JPH0340843B2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed description of the invention] The present invention is applicable to the automobile industry, machinery industry, electrical industry,
This is an unmanned vehicle guidance device developed with the aim of unmanned work and labor saving in various fields such as transportation and distribution centers. Specifically, it is a parallel light beam that is projected onto the ground side along the driving line of the unmanned vehicle. A device that generates light to obtain the beam is installed, and the unmanned vehicle side has a sensor that receives the light and detects the amount of lateral displacement of the aircraft, and automatically controls steering based on the detection results of the sensor. The present invention relates to a light beam guiding device for an unmanned vehicle.

The above-mentioned guidance device utilizes a light beam such as a laser beam with excellent directivity as a guidance reference line for an unmanned vehicle, and is capable of measuring the amount of lateral displacement of the vehicle relative to a guiding object such as a towpath wire or light reflective tape laid on the floor. Compared to conventional guidance devices that detect and automatically control steering based on the detection results, it is not only possible to avoid erroneous detection of the sensor due to contamination or damage to the induction body. As for the construction work on the floor surface, only the installation work of the light beam generator is required, and although it has the advantage of improving the guidance performance of unmanned vehicles as a whole and reducing equipment costs, there are still problems such as the following. It was hot.

In other words, in the device with the above configuration, the light beam is directly received by the light receiving part of the sensor, so the width of the light receiving part of the sensor is set to a dimension slightly longer than the maximum lateral displacement of the aircraft during normal running. As a result, not only does the sensor itself become larger, but the wiring for this sensor also becomes more complicated, which tends to lead to a rise in equipment costs.

An object of the present invention is to rationally improve the above-mentioned sensor-related problems.

The characteristic configuration of the light beam guiding device for an unmanned vehicle according to the present invention, which was taken to achieve the above object, is as follows:
A lighting device is installed on the ground side to project a parallel light beam along the travel line of the unmanned vehicle, and a sensor and its sensor are installed on the unmanned vehicle side to receive the light and detect the amount of lateral displacement of the vehicle. A light beam guiding device for an unmanned vehicle is provided with means for automatically controlling steering based on a detection result of the unmanned vehicle, the unmanned vehicle having:
The sensor is provided with a screen that receives the parallel light beam and transmits the light as diffused light, and a lens that focuses part of the diffused light that has passed through the screen on the light receiving section of the sensor.

The functions and effects of the above characteristic configuration are as follows.

<Function> In other words, the screen used is a screen that is slightly longer than the maximum lateral displacement of the aircraft during normal driving, so that the light beam emitted from the light beam generator on the ground side can be deflected by the slight deflection of the aircraft. In addition to making it possible to capture the light reliably regardless of the screen, a part of the diffused light that has passed through the screen is focused in a reduced state on the light receiving part of the sensor using a general-purpose lens such as a convex lens, and it is focused at a certain distance. Since it can be detected by a sensor separated by a sensor, a very small solid-state imaging device such as an image sensor or CCD can be used as the sensor.

<Effect> Therefore, using a screen and a general-purpose lens,
The combination of the fact that the sensor itself can be made as small as possible and the wiring of this sensor can be made compact has made it possible to achieve a significant reduction in equipment costs as a whole.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the configuration of the present invention will be described based on the drawings.

As shown in FIG.
, and freely directional driven wheels 3 rotatable around a vertical axis are disposed on both sides of the vehicle body frame 1 in the vehicle width direction, thereby providing an unmanned vehicle A capable of moving forward and backward. It consists of

To configure a laser guiding device which is an example of such a light beam guiding device for the unmanned vehicle A, on the ground side, at both ends of the reciprocating travel line of the unmanned vehicle A, a laser beam generator 4 and this device 4 are installed. A mechanism 5 is provided which projects the laser beam B emitted from the vehicle into a vertical slit-like wide beam along the travel line.

The projection mechanisms 5, 5 are each composed of a combination of two expander lenses 5A, 5B, one condenser lens 5C, and one cylindrical lens 5D.

As shown in Fig. 2, on the unmanned vehicle A side, a sensor 6 that detects the lateral position of the vehicle with respect to the laser beam B and a controller (not shown) on the ground side transmit information such as destination data and detected travel addresses. Based on the transmitter/receiver 7 that exchanges information, the detection signal of the sensor 6, and the input signal of the transmitter/receiver 7, the aircraft automatically follows the laser beam B and decelerates at a desired position on the travel line. , a control calculation device 10 using a microcomputer that outputs a control signal to the drive circuits 9, 9 of the motors 8, 8 respectively linked to the steering and running wheels 2, 2 in order to stop them;
and a focusing glass (an example of a screen) 11 using ground glass that receives the laser beam B and transmits the light as diffused light.
and a convex lens 12 that focuses a part of the diffused light that has passed through the focusing glass 11 onto the light receiving section of the sensor 6.

Therefore, the focus glass 11 is slightly longer than the maximum lateral displacement of the aircraft during normal running, and the laser generator 4 on the ground side is used.
While making it possible to reliably capture the laser beam B emitted from the lens, a part of the diffused light transmitted through the focusing glass 11 is focused in a reduced state on the light receiving part of the sensor 6 by the convex lens 12. Therefore, a small image sensor or a solid-state imaging device such as a CCD can be used as the sensor 6.

The sensor 6, the focusing glass 11, and the convex lens 12 are respectively attached at the front and rear of the vehicle body frame 1 and at the center in the vehicle width direction where the influence of rolling is least. In this way, by detecting the running state of the aircraft in relation to laser beam B at two points, front and back, it is possible to instantly detect a momentary slip on one wheel and quickly deal with it, thereby further improving the guidance performance of unmanned vehicles. can.

Further, by making the laser beam B a wide parallel beam in the vertical direction, the laser beam B can be reliably received even if the height of the sensor 6 from the ground changes due to road surface conditions, vibrations of the vehicle body, etc.

Furthermore, since the laser beam generators 4 are installed at both ends of the reciprocating travel line, it is possible to insert two unmanned vehicles A, and if only one unmanned vehicle A is traveling, it is possible to prevent people, forklifts, etc. Even if the laser beam B crosses the path, one side of the laser beam B can be detected, so
It is possible to suppress as much as possible the unmanned vehicle A from stopping unexpectedly based on the derailment signal.

Note that the width of the laser beam B does not need to be particularly narrow, and even if it has a certain width, the sensor 6
The center of the laser beam B can be easily determined from the detection width.

FIG. 3 shows another embodiment of the light receiving section, which is provided with a disturbance shielding tube 13 that covers the outer periphery of the focusing glass 11 and the convex lens 12.

FIG. 4 shows another embodiment of the light projection mechanism 5, which is composed of a vibrating mirror 5E that scans the laser beam B in a slit shape, and a concave mirror 5F whose cylinder glass is mirror-finished (aluminum evaporated). It is.

Furthermore, other light beams such as infrared light may be used instead of laser beams.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

1 and 2 show an embodiment of the laser guidance device for an unmanned vehicle according to the present invention, with FIG. 1 being a schematic side view of the entire device, and FIG. 2 being a control system diagram. 3 and 4 show different embodiments, respectively, with FIG. 3 being a side view of the light receiving section and FIG. 4 being a side view of the light projecting mechanism. A...Unmanned vehicle, 4...Light beam generator, 6...
...sensor, 11...screen, 12...lens.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. Light projecting devices 4 and 5 that project parallel light beams along the traveling line of the unmanned vehicle A are installed on the ground side, and on the unmanned vehicle A side, projecting devices 4 and 5 that project parallel light beams along the traveling line of the unmanned vehicle A are provided. A sensor 6 that detects the amount of lateral displacement of the aircraft and its sensor 6
A light beam guiding device for an unmanned vehicle is provided with a means for automatically controlling steering based on a detection result of the unmanned vehicle A, the unmanned vehicle A receiving the parallel light beam and converting the light into diffused light. A light beam guiding device for an unmanned vehicle, which is provided with a screen 11 for transmitting light and a lens 12 for converging a part of the diffused light transmitted through the screen 11 on a light receiving part of the sensor 6. 2. The light beam guiding device for an unmanned vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the sensor 6 is a solid-state image sensor. 3. The light beam guiding device for an unmanned vehicle according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the screen 11 is a focusing glass.