JPS6156158B2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed description of the invention]

The present invention relates to an unmanned transport control device useful in warehouses, factories, etc. When unmanned (automating) the work of loading a desired type of cargo into a predetermined location in a work space such as a warehouse or factory, or removing the loaded cargo, conventional conveyor or stacker cranes were used. There is something. A device using a conveyor is
Transport the load along a fixed conveyor line,
Loading and unloading is now carried out using working machines, etc. at predetermined standard locations, and equipment using stacker lanes is arranged with racks concentrated in storage areas in warehouses or factories, and is moved along between each rack. Loads from the racks are transported and unloaded by means of a stacker crane, which is available. However, all of these devices are large-scale devices, and once they are installed, they cannot be easily changed even if the conveyance line needs to be changed, and furthermore, the conveyance line itself occupies a large space. , resulting in a significant decrease in space utilization efficiency. The present invention has been made with the aim of completely unmanning (automating) the loading and unloading work based on a system completely different from the conventional apparatus described above. The method used in the present invention is to use an unmanned vehicle that travels along a predetermined track to transport loads in a work space in a warehouse or factory. In an unmanned vehicle, an induction cable carrying a low-frequency signal is installed along a predetermined course in a work space such as a warehouse or factory, and a pick-up coil is installed on the vehicle side, and a pick-up coil is connected to the pickup coil from the induction cable. It is possible to adopt a system in which the vehicle runs along the induction cable by detecting the induced electromotive force.
Further, unmanned vehicles are used, such as forklifts, which have the functions of loading and unloading loads and transporting loads. The method used in the present invention is to stack loads directly on the guide cable one after another. That is, the vehicle is configured to detect the presence or absence of the piled up cargo in front of the vehicle in the traveling direction using a sensor installed on the vehicle traveling on the guide cable, and to load and unload the cargo based on this detected value. For example, when loading a load, a vehicle carries a load and travels on a guide cable, and when it detects the presence of a load already loaded in front, it lifts the load by controlling the elevation of the forks of a forklift at that point. During loading and unloading, when a vehicle running on a guide cable detects the presence of a load in front of it, the forks are raised and lowered, the vehicle is moved forward,
The cargo is picked up by sequentially controlling the reverse movement, etc., and the loading and unloading work can be performed automatically without providing a station to indicate the loading and unloading position of the cargo. Furthermore, in this method, the loading location is not determined in advance, and the loading area can be directly loaded without using a rack, so the storage space can be used efficiently.
Furthermore, since this method is configured to load loads sequentially onto the induction cables as described above, multiple induction cables are laid in parallel, and a predetermined section (hereinafter referred to as a lane) of each induction cable is used for loading loads. It is configured to be used as a loading area. This lane section is designated by laying a station cable carrying a low frequency signal orthogonal to the lane (induction cable) at the start and end of the lane. That is, in addition to the above-mentioned pickup coil for detecting the magnetic field generated from the induction cable, the vehicle side also includes a station detection pickup coil for detecting the magnetic field generated from the station cable, which is centered in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle and perpendicular to the induction cable. The starting and ending ends of the lane are detected based on the electromotive force generated in this pick-up coil for station detection. For example, when storing cargo on an empty lane, a vehicle loaded with cargo can be driven along the lane, and when the end of the lane is detected by the station detection pick-up coil, the cargo can be placed from this position. Furthermore, if the vehicle detects the presence of a load before detecting the starting end of the lane, it means that the lane is fully loaded. Hereinafter, one embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. The unmanned vehicle used in this embodiment is a vehicle constructed by installing a control device, a detector, etc. necessary for unmanned traveling and unmanned loading/unloading work on an existing forklift. This aims for versatility between unmanned and manual driving, as well as an advantage in terms of production costs, as it can be realized by adding a small amount of equipment to existing vehicles without using a special vehicle. Further, in this embodiment, the work space of the unmanned vehicle is inside the warehouse, and the predetermined reference location, which is the point of contact with the outside system, is the entrance/exit of the warehouse. First, an outline of an embodiment of an unmanned transportation control device of the present invention will be explained with reference to the block diagram of FIG. The warehousing/unloading station 1 corresponds to the predetermined reference location, and is provided at the warehousing/unloading entrance of the warehouse from which the unmanned forklift 2 loads and unloads goods to be stored and goods to be unloaded. A main induction cable 3 is laid from the loading/unloading station 1 and serves as a guiding path for the unmanned vehicle 2, and a low frequency current of frequency ₁ is passed through the main induction cable 3 by an oscillator 4. At predetermined positions of the main induction cable 3, lane induction cables c ₁ to c _o are connected to the induction cable 3.
are laid, and their respective contact points form branching points b _{1 -bo} , and part of the lane guiding cables c ₁ -c _o constitute lanes l _{1 -lo} for storing loads in the warehouse. A lane switching circuit 5 is provided for lanes l ₁ to l _o . The lane switching circuit 5 switches each lane l ₁ to
It is equipped with switch groups s ₁ to s _o corresponding to l _o ,
By switching the switch, a low frequency induced current of frequency ₂ is caused to flow from the oscillator 6 to the lane guidance cable to form a guide path in the lane. Induction cables 8 and ₉ , through which a low-frequency induced current of frequency ₃ is passed by an oscillator ₇ , are laid at the starting and ending ends of the lanes l1-lo, orthogonal to each lane _l1 - _lo . The induction cables 8 and 9 indicate the starting and ending ends of the lanes l ₁ to _{l o} , and the unmanned vehicle 2 detects the induced electromotive force from the induction cables 8 and 9 to indicate the start and end points of the lanes l ₁ to l _o . Detect start and end. The type of goods to be stored at the loading/unloading station 1 is detected by the receiving type detection device 10. The in-stock product type detection device 10 can be configured using a known technique in which, for example, a coded product name is printed on a load and read optically. The delivery card reading device 11 reads the type of cargo to be delivered from a predetermined delivery card (not shown), and this device also punches the product type name encoded on the delivery card, and reads it optically or It can be constructed using known mechanical reading techniques. A signal IS indicating the incoming product type detected by the incoming product type detection device 10 or the outgoing card reader 1
Signal OS indicating the outgoing product type read by 1
is added to the central controller 12. The central control device 12 adds to the inventory storage device 13 a signal IS or OS indicating the type of cargo to be stored or taken out. The inventory storage device 13 includes a storage circuit that stores the name of the inventory type in the warehouse, the storage lane number of the load, the amount of inventory, the storage date and time, etc., and the lane in which the incoming load should be stored is determined based on the memory contents of the storage circuit. Alternatively, the number of the lane in which the cargo to be shipped is stored is read out, and the central controller 12 then sends the lane designation signal LS corresponding to the read lane number.
is added to the lane switching circuit 5, the switch corresponding to the desired lane is switched, and a guide path to the desired lane is formed. For example, when the third lane _l3 is designated by the lane designation signal LS, only the switch _s3 is turned on, and the induction cable _c3 forming the third lane _l3 is turned on.
A current is applied from the oscillator 6 to form a guide path leading from the main induction cable 3 through a branch point B ₃ to a lane L ₃ consisting of an induction cable C ₃ . Further, the central control device 12 issues a command to start entering and leaving the warehouse, or a command to evacuation, emergency stop, etc. to the unmanned forklift 2 . This is done by superimposing frequency signals indicating the respective commands on the guiding cables 3, c _{1 -co} . Next, the warehousing work and the warehousing work in the above embodiment will be explained. When a load to be stored arrives at the loading/unloading station 1, the type of the load is detected by the type detection device 10, and the inventory and storage status of the load is checked by the inventory storage device 13. A cargo storage lane is determined, a signal indicating the number corresponding to this lane is sent to the lane switching circuit 5, the lane is switched, and at the same time a warehousing start command is given to the unmanned vehicle 2. As a result, the unmanned vehicle 2 first picks up the cargo to be stored at the loading/unloading station, and then uses the frequency of the main induction cable 3.
Follow the guidance signal _{No. 1} and drive backwards. Branching point b ₁ ~
Reach b _o and lane induction cable c ₁ ~
Upon detecting the frequency ₂ guidance signal of c _o , the vehicle switches to the frequency ₂ guidance signal and moves forward according to the frequency ₂ guidance signal of the lane guidance cable, entering the lane specified by the lane switching circuit 5. , perform cargo loading according to a pre-given sequence (described in detail later), and return to the loading/unloading station 1 via the lane guidance cable branch point and the main guidance cable in the same manner as above. Finish the warehousing work for the first time. Accordingly, the contents of the inventory storage device 13 are rewritten according to the type of goods received, the lane in which they were received, and the like. While the warehousing work is performed as described above, the warehousing work is performed as follows. When the shipping card on which the type of cargo to be shipped is written reaches the shipping card reading device 11, the type of cargo to be shipped is read from the shipping card. The central controller 12 uses the inventory storage device 13 to check the inventory and storage status of cargo of this type, determines the lane to be unloaded, sends a signal indicating the number of this unloading lane to the lane switching circuit 5, and switches the lane. At the same time, a command to start leaving the warehouse is given to the unmanned vehicle 2. The unmanned vehicle is connected to the main guidance cable 3 from the loading/unloading station 1 to which the above-mentioned loading/unloading start command is given.
Drive backward according to the frequency ₁ signal, change to the frequency ₂ signal of the lane guidance cable specified by the lane switching circuit 5 at the branch point as in the case of parking, drive forward and enter the lane specified in advance. sequence (detailed later)
One unloading operation is completed by carrying out the loading operation according to the instructions, returning to the loading/unloading station 1 via the lane guidance cable, branch point, and main guiding cable 3, and carrying out the loading work at the loading/unloading station 1. . Upon completion of this unloading operation, the storage contents of the inventory storage device 13 are rewritten according to the type of the unloaded load, the lane in which the unloaded load was stored, and the like. In this way, the unmanned vehicle 2 is controlled by the central controller 12.
A predetermined sequence is performed in which a warehousing start command or a warehousing start command is given.In the unmanned vehicle 2 according to the present invention, various sensors are installed in the vehicle, and depending on the output of these sensors,
It is configured to perform a traveling sequence, a loading sequence, a loading sequence, etc. FIGS. 2a and 2b show an example of the arrangement of sensors in the unmanned vehicle 2 (forklift) used in this embodiment. Six pick-up coils 21a, 21c, 21d, 21e, and 21f for traveling are arranged at the bottom of the unmanned vehicle 2 (FIG. 2b) as shown in the figure. Here, pick-up coils 21a and 21b, 21c and 21d, 21e
and 21f are arranged symmetrically with respect to the central axis 22 of the vehicle so that the axes of the respective coils are perpendicular to the central axis 22 of the vehicle.
1c and 21d are arranged near a fixed axle (rear wheel in the case of a forklift). The pick-up coils 21a to 21f detect the induced voltage induced by the induction cable (for example, the main induction cable 3) through which a low-frequency current flows, and from the respective induced voltages are detected from the induction cable of the central axis 22 of the vehicle 2. The deviation and the angle formed between the center axis 22 of the vehicle 2 and the guide cable are detected, and based on this, the steering angle of the vehicle 2 is controlled so that the vehicle 2 travels along the guide cable. Among these six pick-up coils 21a to 21f, four pick-up coils 21a, 21b, 21c, 21d
are used when the vehicle is traveling forward, and the four pickup coils 21c, 21d, 21e, and 21f are used when the vehicle is traveling backward. Pickup coil 23 for station detection
is arranged so that the axis of the coil is parallel to the axis 22 of the vehicle. Therefore, the station guidance cables 8 and 9 (the first and second ends) indicating the start and end of the lane interlink with the magnetic field from the guidance cables disposed perpendicular to the direction of travel of the vehicle, thereby generating an induced electromotive force. It is used for the detection of Figure 1). A column 25 is fixed vertically upward at the upper part of the outer mast 24a of the mast 24 of the vehicle 2.
A second stage detection ultrasonic sensor 26 and a third stage detection ultrasonic sensor 27 are attached to predetermined positions on the outer mast 24a and the support column 25. These sensors 26 and 27 detect the load 28 and the load 2 in the 2nd stage when loads are stacked in multiple stages, for example 3 stages, as shown in the figure.
9 is detected. The fork height detector 30 is located on the outer mast 24a.
It is attached at a predetermined position, detects the height of the fork 31, and outputs a corresponding height signal. This detector 30 is, for example, a rotary potentiometer, and measures the amount of movement of the inner mast 24b relative to the outer mast 24a when the fork is raised or lowered.
4b and a pinion (not shown) fixed to the shaft of the rotary potentiometer (not shown) to detect the height of the fork 31. It's getting old. An ultrasonic sensor 31a is disposed at a lower position of the tip of the claw 31a of the fork 31. This ultrasonic sensor 31a detects a load or an obstacle in front of the vehicle 2, and outputs a signal depending on the distance to the load or obstacle in front of the vehicle 2. Further, a load detector 33 is disposed at the upper end of the claw 31b of the fork 31, and this detector 33 detects the presence or absence of a load on the fork 31. A mileage detector 35 is disposed in the vehicle 34 of the vehicle 2. This mileage detector 35 is connected to the wheel 3
The number of pulses proportional to the traveling distance is generated by detecting the teeth 36a of a gear 36 fixedly attached to the vehicle 2, and the traveling distance of the vehicle 2 can be accurately detected. Next, sequence control of an unmanned vehicle performed in accordance with the outputs of the various sensors described above will be explained. The unmanned vehicle 2 performs steering control from the loading/unloading station 1 (Fig. 1) according to the induced voltages of the pickup coils 21c, 21d, 21e, and 21f in response to a loading/unloading start command or a loading/unloading start command from the central controller 12. Frequency of induction cable 3
Follow the guidance signal _{No. 1} and drive backwards. This vehicle 2
When the lane switching circuit 5 reaches the contact point (branch point) with the lane induction cable to which the excitation power source 6 of frequency ₂ is connected, the pickup coil 2
1c to 21f are frequencies other than the frequency ₁ signal.
₂ signals will be detected. This frequency ₂
A predetermined value of the detection level of the signal is determined to be a branch point, and a signal is sent to the travel control device (not shown) of the vehicle 2 to switch to forward travel, and at the same time, the pickup coils 21c, 21d, 21e, and 21f are detected. The frequency is switched to frequency ₂ , and the vehicle travels forward along the selected lane guidance cable according to the frequency ₂ guidance signal. In addition, since it takes a certain amount of time for the vehicle to be in a position where it can enter the lane guidance cable by driving forward after determining the fork point, a delay circuit or a circuit that detects the travel distance after the fork point determination is installed, so that the vehicle does not reach the fork point. After the determination, it is preferable to delay the timing of switching to forward travel. An unmanned vehicle that has entered the lane along the lane guidance cable performs cargo loading or unloading work on the lane in accordance with a warehousing command or a warehousing command given in advance. FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing the control of the cargo loading and unloading operations. First, a description will be given of control for placing a loaded cargo on the fork 31 of the unmanned vehicle 2 after receiving a cargo receiving command. Since the arrival command has been issued, the signal applied to the terminal _T1 is 1, and since the fork 31 is loaded, the output of the load detector 33 is "1".
When the claw tip ultrasonic sensor 32 of the claw tip 31a of the fork 31 detects a load already loaded in front of the vehicle 2 in the traveling direction, a voltage signal corresponding to the distance between this load and the fork tip 31a is transmitted. Add to comparator 40. The comparator 40 has a set voltage corresponding to a predetermined distance L ₁ (distance at which ultrasonic waves can be detected with sufficient accuracy without being affected by scattering, e.g. 1 m).
V ₁ is added, and the claw tip ultrasonic sensor 32
The detection voltage of the ultrasonic sensor 32 is compared with V ₁ , and when the detection voltage of the ultrasonic sensor 32 becomes lower than the detection voltage V ₁ , a signal 1 is outputted and this is added to the AND circuit 41 . As a result, the AND circuit 41 is opened and a pulse signal from the mileage detector 35, which outputs a pulse signal proportional to the mileage, is applied to the counter 42. The counter 42 counts these pulses, and the digital-to-analog converter ₄₃ converts the pulses into analog. A signal corresponding to (proportional to) the distance traveled is obtained and applied to the comparison circuit 44. Comparison circuit 44
, a voltage V ₂ corresponding to the distance L ₂ is applied, and when the output of the digital-to-analog converter 43 reaches V ₂ , that is, the distance between the load and the fork claw tip becomes (L ₁ − L ₂ ), the comparison circuit 44
outputs a signal “1”, which is sent to the travel control device 51.
In addition, vehicle 2 is stopped. (See Fig. 5a) Loads from the claw tip ultrasonic sensor 32, the second-stage detection ultrasonic sensor 26, and the third-stage detection ultrasonic sensor 27 from the first, second, and third stages, respectively. A signal indicating the presence or absence of the fork height controller 45 is applied to the fork height controller 45. Here, it is determined on which stage the cargo should be placed based on each signal. As a circuit for determining this, for example, the circuit shown in FIG. 4 can be used. Comparison circuits 27a and 26 compare the outputs of the third-stage detection ultrasonic sensor 27, the second-stage detection ultrasonic sensor 26, and the claw tip ultrasonic sensor with predetermined voltage levels, respectively.
"1" or "0" is added to a, 32a and indicates whether there is a load in the third, second, or first stage, respectively.
The signal is converted into a signal and applied to the decoder 100. In addition, the output of the decoder 100 is
51 output selection gate 152, each output is converted into an analog value by a P/A converter 153, and sent out as a height command signal. The operation of this circuit is shown in Table 1.

[Table] In the table, 1 indicates that there is a load, and 0 indicates that there is no load. For example, when the warehousing command signal is applied to the terminal _T1 , if the ultrasonic sensors 27, 26, and 32 detect that there is a load only in the first stage, the warehousing stage is switched to the second stage.
The stage is specified. For example, if it is detected that there is a load on the first and third tiers but no load is detected on the second tier, this indicates an abnormality, so an abnormality signal is output and the operation of the unmanned vehicle is stopped. In addition, if an unloading command signal is applied to terminal T ₂ and a lane end signal is applied to terminal T _B , and no cargo is detected in all stages, it means that the lane is empty. Outputs an empty signal from. In addition, when loads are detected in all stages, a lane start signal is applied to terminal T _C , and a warehousing command signal is applied to terminal T ₁ , a full signal indicating that the lane is full is output. Output. When the storage stage of the goods to be stored is determined based on the outputs of the ultrasonic sensors 32, 26, and 27 in this way, the storage stage selection gate circuit 151 is activated by the signal from the comparison circuit 44, and the fork height is detected. The fork 31 is controlled to move up and down to a height corresponding to the storage stage determined using the detected value of the device 30. (See FIG. 5b) The height of the fork 31 at this time is set to be slightly higher than the pallet in the warehousing stage. When the raising control of the fork 31 is completed, a forward start command is sent from the fork height control device 45 to the line 47, except when the first stage is designated as the storage stage. At this time, the digital-to-analog converter 4
The signal of the comparison circuit 48 which compares the output of 3 and the set voltage V ₃ corresponding to the distance L ₃ is 0, and the AND circuit 49 receives a signal obtained by inverting the forward start command 1 and the output of the comparison circuit 48 by the inverter 50. Since "1" is added, the AND condition of the AND circuit 49 is satisfied, and the signal "1" is applied to the travel control device 51, causing the vehicle 2 to move forward. As the vehicle 2 moves forward, the output of the digital-to-analog converter 43 increases, and the set voltage V ₃ of the comparator circuit 48 increases.
Then, the output of the comparison circuit 48 becomes "1", the output of the AND circuit 49 is set to "0", the signal of the AND circuit 52 is set to "1", and this is applied to the travel control device 51 to stop the vehicle 2. . (Figure 5c
(Refer to) When the output of the AND circuit 52 becomes "1", the AND condition of the AND circuit 54 where the warehousing command and the output of the load detector 33 are added via the AND circuit 53 is established, and the signal "1" is set as the fork down command. In addition to the fork height control device 45, the actuator 46 is controlled to lower the fork. When the output of the load detector 33 becomes 0 due to the lowering of the fork, the AND conditions of the AND circuits 53 and 54 no longer hold, and the lower fork command becomes "0". At the same time, the AND condition of the AND circuit 56 is established, in which the warehousing command from the terminal _T1 and the signal obtained by inverting the output of the load detection 33 by the inverter 55 are added.
A signal "1" is applied to the travel control device 51 via the OR circuit 57 to cause the vehicle 2 to move backward. This completes the cargo loading work of the unmanned vehicle 2. Next, control of the cargo picking operation will be explained. At this time, a delivery signal is applied to the terminal _T2 , and since no load is loaded on the fork, the output of the load detector is "0". When the vehicle 2 traveling in the lane detects the presence of a load using the claw tip ultrasonic sensor 32, the distance between the fork claw tip and the load is L ₁ in the same manner as in the cargo placement control described above.
- Stop the vehicle at the point where it reaches L ₂ . (See FIG. 6a) When the unloading stage is determined by the circuit shown in FIG. 4 according to the outputs of the ultrasonic sensors 32, 26, and 27, the actuator 46 is controlled by the fork height control device 45. The fork is controlled to rise and fall to a height that allows the claw portion 11b of the fork to enter the pallet of the determined unloading stage. (See Figure 6a)
When this elevating control is completed, a forward start command is sent to the line 47, and in the same manner as described above, the fork pawl 11b is stopped at a position where it is fully within the pallet of the delivery stage. (See FIG. 6b) The output of the AND circuit 52, which is established at this time, causes the AND circuit 58 to add the delivery command from the terminal T ₂ and the signal obtained by inverting the output of the load detector 33 by the inverter 55. The AND condition of the circuit 59 is satisfied, and a fork up command is applied to the fork height control device 45 to control the height of the fork.
As a result, when the output of the load detector 33 becomes 1, the AND conditions of the AND circuits 58 and 59 are no longer satisfied, the lifting height of the fork is stopped, and the terminal
The AND condition of the AND circuit 60, in which the exit command from T ₂ and the output of the load detector 33 are added, is established, and as a result, Creed 1 is applied as a reverse signal to the travel control device via the OR circuit 57, and the vehicle is controlled to travel in reverse. do. As a result, the control of the cargo picking operation by the unmanned vehicle 2 is completed. When the loading and unloading operations are sequence-controlled in this manner, the unmanned vehicle 2 travels backward according to the frequency ₂ signal of the lane guidance cable.
Frequency ₁ from main induction cable 3 at branch point
When the signal is detected, the vehicle transfers the frequency ₁ signal, follows the frequency ₁ guidance signal, travels forward along the main guidance cable 3, and reaches the loading/unloading station 1. Loading or unloading at the loading/unloading station 1 at the time of warehousing or unloading can be similarly achieved using the load loading or unloading work control in the lanes. In the above embodiment, the predetermined reference location for transportation is one location on the loading/unloading station 1, and one main induction cable 3 is used. However, multiple predetermined reference locations for transportation are provided, and multiple main An induction cable may also be used. FIG. 7 shows an example of the arrangement of the guide cables when two predetermined reference locations, the warehousing station 101 and the warehousing station 102, are provided. Cable 1 shown in bold in this example
03, 104 indicates a main induction cable, which is excited by an oscillator 105 of frequency ₁ . The induction cable 106 shown by a thin line is a lane induction cable, and is excited by an oscillator 107 of frequency ₂ , and each lane switching is performed by a lane switching circuit 108. In addition, an induction cable 110 excited by an oscillator 109 with a frequency _{of 3}
indicates the end of each lane, and frequency ₄
Induction cable 1 excited by oscillator 111 of
12 indicates the starting end of each lane. The left and right changeover switches 113 and 114 are designed to be interlocked, and the main induction cables 103 and 1
By selecting one of 04, a guide path is formed that connects the main guide cable (center path) to the left lane guide cable or the right lane guide cable (not shown). The entry/exit switch 115 forms a guide path for entering or exiting the warehouse, and as shown in the figure, when switched to the entry side, an entry guide path is formed from the receiving station 101, and when switched to the exit side, the exit guide path is formed. An exit guide path to the station 102 is formed. Further, as shown in FIG. 8, the lane guiding cable may be laid so as to cross the central passage 120 repeatedly at right angles, and each lane may be excited at a plurality of frequencies. In this case, vehicle 1
21 travels in the central aisle 120, and determines the current position by detecting the frequency of the intersecting lane guidance cables and the number of intersections with the lane guidance cables from the starting point, as specified by the central controller (not shown). Lane detection can be performed. When a vehicle reaches an intersection with a designated lane, the tracking frequency is switched to ₂ or ₃ , etc., and the vehicle can be guided to the desired lane. If there is a mistake in the count, it will not correspond to the frequency, so this can be used to correct the position of the vehicle or bring the vehicle to a halt to prevent malfunctions. In addition, with this method, the current position of the vehicle can be detected, so the central control unit can monitor the position of the vehicle by sending a signal from the vehicle to the ground, and when multiple vehicles are operating,
Commands from the central control device enable evacuation control to prevent vehicles from colliding with each other. In addition, in the above embodiment, the work space is a warehouse, and transport control with the entrance/exit (predetermined preparation area) of the warehouse has been described, but the work space to which the present invention is applied is not limited to the warehouse. in the factory,
It can be applied to any work space such as inside a station. As explained above, according to the present invention, loading and unloading of cargo in a work space such as a warehouse or factory can be completely unmanned, and in addition, it is especially necessary to install an induction cable on the floor of the work space. It does not require large-scale installation work, has high space utilization efficiency, is inexpensive, and has the advantages of being easy to change the conveyance path.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of the present invention, FIGS. 2a and b are side views and bottom views showing an example of an unmanned vehicle according to the present invention, and FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an unmanned vehicle according to the present invention. 4 is a block diagram showing an example of a circuit for determining loading/unloading stages, and FIGS. FIGS. 6a and 6b are side views illustrating loading control, and FIGS. 7 and 8 are views illustrating other examples of guiding cable installation. DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1... Warehouse entry/exit station, 2... Unmanned vehicle, 3... Guidance cable, 10... Incoming type detection device, 11... Outgoing card reader, 12... Central control device, 13... Inventory storage device.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. Control of loading cargo into a predetermined loading area or unloading cargo from the loading area by an unmanned vehicle guided and guided along a guidance cable laid on the floor. In the unmanned transport control device, the loading area is set on the guide cable, and the unmanned vehicle is provided with means for detecting a load on the guide cable in front of the vehicle in the traveling direction. means for determining the state of the load on the guide cable in front of the vehicle in the traveling direction based on the detection output of the means; and controlling the running of the vehicle based on the determination result of the determining means and the detection output of the detecting means. An unmanned transportation control device comprising means for controlling loading of a load onto the guide cable or unloading of a load from the guide cable. 2. The unmanned transportation control device according to claim 1, wherein the vehicle is a forklift, and the detecting means is attached to the tip of the fork. 3. The unmanned transport control according to claim 1, wherein the vehicle is a forklift, and the detecting means is disposed on the mast of the forklift in correspondence with the position of the load loaded on the guide cable. Device. 4. The unmanned transportation control device according to claim 1, wherein the detecting means is an optical sensor. 5. The unmanned transportation control device according to claim 1, wherein the detecting means is an ultrasonic wave. 6. The induction cable is a main induction cable,
Claims include a plurality of lane guidance cables branched from the main guidance cable, and wherein the loading area is set at a predetermined section on the lane guidance cable whose starting and trailing ends are defined by station cables. The unmanned transportation control device according to item 1.