JPS62257509A - Travel controller for unmanned carrying car - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To make it possible to execute desired running operation successively and continuously by installing necessary minimum marks on the ground by providing a specific ground controller and communicating means and giving specific travel instruction on the basis of map information. CONSTITUTION:A ground controller 1 having incorporated map information that designates running of an unmanned carrying car 5 and communicating means 21, 22, 52 that can communicate mutually between unmanned carrying cars are provided. Specific travel instruction is given from the ground controller 1 to unmanned travelling cars 5 through the communicating means 21, 22, 52 according to map information, and unmanned carrying cars 5 are controlled to run in accordance with travel instruction given from the ground controller 1. Accordingly, the cars can make not only travel operation depending on specified guides but also make travel operation not depending on such guide. Thereby, it is possible to make unmanned carrying cars execute various travel operation successively in specified order only by installing necessary minimum guides on the ground.

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Industrial Application Field] The present invention relates to a travel control device for an automatic guided vehicle, and in particular to a system for transporting a workpiece to a predetermined position in a factory.
This system is designed to control the movement of unmanned guided vehicles, which are used in mobile industrial robots that are attached to industrial robots and move between workstations within a factory to perform specified tasks, based on specified movement commands. The present invention relates to a travel control device for an automated guided vehicle.

[Conventional technology]

Conventionally, when controlling the running of this type of automated guided vehicle,
A predetermined guide (for example, a guide line) is installed along the road on which the automated guided vehicle travels, and the automated guided vehicle detects the guided material by electromagnetic or optical means, thereby guiding the automated guided vehicle to the guided vehicle. Control is performed to move the vehicle along the same line to a predetermined target (for example, a predetermined station).

[Problem that the invention seeks to solve]

However, the driving control of the conventional technology as described above,
Travel control is dependent on guides installed on the road (for example, guidance signals for guide lines), and therefore, for example, it is difficult to transfer an automated guided vehicle from one guide path (guide line) to the other guide path (guide line) that is perpendicular to it. In such cases,
At those intersections, in addition to the orthogonal guide lines, it is necessary to install additional guide lines to allow the automatic guided vehicle to turn within a predetermined turning radius. There was a problem in that it was necessary to provide a predetermined dielectric along the line.

[Means for solving problems]

The present invention has been made to solve such problems, and includes a ground control device incorporating map information for specifying the travel of an automatic guided vehicle, and a communication means that can communicate with each other between the ground control device and the automatic guided vehicle. is provided, and the ground control device gives a predetermined travel command to the automatic guided vehicle based on the map information via the communication means, and the automatic guided vehicle receives the command from the ground-side GLL device. A travel control device for an automatic guided vehicle that is controlled to travel based on the travel command is provided.

[For production]

According to the above configuration, each automatic guided vehicle is controlled to execute a predetermined calculation on the vehicle based on a traveling command given to the automatic guided vehicle from the ground control device, and to travel according to the traveling command. Therefore, it is possible to perform not only a running operation that depends on a predetermined guide (for example, a guide line), but also a running operation that does not depend on such a guide at all. By simply installing wires, magnets, etc.), each automatic guided vehicle can be made to sequentially perform various traveling operations in a predetermined order.

〔Example〕

Fig. 1 shows the overall configuration of a travel control device for automatic guided vehicles as an embodiment of the present invention, where ■ is installed on the ground side and controls the traveling of a large number of automatic guided vehicles in general. ?
IIl device is composed of a computer, and as described later, the computer sequentially gives predetermined travel commands to each automatic guided vehicle based on map information specifying the traveling route of the automatic guided vehicle, Controls the running of each automated guided vehicle. Reference numeral 21 denotes a transmitter/receiver which transmits a predetermined travel command given from the ground control device 1 to a specific automatic guided vehicle as a coded communication signal through a guide wire connected to the output side of the transmitter/receiver 21. 31 and 32 (installed on the ground to guide the movement of an automatic guided vehicle, and in this embodiment, two 4-way wires are connected to one transmitter/receiver). In this way, the transceiver 21
A travel command is supplied to the guide lines 31 and 32 as a communication signal for the automatic guided vehicle running on the guide line 31 or 32, and the automatic guided vehicle identifies the existence of the guide lines 31 and 32 itself. In order to make it possible, a guidance signal of a predetermined frequency is sent to each guidance wire (for example, the frequency f1 for the guidance wire 31 is set to 96411z, and the frequency f2 is set to 1155Hz for the guidance wire 32, so that the guidance signals intersect with each other). It also provides different guiding signal frequencies of the guiding wires, e.g. r! and f2).

In the embodiment shown in FIG. 1, the guide wire 31
, 32, there are other guiding wires 33 (its guiding signal is the above f1) and 34 (its guiding signal is the above r
2) have been installed (in reality, there are even more ii
4 wires can be installed. ), these guiding wires 33 , 3
4, the ground control device 1 supplies a travel command as a communication signal to the automatic guided vehicle traveling on the guide line 33 or 34 via the transmitter/receiver 21, data bus, and transmitter/receiver 22. , the transceiver 22 also supplies guidance signals of the predetermined frequencies to each of the guidance lines 33 and 34, respectively.

51 to 54 are provided on the automatic guided vehicle 5, 51 is an antenna, 52 receives the communication signal via the 8-guidance wire 31° 32 and the on-vehicle antenna 51, and receives the communication signal. A transmitter/receiver that supplies a traveling command given to the automatic guided vehicle 5 from the ground control device 1 to the on-board computer 53, which is included in the signal for the vehicle, and the on-vehicle computer 53 receives the traveling command from the transmitter/receiver a52. A predetermined calculation is performed based on the travel command given and various human power data inputted to the on-board computer 53 via the on-board input/output device 54. And such input data is
So-called digital human power 0/1 such as human power from a limit switch, input from a sensor that detects the presence of obstacles such as humans, input from a travel distance meter or pulse coder, or every time it passes over a magnet installed on the road. Inputs that should be counted sequentially, such as manpower generated in
A so-called analog human power A/(such as a guidance signal of a predetermined frequency indicating the presence of the m line) is connected to the digital human power section 541
After predetermined signal processing is performed in the counter 543 and the analog human power section 545, the on-board computer 53
is supplied to Then, the on-board computer 53 receives a travel command given to the automatic guided vehicle 5 from the ground control device 1 (for example, ``How many meters from the magnet will the 4 signal of frequency f1 be detected?'' Turn there and then proceed along the guide line corresponding to the frequency f1.
Run commands such as these are sequentially given. ), sequentially executes predetermined calculations for the left and right wheels, and outputs predetermined numerical commands to the servo motors that drive the left and right wheels together with the input data via the input/output device 54. do. That is, the input/output device 54 is provided with a digital output section 542 and an analog output section 544, and command signals for the respective servo motors are outputted through these output sections, and further command signals such as lighting of lamps or excitation of the brakes are output. Signals to perform this are also output.

In addition, taking the case of the automatic guided vehicle 5 shown in FIG. 1 as an example, the automatic guided vehicle 5 has two guide lines 31
．． The running command and frequency f from the ground are transmitted via 32.
1 and f2 guidance signals are being received, but the guidance signal 3
When the vehicle reaches the branch points 1 and 32, it is controlled to travel along either one of the two guide lines 31 and 32 in response to a travel command from the ground. Note that 5゛ indicates another automatic guided vehicle traveling along other guided cottons 33 and 34 (51° to 54° correspond to 51 to 54 above), and in reality, such an automatic guided vehicle A large number of cars exist at predetermined intervals even on a common guide line (for example, 31, 32).

In this way, in the present invention, each automatic guided vehicle executes a predetermined calculation by the computer installed on the vehicle based on the travel command given to each automatic guided vehicle 5 from the ground control device l. The system outputs predetermined numerical commands to each of the servo motors that drive the left and right wheels, and travels according to the commands from the ground control device. In addition to driving control such as moving around a corner or following a turning guide line installed at an intersection and transferring to another guide line, arbitrary drive control that does not depend on such a guide line (for example, driving at a right angle at a predetermined point) It is also possible to perform actions such as making a U-turn, or even moving a predetermined distance in a predetermined direction to the next guide line installation location even in locations where there are no guide lines installed. .

The ground control device 1 has built-in map information, for example, as shown in FIG. 2, in order to specify the travel route of the automatic guided vehicle, and gives the above-mentioned travel command to each automatic guided vehicle based on the map information. . And as the map information, the second
As shown in the figure, guide lines (
The guide line (guide path) includes information about on-road facilities such as magnets (e.g., indicated by Ml, M2), and workstations (e.g., indicated by ST^, STB) provided along the guide line (guide path). ) is the magnet, workstation, or guideline intersection (
It is divided into several zones taking into account the location of
Addresses from 32 to 32) are attached. Then, the position of each automatic guided vehicle at each point in time is determined by a response signal from the automatic guided vehicle containing the address information determined as described above (usually a travel command for the automatic guided vehicle is received). and subsequently transmitted from the automatic guided vehicle side to the ground side ?ffl! device side via the transmitter/receiver 52, on-board antenna 51, guide line, and transmitter/receiver 21) so that the ground control device side can understand it. It is being done.

In this way, the ground control device grasps the current position of each automatic guided vehicle, and gives travel commands to each automatic guided vehicle (for example, "After how many meters the guide line with frequency f2 branches, so turn there. ``Go forward J,'' or ``Go forward for a few meters until you reach the station, stop there.'' or ``How many meters?''
If you go forward, there will be a magnet, so how many times should you turn there and how many meters should you advance?'' This command is given in the form of a command such as ``How many times should the automatic guided vehicles rotate and how many meters should they advance?''. In consideration of prevention, etc., each automatic guided vehicle will travel selectively.

In this case, the travel command includes a command to travel along the predetermined 3A and 4 lines, as well as a command that does not depend on the guide line in any way (for example, proceed a predetermined distance in a predetermined direction in a place where no guide line is installed, and then proceed to the next line). As mentioned above, it is also possible to give a travel command and have the vehicle travel according to the command (for example, when the vehicle travels to a location where a guide line is installed). Note that the travel distance can be specified, for example, based on the position of each magnet, and in that case, the automated guided vehicle takes measures such as resetting the travel distance to O every time it passes each magnet. .

FIG. 3 illustrates one form of communication signals between the ground control device and the automatic guided vehicle, and (a) is a command signal sent from the ground control device to a predetermined automatic guided vehicle, and the above-mentioned It includes the contents of the travel command, and (b) is a response signal sent from the automatic guided vehicle side to the ground control device side.

In the command signal shown in FIG. 3(a), al is a flag for starting communication and is composed of, for example, 8 bits, and the i bit (a combination of "1" and "0") corresponds to a specific pattern. Subsequent communications will only start when the The next a2 is the number (
Each automated guided vehicle has a different number. ), which is made up of, for example, 8 bits, so that only the automatic guided vehicle with the corresponding number will receive subsequent travel commands. a3 is a part that specifies the type of control instruction (usually a specific code is attached to each type to distinguish the type of control instruction), and this is also made up of, for example, 8 bits. A specific example of the control command will be described later using FIG. 4.

Also, a4 is command data (for example, traveling speed, traveling direction (
This is a part that instructs the direction (angle), moving distance, type of guide path, etc., and is made up of, for example, 16 bits, and when combined with the control command specified in a3 above, the signal is encoded as a predetermined travel command. configured. Continuation<a5 is a check bit, and if a part of command data or the like is missing, the omission is detected by the check bit. A6 is a communication end flag, which is made up of, for example, 8 bits in a specific pattern, and specifies the end of communication. Here, a plurality of sets of travel commands consisting of a3 and a4 may be consecutively given before the check bit, and in this case, the automatic guided vehicle receives the plurality of travel commands sequentially and stores them, for example, in memory. The driving control is executed in the order in which the information is received.

In addition, in the response signal shown in Fig. 3 fb), bl is a communication start flag corresponding to al, and b2 is a part specifying the car number corresponding to a2 above. The vehicle number is identified by the ground controller. b3 is a part that constitutes the response content sent from the automatic guided vehicle to the ground control device side, in which, for example, the current location of the vehicle is encoded with a predetermined code (for example, the address corresponding to the zone where the vehicle is currently located). ) is displayed. In other words, the automatic guided vehicle performs a predetermined counting operation every time it detects a target object installed on the road (for example, a magnet, an intersection of guide lines, a station, etc.), and uses the count data to determine, for example, the current position of the vehicle. It can be displayed by the address of the zone in which it is located at that time. Also, b4 and b5 are check bits and communication termination flags, and a5 and a6 are
corresponds to

Note that such a response signal is normally sent from the ground control device to a predetermined automatic guided vehicle by the traveling command signal shown in FIG. A signal is sent from the east side of the unmanned guided vehicle to the ground control device via the on-board antenna and a predetermined guide line, and in addition, when an interrogation signal is sent from the ground control device to the predetermined automated guided vehicle. Also, a reply signal is sent from the automatic guided vehicle side to the ground control device side.

FIG. 3(C) shows an example of the above-mentioned coded signal. In this case, it is composed of 8 bits, and "0" is, for example, 9.6kllz, and "1" is, for example, 19.2kllz.
It is formed by a pulse signal with a pulse width corresponding to z.

FIGS. 4(a) to tel illustrate specific control operations when the travel of a predetermined automatic guided vehicle is controlled by a traveling command sent from the ground control device to the predetermined automatic guided vehicle. , 4111(a), the automatic guided vehicle AGV travels a predetermined distance and guide path G.
Proceed to intersection A defined by 3.
It shows the operation of stopping by detecting the intersection A. In this case, the intersection A can be detected by detecting the induced current of a predetermined frequency flowing in the guide path G3, and the frequency of the induced current flowing in the mutually intersecting guide lines (for example, G1 and G3) is determined as fl. The reason for making the difference like r2 is as described above.

In addition, Fig. 4 (in the case of BL, an operation in which the automatic guided vehicle AGV travels a predetermined travel distance and reaches a magnet M defined by the guide bus Gl (identified by the frequency of its induced current) and stops) It shows.

In the case of FIG. 4(C), the automatic guided vehicles AC and V turn at right angles at the intersection A between the guide paths G1 and 63 and the intersection B between the guide buses G3 and 64, respectively. The figure shows the movement of the vehicle proceeding to intersection C with the road and stopping.

Furthermore, in the case of FIG. 4(d), the automatic guided vehicle AGV traveling on the guide path Gl rotates by a predetermined angle (180° in this case) at a predetermined magnet l-M,
In addition, in the case of el shown in FIG. The figure shows the action of moving onto the guide path G3.

As described above, in the present invention, the automatic guided vehicle that receives the travel command sent from the ground control bag τ to a predetermined automatic guided vehicle executes a predetermined calculation by the on-vehicle computer, and adjusts the left and right wheels. The running operation is controlled by giving predetermined numerical commands to each of them, for example, as shown in FIG. 4(a).

It is possible to perform driving control that includes not only the driving operation that depends on the guide line as shown in (b), but also the driving operation that does not depend on the guide line as shown in FIGS.
Furthermore, it is possible to perform arbitrary driving operations in response to a predetermined driving command, such as controlling the driving speed, controlling forward and backward movement, or driving a predetermined distance in a predetermined direction without following a guide line. Therefore, kidnapping on the street 4
The installation of lines and the like can also be kept to a necessary minimum (for example, there is no need for an additional guide line for turns at the intersection of orthogonal guide lines).

〔Effect of the invention〕

According to the present invention, arbitrary running commands can be given to each automatic guided vehicle, including not only running operations that depend on four guide lines installed on the road, but also running operations that do not depend on guide lines. Since the running of the vehicles can be controlled, it is possible to have each automatic guided vehicle continuously and sequentially execute desired running operations by simply installing the minimum required number of targets on the ground.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the overall configuration of a travel control device for an automatic guided vehicle as an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of map information included in the ground control device in FIG. 1. , FIGS. 3(a), (b), and (C) are diagrams illustrating the configuration of communication signals transmitted and received between the ground control device and each automatic guided vehicle, and FIGS. 4(a) to tel. FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a specific control operation when the travel of an automatic guided vehicle is controlled. (Explanation of symbols) 1: Ground control device, 31 , 32 , 33 , 34
: Guide line, 5.5": Automatic guided vehicle, 51.51'
: On-board antenna, 53, 53°: On-board computer.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. A ground control device incorporating map information specifying a travel route of an automatic guided vehicle, and a communication means capable of mutual communication between the ground control device and the automatic guided vehicle, the communication means A predetermined travel command is given to the automatic guided vehicle from the ground control device via the ground control device based on the map information, and the automatic guided vehicle travels based on the travel command given from the ground control device. A travel control device for an automatic guided vehicle, characterized in that it is controlled as follows. 2. The travel control device for an automatic guided vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the map information includes information on guide lines, magnets, stations, etc. installed on the ground. 3. A guide line installed on the ground is used as the communication means, and the guide line includes a guide signal for detecting the guide line and a command for transmitting from the ground control device to the automatic guided vehicle. According to claim 1, the signal is transmitted.
Travel control device for automated guided vehicles. 4. The commands given to the automatic guided vehicle from the ground control device are configured as code signals including command data regarding traveling speed, traveling direction, traveling distance, and targets on the ground to be detected. , a travel control device for an automatic guided vehicle according to claim 1. 5. The command signal given to the automatic guided vehicle from the ground control device includes a combination of multiple travel commands, and the automatic guided vehicle sequentially receives the multiple travel commands and executes them in that order. The traveling control is performed as follows.
A travel control device for an automatic guided vehicle as described in Section 1. 6. The automatic guided vehicle executes a predetermined calculation based on the running command given from the ground control device, and thereby, predetermined numerical commands are given to the left and right wheels of the automated guided vehicle, and the running Travel control is performed based on commands.
A travel control device for an automatic guided vehicle according to claim 1.