JPH0577081B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to an unmanned vehicle equipped with a turn signal, and particularly relates to turn-off control of the turn signal.

Conventional technology An unmanned vehicle runs unmanned along a predetermined travel path, and is equipped with a cargo handling device and used to transport cargo in a warehouse, or equipped with a traction device to tow the vehicle. used for, etc.
Widely used. Such an unmanned vehicle uses electromagnetic induction by a combination of an electromagnetic induction wire laid on the ground and a guidance wire detection means installed on the vehicle, as described in, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 61-273499. The running of the vehicle is guided by various methods, such as guidance by a combination of a guide surface provided on the ground and a guide surface detection means provided on the vehicle.

In order for an unmanned vehicle to run, information regarding acceleration, deceleration, stopping, etc. is also required, and the vehicle is provided with an instruction means for instructing the vehicle to run, and a control means for controlling the travel of the vehicle based on the instruction. The instruction means reads the information provided by the information provision means provided on the ground side and issues instructions to the control means.For example, a mark plate is installed on the ground as the information provision means, and the mark plate is attached to the vehicle. Providing a sensor for detection and using it as an indicating means,
A projector is provided on the ground side as an information providing means, a light receiver is provided on the vehicle to receive the light emitted by the projector as an instruction means, and necessary information is received through optical communication.

Turning on and off of the blinker is also performed based on instructions from the instruction means. The turn signal is turned on before the direction change position and turned off after the direction change. Conventionally, an information providing means for providing turn signal lighting information is provided before the direction change position, and the turn signal is turned on before the direction change position. Information providing means for providing information on whether the turn signal is turned off has come to be provided.

Problems to be Solved by the Invention However, if a means for providing information is provided each time the lights are turned on or off, the configuration on the ground side will become complicated and equipment costs will inevitably increase. It is necessary to provide means to provide
If the installation of information provision means for turning off the turn signals is unavoidable due to the length of the driving path, etc., a situation may arise where the vehicle is driven with the turn signals on even though it does not change direction, or when the vehicle changes direction in a different direction. When the direction change is performed continuously, a situation may arise in which the direction change is performed with the blinker on the side different from the side on which the direction is actually changed being lit.

Problems to be Solved by the Invention In order to solve this problem, the unmanned vehicle according to the present invention, as shown in FIG. (b) a mileage measuring means that starts measuring the distance traveled by the unmanned vehicle at the same time as the turn signal starts to turn on; (c) a turn signal is turned on based on the turn on instruction by the turn signal. and a turn signal control means for turning off the turn signals when the distance measured by the travel distance measuring means reaches a predetermined distance.

Functions and Effects In this way, since the turn signal is automatically turned off when the unmanned vehicle has traveled a predetermined distance after being turned on, there is no need to provide information providing means for turning off the turn signal on the ground side. Therefore, the configuration on the ground side can be simplified, equipment costs can be reduced, and since it is not possible to provide means for providing lights-out information, there are cases where the turn signal remains on even though the direction is not changed, or when the turn signal is not actually turned on. An effect is obtained in which the direction change is not performed while the blinker on the side different from the side to which the direction is being changed remains lit.

Embodiment Hereinafter, a case in which the present invention is applied to an automatic guided vehicle will be described in detail based on the drawings.

In FIG. 2, the automatic guided vehicle 10 is shown with the load transfer device omitted. On the front side of the vehicle body 12 of this conveyance vehicle 10, a pair of drive steering wheels 14 that serve both as a drive and a steering wheel are provided, while on the rear side, a pair of auxiliary wheels 16 are provided, and the vehicle body 12 is driven by electromagnetic induction. It will be done. A guide wire 18 is buried on the ground in a portion where the automatic guided vehicle 10 travels, while a pair of pick-up coils 20 and 22 are installed at the front and rear of the vehicle body 12 of the vehicle 10, each straddling the guide wire 18. It is located in a position where it can be obtained. The guide wire 18 is connected to a computer (not shown) provided on the ground side via a power supply control circuit, so that current is supplied to the portion where the traveling vehicle 10 runs. The pick-up coils 20 and 22 generate an induced electromotive force based on the magnetic field generated by the current passed through the guide wire 18, detect the guide wire 18 using the induced electromotive force, and detect the guide wire 18 based on the deviation between the electromotive forces. The deviation with respect to the guide wire 18 is detected, and the automatic guided vehicle 10 is caused to travel in a direction in which the deviation is reduced.

A left-turn turn signal 30 and a right-turn turn signal 32 are attached to the front and rear surfaces of the vehicle body 12 of the conveyance vehicle 10 at two locations separated in the left-right direction, respectively, so that when the conveyance vehicle 10 changes its traveling direction,
A predetermined blinker is turned on to display the driving direction.

Further, as shown in FIG. 2, a mark plate 34 is installed on the ground to provide information necessary for driving, such as acceleration, deceleration, stopping, direction change, turn signal lighting, etc. The mark plates 34 are scheduled to be installed at six locations as shown in FIG. Six mark plate sensors 36 are provided corresponding to the locations where the mark plates 34 are installed.

Different information (mark plate patterns) can be provided depending on the combination of locations at which the mark plates 34 are installed among the six installation locations. For example, as shown in FIG. 6, when the travel path is branched and the conveyance vehicle 10 is to turn left, it is necessary to turn on the left turn blinker 30, but in this case, it is necessary to turn on the left turn blinker 30. Three mark plates 34 are installed in front,
It provides lighting information for the left turn blinker 30. However, among the six mark plate installation locations, the mark plate 34 is always installed at one of the two locations on the front end side of the transport vehicle 10 in the traveling direction and one of the two locations on the rear end side. When all mark plates 34 are detected by sensor 36, other mark plates 34 are detected.

Further, the drive steering wheel 14 is provided with a rotation sensor 40 that generates a pulse signal every time the drive steering wheel 14 rotates by a certain angle.

Traveling of the transport vehicle 10 configured as above is as follows.
It is controlled by a computer 44. As shown in FIG. 4, the computer 44 includes a CPU (central processing unit) 46 and a ROM (read only memory).
48 and RAM (Random Access Memory) 50. These CPU46, ROM48,
A drive control circuit 54, a steering control circuit 56, and a brake control circuit 58 are connected to the RAM 50 via an I/O port 52, and a drive motor 60 that drives the drive steering wheels 14 is connected to the drive control circuit 54. connected to the steering control circuit 56
A steering motor 6 that steers a steering wheel 16 is provided.
2 is connected to the brake control circuit 58, and an electromagnetic brake 64 for braking the motor shaft of the drive motor 60 is connected to the brake control circuit 58. In addition, although not shown, a cargo handling control circuit for controlling the cargo handling device is also connected.

Further, pickup coils 20, 22, six mark plate sensors 36, and a rotation sensor 40 are connected to the CPU 46, ROM 48, and RAM 50, and the left turn blinker 30 and right turn blinker 32 control circuits 66 and 68, respectively. connected via. Mark plate sensor 36
Among them, the sensors 34 that are scheduled to detect the mark plate 34 that is always installed, namely, the sensors 34 provided at two locations on the leading side in the direction of vehicle movement and the sensors provided at two locations on the rear end side. Regarding the total of four sensors 34,
The circuit connected to the I/O port 52 is branched, and the two sensors 36 that detect the mark plate 34 on the leading side are connected to the OR circuit 70, and the two sensors 36 that detect the mark plate 34 on the rear side are connected to the OR circuit 70. It is connected to the OR circuit 72. These OR circuits 7
0 and 72 are connected to the I/O port 52 via an AND circuit 74 and a delay circuit 76, and when two mark plates 34 for mark plate detection instructions are detected together, a high level is output from the AND circuit 74. A signal is generated and supplied to the I/O port 52 after being delayed by a certain period of time by the delay circuit 76 . The computer 44 uses this delay circuit 76
The detection signals of the six mark plate sensors 36 are taken in based on the signals supplied through the mark plate 34, and at this time, each mark plate sensor 36 is positioned at the center of the corresponding mark plate 34. Therefore, even if there is an error in the installation position of the mark plate 34, the mark plate 34 can be reliably detected.

The RAM 50 has a mark plate sensor 3.
A mark plate pattern memory 80 that stores the pattern represented by the detection signal emitted by the turn signal sensor 6, a blinker lighting distance memory 82, and a rotation sensor 40.
A counter 84 is provided to count the signals sent from. In addition, the memory of the ROM 48 stores information corresponding to a plurality of types of mark plate patterns, and also stores the distance L that the transport vehicle 10 travels from the start of turning on the turn signal to the time the turn signal is turned off (turn signal lighting distance). . Note that this L is stored as the number of signals generated by the rotation sensor 40.

The ROM 48 further stores programs necessary for operating the transport vehicle 10, such as traveling and transferring cargo. The flowchart shown in Figure 5 is as follows:
This is a mark plate processing program among the above programs, and the CPU 46 processes information provided by mark plates according to this program.

The flowchart shown in FIG. 5 mainly describes turning on and off of the turn signal, and hereinafter, the process of turning on and off the turn signal will be explained together with other mark plates based on this flowchart.

In step S1 (hereinafter simply referred to as S1; the same applies to other steps), it is determined whether or not a mark plate has been detected. If detected, the mark plate pattern detected in S2 is stored in the memory 80. be remembered. Next, in S3, it is determined whether the information represented by the stored mark plate pattern instructs to turn on the left turn blinker 30. If so, the determination result is YES, and in S4, the left turn blinker 30 is turned on. 30 is turned on, and the conveyance vehicle 10 turns left while blinking the turn signal 30 as shown in FIG.

After the left turn turn signal 30 is turned on, S5
In S6, the blinker lighting distance L is read and stored in the memory 82, and measurement of the travel distance is started in S6. The counter 84 starts counting. Next, in S7, it is determined whether or not the turn signal is blinking, but since the turn signal has not been turned off yet, the result of this judgment is YES, and in S8, the counter 8 is
A determination is made as to whether or not the count number 4 matches a preset count number representing the blinker lighting distance. If the guided vehicle 10 has not completely changed its direction and has not traveled the set distance since the turn signal was turned on, the judgment result will be NO, S9 and S10 will be bypassed, and the program will be executed in the main routine. Return to In S4, the left turn turn signal 30 is only turned on, and other processing is performed without waiting for the turn signal to turn off.

Then, the next time this mark plate processing routine is performed, either there is no mark plate, or even if there is, the mark plate provides information other than blinker lighting.
If there is no mark plate, the judgment result of S1 is
The result is NO, and then S7 is executed.

Furthermore, even if there is a mark plate 34, it does not instruct the blinkers 30 and 32 to light up, so the determination results in S3 and S11 are both NO, S13 is executed, and the detected mark plate 34 is provided. Processing corresponding to the information is performed.
This process is to perform some kind of operation similar to turning on a blinker, and S7 is executed without waiting for the completion of the operation.

In either case, the turn signal is on.
The determination result of S7 is YES, and S8 is executed.
Hereafter, the steps from S1 to above until the judgment result of S8 becomes YES.
S7 and S13 are repeatedly executed, and when the guided vehicle 10 has traveled the set distance and completed the direction change, the determination result in S8 is YES and S9 is executed.
After the turn signal is turned off, the measurement of the distance traveled is completed in S10, the counter 84 is cleared, and the program execution returns to the main routine.

In this way, the blinker is turned off not based on the information provided by the mark plate 34, but based on the measurement of the distance traveled. In the mark plate processing routine, after the turn signal is turned on, the steps from S7 onward are executed regardless of whether the mark plate 34 is installed or not.As described above, the reason why the turn signal is turned off is due to the mark plate processing. Similarly, if the mark plate processing performed in S13 is not terminated by the mark plate, the process is performed next to S10. A step will be provided for the end of the process.

As described above, according to the transport vehicle 10 of the present embodiment, there is no need to provide a mark plate for turning off the turn signal on the ground side, the configuration on the ground side can be simplified, equipment costs can be reduced, and other operation information marks can be used. It is possible to obtain the effect that the direction change is not performed with the blinker on the side different from the direction of change turned on, which is the case when a mark plate for turning off the light cannot be provided due to the relationship with the turn plate.

As is clear from the above description, in this embodiment, the mark plate sensor 34 constitutes a lighting instruction means, the rotation sensor 40 and the counter 84 constitute a distance measuring means, and the CPU 46, ROM 48
The part that stores S3 to S12, the blinker lighting distance memory 82, etc. constitute the blinker control means.

Note that if the detected mark plate 34 instructs the conveyance vehicle 10 to turn right, S3
The determination result in S11 becomes NO, and the right turn blinker 32 is activated in S12.
is turned on, and the subsequent processing is the same as when the left turn blinker 30 is turned on.

Also, if S1 is executed with the turn signal not lit and there is no mark plate 34,
The judgment result of S1 is NO, and S7 is executed, but
This judgment result also becomes NO, and the program execution returns to the main routine.

Furthermore, if the mark plate 34 detected when the turn signal is not lit provides information other than the turn signal lighting, S2 and S11 are executed.
When the result is NO, S13 is executed and appropriate processing is performed, and then the judgment result of S7 is NO and the process returns to the main routine, or the step for terminating the process performed in S13 is executed and the process returns to the main routine. Return to routine.

In addition, in the above embodiment, the mark plate installed on the ground was used to provide operation information to the transport vehicle 10, but a floodlight was provided on the ground side as an information providing means, and a floodlight was provided on the vehicle side. Operation information may be provided by communicating with a light receiver serving as an instruction means.

Further, in the above embodiment, the detection signal of the mark plate sensor 36 is input to the computer 44 when one of the mark plates 34 on the front end side and one on the rear end side in the vehicle traveling direction are both detected. Mark plate 3
The position where 4 is to be detected may be stored in advance in the memory of the ROM 48.

Furthermore, the present invention can be applied not only to automatic guided vehicles but also to unmanned towed vehicles and the like.

Although not illustrated in detail, the present invention can be implemented in various modifications and improvements based on the knowledge of those skilled in the art.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a front view schematically showing an automatic guided vehicle according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3 is a plan view showing the installation position of a mark plate installed on the ground on which the automatic guided vehicle travels. FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing a control device for controlling the traveling of the automatic guided vehicle. FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing only the portions closely related to the present invention out of the programs stored in the ROM of the computer that constitutes the main body of the control device. FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a left turn of the carrier vehicle. 10... Automatic guided vehicle, 30... Left turn blinker, 32... Right turn blinker, 34... Mark plate, 36... Mark plate sensor, 40...
...Rotation sensor, 44...Computer.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. In an unmanned vehicle that has a turn signal and runs unmanned along a driving path and lights up the turn signal to support the driving direction when changing the driving direction, the unmanned vehicle is at a direction change position. a lighting instruction device that issues an instruction to turn on the turn signal before the turn signal starts; a mileage measuring device that starts measuring the distance traveled by the unmanned vehicle at the same time as the turn signal starts to turn on; and based on the lighting instruction by the lighting instruction device. An unmanned vehicle characterized by comprising: a turn signal control means that turns on the turn signal and turns off the turn signal when the distance measured by the travel distance measuring means reaches a predetermined distance.