TW201444543A - Self-propelled cart - Google Patents

Abstract

A self-propelled cart capable of receiving target information includes a body, a sensing module, a navigation positioning module, a local host, a driving module, and a power supply module. The navigation positioning module is disposed at the body and includes a positioning unit and a path generating unit. The positioning unit provides location information. The path generating unit provides dynamic route information. The local host includes a wireless communication module, a display module, an input module, and a computation processing module. The computation processing module provides a control signal according to dynamic route information. After receiving the control signal, the driving module drives the body to move. The self-propelled cart receives the target information to enable the navigation positioning module to position, navigate, and reach a specific location.

Description

Autonomous mobile car

The present invention relates to an autonomous mobile vehicle, and more particularly to an autonomous mobile vehicle that can self-position and navigate mobile.

In general, in many cases, a trolley is needed to carry items to facilitate the user to transport items. For example, in a hospital, the caregiver needs to push the care cart to each bed for administration or other care work, in a supermarket. Customers need to push the shopping cart to buy the necessary items everywhere, and at the airport, passengers need to push the baggage cart with luggage to move in the immigration hall. However, regardless of the type of the trolley, it is necessary to push the user through the hands to smoothly move the trolley to the destination, which often becomes a burden on the user and reduces the user's travel speed.

Moreover, when the user needs to push the trolley to a designated location or find a certain target or person, it may be because of the unfamiliarity with the environment, the situation may be lost or detoured, and it is often necessary to stop the trolley and then ask others. Or rummaging through relevant information, leading to delays in travel, making things impossible to carry out efficiently, and wasting a lot of precious time and effort.

As a result, self-propelled transport vehicles are born, but currently self-propelled vehicles need to be guided by the user's remote control or guidance elements (tracks) in the environment. Among them, the remote control is used to control the movement of the self-propelled vehicle. The user must first learn how to operate the remote control of the transport vehicle, and must also be quite focused on the remote control of the self-propelled vehicle. Otherwise, if it is not familiar with the control method, a situation in which the collision of the self-propelled vehicle itself or the carried item is likely to occur; if the self-propelled vehicle is guided by the environment The advancement of the guide (track) leads to a great limitation of the direction, area and distance of the self-propelled vehicle because of various limitations of the guide member.

Therefore, how to invent an autonomous mobile car and improve the conventional problems will be actively disclosed by the present invention.

An object of the present invention is to provide an autonomous mobile vehicle in order to achieve the effect of autonomous navigation and movement.

To achieve the above objective, the present invention provides an autonomous mobile vehicle for receiving a target information, which includes a vehicle body, a sensing module, a navigation positioning module, a near-end host, and a driving module. A power supply module. The sensing module is disposed on the periphery of the vehicle body, and the sensing module operates to generate at least one environmental information; the navigation positioning module is disposed on the vehicle body, and the navigation positioning module includes a positioning a unit and a path generating unit, the positioning unit is configured to generate a location information, and the path generating unit is configured to generate a dynamic route information according to the target information, the environment information, and the location information; the near-end host is configured in the The vehicle body is electrically connected to the sensing module and the navigation positioning module, and the near-end host comprises a wireless communication module, a display module, an input module and an operation processing module, and the operation processing module operates Generating a control signal according to the dynamic route information; the driving module is electrically connected to the near-end host and the vehicle body, the driving module is configured to receive the control signal to drive the vehicle body to operate; and the power supply module is The utility model is disposed on the vehicle body and electrically connected to the sensing module, the navigation positioning module, the near-end host and the driving module.

In the autonomous mobile vehicle as described above, the sensing module comprises a laser ranging device, an ultrasonic ranging device, an infrared ranging device or a stereoscopic camera device.

In the autonomous mobile car as described above, the input module includes a gesture recognition device At least one of a voice input, a keyboard, and a mouse.

In the autonomous mobile vehicle as described above, the input module includes a radio frequency identification receiver.

In the autonomous mobile vehicle as described above, the positioning unit comprises a wireless network receiver, a laser ranging device, a stereoscopic camera device or a radio frequency identification receiver.

The autonomous mobile vehicle as described above further includes a follower module electrically connected to the sensing module and the near-end host, and the sensing module includes a laser ranging device and a camera, and the following The module operates to generate a follow command according to at least one environmental information generated by the sensing module.

The autonomous mobile phone as described above further includes a follower module electrically connected to the sensing module and the near-end host, and the sensing module includes a stereoscopic camera device, and the following module operates on Generating a follow command according to at least one environmental information generated by the sensing module.

The autonomous mobile vehicle as described above further includes an indication module electrically connected to the near-end host, and the indication module operates to display an actuation state signal of the vehicle body.

In the autonomous mobile phone as described above, the power supply module includes an automatic power detection unit, and the automatic power detection unit operates to generate a power signal to the near-end host according to the power state of the power supply module.

In the autonomous mobile phone as described above, the arithmetic processing module further comprises an elevator control module, which comprises a sensing unit and a remote control unit.

Therefore, the autonomous mobile car of the present invention can achieve self-positioning and navigation to a specific position according to a target information and through a navigation positioning module.

1‧‧‧ autonomous mobile car

11‧‧‧Car body

12‧‧‧Sensor module

13‧‧‧Navigation and positioning module

131‧‧‧ Positioning unit

132‧‧‧Path generation unit

14‧‧‧ Near-end host

141‧‧‧Wireless communication module

142‧‧‧ display module

143‧‧‧Input module

144‧‧‧Operation Processing Module

145‧‧‧Elevator Control Module

15‧‧‧Drive Module

16‧‧‧Power supply module

161‧‧‧Automatic power detection unit

17‧‧‧Following module

18‧‧‧Indicating module

2‧‧‧Remote host

Fig. 1 is a block diagram of an autonomous mobile vehicle according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 2 is a block diagram of an autonomous mobile car according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

Figure 3 is a block diagram of an autonomous mobile vehicle according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

Figure 4 is a block diagram of an autonomous mobile vehicle according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention.

In order to fully understand the object, features and advantages of the present invention, the present invention will be described in detail by the following specific embodiments and the accompanying drawings, which are illustrated as follows: A functional block diagram of the first embodiment of the invention. As shown in the figure, the autonomous mobile phone 1 includes a vehicle body 11 , a sensing module 12 , a navigation positioning module 13 , a proximal host 14 , a driving module 15 , and a power supply module 16 . The autonomous mobile car 1 is used to receive a target information, which may be a destination or a target.

The sensing module 12 is disposed on a periphery of the vehicle body 11 , and the sensing module operates to generate at least one environmental information.

The navigation and positioning module 13 is disposed on the vehicle body 11 . The navigation and positioning module 13 includes a positioning unit 131 and a path generating unit 132 for generating a location information. The path generating unit 132 is configured according to the location. The target information, the environmental information and the location information generate a dynamic route information.

The proximal host 14 is disposed on the vehicle body 11 and electrically connected to the sensing module 12 and the navigation positioning module 13. The proximal host 14 includes a wireless communication module 141, a display module 142, and an input. The module 143 and an operation processing module 144, the operation processing module 144 operates to generate a control signal according to the dynamic route information.

The driving module 15 is electrically connected to the proximal host 14 and the vehicle body 11 , and the driving The module 15 operates to receive the control signal to drive the vehicle body 11 to operate.

The power supply module 16 is disposed on the vehicle body 11 and electrically connected to the sensing module 12, the navigation positioning module 13, the proximal host 14 and the driving module 15, and the power supply module 16 is configured to supply the The power required by the sensing module 12, the navigation positioning module 13, the near-end host 14 and the driving module 15.

In this embodiment, the vehicle body 11 includes a wheel set (not shown), and the driving module 15 can change the operation mode of the wheel set, such as stopping, advancing, retreating, and turning, to control the vehicle. Movement of the body 11.

In addition, the sensing module 12 is disposed on the periphery of the vehicle body 11 , and the sensing module 12 operates on environmental information such as the environment state on the route of the autonomous mobile vehicle 1 , for example, the sensing. The module 12 senses obstacles in front of or on both sides of the autonomous mobile vehicle 1 and further calculates the distance between the obstacles and the autonomous mobile vehicle 1 to notify the operation processing module 144 of the near-end host 14 The operation processing module 144 is configured to instruct the navigation and positioning module 13 to perform path planning to avoid the obstacle according to the environmental information, or directly send the control signal to the driving module 15 by the operation processing module 144. The autonomous mobile car 1 is stopped to prevent the occurrence of a collision. For example, the sensing module 12 can include a laser ranging device, an ultrasonic ranging device, an infrared ranging device, or a stereoscopic camera device.

Specifically, the near-end host 14 can receive the target information from the remote host 2, or directly input the target information by the user through the input module 143, and the target information can be, for example, a destination data. The operation processing module 144 of the near-end host 14 immediately provides the data of the destination to the navigation and positioning module 13 to perform the position of the autonomous mobile vehicle 1 via the positioning unit 131 of the navigation and positioning module 13. Positioning and generating the location information, and the path generation unit 132 And calculating, according to the information of the destination, the environment information, the location data, and the map in the database of the path generating unit 132, to generate the dynamic route information, and the operation processing module 144 further The dynamic route information controls the drive module 15 to drive the vehicle body 11 to move to the destination. In the process of moving the autonomous mobile phone 1, the dynamic route information dynamically changes with the change of the location information and the environment information, so as to avoid collision and find the most efficient forward path. Thereby, the autonomous mobile vehicle 1 can move by itself without being pushed by a person, and can even further guide the user to the destination by the autonomous mobile vehicle 1.

In this embodiment, the display module 142 can also be used to display the target information and/or the dynamic route information for the user to know the related information. Moreover, the near-end host 14 can perform bidirectional information transmission with the remote host 2 through the wireless communication module 141 to obtain remote data required by the user and display the display on the display module 142.

Therefore, the autonomous mobile vehicle 1 of the present invention can obtain the function of self-positioning and navigating to the destination through the navigation and positioning module 13 after receiving a target information, so that the autonomous mobile vehicle 1 does not need to be pushed by a person. , you can move by yourself, and even further guide the user to the destination by the autonomous mobile car 1.

For example, if the autonomous mobile phone 1 is applied as a nursing car, the autonomous mobile phone 1 can be electrically connected to the remote host 2 of the nursing station through the wireless communication module 141, and can be electrically connected to the remote host 2 The information of the patient and the information of the nursing staff obtained in one database, such as patient medication information, basic patient information, location of the patient, location of the nursing staff, etc., the remote host 2 can provide a target information to the autonomous The mobile car 1 is moved by the nursing station to the caregiver or the location of the patient. For example, if a patient's medication time or rehabilitation time is up, but the patient may not be in the ward, if the patient also carries a positioning device and operates in positioning In the position of the patient, the remote host 2 can instruct the autonomous mobile vehicle 1 to navigate to the patient's location according to the patient's location, and the caregiver can follow the autonomous mobile vehicle 1 to The patient is surrounded by follow-up care (eg, administration, guiding the patient to rehabilitation). Furthermore, the display module 142 can display the patient medication information, the patient basic information, and the like for the caregiver to understand and confirm, and the caregiver can further update the patient information, such as the patient's body temperature, through the input device 143. The medication status, etc., and the new patient information is transmitted to the remote host 2 through the wireless communication module 141 for storage.

In an embodiment, the input module 143 can include a radio frequency identification receiver. The RFID receiver can be used to read an RFID tag attached to an item to obtain relevant information and confirm it. For example, when the autonomous mobile vehicle 1 approaches the patient, the patient's identity is confirmed by the RFID tag on the patient's body or the hospital bed, or the radio frequency identification receiver can read the medicine bag when the caregiver is administered. RFID tags to ensure the correctness of the administration.

In an embodiment, the input module 143 can include at least one of a gesture recognition device, a voice input device, a keyboard, and a mouse for the user to input an instruction to the near-end host, and then The autonomous mobile vehicle issues an instruction, such as an instruction to read the remote information, input the target information, and the like.

For example, the gesture recognition module can include a stereoscopic camera device, and the stereoscopic camera device includes a color camera, an infrared emitter, and an infrared camera. The user can directly change the gesture to the autonomous mobile phone. 1 issuing an instruction, such as a stop gesture, a steering gesture, and the gesture recognition module can perform operation on the color camera, the infrared emitter, and the gesture image recognized by the infrared camera and the data in the database of the gesture recognition module The comparison, in order to confirm the content of the instruction issued by the user and return the read instruction to the arithmetic processing module At 144, the autonomous mobile vehicle 1 is further operated.

In an embodiment, the positioning unit 131 can include a wireless network receiver for receiving wireless signals of a plurality of indoor wireless network base stations, and specifically, the wireless receiver receives a plurality of indoor wireless networks adjacent thereto. The wireless signal of the base station, and each of the wireless signals includes information about the absolute location and address of each indoor wireless network base station, and the distance between each indoor wireless network base station and the wireless receiver is inexhaustible. In the same way, the strength of each received wireless signal varies with the distance, so that the positioning unit 131 can calculate the position information of the autonomous mobile vehicle 1 through an algorithm.

In an embodiment, the positioning unit 131 can include a laser ranging device, and the dynamic laser information reflected by the obstacle during the movement of the autonomous mobile vehicle 1 is built in with the positioning unit 131. The maps are compared, so that the positioning unit 131 can calculate the position information of the autonomous mobile vehicle through an algorithm.

In an embodiment, the positioning unit 131 can include a stereoscopic camera device, the stereoscopic camera device includes a color camera, an infrared emitter, and an infrared camera. The color camera senses the autonomous mobile phone 1 a nearby image signal, and the infrared emitter and the infrared camera sense a depth signal in the vicinity of the autonomous mobile phone 1. Finally, the positioning unit 131 searches for the image signal and the feature point in the depth signal by an algorithm ( For example, the room number and the like are compared with the built-in map, so that the positioning unit 131 can locate the position information of the autonomous mobile vehicle 1.

In an embodiment, the positioning unit 131 can include a radio frequency identification receiver, and can set a plurality of RFID tags on a path that the autonomous mobile car 1 can travel, for example, an RFID tag is set at each corner. The mapping unit built in the positioning unit should wait for the RFID tag, so when the RFID tag receives the signal of an RFID tag, the positioning unit 131 The location information of the autonomous mobile vehicle 1 can be located by performing an operational comparison of the signal of the RFID tag with the built-in image.

Please refer to FIG. 2, which is a functional block diagram of a second embodiment of the present invention. As shown in the figure, the embodiment is different from the first embodiment in that the autonomous mobile vehicle 1 ′ further includes a following module 17 electrically connected to the sensing module 12 and the proximal host 14 . The following module 17 generates a follow command according to the at least one environment information generated by the sensing module 12 and transmits the following command to the near-end host 14 to enable the navigation and positioning module 13 to generate the target according to the location of the target. Dynamic route information to achieve the effect of following the target.

Specifically, if the sensing module 12 includes a laser ranging device and a camera, the following module 17 operates to generate the following instruction according to at least one environmental information generated by the laser ranging device and the camera. . At this time, the target information may be, for example, a target object, and the following module 17 scans the interval of the target through the laser ranging device of the sensing module 12, and tracks the interval by the camera. Identifying the image in the interval, and then the following module 17 compares whether the image meets the data of the target. If yes, the following instruction is generated and transmitted to the operation processing module 144 to make the navigation positioning module 13 The location of the target generates the dynamic route information, thereby achieving the effect of causing the autonomous mobile vehicle 1' to follow the target. If otherwise, the laser ranging device re-scans and the camera re-tracks the shooting for comparison.

In addition, if the sensing module 12 includes a stereoscopic camera device, the following module 17 operates to generate the following command according to at least one environmental information generated by the stereoscopic camera device. At this time, the target information may be, for example, information of a target. The following module 17 senses the depth information of an object in the sensing interval and the data in the database of the following module 17 through the stereoscopic imaging device. Performing a comparison operation to determine whether it is possible to be a target, and then using the stereoscopic camera device The color information provided is compared with the data in the database of the follower module 17 to determine whether the data of the target object is met. If yes, the follow instruction is generated and transmitted to the operation processing module 144 to enable the navigation positioning module. The group 13 immediately generates the dynamic route information according to the location of the target object, thereby achieving the effect of causing the autonomous mobile vehicle 1' to follow the target object, if otherwise, the stereoscopic imaging device re-sensing the other from the sensing interval. The depth information of the object is compared with the color information.

Therefore, during the movement of the target, the following module 17 will immediately track the target through the sensing module 12, so that the autonomous mobile vehicle 1' does follow the target, if When the target is a user, the user can save time and effort to push the autonomous mobile car 1'.

Please refer to FIG. 3, which is a functional block diagram of a third embodiment of the present invention. As shown in the figure, the power supply module 16 further includes an automatic power detecting unit 161, and the automatic power detecting unit 161 operates according to the power supply module 16 The power state generates a power signal to the near-end host 14, and the user can be notified by the display module 142 or notified to the remote host 2 by the wireless communication module 141, or directly processed by the operation module. The group 144 instructs the navigation and positioning module 13 to perform path planning to guide the vehicle body 11 to move to a charging station for charging.

In the present embodiment, the autonomous mobile vehicle 1 ′′ further includes an indication module 18 electrically connected to the proximal host 14 , and the indicator module 18 is configured to display an actuation status signal of the vehicle body 11 , for example, displaying The autonomous mobile vehicle 1" is in a following state, a stopped state, or a no-power state, so that the user knows the state of the autonomous mobile vehicle 1" so that when the autonomous mobile vehicle 1" is set to follow, Make sure the results are correct and follow the user.

Please refer to FIG. 4, which is a functional block diagram of a fourth embodiment of the present invention. Such as The present embodiment is different from the third embodiment in that the near-end host 14 further includes an elevator control module 145. The elevator control module 145 includes a sensing unit and a remote control unit. When the path generating unit 132 of the navigation and positioning unit 13 needs to travel to the other floor by taking the elevator according to the target information, the environment information, and the dynamic route information generated by the location data, the sensing is performed when approaching the elevator. The unit senses the location of the elevator (for example, the elevator will continuously send a signal), and the remote control unit calls the elevator to the floor of the autonomous mobile vehicle 1''', and then opens the elevator door for the navigation positioning mode. The group 13 guides the vehicle body 11 into the elevator, and the remote control unit transmits a target floor command to the elevator according to the dynamic route information, so that the elevator starts to reach the target floor and opens the elevator door after reaching the target floor. The navigation positioning module 13 guides the vehicle body 11 away from the elevator.

In summary, the autonomous mobile vehicle of the present invention can achieve self-positioning and navigation to a specific location according to a target information and through a navigation positioning module.

The invention has been described above in terms of the preferred embodiments, and it should be understood by those skilled in the art that the present invention is not intended to limit the scope of the invention. It should be noted that variations and permutations equivalent to those of the embodiments are intended to be included within the scope of the present invention. Therefore, the scope of protection of the present invention is defined by the scope of the patent application.

1‧‧‧ autonomous mobile car

11‧‧‧Car body

12‧‧‧Sensor module

13‧‧‧Navigation and positioning module

131‧‧‧ Positioning unit

132‧‧‧Path generation unit

14‧‧‧ Near-end host

141‧‧‧Wireless communication module

142‧‧‧ display module

143‧‧‧Input module

144‧‧‧Operation Processing Module

15‧‧‧Drive Module

16‧‧‧Power supply module

2‧‧‧Remote host

Claims (10)

An autonomous mobile vehicle for receiving a target information, comprising: a vehicle body; a sensing module disposed on a periphery of the vehicle body, the sensing module operating to generate at least one environmental information; A navigation positioning module is disposed on the vehicle body. The navigation positioning module includes a positioning unit and a path generating unit, the positioning unit operates to generate a position information, and the path generating unit operates according to the target information. The environment information and the location information generate a dynamic route information; a near-end host is disposed on the vehicle body and electrically connected to the sensing module and the navigation positioning module, the near-end host includes a wireless communication module, a display module, an input module and an operation processing module, the operation processing module is configured to generate a control signal according to the dynamic route information; a drive module electrically connecting the near end host and the vehicle body, The driving module is configured to receive the control signal to drive the vehicle body to operate; and a power supply module is disposed on the vehicle body and electrically connected to the sensing module, the navigation Module, the host and the proximal end of the drive module. The autonomous mobile vehicle of claim 1, wherein the sensing module comprises a laser ranging device, an ultrasonic distance measuring device, an infrared distance measuring device or a stereoscopic camera device. The autonomous vehicle as claimed in claim 1, wherein the input module comprises at least one of a gesture recognition device, a voice input, a keyboard and a mouse. The autonomous vehicle as claimed in claim 1, wherein the input module comprises a radio frequency identification receiver. The autonomous vehicle as claimed in claim 1, wherein the positioning unit comprises a wireless network receiver, a laser ranging device, a stereoscopic camera device or a radio frequency identification receiver. The self-propelled sports car of claim 1, further comprising a follower module electrically connecting the sensing module and the near-end host, and the sensing module comprises a laser ranging device and a camera that operates to generate a follow command based on at least one environmental information generated by the sensing module. The self-propelled sports car of claim 1, further comprising a follower module electrically connecting the sensing module and the near-end host, and the sensing module comprises a stereoscopic camera device, The follower module operates to generate a follow command based on at least one environmental information generated by the sensing module. The self-propelled sports car of claim 1, further comprising an indicating module electrically connected to the near-end host, wherein the indicating module operates to display an actuation state signal of the vehicle body. The self-propelled sports car of claim 1, wherein the power supply module includes an automatic power detecting unit, wherein the automatic power detecting unit operates to generate a power signal according to the power state of the power supply module to the Near-end host. The autonomous vehicle as claimed in claim 1, wherein the near-end host further comprises an elevator control module, comprising a sensing unit and a remote control unit.