WO2017110249A1 - Mobile body - Google Patents

Abstract

The purpose of the present invention is to suppress travel of a mobile body, reflective of the intentions of a passenger, in a mobile body for which travel is suppressed on the basis of a detected object around the mobile body, in order to reduce collisions between the mobile body and a detected object around the mobile body. In the present invention, a control device of an electric wheelchair is provided with: a standard suppression region setting unit that sets a standard suppression region to serve as a standard, the standard suppression region being a suppression region in which travel of the electric wheelchair is suppressed when a detected object detected by a detecting device is positioned within the region; and a reduced suppression region setting unit that sets, on the basis of an intention of the passenger or the type of a detected object located in a peripheral region, which is a region on both sides of a predicted travel region of the electric wheelchair 1, a reduced suppression region, which is a suppression region that has been reduced in size, in respect to the standard suppression region set by the standard suppression region setting unit.

Description

Moving body

The present invention relates to a moving body, and more particularly to a moving body that travels by the operation of an occupant.

As a type of moving body that moves when operated by an occupant, one shown in Patent Document 1 is known. The moving body (for example, an electric wheelchair) of Patent Document 1 includes a peripheral object detection unit that detects a peripheral object (detected object) existing around the moving body, and an upper limit speed setting unit that sets an upper limit speed of the moving body. It has. The upper limit speed setting means sets the upper limit speed to be suppressed when there is an object to be detected in an area on the path of the moving body and a side area of the area on the path. Thereby, the collision with a to-be-detected object and a moving body is suppressed. The upper limit speed setting means sets the upper limit speed according to the region where the detected object is located, the relative speed between the moving body and the detected object, and the like.

Japanese Patent No. 5338398

In the moving object of Patent Document 1, for example, when a moving object is traveling on a relatively narrow road, if a stationary object such as a plant is detected as an object to be detected located in a side area, the upper limit speed The upper limit speed of the moving body is suppressed by the setting means. In this case, since the object to be detected is only a stationary object, it may be desired to travel faster than the suppressed speed. At this time, a gap is generated between the travel in which the moving body is suppressed and the travel intended by the occupant.

Therefore, the present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems, and based on the detected objects around the moving body in order to suppress the collision between the moving body and the detected objects around the moving body. An object of the present invention is to suppress the traveling of a moving body reflecting the occupant's intention in a moving body that suppresses the traveling of the moving body.

In order to solve the above-mentioned problem, a moving body according to claim 1 is a moving body that is driven by a driving device that is driven in accordance with an input to an operating device by an occupant, and the moving body is detected around the moving body. A detection device that detects an object, and a control device that controls the driving amount of the drive device based on input information that is information input to the operation device, and causes the moving body to travel. When the detected object detected by the vehicle is located within the region, the reference region is a suppression region in which travel of the moving body is suppressed, and a reference suppression region setting unit that sets a reference suppression region that serves as a reference; Alternatively, the suppression region reduced with respect to the reference suppression region set by the reference suppression region setting unit based on the type of the detection object located in the peripheral region that is the region on both sides of the predicted progress region of the moving object Reduction suppression that is It includes a reduction suppression area setting unit for setting a frequency, a.

According to this, based on the passenger's intention, the reduction suppression region setting unit sets a reduction suppression region that is reduced with respect to the reference suppression region. That is, the suppression area can be reduced. Therefore, when the moving object is suppressed because the object to be detected is located in the reference suppression area, the reference suppression area is switched (reduced) to the reduction suppression area, thereby being positioned in the reference suppression area. When the object to be detected is located outside the reduction suppression region, the suppression of the traveling of the moving body is released. In this case, since the object to be detected is located in the reference suppression region, when the traveling of the moving body is suppressed from the traveling intended by the occupant, the suppression of the traveling of the moving body is canceled, A gap between the suppressed traveling and the traveling intended by the occupant is suppressed.
Further, the reduction suppression area setting unit sets the reduction suppression area based on the type of the detection object located in the peripheral area. When the suppression area is set as the reduction suppression area, the detected object is unlikely to be located in the suppression area. As a result, when the object to be detected is not located within the suppression region, the traveling of the moving body is not suppressed, so that the traveling intended by the occupant is possible. Therefore, at this time, the gap between the travel in which the moving body is suppressed and the travel intended by the occupant is suppressed. Accordingly, the moving body can suppress the traveling of the moving body reflecting the occupant's intention.

It is a schematic diagram which shows the structure of 1st embodiment of the moving body by this invention. It is a partial expanded sectional view which shows the operating device and cancellation request | requirement detection apparatus which are shown in FIG. It is a schematic diagram which shows the input information input into the operating device of FIG. 1, The vertical axis | shaft represents the front-back direction of the moving body, and the horizontal axis represents the left-right direction of the moving body. It is a block diagram of the moving body shown in FIG. It is the 1st map memorize | stored in the control apparatus shown in FIG. 4, and is a map which showed the relationship between desired linear advance speed and the linear advance speed of a mobile body. It is the 2nd map memorize | stored in the control apparatus shown in FIG. 4, and is a map which showed the relationship between desired turning speed and turning speed of a mobile body. It is a schematic diagram which shows the prediction progress area | region and periphery area | region which are produced | generated on a polar coordinate by the course prediction part shown in FIG. 4, The vertical axis | shaft of a polar coordinate is the front-back direction of a mobile body, The horizontal axis of a polar coordinate is the left-right direction of a mobile body Represents. It is a schematic diagram which shows the reference | standard suppression area | region set on a polar coordinate by the reference | standard suppression area | region setting part shown in FIG. It is a schematic diagram which shows the reduction suppression area | region set on a polar coordinate by the reduction suppression area | region setting part shown in FIG. FIG. 6 is a third map stored in the control device shown in FIG. 4, and the shortest distance between the moving body and the detected object when the detected object is located in the suppression region, and the limited driving amount of the driving amount of the driving device Is a map showing the relationship. It is a flowchart of the program run with the control apparatus shown in FIG. It is a flowchart of the program run with the control apparatus shown in FIG. It is a schematic diagram which shows the modification of the suppression area | region set on a polar coordinate by the reference | standard suppression area | region setting part and reduction suppression area | region setting part which are shown in FIG. It is a block diagram of the mobile concerning a second embodiment of the present invention. It is a schematic diagram which shows the reference | standard suppression area | region set on a polar coordinate by the reference | standard suppression area | region setting part shown in FIG. FIG. 14 is a schematic diagram showing a reduction suppression region set on polar coordinates by the reduction suppression region setting unit shown in FIG. 13 and a detected object grid that appears on the polar coordinates when the moving body is traveling on a relatively narrow alley. is there. It is a schematic diagram which shows the occluary grid used for the modification of the derivation method of the occupation rate by the occupation rate derivation | leading-out part shown in FIG. It is the 4th map memorized by the control device shown in Drawing 13, and is a map which showed the relation between a peripheral thing and a control field. It is a schematic diagram which shows the area | region expansion control which the area | region expansion control part shown in FIG. 13 performs. FIG. 14 is a fifth map stored in the control device shown in FIG. 13, showing a relationship among the acceleration, peripheral objects, occupation ratio, and execution of area expansion control of a moving object. It is a flowchart of the program run with the control apparatus shown in FIG. It is a 14th map memorized by a control device of a mobile object concerning a modification of a second embodiment of the present invention, and is a map showing a relation between an occupation rate and a control area. It is the 24th map memorized by the control device of the mobile object concerning the modification of the second embodiment of the present invention, and is the map which showed the relation between a peripheral thing, an occupation rate, and a control field. It is the 15th map memorized by the control device of the mobile object concerning the modification of the second embodiment of the present invention, and is the map which showed the relation between a peripheral thing and an occupation rate, and execution of field expansion control.

<First embodiment>
Hereinafter, a first embodiment of a moving body according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. An example of the electric wheelchair 1 shown in FIG. 1 will be described as a moving body in the present embodiment. In this specification, for convenience of explanation, the upper side and the lower side in FIG. 1 are the upper and lower sides of the electric wheelchair 1, respectively, and the lower left side and the upper right side are the front and rear sides of the electric wheelchair 1, respectively. The lower right side will be described as the right side and the left side of the electric wheelchair 1, respectively. Further, FIG. 1 shows arrows indicating the respective directions.

1 and 2, the electric wheelchair 1 includes a wheelchair body 10, a drive device 20, an operation device 30, a release request detection device 40, a detection device 50, and a control device 60. The electric wheelchair 1 is a moving body that travels by a drive device 20 that is driven according to an input to the operation device 30 by an occupant. The drive device 20, the operation device 30, the release request detection device 40, the detection device 50, and the control device 60 are attached to the wheelchair body 10.

The wheelchair body 10 includes a frame 11, a seat 12 on which an occupant is seated, and wheels 13. The seat 12 and the wheel 13 are attached to the frame 11. The wheel 13 is configured to be rotatable around a rotation axis. The wheels 13 are disposed on the left and right sides of the wheelchair body 10 and are driven by the driving device 20. The left driving wheel 13 a and the right driving wheel 13 b, and the left auxiliary wheel 13 c and the right auxiliary wheel that assist the traveling of the electric wheelchair 1. 13d.

The driving device 20 drives the electric wheelchair 1 by driving the driving wheels 13a and 13b to rotate. The drive device 20 is configured, for example, by combining an electric motor (not shown) and a speed reducer (not shown). One drive device 20 is provided for each drive wheel 13a, 13b (two in total).

The operating device 30 is operated by the occupant to instruct the straight traveling speed v and the turning speed w of the electric wheelchair 1. The straight traveling speed v is the speed of the electric wheelchair 1 in the forward direction (front direction) of the electric wheelchair 1. The turning speed w is an angular speed at which the electric wheelchair 1 turns around the center of gravity of the electric wheelchair 1 at the place where the electric wheelchair 1 is located. In the present embodiment, the operating device 30 is a joystick. As shown in FIG. 2, the operating device 30 includes a lever portion 31 and a pedestal portion 32 that supports the lever portion 31 so as to be tiltable.

The operating device 30 is positioned with the lever portion 31 standing in the vertical direction at an unoperated position (hereinafter referred to as a neutral position) indicated by a broken line in FIG. The operating device 30 is operated by tilting the lever portion 31 from the neutral position to the occupant. The state in which the lever portion 31 is operated can be represented by the coordinates of the tip of the operating device 30 when the operating device 30 is projected onto the XY plane parallel to the horizontal plane, as shown in FIG. The X axis is the same as the front-rear direction of the electric wheelchair 1, and the positive direction of the X axis is the same direction as the front direction of the electric wheelchair 1. The Y axis is the same as the left-right direction of the electric wheelchair 1, and the positive direction of the Y axis is the same direction as the right direction of the electric wheelchair 1. The value of the X coordinate is a desired straight traveling speed xjs that is a straight traveling speed of the electric wheelchair 1 desired by the passenger. The value of the Y coordinate is a desired turning speed yjs that is a turning speed of the electric wheelchair 1 desired by the occupant. The desired straight traveling speed xjs and the desired turning speed yjs are output to the control device 60 every first predetermined time as input information that is information input to the operation device 30. The first predetermined time is 1/25 seconds, for example.

The cancellation request detection device 40 detects the strength of the cancellation request by the occupant's operation. The cancellation request is a cancellation request for suppressing travel of the electric wheelchair 1 to be described later. The release request detection device 40 detects the strength of the release request based on the magnitude of the pressing load described later. That is, it is detected that the strength of the release request increases as the pressing load increases. The release request detection device 40 includes a protrusion 41 and a load detection unit 42.

As shown in FIG. 2, the protrusion 41 is formed at the lower end portion of the lever portion 31 so as to protrude forward.
The load detection part 42 is provided in the base part 32 at a position where the protrusion 41 can come into contact when the lever part 31 is tilted forward. The load detection unit 42 detects the load from the projection 41 when the projection 41 comes into contact. This load is an operation load (hereinafter, referred to as a pressing load) when the occupant operates the lever portion 31 to tilt forward and presses the projection 41 against the load detection portion 42. The load detection unit 42 is, for example, a strain gauge type load sensor. The load detection unit 42 transmits the detection result to the control device 60.

The detection device 50 detects an object to be detected around the electric wheelchair 1. The detection device 50 is a three-dimensional range sensor (laser range scanner (3D scanner)). The detection device 50 emits a laser from the detection unit 51 in the horizontal direction and the vertical direction (three-dimensionally), and receives a reflected wave from the detection object by the detection unit 51, thereby detecting the presence or absence of the detection object. And the distance from the detection part 51 to a to-be-detected object is acquired as to-be-detected object information. The detection device 50 emits lasers radially in front of the electric wheelchair 1. For example, the detection device 50 acquires detected object information every first predetermined time. The detected object information acquired by the detection device 50 is output to the control device 60.

The control device 60 controls the drive amount of the drive device 20 based on the input information to run the electric wheelchair 1. As shown in FIG. 4, the control device 60 is connected to the drive device 20, the operation device 30, the release request detection device 40, and the detection device 50. The control device 60 includes a travel control unit 61 and a collision suppression control unit 62.

The traveling control unit 61 performs traveling control for traveling the electric wheelchair 1. The travel control unit 61 includes a straight traveling speed deriving unit 61a, a turning speed deriving unit 61b, and a drive amount control unit 61c.

The straight traveling speed deriving unit 61a derives the straight traveling speed v of the electric wheelchair 1. The straight traveling speed deriving unit 61a obtains the desired straight traveling speed xjs that is the input information from the controller device 30 and converts it into the straight traveling speed v. Specifically, the straight traveling speed deriving unit 61a derives the straight traveling speed v from the acquired desired straight traveling speed xjs based on the first map M1 shown in FIG. 5A. The first map M1 shows the relationship between the desired straight traveling speed xjs and the straight traveling speed v. The first map M1 includes a proportional part mv1 in which the desired straight speed xjs and the straight speed v are proportional, and a dead part mv2 in which the straight speed v is a constant value regardless of the magnitude of the desired straight speed xjs. When the straight traveling speed v is positive, the electric wheelchair 1 moves forward. On the other hand, when the straight traveling speed v is negative, the electric wheelchair 1 moves backward. The straight traveling speed deriving unit 61a outputs the derived straight traveling speed v to the drive amount control unit 61c.

The turning speed deriving unit 61 b is for deriving the turning speed w of the electric wheelchair 1. The turning speed deriving unit 61b acquires the desired turning speed yjs that is input information from the operation device 30, and converts it to the turning speed w. Specifically, the turning speed deriving unit 61b derives the turning speed w from the acquired desired turning speed yjs based on the second map M2 shown in FIG. 5B. The second map M2 shows the relationship between the desired turning speed yjs and the turning speed w. The second map M2 includes a proportional part mw1 in which the desired turning speed yjs and the turning speed w are proportional, and a dead part mw2 in which the turning speed w is a constant value regardless of the magnitude of the desired turning speed yjs. When the turning speed w is positive, the electric wheelchair 1 turns right. On the other hand, when the turning speed w is negative, the electric wheelchair 1 turns left. The turning speed deriving unit 61b outputs the derived turning speed w to the drive amount control unit 61c.

The driving amount control unit 61c controls the driving amount (the number of rotations) of the driving device 20 based on the straight traveling speed v acquired from the straight traveling speed deriving unit 61a and the turning speed w acquired from the turning speed deriving unit 61b. The drive amount control unit 61c derives the rotation speed of the left drive wheel 13a and the rotation speed of the right drive wheel 13b based on the acquired straight traveling speed v and turning speed w. The magnitude of the rotational speed of each drive wheel 13a, 13b is proportional to the magnitude of the straight traveling speed v, and the magnitude of the difference between the rotational speed of the left drive wheel 13a and the rotational speed of the right drive wheel 13b is large. The rotational speeds of the drive wheels 13a and 13b are derived so as to be proportional to the magnitude of the turning speed w. The relationship between the straight traveling speed v and the turning speed w and the rotational speed of each of the drive wheels 13a and 13b is derived by being measured in advance through experiments or the like. Since the drive device 20 is PWM-controlled, the control command value for the drive device 20 is calculated by the duty ratio. The drive amount control unit 61c includes a drive amount suppression unit 61c1. The drive amount suppression unit 61c1 suppresses the drive amount of the drive device 20 in accordance with a control command from the collision suppression control unit 62 (described later).

The collision suppression control unit 62 performs collision suppression control for suppressing the collision between the electric wheelchair 1 and the detected object. As shown in FIG. 4, the collision suppression control unit 62 includes a course prediction unit 62a, a reference suppression region setting unit 62b, a reduction suppression region setting unit 62c, a release request acquisition unit 62d, a region switching unit 62e, and an obstacle presence / absence determination unit 62f. It has.

The course prediction unit 62a predicts the course of the electric wheelchair 1 based on input information (desired straight traveling speed xjs and desired turning speed yjs) from the operation device 30. The course prediction unit 62a predicts the course of the electric wheelchair 1 on the polar coordinates C as shown in FIG. The polar coordinates C are arranged in parallel with the horizontal plane, and are polar coordinates in which the center position of the front end of the electric wheelchair 1 is the origin C0 and the upper side in FIG. The angle range of the polar coordinates C corresponds to an angle range in which the detection device 50 can detect an object to be detected. The polar coordinates C include a plurality of grids G that are partitioned at predetermined intervals in the radial direction and the circumferential direction (for example, at intervals of 1 m in the radial direction and 5 ° intervals in the circumferential direction).

Specifically, the predicted progress area Wy that is the course of the electric wheelchair 1 predicted by the course prediction unit 62a is from the time when the control device 60 acquires the input information to the time when a second predetermined time (for example, 5 seconds) elapses. It is shown by the movement locus of the electric wheelchair 1. That is, the width of the predicted progress area Wy corresponds to the width of the electric wheelchair 1. The predicted progress area Wy is generated based on a predetermined function that is obtained by actual measurement through experiments or the like from the straight traveling speed v and the turning speed w. The predicted progress area Wy is generated (updated) every first predetermined time when the control device 60 acquires input information from the operation device 30.
In addition, among the regions of polar coordinates C, the regions on both sides of the predicted progress region Wy are generated as the peripheral region Rs.

The reference suppression region setting unit 62b is a suppression region in which the traveling of the electric wheelchair 1 is suppressed when the detection object detected by the detection device 50 is located in the region, and sets a reference suppression region Rb that serves as a reference. To do. As shown in FIG. 7, the reference suppression region Rb is set in a fan shape that extends along the prediction progress region Wy, is larger than the width of the prediction progress region Wy, and has a reference width Bb that serves as a reference value. . The shape of the reference suppression region Rb changes according to a change in the predicted progress region Wy due to a change in input information. The shape of the reference suppression region Rb illustrated in FIG. 7 is a shape when the predicted progress region Wy extends straight forward. When the detection object detected by the detection device 50 is positioned in the reference suppression region Rb, the traveling of the electric wheelchair 1 is suppressed (described later). The reference suppression region Rb set by the reference suppression region setting unit 62b is output to the region switching unit 62e.

The reduction suppression region setting unit 62c sets reduction suppression regions Rr1 and Rr2 that are reduced suppression regions with respect to the reference suppression region Rb set by the reference suppression region setting unit 62b. The reduction suppression region setting unit 62c sets the first reduction suppression region Rr1 and the second reduction suppression region Rr2. As shown in FIG. 8, the first reduction suppression region Rr1 extends along the predicted progress region Wy and is set in a fan shape with the first width Br set. The first width Br is set to a value between the width of the predicted progress area Wy and the reference width Bb. That is, the first reduction suppression region Rr1 is a region included in the reference suppression region Rb. The shape of the first reduction suppression region Rr1 changes according to the change in the predicted progress region Wy due to the change in input information. The shape of the first reduction suppression region Rr1 illustrated in FIG. 8 is a shape when the predicted progress region Wy extends straight forward.

Also, the second reduction suppression region Rr2 is set to the same region as the predicted progress region Wy. That is, the width is set to be gradually reduced in the order of the reference suppression region Rb, the first reduction suppression region Rr1, and the second reduction suppression region Rr2. When the detection object detected by the detection device 50 is positioned in each of the reduction suppression regions Rr1 and Rr2, traveling of the electric wheelchair 1 is suppressed (described later). The respective reduction suppression regions Rr1 and Rr2 set by the reduction suppression region setting unit 62c are output to the region switching unit 62e. Thus, the three suppression areas of the reference suppression area Rb, the first reduction suppression area Rr1, and the second reduction suppression area Rr2 are set as the suppression area of the first embodiment.

The cancellation request acquisition unit 62d acquires the strength of the cancellation request. Specifically, the release request acquisition unit 62d acquires the pressing load of the occupant detected by the load detection unit 42. The pressing load acquired by the release request acquisition unit 62d is output to the region switching unit 62e.

The region switching unit 62e is set by the reference suppression region setting unit 62b based on the strength of the cancellation request detected by the cancellation request detection device 40 (the cancellation request acquisition unit 62d) and the determination result of the obstacle presence / absence determination unit 62f. The reference suppression region Rb is switched to the reduction suppression regions Rr1 and Rr2 set by the reduction suppression region setting unit 62c. Specifically, the region switching unit 62e switches from the reference suppression region Rb to each of the reduction suppression regions Rr1 and Rr2 based on the presence or absence of an obstacle and the magnitude of the pressing load from the release request acquisition unit 62d. In the present embodiment, the region switching unit 62e switches (selects) the reference suppression region Rb and the reduction suppression regions Rr1 and Rr2 by region switching control described later. The respective reduction suppression regions Rr1 and Rr2 switched by the region switching unit 62e are output to the obstacle presence / absence determining unit 62f. Further, when the region switching unit 62e does not switch the reference suppression region Rb, the reference suppression region Rb is output to the obstacle presence / absence determination unit 62f.

The obstacle presence / absence determination unit 62f determines the presence / absence of an obstacle based on the detected object information detected by the detection device 50 and the suppression region from the region switching unit 62e. The obstacle is an object to be detected that is located in the suppression region. That is, the obstacle presence / absence determination unit 62f determines that there is an obstacle when the detected object detected by the detection device 50 is located within the suppression region from the region switching unit 62e. On the other hand, the obstacle presence / absence determination unit 62f has no obstacle when the detected object detected by the detection device 50 is not located within the suppression region from the region switching unit 62e (that is, located outside the suppression region). Is determined.

The obstacle presence / absence determination control for determining the presence / absence of an obstacle performed by the obstacle presence / absence determination unit 62f will be described. First, the detected object information from the detection device 50 is projected onto the polar coordinates C. The detected object information is coordinate data of a point group PG composed of a plurality of points P representing the three-dimensional position information of the detected object. As shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, a grid G in which the number of points P of the point group PG projected onto the polar coordinates C is equal to or greater than a predetermined number is a detected object grid that is a grid G in which the detected object exists. The The predetermined number is, for example, three. When the detected object grid and the suppression region overlap, the obstacle presence / absence determination unit 62f determines that there is an obstacle. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 7, there are three detected object grids Gk1, Gk2, Gk3 based on the detected information from the detection device 50, and the suppression region is set by the reference suppression region setting unit 62b. If the detected object grids Gk2 and Gk3 overlap the reference suppression area Rb in the case of the reference suppression area Rb, the obstacle presence / absence determination unit 62f determines that there is an obstacle.

On the other hand, if the detected object grid and the suppression region do not overlap, the obstacle presence / absence determination unit 62f determines that there is no obstacle. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 8, there are three detected object grids Gk1, Gk2, and Gk3 based on the detected information from the detecting device 50, and the suppression region is set by the reduction suppression region setting unit 62c. In the case where the first reduction suppression region Rr1 is performed, when the three detected object grids Gk1, Gk2, and Gk3 do not overlap the first reduction suppression region Rr1, the obstacle presence / absence determination unit 62f determines that there is no obstacle. judge. Since the detected object information is acquired every first predetermined time, the obstacle presence / absence determination unit 62f determines whether there is an obstacle every first predetermined time. The determination result of the obstacle presence / absence determination unit 62f is output to the region switching unit 62e and the drive amount suppression unit 61c1.

The driving amount suppression unit 61c1 suppresses the traveling of the electric wheelchair 1 while it is determined by the obstacle presence / absence determination unit 62f that there is an obstacle. Specifically, the drive amount suppression unit 61c1 suppresses the drive amount of the drive device 20. The drive amount control unit 61c suppresses the maximum drive amount of the drive device 20 in the present embodiment. Thereby, the maximum speed of the straight traveling speed v is suppressed. The drive amount suppression unit 61c1 suppresses the maximum straight speed v to the maximum straight speed vx while the obstacle presence / absence determination unit 62f determines that there is an obstacle. The maximum straight traveling speed vx is determined from the shortest distance Dmin (see FIG. 7) from the electric wheelchair 1 (the center of the front end of the electric wheelchair 1 (origin C0)) to the detected object located in the suppression region, as shown in FIG. Derived based on M3. The shortest distance Dmin can be derived from the detected object information. The shortest distance Dmin is derived by the drive amount suppression unit 61c1 while it is determined by the obstacle presence / absence determination unit 62f that there is an obstacle. The third map M3 shows the relationship between the shortest distance Dmin and the maximum straight traveling speed vx. The relationship between the shortest distance Dmin and the maximum straight travel speed vx is set so that the maximum straight travel speed vx decreases as the shortest distance Dmin decreases. On the other hand, when it is determined by the obstacle presence / absence determination unit 62f that there is no obstacle, the driving amount suppression unit 61c1 cancels the suppression when the traveling of the electric wheelchair 1 is suppressed.

Next, traveling control in which the control device 60 causes the electric wheelchair 1 to travel will be described. When the control device 60 acquires input information from the operation device 30 when the occupant operates the operation device 30, the control device 60 starts traveling control. As described above, based on the input information from the controller device 30, the straight traveling speed deriving unit 61a derives the straight traveling speed v, and the turning speed deriving unit 61b derives the turning speed w. Based on the derivation results of the straight traveling speed deriving unit 61a and the turning speed deriving unit 61b, the driving amount control unit 61c controls the driving amount of the driving device 20 to cause the electric wheelchair 1 to travel. When the control device 60 performs the travel control and the occupant changes the position of the operation device 30 to the neutral position, the linear wheel speed v and the turning speed w become zero, and the electric wheelchair 1 stops. In this case, the travel control of the control device 60 ends.

Next, the collision suppression control performed by the control device 60 will be described along the flowchart shown in FIG. In the collision control of the electric wheelchair 1, when there is a detected object in the suppression region, the collision suppression control suppresses the traveling speed of the electric wheelchair 1 so that the occupant has enough time to avoid the detected object. This is control that suppresses the collision between the electric wheelchair 1 and the object to be detected. At the start of traveling, the suppression region is set to the reference suppression region Rb.

When the travel control is started, the control device 60 predicts the course of the electric wheelchair 1 in step S102 (course prediction unit 62a). In step S104, the control device 60 sets the reference suppression region Rb and the respective reduction suppression regions Rr1, Rr2 (reference suppression region setting unit 62b, reduction suppression region setting unit 62c). And the control apparatus 60 performs area | region switching control in step S106 (area | region switching part 62e). The area switching control will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG.

In step S202, the control device 60 determines whether there is an obstacle (obstacle presence determination unit 62f). If it is determined that there is no obstacle, the control device 60 determines “NO” in step S202. In step S204, the control device 60 sets the suppression region as the reference suppression region Rb, and ends the region switching control. When it is determined that there is no obstacle, since the travel of the electric wheelchair 1 is not suppressed (driving amount suppression unit 61c1), the gap between the travel of the electric wheelchair 1 and the travel intended by the occupant (hereinafter referred to as the “travel”). , The running gap) does not occur. Therefore, the suppression region is set to the reference suppression region Rb having the largest region. On the other hand, when it is determined that there is an obstacle (obstacle presence / absence determination unit 62f), the control device 60 determines “YES” in step S202, and advances the program to step S206.

In step S206, the control device 60 determines whether the strength of the cancellation request is equal to or less than the first cancellation request determination value. Specifically, the control device 60 determines whether or not the pressing load is equal to or less than the first release request determination value. The first release request determination value is set to the pressing load when the traveling gap is very small. The first release request determination value is, for example, 1N. When the traveling gap is very small or there is no traveling gap, the pressing load is very small. In this case, when the pressing load is equal to or less than the first release request determination value, the control device 60 determines “YES” in step S206. Then, the control device 60 sets the suppression region as the reference suppression region Rb in step S204, and ends the region switching control.

On the other hand, when the traveling gap is relatively large, the pressing load becomes relatively large. In this case, when the pressing load is larger than the first release request determination value, the control device 60 determines “NO” in step S206, and advances the program to step S208.

In step S208, the control device 60 determines whether or not the strength of the release request (pressing load) is equal to or less than the second release request determination value. The second release request determination value is set to a value (for example, 10N) larger than the first release request determination value. When the traveling gap is relatively large, when the pressing load is equal to or smaller than the second release request determination value, the control device 60 determines “YES” in step S208. In step S210, the control device 60 sets the suppression region to the first reduction suppression region Rr1, and ends the region switching control. On the other hand, when the traveling gap is relatively large and the pressing load is larger than the second release request determination value, the control device 60 determines “NO” in step S208. In step S212, the control device 60 sets the suppression region to the second reduction suppression region Rr2, and ends the region switching control.

Returning to the flowchart of FIG.
The control device 60 determines whether or not there is an obstacle in step S108. When the detected object is located within the suppression region switched by the region switching control, it is determined that there is an obstacle (obstacle presence determination unit 62f). In this case, the control device 60 determines “YES” in step S108, and suppresses the travel of the electric wheelchair 1 in step S110 (drive amount suppression unit 61c1). Then, the program returns to step S102.

On the other hand, when the detected object is located outside the suppression region switched by the region switching control (the detected object is not positioned within the suppression region), it is determined that there is no obstacle (obstacle presence determination unit 62f). ). In this case, the control device 60 determines “NO” in Step S108, and determines whether or not traveling of the electric wheelchair 1 is suppressed in Step S112. If the traveling of the electric wheelchair 1 is not suppressed, the control device 60 determines “NO” in step S112, and returns the program to step S102. On the other hand, when the driving of the electric wheelchair 1 is already suppressed, the control device 60 determines “YES” in step S112, and cancels the suppression of the driving of the electric wheelchair 1 in step S114 (drive amount). The suppressing unit 61c1) returns the program to step S102.

Next, a case where the electric wheelchair 1 operates according to the above-described flowchart will be described. Explanation will be given on the case where the electric wheelchair 1 is traveling at the maximum speed (for example, 10 km / h) when traveling is not suppressed because the occupant tilts the lever portion 31 of the operating device 30 forward. To do. At this time, the predicted progress area Wy is formed straight forward (step S102; course prediction unit 62a). Then, based on the predicted progress region Wy, the reference suppression region Rb and the reduction suppression regions Rr1, Rr2 are set (step S104, the reference suppression region setting unit 62b, the reduction suppression region setting unit 62c), and it is determined that there is no obstacle. In this case, the suppression region is set as the reference suppression region Rb (step S106; region switching unit 62e).

At this time, when the detection object is detected by the detection device 50 and the detection object is located in the reference suppression region Rb as shown in FIG. 7, according to the shortest distance Dmin between the electric wheelchair 1 and the detection object, The maximum speed of the straight traveling speed v is suppressed (step S110; drive amount suppression unit 61c1). When the electric wheelchair 1 is traveling at the suppressed straight traveling speed v, the detected object is, for example, a stationary object, and when the occupant feels that the driver wants to travel faster than the restrained straight traveling speed v, the traveling gap is Has occurred. At this time, since the occupant makes a release request for suppressing the traveling of the electric wheelchair 1, the lever portion 31 is further inclined forward. Accordingly, when the pressing load is a load between the first release request determination value and the second release request determination value, the reference suppression region Rb is cut into the first reduction suppression region Rr1 as shown in FIG. (Step S106; area switching unit 62e).

Thereby, since the object to be detected is located outside the first reduction suppression region Rr1, the suppression of the traveling of the electric wheelchair 1 is released (step S114; drive amount suppression unit 61c1). Therefore, the occupant can drive the electric wheelchair 1 at an uncontrolled speed. In this way, by suppressing the traveling gap, traveling of the electric wheelchair 1 reflecting the occupant's intention is suppressed.

Even when the reference suppression region Rb is switched to the first reduction suppression region Rr1 (step S106; region switching unit 62e), when the detected object is located in the first reduction suppression region Rr1, the electric wheelchair 1 Travel is suppressed (step S110; drive amount suppression part 61c1). In addition, even when the strength of the occupant's release request becomes relatively large and the suppression region becomes the second reduction suppression region Rr2, the electric wheelchair 1 is detected when the detected object is located in the second reduction suppression region Rr2. Traveling is suppressed. Thus, even when there is a release request from the occupant, the traveling of the electric wheelchair 1 is suppressed when the detected object is located within the suppression region. Therefore, the collision between the detected object and the electric wheelchair 1 is suppressed. Furthermore, when the pressing load becomes relatively large against the occupant's intention or when the operation device 30, the release request detection device 40, and the control device 60 break down, the strength of the release request is greater than each release request determination value. Even when it becomes larger, the traveling of the electric wheelchair 1 is suppressed when the detected object is located within the suppression region. Therefore, even in these cases, the collision between the detected object and the electric wheelchair 1 is suppressed.

According to the first embodiment, the electric wheelchair 1 is the electric wheelchair 1 that travels by the drive device 20 that is driven according to the input to the operation device 30 by the occupant. The electric wheelchair 1 controls the driving amount of the driving device 20 based on the detection device 50 that detects the objects to be detected around the electric wheelchair 1 and the input information that is the information input to the operation device 30, and the electric wheelchair. And a control device 60 for running 1. The control device 60 is a suppression region in which the traveling of the electric wheelchair 1 is suppressed when the detection object detected by the detection device 50 is located in the region, and a reference for setting a reference suppression region Rb as a reference Reduction suppression that sets the reduction suppression regions Rr1 and Rr2 that are reduced suppression regions with respect to the reference suppression region Rb set by the reference suppression region setting unit 62b based on the suppression region setting unit 62b and the occupant's intention An area setting unit 62c.

According to this, based on the occupant's intention, the reduction suppression region setting unit 62c sets the reduction suppression regions Rr1 and Rr2 that are reduced with respect to the reference suppression region Rb. That is, the suppression area can be reduced. Therefore, when traveling of the electric wheelchair 1 is suppressed because the detected object is located in the reference suppression region Rb, the reference suppression region Rb is switched (reduced) to the reduction suppression regions Rr1, Rr2, When the object to be detected positioned in the reference suppression region Rb is positioned outside the reduction suppression regions Rr1, Rr2, the suppression of traveling of the electric wheelchair 1 is released. In this case, since the object to be detected is located in the reference suppression region Rb, when the traveling of the electric wheelchair 1 is suppressed from the traveling intended by the occupant, the suppression of the traveling of the electric wheelchair 1 is released, A gap between the traveling of the electric wheelchair 1 and the traveling intended by the occupant is suppressed. Therefore, the electric wheelchair 1 can suppress travel of the electric wheelchair 1 reflecting the occupant's intention.

In addition, the occupant's intention is a cancellation request for restraining the traveling of the electric wheelchair 1, and the electric wheelchair 1 further includes a cancellation request detection device 40 that detects the strength of the cancellation request by the operation of the occupant. The control device 60 reduces the reduction set by the reduction suppression region setting unit 62c from the reference suppression region Rb set by the reference suppression region setting unit 62b based on the strength of the cancellation request detected by the cancellation request detection device 40. A region switching unit 62e that switches to the suppression regions Rr1 and Rr2.
According to this, when the occupant operates the release request detection device 40, the release request for suppressing the traveling of the electric wheelchair 1 is reliably transmitted to the electric wheelchair 1. Therefore, switching from the reference suppression region Rb to the reduction suppression regions Rr1 and Rr2 is reliably performed by the region switching unit 62e. Therefore, since the gap between the traveling in which the electric wheelchair 1 is suppressed and the traveling intended by the occupant is reliably suppressed, the traveling of the electric wheelchair 1 reflecting the occupant's intention can be reliably performed. it can.

Further, the reduction suppression area setting unit 62c sets the reduction suppression area to be reduced as the strength of the cancellation request detected by the cancellation request detection device 40 increases.
According to this, as the strength of the cancellation request detected by the cancellation request detection device 40 is increased, the reduction suppression area is set to be reduced, so that the detection object located outside the reduction suppression area can be detected. Become more. Therefore, since the gap between the travel in which the electric wheelchair 1 is suppressed and the travel intended by the occupant is further suppressed, the travel of the electric wheelchair 1 reflecting the occupant's intention can be further suppressed.

In the first embodiment, the suppression region is formed so that the width is gradually reduced based on the size of the occupant's release request (pressing load), but does not depart from the gist of the present invention. In addition, the suppression region may be set to a shape different from the shape of the first embodiment. For example, as shown in FIG. 12, when four regions R1 to R4 whose width decreases from the origin C0 toward the front are set, the reference suppression region Rb is set to a region where all four regions R1 to R4 are combined. Is done. Further, the first reduction suppression region Rr1 is set to a region where the three regions R2 to R4 are combined. Then, the second reduction suppression region Rr2 is set to a region where the two regions R3 and R4 are combined. Furthermore, when the reduction suppression region setting unit 62c sets a third reduction suppression region that is smaller than the second reduction suppression region Rr2, the third reduction suppression region is set from one region R4. As described above, the reduction suppression region is set such that the length along the front-rear direction is gradually reduced with respect to the reference suppression region Rb.
When the reduction suppression region setting unit 62c sets the reduction suppression region in a stepwise manner so as to have a similar shape to the reference suppression region Rb, the reduction suppression region is in the front-rear direction with respect to the reference suppression region Rb. Is set such that the length along the line becomes shorter stepwise and the width becomes smaller stepwise.

(Second embodiment)
Next, the second embodiment of the moving body according to the present invention will be described mainly with respect to differences from the first embodiment described above. Compared with the first embodiment described above, the second embodiment does not include the release request detection device 40, and the configuration of the collision suppression control unit 62 is different. In the collision suppression control unit 62 of the first embodiment described above, the suppression region is switched based on the occupant's release request. However, the collision suppression control unit 162 of the second embodiment is in the peripheral region Rs. The suppression region is switched based on the type of the object to be detected. In addition, the collision suppression control unit 162 of the second embodiment performs region expansion control for deforming the suppression region so as to expand based on the type of the detected object. The types of detected objects are stationary objects and moving objects.

As shown in FIG. 13, the collision suppression control unit 162 of the second embodiment includes a course prediction unit 162a, a reference suppression region setting unit 162b, a reduction suppression region setting unit 162c, a peripheral object presence / absence determination unit 162g, and a peripheral object type determination. Unit 162h, occupation rate deriving unit 162k, region switching unit 162e, acceleration deriving unit 162m, region expansion control unit 162n, and obstacle presence / absence determining unit 162f. The peripheral object type determination unit 162h and the acceleration deriving unit 162m are inputted with the straight traveling speed v from the straight traveling speed deriving unit 61a and the turning speed w from the turning speed deriving unit 61b every first predetermined time.

The course prediction unit 162a generates the predicted progress area Wy and the peripheral area Rs as in the first embodiment described above. The prediction progress region Wy and the surrounding region Rs are output to the reference suppression region setting unit 162b, the reduction suppression region setting unit 162c, and the surrounding object presence / absence determination unit 162g.

The reference suppression region setting unit 162b sets the reference suppression region Rb. The reference suppression region Rb of the second embodiment is formed to be parallel to the predicted progress region Wy as shown in FIG. The reference width Bb of the second embodiment is formed to be about four times the width of the electric wheelchair 1.
The reduction suppression area setting unit 162c sets the reduction suppression area Rr. The reduction suppression region Rr in the second embodiment is only one reduction suppression region Rr. The reduction suppression region Rr of the second embodiment is set to the same region as the predicted progress region Wy.

The peripheral object presence / absence determination unit 162g determines the presence / absence of a peripheral object based on the detected object information detected by the detection device 50 and the peripheral region Rs from the course prediction unit 162a. The peripheral object is a detected object located in the peripheral region Rs. Specifically, as illustrated in FIG. 14, the peripheral object presence / absence determining unit 162g is configured such that when the peripheral area Rs and the detected object grid Gk overlap, the detected object is located in the peripheral area Rs. It is determined that there is.

On the other hand, if the peripheral region Rs and the detected object grid Gk do not overlap, the peripheral object presence / absence determining unit 162g determines that there is no peripheral object because the detected object is not located in the peripheral region Rs. The case where the peripheral region Rs and the detected object grid Gk do not overlap is the case where the detected object grid Gk does not exist on the polar coordinates C or the case where the detected object grid Gk overlaps only the suppression region. The determination result of the peripheral object presence / absence determination unit 162g is output to the peripheral object type determination unit 162h, the region switching unit 162e, and the region expansion control unit 162n. The peripheral object presence / absence determining unit 162g outputs information (position and number on the polar coordinates C) of the peripheral region Rs and the detection object grid Gk to the occupation rate deriving unit 162k.

The peripheral object type determination unit 162h determines whether the peripheral object type is a stationary object or a moving object when the peripheral object presence / absence determination unit 162g determines that there is a peripheral object. As described above, since the coordinates of the detected object are acquired every first predetermined time, the speed of the detected object can be calculated on the polar coordinates C. The speed of the detected object is a relative speed with respect to the speed of the electric wheelchair 1. The peripheral object type determination unit 162h calculates the speed of the electric wheelchair 1 based on the straight traveling speed v from the straight traveling speed deriving unit 61a and the turning speed w from the turning speed deriving unit 61b. And when the speed of a to-be-detected object is the same as the speed of the electric wheelchair 1, it determines with the kind of to-be-detected object being a stationary object. On the other hand, when the speed of the detected object is different from the speed of the electric wheelchair 1, it is determined that the type of the detected object is a moving object. The peripheral object type determination unit 162h outputs the detection result to the region switching unit 162e and the region expansion control unit 162n.

The occupancy rate deriving unit 162k derives an occupancy rate that is a ratio of the area occupied by the detected object to the peripheral area Rs. The occupancy rate deriving unit 162k derives the occupancy rate based on the information on the surrounding area Rs and the detected object grid Gk from the surrounding object presence / absence determining unit 162g. Specifically, the occupation ratio is a ratio of the number of detected object grids Gk overlapping the peripheral region Rs to the number of grids G overlapping the peripheral region Rs. For example, in the case where the electric wheelchair 1 is traveling straight through a straight alley with a relatively small width, when there is a stationary object such as a plant lined in parallel along both sides of the alley, as shown in FIG. On the polar coordinate C, a parallel point group PG appears along the front-rear direction. In this case, the number of grids G overlapping the peripheral region Rs is 162. Further, the number of detected object grids Gk overlapping the peripheral region Rs is 18. Therefore, the occupation ratio in this case is 11.1 (= 18/162)%. For example, when there is no detected object in the peripheral region Rs, the number of detected object grids Gk overlapping the peripheral region Rs is zero, so the occupation ratio is zero%. The occupation rate deriving unit 162k outputs the derived occupation rate to the region switching unit 162e and the region expansion control unit 162n.

The occupation rate deriving unit 162k derives the occupation rate based on the information on the peripheral region Rs, the detected object grid Gk, and the occluary grid Go (see FIG. 15B) from the peripheral object presence / absence determining unit 162g. You may do it. The occluary grid Go is a grid G corresponding to the occluary area on the polar coordinate C. When the detection device 50 detects an object to be detected, due to the characteristics of the detection device 50 described above, other objects to be detected located behind the detected object to be detected (in a direction away from the electric wheelchair 1) cannot be detected. An area where other objects to be detected cannot be detected is an occluary area. On the polar coordinates C, as shown in FIG. 15B, when the same object grid Gk as that in FIG. 15A is present, the grid G positioned in front of the object grid Gk is the occluary grid Go. The occupancy rate deriving unit 162k calculates the ratio of the number of detected object grids Gk overlapping the peripheral region Rs to the number of grids G overlapping the peripheral region Rs minus the number of occluary grids Go overlapping the peripheral region Rs. Alternatively, it may be derived as an occupation ratio.

The region switching unit 162e switches the suppression region based on the determination result of the peripheral object presence / absence determination unit 162g, the determination result of the peripheral object type determination unit 162h, and the occupation rate derived by the occupation rate deriving unit 162k based on a predetermined map. Is. In the second embodiment, the predetermined map is a fourth map M4 shown in FIG. Specifically, the area switching unit 162e determines that the peripheral object type determination unit 162g determines that there is no peripheral object, and the peripheral object type determination unit 162h determines that the peripheral object type is a moving object. In this case, the suppression region is set as the reference suppression region Rb. In addition, when there are a plurality of peripheral objects, when it is determined that the type of the peripheral object is a moving object, the suppression area is set as the reference suppression area Rb.
In addition, the region switching unit 162e sets the suppression region to the reduction suppression region Rr when the peripheral object type determination unit 162h determines that the type of the peripheral object is a stationary object. When there are a plurality of peripheral objects, when it is determined that the types of all the peripheral objects are stationary objects, the suppression region is set as the reduction suppression region Rr.

Acceleration deriving unit 162m derives the acceleration of the electric wheelchair 1. The acceleration deriving unit 162m calculates the speed of the electric wheelchair 1 every first predetermined time based on the straight traveling speed v from the straight traveling speed deriving unit 61a and the turning speed w from the turning speed deriving unit 61b. Store as time series data. Thus, it is derived whether or not the electric wheelchair 1 is accelerating from the current speed in the time series data and each speed from the second predetermined time before the first predetermined time to the present. The acceleration deriving unit 162m outputs the deriving result to the region expansion control unit 162n.

The area expansion control unit 162n executes area expansion control for extending the suppression area. The area expansion control is control for extending the suppression area switched by the area switching unit 162e. In the present embodiment, the area expansion control is expanded (deformed) so as to widen the width of the suppression area in the left-right direction, as shown in FIG. In the area expansion control, an expansion amount for expanding the suppression area is calculated. Specifically, ΔRL, which is an expansion amount that expands the left side of the suppression region, is expressed as in Expression (1). Further, ΔRR, which is the amount of expansion that expands the right side of the suppression region, is expressed as in Expression (2). ΔRL and ΔRR are calculated every first predetermined time, and the suppression region is expanded by the expansion amount.

[Equation 1]
ΔRL = HL × ((A / B) + C) (1)
[Equation 2]
ΔRR = HR × ((A / B) + C) (2)

HL is the length in the left-right direction from the left end of the current suppression region to the left end of the left peripheral region Rs. A is the current acceleration of the electric wheelchair 1. B is the maximum acceleration of the electric wheelchair 1.
HR is the length in the left-right direction from the right end of the current suppression region to the right end of the right peripheral region Rs. When the speed of the electric wheelchair 1 is the maximum speed, C is set to a predetermined value. When the speed of the electric wheelchair 1 is the maximum speed and the ΔRL is not expanded to the left end of the peripheral region Rs, the predetermined value expands ΔRL to the left end of the peripheral region Rs, and ΔRR is equal to that of the peripheral region Rs. When it is not expanded to the right end, ΔRR is set to a value that extends ΔRR to the right end of the peripheral region Rs. On the other hand, when the speed of the electric wheelchair 1 is not the maximum speed, C is set to zero.

Also, when the suppression area is expanded, when the detected object is located in the suppression area, the area expansion control unit 162n maintains the suppression area without expanding the size of the suppression area at that time. And when the to-be-detected object located in a suppression area | region remove | deviates from the suppression area | region, the area | region expansion control part 162n expands a suppression area | region as mentioned above. When the suppression region is expanded and both the left and right ends of the suppression region reach both the left and right ends of the peripheral region Rs, the region expansion control unit 162n returns to the initial shape when the suppression region is set, Continue to extend the suppression area repeatedly.

Further, the region expansion control unit 162n, based on the fifth map M5 shown in FIG. 18, derives the acceleration derivation unit 162m, the judgment result of the peripheral object presence / absence judgment unit 162g, the judgment result of the peripheral object type judgment unit 162h, and the occupation It is determined whether or not the region expansion control is to be executed from the derivation result of the rate deriving unit 162k. Specifically, when the acceleration derived by the acceleration deriving unit 162m is equal to or less than zero, the region expansion control unit 162n does not execute the region expansion control regardless of the type of the peripheral object and the occupation ratio. Further, the region expansion control unit 162n is configured to display a region when the acceleration derived by the acceleration deriving unit 162m is greater than zero and the type of the peripheral object is a stationary object and the occupation rate is equal to or greater than the occupation rate determination value. Does not execute extended control. When the electric wheelchair 1 is traveling in a relatively narrow place, the occupancy rate determination value is set so that the occupancy rate is equal to or higher than the occupancy rate determination value. The occupation rate determination value is, for example, 8%.

On the other hand, in the case where the acceleration derived by the acceleration deriving unit 162m is greater than zero, the region expansion control unit 162n has no peripheral object, the peripheral object type is a moving object, and the peripheral object type is stationary. When the object is an object and the occupation ratio is smaller than the occupation ratio determination value, the area expansion control is executed. When the region expansion control is executed, the region expansion control unit 162n outputs the suppression region expanded by the region expansion control to the obstacle presence / absence determination unit 162f. On the other hand, if the region expansion control unit 162n does not execute the region expansion control, the region expansion control unit 162n outputs the obstacle region determination unit 162f without expanding the suppression region.
The obstacle presence / absence determination unit 162f determines the presence / absence of an obstacle based on the detected object information detected by the detection device 50 and the suppression region from the region expansion control unit 162n.

Next, the collision suppression control performed by the control device 60 in the second embodiment will be described along the flowchart shown in FIG. The flowchart shown in FIG. 19 is the same as the flowchart shown in FIG. 10 after Step S102 and Step S108 after Step S320.
In step S102, the control device 60 predicts the course of the electric wheelchair 1 and generates the predicted progress area Wy (the course prediction unit 162a). In step S304, the control device 60 generates the peripheral region Rs (the course prediction unit 162a). In step S306, the control device 60 sets the reference suppression region Rb and the reduction suppression region Rr (reference suppression region setting unit 162b, reduction suppression region setting unit 162c).

In step S308, the control device 60 determines whether there is a peripheral object (peripheral object presence determination unit 162g). If there is no object to be detected in the peripheral region Rs, there is no peripheral object, so the control device 60 determines “NO” in step S308 and advances the program to step S312. On the other hand, when there is an object to be detected in the peripheral region Rs, the control device 60 determines “YES” in step S308 because there is a peripheral object. In step S310, the control device 60 determines the type of the peripheral object (peripheral object type determination unit 162h), and advances the program to step S312. In step S312, the control device 60 derives the occupation rate (occupancy rate deriving unit 162k).

Subsequently, the control device 60 derives the acceleration of the electric wheelchair 1 in step S314 (acceleration derivation unit 162m). Furthermore, the control apparatus 60 switches a suppression area | region (area | region switching part 162e) in step S316. Then, the control device 60 determines whether or not to perform area expansion control (area expansion control unit 162n). When executing region expansion control, control device 60 determines “YES” in step S318, executes region expansion control in step S320, and advances the program to step S108. On the other hand, when the area expansion control is not executed, the control device 60 determines “NO” in step S318, and advances the program to step S108 without executing the area expansion control. The control device 60 returns the program to step S102 after performing the process of step S110, if “NO” is determined in step S112, and after performing the process of step S114.

Next, the case where the electric wheelchair 1 is operated will be described along the flowchart of FIG. 19 described above. First, the case where the electric wheelchair 1 goes straight in a relatively wide place will be described. In this case, when the object to be detected is not detected by the detection device 50, there is no peripheral object (step S308; peripheral object presence / absence determination unit 162g), so that the suppression region is set as the reference suppression region Rb (step S316; region switching unit) 162e). Furthermore, at this time, when the electric wheelchair 1 is not accelerating, the acceleration is not more than zero (step S314; acceleration deriving unit 162m), and therefore the region expansion control is not executed (step S318; region expansion control unit 162n). On the other hand, when the electric wheelchair 1 is accelerating, the acceleration is greater than zero (step S314; acceleration deriving unit 162m). At this time, the area expansion control is executed because there is no object to be detected (step S320; area expansion control unit 162n). When there is no detected object, the detected object is not located in the reference suppression region Rb. Therefore, since there is no obstacle (step S108; obstacle presence / absence detection unit), traveling is not suppressed (driving amount suppression unit 61c1).

Then, when the electric wheelchair 1 goes straight in a relatively wide place, as shown in FIG. 14, there is an object to be detected in the peripheral region Rs (step S308; peripheral object presence / absence determining unit 162g), and the object to be detected When the object type is a moving object (step S310; peripheral object type determination unit 162h), the suppression region is set as the reference suppression region Rb (step S316; region switching unit 162e). At this time, when the electric wheelchair 1 is accelerating (acceleration> zero), region expansion control is performed (step S320; region expansion control unit 162n). When the moving object is positioned in the reference suppression area Rb, the size of the reference suppression area Rb when the moving object is positioned in the reference suppression area Rb is maintained, and the traveling of the electric wheelchair 1 is suppressed. (Step S110; drive amount suppression part 61c1).

Further, when the electric wheelchair 1 is traveling straight ahead in a relatively wide place, when the type of the detected object shown in FIG. 14 is a stationary object (step S310; peripheral object type determination unit 162h), the suppression region is reduced and suppressed. The region Rr is set (step S316; region switching unit 162e). Further, when there are two detected object grids Gk generated by the stationary object, the occupation ratio is smaller than the occupation ratio determination value. Therefore, when the electric wheelchair 1 is accelerating (acceleration> zero), the area expansion control is executed (step S320; area expansion control unit 162n). And when a stationary object is located in the reduction suppression area | region Rr, while the magnitude | size of the reduction suppression area | region Rr when a stationary object is located in the reduction suppression area | region Rr is maintained, driving | running | working of the electric wheelchair 1 is suppressed. (Step S110; drive amount suppression part 61c1).

Next, when the electric wheelchair 1 goes straight through a relatively narrow straight alley, there will be described a case where there are stationary objects such as plants arranged along both sides of the alley. In this case, as shown in FIG. 15A, the detected object is present in the peripheral region Rs (step S308; peripheral object presence / absence determining unit 162g), and the type of the detected object is a stationary object (step S310; peripheral object). The type determination unit 162h) sets the suppression region to the reduction suppression region Rr (step S316; region switching unit 162e). Furthermore, in this case, the occupation rate becomes equal to or greater than the occupation rate determination rate (step S312; occupation rate deriving unit 162k). Therefore, in this case, even when the electric wheelchair 1 is accelerating (acceleration> zero), the area expansion control is not executed (step S318; area expansion control unit 162n).

In this case, the area expansion control is not executed even when the electric wheelchair 1 is not accelerating (acceleration ≦ zero) (step S318; area expansion control unit 162n). Therefore, in this case, as long as the electric wheelchair 1 goes straight, the stationary object is not positioned in the reduction suppression region Rr, and thus the traveling of the electric wheelchair 1 is not suppressed (drive amount suppression unit 61c1).

According to the second embodiment, the electric wheelchair 1 travels by the drive device 20 driven in accordance with an input to the operation device 30 by an occupant, and the electric wheelchair 1 detects an object to be detected around the electric wheelchair 1. And a control device 60 that controls the drive amount of the drive device 20 to run the electric wheelchair 1 based on input information that is information input to the operation device 30. The control device 60 is a suppression region in which the traveling of the electric wheelchair 1 is suppressed when the detection object detected by the detection device 50 is located in the region, and a reference for setting a reference suppression region Rb as a reference The reference suppression region set by the reference suppression region setting unit 162b based on the type of the detection object located in the peripheral region Rs that is the region on both sides of the predicted progress region Wy of the electric wheelchair 1 and the suppression region setting unit 162b A reduction suppression region setting unit 162c that sets a reduction suppression region Rr, which is a reduced suppression region, for Rb.
According to this, the reduction suppression area setting unit 162c sets the reduction suppression area Rr based on the type of the detection object located in the peripheral area Rs. When the suppression area is set to the reduction suppression area Rr, the detected object is unlikely to be located in the suppression area. As a result, when the object to be detected is not located within the suppression region, the traveling of the electric wheelchair 1 is not suppressed, so that the traveling intended by the occupant is possible. Therefore, at this time, the gap between the travel in which the electric wheelchair 1 is suppressed and the travel intended by the occupant is suppressed. Therefore, the electric wheelchair 1 can suppress the traveling of the electric wheelchair 1 reflecting the occupant's intention.

The types of objects to be detected are stationary objects and moving objects. The control device 60 includes a peripheral object type determining unit 162h that determines whether the type of the object to be detected located in the peripheral region Rs is a stationary object or a moving object, and the peripheral object type determining unit 162h in the peripheral region Rs. The area to be switched from the reference suppression area Rb set by the reference suppression area setting section 162b to the reduction suppression area Rr set by the reduction suppression area setting section 162c when it is determined that the type of the detected object is a stationary object And a switching unit 162e.
According to this, when the detected object located in the peripheral region Rs is only a stationary object, the occupant may feel that he / she wants to drive the electric wheelchair 1 at a relatively high speed. At this time, a gap between the travel in which the electric wheelchair 1 is suppressed and the travel intended by the occupant is more likely to occur than when the detected object located in the peripheral region Rs includes a moving object. On the other hand, when it is determined that the type of the detected object in the peripheral region Rs is a stationary object, the region switching unit 162e switches the reference suppression region Rb to the reduction suppression region Rr. Thereby, it is possible to make it difficult to position the detected object within the suppression region. When the object to be detected is not located within the suppression region, the traveling of the electric wheelchair 1 is not suppressed, so that the traveling intended by the occupant is possible. Therefore, the gap between the travel in which the electric wheelchair 1 is suppressed and the travel intended by the occupant is suppressed. Therefore, the electric wheelchair 1 can suppress the traveling of the electric wheelchair 1 reflecting the occupant's intention.

In addition, when the peripheral object type determination unit 162h determines that the type of the detected object in the peripheral region Rs is a moving object, the control device 60 performs a region expansion control unit that performs region expansion control to expand the suppression region. 162n.
When the type of the detected object located in the peripheral region Rs is a moving object, it is difficult to predict the movement of the detected object compared to the case where the type of the detected object is a stationary object. In this case, the region expansion control unit 162n expands the size of the suppression region, so that the moving object can be easily positioned in the suppression region. When the moving object is located in the suppression region, the traveling of the electric wheelchair 1 is suppressed. Therefore, the collision between the electric wheelchair 1 and the moving object can be further suppressed.
In addition, since the amount of travel suppression of the electric wheelchair 1 is adjusted according to the distance between the electric wheelchair 1 and the detected object, even when the detected object is located in the expanded suppression region, it is abrupt. Suppression can be prevented.

The control device 60 further includes an occupancy ratio deriving unit 162k that derives an occupancy ratio that is a ratio of the area occupied by the detected object to the peripheral area Rs. The area expansion control unit 162n determines that the occupation rate derived by the occupation rate deriving unit 162k is the occupation rate when the peripheral object type determination unit 162h determines that the type of the detected object in the peripheral region Rs is a stationary object. When it is smaller than the determination value, the area expansion control is executed.
Even when the type of the object to be detected located in the peripheral region Rs is a stationary object, when the occupation ratio is smaller than the occupation ratio determination value, that is, when the space in which the electric wheelchair 1 is traveling is relatively wide, It is conceivable that the electric wheelchair 1 and the moving object collide due to a sudden appearance of the object. At this time, the region expansion control unit 162n expands the size of the suppression region, so that the detected object can be easily positioned in the suppression region. Therefore, the collision between the electric wheelchair 1 and the moving object can be further suppressed.
On the other hand, when the type of the object to be detected located in the peripheral region Rs is a stationary object, when the occupation ratio is equal to or greater than the occupation ratio determination value, that is, the space in which the electric wheelchair 1 is traveling is relatively narrow ( For example, it is considered that the possibility of a collision between the detected object and the electric wheelchair 1 due to a sudden appearance of the detected object is relatively low. Therefore, the region expansion control unit 162n does not expand the size of the suppression region. Therefore, since the gap between the travel in which the electric wheelchair 1 is suppressed and the travel intended by the occupant is suppressed, the travel of the electric wheelchair 1 reflecting the occupant's intention can be suppressed.

In addition, in each embodiment mentioned above, although an example of the mobile body was shown, this invention is not limited to this, Other structures can also be employ | adopted. For example, in each embodiment described above, the moving body is the electric wheelchair 1, but instead of this, a boarding type moving body such as a small vehicle or a mobile robot may be used.

In addition, in the first embodiment described above, the release request detection device 40 includes the load detection unit 42 that detects the pressing load, but may include a plurality of switches instead. In this case, for example, the region switching unit 62e may switch the reduction suppression regions Rr1 and Rr2 in accordance with the turned on switch. Furthermore, the release request detection device 40 may include a microphone or the like that can input the passenger's voice. In this case, the region switching unit 62e may switch the reduction suppression regions Rr1 and Rr2 according to, for example, the volume of the passenger's voice.

In the first embodiment described above, the region switching unit 62e switches the suppression region in consideration of the determination result of the obstacle presence / absence determination unit 62f, but instead of this, the obstacle presence / absence determination unit The suppression region may be switched based only on the detection result of the release request detection device 40 without considering the determination result of 62f.

Moreover, in 2nd embodiment mentioned above, although the area | region switching part 162e is switching the suppression area | region based on the 4th map M4 shown in FIG. 16, it replaces with this and the 14th map shown in FIG. The suppression area may be switched based on M14. In this case, the area switching unit 162e switches from the reference suppression area Rb to the reduction suppression area Rr when the occupation ratio is equal to or greater than the occupation ratio determination value. As described above, the control device 60 determines the occupancy rate by using the occupancy rate deriving unit 162k for deriving the occupancy rate that is the ratio of the area occupied by the detected object to the surrounding region Rs, and the occupancy rate derived by the occupancy rate deriving unit 162k. When the value is equal to or greater than the value, a region switching unit 162e that switches from the reference suppression region Rb set by the reference suppression region setting unit 162b to the reduction suppression region Rr set by the reduction suppression region setting unit 162c is further provided.
When the occupancy rate is larger than the occupancy rate determination value, that is, when the space in which the electric wheelchair 1 is traveling is relatively narrow, the detected object is in the suppression region as compared with the case where the space in which the electric wheelchair 1 is traveling is wide. Easy to locate. Therefore, when the occupancy rate is larger than the occupancy rate determination value, a gap between the travel in which the electric wheelchair 1 is suppressed and the travel intended by the occupant is likely to occur, so the region switching unit 162e suppresses the reduction of the reference suppression region Rb. Switch to region Rr. As a result, when the object to be detected is not located within the suppression region, the traveling of the electric wheelchair 1 is not suppressed, so that the traveling intended by the occupant is possible. Therefore, the gap between the travel in which the electric wheelchair 1 is suppressed and the travel intended by the occupant is suppressed. Therefore, the electric wheelchair 1 can suppress the traveling of the electric wheelchair 1 reflecting the occupant's intention.

Moreover, in 2nd embodiment mentioned above, although the area | region switching part 162e is switching the suppression area | region based on the 4th map M4 shown in FIG. 16, it replaces with this and the 24th shown in FIG. The suppression area may be switched based on the map M24. In this case, as compared with the second embodiment described above, even when the type of the peripheral object is a moving object, when the occupation ratio is equal to or greater than the occupation ratio determination value, the suppression area is set as the reduction suppression area Rr.

In the second embodiment described above, the region expansion control unit 162n determines whether or not to perform region expansion control based on the fifth map M5 illustrated in FIG. At this time, the area expansion control unit 162n determines whether or not to execute the area expansion control from the acceleration. Instead, when the electric wheelchair 1 is at the maximum speed, the acceleration of the electric wheelchair 1 is determined. Regardless, the area expansion control may be executed based on the surrounding objects and the occupation ratio based on the contents shown in “when acceleration> zero” in the fifth map M5.
Further, the area expansion control unit 162n may determine whether or not to execute the area expansion control based on the fifteenth map M15 shown in FIG. 22 instead of the fifth map M5 shown in FIG. good. In this case, the area expansion control unit 162n determines whether or not to execute the area expansion control based only on the occupation ratio regardless of whether or not the electric wheelchair 1 is accelerating.

In the second embodiment described above, the region expansion control unit 162n calculates the expansion amount based on the acceleration of the electric wheelchair 1, but instead of this, the region expansion control unit 162n is constant regardless of the acceleration of the electric wheelchair 1. The area may be expanded by the expansion amount.

In the above-described embodiment, the operating device 30 is a joystick. Instead, the operating device 30 is operated by an accelerator that indicates the straight traveling speed v of the electric wheelchair 1 and a handle that indicates the turning direction of the electric wheelchair 1. You may make it comprise.

Moreover, in each embodiment mentioned above, although the reduction suppression area | region Rr, Rr1, Rr2 is preset by the reduction suppression area | region setting part 62c, 162c, it replaces with this, and deform | transforms the reference | standard suppression area | region Rb, The reduction suppression regions Rr, Rr1, and Rr2 may be set.

Moreover, in each embodiment mentioned above, although the detection apparatus 50 is a three-dimensional range sensor which detects the three-dimensional position information of a to-be-detected object, it replaces with this and detects the two-dimensional position information of a to-be-detected object. A two-dimensional range sensor may be used.
Moreover, in the embodiment mentioned above, although the electric wheelchair 1 is provided with one detection apparatus 50, it may replace with this and may be provided with multiple detection apparatuses 50. According to this, compared with the case where there is one detection device 50, the range in which the detection object of the detection device 50 can be detected can be expanded.

In each of the above-described embodiments, the suppression area is generated in a planar shape on the polar coordinates C. Alternatively, the suppression area may be generated three-dimensionally. In this case, instead of the polar coordinates C, the suppression area may be set on the spherical coordinates centered on the electric wheelchair 1. Accordingly, the height of the reference suppression region Rb and the height of the reduction suppression region Rr can be set differently within a range in which the detection device 50 can detect the detection target.

In each embodiment described above, when there is an object to be detected in the suppression region, the maximum speed of the straight traveling speed v limited by the drive amount suppression unit 61c1 changes according to the shortest distance Dmin. Thus, it may be changed according to the relative speed between the electric wheelchair 1 and the detected object and the density of the detected object in the grid G (density of the point group PG). Further, when there is an object to be detected in the suppression region, the drive amount suppression unit 61c1 may limit the maximum speed of the straight traveling speed v to a constant speed regardless of the shortest distance Dmin.
Further, in each of the above-described embodiments, the maximum drive speed v is limited by setting the drive amount of the drive device 20 to the limited drive amount by the drive amount suppressing unit 61c1, but instead, the straight drive The speed v may be reduced uniformly at a predetermined rate. Further, the time change rate (acceleration) of the straight traveling speed v may be limited.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Electric wheelchair (moving body), 10 ... Wheelchair main body, 20 ... Drive apparatus, 30 ... Operation apparatus, 40 ... Release request detection apparatus, 50 ... Detection apparatus, 60 ... Control apparatus, 61 ... Travel control part, 61c ... Drive Amount control unit, 61c1... Drive amount suppression unit, 62... Collision suppression control unit, 62a... Course prediction unit, 62b... Reference suppression region setting unit, 62c... Reduction suppression region setting unit, 62d. Switching unit, 62f ... Obstacle presence / absence determination unit, 162g ... Peripheral object presence / absence determination unit, 162h ... Peripheral object type determination unit, 162k ... Occupancy rate deriving unit, 162n ... Area expansion control unit, C ... Polar coordinates, Rb ... Reference suppression region , Rr ... reduction reduction region, Rs ... peripheral region, Wy ... prediction progress region.

Claims (7)

1. A moving body that is driven by a drive device that is driven in accordance with an input to the operation device by an occupant,
   The moving body is
   A detection device for detecting an object to be detected around the moving body;
   A control device that controls the driving amount of the driving device based on input information that is information input to the operating device to cause the moving body to travel, and
   The controller is
   A reference suppression region setting unit that sets a reference suppression region that is a suppression region in which travel of the moving body is suppressed when the detected object detected by the detection device is located within the region; ,
   Based on the intention of the occupant or the type of the detected object located in the peripheral area that is the area on both sides of the predicted progress area of the moving object, the reference suppression area set by the reference suppression area setting unit On the other hand, a mobile body comprising: a reduction suppression area setting unit that sets a reduction suppression area that is the reduced suppression area.
2. The occupant's intention is a release request for the suppression,
   The mobile body further includes a release request detection device that detects the strength of the release request by an operation of the occupant,
   The controller is
   Based on the strength of the release request detected by the release request detection device, from the reference suppression region set by the reference suppression region setting unit to the reduction suppression region set by the reduction suppression region setting unit The moving body according to claim 1, further comprising an area switching unit for switching.
3. The mobile body according to claim 2, wherein the reduction suppression area setting unit sets the reduction suppression area to be reduced as the strength of the cancellation request detected by the cancellation request detection device increases.
4. The types of detected objects are stationary objects and moving objects,
   The controller is
   A peripheral object type determination unit that determines whether the type of the detected object located in the peripheral region is the stationary object or the moving object;
   When the peripheral object type determination unit determines that the type of the detected object in the peripheral region is the stationary object, the reduction suppression region from the reference suppression region set by the reference suppression region setting unit The moving body according to claim 1, further comprising: a region switching unit that switches to the reduction suppression region set by the setting unit.
5. The controller is
   A region expansion control unit that executes region expansion control to expand the suppression region when the peripheral object type determination unit determines that the type of the detected object in the peripheral region is the moving object; The moving body according to claim 4 provided.
6. The controller is
   An occupancy ratio deriving unit for deriving an occupancy ratio that is a ratio of an area occupied by the detected object with respect to the peripheral area;
   The region expansion control unit, when the peripheral object type determination unit determines that the type of the detected object in the peripheral region is the stationary object, the occupancy rate derived by the occupancy rate deriving unit The mobile object according to claim 5, wherein the area expansion control is executed when the occupancy rate is smaller than the occupation rate determination value.
7. The controller is
   An occupancy ratio deriving unit for deriving an occupancy ratio that is a ratio of an area occupied by the detected object to the peripheral area;
   When the occupation rate derived by the occupation rate deriving unit is greater than or equal to an occupation rate determination value, the reduction set by the reduction suppression region setting unit from the reference suppression region set by the reference suppression region setting unit The moving body according to claim 1, further comprising: a region switching unit that switches to a suppression region.

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