TWI470386B - Transportation vehicle and control method thereof - Google Patents

Description

Transportation vehicle and control method thereof

The present invention relates to an automatic navigation system and an automatic navigation method thereof, and more particularly to a magnetic induction automatic navigation system and an automatic navigation method thereof.

The Automatic Guidance Vehicle (AGV) is a transport vehicle that can travel along a preset path using an automatic navigation system. The automatic navigation system of the automatic navigation vehicle can be divided into direct coordinate navigation according to its navigation method (Cartesian Guidance) Navigation methods such as Wire Guidance, Magnetic Tape Guidance, Optical Guidance, Laser Guidance, Inertial Guidance, and Visual Guidance.

In an automatic navigation system using tape navigation, it is usually used to attach or embed a magnetic tape on a path, and a magnetic sensor capable of sensing the magnetic force of the magnetic tape is attached to the transportation carrier for navigation. Because of the ease of tape placement, autopilots that use tape navigation have greater flexibility than other autopilots.

However, the method of using tape navigation is susceptible to the sensing of the magnetic sensor by environmental factors such as metal substances on the travel path, and the distance between the tape and the magnetic sensor also affects the magnetic sensor. In other words, when the car navigation path has a slope or there are metal goods placed around it, the automatic guide The accuracy of the navigation system may be severely affected. In addition, since the edges of the tape can detect the N pole and the S pole at the same time, the corresponding magnetic sensor may be misjudged and the automatic navigation system may be out of alignment.

The present invention provides a transport vehicle that automatically adjusts the direction of travel to stably travel on a predetermined path.

The present invention provides a method of controlling a transport vehicle that adjusts the direction of travel of the transport vehicle in accordance with the deviation of the transport vehicle to maintain the transport vehicle stably traveling on a predetermined path.

The invention provides a transport vehicle comprising a power unit, a sensing unit and a drive control unit. The power unit is configured to cause the transport vehicle to travel on the guide track in response to the drive signal group. The sensing unit is configured to sense a magnetic force on the guiding track and generate a plurality of sensing signal groups during the sensing period. The driving control unit is coupled between the power unit and the sensing unit. The driving control unit is configured to: receive the sensing signal group; average the sensing signal group to obtain relative position information associated with the transportation vehicle relative to the guiding track; and provide the driving signal group to the power according to the relative position information a unit whereby the central position of the transport vehicle is substantially aligned with the center position of the guide track.

In an embodiment of the invention, the driving signal group includes a first driving signal and a second driving signal, and the power unit includes a first transmission component, a second transmission component, a first motor, and a second motor. The first transmission assembly is disposed on the left side of the transport vehicle. The second transmission assembly is disposed on the right side of the transport vehicle. First A motor is used to actuate the first transmission assembly, wherein the first motor adjusts its rotational speed according to the first drive signal and accordingly controls the transmission speed of the first transmission assembly. The second motor is configured to actuate the second transmission assembly, wherein the second motor adjusts its rotational speed according to the second drive signal, and accordingly controls the transmission speed of the second transmission assembly. Wherein the relative speed between the first transmission component and the second transmission component determines the direction of travel of the transport vehicle.

In an embodiment of the invention, each sensing signal group includes a plurality of sensing signals, and the sensing unit includes a plurality of magnetic sensors. Each of the magnetic sensors is disposed on the transport carrier at a fixed interval to sense a magnetic force on the guide track to generate a corresponding sensing signal. Wherein, a portion of the magnetic sensor located within the magnetic range of the guiding track senses the magnetic force of the guiding track to generate an enabled sensing signal. Wherein, another portion of the magnetic sensor located outside the magnetic range of the guiding track does not sense the magnetic force of the guiding track to generate a disable sensing signal.

In an embodiment of the invention, the drive control unit includes a filter unit, a control unit, and a drive unit. The filtering unit is coupled to the sensing unit. The filtering unit is configured to perform averaging processing to compare the plurality of sensing signal groups, and select one of the plurality of sensing signal groups as the actual sensing signal group by using the comparison result, thereby obtaining relative position information. The control unit is coupled to the filtering unit. The control unit is configured to calculate, according to the sensing signal of the actual sensing signal group, the center position of the plurality of magnetic sensors that is closest to the guiding track. The driving unit is coupled to the control unit. The driving unit is configured to generate first and second driving signals according to the calculation result of the control unit to respectively control the rotation speeds of the first motor and the second motor to substantially align the center position of the transportation carrier with the center position of the guiding track.

In an embodiment of the invention, the filtering unit includes a plurality of signal registers and a bit comparator. The signal register is configured to capture and temporarily store the plurality of sensing signal groups at a plurality of sampling time points in the sensing period, wherein the difference between the two adjacent sampling time points is substantially the same for each of the magnetic sensors Reaction time. The bit comparator is coupled to the plurality of signal registers. The bit comparator receives and compares the difference between the respective sensing signal groups to select the sensing signal group with the smallest difference among the plurality of sensing signal groups as the actual sensing signal group, thereby obtaining relative position information.

In an embodiment of the invention, the control unit sequentially sets the arrangement numbers of the plurality of magnetic sensors to correspond to the plurality of magnetic sensors corresponding to the sensing signals enabled in the actual sensing signal group. The number and the arrangement number are used to calculate the center position of the plurality of magnetic sensors closest to the guide track.

The invention provides a control method for a transport vehicle, comprising: reacting a driving signal group to drive a transport vehicle on a guiding track; sensing a magnetic force on the guiding track to generate a plurality of sensing signals in a sensing period Grouping; averaging the plurality of sensing signal groups to obtain relative position information associated with the transporting vehicle relative to the guiding track; and providing a driving signal group based on the relative position information, thereby making the central position of the transporting vehicle substantially Align the center position of the guide track.

In an embodiment of the invention, the driving signal group includes a first driving signal and a second driving signal, and the step of driving the transportation vehicle on the guiding track in response to the driving signal group comprises: adjusting the first according to the first driving signal a rotational speed of the motor, and accordingly controlling a transmission speed of the first transmission component disposed on a left side of the transport vehicle; and adjusting the second motor according to the second drive signal The rotational speed, and accordingly, the transmission speed of the second transmission assembly disposed on the right side of the transport vehicle, wherein the relative speed between the first transmission assembly and the second transmission assembly determines the direction of travel of the transport vehicle.

In an embodiment of the invention, each sensing signal group includes a plurality of sensing signals, and the step of sensing the magnetic force on the guiding track to generate a plurality of sensing signal groups in the sensing period includes: on the transportation vehicle A plurality of magnetic sensors are disposed at a fixed interval, and each of the magnetic sensors is configured to sense a magnetic force on the guiding track to generate a corresponding sensing signal. Wherein, a part of the magnetic sensor located in the magnetic range of the guiding track senses the magnetic force of the guiding track to generate an enabling sensing signal, and another part of the magnetic sensor outside the magnetic range of the guiding track is not induced. The magnetic force of the track is used to generate a disable sensing signal.

In an embodiment of the invention, the step of averaging the plurality of sensing signal groups to obtain relative position information associated with the transport vehicle relative to the guiding track comprises: comparing the plurality of sensing signal groups, And comparing one of the plurality of sensing signal groups to the actual sensing signal group by using the comparison result, thereby obtaining relative position information.

In an embodiment of the present invention, the performing the averaging process comprises: separately capturing and temporarily storing the plurality of sensing signal groups at a plurality of sampling time points in the sensing period, wherein a difference between two adjacent sampling time points The value is substantially the reaction time of each of the magnetic sensors; and the difference between the respective sensing signal groups is received and compared to select the sensing signal group with the smallest difference among the plurality of sensing signal groups as the actual sensing Signal group.

In an embodiment of the invention, after the step of comparing the plurality of sensing signal groups, the method for controlling the transportation vehicle further comprises: The sensing signal of the group calculates the center of the plurality of magnetic sensors that is closest to the guiding track.

In an embodiment of the invention, the step of calculating, according to the sensing signal of the actual sensing signal group, the closest one of the plurality of magnetic sensors to the center position of the guiding track comprises: sequentially setting the plurality of Arranging the number of the magnetic sensors; and calculating the closest of the plurality of magnetic sensors according to the number and arrangement number of the magnetic sensors corresponding to the sensing signals enabled in the actual sensing signal group The central location of the person.

In an embodiment of the invention, the driving signal group is provided according to the relative position information, so that the central position of the transporting vehicle is substantially aligned with the center position of the guiding track, including: calculating the most of the plurality of magnetic sensors according to the calculation As a result of approaching the center position of the pilot track, first and second drive signals are generated to control the rotational speeds of the first and second motors, respectively, such that the center position of the transport carrier is substantially aligned with the center position of the guide track.

Based on the above, the transport vehicle and the control method thereof according to the embodiments of the present invention can obtain the relative position information associated with the transport vehicle relative to the guide track by means of averaging processing, and thereby control the transport vehicle. The direction of travel, thus enabling the transport vehicle to continue to maintain a better travel path while traveling without deviation, thereby improving the stability of the transport vehicle.

The above described features and advantages of the present invention will be more apparent from the following description.

Embodiments of the present invention provide a transport vehicle and a control method thereof, which can obtain relative position information between a transport vehicle and a guide track by performing an averaging process, and thereby control a traveling direction of the transport vehicle, thereby The transport vehicle can continue to maintain a better driving path while traveling without deviation, thereby improving the stability of the transport vehicle. In order to make the content of the present invention easier to understand, the following specific embodiments are illustrative of the embodiments of the present invention. In addition, wherever possible, the elements and/

1 is a functional block diagram of a transport vehicle according to an embodiment of the present invention. Referring to FIG. 1 , the transport vehicle 100 includes a power unit 110 , a sensing unit 120 , and a drive control unit 130 . The power unit 110 is configured to cause the transport vehicle 100 to travel on the guide track 14 in response to the drive signal group S_D. The sensing unit 120 is configured to sense the magnetic force of the guiding track and generate a plurality of sensing signal groups S_G1 SS_Gn in the sensing period, where n is a positive integer. The driving control unit 130 is coupled between the power unit 110 and the sensing unit 120. The drive control unit 130 is configured to receive the sense signal groups S_G1 S S_Gn and average the sense signal groups S_G1 S S_Gn to obtain relative position information associated with the transport vehicle 100 relative to the guide track 14 . Therefore, the drive control unit 130 can provide the drive signal group S_D to the power unit 110 based on the relative position information, so that the center position of the transport carrier 100 is substantially aligned with the center position L_m of the guide track 14. Here, the guide track 14 can be, for example, a magnetic tape attached or embedded on a travel path.

In order to further illustrate the present embodiment, FIG. 2 is a schematic view of a transport vehicle according to an embodiment of the present invention. Referring to FIG. 2 , the transport vehicle 200 includes a power unit 210 , a sensing unit 220 , and a drive control unit 230 . The sensing unit 220 and the driving control unit 230 are substantially the same as the sensing unit 120 and the driving control unit 130 of the embodiment of FIG. 1 , and thus are not described herein again.

In this embodiment, the driving signal group includes a first driving signal S_d1 and a second driving signal S_d2, and the power unit 210 utilizes the first motor M1, the second motor M2, the first transmission component T1, and the second transmission component T2. achieve. The first transmission component T1 and the second transmission component T2 are respectively disposed on the left side and the right side of the transportation carrier 200. The first motor M1 is used to actuate the first transmission component T1, wherein the first motor M1 adjusts its rotation speed according to the first driving signal S_d1, and accordingly controls the transmission speed of the first transmission component T1. The second motor M2 is used to actuate the second transmission component T2, wherein the second motor M2 adjusts its rotation speed according to the second driving signal S_d2, and accordingly controls the transmission speed of the second transmission component T2.

Specifically, since the left and right transmissions in the power unit 210 can be separately controlled, the drive control unit 230 can control the transportation by separately adjusting the transmission speed of the first transmission component T1 and the transmission speed of the second transmission component T2. The direction of travel of the vehicle 200. In other words, the relative speed between the first transmission assembly T1 and the second transmission assembly T2 will determine the direction of travel of the transport vehicle 200.

For example, when the transmission speeds of the first transmission assembly T1 and the second transmission assembly T2 are the same, the transportation carrier 200 will travel in a straight line. When the first pass When the transmission speed of the moving assembly T1 is less than the transmission speed of the second transmission assembly T2, the transportation carrier 200 will be offset toward the left side. Conversely, when the transmission speed of the first transmission assembly T1 is greater than the transmission speed of the second transmission assembly T2, the transport carrier 200 will be offset toward the right side.

3 is a flow chart showing the steps of a method for controlling a transport vehicle according to an embodiment of the present invention. Referring to FIG. 2 and FIG. 3 simultaneously, first, the power unit 210 causes the transport carrier 200 to travel on the guide track 14 in response to the control of the drive signal group S_D (step S300). During the running of the transport vehicle 200, the sensing unit 220 senses the magnetic force of the guiding track 14 to generate a plurality of sensing signal groups S_G1 to S_Gn in the sensing period (step S302), where n is a positive integer.

Next, the drive control unit 230 averages the sensed signal groups S_G1 to S_Gn to obtain relative position information associated with the transport carrier 200 with respect to the guide track 14 (step S304). Therefore, the drive control unit 230 can provide the drive signal group S_D to the power unit 210 based on the relative position information, so that the center position Ctr of the transport carrier 200 is substantially aligned with the center position L_m of the guide track (step S306).

In this way, the slope of the path of the guiding track 14 and the partial error in the sensing signal group S_G1~S_Gn caused by the steering and the position judgment error can be eliminated by the averaging processing step to obtain a relatively correct relative position. The information enables the transport vehicle 200 to stably travel along the center position L_m of the guide track.

4 is a schematic view of a transport vehicle according to another embodiment of the present invention. Referring to FIG. 4, the transport vehicle 400 includes a power unit 410, a sensing unit 420, and a drive control unit 430, wherein the power unit 410 and the foregoing FIG. 2 The power unit 210 of the embodiment is similar, and thus will not be described again.

In the present embodiment, in order to realize the function of performing averaging processing to obtain relative position information, the sensing unit 420 includes a plurality of magnetic sensors, and the driving control unit 430 includes a filtering unit 432, a control unit 434, and a driving unit 436.

First, in the case of the sensing unit 420, the plurality of magnetic sensors included in the sensing unit 420 are exemplified by the nine magnetic sensors S1 to S9, but the invention is not limited thereto. Each of the magnetic sensors S1 S S9 is sequentially arranged at a spacing d, and is used for sensing a magnetic force on the guiding track 14 to generate a corresponding sensing signal. In other words, in this embodiment, each of the sensing signal groups S_G1~S_Gn is composed of 9 sensing signals.

In detail, a magnetic sensor located within the magnetic range of the guide track 14 will sense the magnetic force of the guide track 14 to produce an enabled sense signal. Conversely, the magnetic sensor located outside the magnetic range of the guiding track 14 generates a disable sensing signal because the magnetic force of the guiding track 14 is not sensed. Therefore, the sensing signal groups S_G1 to S_Gn composed of the plurality of sensing signals are signals including the magnetic induction states of the respective magnetic sensors S1 to S9. The magnetic force range of the guiding track 14 is taken as an example of the area included in the guiding track 14 in the embodiment of the present invention. For example, in FIG. 4, the magnetic sensors S4 to S6 are located in the guiding track 14 . The magnetic sensors are in the range of magnetic force, while the magnetic sensors S1~S3 and S7~S9 are located outside the magnetic range of the guiding track 14.

In addition, the magnetic sensors exemplified in the present embodiment are an odd number, so the position of the magnetic sensor in the middle (here, for example, the magnetic sensor S5) represents the center position Ctr of the transport carrier 400, So when the magnetic sensor S5 is essentially When the center position L_m of the guide track 14 is aligned, that is, the center position Ctr of the transport carrier 400 is substantially aligned with the center position L_m of the guide track 14. However, in other embodiments, the magnetic sensors of the sensing unit 420 can also be set to an even number due to the small spacing between the magnetic sensors, and the invention is not limited thereto.

As far as the drive control unit 430 is concerned, the drive control unit 430 includes a filter unit 432, a control unit 434, and a drive unit 436. The filtering unit 432 is coupled to the sensing unit 420. The filtering unit 432 is configured to perform averaging processing to compare the sensing signal groups S_G1 S S_Gn generated by the sensing unit 420, and select one of the sensing signal groups S_G1 S S_Gn as the actual sensing signal group S_fM by comparing the results. . In other words, the filtering unit 432 filters out the portion of the sensing signal group S_G1~S_Gn that may be the wrong judgment of the magnetic sensor, and selects the sensing signal group that most closely matches the driving condition of the actual transportation vehicle 400 as the actual sensing signal group. S_fM.

In this embodiment, the filtering unit 432 can be further implemented by a plurality of signal registers R1 R Rn and a bit comparator UC. The signal register R1~Rn is configured to sequentially capture and temporarily store the sensing signal groups S_G1~S_Gn at a plurality of sampling time points in the sensing period, wherein the difference between the two adjacent sampling time points is approximately the respective magnetic sense. The reaction time of the sensors S1 to S9 is, for example, 0.5 second for the reaction time of the magnetic sensors S1 to Sn. For example, after the signal register R1 captures and temporarily stores the sensing signal group S_G1 at the first sampling time point in the sensing period, the signal register R2 will be separated by a reaction time of 0.5 seconds and the second sampling time. Click to capture and temporarily store the sensing signal group S_G2, and so on, until the signal register Rn is captured at the nth sampling time point in the sensing period. And temporarily store the sensing signal group S_Gn.

The bit comparator UC is coupled to the signal registers R1 R Rn. The bit comparator UC receives and compares the difference between the respective sensing signal groups S_G1~S_Gn, and selects one of the sensing signal groups S_G1~S_Gn as the actual sensing signal group S_fM, thereby obtaining relative position information. The relative position information is the relative position between the magnetic sensors S1~S9 corresponding to the actual sensing signal group S_fM and the guiding track.

The control unit 434 is coupled to the filtering unit 432. The control unit 434 is configured to calculate, according to the sensing signal of the actual sensing signal group S_fM, the center position L_m of the magnetic sensors S1 S S9 that is closest to the guiding track 14 . Wherein, the central position Ctr of the transport carrier 400 and the center position L_m of the guide track 14 can be calculated based on the relative position information and the position of the magnetic sensor closest to the center position L_m of the guide track 14. the distance.

The driving unit 436 is coupled to the control unit, and configured to generate the first driving signal S_d1 and the second driving signal S_d2 according to the calculation result of the control unit to respectively control the rotation speeds of the first motor M1 and the second motor M2, so as to respectively transport the carrier. The center position Ctr is substantially aligned with the center position L_m of the guide track 14.

At the same time, the control method of the transport vehicle of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. 4 and FIG. 5. FIG. 5 is a flow chart showing the steps of the control method of the transport vehicle according to another embodiment of the present invention. Referring to FIG. 4 and FIG. 5 simultaneously, during the running of the transport vehicle, the first motor M1 in the power unit 410 adjusts its rotational speed according to the first driving signal S_d1, and accordingly controls the left side of the transport vehicle 400. Transmission speed of the first transmission component T1 (step S500). Similarly, the second motor M2 in the power unit 410 adjusts its rotational speed according to the second drive signal S_d2, and accordingly controls the transmission speed of the second transmission component T2 disposed on the right side of the transport carrier 400 (step S502).

Next, a plurality of magnetic sensors are disposed on the transport carrier 400 at a pitch d to sense the magnetic force of the guide track 14 to generate a plurality of sensing signals (step S504), where the magnetic sensors S1 to S9 are used. example. Each of the sensing signal groups S_G1~S_Gn includes a sensing signal generated by each of the magnetic sensors S1 to S9.

After the step S204, the filtering unit 432 performs an averaging process to compare the sensing signal groups S_G1 to S_Gn, and selects one of the sensing signal groups S_G1 to S_Gn as the actual sensing signal group S_fM by comparing the results, thereby obtaining a relative Location information (steps S506 and S508). Next, the control unit 434 successively calculates the center position of the magnetic sensors S1 to S9 closest to the guiding track 14 according to the sensing signals of the actual sensing signal group S_fM (steps S510 to S512).

Specifically, in the averaging process, first, the signal registers R1 to Rn respectively capture and temporarily store the sensing signal groups S_G1 to S_Gn at a plurality of sampling time points in the sensing period (step S506). Then, the bit comparator UC will receive and compare the difference between the respective sensing signal groups S_G1~S_Gn, so as to select the sensing signal group with the smallest difference among the sensing signal groups S_G1~S_Gn as the actual sensing signal group S_fM ( Step S508).

On the other hand, in the operation of the calculation after the averaging processing, the control unit 434 first sets the arrangement number of the magnetic sensor in sequence (step S510), for example, the arrangement number of the magnetic sensor S1 is "1", the magnetic sense Arrangement number of detector S2 It is "2"... and so on. Next, the control unit 434 calculates the center of the magnetic sensors S1 S S9 closest to the guiding track 14 according to the number and arrangement number of the magnetic sensors corresponding to the sensing signals enabled in the actual sensing signal group S_fM. The position L_m is (step S512).

After calculating the step of the magnetic sensor S1 to S9 closest to the center position L_m of the guiding track 14, the driving unit 436 generates the first driving signal S_d1 and the second driving signal S_d2 according to the calculation result to respectively control the first The rotational speed of the motor M1 and the second motor M2 is such that the center position Ctr of the transport carrier 400 is substantially aligned with the center position L_m of the guide track 14 (step S514).

The order of the steps S500 and S502 is only an example. Actually, the steps S500 and S502 may be performed simultaneously, and the present invention is not limited thereto. In addition, the averaging process is implemented in steps S506 and S508 in the present embodiment, and the operation of calculating the center position L_m closest to the guide track 14 is performed in the embodiment by step S510~. S512 is implemented, but the averaging processing and calculation operations are not limited to being implemented in this manner, and any means for filtering out the error signal portion in the sensing signal group may be performed by the filtering unit in the embodiment of the present invention. The average processing action. Similarly, any means for calculating the center position L_m closest to the guide track 14 according to the sensed signal group after filtering the noise may be the operation performed by the control unit in the embodiment of the present invention, and the present invention Not limited to this.

In detail, in this embodiment, each of the sensing signal groups S_G1~S_Gn can represent each magnetic sensor by means of a digital signal. The forbidden state of the sensing signal generated by S1~S9. Each bit of each of the sensing signal groups S_G1~S_Gn corresponds to the sensing signal generated by the magnetic sensors S1~S9. For example, the sensing signal output by the magnetic sensor in the magnetic range will cause the bit corresponding to the sensing signal group to have a bit value of 1. Conversely, the sensing signal outputted by the magnetic sensor outside the magnetic range causes the bit corresponding to the sensing signal group to have a value of zero. Therefore, in the case where the magnetic sensors S4 to S6 are within the magnetic force range at the first sampling time point, the sensing signal group S_G1 can be represented by the digital signal "000111000", wherein the magnetic sensors S1 to S9 are generated. The sensing signals respectively correspond to the first bit to the ninth bit of the sensing signal group S_G1.

Since the respective magnetic sensors S1 to S9 may cause the output sensing due to environmental factors, the size of the guide track, the relative position with the guide track, and the height of the distance guide track during the travel of the transport vehicle The signal groups S_G1~S_Gn have errors and thus affect the accuracy of controlling the direction of travel of the transport vehicle 400. Therefore, the filtering unit 432 is configured to sample the sensing signal groups S_G1~S_Gn at a plurality of different sampling time points during the sensing period to filter by comparing the difference between the sensing signal groups S_G1 to S_Gn at each sampling time point. Except for the noise part that may exist.

For example, the sensing buffer groups S_G1, S_G2, and S_G3 of the first, second, and third sampling time points are respectively captured and temporarily stored in the sensing period by the signal registers R1, R2, and R3.

It is assumed that the sensing signal group S_G1 captured by the signal register R1 at the first sampling time point is 000111000, and the sensing signal group S_G2 captured by the signal register R2 at the second sampling time point is 001111000 and the signal is temporarily suspended. The sensing signal S_G3 captured by the register R3 at the third sampling time point is 000111000.

After the bit comparator UC receives the sensing signal groups S_G1~S_G3, it will compare the difference between the sensing signal groups S_G1~S_G3. At this time, since the bit values of the third bit in the sensing signal groups S_G1 and S_G3 are both 0, and the bit value of the third bit in the sensing signal group S_G2 is 1, the bit comparator UC It is determined that the magnetic force induced by the magnetic sensor S3 during the sensing period is misjudged, so the bit comparator UC selects the sensing signal group S_G1 or S_G3 with the smallest difference among the S_G1~S_G3 in the sensing signal group. The actual sensing signal S_fM, that is, the actual sensing signal S_fM at this time is 000111000. In other words, after the averaging processing by the filtering unit 432, the control driving unit 430 can further confirm that the magnetic sensors S4 to S6 are within the magnetic range of the guiding track 14.

Next, the control unit 434 calculates the relative position information according to the position of the magnetic sensor corresponding to the actual sensing signal group S_fM. For example, since each of the magnetic sensors S1 to Sn is disposed at a fixed position and a fixed interval, the relative position of the magnetic sensor closest to the center position L_m of the guiding track 14 can be calculated to calculate the relative position. Location information.

Here, the control unit 324 can pass the following formula:

It is calculated that the position of the first magnetic sensor in the sensing unit 420 is closest to the center position L_m of the guiding track 14, where X _ja is the arrangement number of the magnetic sensor corresponding to the enabling sensing signal. n is the number of magnetic sensors corresponding to the enabled sensing signal, and X _ma is the arrangement number of the magnetic sensor closest to the center position L_m of the guiding track 14, for example, when X _ma is 3, it indicates magnetic The sensor S3 is closest to the center position of the guide track L_m. Therefore, based on the value of the magnetic sensor closest to the center position L_m of the guide track 14 and the distance d, the relative position information of the transport carrier 400 can be derived.

In addition, when the result of the calculation by the control unit 434 according to the above formula is not an integer, the central position L_m of the guiding track 14 at this time is located between two adjacent magnetic sensors on the sensing unit 420, and the control unit 434 is further advanced. Approximately selecting one of the two adjacent magnetic sensors to be the magnetic sensor closest to the center position of the tape guiding track, and estimating the relative position information of the transportation carrier 400 to adjust the transportation vehicle Power unit 410.

In order to more specifically describe the above-described automatic navigation system and automatic navigation method, the automatic navigation method will be further described herein with reference to FIGS. 6a to 6c, wherein FIGS. 6a-6c are control transport loads according to the embodiment of FIG. 4. A schematic diagram of the direction of travel.

In FIGS. 6A to 6C , the relative positional relationship between the sensing unit 410 and the guiding track 14 in FIG. 4 is partially illustrated to illustrate that the driving control unit 10 drives the control unit under different offset conditions. The 430 controls how the offset transport carrier 400 is maintained substantially in the center of the guide track 14.

Since the sensing unit 420 is exemplified by the nine magnetic sensors S1 to S9, the position of the magnetic sensor S5 can represent the center position Ctr of the transportation carrier 400. First, please refer to FIG. 4 and FIG. 6A simultaneously, in the case where the transport vehicle 10 travels in the direction of the guide track 14, the drive unit 430 is controlled at this time. After averaging the sensing signal groups S_G1~S_Gn by the foregoing control method, the control driving unit 430 determines that the magnetic sensor closest to the center position L_m of the guiding track 14 is the magnetic sensor S5, that is, at this time The center position Ctr of the transport carrier 400 is already substantially aligned with the center position of the guide track 14. Therefore, the driving unit 436 will generate the same first and second driving signals S_d1 and S_d2 to control the first motor M1 and the second motor M2 to maintain the transportation carrier 400 in the current direction. In other words, at this time, the relative speed between the first transmission component T1 and the second transmission component T2 is zero, and the transportation carrier 400 is maintained in the original direction.

On the other hand, please refer to FIG. 4 and FIG. 6B at the same time. In this case, after the control driving unit 430 averages the sensing signal groups S_G1 SS_Gn by the foregoing control method, the control driving unit 430 determines that the guiding track is closest to the guiding track. The magnetic sensor of the center position L_m of 14 is the magnetic sensor S7, so the drive control unit 430 obtains the relative position information according to the position between the magnetic sensors S5 and S7 for the center position Ctr of the transport vehicle 400. The center position L_m of the track L_m is to the left and is spaced twice as far as the distance d.

Therefore, the driving unit 436 respectively generates the first driving signal S_d1 and the second driving signal according to the relative position information to control the first motor M1 and the second motor M2, so that the transmission speed of the second transmission component T2 is lower than the first transmission. The transmission speed of the assembly T1 causes the transport carrier 400 to shift to the right until the control drive unit 430 again determines that the center position Ctr of the transport carrier 400 is substantially aligned with the center position L_m of the guide track 14, that is, returns to FIG. 6a. Position, the drive unit 436 will make the first motor M1 and the second horse The rotation speeds up to M2 are the same so that the transportation carrier 400 is stably maintained on the center position L_m of the guide track 14.

Conversely, when the transport carrier 400 is deviated to the right side of the guide track 14, please refer to FIG. 4 and FIG. 6C at the same time, similar to the operation of FIG. 6B, the control driving unit 430 averages the sensing signal groups S_G1~S_Gn. Thereafter, the control driving unit 430 determines that the magnetic sensor closest to the center position L_m of the guiding track 14 is the magnetic sensor S3, so the driving control unit 430 obtains the relative position according to the position between the magnetic sensors S3 and S5. The information is that the center position Ctr of the transport vehicle is located to the right of the center position L_m of the guide track L_m and is spaced twice as far as the distance d.

Therefore, the driving unit 436 generates the first driving signal S_d1 and the second driving signal according to the relative position information to control the first motor M1 and the second motor M2, so that the driving speed of the first transmission component T1 is lower than the second transmission. The transmission speed of the assembly T2 causes the transport carrier 400 to shift to the left until the control drive unit 420 again determines that the center position Ctr of the transport carrier 400 is substantially aligned with the center position L_m of the guide track 14, that is, returns to FIG. 6a. In this position, the drive unit 436 causes the rotational speeds of the first motor M1 and the second motor M2 to be the same so that the transport carrier 400 is stably maintained traveling on the center position L_m of the guide track 14.

In summary, the transport vehicle and the control method thereof according to the embodiments of the present invention can obtain the relative position information associated with the transport vehicle relative to the guide track by means of averaging processing, and thereby control the transport load. With the direction of travel, so that the transport vehicle can continue to maintain a better driving path while driving without deviation, thereby improving the transport vehicle Stability. The averaging process compares the respective sensing signal groups to filter out part of the signals that may be misjudged and obtain an actual sensing signal group that is closer to the actual driving condition, and thereby obtain relative position information, and the average processed calculation. The action calculates the magnetic sensor closest to the center position of the guiding track according to the actual sensing signal group, and adjusts the rotational speeds of the first and second motors to substantially align the center position of the transporting vehicle. The center position of the guide track.

Although the present invention has been disclosed in the above embodiments, it is not intended to limit the invention, and any one of ordinary skill in the art can make some modifications and refinements without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. The scope of the invention is defined by the scope of the appended claims.

14‧‧‧ Guide track

100, 200, 400‧‧‧ transport vehicles

110, 210, 410‧‧‧ power units

120, 220, 420‧‧‧ Sensing unit

130, 230, 430‧‧‧Control drive unit

232, 432‧‧‧ Filter unit

234, 434‧‧‧Control unit

436‧‧‧ drive unit

D‧‧‧ spacing

M1‧‧‧first motor

M2‧‧‧second motor

T1‧‧‧First transmission component

T2‧‧‧Second drive assembly

R1~Rn‧‧‧ signal register

S1~S9‧‧‧ Magnetic Sensor

UC‧‧‧ bit comparator

Central location of the Ctr‧‧‧ transport vehicle

L_m‧‧‧Center position of the guiding track

S_G1~S_Gn‧‧‧Sense Signal Group

S_D‧‧‧Drive Signal Group

S_d1‧‧‧ first drive signal

S_d2‧‧‧second drive signal

S_fM‧‧‧ actual sensing signal group

S300~S306, S500~S514‧‧‧ steps

1 is a functional block diagram of a transport vehicle according to an embodiment of the present invention.

2 is a schematic view of a transport carrier in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

3 is a flow chart showing the steps of a method for controlling a transport vehicle according to an embodiment of the present invention.

4 is a schematic view of a transport vehicle according to another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a flow chart showing the steps of a method for controlling a transport vehicle according to another embodiment of the present invention.

6A-6C are schematic views of controlling the traveling direction of the transport vehicle in accordance with the embodiment of Fig. 4.

100‧‧‧Transportation Vehicles

110‧‧‧Power unit

120‧‧‧Sensor unit

130‧‧‧Control drive unit

S_G1~S_Gn‧‧‧Sense Signal Group

S_D‧‧‧Drive Signal Group

Claims (14)

A transport vehicle includes: a power unit configured to react the transport vehicle on a guide track in response to a drive signal group; a sensing unit configured to sense the guide track The magnetic force is applied to generate a plurality of sensing signal groups in a sensing period; and a driving control unit coupled between the power unit and the sensing unit, and configured to: receive the sensing signals a signal group; performing an averaging process on the sense signal groups to obtain a relative position information associated with the transport vehicle relative to the guide track; and providing the drive signal group to the power unit based on the relative position information The driving control unit captures and temporarily stores the sensing signals at a plurality of sampling time points in the sensing period. group. The transport vehicle of claim 1, wherein the driving signal group comprises a first driving signal and a second driving signal, the power unit comprising: a first transmission component disposed on the transportation vehicle a second transmission component disposed on a right side of the transportation vehicle; a first motor for actuating the first transmission component, wherein the first motor adjusts the rotation speed according to the first driving signal, and Controlling a transmission speed of the first transmission component; and a second motor for actuating the second transmission component, wherein the second motor adjusts the rotation speed according to the second driving signal, and controls the first The transmission speed of the second transmission assembly, wherein the relative speed between the first transmission assembly and the second transmission assembly determines the direction of travel of the transport vehicle. The transport vehicle of claim 2, wherein each of the sensing signal groups comprises a plurality of sensing signals, the sensing unit comprises: a plurality of magnetic sensors, each of the magnetic sensors a spacing is disposed on the transporting carrier for sensing a magnetic force on the guiding track to generate corresponding sensing signals, wherein the magnetic sensor is located in a portion of the magnetic field of the guiding track The magnetic force of the track should be guided to generate an enabled sensing signal, wherein another portion of the magnetic sensor outside the magnetic range of the guiding track does not sense the magnetic force of the guiding track to generate an inactive sensing signal. . The transport vehicle of claim 3, wherein the driving control unit comprises: a filtering unit coupled to the sensing unit for performing the averaging processing to compare the sensing signal groups and borrowing And selecting, by the comparison result, one of the sensing signal groups is an actual sensing signal group, thereby obtaining the relative position information; a control unit coupled to the filtering unit, configured to use the actual sensing signal group according to the actual sensing signal group The sensing signals are used to calculate the center position of the magnetic sensors closest to the guiding track; and a driving unit coupled to the control unit to generate the first and the first according to the calculation result of the control unit The second driving signal to separately control the The first and the second motor are rotated so that the center position of the transport carrier is substantially aligned with the center position of the guide track. The transport vehicle of claim 4, wherein the filtering unit comprises: a plurality of signal registers for respectively capturing and temporarily storing the senses at the sampling time points in the sensing period a group of test signals, wherein a difference between two adjacent sampling time points is substantially a reaction time of each of the magnetic sensors; and a one-bit comparator coupled to the signal registers to receive and compare the plurality of signals The difference between the sensing signal groups is selected to select the sensing signal group with the smallest difference among the sensing signal groups as the actual sensing signal group, thereby obtaining the relative position information. The transport vehicle of claim 4, wherein the control unit sequentially sets the arrangement numbers of the magnetic sensors to correspond to the sensing signals enabled in the actual sensing signal group. The number and arrangement number of the magnetic sensors are used to calculate the center position of the magnetic sensors closest to the guiding track. A control method for a transport vehicle includes: reacting a transport signal group to drive the transport vehicle on a guide track; sensing a magnetic force on the guide track to generate a plurality of senses in a sensing cycle a group of test signals; performing an averaging process on the sense signal groups to obtain a relative position information associated with the transport vehicle relative to the guide track; and providing the drive signal group based on the relative position information, thereby The central position of the transport vehicle is substantially aligned with the center position of the guide track. The averaging process includes: capturing and temporarily storing the sense signal groups at a plurality of sampling time points in the sensing period. The control method of the transport vehicle of claim 7, wherein the driving signal group includes a first driving signal and a second driving signal, and the driving vehicle is driven in the driving signal group. The step of guiding the track includes: adjusting a rotation speed of the first motor according to the first driving signal, and controlling a transmission speed of the first transmission component disposed on a left side of the transportation vehicle; and according to the second driving The signal adjusts a rotational speed of the second motor, and accordingly controls a transmission speed of the second transmission component disposed on a right side of the transport vehicle, wherein a relative speed between the first transmission component and the second transmission component determines Transport the direction of travel of the vehicle. The control method of the transport vehicle of claim 8, wherein each of the sensing signal groups includes a plurality of sensing signals, and the magnetic force on the guiding track is sensed to generate more during the sensing period. The step of sensing the signal group includes: arranging a plurality of magnetic sensors at a spacing on the transporting vehicle, the magnetic sensors for sensing magnetic forces on the guiding track to generate corresponding sensing a signal, wherein a portion of the magnetic sensor that is within the magnetic range of the guiding track senses a magnetic force of the guiding track to generate an enabled sensing signal, and another portion of the magnetic field outside the guiding track Magnetic sensors The magnetic force of the guiding track is not sensed to generate a disable sensing signal. The method of controlling a transport vehicle according to claim 9, wherein the averaging processing is performed on the sense signal groups to obtain the relative position information associated with the transport vehicle relative to the guide track. The method includes: comparing the sensing signal groups, and selecting one of the sensing signal groups as an actual sensing signal group by using the comparison result, thereby obtaining the relative position information. The method for controlling a transport vehicle according to claim 10, wherein the step of performing the averaging further comprises: receiving and comparing differences between the plurality of sensing signal groups to select the sensing signal groups The sensing signal group with the smallest difference is the actual sensing signal group, wherein the difference between two adjacent sampling time points is substantially the reaction time of each of the magnetic sensors. The control method of the transport vehicle of claim 10, wherein after the step of comparing the sensed signal groups, the control method of the transport vehicle further comprises: according to the actual sense signal group The sensing signal is used to calculate the center of the magnetic sensors that is closest to the guiding track. The control method of the transport vehicle of claim 12, wherein the step of calculating the center position of the magnetic sensors closest to the guide track based on the sensing signals of the actual sensing signal group The method includes: sequentially setting the arrangement numbers of the magnetic sensors; The center position of the magnetic sensors closest to the guiding track is calculated according to the number and arrangement number of the magnetic sensors corresponding to the sensing signals enabled in the actual sensing signal group. The method of controlling a transport vehicle according to claim 12, wherein the driving signal group is provided based on the relative position information, wherein the central position of the transport vehicle is substantially aligned with a center position of the guiding track. The method includes: generating the first and second driving signals to control the rotation speeds of the first and second motors respectively according to a result of calculating a center position of the magnetic sensors closest to the guiding track, so that The center position of the transport vehicle is substantially aligned with the center position of the guide track.