JPH0337044Y2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] (Technical Field) The present invention relates to an unmanned vehicle that is driven unmanned, and particularly relates to safe driving processing of an on-vehicle control device.

(Prior art and problems) Unmanned vehicles generally receive commands such as directional control and forward/backward control along guidelines buried on tracks or in the ground from a ground station at command receiving points such as each route or work branch point. In accordance with this command, the on-vehicle control device performs steering control, travel control, and cargo handling control at the destination point. In order to avoid collisions with other unmanned vehicles, obstacles, people, etc., these unmanned vehicles input signals from obstacle sensors installed at appropriate locations, such as the front and rear bumpers of the vehicle body, into the vehicle's on-board control device. The system performs safe driving processes such as decelerating and stopping. The main body of the on-vehicle control device has a microcomputer etc. in its central part, and in addition to controlling the operation of the unmanned vehicle, it also performs safety processing such as priority interrupts based on signals from sensors. Note that sensors for safe driving include abnormality sensors for driving system equipment such as brake abnormality sensors, and the same applies to these sensors.

In such an on-vehicle control device, safe driving processing is not required for all signals from various sensors, and the processing changes depending on the driving situation. For example, when a following vehicle approaches abnormally while driving forward, both the rear sensor of the preceding vehicle and the front sensor of the following vehicle generate obstacle detection signals, but the in-vehicle control device of the preceding vehicle responds to the detection signal of the rear sensor. On the other hand, the in-vehicle control device of the following vehicle requires deceleration or stop control based on the detection signal from the front sensor. Furthermore, when a person crosses right behind a vehicle traveling ahead, the on-vehicle control device does not need to perform safe driving processing on the detection signal from the rear sensor of the vehicle traveling ahead.

In this way, depending on the driving situation, the need for safe driving processing changes based on the detection signals from various sensors. , the detection signal is determined to be unnecessary, and when it is unnecessary, the detection signal is ignored. For this reason, the vehicle-mounted control device main body needs to respond to all detection signals from various sensors, and when detection signals are frequently applied, they interfere with other driving controls and cause control delays.

(Purpose of the invention) The present invention was made in view of the above-mentioned circumstances, and its purpose is to provide an in-vehicle control device that can reduce the processing load on the control device itself for detection signals from various obstacle sensors. shall be.

(Summary of the invention) The present invention is characterized by providing means for determining the validity of detection signals from various sensors, and by this determination, only those that require safe driving processing are provided to the control device main body.

(Example) An example of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
In FIG. 1, an unmanned vehicle 1 receives a command from a ground station 2 via a transmitter/receiver 1A installed at a command receiving point, and controls its operation in a mode according to the command. In addition, the unmanned vehicle 1 has obstacle sensors 1F and 1R on the front and rear bumpers, and is configured to obtain a detection signal when an obstacle exists within a predetermined distance from the front and rear. The sensors 1F and 1R are, for example, ultrasonic or optical proximity sensors.

As shown in FIG. 2, the in-vehicle control device has a microcomputer, that is, a CPU 3, a memory 4, and an interface 5 as its core, and sends a received signal from a transceiver 1A to the CPU 3 via the interface 5.
and follow the program in memory 4.
As a result of processing by the CPU 3, an operation or control signal is output to the steering operation section 6 and travel (and cargo handling) operation section 7 via the interface 5.

Detection signals from the unmanned vehicle front sensor 1F and rear sensor 1R are input to a discrimination circuit 8, and this discrimination circuit 8 determines the necessity (effectiveness) of the detection signals, and only when necessary, the detection signals are sent via the interface 5. The CPU 3 performs the processing necessary for safe driving according to the determination signal.

The discrimination circuit 8 inputs the detection signals from the sensors 1F and 1R to AND gates G ₁ and G ₂ , respectively, and provides both outputs of the AND gates G ₁ and G ₂ to the interface 5 as judgment outputs through an OR gate G ₃ .
The outputs of AND gates G ₄ and G ₅ are given to the other inputs of AND gates G ₁ and G ₂ , respectively, and the unmanned vehicle forward state signal is given to one input of AND gate G ₄ . One input of ₄ is given a signal passed through a logic inverter _G6 . The signal is, for example, the main circuit contactor signal of an unmanned vehicle, and is "0" when moving forward or stopping.
is applied to the AND gates G ₄ and G ₆ , and "1" is applied during retreat. Also, and gate
The output of the NAND gate G ₇ is commonly given to the other input of G ₄ and G ₅ , and the input of the NAND gate G ₇ is connected to the forward/reverse switching signal of the driving motor of the unmanned vehicle.
MR is given. These signals are given as bit signals to a status register in the interface 5, and the contents of this status register are rewritten by the CPU 3 each time according to the driving control mode.

With such a discrimination circuit 8, both sensors 1R, 1
Whether the F detection signal is valid or invalid is determined by the signals , , . For example, when an unmanned vehicle is moving forward, the signal becomes “0” and the AND gate
The gate of _G5 is opened, the gate of AND gate _G4 is closed, and at this time, when one of the forward and reverse directions of the travel motor is energized, one of the signals becomes "0" and the AND gate _G5 , _G4 . Give "1" to the input. Therefore, the output of AND gate G ₄ becomes "0", the output of gate G ₅ becomes "1", and only the gate of AND gate G ₂ is opened, and only the detection signal of sensor 1F is valid, and safe operation processing is performed by interrupting the CPU 3 side. make a request. Next, when the unmanned vehicle moves backward, the signal becomes “1” and the switching signal is
Since MF is “1” and is “0”, gate G ₇
The output becomes "1", gate _G4 is established, and gate _G1 is selected. Therefore, the rear sensor 1
If there is a signal on R, the AND condition of gate _G1 is satisfied,
Request safe driving processing.

In addition, there is no AND gate G ₇ , G ₄ , G ₅ ,
In the case of only FD signals, the following problems occur.

The control device operates even when the unmanned vehicle is stopped. Since the signal is "0" when the unmanned vehicle is stopped, the output of the logic inverter _G6 becomes "1" and is applied to the gate _G2 .
In this state, if you cross in front of sensor 1F, you will see a gate.
G ₂ will generate an output and the control device will perform useless operations. Therefore, in order to prevent this unnecessary operation, a signal from gate _G7 is required, which is a condition for the unmanned vehicle to move. In other words, when the unmanned vehicle is stopped and the changeover switch is not in either forward or forward direction and is in neutral, both signals are "1" and the output of gate _G7 is "0". Gates G ₄ , G ₅ and G ₁ , G ₂
are respectively logic "0", the signals of each sensor 1R, 1F are not output, and the control device does not perform any unnecessary operation.

(Effects of the invention) As described above, according to the invention, only valid detection signals determined from the driving situation of the car among the detection signals from various sensors for safe driving of an unmanned vehicle are given to the control device main body side. Since the means is provided, the load for safe driving processing on the main body of the control device can be reduced, and driving control can be performed with good responsiveness and high precision. Furthermore, responsiveness can be improved by eliminating the need for a judgment procedure in safe driving processing.

In addition, the determination means determines the effectiveness of the detection signals from the front and rear sensors based on the forward movement state of the unmanned vehicle and the forward/backward switching state of the travel motor, thereby reducing unnecessary interruptions to the control device itself. This has the effect of determining the validity of an appropriate detection signal based on the control state of the unmanned vehicle, such as during plugging operation.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic explanatory diagram of an unmanned vehicle system according to the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram of a vehicle-mounted control device showing an embodiment of the present invention. 1...Unmanned vehicle, 1A...Transmitter/receiver, 1F, 1R
...Obstacle sensor, 2...Ground station, 2A...Transmitter/receiver, 3...CPU, 4...Memory, 5...Interface, 6...Steering operation unit, 7...
... Travel operation section, 8... Discrimination circuit.

Claims (1)

[Scope of utility model registration request] The unmanned vehicle receives driving commands from the ground station to control the driving and steering of the unmanned vehicle, and safely drives the unmanned vehicle in response to detection signals from the front and rear sensors that detect obstacles in front and behind the unmanned vehicle. The onboard control device processes the detection signal of the front sensor when the unmanned vehicle is in the forward state (FD).
And it is determined that it is valid only when the driving motor of the unmanned vehicle is switched to forward (MF) or reverse (MR). A determination means that determines that it is valid only when the vehicle's travel motor is switched to forward (MF) or reverse (MR), and only the detection signal that is determined to be valid by this determination means is input, and the detection signal is An on-vehicle control device for an unmanned vehicle, comprising a control device main body that performs processing necessary for safe driving according to the conditions.