JPH08263137A - Autonomous traveling vehicle - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To provide an autonomous traveling vehicle having a contact sensor of simple constitution which regards nearly the entire range of the exterior of a vehicle body as a detection area. CONSTITUTION: This autonomous traveling vehicle consists roughly of a rectangular vehicle body base plate 2 and a box-shaped external cover 1 which covers it. Respective external cover connection members 6a-6d connect the external cover 1 to the vehicle body base plate 2, and consequently the external cover 1 is held at the center position of the vehicle body base plate 2. Microswitches 7a-7h are fitted between the side part of the vehicle base plate 2 and the external cover 1 as displacement detecting means which detect the displacement of the external cover 1. The external cover 1 moves horizontally when receiving an external force by coming into contact with an obstacle, etc., and one of the microswitches 7a-7h turns ON.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an autonomous vehicle, and more particularly to an autonomous vehicle that travels following an object such as a wall or detects an obstacle.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication (Kokai) No. 4-260905 discloses a wall-side cleaning device which measures the distance to a wall by a distance measuring sensor and autonomously travels along the wall while keeping a constant distance from the wall. In this device, the cleaning brush can slide to the left and right, and when cleaning near the wall, it projects toward the wall.
A wall detection sensor is provided near the cleaning brush and is controlled so as to keep the cleaning brush and the wall at a constant distance.

Further, in Japanese Patent Application No. 6-258306, a contact type obstacle detection sensor for detecting an object such as a wall is provided on the side surface of the vehicle body, and the vehicle travels while the side surface of the vehicle body is in contact with the object such as the wall. A self-driving vehicle is disclosed.

FIG. 16 is a side view of a conventionally proposed traveling vehicle having a bumper type contact type obstacle sensor, and FIG. 17 is a bottom view of the traveling vehicle of FIG.

With reference to these drawings, a vehicle body 10 of a traveling vehicle such as a carrier vehicle for FA (factory automation) is shown.
Bumper-shaped contact type obstacle sensors 103a to 103d are attached around the lower part of the side surface of the No. 1 side. When an obstacle around the traveling vehicle is contact-detected by these sensors, the evacuation of the obstacle or the like is performed based on the detection signal through drive control of the wheels 105a to 105d attached to the lower portion of the vehicle body 101. The movement of the traveling vehicle is controlled.

[0006]

The obstacle sensor and the scanning sensor used in the conventional autonomous vehicle as described above include a non-contact type and a contact type, both of which are attached to a part of the vehicle body. It was installed. Therefore, the non-contact type has a problem that it cannot be measured when an object is too close, or a blind spot occurs due to a viewing angle.

Further, the contact type as shown in FIGS. 16 and 17 may not be surely detected depending on the shape of surrounding obstacles, so that it is necessary to cover the entire detection range. . For example, as shown in (1) of FIG.
In the case of following 07, or as shown in (2) of FIG.
When it is necessary to copy the shelves 113 installed in No. 1, it is necessary to provide copying sensors from the upper part to the lower part of the vehicle body. Further, not only does the obstacle sensor exist below the obstacle sensor, but as shown in (3) of FIG. 18, the obstacle is above the same as when the autonomous vehicle dives under the bed and travels. In the case where the vehicle body exists, the obstacle sensor also needs to cover the entire body from the upper portion to the lower portion. When this is attempted to be realized by the conventional contact type sensor, the contact type sensors 117a, 117b and 119a, 119b become large as shown in FIG. There was a problem such as a problem.

The present invention has been made to solve the above problems, and a contact-type copying sensor and a contact-type obstacle which can detect the almost entire range of the exterior of a vehicle body with a simple structure. It is intended to provide an autonomous vehicle having a sensor.

[0009]

An autonomous vehicle according to the present invention is provided with a traveling control unit for controlling at least a traveling direction and an exterior cover for covering the entire body of the autonomous traveling vehicle or a part of the body. The cover is movably attached to a predetermined position of the vehicle body with two or more degrees of freedom, and is movable by an external force within a predetermined displacement amount with respect to the predetermined position of the vehicle body. Is provided with a displacement detecting means for detecting the relative displacement of the exterior cover with respect to the position.

[0010]

In the present invention, the relative displacement of the outer cover with respect to a predetermined position of the vehicle body is detected.

[0011]

1 is a perspective view showing the external shape of an autonomous vehicle according to a first embodiment of the present invention, and FIG.
FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along line II-II in FIG. 3, and FIG.
It is sectional drawing of a II line.

With reference to these figures, the autonomous vehicle comprises a vehicle body base plate 2 having a substantially rectangular shape and a box-shaped exterior cover 1 which covers the vehicle body base plate 2 so as to cover it. A left drive wheel 3a and a right drive wheel 3b are attached to the left side surface and the right side surface side of the vehicle body base plate 2, respectively, and drive motors 4
It is connected to the shafts a and 4b and rotates independently left and right.

The left-side drive motor 4a and the right-side drive motor 4b are fixed to the vehicle body base plate 2 and are driven and controlled independently by the traveling control unit 10 to drive the left and right drive wheels 3a and 3b.
Are driven to rotate independently of each other, the autonomous vehicle performs forward, backward, rotation, and curve traveling.

Further, a front free caster wheel 5a and a rear free caster wheel 5b are attached to the front surface side and the rear surface side of the vehicle body base plate 2, respectively, and drive wheels 3a, 3 are provided.
The vehicle body is supported together with b, and the directions of the wheels are freely rotated according to the rotations of the drive wheels 3a and 3b, so that the autonomous traveling vehicle can smoothly rotate and curve.

The exterior cover 1 and the vehicle body base plate 2 are connected by exterior cover connecting members 6a to 6d. Each of the exterior cover connecting members 6a to 6d includes each of the columns 131a to 131d provided on the exterior cover 1, each of the columns 137a to 137d provided on the vehicle body base plate 2, and the columns 131a to 131d.
131d and columns 137a to 137d, respectively, and coil springs 135a to 135d fixed by press fitting. When no external force is applied to the outer cover 1, the outer cover 1 is held at the center position with respect to the vehicle body base plate 2 by the spring force of the coil springs 135a to 135d. When an external force is applied to the outer cover 1 from an obstacle or the like, the coil spring bends, and the outer cover 1 is attached to the vehicle body base plate 2
It moves in all directions, which is almost horizontal with respect to.

The outer cover 1 is constructed so as to come into contact with the vehicle body base plate 2 when moved by a predetermined amount, and its moving range is limited. Further, when the exterior cover 1 is lifted upward, the lower part of the exterior cover 1 is engaged with the vehicle body base plate 2 so that the exterior cover 1 does not come off upward regardless of the position within the movement range. Configured to match.

Further, in order to prevent the outer cover 1 from shifting downward, the coil springs 135a to 13a are formed.
5d is preferably a contact coil spring.

Between the side portion of the vehicle body base plate 2 and each of the inner surfaces of the outer cover 1, micro switches 7a to 7 as displacement detecting means for detecting the movement of the outer cover 1.
h is attached. Specifically, the micro switch 7
Each of a to 7h is fixed to the vehicle body base plate 2, and the exterior cover 1
External force is applied by contacting an obstacle or a copy target object,
When the coil springs 135a to 135d move horizontally with respect to the vehicle body base plate 2 against the respective spring forces, at least one of the micro switches 7a to 7h is turned on. That is, the micro switch 7a is turned on when an external force is applied to the front surface left side of the outer cover 1, the micro switch 7b is turned on when an external force is applied to the front surface right side of the outer cover 1, and the micro switch 7c is turned on. It is turned on when an external force is applied to the front side of the right side, the micro switch 7d is turned on when an external force is applied to the rear side of the right side of the exterior cover, and the micro switch 7e is turned on when an external force is applied to the right side of the rear side of the exterior cover 1. The micro switch 7f is turned on when an external force is applied to the left side of the rear surface of the exterior cover, the micro switch 7g is turned on when an external force is applied to the rear side of the exterior cover 1, and the micro switch 7h is turned on. It turns on when an external force is applied to the front of the left side.

Further, when an external force is applied to substantially the center of the front surface of the outer cover 1, the micro switches 7a and 7b are turned on at the same time, and when an external force is applied to the substantially right center of the outer cover 1, the micro switches 7c and 7d are turned on at the same time. Then, when an external force is applied to substantially the center of the rear surface of the outer cover 1, the micro switches 7e and 7f are turned on at the same time.
When an external force is applied to the center of the left side of the
g and 7h are turned on at the same time.

In this way, which surface of the outer cover 1 the external force is applied to can be easily detected by turning on / off the microswitches 7a to 7h.

The on / off states of the micro switches 7a to 7h are input to the traveling control unit 10, and the traveling control unit 10 controls traveling according to the state. That is, the left and right side surfaces of the exterior cover 1 are used as scanning sensors to detect contact of a copying object such as a wall, and when contact is not detected, traveling is controlled so as to approach the copying object, and contact is detected. If it does, the traveling is controlled in a direction away from the copying object. Further, the front-rear surface side of the exterior cover 1 is used as an obstacle sensor, and when the contact of the obstacle is detected, the traveling is stopped or the vehicle is once moved in a direction away from the obstacle, and then the avoidance traveling is performed. The traveling control such as is performed.

Needless to say, the omnidirectional surface of the exterior cover 1 can be used as an obstacle sensor when the copying traveling is not required depending on the application of the autonomous vehicle.

The leaf springs 8a to 8h are attached to the side edges of the vehicle body base plate 2 and urge the exterior cover 1 to the outside. That is,
When no external force is applied to the outer cover 1, the outer cover 1 is held at the central position together with the coil spring. The spring force of the leaf springs 8c, 8d, 8g, 8h on the left and right sides is smaller than the spring force of the leaf springs 8a, 8b, 8e, 8f on the front and rear sides. This is because, when traveling along the object to be copied, the traveling is performed with the exterior cover in contact with the object to be copied. At that time, the friction between the copying object and the exterior cover causes a force to move the exterior cover backward.
If the spring force on the front and rear surfaces is small, the outer cover will move rearward due to this frictional force, and the obstacle will be erroneously recognized as being in contact with the obstacle. Further, when the spring force in the left and right sides is large, the frictional force between the copying object and the exterior cover becomes large, and the rate of false detection of obstacles increases. Therefore, by setting the spring force on the left and right sides and the spring force on the front and rear sides as described above, it is possible to prevent erroneous detection of obstacles during copying travel, prevent damage to the copying target object, and realize smooth travel control. To do.

When the outer cover 1 can be sufficiently held in the center by the coil springs 135a to 135d, the left and right spring forces are left to the spring forces of the coil springs 135a to 135d and the leaf springs 8c, 8d, 8g and 8h on the left and right sides are omitted. can do.

If copying travel is not required, the spring forces of all the leaf springs 8a to 8d may be set to the same magnitude, and at that time, the coil springs 135a to 135d can sufficiently hold the outer cover in the center. Can omit all leaf springs.

Each of the rotating bodies 9a to 9d is mounted on the left and right sides of the outer cover 1 and is rotatable around a vertical axis. The rotating bodies 9a to 9d rotate when traveling while contacting the object to be copied, and reduce the frictional force between the exterior cover 1 and the object to be copied. Therefore, when the copying traveling is not necessary, the rotating bodies 9a to 9d can be omitted.

Further, even if the left and right spring forces of the leaf springs 8c, 8d, 8g and 8h are sufficiently small and the frictional force does not matter during the copying run, the rotating bodies 9a to 9d can be omitted. Further, if the frictional force can be sufficiently reduced by this rotating body, the respective forces of the leaf springs 8a to 8h may all have the same magnitude, or the leaf springs themselves may be omitted altogether.

1 to 3, each of the rotating bodies 9a to 9d has a vertically long rod shape, but instead of this, as shown in FIG.
A plurality of short rod-shaped rotating bodies 9 may be provided on the left and right sides of the outer cover 1 as shown in FIG. 2, or a plurality of spherical rotating bodies 9 may be provided as shown in FIG. By devising the shape in this way, the strength of the outer cover 1 can be increased.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing the control structure of the autonomous vehicle according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to the figure, the traveling of the autonomous vehicle is controlled mainly by the traveling controller 10. The traveling control unit 10
A storage unit that stores a map of a movement range and a movement route in advance is provided, and traveling is controlled based on the information. Alternatively, the traveling control unit 10 does not have a map or movement route information and controls traveling based on a command from an external remote control device.

The traveling control unit 10 includes a micro switch 7a.
The output of the on / off state of ~ 7h is received, and the number of rotations of the drive motors 4a, 4b is controlled according to the state while monitoring the output from the number-of-rotations detection encoders 11a, 11b. The left rotation speed detection encoder 11a measures the rotation speed of the left drive motor 4a and outputs the measurement result to the travel control unit 10. On the other hand, the right rotation speed detection encoder 11
b measures the number of rotations of the right side driving motor and outputs the measurement result to the traveling control unit 10.

For example, assume that the vehicle travels following an object on the left side. In this case, when the micro switch 7h or 7g on the left side is turned on, the traveling control unit 10 controls the rotational speed of the left driving motor 4a to be higher than the rotational speed of the right driving motor 4b, so that traveling is performed. Try to keep the car away from the wall. When the micro switch 7h or 7g is turned off, the traveling control unit 10
Controls the rotational speed of the left driving motor 4a to be lower than the rotational speed of the right driving motor 4b so that the traveling vehicle approaches the wall.

Next, assume a case of traveling along the object on the right side. In this case, the micro switch 7c on the right side
Alternatively, when 7d is turned on, the traveling control unit 10 controls the rotational speed of the right driving motor 4b to be higher than the rotational speed of the left driving motor 4a, so that the traveling vehicle is separated from the wall. When the micro switch 7c or 7d is turned off, the traveling control unit 10 controls the traveling speed of the right side driving motor 4b to be lower than that of the left side driving motor 4a, so that the traveling vehicle is placed on the wall. Try to get closer.

When traveling forward, when the micro switches 7a and 7b on the front face are turned on, the traveling control unit 10
Stops the driving of the drive motors 4a and 4b to temporarily stop the traveling, and then causes the obstacle avoiding traveling. On the other hand, in the case of traveling backward, when the micro switches 7e and 7f on the rear surface are turned on, the traveling control unit 10 stops the driving of the drive motors 4a and 4b, temporarily stops traveling, and then avoids obstacles. Let the car run.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing the external shape of an autonomous vehicle according to the second embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 8 is a V of FIG.
FIG. 9 is a sectional structural view of a III-VIII line, and FIG. 9 is a sectional structural view of a IX-IX line of FIG. 7.

With reference to these figures, the autonomous vehicle is roughly composed of a traveling unit 91 for moving and a working unit 93 connected to the traveling unit 91 for wiping the floor dry.

Wheels are not shown in the traveling section 91 for the sake of simplicity, but the same drive wheels and universal caster wheels as those in the first embodiment are attached to the lower surface of the traveling section base plate 97. There is. The traveling control unit 10 and the rotation speed detection encoders 11a and 11b are the same as those in the first embodiment.

A connecting portion 95 connected to the working portion 93 is attached to the working portion 93 side of the traveling portion base plate 97 of the traveling portion 91, the details of which will be described later.

The working part 93 is roughly composed of a working part base plate 99 fixed to the connecting member 12 protruding from the connecting part 95 of the traveling part 91 and an outer cover 1 for covering the working part base plate 99 so as to cover it. To be done. Exterior cover 1 and work unit base plate 9
9 is connected by four exterior cover connecting members 6a to 6d.

FIG. 10 shows the exterior cover connecting members 6a to 6a of FIG.
6d is a diagram showing in detail one structure of 6d, more specifically, (1) of FIG. 10 is a diagram viewed from the same direction as FIG. 9, and (2) of FIG. It is sectional drawing of the XX line of 1).

Referring to FIG. 10, one end of the coil spring 60 is press-fitted into the support column 61 which is erected on the work base plate 99, and the other end is press-fitted into the connecting member 63. The connecting member 63 is rotatably attached to the shaft 62 fixed to the ceiling surface of the working unit exterior cover 1 by the shaft attaching member 64. Therefore, as shown in (1) of FIG. 11, the coil spring 60 simply bends with respect to the lateral force applied to the exterior cover 1, but as shown in (2) of FIG. On the other hand, the coil spring 60 is bent into an S shape, and as a result, a larger force is required on the front and rear surfaces than on the left and right surfaces to move the same amount. Therefore, in the first embodiment described above, the leaf springs 8a to 8h are used to make the spring force on the front and rear surfaces larger than the spring force on the left and right sides, but such leaf springs are omitted in this embodiment. be able to.

Further, as in the first embodiment, the microswitches 7a, 7b, 7c, 7e, 7f and 7g are the outer cover 1.
Is provided at the edge of the working part base plate 99 as a displacement detecting means for detecting the movement of the. It should be noted that, as compared with the first embodiment, the shape of the outer cover 1 is shorter on the front and rear surfaces, so that there is only one left and right micro switch, and the function of the micro switch is the same as that of the first embodiment. It is the same. That is, the micro switch 7c is turned on when an external force is applied to the right side surface of the exterior cover 1, and the micro switch 7g is turned on when an external force is applied to the left side surface of the exterior cover 1.

FIG. 13 is a block diagram showing the control structure of an autonomous vehicle according to the second embodiment of the present invention.

The on / off state of each micro switch is input to the traveling control unit 10, and the traveling control unit 10 controls traveling according to the state, as in the first embodiment. That is, by using the left and right sides as a scanning sensor, the contact of a copying object such as a wall is detected, when the contact is not detected, the traveling is controlled so as to approach the copying object, and when the contact is detected, the copying object is detected. Control the running away. In addition, the front and rear surfaces are used as obstacle sensors to stop traveling when it is detected that an obstacle has come into contact,
Alternatively, traveling control is performed such that the vehicle is once moved in a direction away from the obstacle, and then avoidance traveling is performed.

Of course, if there is no need for copying traveling,
Micro switches in all directions can be used as obstacle sensors.

Returning to FIGS. 8 and 9, the rotating bodies 9a, 9
d is attached to the left and right side surfaces of the outer cover 1 and rotates about a vertical axis. That is, the rotating bodies 9a to 9d rotate when traveling while coming into contact with the copying object, and the outer cover 1
The frictional force between the object and the object to be copied is reduced.

If the spring force of the exterior cover connecting members 6a to 6d in the left-right direction is sufficiently small and the frictional force does not pose a problem during copying traveling, the rotating bodies 9a to 9d can be omitted.

In the working unit 93, four rotary plates 18 for wiping the floor dry are directly connected to the motors M and driven, and rotate about a vertical axis. A non-woven fabric for cleaning is replaceably attached to the lower surface of the rotating body.

FIG. 12 is a plan view showing a concrete structure of the connecting portion 95 of FIG. Referring to the figure, a linear guide is fixed to the vehicle body base plate 97. This linear guide includes two guide shafts 17a and 17b and this guide shaft 17
Shaft fixing members 16a and 16b for fixing a and 17b
It is composed of A coil spring holding shaft 14 is also attached so as to bridge between the shaft fixing members 16a and 16b. The coil spring 13 is attached to the coil spring holding shaft 14.
a and 13b are inserted, and a guide plate 65 is provided inside each of them.
a and 65b are attached to restrict expansion and contraction of the coil springs 13a and 13b. A stopper 15 fixed to the traveling base plate 97 is provided between the guide plates 65a and 65b to limit the lateral movement of the guide plates 65a and 65b within a predetermined range.

A slide plate 66 is attached to the guide shafts 17a and 17b so as to be slidable in the left and right directions, and one end of the slide plate 66 is fixed to the working part base plate 99.
2 is fixed. The other end of the connecting member 12 is located between the guide plates 65a and 65b, and the horizontal movement of the connecting member 12 is restricted by the coil springs 13a and 13b via the guide plates 65a and 65b.

The operation of the connecting portion 95 constructed as above will be described. When a lateral external force is applied to the working unit base plate 99 via the exterior cover 1 of the coupling unit 95, the working unit coupling member 12 moves in parallel to the left and right along the guide shafts 17a and 17b. The moving amount is the coil spring 13a for urging the working portion,
It is determined by the spring force of 13b. The coil springs 13a and 13b urge the connecting member 12 with a force larger than the force required for the exterior cover 1 to move in the left-right direction with respect to the work base plate 99. Therefore, when the outer cover 1 comes into contact with the object and moves in the left-right direction and comes into contact with the working unit base plate 99, when a larger force is further applied in the same direction,
The working unit base plate 99 is connected to the moving unit base plate 97 by the connecting member 12
Move left and right with.

The traveling control unit 10 corrects the traveling direction of the traveling base plate 97 so as to move away from the object immediately after the contact with the copying object is detected, but the traveling control unit 10 can immediately change the direction to the opposite direction. Instead, the traveling base plate 97 approaches the object to be copied to some extent. At this time, the working portion 93 causes the coil spring 13 to move.
By the movement of a and 13b in the direction away from the target, the exterior cover 1 is prevented from coming into strong contact with the target and becoming inoperable or damaged.

More specifically, when an external force in the right direction is applied to the working section 93, the working section base plate 99 is translated in the right direction and the coil spring 13b on the right side is compressed. Since the coil spring 13a on the left side is regulated by the stopper 15, it does not extend. When an external force in the left direction is applied to the working unit, the working unit base plate 99 translates in the left direction and the left coil spring 13a is compressed. The coil spring 13b on the right side is regulated by the stopper 15 and does not extend. The left and right coil springs 13a and 13b
Even if the spring force is unbalanced, the working portion 93 can be held at the center position by the action of the stopper 15 when there is no external force in the lateral direction.

FIG. 14 is a perspective view showing the structure of an outer cover connecting member according to the third embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to the drawing, a pair of shaft holding plates 22a, 2
A rotary shaft 23 is attached so as to extend over the 2b, and an exterior cover mounting member 21 is fixed to the center thereof. The body of the outer cover mounting member 21 and the shaft holding plate 22a,
The moving coil springs 19a and 19b are attached to the rotating shaft 23 between the moving coil springs 22a and 22b, respectively. At the lower part of the body of the exterior cover mounting member 21, openings 68a and 68 provided in the shaft holding plates 22a and 22b, respectively.
A spring contact shaft 24 protruding from the shaft holding plates 22a and 22b through b is attached. Shaft holding plates 22a, 22b
Each of the fixed shafts 25a and 25b is disposed between the rotating shaft 23 and the spring contact shaft 24 protruding outward from each of the shaft holding plate 22.
It is fixed to a and 22b. Further, outside the shaft holding plates 22a and 22b of the rotary shaft 23, the rotating coil springs 20a,
20b are attached, and both ends of each of them are fixed shafts 25a.
The spring contact shaft 24a and the fixed shaft 25b and the spring contact shaft 24b extend downward so as to sandwich them.

By configuring the exterior cover connecting member 67 as described above, the exterior cover attaching member 21 and the spring contact shaft 24 are rotated about the rotation shaft 23 by the external force of the front and rear surfaces, and the external force of the left and right surfaces. Thus, the exterior cover mounting member 21 slides left and right on the rotary shaft 23.

The left and right sliding amount of the outer cover mounting member 21 is determined by the spring force of each of the left and right moving coil springs 19a and 19b, and the front and back rotation amount is determined by each of the rotating coil springs 20a and 20b.

FIG. 15 is a view showing a state in which the exterior member is attached to the exterior cover connecting member of FIG. 14, more specifically, (1) of FIG. 15 shows a stationary state, and FIG. 2) is a diagram showing a state in which an external force is applied to the exterior cover.

With reference to these figures, the outer cover 1 is
The exterior cover connecting member 67 fixed on the vehicle body base plate 2 is attached to the upper surface of the exterior cover attaching member 21.

As shown in (1) of FIG. 15, when the external force of the front and rear surfaces is not applied to the outer cover 1, the rotating coil spring 20b has the fixed shaft 25 in a direction in which both ends thereof are closed.
The shaft 24 is contracted and held in the central position until it comes into contact with b. As a result, the outer cover 1 is kept at the central position. When an external force is applied to the outer cover 1 from the front and rear surfaces,
As shown in (2) of 5, the outer cover mounting member 21 and the spring contact shaft 24 rotate about the rotation shaft 23, one end of the rotating coil spring 20b abuts on the fixed shaft 25b, and the other end thereof contacts the spring abutment shaft 24. Spread by. Therefore, the exterior cover 1 is rotated to the front and rear surfaces by an amount corresponding to the spring force of the rotating coil spring 20b.

The left and right moving coil springs 19a, 19
The spring force of b is small, and the coil springs 20a, 2
The spring force of 0b is large.

In order to position the exterior cover mounting member 21 left and right when there is no external force in the left and right direction, the lengths of the left and right moving coil springs 19a and 19b may be machined with high precision, or the second embodiment may be performed. A stopper may be provided on the vehicle body base plate in the same manner as the stopper 15 for left and right positioning of the working unit, and the extension of the left and right moving coil springs 19a and 19b may be restricted. In this case, it is not necessary to provide the leaf springs 8a to 8h as shown in the first embodiment. On the contrary, like the leaf spring of the first embodiment, instead of processing the moving coil springs 19a and 19b and installing the stopper, the leaf spring provided on the vehicle body base plate may be used for the positioning.

The exterior cover and the base plate of the vehicle body are first connected.
The method is not limited to the methods shown in the first to third embodiments. For example, the outer cover and the vehicle body base plate may be connected only by the link mechanism, and the force required for movement or rotation may be determined only by the leaf spring of the first embodiment.

From the above embodiments, protection of the invention as described below can be considered. 1. An autonomous vehicle, comprising: a traveling control unit that controls at least the traveling direction; and an exterior cover that covers the entire body of the autonomous vehicle or a portion of the body, the exterior cover being provided at a predetermined position on the body. It is mounted so as to be movable with two or more degrees of freedom, and is movable within a range of a predetermined displacement amount with respect to a predetermined position of the vehicle body by an external force. An autonomous vehicle equipped with displacement detection means for detecting relative displacement. 2. The outer cover is movable in at least the left-right direction and the front-rear direction toward the traveling direction with respect to a predetermined position of the vehicle body, the outer cover contacts the copying object,
When the displacement detection means detects the movement of the outer cover in the left-right direction, the traveling control unit controls traveling such that the autonomous traveling vehicle separates from the copying object, and the outer cover separates from the copying object. The autonomous traveling vehicle according to Item 1, wherein the traveling control unit controls traveling such that the autonomous traveling vehicle approaches the object to be copied when the displacement detection unit does not detect movement of the exterior cover.

(Operation / Effect) The lateral movement of the outer cover is used to detect the object to be copied when traveling along the object such as a wall. Used to detect contact with obstacles. 3. The outer cover is held at a central position by a spring force when an external force is not applied to a predetermined position of the vehicle body, and is moved against a predetermined position of the vehicle body by a force from the outside against the spring force, The autonomous vehicle according to item 2, wherein the spring force is greater in the front-back direction than in the left-right direction.

(Operation / Effect) When traveling along the copying object, the traveling is performed in a state where the exterior cover is in contact with the copying object. At that time, the friction between the copying object and the exterior cover causes a force to move the exterior cover backward. If the spring force on the front and rear surfaces is small, the outer cover will move rearward due to this frictional force, and the obstacle will be erroneously recognized as being in contact with the obstacle. Further, if the left and right spring forces are large, the frictional force between the copying object and the exterior cover becomes large, increasing the rate of false detection of obstacles. The left and right spring forces are reduced to reduce the friction force, and the front and rear spring forces are increased to reduce the amount of rearward movement of the exterior cover due to friction, thereby preventing false detection of obstacles.

Further, when the left and right spring forces are large, the contact with the copying object is detected only after the running direction is tilted and the outer cover is pressed against the object by inclining an angle on the object side. Since the vehicle travels following the object in that state, the direction of the wheel does not match the traveling direction, and the wheel travels while obliquely slipping. In such an operation, when the position is detected by the dead reckoning method in which the rotational speed of the driving wheels is detected to obtain the traveling distance, slippage causes an error in the position of the autonomous vehicle, which is not preferable. Therefore, it is necessary to reduce the left and right spring forces so that the contact with the copying object can be detected as sensitively as possible. Further, by reducing the left and right spring forces to reduce the friction between the copying object and the outer cover, there is an effect that the copying object and the outer cover are less likely to be damaged. 4. 4. The autonomous vehicle according to any one of Items 1 to 3, wherein a rotating body is provided at a position where the exterior cover comes into contact with the copying object.

(Operation / Effect) The same effect as in item 3 is obtained by reducing the friction with the copying object. 5. The vehicle body includes a traveling unit for moving and a working unit that extends to the left and right of the traveling unit for cleaning and the like, and the exterior cover covers at least the working unit and a predetermined position of the working unit. Movably attached to,
The autonomous vehicle according to any one of Items 1 to 4.

(Operation / Effect) The working section extends to the left and right of the traveling section, and the cleaning working section actually contacts the wall. Therefore, the exterior cover of the cleaning work unit functions as a contact sensor. 6. The working unit is movable left and right with respect to the traveling unit by an external force, and the working unit is held at a predetermined position with respect to the traveling unit by a spring force when an external force is not applied, and the spring force is Item 7. The autonomous vehicle according to item 5, which has a spring force greater than a spring force that holds the exterior cover in the left-right direction.

(Operation / Effect) When the control unit corrects the traveling direction after the contact with the object to be copied is detected, but the direction cannot be immediately changed to the opposite direction and the object further approaches the object to be copied to some extent. There is. At this time, by moving the working unit in a direction away from the target object, it is possible to prevent the exterior cover from coming into strong contact with the target object and being unable to travel or being damaged.

[0071]

As described above, according to the present invention, since the relative displacement of the exterior cover with respect to a predetermined position of the vehicle body is detected, the sensor having a simple structure and having an almost entire range of the exterior of the vehicle body as a detection area is autonomous. Can be mounted on a traveling vehicle.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an external shape of an autonomous vehicle according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional structural view taken along line II-II of FIG.

3 is a cross-sectional structural view taken along the line III-III of FIG.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing a control configuration of the autonomous vehicle according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is an external perspective view showing a modified example of the rotating body according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is an external perspective view showing another modification of the rotating body according to the first embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing an external shape of an autonomous vehicle according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

8 is a cross-sectional structural view taken along the line VIII-VIII of FIG.

9 is a cross-sectional structural view taken along the line IX-IX of FIG.

FIG. 10 is a view showing a detailed structure of the exterior cover connecting member shown in FIGS. 8 and 9.

11 is a diagram showing a deformed state of the exterior cover connecting member shown in FIG. 10 when an external force is applied to the exterior cover 1 shown in FIGS. 8 and 9.

12 is a plan view showing a specific configuration of a connecting portion 95 of FIG.

FIG. 13 is a block diagram showing a control configuration of an autonomous vehicle according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 14 is a perspective view showing a structure of an outer cover connecting member according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

15 is a view showing a state in which an outer cover is attached to the outer cover connecting member of FIG.

FIG. 16 is a side view of an autonomous vehicle equipped with a conventional contact type obstacle sensor.

FIG. 17 is a view of the autonomous vehicle shown in FIG. 16 viewed from the bottom side.

FIG. 18 is a diagram showing an example of an obstacle for explaining problems in a conventional autonomous vehicle.

FIG. 19 is a perspective view showing a mounting state of a sensor that can be considered in order to solve the problems of the conventional autonomous vehicle.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 Exterior Cover 2 Body Base Plates 3a, 3b Drive Wheels 5a, 5b Flexible Caster Wheels 6a-6d Exterior Cover Connecting Member 7a-7h Micro Switch 8a-8h Leaf Spring 10 Travel Control Section In the drawings, the same reference numerals are the same or equivalent. Shows the part.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. An autonomous vehicle, comprising: a travel control unit that controls at least a traveling direction; and an exterior cover that covers the entire vehicle body of the autonomous vehicle or a part of the vehicle body, wherein the exterior cover includes: It is movably attached to a predetermined position of the vehicle body with two or more degrees of freedom, and can be moved within a predetermined displacement range with respect to the predetermined position of the vehicle body by an external force. An autonomous traveling vehicle comprising: a displacement detection unit that detects a relative displacement of the exterior cover with respect to a position.