JPH10340124A - Automatic travel system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To detect an obstacle when it comes to contact with any place of edge surfaces and to surely detect the obstacle in a wide range by providing such a contact detecting part as to cover almost all of the surface of each edge in the direction of the travel of a vehicle body. SOLUTION: External covers 10 which cover almost entire surface of each edge are formed in the directions of travel Ca and Cb are formed on the vehicle body 2a of a carrier 2. The covers 10 are attached to the body 2a through compressed springs 12 that are arranged at four corners and they are usually separated from the body 2a. Also, contact obstacle detecting switches 14 are formed on ends that face the covers 10 of the body 2a, and the covers 10 are usually separated from the switches 14. When an obstacle comes into contact with any place of the cover 10, the cover 10 approaches the body 1a, almost facing it and pushes the switch 14. Therefore, the switch 14 outputs an obstacle detection signal, a controlling part brings the carrier 2 to a sudden stop.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention
Regarding an automatic traveling system using an automatic traveling vehicle (self-propelled vehicle) for supplying and collecting bills to TM and the like,
In particular, the present invention relates to a technique that enables an obstacle to the self-propelled vehicle to be detected efficiently and reliably.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art At the back of ATMs (automatic teller machines) installed in many banks and the like (opposite to the side operated by customers), supply of banknotes to each ATM, A self-propelled carrier that travels at a relatively high speed is provided for collection and the like.

[0003] In general, the carrier can reciprocate between a plurality of ATMs, for example, on a fixed rail under the control of a computer (hereinafter, the direction of traveling between a plurality of ATMs is simply referred to as " In the direction of travel "), and has a handler for performing an operation of transferring bills to and from a specific ATM. For example, banknotes supplied to a specific ATM by the transport vehicle are distributed to stackers for each denomination provided inside the ATM. The transport vehicle usually travels at a high speed in an extremely narrow compartment partitioned by walls or the like. Therefore, unexpected movement of a person entering a predetermined traveling path of the transport vehicle defined by the rails is impossible. There is a need for secure safety measures to prevent collisions with obstacles.

Therefore, at least bumpers provided at both ends (front end and rear end) of the conventional transport vehicle in the traveling direction are provided with contact type or push type obstacle detection switches, respectively. Is detected via the switch, and at the same time, the traveling of the carrier is suddenly stopped. Such an obstacle detection method for a transport vehicle can be called a contact-type obstacle detection method.

[0005]

However, in the conventional transport vehicle employing the contact type obstacle detection method, the obstacle detection switch is provided only on a bumper located below the transport vehicle. Therefore, the detectable area is limited to the lower side. Therefore, during traveling,
A human body part or the like entering above the bumper cannot be detected as an obstacle, and an accident such as the collision of the carrier with the human body part has occurred.

[0006] As such an ATM transport vehicle, there is also known an ATM provided with an optical sensor unit on the front and rear surfaces in the traveling direction instead of the obstacle detection switch. In a typical example, a pair of optical sensors, for example, is provided at an appropriate position vertically separated from each end face in the running direction, and the upper one of the pair of optical sensors is remote. The lower optical sensor for the distance and the lower optical sensor are for the short distance, and the long-distance optical sensor and the short-distance optical sensor are set to different operation sensitivities. Conventionally, the operation sensitivity of each of the optical sensors is always set to be constant regardless of a change in the traveling position of the carrier. In this way, the carrier starts to slow down when the long-distance optical sensor detects an obstacle, and then stops when the short-distance optical sensor detects a specific object. Has become. For example, the carrier starts slowing down when the long-distance optical sensor detects an obstacle 3 m away, and stops when the short-distance optical sensor detects an obstacle 1 m away. ing. Such an obstacle detection method for the transport vehicle can be said to be a non-contact type obstacle detection method.

In order to reliably prevent the carrier from colliding with an obstacle, the operation sensitivity of the optical sensor unit is set to be high so that detection can be performed with high accuracy from near to distant ranges. However, in the prior art, the operation sensitivity of the optical sensor unit is determined by the change in the traveling position of the carrier (therefore, the change in the proximity between the carrier and a stationary object such as a fixed wall in the compartment). ), It is always fixed at a constant high sensitivity, so that it is fixed without moving with respect to the traveling path of the carrier, and therefore there is no possibility of collision with the carrier traveling on the traveling path. Even if it is a stationary object, if it is too close to the travel path, it will be unnecessarily detected as an obstacle. That is, in the related art, it is not possible to appropriately distinguish a standing object such as a wall that is not desired to be detected as an obstacle from a person or the like that should be detected as an obstacle. By such unnecessary detection of a stationary object, the transport vehicle performs an unnecessary slowdown or stop operation, and the operation efficiency is deteriorated.

When the operation sensitivity of the optical sensor unit is fixed at a high level as described above, in order to prevent unnecessary detection of the stationary object as described above, the traveling path of the carrier and the stationary object are required. Must be separated by a sufficient distance. Therefore, it is possible to satisfy the user's demand for efficiently installing other objects (for example, a table or a charger for a transport vehicle) in the compartment while keeping the area of the compartment as small as possible. Could not. The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and has as its object to provide an automatic traveling system that can efficiently and reliably detect an obstacle to an automatic traveling vehicle.

[0009]

In order to achieve the above object, an automatic traveling system according to a first aspect of the present invention comprises:
An automatic traveling system including a vehicle that automatically travels under control of a control unit, wherein the vehicle includes a vehicle body, and a contact detection unit provided at each end of the vehicle body in a traveling direction.
At each end in the traveling direction of the vehicle main body, it covers substantially the entire surface of the end, and is normally provided outwardly and away from the contact detection unit so as to approach and separate from the end. When the vehicle is running, when an obstacle comes into contact with any part of the exterior cover provided at any one of the ends of the vehicle body, the exterior cover is By being pushed by the obstacle, it acts on the contact detection unit provided at the end,
The control unit can detect the obstacle.

According to this automatic traveling system, at each end of the vehicle body in the traveling direction, the exterior cover is provided so as to cover substantially the front surface of the end, and is always slightly away from the contact detection unit. Separated. The contact detection unit may be, for example, a contact-type or push-type switch. If an obstacle such as a person contacts any part of the end surface of the vehicle body during traveling of the vehicle, the exterior cover is pushed by the obstacle, so that the corresponding contact detection unit The state of the contact detector changes. The control unit can detect the obstacle and stop the automatic traveling of the vehicle by the state change of the contact detection unit. In this case, the exterior cover is provided so as to cover substantially the entire end portion of the vehicle, and even if an obstacle contacts any part of the exterior cover, the exterior cover reliably acts on the corresponding contact detection unit. it can. Therefore, an obstacle can be reliably detected over a much wider range than the conventional one. According to a modification of the above invention,
At each end in the traveling direction of the vehicle body, a contact detection unit including a touch sensor panel provided to cover substantially the entire surface of the end may be provided instead of the exterior cover and the contact detection unit. .

Further, an automatic traveling system according to a second aspect of the present invention is capable of automatically traveling along a predetermined traveling path, and is provided with an obstacle detection means capable of adjusting sensitivity at each end of the traveling direction. A vehicle, a position detecting unit for detecting a traveling position of the vehicle, and a control unit for controlling automatic traveling of the vehicle, wherein when the vehicle automatically travels in the specific traveling direction, the position detecting unit In response to the sequentially detected traveling position, the operation sensitivity of the obstacle detecting means in the specific traveling direction is not detected as a stationary object fixed to the traveling path as an obstacle. And a control unit that adjusts to an appropriate level such that when an object other than the existing object approaches the vehicle by a predetermined amount or more, the object is detected as an obstacle.

According to this automatic traveling system, the operational sensitivity of the obstacle detecting means is not fixed as in the prior art, but is variably adjusted by the control unit in accordance with a change in the traveling position of the vehicle. It has become so. That is, the operation sensitivity of the obstacle detection means is adjusted to a low sensitivity level such that a stationary position such as a wall fixed to the traveling path approaches the traveling position so as not to detect the traveling position. When a person or an object other than the stationary object approaches the vehicle for a predetermined amount or more, the sensitivity is adjusted to a substantially maximum sensitivity level such that the object is detected as an obstacle. Therefore, the automatic driving system detects an obstacle such as an unpredictable person with high accuracy so that the vehicle can avoid it with a sufficient distance, but is fixedly installed so as not to collide with the vehicle. For a stationary object, this need not be detected as an obstacle.

Thus, in the above-mentioned automatic traveling system, for example, a wall, a table, a charger for a vehicle and other stationary objects are extremely (extremely several c) on the traveling path of the vehicle.
(up to about m). As a result, the compartment in which the automatic traveling system is installed can be designed as compact as possible, and it is possible to accurately respond to the user's demand for maximizing the effective use of the space in the compartment.

As a most preferable example, the appropriate level is supplied by reading out a sensitivity table preset in a learning mode of the system by the control unit. In the learning mode, while the vehicle travels along the entire length of the travel path, the travel position at which the obstacle detection unit actually detects the stationary object is the minimum position at which the stationary object can be detected at that time. For a traveling position where a sensitivity level lower than the sensitivity is set as the appropriate level and the detection unit does not detect a standing object,
Substantially the highest sensitivity of the obstacle detection means is set as the appropriate level. For example, the sensitivity level lower than the minimum sensitivity is the sensitivity level when the obstacle detection unit is lowered until the obstacle detection unit no longer detects the stationary object at the traveling position at that time, and the obstacle detection unit May be an intermediate level with the sensitivity level when the sensitivity is increased until detection is performed again.

[0015]

An embodiment of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. FIG. 1 is a schematic plan view showing an embodiment of an automatic traveling system to which the present invention is applied. In this embodiment, for example, a carrier 2 is a self-propelled vehicle that travels behind an ATM corner of a bank.
It has.

In FIG. 1, the entire operation of a self-propelled carrier 2 provided on the back side of an ATM 50 is controlled under a control unit 4 composed of a computer.
The transport vehicle 2 is supported by, for example, a rail (not shown) fixedly provided in a direction running across the ATMs 50, that is, in the running directions Ca and Cb.
It is provided so as to be able to reciprocate in the running directions Ca and Cb while being guided by the rails by driving a motor. The traveling path 6 of the carrier 2 is defined by the rail.
Further, the transport vehicle 2 is provided with a handler 8 for transferring banknotes to and from a specific ATM 50. In the illustrated example, the transport vehicle 2 includes side walls W1 on the side of the plurality of ATMs 50 and walls (hereinafter, referred to as end walls) W2, W2 facing each other at each end of the traveling path 6 in the traveling directions Ca, Cb.
3 and a predetermined traveling path 6 in a narrow compartment defined by a side wall W4 opposite to the ATM 50.

FIG. 2 is a schematic side view of an example of the automatic traveling vehicle used in the automatic traveling system of FIG. The carrier 2 in FIG. 2 is based on a so-called contact type obstacle detection system. More specifically, the vehicle main body 2a of the transport vehicle 2 is provided with an exterior cover (substantially rectangular in the illustrated example) 10 that covers substantially the entire surface of each end of the traveling direction Ca and Cb. Each of the exterior covers 10 is elastically attached to a vehicle main body 2a of the carrier 2 via compression springs 12 disposed at, for example, four corners thereof, and is always slightly away from the vehicle main body 2a. Separated. A switch 14 constituting a contact-type or push-type obstacle detection unit is provided at an end of the vehicle main body 2a facing each of the exterior covers 10. Normally, each of the exterior covers 10 is slightly separated from the tip of the corresponding obstacle detection switch 14 provided on the main body 2a. However, people and other obstacles may
When the outer cover 10 comes into contact with the main body 2a while substantially facing the main body 2a and presses the corresponding obstacle detection switch 14, the switch 14 is operated, and the switch 14 is activated. Outputs an obstacle detection signal. In response to the obstacle detection signal, the control unit 4 detects the contact of the obstacle and stops the traveling of the carrier 2 suddenly.

According to a modification of this embodiment,
As shown in the example of FIG.
Vehicle body 2 via compression springs 12 disposed at the four corners of
3A, one side edge (for example, an upper edge) of the exterior cover 10 is attached to the main body 2a via a hinge 16 as shown in FIG. Compression spring 1 is applied only at an arbitrary position on the other side edge (lower side edge).
2, it may be attached to the main body 2a.

According to the configuration shown in FIGS. 2 and 3A, the outer cover 10 is provided to cover substantially the entire surface of each end of the carrier 2 in the traveling direction. , The obstacle detection switch 14 operates via the cover 10. Therefore, as compared with the conventional example in which only an obstacle directly contacting an obstacle detection switch provided on a bumper below the carrier can be detected, the configuration is as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3A. In the transported vehicle 2, the obstacle detection range is widened (particularly, widened in the vertical direction), and the obstacle can be reliably detected.

In the example shown in FIGS. 2 and 3A, an obstacle is detected by pressing an obstacle detection switch 14 via a spring-biased outer cover 10. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and as shown in FIG. 3B, a touch sensor panel may be provided on substantially the entire surface of each end of the carrier 2 in the traveling direction.

FIGS. 4 and 5 are a schematic plan view and a schematic side view showing another embodiment of the present invention. The transport vehicle 2 is based on a so-called non-contact type obstacle detection method, and includes a plurality of (two in the illustrated example, two indicated by reference numerals 20 and 22) reflective optical sensors as an obstacle detection unit. Slowing and stopping are performed based on the detection by the optical sensor unit OP.

More specifically, the transport vehicle 2 shown in FIGS. 4 and 5 has one side centered on a home position HP (position indicated by a dashed line in FIG. 4) set at an intermediate point between the end walls W2 and W3, for example. Direction (Ca direction) approaching one end wall W2 and traveling direction (C direction) approaching the other end wall W3.
It can reciprocate in the direction (b). As shown in FIG.
An optical sensor unit OP composed of an optical sensor 20 having a long-distance operation sensitivity and an optical sensor 22 having a short-distance operation sensitivity is provided on each end surface of the transport vehicle 2 on the traveling direction Ca, Cb side. Is provided. According to this example, at the time of the actual self-propelled operation of the carrier 2 (that is, the self-propelled mode)
In the above, when the optical sensor 20 having the operation sensitivity for the long distance detects an obstacle such as a person, the carrier 2 moves slowly, and when the optical sensor 22 having the operation sensitivity for the short distance detects the obstacle, The transport vehicle 2 stops.

Further, based on the adjustment control signal from the control section 4 (FIG. 1), the detection angles of the sensors 20, 22 can be adjusted up and down, left and right, for example, up to ± 10 ° as required. The operation sensitivity of the long-distance optical sensor 20 is, for example, 3 to 1.5 in the traveling direction.
m, and the operating sensitivity of the short-distance optical sensor 22 can be adjusted within the range of 1.0 to 0.3 m in the traveling direction. Incidentally, the sensor 20,
Increasing the operation sensitivity of 22 makes it possible to detect objects at a greater distance, and conversely, decreasing the operation sensitivity makes it impossible to detect objects at a distance. For example, when the transport vehicle 2 travels in the traveling direction Cb, the optical sensor unit OP on the traveling direction Cb side is set to a predetermined detection range (shown by hatching) that spreads in a substantially elliptical shape. Although not shown for simplicity, when the transport vehicle 2 travels in the traveling direction Ca, the optical sensor unit OP in the traveling direction Ca is set to a predetermined detection range that spreads in a substantially elliptical shape. You.

In the automatic traveling system of the present invention using the transport vehicle 2 shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the optical sensor unit corresponds to the traveling position which changes gradually during the actual travel of the transport vehicle 2. The operational sensitivity of the OP can be variably adjusted. For this purpose, in the learning mode, an appropriate sensitivity level of the optical sensor unit OP is set while the carrier 2 travels along the entire length of the traveling path 6. In this way, in the learning mode, an appropriate sensitivity level of the optical sensor unit OP is recorded (learned) in advance corresponding to the traveling position of the carrier 2 that changes sequentially. Then, when the transport vehicle 2 actually travels, the operation sensitivity of the optical sensor unit OP (the optical sensor 20 or the optical sensor 22) is automatically adjusted to an appropriate sensitivity level that has been recorded in advance for each travel position. Switching).

Here, the “appropriate sensitivity level” means that an obstacle such as an unpredictable person is detected with high accuracy so that the transport vehicle 2 can avoid it with a sufficient distance. The carrier 2 traveling according to a predetermined traveling path
For stationary objects that are fixedly installed so as not to collide with the vehicle, this is a level at which this is not detected as an obstacle. In this way, when the transport vehicle 2 actually runs, the optical sensor unit OP detects only an object other than a stationary object as an obstacle, and controls the transport vehicle 2 to slow down or stop according to this detection. It is supposed to be. Therefore, the conventional inconvenience that the transport vehicle 2 moves unnecessarily slowly or stops in response to the detection of unnecessary standing objects is solved.

More specifically, in the automatic traveling system according to the present invention, for example, a position sensor 24 comprising a pulse encoder for generating an output signal corresponding to the rotation amount of a motor for driving the carrier 2 is provided. ing. When the transportation vehicle 2 travels in the traveling direction in the traveling direction Ca or Cb, the position sensor 24 outputs a signal indicating the traveling position of the transportation vehicle 2 to the control unit 4. Note that, for example, the position sensor 24 is initialized so as to output a signal of “(00) H” when the carrier 2 is located at the home position HP. In this way, for example, the traveling position data indicating the traveling position of the transport vehicle 2 that changes every moment is sequentially stored in the position register prepared in the memory 4a of the control unit 4.

An example of a sensitivity setting process executed by the control unit 4 to set the appropriate sensitivity level of the optical sensor unit OP in the learning mode of the automatic driving system will be described with reference to a flowchart of FIG. The explanation is as follows. Although two optical sensors 20 and 22 are physically provided on each end surface of the transporting vehicle 2 in the traveling direction, in the sensitivity setting process, the control unit 4 sequentially controls the operation sensitivities of the two. Handle as one optical sensor unit OP. Naturally, the sensitivity setting process is performed in a state where there is no object other than the stationary object (that is, an obstacle such as a person) in the compartment.

After the start of the sensitivity setting process, first, in step S1, the position sensor 24 and the optical sensor unit OP are initialized. That is, here, the position sensor 24 is set to “(00) H” with the transport vehicle 2 positioned at the home position HP, and the operation sensitivity of the optical sensor unit OP is set to the maximum sensitivity of 3 m. . In the next step S2, the carrier 2 is set to, for example, 0.
At a speed of 1 m / s, the vehicle actually starts traveling in the traveling direction Ca from the home position HP toward one end wall W2.
Then, in step S3, it is determined whether or not the optical sensor unit OP has detected a part of a certain stationary object. Since the detection range of the optical sensor unit OP is expanded in an elliptical shape as described above, a part of the standing object detected here is arranged not only at the end wall W2 but also near the side wall W1 or W2. Tables and other parts of standing objects are also included.

If it is determined in step S3 that a part of the stationary object has been detected, the operation sensitivity of the optical sensor unit OP is reduced to a sensitivity level VA at which the part of the stationary object is no longer detected in step S4. Incidentally, at this time, if the stationary object is very close to the transport vehicle 2, it is not enough to lower the sensitivity of the long-distance optical sensor 20 in the optical sensor unit OP. Subsequent to 20, the operating sensitivity of the short-range optical sensor 22 is reduced until a portion of the stationary object is no longer detected.

When the sensitivity of the optical sensor unit OP is reduced to a sensitivity level VA at which a part of the stationary object is no longer detected, the sensitivity of the optical sensor unit OP is reduced to a sensitivity level VB at which the part of the stationary object is detected again. Is raised (step S5). Thus, in step S6, the intermediate value between the sensitivity level VA lowered in step S4 and the sensitivity level VB raised in step S5 is set as the current appropriate level VC corresponding to the current traveling position. It should be noted that such an intermediate value is used as the current appropriate level V
The reason why C is adopted is that the sensitivity level tends to be somewhat lowered in step S4, and therefore, an offset measure for appropriately compensating for this excessive reduction is taken. The appropriate level VC set in this way is a sensitivity slightly lower than the minimum sensitivity that can detect a standing substance.

In step S7, it is determined whether or not the appropriate level VC set this time is lower than the appropriate level VC 'set previously, and if it is low (that is, if the degree of approach of the stationary object to the transport vehicle 2 is larger than the previous time). ), In the next step S8, the appropriate level VC set this time is recorded in the memory 4a in association with the current travel position data. Then, in step S9, it is determined whether or not the transport vehicle 2 has reached a stop mark indicating a predetermined travel limit in the Ca direction on the travel path 6. If the stop mark has been reached, the sensitivity setting process is terminated. If the stop mark has not yet been reached, the process returns to step S2, and the processes of steps S2 to S9 are repeated.

In step S7, the appropriate level VC set this time is replaced by the appropriate level VC 'set last time.
When it is determined that it is not lower, the process proceeds to step S9 without performing the process of step S8. In this manner, only when a part of the stationary object approaching the transport vehicle 2 from the previous time is detected, the appropriate level VC at the traveling position at that time is recorded in step S8.

On the other hand, if it is determined in step S3 that the optical sensor unit OP set to the maximum sensitivity of 3 m has not detected a standing object, step S1 is executed.
At 0, it is determined whether or not the current non-detection sensitivity (that is, 3 m) of the optical sensor unit OP is the same as the previous one. Only when the determination result of step S10 is NO, that is, when the current non-detection sensitivity is different from the previous one, in step S11, the current non-detection sensitivity 3
m is recorded in the memory 4a as the current appropriate level in correspondence with the current travel position data. For this reason, even if the stationary object is not continuously detected, the memory 4a
In this case, the non-detection sensitivity 3 m is recorded only once. As a result, capacity saving (compression recording) in the memory 4a becomes possible.

Thereafter, also in the other traveling direction (Cb), the transport vehicle 2 is moved from the home position HP to the other end wall W.
Steps S3 to S11 are performed in the same manner as described above while actually traveling in the traveling direction Cb toward No. 3. In this case, as a matter of course, a code for direction identification different from the traveling direction Ca is added to the traveling position data, so that it is possible to recognize in which direction the traveling position data is. As described above, in this sensitivity setting process, the appropriate level of the optical sensor unit OP is recorded in the memory 4a in a state corresponding to the traveling position data at that time.
As a result, the appropriate level of the optical sensor unit OP is stored in the memory 4a as the operation sensitivity table ST corresponding to the traveling position of the carrier 2. In other words, the motion sensitivity table ST stores an appropriate level that accurately corresponds to the protruding contour of the standing object with respect to each traveling position of the carrier 2.

After the appropriate level of the optical sensor unit OP is set as described above, the processing in the case where the transport vehicle 2 is actually driven (self-propelled mode) is as follows. First, the operation sensitivity of the long-distance optical sensor 20 in the optical sensor unit OP is initially set to 3 m, and the operation sensitivity of the short-distance optical sensor 22 is initially set to 1.0 m.
The transport vehicle 2 is actually driven at a predetermined speed in a desired travel direction Ca or Cb. During the traveling, the control unit 4 reads out the appropriate level set in advance from the sensitivity table ST in accordance with the sequentially changing traveling position data as described above, in accordance with the traveling position data, and the optical sensor unit O
The control for adjusting (switching) the operation sensitivity of the optical sensor 20 or 22 at P to the read appropriate level is performed. That is, if the read appropriate level corresponds to the range of the optical sensor 20 for long distance, the optical sensor 20 is adjusted to this appropriate level, and the read appropriate level is adjusted to the optical sensor 22 for short distance. In this case, the sensitivity of the long-distance optical sensor 20 is set to 0, and the short-distance optical sensor 22 is adjusted to this appropriate level. The read sensitivity adjustment to each appropriate level is applied up to the travel position corresponding to the appropriate level recorded next in the sensitivity table ST. In other words, the switching of the sensitivity of the optical sensor 20 or 22 during traveling of the transport vehicle 2 is executed every time a new appropriate level is read from the sensitivity table ST according to the traveling position data.

The appropriate level stored in the sensitivity table ST is set so as to accurately correspond to the projecting contour so that the optical sensor unit OP does not detect a standing object in the self-propelled mode. In particular, a high appropriate level (for example, 3 m, which is the highest sensitivity) is read for a traveling position in which no standing object is detected in the learning mode (that is, the standing object is not so close), Since the optical sensor unit OP is set to this high appropriate level, in this self-propelled mode, it is possible to detect obstacles such as persons other than standing objects with sufficiently high accuracy. On the other hand, for a traveling position in which a stationary object is detected in the learning mode (that is, the stationary object is approaching by a predetermined degree or more), a low appropriate sensitivity slightly lower than the minimum sensitivity capable of detecting the stationary object is used. The level is read and the optical sensor unit O
Since P is set to this low appropriate level, in the self-propelled mode, the standing object does not need to be detected unnecessarily.

Accordingly, in the self-propelled mode, the automatic traveling system detects an obstacle such as an unpredictable person with high accuracy so that the transport vehicle 2 can avoid the obstacle with a sufficient distance. On the other hand, a stationary object fixedly installed so as not to collide with the carrier 2 traveling along the predetermined traveling path 6 is not detected as an obstacle.
Therefore, in the automatic traveling system according to the above-described embodiment, for example, the charger CH for the wall, the table, and the transport vehicle 2
(FIG. 4) Other standing objects can be placed very close to the traveling path of the carrier 2 (extremely, up to about several cm). As a result, it becomes possible to design the compartment as compact as possible and appropriately respond to the user's demand for maximizing the effective use of the space in the compartment.

In the above-described embodiment, the appropriate level of the optical sensor unit OP is set based on the proximity of the stationary object to the carrier 2. May be set in consideration of other conditions (for example, lighting conditions). Further, the home position HP of the transport vehicle 2 is not limited to the intermediate point between the end walls W2 and W3, but may be on a stop mark close to one end wall W2 or W3.

Further, in the above embodiment, the optical sensors 20 and 22 are used as means for detecting a standing object and an obstacle, but a sound wave sensor or any other suitable means may be used as this detecting means. . In addition, the appropriate level of the operation sensitivity is recorded together with the travel position based on the home position HP. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the appropriate level of the operation sensitivity may be recorded on the travel position (based on the end walls W2 and W3). That is, it may be recorded together with the distance to the end walls W2 and W3). Further, the present invention is not limited to a self-propelled vehicle traveling on a straight traveling road, but may be applied to a self-propelled vehicle traveling on a curved or curved traveling road.

[0040]

As described above, according to the present invention, at each end of the vehicle body in the traveling direction, substantially the entire surface of the end is covered.
Since the contact detection unit is provided, even if an obstacle comes in contact with any part of the end surface, it can be detected. Therefore,
The present invention has an excellent effect that an obstacle can be reliably detected over a much wider range than the conventional one. Further, according to the present invention, the operation sensitivity of the obstacle detection means provided at each end of the vehicle in the traveling direction is not fixed as in the related art, but is variably adjusted in accordance with a change in the traveling position of the vehicle. It is supposed to be. In other words, the operation sensitivity of the obstacle detection means is adjusted to a low sensitivity level at which a stationary object such as a fixed wall approaches the traveling position so as not to detect it. For a traveling position in which an object approaches the vehicle by a predetermined amount or more, the sensitivity is adjusted to a substantially maximum sensitivity level at which the object is detected as an obstacle. In this manner, the present invention detects an obstacle such as an unpredictable person with high accuracy so that the vehicle can avoid it with a sufficient distance, but is fixedly installed so as not to collide with the vehicle. The standing object that has been detected does not need to be detected as an obstacle,
There is an excellent effect that an obstacle can be detected efficiently and reliably.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic plan view showing an embodiment of an automatic traveling system to which the present invention is applied.

FIG. 2 is a schematic side view showing an example of a contact detection unit in the carrier used in the automatic traveling system of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a schematic side view showing a modified example of the contact detection unit.

FIG. 4 is a schematic plan view showing an automatic traveling system according to another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a schematic side view showing an example of a carrier used in the automatic traveling system of FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a sensitivity setting process in a learning mode in the automatic driving system of FIG. 4;

[Explanation of symbols]

 2 carrier 4 control unit 4a memory 10 outer cover 12 compression spring 14 switch 15 touch sensor panel 16 hinge OP optical sensor unit 20 optical sensor 22 optical sensor 24 position sensor

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuing on the front page (72) Inventor Nobuhiko Matsuura 1 Ikegami, Haruoka-cho, Owariasahi-shi, Aichi Pref. Hitachi, Ltd. Information Equipment Division

Claims (8)

[Claims] 1. An automatic traveling system including a vehicle that automatically travels under control of a control unit, wherein the vehicle includes: a vehicle main body; and a contact detection unit provided at each end of the vehicle main body in a traveling direction. At each end in the traveling direction of the vehicle body, substantially the entire surface of the end is covered, and is normally separated outward from the contact detection unit, and can be freely approached and separated from the end. An external cover provided, and when an obstacle contacts any part of the external cover provided at any one of the ends of the vehicle body during traveling of the vehicle, the external cover Is acted on the contact detection unit provided at the end by being pushed by the obstacle,
The automatic driving system, wherein the control unit can detect the obstacle. 2. At each end of the vehicle body in the traveling direction, the exterior cover approaches and separates from the surface of the end in a substantially directly opposed state, and is provided at a plurality of positions of the end via springs. The automatic traveling system according to claim 1, which is mounted. 3. At each end of the vehicle body in the traveling direction, the exterior cover has one side edge attached to the end portion via a hinge, and the opposite side edge is attached to the end portion via a spring. The automatic traveling system according to claim 1, which is attached to a vehicle. 4. At each end of the vehicle body in the running direction, the exterior cover has one side edge attached to the end portion via a hinge and the other side edge connected to the end portion via a spring. The automatic traveling system according to claim 1, wherein the automatic traveling system is attached to a part. 5. An automatic traveling system including a vehicle that automatically travels under control of a control unit, wherein the vehicle includes: a vehicle main body; and each end of the vehicle main body in a traveling direction; A contact detection unit comprising a touch sensor panel provided so as to cover the entire surface, wherein an obstacle is provided at any one of the ends of the vehicle body during travel of the vehicle. An automatic traveling system, wherein the control unit can detect the obstacle based on an output of the touch sensor panel when the vehicle touches any part. 6. A vehicle capable of automatically traveling along a predetermined traveling path and having obstacle detection means capable of adjusting sensitivity at each end of the traveling direction, and a position for detecting a traveling position of the vehicle. A control unit for controlling the automatic traveling of the vehicle, wherein when the vehicle automatically travels in the specific traveling direction, the identification unit corresponds to a traveling position sequentially detected by the position detection unit. The operation sensitivity of the obstacle detection means on the traveling direction side does not detect a stationary object fixed to the traveling path as an obstacle, but an object other than the stationary object has approached the vehicle by a predetermined amount or more. And a control unit for adjusting the level to an appropriate level to detect the obstacle as an obstacle. 7. The appropriate level is supplied by reading out a sensitivity table preset in a learning mode of the system by the control unit. In the learning mode, the vehicle is connected to the entire length of the travel path. While traveling along the traveling position, a sensitivity level lower than the minimum sensitivity that can detect the stationary object is set as the appropriate level for the traveling position at which the obstacle detecting means actually detects the stationary object, 7. The automatic traveling system according to claim 6, wherein substantially the highest sensitivity of the obstacle detection unit is set as the appropriate level for the traveling position at which the object detection unit has not detected the standing object. 8. The sensitivity level lower than the minimum sensitivity may be a level when the obstacle detecting means is lowered until the obstacle detecting means stops detecting the stationary object at the traveling position at that time, and the sensitivity level may be lower than the predetermined level. 8. The automatic traveling system according to claim 7, wherein the level is an intermediate level between the level when the object is raised until the object is detected again.