JPS61292710A - Guidance controller for traveling object - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To secure the command information on a guiding route and other factors with a laser beam only by actuating the 1st laser beam projection means to form a traveling path and projecting the laser beam through the 2nd laser beam projection means in response to the command information. CONSTITUTION:The laser bean delivered from a laser oscillator 1 is applied to a half mirror 2. Some of the beams are reflected by the mirror 2 and others are transmitted through the mirror 2 and applied to a modulator 4. The mirror 2 is revolved at a fixed speed by a mirror revolving motor 3 and the laser beams reflected by the mirror 2 are also revolved to form a revolving laser beam plane. Then the line projected on the road surface forms a traveling route of a traveling object 10. While the modulator 4 modulates the incident laser beam into a proper frequency corresponding to the command information to be given to the object 10 and applies it to the mirror 2. The mirror 2 reflects the modulated laser beam and irradiates it onto a specific position on the traveling route.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Industrial Field of Application] The present invention relates to a guidance and control device for a moving object that uses a laser beam to guide and control the moving object.

[Conventional technology]

Conventional devices of this type project a laser beam in a rotational manner so that the plane of the laser beam is orthogonal to the road surface of the moving object, and a light receiving element array disposed on the moving object emits the laser beam at a fixed light receiving position. There is a device in which the steering of the moving object is controlled so as to receive the laser beam, thereby guiding and controlling the moving object so that it travels along the travel path formed by the laser beam.

When controlling a moving object, in addition to the above-mentioned guidance control, for example, a turning command to move the moving object away from the guided traveling path by the laser beam and transfer it to another guided traveling path, or a moving object It is necessary to control the moving object by giving command information such as a command to stop the vehicle, but conventionally, these command information are transmitted from stations etc. at appropriate times on the guidance route where the command is given. They used sound waves, infrared rays, and other media to impart energy to moving objects.

[Problem that the invention seeks to solve]

However, as mentioned above, the medium (laser beam) that teaches the moving route to guide the moving object is different from the medium (such as ultrasonic waves) that teaches the moving object other information, so these transmitting and receiving means cannot be used. Each device had to be installed separately, making the device complex and expensive.

The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned circumstances, and it is an object of the present invention to provide a guidance control device for a moving object that can control the moving object by giving the guidance route and other command information to the moving object using only a laser beam. purpose.

[Means and effects for solving the problem] According to the present invention, the first laser beam projecting means emits a laser beam so that the plane of the laser beam is substantially perpendicular to the traveling road surface to form a traveling route for the moving body. projecting a laser beam to the movable body, and projecting a laser beam modulated in accordance with command information to the moving body from the laser beam projecting means of gg2 in a certain direction within the same plane as the laser beam plane; A laser beam receiving means is provided on the movable body, and the movable body is guided along the traveling route in relation to the receiving position of the laser beam from the first laser beam projecting means that the laser beam receiving means receives. The movable body is guided to travel, and the movable body is controlled in accordance with command information directed by the laser beam in conjunction with the modulated laser beam from the second laser beam projection means.

According to another aspect of the present invention, the laser beam is rotated so that the plane of the laser beam is substantially perpendicular to the traveling road surface to form the traveling path of the moving object from the laser beam projecting means. A laser beam is rotated and projected with a period changed in accordance with command information to the movable body, and the movable body is provided with a laser beam receiving means and a period detecting means for detecting the rotation period of the received laser beam, Command information that guides the movable object along the traveling route in relation to the light receiving position of the laser beam received by the laser beam receiving means, and is instructed by the period based on the detection period from the period detecting means. The moving object is controlled according to the situation.

〔Example〕

Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Figure @1 is a schematic diagram showing an example of the configuration of a guidance control device for a moving body according to the present invention. In the figure, a device for projecting a laser beam is composed of a laser oscillator 1, a half mirror 2, a mirror rotation motor 3, a modulator 4, and a mirror 5.

Laser beam (DC light) emitted from laser oscillator 1
enters the half mirror 2 and is separated into a part of the laser beam that is reflected there and the remaining laser beam that passes through and is applied to the modulator 4.

Since the half mirror 2 is rotated at a constant speed by the mirror rotation motor 3, the laser beam reflected by the half mirror 2 also rotates at the same speed to form a rotating laser beam plane. Here, the half mirror 2 and the mirror rotation motor 3 are installed so that the rotating laser beam plane is substantially orthogonal to the road surface on which the moving body 10 travels.

The line projected onto the road surface by the laser beam forms the traveling route of the moving body 10.

The modulator 4 modulates the incident laser beam to an appropriate modulation frequency corresponding to the command information to the moving body 10 (for example, right turn command, left turn command, start/stop command, etc.) and transmits it to the mirror 5. Add. Examples of specific configurations of the modulator 4 include one that modulates the laser beam by rotating a disk 41 provided with slits, as shown in FIG. A device that modulates the laser beam by an acousto-optic effect, that is, a piezoelectric element 43 generates compressional waves (periodic changes in refractive index) in the glass body 42, and alternately generates 0th-order diffracted light and 1st-order diffracted light, thereby generating a laser beam. Possible methods include those that modulate the Note that the modulation frequency of this laser beam depends on the rotation speed of the disc 41 with slits and the piezoelectric element 4.
This can be changed by controlling the frequency of the power supply applied to 3.

The mirror 5 reflects the modulated laser beam and irradiates the reflected laser beam to a specific position on the travel route. For example, as shown in FIG. 4, traveling routes A and B are given by a rotating laser beam, and the right turn command for moving the moving object 10 from traveling route A to B is modulated as described above. In the case where the laser beam is applied, the laser beam is irradiated to a position P corresponding to the right turning start position. Of course, by changing the angle of the mirror 5, the modulated laser beam can be irradiated to any position on the travel path.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of a device provided on the moving body 10 side corresponding to the laser beam projecting means. This device includes a photodiode array 11, an amplifier 12, filters 138 to 13z1, a steering discrimination circuit 14,
It is composed of a steering control device 15, a command information recognition circuit 16, and a drive control device 17.

The photodiode array 11 is composed of a plurality of photodiodes arranged in the horizontal direction of the moving body 10 (see Fig. 4). When the laser beam is incident, the incident photodiode performs photoelectric conversion, corresponding to the incident time. Outputs a pulse signal. After this pulse signal is amplified by the amplifier 12, it is applied to filters 132-13z, each of which passes a signal of a specific frequency.

The filter 13a allows only the guiding pulse (see FIG. 6(a)) related to the rotating laser beam to pass through.
This is added to the steering discrimination circuit 14. Note that the width of the guided running pulse varies somewhat depending on the running position of the moving body 10, the speed of the moving body, etc., but the filter 13a allows the guided running pulse to pass through at least regardless of changes in the pulse width.

The steering discrimination circuit 14 determines which of the photodiode arrays [1] the guidance driving pulses sequentially inputted in synchronization with the rotation period of the half mirror 2 correspond to, that is, which of the photodiode arrays [1]. A steering command signal is output depending on whether the laser beam is incident on the position.

In response to this steering command signal, the steering control device 15 controls the photodiode array 11 so that it always receives the laser beam at a constant position (center position), that is, the moving body 10
The steering is controlled so that the vehicle travels along the travel path formed by the laser beam.

On the other hand, the filters 13b and 13C pass only the right turn instruction pulse and the left turn instruction pulse of predetermined pulse widths (see FIGS. 6(b) and (C)), and the other filter groups pass the stop instruction pulse. , a start-up instruction pulse, and other appropriate pulses are passed through and added to the command information recognition circuit 16. Note that the above pulse is input only when the moving body 10 reaches a specific position to be irradiated with the modulated laser beam.

When the command information recognition circuit 16 receives a pulse signal from the filter 13b, for example, it determines this as information for commanding a right turn, and applies a signal necessary for performing a right turn to the steering determination circuit 14. The steering discrimination circuit 14 gives priority to this signal over the guidance pulse, and for example, after the guidance pulse is no longer input, the steering command signal indicating a predetermined steering angle is issued until the guidance pulse is input again. Output. As a result, the travel route from A to B as shown in FIG.
It is possible to transfer to.

Further, when the command information recognition circuit determines that the input pulse signal is information that commands the moving body 10 to stop, for example, it outputs a stop command signal to the drive control device 17, and the drive control device 17 outputs the stop command signal to the drive control device 17. The moving object is controlled to stop based on the following.

The laser beam forming the travel path of the moving body 10 may be caused by swinging the half mirror 2 by the mirror rotation motor 3, or may be spread into a fan shape by a lens.

Furthermore, the laser beam that forms the travel path and the laser beam that is modulated do not necessarily have to be from the same laser oscillator. Furthermore, various types of information may be determined using optical filters.

FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram showing another example of the structure of the guidance control device for a moving body according to the present invention. In the figure, a device for projecting a laser beam is composed of a laser oscillator 21, a mirror ρ, a mirror rotation motor, and the like.

A laser beam (DC light) emitted from the laser oscillator 21 is irradiated onto the mirror 22 . Since the mirror n is rotated at an appropriate rotation speed by the mirror rotation motor B, the laser beam reflected by the mirror η also rotates at the same speed to form a rotating laser beam plane. Here, the mirror n and the mirror rotation motor B are set so that the rotating laser beam plane is substantially perpendicular to the road surface on which the moving object runs. The line projected onto the road surface by this laser beam forms a traveling route between the moving bodies.

In addition, the mirror rotation motor blades control the rotational speed of the mirror B, that is, the rotating laser beam, in response to command information (for example, right turn command, left turn command, start/stop command, etc.) to the moving body (9). The rotation period of the can be controlled as appropriate.

FIG. 7 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of a device provided on the moving body I side corresponding to the laser beam projecting means. This device includes a photodiode array 31, an amplifier 32, a steering discrimination circuit 33, a steering control device 34, a counter 35, an oscillator 36, a latch circuit 37, a command information recognition circuit, and a drive control device 39. In addition,
The photodiode array 31, the amplifier 32, the steering discrimination circuit, and the steering control device path are the same as those shown in FIG. 5, so a detailed explanation will be omitted here.

Now, the counter 35 is configured to receive a guiding pulse according to the rotation period of the rotating laser beam, and the counter 35 receives a clock pulse applied from the oscillator 36 in order to measure the period of this input pulse. Count.

FIGS. 9A to 9C are timing charts each showing an example of the cycle of the input pulse, and the cycle τ varies depending on the presence or absence of command information for the moving body or the type of command information. For example, the period τ, (Fig. 9(a)
)) indicates the normal cycle when no command information is given to the moving body, the cycle τ2 (Figure 9(b)) instructs a right turn, and the cycle τ, (Figure 9(C)) corresponds to the cycle when instructing a left turn. These cycles and the contents of their command information are preset. The width of the pulse generated in relation to the scanning period of the laser beam T+, T2
, Ts are, of course, proportional to the scanning period when the moving objects are in the same position and traveling at the same speed.

Now, in the case where the laser beam reception pulse generated in relation to the scanning period of the laser beam is shown in FIG. 10(a), a specific method for determining the scanning period will be explained.

The counter A is enabled to operate by a count start pulse (Fig. 9 (b)) synchronized with the falling edge of the laser beam reception pulse, and a count stop pulse (Fig. 9 (b)) synchronized with the rise of the next applied laser beam reception pulse. (
The clock pulses applied from the oscillator 36 are counted until C)) (see FIG. 9(d)).

The counted value of the counter Aoi is latched in the latch circuit 37 by the rise of a pulse signal generated in synchronization with the count stop pulse. Then, the count value of the counter 35 is reset by the fall of the pulse signal (see FIG. 9(e)). Note that the period of the laser beam measured in this manner is shorter by the pulse width of the laser beam reception pulse, but this pulse width is much shorter than the period of the laser beam, so it can be ignored.

Data indicating the period of the laser beam latched by the latch circuit 37 is applied between the command information recognition circuits. Command information recognition circuit Ah, the aforementioned command information recognition circuit 16 (fifth
In contrast to the system in which the command information to the moving object is recognized according to the input filter, the point in which the command information to the moving object is recognized is different from the data indicating the period of the input laser beam.

Incidentally, the signal output to the steering discrimination circuit and the drive control device 39 after recognizing the command information to the moving object is performed in the same manner as the command information recognition circuit 16, so the explanation thereof will be omitted here.

〔Effect of the invention〕

As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to use a laser beam to form a travel route for guiding a moving object, and to use the laser beam to provide other command information to the moving object.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

1 and 7 are schematic diagrams showing an example of the configuration of a moving body guidance control device according to the present invention, and FIGS. 2 and 3 respectively.
The figures are a diagram showing a specific example of the configuration of the modulator in Figure 1, Figure 4 is a diagram used to explain the relationship between the traveling route of a moving object and the position at which a turning command is given, and Figure 5 and the 8th
The figures are a block diagram showing one embodiment of the device installed in the moving body in FIGS. 1 and 7, respectively, and FIG. 6(a).
- (C) are pulse waveform diagrams used to explain Fig. 5, Fig. 9 (a) - (C) and Fig. 10 (a), respectively.
-(e) are pulse waveform diagrams used to explain FIG. 8, respectively. 1.21...Laser oscillator, 2...Half mirror%
31 B...Mirror rotation motor, 4...Modulator, 5
．． 22...Mirror, 10.30...Moving object, 11.
31... Photodiode array, 13a to 13z.
- Filter, 14, 33... Steering discrimination circuit, 15
, 34... Steering control device, 16, 38... Command information recognition circuit, 17, 39... Drive control device, a.
... Counter, Father... Oscillator, 37... Latch circuit. Fig. 1 Fig. 3 Futo 97J-Door Assy Fig. 5 Miku Fig. 7

Claims (2)

[Claims] (1) A first laser beam projector that projects a laser beam so that the laser beam plane is substantially orthogonal to the traveling road surface to form a traveling route for the moving object, and a plane that is coplanar with the laser beam plane. a second laser beam projector that projects a laser beam modulated in accordance with command information to the moving body in a certain direction within the vehicle; and a laser beam receiver that is disposed on the moving body and receives the laser beam. guiding the movable body along the travel route based on a signal related to the incident position of the laser beam to the light receiving means outputted from the laser beam receiving means; control means for controlling the moving body according to command information instructed by the laser beam based on a signal related to the modulated laser beam outputted from the second laser beam projecting means. Guidance control device for moving objects. (2) In order to form a travel path for the moving body, a laser beam is projected in a rotational manner so that the laser beam surface is substantially perpendicular to the traveling road surface, and the rotation period of the laser beam is transmitted as command information to the moving body. a laser beam projector that changes the laser beam in response to the change in the laser beam, a laser beam receiver that is disposed on the movable body and receives the laser beam, and a cycle detector that detects the cycle of the light reception signal output from the laser beam receiver. and guiding the movable object along the traveling route based on a signal related to the incident position of the laser beam to the light receiving means outputted from the laser beam receiving means, and detecting the period from the period detecting means. A guidance control device for a movable body, comprising a control means for controlling the movable body based on a period and according to command information instructed by the period.