JP5924748B1 - Induction line plate and unmanned conveyance system using the same - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention provides an induction line plate that has a strength that does not warp even if it is stepped on a heavy forklift or the like, is not discolored by a tire track of a forklift, and does not reflect light from an illuminator or the like. SOLUTION: A guide line plate L laid on a road surface S on which an automatic guided vehicle 1 provided with an image pickup means 11 travels. The guide line plate L is made of an elongated aluminum plate treated with colored anodized, and JIS. The 60 ° glossiness specified in Z8741 is 10 or more and 30 or less. [Selection] Figure 1

Description

  The present invention relates to a guide line plate laid on a road surface on which an automatic guided vehicle travels, and an automatic guided system using the same. Specifically, the automated guided vehicle images the guide line plate with the imaging unit, and travels along the guide line plate based on the captured image data.

  2. Description of the Related Art In factories, warehouses, and the like, there is an unmanned conveyance system including a guidance line laid on a road surface and an automatic guided vehicle that travels along the guidance line. As disclosed in Patent Document 1, the automatic guided vehicle includes an imaging unit that images a guide line, and travels along the guide line based on image data acquired by the imaging unit.

  By the way, a guide line consists of a tape affixed on a road surface, the coating material apply | coated to a road surface, etc. In addition, the guide line has a color that is clearly different from the road surface so that the guide line and the road surface can be recognized on the image data acquired by the imaging means, for example, a clear color such as red, blue, and green. .

  By the way, since the induction line is a fragile tape, paint, or the like, when a heavy forklift or the like travels across the induction line, it may be peeled off. When the guide line is disconnected, the automatic guided vehicle cannot capture the guide line and sometimes stops traveling.

  Therefore, instead of induction lines made of tape, paint, etc., metal induction line plates in which induction colors are painted on high-strength iron plates or aluminum plates that do not warp even when stepped on heavy forklifts, etc. May be laid on the road surface. Since this guide line plate is made of metal and has high strength, it is not deformed and peeled off from the road surface.

  However, the above-mentioned induction line plate has a tire mark of a forklift or the like and is partially discolored to black, so that the automatic guided vehicle cannot recognize the discolored (black) portion of the induction line plate. There is a problem that it becomes impossible to run along the plate.

  In addition, the metal guide line plate partially reflects light such as illuminators and sunlight and turns white on the imaging screen, and the automated guided vehicle cannot recognize the color of the guide line plate and follows the guide line plate. There is a problem that you can not run.

JP2013-114460A, paragraph 0022, etc.

 Therefore, in view of the above problems, the problem to be solved by the present invention is to provide an induction line plate that has high strength, does not change color on a tire track of a forklift, and does not reflect light from an illuminator or the like. It is to be.

In order to solve the above problems, the induction line plate according to the present invention is:
An induction line plate laid on the road surface on which the automated guided vehicle travels,
The automatic guided vehicle includes an imaging unit that images the guide line plate, travels along the guide line plate based on image data captured by the imaging unit,
The induction line plate is made of an elongated aluminum plate treated with colored anodized, and has a 60 ° glossiness of 10 or more and 30 or less as defined in JIS Z8741.

Moreover, in order to solve the said subject, the unmanned conveyance system which concerns on this invention is the following.
An unmanned transport system comprising a guide line plate laid on a road surface, and an automatic guided vehicle that travels along the guide line plate,
The induction line plate is made of an elongated aluminum plate treated with colored anodized, and has a 60 ° glossiness of 10 or more and 30 or less as defined in JIS Z8741.

Preferably,
Automated guided vehicles
An imaging means for imaging the induction line plate;
Illuminating means arranged to illuminate the imaging range of the imaging means and so that the illumination light from the light source directly hits the guide line plate;
A cover that darkens the imaging range when the illumination means is turned off, and
The guide line plate is imaged by the imaging means, and the vehicle travels along the guide line plate based on the captured image data.

  The guide line plate according to the present invention has a strength that does not warp even when stepped on a heavy forklift or the like, does not change color due to a tire mark of a forklift, and does not reflect light from an illuminator or the like. As a result, the automatic guided vehicle can travel along the guide line plate without interrupting traveling.

It is a figure explaining the unmanned conveyance system of a 1st embodiment, and (A) is a side view and (B) is a top view. It is a figure explaining the automatic guided system of 2nd Embodiment, Comprising: (A) is a side view, (B) is a top view.

  Hereinafter, based on a drawing, a guide line plate concerning the present invention and an unmanned conveyance system using the same are explained.

[First Embodiment]
Based on FIG. 1, the unmanned conveyance system of 1st Embodiment is demonstrated.
As shown in FIG. 1, the automatic transport system includes an automatic guided vehicle 1 on which a transported object (not shown) can be stacked. In the unmanned transport system, a plurality of shelves (not shown) for storing transported items are arranged. The unmanned conveyance system includes a guide line plate L provided on the road surface S.

  The guide line plate L is attached to the road surface S with a double-sided tape or the like. The automatic guided vehicle 1 images the guide line plate L with the imaging means (camera) 11 and travels along the guide line plate L based on the captured image data.

  The guide line plate L is made of an elongated aluminum plate. One guide line plate L has, for example, a width of 50 mm, a length of 800 to 1000 mm, and a thickness of 3 mm. In order to guide the automatic guided vehicle 1 to a predetermined location, a plurality of guide line plates L are arranged so as to be connected in the length direction.

  Since the induction line plate L is made of an aluminum plate, it has a very high strength. As a result, even if a heavy forklift or the like travels across the induction line plate L, the induction line plate L is deformed and peeled off. There is nothing.

  The automatic guided vehicle 1 includes a camera 11, a traveling device 17, and a control unit 13. The travel device 17 includes a front wheel 15, a rear wheel 16, a drive mechanism (not shown) that drives at least one of the front wheel 15 and the rear wheel 16, and a steering mechanism that changes the direction of at least one of the front wheel 15 and the rear wheel 16 ( (Not shown).

  The camera 11 includes an area image sensor made up of, for example, a CCD image sensor or a CMOS image sensor, and images a predetermined imaging range R of the road surface S including the guide line plate L.

  The control unit 13 is connected to the camera 11 and the drive mechanism and steering mechanism of the traveling device 17. The automatic guided vehicle 1 travels along the guide line plate L imaged by the camera 11 by the control unit 13.

  The captured image data of the camera 11 is sent to the control unit 13, and the identification unit 14 provided in the control unit 13 identifies the guide line plate L and the road surface S based on the saturation / brightness information of the image data.

  In order to recognize the guide line plate L and the road surface S, the guide line plate L needs to have a clearly different color from the road surface S. For this purpose, the guide line plate L is colored anodized and has a clear color such as red, blue, or green.

  Furthermore, since the induction line plate L is subjected to colored alumite treatment, the dye particles are adsorbed in the alumite coating and sealed, so that the surface color is hardly scraped off by the forklift tire. Further, since the surface is harder and smoother than that of the paint, forklift tire marks or the like do not adhere to the guide line plate L, and the color does not partially change to black. Therefore, the image data of the camera 11 of the automatic guided vehicle 1 does not have a discolored (black) portion of the guide line plate L.

  The automatic guided vehicle 1 includes a cover 10 and illumination means (light) 12. The light 12 is, for example, LED illumination, and illuminates the imaging range R of the camera 11. The cover 10 covers the entire vehicle body, and when the light 12 is turned off, the imaging range R becomes dark.

  By the way, when the illumination light of the light 12 is arranged so as not to directly hit the guide line plate L (indirect illumination), the illumination light of the light 12 is not reflected by the guide line plate L. The gloss level does not affect the shooting of the camera 11. However, when indirect illumination is used, the distance between the light 12 and the guide line plate L becomes long, so that there is a problem that the entire vehicle body cannot be made compact.

  In order to make the entire vehicle body compact, it is necessary to arrange the illumination light of the light 12 so as to directly hit the guide line plate L (direct illumination). However, when direct illumination is used, it is necessary to prevent the illumination light of the light 12 from being reflected by the guide line plate L. This is because when the illumination light of the light 12 is reflected by the guide line plate L, the automatic guided vehicle 1 cannot recognize the reflected part of the guide line plate L (which becomes white on the imaging screen) and follows the guide line plate L. It is because it cannot run.

  Therefore, the induction line plate L is matted so that the 60 ° glossiness specified in JIS Z8741 is 10 or more and 30 or less. Thereby, even with direct illumination, the illumination light of the light 12 is not reflected by the guide line plate L, and the automatic guided vehicle 1 can reliably recognize the guide line plate L and can travel along the guide line plate L.

  As a result of various experiments, the guided line plate L can reliably recognize the guide line plate L when the 60 ° glossiness specified in JIS Z8741 is less than 10 or more than 30. Therefore, it was found that the vehicle could not travel along the guide line plate L stably.

[Second Embodiment]
Next, based on FIG. 2, the unmanned conveyance system of 2nd Embodiment is demonstrated. The description of the same configuration as in the first embodiment may be omitted.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the automatic guided vehicle 2 is composed of a manned and unmanned forklift. The automatic guided vehicle 2 includes a manned unmanned changeover switch (not shown) in the vehicle body 20, and the driver can switch between manned operation and unmanned operation by operating the manned unmanned changeover switch. The automatic guided vehicle 2 may be a vehicle that runs completely automatically.

  The automatic guided vehicle 2 images a predetermined imaging range R ′ including the guide line plate L with the imaging means (camera) 21, and travels along the guide line plate L based on the captured image data.

  The automatic guided vehicle 2 includes a pair of masts 30 in front of the vehicle body 20. Each mast 30 extends in the vertical direction and is arranged at intervals in the left-right direction. The automatic guided vehicle 2 includes a lift bracket 31.

  The lift bracket 31 is supported by the mast 30 so as to be movable up and down. The automatic guided vehicle 2 includes a pair of forks 32 for performing a cargo handling operation. Each fork 32 extends in the front-rear direction and is arranged at intervals in the left-right direction. The fork 32 is attached to the lift bracket 31 and moves up and down together with the lift bracket 31.

  The automatic guided vehicle 2 includes a pair of straddle legs 33 on the vehicle body 20. Each straddle leg 33 extends in the front-rear direction and is arranged at intervals in the left-right direction. The straddle leg 33 guides the mast 30 to slide in the front-rear direction.

  The automatic guided vehicle 2 includes a traveling device 27 in the vehicle body 20. The automatic guided vehicle 2 includes a front wheel 25 provided on the straddle leg 33 and a rear wheel 26 provided on the rear portion of the vehicle body 20. The rear wheel 26 is connected to the traveling device 27 and serves as a driving wheel and a steering wheel. The automatic guided vehicle 2 includes a control unit 23. The control unit 23 controls driving of the traveling device 27.

  The automatic guided vehicle 2 includes an imaging unit (camera) 21. The camera 21 is disposed at the center of each straddle leg 33 in the left-right direction. The control unit 23 is connected to the camera 21 and the drive mechanism and steering mechanism of the traveling device 27.

  The automatic guided vehicle 2 travels along the guide line plate L imaged by the camera 21 by the control unit 23. Data of a captured image of the camera 21 is sent to the control unit 23, and an identification unit 24 provided in the control unit 23 identifies the guide line plate L and the road surface S based on the saturation / lightness information of the image data. .

  As in the first embodiment, the guide line plate L is made of an elongated aluminum plate that has been subjected to colored anodized treatment. As a result, the guide line plate L has high strength and does not change color due to tire marks of a forklift.

  In the unmanned conveyance system of this embodiment, since the camera 21 is provided outside the vehicle body 20, in the imaging range R ′ of the camera 21, illumination light provided in the warehouse or irradiation to the warehouse is performed. The natural light emitted illuminates the guide line plate L. Therefore, the guide line plate L is matted so that the 60 ° glossiness specified in JIS Z8741 is 10 or more and 30 or less so as not to reflect illumination light and natural light. That is, in the second embodiment, because of the structure, it is not possible to install a cover that covers the camera 21 in a dark place. Therefore, the image data of the camera 21 is greatly affected by external light such as sunlight and fluorescent light. Therefore, by setting the gloss level to 30 or less, the guide line plate L can be reliably recognized by the camera 21.

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

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1, 2 Automated guided vehicle 10 Cover 11, 21 Imaging means 12 Illumination means S Road surface L Guide line plate

Claims (3)

An induction line plate laid on the road surface on which the automated guided vehicle travels,
The automatic guided vehicle includes an imaging unit that images the guide line plate, and travels along the guide line plate based on image data captured by the imaging unit.
The induction line plate is made of an elongated aluminum plate treated with colored anodized and has a 60 ° glossiness of 10 or more and 30 or less as defined in JIS Z8741. An unmanned transport system comprising a guide line plate laid on a road surface, and an unmanned transport vehicle that travels along the guide line plate,
The guide line plate is made of an elongated aluminum plate treated with colored anodized and has a 60 ° glossiness of 10 to 30 as defined in JIS Z8741. The automatic guided vehicle is
Imaging means for imaging the induction line plate;
Illuminating means arranged to illuminate the imaging range of the imaging means and so that illumination light from a light source directly hits the guide line plate;
A cover that darkens the imaging range when the illumination means is turned off, and
The unmanned conveyance system according to claim 2, wherein the imaging line plate is imaged by the imaging unit and travels along the guidance line plate based on the captured image data.

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