AUTONOMOUS MOVING APPARATUS AND AUTONOMOUS MOVEMENT SYSTEM

• US 20150239436A1
• Filed: 09/28/2012
• Published: 08/27/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 09/28/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
• Inventors: Kanai, Masaki, Arai, Masatsugu, Ichinose, Ryoko, Ono, Yukihiko
• Granted Patent: US 9,586,563 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: B60T 7/08 hand actuated
• CPC Class Codes: B60T 7/12 for automatic initiation; for initiation not subject to will of driver or passenger limiting speed of vehicles other than rail vehicles B60K31/00
• CPC Class Codes: B60T 7/18 operated by wayside apparatus
• CPC Class Codes: B60T 8/00 Arrangements for adjusting wheel-braking force to meet varying vehicular or ground-surface conditions, e.g. limiting or varying distribution of braking force by changing number of effective brake cylinders in power brake systems B60T17/10
• CPC Class Codes: B60T 8/17 Using electrical or electronic regulation means to control braking detecting or indicating faulty operation B60T8/885
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/021 specially adapted to land vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/16 Anti-collision systems road vehicle drive control systems for predicting or avoiding probable or impending collision otherwise than by control of a particular sub-unit B60W30/08
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 901/01 Mobile robot

Abstract

An autonomous moving apparatus and an autonomous movement system has a configuration which prevents disabled autonomous moving apparatuses from traveling unexpectedly during collection. An autonomous moving apparatus 1 includes a wheel locking unit 116 which locks the wheels at the time of stop, a manipulation unit 119 which is provided at a location where manipulation thereof is enabled from the outside of the autonomous moving apparatus 1, and a wheel lock releasing unit 118 which releases the lock of the wheels when the manipulation unit 119 is manipulated by force from the outside. In addition, the wheel lock releasing unit 118 releases the lock of the wheels when force equal to or more than a predetermined value is applied to the manipulation unit 119 and maintains the lock of the wheels when the force applied to the manipulation unit 119 is less than the predetermined value.

Claims

1. An autonomous moving apparatus, comprising:

a wheel locking unit which locks wheels at the time of stop;

a manipulation unit which is provided at a location where manipulation thereof is enabled from the outside of a body of the autonomous moving apparatus; and

a wheel lock releasing unit which releases the lock of the wheels when the manipulation unit is manipulated by force from the outside.

2. The autonomous moving apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the wheel lock releasing unit releases the lock of the wheels when force equal to or more than a predetermined value is applied to the manipulation unit and maintains the lock of the wheels when the force applied to the manipulation unit is less than the predetermined value.

3. The autonomous moving apparatus according to claim 2,

wherein the autonomous moving apparatus has, as the manipulation unit, a knob which allows the wheel lock releasing unit to release the lock of the wheels, when pulling is performed, and returns to a state before the pulling and allows the wheel lock releasing unit to maintain the lock of the wheels, when the pulling is stopped, and

force to move the autonomous moving apparatus is more than force applied to the knob when the lock of the wheels is released.

4. The autonomous moving apparatus according to claim 3, further comprising:

a towing unit which is attached to the knob in another autonomous moving apparatus and enables towing of another autonomous moving apparatus.

5. The autonomous moving apparatus according to claim 2,

wherein the autonomous moving apparatus has, as the manipulation unit, a button which allows the wheel lock releasing unit to release the lock of the wheels, when pressing is performed, and returns to a state before the pressing and allows the wheel lock releasing unit to maintain the lock of the wheels, when the pressing is stopped, and

force to move the autonomous moving apparatus is more than force applied to the button when the lock of the wheels is released.

6. The autonomous moving apparatus according to claim 5, further comprising:

a security unit which enables manipulation of the button by performing predetermined manipulation.

7. An autonomous movement system comprises an autonomous moving apparatus performing autonomous movement and a control device monitoring a state of the autonomous moving apparatus and transmitting an instruction to the autonomous moving apparatus,

wherein the autonomous moving apparatus has

a wheel locking unit which locks wheels at the time of stop,

a manipulation unit which is provided at a location where manipulation thereof is enabled from the outside of a body of the autonomous moving apparatus, and

a wheel lock releasing unit which releases the lock of the wheels when the manipulation unit is manipulated by force from the outside.

8. The autonomous movement system according to claim 7, wherein the wheel lock releasing unit releases the lock of the wheels when force equal to or more than a predetermined value is applied to the manipulation unit and maintains the lock of the wheels by the wheel locking unit when the force applied to the manipulation unit is less than the predetermined value.

9. The autonomous movement system according to claim 7,

wherein the autonomous moving apparatus has a stop processing unit which selects a stop position according to a failure part, when a failure is detected in the autonomous moving apparatus.

10. The autonomous movement system according to claim 9,

wherein the autonomous moving apparatus has an environment recognizing unit which acquires surrounding environment information, and

when the stop processing unit selects to move the autonomous moving apparatus to a road shoulder and stop the autonomous moving apparatus as a result of the selection of the stop position, the stop processing unit moves the autonomous moving apparatus to the road shoulder and stops the autonomous moving apparatus posterior to the disabled autonomous moving apparatus, on the basis of the environment information acquired by the environment recognizing unit.

11. The autonomous movement system according to claim 7,

wherein the autonomous moving apparatus has a search processing unit which searches another autonomous moving apparatus stopped by failure, and

when the control device receives notification showing that the autonomous moving apparatus is stopped by the failure, from the autonomous moving apparatus stopped by the failure, the control device transmits information regarding a position of the autonomous moving apparatus stopped by the failure to the search processing unit.

12. The autonomous movement system according to claim 11,

wherein the autonomous moving apparatus has a notifying unit which notifies a surrounding portion that the autonomous moving apparatus is being failed, and

the search processing unit searches another autonomous moving apparatus stopped by the failure, on the basis of the notification from the notifying unit.

13. The autonomous movement system according to claim 7,

wherein the autonomous moving apparatus has, as the manipulation unit, a knob which allows the wheel lock releasing unit to release the lock of the wheels, when pulling is performed,

the autonomous moving apparatus has an environment recognizing unit which acquires surrounding environment information and a towing unit which is attached to the knob in another autonomous moving apparatus and enables towing of another autonomous moving apparatus, and

when the autonomous moving apparatus travels while towing another autonomous moving apparatus by the towing unit, the search processing unit detects an obstacle, on the basis of the environment information acquired by the environment recognizing unit.

14. The autonomous movement system according to claim 13,

wherein the autonomous moving apparatus has an environment recognizing unit which acquires surrounding environment information, and

when another autonomous moving apparatus tows the disabled autonomous moving apparatus, another autonomous moving apparatus travels while detecting an obstacle, on the basis of the environment information acquired by the environment recognizing unit.