WO2016047208A1

WO2016047208A1 - Transportation vehicle

Info

Publication number: WO2016047208A1
Application number: PCT/JP2015/066231
Authority: WO
Inventors: 真二郎齋藤; 永井　康睦
Original assignee: 日立建機株式会社
Priority date: 2014-09-26
Filing date: 2015-06-04
Publication date: 2016-03-31
Also published as: JP2016071403A

Abstract

In the present invention, a sequence management unit (30) of a dump truck (21) causes the dump truck (21) to enter a loading area (1) from a transportation path (2) in an autonomous travel mode. In the loading area (1), communication is established using an emergency stop signal transmitted between an emergency stop wireless reception unit (32) of the dump truck (21) and an emergency stop wireless transmission unit (16) of a hydraulic shovel (11). The sequence management unit (30) executes an approach operation in the loading area (1) and causes the dump truck (21) to move in reverse from a turnaround point (3) to an approach position (4) in the vicinity of the hydraulic shovel (11). If communications using the emergency stop signal are interrupted during the approach operation, the sequence management unit (30) causes the dump truck (21) to stop.

Description

Transport vehicle

The present invention relates to a transport vehicle capable of autonomous traveling.

2. Description of the Related Art A dump truck that transports a transported object such as crushed stone at a work site such as a mine is known as a transport vehicle capable of autonomous traveling (see, for example, Patent Document 1). The dump truck that is running autonomously moves to the vicinity of the excavator and stops, and the excavator is loaded with transported materials such as crushed stones. In addition, a configuration is known in which a remote operation system is stopped by turning on an emergency stop switch when various industrial machines and construction machines are remotely operated (see, for example, Patent Document 2).

JP 2010-211827 A JP-A-7-57177

Incidentally, in the dump truck described in Patent Document 1, the guidance course data is updated in order to avoid interference with the excavator as the excavator is loaded and moved. However, Patent Document 1 does not disclose any configuration for stopping the dump truck from the shovel side when various problems occur in the shovel, for example.

On the other hand, in Patent Document 2, when the emergency stop switch is turned ON, an emergency stop code is transmitted from the remote operation transmission side, and the remote operation system is stopped by receiving the emergency stop code on the reception side. Is disclosed. However, in the system described in Patent Document 2, when the communication is interrupted and the emergency stop code cannot be transmitted, the dump truck that is traveling autonomously cannot be stopped. For this reason, there is a problem that the dump truck cannot be stopped immediately even if various problems occur when the dump truck approaches the shovel, for example, during an approaching operation.

The present invention has been made in view of the above-described problems of the prior art, and an object of the present invention is to provide a transport vehicle capable of immediately stopping an approaching operation when necessary.

In order to solve the above-described problem, the present invention includes a control device having an autonomous traveling mode in which autonomous traveling is performed, enters a loading area from a transportation path, and a transportation vehicle on which a load is loaded by a loader in the loading area. An emergency stop communication device that establishes communication with the loader using an emergency stop signal within the loading area, and the control device is configured to perform the loading in the autonomous traveling mode. Communication is established by an approaching operation executing device that performs an approaching operation that moves from a starting position in an area to an approaching position for loading the load by the loader, and the emergency stop communication device. When the approaching operation is executed by the approaching operation executing device and communication by the emergency stop communication device is interrupted, the Is characterized in that a approach ing operation stop device for stopping the Chingu operation.

According to the present invention, the transport vehicle in the autonomous traveling mode executes the approaching operation by the approaching operation executing device when the communication of the emergency stop signal by the emergency stop communication device is established. On the other hand, the transport vehicle in the autonomous traveling mode stops the approaching operation by the approaching operation stop device when the communication of the emergency stop signal by the emergency stop communication device is interrupted. For this reason, for example, when a trouble occurs in the loader and communication of the emergency stop signal is interrupted, the transport vehicle in the autonomous traveling mode stops the approaching operation. Therefore, even when the transporting vehicle and the loader are approaching each other as in the approaching operation, the transporting vehicle can be stopped immediately by the interruption of the communication between them.

It is explanatory drawing which shows the state which the dump truck by the 1st Embodiment of this invention drive | works in the loading area | region. It is a top view which shows the loading area | region in FIG. It is a perspective view which shows the dump truck in FIG. It is a front view which shows the dump truck in FIG. It is a front view which shows a status indicator. It is a control block diagram of a dump truck. It is a flowchart which shows an emergency stop process. It is a flowchart which shows the abnormal condition response process in FIG. It is a flowchart which shows the abnormal condition response process by the 2nd Embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows the abnormal condition response process by the 3rd Embodiment of this invention. It is a top view of the same position as Drawing 2 showing the state where the dump truck by a 4th embodiment of the present invention runs in the loading field. It is a flowchart which shows the emergency stop process by the 4th Embodiment of this invention.

Hereinafter, a dump truck as an example of a transport vehicle according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. Here, a hydraulic excavator will be described as an example of the loader.

1 to 8 show a first embodiment of the present invention. 1 and 2, for example, a mine such as a quarry site has a loading area 1 and a transportation path 2. Here, the loading area 1 is a place where a load R such as crushed stone and earth and sand is loaded on the dump truck 21 by the excavator 11. In the loading area 1, excavation work for excavating crushed stone or the like by the excavator 11 is performed in addition to the work of loading the transported goods R onto the dump truck 21. Here, the excavator 11 moves in the loading area 1 as the loading work and the excavation work progress. For this reason, the loading area 1 is a place where the movement track of the dump truck 21 changes as the excavator 11 moves.

The transportation path 2 is provided in connection with the loading area 1. The dump truck 21 enters the loading area 1 from the outside through the transport path 2 in an empty state. The dump truck 21 leaves the loading area 1 through the conveyance path 2 in a state where the conveyance object R is loaded, and carries the conveyance object R toward an external earthing area (not shown). Unless an obstacle or the like appears on the transport path 2, for example, the dump truck 21 travels on the transport path 2 according to a predetermined movement trajectory determined in advance. For this reason, the conveyance path 2 is a place where the movement locus of the dump truck 21 becomes substantially constant.

1 and 2 exemplify a case where one transport path 2 is connected to the loading area 1. In this case, the dump truck 21 passes through the same transport path 2 when entering and leaving the loading area 1. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, a plurality of conveyance paths 2 are connected to the loading area 1, and the dump truck 21 may pass through different conveyance paths 2 when entering and exiting the loading area 1.

The hydraulic excavator 11 includes a lower traveling body 12 that can travel, an upper revolving body 13 that is turnable on the lower traveling body 12, and a work device 14 that is provided on the upper revolving body 13. The upper swing body 13 includes a cab 15 that forms a cab. The operator of the excavator 11 gets on the cab 15.

As shown in FIG. 6, the excavator 11 is provided with an emergency stop radio transmission unit 16 that transmits an emergency stop signal through an antenna 16A. At normal times, the emergency stop radio transmission unit 16 always transmits an emergency stop signal. On the other hand, for example, when the operator operates an emergency stop switch (not shown) in the cab 15 or when an abnormality occurs such as when various problems occur in the hydraulic excavator 11, the emergency stop wireless transmission unit 16 performs the emergency stop. Stops sending the signal for use. The emergency stop radio transmission unit 16 is set with the transmission power of the emergency stop signal so that the emergency stop signal reaches at least the entire loading area 1.

The emergency stop signal is received by the emergency stop radio reception unit 32 of the dump truck 21. Therefore, the sequence management unit 30 of the dump truck 21 can determine whether it is normal or abnormal depending on whether or not the emergency stop radio reception unit 32 receives the emergency stop signal.

As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the dump truck 21 is provided at the vehicle body 22, left and right front wheels 23 rotatably provided at the lower front portion of the vehicle body 22, and rotatably provided at the rear lower portion of the vehicle body 22. The left and right rear wheels 24, a cargo bed 25 provided in the upper rear part of the vehicle body 22 so as to be rotatable (tiltable) in the vertical direction, a cylinder 26 for rotating the cargo bed 25 with respect to the vehicle body 22, It is provided with a cab 27 and the like that are provided at the upper front and form a cab.

As shown in FIG. 6, the dump truck 21 includes a management communication unit 28, a self-position calculation unit 29, a sequence management unit 30, and a travel control unit 31.

The management communication unit 28 communicates with the management station 41. Specifically, the management communication unit 28 receives, for example, various operation commands from the management station 41 and transmits information corresponding to the traveling state to the management station 41.

The self position calculation unit 29 calculates the own vehicle position. Specifically, the self position calculation unit 29 is connected to, for example, a GPS antenna (not shown), and calculates the vehicle position based on a signal transmitted from a GPS satellite.

The sequence management unit 30 constitutes a control device that controls the traveling operation of the dump truck 21. The sequence management unit 30 includes, for example, a microcomputer and executes an emergency stop processing program stored in a storage device (not shown). The sequence management unit 30 has an autonomous traveling mode in which the dump truck 21 autonomously travels and a manual traveling mode in which the dump truck 21 travels by a manual operation of the operator. The autonomous traveling mode and the manual traveling mode are switched based on a manual operation by an operator or a mode command from the management station 41. In the autonomous traveling mode, the dump truck 21 autonomously travels according to its own vehicle position based on an operation command or the like from the management station 41.

The sequence management unit 30 determines the operation of the dump truck 21 in the autonomous travel mode based on the vehicle position calculated by the self-position calculation unit 29 and the operation command received by the management communication unit 28. The traveling control unit 31 controls a steering device for the dump truck 21, a traveling drive device such as an engine and an electric motor, and a braking device such as a brake (all not shown) in accordance with an operation command from the sequence management unit 30. Then, the operation determined by the sequence management unit 30 is executed.

The operation determined by the sequence management unit 30 includes the following operation. When the dump truck 21 exists in the transport path 2, the sequence management unit 30 executes, for example, an operation of entering the loading area 1 from the transport path 2 or an operation of exiting from the loading area 1 to the transport path 2. Further, when the dump truck 21 exists in the loading area 1, the sequence management unit 30 performs a queuing operation, an approaching operation, and an unloading operation in the loading area 1.

In the queuing operation, the sequence management unit 30 moves the dump truck 21 from the connection point (boundary position) to the transport path 2 in the loading area 1 to the turning point 3 that is the start position.

In the approaching operation, the sequence management unit 30 switches the dump truck 21 from the forward operation to the backward operation at the turning point 3 and moves the dump truck 21 to the approaching position 4 located near the hydraulic excavator 11 by the backward operation. .

At this time, the approaching position 4 is a position at which the load R is loaded onto the dump truck 21 by the hydraulic excavator 11. That is, the approaching position 4 is a predetermined position within a range where the working device 14 of the excavator 11 can reach. For this reason, the approaching position 4 moves as the loading operation of the excavator 11 progresses and the excavator 11 moves. As the approaching position 4 moves, the movement trajectory of the approaching operation also changes.

In the unloading operation, the sequence management unit 30 moves the dump truck 21 forward from the approaching position 4 toward the transport path 2.

Here, for example, when another dump truck 21 being loaded is present at the approaching position 4 or when the excavator 11 is not ready for loading, the approaching operation cannot be performed. For this reason, the sequence management unit 30 adjusts the traveling speed of the dump truck 21 or stops the dump truck 21 during the queuing operation. As a result, the sequence management unit 30 causes the dump truck 21 to stand by during the movement by the queuing operation until the approaching operation becomes possible.

On the other hand, in the manual travel mode, for example, the sequence management unit 30 stops the control of the travel control unit 31. In the manual travel mode, the travel controller 31 is directly controlled by the operator when the operator operates a handle or a pedal (both not shown) in the cab 27. In the manual travel mode, the travel control unit 31 may be controlled via the sequence management unit 30. In this case, for example, an operation amount of a handle or a pedal by an operator is input to the sequence management unit 30, and the sequence management unit 30 controls the traveling control unit 31 based on these operation amounts.

Further, the dump truck 21 includes an emergency stop radio reception unit 32 that receives an emergency stop signal transmitted from the excavator 11 through the antenna 32A. The emergency stop radio reception unit 32 constitutes an emergency stop communication device and is connected to the sequence management unit 30. Thereby, the sequence management unit 30 grasps whether or not the emergency stop signal is received by the emergency stop wireless reception unit 32, and determines whether it is normal or abnormal. Then, the sequence management unit 30 executes an emergency stop processing program to be described later. Specifically, when the emergency stop signal cannot be received during the approaching operation, that is, when the emergency stop signal is not communicated with the hydraulic excavator 11, the sequence management unit 30 disconnects the dump truck 21. Executes processing according to an abnormality such as stopping.

The timer 33 is connected to the sequence management unit 30. When the communication by the emergency stop signal is interrupted between the dump truck 21 and the hydraulic excavator 11 during the approaching operation, the timer 33 measures the duration of the communication interruption. The sequence management unit 30 performs an abnormal state handling process, which will be described later, according to the length of the duration.

The dump truck 21 includes a status indicator 34 as an alarm. For example, the status indicators 34 are provided on both sides of the dump truck 21 in the left-right direction. As shown in FIG. 5, the status indicator 34 includes, for example, a normal lamp 34A, an abnormal lamp 34B, and an instruction waiting lamp 34C. These ramps 34A to 34C are arranged in two directions, ie, the front and the side so that they can be seen from the front and the side of the dump truck 21, for example. Further, in order to make it possible to recognize the state of the dump truck 21 from the entire circumference of the dump truck 21, the dump truck 21 is arranged not only on both sides in the left-right direction but also on the rear side of the dump truck 21, for example.

The normal lamp 34A is, for example, a blue light, and lights up when the dump truck 21 is driven in a normal state. The abnormal lamp 34B is, for example, a red light, and is lit when a problem occurs in the dump truck 21 and normal operation cannot be continued. The instruction waiting lamp 34C is, for example, a yellow lamp, and lights up when the dump truck 21 temporarily stops driving.

The status indicator 34 is connected to the sequence management unit 30, and the sequence management unit 30 sets lighting states of the lamps 34A to 34C. For this reason, when communication by the emergency stop signal is interrupted with the excavator 11, the sequence management unit 30 turns on the instruction waiting lamp 34C of the status indicator 34. Thereby, for example, the operator of the excavator 11 can grasp that the dump truck 21 is temporarily stopped by visually checking the status indicator 34 of the dump truck 21.

The management station 41 grasps the work status of the entire mine and manages the dump truck 21 located in the mine. As shown in FIG. 6, the management station 41 includes a management communication unit 42 that transmits or receives various commands and information. The management communication unit 42 receives information corresponding to the traveling state from the dump truck 21. Thereby, the management station 41 grasps the traveling state such as the position and speed of the dump truck 21 and generates an operation command for the dump truck 21 according to the traveling state. Then, the management station 41 transmits various operation commands such as running and stopping to the dump truck 21 through the management communication unit 42 and manages the operation of the dump truck 21.

The dump truck 21 according to the first embodiment has the above-described configuration, and next, emergency stop processing during the autonomous traveling mode by the sequence management unit 30 will be described with reference to FIG.

When the dump truck 21 in the autonomous traveling mode approaches the loading area 1 through the transport path 2, the sequence management unit 30 executes the emergency stop processing program shown in FIG.

Here, when the dump truck 21 reaches the vicinity of the loading area 1, the emergency stop radio reception unit 32 of the dump truck 21 receives the emergency stop signal transmitted from the emergency stop radio transmission unit 16 of the excavator 11. Thereby, communication using the emergency stop signal is established between the dump truck 21 and the excavator 11. At this time, the sequence management unit 30 turns on the normal lamp 34A of the status indicator 34.

In step 1, the sequence management unit 30 determines whether or not the dump truck 21 has reached the turning point 3 that is the starting position of the approaching operation, based on the vehicle position calculated by the self-position calculating unit 29. When it is determined as “NO” in Step 1, the dump truck 21 is considered to be, for example, traveling on the transport path 2 or being cueing and has not reached the turning point 3. For this reason, the process of step 1 is repeated until the dump truck 21 reaches the turning point 3.

On the other hand, when it is determined as “YES” in Step 1, the dump truck 21 has reached the turning point 3 and is therefore considered to start the approaching operation. For this reason, the process proceeds to step 2 and the counter C of the timer 33 is reset to the initial value (C = 0).

In the subsequent step 3, it is determined whether or not wireless communication using an emergency stop signal is established between the dump truck 21 and the excavator 11. When it is determined as “YES” in Step 3, communication using the emergency stop signal is established between the dump truck 21 and the hydraulic excavator 11, and both the dump truck 21 and the hydraulic excavator 11 operate normally. It is thought that. Therefore, the process proceeds to step 4 and the sequence management unit 30 executes the approaching operation and repeats step 2 and subsequent steps.

On the other hand, when “NO” is determined in Step 3, communication using the emergency stop signal is interrupted between the dump truck 21 and the hydraulic excavator 11, and at least one of the dump truck 21 and the hydraulic excavator 11 is lost. It is considered that a problem occurred on one side. For this reason, it transfers to step 5 and stops the dump truck 21 (emergency stop). At this time, in addition to stopping the dump truck 21, the sequence management unit 30 turns off the normal lamp 34A of the status indicator 34 and turns on the instruction waiting lamp 34C. Thereafter, in step 6, the counter C of the timer 33 is incremented by 1, and the process proceeds to step 7.

In step 7, it is determined whether or not the counter C of the timer 33 is larger than a predetermined threshold value C0 (C> C0). At this time, the threshold value C0 is a positive value (C0> 0), and is a time for waiting the dump truck 21 in an emergency stop state until the communication is recovered after the communication is temporarily interrupted. This threshold value C0 is experimentally determined in consideration of the actual operation status and the like, and is set to a value of about several seconds to several minutes, for example.

When it is determined as “NO” in step 7, the value of the counter C does not exceed the threshold value C0, and it is possible that the communication has been interrupted temporarily, such as deterioration of the radio wave environment. . For this reason, the process after step 3 is repeated, and it waits in the state which stopped the dump truck 21 until communication using the signal for emergency stop is recovered.

On the other hand, if “YES” is determined in step 7, the value of the counter C exceeds the threshold value C0, and the emergency stop signal is output even if a predetermined standby time corresponding to the threshold value C0 elapses after communication is interrupted. The communication used is in an unrecoverable abnormal state. As such an abnormal state, for example, when the transmission of the emergency stop signal is artificially stopped by the operator of the hydraulic excavator 11 based on the malfunction of the hydraulic excavator 11, or the emergency stop radio transmission unit 16 and the emergency stop radio A case where a failure occurs in any one of the receiving unit 32 is considered. For this reason, after moving to step 8 and performing the abnormal state handling process, the emergency stop process is terminated.

Next, the abnormal state handling process in FIG. 7 will be described with reference to FIG.

When the abnormal state handling process is executed, the communication is not recovered even if a predetermined standby time has elapsed in the emergency stop state, so that the dump truck 21 is in an abnormal state that cannot be recovered from the emergency stop state. Therefore, in step 11, in order to notify the surroundings that the dump truck 21 is stopped based on the abnormal state, the sequence management unit 30 turns off the instruction waiting lamp 34C and turns on the abnormal lamp 34B.

In subsequent step 12, the sequence management unit 30 transmits a signal indicating the state of the dump truck 21 to the management station 41 through the management communication unit 28. Thereby, the management station 41 grasps that the dump truck 21 is stopped based on the abnormal state, and performs appropriate operation management of the dump truck 21 according to the state of the dump truck 21 and the hydraulic excavator 11.

Specifically, for example, if the cause of the abnormal state is due to a failure of the emergency stop radio reception unit 32 of the dump truck 21, the repair operation is performed by moving the dump truck 21 to a predetermined repair area. Further, if the cause of the abnormal state is due to a malfunction of the hydraulic excavator 11, the dump truck 21 is moved to a predetermined parking area in order to separate the dump truck 21 from the hydraulic excavator 11. Further, when the subsequent dump truck 21 exists in the loading area 1 or in the transport path 2, the subsequent dump truck 21 is stopped or moved to another loading area 1. When the processing in step 12 as described above is completed, the process returns.

Thus, according to the first embodiment, the sequence management unit 30 (control device) of the dump truck 21 approaches when the communication by the emergency stop radio reception unit 32 (emergency stop communication device) is established. When the communication by the emergency stop radio reception unit 32 is interrupted, the approaching operation is stopped by the processing shown in steps 3 and 5 (approaching operation stopping device). For this reason, for example, when trouble occurs in the hydraulic excavator 11 (loader) and communication of the emergency stop signal is interrupted, the dump truck 21 in the autonomous traveling mode stops the approaching operation. Therefore, even when the dump truck 21 and the excavator 11 are close to each other as in the approaching operation, the dump truck 21 can be immediately stopped by the communication between the two being interrupted. Thereby, contact with dump truck 21 and excavator 11 can be avoided.

In addition, when the emergency stop signal communication is interrupted during the approaching operation, the sequence management unit 30 is stopped until a predetermined standby time elapses by the processing (standby device) shown in steps 6 and 7. Wait for communication to recover. For this reason, when the communication is recovered in a short time after the communication is interrupted, the approaching operation can be resumed, and the normal running state can be quickly returned from the emergency stop state.

On the other hand, the sequence management unit 30 executes the process (notification processing device) shown in step 11 when the communication cannot be established even after a predetermined standby time has elapsed since the communication of the emergency stop signal is interrupted, and the status display A device 34 (notifier) informs the surrounding that it is in an emergency stop state. For this reason, the operator of the hydraulic excavator 11 can easily grasp that the dump truck 21 is in an emergency stop state by visually checking the status indicator 34. For example, the operator can contact the management station 41 or the like. In addition, the subsequent response can be performed promptly.

In addition to this, when the communication by the emergency stop radio reception unit 32 is interrupted during the approaching operation, the sequence management unit 30 notifies the external management station 41 that it is in an emergency stop state. Specifically, the sequence management unit 30 performs the process shown in step 12 (emergency stop state notification device) when communication cannot be established even after a predetermined waiting time has elapsed after the communication of the emergency stop signal is interrupted. The management station 41 is notified that it is in an emergency stop state. As a result, the management station 41 can recognize that the dump truck 21 cannot be recovered from the emergency stop state, so that, for example, another dump truck 21 that has succeeded depends on the emergency stop state of the dump truck 21. It is possible to appropriately control the autonomous running state.

Next, FIG. 9 shows a second embodiment of the present invention. The feature of the second embodiment is that the sequence management unit of the dump truck switches from the autonomous travel mode to the manual travel mode in the abnormal state handling process. In the second embodiment, the same components as those in the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, and the description thereof is omitted.

The abnormal state handling process according to the second embodiment shown in FIG. 9 is executed at step 8 in FIG. 7 instead of the abnormal state handling process according to the first embodiment shown in FIG.

In step 21, as in step 11 according to the first embodiment, the sequence management unit 30 turns off the instruction waiting lamp 34C and turns on the abnormal lamp 34B. In subsequent step 22, the sequence management unit 30 switches from the autonomous travel mode to the manual travel mode. As a result, the dump truck 21 becomes unable to autonomously travel and is driven by an operator's operation.

Thus, also in the second embodiment configured as described above, it is possible to obtain substantially the same operational effects as those of the first embodiment described above. In the second embodiment, the sequence management unit 30 of the dump truck 21 performs the process shown in step 22 when communication cannot be established even after a predetermined standby time has elapsed after the communication of the emergency stop signal is interrupted. (Mode switching device) switches from the autonomous travel mode to the manual travel mode. For this reason, when the operator manually controls the dump truck 21, the dump truck 21 can be quickly moved from the position where the emergency stop has occurred.

Next, FIG. 10 shows a third embodiment of the present invention. The feature of the third embodiment resides in that the sequence management unit executes a process of returning the dump truck to the turn-back point in the abnormal state handling process. Note that in the third embodiment, the same components as those in the first embodiment described above are denoted by the same reference numerals, and description thereof is omitted.

The abnormal state handling process according to the third embodiment shown in FIG. 10 is executed in step 8 in FIG. 7 instead of the abnormal state handling process according to the first embodiment shown in FIG.

In step 31, as in step 11 according to the first embodiment, the sequence management unit 30 turns off the instruction waiting lamp 34C and turns on the abnormal lamp 34B. In subsequent step 32, the sequence management unit 30 executes a process of returning the dump truck 21 to the turning point 3. Specifically, the sequence management unit 30 causes the dump truck 21 to travel following the moving track of the approaching operation in the reverse direction, and returns the dump truck 21 to the turn-back point 3.

Thus, also in the third embodiment configured as described above, it is possible to obtain substantially the same operational effects as those of the first embodiment described above. Further, in the third embodiment, the sequence management unit 30 of the dump truck 21 indicates in step 32 when communication cannot be established even if a predetermined standby time has elapsed after the communication of the emergency stop signal is interrupted. The process (start position feedback device) returns to the turning point 3 that is the starting position of the approaching operation. For this reason, for example, even when the dump truck 21 is in an emergency stop state within the operation range of the hydraulic excavator 11, the dump truck 21 can be moved to the turning point 3 and the dump truck 21 can be pulled away from the hydraulic excavator 11.

Next, FIG. 11 and FIG. 12 show a fourth embodiment of the present invention. The feature of the fourth embodiment is that the approaching operation is started when the dump truck enters the loading area. Note that in the fourth embodiment, the same components as those in the first embodiment described above are denoted by the same reference numerals, and description thereof is omitted.

The dump truck 51 according to the fourth embodiment is configured in substantially the same manner as the dump truck 21 according to the first embodiment. However, the sequence management unit 30 of the dump truck 51 starts an approaching operation when the dump truck 51 enters the loading area 1. For this reason, the boundary position 52 between the transport path 2 and the loading area 1 is the starting position of the approaching operation. At this time, the queuing operation is executed before entering the loading area 1, that is, in the transport path 2. For this reason, the dump truck 51 performs an approaching operation and an unloading operation in the loading area 1.

Further, when performing the approaching operation, the dump truck 51 moves from the boundary position 52 to the approaching position 4 by the forward operation. A load R is loaded onto the dump truck 51 stopped at the approaching position 4 by the excavator 11. The dump truck 51 loaded with the transported object R performs a carry-out operation, and moves (advances forward) from the approaching position 4 toward the transport path 2. In this way, the dump truck 51 moves in the stacking area 1 so as to draw a substantially C-shaped movement trajectory.

FIG. 12 shows an emergency stop process according to the fourth embodiment. In the emergency stop process according to the fourth embodiment, step 51 is executed instead of step 1 of the emergency stop process according to the first embodiment.

In step 51, the sequence management unit 30 determines whether or not the dump truck 51 has reached the boundary position 52 that is the starting position of the approaching operation, based on the vehicle position calculated by the self-position calculating unit 29. When it is determined as “NO” in step 1, for example, the dump truck 51 can be considered to be traveling on the transport path 2 and not entering the loading area 1 from the transport path 2. For this reason, the process of step 51 is repeated until the dump truck 51 reaches the boundary position 52.

On the other hand, when it is determined “YES” in step 51, it is considered that the dump truck 51 starts the approaching operation because it reaches the boundary position 52. For this reason, the process after step 2 is performed similarly to the emergency stop process by 1st Embodiment.

In the fourth embodiment, the boundary position 52 between the loading area 1 and the transport path 2 is set as the starting position of the approaching operation, and the dump truck 51 performs the approaching operation and the unloading operation in the loading area 1. It was supposed to be. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the start position of the approaching operation may be arranged in the loading area 1. In this case, the dump truck moves inside the loading area from a cueing movement that moves to the starting position, an approaching movement that moves from the starting position to the approaching position, and moves from the approaching position toward the conveyance path. Carry out the unloading operation.

In the first to fourth embodiments, step 4 in FIGS. 7 and 12 shows a specific example of the approaching operation execution device. Steps 3 and 5 show specific examples of the approaching operation stopping device. Steps 6 and 7 show specific examples of the standby device. Step 12 in FIG. 8 shows a specific example of the emergency stop state notification device. Step 22 in FIG. 9 shows a specific example of the mode switching device. Step 32 in FIG. 10 shows a specific example of the start position feedback device. Further, steps 11, 21, and 31 in FIGS. 8, 9, and 10 show specific examples of the notification processing device.

In each of the above-described embodiments, the sequence management unit 30 notifies the management station 41 that the emergency stop state is in effect when communication cannot be established even after a predetermined time has elapsed since the communication of the emergency stop signal was interrupted. It was. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the sequence management unit may notify the management station that the emergency stop signal is in an emergency state immediately after communication of the emergency stop signal is interrupted, or may omit the report to the management station. Good.

In each of the above-described embodiments, the status indicator 34 includes the three color lamps 34A to 34C of blue, red, and yellow, but may be configured to include only the lamps of two colors of blue and red, for example. In this case, when the

dump trucks

21 and 51 are in a normal state, the blue lamp is turned on. When the

dump trucks

21 and 51 are temporarily stopped due to the interruption of the wireless communication of the emergency stop signal, the red lamp is blinked. If the wireless communication of the emergency stop signal is not recovered even after a predetermined time has elapsed after the

dump trucks

21 and 51 are stopped, the red lamp is lit continuously in time. As a result, the state of the

dump trucks

21 and 51 can be notified to the surroundings.

In each of the above embodiments, a notification device that notifies the state of the

dump trucks

21 and 51 by the state display 34 is configured. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the alarm device may be configured by an alarm device that notifies the state of the dump truck by sound, for example. The dump truck during the approaching operation is generally in an empty state. For this reason, it is good also as a structure which raises an empty cargo bed, when the dump truck stops in the middle of approaching operation | movement by the radio | wireless communication of the signal for emergency stop having been interrupted. In this case, the cargo bed constitutes an alarm.

In each of the above-described embodiments, the sequence management unit 30 of the

dump trucks

21 and 51 is configured to have two modes, the autonomous traveling mode and the manual traveling mode. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the sequence management unit of the dump truck may have only the autonomous traveling mode.

In each of the above embodiments, the backhoe type hydraulic excavator 11 is described as an example of the loader. However, the loader may be a loader bucket type hydraulic excavator or a wheel loader. The loader may perform only the loading operation without performing the excavation operation. The loader is not limited to one in which the vehicle body moves, but may be one in which the vehicle body is fixed.

The above embodiments are merely examples, and it is needless to say that partial replacement or combination of the configurations shown in the different embodiments is possible.

1 Loading area 2 Transport path 3 Turning point (starting position)
4 Approaching position 11 Hydraulic excavator (loader)
16 Emergency

stop radio transmitter

21, 51 Dump truck (transportation vehicle)
25 Loading platform 29 Self-position calculation unit 30 Sequence management unit (control device)
31 Travel Control Unit 32 Emergency Stop Radio Receiver (Emergency Stop Communication Device)
34 Status indicator (alarm)
41 management station 52 boundary position (start position)

Claims

A control device (30) having an autonomous traveling mode for autonomously traveling is provided, enters the loading area (1) from the conveying path (2), and is conveyed by the loader (11) in the loading area (1). Is a transport vehicle (21, 51) loaded with
An emergency stop communication device (32) for establishing communication with the loader (11) using an emergency stop signal in the loading area (1);
The control device (30)
In the autonomous traveling mode, an approaching operation of moving from a starting position (2, 52) in the loading area (1) to an approaching position for loading the transported goods (R) by the loader (11). An approaching action execution device to perform;
When communication by the emergency stop communication device (32) has been established, an approaching operation is executed by the approaching operation execution device, and when communication by the emergency stop communication device (32) is interrupted, A transport vehicle comprising an approaching operation stopping device for stopping the approaching operation.
When the communication by the emergency stop communication device (32) is interrupted during the approaching operation, the control device (30) notifies the external management station (41) that it is in an emergency stop state. The transport vehicle according to claim 1, further comprising a state notification device.
The control device (30) further includes a standby device that waits in a stopped state when communication by the emergency stop communication device (32) is interrupted,
The emergency stop state reporting device is in an emergency stop state to the management station (41) when communication cannot be established even after a predetermined time has elapsed since the communication by the emergency stop communication device (32) is interrupted. The transport vehicle according to claim 2, which is notified.
The control device (30)
A standby device that waits in a stopped state when communication by the emergency stop communication device (32) is interrupted;
A mode switching device for switching from the autonomous traveling mode to the manual traveling mode that travels by manual operation when communication cannot be established even after a predetermined time has elapsed since the communication by the emergency stop communication device (32) was interrupted; The transport vehicle according to claim 1.
The control device (30)
A standby device that waits in a stopped state when communication by the emergency stop communication device (32) is interrupted;
A start position feedback device for returning to the start position (3, 52) when communication cannot be established even after a predetermined time has elapsed since communication by the emergency stop communication device (32) is interrupted. The transport vehicle according to 1.
The control device (30)
A standby device that waits in a stopped state when communication by the emergency stop communication device (32) is interrupted;
A notification processing device for notifying the surroundings of an emergency stop state by a notification device (34) when communication cannot be established even after a predetermined time has elapsed since the communication by the emergency stop communication device (32) is interrupted; The transport vehicle according to claim 1, further comprising: