JPS61253482A - Direction detector - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To enable the tracking of a moving object, by providing a light- emitting element on the moving object while a light-receiving element is provided on a tracking robot to decide on the direction thereof based on the detection output of the light-receiving element. CONSTITUTION:Light from an infrared-ray emitting diode within a light emission source 2 so arranged on a moving object 1 non-directional is received with a plurality of light receiving elements 5 provided on a tracking robot 3. The element 5 which is a sensor comprising a photodiode is connected to sensor processors separately in a controller 6 and the direction of the light emission source 2 is determined by the sensor processor. Then, based on the decision data thereof, right and left wheels 4 are rotated separately by a necessary value. Thus, as long as the distance between the moving body 1 and the tracking robot 3 is within a fixed range, the tracking of the moving object 1 can be done without being restricted by the position of the moving object 1 and the position of the tracking robot 3.

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Table of Contents] Overview Industrial Application Fields Conventional Technology Problems to be Solved by the Invention Means for Solving Problems Action Examples Concept of the Invention (Figs. 1 to 3) ) 1st example (Figs. 4 to 9) 2nd example (Figs. 10 and 11) 3rd example (Figs. 12 to 17) 4th example (Figs. 18 and 17) (Fig. 19) Fifth embodiment (Fig. 21 to Fig. 24) Sixth embodiment (Fig. 25) Effects of the invention [Summary] Equipped with a tracking robot that tracks a moving object and grasps the moving object. A direction detection device in which an object is provided with a light emitting element so as to be non-directional, a tracking robot is provided with a light receiving element, and the direction of the moving object is determined based on the detection output of the light receiving element.

[Industrial application field]

The present invention relates to a direction detection device for a tracking robot for tracking and grasping a moving object, and more particularly to a direction detection device for detecting the direction of a moving object using an infrared sensor.

[Conventional technology]

Conventionally, when tracking and grasping a moving object, a light emitting diode is provided on each of the moving object and the tracking robot, and a positioning sensor (PSD) is used to monitor both the moving object and the tracking robot. Read the absolute coordinate values of the moving object and the tracking robot,
The moving object was tracked by calculating the direction in which the moving object existed based on this value and giving a command value to the tracking robot. , [Problems to be solved by the invention] If PSD is used as in the above-mentioned prior art, PSD
Since there is a limit to the range that can be read, there is a problem that the range in which a moving object can be tracked is limited. In particular, when the PSD is fixed at a predetermined position, it is impossible to track the moving object within a range where either the moving object or the tracking robot is more than a certain distance away from the PSD.

[Means for solving problems]

In order to solve the above problems, the present invention includes a tracking robot that tracks a moving object, a light emitting element provided on the moving object so as to be omnidirectional, and a light receiving element and a light receiving element in the tracking robot. A direction detection device is provided, characterized in that it includes a direction determination means for determining the direction of a moving object based on the output of the element.

A plurality of light-receiving elements are arranged on a circumference drawn on one plane, and the direction determining means determines the direction of the moving object based on the position of the light-receiving sensor that receives light with an intensity equal to or higher than a predetermined value. It is preferable that the

Preferably, the direction determining means includes an A/D converter that converts the detection output of the light receiving element into an A/D converter.

The direction determining means may include a preamplifier that amplifies the detection output of the light receiving element and outputs a digital value.

The number of light-receiving elements is single, and the direction determining means includes a motor that rotates the light-receiving element.The shaft of the motor includes the light-receiving element, a slip ring for taking out the detection output of the light-receiving element, and the motor. It may also be coupled to an encoder that detects the rotation angle. In this case, it is preferable that the direction determining means includes an A/D converter that A/D converts the detection output of the light receiving element obtained from the output of the slip ring.

The direction determining means may include a preamplifier that amplifies the detection output of the light receiving element obtained as the output of the slip ring and outputs a digital value.

The direction determining means determines the direction of the moving object by reading the direction of the light receiving element from the encoder when light having an intensity equal to or greater than a predetermined value is received.

It is preferable that each of the light receiving elements is covered with a cover that blocks light on all surfaces except the light receiving surface, and that the cover has a wall projecting in the light receiving direction so that only light perpendicular to the light receiving surface is sensed.

[For production]

A light receiving element provided on the tracking robot receives light from a light emitting element provided on the moving object, and a direction determining means determines the direction of the moving object based on its output. As long as the distance between the moving object and the tracking robot is within a certain range, the moving object can be tracked without being restricted by the position of the moving object or the tracking robot.

〔Example〕

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the concept of the present invention. In the same figure,
The moving object 1 is, for example, a minicar, and is equipped with a light emitting source 2. The light source 2 is a non-directional infrared light emitting diode. The tracking robot 3 includes wheels 4, a light receiving element 5, and a control device 6. In the example shown in FIG. 1, the light receiving elements 5 are arranged at equal intervals on the circumference of the disk. Control device 6
The details are shown in Figure 2.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an outline of the system configuration of the tracking robot including the control device 6. As shown in FIG. In the figure, a plurality of light receiving elements 5-1 to 5-n receive light from an infrared light emitting diode (LED) in a light emitting source 2. Each of the light receiving elements 5-1 to 5-n is a sensor consisting of a photodiode. The light receiving elements 5-1 to 5-n are connected to sensor circuits 61-1 to 61-n in the control device 6, respectively. The outputs of the sensor circuits 61-1 to 61-n are processed by the sensor processor 62. The sensor processor 62 is connected to the host processor 7 via a channel C112, an ink face circuit 63, and a system bus 64. A memory 8 that stores data used by the host processor 7 is connected to the system bus 64 .

Once the direction of the light emitting source 2 is determined by the sensor processor 62, based on the determined data, channels CHO,
CHI, motor 67 via servo circuits 65 and 66
, 68 are driven, thereby causing the left wheel 4-1 and right wheel 4-2 to rotate by the required amount.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the light emitting source 2. As shown in FIG. Third
In the figure, a light emitting source 2 includes an oscillation circuit 21 that generates an electrical signal of a specific frequency, and an amplifier 2 that amplifies this electrical signal.
2, and light emitting elements (infrared light emitting diodes) 231 to 23n that receive the output of the amplifier 22 and emit infrared light.

Figure 4 is a block diagram of the light receiving side according to an embodiment of the present invention. In this figure, parts that are the same as those in FIG. 2 are given the same reference numerals. In FIG. 4, iR filters 41-1 to 41-n each filter a specific wavelength range of incident light, for example, 890 nm to 11100n.

The light receiving element (photodiode) 5-1
~5-n to receive light. From the detection outputs of the light receiving elements 5-1 to 5-n, only the detection outputs of specific frequencies are amplified by the amplification filter circuits 42-1 to 42-n and inputted to the analog switch 43. The analog switch 43 sequentially scans and amplifies the amplification filter circuits 42-1 to 42-n at a constant cycle in accordance with the address signal output from the one-chip microcomputer 62 (sensor processor 62 in FIG. 2), and amplifies the peak signal. The hold circuit 44 is made to hold the maximum value of each amplified output. Each output data of the peak hold circuit 44 is converted into a digital value by the A/D converter 45 and input to the one-chip microcomputer 62. The one-chip microcomputer 62 outputs direction data for determining the direction of a moving object by determining which light-receiving element the light stronger than a set value is incident on, through processing to be described in detail later. The direction data output from the one-chip microcomputer 62 is
The interface circuit 63 shown in the figure. system bus 64
The signal is input to the host processor 7 via the host processor 7. The host processor 7 controls the servo circuits 65 and 66 based on the direction data received. Servo circuits 65, 66
rotate the left and right wheels 4 by driving motors 67 and 68, respectively.

FIG. 5 is a top plan view showing the arrangement of light emitting diodes provided on the moving object 1 shown in FIG.

In the same figure, ten light emitting diodes 2-1 to 2-1
0 are arranged radially within a circle with a radius of 15 cranes, and emit omnidirectional infrared rays.

Figure 6 shows the light emitting diodes 2-1 to 2-1 shown in Figure 5.
It is a graph which shows the intensity distribution of 0 light. As shown in FIG. 6, substantially omnidirectional infrared light is obtained by the I'O(flft) light emitting diode.

FIG. 7 is a schematic top plan view of the tracking robot 3 shown in FIG. 1. In FIG. 7, a large number of light receiving elements 5 are arranged at equal intervals on the circumference of a circular tracking robot 3. Motor lower for left wheel drive and motor 68 for right wheel drive in the center
is provided.

The shafts of the motors 67 and 68 are connected to the left and right wheels 4 via gear mechanisms 67-a and 68-b, respectively.

FIG. 8 is a schematic top plan view of the tracking robot 3 when the number of light receiving elements on the tracking robot 3 is eight.

In FIG. 8, the motor, gear mechanism, and wheels are omitted to simplify the drawing. The light receiving elements 5-1 to 5-8 arranged at equal intervals on the circumference of the circular tracking robot are assigned consecutive even addresses 0000 to 111, respectively.
Assuming that 0 is attached, the operation of the one-chip microcomputer 62 (see FIG. 4) in the tracking robot will be explained with reference to the flowchart in FIG.

In FIG. 9, in step S1, output data of each light receiving element is input from the ^/D converter 45 to the one-chip microcomputer 62 in address order. Step S
In step 2, it is determined whether the input data is greater than or equal to the set value. If not, return to step S1; if YES, return to step S
Proceed to step 3. In step S3, it is determined whether there is only one light receiving element that outputs a value equal to or greater than the set value. If there is only one, it is determined as an error in step S4 and the error code is sent to the host computer 7 (see FIG. 2). If NO in step S3, it is determined in step S5 whether the even addresses of the light receiving elements that output a value equal to or greater than the set value are consecutive.

If No, it is determined that there is an error in step S4, and an error code is sent to the host processor 7. If YES, in step S6, the start of consecutive even addresses of the plurality of light receiving elements that output a value greater than the set value is The direction = S+(ti-S)/2 is calculated by setting the address of S and the end address of E. Next, in step S7, the direction data is transferred to the host computer (host processor 7), and then the process returns to step S1 to repeat the above process.

According to the first embodiment of the present invention, as long as the light receiving element of the tracking robot receives infrared rays from the moving object, the tracking robot continues to track the moving object regardless of the location of the moving object. is clear.

Next, a modification of the present invention will be described.

FIG. 10 is a block diagram of the light receiving side according to the second embodiment of the present invention. The same parts as in the first embodiment shown in FIG. 4 are given the same reference numerals. The difference from Figure 4 is
In this embodiment, the amplification filter circuit 42-
1 to 42-n are replaced with commercially available remote control preamplifiers 10-1 to 10-n, and a data selector is used in place of the analog switch 43, peak hold circuit 44, and A/D converter 45 shown in FIG. 11 is used. The remote control preamplifiers 10-1 to 10-n may be commercially available preamplifiers provided on the receiving side for remote control in televisions. Preamplifier 10- for remote control
1 to 10-n respectively convert electrical signals from the light receiving elements 5-1 to 5-n into on/off digital values after waveform shaping, and receive infrared rays emitted by moving objects. Only the output of the preamplifier connected to the light receiving element is in the on state, and the outputs of the other preamplifiers are in the off state.

FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing the processing flow of the one-chip microcomputer 62 in the second embodiment shown in FIG. 11, the difference from the first embodiment in FIG. 9 is that steps S2 and S in FIG.
3, and S5 are each performed in step 52a in this embodiment.
s S3a and S5a.

That is, in this embodiment, the preamplifier output is either on or off, so in step S2a it is determined whether or not there is a preamplifier whose output is in the on state, and in step S2a
In step S3a, it is determined whether there is only one preamplifier whose output is on, and in step S5a, it is determined whether the even addresses of the light receiving elements connected to the preamplifier whose output is on are consecutive.

A third embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 12 to 17. In the first and second embodiments described above, an example was shown in which a plurality of light receiving elements were arranged on the tracking robot, but in the third embodiment, only a single light receiving element is mounted on the tracking robot.

FIG. 12 is a schematic side view of a tracking robot according to a third embodiment of the present invention. In the figure, the tracking robot 3a has wheels 4a attached to a plate 120, and a slip ring 121, a light receiving element 5a, a motor 12
2 and an encoder 123 are provided.

FIG. 13 is a perspective view showing details of the light receiving section shown in FIG. 12. In FIG. 13, shaft 1 of motor 122
30 is connected to the pipe 131 by a flexible coupling 131, and the flexible coupling 13
1, a single light receiving element 5a is provided. pipe 1
The output lead wire of the light-receiving element 5a is accommodated in the interior of the light-receiving element 5a.

By rotating the motor 122, the light receiving element 5a rotates, and the output of the light receiving element 5a is taken out to the output line 124 by the slip ring 121. By reading the value of the encoder 123 when the output of the light receiving element 5a is equal to or higher than a predetermined value, the direction of the moving object can be detected.

FIG. 14 is a block diagram of a light receiving side according to a third embodiment of the present invention when the tracking robot shown in FIGS. 12 and 13 is used. In FIG. 14, the difference from the embodiment in FIG.
Motor amplifier 14o1 and encoder counter 141
This means that it uses The output of the light receiving element 5a is input to the preamplifier 10-1 via the slip ring 121. The output of the encoder 123 is sent to the encoder counter 14
1 and the count value is input to the one-chip microcomputer 62. The one-chip microcomputer 62 starts the motor amplifier 140, and the motor 122 is driven by its output signal.

In the circuit shown in FIG. 14, 1. By reading the value of the encoder counter 141 by the one-chip microcomputer 62, it is possible to read which direction the light receiving element 5a is facing. Therefore, by reading the output of the light receiving element 5a at every predetermined angle during one rotation of the light receiving element 5a, it is possible to detect in which direction the moving object to which the light emitting element 2 (see Fig. 1 is attached) is located. .

FIG. 15 is a table showing an example of the relationship between the rotation angle of the light receiving element 5a, the value of the encoder counter 141, and the directional address of the light receiving element 5a. As shown in the figure, it is assumed that the output of the light receiving element 5a is detected every 45 degrees of the rotation angle of the light receiving element 5a. The rotation angle of the light receiving element 5a is O', 45°
, 90°, 135° ll+.

Encoder counter 141 at each time of 315°
The values of tIC(0), EC(1), IEC(
21, [EC(3),..., ゛EC(7), and the current direction address of the light receiving element 5a is 0000.
,0010,0100,0110,...,1
110.

FIG. 16 shows the processing flow of the one-chip microcomputer 62 in the third embodiment of the invention shown in FIG. 14 when the relationship shown in FIG. 15 is used.

In FIG. 16, the one-chip microcomputer 62 issues a speed command to the motor amplifier 140 in step S1, initializes the parameter N in step S2, and changes it in accordance with the rotation of the motor 122 in step S3. The value of the encoder counter 141 is read by the method detailed in FIG. 19, and the value is set as the parameter PE.
Let it be C. Then, in step S4, PEC=EC(N)
Wait until. When PEC=EC(N), in step S5, the output data (ON or OFF) of the light receiving element 5a at that time is read from the preamplifier 10-1, and this is set as the value of the parameter RSD, and the parameter N is incremented. Next, in step S6, RS
Determine whether D is on or not, and if not, step 82 to S
Repeat step 6. If the RSD is on, it is determined that infrared rays of a predetermined level or higher have been received, and in step S7, the directional address S of the light receiving element 5a at that time is determined based on the table of FIG. 15.

Next, in steps 88 to S10, the steps 83 to 83 described above are performed.
Processing similar to S5 is performed. Then, in step Sll,
Determine whether RSD is off, and if not, step 88
~Repeat Sll. When the RSD is turned off, in step S12, the directional address E of the light receiving element 5a at that time is determined based on the table shown in FIG.

Next, in step S13, it is determined whether the difference E-8 between the direction address S when the light receiving element 5a is turned on and the direction address E when the light receiving element 5a is turned off is zero. If it is zero, it is regarded as an error in step 314 and the error code is transferred to the host computer; if it is not zero, step S1
In step 5, the direction of the moving object is calculated by 3+(E-S)/2 and transferred to the host computer.

FIG. 17 shows step S3 in FIG. 16.

7 is a flowchart showing the flow of encoder value reading processing performed in S8.

In FIG. 17, motor amplifier 1 at step °S1
A speed command is issued to 40, and parameters 5(0) and N indicating the value of the encoder counter are initialized to O in step S2. Next, in step S3, the preamplifier 10-
It waits until the output of 1 is turned off, and when it is turned off, it is determined in step S4 whether or not N is greater than or equal to 1. If it is smaller than 1, that is, 0, it is determined in step S5 whether or not the output of the preamplifier 10-1 is on. When the output of the preamplifier 10-1 is turned on, the value of the encoder counter at that time is set to S (N) in step S6, and then, in step S7, the process waits until the output of the preamplifier 10-1 is turned off.

When the output of the preamplifier 10-1 is turned off, step S
In step S8, the value of the encoder counter at that time is set to E (N), and then in step S9, it is determined whether the difference between E (N) and S (N) is greater than or equal to a predetermined value Go. If it is smaller than the predetermined value Co, it is determined that the direction of the moving object has not been detected and the process returns to step S3.

If E (N) -3(N) is greater than or equal to the predetermined value Co, the process advances to step SIO, and the value M of the encoder counter 141 is
As (D), the count value S when the preamplifier output is turned on (N) and the count value E when it is turned off
Calculate the intermediate value of (N). Next, in step Sll, N is incremented and the process returns to step S3.

If N is 1 or more in step S4, the process proceeds to step 312, where it is determined whether the current encoder counter value is 5 (0) or more. If not, proceed to step S5 and execute steps 34 to Sll; if YES, proceed to step S5.
At step 13, it is determined whether N=1 or not. If not, that is, if N is greater than 1, an error is determined in step S14, and an error code is sent to the host computer. N=1
If so, the data of MD(0) is sent to the host computer in step 315. In this way, encoder counter 1
The value of 41 is determined by the microcomputer 62 as MD(0
) are read one after another.

FIG. 18 is a block diagram of the light receiving side according to the fourth embodiment of the present invention. The embodiment shown in FIG. 17 is a modification of the embodiment shown in FIG. 14, and the preamplifier 10-1 in FIG. /D converter 45 is used.

FIG. 19 is a flowchart showing the processing flow of the one-chip microcomputer 62 in the fourth embodiment of the invention shown in FIG. 18.

The only difference from the process flow in the third embodiment shown in FIG. 16 is that step S6 and step 311 in FIG. 16 are changed to step S6a and step 5lla in FIG. 19, respectively. be. In other words, preamplifier 1 outputs two values: on/off.
In this embodiment, instead of O-1, the output of the A/D converter 45 is read by the one-chip microcomputer 62, so the parameter RSD, which indicates whether or not infrared rays of a predetermined level or above, is received is determined by ON/OFF. Not, but
It is determined whether the value is greater than or less than a predetermined value C. The predetermined value C is experimentally determined output data of the A/D converter 45 when the light receiving element 5a is receiving infrared rays of a certain level or higher.

FIG. 20 shows step S3 in FIG. 19.

7 is a flowchart showing the flow of encoder value reading processing performed in S8. The differences in FIG. 20 from the flowchart in FIG. F are steps S3, S5, and S7 in FIG. 17.

Each of step S9 is step S3 in FIG.
The only thing is that a p S 5a e S 7a J S 9a. That is, step S3a,
In S5a and S7a, the output value of the A/D converter is compared with a predetermined value C1, and in step S9a, the output value of the A/D converter is compared with a predetermined value C1.
(N) -3(N) is compared with the predetermined value C2. Predetermined value C1.

C2 is the value of the threshold level of the output of the A/D converter, which was determined experimentally.

1. Wing 1. Force 1 A fifth embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 21 to 24.

FIG. 21 is a top plan view for explaining the problem when the light receiving elements are arranged on the circumference without being exposed. In the same figure, when the light 22 emitted from the light emitting element 2 is reflected by the wall 21 and this reflected light enters the light receiving element 5, the light receiving element which should not be detected due to reflection of infrared rays 2, etc. For example, even the light receiving element 5x placed on the opposite side of the moving object may sense infrared rays. In this case, the tracking robot does not track the moving object, but moves toward the infrared reflection point on the wall, which is inconvenient.

Therefore, in this embodiment, the light-receiving element 5 as shown in FIG. 22 is covered with a cover 23 as shown in FIG. 23 that blocks light from all surfaces except the light-receiving surface, and this cover 23 protrudes in the light-receiving direction. Make sure that you have a wall that has been painted. To prevent light from entering the device, the surface opposite to the light-receiving surface is also sealed to completely block light. As a result, the light receiving element 5.
becomes sensitive only to incident light perpendicular to the light-receiving surface.

As shown in FIG. 24, by providing light-shielding covers 23 as shown in FIG. 23 on all the light-receiving elements arranged in the tracking robot, the light reflected by the wall 21 is not detected by the light-receiving elements. tracking operations can be prevented.

In all of the first to fifth embodiments described above, the direction of the incoming infrared rays is detected by (1) detecting the direction with light receiving elements arranged in a circumferential manner, or (2) rotating the light receiving elements, Detects the direction of incoming infrared rays. However, in method (1), it is necessary to arrange the light receiving elements in a circumferential manner.
If they cannot be arranged circumferentially, there is a problem that the direction cannot be detected.

For example, when considering the case of a self-propelled vehicle in which a light emitting element moves and tracks it, the self-propelled vehicle is not necessarily circular;
It is difficult to arrange the infrared rays in a circular shape without blocking the infrared rays by other mounted objects on the vehicle.

In method (2), since the light-receiving element is rotated, a slip ring or the like must be used to extract the output of the light-receiving element, which is disadvantageous in that the direction cannot be detected at high speed.

According to the sixth embodiment of the present invention, the light receiving elements 5 are arranged in a one-dimensional array as shown in FIG. Place 25.

At this time, the optical characteristics of the image received by the light receiving element 5 are expressed by the following equation.

y=rφ If the cylindrical lens 25 as shown in the figure is used, it acts as an equidistant projection lens, so in principle, infrared light incident from right beside the light receiving surface of the light receiving element 5 is also projected onto a finite projection surface. If there is a light-receiving element in the projected area, this light-receiving element can sense infrared rays from right next to it.

In the example shown in Fig. 25, all directions of 180° are
'If you want to detect in increments, you only need to arrange 19 light receiving elements in an array in one dimension.

According to the sixth embodiment, there is no need to arrange light receiving elements on the circumference, and the direction of a moving object can be detected at high speed.

It is clear that the present invention is applicable not only to the work of tracking and grasping a moving object but also to any other work that detects and utilizes the direction of the object.

〔Effect of the invention〕

As is clear from the above description, the present invention provides a direction detection device capable of tracking a moving object without using a position sensor (PSD), and therefore without being limited by the position of the moving object and the tracking robot. is obtained.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

Fig. 1 is a diagram showing the concept of the present invention, Fig. 2 is a system configuration diagram of a tracking robot, Fig. 3 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a light emitting source, and Fig. 4 is a diagram showing a light receiving side according to an embodiment of the present invention. A block diagram; FIG. 5 is a top plan view showing the arrangement of light emitting diodes provided on the moving object shown in FIG. 1; FIG. 6 is a graph showing the intensity distribution of light from the light emitting diodes shown in FIG. 5; The figure is a schematic top plan view of the tracking robot shown in FIG. 1, FIG. 8 is a schematic top plan view of the tracking robot when there are eight light receiving elements, and FIG. 9 is a schematic top plan view of the tracking robot according to the first embodiment. FIG. 10 is a block diagram of the light receiving side according to the second embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing the process flow of the microcomputer according to the second embodiment. A schematic side view of a tracking robot according to the third embodiment; FIG. 13 is a perspective view showing details of the light receiving section shown in FIG. 12; FIG. 14 is a block diagram of the light receiving side according to the third embodiment of the present invention. , Fig. 15 is a table showing the relationship between the angle of the light receiving element shown in Fig. 14, the value of the encoder counter, and the direction address of the light receiving element, and Fig. 16 shows the processing of the microcomputer according to the third embodiment. FIG. 17 is a flowchart showing the flow of encoder value reading processing in the third embodiment, FIG. 18 is a block diagram of the light receiving side according to the fourth embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 20 is a flowchart showing the process flow of the microcomputer according to the fourth embodiment. FIG. 21 is a flowchart showing the process flow of reading the encoder value in the fourth embodiment. FIG. 22 is an enlarged perspective view of the light-receiving element, and FIG. 23 shows the light-receiving element covered with a cover according to the fifth embodiment of the present invention. A perspective view, FIG. 24 is a diagram for explaining the effect of the fifth embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 25 shows light receiving elements arranged in a one-dimensional array according to the sixth embodiment of the present invention. It is a diagram. DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1... Moving object, 2... Light emitting source, 3... Tracking robot, 5... Light receiving element.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A tracking robot that tracks a moving object, a light emitting element provided on the moving object so as to be non-directional, a light receiving element on the tracking robot, and a light emitting element that tracks a moving object based on the output of the light receiving element. A direction detection device comprising: direction determination means for determining the direction of the moving object. 2. A plurality of the light-receiving elements are arranged on a circumference drawn on one plane, and the direction determining means determines the movement based on the position of the light-receiving sensor that has received light with an intensity equal to or higher than a predetermined value. The direction detection device according to claim 1, which determines the direction of an object. 3. The direction determining means detects the detection output of the light receiving element as A.
3. The direction detection device according to claim 2, further comprising an A/D converter that performs /D conversion. 4. The direction detection device according to claim 2, wherein the direction determining means includes a preamplifier that amplifies the detection output of the light receiving element and outputs a digital value. 5. The number of the light-receiving elements is single, and the three-direction fixing means is equipped with a motor for rotating the light-receiving elements, and the shaft of the motor is provided with the light-receiving elements and the detection output of the light-receiving elements. The direction detection device according to claim 1, wherein a slip ring for taking out the motor is coupled to an encoder for detecting the rotation angle of the motor. 6. The direction determining means includes an A/D converter for A/D converting the detection output of the light receiving element obtained from the output of the slip ring.
The direction detection device according to claim 5, comprising a D converter. 7. The direction detection device according to claim 5, wherein the direction determining means includes a preamplifier that amplifies the detection output of the light receiving element obtained from the output of the slip ring and outputs a digital value. 8. The direction determining means determines the direction of the moving object by reading the direction of the light receiving element from the encoder when light having an intensity of a predetermined value or more is received. 8. Direction detecting device according to item 7 or 7. 9. Each of the light-receiving elements is covered with a cover that blocks light on all surfaces except the light-receiving surface, and the cover has a wall protruding in the light-receiving direction so that only light perpendicular to the light-receiving surface is sensed. A direction detection device according to claim 2.