JPH1049228A - Travel guide tape, breakage decision device and repairing method for the tape - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a travel guide tape capable of easily detecting stain and breakage place of the travel guide tape, accurately generating and replacing the travel guide tape into which travel control information corresponding to the detected place is entered, and to provide the breakage decision device and repairing method therefor. SOLUTION: This invention includes the travel guide tape 1 which is divided by specific length, management codes 12 representing tape management information corresponding to each divided travel guide tape 1, and check digits 13 for read error checking. Codes are entered by travel guide tapes 1 and a controller 6 reads in the code at guide travel control time and judges whether or not there is a read error on the basis of the check digits 13, counts the generation frequency of the read error by the divided travel guide tapes and judges that the travel guide tape 1 needs to be replaced when the error occurrence frequency exceeds a specific value, and indicates the management code 12 corresponding to the travel guide plate 1 to the outside and also generates an alarm.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a travel guide tape suitable for repairing and replacing an optical travel guide tape for guiding an automatic guided vehicle to travel, a device for determining breakage of the tape, and a method for repairing the tape.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As a traveling guidance system for an automatic guided vehicle, there is an optical traveling guidance system in which the position of a tape attached to a traveling road surface is optically detected and traveling is performed along the tape. In this method, an easily reflective tape such as aluminum or stainless steel is laid along a traveling route, and a projector and a light receiver are mounted on an automatic guided vehicle, and reflection of light from the light projector is received by a light receiver.
The steering control is performed while detecting the magnitude of the amount of received light or detecting the amount of lateral displacement with respect to the tape by the light receiving element array. For example, Japanese Utility Model Application Laid-Open No. 61-55705
Japanese Patent Application Publication No. JP-A-2005-115, discloses a method for controlling the traveling of an automatic guided vehicle using not only a simple reflective tape but also a tape on which control information of a traveling route is written on a surface using a barcode or a mark. I have.

[0003]

However, in the conventional optical traveling guidance system, the traveling guidance tape is trampled by the tires of the automatic guided vehicle or other manned transportation vehicles. Often becomes dirty and loses the light reflection function, or is damaged. Further, when the vehicle turns with a spin turn or a small radius, or when the tires are stationary, the traveling guide tape is severely damaged. As a result, the automatic guided vehicle becomes unable to recognize the traveling guide tape gradually, and eventually, there is a problem that the operation is stopped upon determining that a traveling abnormality such as a course out has occurred. Therefore, in order to prevent this, it is necessary for a human to periodically inspect the damage state of the traveling guide tape, and at present, a very large number of maintenance steps are required.

[0004] If no information is displayed on the travel guide tape, it can be repaired simply by laying a new travel guide tape only on a dirty or damaged portion. However, when traveling route information such as the gradient of the traveling route, passage space, speed, and distance is written on the traveling guidance tape, since the traveling route information and the tape laying place have a one-to-one relationship, As described above, it is not only necessary to simply re-install a new travel guide tape, but it is necessary to replace the tape with the travel route information corresponding to the place. In practice, however, it is the most important to control the automatic guided vehicle as designed, in which laying place the guide tape with which information is written, but a repair method has been established. It has not been.
Therefore, if there is room for human error at the time of repairing the tape, there is a possibility that a serious accident such as equipment damage or personal injury may occur.

[0005] Further, in general, such barcode and mark information is configured to be easy to read by a machine, but is a symbol that is difficult to read by a human. Therefore, it is very difficult for a human to read and repair such a symbol, and even if only a part of the symbol is required, it is necessary to collectively re-install the running guide tapes for all routes. No. The same problem as described above occurs not only in the case of dirt or damage, but also in the case where it is desired to partially change the route information.
In addition, it is difficult for a person other than a professional engineer to determine whether the traveling guidance tape is usable or not, since detailed knowledge on the detection characteristics of the sensor such as the light receiver is required.

Therefore, to summarize the above problems,
Shown below. (1) Since the dirt and damage of the running control tape on which the control information and the location information are written are manually monitored, a large number of maintenance steps are required. (2) In carrying out maintenance such as periodic inspections,
It is difficult for a human to determine whether a tape can be used. (3) In order to repair only a part of the travel control tape on which control information and location information are written, it is important to match the installation location with the above information. However, at present, the tape and control information are managed. No restoration is difficult.

The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems, and can easily detect a stain or a damaged portion of the travel guide tape of the automatic guided vehicle, and provide travel control information corresponding to the detected location. It is an object of the present invention to provide a travel guide tape capable of accurately creating and replacing a written travel guide tape, a breakage determination device for the tape, and a method for repairing the tape.

[0008]

In order to achieve the above object, the invention according to claim 1 is laid along a traveling route, and the entered information is read optically. In the traveling guide tape on which the automatic guided vehicle 4 is controlled to travel based on this information, a management code 12 that is divided into predetermined lengths and that represents the tape management information is written in each of the divided sections. ing.

According to the first aspect of the present invention, the traveling guide tape is divided into predetermined lengths suitable for maintenance workability and the like, and each divided section represents the management information of each tape. A management code for managing the material and the described control information is entered. by this,
Since the description contents of the tape and the management code for each section are in one-to-one correspondence, the tape creation for each section is accurate and easy based on the management code. Therefore, the tape in each section can be easily repaired and can be safely repaired.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a traveling apparatus in which the information is written optically and the automatic guided vehicle 4 is controlled to travel based on the information. In the guide tape breakage determination device, the traveling guide tape 1 divided into predetermined lengths, at least a management code 12 representing tape management information corresponding to each of the divided traveling guide tapes 1, and a read error check And a code written for each traveling guide tape 1 and a code read at the time of guiding / running control. The presence / absence of a reading error is determined based on the check digit 13, and the occurrence of the reading error is determined. The number of times is counted for each of the divided traveling guide tapes. Determines that the replacement time of the travel guide tape 1, wherein the management code 1 corresponding to the travel guide tape 1
2 to the outside and a controller 6 for issuing a warning.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, the traveling guide tape is divided into predetermined lengths for ease of maintenance and the like. Control information, a management code indicating management information of each tape, and a check digit are entered. Then, at the time of traveling control of the automatic guided vehicle, count the number of read errors caused by the code check digit for each of the divided travel guide tapes, and when the number of error occurrences is equal to or greater than a predetermined number,
It is determined that the travel guide tape is damaged and a warning for replacement is issued. At this time, the management code corresponding to the damaged travel guiding tape is notified to the outside (for example, a computer or a display), so that it is easy to newly create an accurate travel guidance tape corresponding to the management code. Become. This makes it possible for the automatic guided vehicle to monitor the traveling guidance tape, thereby reducing the need for manual maintenance of the traveling guidance tape by manpower, and enabling accurate determination of the damaged part. Become.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided a traveling guide tape which is laid along a traveling route, optically reads the entered information, and controls the traveling of the automatic guided vehicle 4 based on the information. In the repairing method for repairing the running guide tapes 1, a code including at least a management code 12 representing each tape management information is written in each of the running guide tapes 1 divided at a predetermined length, and any one of the running guide tapes 1 is replaced. Is required, a new driving guide tape 1 created based on the management code 12 corresponding to the driving guide tape 1 to be replaced is replaced.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, the traveling guide tape is divided into predetermined lengths for ease of maintenance and the like. A management code representing management information is entered. When replacing the damaged travel guide tape, the drive guide tape is replaced with a new travel guide tape created based on the management code corresponding to the damaged travel guide tape. As a result, a travel guide tape in which exactly the same information as the damaged travel guide tape is written can be accurately created, and travel control can be accurately performed.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the method of repairing the traveling guidance tape according to the third aspect, a check digit 13 is written together with the management code 12 for each of the divided traveling guidance tapes 1. The number of read errors occurring when the management code 12 and the check digit 13 are read is counted for each of the divided traveling guide tapes 1. When the read error has occurred a predetermined number of times or more, the traveling guide tape 1 is replaced. It is determined that it is time to replace it with a new travel guide tape 1 created based on the corresponding management code 12.

According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, the travel guide tape is divided into predetermined lengths for ease of maintenance and the like, and each of the divided travel guide tapes includes at least the management code. A check digit is also entered. Then, at the time of traveling control of the automatic guided vehicle, count the number of read errors caused by the code check digit for each of the divided travel guide tapes, and when the number of error occurrences is equal to or greater than a predetermined number,
It is determined that the travel guide tape is damaged and a warning for replacement is issued. Thereby, the maintenance man-hour of the traveling guide tape can be omitted, and the damaged portion can be accurately determined.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the traveling guide tape restoring method according to the third aspect, a check digit 13 is written together with the management code 12 for each of the divided traveling guide tapes 1. The number of occurrences of read errors when the management code 12 and the check digit 13 are read is counted for each of the divided traveling guide tapes 1. The management code 12 is notified to the outside, the operator is warned, and the management guide 12 is replaced with a new travel guide tape 1 created based on the corresponding management code 12.

According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, the travel guide tape is divided into predetermined lengths for ease of maintenance and the like, and each of the divided travel guide tapes includes at least the management code. A check digit is also entered. Then, at the time of traveling control of the automatic guided vehicle, count the number of read errors caused by the code check digit for each of the divided travel guide tapes, and when the number of error occurrences is equal to or greater than a predetermined number,
It is determined that the traveling guidance tape is damaged, the management code is notified to the outside, and a warning is issued to the operator. As a result, it is possible to eliminate the need for manual maintenance of the traveling guide tape by hand, and to determine whether or not the tape can be used. It is possible to make a judgment. Furthermore, by creating a travel guide tape corresponding to the management code, a travel guide tape in which exactly the same information as the damaged travel guide tape is written can be created accurately, so that travel control is performed accurately.

[0018]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment will be described below with reference to FIGS. FIG. 1 shows a travel guide tape according to the present invention. In FIG. 1, a traveling guide tape 1 guides an automatic guided vehicle along a traveling route, and is laid along a predetermined traveling route. The travel guide tape 1 is made of a material that easily reflects light (for example, laser light) emitted from the automatic guided vehicle, for example, a thin plate made of aluminum or stainless steel. A code or a mark for controlling the traveling of the automatic guided vehicle, a code for managing the traveling guidance tape 1 itself (hereinafter, referred to as a management code), and the like are written on the surface of the traveling guidance tape 1. . In the present embodiment, a case where the bar code 2 is used as an example of the code or the mark is shown, and the bar code 2 is written in a direction orthogonal to the traveling direction of the automatic guided vehicle 4. The bar codes 2 are written at predetermined intervals along the traveling direction of the automatic guided vehicle 4 (that is, the longitudinal direction of the traveling guide tape 1). The travel guide tape 1 is divided at a predetermined distance in the longitudinal direction, and a plurality of bar codes 2 are written on the travel guide tapes 1-1, 1-2, 1-3,... Have been. The length of each of the divided traveling guide tapes 1-1, 1-2, 1-3,..., 1-n is determined by the workability of laying the tape and the shape of the traveling path. The length is determined such that wrinkles are not easily formed and the tapes do not stick together, and the length is determined by a straight line section and a curved section of the traveling route.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a control configuration of the automatic guided vehicle. The automatic guided vehicle 4 is provided with a light emitting and receiving device 7, which irradiates the road surface with light from the light emitting and receiving device 7, and reflects the reflection from the left and right end points with respect to the longitudinal direction of the traveling guide tape 1. Light is received by the receiver. The light receiving device is provided with light receiving elements arranged in an array in a direction orthogonal to the traveling direction of the automatic guided vehicle 4. Is detected. The left-right direction shift amount signal is input to the controller 6, and the controller 6 controls the traveling and steering of the automatic guided vehicle 4 so that the left-right direction shift amount becomes zero. Thereby, the automatic guided vehicle 4 can automatically travel along the travel guide tape 1.

The controller 6 is constituted by, for example, a computer system mainly composed of a microcomputer, and controls the traveling, steering and braking of the automatic guided vehicle 4 via a drive unit and a drive motor (not shown).
The controller 6 communicates with the management computer 20 via communication.
, And transmits control information to the management computer 20. Further, the controller 6 includes a display (not shown), and is capable of displaying an error content when an error occurs and displaying control information.

The bar code 2 written on the travel guide tape 1 is read by the bar code reader 5 provided on the automatic guided vehicle 4 together with the measurement of the above-mentioned lateral displacement. FIG. 3 shows a detailed explanatory diagram of the barcode 2. In the bar code 2, a travel control code 11, a management code 12, and a check digit 13 corresponding to the place are written. Here, the travel control code 11 is coded, for example, the gradient of the road surface at the place, the speed limit value, and the like. In FIG. Is coded as a combination pattern. By reading the travel control code 11, travel control corresponding to the location can be performed.

The management code 12 is management information of the travel guide tape 1 itself on which the barcode 2 is printed, and includes, for example, the material, specification, model number, and section number of the tape (the site where the travel guide tape 1 is installed). Location information), and a creation serial number (the order in which the travel guide tape 1 was created). In the present embodiment, n bars indicate n-bit information (2 ⁿ pieces of information), and the management code 12 is serialized by expressing “0” with a thin bar and “1” with a thick bar. Numbering. In FIG. 3, three bars represent 3-bit information, but the present invention is not limited to this, and the travel guide tape 1
It is sufficient if the management code 12 has a one-to-one correspondence.

When the unmanned transport vehicle 4 or a manned transport vehicle (for example, a forklift) is traveling on the traveling guide tape 1, the traveling guide tape 1 is moved by the tires.
Is stained or cut, and the bar code 2 is damaged. In the case of such a broken state, the traveling control code 1
1 becomes difficult to read, and the detection of the left and right end points of the tape is hindered. For this reason, a check digit 13 is provided in the bar code 2, and an error is detected by the check digit 13 when reading the bar code 2. Then, the frequency of occurrence of the reading error is checked to determine the timing of replacing the tape.

Next, the operation of the travel guide tape breakage determining apparatus according to the present invention will be described based on an example of a flowchart for determining the tape replacement time shown in FIG. In the following flowchart, the step numbers are represented by adding S. First, at S1, the controller 6 sets an error occurrence number limit En and an error counter value Ec in advance for each tape section in order to determine a time for replacing and repairing the traveling guidance tape 1, and determines these error occurrence numbers. The limit En is set to a predetermined value, and each error counter value Ec is cleared.
Next, in S2, the normal operation of the automatic guided vehicle 4 is performed.
That is, the controller 6 reads the barcode 2 and the check digit written on the travel guide tape 1 and controls the travel based on the barcode 2 and the check digit. In S3, it is determined whether there is an error due to the check digit. If there is an error, in S4, the error counter value Ec corresponding to the tape section having the error is counted up. In addition, when an error occurs, the read information is practically ignored, and the information of the error occurrence location is complemented by using the information that has been normally read without the preceding and following errors.
Next, in S5, the error counter value Ec for each tape section is set.
It is determined whether or not (corresponding to the accumulated value of the check digit errors) is equal to or greater than the error occurrence limit En. If the error is equal to or greater than the error occurrence limit En, it is determined that the tape is to be replaced. Stop 4 at that location. Next, the process proceeds to S7. When there is no error in S3, and when the error counter value Ec is smaller than the error occurrence limit En in S5, the process returns to S2 to repeat the above processing.

In S7, the controller 6 determines the management code 12 of the running guide tape 1 which has been determined to need to be replaced. This is because the management code 12 itself may not be readable if the tape is damaged. Therefore, the management code 12 is supplemented from the normal management code 12 before and after in the same section or the management code 12 of another tape section before and after. And the damaged part management code 12
Ask for. Further, in S8, a warning is issued by, for example, a buzzer or the like to warn the user that tape replacement is necessary. At the same time, the management code 12 of the traveling guide tape 1 which is determined to need to be replaced is displayed on the indicator of the automatic guided vehicle 4 or a higher-level management computer 20 which manages the automatic guided vehicle 4. Send to Then, in S9, the worker replaces the damaged traveling guide tape 1 based on the information. This eliminates the need for a person to periodically check the breakage state of the traveling guide tape 1, thereby reducing maintenance man-hours and accurately determining the tape replacement time. In addition, since information as to which section the damaged tape is in is obtained, it is possible to easily reprint a tape in which the same travel control code is written. After replacing the tape, the operator inputs in S10 that the damaged tape has been replaced to the controller 6 using a switch (not shown) or the like, whereby the controller 6 sets the error counter value Ec.
Is reset, and the automatic guided vehicle 4 is restarted. After this, S
2 and repeat the above processing.

In the above flow chart, before the error counter value Ec reaches the error occurrence number limit En,
For example, when a warning occurrence number smaller than the error occurrence number limit En is reached, a warning may be issued by an alarm or the like. Thereby, the tendency of the tape where the tape is easily damaged and the frequency thereof can be understood, and the maintenance of the tape becomes easy. Further, the error count value E for each tape section described above is obtained.
The determination as to whether or not c has become equal to or larger than the error occurrence limit En may be performed by the upper management computer 20. In particular, when a plurality of automatic guided vehicles 4 travel on the same traveling route, the management of the number of errors generated for each tape section by the management computer 20 is effective.

The tape management code 12 determined to have reached the replacement time may be read by an operator using a bar code reader prepared for maintenance separately from the controller 6 and the bar code reader 5. . Further, in order to newly create a tape to be replaced and repaired, the management computer 20 or a separately prepared computer is provided with a table for associating each management code 12 with travel route information, a tape creation function, and a tape creation printer, By inputting the management code 12 into these computers, it is possible to create and print.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 shows a running guide tape according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a control block diagram of the automatic guided vehicle according to the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a detailed explanatory diagram of a barcode according to the present invention.

FIG. 4 shows an example of a flowchart of tape replacement timing determination according to the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Running guide tape, 1-1, 1-2, 1-3, 1-n ... Divided running guide tape, 2 ... Bar code, 4 ... Automatic guided vehicle, 5 ... Bar code reader, 6 ... Controller , 7 ... Emitter / receiver, 11 ... Running control code, 12 ... Management code, 13 ...
Check digit, 20 ... management computer.

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A traveling guide tape 1 that is laid along a traveling route, optically reads information that has been entered, and controls the traveling of the automatic guided vehicle 4 based on the information. And a management code 12 representing tape management information is entered for each of the divided sections. 2. A travel guide tape breakage discriminating device, which is laid along a travel route, optically reads the entered information, and controls travel of the automatic guided vehicle 4 based on the information. The travel guide tape 1 divided for each length, at least a management code 12 representing tape management information corresponding to each of the divided travel guide tapes 1, and a check digit 13 for reading error check; A code written for each traveling guidance tape 1 and this code are read at the time of guidance traveling control, the presence or absence of a reading error is determined based on the check digit 13, and the number of occurrences of this reading error is determined by the divided traveling guidance tape. And when the number of occurrences of the error becomes equal to or greater than a predetermined number, the time for replacing the divided traveling guide tape 1 And a controller 6 for notifying the management code 12 corresponding to the traveling guidance tape 1 to the outside and issuing a warning. 3. A restoration method for laying along a traveling route, optically reading the entered information, and restoring the traveling guide tape 1 whose traveling of the automatic guided vehicle 4 is controlled based on the information. A code including at least a management code 12 representing each piece of tape management information is written in each of the travel guide tapes 1 divided for each predetermined length, and when any of the travel guide tapes 1 needs to be replaced, they are replaced. A method for repairing a travel guide tape, characterized by replacing the travel guide tape with a new travel guide tape created based on the management code corresponding to the travel guide tape to be repaired. 4. The method according to claim 3, wherein a check digit 13 is entered together with the management code 12 for each of the divided traveling guide tapes 1, and the management code 12 and the check digit 13 are written. Is counted for each of the divided traveling guide tapes 1, and when this reading error occurs for a predetermined number or more, it is determined that it is time to replace the traveling guide tape 1, and A method for repairing a running guide tape, characterized by replacing the running guide tape with a new running guide tape created based on the management code. 5. The method according to claim 3, wherein a check digit 13 is written together with the management code 12 for each of the divided travel guide tapes 1, and the management code 12 and the check digit 13 are written. Is counted for each of the divided traveling guide tapes 1, and when the read error has occurred a predetermined number of times or more, at least the management code 12 of the traveling guide tape 1 is externally read. A method for repairing a travel guide tape, comprising: notifying and alerting an operator; and replacing the travel guide tape 1 with a new travel guide tape 1 created based on the corresponding management code 12.