JPH0764520B2 - Obstacle detection device for unmanned vehicles - Google Patents

Description

Description: BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an obstacle detection device for an unmanned vehicle, and more specifically, an unmanned vehicle that can reliably detect even if a bumper obliquely contacts an obstacle. The obstacle detection device.

[Prior Art] A conventional obstacle detection device for an unmanned vehicle is shown in FIG.

This device is attached to the front end face 31a of the clamp arm 3a, and is a guide bar 51a that is retractably locked from the rear surface of both ends of the bumper 4a by rear extension split pins 90a.
A coil spring 5a wound around the guide bar 51a and biasing the bumper 4a forward with respect to the clamp arm 3a, a detected member 7a provided behind the central portion of the bumper 4a, and a predetermined distance between the detected member 7a. And a proximity sensor 8a provided on the front end face 31a of the clamp arm 3a. Further, on the front end face 31a of the clamp arp 3a, a pair of guide cylinders 98 is provided near the inside of the coil spring 5a so as to project forward, and the guide cylinder 98 is fixed to the back surface of the bumper 4a. The guide rod 99 is slidably fitted.

In this device, when the central portion of the bumper 4a collides with an obstacle, the member 7a to be detected is moved by the proximity sensor 8a together with the bumper 4a.
And the proximity sensor 8a detects it. On the other hand, even if an obstacle collides with one end of the bumper 4a, the guide rod 99 slides in the guide tube portion 98, so that the bumper 4a is restricted from swinging and recedes straight, and the detected member 7a moves. Proximity sensor
8a can be approached without swinging.

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] Even when an obstacle collides with one end of the bumper 4a in the above-described device, the guide cylinder 98 and the guide rod 99 surely cause the bumper 4a to retract straight. You can

However, this means that the fitting of the guide tube portion 98 and the guide rod 99 restricts the swing of the bumper 4a, so the direction and degree of the impact of the obstacle colliding with one end of the bumper 4a. Depending on the guide rod 99 in the guide tube portion 98
The so-called twisting may increase the sliding resistance of the bumper 4a and prevent the bumper 4a from retracting.

In this case, the guide tube portion 98 and the guide rod 99
It is also conceivable to reduce the sliding resistance by omitting. However, if this is done, the bumper 4a will swing.

When the bumper 4a swings, the retreat distance of the member to be detected 7a is halved and the detection sensitivity deteriorates. To compensate for this decrease in detection sensitivity, the distance between the member to be detected 7 and the proximity sensor 8a is increased. When it is contracted, the non-detection member 7a does not move back when swinging
Collides with the proximity sensor 8a.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and it is an object of the present invention to provide an obstacle detection device for an unmanned vehicle capable of reliably detecting an obstacle even if the obstacle comes into contact with the bumper end. It is an issue.

[Means for Solving the Problems] In the obstacle detection device for an unmanned vehicle according to the present invention, the upper and lower ends are coupled to the front end face of the machine base through a pair of main cushioning members and are capable of colliding with the obstacle and swinging. And a non-detection member that is coupled to the rear of the center of the bumper via a sub-buffer member and whose displacement limit is regulated by interference with the machine front end face, and the machine front end face provided with the non-detection member. A proximity sensor that detects the backward movement of the detected member is provided.

[Operation] Due to the collision of the obstacle with the end of the bumper, the bumper swings while compressing both the main cushioning members with the base end of the main cushioning member located farther from the obstacle as a swing center.

Due to this bumper swing, the detected member smoothly approaches the proximity sensor, and the proximity sensor detects an obstacle.

When the bumper further swings, the member to be detected retreats and comes into contact with the clamp arm, and when the retreat is stopped, subsequent bumper retreat is absorbed by the sub-buffer member. That is, since the detected member is coupled to the bumper via the sub-cushioning member, the bumper retracts while compressing the main and sub-cushioning members even after the retreat of the detected member is restricted by the front end face of the machine base. be able to.

〔Example〕

An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS.

The obstacle detection device 1 is mounted on an unmanned vehicle 2 having a clamp device (see FIGS. 2 and 3). That is, a pair of clamp arms 3 is equipped on the front surface of the unmanned vehicle 2, and a vertically long recess 32 is formed on the front end surface 31 of each clamp arm 3. A reinforcing plate 33 is screwed to the bottom surface of the recess 32, and five holes 34 to 38 are provided so as to penetrate the bottom of the recess 32 and the reinforcing plate 33.

The obstacle detection device 1 is housed in the recess 32 of the clamp arm 3, and the obstacle detection device 1 is one size smaller than the recess 32 and is arranged so as to close the recess 32. A pair of main cushioning members 5 that connect both ends of the to the bottom of the recess 32, a proximity sensor 8 provided at the center of the bottom of the recess 32, and a proximity of the proximity sensor 8 that is coupled to the back surface of the bumper 4 by a sub-buffering member 6. The to-be-detected member 7 arranged in this manner is the main constituent element.

The bumper 4 is a vertically long flat plate that extends in the vertical direction,
Both upper and lower ends are gently curved backward (upward in FIG. 1).

Insert the main cushioning member 5 from the back of the bumper 4 to the guide bar
51 is erected, and the tip of the guide bar 51 is clamp arm 3
It is loosely fitted in the bottom of the recess 32 and the holes 34 and 38 provided in the reinforcing plate 33. Furthermore, the tip of the guide bar 51 is a split pin.
The 90 and washers 91 prevent the reinforcing plate 33 from coming out forward, and as a result, the bumper 4 is elastically coupled to the clamp arm 3 in spite of the bias of the main cushioning member 5. Therefore, the pair of main cushioning members 5 are composed of coil springs, one end of each of which is carried by the back surface of the upper and lower end portions of the bumper 4, and each other end of which is carried by the reinforcing plate 33.

The proximity sensor 8 is of a magnetic detection type that detects the proximity of a high magnetic permeability material and outputs a binary signal corresponding thereto, and is inserted into and fixed to the hole 36.

Each sub-buffer member 6 and each main buffer member 5 in the vertical direction (see FIG. 1,
(Right and left) are arranged in a straight line. A guide bar 61 is erected from the back surface of the bumper 4 through the sub-buffering member 6, and the tip end portion of the guide bar 61 is a hole 70 provided in the detected member 7,
It is loosely fitted to 70. Further, the tip end of the guide bar 61 is prevented from coming off from the detected member 7 by the split pin 92 and the washer 93. As a result, the detected member 7 is not urged by the bumper 4 despite the urging of the buffer member 6. Is elastically coupled to. The tip of the guide bar 61 has holes 35, 37 provided in the bottom of the recess 32 of the clamp arm 3 and the reinforcing plate 33.
It is swingable and pierceable. Therefore, the pair of sub-buffering members 6 are formed of coil springs, one end of each of them is carried on the central back surface of the bumper 4 at a predetermined distance from each other, and each of the other ends is carried on both ends of the detected member 7. .

The member to be detected 7 is made of a steel member having a recess 71 in the center, and the distance between the surface of the recess 71 and the front surface of the proximity sensor 8 is normally set to about 7 mm.

In addition to the above, a pair of stoppers 81 are provided on the back surface of the bumper 4 between the main cushioning member 5 and the sub cushioning member 6.

Next, the operation of the obstacle detection device 1 will be described.

(When the obstacle B collides with one end of the bumper 4) In this case, as the vehicle moves forward, the bumper 4 in FIG.
The split pin 90 of the left guide bar 51 is swung about the swing center (see the chain double-dashed line in FIG. 1), and the stopper 81 on the right side in FIG. Therefore,
In FIG. 1, the right main shock absorbing member 5 is compressed more strongly than the left main shock absorbing member 5.

Due to the above swing of the bumper 4, the detected member 7 also swings integrally, and approaches the proximity sensor 8. From the difference of the swinging radius, the maximum retreat distance of the impact end of the bumper 4 (the right end in Fig. 1)
The detected member 7 retracts by almost half of 2D. In other words, the bumper 4 can retreat by about twice the necessary and sufficient retreat distance D of the detected member 7 set for detection.

(When the obstacle A collides with the central portion of the bumper 4) In this case, the bumper 4 recedes linearly without swinging with respect to the clamp arm 3. Therefore, in this case, the bumper 4 and the detected member 7 have the same retreat distance (it retreats twice as much as when the obstacle B collides with one end of the bumper 4).

In order to prevent the detected member 7 from colliding with the proximity sensor 8 due to such excessive retreat of the detected member 7, if the detected member 7 is retracted by the distance D, the recess 71 of the detected member 7 will be The edge 72 abuts the reinforcing member 33, thereby protecting the proximity sensor 8 from damage.

In addition, as described above, the bumper 4 itself can be retracted by the distance 2D as described above. However, the retreat of the bumper 4 after the edge of the recess 71 of the detected member 7 abuts against the reinforcing member 33 is absorbed by the compression of the auxiliary cushioning member 6 and does not affect the proximity centimeter 8.

(Second Embodiment) FIG. 4 shows another embodiment of the obstacle detection device 1 of the present invention.

The device of this embodiment is characterized in that the guide bar 51 is omitted as compared with the device of the first embodiment.

One end of the main cushioning member 5 is locked to a flange-shaped stop member 55, and the stop member 55 is screwed to the back surface of the bumper 4.

The other end of the main cushioning member 5 is also locked to the stopper plate 56, and the stopper plate 56 is screwed to the back surface of the reinforcing plate 33.

When the weight of the bumper 4 is high, the bumper 4 hangs due to its own weight, but this hanging is restricted by the lower end of the bumper 4 being carried by the recess 32 of the clamp arm 3.

According to this embodiment, the degree of freedom of the bumper 4 is further improved.

In each of the above embodiments, the coil springs are used as the main cushioning member 5 and the sub-buffering member 6, but rubber or the like may be used instead.

Further, in the above embodiment, the main cushioning member 5 and the sub cushioning member 6 are paired, but they may be further added without departing from the gist of the present invention.

[Effects of the Invention] As described above, the device of the present invention includes the detected member which is coupled to the back of the central portion of the bumper through the sub-buffer member and whose retreat beyond a predetermined distance is restricted by the front end face of the machine base. is doing.

As a result, even if the proximity sensor and the detected member are brought close to each other in order to detect a small retreat of the detected member when one end of the bumper collides with the obstacle and retreats, the center part of the bumper does not come into contact with the obstacle. Since the large buffer of the detected member in the case of colliding and retracting is absorbed by the sub-buffer member,
The detected member is prevented from colliding with the proximity sensor.

Further, since the proximity sensor can be arranged close to the detected member, the detection sensitivity is high and the SN ratio does not deteriorate.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a vertical sectional view showing an embodiment of an obstacle detection device for an unmanned vehicle according to the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a side view of the unmanned vehicle.
FIG. 3 is a plan view of an unmanned vehicle, FIG. 4 is a vertical sectional view showing another embodiment of the obstacle detecting device of the present invention, and FIG. 5 is a vertical sectional view showing an example of a conventional obstacle detecting device. Is. 3 ... Clamp arm (machine stand) 4 ... Bumper 5 ... Main cushioning member 6 ... Sub cushioning member 7 ... Detected member 8 ... Proximity sensor

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A bumper whose upper and lower ends are coupled to a front end surface of a machine base through a pair of main cushioning members and which collides with an obstacle to retreat swingably, and a sub-cushioning member behind a central portion of the bumper. And a proximity sensor that is coupled to the front end surface of the machine base and whose displacement limit is restricted by interference with the front end surface of the machine base, and a proximity sensor that is provided on the front end surface of the machine base and that detects the backward movement of the detection target member. Obstacle detection device for unmanned vehicles.