JPS61169909A - Guiding device of unmanned carrier car - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To omit a guiding line, to change a layout easily and to execute optional travel control by calculating a current position on the basis of a separated distance between two laser oscillation devices and the incident angles of a pair of laser beam incident upon photosensors to execute the travel control. CONSTITUTION:When laser beam 16a, 16b are inputted to the photosensors 12a, 12b, a control device of an unmanned carrier car 10 detects the maximum outputs obtained from the surfaces vertical to the laser beam 16a, 16b and finds out the incident angles alpha1, alpha2 of the beam rays 16a, 16b. If the calculated position is shifted from the corresponding position of a program, a steering part is driven in accordance with the difference to compensate the traveling direction. When the calculated position coincides with a stop position specified by the program, the driving of a driving wheel is stopped to stop the carrier car on the position.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Technical Field of the Invention] The present invention relates to a guiding device for an automatic guided vehicle, and more particularly to a guiding device for an automatic guided vehicle using laser light.

[Technical background of the invention and its problems]

Conventionally, various types of guidance devices for automatic guided vehicles, such as electromagnetic induction type, optical reflection type, and laser guidance type, have been known, but most automatic guided vehicles utilize the electromagnetic induction type.

As shown in Figure 6, this electromagnetic induction type is an automatic guided vehicle (
The cable (3) is buried in the floor (2) on which the vehicle (1) runs, and the cable (3) is buried under the body of the automatic guided vehicle (1).
A pair of pickup heads (4) are installed in isolation between two rooms so as to straddle the
The vehicle is configured to run while detecting the magnetic field (5) generated when a very weak current is passed through the vehicle. That is, when the cable (3) is located in the center of the pair of pickup heads (4) while traveling, both pickup heads (4)
The outputs of the automatic guided vehicles (1) are the same and the automatic guided vehicle (1) continues to run normally, but when the traveling trajectory shifts and the cable (3) shifts to one of the pickup heads (4), one of the pickup heads (4) A difference is generated in the output of the steering wheel, and the steering motor (6) is operated according to the difference to correct the running.

However, this electromagnetic induction method uses a pair of pick-up heads (4) to detect the magnetic field (5) generated when a current is passed through the cable (3) and correct the trajectory, so there is a complicated structure that intersects arbitrarily. Not only is it difficult to run the track freely, but the cable (3) must be buried in the floor (2), making it difficult to change the layout.
Another disadvantage is that the cable (3) must be surrounded by a non-magnetic material.

On the other hand, in the laser guidance type, a laser oscillation device is fixed at a fixed position, and a photosensor that receives laser light is attached to the automated guided vehicle, and the automated guided vehicle is guided based on the light received by this photosensor. Therefore, there is no need for a special guide path as is required for electromagnetic induction systems. Furthermore, although it is possible to travel in a straight line, it is difficult to change the direction of travel, and furthermore, there are drawbacks such as the need for a separate guidance device to stop the automatic guided vehicle at a predetermined position.

[Purpose of the invention]

An object of the present invention is to configure a guidance device for an automatic guided vehicle that does not require a fixed guideway, can therefore easily change the layout, and can arbitrarily change the direction of travel.

[Summary of the invention]

At two fixed points separated by a certain distance in the horizontal direction and at different heights,
A laser oscillation device that rotates on a horizontal plane that passes through each fixed point and emits a rotating laser beam is installed, and a laser oscillation device that is located on a horizontal plane that passes through each of the above fixed points is installed on the automatic guided vehicle, and emits a rotating laser beam from the laser oscillation device that rotates on a horizontal plane that passes through each fixed point. two photosensors that detect the incident angle of each incident laser beam, and the automatic guided vehicle based on the horizontal separation distance of the laser oscillation device and the incident angle of the pair of laser beams incident on the photosensor. A control device is provided to calculate the position of the automatic guided vehicle and control the traveling of the automatic guided vehicle, and the laser oscillation device, photo sensor, and control device are configured to arbitrarily control the traveling of the automatic guided vehicle.

[Embodiments of the invention]

The present invention will be described below based on an embodiment with reference to one drawing.

FIG. 1 shows a guiding device for an automatic guided vehicle, which is an embodiment of the present invention.
10) A pair of laser oscillation devices (
lla), (llb), and these laser oscillation devices (lla), (llb)
a), (llb), a pair of photosensors (12a), (12b) attached to an automatic guided vehicle (lO) that detect the laser beam emitted from the It consists of a control device that controls traveling.

Each of the laser oscillation devices 1 (lla) and (Ilb) includes a laser oscillation section (14) and a scanning mechanism (15) that rotates the laser beam emitted from the second laser oscillation section (14) at a constant speed. Be prepared. A pair of laser oscillation devices (lla)
.

(llb) are installed at two fixed points at different heights from the floor surface on which the automatic guided vehicle (lO) runs, in order to be separated by a certain distance in the horizontal direction and to avoid mutual interference. a rotating laser beam (16a) that rotates the
(16b).

The automatic guided vehicle (10) is configured to be able to travel in a right angle direction,
As shown in FIG. 2, a plurality of wheels (19) consisting of a driving wheel and a driven wheel are provided at the lower part of the vehicle body (18), and a steering section (20) for changing the direction of the driving wheels is provided. A control device (21) that controls the running of the vehicle (10), that is, the driving of the drive wheels and the steering section (20), is connected to the vehicle body (
18) Provided above. Further, a ball (22) is erected on the center of the vehicle body (18), and a pair of balls (22) are positioned on each horizontal plane passing through a fixed point where each of the laser oscillation devices (lla) and (llb) is installed at the tip of the ball (22). photo sensor (
12a) and (12b) are attached. That is, these pair of photosensors (12a).

(12b) are each formed in an annular shape, with the annular surface serving as a light-receiving surface.
A photosensor (12b) is coaxially attached corresponding to. These photosensors (lla), (ll
In b), when the laser beam (16) is incident, its output is sent to the control device (21), and this control device 1d (21)
In this case, the angle of incidence can be detected using a predetermined reference point (23) on each light-receiving surface as a reference.

Golden Brother 3 As shown in the diagram, the laser oscillator! i! (lla)
.

Let the positions of (llb) be A and B, respectively, and the automated guided vehicle (
10) a photosensor (12a) attached to the
If the position of (12b) is C, these positional relationships are displayed two-dimensionally, and the position A corresponding to the laser oscillation device (lla) is the origin of the XY coordinates, then the laser oscillation device (l
Position of automatic guided vehicle (10) relative to la) (location II)
X ry is α1. When the angle of incidence of the laser beam (16b) on the photosensor (12b) is α2.

y=xcotczl -----(1)
x cot a 1 = (ffi-x) cot a
2θ■=90−αr −−−−−(3)
θ2=90−αz −=−(4))′ =
X janθr -----(5)x
tanO1= (!L-x)tanθ2(1), (
It is expressed by formula 2) or formulas (3) to (6).

The control device (21) includes each photo sensor (12a),
When the laser beams (16a) and (16b) are incident on (12b), the angle of incidence α1. Detect α2. The detection of this angle of incidence αhα2 is carried out as shown in FIG. ) The output at each point on the light-receiving surface obtained by the incidence of As shown in (26), it changes depending on the incident angle of the laser beam (16a) with respect to the light receiving surface, and the maximum output is obtained from the point (25) on the plane perpendicular to the laser beam (16a).

Therefore, by detecting this maximum output, the incident angle α1 of the laser beam (16a) with respect to the reference point (23) can be determined. Similarly, the incident angle α2 is determined for the photosensor (12b). Therefore, the control device (21
) is this incident angle α1. Calculate the above equations (1), (2) or (3) to (6) from α2 and the horizontal separation distance Q between the pair of laser oscillation devices (lla) and (llb) stored in the memory. Then, the position of the automatic guided vehicle (10) is calculated. This is then compared with the program stored in memory to control its running. That is,
While moving straight toward a predetermined position according to the program, if the position of the automatic guided vehicle (10) calculated by the above calculation deviates from the corresponding position of the program, the steering unit (20) is operated according to the difference. The running direction is corrected. Furthermore, when the calculated position matches the stop position specified in the program, the driving of the drive wheels can be stopped and the vehicle can be stopped at that position. Similarly, when the automatic guided vehicle (10) reaches a predetermined direction change position, it once stops at that position and steers the steering unit (20).

It can run in the direction specified by the program.

Thus, as shown in FIG. 5, a pair of laser oscillation devices (
Travel of the automatic guided vehicle (1O) can be arbitrarily controlled along an arbitrary route (27) parallel or orthogonal to the line connecting lla) and (llb).

Next, other embodiments will be described.

In the above embodiment, a pair of laser oscillators were used to control the movement of the automatic guided vehicle, but the guidance method using this laser beam can be used in combination with other guidance methods such as electromagnetic induction and optical reflection methods.
For example, the traveling direction can be corrected using another guidance method, and the stop position correction can be performed using this guidance method. In this case, the automatic guided vehicle does not necessarily need to travel at right angles, and can be used to guide any automatic guided vehicle.

Further, in the above embodiment, a pair of laser oscillation devices were installed at a certain distance apart in the horizontal direction, but instead of this pair of laser oscillation devices, a pair of scanning mechanisms were installed at a certain distance of 1 m in the horizontal direction, and one The laser beam emitted from the laser oscillator may be transmitted to the pair of scanning mechanisms through an optical fiber or the like.

Further, the pair of photosensors do not necessarily have to be coaxial, and may be provided at a position other than the center of the automatic guided vehicle.

〔Effect of the invention〕

A laser oscillation device is installed to emit a pair of rotating laser beams that rotate on a horizontal plane passing through each fixed point from two fixed points that are spaced a certain distance apart in the horizontal direction and have different heights, and on the other hand, the laser oscillation device is installed on an automatic guided vehicle. A pair of annular photosensors that detect the angle of incidence are installed, and the position of the automatic guided vehicle is calculated from the horizontal separation distance of the laser oscillation device and the angle of incidence of each laser beam incident on the photosensor. Since the automatic guided vehicle is configured to control its travel, its travel can be controlled arbitrarily without installing a special guideway on the floor where the automatic guided vehicle travels, and the layout can be easily changed. be able to.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the configuration of a guiding device for an automatic guided vehicle according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a front view showing the configuration of the automatic guided vehicle, and FIG. 3 is a running control of the guiding device. Figure 4 (A) to C) is an explanatory diagram of the method for detecting the angle of incidence of laser light incident on the photosensor.
This figure shows the travel route of the automatic guided vehicle, and FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a conventional electromagnetic induction type automatic guided vehicle guidance device. (io)--Automated guided vehicle

Claims (1)

[Claims] A laser oscillation device that emits a rotating laser beam that rotates on a horizontal plane passing through each of the above fixed points from two fixed points that are separated by a certain distance in the horizontal direction and have different heights; two annular photosensors that are attached to the vehicle and detect the incident angles of the laser beams emitted from the laser oscillation device; An automated guided vehicle comprising: a control device that calculates the position of the automated guided vehicle from the distance and the incident angle of the pair of laser beams incident on the photosensor and controls the travel of the automated guided vehicle. induction device.