JP6529095B1 - Unmanned cargo handling vehicle - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention provides an unmanned cargo handling vehicle capable of finely identifying the cause of the operation of the vehicle body from the lighting mode of the lighting device. An unmanned cargo handling vehicle includes a vehicle body and a plurality of lighting devices. The vehicle body 10 includes a cargo handling instruction receiving device that receives a cargo handling instruction, an abnormality detection device that detects an abnormality, an obstacle detection device that detects an obstacle, a storage device, and a control device. The vehicle body 10 is in a standby state in which the operation is stopped in order to receive the cargo handling instruction, in an abnormal stop state in which the operation is stopped by detecting an abnormality, and an interlock in which the operation is stopped by detection of an obstacle. Take the stop state. The storage device stores different lighting patterns according to each of the standby state, the abnormal stop state, and the interlock stop state, and the control device selects and selects a lighting pattern according to the state of the vehicle main body 10 from the storage device. The plurality of lighting devices 21 to 26 are controlled to emit light in the lighting pattern. [Selected figure] Figure 1

Description

  The present invention relates to an unmanned cargo handling vehicle provided with a plurality of lighting devices.

  In general, a cargo handling vehicle provided with a plurality of lighting devices that emit and show an operating state of a vehicle body that performs traveling and cargo handling is known. For example, Patent Document 1 describes a forklift equipped with four lighting devices that indicate the traveling direction of the vehicle body.

  Moreover, in recent years, the spread of unmanned cargo handling vehicles that operate autonomously without manual operation has been promoted. Generally, an unmanned cargo handling vehicle takes an obstacle when it takes a standby state (a so-called instruction waiting state) for receiving a cargo handling instruction, detects an abnormality that has occurred in the vehicle body, or interferes with the operation of the vehicle body. Stops operation when it is detected.

JP, 2004-91117, A

  However, conventionally, there has been a problem that the cause of the unmanned cargo handling vehicle stopping operation can not be finely specified from the lighting mode of the lighting device. Therefore, for example, when the vehicle is stopped due to not receiving the cargo handling instruction, the user who misunderstands that the abnormality has occurred restarts the vehicle or the vehicle is stopped due to the detection of the obstacle, There is a risk that a user who misunderstands that he / she is waiting to receive a cargo handling instruction may be surprised at a vehicle that has automatically resumed operation due to the removal of an obstacle. Further, for example, when the vehicle is stopped due to the occurrence of an abnormality, there is a possibility that a user who misunderstands that the vehicle is waiting to receive the cargo handling instruction may leave the vehicle.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and it is an object of the present invention to provide an unmanned cargo handling vehicle capable of finely identifying the cause of the operation of the vehicle main body from the lighting mode of the lighting device. Do.

In order to solve the above-mentioned subject, the unmanned cargo handling vehicle of the present invention according to claim 1 is provided with a vehicle main body for traveling and cargo handling, and a plurality of lighting devices for indicating the operating condition of the vehicle main body. The vehicle body receives the cargo handling instruction according to the cargo handling wirelessly, the cargo handling instruction receiving device, the abnormality detection device for detecting the abnormality generated in the vehicle body, and the obstacle for detecting an obstacle that interferes with the operation of the vehicle body A detection device, a storage device for storing a plurality of lighting patterns related to the plurality of lighting devices, and a control device for controlling the plurality of lighting devices, the vehicle body being operated to activate the vehicle body can a starting device that is, the operation state is performed travel and / or handling, and a standby state of stopping the operation in order to receive the handling instruction, said abnormality is detected in the operating state Taking abnormal and stopped state of stopping the operation as applied, the interlock stopping state in which the obstacle in the operating state stops the operation as a trigger that is detected, the boot while taking the abnormal stop state When the device is operated, it shifts to the operating state or the standby state, and when the interlock stop state is taken, the obstacle is no longer detected as a trigger by the operation of the activation device. Instead, the storage device transitions to the operating state, and stores, as the plurality of lighting patterns, different lighting patterns according to the standby state, the abnormal stop state, and the interlock stop state, and the control The device selects the lighting pattern according to the state of the vehicle body from the storage device, and selects the selected point Control a plurality of the lighting device to emit light in a pattern, each of the lighting device is capable of emitting light constituted of a plurality of colors, wherein the lighting pattern corresponding to an abnormal stop state, at least one of said lighting device The lighting pattern is a lighting pattern that lights in a predetermined abnormal display color, and the lighting pattern according to the standby state is a lighting pattern in which at least one of the lighting devices lights in a predetermined normal display color. The lighting pattern according to the present invention is characterized in that at least one of the lighting devices blinks alternately in the abnormal display color and the normal display color .

The unmanned cargo handling vehicle according to claim 2 is the unmanned cargo handling vehicle according to claim 1 , wherein the vehicle main body further includes a battery capable of charging electric power for operation, and the vehicle main body is the battery And the storage device responds to each of the standby state, the abnormal stop state, the interlock stop state, and the charge state, as the plurality of lighting patterns. It is characterized in that different lighting patterns are stored.
The unmanned cargo handling vehicle according to claim 3 is the unmanned cargo handling vehicle according to claim 2, wherein at least one of the lighting devices blinks in the normal display color in the lighting pattern according to the charging state. It is characterized by being a pattern.

Further, the unmanned cargo handling vehicle according to claim 4 is the unmanned cargo handling vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the Ru comprising at least four of the lighting device.

The unmanned cargo handling vehicle according to claim 5 is the unmanned cargo handling vehicle according to claim 4 , wherein the vehicle main body includes a traveling device for traveling on a road surface, and a cargo handling device provided in front of the traveling device. And at least two of the lighting devices visible on at least the right side of the vehicle body are provided on the right side surface portion of the vehicle body, and at least the left side of the vehicle body is provided on the left side surface of the vehicle body. At least two of the lighting devices visible from the vehicle, and the traveling device is provided with at least two lighting devices visible at least from the rear of the vehicle body; It is characterized in that at least two light devices visible at least from the front are provided.

The unmanned cargo handling vehicle according to claim 6 is the unmanned cargo handling vehicle according to any one of claims 1 to 5 , wherein the vehicle body includes a cargo handling fork provided so as to be able to move up and down. The vehicle main body is, as the operation state, a traveling state in which the fork is traveling without operating, a loading state in which the fork is operating without traveling, and a traveling in which the fork is operated while traveling. Taking the cargo handling state, the storage device further stores lighting patterns different from each other according to the traveling state, the cargo handling state, and the traveling cargo handling state as the plurality of lighting patterns.

The unmanned cargo handling vehicle according to claim 7 is the unmanned cargo handling vehicle according to any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein the storage device is a plurality of the lighting patterns as a turning radius of the vehicle main body. It is characterized in that different lighting patterns corresponding to each other are stored.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, the unmanned cargo handling vehicle which can specify precisely the cause which the vehicle main body has stopped from the lighting aspect of the lighting apparatus can be provided.

It is a top view of an unmanned cargo handling vehicle according to an embodiment of the present invention. (A) is a right side view of the unmanned cargo handling vehicle according to the embodiment, (B) is a left side view of the unmanned cargo handling vehicle. It is a block diagram which shows schematic structure of the unmanned cargo handling vehicle which concerns on the embodiment. It is a table showing a plurality of lighting patterns according to the embodiment.

One embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
As shown in FIG. 1, the unmanned cargo handling vehicle 1 (hereinafter referred to as “vehicle 1”) is an unmanned forklift, and includes a vehicle body 10 for traveling and cargo handling and a plurality of lighting devices 21 to 21 provided on the vehicle body 10. It has 26 and.

  The vehicle body 10 is configured by a traveling device 10A traveling on a road surface, and a cargo handling device 10B provided in front of the traveling device 10A.

  The traveling device 10A is configured to be able to move forward, reverse, and turn. The traveling device 10A includes, as a configuration included in the vehicle body 10, a battery 11 capable of charging power for operation. A battery 11, a control device 36 described later, and the like are housed in the housing of the traveling device 10A.

  The cargo handling device 10B includes the fork 12 for cargo handling, the lift device 13 for raising and lowering the fork 12, the shift device 14 for shifting the fork 12 in the left and right direction, and the fork around the rotation axis R And a rotating device 15 for rotating 12.

  The vehicle body 10 configured as described above is in an operating state in which traveling and / or cargo handling is performed in order to transport and unload the load. Specifically, the vehicle body 10 operates as a traveling state in which the fork 12 is not operated and a loading state in which the fork 12 is operated without traveling, and the fork 12 while traveling. Take an operating load handling state. Further, the vehicle body 10 is in a charging state in which the operation is stopped for charging the battery 11.

  Each of the lighting devices 21 to 26 is an LED light that emits and indicates the operation state of the vehicle body 10, and is configured to be capable of emitting a plurality of colors. Specifically, the lighting devices 21 to 26 are configured to be capable of emitting red, orange, green and blue lights. The lighting devices 21-24 are provided in the traveling device 10A, and the lighting devices 25 and 26 are provided in the lift device 13 of the cargo handling device 10B. The lighting devices 21 and 22 are configured to be visible from at least the rear of the vehicle body 10, and the lighting devices 25 and 26 are configured to be visible from at least the front of the vehicle body 10.

  Moreover, as shown to FIG. 2 (A), the light apparatuses 21, 23, 25 are provided in the right side part of the vehicle main body 10, and are comprised so that visual recognition is possible at least from the right side of the vehicle main body 10. FIG. Further, as shown in FIG. 2B, the lighting devices 22, 24, 26 are provided on the left side of the vehicle body 10, and are configured to be visible from at least the left side of the vehicle body 10.

  In addition, as shown in FIG. 3, the vehicle 1 includes the activation device 31, the cargo handling instruction reception device 32, the abnormality detection device 33, the obstacle detection device 34, and the storage device 35 as the configuration included in the vehicle body 10. , And a control device 36.

  The activation device 31 is operated to activate the vehicle body 10. The vehicle main body 10 is activated in response to the activation of the activation device 31 and takes a standby state in which the operation is stopped in order to receive the cargo handling instruction by the cargo handling instruction receiving device 32. In addition, when the vehicle main body 10 is in the abnormal stop state described later, the vehicle main body 10 shifts to the operation state or the standby state in response to the operation of the activation device 31 as a trigger.

  The cargo handling instruction receiving device 32 wirelessly receives the cargo handling instruction relating to the cargo handling. The vehicle body 10 shifts to an operation state in which traveling and / or cargo handling is being performed, triggered by the cargo handling instruction reception device 32 receiving the cargo handling instruction when in the standby state.

  The abnormality detection device 33 detects an abnormality that has occurred in the vehicle body 10. The vehicle body 10 shifts to the abnormal stop state where the operation has been stopped, triggered by the detection of an abnormality by the abnormality detection device 33 when the operation state is taken.

  The obstacle detection device 34 detects an obstacle that interferes with the operation of the vehicle body 10. The vehicle body 10 shifts to the interlock stop state where the operation is stopped, triggered by the detection of the obstacle by the obstacle detection device 34 when the operation state is taken. The vehicle body 10 shifts to the operating state in order to resume traveling and / or cargo handling, triggered by the obstacle detection device 34 not detecting the obstacle when the interlock stop state is taken.

  The storage device 35 stores a plurality of lighting patterns illustrated in FIG. 4 as a plurality of lighting patterns according to the lighting devices 21 to 26. In each row of FIG. 4, lighting patterns of the lighting devices 21 to 26 corresponding to the operation state of the vehicle main body 10 are described. The emission color is described in the upper part of the cell, and the lighting mode is described in the lower part of each cell. Hereinafter, the meanings of the terms included in FIG. 4 will be described.

  "Forward", "rightward while advancing", "leftward while advancing", "reverse", "rightward while reversing", and "leftward while reversing", the vehicle body 10 is a fork It means a traveling state in which the vehicle is traveling without operating 12. Note that “right turn while moving forward”, “left turn while moving forward”, “right turn while moving backward”, and “left turn while moving backward” cause the vehicle body 10 to turn at a predetermined turning radius or more. It means that you are doing. Also, "heel turn" means that the vehicle body 10 is turning at a turning radius less than a predetermined turning radius. Further, "load handling" means a load handling state in which the fork 12 is operated without traveling of the vehicle body 10, and "load handling while advancing" and "load handling while reversing" indicate that the vehicle body 10 travels It means a traveling cargo handling state in which the fork 12 is operated. Also, “standby” means standby state, “charging” means charging state, “interlock stop” means interlock stop state, and “abnormal stop” means abnormal stop state. Do.

  "Green" means green which is a running display color, "blue" means blue which is a normal display color, "orange" means orange which is a turning display color and a cargo display color, " "Red" means red which is an abnormal display color. Also, "lighting" means lighting so as to continuously emit the color described at the top of the cell. Further, "flashing A" means to emit the color described at the top of the cell and to alternately repeat lighting and extinguishing at predetermined intervals, and "flashing B" emits the color described at the top of the cell Together with "flashing A" means alternately turning on and off at short intervals. Also, "alternate blink" means to light up so that the two colors described at the top of the cell are emitted alternately.

  The control device 36 controls the traveling device 10A, the cargo handling device 10B, and the lighting devices 21 to 26. The control device 36 selects a lighting pattern according to the state of the vehicle body 10 from the storage device 35, and controls the lighting devices 21 to 26 so as to emit light in the selected lighting pattern.

  Therefore, in the present embodiment, since the storage device 35 stores different lighting patterns corresponding to the standby state, the abnormal stop state, and the interlock stop state, the control device 36 performs the standby state and the abnormal stop. The lighting devices 21 to 26 are controlled such that the lighting patterns are different depending on the state, the interlock stop state, and the charging state. Specifically, in the standby state, the control devices 36 light the light devices 21 to 26 in blue, in the abnormal stop state the light devices 21 to 26 blink in red, and in the interlock stop state, the light devices 21 to 26 The light control devices 21 to 26 are controlled so that they blink alternately in red and blue, and in the state of charge, the light control devices 21 to 26 blink in blue.

  Further, since the storage device 35 further stores different lighting patterns according to the traveling state, the cargo handling state, and the traveling cargo handling state, the control device 36 determines the traveling state, the cargo handling state, and the traveling cargo handling state. The lighting devices 21 to 26 are controlled so that the lighting patterns are different. Specifically, in the traveling state, the control device 36 blinks the light devices 25 and 26 or the light devices 21 and 22 provided in the traveling direction in green and lights the light devices 23 and 24 in green, and in the cargo handling state All the lights 21 to 26 blink alternately in green and orange, and in the traveling cargo handling state, the lights 25 and 26 or the lights 21 and 22 provided in the traveling direction blink in green and the lights 23 and 24 The light control devices 21 to 26 are controlled so that B blinks alternately in green and orange.

  Furthermore, since the storage device 35 stores different lighting patterns according to the turning radius of the vehicle body 10, the control device 36 lights up patterns according to the turning radius when the vehicle body 10 is turning. Control the lighting devices 21 to 26 differently. Specifically, in a state where the vehicle body 10 is turning at a predetermined turning radius or more, the lighting devices 22, 24, 26 or the lighting devices 21, 23, 25 inside the turning blink in orange, and the vehicle body 10 In the state of turning at a turning radius less than a predetermined radius, the lighting devices 21 to 26 are controlled such that all the lighting devices 21 to 26 blink in orange.

The following effects can be obtained in the above embodiment.
(1) Based on the lighting pattern stored in the storage device 35, the control device 36 causes the lighting devices 21 to 26 to have different lighting patterns in the standby state, the abnormal stop state, the interlock stop state, and the charge state. Can be controlled. Therefore, the vehicle 1 is stopped by the light waiting pattern of the lighting devices 21 to 26 according to the instruction waiting state, is stopped due to the occurrence of abnormality, is stopped due to the detection of an obstacle, or is the battery It can be informed whether it is stopped to charge 11. That is, the cause of the vehicle body 10 stopping operation can be specified in detail from the lighting mode of the lighting devices 21 to 26.

  (2) The vehicle body 10 can shift to the operating state or the standby state triggered by the operation of the activation device 31 when taking the abnormal stop state, and the vehicle body 10 is confirmed after the abnormality occurred in the vehicle body 10 You can resume 10 runs and cargo handling.

  (3) The vehicle body 10 can shift to the operating state triggered by the obstacle being not detected when the interlock stop state is taken, and the vehicle body 10 receives the operation of the activation device 31. You can resume driving and cargo handling without.

  (4) Each of the lighting devices 21 to 26 is configured to be capable of emitting a plurality of colors. According to this configuration, it is possible to significantly increase the number of lighting patterns as compared with the configuration in which each of the lighting devices 21 to 26 emits light of only one color.

  (5) Based on the lighting pattern stored in the storage device 35, the control device 36 may control the lighting devices 21 to 26 so that the lighting pattern differs between the traveling state, the cargo handling state, and the traveling cargo handling state. it can. Therefore, in order to prevent the movement of the vehicle body 10 in the traveling state, the movement of the fork 12 in the loading state, and the movement of the vehicle body 10 and the movement of the fork 12 in the traveling load state. It is possible to call attention around 1.

  (6) The control device 36 can control the lighting devices 21 to 26 so that the lighting patterns differ according to the turning radius of the vehicle body 10. Therefore, it is possible to draw more attention around the vehicle 1 when the turning radius becomes smaller.

  The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, and the above configuration may be changed as appropriate. For example, the above embodiment may be implemented with the following modifications, or the following modifications may be implemented in combination.

  The lighting patterns of the lighting devices 21 to 26 may be changed as appropriate. In addition, the lighting devices 21 to 26 may be configured to be capable of emitting five or more colors, and may be configured to be capable of emitting two to three colors.

  The arrangement and the number of the lighting devices 21 to 26 may be changed as appropriate. For example, the lighting devices 23 and 24 may be omitted. That is, at the right side portion of the vehicle body 10, two lighting devices visible at least from the right side of the vehicle body 10 may be provided, and at the left side portion of the vehicle body 10, at least the left side of the vehicle body 10 Two possible lighting devices may be provided.

1 unmanned cargo handling vehicle 10 vehicle main body 10A traveling device 10B cargo handling device 10C battery 11 fork 21 to 26 lighting device 31 activation device 32 cargo handling instruction reception device 33 abnormality detection device 34 obstacle detection device 35 storage device 36 control device

Claims (7)

A vehicle body for traveling and cargo handling;
And a plurality of lighting devices that emit light to indicate the operating condition of the vehicle body,
The vehicle body is
An activation device operated to activate the vehicle body;
A cargo handling instruction receiving device that wirelessly receives a cargo handling instruction related to the cargo handling;
An abnormality detection device that detects an abnormality that has occurred in the vehicle body;
An obstacle detection device for detecting an obstacle that impedes the operation of the vehicle body;
A storage device for storing a plurality of lighting patterns related to the plurality of lighting devices;
And a controller for controlling a plurality of the lighting devices,
The vehicle body operates in response to detection of the abnormality in an operating state in which traveling and / or cargo handling is performed, a standby state in which the operation is stopped to receive the cargo handling instruction, and the abnormal state is detected in the operating state. The start device is operated when taking the abnormal stop state and the interlock stop state where the operation is stopped due to the detection of the obstacle in the operation state. Transition to the operating state or the standby state triggered by an event, and the operation not based on the operation of the activation device triggered by the fact that the obstacle is not detected when the interlock stopped state is taken. Transition to the state,
The storage device stores, as a plurality of the lighting patterns, different lighting patterns according to the standby state, the abnormal stop state, and the interlock stop state, respectively.
The control device selects the lighting pattern according to the state of the vehicle body from the storage device, and controls the plurality of lighting devices to emit light in the selected lighting pattern ,
Each of the lighting devices is configured to be capable of emitting a plurality of colors,
The lighting pattern according to the abnormal stop state is a lighting pattern in which at least one of the lighting devices lights up in a predetermined abnormal display color,
The lighting pattern according to the standby state is a lighting pattern in which at least one of the lighting devices lights up in a predetermined normal display color,
The unmanned cargo handling vehicle , wherein the lighting pattern according to the interlock stop state is a lighting pattern in which at least one of the lighting devices blinks alternately in the abnormal display color and the normal display color . The vehicle body further includes a battery chargeable for operating power;
The vehicle body further takes a charging state of stopping operation for charging the battery;
The storage device according to claim 1, wherein a plurality of the lighting pattern, to store each other in different lighting patterns corresponding to each of the charge state and the standby state the abnormal stop state and the interlock stop state Unmanned cargo handling vehicles described in. The lighting pattern according to the charging state is a lighting pattern in which at least one of the lighting devices blinks in the normal display color.
The unmanned cargo handling vehicle according to claim 2, characterized in that: At least four unmanned cargo handling vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the Ru with the lighting device. The vehicle body is constituted by a traveling device for traveling on a road surface, and a cargo handling device provided in front of the traveling device.
The right side portion of the vehicle body is provided with at least two of the lighting devices visible from at least the right side of the vehicle body,
The left side portion of the vehicle body is provided with at least two of the lighting devices visible from at least the left side of the vehicle body,
The traveling device is provided with at least two of the lighting devices visible from at least the rear of the vehicle body,
The unmanned cargo handling vehicle according to claim 4 , wherein the cargo handling device is provided with at least two light devices visible at least from the front of the vehicle body. The vehicle body includes a lifting and lowering fork for loading and unloading,
The vehicle body operates the fork while traveling as the operation state, a traveling state in which the vehicle is traveling without operating the fork, a cargo handling state in which the fork is operated without traveling, and Take the loading and unloading condition,
The storage device further stores different lighting patterns according to each of the traveling state, the cargo handling state, and the traveling cargo handling state as a plurality of the lighting patterns . Unmanned cargo handling vehicle according to one item . The unmanned cargo handling vehicle according to any one of claims 1 to 6 , wherein the storage device stores lighting patterns different from each other according to a turning radius of the vehicle body as the plurality of lighting patterns.

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