JPH06161554A - Running speed controller for automatic travelling vehicle - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To suppress the extension of a brake stop distance on a downward slope without providing any special inclined angle sensor and to stop an automatic travelling vehicle at a desired position by calculating the downward inclined angle of a course with the power braking force of a DC dynamo adopted for controlling running speed. CONSTITUTION:An automatic steering device 33 to be operated at the time of unmanned traveling is arranged at a steering device 3. This automatic steering device 33 connects a steering motor 34 through a decelerator 35 to a transmitter 36 and connects the output axle of the transmitter 36 to a planar sensor arm 37 of T-shape. A gear group for linking the steering motor 34 and a steering axle 31 and a transmitting mechanism for oscillating the sensor arm 37 from side to side are housed inside the transmitter 36. Further, guide line sensor 38a for detecting guide lines 38b embedded in the course are arranged at the center and on the right and left sides of the sensor arm 37. A power plant 4 mounts a decelerator 42 between right and left rear wheels 13 and transmits the output of the decelerator 42 to the rear wheels 13.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an automatic vehicle in which the traveling speed is controlled by controlling the power generation braking force by a dynamo. More specifically, the stopping distance when a stop command is issued is downhill. The present invention relates to improvement of deceleration control at the time of stop so that extension of the vehicle can be prevented.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art For example, in a golf course or a factory, unmanned golf is possible by detecting a guide wire buried along a running course with a sensor on the vehicle body side and automatically controlling the vehicle speed to a set speed. So-called self-driving vehicles such as cars and trucks are used.

Conventionally, in this type of vehicle, an electric motor is generally used as a traveling power source because it is easy to control the traveling speed. However, in the case of an electric motor, there are problems that the travelable distance per charge is insufficient, the weight of the battery increases the weight of the vehicle, and the lawn is damaged.

To avoid this problem, it is conceivable to use a gasoline engine as a driving power source instead of the electric motor. When this gasoline engine is adopted, the traveling speed is controlled by controlling the opening of the throttle valve. Will be done. However, it may be difficult to reliably control the vehicle speed to the set speed only by controlling the throttle valve when going downhill. On the other hand, a mechanical brake such as a drum brake is, for example, a vehicle of this type that runs at a low speed of 10 km / h at the maximum
It is not desirable because smooth braking is difficult.

Electric braking such as dynamic braking or regenerative braking is conceivable for obtaining a smooth braking force, but it is not desirable to separately provide a generator for this purpose because it increases the number of parts.

[0006] Therefore, the applicant has an engine with a cell dynamo, a throttle valve control means, and a deceleration control means for performing dynamic braking or regenerative braking by the cell dynamo when descending a hill as an automatic vehicle capable of solving the above-mentioned problems. It has been proposed to provide one (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 4-303030).

[0007]

By the way, in order to perform the dynamic braking by the cell dynamo at the time of descending a slope, it is naturally necessary to detect that it is a descending slope. In such a case, it is common to provide an inclination angle sensor,
This sensor is expensive, and therefore a tilt angle detection method other than this is required.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and can detect an inclined state of a downhill without a special inclination angle sensor and can stop at a desired stop position even when the vehicle is descending. It is an object of the present invention to provide a traveling speed control device of.

[0009]

According to the present invention, when the detected vehicle speed is higher than the set vehicle speed, the traveling speed control means for increasing the power generation braking force by the dynamo as the speed difference increases, and the higher the power generation braking force, the greater the power generation braking force. And a deceleration control means for performing a stronger deceleration operation when the stop signal is inputted and the downward inclination from the inclination calculation means is larger. Is a traveling speed control device for an automatic vehicle.

Here, the dynamo according to the present invention includes both a cell dynamo that doubles as a starter and a dynamo and a cell dynamo dedicated to power generation.

According to the traveling speed control device of the present invention, when the detected vehicle speed exceeds the set vehicle speed, the larger the difference in speed, the larger the generated braking force is controlled. Is determined. When the stop signal is input, the deceleration operation is performed more strongly as the power generation braking force immediately before is larger, that is, the steeper the slope.

As described above, according to the present invention, since the dynamo power generation braking force employed for controlling the traveling speed is used to obtain the downward inclination of the traveling path, it is not necessary to provide a special inclination angle sensor. The cost problem can be avoided.

Further, in the present invention, since the deceleration operation is performed more strongly as the descending inclination angle is larger, the extension of the braking stop distance can be suppressed even on the descending slope, and the braking can be stopped at a desired position.

[0013]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. 1 to 5 are views for explaining a traveling speed control device for an automatic traveling type golf car according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 1 is a conceptual view seen from the side of the golf car, and FIG. FIG. 3 is a conceptual diagram viewed from a plane, FIG. 3 is a block configuration diagram of the apparatus of this embodiment, FIG. 4 is a block configuration diagram of a main controller portion, and FIG. 5 is a flow chart diagram for explaining the operation.

In each of the above drawings, reference numeral 1 denotes a golf car equipped with the device of this embodiment, which is a vehicle body 2 forming the skeleton thereof.
A steering device 3 for controlling the traveling direction of steering wheels of the vehicle body 2, a power unit 4 for supplying a driving force to the driving wheels of the vehicle body 2, the steering unit 3, the power unit 4, etc. The control device 5 controls the operating state.

The vehicle body 2 has a schematic structure in which front wheels 12 and 12 as steering wheels are arranged in the front part of a body frame 11 and rear wheels 13 and 13 as driving wheels are arranged in the rear part. . A front bumper 14 is provided below the front end of the vehicle body frame 11, and a carrier 16 for mounting a golf bag 15 and the like is provided above the front bumper 14.

In the steering device 3, a steering handle 32 is fixed to the upper end of a steering shaft 31, and the lower end is connected to the knuckle arms of the left and right front wheels 12, 12 via a steering arm and a steering rod (not shown). It has a schematic structure. In addition, the steering shaft 31 corresponds to the body frame 1 described above.
1 is rotatably supported by a steering tube (not shown) fixed to the handle support frame 11a constituting the steering wheel 1.

The steering device 3 is provided with an automatic steering device 33 which operates during unmanned traveling. The automatic steering device 33 includes a steering motor 34 fixed to the steering tube.
Is connected to a transmission device 36 via a speed reducer 35, and a planar T-shaped sensor arm 37 is connected to the output shaft of the transmission device 36. A gear group for interlocking the steering motor 34 and the steering shaft 31 in the transmission device 36,
Also, a transmission mechanism for swinging the sensor arm 37 left and right is housed. Also, in the center of the sensor arm 37, on the left,
A guide wire sensor 38a for detecting the guide wire 38b buried in the traveling path is arranged on the right side. A fixed point magnet 38c is arranged in the middle of the guide wire 38b, and a fixed point sensor 38d for detecting the fixed point magnet 38c is arranged on the lower surface of the transmission device 36.

In the power unit 4, an engine 41 is mounted substantially in the center of the body frame 11, and a speed reducer 42 is mounted between the left and right rear wheels 13 and 13, and the output of the engine 41 is a V-belt type continuously variable transmission. It has a schematic structure in which the speed reducer 42 is transmitted via a machine 43 and the output of the speed reducer 42 is transmitted to the rear wheels 13, 13.

The carburetor 44 of the engine 41 is of a type in which the intake air amount is controlled by a built-in throttle valve, and this throttle valve is connected to the switching device 45 by a wire (not shown). The switching device 45 includes a step motor 47 for the throttle valve via an electromagnetic clutch 46,
Alternatively, it is switched and connected to one of the accelerator levers 32a of the steering handle 32 via the governor device 48. That is, in the manual mode, the electromagnetic clutch 46 is turned off by the main controller 52, which will be described later, and the governor device 48 controls the opening degree of the throttle valve so as to limit the traveling speed according to the amount of rotation of the accelerator lever 32a. In the automatic mode, the electromagnetic clutch 46 is turned on and the opening degree of the throttle valve is controlled by the step motor 47.

A self-starter dynamo (hereinafter referred to as a cell dynamo) 64 is provided on the crankshaft of the engine 41.
Are connected by a V-belt 49. The cell dynamo 64 not only performs engine starting and power generation for charging the battery 66, but also controls traveling speed by power generation braking (also referred to as regenerative braking) using resistance generated by larger power generation. The generated braking force increases as the energization ratio (duty ratio) to the exciting coil 64a increases. The current generated at this time is used to charge the battery 66, and is converted into heat by the resistor 65 when the battery is fully charged.

An electromagnetic brake 50 is provided on the input shaft 42a of the speed reducer 42. This electromagnetic brake 50
When the vehicle is running, the brake is released and the brake is released. When the vehicle is not running, the brake is activated and the brake is activated.

A disc brake 51 is attached to the outward protruding portion of the intermediate shaft 42b arranged at the lower portion of the speed reducer 42. The disc brake 51 is connected to the brake lever 32b of the steering handle 32 by a wire (not shown).

The control device 5 mainly controls the ignition system, carburetor, brake, etc. of the power unit 4, the automatic steering device 33 of the steering device 3, and the cell dynamo 64. And a power system controller 53 for controlling. As shown in FIG. 4, the main controller 52 includes an input unit 52a that reads inputs from various sensors and a C that performs various arithmetic processes.
PU 52b, throttle output section 52c for outputting throttle control signal and brake control signal, brake output section 5
It has 2d.

1 to 4, reference numeral 54 is a transmitter operated by a driver outside the vehicle, 55 is a remote control receiver for receiving a start / stop signal from the transmitter 54, 56 is a main switch mounted on a vehicle, and 57 is a main switch. A changeover switch for switching between automatic traveling and manual traveling, 58 is a vehicle start / stop switch, and these various signals are transmitted to the main controller 52.
Entered in. 59 and 60 are main controllers 5
A steering relay and a main relay that are on / off controlled by 2. Reference numeral 61 is an induction fixed-point amplifier that amplifies the output of the induction wire sensor 38a, 62 is an ignition circuit, and 63 is a current sensor.

Next, the function and effect of this embodiment will be described. First, the steering control in the automatic traveling mode is performed as follows. The power system controller 53 outputs a control signal to the steering motor 34 according to the position detection signal of the guiding wire 38b from the guiding wire sensor 38a, and the steering motor 34 rotates the steering shaft 31 via the transmission device 36. As a result, the golf car 1 runs along the guide line 38b.

Next, traveling speed control in the manual traveling mode is performed in the following manner. When the operator turns on the main switch 56, switches the changeover switch 57 to the manual traveling mode, and pulls the accelerator lever 32a, the main relay 60
Turns on. Then, the current from the battery 66 flows in the armature 64b of the cell dynamo 64 in the direction of the arrow a, whereby the armature 64b rotates, and the rotation causes the crankshaft of the engine 41 to rotate via the V-belt 49. As a result, the engine 41 is started. When the engine 41 is started, the main relay 60 is turned off, and when the engine rotation speed becomes equal to or higher than a predetermined value, the electromagnetic brake 50 is released and at the same time the automatic transmission 43 starts transmission of rotation, whereby the golf car 1 travels. Start.

Although the traveling speed increases or decreases depending on the opening degree of the accelerator lever 32a, the maximum speed is limited by the governor device 48 to, for example, 10 km / h. Also, during normal traveling, the armature 64b of the cell dynamo 64 is
The cell dynamo 64 generates electric power by causing a predetermined current to flow through the exciting coil 64a. The generated current flows in the direction of arrow b, and charges the battery 66 via the power system controller 53. When the battery 66 has a predetermined voltage or higher, the energization of the exciting coil 64a is stopped and power generation is not performed.

When the accelerator lever 32a is released, the engine 41 is stopped and the brake lever 32 is stopped.
The disc brake 51 is operated by the operation of b, and after the golf car 1 is stopped, the electromagnetic brake 50 is operated to restrict the movement thereof.

The traveling speed control in the automatic traveling mode is performed as follows. When the operator switches the transmitter 54 or the vehicle-mounted start / stop switch 58 to the start side, the cell dynamo 64 starts the engine 41 in the same manner as in the manual mode. When the engine speed exceeds a predetermined value, the automatic transmission 43 starts transmitting the rotation, and the golf car 1 starts running. At this time, the throttle valve control of the carburetor 44 is switched to the control by driving the step motor 47 by the electromagnetic clutch 46 and the switching device 45.

In this embodiment, the vehicle speed V detected by the vehicle speed sensor 51a is the target vehicle speed V set in advance.
Both the control of the throttle opening degree of the carburetor 44 and the dynamic braking by the cell dynamo 64 are simultaneously performed so that it becomes o.

In the traveling speed control by the throttle opening,
The step motor 47 controls the throttle valve opening of the carburetor 44 so that the vehicle speed difference ΔV = V−Vo between the detected vehicle speed and the set vehicle speed becomes zero. That is, the detected vehicle speed V is the set vehicle speed Vo.
When it is lower, the throttle valve opening increases, and when it is higher, it decreases.

In the traveling speed control by dynamic braking, when the detected vehicle speed V is lower than the set vehicle speed Vo, the current value to the exciting coil 64a is limited to the current value required for the above-mentioned normal power generation, and of course the dynamic braking. Is not done. On the other hand, when the detected vehicle speed exceeds the set vehicle speed, the current value to the exciting coil 64a increases, power generation is performed according to the increase, and the rotation resistance of the armature 64b at that time serves as a braking force, and the vehicle speed becomes It is decelerated to the set vehicle speed. In this case, the magnitude of the current supplied to the exciting coil 64a (cell die duty ratio) is
The larger the vehicle speed difference ΔV, the larger the setting.

Next, a stop signal is input from the transmitter 54,
Alternatively, the travel stop control when the start stop switch 58 is switched to the stop side will be described with reference to FIG. In this traveling stop control, the gradient of the traveling path is obtained by using the cell die duty ratio in the traveling speed control described above. First, the detected vehicle speed V and the acceleration α are calculated based on the detected values from the rotation sensor 41a and the vehicle speed sensor 51a, and the instruction cell die duty ratio β is calculated based on the vehicle speed V and the acceleration α and the set speed Vo. Further, an average indicating cell die duty ratio β ′ is calculated by averaging the duty ratio β at regular time intervals (steps S1 to S4). As a result, the normal traveling speed control by the above-described power generation braking is performed.

Whether the magnitude of the average indicating cell die duty ratio β'is 0% or less, 0% or more and less than 30%, or 30% or more is determined, and the road surface gradient corresponding to each is determined as 0. It is assumed that the slope is 0 ° or more (flat or upward slope), the downward slope is less than 10 °, and the downward slope is 10 ° or more (steps S5 to 8).

Then, it is judged whether or not the stop signal is input (step S9). If not input, that is, if the normal traveling is continued, the process proceeds to step S23, and it is judged whether or not the vehicle speed is zero. Since it is not zero, the process returns to step S1 and the above operation is repeated.

On the other hand, when the stop signal is input, the magnitude of the gradient based on the immediately preceding cell die duty ratio is discriminated (step S10), and accordingly, a stronger deceleration operation is performed as the gradient becomes steeper. In the case of a flat or climbing with a slope of less than 0 °, the set vehicle speed is reduced at a relatively slow deceleration speed, and accordingly, the throttle opening is relatively slowly closed and the cell die duty ratio is relatively low. The deceleration operation is performed by setting a small value (for example, 30%), and finally the electromagnetic brake is activated after the relatively low speed state (for example, 1 km / h) (steps S11 to 14).

When the descending gradient is less than 10 °, the set vehicle speed is reduced by a faster deceleration speed than in the case of the flat condition, the throttle opening is closed at a high speed, and the cell die duty ratio is set to a medium value. (For example 50%) and finally medium speed (for example 1.25 km /
In step h), the electromagnetic brake is activated (steps S15 to 1).
8).

Further, when the downhill slope is 10 ° or more, the deceleration speed of the set speed is increased, the closing speed of the throttle opening is increased, and the cell die duty ratio is increased, compared with the case of less than 10 °. Is set to 70%, for example, and the operating speed of the electromagnetic brake is increased to, for example, 1.5 km / h (steps S19 to 22). Then, when the vehicle speed becomes zero, the operation ends (step S23).

As described above, according to this embodiment, the detected vehicle speed V
When the vehicle speed exceeds the set vehicle speed Vo, the instruction cell die duty ratio β is controlled to be larger as the speed difference ΔV is larger, and it is determined that the steep slope is descending as the average value β ′ of the duty ratio for each predetermined time is larger. Therefore, it is not necessary to provide a special inclination angle sensor, and the problem of high cost can be avoided.

Further, when the stop signal is input, the deceleration operation is strengthened as the descending gradient obtained from the duty ratio becomes larger. Therefore, the extension of the braking stopping distance can be suppressed even on the downhill, and the desired position can be suppressed. You can stop at.

In the above embodiment, the case of the cell dynamo in which the starter and the dynamo are combined is explained, but the present invention can be applied to the case where both are separate.

As described above, according to the traveling speed control system for an automatic vehicle according to the present invention, the downward inclination of the traveling path is determined by the duty ratio adopted for the dynamic braking of the dynamo. Since there is no need to provide a special inclination angle sensor, the problem of high cost can be avoided.

Further, in the present invention, since the deceleration operation is strengthened as the descending inclination angle is larger, it is possible to suppress the extension of the braking stop distance even on the descending slope, and it is possible to stop at the desired position.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration view seen from a side for explaining a traveling speed control device of an automatic traveling golf car according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic configuration diagram of the apparatus of the above embodiment as seen from a plane.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of the apparatus of the above embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a block configuration diagram of a main controller portion of the apparatus of the above embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a flow chart for explaining the operation of the apparatus of the above embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 Golf Car (Automated Vehicle) 52 Main Controller (Traveling Speed Control Means, Inclination Calculation Means, Deceleration Means) 64 Cell Dynamo V Detected Vehicle Speed Vo Set Vehicle Speed

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. When the detected vehicle speed is higher than a set vehicle speed, a traveling speed control means for increasing the power generation braking force by the dynamo as the speed difference increases, and a slope for outputting a larger downhill gradient as the power generation braking force increases. Travel speed of an automatic vehicle, which comprises a degree calculation means and a deceleration control means for performing a stronger deceleration operation as the downward inclination degree from the inclination degree calculation means is increased when a stop signal is input. Control device.