Automatic guided vehicle and method for drive control of the same

• US 8,972,095 B2
• Filed: 06/03/2011
• Issued: 03/03/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 06/03/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Hitachi Industrial Products, Ltd. (Hitachi, Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
• Inventors: Tomioka, Yoshiharu, Yoshida, Yutaka, Furuno, Hideaki
• Primary Examiner(s): Cheung, Calvin
• Assistant Examiner(s): HEINLE, COURTNEY D
• Application Number:
  US13/152,315
• Publication Number:
  US 20110301800A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,369 Days
• Field of Search: 701/23, 701/50, 701/409, 701/467, 701/514, 701/520, 701/532
• US Class Current: 701/25
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/024 in combination with a laser lasers per se H01S
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/0274 using mapping information stored in a memory device navigation using map-matching G01C21/30

Abstract

An automatic guided vehicle and a method for drive control enable driving of the vehicle with a coordinate system, while using designation of a movement position by address. The automatic guided vehicle measures a surrounding state by a laser, performs matching between map data and measurement data obtained by the measuring to obtain the current position, and runs, following preset route data, based on the obtained current position. The vehicle includes a data memory that stores correspondence information between addresses of certain positions in a drive area where the vehicle runs and coordinates that are set in the drive area, and a processing section that, when a movement target position is designated by address from a host computer, transforms the designated address into coordinates, based on the correspondence information between addresses and coordinates, and drives the vehicle, following the route data to the coordinates corresponding to the address.

Claims

1. An automatic guided vehicle configured to drive automatically in a drive area, the automatic guided vehicle comprising:

a sensor configured to measure a distance to an object;

a storage section configured to store correspondence information between addresses of certain positions in the drive area and coordinates in map data of the drive area; and

a control section configured, when a target address that is used to designate a target position is designated by an external device;

to transform the designated target address into coordinates, based on the correspondence information between the addresses and the coordinates,

to compute a steering angle,

to control the steered wheel of the vehicle by using the steering angle, even when the automatic guided vehicle deviates from a route, thereby enabling the automatic guided vehicle to return to the route,

to set a target stoppage line configured to go through a center point of the automatic guided vehicle and be perpendicular to a moving direction,

to determine that the automatic guided vehicle has arrived at the target address when the target address is on the target stoppage line, or when the target stoppage line has come farther than the target address, within a predetermined deviation, at the time of stoppage, between the center point of the automatic guided vehicle and the coordinates corresponding to the target address, even when the steering angle is not zero degree, and

to drive the automatic guided vehicle to the coordinates corresponding to the target address, following preset route data;

wherein the map data includes data on a position of an obstacle in the drive area, the position of the obstacle measured by the automatic guide vehicle with the sensor before driving automatically in the drive area, the automatic guided vehicle driving in the drive area by receiving and following an external drive signal;

wherein the map data and the route data is made with use of the external device and stored in the storage section before the automatic guided vehicle drives automatically in the drive area; and

wherein the automatic guided vehicle is configured, when driving automatically in the drive area, to obtain a current position thereof as a reference position for driving by matching the map data and the measurement data on the position of the obstacle in relation to the automatic guided vehicle, the position of the obstacle measured with the sensor, and to drive to the target address, following the route data, based on the current position.

2. The automatic guided vehicle according to claim 1,

wherein, when the automatic guided vehicle has arrived at the target address and completed a task instructed from the external device, the control section transmits, to the external device, information notifying the completion of the task, and the target address where the automatic guided vehicle is present.

3. The automatic guided vehicle according to claim 1,

wherein, when the automatic guided vehicle has arrived at the target address, the control section holds the target address and the coordinates corresponding to the target address, in the storage section.

4. The automatic guided vehicle according to claim 1,

wherein a plurality of the route data are combined to form a single route data.

5. A method for drive control by an automatic guided vehicle configured to drive automatically in a drive area, the method for drive control comprising:

measuring, before driving the automatic guided vehicle automatically in the drive area, a position of an obstacle in the drive area with a sensor configured to measure a distance to an object while the automatic guided vehicle drives in the drive area by receiving and following an external drive signal, and making map data of the drive area and route data with use of an external device, the map data including data on the position of the obstacle measured, the map data and the route data being stored in a storage of the automatic guided vehicle;

obtaining, when driving the automatic guided vehicle automatically in the drive area, a current position of the automatic guided vehicle as a reference position for driving by matching the map data and measurement data on the position of the obstacle in relation to the automatic guided vehicle, the position of the obstacle measured with the sensor;

transforming, by using the controller, based on a correspondence information between the addresses of certain positions in the drive area and coordinates set in the map data of the drive area, the correspondence information stored in the storage of the automatic guided vehicle, a target address into coordinates, the target address is used to designate a target position, when the target address is designated by an external device;

computing a steering angle;

controlling the steered wheel of the vehicle by using the steering angle, even when the automatic guided vehicle deviates from a route, thereby enabling the automatic guided vehicle to return to the route;

setting a target stoppage line configured to go through a center point of the automatic guided vehicle and be perpendicular to a moving direction, by using the controller;

determining that the automatic guided vehicle has arrived at the target address when the target address is on the target stoppage line, or when the target stoppage line has come farther than the target address, within a predetermined deviation, at the time of stoppage, between the center point of the automatic guided vehicle and the coordinates corresponding to the target address, even when the steering angle is not zero degree, by using the controller; and

driving the automatic guided vehicle, by using the controller, to the coordinates corresponding to the target address, by following the route data, based on the current position.

6. An automatic guided vehicle configured to drive automatically in a drive area, the automatic guided vehicle comprising:

a sensor configured to measure a distance to an object;

a storage section configured to store correspondence information between addresses of certain positions in the drive area and coordinates that are set in the map data of the drive area; and

a control section configured;

to obtain, when driving automatically the automatic guided vehicle in the drive area, a current position of the automatic guided vehicle as a reference position for driving by matching the map data and measurement data on the position of the obstacle in relation to the automatic guided vehicle, the position of the obstacle measured with the sensor,

to transform a target address that is used to designate a target position into coordinates, based on the correspondence information between the addresses and the coordinates, when the target address is designated by an external device,

to compute a steering angle,

to control the steered wheel of the vehicle by using the steering angle, even when the automatic guided vehicle deviates from a route, thereby enabling the automatic guided vehicle to return to the route,

to set a target stoppage line, configured to go through a center point of the automatic guided vehicle, and be perpendicular to a moving direction,

to determine that the automatic guided vehicle has arrived at the target address, when the target address is on the target stoppage line, or when the target stoppage line has come farther than the target address, within a predetermined deviation, at the time of stoppage, between the center point of the automatic guided vehicle and the coordinates corresponding to the target address, even when the steering angle is not zero degree, and

to drive the automatic guided vehicle to the coordinates corresponding to the target address, following preset route data, based on the current position;

wherein before driving automatically in the drive area, the automatic guided vehicle drives in the drive area by receiving and following an external drive signal and measures a position of an obstacle in the drive area with the sensor, and makes the map data of the drive area and the route data with use of the external device, the map data including data on the position of the obstacle measured, the map data and the route data being stored in the storage section.

7. The automatic guided vehicle according to claim 6,

wherein the control section is configured to transmit, to the external device, information notifying the completion of the task, and the target address where the automatic guided vehicle is present, when the automatic guided vehicle has arrived at the target address and completed a task instructed from the external device.

8. The automatic guided vehicle according to claim 6,

wherein the control section is configured to hold the target address, and the coordinates corresponding to the target address, in the storage section, when the automatic guided vehicle has arrived at the target address.

9. The automatic guided vehicle according to claim 6,

wherein the control section is configured to combine a plurality of the route data in order to form a single route data.

10. The automatic guided vehicle according to claim 6,

wherein the addresses of certain positions in the drive area are obtained from another system.