JPH01136213A - Operation control system for automatic traveling vehicle - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To simplify maintenance by transmitting interchange control signal information together with the other information from an operation control commanding device, which is provided on the ground, to plural automatic traveling vehicles respectively and executing operation control. CONSTITUTION:The plural number of traveling vehicles M2, which equips a driving control device M1 for traveling, are controlled by an operation control commanding device M3 on the ground and caused to be operated on a prescribed traveling road M4. In this side on the ground, a position receiver M5 and a guiding radio transmitter receiver M8 are provided and along the prescribed traveling road M4, a signal line M7 for guiding radio and plural receiving loop lines M8 are arranged. In the traveling vehicle M2, a position transmitter M9 and a guiding radio transmitter receiver M10 are respectively provided. By detecting the signals from the respective position transmitters M9 with the receiving loop M8, a position is recognized. Thus, the operating information of the operation control commanding device M3 are formed and transmitted from the above-mentioned transmitter receiver M6 to all the traveling vehicles M2. As this result, the traveling vehicle M2 extracts only the information to relate to itself and the operation control is executed.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Industrial Field of Application] The present invention relates to a control method for operating a plurality of automatic vehicles on the same road.

[Background Art] When a plurality of autonomous vehicles are operated on the same road, it is necessary to perform operation control to prevent collisions between the autonomous vehicles. This method uses a wireless control method using a transmitter and a receiver, or a signal line is installed along the driving route, and a control signal is sent from the ground side to this signal line, and the autonomous vehicle side receives the control signal. There are methods to detect this and run the vehicle based on that information, and these methods have been generally adopted.

In addition, if there are a large number of automated driving vehicles, the signal line placed along the driving route may be divided into multiple blocked sections, and the signal lines may be set so that only one automated driving vehicle can travel in each blocked section. A method is known in which the information is sent from the ground side to an autonomous vehicle to control its operation.

[Problems to be solved by the invention] However, in the above-mentioned blockage control method,
A dedicated guidance radio equipment must be installed to transmit the blockage logic data to notify the state to the self-driving vehicle, and a communication signal or signal reception device must be installed. Therefore, the equipment on the ground side will be required.

The present invention was developed in view of the above-mentioned problems, and aims to provide an operation control method for an automatic driving vehicle that can operate smoothly with as simple equipment as possible.

[Means for Solving the Problems] The gist of the present invention is, as illustrated in FIG.
M2) is controlled by an operation control command device (M3) installed on the ground to operate a vehicle on a predetermined travel route (M4).
5> and a guided radio transmitter/receiver 1 (M6), and a guided radio signal line (M
l) and a plurality of reception loop lines (M8), each of the traveling vehicles (M2) is equipped with a position transmitter (M9) and a guided radio transceiver (Mlo), and each of the traveling vehicles The signal from the car's position transmitter (M9) is sent to the above receiving loop (M8).
The position of the traveling vehicle (M2) is recognized by detecting the vehicle (M2), and based on the recognition, the operation control command device (M2)
3) uses the logic operation function to calculate the blockage logic to form information, and the information is transmitted to the ground side guided radio transmission/reception 1 (M
6) to all of the traveling vehicles (M2) via the guided radio signal line (Ml), and each of the traveling vehicles (M2)
) is a driving control method for an automatic driving vehicle characterized by extracting only information regarding the own vehicle and operating the driving drive control device (Ml) based on that information.

[Operation] The operation control command device receives the signal from the position transmitter of the automatic traveling vehicle via the reception loop line and the position receiver, performs a block logical operation, and forms information.

This information is transmitted from the guided radio transmitter/receiver to all automated driving vehicles via the guided radio signal line, and each automated driving vehicle transmits the following information: Its operation is controlled by a single transmission system consisting of a guided radio transceiver and an autonomous vehicle.

[Example] An embodiment of the present invention will be described based on the drawings.

FIG. 2 is a schematic configuration diagram showing various devices for controlling the operation of an autonomous vehicle. Receiving loop lines 3a to 3p for detecting the presence of each automated driving vehicle 1 are continuously laid on the running path 2 on which a plurality of automated driving vehicles 1 travel, and the outer periphery of the receiving loops tiQ38 to 3p An inductive radio communication line 4 is laid in the area.

Each of the reception loop lines 3a to 3p is connected to a position receiver 5 installed on the ground, and the guided radio communication line 4 is connected to a guided radio transceiver installed on the ground. The position reception ta5 is transmitted to the guided radio transmitter/receiver 6 via the signal line 7.
are connected by transmission lines 8 to an operation control command device 9 installed on the ground.

The automatic vehicle 1 is also equipped with a vehicle control device 10, a guided radio transceiver 11, and a position transmitter, and is also equipped with a travel drive device 13 (the vehicle control device 10 and the travel drive device 13 corresponds to the traveling drive control device (Ml) shown in the basic configuration diagram of FIG. 1). The traveling vehicle control device 10 is connected to the guidance radio transmitter/receiver 11 by a transmission line 14, and is connected to the transmitting signal 112 by a signal line 15 and to the traveling drive device 13 by a signal line 16, respectively. In addition, a loop wire 3 for receiving the output of the position transmitter 12 is installed at the bottom of the vehicle body of the automatic driving vehicle 1.
A pickup coil 17 and an antenna 18 of the inductive radio transmitter/receiver 11 are provided for transmitting data to a to 3p.

Note that each of the autonomous vehicles 1 is traveling in a fixed direction.

The main devices will be explained in detail below.

First, various devices provided in the traveling vehicle 1 will be explained.

The traveling vehicle control device 10 controls the traveling drive device 13 and the position transmitter 12 based on various information transmitted from the ground-side operation control command device 9 via the guidance radio transmitter/receiver 6 and the guidance radio transmitter/receiver 11. . The position transmitter 12 outputs a frequency signal common to each autonomous vehicle 1 from the pickup coil 17, and the output signal is received by the receiver 11, which is a well-known device, and is connected to an antenna 18 and an inductive radio. Transmission and reception are performed with a well-known guidance radio transceiver 6 on the ground side via a communication line 4.

Next, the vehicle control device 10 will be explained in more detail. FIG. 3 is a block diagram of the vehicle control device 10. The vehicle control device 10 is a well-known CPLJ20. R
OM21. RAM22. Input boat 23. Output port 2
4. Serial-parallel data conversion communication controller 2
5. A transmission signal voltage level conversion 1126 is provided. First, the serial-parallel data conversion communication controller 25
converts the parallel data into serial data, converts the signal voltage level by the transmission signal voltage level converter 26, and transmits it to the inductive wireless transmitter/receiver vs11, and also transmits the signal from the inductive wireless transmitter/receiver 11 via the transmission signal voltage level converter 26. It receives serial data and converts it into parallel data. The input port 23 is connected to the automatic driving vehicle 1.
The output port 24 is connected to the traveling drive device 13 and the position transmitter 12.

Further, the transmission signal voltage level converter 26 is connected to the transmission line 14 from the inductive radio transmitter/receiver 11.

Furthermore, various programs for driving the automatic vehicle 1 safely and accurately are written in the ROM.

Next, various devices installed on the ground side will be explained. A position receiver 5 connected to each of the receiving loop lines 3a to 3p identifies the current position of each autonomous vehicle 1 based on input signals from the receiving loop lines 3a to 3p, and transmits position information using a built-in relay logic circuit. It is assembled and output to the operation control command device 9. Further, the guided radio transceiver 6 is well known.

Next, the operation control command device 9 will be explained.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram of the operation control command device 9. The operation control command device 9 includes a well-known CPU 30°ROM 31.
RAM32. Input port 33. A serial-parallel data conversion communication controller 34 and a transmission signal voltage level converter 35 are provided.

The input port 33 is connected to the signal line 7 from the position receiver 5, and the transmission signal voltage level converter 35 is connected to the transmission line 8 with the inductive radio transceiver 6. Also ROM31
A variety of programs are written in the ``self-driving vehicle'' to allow the self-driving vehicle to operate safely and efficiently. Note that the serial-parallel data conversion communication controller 34 is the traveling vehicle control device 1.
It is the same as that of 0.

Next, operation control in this embodiment will be explained.

First, transmission paths of various information will be explained.

Now, it is assumed that the automatic driving vehicles 1 from car No. 1 to car N are traveling in a fixed direction on a constant traveling road.

Each of the automatic driving vehicles 1 outputs a distance-to-frequency signal from a position transmitter 12 to reception loop lines 3a to 3p corresponding to its current position. On the ground side, the position receiver 5 identifies the current position of each automatic driving vehicle 1 based on input signals from the respective reception loop lines 3a to 3p, and determines which reception loop line each automatic driving vehicle 1 is connected to. 3a to 3p. This position information is then output to the operation control command device 9 through the signal line 7. In the operation control command device 9, the CPU 30
A well-known block logic operation is performed based on the input location information to form traffic control signal information. For example, for the section of the receiving loop line 3a following the automatic driving vehicle 1, a "red signal equivalent to black", for the section of the next receiving loop line 3b, a "yellow" equivalent signal, and roughly from the next receiving loop line 3C onward. A "blue" equivalent signal is set for the section. The handling of each signal is as follows: red = prohibition of entering the next section (or absolute stop), yellow = stop after entering the next section, blue = permission to drive. Then, the CPU 30 integrates the signal information and other information to be transmitted to form a transmission information string. Each transmission information string from car No. 1 to car N is configured, and each transmission information string from car No. 1 to car N is sequentially written on the RAM 32, and the information table 32
form a. The transmission information string is configured as follows for each traveling vehicle 1, for example.

[Calling automatic driving vehicle number @], [Current position reception loop number], [Section traffic control signal number], [Loading reception reception loop number], [Loading unloading reception loop number], [Others]
When the transmission information strings for all cars are complete, the CPU 30 reads each transmission information string from the information table 32a starting from car No. 1, and instructs the serial-parallel conversion communication controller 34 to sequentially transmit the information starting from car No. 1. Then, the transmission information string is simply sent out via the guided radio transceiver 6. During normal driving, this transmission is performed as shown in the flowchart shown in FIG.

When the transmission information strings for all cars are completed, the CPU 30 reads out the transmission information string for car No. 1 from the information table 32a (step 100). Next, the serial-parallel data conversion communication controller 34 is commanded to transmit the transmission information string (step 110).

Next, wait for a reply from car No. 1 and judge whether there is a reply (step 120), and if it is determined that there is a reply, ff1l! I!
After that, the process moves on to transmitting the information sequence to the next car, No. 2. If it is determined that there is no reply, abnormality processing (step 130) is performed to determine that the first car is abnormal (for example, the power source of the autonomous vehicle is cut off), and the process is terminated and the information sequence is transmitted to the second car. Then, the same process is executed sequentially up to the N car. The above process is repeatedly executed at predetermined intervals. This cycle is extremely short compared to the time required for the automatic vehicle 1 to pass through one reception loop line 3a to 3p. Therefore, information transmission is performed quickly following the movement of each autonomous vehicle 1.

Furthermore, in each of the autonomous vehicles 1, the received information string is saved -H in the received data buffer 22a in the RAM 22 of the vehicle control device 10.

Then, the CPLJ 20 performs various controls based on the received information as shown in the flowchart shown in FIG. That is,
The CPU 20 reads the called automatic driving vehicle number in the information string from the received data buffer 22a (step 200), and determines whether the number matches the own vehicle number (step 210). If the judgment is negative, the reception buffer 22a
is cleared (step 220) and the process ends. If the determination is affirmative, the section traffic control signal in the information string is read out from the reception data buffer 22a (step 230).
, it is determined whether or not it is a "red" signal (step 240). If the determination is affirmative, a stop signal is immediately output to the traveling drive device 13, and the process is terminated (step 250). If the determination is negative, The process proceeds to a determination as to whether the section traffic control signal is a "yellow" signal (step 260). step 260
If the determination is affirmative in step 270, a slowdown signal is output to the travel drive device 13 (step 270), and the process ends. If the judgment is negative, the section traffic control signal is ``green''.
The process advances to determination whether it is a signal (step 280). If a negative determination is made in step 280, abnormality processing (step 290) is executed (for example, emergency stop), and the processing is ended. If the determination is affirmative, a running signal is output to the running drive device 13 (step 300) and the process ends.

Further, the CPU 20 reads the current position reception loop number in the information string from the reception data buffer 22a and stores it in a predetermined area on the RAM as current position data. Other information is stored similarly. By the way, when it is recognized that the calling vehicle number matches the own vehicle number while receiving the information string,
Immediately after receiving the information string, the CPU 20 composes a reply information string and instructs its transmission to the ground-side operation control command device 9.

The reply information string is configured as follows, for example.

[Responsive vehicle own vehicle number 1, [Recognized current position reception loop number], [Recognized section traffic control signal], [Recognized cargo receiving reception loop number], [Recognized cargo unloading reception loop number],
[Loaded object information], [Various vehicle status information, [Others]... The ground side operation control command device 9 receives the traveling vehicle number and current position receiving loop number from among the exchanged information strings. , the section traffic control signal information is compared, and if there is a mismatch, the signal is retransmitted. If they match, the next issue will be sent.

In addition to the procedures described above, the information transmission between the ground and the automated driving vehicle includes a procedure in which the operation control command device 9 on the ground side transmits only to a specific automated driving vehicle 1, and a procedure in which the automated driving vehicle 1 calls the operation control command device. There are steps to transmit. In addition, if a failure occurs in any of the information transmission systems between the ground and the autonomous vehicle, various abnormality processing will be executed to ensure safety. for example,
In the automatic driving vehicle 1, when the transmission from the ground side that is performed at a predetermined period is interrupted, or when the CP of the driving vehicle control device 10
If U20 goes out of control, it will perform an emergency stop. Furthermore, if the position transmitter 12 on the automatic vehicle 1 fails, the ground-side operation control command device 9 recognizes that the vehicle is unknown and immediately shuts off the power source of all vehicles.

In addition, in this embodiment, the receiving loop lines 3a to 3p are used, but it is also possible to detect the presence or absence of the autonomous vehicle 1 by providing proximity switches at the entrance and exit of each blocked section. .

As explained above, in the automatic driving vehicle operation control system of this embodiment, the transmission system for traffic control signals and the transmission system for other various information are integrated, and a single information transmission system is used to simultaneously transmit data. It is transmitting. Therefore, it is possible to reduce the number of ground-side equipment, such as the section traffic control signal transmitter and power supply device installed in each blocked section, and the section traffic control signal receiver provided in the automatic traveling vehicle 1.

In addition, an identification number is set for each self-driving vehicle, and the transmitted identification number is compared with that of the own vehicle, and only the information string sent to the own vehicle is selected and incorporated, thereby preventing interference. This ensures high safety. Furthermore, if any failure occurs in any of the transmission systems, the autonomous vehicle
Safety has been ensured by taking measures such as cutting off the power source of the vehicle and making an emergency stop for self-driving vehicles.

[Effects of the Invention] As described above, in the automatic driving vehicle operation control system of the present invention, the information transmission system can be integrated into a single system.

Therefore, traffic control signal information is transmitted along with other information from an operation control command device installed on the ground to each of a plurality of autonomous vehicles for operation control, so traffic control signal transmitters for each blocked section, All of the equipment required for conventional blockage control, such as power supplies and traffic control signal receivers mounted on each autonomous vehicle, can be eliminated.

Therefore, the construction period can be shortened, equipment costs can be reduced, and maintenance can be simplified.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Figure 1 is a basic configuration diagram illustrating the operation control method of an automatic driving vehicle according to the present invention, Figure 2 is a schematic configuration diagram of various devices for controlling the operation of an automatic driving car, and Figure 3 is a basic configuration diagram illustrating the operation control method of an automatic driving vehicle of the present invention. FIG. 4 is a block diagram of the vehicle control device installed on the tower, FIG. 4 is a block diagram of the operation control command device installed on the ground, FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing the information string transmission routine in the operation control command device, and FIG. 3 is a flowchart of a vehicle control routine in the vehicle control device. 1... Automatic driving vehicle 3a-3p... Reception loop line 5
...Position receiver 6...Guidance radio transceiver 9...Operation control command device 10...Vehicle control I device 11...Guidance radio transceiver 12...Position transmitter

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] A vehicle operation control system in which a plurality of vehicles equipped with a travel drive control device are controlled by an operation control command device installed on the ground to operate on a predetermined travel road, comprising: The vehicle is equipped with a position receiver and a guided radio transmitter/receiver, and a guided radio signal line and a plurality of receiving loop lines are arranged along the predetermined traveling route, and each of the traveling vehicles is equipped with a position transmitter and a guided radio transmitter/receiver. A guided radio transmitter/receiver is installed, and the position of the traveling vehicle is recognized by detecting the signal from the position transmitter of each traveling vehicle using the receiving loop, and based on the recognition, the operation control command device is activated. A logical operation function calculates blockage logic to form information, and the information is transmitted from the ground-side guidance radio transmitter/receiver to all the traveling vehicles via the guidance radio signal line, and each of the traveling vehicles A driving control method for an automatic driving vehicle, characterized in that the driving control device for driving is operated by extracting only information regarding the own vehicle and operating the driving drive control device based on that information.