JPH08110815A - Unmanned carriage system - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To make an unmanned carriage recognize the position of a moving vehicle, load and unload articles on and from the moving vehicle in an unmanned state by providing the moving vehicle with plural reflection bodies and projecting laser light from the unmanned carriage. CONSTITUTION: A truck T for distribution on which articles W are to be loaded, is stopped at a predetermined loading/unloading position for the articles W. At this time, the truck T for distribution need not be stopped accurately at the loading/unloading position for the articles W, and its positioning can be rough. The unmanned carriage 10 lifts the articles W shipped out of a warehouse S by inserting a fork into the through hole of a palette P and travels toward the truck T for distribution. At this time, a laser light is projected on the reflection bodies A provided in the truck for distribution by the mounted laser projection and photodetection means 11, and the position and attitude of the truck T for distribution are judged by triangulation from the quantities and directions of reflected lights from the reflection bodies A. The articles W are unloaded on the basis of the judgement results.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an automated guided vehicle system for loading and unloading articles from a delivery truck at, for example, a delivery center.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in a distribution center, articles are frequently loaded and unloaded between a warehouse and a delivery truck. This loading / unloading work is generally performed by an operator operating a forklift.

[0003]

In the above-mentioned distribution center, various labor-savings have already been achieved in the facilities in the warehouse, etc., and unmanned operation for loading and unloading with the delivery truck is also possible. Is desired. However,
Unmanned loading and unloading of articles was extremely difficult for a delivery truck, which is difficult to accurately position with respect to the loading and unloading position of the articles.

The present invention has been made in view of the above situation, and an object thereof is to unmannedly load and unload articles on a moving vehicle that is not accurately positioned with respect to the loading and unloading position of the articles. An object of the present invention is to provide an automated guided vehicle system.

[0005]

In order to solve the above problems, according to the invention of claim 1, a moving vehicle for carrying articles and an automatic guided vehicle for loading and unloading articles to and from the moving vehicles are provided. A system provided with a plurality of reflectors on the moving vehicle, and a laser projecting / receiving means for projecting laser light toward the reflector and receiving reflected light from the reflector on the automatic guided vehicle. Provided.

According to the second aspect of the invention, the reflector is provided so as to correspond to the article mounting position of the mobile vehicle.

Further, in the invention of claim 3, a forklift is mounted on the automatic guided vehicle, and the moving vehicle is used as a delivery truck.

[0008]

The present invention adopts the above means,
It has the following actions.

In the first aspect, the position of the moving vehicle that is not accurately positioned with respect to the loading / unloading position of the article is recognized by the automatic guided vehicle.

In the second aspect, the article placement position of the mobile vehicle is recognized by the automatic guided vehicle.

In the third aspect of the invention, the position of the delivery truck roughly stopped with respect to the loading / unloading position of the article is recognized by the automatic guided vehicle, and the article is loaded / unloaded by the forklift.

[0012]

EXAMPLES Examples of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. However, the present invention is not limited to the examples as long as the gist of the present invention is not exceeded.

FIG. 3 shows an automatic guided vehicle 1 utilizing laser light.
It is the schematic which shows the system which guide | induces 0. Each automatic guided vehicle 10 is equipped with a control means, and a layout map of the traveling space is stored in advance in this control means. When each automated guided vehicle 10 receives a transportation command from the controller 20 on the ground side by radio, the traveling wheels are steered, and the traveling distance is monitored by an encoder that detects the number of rotations of the traveling wheels, to the target position according to the layout map. It is designed to run completely autonomously. However, even though the vehicle is completely autonomous, there is a possibility that the vehicle may be slightly deviated from the predetermined route due to slipping of traveling wheels. Therefore, a laser beam is emitted from the mounted laser projecting / receiving means 11 toward a reflector A such as a reflective tape provided on a wall surface of the traveling space or the like (this installation position is also stored in advance in the control means). The position of the self is judged by triangulation based on the amount and direction of the reflected light reflected from the reflector A (distance to the reflector A), and corrects the deviation from the predetermined path to the target position accurately. It is designed to run.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, an automated guided vehicle 10 includes a vehicle body 12 and a fork device 13 having a fork 13a installed at the rear portion of the vehicle body 12 and vertically movable and slidable forward and backward. And traveling wheels 14 provided on the bottom of the vehicle body 12 are driven to rotate. A pair of left and right traveling indicator lights 15 and a plurality of collision prevention sensors 16 are provided on the front surface of the vehicle body 12. Both of the traveling indicator lights 15 blink at the same time when the automatic guided vehicle 10 is traveling, when the traveling route is changed, only the direction to be changed blinks. Flashes. The collision prevention sensor 16 is for detecting an obstacle in front, and when the obstacle is detected, the automatic guided vehicle 10 is decelerated.
Stop and prevent collisions.

A mounting frame 17 is attached to the upper surface of the vehicle body 12 and includes a pair of left and right side frames 17a extending upward and an upper frame 17b connecting the upper ends of the side frames 17a. The laser projecting / receiving means 11 is mounted in the center of the upper surface of the upper frame 17b, further lifted from the upper surface of the vehicle body 12, and arranged at a height of 2 m or more from the ground. As a result, the unmanned guided vehicle 10 is arranged at a position that is sufficiently deviated in the height direction from the line-of-sight position of the worker who moves back and forth around the automated guided vehicle 10, and the laser light does not enter the eyes of the worker. There is. Further, even when various articles are placed on the floor surface on which the automated guided vehicle 10 travels, these articles become an obstacle to project the laser beam onto the reflector A. In addition, the reflected light from the reflector A cannot be received.

When there is no obstacle on the floor, the laser projecting / receiving means 11 is provided at a position lower than the line-of-sight position of the operator so that the laser light does not enter the eyes of the operator. Good.

The laser light projecting / receiving means 11 has a light projecting section for projecting the laser light in only one direction, and by horizontally rotating the light projecting section, the laser light is projected toward the reflector in all directions. It is like this. By horizontally rotating the light projection unit to cover all directions, it is possible to prevent the operator from climbing on a ladder and the laser light emitting / receiving means and the operator's line of sight should be at the same height. Even if there is, the laser light is not continuously projected toward the worker, which further enhances safety.

When the rotation of the light projecting portion is stopped for some reason, the laser light continues to be projected in one direction, which poses a problem when there is an operator in that direction.
Therefore, means for monitoring the rotation of the light projecting unit is provided, and when the rotation is stopped, the power of the automatic guided vehicle itself is cut off to stop the operation. It should be noted that the operation may be stopped when the rotation of the light projecting unit becomes equal to or lower than a predetermined speed.

Further, the laser projecting / receiving means 11 is provided with a light receiving portion for detecting the amount of reflected light (distance to the reflector) and the direction of the reflected light which hits the reflector A and the position thereof, and the position with respect to the plurality of reflectors A. According to the relationship, the position of oneself is judged by triangulation. The laser light may be reflected by something other than the reflector A,
The installation position of the reflector A is stored in advance in the layout map, and the reflected light from a position greatly deviated from this position is ignored.

When traveling outdoors where fog is generated, the reflected light from all the reflectors A may be weak. The laser projecting / receiving unit 11 constantly checks the amount of received light, and when the amount of received light from all directions becomes less than or equal to a predetermined value, the unmanned transport vehicle 10 is more reliably prevented from running away, so that the unmanned transport is performed. The driving of the car 10 is stopped. Further, even when the reflected light from a direction other than the direction in which the reflector A is installed is increased, the operation of the automatic guided vehicle 10 is stopped in order to prevent the runaway of the automatic guided vehicle 10 more reliably. ing.

FIG. 4 is a side view showing an automated guided vehicle system according to the present invention. In this system, at a predetermined position (rear surface) of the delivery truck T, as shown in FIG.
The reflector A is installed. The reflectors A are installed at two places on the left and right of the entrance of the loading platform of the delivery truck T,
The line connecting both reflectors A coincides with the edge of the luggage carrier. The line connecting the two reflectors A serves as a reference line for loading and unloading articles. The installation position and number of reflectors are not particularly limited. For example, when loading and unloading items on a gull-wing type delivery truck, a reflector is provided on the side of the delivery truck to Items may be loaded and unloaded from the side.

First, in this system, the delivery truck T on which the articles W are loaded is stopped at a predetermined loading / unloading position of the articles W. At this time, the delivery truck T does not need to be accurately stopped at the loading / unloading position of the articles W, and the positioning may be rough. The automatic guided vehicle 10 lifts the article W unloaded from the warehouse S by inserting the fork 13a into the through hole of the pallet P and travels toward the delivery truck T. At this time,
Laser light is projected from the mounted laser projecting / receiving means 11 to the reflector A provided on the delivery truck T, and is delivered by triangulation according to the amount and direction of the reflected light returned from the reflector A. The position and orientation of the truck T (more precisely, the reference line connecting the reflectors A on which the delivery truck T is installed) are determined. The rough loading / unloading positions of the articles W are stored in advance in the layout map so that they can be distinguished from the reflected light from other than the reflector A of the delivery truck T. Based on this judgment result, the pallet P
The article W is unloaded so that the rear edge thereof coincides with the edge of the bed of the delivery truck T. The articles W unloaded onto the loading platform are sequentially pushed into the back of the loading platform by the operator by sliding on the free balls provided on the loading platform.
It should be noted that the loading operation from the delivery truck T to the warehouse S is performed in the opposite procedure.

[0023]

As described above, according to the first aspect of the present invention, the automatic guided vehicle itself can recognize the position of the moving vehicle that is not accurately positioned with respect to the loading / unloading position of the articles, and You can load and unload goods unattended.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, the article loading position of the moving vehicle can be recognized by the automatic guided vehicle, and the articles can be loaded and unloaded more accurately.

In the third aspect of the present invention, the position of the delivery truck that is roughly stopped with respect to the loading / unloading position of the article can be made to be recognized by the automatic guided vehicle itself at the delivery center or the like. You can load and unload goods unattended. In other words, the work equivalent to the work conventionally performed by the forklift operated by the worker can be performed unattended.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a front view showing an automatic guided vehicle according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a side view of the automatic guided vehicle of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a conceptual diagram showing a guidance system for the automated guided vehicle of FIG.

FIG. 4 is a side view showing an automated guided vehicle system according to the present invention.

5 is a rear view showing the delivery truck of FIG. 4. FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

 10 Automated guided vehicle 11 Laser projecting / receiving means T Delivery truck (moving vehicle) A Reflector W Article

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Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A system comprising a mobile vehicle for transporting articles and an unmanned transport vehicle for loading and unloading articles from the mobile vehicle, wherein the mobile vehicle is provided with a plurality of reflectors, and the unmanned transport is provided. An automated guided vehicle system characterized in that a vehicle is provided with a laser projecting / receiving means for projecting laser light toward a reflector and receiving reflected light from the reflector. 2. The automated guided vehicle system according to claim 1, wherein the reflector is provided so as to correspond to an article placement position of a mobile vehicle. 3. The automated guided vehicle system according to claim 1, wherein a forklift is mounted on the automated guided vehicle, and the moving vehicle is a delivery truck.