JP6695146B2 - Autonomous vehicle - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an autonomous vehicle.

  Conventionally, when autonomously moving inside the facility to be guarded and detecting an intruder in the facility to be guarded or an abnormality such as a fire, an alarm is issued to the outside, and the intruder is imaged and extinguished by facing the direction of the abnormal object. There is known a mobile security robot that takes measures such as the above (see Patent Document 1, for example).

  In addition, a system for providing and monitoring, for example, a plurality of surveillance cameras and sound collectors for crime prevention is known (for example, refer to Patent Document 2).

JP-A-5-225470 JP, 2013-131153, A

  When security monitoring is performed using an autonomous traveling vehicle, it is effective to collect sound around the autonomous traveling vehicle in addition to monitoring with a video of a surveillance camera. However, when traveling, the main problem is the sound in the front, but if the sound is collected mainly in the front, there is a problem that the surrounding sounds cannot be picked up.

  Also, if a microphone is installed to pick up ambient sound for monitoring, when the autonomous vehicle collects sound while traveling, the sound in the front becomes relatively low compared to the sound collected around the front. There was a problem that it would end up.

  In view of the above-mentioned problems, the present invention aims to attach a microphone to a state in which a sound in front of an autonomous traveling vehicle and a sound in the surroundings can be appropriately collected according to the state of the autonomous traveling vehicle. It relates to a traveling vehicle.

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the autonomous vehicle of the present invention,
In an autonomous vehicle equipped with a lifting device in the vehicle body,
The elevating device is configured such that the tip portion can be undulated,
A microphone is provided in the lifting device.

The autonomous vehicle of the present invention is
In an autonomous vehicle equipped with a lifting device equipped with a camera at its tip in the vehicle body,
It has a microphone that can collect the sound around the vehicle,
The microphone collects a sound in front of the vehicle when the lifting device is housed, and collects a sound around the vehicle when the lifting device is raised.

  According to the present invention, a microphone is provided in an elevating device in an autonomous traveling vehicle in which an elevating device having a camera at its tip is provided in a vehicle body. Thereby, for example, it becomes easy to collect a sound in the front while the lifting device is housed and a sound in the surroundings because the position of the microphone rises while the device is rising.

  According to the present invention, in an autonomous vehicle having an elevating device provided with a monitoring camera in a tip unit in a vehicle body, the autonomous traveling vehicle has a microphone capable of collecting sounds around the vehicle, and the microphone is used when the elevating device stores In this case, the sound in front of the vehicle is collected, and when the lifting device is rising, the sound around the vehicle is collected. Thus, for example, when the lifting device is stored, that is, when the autonomous traveling vehicle is traveling, the front sound is collected, and when the lifting device is raised, that is, when the autonomous traveling vehicle is stopped, ambient sounds are collected. Can be realized.

It is a figure for explaining the whole autonomous running vehicle in a 1st embodiment. It is a figure for explaining the functional composition of the autonomous running vehicle in a 1st embodiment. It is a figure for demonstrating the attachment state of the sound collection part (microphone) in 1st Embodiment. It is a figure for demonstrating the attachment state of the sound collection part (microphone) in 1st Embodiment. It is a figure for demonstrating the attachment state of the sound collection part (microphone) in 1st Embodiment. It is a figure for explaining the whole autonomous running vehicle in a 1st embodiment. It is a figure for demonstrating the attachment state of the sound collection part (microphone) in 1st Embodiment. It is a figure for explaining the whole autonomous running vehicle in a 2nd embodiment. It is a figure for demonstrating the whole autonomous vehicle in 3rd Embodiment. It is a figure for explaining the whole autonomous running vehicle in a 4th embodiment. It is a figure for demonstrating the operation | movement in 4th Embodiment.

  Hereinafter, embodiments for carrying out the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. Although the present invention is described as an autonomous vehicle applied to a security system, it may be used for purposes other than security, for example, or may be moved by an operation input by a user. ..

[1. First Embodiment]
[1.1 Overall configuration]
The autonomous vehicle 1 in this embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. The autonomous traveling vehicle 1 is configured to include a vehicle body 5 and an elevating device 3 provided with a tip unit 40.

  The elevating device 3 is provided with a tip unit 40 provided at its tip with a surveillance camera 50 capable of photographing in all directions. The tip unit 40 may be provided with another device such as an infrared camera (not shown).

  The tip unit 40 is provided in the elevating device 3, and the elevating device 3 raises / lowers while maintaining a horizontal state. That is, the tip portion of the boom portion 20 is configured to be capable of undulating.

  The lifting device 3 includes a base 26 and a boom portion 20. A drive device (not shown) such as an actuator is built in the base 26, and the boom 20 is raised and lowered through a lifting mechanism (not shown) such as a link mechanism. The boom portion 20 may be configured to be extendable and retractable, or the boom portion 20 may be configured to be rotatable by providing a rotating portion on the base 26.

  The boom section 20 includes a boom 22 and a boom 24. The boom 22 on the base 26 side and the boom 24 on the tip unit 40 side have a nested structure in which they are sequentially stacked. That is, the tip unit 40 can be raised / lowered by the hoisting operation of the boom portion 20.

  Here, the maximum hoisting angle of the boom portion 20 is described as approximately 45 degrees in the present embodiment, but it goes without saying that other angles (50 degrees, 60 degrees) or the like may be used.

  Further, the boom section 20 is provided with a sound collecting section 10 capable of collecting ambient sound and a speaker 15 capable of outputting sound. Here, in the present embodiment, the sound collecting unit 10 and the speaker 15 are provided on the boom 22.

  Further, the boom 22 and the boom 24 are structured to be covered with an exterior housing made of resin or the like. As will be described later in detail, the sound collecting unit 10 and the speaker 15 are provided in the outer casing, and the structure is such that they are not in direct contact with each other.

  Here, the elevating device 3 in the present embodiment will be described as a configuration in which the autonomous traveling vehicle 1 performs the raising / lowering operation only when the autonomous traveling vehicle 1 is stopped. That is, when the lifting device 3 is in the stored state (when the hoisting angle of the boom portion 20 is approximately 0 degrees), the autonomous traveling vehicle 1 is in a travelable state. In addition, when the lifting device 3 is raised (when the boom angle of the boom 20 is not in the retracted state), the lifting device 3 is in the stopped state.

  It should be noted that the autonomous traveling vehicle 1 may travel even at the time of ascent as long as it does not fall. For example, the autonomous traveling vehicle 1 that normally moves at 5 km / h may operate at 1 km / h when the lifting device 3 moves up.

  A drive unit 32 is provided in the vehicle body 5. The drive unit 32 may be any device capable of transmitting a driving force to the tire 34, such as an electric motor or an engine. The drive unit 32 and the tires 34 allow the autonomous traveling vehicle 1 to move forward and backward, to the left and right, and to make a turning motion.

  The vehicle body 5 is provided with a camera, a distance measuring device, and the like. For example, cameras are provided at the front, rear, left and right in order to judge the surroundings. In FIG. 1, as an example, a front camera 52 that shows the front of the autonomous vehicle 1 is shown.

[1.2 Functional configuration]
Next, the functional configuration of the autonomous vehicle 1 will be described with reference to FIG. As shown in FIG. 2, the autonomous vehicle 1 includes a control unit 100, a photographing unit 200, a drive control unit 300, a boom control unit 400, a storage unit 500, a sound input unit 600, and a sound output unit 700. And a noise canceling section 800. Note that, in order to describe the present embodiment, the sound output unit 700 and the noise canceling unit 800 may not be provided.

  The control unit 100 is a functional unit for controlling the entire autonomous traveling vehicle 1. The control unit 100 realizes various functions by reading and executing various programs stored in the storage unit 500, and is configured by, for example, a CPU (Central Process Unit) or the like.

  The image capturing unit 200 is a functional unit for capturing a situation around the autonomous traveling vehicle 1. For example, it is configured by a so-called CCD (Charge-Coupled Device) camera, an infrared camera, or the like.

  Here, as the image capturing unit, the peripheral image capturing unit 210 (for example, the monitoring camera 50 in FIG. 1) that can arbitrarily switch the image capturing locations, and the image capturing unit that is disposed outside the autonomous traveling vehicle 1 and captures a fixed position. The outside photographing section 220 (for example, the front camera 52 in FIG. 1) is provided.

  The drive control unit 300 is a functional unit that controls a drive device (for example, an engine or a motor) that realizes a moving operation and a turning operation of the autonomous traveling vehicle 1. For example, the function is realized by controlling the driving unit 32 in FIG.

  The boom control unit 400 is a functional unit for controlling the hoisting operation and the extension / contraction operation of the boom. The boom controller 400 enables the lifting / lowering operation of the lifting / lowering device 3. For example, the function is realized by controlling a driving device such as an actuator included in the base 26 of FIG.

  The storage unit 500 is a functional unit in which various programs necessary for the operation of the autonomous vehicle 1 and various data are stored. The storage unit 500 is composed of, for example, a semiconductor memory, an HDD (Hard Disk Drive), or the like.

  The sound input unit 600 is a functional unit for collecting sounds around the autonomous traveling vehicle 1. For example, it is configured by a microphone (microphone) or the like. Here, as a way of collecting sound, normally, sound in the direction in which the microphone is facing is collected (has directivity), but for example, by pointing the microphone upward, sound in all directions is collected. It is also possible.

  The sound output unit 700 is a functional unit that emits sound around the autonomous vehicle 1. For example, it is possible to give a warning from the autonomous vehicle 1 by outputting a warning sound or a voice of an operator.

  The noise canceling unit 800 is a functional unit capable of removing environmental sounds and the like from the sound input by the sound input unit 600.

[1.3 Sound collecting unit (microphone) mounting structure]
Next, the mounting structure of the sound collecting unit 10 will be described with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 3 is a schematic enlarged view of the boom portion 20 as a part of the lifting device 3. The tip unit 40 rises due to the hoisting operation of the boom portion 20.

  That is, when the boom section 20 rises, the boom 24 movably provided in the boom 22 moves in the distal direction, so that the entire boom section 20 extends.

  Here, the sound collection unit 10 is provided on the tip side of the boom unit 20. A microphone 12 is provided in the sound collection unit 10. The microphone 12 is attached so as to face forward when the hoisting angle of the boom portion 20 is approximately 0 degrees (horizontal state).

  An example of the attachment method will be described with reference to FIGS. 4 and 5. FIG. 4 is a conceptual perspective view of the sound collection unit 10, and is a diagram schematically showing the inside of the boom 22. Further, FIG. 5 is a schematic view of the sound collecting unit 10 as viewed from the side.

  A mounting member 1204 is fixed so as to bridge the frame 2002 and the frame 2004 on the outside of the boom 22.

  A mounting member 1202 is fixed near the center of the mounting member 1204 to further mount the microphone 12. The tip of the mounting member 1202 is formed in a slope shape, and the slope is substantially the same as the maximum undulation angle of the boom portion 20 with respect to the horizontal direction.

  For example, when the maximum undulation angle of the boom portion 20 is 45 degrees, the angle of the slope formed at the tip of the mounting member 1202 is also 45 degrees. The microphone 12 is attached to the position of this slope. As a result, the attachment angle θ1 of the microphone 12 also becomes substantially the same as the maximum undulation angle of the boom portion 20 (the maximum undulation angle θ2 of FIG. 6 described later).

  As a result, when the lifting device 3 is in the housed state, that is, when the boom portion 20 is in the horizontal state, the microphone 12 is provided in a state of being tilted forward by 45 degrees. Further, when the lifting device is raised and the hoisting angle of the boom portion 20 is the maximum angle, the microphone 12 is in a substantially horizontal state.

  As described above, when the elevating device 3 is in the housed state and the boom portion 20 is not undulated, the microphone 12 faces the front, which has the effect of facilitating the collection of the front sound. In particular, when the lifting device 3 is in the stored state, the autonomous vehicle 1 is often in the traveling state. In this case, an effect that the sound in the front direction can be efficiently collected can be expected.

  Further, the microphone 12, the mounting member, and the frame are covered with an exterior housing 2100. The exterior housing 2100 is made of resin, for example. Here, the external housing 2100 and the microphone 12 are separated from each other without directly contacting each other. As a result, the outer casing 2100 and the microphone 12 are not in direct contact with each other, and thus the chattering noise due to acoustic vibration is prevented. The speaker 15 and the external housing 2100 described above are also separated from each other without directly touching them.

  Further, a structure may be employed in which a plurality of holes are formed above the microphone 12 and the speaker 15. In the case of such a structure, it is possible to expect an effect that the sound is improved and the sound is easily collected (the sound is easily heard by the speaker 15).

  Next, a state in which the lifting device 3 is lifted will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 6 is a diagram when the boom portion 20 is lifted up to the maximum undulation angle θ2.

  FIG. 7 is a diagram schematically showing the state of the sound collecting unit 10 at this time. Since the undulation angle θ is the maximum undulation angle θ2 with respect to the floor horizontal line (FL), the microphone 12 is in a substantially horizontal state.

  In this case, since the microphone 12 faces upward, there is no directivity, and it is possible to uniformly collect sound in all directions of the autonomous vehicle 1. That is, when the elevating device 3 is raised and the surveillance camera 50 is valid, it is normally in a mode of monitoring the surroundings. At this time, the autonomous vehicle 1 is stopped.

  In such a state, it is necessary to collect the sound of the entire surroundings of the autonomous vehicle 1, but the microphone 12 faces upward, and the sound is uniformly collected. That is, it is possible to collect the sound around the autonomous vehicle 1.

  Thus, according to the present embodiment, when the autonomous traveling vehicle 1 is traveling, the lifting device 3 is in the stored state. At this time, according to the mounting position of the microphone of the present embodiment, the sound in front of the autonomous traveling vehicle 1 is easily collected.

  Further, when the autonomous traveling vehicle 1 is stopped and the elevating device is elevated to monitor the surroundings, the position where the microphone around the autonomous traveling vehicle 1 is easy to collect is set. ..

  Further, when the elevating device 3 is in a housed state during traveling, the mounting angle of the microphone is oblique, so that rainwater and dust are not collected on the surface of the microphone, and it is expected that the sound collection is not hindered. Further, when the lifting device 3 is raised, rainwater may collect because the microphone is facing upward, but the microphone angle is changed by moving up and down, and rainwater or the like can be dropped.

  In addition, although the mounting position of the microphone 12 is described as being provided in the vicinity of the tip end portion of the elevating device 3 in the present embodiment, it can be realized at a position other than the position. For example, it may be at the center of the lifting device 3 or near the vehicle body side of the lifting device 3 instead of near the tip. That is, when the elevating device 3 is lifted, sound can be collected from the microphone 12 if it has a predetermined height.

  Further, it may be provided on the side surface of the lifting device 3 instead of the upper surface. For example, it may be provided on the right side surface or the left side surface. In this case, the same effect can be expected if the mounting angle of the microphone is the same as that of the above-described embodiment.

[2. Second Embodiment]
Next, a second embodiment will be described. The second embodiment is an embodiment for specifying the positions of the sound collection unit 10 and the speaker 15.

  This embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. The sound collecting unit 10 is provided near the tip of the boom 22, and the speaker 15 is provided near the lower end of the boom 22. At this time, the sound collecting unit 10 and the speaker 15 are separated from each other by L (mm). Here, L may be a predetermined distance or more, but is preferably a distance of at least approximately 300 mm.

  By providing the sound collecting unit 10 (microphone 12) and the speaker 15 on the same boom 22, a constant distance L can be always secured. As a result, even if the entire boom section 20 extends, the distance L does not change.

  For example, when the noise canceling unit 800 cancels noise from the collected sound, the position of the microphone 12 becomes important. That is, when the position of the microphone 12 changes, the noise canceling effect also changes.

  Therefore, it is possible to expect an effect that effective noise cancellation can be performed by keeping the same distance as the speaker 15.

[3. Third Embodiment]
Next, a third embodiment will be described. The third embodiment will describe an embodiment in which the sound collecting unit 10 is provided on the boom 24.

  FIG. 9: is the figure which showed the autonomous vehicle 1a in this embodiment. In the present embodiment, the sound collection unit 10 is provided at the tip of the boom 24. As a result, the sound collecting unit 10 (microphone 12) is at a higher position when the boom unit 20 is extended. As a result, the range of collecting sound becomes wider than that in the case where the boom 22 is provided.

[4. Fourth Embodiment]
Next, a fourth embodiment will be described. The fourth embodiment will describe an embodiment in which a plurality of microphones are provided.

  FIG. 10: is the figure which showed the autonomous vehicle 1b in this embodiment. In this embodiment, a plurality of microphones 14 are provided as the sound collecting unit. That is, the front microphone 14 a is provided in front of the tip unit 40 including the monitoring camera 50, and the upper microphone 14 b is provided above the tip unit 40.

  Then, as shown in FIG. 11, when the undulation angle is approximately 0 degrees, the front microphone 14a is turned on and the upper microphone 14b is turned off (S102; Yes → S104). When the lifting device 3 is raised, the hoisting angle of the boom portion 20 is not 0 degree. In this case, the front microphone 14a is turned off and the upper microphone is turned on.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, by providing the plurality of microphones, the lifting device 3 is not raised, that is, while the autonomous traveling vehicle 1 is traveling, the front sound is collected and the lifting device 3 is raised. That is, the surrounding sound can be collected while the autonomous traveling vehicle 1 is stopped.

[5. Fifth Embodiment]
Next, a fifth embodiment will be described. As the fifth embodiment, for example, a case where a member having a high water-repellent effect or a wiper function is used for the sound collection unit 10 will be described. That is, a member having a high water repellency or a wiper function is used on the front surface of the microphone 12.

  For example, when the elevating device 3 is raised (when the undulation angle of the boom portion 20 is the maximum angle), the sound collecting portion 10 is in a substantially horizontal state on the floor.

  At this time, if the weather is rainy or snowy, and if water collects on the sound collecting unit 10, the sound collecting effect will deteriorate. Therefore, it is possible to prevent water from accumulating in the sound collecting unit 10 by using a member having a high water-repellent effect or providing a wiper mechanism.

  Further, the exterior housing may be inclined or may have a mountain shape (convex shape). Even in this case, when the microphone 12 is provided at the angle of the above-described embodiment, the same effect can be realized.

[6. Sixth Embodiment]
Next, a sixth embodiment will be described. The sixth embodiment will explain a case where the microphone 12 is swingably attached to an attachment member.

  That is, when the elevating device 3 is in the lowered state (the undulation angle is approximately 0 degree), the microphone 12 is attached at an attachment angle that provides the maximum undulation angle.

  Here, when the lifting device 3 moves up, the lock mechanism of the microphone 12 is released, and the microphone 12 operates so as to maintain the floor surface horizontal state. That is, since it is not fixed to the attachment member, the floor surface is always kept horizontal regardless of the undulation angle of the boom portion 20.

[8. Modification]
Although the embodiment of the present invention has been described in detail above with reference to the drawings, the specific configuration is not limited to this embodiment, and a design etc. within the scope not departing from the gist of the present invention are also claimed. include.

  In the above-described embodiment, the boom portion is described as being composed of a two-stage boom, but it may have another structure. For example, the number of booms may be one, or may be multi-staged.

  Further, although the microphone has been described as being covered with the outer casing, it may not be covered with the outer casing. For example, the same effect can be obtained even if it is externally attached to the boom.

1, 1a, 1b Autonomous vehicle 3 Lifting device 10 Sound collecting part 12, 14, 14a, 14b Microphone 15 Speaker 20 Boom part 22, 24 Boom 26 Base 5 Vehicle body 32 Drive part 34 Tire 40 Tip unit 50 Monitoring camera 52 Front camera 100 Control unit 200 Shooting unit 210 Surrounding shooting unit 220 Outside shooting unit 300 Drive control unit 400 Boom control unit 500 Storage unit 600 Sound input unit 700 Sound output unit 800 Noise canceling unit

Claims (3)

In an autonomous vehicle equipped with a lifting device in the vehicle body,
The lifting device is configured to be raised and lowered,
A microphone is provided on the undulating portion of the lifting device,
The microphone is
The hoisting device is attached to the front of the vehicle when stored and is tilted with respect to the hoisting device so that the hoisting device has a maximum undulation angle of the hoisting device. When the hoisting device rises, the hoisting device faces upward of the vehicle. Is approximately horizontal at the maximum undulation angle of the lifting device,
An autonomous vehicle characterized in that The autonomous traveling vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the microphone is fixed to a slope of a mounting member having a sloped tip, and is further arranged away from an exterior housing that covers the mounting member. A speaker is provided on the undulating portion of the lifting device,
3. The autonomous traveling vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the microphone is arranged at a front end side of the undulating portion, and the speaker is arranged at a rear end side of the undulating portion, apart from each other.

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