JPH01277911A - Intersection controller for unattended carriage - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To perform control with a simple constitution requiring no ground equipments by providing an unattended carriage with a contactless obstacle detecting means which detects obstacles in a required angular range in the right or the left of the carriage. CONSTITUTION:Each of unattended carriages A and B which are moved along guide lines (a) and (b) crossing each other is provided with an obstacle detecting sensor 2 which detects obstacles in a prescribed angular range 2a in the front without contacting and an intersection optical sensor 3 which detects obstacles in a prescribed angular range 3 in the right without contacting and is similar to the sensor 2. Before they reach the intersection X, the carriage A of which the other carriage B is seen on the right is preferentially moved, and the carriage B is stopped before the intersection X, and the carriage B restarts to move after detecting the carriage A by the sensor 2. Meanwhile, when it is detected by the sensor 2 of the carriage A that the carriage B already reached the intersection X, the carriage A is stopped, and the carriage A is moved to the intersection X after the carriage B gets out of the detection range of the sensor 3. Consequently, they are controlled at the intersection with the simple constitution requiring no ground equipments to improve the flexibility of line installation.

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] Industrial Application Field The present invention is a travel control device for an automatic guided vehicle that runs unmanned in a factory, etc., and allows two automatic guided vehicles entering the same intersection to pass alternately. This invention relates to an intersection control device for automated guided vehicles that prevents collisions or contact.

Conventional technology At intersections where guide lines laid along driving routes intersect, this prevents accidents such as collisions or contact between automated guided vehicles when two automated guided vehicles enter the same intersection. For this purpose, intersection control as disclosed in, for example, Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 54-22084 is performed. This intersection control involves laying two control lines, a main line and a side line, along each intersecting guide line near the intersection, and switching between the main line and the side line of these control lines with a switch. When one of the vehicle entry detectors installed near the branch point between the main line and the side line of each control line detects the approach of an automated guided vehicle to an intersection, one main line of the control line II on the guide line side that guides the automatic guided vehicle that entered the intersection,
The switch is activated to energize the other control line and the side line, and the preceding automatic guided vehicle enters and passes through the intersection.

Then, the other vehicle entry detector detects the approach of the following Teru person guided vehicle to the intersection, but because the approach to the intersection is delayed even slightly, the side track side of the control line II is energized. Unable to enter the intersection and wait. and,
Unmanned M who entered first! When the two vehicles have passed through the intersection, the switch is switched and the power to the control line is reversed, allowing the following automated guided vehicle to pass through the intersection, giving priority to the vehicle that entered the intersection first. This prevents collisions from occurring by allowing the vehicle to pass through the vehicle.

Problems to be Solved by the Invention However, in order to control the automatic guided vehicle on the ground side, as in the conventional intersection control described above, it is necessary to establish a control line consisting of a main line and a side line, and to detect the position of the automatic guided vehicle. This requires a vehicle entry detector, etc., 8 signal stations to give waiting signals to the automated guided vehicle, and a control device to control these devices.Also, wiring to each device is also required, so there is a lot of ground-side equipment. , the configuration is complicated, especially in the case of a line with a configuration with many intersection control points, equipment costs are high, and the layout of the factory line cannot be easily changed because there is a lot of equipment installed on the ground side. There was a problem.

This invention was made under the above-mentioned technical steps,
The purpose of this invention is to provide a cross production system 611 device for automatic guided vehicles that can reduce equipment costs by eliminating equipment on the ground side, and can flexibly respond to changes in layout after installation of a factory line.

Means for Solving the Problem As a means for solving the above problem, the automatic guided vehicle intersection 1lI116'I of this defense is an intersection where at least two travel paths of the guided automatic guided vehicle intersect. Intersection system for automatic guided vehicles that controls the approach of automatic guided vehicles to t! I device, which is mounted on an automatic guided vehicle and includes a non-contact obstacle detection means for detecting obstacles existing in a predetermined range in front of the automatic guided vehicle in the traveling direction of the automatic guided vehicle; A non-contact type object detection means is provided for detecting an object present in a predetermined range diagonally in front of either the left or right side, which is set at a certain angle.

Effect By configuring as described above, if each automatic guided vehicle is provided with a non-contact type object detection means to detect an object in a predetermined range diagonally to the right front with respect to the direction of travel, then the right side As a general rule, priority is given to vehicles, and among two automated guided vehicles approaching the same intersection, one automated guided vehicle (vehicle on the left) with the other vehicle on the right side relative to the direction of travel of its own weight.
The object detection means of the other automatic guided vehicle (right vehicle) detects the presence of another vehicle and stops, and the object detection means of the other automatic guided vehicle (right vehicle) detects the other vehicle, and the other vehicle is located on the left side with respect to the traveling direction of its own weight. The other automatic guided vehicle is passing through the intersection, and the other automatic guided vehicle is within the detection range of the object detection means of the one automatic guided vehicle. Even if the automatic guided vehicle is stopped in front of the intersection, the obstacle detection means that detects obstacles ahead in the direction of travel detects other vehicles passing through the intersection, so the automated guided vehicle that is stopped before the intersection continues to be stopped. When the other vehicle finishes passing through the intersection and moves out of the detection range of the obstacle detection means, the one stopped vehicle moves north and enters the intersection.

Conversely, if the object detection means is provided in each automatic guided vehicle so as to detect objects in a predetermined range in front of the vehicle on the diagonal U side with respect to the direction of travel, priority will be given to vehicles on the left side in principle.

Furthermore, when one automatic guided vehicle, which is a non-priority vehicle, enters the intersection first, and then the other automatic guided vehicle, which is originally a priority vehicle, approaches the intersection, the one automatic guided vehicle that entered the intersection first will Since the position of the other vehicle is outside the detection range of the on-board object detection means, it is unable to detect the following unmanned 1m vehicle approaching the same intersection, so the vehicle continues traveling in a U-continuation.
The following automatic guided vehicle will stop when its installed obstacle detection means detects the other automatic guided vehicle in front of it that is passing through the intersection, and then the automatic guided vehicle that is passing will detect the obstacle detection means. Once out of range, the following automated guided vehicle starts and passes through the intersection.

Embodiment Hereinafter, an embodiment of the intersection control system 1III1 for an automatic guided vehicle according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 4.

Figures 1 and 3 show an example of an intersection control system at an orthogonal intersection.
Book induction I! ila and b are orthogonal, and one of the guides lQa (the one laid in the left-right direction in Fig. 1)
, the automated guided vehicle A is guided and runs unmanned in one direction from the right to the left in Figure 1, and in the other direction (the one that is rolled up and down in Figure 1). The automatic guided vehicle B is guided along the guide line and travels unmanned in one direction from the bottom to the top in FIG.

Both of the automatic guided vehicles A and B are each equipped with a cross production system 611 unit @1. This intersection control
The device 1 includes an obstacle detection sensor 2 attached to the front of each automatic guided vehicle A and 8 facing the direction of travel, and an intersection light sensor attached to the right side of the front of the vehicle body facing forward in the direction of travel. Based on the information obtained by the sensor 3, the obstacle detection sensor 2, and the intersection light sensor 3, the intersection travel of each automatic guided vehicle A and B is controlled 11i1J, and the automatic guided vehicle A and B other than the intersection are controlled 11i1J. Control 211' also regarding travel control? It is composed of a traveling control device 4.

The obstacle detection sensor 2 of the intersection control g device 1 mounted on each of the automatic guided vehicles A and B transmits ultrasonic waves, etc. to a point slightly wider than the width of the vehicle body and a certain distance from the front end of the vehicle body. The detection range 2a is emitted and the reflected waves are used to search for obstacles. The intersection light sensor 3 includes a light emitting part and a light receiving part (not shown), and transmits a light beam having a predetermined angle of spread in a direction diagonally forward and to the right by a certain angle α with respect to the traveling direction. At the same time, the system detects the presence of an approaching automatic guided vehicle by receiving the reflected light when the emitted light beam hits another automatic guided vehicle approaching the same intersection X.
Further, the irradiation range of the light beam, that is, the detection range 3a borders the detection range 2a of the obstacle detection sensor 2, and can detect a distance farther than the detection range 2a of the obstacle detection sensor 2 (the first (see figure).

Further, as shown in FIG. 2, the travel control device 4 includes a central processing device 5, and receives information from the obstacle detection sensor 2 regarding the presence or absence of an obstacle ahead in the traveling direction in the entire travel section and the intersection. Information regarding other automatic guided vehicles in the intersection section detected by the optical sensor 3 and a mark plate (not shown) indicating a work section, slow-moving section, or stop position, or a mark plate 6 indicating the intersection section (see Fig. 3)
The information from the mark sensor 7 that detects the direction of the road, etc., and the information from the travel guidance sensor 8 that detects the travel guidance electromagnetic waves from the guide line a or the induction line 4ab are input to the center %Tl! MA@
It is processed by a travel control program installed in the drive motor controller 9 and the steering motor controller 10.

Then, from the travel control device @4, automatic guided vehicles A and B
When the vehicle starts guided travel, the switch of the obstacle detection sensor 2 is turned ON, and when the obstacle detection sensor 2 detects an obstacle, a command is given to the drive motor controller 9 to stop the drive motor 11. .

Further, a command corresponding to the type of mark plate detected by the mark sensor 7 is given to the drive motor controller 9 to control the operation of the drive motor 11, and when the mark sensor 7 detects the mark plate 6 indicating an intersection section. , a command is given to turn on the intersection light sensor 3 and operate it for a certain period of time, and when the intersection light sensor 3 detects the approach of another automatic guided vehicle, a command is given to the drive motor controllers 0-9. The drive motor is configured to stop when the current is given. Furthermore, when the travel guidance sensor 8 detects the need to change course due to a curve or the like, the steering motor controller 1
0 to control the operation of the steering motor 12.

Then, by configuring as described above, the automatic guided vehicle A
. Autonomous intersection control is performed by an intersection light sensor 3 and a travel control device 4.

Next, the operation of this embodiment configured as described above will be explained.

In FIG. 1, when two automated guided vehicles iA and B are guided by orthogonal guide lines a and b and approach the same intersection X and reach a predetermined position, an automated guided vehicle A and an automated guided vehicle Each mark sensor 7 of vehicle B detects a mark plate 6 indicating an intersection section.

When the mark plate 6 is detected, the switch of each intersection light sensor 93 of the intersection control device 1.1 of both automatic guided vehicles A and B is turned ON and starts detecting other automatic guided vehicles within the detection range 3a. In this embodiment, the detection range of the intersection light sensor 3 provided in each of the automatic guided vehicles A and B is diagonally forward to the right with respect to the traveling direction of the automatic guided vehicle A or automatic guided vehicle B, so that Of the two approaching vehicles, Automated Guided Vehicle B (vehicle on the left), which looks at the other vehicle to the right, can detect unmanned 119 A (vehicle on the right) diagonally ahead to the right, but Automated Guided Vehicle A (vehicle on the right), which looks at the other vehicle to the left. cannot detect automatic guided vehicle B. Therefore, when both automatic guided vehicles A and B reach the positions shown by the solid lines in FIG. The command is given to stop the drive motor 11 and temporarily stop before the intersection Enter and get priority passage. And intersection X
When the position of the automatic guided vehicle passing through deviates from the detection range 3a of the intersection light sensor 3 of the automatic guided vehicle B that is temporarily stopped before the intersection X, it subsequently enters the detection range 2a and detects an obstacle. Since it is detected by sensor 2, automatic guided vehicle B, which is a non-priority vehicle, continues to temporarily stop, and automatic guided vehicle A
When the vehicle passes through the intersection X and moves out of the detection range 2a and reaches the position indicated by the broken line in FIG. Automatic guided vehicle B then enters intersection X.

In addition, the automatic guided vehicle B (left vehicle) which is a non-priority vehicle
However, while entering intersection X first and passing through this intersection
When the automatic guided vehicle A, which is a priority vehicle, approaches the same intersection X, the obstacle detection sensor 2 equipped on this automatic guided vehicle A
detects the automatic guided vehicle B passing through the intersection
1 stops, and automatic guided vehicle A temporarily stops in front of intersection X. When the automatic guided vehicle B, which is the first vehicle to enter the intersection is given, the drive motor 11 is driven, and the automatic guided vehicle A enters the intersection X. At this time, since the automatic guided vehicle A that has temporarily stopped upon detecting a vehicle entering the intersection Therefore, the automatic guided vehicles A and B are controlled so that they do not both stop and get stuck at the intersection X.

Further, an example of autonomous intersection control by the intersection control device 1 will be explained based on a flowchart of the autonomous intersection control program shown in FIG.

This autonomous intersection control program is installed in the traveling side 611 device 4 of the intersection control device 1.

Then, when the mark sensor 7 of the automatic guided vehicle A or automatic guided vehicle B traveling guided by the guide lines a and b detects a mark plate, it is determined that the mark plate detected in step 1 is the mark plate 6 indicating the intersection section. Check whether or not.

As a checking method, for example, the point address of the detected mark plate is compared with CPU map data, and if the detected mark plate is not the mark plate 6 indicating an intersection section, the mark plate 6 is further detected. If the mark plate 6 indicating the intersection section is detected, the process proceeds to step 2, where the operation switch of the intersection light sensor 3 is turned on, and the process proceeds to step 3.

In step 3, other automatic guided vehicles entering the detection range 3a are detected depending on whether reflected light is input to the intersection light sensor 3 that has started operating, and if no reflected light is input, It is determined that there are no other automatic guided vehicles within the detection range 3a, and the process proceeds to step 9, and then step 9.
, an obstacle within the detection range 2a of the obstacle detection sensor 2 is detected, and if no obstacle is detected in the forward direction of travel, the process proceeds to step 8 to continue traveling, and if an obstacle is detected, Proceed to step 4.

Further, in step 3, if reflected light is input to the light receiving section of the intersection light sensor 3 and another automatic guided vehicle is detected, the process proceeds to step 4.

Then, after proceeding to step 4, the system temporarily stops, and then proceeding to step 5, where obstacles within the detection range 3a are detected. If an obstacle is detected, if another automatic guided vehicle is still passing through the intersection. When it is determined that the vehicle is in the middle of the road, the process returns to step 4 to continue the temporary stop, and the process proceeds to step 5 again, where the obstacle detection sensor 3 detects an obstacle, and steps 4 and 5 are repeated until no obstacle is detected. The process is repeated, and when no obstacles are detected in step 5, it is determined that the other automatic guided vehicle has completed passing through the intersection, and the process proceeds to step 6.

In step 6, the intersection optical sensor 3 detects another automatic guided vehicle again, and detects whether another automatic guided vehicle approaches the same intersection while the vehicle is stopped, and approaches the intersection. If another automatic guided vehicle is detected, the process returns to step 4 to continue the temporary stop, and in step 5, the newly detected automatic guided vehicle finishes passing through the intersection, and the obstacle detection sensor When another automatic guided vehicle is no longer detected in step 2, the process proceeds to step 6, where another automatic guided vehicle is detected. If a new automated guided vehicle is not detected, the process proceeds to step 7 to cancel the temporary stop, and then proceeds to step 8, where the traveling control n'J
A command is given from i@4 to the drive motor controller 9, and the drive motor 11 is driven to start running.

In addition, in the said Example, each automatic guided vehicle A.

Intersection light sensor 3 of intersection control lH@1 provided at B
However, on the contrary, the intersection light sensor 3
However, they may be installed uniformly so that they face diagonally forward to the left with respect to the direction of travel.In this case, vehicles on the left side will have priority, contrary to the above embodiment in which vehicles on the right side have priority, and vehicles in front of the vehicle will have priority. The principle is the same as in the previous embodiment.

Intersection control of automatic guided vehicle of this invention as described in detail 1
1 device is mounted on an automatic guided vehicle and includes a non-contact obstacle detection means that detects obstacles existing in a predetermined range in front of the automatic guided vehicle in the traveling direction of the automatic guided vehicle; Since the configuration is equipped with a non-contact object detection means that detects an object existing diagonally in a predetermined range in front of either the left or right side determined at an angle of , the ground-side equipment for intersection control It has excellent effects such as eliminating the need for automatic guided vehicle system lines, reducing the cost of the automatic guided vehicle system line, and being able to flexibly respond to layout changes after the line is installed.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

1 to 4 show an embodiment of the present invention, in which FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram showing an intersection control device at an intersection, FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the configuration of an intersection control II device, and FIG. The figure is an explanatory diagram showing the position of the mark plate, and FIG. 4 is a flowchart of the autonomous intersection control program. 1... Intersection control 11 device, 2... Obstacle detection sensor, 3... Intersection light sensor, 2a, 3a... Detection range, 4... Travel control TL device, 5... Central processing Device, 6... Mark plate, 7... Mark sensor, 8... Travel = "l sensor, 9... Drive motor controller, 10... Steering motor controller, 11... Drive motor,
12... Steering motor, A, B... Automatic guided vehicle, a, b... Guidance line, X... Intersection. Figure 1 I Figure 4

Claims (1)

[Claims] An intersection control device for an automatic guided vehicle that controls the entry of an automatic guided vehicle into an intersection where at least two travel paths of the guided automatic guided vehicle intersect. A non-contact obstacle detection means for detecting obstacles existing in a predetermined range in front of the direction of travel, and a means for detecting obstacles diagonally in front of either the left or right, which is set at a certain angle with respect to the direction of travel of the automatic guided vehicle. 1. An intersection control device for an automatic guided vehicle, comprising: a non-contact type object detection means for detecting an object existing in a predetermined range.