sent from the imaging device 3 to the travel control unit 4c. At this time, the traveling control unit 4c determines whether or not the guide line L100 included in the image corresponds to the guide line of the priority order 1 color (see step S3 in FIG. 3). Since the guide line L100 does not correspond to the priority-order 1 color guide line, the traveling control unit 4c next determines whether the guide line L100 corresponds to the priority-order 2 color guide line (FIG. 3). Step S5). Since the guide line L100 does not correspond to the priority 2 color guide line, the traveling control unit 4c next determines whether the guide line L100 corresponds to the priority 3 color guide line (FIG. 3). Step S7). Since the guide line L100 corresponds to the priority 3 green guide line, the traveling control unit 4c specifies the center position of the priority 3 green guide line L100, and the center position becomes the center of the imaging region P. In this manner, the automatic guided vehicle 2 is controlled to travel along the guide line L100 while controlling the wheels 5 (see step S8 in FIG. 3).

  Next, when the automatic guided vehicle 2 reaches the position of the branching section G, as shown in FIGS. 1B and 1I, image information (including green information and red information) regarding the image including the guide lines L100 and L110. ) Is sent from the imaging device 3 to the travel control unit 4c. The traveling control unit 4c determines the priority order of the colors of the guide lines L100 and L110 in the same manner as described above (see steps S3, S5, and S7 in FIG. 3). Since the red guide line L110 has a lower priority than the green guide line L100, the traveling control unit 4c causes the automatic guided vehicle 2 to go straight ahead without branching to the guide line L110 at the branch part G. Is controlled to travel along the guide line L100 (see step S8 in FIG. 3).

When the automatic guided vehicle 2 reaches the position of the branch portion H, as shown in FIG. 1B (iii), image information of the image including the guide lines L100 and L120 (including green information and blue information) Is sent from the imaging device 3 to the travel control unit 4c. The branch travel control unit 4c determines the priority of the colors of the guide lines L100 and L120 in the same manner as described above (step S3 in FIG. 3), and the guide lines L100 and L120 become the guide lines of the priority 2 color. It is determined whether or not it corresponds (see step S5 in FIG. 3). Since the blue guide line L120 has a higher priority than the green guide line L100, the branch traveling control unit 4c selects the blue guide line L120 having a higher priority, and the branching unit H selects the blue guide line L120. The traveling direction is selected, and the traveling direction of the automatic guided vehicle 2 is changed so that the automatic guided vehicle 2 is branched from the branch portion H and travels along the selected blue guide line L120.
Thus, at the position immediately after the automatic guided vehicle 2 passes through the branching portion H, as shown in FIGS. 1B and 1V, image information (including blue information and green information) of the image including the guide lines L120 and L100 is included. ) Is sent from the imaging device 3 to the travel control unit 4c. The branch traveling control unit 4c causes the automatic guided vehicle 2 to branch along the blue guide line L120 of priority 2 in the branch unit H, specify the center position of the guide line L120, and the center position is an imaging region. While controlling each wheel 5 so that it becomes the center of P, it controls to drive along this guidance line L120 (refer step S6 of Drawing 3).

When the automatic guided vehicle 2 reaches the position of the branch portion J, the traveling control unit 4c is based on image information (including blue information and purple information) related to an image as shown in FIGS. In the same manner as described above, the traveling direction of the automatic guided vehicle 2 is changed so that the automatic guided vehicle 2 travels along the selected purple guide line L121.
Furthermore, at the position immediately after the automatic guided vehicle 2 passes through the branch portion J, the traveling control unit 4c displays image information (including purple information and blue information) related to the image as shown in FIGS. Based on this, the automatic guided vehicle 2 is controlled to travel along the guide line L121 in the same manner as described above (see step S4 in FIG. 3).

  Finally, when the automatic guided vehicle 2 reaches the position of the point F, the traveling control unit 4c stops the automatic guided vehicle 2 based on a stop instruction by a known instruction means. Thus, the automatic guided vehicle 2 moves from the point A to the point F that is the destination.

<2> When driving the automatic guided vehicle 2 located at the point F to the destination point C:
First, destination information relating to the destination point C is input to the destination information input unit 4a via an input device (not shown) (see step S1 in FIG. 3). The input destination information is sent to the travel route information setting unit 4b by the destination information input unit 4a.

  Since the guide lines that form the travel path connecting the point F and the point C are L121, L120, L100, and L110, the travel path information setting unit 4b includes a destination information input unit as shown in FIG. In order of the guide line L close to the destination C input to 4a, the priority order of the red guide line L110, the green guide line L100, the blue guide line L120, and the purple guide line L121 is 1, 2, respectively. The priority order information of 3 and 4 is given and set as travel route information (see step S2 in FIG. 3). Note that the priority level 3 of the orange guide line L111 has a priority level of 5 because the priority level of the initial state is lowered.

Next, the traveling control unit 4c receives the forward traveling instruction from the known instruction means, and advances the automatic guided vehicle 2 in the traveling direction from the point F. In the same manner as in the above <1>, When traveling along the purple guide line L121 and passing through the branch portion J, traveling along the blue guide line L120 having a higher priority, and further passing through the branch portion H, the green guide having a higher priority is provided. Control is performed so that the vehicle travels along the line L100.
When the automatic guided vehicle 2 reaches the branch portion G, image information (including green information and red information) regarding the image including the guide lines L100 and L110 is sent from the imaging device 3 to the travel control unit 4c. Here, the travel control unit 4c causes the automatic guided vehicle 2 to travel to the point A once along the guide line L100 without suddenly branching from the branch part G to the guide line L110, and stop / reverse by known instruction means. Based on the travel instruction, the vehicle is once stopped at the point A, and the guidance line L100 is returned again. When the automatic guided vehicle 2 reaches the branch part G again, the red guidance line L110 having a higher priority is selected. The vehicle is controlled to travel to point C along the line.

  Finally, when the automatic guided vehicle 2 reaches the position of the point C, the traveling control unit 4c stops upon receiving a stop instruction by a known instruction means. Thus, the automatic guided vehicle 2 moves from the point F to the point C which is the destination.

Therefore, according to the automatic guided system 1 according to the present embodiment, the color of the guide line L is discriminated by the traveling control device 4 and the automatic guided vehicle 2 can be travel-controlled from the current location to the destination. In addition, a branch instruction member that is troublesome in construction can be dispensed with.
In addition, instead of using a branching instruction member that is vulnerable to dirt and damage, the unmanned conveyance vehicle 2 is controlled by a guide line L that is relatively larger in structure and less susceptible to dirt and damage. Reliable traveling control of the vehicle 2 is possible.
In addition, all of the guide lines L ′ in the prior art are made of the same color. However, since each guide line L of the unmanned transport system 1 has a different color, each guide line L can be clearly distinguished by this color. It is possible to improve visibility and improve workability during construction or repair.

  Furthermore, according to the unmanned conveyance system 1 according to the present embodiment, traveling route information in which priority information is added to the color information of each guide line L is set by the traveling control device 4 simply by inputting destination information. Therefore, a desired guide line L can be selected at the branch portion in accordance with the priority order information, and more reliable traveling control of the automatic guided vehicle 2 becomes possible.

  In addition, according to the unmanned conveyance system 1 according to the present embodiment, the branch guide lines belong to the same system such as warm color and cold color even though they have different colors, so the relationship between the guide lines is clearer. Therefore, the visibility can be further improved, and the workability at the time of construction or repair can be further improved.

  As mentioned above, although the preferable Example of this invention was described, the structure of this invention is not limited to the said Example.

For example, the color of the guide line L is not limited to the green, red, orange, blue, and purple colors, and any color can be selected as long as the colors are different from each other.
Further, the color of the branch guidance line L after branching from the branch part of the main road guidance line L is not limited to the warm color or the cold color, but is a system of colors that are close to each other in hue, brightness, or saturation. It may belong to.

Moreover, in the said Example, although each guide line L was comprised from the identification pattern of a different color, it is not limited to a color identification pattern, Each guidance line L can also be comprised from the identification pattern of a different pattern. it can.
In this case, pattern information (identification pattern information) is used instead of color information as shown in FIGS. In FIG. 5, a filled pattern means a pattern painted with a single color, such as the guide line L100 in FIG. Moreover, the pattern 1-1 and the pattern 1-2 mean the diagonal line pattern (the diagonal line pattern from the upper right to the lower left) of the same system | strain like the guide lines L110 and L111 of FIG. 1, respectively. Moreover, the pattern 2-1 and the pattern 2-2 mean the diagonal line pattern (the diagonal line pattern from the upper left to the lower right) of the same system | strain like the guide lines L120 and L121 of FIG. 1, respectively. In this case, the travel control device 4 sets a guide line L that forms a travel path connecting the current location and the destination, and compares the pattern of the guide line L included in the image with the pattern of the set guide line L, Needless to say, the automatic guided vehicle 2 is controlled to travel from the current location to the destination along the set guide line L.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Automatic guided vehicle 2 Automatic guided vehicle 3 Imaging device 4 Traveling control device 4a Destination information input part 4b Traveling path information setting part 4c Traveling control part 5 Wheel 6A-6F Traveling instruction member 6G-6J Branching instruction member P Imaging area A ~ F Point G ~ J Branch

Claims (2)

A plurality of guide lines having at least one branch portion and forming a plurality of travel paths; an automatic guided vehicle that travels along the guide lines; and an image that is mounted on the automatic guided vehicle and includes the guide lines. An unmanned conveyance system comprising: an imaging device that captures an image; and a traveling control device that performs traveling control of the automatic guided vehicle from a current position to a destination along the guide line based on image information regarding the image,
Each of the guide lines has a different color or pattern identification pattern,
The travel control device is
A destination information input unit for receiving destination information related to the destination;
Identification pattern information on the identification pattern of each guidance line is stored in advance, and the identification pattern information of each guidance line is in order of the guidance line closest to the destination of the destination information input to the destination information input unit. A road information setting unit for setting priority information and setting the road information;
When the automatic guided vehicle is located at the branch portion, an identification pattern having a high priority order from among a plurality of guide lines included in the image based on the travel route information set by the travel route information setting unit. And a travel control unit that selects a guide line having the following and controls the travel of the automatic guided vehicle along the selected guide line . The plurality of guide lines are
A trunk guidance line that has at least one branch and forms a running road that becomes a trunk road;
A plurality of branch guide lines that form a plurality of travel paths that are branches after branching from the branch portion of the trunk road guide line;
  The unmanned conveyance system according to claim 1, wherein the color or pattern of each branch guide line belongs to the same system.

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