JP2015103049A - Moving body, and running system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a moving body that enables acceleration of the moving body to be mitigated even when unintentional acceleration occurs.SOLUTION: A moving body is configured to run on a guide line 110, and the moving body 10 comprises: a driven unit 20; a drive device 30; and a control unit 50. The driven unit 20 is configured to be rotatable, and the drive device 30 is configured to cause the driven unit 20 to be rotated. The driven unit 20 is rotated, and thereby, the moving body 10 runs. When the number of rotations of the driven unit 20 is not kept at the prescribed number of rotations, the control unit 50 causes a generation of an interrupt of a sub-routine of a braking control, and controls the drive device 30 in such a way that the number of rotations of the driven unit 20 is decreased in accordance with increase in the number of rotations of the driven unit 20.

Description

  The present invention relates to a moving body and a traveling system.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as a moving body that conveys a person, an object, or the like, a vehicle that unmannedly travels a predetermined travel route based on a travel control program is provided. This moving body is controlled to travel according to the shape of the travel route. Such a moving body is disclosed in Patent Document 1.

  The automatic guided vehicle (moving body) disclosed in Patent Document 1 can detect a marker laid before the curve section of the travel route and change the steering speed between the straight section and the curve section. Here, the steering speed is a change speed of the direction of the steering wheel. The moving body disclosed in Patent Document 1 attempts to prevent derailment of the moving body in a curve section by appropriately changing the steering speed.

JP-A-6-314125

  However, the moving body disclosed in Patent Document 1 cannot cope with unintended acceleration travel. For example, when a moving body that is pulling a to-be-triggered object travels on a downhill, it may be pushed and accelerated by the to-be-triggered object. The moving body disclosed in Patent Literature 1 cannot prevent the moving body from accelerating even if the moving body starts unintended acceleration travel. For this reason, the moving body may travel at an unexpected speed.

  In view of the above problems, an object of the present invention is to provide a moving body and a traveling system that can alleviate the acceleration even if an unintended acceleration occurs.

  The mobile body which concerns on 1 aspect of this invention is a mobile body which drive | works on a guide line. The moving body includes a driven part, a driving device, and a control part. The driven part is rotatable. The drive device rotates the driven part. The movable body travels as the driven part rotates. When the rotational speed of the driven part is no longer maintained at a predetermined rotational speed, the control unit generates an interrupt of a subroutine for braking control, and the driven part is increased according to the increase in the rotational speed of the driven part. The drive device is controlled so that the number of rotations of the unit decreases.

  A traveling system according to one aspect of the present invention includes the above moving body and a guide line.

  According to the present invention, when the rotational speed of the driven part is not maintained at the predetermined rotational speed, an interrupt of a braking control subroutine is generated. Thereby, the rotation speed of the driven part can be reduced in accordance with the increase in the rotation speed of the driven part. Therefore, even if the mobile object starts unintended acceleration traveling, the acceleration of the mobile object can be reduced.

It is a figure which shows the outline of a structure of the mobile body and traveling system which concern on Embodiment 1 of this invention. It is a block diagram which shows an example of a structure of the moving body which concerns on Embodiment 1 of this invention. It is a figure which shows an example of the flowchart of the subroutine of the braking control which concerns on Embodiment 1 of this invention. It is a figure which shows the outline of a structure of the mobile body and traveling system which concern on Embodiment 2 of this invention. It is a block diagram which shows an example of a structure of the moving body which concerns on Embodiment 2 of this invention.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of a moving body and a traveling system according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. However, the present invention is not limited to the following embodiments. In the drawings, the same or corresponding parts are denoted by the same reference numerals, and description thereof will not be repeated. In addition, the drawings schematically show each component as a main component for easy understanding.

[Embodiment 1]
(Basic configuration)
With reference to FIG. 1, the basic structure of the moving body 10 and the traveling system 100 which concern on Embodiment 1 of this invention is demonstrated. FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an outline of the configuration of the moving body 10 and the traveling system 100. The moving body 10 includes a driven unit 20, a driving device 30, a detection unit 40, and a control unit 50. The traveling system 100 includes a moving body 10, a guide line 110 indicating a traveling route of the moving body 10, and a marker 120 provided along the guide line 110.

  The moving body 10 is, for example, a transport vehicle, a towing vehicle, a cart, or a go-kart. The moving body 10 automatically travels (unmanned travel). The moving body 10 moves along the traveling direction X.

  The driven part 20 is rotatable. As the driven part 20 rotates, the moving body 10 travels on the guide line 110. The driven part 20 is, for example, a driving wheel. The driven unit 20 is provided in a pair of left and right on the front side of the moving body 10. In the first embodiment, two driven parts 20 are provided, but the number of driven parts 20 is not particularly limited.

  The driving device 30 is coupled to the driven unit 20 and rotates the driven unit 20. The drive device 30 includes, for example, a drive motor. The driving device 30 may include a cam mechanism including a gear or the like.

  The detection unit 40 detects the guide line 110 and the marker 120. The detection unit 40 transmits a detection signal indicating the detection result to the control unit 50. The detection unit 40 serves as a guide line detection unit that detects the guide line 110 and a marker detection unit that detects the marker 120.

  The control unit 50 distinguishes the detection signal received from the detection unit 40 into a signal indicating the guide line 110 and a signal indicating the marker 120. The control unit 50 controls the driving device 30 so that the moving body 10 travels on the guide line 110 based on a signal indicating the guide line 110. For example, when the control unit 50 detects a curved portion of the guide line 110 (curve section of the travel route) from a signal indicating the guide line 110, the traveling mobile body 10 bends along the curved portion of the guide line 110. The drive device 30 is controlled. For example, the control unit 50 controls the driving device 30 so that a difference occurs in the rotation speed between the left and right driven units 20. Thereby, the mobile body 10 can bend along the guide line 110 in the curve section of the travel route.

  Further, the control unit 50 determines the command content corresponding to the detected marker 120 based on the signal indicating the marker 120. The command content is defined in advance corresponding to the arrangement of the markers 120, for example. For example, the control unit 50 stores a table in which the relationship between the command content and the marker 120 is defined. The control unit 50 outputs a signal corresponding to the command content to the driving device 30. The driving device 30 rotates the driven unit 20 at a rotation speed (rotational speed) corresponding to a signal (command content) output from the control unit 50.

  Further, the control unit 50 receives a signal indicating information on the number of rotations (rotational speed) of the driven unit 20 from the driving device 30. For example, when the drive device 30 includes a drive motor, the control unit 50 can control the drive current supplied to the drive motor by PWM control so that the driven unit 20 rotates at the number of rotations according to the command content. Maintain drive voltage.

  Further, when the rotation number (rotation speed) of the driven unit 20 specified by the command content cannot be maintained, the control unit 50 generates an interrupt of a braking control subroutine, and increases the rotation number of the driven unit 20. Accordingly, the drive device 30 is controlled so that the rotational speed of the driven part 20 decreases.

  According to the first embodiment, when the rotational speed of the driven unit 20 cannot be maintained at a desired rotational speed, the control unit 50 generates an interrupt of a braking control subroutine. Accordingly, the control unit 50 can control the driving device 30 so that the rotation number of the driven unit 20 decreases as the rotation number of the driven unit 20 increases. Therefore, even if the mobile body 10 starts unintended acceleration travel, the acceleration of the mobile body 10 can be mitigated.

(Configuration example)
Details of the first embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 2 and 3. FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a configuration of the moving object 10 according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

  The moving body 10 includes a follower wheel 60. The control unit 50 includes a recognition unit 51, a command content determination unit 52, and a drive device control unit 53. The control unit 50 stores a travel control program programmed in advance. Based on this traveling control program, each function of the recognition unit 51, the command content determination unit 52, and the drive device control unit 53 is executed.

  The marker 120 is provided along the guide line 110 on at least one of the left side and the right side of the guide line 110. The guide line 110 and the marker 120 are formed of a colored tape or a colored paint. By forming the guide line 110 and the marker 120 with a colored tape, the guide line 110 and the marker 120 can be easily peeled off from the ground or floor surface. Therefore, the travel route can be easily changed. In addition, when the guide line 110 and the marker 120 are formed of a colored paint, the travel route can be easily changed. Specifically, when the travel route is changed, the paint forming the guide line 110 and the marker 120 may be peeled off or the paint may be overcoated with the same color paint as the travel surface. In addition, since the guide line 110 and the marker 120 are formed of colored tape or colored paint, it is possible to reduce a construction period required for laying and changing the guide line 110 and the marker 120.

  Note that the guide line 110 may be formed by a magnetic generation member (for example, an electromagnetic induction wire). In this case, a magnetic sensor is attached as a sensor for detecting the guide line 110.

  The follower wheel 60 supports the movable body 10 together with the driven unit 20. The slave wheels 60 are provided in a pair of left and right on the rear side of the moving body 10. The follower wheel 60 rotates as the mobile object 10 travels. In the first embodiment, two slave wheels 60 are provided, but the number of slave wheels 60 is not particularly limited.

  The detection unit 40 includes a plurality of optical reflection sensors (hereinafter, “optical reflection sensor” is simply referred to as “optical sensor”) 41. The optical sensor 41 is provided at the lower part on the front end side of the moving body 10. The plurality of optical sensors 41 are arranged in a horizontal row so as to be orthogonal to the traveling direction X of the moving body 10 when the moving body 10 travels in a straight section of the travel route. Thereby, the detection range of the detection part 40 can be expanded, and it becomes difficult for the moving body 10 to derail during curve driving | running | working. In the first embodiment, the number of the optical sensors 41 is eight, but the number of the optical sensors 41 is not limited to eight. By increasing the number of optical sensors 41, the arrangement density of the optical sensors 41 is increased, and the detection accuracy of the guide lines 110 and the markers 120 can be increased.

  As the moving body 10 travels, any of the plurality of optical sensors 41 passes over the guide line 110 and the marker 120. A signal output from each optical sensor 41 is transmitted to the recognition unit 51.

  The recognition unit 51 identifies the guide line 110 and the marker 120 based on the signal received from each optical sensor 41. For example, the recognition unit 51 recognizes the detection target first detected by any one of the optical sensors 41 as the guide line 110. Further, when the optical sensor 41 different from the optical sensor 41 that detects the detection target detects another detection target, the recognition unit 51 recognizes the detection target as the marker 120. At this time, the detection target detected first is continuously detected by any one of the optical sensors 41. The recognition unit 51 transmits the signal received from the optical sensor 41 that has detected the guide line 110 to the drive device control unit 53. The recognizing unit 51 transmits a signal received from the optical sensor 41 that has detected the marker 120 to the command content determining unit 52.

  The command content determination unit 52 determines the arrangement of the markers 120 based on the signal received from the recognition unit 51. The command content determination unit 52 determines the command content based on the determination result. The command content determination unit 52 transmits a signal indicating the confirmed command content to the drive device control unit 53.

  The drive device control unit 53 controls the drive device 30 so that the moving body 10 travels on the guide line 110 based on the signal received from the recognition unit 51 (signal indicating the guide line 110). For example, when the mobile unit 10 travels in a straight section of the travel route, when the two central optical sensors 8 among the plurality of optical sensors 8 arranged in a horizontal row detect the guide line 110, the driving device control is performed. The unit 53 controls the driving device 30 so that the guide line 110 is detected by the two optical sensors 8 at the center. In this case, when the moving body 10 enters the curved portion of the guide line 110 (curve section of the travel route), the optical sensor 8 different from the central two optical sensors 8 detects the guide line 110. Therefore, the detection position of the guide line 110 in the detection unit 40 changes. The drive device control unit 53 controls the drive device 30 so that a difference occurs in the rotation speed between the left and right driven units 20 according to the change in the detection position of the guide line 110. For example, the drive device control unit 53 controls the drive device 30 so that the number of rotations of the driven unit 20 located outside the curved portion of the guide line 110 (curve section of the travel route) increases. Thereby, the moving body 10 can bend along the guide line 110.

  The drive device control unit 53 controls the drive device 30 based on the signal received from the command content determination unit 52. The drive device 30 rotates the driven unit 20 at a rotation speed corresponding to the control content indicated by the signal output from the drive device control unit 53. For example, when the signal output from the drive device control unit 53 indicates the control content of “10% deceleration”, the drive device 30 decreases the rotational speed of the driven unit 20 by 10%. Further, the driving device control unit 53 receives a signal indicating information on the rotational speed of the driven unit 20 from the driving device 30, and maintains a state where the rotational speed of the driven unit 20 is reduced by 10%, for example, by PWM control. To do.

  Further, when the rotational speed of the driven unit 20 increases and the rotational speed specified by the command content cannot be maintained, and the mobile body 10 starts unintended acceleration travel, the main routine of the travel control program Breaking control subroutine interrupt occurs. As a result, the rotational speed of the driven unit 20 decreases. Therefore, even if the mobile body 10 starts unintended acceleration travel, the acceleration of the mobile body 10 can be mitigated.

  Here, an example of a subroutine for braking control will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 3 shows an example of a flowchart of a braking control subroutine according to the first embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 3, when an interruption of a braking control subroutine occurs, the drive device controller 53 first sets the counter value to the initial value “t = 0” (step S <b> 1). Thereafter, the drive device control unit 53 detects the rotation speed of the driven section 20 (step S2), and determines whether or not the rotation speed of the driven section 20 is higher than the rotation speed defined by the command content. Determine (step S3). When the result of this determination is “Yes”, that is, when the rotational speed of the driven unit 20 is higher than the rotational speed specified in the command content, the drive device control unit 53 The brake control is executed (step S4).

  Thereafter, the drive device control unit 53 repeats steps S2 to S4 until the rotation speed of the driven section 20 reaches the rotation speed specified by the command content. That is, the drive device control unit 53 executes the pumping brake. When the result of the determination in step S3 is “No”, that is, when the rotational speed of the driven unit 20 reaches the rotational speed specified by the command content, the drive device control unit 53 increases the counter value by one ( In step S5), it is determined whether or not the counter value is “x” (step S6). Here, “x” is an arbitrary numerical value of 1 or more.

  If the result of determination in step S6 is “No”, that is, if the counter value is not “x”, the process returns to step S2. If the result of determination in step S6 is “Yes”, that is, if the counter value becomes “x”, the braking control subroutine ends and control by the main routine of the traveling control program is resumed. That is, when it is detected (x + 1) times that the rotational speed of the driven unit 20 is the rotational speed defined by the command content, the braking control subroutine ends.

(Downhill driving)
As a typical case where the moving body 10 starts unintended acceleration traveling, the moving body 10 may travel downhill. In particular, when the moving body 10 is towing the object to be pulled, the moving body 10 may be pushed and accelerated by the object to be pulled. Moreover, even when the mobile body 10 is traveling alone, the mobile body 10 may be accelerated by its own weight in the downhill section. When the moving body 10 is traveling with a person on it, or when traveling with objects, animals or plants loaded, the weight of the personnel or the weight of the loaded object is added to the weight of the moving body 10. This causes the moving body 10 to accelerate.

  Therefore, a marker 120 that generates an interruption of a subroutine for braking control may be arranged before the downhill section. In this case, when the command content determination unit 52 recognizes the downhill ahead of the moving body 10 in the traveling direction from the detection result of the detection unit 40, an interruption of a braking control subroutine occurs, and the drive device control unit 53 The driving device 30 is controlled so that the rotational speed of the driven unit 20 decreases as the rotational speed of the driven unit 20 increases. In this way, the braking control subroutine is started without waiting until the rotational speed of the driven unit 20 increases and the rotational speed specified by the command content cannot be maintained. The rotational speed of the driven part 20 can be reduced. Therefore, it is possible to reliably avoid the problem that the moving body 10 travels at an unexpected speed due to the delay of the start of the braking control subroutine. When the braking control subroutine shown in FIG. 3 is used, the counter value determined in step S6 is preferably set according to the distance of the downhill section or the like.

  Alternatively, a marker 120 that generates an interrupt of a subroutine for braking control may be arranged after the rotational speed of the driven unit 20 is reduced before the downhill section. In this case, when the command content determination unit 52 recognizes the downhill ahead of the moving body 10 in the traveling direction from the detection result of the detection unit 40, first, the drive device control unit 53 reduces the rotational speed of the driven unit 20. Thus, the drive device 30 is controlled. Thereafter, an interruption of a subroutine for braking control occurs, and the drive device control unit 53 switches the drive device 30 so that the rotational speed of the driven unit 20 decreases as the rotational speed of the driven unit 20 increases. Control. In this way, since the moving body 10 travels on a downhill with the speed reduced, it is possible to reliably avoid the problem that the braking control is delayed and the moving body 10 travels at an unexpected speed.

  Note that a marker 120 for ending the braking control subroutine may be arranged immediately after the downhill section. In this way, after the mobile body 10 travels in the downhill section, the braking control subroutine can be reliably ended.

[Embodiment 2]
With reference to FIG. 4, the basic structure of the moving body 10 and the traveling system 100 which concern on Embodiment 2 of this invention is demonstrated. FIG. 4 is a diagram schematically illustrating the configuration of the moving body 10 and the traveling system 100 according to the second embodiment of the present invention. Only differences from the first embodiment will be described below.

  In the second embodiment, the left marker detector 42, the right marker detector 43, and the guide line detector 44 are provided independently. The left marker detection unit 42 detects the marker 120 provided on the left side of the guide line 110 with respect to the traveling direction X of the moving body 10, and the right marker detection unit 43 guides with respect to the traveling direction X of the moving body 10. The marker 120 provided on the right side of the line 110 is detected. The guide line detection unit 44 detects the guide line 110.

  Details of the second embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of the moving object 10 according to the second embodiment of the present invention. Only differences from the first embodiment will be described below.

  In the second embodiment, each of the left marker detection unit 42, the right marker detection unit 43, and the guide line detection unit 44 includes a plurality of optical sensors 41. The control unit 50 includes a command content determination unit 52 and a drive device control unit 53. Detection signals generated from the left marker detection unit 42 and the right marker detection unit 43 are transmitted to the command content determination unit 52. A detection signal generated from the guide line detection unit 47 is transmitted to the drive device control unit 53.

  According to the second embodiment, since the left marker detection unit 42, the right marker detection unit 43, and the guide line detection unit 44 are provided independently, the guide line 110 is set according to the size of the space in which the moving body 10 is traveled. When the interval between the marker 120 and the marker 120 is changed, the positions of the left marker detection unit 42 and the right marker detection unit 43 can be easily associated with the positions of the markers 120.

  In the first and second embodiments, the moving body 10 may be capable of switching between automatic pilot travel and manual pilot travel. The moving body 10 may travel alone. At this time, the moving body 10 may travel with a person on it, or may travel with objects, animals and plants loaded thereon. Or the mobile body 10 may tow a to-be-towed object (for example, a trolley | bogie or a freight vehicle). The to-be-towed object may carry a person, and may load things, animals and plants.

  Note that the present invention can also be applied to a traveling system in which no marker is used. As an example of the case where the marker is not used, there is a case where a traveling control program programmed so that the moving body 10 always travels at a constant speed is stored in the control unit 50. In this case, when the rotational speed of the driven unit 20 is not maintained at a constant rotational speed defined by the traveling control program, the control unit 50 generates an interrupt of a braking control subroutine, and the driven unit 20 The drive device 30 may be controlled so that the rotational speed of the driven unit 20 decreases as the rotational speed increases.

  A mobile body and a traveling system according to the present invention include a self-propelled vehicle, a transport vehicle, a factory, a warehouse, a warehouse district, a container terminal, a hospital, a zoo, an amusement park, a museum, a theme park, a golf course, an expressway, an airport, and the like. The present invention can be suitably used in a system for automatically driving a tow vehicle, an automobile, a go-kart, a cart, an aircraft, or the like.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Mobile body 20 Driven part 30 Drive apparatus 40 Detection part 41 Optical reflection type sensor 42 Left marker detection part 43 Right marker detection part 44 Guide line detection part 50 Control part 51 Recognition part 52 Command content determination part 53 Drive apparatus control part 60 Follower 100 Traveling system 110 Guide line 120 Marker

Claims (7)

A moving body traveling on a guide line,
A rotatable driven part for running the moving body;
A driving device for rotating the driven part;
When the rotational speed of the driven part is not maintained at a predetermined rotational speed, an interrupt of a braking control subroutine is generated, and the rotational speed of the driven part is increased according to the increase in the rotational speed of the driven part. And a control unit that controls the driving device so as to decrease. A marker detection unit for detecting a marker provided along the guide line;
The mobile unit according to claim 1, wherein the control unit generates an interrupt of a subroutine of the braking control when recognizing a downhill ahead in the traveling direction of the mobile unit from the detection result of the marker detection unit.   When the control unit recognizes a downhill ahead of the moving body in the traveling direction from the detection result of the marker detection unit, the control unit controls the driving device so that the number of rotations of the driven unit decreases, and then the braking unit The moving body according to claim 2, wherein an interrupt of a control subroutine is generated. A moving body according to claim 1;
A traveling system including the guide line.   The traveling system according to claim 4, wherein the guide line is formed of a colored tape or a colored paint. The moving body according to claim 2 or 3,
The guide line;
A traveling system including the marker.   The travel system according to claim 6, wherein the guide line and the marker are formed of a colored tape or a colored paint.

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