JPH0345403B2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Industrial Application Field] The present invention provides a guide line for guiding a moving vehicle provided on the running surface side, and a light sensor for detecting the guide line on the moving vehicle, and a light sensor for detecting the guide line. A determining means for determining the amount of deviation in the width direction of the vehicle body with respect to the guidance line based on the detected information, and a control means for controlling the steering so that the moving vehicle automatically travels along the guidance line based on the information of the determining means. The present invention relates to an optically guided mobile vehicle control facility provided.

[Conventional technology]

The optically guided mobile vehicle control equipment as described above is used to automatically drive a mobile vehicle used for transporting goods.

Conventionally, the guide line is constructed by pasting a tape or the like with high light reflectance to the road surface.
The optical sensor is constructed using a light receiver such as a phototransistor, and in detail, it determines whether the moving vehicle is on the guidance line based on whether the amount of received light exceeds a threshold value. Discern.
Then, based on the discrimination information from the optical sensor, the moving vehicle is steered so that it travels along the guide line.

[Problem to be solved by the invention]

In the above-mentioned conventional technology, there is a risk that an error may occur in the determination by the optical sensor and accurate guidance may not be performed.

To explain, if the light reflectance of the steering road surface is high or the tape is dirty, there is a risk that the optical sensor may erroneously detect the driving road surface as a guidance line, or that the optical sensor may not be able to detect the guidance line as desired. It was hot.

An object of the present invention is to eliminate the above-mentioned conventional drawbacks and provide an optically guided moving vehicle control equipment that can perform accurate guidance.

[Means to solve the problem]

In order to achieve this object, the characteristic configuration of the optically guided mobile vehicle control equipment according to the present invention is such that the guide line is provided with band-shaped parts with low light reflectance at both ends in the width direction, and adjacent to the inner side thereof. and a pair of belt-like parts adjacent to the inner side of each of the belt-like parts with low light reflectance at both ends in the width direction of the guide line in the belt-like part with high light reflectance. The lateral outer ends are formed into parallel stripes along the longitudinal direction of the guide line with their centers aligned with the center of the guide line in the width direction, and the optical sensor is an image sensor. , the determining means determines the center of the guide line in the width direction based on the information corresponding to the pair of lateral outer edges based on the information read by the optical sensor, and determines the amount of deviation of the moving vehicle with respect to the center. It is structured as follows.

[Effect]

A guide line configured as parallel stripes along the longitudinal direction is provided with a band-shaped part with low light reflectance at both ends in the width direction, and a band-shaped part with high light reflectance adjacent to the inner side thereof. It is detected by an image sensor, and the guidance line can be identified as the above-mentioned parallel striped pattern based on the detection information of the image sensor, so the guidance line can be detected regardless of the driving road condition or dirt on the guidance line. Can be detected accurately.

Furthermore, the guide line is such that the center of a pair of lateral outer ends adjacent to the inner side of each of the strip parts with low light reflectance at both ends in the width direction of the strip part with high light reflectance is the center in the width direction of the guide line. Therefore, the amount of deviation of the moving vehicle from the guide line can be determined by determining the center of the guide line in the width direction from the information corresponding to the pair of lateral outer edges using the detection information of the image sensor. can be detected based on Thereby, it is possible to always accurately detect the image sensor regardless of the wear of the moving vehicle or the change in the mounting height of the image sensor relative to the guide line due to unevenness of the traveling road surface.

〔Effect of the invention〕

Therefore, the guidance line can be reliably detected regardless of the road surface conditions or dirt on the guidance line, and the deviation of the moving vehicle from the guidance line can be detected regardless of changes in the height of the image sensor with respect to the guidance line. Since the amount can be detected with high accuracy, it is possible to obtain an optically guided moving vehicle control equipment that can always accurately and highly accurately guide a moving vehicle.

〔Example〕

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below based on the drawings.

As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, a mobile vehicle A is provided which is equipped with a loading platform 1 that is movable up and down, and a plurality of load transfer stations ST are installed at the lateral side of the traveling path of the mobile vehicle. The mobile vehicle A is configured to transport various loads while traveling between stations.

The mobile vehicle A is constructed by providing a pair of left and right propulsion vehicles 2 that can be driven independently by a pair of electric motors M, and a pair of left and right caster type idle wheels 3 at the front and rear ends of the vehicle body. The electric motors M
The structure is such that the vehicle can be steered by changing gears.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 4, a light-reflecting tape 4 as a guide line for guiding moving vehicles is provided on the road surface side, and the moving vehicle A is guided through the light-reflecting tape 4.
A steering control means is provided so that the moving vehicle A automatically travels between stations. In order to configure the steering control means, a detecting section consisting of a light emitting device 5 and an image sensor 6 as a light sensor is connected to the moving vehicle A.
The host controller 7 is provided at each of the front and rear ends of the
A travel control device H equipped with an image processing controller 8 and a digital servo controller 9 is provided on the moving vehicle side, and an encoder e attached to both electric motors M is connected to the digital servo controller 9. Servo amplifier 10 for M, servo amplifier driver 1
1 to the digital servo controller 9, and while the image processing controller 8 calculates and determines the amount of lateral deviation of the vehicle body with respect to the light reflective tape 4, it connects to the digital servo controller 9 via the image processing controller 8. The motor M is configured to be operated to change speed.

It should be noted that of both the detection sections, the one on the front side is selectively used when the vehicle is moving forward, and the one on the rear side is selectively used when the vehicle is moving backward.

Also, the stop position of the mobile vehicle A with respect to the station ST, the branch start position at the intersection, and
Marks m ₁ , m ₂ , m ₃ that display travel control commands such as the deceleration travel start position are attached to the light reflective tape 4, and various information such as destination data and turning data can be transmitted from the ground side to the moving vehicle. so that it can be transmitted to the side,
In order to transmit various information such as station arrival data and intersection arrival data from the moving vehicle side to the ground side, optical communication devices 12 and 13 consisting of an infrared emitter a and an infrared receiver b are installed on the moving vehicle side. , and are provided at the station part and the intersection part on the ground side, respectively, and connect the moving vehicle side optical communication device 12 to the host controller 7, and the ground side optical communication device 13 to the ground side central control device V, respectively. Finally, based on various information such as information input to the central control device V and information stored in advance, the moving vehicle A can automatically travel to a desired station ST while branching at intersections. be.

That is, the image sensor 6 detects travel control command information by reading marks together with steering control information, the image processing controller 8 transmits a mark discrimination signal to the host controller 7, and the host controller 7 receives travel speed information, turning The digital servo controller 9 transmits information such as forward and backward movement information to the image processing controller 8, and the selection information of the detection section to be used. While exchanging information between each controller 7, 8, 9, etc., the moving vehicle A
The vehicle is designed to perform driving control. However, each station ST is provided with a command information input section for the central control device V, and the mobile vehicle A is provided with an information input section for the host controller 7.

To explain the light reflective tape 4, the second
As shown in the figure, a black part 4b as a belt-like part with low light reflectance is located on both sides of a white part 4a, which is a belt-like part with high light reflectance, to form parallel stripes along the longitudinal direction of the guide line. . In addition, the white part 4a
The center of a pair of lateral outer ends adjacent to the inner side of each of the black portions 4b at both ends corresponds to the center of the light reflective tape 4 in the width direction.

In addition, each mark affixed to the light reflective tape 4
m ₁ , m ₂ , m ₃ are each formed by a combination of a plurality of white parts 14a and a plurality of black parts 14b, and black parts 14b on the tape outer side of each white part 14a located at both ends in the tape width direction The center of a pair of lateral outer ends adjacent to the inner side of the light reflecting tape 4 is aligned with the center of the light reflective tape 4 in the width direction.

Therefore, the image processing controller 8
Based on the information read by the image sensor 6, the center of the light reflective tape 4 in the width direction is detected from the information corresponding to the pair of lateral outer edges, thereby calculating the amount of deviation of the vehicle body with respect to the light reflective tape 4. can be determined. In addition, by comparing and determining the reference pattern for mark reading stored in advance as the captured image pattern, each mark m ₁ ,
m ₂ and m ₃ can be distinguished.

To further explain the above travel control operation based on the flowchart shown in FIG. 3, when a travel command such as destination data is transmitted to moving vehicle A, the image sensor 6 starts capturing an image, Travel control is performed in accordance with the measurement of the amount _of deviation of the tape ₄ from _the center, and then branching at intersections, deceleration traveling near the station, and , a temporary stop will be made at station ST, etc. In addition, when starting the image capture,
When there is no light reflective tape 4 (travel control command mark
(including when there is no m ₁ , m ₂ , m ₃ ), it is designed to make an emergency stop to increase safety, and it moves only when there is a start command (power ON signal for moving vehicle to run). Car A will be driven.

Furthermore, to explain the above-mentioned branching, as the moving vehicle A arrives near the intersection, the turning pattern is transmitted to the moving vehicle A by the optical communication devices 12 and 13, and based on the turning pattern, the traveling speed, The vehicle will be driven while determining the steering amount, etc.

Although a description of the above control operation has been omitted, each moving vehicle A is given a machine number in advance, and the current position of each moving vehicle A is transmitted along with the machine number by the optical communication devices 12 and 13. The information is transmitted to the central control device V, and the entire mass moving vehicle A is monitored by the central control device V. Furthermore, when a plurality of moving vehicles A arrive at one merging intersection, a collision is avoided while giving start/stop commands to the moving vehicles A using the optical communication devices 12 and 13.

[Another example]

Next, another example will be described.

In order to make mobile vehicle A run automatically, the specific means for each part may vary depending on the location of use, such as making the signal transmission and reception between mobile vehicle A and central control device V by guided radio. Can be changed.

In addition, when configuring the mobile vehicle A, the specific configuration for steering and attached devices for work are as follows:
Various changes can be made depending on the purpose of use, etc.

Furthermore, as the image sensor 6 in the present invention, a CCD camera is generally used.
Other configurations may also be used. for example,
A camera equipped with an image pickup tube may be used, and a scanner section that scans a laser beam in the width direction of the light reflective tape and receives the reflected light, and processes signals from this scanner section for operation. A barcode reader equipped with a decoder unit that outputs direction control information or driving control command information may be used.
In this case, the steering control information is obtained by installing an angle sensor that scans the laser beam and detecting the phase of a swinging or rotating mirror, and stores it in advance so that the steering control information can be stored in advance when the vehicle steers in the center of the guidance line. It is calculated based on the angle information and the detected mirror angle information.

In addition to the marks m ₁ , m ₂ , and m ₃ that display travel control commands, in addition to those described in the above embodiment, marks m 1 , m 2 , and m 3 that display travel control commands may be placed at set intervals in the direction of the travel route in order to detect the amount of movement of the vehicle along the travel route. Various types of counting marks can be considered, such as juxtaposed counting marks. Further, in the above embodiment, the case where the amount of lateral deviation from the center of the guide line 4 can be detected from the mark reading image, that is, the case where the steering control is performed even when traveling at the location where the mark is installed, was exemplified. The vehicle may be implemented in a manner in which no travel control is performed when traveling through the mark installation location, and in that case, the shape of the mark can be changed in various ways.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

The drawings show an embodiment of the optically guided mobile vehicle control equipment according to the present invention, and FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the specific configuration of the travel control, FIG. 2 is a plan view of the light reflective tape and the travel control command mark, and FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing the travel control operation, FIG. 4 is a schematic plan view showing the travel route, and FIG. 5 is a schematic side view of the moving vehicle. 4... Guidance line, 6... Optical sensor, 7, 9...
...Controlling means, 8...Discrimination means, 4a, 4b...Striped portion, A...Moving vehicle.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. A guide line 4 for guiding a moving vehicle is provided on the running road side, and a light sensor 6 for detecting the guide line 4 is used to guide the moving vehicle A based on the detection information of the light sensor 6. Discrimination means 8 for discriminating the amount of deviation in the width direction of the vehicle body with respect to line 4;
The optically guided moving vehicle control equipment is provided with control means 7 and 9 for controlling the steering so that the moving vehicle A automatically travels along the guiding line 4 based on the information of the guiding line 4, wherein the guiding line 4 is A strip-shaped portion 4b with low light reflectance is provided at both ends in the width direction, and a strip-shaped portion 4a with high light reflectance is adjacent to the inner side thereof.
and a pair of lateral outer ends adjacent to the inner side of each of the band-shaped portions 4b with low light reflectance at both ends in the width direction of the guide line in the band-shaped portion 4a with high light reflectance. The guide line 4 is formed into parallel stripes along the longitudinal direction of the guide line 4 with its center aligned with the center of the guide line 4 in the width direction, the optical sensor 6 is an image sensor, and the discriminating means 8 However, based on the information read by the optical sensor 6, the center of the guide line in the width direction is determined based on information corresponding to the pair of lateral outer edges, and the amount of deviation of the moving vehicle with respect to the center is determined. Optical guided vehicle control equipment.