JPS5968693A - Tracking-type guiding and information transmitting device of moving object using optical beam - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To transmit more information by controlling a turning device so that a moving object is irradiated with an optical beam on a basis of a detection signal and using a modulating means and a detecting means of the optical beam to transmit information. CONSTITUTION:An information transmitting device using the optical beam is constituted with an optical beam generating device 1, a reflecting device 2 which reflects the radiated optical beam to irradiate the movement path of a moving object 3, and a turning device step motor 21 which turns the device 2. Corner cubes 4a-4c attached to the moving object 3, reflected optical beam detectors 5a, 5b, and 7, a turning controller 22 which processes detection signals P and P' to control the turning device, the modulating means of the optical beam, and the detecting means of the optical beam are provided. Thus, the moving object is tracked and irradiated with the optical beam without slipping-off of the optical beam from a prescribed reflected path and is guided, and the quantity of information which can be transmitted surely and efficiently is increased.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a tracking type guidance and information transmission device for a moving body using a light beam, and in particular, by being able to track a moving body moving along a required route and irradiate it with a light beam. This paper proposes a tracking guidance and information transmission device for moving objects that uses light beams with improved information transmission efficiency.

The present inventor has previously conducted research on a technology for guiding a ground moving object such as an automatic guided vehicle along a route obtained by scanning a light beam. A patent application has been filed for (Japanese Patent Application No. 141306/1982).

However, today, it is no longer enough to simply guide a ground moving object based on scanning a light beam, but also to send various control commands such as speed control commands, stop or start commands, and destination address commands to ground moving objects. It is important to understand and control the status of each part of the ground vehicle, such as the battery consumption status, car license plate number, and the type and weight of loaded luggage. .

In view of such requests, the present inventors have proposed that by tracking a moving ground moving object and irradiating it with a light beam, it is possible to provide the running route of the ground moving object while transmitting more information. We have proposed a tracking guidance and information transmission device for ground moving objects that uses light beams that can improve transmission efficiency, and have already applied for a patent (Japanese Patent Application No. 57-7).
4291).

The above device includes a light beam generator that emits a light beam;
a tracking mirror that reflects the emitted light beam and irradiates it onto the walking path of the ground moving object; a drive motor that rotates the tracking mirror; and a light beam detection means that is disposed in a passage area of the light beam reflected by the reflection means and outputs a detection signal corresponding to a change in the arrival position of the light beam. Based on the detection signal, the rotation of the motor is controlled so that the light beam reflected by the tracking mirror tracks and irradiates the ground moving object traveling along the route.

However, the above-mentioned device has a disadvantage in that if the light beam reflected by the reflecting means deviates from a predetermined reflection path, it becomes impossible to guide the ground moving object and to transmit information.

The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances.)
A light beam that can track and irradiate a light beam to moving objects, including ground moving objects and aerial moving objects, while preventing the light beam reflected by a reflecting means from deviating from a predetermined reflection path, and transmitting more information. The purpose of this invention is to provide a tracking guidance and information transmission device for moving objects using beams.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, an embodiment of a tracking type guidance information transmission device for a moving body using a light beam according to the present invention (hereinafter referred to as "the device of the present invention") will be described with reference to the drawings. .

FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram showing the configuration of the apparatus of the present invention.

The device of the present invention includes a laser beam generator 1 that emits a laser beam LI3 (described later) from one end in the longitudinal direction as a light beam generator, a reflector 2, and a reflector attached to a moving body such as a ground moving body 3. It is composed of three corner cubes 4a, 4b, and 4C as a detector, and laser beam detectors 5a, 5b made of, for example, a solar cell as a reflected light beam detection means. It should be noted that the laser beam LB has a light beam having a cross-section of, for example, a substantially circular shape and a relatively large diameter, and its diameter is equal to that of the corner cube 4a.
, 4b, 4C, the laser beam LB is connected to two corner cubes 4a14b or 4a.
, 4C by adjusting the collimator built into the laser beam generator 1. Also, a corner cube 4a.

4b and 4C are arranged in a line in the order of 4b, 4a, and 4c from the front side in relation to the moving direction of the moving body 3, for example, in the front-rear direction of the moving body 3.

The laser beam generator 1 is disposed at a suitable location above a path W along which the ground moving object 3 is to move, so as to emit a laser beam LB, for example, in a substantially horizontal direction.

In the vicinity of the laser beam generator 1, for example, an acousto-optic modulator (not shown) is provided as a laser beam modulating means.
is arranged to modulate the laser beam LB. This acousto-optic modulator is constructed by attaching a piezoelectric element to one end of a rectangular glass body, for example. When an electrical signal is applied to the piezoelectric element, the glass body generates a compression wave or refractive index wave due to electrical vibration. A periodic change occurs, which clouds the diffraction grating, causing the laser beam LB incident on the glass body to be diffracted.

The reflection device 2 is made of, for example, a rectangular total reflection mirror, and is disposed in a pass range of the laser beam LB to reflect the laser beam LB and irradiate it onto the path W. Reflector 2
is the rotating shaft 2 of the step motor 21 with the rotating device and 1-
11 is attached via a reduction gear 212 having a reduction ratio of, for example, 1:110, as shown in FIG. 2, and is rotated as follows. That is, the step motor 21 is configured to rotate forward or reverse when a forward rotation pulse S or a reverse rotation pulse S' is inputted to the input terminal from a motor drive circuit 223GT (see Figure 5), which will be described later. is rotated in the forward or reverse direction so that the laser beam LB reflected by the reflecting device 2 always reaches the corner cubes 4a, 4b, and 4C attached to the ground moving body 3, as described later. As shown in FIG. 3, the corner cubes 4a, 4b, and 4c reflect the laser beam LB incident thereon in the same direction as the direction of incidence, that is, toward the reflecting device 2 as reflected laser beam detectors or LB''. It is.

Therefore, when the laser beam LB is incident across the corner cubes 4a and 4b as shown by the dashed line in FIG. 4, the reflected laser beam LB' from the corner cube 4b is As shown, it is reflected in the direction of incidence.

In addition, when the laser beam LB is incident as shown by the dashed line in FIG. 5 across the corner cube 4c, the reflected laser beam LB' from the corner cube 4c is shown by the dashed dot line in FIG. It is reflected in the direction of incidence. A laser beam detector 5a is arranged near the laser beam generator 1 so as to sandwich the passage path of the laser beam LB.
and 5b are heated to an appropriate degree with their detection surfaces facing the reflecting device 2 side, and the reflected laser beams LB' from the corner cubes 4a and 4c are directed to the laser beam detector 5a.
and 5 enters the proboscis detection surface. Then, the laser beam detectors 5a and 5b output detection signals P and P'. Note that the distance between the laser beam detectors 5a and 5b is as follows:
It is determined in relation to the distance between the corner cubes 4a and 4C arranged at both ends of the plurality of corner cubes arranged in a line as described above.

The reflected laser beam L B // reflected from the corner cube 4ai is reflected toward the laser beam generator 1 and reaches an intermediate portion between the laser beam detector 5a and the laser beam detector 5b. Reference numeral 6 denotes a half mirror disposed at an appropriate inclination in order to reflect the laser beam LB'' in the vicinity of the laser beam generator 1.The laser beam LB// reflected by the half mirror 6 is The laser beam is incident on the detection surface of a laser beam detector 7 arranged nearby. When the laser beam B" is incident on this detection surface, the laser beam detector 7 outputs a detection signal I) //, and this output The signal P'' is input to the information transmission device 8 as described later.

In addition, a laser beam LB is placed near the corner cube 4a.
A laser beam detector (not shown) that receives the light and outputs a detection signal, and an acousto-optic modulator (not shown) as a laser beam modulation means that modulates the reflected laser beam B''.
is installed.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram of the rotation controller 22 which processes the detection signals P and P' to control the rotation of the step motor 21.

The rotation controller 22 is composed of an amplifier 221, a forward/reverse control circuit 222 consisting of a flip-flop circuit, for example, a motor drive circuit 223, and a pulse oscillation circuit 224, and the detection signal P or P' amplified by the amplifier 221 is After being amplified by an amplifier 221, the signal is applied to a forward/reverse control circuit 222, processed, and then input to a motor drive circuit 223 as a forward rotation signal or a reverse rotation signal ['.

In the motor drive circuit 223, the pulse train inputted from the pulse oscillation circuit 224 is modulated by the forward rotation signal (or reverse rotation signal) and outputted as a forward rotation pulse S or a reverse rotation pulse S'. When the step motor 21 receives a forward rotation pulse S or a reverse rotation pulse S', the rotating shaft 211 rotates forward or reverse.

When the laser beam LB is incident across the corner cubes 4a and 4b as shown in FIG. 4, the reflected laser beam LB' from the corner cube 4b is incident on the laser beam detector 5b, This laser beam detector 5b outputs a detection signal P'.

Then, as described above, since the reverse rotation pulse S' is inputted from the motor drive circuit 223 to the step motor 21, the step motor 21 is rotated in the reverse direction. When the moving body 3 moves in the direction shown by the arrow in FIGS. 1 and 4, the laser beam L
B comes to be incident across the corner cubes 4b and 4C as shown in FIG. Then, the laser beam LB' from the corner cube 4C enters the laser beam detector 5a, and the laser beam detector 5a outputs a detection signal P. Then, as mentioned above, the motor drive circuit 2
A normal rotation pulse S is input from 23 to the step motor 21, and the step motor 21 rotates in the normal direction.

By rotating the reflection device 2 in the forward or reverse direction in this manner, the direction of incidence of the laser beam LB on the corner cubes 4a, 4b, and 4C is corrected.
The laser beam (J enters the corner cubes 4a, 4b and 4c without deviating from the required path.

Therefore, - the corner cubes 4a arranged in rows,
The corner keys 4b and 4C at both ends of the laser beams 4b and 4c are involved in control for tracking and irradiating the moving body with the laser beam LB.

As is clear from the above, the corner cube 4a into which the laser beam LB always enters participates in the following information transmission. That is, a control command for guiding the moving object 3 from the laser beam generating device 1 side, that is, the fixed (11117b) to the moving object 3 using the information transmission device 8, the laser beam detector, and the acousto-optic modulator;
Various control commands such as speed control commands, stop or start commands, destination address commands, etc. can be transmitted, and the state of each component of the mobile body 3, such as the consumption state of the battery, the state of the car Information such as number, type and weight of loaded cargo can be transmitted. Note that when there is no ground moving object 3 on the route W, the laser beam LB is irradiated onto the route W while being scanned at a required period.

As described in detail above, the device of the present invention is capable of tracking a moving object moving along a required route and irradiating it with a light beam, thereby providing a moving path for the moving object. The present invention has excellent effects such as being able to increase the amount of information that can be transmitted reliably and efficiently by using appropriate ones only for information transmission.

Note that in the above embodiment, the pair of laser beam detectors 5a
and 5b are used, but a pair of laser beam detectors are further provided in a direction perpendicular to the direction in which the laser beam detectors 5a and 5b are opposed, and the reflection device 2 is arranged in a direction perpendicular to the rotation axis 211 of the step motor 21. In addition, by arranging a plurality of reflecting means in a substantially cross shape in the traveling direction and the lateral direction of the moving object, and further adding a rotation controller for this purpose, it is possible to The reflection direction of the reflected laser beam LB' can be corrected to a predetermined reflection direction without deviating from the direction.

Further, in the above embodiment, the laser beam LB is used as the light beam.
Of course, the same effect can be obtained by using an infrared beam, a visible light beam, etc. without being limited to this.

Furthermore, in the above embodiment, the laser beam detectors 5a, 5b
Although solar cells are used as 7 and 7, it is needless to say that the present invention is not limited to this, and linear diode arrays, photoelectric cells Cds, etc. may also be used.

Further, in the above embodiment, a case has been described in which the ground moving body 3 is used as the moving body, but the present invention is not limited to this, and the moving body may be, for example, an aerial moving body such as a crane or an airplane.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram showing the configuration of a tracking type guidance and information transmission device for a moving body using a light beam according to the present invention, and FIG.
The figure is a perspective view showing the external appearance of the reflection device and step motor, etc., FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram of a corner cube as a reflection means,
Figure 4 shows laser beam LB and reflected laser beam LB'
, LB", and FIG. 5 shows the laser beam LB and reflected laser beam LB when the moving object moves.
6 is a block diagram of the main parts of the device of the present invention. 1... Laser beam generator, 2... Reflector, 3
... Ground mobile body, 4a, 4b, 4C... Corner cube, 5a. 5b, 7... Laser beam detector, 21... Step motor, 22... Rotation controller, 221... Amplifier, 222... Forward/reverse control circuit, 223... Motor drive circuit, 224...Pulse oscillation circuit, 6...Half mirror 18...Information transmitter, LD...Laser beam, LB', LB''...Reflected laser beam, P, P'
...detection signal, [...forward rotation signal, L'-...reverse rotation signal, S...forward rotation pulse S/...reverse k H/L/S, W...path. Patent applicant Hitachi Kiden Kogyo Co., Ltd. Toshihiro γ Tomura Representative patent attorney Koji Onishi Figure 1 Figure 3

Claims (7)

[Claims] (1) A light beam generating device that emits a light beam, a reflecting device that reflects the emitted light beam and irradiates it onto a moving path of a moving body, a rotating device that rotates the reflecting device, and the moving body three reflecting means disposed in a line and reflecting the incident light beam in the same direction as the incident direction; deviating reflected light beam detection means for detecting that the reflection direction of the light beam reflected by the reflection means is about to deviate from a predetermined reflection direction and outputting a detection signal; and a rotation device for processing the detection signal. and a light beam modulation means and a light beam detection means arranged in relation to the central reflecting means of the three reflecting means arranged in the row. and controlling the rotation of the rotation device to irradiate the moving body with the light beam based on the detection signal, and transmitting information using the light beam modulation means and the light beam detection means. A tracking type guidance information transmission device for a moving object using a light beam, characterized in that it is configured as follows. (2) The light beam generator is a laser beam generator that generates a laser beam whose light beam has a substantially circular cross section and a relatively large diameter. A tracking type guidance information transmission device for moving objects using a light beam. (3) The tracking type guidance and information transmission device for a moving body using a light beam according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of reflecting means are corner cubes. (4) The deviated reflected light beam detection means is two laser beam detectors installed in the vicinity of the light beam generator so as to sandwich the light beam passage path with the detection surfaces facing the reflection device side. A tracking guidance and information transmission device for a moving body using a light beam according to claim 1. (5) The rotation controller includes an amplifier circuit, a forward/reverse control circuit,
A tracking type guidance and information transmission device for a moving body using a light beam according to claim 1, characterized in that the device comprises a motor drive circuit and a pulse oscillation circuit. (6) The tracking-type lure and information transmission device for a moving body using a light beam according to claim 1, wherein the light beam modulation means is an acousto-optic modulator. (7) The tracking type guidance and information transmission device for a moving body using a light beam according to claim 4, wherein the laser beam detector is solar-shaped or pond-shaped.