JP7754611B2 - Wheel chock drone and vehicle system equipped with same - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a wheel chock drone and a vehicle system equipped with the same, which prevents vehicles such as forklifts and cargo trucks from moving away unattended while parked.

Vehicles such as forklifts and cargo trucks are heavy, so when parking, drivers activate the parking brake (side brake) to stop the vehicle. However, especially when the vehicle is parked on a slope, if the driver forgets to activate the parking brake or does not activate it properly, there is a risk that the vehicle will move away without a driver in it. Therefore, in addition to the parking brake, drivers also install wheel chocks (tire stoppers) on the vehicle's wheels to prevent the vehicle from moving away without a driver in it.

Since wheel chocks are manually placed on the vehicle's wheels by the driver, if the vehicle is parked on a slope, there is a risk that the vehicle may start moving while the driver is preparing the wheel chocks. In particular, if the vehicle starts moving while the driver is placing the wheel chocks on the wheels, there is a risk that the driver's hands or other parts of the body may become caught in the wheels.

However, because the driver manually places wheel chocks on the vehicle's wheels, the driver may forget to place them. Also, when the driver drives the vehicle, the driver must manually move the wheel chocks away from the wheels to release them, allowing the vehicle to move, but the driver may forget to release the wheel chocks.

In particular, if the driver forgets to install wheel chocks when parking a vehicle on a slope, the vehicle may move. Also, if the driver forgets to release the wheel chocks when moving the vehicle, the vehicle may run over the wheel chocks and tip over.

For example, Patent Documents 1 and 2 disclose devices configured to notify the driver when wheel chocks are installed or released. However, with conventional wheel chocks, the driver must manually install and release the wheel chocks on the vehicle's wheels, which poses a risk of the driver's hands or other parts of the body becoming caught in the wheels.

Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 7-277159 Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2005-199731

The problem that this invention aims to solve is to provide a wheel chock drone and a vehicle system equipped with the same that eliminate the need for the driver to manually install and release wheel chocks.

The wheel chock drone of the present invention is
a wheel stopper portion having an abutment surface for abutting against a wheel of a vehicle to stop the wheel from rolling;
Multiple rotors for flight;
a battery for driving the rotor;
a memory unit that stores a flight path to an installation position where the wheels stop rolling;
a flight control unit for controlling the aircraft to fly along a flight path;
an obstacle sensor for detecting an obstacle on a flight path to the installation position;
The flight control unit changes the flight path when the obstacle sensor detects an obstacle.

Preferably, when an obstacle is detected on a flight path for which a priority has been set, the flight control unit changes the flight path from a flight path with a high priority to a flight path with a low priority.

It is also desirable that the obstacle sensors include a first obstacle sensor for detecting obstacles on the flight path and a second obstacle sensor for detecting obstacles at the installation location.

It is also preferable that each rotor be located on both sides of the wheel stop drone and behind the contact surface.

Preferably, the memory unit stores the route flown by the wheel stop drone as the flight route.

The memory unit may also be configured to store the flight path between the standby position where the wheel stop drone waits and the set position.

Preferably, the vehicle includes a detection unit for detecting start and stop of a drive unit of the vehicle, and a wireless communication unit for transmitting a detection signal from the detection unit,
The wheel stop drone is equipped with a wireless communication unit for receiving detection signals and flies based on the detection signals.

Preferably, the vehicle includes a detection unit for detecting operation and release of a parking brake unit of the vehicle, and a wireless communication unit for transmitting a detection signal from the detection unit,
The wheel stop drone is equipped with a wireless communication unit for receiving detection signals and flies based on the detection signals.

In addition, in the vehicle system according to the present invention,
The vehicle is
The above wheel-stop drone,
a standby position for waiting the wheel chock drone;
The waiting position is equipped with a power supply unit for supplying power to the battery of the wheel stop drone.

The wheel chock drone of the present invention is configured to fly using multiple rotors and be able to set and release wheel chocks on vehicle wheels, eliminating the need for the driver to manually set and release wheel chocks. This eliminates the risk of the driver's hands or other parts of the body getting caught in the vehicle's wheels.

In addition, the wheel stop drone of the present invention flies along a flight path to the installation position where the vehicle's wheels will be stopped from rolling, and is configured to change its flight path when an obstacle is detected along the flight path, allowing the wheel stop drone to fly to the wheel installation position without colliding with any obstacles.

1A and 1B show a wheel stop drone, in which FIG. 1A is a perspective view and FIG. 1B is a plan view. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a wheel chock drone, a vehicle, and a remote controller. FIG. 4 is a block diagram for explaining a flight path stored in a memory unit. A side view illustrating the installation position of the wheel stop drone. FIG. 10 is a plan view illustrating a change in flight path caused by the first obstacle sensor. FIG. 10 is a plan view illustrating a change in flight path caused by a second obstacle sensor.

Below, an embodiment of a wheel stop drone and a vehicle system equipped with the same according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. The X, Y, and Z directions are perpendicular to each other.

As shown in Figure 1, the wheel stop drone 1 comprises a wheel stopper unit 2 and a main body unit 3. The wheel stopper unit 2 and the main body unit 3 have a predetermined width in the X direction (left-right direction) and are connected to each other in the Y direction (front-rear direction). In this embodiment, the wheel stopper unit 2 and the main body unit 3 are configured to be connectable and separable to facilitate maintenance and inspection. The wheel stopper unit 2 and the main body unit 3 may also be integrated.

The wheel stopper portion 2 has a contact surface 2a on the front side in the Y direction. The wheel stopper portion 2 is connected to the main body portion 3 on the rear side in the Y direction. The contact surface 2a is configured to come into contact with the vehicle wheels 135, 138. The contact surface 2a is inclined with respect to the Z direction (vertical direction) and has an arc-shaped curve. This allows the contact surface 2a to come into close contact with the vehicle wheels.

The wheel stop drone 1 is equipped with multiple rotors 4. In this embodiment, the wheel stop drone 1 has four rotors 4 attached to the main body 3. Two rotors 4 are attached to each side of the main body 3 in the X direction (left-right direction). The two rotors 4 attached to the side of the main body 3 are arranged side by side in the Y direction (front-back direction).

The number of rotors 4 is not limited to four and is determined based on the weight, stability, flight time, flight environment, etc. of the wheel-stop drone 1. Generally, a larger number of rotors 4 enables more stable flight, while a smaller number of rotors 4 makes the drone lighter, more compact, and capable of high-speed flight.

The rotors 4 do not have to be provided on both sides of the main body 3; for example, they may be provided on the top surface 3a of the main body 3. When the rotors 4 are positioned so that they do not protrude beyond the top surface 3a of the main body 3, as in this embodiment, the wheel stop drone 1 can be installed in the space between the underside of the vehicle body and the aisle surface even when the vertical distance between the space is small. However, when the rotors 4 are positioned on the top surface 3a of the main body 3 or are positioned so that they protrude beyond the top surface 3a, the wheel stop drone 1 may not be installed in the space when the vertical distance between the underside of the vehicle body and the aisle surface is small. Therefore, by positioning the rotors 4 so that they do not protrude beyond the top surface 3a of the main body 3, the wheel stop drone 1 can be installed on various vehicles.

The wheel stop drone 1 is equipped with a first obstacle sensor 91 for detecting obstacles 100 (Figure 5) ahead during flight. In this embodiment, the first obstacle sensor 91 is provided on the contact surface 2a of the wheel stopper portion 2 so that it can detect what is ahead of the wheel stop drone 1. The first obstacle sensor 91 is also composed of, for example, a laser sensor, ultrasonic sensor, stereo camera, etc., so that it can detect obstacles 100 such as walls and curbs. This allows the wheel stop drone 1 to detect obstacles 100 in its flight path during flight based on signals or images from the first obstacle sensor 91, as described below.

The wheel stop drone 1 is equipped with a second obstacle sensor 92 for detecting an obstacle 101 (Figure 6) below during flight. In this embodiment, the second obstacle sensors 92 are provided on both sides of the wheel stop drone 2 in the X direction so that they can detect what is below the wheel stop drone 1. The second obstacle sensors 92 are also configured with, for example, a laser sensor, ultrasonic sensor, or stereo camera so that they can detect obstacles 101 such as pebbles. This allows the wheel stop drone 1 to detect the obstacle 101 at the installation position 13b during flight based on signals or images from the second obstacle sensors 92, as described below.

As shown in Figure 2, the wheel-stop drone 1 is equipped with multiple motors 5 connected to each rotor 4, and the rotor 4 is rotated by driving the motors 5. Generally, the motor 5 is a brushless motor with a permanent magnet on the rotor side and a three-phase winding on the stator side.

The wheel chock drone 1 is equipped with a flight control unit 6 for controlling the drive of each motor 5. The flight control unit 6 is equipped with a calculation unit 60 and a memory unit 61, and is configured so that the calculation unit 60 performs calculations based on signals from various sensors and other devices provided in the wheel chock drone 1 and commands and other information from the memory unit 61, thereby providing comprehensive control of flight. The wheel chock drone 1 is equipped with main sensors such as a gyro sensor that measures the behavior and tilt of the aircraft, a barometric pressure sensor that detects altitude, and a GPS that detects the aircraft's position information.

The flight control unit 6 is connected to the first obstacle sensor 91 and the second obstacle sensor 92, and is configured to control the flight of the wheel stopper drone 1 based on the detection signals from each obstacle sensor 91, 92.

As shown in FIG. 3, the memory unit 61 stores first to fourth flight routes R1 to R4, which are routes that the wheel stop drone 1 will fly. Priority is assigned to the flight routes R1 to R4 for each wheel 135, 138. For example, the first flight route R1, which has the highest priority, is the route to the installation position 13b of the non-rotatable left or right front wheel 135, and the fourth flight route R4, which has the lowest priority, is the route to the installation position 13b of the rotatable left or right rear wheel 138. In this embodiment, the front wheel 135 does not rotate even when the handle is operated and always faces forward or backward. Therefore, the wheel stopper unit 2 of the wheel stop drone 1 accurately abuts the front wheel 135 at the installation position 13b of the front wheel 135, thereby reliably stopping the vehicle 13.

The vehicle 13, such as a forklift or cargo truck, is equipped with a drive unit 130 consisting of a motor, engine, etc. mounted on the vehicle body, and a parking brake unit 131 consisting of a side brake, etc., provided in the driver's seat. Furthermore, the vehicle 13 is equipped with a detection unit 132 for detecting the start and stop of the drive unit 130 or the activation and deactivation of the parking brake unit 131, and a wireless communication unit 133 for transmitting a signal from the detection unit 132 to the wireless communication unit 8 of the wheel stop drone 1.

Next, the operation of the wheel stopper drone 1 will be described.
4 to 6, the vehicle 13 includes a body 134 on which a driver's seat 136, a drive unit 130, a battery 137, etc. are mounted, and front wheels 135 and rear wheels 138 provided on the lower part of the body 134. In the vehicle 13, for example, a position behind the driver's seat 136 is a standby position 13a where the wheel stopper drone 1 is on standby.

The vehicle 13 is equipped with a power supply unit 70 at the standby position 13a for supplying power to the battery 7 of the wheel stop drone 1. The power supply unit 70 is connected to the battery 137 mounted on the vehicle 13 and is configured as a contact or non-contact power supply device. While the wheel stop drone 1 is waiting at the standby position 13a, power is supplied from the battery 137 of the vehicle 13 to the battery 7 of the wheel stop drone 1 via the power supply unit 70.

When the driver or other operator of the vehicle 13 parks the vehicle 13, they activate the wheel stopper drone 1, which then flies along flight paths R1 to R4 from standby position 13a to installation position 13b, which prevents the vehicle's wheels 135, 138 from rolling. The wheel stopper unit 2 of the wheel stopper drone 1 installed at installation position 13b is then positioned to face the vehicle's wheels 135, 138. This places the wheel stopper 2 of the wheel stopper drone 1 on the wheels 135, 138, preventing them from rolling. The wheel 135, 138 on which the wheel stopper drone 1 is installed may be one of the four wheels on the vehicle 13.

As shown in Figure 5, while flying along the first flight route R1, which has the highest priority, if the first obstacle sensor 91 detects an obstacle 100 such as a wall or curb on the first flight route R1, the wheel stop drone 1 changes to the second flight route R2, which has the next highest priority. If an obstacle 100 is detected during flight, the wheel stop drone 1 changes to the next highest priority flight route R3, R4, in that order. This prevents the wheel stop drone 1 from colliding with the obstacle 100 during flight.

Furthermore, as shown in Figure 6, while the wheel stop drone 1 is flying along the first flight route R1, which has the highest priority, if the second obstacle sensor 92 detects an obstacle 101, such as a pebble, at the installation position 13b on the first flight route R1, the wheel stop drone 1 changes to the second flight route R2, which has the next highest priority. If an obstacle 101 is detected again, the wheel stop drone 1 changes to the next highest priority flight routes R3 and R4, in that order. This prevents the wheel stop drone 1 from being installed on the obstacle 101 at the installation position 13b, ensuring that the vehicle 13 can be stopped reliably.

When the driver or other operator of the vehicle 13 moves the vehicle 13, they activate the wheel stopper drone 1, causing the wheel stopper drone 1 to fly along flight routes R1 to R4, moving from installation position 13b to standby position 13a. This releases the wheel stopper applied by the wheel stopper drone 1.

In this embodiment, two wheel stop drones 1 are configured to wait at the waiting position 13a of each vehicle 13, with one wheel stop drone 1 installed in front of the wheels 135, 138 and the other wheel stop drone 1 installed behind the wheels 135, 138. This allows the wheel stop drone 1 to prevent the vehicle 13 from moving forward or backward.

In this embodiment, an operator operates the wheel stopper drone 1 using a remote controller 10 (Figure 2) having an operation unit 11 and a wireless communication unit 12, and while the wheel stopper drone 1 flies between the standby position 13a and the installation position 13b, the memory unit 61 of the wheel stopper drone 1 stores the drive of each motor 5. As a result, the wheel stopper drone 1 is configured to store the flight routes R1 to R4 between the standby position 13a and the installation position 13b.

Furthermore, when the wheel stopper drone 1 receives a detection signal from the detection unit 132, it flies between the standby position 13a and the installation position 13b based on the flight routes R1 to R4 stored in the memory unit 61. As a result, when the detection unit 132 detects that the drive unit 130 has stopped or the parking brake unit 131 has been activated, the wheel stopper drone 1 flies from the standby position 13a to the installation position 13b. Furthermore, when the detection unit 132 detects that the drive unit 130 has started up or the parking brake unit 131 has been released, the wheel stopper drone 1 flies from the installation position 13b to the standby position 13a.

Preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described above, but the configuration of the present invention is not limited to these embodiments. For example, the following modifications are possible:

Multiple flight paths R, each with a priority assigned to each wheel 135, 138, may be assigned a priority. For example, four flight paths R may be assigned to the left front wheel 135 with a first priority, four flight paths R may be assigned to the right front wheel 135 with a second priority, four flight paths R may be assigned to the left rear wheel 138 with a third priority, and four flight paths R may be assigned to the right rear wheel 138 with a fourth priority. In this case, if the obstacle sensors 91, 92 detect obstacles 100, 101 while flying along the first flight path R1 of the left front wheel 135 with a first priority, the flight control unit 6 will change to the second flight path R2 of the left front wheel 135. If the obstacle sensors 91, 92 still detect obstacles 100, 101 even after changing to the fourth flight path R4, the flight control unit 6 will change to the first flight path R1 of the right front wheel 135.

The flight paths R1 to R4 of the wheel stopper drone 1 may be simulated by a computer based on the relative three-dimensional coordinates of the waiting position 13a and installation position 13b with respect to the vehicle 13, and the memory unit 61 may be configured to store the flight paths.

The vehicle 13 may be provided with a button near the driver's seat 136 for starting the flight of the wheel stop drone 1. As a result, when the driver parks the vehicle 13, they can press the button to cause the wheel stop drone 1 to fly from the standby position 13a to the installation position 13b, and when the driver moves the vehicle 13, they can press the button to cause the wheel stop drone 1 to fly from the installation position 13b to the standby position 13a.

The wheel stop drone 1 may have the wheel stop portion 2 and the main body portion 3 integrally constructed.

The first obstacle sensor 91 only needs to be able to detect what is in front of the wheel stop drone 1, and the second obstacle sensor 92 only needs to be able to detect what is below the wheel stop drone 1; there are no restrictions on the installation location or configuration of the wheel stop drone 1.

The effects of this invention are explained below.

The wheel stop drone 1 of the present invention comprises a wheel stopper unit 2 having an abutment surface 2a that abuts against the wheels 135, 138 of a vehicle 13 to stop the wheels 135, 138 from rolling, a plurality of rotors 4 for flight, and a battery 7 for powering the rotors 4.

This eliminates the need for the driver to manually install and release the wheel chocks, eliminating the risk of the driver's hands or other parts of the body getting caught in the vehicle's wheels while installing or releasing the wheel chocks.

Furthermore, the wheel stop drone 1 is equipped with a flight control unit 6 for controlling flight along flight routes R1 to R4 to the installation position 13b where the wheels 135, 138 stop rolling, and obstacle sensors 91, 92 for detecting obstacles 100, 101 on the flight routes R1 to R4 to the installation position 13b. The flight control unit 6 changes the flight routes R1 to R4 when the obstacle sensors 91, 92 detect obstacles 100, 101.

This prevents the wheel stop drone 1 from colliding with the obstacle 100 during flight, and also prevents it from being installed on the obstacle 101 at the installation position 13b, ensuring that the vehicle 13 can be stopped reliably.

The flight control unit 6 also stores flight routes R1 to R4, with priorities assigned to each wheel 135, 138, and when an obstacle 100, 101 is detected on a flight route R1 to R4, it changes from the flight route R1 to R4 with the higher priority to the flight route R1 to R4 with the lower priority.

This allows the flight routes R1 to R4 to be prioritized in order of how well the wheel stop drone 1 can reliably stop the wheels 135, 138. For example, flight routes R1 to R4 to the installation position 13b of the non-rotating wheels 135, 138 can be assigned a high priority, while flight routes R1 to R4 to the installation position 13b of the wheels 135, 138 that can be rotated by steering can be assigned a low priority. In this case, the non-rotating wheels 135, 138 always face the fore-and-aft direction of the vehicle 13, so the wheel stop drone 1 is never installed far from the wheels 135, 138, allowing the wheels 135, 138 to be reliably stopped.

The obstacle sensors 91, 92 also include a first obstacle sensor 91 for detecting obstacles 100 on flight routes R1 to R4, and a second obstacle sensor 92 for detecting obstacles 101 at installation position 13b.

This allows the first obstacle sensor 91 to be configured to be suitable for detecting obstacles 100 on flight routes R1 to R4, and the second obstacle sensor 92 to be configured to be suitable for detecting obstacles 101 at installation position 13b.

In addition, each rotor 4 is provided on both sides of the wheel stop drone 1 and on the rear side of the contact surface 2a.

This reduces the distance that the rotor 4 protrudes above the top surface of the wheel stop drone 1, allowing the wheel stop drone 1 to be installed in this space even when the vertical distance between the underside of the vehicle body 134 and the aisle is small.

The wheel stopper drone 1 also includes a memory unit 61 for storing the flight path flown by the wheel stopper drone 1, and is configured to fly along the flight path stored in the memory unit 61.

This means that an operator such as a driver does not need to operate the wheel stop drone 1 to fly between the waiting position 13a where the wheel stop drone 1 waits and the installation position 13b where the vehicle's wheels 135 are prevented from rolling, and the wheel stop drone 1 can fly automatically along the flight path. Furthermore, although the waiting position 13a and installation position 13b differ for each vehicle 13, by storing the flight path actually flown by the wheel stop drone 1, it is possible to store a flight path appropriate for each vehicle 13.

The vehicle 13 also includes a detection unit 132 for detecting the start and stop of the vehicle's 13 drive unit 130 and a wireless communication unit 133 for transmitting detection signals from the detection unit 132. The wheel stopper drone 1 also includes a wireless communication unit 8 for receiving the detection signals and flies based on the detection signals.

The vehicle 13 also includes a detection unit 132 for detecting the activation and deactivation of the vehicle's parking brake unit 131, and a wireless communication unit 133 for transmitting the detection signal from the detection unit 132. The wheel stopper drone 1 also includes a wireless communication unit 8 for receiving the detection signal, and flies based on the detection signal.

As a result, when the detection unit 132 detects that the drive unit 130 has stopped or the parking brake unit 131 has been activated, the wheel stopper drone 1 flies from the standby position 13a to the installation position 13b. Furthermore, when the detection unit 132 detects that the drive unit 130 has started or the parking brake unit 131 has been released, the wheel stopper drone 1 flies from the installation position 13b to the standby position 13a. As a result, the driver or other operator will not forget to fly the wheel stopper drone 1, ensuring that the wheel stopper is reliably installed and released on the wheel 135.

The vehicle 13 also includes a wheel stop drone 1 and a standby position 13a for the wheel stop drone 1 to wait in, and a power supply unit 70 at the standby position 13a for supplying power to the battery 7 of the wheel stop drone 1.

This allows power to be supplied from the battery 137 of the vehicle 13 to the battery 7 of the wheel stop drone 1 via the power supply unit 70 while the wheel stop drone 1 is waiting at the waiting position 13a.

1 Wheel stop drone 2 Wheel stop portion 2a Contact surface 4 Rotor 7 Battery 8 Wireless communication unit 13 Vehicle 61 Memory unit 70 Power supply unit 13a Standby position 13b Installation position 130 Drive unit 132 Detection unit 133 Wireless communication unit 131 Parking brake unit 135 Wheel

Claims (8)

a wheel stopper portion having an abutment surface that abuts against a wheel of a vehicle to stop the wheel from rolling;
Multiple rotors for flight;
a battery for driving the rotor;
a memory unit that stores a flight path to an installation position where the wheels stop rolling;
a flight control unit for controlling flight along the flight path;
an obstacle sensor for detecting an obstacle on the flight path to the installation position;
the flight control unit changes the flight path when the obstacle sensor detects the obstacle,
the vehicle includes a detection unit for detecting start and stop of a drive unit of the vehicle, and a wireless communication unit for transmitting a detection signal from the detection unit;
The wheel stop drone is equipped with a wireless communication unit for receiving the detection signal and flies based on the detection signal.
A wheel-stop drone featuring: a wheel stopper portion having an abutment surface that abuts against a wheel of a vehicle to stop the wheel from rolling;
Multiple rotors for flight;
a battery for driving the rotor;
a memory unit that stores a flight path to an installation position where the wheels stop rolling;
a flight control unit for controlling flight along the flight path;
an obstacle sensor for detecting an obstacle on the flight path to the installation position;
the flight control unit changes the flight path when the obstacle sensor detects the obstacle,
The vehicle includes a detection unit for detecting operation and release of a parking brake unit of the vehicle, and a wireless communication unit for transmitting a detection signal from the detection unit,
The wheel stop drone is equipped with a wireless communication unit for receiving the detection signal and flies based on the detection signal.
A wheel-stop drone featuring: The wheel stop drone according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that when the obstacle is detected on the flight path to which a priority has been set, the flight control unit changes the flight path from the flight path with the high priority to the flight path with the low priority. The wheel stop drone according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the obstacle sensor includes a first obstacle sensor for detecting the obstacle on the flight path and a second obstacle sensor for detecting the obstacle at the installation position. The wheel stop drone according to claim 1 or 2 , characterized in that each of the rotors is provided on both sides of the wheel stop drone and on the rear side of the abutment surface. The wheel stopper drone according to claim 1 or 2 , characterized in that the memory unit stores the route flown by the wheel stopper drone as the flight route. The wheel stopper drone according to claim 6 , characterized in that the memory unit is configured to store the flight path between the standby position where the wheel stopper drone waits and the installation position. The vehicle is
A wheel stop drone according to claim 1 or 2 ;
a waiting position for waiting the wheel-chock drone;
A vehicle system characterized by having a power supply unit for supplying power to the battery of the wheel stop drone at the waiting position.