JPH01109414A - Control method for direction turnover of unmanned vehicle - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To facilitate the setting of a track when a spin turning can be executed there by rotating a front wheel so that the wheel can be turned at right angle to the straight line advancing direction of a rear wheel, driving the font wheel and turning an unmanned vehicle. CONSTITUTION:When an unmanned vehicle 2 enters the place like a blind alley between obstacles 7 and a marker 8 for a command provided near a guiding path 6 is detected and a front wheel 4 is turned to 90 deg. by the command of the microcomputer for a self-guidance. When the front wheel 4 is turned, the unmanned vehicle 2 turns the intermediate point of two rear wheels 5 and 5 and moves to the position converted in a 180 deg. direction. Thus, since the unmanned vehicle is spin-turned there and can be direction-converted, the direction turnover can be executed at a place narrower than the time when the U turn is executed.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION A. Field of Industrial Application The present invention relates to a method for controlling direction change of an unmanned vehicle in an unmanned vehicle transportation system.

B1 Overview of the Invention The present invention provides spin turn control using a detector or the like of the unmanned vehicle that guides the unmanned vehicle to a predetermined travel course and route in a self-guidance method in controlling the direction of the unmanned vehicle in a transportation system using the unmanned vehicle. When receiving a command to do so, the unmanned vehicle's microcomputer orders the front wheels to rotate at a 90° angle with respect to the straight-line direction of the rear wheels.
Next, the front wheels are driven to maneuver the unmanned vehicle, the front wheels are stopped with the grounding point of the front wheels located on the taxiway, and then the front wheels are controlled to rotate to face the direction of travel. By doing so, the unmanned vehicle can spin around the midpoint of the rear wheels on the spot.

C1 Prior Art In general, an unmanned vehicle transportation system changes a pre-programmed or set traveling course and route by steering an unmanned vehicle along a taxiway installed on a track or ground floor, and also changes the traveling position and The system is capable of unmanned operation by changing the acceleration/deceleration range and stopping position through drive control according to the ridge top view.

One of the control methods for such unmanned vehicles is that the unmanned vehicle itself detects the driving position and direction based on the gyro's direction indication and the rotation speed difference of the encoder attached to the wheels, and this detected value is set. There is a self-guidance method that allows the vehicle to travel along a set course based on the deviation from the course information provided.

Such self-guided unmanned vehicles are shown in Figures 4 and 5.
There is a method proposed in Japanese Patent Application No. 132831/1983 filed by the applicant of the present invention, as illustrated in the figure. As shown in FIG. 4, one laser beam scanning device 1 is installed on the ceiling of a building above the unmanned vehicle driving area set on the ground floor or on a steel tower installed on the ground floor. and,
This laser beam scanning device 1 is configured to scan the laser beam along a set course R set vertically and horizontally in the unmanned vehicle driving area.

The unmanned vehicle 2 is guided along a set course by a self-guidance system, and has a steering control based on the detection of the running direction by a gyro and the deviation from the set course, and an integrated output value ( Traveling along the set course R is obtained by drive control based on the deviation between the travel distance (traveling distance) and the set distance.

These controls are performed using a microcomputer as the control center, and perform drive control of the drive wheels by the drive system and steering control of the steered wheels by the steering system based on comparison calculations of detection signals from the gyro and encoder and setting data.

Here, the unmanned vehicle 2 is equipped with a laser light detector 3 on the upper part of the vehicle body. This detector 3 is configured to detect the scanning direction and scanning position of the laser beam from the laser light source 1 from above.

FIG. 5 shows the configuration of the detector 3, in which the laser beam from the laser beam scanning device II in the scanning direction Z is passed through the optical system to a light receiving element array 3 arranged with a predetermined gap in the front and back direction of the unmanned vehicle 2. ．． .

3, and the light receiving element array 3. ．． 3. The light receiving positions Na and Nb are determined by the positional deviation f of the unmanned vehicle with respect to the laser light source.
A detection signal associated with f1D and the deviation direction θ is obtained. The unmanned vehicle 2 is equipped with a control device that detects the positional deviation ff1D and the positional deviation in the direction θ with respect to the traveling course caused by self-guidance from the laser beam detected by the detector 3, and corrects the traveling course.

With this configuration, the unmanned vehicle 2 that travels along a set course by self-guidance will have cumulative errors in the gyro and encoder, but the detector 3 will detect the laser beam from the laser beam scanning device 1 continuously or at regular intervals. This detection is used as a driving area fixed point instruction signal to correct the current position data through self-guidance, thereby achieving driving without deviation from the set course.

Furthermore, in such a conventional self-guided unmanned vehicle, when the unmanned vehicle 2 is to make a U-turn, a U-turn course is set within the unmanned driving area, and the unmanned vehicle 2 is driven on this set course. By doing so, a U-turn operation was performed.

D1 Problems to be Solved by the Invention Conventional unmanned transportation systems such as those described above are often used within manufacturing plants, and the path is set to travel between devices installed within the factory. Therefore, it is difficult to secure a large space for the unmanned vehicle to make a U-turn, which poses a problem in that it interferes with the route setting of the unmanned vehicle.

In view of the above-mentioned points, an object of the present invention is to provide a new direction change control method for an unmanned vehicle that allows the unmanned vehicle to change direction within a narrow range, and to facilitate the course setting of the unmanned vehicle.

Means for Solving Problem E1 The direction change control method for an unmanned vehicle of the present invention uses a detector or the like of the unmanned vehicle to guide the vehicle to a predetermined travel course and route using a self-guidance method to issue a command to perform a spin turn. When I received it,
Based on the instructions from the unmanned vehicle's microcomputer, the front wheels are rotated at a 90° angle to the straight-line traveling direction of the rear wheels, and then the front wheels are driven to maneuver the unmanned vehicle so that the grounding point of the front wheels is on the taxiway. Stop the front wheels while the vehicle is in the
Next, the front wheels are controlled to rotate so as to face in the direction of travel.

F1 Effect By having the configuration as described above, the unmanned vehicle is caused to spin turn around the midpoint of the rear wheels on the spot.

G. Example Hereinafter, an example of the direction change control method for an unmanned vehicle according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 3. Note that in FIGS. 1 to 3, parts corresponding to those in FIGS. 4 and 5 are designated by the same reference numerals for convenience of explanation.

1 to 3 are plan views, and 2 is an unmanned vehicle.

This unmanned vehicle 2 has three wheels, one front wheel 4 and two rear wheels 5.5. This front wheel 4 is of a so-called steering drive type, and is rotationally driven by a drive control mechanism (not shown), and is rotated in the direction of arrow A within the plane of the figure.
The steering is controlled within an angle of 180°.

Furthermore, the detector 3 is integrated with this front wheel 4 and is connected to the arrow A.
It is configured to rotate in the direction.

Further, the rear wheel 5.5 is a caster, that is, a wheel mounted so as to be freely rotatable.

Note that 6 is a guideway installed on the ground floor, and 7 is an obstacle such as a processing device.

Next, direction change control of the unmanned vehicle 2 as described above will be explained.

First, when the unmanned vehicle 2 enters a place such as a dead end between obstacles 7 as shown in FIG. Make a transformation.

Therefore, when the unmanned vehicle 2 detects the command marker 8 installed near the taxiway 6, its self-guidance microcomputer commands the front wheels 4 to rotate 90 degrees to the position shown by the solid line in FIG. move. Then, this front wheel 4 is rotated.

Then, the unmanned vehicle 2 turns in the direction of arrow B around the midpoint between the two rear wheels 5.5, and moves from the position indicated by the two-dot chain line to the position indicated by the one-dot chain line, where the direction has been changed by 180 degrees.

At this time, the microcomputer detects that the sensor of the detector 3 has passed over the taxiway 6 immediately before reaching the position indicated by the - dotted chain line, and then rotates the front wheels 4 for the required time to rotate the front wheels. Control is performed so that the grounding point of No. 4 is on the taxiway 6.

Next, from the state shown by the dashed line in this first WJ, the front wheel 4
As shown in FIG. 3, the unmanned vehicle 2 changes direction by 180 degrees from the state shown in FIG. The direction change operation is completed when the vehicle is positioned at .

Note that after changing direction, the vehicle travels on the taxiway 6 it came from and travels to the next destination.

Effects of the H8 Invention As detailed above, according to the direction change control method for an unmanned vehicle of the present invention, it is possible to make an unmanned vehicle spin turn on the spot and change direction, which is much easier than making a U turn. This has the effect of allowing you to change direction in tight spaces.

Furthermore, there is no need to newly install a special mechanical member to control this direction change, and the operation can be easily and inexpensively controlled.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

1 to 3 are schematic plan views showing one embodiment of the direction change control method for an unmanned vehicle according to the present invention, and FIG. 4 is a device configuration diagram showing an example of a conventional guidance device for an unmanned vehicle, and FIG. FIG. 5 is a configuration diagram of the laser photodetector. 2... Unmanned vehicle, 3... Detector, 4... Front wheel, 5...
... Rear wheel, 6... Taxiway, 8... Command marker. Figure 1: Schematic plan view 7...Finger + marker Figure 2: Schematic plan view Figure 3: Schematic plan view Figure 4: M 11! Prayer formation' concave 1°7' (

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] When the unmanned vehicle (2), which guides itself to a predetermined travel course and route, receives a command to make a spin turn by a detector or the like of the unmanned vehicle (2), the micro According to instructions from the computer, the front wheels (4) are rotated to form an angle of 90 degrees with respect to the straight-line traveling direction of the rear wheels (5), and then the front wheels (4) are driven to move the unmanned vehicle (2). The front wheels (4) are rotated so that the front wheels (4) are stopped with the grounding point of the front wheels (4) located on the taxiway (6), and then the front wheels (4) are rotated so as to face in the direction of travel. A direction change control method for an unmanned vehicle, characterized in that the direction change control method for an unmanned vehicle is controlled to