JPH0432910A - Speed controller for unmanned self-propelled vehicle - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To prevent the unmanned self-propelled vehicle from running away in a section wherein an ATC limit high-speed signal is not outputted by provid ing the section at an intermediate part of one ATC loop for the transmission of the ATC limit high-speed signal. CONSTITUTION:A travel path is divided into many sections, ATC loops 6 which transmit ATC limit high-speed signals are provided for the respective sections, and one ATC loop 7 is twisted at part of a stand-by course 2. The same limit speed is outputted at the parts of both end sides where the ATC loop is not twisted, but at the part 9 where the ATC loop is twisted, outputs cancel each other with the induced electromotive forces of mutual loops and no ATC limit high-speed signal is outputted. Consequently, the unmanned free-running vehicle entering this part is disabled to receive the ATC limit high-speed signal and stops so even if an ATC ground device malfunctions, the unmanned self-propelled vehicle is stopped without fail.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention relates to travel control of unmanned self-propelled vehicles; in particular, to a speed control device suitable for travel control of unmanned self-propelled vehicles.

[Conventional technology]

As described in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 56-85111, a conventional device is known for its overall control configuration for controlling an unmanned self-propelled vehicle traveling on a loop-shaped travel path. However, speed control at each section of the road was not considered.

[Problem to be solved by the invention]

In the above-mentioned prior art, a loop-shaped travel course with an evacuation course is divided into a large number of sections, and ground-side equipment is configured to output some kind of speed signal to each section. This does not take into consideration the possibility that the ground-side control device that outputs the speed signal malfunctions due to a failure, etc., and when people enter the evacuation course for inspection or maintenance of self-propelled vehicles. There was a safety issue.

An object of the present invention is to prevent an unmanned self-propelled vehicle from running out of control in a ground-side speed control device by providing a section in which a speed signal is not output completely.

[Means to solve the problem]

In order to achieve the above purpose, an AT divides the running road into many sections on a loop-shaped running road with an evacuation course and transmits an ATC speed limit signal for each section.
AT on the vehicle that receives ground equipment and ATC speed limit signals
An on-vehicle device C and an ATC loop for transmitting an ATC speed limit signal for each section are provided, and for a part of the evacuation course, the ATC loop is extended to twist the current section of the vehicle. The device is provided with means for detecting the.

[Effect]

In the section of the evacuation course where the ATC loop is twisted and expanded, the same speed limit is applied at both ends where the ATC loop is not twisted, but in the section where the ATC loop is twisted and expanded, the induced The outputs cancel each other out due to the electric power, resulting in a portion where the ATC speed limit signal is not output. As a result, when an unmanned self-propelled vehicle enters the same area,
It becomes impossible to receive the TC speed limit signal and comes to a halt.

Even if an ATC ground device malfunctions, an unmanned/self-propelled vehicle can be stopped without fail.

〔Example〕

An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIG. 1st
The unmanned self-propelled vehicle travel control system shown in the figure is the operation management device 4.
．． Driving course 1. Evacuation course 2° loop switching device 3. The six travel courses made up of the traffic management device 4 are divided into sections As to A, and the evacuation course is divided into sections P1 to Pn. An ATC loop 6 as shown in FIG. 2 is extended in each section. On the vehicle, as shown in Fig. 4, there is an ATC receiving antenna 15. Speed generator 10. A
TC device receiving section 11. ATC speed checking section 12. ATC device transmitter 13. Vehicle speed control device! 14, and sends and receives signals to and from the traffic management device 4.

To summarize the functions of unmanned self-propelled vehicles, we can summarize the functions of unmanned self-propelled vehicles: First, they have a transmission function to notify the central operation control device of the position of the own vehicle, and a speed checking function to detect the speed of the own vehicle. This notifies the operation control device of the vehicle's position and speed. Accordingly, the traffic management device examines the designated speed of the vehicle and outputs a speed signal to be taken next.

It has a receiving function that receives the speed signal output from this traffic management device using the ATC receiving antenna of the self-propelled vehicle, and a speed control function that outputs the received signal to the vehicle speed control device and controls the speed of the vehicle. It also has a steering function that detects the induced electric field of the cables stretched on both sides of the travel course and controls the vehicle so that it travels between the receiving levels of its partner. The operation control device receives signals from onboard the vehicle as position signals, performs arithmetic processing for blockage control and speed control using a microcomputer, outputs the results via the ATC loop, and receives speed signals using the receiver on the vehicle. [Clock control means that the rear section of the vehicle is the stop section, and hereinafter referred to as S 1 v
S zp S at... (stop Sl<St<Ss・
...) is a control method for preventing rear-end collisions using speed level logic. In addition, the steering method involves extending steering loops on both sides of the traveling course as shown in 5 in FIG. 2, and using the electric field from the loops, the on-vehicle steering device causes the vehicle to travel in the center of the course. The above enables unmanned vehicle running.

Here, in such a travel control system for an unmanned self-propelled vehicle, it is assumed that the vehicle is always stopped at a specific part of the evacuation course in order to perform inspection, maintenance, etc. of the unmanned self-propelled vehicle. At this time, if an ATC loop is extended to all sections in a driving course with an evacuation course as shown in Figure 1, for example, if you want the vehicle to stop without fail, a stop signal is placed at Ps. must be output (if no output is specified as a stop, the output is off). However, if a failure or the like occurs in the ATC control device on the ground side, an abnormal output will be sent out, and the vehicle that should have stopped at the Ps section will not be able to stop and will proceed to the next section.

Therefore, for example, if we assume that the Ps section in Figure 1 is a specific part, we can see that the Ps section has a second section.
Assuming that the ATC loop 6 shown in the figure is not expanded, when a vehicle enters the Ps section from the P4 or Ps section, it will immediately stop because there is no speed signal.

By the way, the AT provided with the twisted portion 9 in FIG.
When the C loop 7 is expanded, when the right side is defined as the R side and the left side is defined as the L side with respect to the traveling direction of the vehicle 8, in the portion 9, the R side loop and the L side loop are twisted. The electric fields cancel each other out and no speed signal is output. When this part 9 is applied to the section Ps in the above, it can be seen that the section Pa and the section Ps correspond to the part ``■'' and the part ``■'' in FIG. 3, respectively. That is, one ATC loop can control two sections separated by a no-signal period. This means that ATC
This simplifies the logic for controlling the speed signal of the ground equipment and simplifies the ATC speed signal sending section, leading to cost reduction. Additionally, since there is a no-signal section, the vehicle can be safely stopped even if the ground-side control device malfunctions.

Therefore, according to this embodiment, it is possible to construct a speed control device with higher safety, and it is also possible to manufacture the speed control device at a lower cost.

〔Effect of the invention〕

According to the present invention, even in the event of a failure of a device on the ground side, as long as the on-board device is normal, the vehicle can be stopped without fail, which has the effect of increasing safety.

Further, since the control logic that can reduce the ATC signal output portion of the ATC ground device can be simplified, the speed control device on the ground side can be manufactured at low cost.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

Fig. 1 is an explanatory diagram of a course layout according to an embodiment of the present invention, Fig. 2 is an explanatory diagram of a driving course control device, and Fig. 3 is an explanatory diagram of the twisted and expanded portion of the ATC loop of the evacuation course. FIG. 4 is a block diagram of equipment on the vehicle. DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1... Driving course, 2... Evacuation course, 3... Loop switching device, 4... Operation control device, 5... Steering loop, 6... ATC loop, 7... Intermediate part 8... Vehicle, 9... Twisted portion, 10... Speed generator, 11... ATC device receiving section, 12... ATC speed checking section, 13... - ATC device transmitter, 14...vehicle speed control device, 15...A
TC receiving antenna, 16...ATC transmitting antenna.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. In order to control the running of an unmanned self-propelled vehicle traveling on a loop-shaped running road with an evacuation course, the running road is divided into a large number of sections, and the ATC limit is set for each section. In a cruise control device comprising an ATC ground device that transmits a speed signal and an ATC onboard device that receives the ATC speed limit signal, the above-mentioned ATC loop is provided in an intermediate portion of one ATC loop for transmitting the ATC speed limit signal. A speed control device for an unmanned self-propelled vehicle, characterized in that a section is provided in which an ATC speed limit signal is not output.