Automatic pay-off system and automatic pay-off method

Abstract

An automatic pay-off system (100) is provided with: a pay-off device (10) that performs pay-off while moving; a three-dimensional measurement device (50) capable of measuring the three-dimensional space position of the pay-off device (10); and a control device (30) for controlling the traveling and pay-off of the pay-off device (10), the pay-off device (10) having: a traveling unit (12) capable of traveling on a pay-off surface; a pay-off unit (18) that performs pay-off on the pay-off surface; and a target part (20) tracked by the three-dimensional measuring device (50), the traveling part (12) has a plurality of omnidirectional moving wheels of which the rotation direction and the rotation speed are independently controlled, and the control device (30) controls the rotation of each of the plurality of omnidirectional moving wheels, so that the pay-off part (18) is positioned at a preset target pay-off position without changing the orientation of the pay-off device (10).

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to an automatic wire laying system and an automatic wire laying method. Background Art

[0002] JP2019 - 2849A discloses an automatic wire laying system including a wire laying robot that marks a wire laying surface. Summary of the Invention

[0003] The automatic wire laying system described in JP2019 - 2849A is used to move a wire laying robot to a specified target point and press a mark at the target point to make a mark. Therefore, for a marking line connecting the marks to each other, an operator needs to perform an additional wire laying operation, and the workload of the operator cannot be sufficiently reduced.

[0004] An object of the present invention is to provide an automatic wire laying system capable of automatically laying wires on a wire laying surface.

[0005] According to an aspect of the present invention, an automatic wire laying system includes: a wire laying device that lays wires on a wire laying surface while moving; a three - dimensional measurement device that can track the wire laying device and measure the three - dimensional spatial position of the wire laying device; and a control device that controls the traveling and wire laying of the wire laying device based on the three - dimensional spatial position of the wire laying device measured by the three - dimensional measurement device. The wire laying device has: a traveling unit that can travel on the wire laying surface; a wire laying unit that lays wires on the wire laying surface; and a target unit that is tracked by the three - dimensional measurement device. The traveling unit has a plurality of omnidirectional moving wheels whose rotational direction and rotational speed are independently controlled respectively. The control device controls the rotation of each of the plurality of omnidirectional moving wheels, and the wire laying unit is located at a preset target wire laying position without changing the orientation of the wire laying device.

[0006] In addition, according to another aspect of the present invention, an automatic wire laying method for an automatic wire laying system includes: a wire laying device that lays wires on a wire laying surface while moving; a three - dimensional measurement device that can track the wire laying device and measure the three - dimensional spatial position of the wire laying device; and a control device that controls the traveling and wire laying of the wire laying device based on the three - dimensional spatial position of the wire laying device measured by the three - dimensional measurement device. By controlling the traveling unit of the wire laying device having a plurality of omnidirectional moving wheels whose rotational direction and rotational speed are independently controlled respectively, the wire laying device is moved, and the wire laying unit of the wire laying device is located at a preset target wire laying position without changing the orientation of the wire laying device. Brief Description of the Drawings

[0007] Figure 1 It is a conceptual diagram showing the concept of a wire laying operation performed by the automatic wire laying system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0008] Figure 2 is a top view showing a schematic structure of a wire pay - out device of an automatic wire pay - out system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0009] Figure 3 is a block diagram showing an overall structure of an automatic wire pay - out system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0010] Figure 4 is a diagram for explaining drawing data.

[0011] Figure 5 is a flowchart showing an order of a wire pay - out operation performed by an automatic wire pay - out system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0012] Figure 6 is a diagram for explaining a method of recognizing a posture of a wire pay - out device.

[0013] Figure 7 is a diagram for explaining a posture of a wire pay - out device during wire pay - out.

[0014] Figure 8A is a diagram for explaining a movement of a wire pay - out device to a target wire pay - out position.

[0015] Figure 8B is a diagram for explaining a movement of a wire pay - out device to a target wire pay - out position.

[0016] Figure 9A is a diagram for explaining a method of adjusting a position of a wire pay - out device relative to a target wire pay - out position.

[0017] Figure 9B is a diagram for explaining a method of adjusting a position of a wire pay - out device relative to a target wire pay - out position.

[0018] Figure 10 is a diagram for explaining an offset of drawing data. Detailed Embodiments

[0019] Hereinafter, an automatic wire pay - out system and an automatic wire pay - out method according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0020] An automatic wire pay - out system 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention is a system for automatically marking a reference line for a project, such as a marking line on the ground of a building, as Figure 1As shown, the automatic wire pay - out system 100 includes: a wire pay - out device 10 that pays out wire while moving on the ground 1 which is the wire pay - out surface; a three - dimensional measurement device 50 that can track the wire pay - out device 10 and measure the three - dimensional spatial position of the wire pay - out device 10; and a control device 30 that controls the travel and wire pay - out of the wire pay - out device 10 based on the three - dimensional spatial position of the wire pay - out device 10 measured by the three - dimensional measurement device 50. Additionally, hereinafter, the case where the control device 30 is built into the wire pay - out device 10 will be described, but the control device 30 may also be built into the three - dimensional measurement device 50, or may be separately provided from the wire pay - out device 10 and the three - dimensional measurement device 50.

[0021] The wire pay - out device 10 is an autonomous driving type robot that does not require external operation. As Figure 2 shown, the wire pay - out device 10 has: a travel unit 12 for traveling on the ground 1 which is the wire pay - out surface; a wire pay - out unit 18 for paying out wire on the ground 1; a target unit 20 that is tracked by the three - dimensional measurement device 50; and a base unit 24 that mounts these travel unit 12, wire pay - out unit 18, and target unit 20. Figure 2 is a top view of the wire pay - out device 10 observed from above, showing a state where a cover member 25 mounted to cover the travel unit 12 and the wire pay - out unit 18 is removed from the base unit 24.

[0022] The travel unit 12 has three omnidirectional wheels 13 (omnidirectional moving wheels) whose rotational directions and rotational speeds are independently controlled respectively. Each omnidirectional wheel 13 is rotationally driven by an electric motor 15 via an axle 14. Additionally, the axle 14 and the electric motor 15 may also be connected via a reduction gear (not shown).

[0023] The three omnidirectional wheels 13 are arranged at equal intervals (120° intervals) on the circumference of a common circle, and the axial directions of their axles 14 are oriented towards the center of the common circle. In other words, the three omnidirectional wheels 13 are arranged such that the axial directions of their respective axles 14 are oriented towards a common center point.

[0024] Each electric motor 15 is separately controlled by the control device 30 for its rotational direction and rotational speed. That is, the rotational directions and rotational speeds of the three omnidirectional wheels 13 are independently controlled respectively.

[0025] Additionally, the travel unit 12 may also have four omnidirectional wheels 13. In this case, the four omnidirectional wheels 13 are also arranged at equal intervals (90° intervals) on the circumference of a common circle, and are arranged such that the axial directions of their respective axles 14 are oriented towards a common center point. However, when the number of omnidirectional wheels 13 is four, when the ground 1 is uneven and has irregularities, it is possible that one of the omnidirectional wheels 13 does not contact the ground, reducing the travel stability. Therefore, the number of omnidirectional wheels 13 is preferably three.

[0026] In addition, the omnidirectional wheels of the traveling unit 12 are not limited to omnidirectional wheels 13. As long as the wheels enable the wire pay-off device 10 to also move in the axial direction of the axle 14, they can have any structure. For example, they can also be Mecanum wheels or Möbius wheels.

[0027] In this way, by configuring the traveling unit 12 to have a structure with multiple omnidirectional wheels, the wire pay-off device 10 can move smoothly in all directions without the need to turn.

[0028] The wire pay-off unit 18 is an inkjet printing device having a predetermined wire pay-off width W1. The wire pay-off unit 18 includes: a nozzle head (not shown) provided with a plurality of nozzles capable of ejecting ink onto the ground 1 at a predetermined minute interval; and an ink supply unit (not shown) that supplies ink to the nozzle head. The nozzle head is mounted on the base portion 24 in such a manner that the plurality of nozzles are arranged along the wire pay-off width W1 direction.

[0029] Therefore, when the wire pay-off device 10 travels in a direction orthogonal to the wire pay-off width W1 direction, characters and lines can be freely drawn within the wire pay-off width W1. Additionally, even when the wire pay-off device 10 travels in the same direction as the wire pay-off width W1 direction, lines can be drawn along the moving direction of the wire pay-off device 10 by ejecting ink from the nozzles at a relatively high speed. Furthermore, the wire pay-off width W1 can be expanded as needed by arranging a plurality of nozzle heads along the wire pay-off width W1 direction.

[0030] Here, as described above, the wire pay-off device 10 can move freely in all directions and there is no specific concept of "front". However, hereinafter, for the sake of convenience of explanation, as described above, the traveling direction substantially orthogonal to the wire pay-off width W1 direction is defined as the basic traveling direction of the wire pay-off device 10, and within this wire pay-off width W1, characters and lines can be freely drawn on the ground 1 via the wire pay-off unit 18. In addition, the side of the first omnidirectional wheel 13A ( Figure 2 the right side in the figure) where the axle 14 does not rotate when the wire pay-off device 10 travels in the basic traveling direction is defined as the "front" of the wire pay-off device 10, and the first omnidirectional wheel 13A arranged in the front is defined as the "steering wheel" for steering the moving direction of the wire pay-off device 10. It should be noted that the definition of the "front" of the wire pay-off device 10 is not limited to this.

[0031] The target unit 20 is a directional prism capable of reflecting the laser irradiated from the three-dimensional measurement device 50, and it is rotated by the target rotation unit 21 to always point to the three-dimensional measurement device 50. The target rotation unit 21 is a servo motor, and its rotation angle is controlled by the control device 30 as described later. Additionally, the target unit 20 can also be a 360-degree prism, and in this case, the target rotation unit 21 may not be provided.

[0032] On the base portion 24 of the wire pay-out device 10, in addition to the above-described traveling portion 12, wire pay-out portion 18, and target portion 20, there are also provided: a posture detection portion 26 that can detect the posture of the wire pay-out device 10 during travel; a communication portion 27 that is used for data transmission and reception with the three-dimensional measurement device 50 and an external server 120; and a battery 28 that supplies power to the traveling portion 12 and other electrical components. In addition, a control device 30 is also provided on the base portion 24.

[0033] The posture detection portion 26 is a so-called inertial measurement unit (IMU), which is a unit formed by integrating an acceleration sensor, a gyro sensor, and a geomagnetic sensor that can detect the posture of the wire pay-out device 10. For example, it can detect in which direction the "front" of the wire pay-out device 10 is facing with respect to the traveling direction of the wire pay-out device 10, that is, it can detect the state of how much the direction of the wire pay-out width W1 is inclined with respect to the traveling direction of the wire pay-out device 10.

[0034] The communication portion 27 is a short-range wireless communication device such as BLE (Bluetooth (registered trademark) Low Energy) or Wi-Fi (registered trademark), and is mainly used when transmitting and receiving data with the three-dimensional measurement device 50. In addition, the communication portion 27 may also be equipped with a general wireless communication device capable of transmitting and receiving data via an Internet line.

[0035] As Figure 1 shown, the three-dimensional measurement device 50 includes: a cart portion 60 that can move on the ground 1 serving as the wire pay-out surface; and an optical measurement portion 55 that can measure the three-dimensional spatial position of the target portion 20 based on the reflected light of the laser irradiated on the target portion 20.

[0036] Similar to the traveling portion 12 of the wire pay-out device 10, the cart portion 60 has three omnidirectional wheels 61, motors (not shown) provided on each omnidirectional wheel 61, and a battery (not shown) that supplies power to the motors. Thus, similar to the wire pay-out device 10, the three-dimensional measurement device 50 can move smoothly omnidirectionally without turning.

[0037] In addition, the cart portion 60 may also have four omnidirectional wheels 61. Furthermore, the wheels of the cart portion 60 are not limited to omnidirectional wheels 61, and may also be Mecanum wheels or Möbius wheels. In addition, since the movement of the cart portion 60 is not as frequent as that of the wire pay-out device 10, the cart portion 60 may also be a general traveling device that can move freely in the front, back, left, and right directions and can move to a predetermined position.

[0038] In addition, a mounting table 62 for mounting the optical measurement portion 55 on the cart portion 60 is provided on the cart portion 60. In addition, Figure 1The setting table 62 shown is a simple columnar structure, but it can also be a structure that can be freely expanded and contracted in the vertical direction.

[0039] The optical measurement unit 55 is a three-dimensional coordinate measuring device such as a so-called laser tracker or a tracking total station. It has a light-emitting unit 56 that irradiates laser light and a light-receiving unit 57 that is arranged at the same position as the light-emitting unit 56 and receives the reflected laser light. It can measure the distance to the measurement object based on the time from when the laser light is irradiated onto the measurement object such as the target unit 20 until the reflected laser light is received, and measure its three-dimensional spatial position coordinates.

[0040] The light-emitting unit 56 and the light-receiving unit 57 are configured to be able to rotate in the horizontal direction around the vertical axis C1 and to be able to rotate in the vertical direction around the horizontal axis C2. Thus, the optical measurement unit 55 is configured to be able to always receive the laser light reflected by the target unit 20 in the light-receiving unit 57 even when the target unit 20 moves, that is, it is configured to be able to track the target unit 20. In addition, a camera may be provided to improve the followability to the target unit 20.

[0041] In addition, as Figure 3 shown, the three-dimensional measurement device 50 includes: a microcomputer that includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit) as the control unit 51, a ROM (Read Only Memory) and a RAM (Random Access Memory) as the storage unit 52, and an input / output interface (I / O interface); and a communication unit 53 that is used for data transmission and reception with the wire laying device 10 and an external server 120.

[0042] The control unit 51 controls the operations of the cart unit 60 and the optical measurement unit 55 based on instructions from the control device 30, and transmits the measurement values measured by the optical measurement unit 55 to the wire laying device 10 and the external server 120 via the communication unit 53.

[0043] In the storage unit 52, a control program executed by the control unit 51 and the like are pre-stored, and the measurement values measured by the optical measurement unit 55 and the data obtained from the external server 120 and the like via the communication unit 53 are stored.

[0044] The communication unit 53 is a short-range wireless communication device similar to the communication unit 27 of the wire laying device 10, and is mainly used for data transmission and reception with the wire laying device 10. In addition, the communication unit 53 may also include a general wireless communication device capable of transmitting and receiving data via the Internet line.

[0045] The three-dimensional measuring device 50 configured in this way tracks the target part 20 that moves as the wire pay-off device 10 travels through the optical measuring unit 55, and measures the three-dimensional spatial position (position coordinates) of the target part 20 in the space where the wire is paid off.

[0046] The optical measuring unit 55 automatically determines its own position in the space by measuring the distances and angles to a plurality of reference prisms preset in the space where the wire is paid off. In addition, every time the three-dimensional measuring device 50 moves and stops, the optical measuring unit 55 automatically updates its own position. In this way, the optical measuring unit 55 always grasps its own position coordinates in the space where the wire is paid off, and thus can always measure the three-dimensional spatial position coordinates of the target part 20 in the space where the wire is paid off.

[0047] In addition, the position coordinates of the target part 20 in a preset coordinate system can be sent from the three-dimensional measuring device 50 to the control device 30, and data such as the distances and angles required to calculate the position coordinates of the target part 20 can also be sent to the control device 30. In addition, the depression angle and turning angle of the optical measuring unit 55 required to control the rotation angle of the target rotation unit 21 are sent from the three-dimensional measuring device 50 to the control device 30.

[0048] The control device 30 controls the operations of the traveling unit 12 and the wire pay-off unit 18 of the wire pay-off device 10 based on the three-dimensional spatial position of the wire pay-off device 10 measured by the three-dimensional measuring device 50 and the design data read in advance. The specific control performed by the control device 30 will be described in detail in the description of the automatic wire pay-off method for automatically paying off the wire on the ground 1.

[0049] As Figure 3 shown, the control device 30 is a microcomputer including a CPU (Central Processing Unit) as a control unit 31, a ROM (Read Only Memory) and a RAM (Random Access Memory) as a storage unit 32, and an input / output interface (I / O interface).

[0050] The control unit 31 includes: a posture recognition unit 33 that recognizes the posture of the wire pay-off device 10, a position recognition unit 34 that recognizes the three-dimensional spatial position of the wire pay-off device 10, a drawing data generation unit 35 that generates drawing data based on the design data, and a wire pay-off position setting unit 36 that sets the target wire pay-off position based on the drawing data. In addition, the posture recognition unit 33 and the like represent the respective functions of the control unit 31 as virtual units, which does not mean that they physically exist. In addition, the above functions are part of the control executed by the control unit 31, and in the control unit 31, controls associated with functions other than these are also executed at any time.

[0051] Based on the detection value of the posture detection unit 26 that can detect the posture of the wire laying device 10, the posture recognition unit 33 recognizes which direction the "front" of the wire laying device 10 during travel is facing.

[0052] Here, the three-dimensional spatial position of the target part 20 of the wire laying device 10 is measured by the three-dimensional measuring device 50, but the wire laying part 18 for laying wire on the ground 1 is arranged in the wire laying device 10 at a position that is a predetermined distance away from the position where the target part 20 is provided. Therefore, in order to determine the three-dimensional spatial position of the wire laying part 18, it is necessary to know which direction the "front" of the wire laying device 10 is facing with respect to the target part 20 whose three-dimensional spatial position has been determined.

[0053] Therefore, in the posture recognition unit 33, the posture of the wire laying device 10 is always recognized by known dead reckoning (DR) based on the detection value detected by the posture detection unit 26. In addition, the initial posture before the wire laying device 10 starts the wire laying operation is recognized in the posture recognition process described later.

[0054] In this way, the posture of the wire laying device 10 always recognized by the posture recognition unit 33 and the three-dimensional spatial position of the target part 20 measured by the three-dimensional measuring device 50 are used together by the position recognition unit 34 to recognize the three-dimensional spatial position of the wire laying device 10 in the space where wire laying is performed. In the position recognition unit 34, based on the three-dimensional spatial position of the target part 20 and the posture of the wire laying device 10, the three-dimensional spatial position coordinates of the wire laying part 18 for laying wire on the ground 1 are obtained.

[0055] In addition, in the design data pre-sent from an external server 120 or the like to the control device 30 and stored in the storage unit 32, data related to the place where wire laying should be performed is included, but these data are not made considering the efficiency of the wire laying operation of the wire laying device 10, etc. Therefore, when trying to perform wire laying faithfully to the design data, the operation time sometimes becomes long.

[0056] Therefore, the drawing data generation unit 35 converts the design data into drawing data suitable for the wire laying of the wire laying device 10.

[0057] Specifically, for example, in order to accurately draw the Figure 4 broken line shown on the left side, after the wire laying device 10 is fully decelerated near the bending points BP1 and BP2 and temporarily stopped at the bending points BP1 and BP2, the traveling direction of the wire laying device 10 is changed. However, it is difficult to temporarily stop the wire laying device 10 in a state where the wire laying part 18 of the wire laying device 10 is strictly located on the bending points BP1 and BP2, and the position of the vertex of the broken line drawn by wire laying may shift relative to the position of the bending points BP1 and BP2 in the design.

[0058] On the other hand, it is relatively easy to pay out a line segment of a predetermined length with high precision by the pay-out device 10.

[0059] Therefore, as Figure 4 shown on the left side of, when the design data includes a broken line having bending points BP1 and BP2, preferably, the two line segments L1 and L2 constituting the broken line are respectively extended at the first bending point BP1, the first bending point BP1 is converted into a first intersection point IP1 where the two line segments L1 and L2 intersect, the two line segments L2 and L3 constituting the broken line are respectively extended at the second bending point BP2, and the second bending point BP2 is converted into a second intersection point IP2 where the two line segments L2 and L3 intersect, thereby generating Figure 4 the drawing data shown on the right side of.

[0060] By making the drawing data generated by the drawing data generation unit 35 not include a broken line in this way, the work efficiency of pay-out can be improved, and the positions of the intersection points drawn by pay-out can be made substantially consistent with the positions of the design bending points BP1 and BP2. The drawing data generated by the drawing data generation unit 35 based on the design data is stored in the storage unit 32.

[0061] Based on the drawing data generated by the drawing data generation unit 35 in this way, the target pay-out position (target position coordinates) for the pay-out unit 18 of the pay-out device 10 is set by the pay-out position setting unit 36. The pay-out device 10 is controlled by the control device 30 so that the pay-out unit 18 advances along the target pay-out position set by the pay-out position setting unit 36. In other words, the control device 30 controls the traveling unit 12 of the pay-out device 10 so that the target pay-out position (target position coordinates) set by the pay-out position setting unit 36 is always consistent with the three-dimensional space position coordinates of the pay-out unit 18 obtained in the position recognition unit 34.

[0062] In addition, when the target unit 20 is not facing the optical measurement unit 55 side, the three-dimensional space position of the target unit 20 cannot be measured by the three-dimensional measurement device 50. As a result, the pay-out device 10 cannot travel along the target pay-out position either.

[0063] Therefore, the control unit 31 controls the rotation angle of the target rotation unit 21 based on the angle data of the optical measurement unit 55 sent from the three-dimensional measurement device 50 so that the target unit 20 always faces the optical measurement unit 55 side.

[0064] Next, with reference to Figure 5 ~9, an automatic pay-out method for automatically performing pay-out on the ground 1 by the automatic pay-out system 100 having the above structure will be described. Figure 5 is a flowchart showing the sequence when the automatic pay-out system 100 automatically performs a pay-out operation, Figure 6 is a diagram for explaining a method of identifying the posture of the pay-out device 10,Figure 7 This is a diagram for explaining the posture of the wire laying device 10 during wire laying. In addition, Figure 8A and Figure 8B This is a diagram for explaining the movement of the wire laying device 10 to the target wire laying position, Figure 9A and Figure 9B This is a diagram for explaining the method of adjusting the position of the wire laying device 10 relative to the target wire laying position, Figure 10 This is a diagram for explaining the offset of the drawing data.

[0065] First, in step S11, the control device 30 reads in design data of the space for wire laying operations, such as BIM (Building Information Modeling), from an external server 120 or the like. The design data read in here contains data related to the places where wire laying should be performed. Additionally, the design data can also be pre-stored in the storage unit 32 of the control device 30.

[0066] Next, in step S12, the control device 30 generates drawing data through the drawing data generation unit 35 based on the design data read in step S11. Then, based on the generated drawing data, the wire laying position setting unit 36 sets the target wire laying position (target position coordinates) for wire laying by the wire laying unit 18 of the wire laying device 10.

[0067] When the target wire laying position is set in step S12, in the next step S13, the wire laying device 10 is captured by the three-dimensional measurement device 50. Specifically, the three-dimensional spatial position (position coordinates) of the target portion 20 of the wire laying device 10 is measured by the optical measurement unit 55 of the three-dimensional measurement device 50.

[0068] At this moment, it is not clear about the posture of the wire laying device 10, that is, in which direction the "front" of the wire laying device 10 faces with respect to the target portion 20 whose three-dimensional spatial position has been determined.

[0069] Therefore, in the next step S14, the posture of the wire laying device 10 is recognized in the posture recognition unit 33 of the control device 30 (posture recognition process).

[0070] Specifically, as Figure 6 shown, from the position where the three-dimensional measurement device 50 captures the wire laying device 10 in step S13, that is, the position where it is not known in which direction the "front" of the wire laying device 10 faces, the wire laying device 10 is moved a predetermined distance in a predetermined direction, for example, the direction defined as "front" in the wire laying device 10.

[0071] For example, by rotating and driving the other two omnidirectional wheels 13 at the same rotational speed toward the first omnidirectional wheel 13A without rotating and driving the first omnidirectional wheel 13A disposed in the direction defined as "front" by the electric motor 15, the wire pay-off device 10 can be moved toward the direction defined as "front".

[0072] Then, the posture recognition unit 33 recognizes the direction of movement of the wire pay-off device 10, which is obtained from the difference between the position coordinates of the target portion 20 received by the control device 30 from the three-dimensional measurement device 50 before moving the wire pay-off device 10 and the position coordinates of the target portion 20 received by the control device 30 from the three-dimensional measurement device 50 after moving the wire pay-off device 10, as the "front" of the wire pay-off device 10 at the current moment. In addition, the direction detected by the posture detection unit 26 at this time is set as the "front" of the wire pay-off device 10 and becomes the reference for obtaining the posture of the wire pay-off device 10 thereafter.

[0073] Thereby, in the space where wire pay-off is performed, it is possible to recognize in which direction the "front" of the wire pay-off device 10 is oriented at the current moment. In addition, for changes in the posture of the wire pay-off device 10 thereafter, it is possible to estimate based on the detection values detected by the posture detection unit 26. In addition, the method for recognizing the initial posture of the wire pay-off device 10 is not limited to the above method, and any method can be used as long as it is determined based on the difference in the position coordinates of the target portion 20 measured before and after moving the wire pay-off device 10 in a predetermined direction.

[0074] By thus grasping the posture (orientation) of the wire pay-off device 10, the three-dimensional coordinates of the wire pay-off portion 18 can be obtained based on the three-dimensional coordinates of the target portion 20 measured by the three-dimensional measurement device 50. That is, it becomes a state in which the wire pay-off portion 18 can be moved along the target wire pay-off position set in step S12.

[0075] Therefore, in the next step S15, the wire pay-off device 10 starts wire pay-off.

[0076] Specifically, as Figure 7 shown, the control device 30 controls the traveling unit 12 of the wire pay-off device 10 so that the wire pay-off portion 18 is located at a position along the target wire pay-off position set in step S12.

[0077] As described above, the traveling unit 12 of the wire pay-off device 10 is configured to have a plurality of omnidirectional wheels 13 (omnidirectional moving wheels), and the wire pay-off device 10 can move smoothly omnidirectionally without turning. Therefore, as Figure 7 shown, even if there is a portion bent at an acute angle or an obtuse angle at the target wire pay-off position, the wire pay-off device 10 can travel and perform wire pay-off in a state where the side defined as "front" is always oriented in the same direction without performing turning or turning-back operations.

[0078] In this way, the wire pay-out device 10 controls the rotation of the plurality of omnidirectional wheels 13 respectively through the control device 30, and the wire pay-out part 18 will be located at a preset target wire pay-out position without changing its posture (orientation). That is, during the wire pay-out process, the wire pay-out device 10 will not turn to change its orientation or make a U-turn to change its orientation. Therefore, the time required for the wire pay-out operation can be shortened. As a result, the wire can be automatically paid out on the ground 1 efficiently. In addition, in Figure 7 the case where the target wire pay-out position is shown as a straight line, the target wire pay-out position can also be curved.

[0079] In addition, the wire pay-out device 10 can move smoothly in all directions without turning. Therefore, for example, it can also move quickly to a specified target wire pay-out position.

[0080] Specifically, in the case where the traveling part of the wire pay-out device does not have omnidirectional moving wheels, but is a general traveling device that changes the moving direction of the wire pay-out device by steering the front wheels arranged in front of the wire pay-out device as Figure 8A shown, in order to face the specified target wire pay-out position, it is necessary to steer the front wheels and travel in a state where the "front" of the wire pay-out device is temporarily facing the target wire pay-out position, and then steer the front wheels again so that the "front" of the wire pay-out device faces the direction along the target wire pay-out position.

[0081] That is, in the case where the traveling part of the wire pay-out device is a general traveling device, it is necessary to perform an operation of making the "front" of the wire pay-out device face the target, that is, an operation of changing the posture (orientation) of the wire pay-out device. Therefore, it may take time to reach the target wire pay-out position or the wire pay-out part may not be located at the target wire pay-out position.

[0082] In contrast, the wire pay-out device 10 of the present embodiment can move toward a specified target wire pay-out position in a state where the side defined as the "front" always faces the same direction without changing its posture (orientation) by separately controlling the rotation direction and rotation speed of the three omnidirectional wheels 13 of the traveling part 12 by the control device 30 as Figure 8B shown, and the wire pay-out part 18 can be quickly located at the target wire pay-out position. In addition, when the position of the wire pay-out device 10 deviates during wire pay-out, it can also quickly return to the correct position.

[0083] In this way, the wire pay-out device 10 controls the rotation of the plurality of omnidirectional wheels 13 respectively through the control device 30, and the wire pay-out portion 18 will be located at a preset target wire pay-out position without changing its posture (orientation). That is, during the movement towards the target wire pay-out position, the wire pay-out device 10 will not turn to change its orientation or make a U-turn to change its orientation. Therefore, the time required for movement can be shortened. As a result, wire pay-out can be efficiently performed on the ground 1. In addition, as the situation of the wire pay-out device 10 moving towards the target wire pay-out position, in addition to the case of completing wire pay-out at a predetermined place and moving towards a new target wire pay-out position, for example, there is also a case where the wire pay-out device 10 moves away from the target wire pay-out position for some reason and then moves back to the target wire pay-out position, etc.

[0084] Here, in order to improve the wire pay-out accuracy when paying out wire from the wire pay-out portion 18 to the target wire pay-out position as described above, it is necessary to accurately align the position of the wire pay-out device 10, especially the position of the wire pay-out portion 18, with the target wire pay-out position.

[0085] As a method for adjusting the position of the wire pay-out device 10 relative to the target wire pay-out position, as Figure 9A shown, a method can be considered in which, only when a difference occurs between the target wire pay-out position and the position of the wire pay-out portion 18, the first omnidirectional wheel 13A serving as a steering wheel is rotationally driven by the electric motor 15 in a direction to eliminate the difference.

[0086] However, in the Figure 9A shown example, the rotation direction of the first omnidirectional wheel 13A is switched according to the direction in which the difference occurs. Generally, when switching the rotation direction, a time lag caused by backlash of the speed reducer, etc. occurs. Therefore, the difference between the position of the wire pay-out portion 18 and the target wire pay-out position cannot be sufficiently reduced. As a result, the wire pay-out accuracy may be reduced.

[0087] In contrast, in the present embodiment, as Figure 9B shown, regardless of whether a difference occurs between the target wire pay-out position and the position of the wire pay-out portion 18, the first omnidirectional wheel 13A serving as a steering wheel is always rotationally driven by the electric motor 15 in a predetermined rotation direction.

[0088] Specifically, as shown on the left side of Figure 9B , in a state where the position of the wire pay-out portion 18 coincides with the target wire pay-out position, the wire pay-out device 10 is made to travel in a posture in which the position of the first omnidirectional wheel 13A serving as a steering wheel is separated from the target wire pay-out position by a predetermined distance. In other words, it travels in a posture in which the "front" of the wire pay-out device 10 is inclined in the horizontal direction with respect to the traveling direction, so as to form a predetermined inclination angle α between the axial direction of the axle 14 of the first omnidirectional wheel 13A and the target wire pay-out position.

[0089] By traveling in such a state that the "front" of the wire pay-off device 10 is inclined with respect to the traveling direction, the position adjustment of the wire pay-off device 10 relative to the target wire pay-off position can be performed only by changing its rotational speed, without changing the rotational directions of all the omnidirectional wheels 13.

[0090] For example, when the position of the wire pay-off unit 18 is offset from the target wire pay-off position in the direction in which the inclination angle α is formed, the rotational speed of the first omnidirectional wheel 13A increases. On the other hand, when the position of the wire pay-off unit 18 is offset from the target wire pay-off position to the side opposite to the direction in which the inclination angle α is formed, the rotational speed of the first omnidirectional wheel 13A decreases (see Figure 9B ).

[0091] In this way, in the example shown in Figure 9B , without switching the rotational direction of the first omnidirectional wheel 13A, the rotational speed of the first omnidirectional wheel 13A is adjusted according to the direction in which the difference is generated. Therefore, no time lag is caused by the switching of the rotational direction. As a result, the convergence of the position of the wire pay-off unit 18 to the target wire pay-off position can be improved, and as a result, wire pay-off can be performed from the wire pay-off unit 18 to the target wire pay-off position with high precision.

[0092] In addition, in order to improve the wire pay-off accuracy from the wire pay-off unit 18 to the target wire pay-off position, as shown in Figure 10 , the drawing data may be offset according to the difference e between the three-dimensional spatial position of the target portion 20 measured by the three-dimensional measurement device 50 and the target position of the target portion 20 obtained based on the drawing data.

[0093] Normally, wire pay-off from the wire pay-off unit 18 is performed near the center of the wire pay-off unit 18, and the drawing data is also generated by the drawing data generation unit 35 assuming that wire pay-off is performed near the center of the wire pay-off unit 18. Therefore, in order to ensure the wire pay-off accuracy, it is necessary to make the center position of the wire pay-off unit 18 coincide with the target wire pay-off position.

[0094] On the other hand, as described above, the wire pay-off unit 18 can perform wire pay-off on the ground 1 within a predetermined wire pay-off width W1. That is, as shown in Figure 10 , even when the center position of the wire pay-off unit 18 does not coincide with the target wire pay-off position, as long as the target wire pay-off position is within the wire pay-off width W1, wire pay-off can be performed to the target wire pay-off position.

[0095] Therefore, for example, even when the rotation speed of the first omnidirectional wheel 13A serving as the steering wheel is adjusted and the position of the wire pay-out unit 18 approaches the target wire pay-out position, and the center position of the wire pay-out unit 18 does not yet coincide with the target wire pay-out position, it is possible to pay out the wire from the wire pay-out unit 18 to the target wire pay-out position by offsetting the drawing data generated by the drawing data generation unit 35 by the difference e between the three-dimensional spatial position of the target portion 20 measured by the three-dimensional measurement device 50 and the target position of the target portion 20 obtained based on the drawing data, and performing wire pay-out based on the offset drawing data.

[0096] In addition to offsetting the drawing data according to the difference e in this way, as described above, by adjusting the rotation speed of the first omnidirectional wheel 13A according to the direction in which the difference e is generated, it is possible to pay out the wire to the target wire pay-out position with high accuracy.

[0097] During the wire pay-out by the wire pay-out device 10 using the means for improving the wire pay-out accuracy and efficiency as described above, the control device 30 determines in step S16 whether there is a possibility of interruption between the devices due to existing components such as partition walls entering between the three-dimensional measurement device 50 and the traveling wire pay-out device 10.

[0098] As described above, the three-dimensional measurement device 50 measures the three-dimensional spatial position of the traveling wire pay-out device 10 by irradiating it with laser light. Therefore, when the laser light is blocked by a partition wall or the like, the three-dimensional spatial position of the wire pay-out device 10 cannot be measured. As a result, the wire pay-out device 10 cannot continue to pay out the wire with high accuracy.

[0099] Therefore, during the wire pay-out by the wire pay-out device 10, the control device 30 always monitors whether there is a possibility that existing components such as partition walls enter between the three-dimensional measurement device 50 and the wire pay-out device 10 based on design data such as BIM including the position data of partition walls and the like in the space where the wire pay-out operation is performed, the current position of the three-dimensional measurement device 50, and the predetermined traveling path of the wire pay-out device 10.

[0100] When it is determined in step S16 that there is a possibility of interruption between the devices, in step S17, the control device 30 temporarily stops the wire pay-out of the wire pay-out device 10.

[0101] In the next step S18, the control device 30 controls the cart unit 60 of the three-dimensional measurement device 50 to move the three-dimensional measurement device 50 to a position where existing components such as partition walls cannot enter between the three-dimensional measurement device 50 and the wire pay-out device 10.

[0102] As described above, the three-dimensional measurement device 50 that has completed the movement and stopped is in a state where it can automatically update its own position in the space where the wire pay-out is performed and measure the three-dimensional spatial position of the target portion 20.

[0103] Thus, when it is confirmed that the state has been reached where the three-dimensional spatial position of the target part 20 can be measured by the three-dimensional measuring device 50, the process proceeds to step S19, and the control device 30 causes the wire pay-out device 10 to resume wire pay-out.

[0104] In addition, whether existing components such as partition walls enter between the three-dimensional measuring device 50 and the wire pay-out device 10 can be predicted based on the predetermined stop position at which the three-dimensional measuring device 50 stops and the predetermined travel path of the wire pay-out device 10. Therefore, the movement of the three-dimensional measuring device 50 can also be carried out in a planned manner. For example, the three-dimensional measuring device 50 can be moved on the condition that the wire pay-out device 10 reaches a predetermined position on the predetermined travel path.

[0105] After the wire pay-out device 10 resumes wire pay-out in step S19, or when it is determined in step S16 that disconnection between devices is impossible, the process proceeds to step S20, and the control device 30 determines whether all the predetermined wire pay-out operations have been completed.

[0106] If all the predetermined wire pay-out operations have been completed, the process ends, and the wire pay-out device 10 remains in a standby state until an instruction for the next operation is received from the server 120.

[0107] On the other hand, if the predetermined wire pay-out operations have not been completed, the process returns to step S16 to continue the wire pay-out operation. Thereafter, through the above-described process, the wire pay-out operation can be carried out until the predetermined wire pay-out operation is completed.

[0108] According to the above-described embodiment, the following effects can be achieved.

[0109] In the automatic wire pay-out system 100 having the above structure, the control device 30 controls the rotation of the plurality of omnidirectional wheels 13 (omnidirectional moving wheels) respectively, and the wire pay-out part 18 is located at a preset target wire pay-out position without changing the posture (orientation) of the wire pay-out device 10. In addition, the control device 30 controls the wire pay-out part 18 to pay out wire from the wire pay-out part 18 of the moving wire pay-out device 10 to the preset target wire pay-out position, and controls the rotation of the plurality of omnidirectional wheels 13 (omnidirectional moving wheels) respectively, and the wire pay-out device 10 travels along the target wire pay-out position without changing its orientation.

[0110] The traveling unit 12 of the wire laying device 10 is configured to have a plurality of omnidirectional wheels 13, and the wire laying device 10 can move smoothly omnidirectionally without turning. Therefore, even if there is a portion bent at an acute angle or an obtuse angle at the target wire laying position, the wire laying device 10 can travel and perform wire laying in a state where the side defined as "front", for example, always faces the same direction without turning or reversing. In addition, when moving toward the designated target wire laying position, the wire laying device 10 can also travel in a state where the side defined as "front" always faces the same direction, and quickly position the wire laying unit 18 at the preset target wire laying position.

[0111] In this way, by the control device 30 controlling the rotation of the plurality of omnidirectional wheels 13 respectively, the wire laying device 10 will travel along the target wire laying position without changing its orientation. That is, during the process of wire laying and moving, the wire laying device 10 will not turn to change its orientation or will not reverse to change its orientation. Therefore, the time required for the wire laying operation can be shortened. As a result, wire laying can be automatically performed on the ground 1 efficiently.

[0112] In addition, the following modification examples are also within the scope of the present invention, and the structures shown in the modification examples can also be combined with the structures described in the above embodiments, or the structures described in different modification examples below can be combined with each other.

[0113] In the above embodiment, the three-dimensional spatial position of one wire laying device 10 is measured by one three-dimensional measurement device 50. Optionally, the three-dimensional measurement device 50 can also measure the three-dimensional spatial positions of multiple wire laying devices 10. In this way, when the three-dimensional spatial positions of multiple wire laying devices 10 are measured by one three-dimensional measurement device 50, during the period of measuring the three-dimensional spatial position of any one wire laying device 10, the three-dimensional spatial positions of other wire laying devices 10 are not measured temporarily. However, since the wire laying device 10 is equipped with an inertial measurement unit (IMU) as the posture detection unit 26, during the period when the three-dimensional spatial position is not measured, it is possible to travel along the target wire laying position and perform wire laying using dead reckoning (DR).

[0114] The embodiments of the present invention have been described above, but the above embodiments only show a part of the application examples of the present invention, and are not intended to limit the technical scope of the present invention to the specific structures of the above embodiments.

[0115] This application claims the priority based on Japanese Patent Application No. 2022-181226 filed with the Japan Patent Office on November 11, 2022, and the entire content of this application is incorporated herein by reference.

Claims

1. An automatic wire pay-off system, comprising: a wire pay-off device that pays off wire on a pay-off surface while moving; a three-dimensional measurement device that can track the wire pay-off device and measure the three-dimensional spatial position of the wire pay-off device; and a control device that controls the travel and wire pay-off of the wire pay-off device based on the three-dimensional spatial position of the wire pay-off device measured by the three-dimensional measurement device, wherein, the wire pay-off device includes: a travel unit that can travel on the pay-off surface; a wire pay-off unit that pays off wire on the pay-off surface; and a target unit that is tracked by the three-dimensional measurement device, the travel unit has a plurality of omnidirectional moving wheels whose rotational directions and rotational speeds are independently controlled respectively, the control device controls the rotation of the plurality of omnidirectional moving wheels respectively, and makes the wire pay-off unit located at a preset target wire pay-off position without changing the orientation of the wire pay-off device.

2. The automatic wire pay-off system according to claim 1, wherein, the control device adjusts the position of the wire pay-off device relative to the target wire pay-off position by changing the rotational speed instead of changing the rotational directions of the plurality of omnidirectional moving wheels.

3. The automatic wire pay-off system according to claim 1 or 2, wherein, the plurality of omnidirectional moving wheels are three omnidirectional wheels arranged in such a way that the axial directions of their respective axles face a common center point.

4. The automatic wire pay-off system according to claim 1 or 2, wherein, the three-dimensional measurement device includes: an optical measurement unit that optically measures the distance to the target unit; and a trolley unit that can move on the pay-off surface, the control device controls the trolley unit to move the three-dimensional measurement device so that no light-blocking component enters between the optical measurement unit and the target unit.

5. The automatic wire pay-off system according to claim 1 or 2, wherein, the control device has a rendering data generation unit that generates rendering data according to design data, when the design data includes a broken line, the rendering data generation unit extends the two line segments forming the broken line respectively at the bending point, and converts the bending point into the intersection point of the two line segments.

6. The automatic wire pay-off system according to claim 1 or 2, wherein, the control device includes: a rendering data generation unit that generates rendering data according to design data; and a wire pay-off position setting unit that sets the target wire pay-off position based on the rendering data, the rendering data generation unit offsets the rendering data according to the difference between the position of the target unit measured by the three-dimensional measurement device and the target position of the target unit obtained in advance based on the rendering data, the wire pay-off position setting unit sets the target wire pay-off position based on the offset rendering data.

7. The automatic wire pay-off system according to claim 1 or 2, wherein, the control device has a posture recognition unit that recognizes the posture of the wire pay-off device, After receiving the position of the target part measured by the three-dimensional measurement device, the posture recognition unit moves the wire pay-off device in a preset direction, and recognizes the posture of the wire pay-off device based on the position of the target part received before the movement and the position of the target part received after the movement.

8. An automatic wire pay-off method of an automatic wire pay-off system, the automatic wire pay-off system comprising: a wire pay-off device that pays off wire while moving on a wire pay-off surface; a three-dimensional measurement device that can track the wire pay-off device and measure the three-dimensional spatial position of the wire pay-off device; and a control device that controls the travel and wire pay-off of the wire pay-off device based on the three-dimensional spatial position of the wire pay-off device measured by the three-dimensional measurement device. wherein By controlling the travel unit of the wire pay-off device having a plurality of omnidirectional moving wheels whose rotation directions and rotation speeds are independently controlled respectively, the wire pay-off device is moved, and the wire pay-off part of the wire pay-off device is located at a preset target wire pay-off position without changing the orientation of the wire pay-off device.

9. The automatic wire pay-off method according to claim 8, wherein The position adjustment of the wire pay-off device relative to the target wire pay-off position is performed by changing the rotation speed without changing the rotation directions of the plurality of omnidirectional moving wheels.

10. The automatic wire pay-off method according to claim 8 or 9, wherein The plurality of omnidirectional moving wheels are three omnidirectional wheels arranged in such a manner that the axial directions of the respective axles face a common center point.

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