JPH04340109A - Display body - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To make it possible to increase the sorts of control marks in an article carrying system and to improve the controllability of a moving body by allowing the moving body to recognize the sort of a traveling control mark by means of a concentric bar code included in the mark. CONSTITUTION:Each moving body is allowed to recognize the sort of a traveling control mark for recognizing the current position and traveling direction of the moving body in the article control system by means of a concentric bar code included in the mark. For instance two lines 46 47 are drawn like a cross and two band-like marks M1, M2 are also drawn in a circle 45 having a fixed radius (r). The band-like marks M1, M2 are the combinations of black and white bands and the upper and lower combinations are mutually different. When a moving robot reaches the marks M1, M2, the direction of the robot is judged by band-like mark detection signals outputted from direction identification sensors 13a to 14b.

Description

[Detailed description of the invention]

0001

[Industrial Application Field] The present invention provides a mark for travel control that is configured to be detected by a moving body and to make the moving body recognize its current position and correct running direction. Regarding the displayed display body.

0002

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Conventionally, conveyance systems using self-propelled movable bodies have been considered in offices, factories, etc., in which articles are conveyed by various movable bodies such as mobile robots. Some conventional transport systems using moving bodies of this type use a gyro compass to determine the position and direction of the moving body. However, the above-described gyro compass is very expensive, and there are also problems in that slippage during movement cannot be corrected.

[0003] In order to solve such a problem, a moving body that moves while correcting its running direction each time it detects a mark for running control provided on a display body, and a moving body that An article conveyance system is conceivable that includes a display body provided with a travel control mark configured to allow recognition of the current position and correct traveling direction of the article.

However, in the article conveyance system, there is still room for various improvements regarding the traveling control of the moving body.

[0005]

OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide a travel control marker for travel control of a moving body in the article conveyance system.
The object of the present invention is to increase the number of types of vehicles and to perform running control of the moving object more favorably.

[0006]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention provides a travel control marker configured to be detected by a movable body in the article conveyance system and to make the movable body recognize its current position and correct traveling direction. A concentric bar
The main point is that the display body is provided with a mark that includes a bar code and is configured so that the type of mark can be recognized by the mobile body using the bar code. do.

[0007]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. First, the configuration of a self-propelled mobile robot will be explained with reference to FIG. In the same figure, 11 is the main CPU,
This main CPU 11 includes an input device 12, direction identification sensors 13a, 13b, 14a, 14b, and a line sensor 1.
5 and 16 are connected, as well as a RAM 17 that stores data for the robot body, a ROM 18 that stores a program for controlling the robot body, and a servo CPU 19. The input device 12 includes a road map data input key, a destination designation key, a start key, a home position return switch, and the like. And direction identification sensor 13
One sensor 13a among a, 13b, 14a, 14b
, 13b are provided near the front caster 10a, and the other sensors 14a, 14b are provided near the rear caster 10b. Connected to the servo CPU 19 are a RAM 20 that stores wheel data and a ROM 21 that stores a wheel servo control program. The servo CPU 19 gives control commands to the servo circuits 22 and 23, and the servo circuits 22 and 23 drive the motors 24 and 25. And these motors 24, 25
rotates a right wheel 28 and a left wheel 29 via gear boxes 26 and 27, respectively. The above motors 24, 2
5 is detected by encoders 30 and 31 and sent to servo circuits 22 and 23 and servo CPU 19. Further, the line sensors 15 and 16 are arranged near the motors 24 and 25, respectively. Also, 32
1 is a power supply section consisting of a battery or the like, the output voltage of which is supplied as an operating voltage to each of the above-mentioned circuit sections.

FIG. 2 shows an example of the configuration of a passageway provided on an office floor. Since a large number of desks 41 or cabinets are arranged on the floor, robot passageways 42 are provided in a matrix around them. Starting point S of the robot passageway 42
0 and each intersection and direction change points S1 to S19,
Marks are attached in advance. In this case, S12 to S1
Since the distance between 9 and 9 is long, a position correction point 43 is provided at a position S17 in the middle. In addition, the above starting point S
0 is a standby station where the mobile robot waits.

The marks provided at each of the points S0 to S19 are constructed as shown in FIG. 3 or 4, for example. That is, in FIG. 3, the constant radius r
Two lines 46 and 47 are drawn in the shape of a cross within a circle 45 having . Further, on the lines 46 and 47, there are two strip marks M1 and M2, respectively, inside the circle 45.
is drawn. The strip marks M1 and M2 are a combination of black and white, and the combinations are different at the top, bottom, left and right positions as shown in FIG. Furthermore, when the mobile robot is correctly positioned on the circle 45, the band-shaped marks M1 and M2 are detected by the front direction identification sensor 14a,
Its position is set so as to face 14b. By configuring each mark in this way, when the mobile robot reaches the mark, the direction identification sensor 13
a, 13b, 14a, 14b strip marks M1, M2
The direction of the mobile robot can be determined based on the detection signal for the robot. In Figure 3(b), the upper part of the drawing is (+)Y,
Direction identification sensors 13a, 13b, 14a, 14b when the downward direction is (-)Y, the right side is (+)X, and the left side is (-)X
This figure shows the relationship between the detection signal and the direction the robot is facing.

FIG. 4 shows another example of the structure of the mark. In this example, the marks are displayed in color, with the circle 45 being displayed in red, and the strip marks M1 and M2
is a combination of green G, orange O, blue B, and yellow Y. In this case, the strip marks M1 and M2 are circle 4
5, lines 46 and 47 in FIG. 3 are omitted. In addition, when using color marks as described above, the direction identification sensors 13a, 13b, 14a
, 14b are those capable of detecting a predetermined color. FIG. 4(b) shows direction identification sensors 13a, 13b, 14a,
14b shows the relationship between the detection signal of 14b and the direction in which the robot is facing.

Next, the operation of the above embodiment will be explained. The mobile robot shown in FIG. 1 is input with the map data shown in FIG. 2 and various other necessary data from the input device 12 in advance, and
Let 17 remember it. The mobile robot is always on standby at a standby station, and when a call signal is sent from each position S1 to S19, the mobile robot receives and demodulates the call signal by a receiving section (not shown). Move from the received content to the mark position where the caller is located.

Now, for example, in FIG. 2, the mobile robot is
The operation of moving from position 10 to position S19 will be explained with reference to the flowchart of FIG. S
At position 10, the mobile robot performs step A in FIG.
If movement to the position S19 is specified as shown in step A2, the mobile robot can take multiple courses from S10 to S19 as shown in step A2 based on the current position, the caller's position, map data, etc. is calculated by calculation. Next, the process proceeds to step A3, in which the shortest course is determined from among the courses obtained by the above calculation. In this example, S1
The following explanation assumes that the course 0-S11-S12-S17-S19 has been determined.

[0013] The course determined as above is RA
Store it in M17. After that, proceed to step A4,
Rotate the robot chassis at position S10 and proceed to step A.
5, it is determined whether the robot has faced the direction of S10-S11. If the robot is still not facing the specified direction, return to step A4 and further rotate the chassis. That is, the direction identification sensors 13a, 13b, 1
4a and 14b detect the strip marks M1 and M2 and rotate the vehicle base so that the robot faces in the Y direction. Then, when the chassis faces the specified direction, the process advances to step A6 and the robot is advanced to the next mark position of S11. In other words, when moving the robot forward, the main CPU
11 gives a start command to the servo CPU 19. The servo CPU 19 gives control commands to the servo circuits 22 and 23 in accordance with data given from the main CPU 11, and rotationally drives the left and right motors 24 and 25. Driven by the motors 24 and 25, the wheels 28 and 29 rotate and begin to move. Pulse signals are outputted from the encoders 30 and 31 according to the amount of rotation of the motors 24 and 25, and are fed back to the servo circuits 22 and 23 and the servo CPU 19. The servo circuits 22 and 23 control the speed to keep the speed constant based on the number of pulses fed back. The servo CPU 19 compares the number of left and right pulses, and if the number of pulses is straight, it gives control commands to the servo circuits 22 and 23 to adjust the left and right rotation so that the number is the same, and controls the position. . Move the robot forward as described above, and step A
At step 7, it is determined whether or not the first mark, that is, the mark position of S11 has been reached. If the mark position at S11 has not been reached, the process returns to step A6 and the forward movement is continued. When it is determined in step A7 that the vehicle has arrived at the mark S11, step A8
Proceed to and perform direction correction. For example, if an error in the road surface and the left and right wheels 28, 29 causes a deviation of θ before the next intersection as shown in FIG. 6(a), the line sensor 15,
Since one of the motors 16 detects the line of the circle 45 first, the detection signal causes the corresponding motor 24, 25 to stop. In the example of FIG. 6(a), the line sensor 16 first
5 is detected, and the motor 25 is stopped by the detection signal. Therefore, only the motor 24 rotates, and the robot rotates to the left. As a result, as shown in FIG. 6(b), other line sensors 1
5 also reaches the circle 45, detects it, and outputs the detection signal to the main CPU 11. The above rotational movement causes the robot to move towards the center of the circle 45. In this state, the main CPU 11 drives both motors 24 and 25 via the servo CPU 19 to move the robot by a distance L stored in the memory in advance. The distance L is the distance from the robot that has reached the outer edge of the circle 45 to the center of the edge 45, and is stored in the memory in advance. After moving the robot to the center of the circle 45 as described above, in step A9, it is determined whether the robot is facing in the S11-S12 direction, that is, the (+) Y direction, and (+)
If it is not the Y direction, return to step A8 and rotate the robot in one direction on the spot. And step A9
If it is determined that the robot is facing in the (+)Y direction, the process proceeds to step A11, and the robot is moved to the next intersection S1.
Move forward towards 2. Next, in step A12, it is determined whether the second mark, that is, the mark position of the intersection S12 has been reached. If the mark of S12 has not been reached yet, the process returns to step A11 to further advance the robot. In step A12, when it is detected that the robot has reached the mark position of S12, the process proceeds to step A13, where the position is corrected in the same manner as in the above case, and the robot is positioned at the center of the circle 45. After that, in step A14, the robot performs S112-S
It is determined whether the robot is facing in the 17 direction, that is, the (+)X direction, and if it is not facing, the process returns to step A13 and the robot is rotated. If it is determined in step A14 that the robot is oriented in the (+)X direction, the process proceeds to step A15, where the robot is advanced to the next mark position. Next, the process proceeds to step A16, where it is determined whether the robot has reached the third mark, that is, the mark S17, and if the robot has reached the mark position S17, the process proceeds to step A1.
In step 7, the direction is corrected in the same manner as above. and,
In step A18, it is determined whether the robot is facing in the direction of S17-S19, and if it is not facing, the direction is corrected in step A17. In step A18 above, the robot performs S17-S1
If it is determined that the robot is facing in the direction 9, the robot is advanced to the next mark position as shown in step A19. Furthermore, in step A20, it is determined whether or not the fourth mark position has been reached, and if the mark position has not been reached, step A20 is performed.
Return to step 19 and move the robot forward. When it is determined in step A20 that the robot has reached the fourth mark, that is, the position S19, in step A21 the robot is moved to the center of the circle 45 and the motors 24 and 25 are driven. stop. Then, in step A22, the caller specifies a destination or
Alternatively, wait until a certain period of time has passed after reaching the destination. That is, when the mobile robot moves to the caller's location, the caller places documents or articles in a predetermined place, and uses the input device 12 to specify the destination or return to the waiting station. At step 22, it is determined whether a destination designation or a return designation has been made. When the destination is specified or a certain period of time has elapsed, the judgment result in step A22 becomes YES, so the process proceeds to step A23, calculates the shortest course to the specified position or waiting station S0, and stores it in the RAM 17. Then, as shown in step A24, the process returns to the designated position or standby station in the same flow as described above. Then, the mobile robot waits at this standby station until the next calling signal is received as shown in step A25, and if there is a calling signal, it moves to the position of the caller by the above-described process. If called while in the specified position above,
It calculates the shortest distance from that location and moves to the caller's location. In the above embodiment, the diameters of the marks at the positions S0 to S19 are made the same, but they do not necessarily have to be the same and can be set arbitrarily. For example, Figure 2
In this case, since the distance between S11 and S16 is long, the deviation tends to be large, but if the mark of S16 is made larger than the other marks, even if the deviation is large, that mark can be reliably fixed. can be detected. In this case, by storing the diameter of each mark in memory in correspondence with its position, the position of the robot can be reliably corrected. In addition, the size of the mark can be reliably recognized by color-coding the outer circumference of the circle or by using a bar code for the outer circumference of the circle 45 as shown in Fig. 7. can.

[0014]

Effects of the Invention As described in detail above, the present invention provides a traveling device configured to be detected by a moving object in an article conveyance system and to make the moving object recognize the current position and correct running direction of the moving object. A control mark,
A mark including a concentric bar code and configured so that the type of the mark can be recognized by the moving object by the bar code is provided on the display body. Therefore, in the article conveyance system, the types of travel control marks for controlling the travel of the movable body can be increased, and the travel control of the movable body can be more preferably performed.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a mobile robot in one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a configuration example of a robot passageway in the same embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of the structure of marks in the same embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of the structure of marks in the same embodiment.

[Fig. 5] Flowchart showing the operation contents in the same embodiment.
to.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a position correction operation of the mobile robot in the same embodiment.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an example of a mark configuration in another embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

11...CPU, 12...Input device, 13a, 13b, 14
a, 14b... Direction identification sensor, 15, 16... Line sensor, 17, 20... RAM, 18, 21... ROM, 22,
23... Servo circuit, 24, 25... Motor, 26, 27...
Gear box, 28, 29...Wheel, 30, 31...Encoder, 41...Desk, 42...Robot path, 43...Position correction point, 45...Circle, 46, 47...Line.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A display body provided with a travel control mark configured to be detected by a moving body and to make the moving body recognize the current position and correct running direction of the moving body. The mark includes a concentric barcode, and is configured such that the type of the mark can be recognized by the moving body using the barcode. A display body.