JPS62190509A - Guide system for unattended running vehicle - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To share one guide line between two adjacent running paths by allowing an unattended running vehicle to switch and use only left or right pickup coils out of two pairs of left front and rear pickup coils and right front and rear pickup coils in accordance with positional relations of pickup coils to the guide line. CONSTITUTION:An unattended running vehicles 1A out of unattended running vehicles 1A and 1B runs while picking up the high frequency signal of a guide line 22 by right pickup coils 10a and 11a in the going direction, and the running vehicle 1B runs while picking up the high frequency signal of the guide line 22 by left pickup coils 10b and 11b in the going direction. In this case, the pickup coil has such characteristic that its output signal level is reduced in accordance with the increase of the horizontal length from the guide line as shown in the figure. Consequently, the running vehicle 1A using right pickup coils 10a and 11a runs on a basis of a reference value RFR of the right curve part of the characteristic figure, and the running vehicle 1B using left pickup coils 10b and 11b runs on a basis of a reference value RFl of the left curve part of the characteristic figure.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Industrial Field of Application] The present invention relates to a guidance method for an unmanned vehicle using a guide line.

[Prior Art] Conventionally, in a specific area such as a factory, two or one guide wires are laid under the floor or above the road along which an unmanned vehicle is to run, and then these guide wires are A high-frequency magnetic field is generated by applying a high-frequency signal to Guidance method for an unmanned vehicle in which the steering angle of the vehicle body is controlled so that the output signal levels of a pair of pickup coils match, and the vehicle travels unmanned along a travel path indicated by a guidance line.In this case, The two pairs of left and right pickup coils are installed on the -L side of the vehicle body if the guide wire is installed above the vehicle body, and on the lower side of the vehicle body if the guide wire is installed under the floor of the vehicle body.

Therefore, the relationship between the vehicle body and the guide line is as shown in FIG.
The vehicle will run along the center line of the guide line 2 directly above or below the guide line 2 laid down.

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] As mentioned above, in the conventional guidance method, the steering angle is controlled so that the detection levels of the left and right pair of pickup coils match, and the vehicle is guided to travel along the center line of the guidance line. As a result, one guide line is occupied for one running route, resulting in problems such as poor utilization efficiency of the guide line and increased equipment cost.

The present invention was made to solve these problems, and aims to provide a guidance method for unmanned vehicles that can improve the efficiency of using guide lines and reduce equipment costs. .

[Means for solving the bright spot problem] The present invention provides a guide line between two adjacent travel routes, and an unmanned vehicle uses one of the two pairs of pickup coils on the front, rear, left and right sides. Switch the pickup coil only on the left or right side depending on the positional relationship with the guide wire,
The vehicle is driven based on a detection signal from only the right or left pickup.

[Operation] An unmanned vehicle travels by picking up high-frequency signals from a guide wire installed between it and an adjacent road using a pick-up coil located only on the right or left side. Therefore, the guide wire can be shared with the adjacent running route, the number of guide wires becomes 1/2 of the number of running routes, the equipment cost is significantly reduced, and the efficiency of use of the guide wire is improved.

[Example 1] FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a layout of running routes according to an embodiment of the present invention, and eight running routes R1 to R8 are provided. Among these eight running routes R1 to R8, between adjacent running routes, that is, R1 and R2, R3 and R4, and R
5 and R6, and the first to fourth guide wires 21 between R7 and R8.
~24 are installed respectively.

With respect to the guide lines 21 to 24 having such a layout, the unmanned vehicle 1 uses the right pickup coils 10a and lla or the left pickup coils 10a and lla of the two pairs of pickup coils 10a, 10b, 11a, and llb provided on the front, rear, left, and right sides of the vehicle body. The high-frequency signal from the guide wire is picked up using one of the pickup coils 10b and llb for guided travel.

That is, as shown in the enlarged view of FIG. 2, of the two unmanned vehicles IA and IB, IA picks up the high frequency signal of the guide wire 22 with the pickup coils 10a and lla on the right side in the direction of travel. The IB travels by picking up the high frequency signal of the guide wire 22 by the pick-up coils 10b and llb on the left side in the direction of travel.

In this case, since the pickup coil has a characteristic that its output signal level decreases as the horizontal distance from the guide wire increases, as shown in FIG. IA is 2! on the curved part on the right side of the characteristic diagram. The unmanned vehicle IB, which runs based on the standard value RFr and uses the pickup coils 10b and llb on the left side, uses the reference value RF L on the left curved part of the characteristic diagram. ! Drive normally.

Therefore, the unmanned vehicle 1 is provided with a switch for selecting whether to use the pickup coil on the right side or the pickup coil on the left side depending on the positional relationship with respect to the guide wire.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the control device installed in the unmanned vehicle 1. Output signals from pickup coils 10a and 10b, lla and llb on both left and right sides of the vehicle body are sent to an amplifier 14 via changeover switches 12 and 13. The signals are selectively input, each amplified here, and then smoothed by a smoothing circuit 15. Thereby, a DC voltage signal corresponding to the distance deviation between the guide wire and each of the pickup coils (10a and lla or 10b and 11b) selected by the changeover switch 12.13 is obtained. A DC voltage signal corresponding to the distance deviation between the pickup coils 10a and 11a (or 10b and 1lb) and the guide wire is sent to the AD converter 1.
After being converted into digital signals at step 6, the signals are input to the central processing unit 17. Then, the central processing unit 17 determines the vehicle body deflection angle θ and the deflection mx with respect to the traveling road based on each digital signal, and calculates θ−0. A steering angle command such as x-0 is generated and supplied to the steering mechanism 18.

Thereby, the unmanned vehicle 1 comes to travel along one of the left and right guide lines.

Therefore, in the case of this embodiment, since one guide wire is shared between adjacent running routes, the number of guide wires is reduced to 1/2 of the conventional one, and the cost is significantly reduced.

In addition, since the pick-up coils on both the left and right ends are selectively switched and used, for example, on a traveling road with a layout as shown in FIG. After running, 8
After making a right turn at a point, it becomes possible to control the vehicle using the pickup coil on the right side, and it becomes possible not only to travel in a straight line forward and backward, but also to travel by turning left or right.

[Effects of the Invention] As is clear from the above description, according to the present invention, a guide line is laid between two adjacent travel routes, and an unmanned vehicle is connected to two pairs of front, rear, left and right travel routes. Of the pickup coils, only the left or right pickup coil is switched depending on the positional relationship with the guide wire, and the pickup coil is driven based on the detection signal of only the right or left pickup. One guide line will be shared on the driving route, and the efficiency of guide line usage will be 2.
In addition to doubling the cost, it has the effect of reducing the equipment cost by half.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIGS. 1 and 5 are layout diagrams of a guideway showing an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is an enlarged view showing the positional relationship of an unmanned vehicle with respect to an adjacent guideway, and FIG. is a characteristic diagram showing the output signal level according to the positional deviation between the pickup coil and the guide wire, Fig. 4 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the control device installed in the unmanned vehicle, and Fig. 6 is a diagram showing the configuration of the control device installed in the unmanned vehicle. It is a layout diagram. 1...Unmanned vehicle, 2.21-24...Guidance line, 1
0a, 10b, lla, 1lb--pickup coil, 12.13...changeover switch. Figure 1 ff12 Figure 3 Figure 5 Figure 6

Claims (1)

[Claims] A guide wire is laid along the running path, and two pairs of pickup coils are installed on the left and right sides of the front and rear parts of the vehicle body directly above or below the guide wire. In a guidance method for an unmanned vehicle that detects a high-frequency signal by inductive coupling and controls the steering angle so that the output signal levels of a pair of left and right pickup coils match, the driverless vehicle is driven by two adjacent traveling The unmanned vehicle has two pairs of pickup coils installed on both the left and right sides of the front and rear parts of the vehicle body, and the left and right pickup coils are switched depending on their position relative to the guide wire, and the driverless vehicle switches the left and right pickup coils depending on their position in relation to the guide wire. Or a guidance method for an unmanned vehicle that is characterized by picking up a high-frequency signal from the left guidance line to guide the vehicle.