JPH0749522Y2 - Guidance signal detector for unmanned vehicles - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] A. Field of Industrial Application The present invention relates to an induction signal detector for an unmanned vehicle and unifies the output signals of the detector.

B. Outline of the Invention The present invention is an induction signal detector having a pair of pickup coils, in which detection signals are output from a plurality of different terminals according to deviations of detection values detected by both coils. .

C. Prior art Unmanned vehicle 1 shown in a front view in FIG. 3 and a plan view in FIG.
Is a tricycle type having a pair of drive wheels 2 in the rear part and one steering wheel 3 in the front part. This unmanned vehicle 1 can be driven by a manned person or an unmanned person.

When manned driving, an occupant rides on the unmanned vehicle 1 and operates the steering wheel 4 to steer the steered wheels 3.
On the other hand, when performing an unmanned operation, a steering command is given to the built-in steering motor, and the steered wheels 3 are steered by the rotational force of the steering motor that is rotationally driven based on the steering command. The steering command is obtained by detecting the guide line installed along the traveling path with the sensor 5.

Here, each method of unmanned guiding the unmanned vehicle 1 will be described. Fifth
The figure is a schematic view of the unmanned vehicle 1 as seen from the front in the traveling direction, and the left-right direction on the paper corresponds to the width direction of the unmanned vehicle 1.

(I) In electromagnetic induction, as shown in FIG.
The electric wire 11 is buried in the running path 10 along the guide path.
Apply an alternating current to. On the other hand, the bottom surface of the unmanned vehicle 1 is provided with a pair of pickup coils PC1 and PC2. Then, the strength of the magnetic field generated by the alternating current flowing through the electric wire 11 is detected by the pickup coils PC1 and PC2, and induction is performed based on the deviation of the detected value. That is, as shown in FIG. 6, the coil PC1,
After the detection value of PC2 is amplified by amplifiers A1 and A2, the differential amplifier Ad
The deviation Δl is calculated according to. Therefore, the calculation unit C _O
Based on l, the central position of unmanned vehicle 1 (center in the vehicle width direction) is an electric wire
Find how much "deviation" from the 11 buried positions,
The steering motor M is controlled through the power unit D to steer the steered wheels 3 so that this “deviation” is zero.

(Ii) In the optical guidance, as shown in FIG. 5 (b),
A light-reflecting tape (stainless steel tape or aluminum tape) 12 is arranged along the guide path on the road surface of the traveling path 10. On the other hand, on the bottom of the unmanned vehicle 1, optical sensors S1, S2, S3, S4, S5, S6,
It is equipped with S7 at regular intervals along the vehicle width direction. Each of the optical sensors S1 to S7 has a light emitting element and a light receiving element,
When the light emitted downward from each of the optical sensors S1 to S7 is reflected and the reflected light is received, the detection signal ON is output. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 7, the calculation unit C _O detects from which of the sensors S1 to S7 the detection signal ON is sent, and the detection signal ON is detected.
It is determined that the light reflecting tape 12 is directly below the sensor that has sent ON, and based on this determination, the steering motor M is controlled via the power unit D so that the center position of the unmanned vehicle 1 is the light reflecting tape 12.
Steer to the upper position.

(Iii) In the first magnetic guidance system, as shown in FIG. 5C, a magnetic tape (rubber magnet tape) 13 is arranged along the guidance path on the road surface of the traveling path 10. On the other hand, unmanned car 1
Magnetic sensors m1, m2, m3, m4, m5, m6, m7 are provided on the bottom surface of the vehicle at regular intervals along the vehicle width direction. Each magnetic sensor m1 ~
When m7 approaches the magnetic tape 13, it outputs a detection signal ON.
Therefore, the calculation / steering control is performed in the same manner as shown in FIG.

(Iv) In the second magnetic guidance system, as shown in FIG. 5C, the magnetic tape 13 is arranged along the guidance route on the road surface of the traveling route 10. On the other hand, the bottom surface of the unmanned vehicle 1 is provided with a pair of pickup coils PC1 and PC2. Then, the strength of the magnetic field generated by the magnetic tape 13 is detected by the pickup coils PC1 and PC2, and guidance is performed based on the deviation of the detected values.
Therefore, the calculation / steering control is performed in the same manner as shown in FIG.

Each of the above-mentioned guidance methods has the following advantages and disadvantages.

(I) In the electromagnetic system shown in FIG. 5 (a), the deviation Δl is obtained even if the "deviation" of the unmanned vehicle 1 is small, so that accurate guidance can be performed. Further, since the electric wire 11 is buried, the electric wire 11 is not damaged, and there is no problem even if the traveling path 10 is dirty. On the other hand, the work of burying the electric wire 11 is troublesome.

(Ii) In the optical system shown in FIG.
You can easily set the guide route by simply pasting, and change the route easily. On the other hand, because it controls based on which optical sensor outputs the detection signal ON,
Guidance accuracy is rough. For example, when the unmanned vehicle 1 slightly shifts while the optical sensor S4 outputs the detection signal ON,
This state does not change, and the detection signal ON is output from the adjacent sensor only when the unmanned vehicle 1 is largely displaced.
It is not possible to deal with small deviations in guidance. Also light reflecting tape 12
The light reflecting tape 12 is easily damaged because the
Furthermore, if the light reflecting tape 12 becomes dirty, it cannot be guided, so it cannot be used in an environment where it easily gets dirty.

(Iii) In the first magnetic type shown in FIG. 5 (c), the guiding route can be easily set and the route can be easily changed only by attaching the magnetic tape 13. On the other hand, since the control is performed based on which magnetic sensor outputs the detection signal ON, the guiding accuracy is rough.

(Iv) In the second magnetic type shown in FIG. 5 (d), setting and changing of the guidance process can be easily performed only by attaching the magnetic tape 13. Moreover, since the control is performed by the deviation, the control accuracy is good. On the other hand, the magnetic tape 13 is easily damaged.

D. Problems to be solved by the device Since each guidance system has its advantages and disadvantages as described above, each system is adopted according to the usage environment and the accuracy required for unmanned vehicles. The type of sensor provided in the unmanned vehicle 1 differs depending on each method. When the sensor type is different, the calculation program of the calculation unit also changes. That is, when the sensor is a pickup coil, a calculation program for performing control calculation according to the deviation is set in the calculation unit C _O (see FIG. 6), and when the sensor is an optical sensor or a magnetic sensor, which sensor is detected A calculation program for determining whether a signal is output and performing control calculation must be set in the calculation unit C _O (see FIG. 7).

In this way, two calculation programs are required depending on the sensor type.
It is troublesome to prepare the types.

Therefore, in the present invention, the calculation program of the calculation unit C _O is limited to only the control calculation based on the detection signal ON, and the induction signal detector that changes and outputs the sensing signal of the pickup coil to match this is provided. The purpose is to do.

E. Means for Solving the Problem The present invention for achieving the above-mentioned object is to output the deviation of the detected values by the pair of pick-up coils by distributing it by a plurality of window comparators according to the value.

F. Action In the present invention, the detection signal is output from different terminals according to the deviation.

G. Embodiment FIG. 1 shows an embodiment of the present invention. In the figure, the pickup coils PC1 and PC2 are arranged on the bottom surface of the unmanned vehicle so as to be spaced apart from each other in the vehicle width direction, and are separated by the electric wire 11 (see FIG. 5 (a)) and the magnetic tape 13 (see FIG. 5 (d)). Detects magnetic field strength. The detection values of pickup coils PC1 and PC2 are amplifiers A1 and A2.
The difference Δl is calculated by the differential amplifier Ad. The magnitude of the deviation Δl changes in proportion to the deviation of the unmanned vehicle 1 from the guide route.

7 window comparators CP1, CP2, CP3, CP4, CP5, CP6,
The CP7, respectively are set upper reference value V _ref 1a~V _ref 7a and the lower limit reference value V _ref 1b~V _ref 7b is, the upper limit reference value is sequentially shifted as shown in Figure 2. Then, the window comparators CP1 to CP7 output the detection signals ON1 to ON7 to the terminals t1 to t7 when the deviation Δl is within the upper and lower limit values. The relationship between the reference value Δl and the detection signal ON is as follows.

∆l6 to ∆l5 ...... ON1 output ∆l5 to ∆l4 ...... ON1, ON2 output ∆l4 to ∆l3 ...... ON2 output ∆l3 to ∆l2 ...... ON2, ON3 output ∆l2 to ∆1 ...... ON3 output ∆1 to ∆l0 ...... ON3, ON4 output ∆l0 to -∆l0 ... ON4 output -∆l0 to -∆1 ... ON4, ON5 output -∆1 to -∆l2 ... ON5 output -∆l2 to -∆l3 ... ON5, ON6 output -∆l3 to -∆l4 ... ON6 output -∆l4 to- Δl5 …… ON6, ON7 output −Δl5 ～ －Δl6 …… ON7 output After all, the induction signal detector shown in Fig. 1 uses the pickup coils PC1 and PC2, but the detection signal output from terminals t1 to t7. Is the state of the optical sensors S1 to S7 in FIG. 5 (b).
Or the same as the magnetic sensors m1 to m7 in FIG. 5 (c). Therefore, the program of the arithmetic unit C _O mounted on the unmanned vehicle 1 becomes common. That is, when the electric wire 11 or the magnetic tape 13 is used as a guide line, the detector shown in FIG. 1 is used as a sensor, and when the light reflecting tape 12 is used as a guide line, an optical sensor is used to execute a program for calculation / steering. Is 1
Only one is enough. Of course, the terminal structure is also common.
In this way, the detector can be freely converted while the arithmetic unit C _O with one fixed program is installed, and a sensor and a guide line according to the traveling width situation can be easily constructed.

H. Effect of the Invention As described in detail with the embodiments above, according to the present invention, the output of the detector using the pickup coil,
Since the format of the output of the optical sensor is the same, it is convenient because only one calculation / operation program is required.

[Brief description of drawings]

1 is a circuit diagram showing an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a characteristic diagram showing signal output characteristics of the embodiment, FIG. 3 is a front view showing an unmanned vehicle, and FIG. 4 is a plan view showing the unmanned vehicle. FIG. 5 is an explanatory view showing various induction systems, and FIGS. 6 and 7 are circuit diagrams showing an induction control circuit. In the drawing, PC1 and PC2 are pickup coils, A1 and A2 are amplifiers, Ad is a differential amplifier, CP1 to CP7 are window comparators, and t1 to t7 are terminals.

Claims (1)

[Scope of utility model registration request] 1. An induction signal detector provided in an unmanned vehicle for detecting a magnetic field generated from an induction line provided along an induction path, wherein the inductive signal detector is arranged on a bottom surface of the unmanned vehicle so as to be spaced apart in the vehicle width direction. A pair of pickup coils that detect the magnetic field, a differential amplifier that obtains a deviation between detection values of both pickup coils, and a deviation value that is an output of the differential amplifier is a predetermined upper limit reference value and a lower limit reference value. A plurality of window comparators that output a detection signal while the upper limit reference value and the lower limit reference value are sequentially shifted, and a plurality of terminals to which the detection signals are individually sent from the plurality of comparators. An induction signal detector for an unmanned vehicle, comprising: