JPH038970Y2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed description of the invention] Industrial application field This invention is a sensor for unmanned vehicles, and more specifically, a sensor for an industrial vehicle such as a forklift truck that is installed to run unmanned along a guide wall. The present invention relates to a sensor for an unmanned vehicle that is provided to detect the distance between walls.

Conventional technology Conventional methods for making industrial vehicles such as forklift trucks run unmanned along a guide wall are as follows.
A method using an ultrasonic sensor, that is, the distance between the vehicle and the guide wall is detected based on the time it takes for the ultrasonic waves emitted towards the guide wall to be received again by the vehicle, and this detection signal is used to detect the distance between the vehicle and the guide wall. A method for controlling this has been proposed.

In addition, as a method for detecting the traveling distance of such an unmanned vehicle, there is a method of detecting the traveling distance from the number of revolutions of the drive motor. A method has been proposed for detecting the distance traveled by a pulse signal generated by a vehicle.

Problems to be solved by the invention However, the above-mentioned ultrasonic sensor cannot accurately detect the distance between the vehicle and the guide wall, that is, large errors are likely to occur, and this error The problem is that in order to reduce the size, the cost increases.

In addition, the method of detecting the distance traveled based on the rotation speed of the drive motor as described above is easily affected by meandering of the vehicle, tire wear, bending deformation, etc. Therefore, it is difficult to accurately detect the distance traveled. The problem is that it cannot be done.

The present invention is an attempt to improve the above-mentioned problems, and its specific means and effects are as follows.

Means for Solving the Problems A box is fixed to the side wall of the vehicle, and a support member is provided on the box so that it can move forward and backward in the direction of the guide wall surface. A linear potentiometer for detecting displacement of the vehicle is connected to the support member, and is provided so as to be normally biased toward the guide wall surface.

A detection roller is rotatably mounted on the tip of the support member, and a rotary encoder is provided in conjunction with the roller.

Function: By rotating the detection roller in pressure contact with the guide wall, the linear potentiometer can detect the distance between the vehicle and the guide wall.

By transmitting the rotation of the detection roller to the rotary encoder, the rotary encoder has the effect of detecting the distance traveled by the vehicle.

Embodiments Specific embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to illustrative drawings.

1 is a forklift truck (unmanned vehicle),
Reference numeral 2 indicates a pair of front and rear sensors attached to the body of the forklift truck 1, and reference numeral 3 indicates a guide wall surface. In both sensors 2, 5 is a box fixed to the side wall of the body, and the box 5 is fixed to one side (direction perpendicular to the center line of the aircraft).
It is installed so as to extend horizontally towards the At the bottom of the box 5, a linear way 6 is laid extending in one direction (direction perpendicular to the center line of the aircraft), and the linear way 6 has support members for detection rollers 14A and 14B, which will be described later. 4 is placed on the rack via a slider 7 so that it can move forward and backward. More specifically, the support member 4 is formed by fixing a support rod 8 and a stopper 9 to the slider 7 in a stacked manner. The slider 7 is slidably mounted on the linear way 6 as described above, while the support rod 8 has a vertical rod portion 8A extending in a direction parallel to the linear way 6, and a vertical rod portion 8A extending in a direction parallel to the linear way 6. It is formed into a substantially L-shape with a horizontal rod portion 8B extending in a direction perpendicular to the linear way 6 at the rear end, and a vertical rod portion 8A.
The tip of the box 5 is closer to the guide wall surface 3 than the tip of the box 5.
It is provided so as to protrude in the direction. Further, the stopper 9 is provided so as to extend in both left and right width directions (in a direction parallel to the horizontal rod portion 8B) so as to be able to come into contact with the front wall portion 5a of the box 5. Further, a linear potentiometer 10 is fixed to the box 5 so as to extend in the front-rear direction (in the direction of the guide wall surface 3), and one end of the linear potentiometer 10 on the movable part side is connected to the support member 4 (slider 7).
connected to. Further, an engaging piece 11 is fixed to the front wall portion 5a of the box 5, and a tension spring 12 is interposed between the engaging piece 11 and the tip of the horizontal rod portion 8B.

On the other hand, a support shaft 13 is fixed to the tip of the vertical rod portion 8A and extends in the vertical direction, and a pair of upper and lower detection rollers 14A and 14B are extended horizontally to the support shaft 13 and rotate freely. Can be freely mounted on an axis. Further, a bracket 15 is attached to the tip end of the vertical rod portion 8A so as to extend in a direction parallel to the vertical rod portion 8A, and the above-mentioned rollers 14A, 14 are attached to the bracket 15.
A rotary encoder 16 is fixed to one of the rollers 14B facing the roller 14A. or,
An adapter 17 is attached to the detection roller 14A facing the rotary encoder 16 so as to extend in the diametrical direction so as to be rotatable together with the detection roller 14A. A support shaft 18 is provided on the adapter 17 protruding from its center position toward the bracket 15, and its tip is provided so as to face into the aforementioned rotary encoder 16 with a coupling 19 interposed therebetween.

Next, its effect will be explained.

1 and 2 are drawings showing a state in which a forklift truck (unmanned vehicle) 1 is traveling straight along a guide wall surface (for example, the inner wall surface of a container) 3, and the vehicle 1 is When traveling straight, the sensor 2 detects the support members 4 (slider 7, support rod 8, stopper 9).
) are biased toward the tip of the linear way 6 by the tension spring 12, and the detection rollers 14A, 14B connected to the tip are in pressure contact with the guide wall 3, that is, the guide wall 3 It is in a state of rotation along.

When the vehicle 1 moves straight away from the guide wall 3 while the vehicle 1 is traveling straight along the guide wall 3, the sensor 2 detects that the spring 12 is activated by the amount that the vehicle 1 has moved away from the guide wall 3. The detection rollers 14A, 14 through the urging force of
The effect of pushing out B further toward the guide wall surface 3 can be obtained. And again, like this, the detection roller 14A,
By pushing out the support member 14B, a state is obtained in which the support member 4 (each part of the slider 7, support rod 8, and stopper 9) slides on the linear way 6 toward the tip end. 4 slides on the linear way 6 toward the tip, the movable part of the linear potentiometer 10 is pulled out, and the effect of detecting the displacement (distance) thereof is obtained.

Furthermore, a pair of sensors 2, 2 are attached to the vehicle 1 at front and rear positions, and both sensors 2, 2 can each have the function of detecting the above-mentioned deviation (distance). By calculating the difference between the deviations (distances) detected by the two sensors 2, 2, the inclination angle of the vehicle 1 can be detected. In this way, the displacement (distance) and inclination angle are detected by both sensors 2, 2, and the two detection signals cause the steering device to turn the steering wheel back toward the guide wall 3, that is, to return the vehicle to a straight-ahead state. It will be done.

On the other hand, the rotation of the detection roller 14A is transmitted to the rotary encoder 16 via the adapter 17, spindle 18, and coupling 19.
The rotary encoder 16 has the function of detecting the distance traveled.

Effects of the invention The invention is constructed as described above.
As mentioned above, a support member is provided on the side wall of the vehicle so that it can move forward and backward toward the guide wall surface, and a linear potentiometer is connected to the support member to detect the displacement (distance) of the vehicle. A detection roller is mounted on the tip of the member so that it can rotate freely.
By providing the detection roller so that it is always biased toward the guide wall surface, that is, by making it possible to rotate the detection roller while always being in pressure contact with the guide wall surface, the vehicle It has now become possible to accurately detect the distance between the guide wall and the guide wall using a linear potentiometer. or,
By installing a pair of sensors on the side walls of the vehicle, one behind the other, it has become possible to detect not only the distance between the vehicle and the guide wall, but also the angle of inclination of the vehicle with respect to the guide wall.

On the other hand, in the present invention, by providing a rotary encoder in conjunction with the detection roller, the distance traveled by the vehicle can be accurately detected using the rotary encoder. In this way, by being able to accurately detect the distance traveled by the vehicle using the rotary encoder, the computer that controls the vehicle unmanned can store the distance traveled in advance, allowing the vehicle to stop exactly at a designated location. I was able to do something. In other words, even in a work environment where it is not possible to install a sensor for stopping the vehicle on the roadside, it has become possible to accurately stop the vehicle at a designated position.

Furthermore, in the present invention, as mentioned above, a rotary encoder is provided in conjunction with the detection roller so that the distance between the vehicle and the guide wall and the distance traveled by the vehicle can be detected at the same time. The overall shape could be made more compact and costs could be reduced.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Fig. 1 is a plan view showing the entire forklift truck equipped with a sensor according to the present invention;
The figure is an enlarged plan view of the sensor portion, FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line A--A in FIG. 2, and FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line B--B in FIG. 1...Forklift truck, 2...Sensor, 3...Guide wall surface, 4...Support member, 5...
Box, 5a...Front wall, 6...Linear way, 7...Slider, 8...Support rod, 8A...
Vertical rod part, 8B...Horizontal rod part, 9...Stopper, 1
0... Linear potentiometer, 11... Engaging piece, 12... Tension spring, 13... Support shaft, 14
A, 14B...Detection roller, 15...Bracket, 16...Rotary encoder, 17...
Adapter, 18... Support shaft, 19... Coupling.

Claims (1)

[Scope of utility model registration request] A support member is provided on the side wall of the vehicle so that it can move forward and backward toward the guide wall surface, and a linear potentiometer is connected to the support member to detect vehicle displacement, and the support member is always biased toward the guide wall surface. A sensor for an unmanned vehicle, comprising: a detection roller rotatably mounted on a shaft at the tip of the support member; and a rotary encoder interlocked with the detection roller.