JPH07160332A - Travel controller for carriage vehicle - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To provide the travel controller for carrying vehicles which enables a following vehicle to get ahead of a precedent vehicle when the following vehicle follows the precedent vehicle on a guide travel path. CONSTITUTION:This travel controller is equipped with a detecting means 8 which detects a guide signal from a guide device on the guide travel path and a guide travel control means 9 which performs control on the basis of the detection result of the detecting means 8 so that a traveling vehicle body travels along the guide travel path, and is provided with an another-vehicle passing control means 12 which releases the traveling vehicle body from the guide travel control and turns at a specific steering angle to the right or left deviating from the guide travel path on the basis of the detection result of a proximity sensor 11, capable of detecting the traveling vehicle body approaching another precedent vehicle body in the travel direction, which shows that the traveling vehicle body approaches said precedent vehicle body within a specific distance, turns the vehicle body at a specific steering angle toward the guide travel path after a specific-distance or specific-time travel in parallel to the guide travel path, and then puts the vehicle body back under the travel control based upon the guide signal from the guide device.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a traveling control device for a carrier such as a golf cart. More specifically, the traveling vehicle body is provided with a detecting means for detecting a guidance signal from the guidance device on the guidance traveling path. The present invention relates to a travel control device for a transport vehicle including guide travel control means for controlling the traveling vehicle body to travel along the guide travel path based on the detection result of the detection means.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in a traveling control device for a vehicle of this type, when a preceding vehicle on the guideway is delayed and a following vehicle catches up with the preceding vehicle, the following vehicle is the preceding vehicle. In order to prevent the vehicle from colliding with the vehicle, only the means for detecting that the following vehicle approaches the preceding vehicle by the proximity sensor and controlling so that the preceding vehicle and the following vehicle do not come closer than a certain amount are provided. It was

[0003]

However, in the above-mentioned conventional structure, the following vehicle is not controlled so as to overtake the preceding vehicle, so that the preceding vehicle and the following vehicle have the same rank on the same guideway. It will be maintained, and eventually the following vehicle will follow the preceding vehicle until the preceding vehicle leaves the guideway halfway or both vehicles reach the end point of the guideway. However, there is a drawback that the efficiency of transportation in the following vehicle becomes poor because the following vehicle is delayed although it can reach the target location earlier than usual. The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and is a transport vehicle that allows a succeeding vehicle to pass the preceding vehicle when the succeeding vehicle follows the preceding vehicle on the guideway. An object is to provide a travel control device.

[0004]

In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, a traveling control device for a transport vehicle according to the present invention has the structure described above, in which the traveling vehicle body is close to another vehicle body in front of the traveling direction. Is provided with a proximity sensor, and based on the detection result of the proximity sensor that the traveling vehicle has approached the other vehicle within a predetermined distance, the traveling vehicle is controlled by the guiding device. The guided traveling control is released, the steering vehicle is steered to the right or left of the guided traveling path at a predetermined steering angle, and then the vehicle is traveled in parallel with the guided traveling path for a predetermined distance or a predetermined time, and then the guided traveling path. It is characterized in that another vehicle overtaking control means for steering at a predetermined steering angle toward and then returning to the traveling control based on the guidance signal from the guidance device is provided. The operation and effect of this characteristic configuration are as follows.

[0005]

Operation: That is, when the following vehicle is in a state of catching up with the preceding vehicle on the guideway and the traveling of the preceding vehicle is delayed, the following vehicle comes close to the preceding vehicle within a predetermined distance. Is detected by the proximity sensor, based on the detection result,
By the another vehicle overtaking control means, the following vehicle releases the guide traveling control by the guide device, steers to the right or left deviating from the guide traveling path at a predetermined steering angle, and then predetermined in parallel with the guide steering path. After traveling a distance or for a predetermined time, the following vehicle can pass the preceding vehicle by steering the vehicle at a predetermined steering angle toward the guidance traveling path and returning to the traveling control based on the guidance signal from the guidance device.

[0006]

Therefore, even if the preceding vehicle is slow and the following vehicle follows the preceding vehicle immediately after the preceding vehicle, even if the following vehicle is on the guideway. Since it is possible to overtake a vehicle, it is possible to solve the problem that the following vehicle is unjustly required to follow the preceding vehicle, and it is possible to improve the efficiency of transportation work.

[0007]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 4 shows a golf cart on a golf course as an example of a carrier. This golf cart is configured by equipping a traveling vehicle body 3 supported by a pair of left and right front wheels 1, 1 and rear wheels 2, 2 with a prime mover 4, a boarding maneuvering unit 5, and a club case mounting table 6. is doing.

This golf cart serves as a guiding device laid along the guide traveling path R so that the golf cart can be automatically guided along the holes and the guide traveling path R provided between the holes. Detecting means 8 for detecting a guide signal from the guide wire 7 are arranged at the front and rear ends of the traveling vehicle body 3, respectively. The detection means 8 and 8 are configured by an electromagnetic induction type, and by detecting the induction signal from the induction wire 7, the presence / absence state of the induction wire 7 and the induction wires to the respective detection means 8 and 8 are detected. 7 detects which of the left and right is located, and based on the detection result, the traveling vehicle body 3 is automatically steered so that the guide wire 7 and the detecting means 8 and 8 are at the same position in plan view. Of. More specifically, as shown in FIG. 2, front wheels 1 and 1 as steering wheels are steered electric motors 10 which are drive-controlled by a control device 9 which is mounted on the traveling vehicle body 3 and serves as guide traveling control means. The control device 9 is configured to be steered, and the detection signals from the detection means 8 are input to the control device 9. Then, the control device 9 eliminates the deviation according to the degree of deviation of the detecting means 8 and 8 with respect to the guide wire 7 based on the detection signals from the detecting means 8 and 8 A control signal for steering is output to the steering electric motor 10. As a result, the operator only has to start the start key to start traveling or operate the brake to stop traveling, and the vehicle is automatically guided to the predetermined hall without any troublesome steering operation. You can get to.

As shown in FIG. 1, an ultrasonic signal is transmitted forward to the front end of the traveling vehicle body 3, and the ultrasonic signal is received by a reflection signal reflected by an obstacle in front of the traveling vehicle body 3. The proximity sensor 11 is installed. The detection signal of the proximity sensor 11 is input to the control device 9, and the time from the transmission to the reception of this ultrasonic signal is measured to measure the distance between the traveling vehicle body 3 and the obstacle ahead. I am trying. Further, a distance sensor 14 that can detect the traveling distance of the traveling vehicle body 3 is provided, and the detection information of the distance sensor 14 is input to the control device 9. Then, in the control device 9, the proximity sensor 11
When it is detected that the traveling vehicle body 3 has approached the vehicle body A of another preceding golf cart as another vehicle within a predetermined distance based on the detection signal from the Based on the distance sensor 14, the vehicle travels straight back and forth, and then the guide traveling control by the guide line 7 is released, and the vehicle is steered to the left or right set at a predetermined steering angle θ1 to move forward. A control signal is output to the steering electric motor 10. Then, when the forward movement in the predetermined steering is performed for a predetermined time, the steering of the front wheels 1, 1 is returned to the neutral state, and the traveling vehicle body 3 is guided to the guide line 7 of the guide traveling path R. Drive straight along the parallel lines. After going straight ahead for a predetermined time,
Although the guide wire 7 is present, the vehicle is advanced so that steering is performed at a predetermined steering angle θ2 set in advance, that is, the steering is performed in the opposite direction to that when the steering for leaving the guide wire 7 is performed first. However, when the position of the guide wire 7 is detected by the detecting means 8 during the traveling in the steering state, the guide wire 7 is detected.
The guidance control by which the guidance traveling is performed is restarted. Here, in this way, the control for stopping and restarting the guidance control and performing the predetermined steering is performed by the another vehicle overtaking control means 12 provided in the control device 9.

According to the above structure, when the preceding play member is slow while the vehicle is automatically traveling on the guided traveling route R, the golf cart A of the preceding member is present on the guided traveling route R. Therefore, when the golf cart of the later play member approaches the golf cart A ahead of the golf cart within a predetermined distance, the golf cart A is automatically overtaken so that the golf cart A can be overtaken.
As a result, it is possible to prevent the following golf cart from following the inefficient preceding golf cart A.

Next, the automatic return system of each golf cart on this golf course will be briefly described. Figure 3
As shown in FIG. 2, each golf cart C has a waiting place W near the first hole and the ninth hole, and the golf cart C that departs from the waiting place W finally reaches the same waiting place W. The guideway R is laid so as to draw a loop so as to return. A marker m made of a magnet or the like is provided at a predetermined golf cart C passing position in each hole so that the passing of the golf cart C can be counted, and the presence or absence of the marker m is detected. The marker detector is mounted on the golf cart C. Each time the control device 9 mounted on each golf cart C detects the marker m while traveling on the guide route R, the number of times of detection is counted in the storage means. As a result, it is possible to determine which hole position the golf cart C is currently on on the guide route R based on the count number. Further, the standby station W is provided with a transmitter 13 for transmitting an automatic return start signal to the guide wire 7. Then, in an emergency such as when a lightning strike occurs, an automatic return start signal is transmitted from the transmitter 13 so that each golf cart C on the guideway R can be automatically returned to the waiting place W. Send to guide wire 7. The transmitted automatic return start signal is received by the receiver (wireless receiver) mounted on each golf cart C, and the marker m of each golf cart C at the time when the signal is received.
If the golfer is in the 1st to 5th holes as judged by the count number, the vehicle will automatically start the backward running and return to the waiting place W while moving backward. Those in the 6th hole to the 9th hole, which are judged by the count number of the marker m, are controlled to automatically start forward traveling and return to the waiting place W while moving forward. As described above, the golf carts C can be quickly returned by sorting the golf carts C in the backward direction and returning in the forward direction and in the forward direction and returning in accordance with the emergency traveling position of the golf carts C.

The present invention may be implemented as follows. (B) A distance sensor provided on the vehicle body detects the distance traveled when the vehicle travels parallel to the guide travel route after being steered away from the guide travel path in order to pass the preceding vehicle, and the preset distance is set. Performing overtaking control that steers the guideway when driving. (B) Overtaking is performed while detecting the relative position of the preceding vehicle and the overcoming vehicle.

It should be noted that reference numerals are given in the claims for convenience of comparison with the drawings, but the present invention is not limited to the configurations of the accompanying drawings by the entry.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a plan view (a) and (b) showing how a following vehicle catches up with a preceding vehicle, and a plan view (c) showing how a following vehicle overtakes a preceding vehicle.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing overtaking control means and the like.

FIG. 3 is a schematic view showing a guiding means for a golf cart on a golf course.

FIG. 4 is an overall side view showing a golf cart.

[Explanation of symbols]

 3 traveling vehicle body 7 guiding device 8 detecting means 9 guiding traveling control means 11 proximity sensor 12 vehicle overtaking controlling means A vehicle body according to A R guiding traveling path

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A vehicle body (3) comprising a detection means (8) for detecting a guidance signal from a guidance device (7) on a guidance road (R).
And a guide traveling control means (9) for controlling the traveling vehicle body (3) to travel along the guide traveling path (R) based on the detection result of the detecting means (8).
A proximity controller (1) capable of detecting that the traveling vehicle body (3) is in proximity to another vehicle body (A) in front of the traveling direction.
1) is provided, and the traveling vehicle body (3) is based on the detection result of the proximity sensor (11) that the traveling vehicle body (3) has approached the other vehicle body (A) within a predetermined distance. The guide traveling control by the guide device (7) is released, the steering device is steered to the right or left of the guide traveling path (R) at a predetermined steering angle, and then, is made parallel to the guide traveling path (R). Another vehicle overtaking control in which the vehicle is steered at a predetermined steering angle toward the guideway (R) after traveling for a predetermined distance or for a predetermined time, and then returned to the traveling control based on the guidance signal from the guidance device (7). A travel control device for a carrier provided with means (12).