An IGV and ARMG Automatic Guided Alignment Method and System

Abstract

The present invention discloses an automatic guided alignment method and system for insulated vehicles (IGVs) and armored vehicles (ARMGs). The method comprises the following steps: S1: an empty IGV frame or an IGV loaded with a container moves to an ARMG side operating position; S2: a laser scanner performs two-dimensional scanning and ranging on the empty IGV frame or the container on the frame to obtain a polar coordinate point set; S3: the point set is converted to a point set in a three-dimensional coordinate system; S4: the center position of the empty frame or the container on the frame is obtained from the converted point set; S5: the relative deviation of the empty frame or the container is obtained; S6: determining whether the corresponding relative deviation is within the absolute value of a preset allowable deviation range; if so, proceeding to S8; if not, proceeding to S7; S7: controlling and guiding the IGV alignment based on the relative deviation of the empty frame or the container, and returning to S2; S8: the guided alignment is completed. The present invention can automatically, effectively, and accurately achieve the alignment of the IGV and the ARMG.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention mainly relates to the technical field of automatic loading and unloading of container handling machinery at the container terminal shore and container handling machinery in the yard. Taking the interaction between ARMG and IGV in the yard as an example, the present invention describes a method and system for automatic guided alignment of IGV and ARMG. Background Art

[0002] Automated equipment all exhibits positioning deviations of varying precision. Closed-loop docking can only be achieved when the overall deviation during device interaction is controlled within a certain range. The alignment interaction between the IGV and ARMG is a critical step in container loading and unloading operations, crucial for the continued execution of waybills and the safety of equipment and containers. In actual production operations, the varying alignment accuracies between the IGV and ARMG, coupled with spreader swing deviations and overall deviations exceeding the spreader's container-grabbing deviation limit, can lead to device interaction failures. Furthermore, collisions between spreaders, containers, and trucks are difficult to completely avoid, resulting in equipment damage and numerous safety hazards.

[0003] The FMS (Fleet Management System) equipped with the IGV (Intelligent Guided Vehicle) uses a unified dispatching mode to manage the dispatching of all unmanned equipment in the terminal, realize the full-process closed-loop docking with the terminal production TOS (Terminal Operating System), ARMG (Automated Rail Mounted Gantry Crane) system, entry and exit business system, and intelligent aerial rail collection and distribution system (abbreviated as ART), and form a new model for container transportation between ports.

[0004] When the ARMG is collecting boxes, the IGV carrying the boxes automatically moves to the working position on the ARMG side (error ±5cm) according to the instructions under the scheduling of the FMS system, waiting for interaction with the ARMG. The ARMG automatically moves to the working position (error ±6cm) according to the operation instructions. The ARMG takes the box and places it on the IGV according to the instructions. Combined with the swing error of the spreader of ±15cm, the overall error exceeds +25cm, which will cause the ARMG to fail to take the box. In addition, there are problems such as incorrect interaction information between ARMG and IGV, network delay, etc., which cause the IGV position to deviate greatly or fail to reach the interaction area, resulting in the ARMG spreader being unable to grab the box normally, and finally failing to collect the box, which will also create safety risks.

[0005] Similarly, when ARMG sends boxes, there are similar risks as when ARMG receives boxes.

[0006] In the existing technology, a pan-tilt head, a laser scanning rangefinder and a controller are installed under the bridge crane. The controller is used to set a designated lane, and the pan-tilt head is used to control the laser scanner to scan the designated lane to remind the truck driver of the positioning deviation. This method requires the cooperation of the truck driver and cannot meet the positioning interaction between the IGV and the ARMG. Summary of the Invention

[0007] In order to solve the above technical problems, an embodiment of the present invention provides an automatic guided alignment method for IGV and ARMG, which automatically guides the IGV alignment by calculating the deviation between the position of the IGV and the standard position during the actual operation process, thereby achieving accurate alignment of the IGV and realizing reliable interaction between the IGV and ARMG.

[0008] The present invention is achieved by adopting the following technical solutions:

[0009] The present application relates to an IGV and ARMG automatic guidance alignment method, which is characterized by comprising:

[0010] S1: The empty IGV frame or the IGV loaded with containers moves to the ARMG side operating position;

[0011] S2: The laser scanner performs two-dimensional scanning and ranging on the empty IGV frame or the container on the frame on the lane below the ARMG toward the working surface, and obtains a point set with polar coordinates;

[0012] S3: converting the point set into a three-dimensional coordinate system with the vertical line of the spreader center as the Y axis, the lane ground as the X axis, and the direction perpendicular to the lane as the Z axis;

[0013] S4: For the converted point set, obtain the center position of the empty frame or the container on the frame;

[0014] S5: Obtaining the relative deviation of the empty frame or container based on the center position of the empty frame or container and the corresponding standard position;

[0015] S6: Determine whether the corresponding relative deviation is within the preset allowable deviation range of absolute value, if so, proceeds to S8, if not, proceeds to S7;

[0016] S7: Control and guide the IGV to align according to the relative deviation of the empty frame or container, and return to S2;

[0017] S8: Guidance alignment completed;

[0018] The standard position is a pre-set position, at which the center line of the ARMG spreader in the direction perpendicular to the ground passes through the center position of the empty frame or container.

[0019] In this application, the center position of the empty frame or the container on the frame is obtained for the converted point set, specifically:

[0020] For the converted point set, identify the points that belong to the empty frame length or the container length on the frame;

[0021] Based on the identified points, the median of the X coordinates of the points belonging to the length of the empty frame is used as the center position of the empty frame, and the median of the X coordinates of the points belonging to the length of the container on the frame is used as the center position of the container.

[0022] In this application, for the converted point set, the data belonging to the empty frame length or the container length on the frame is identified, specifically:

[0023] For the converted point set, identify the points belonging to the outline of the empty frame in the data parallel to the ground and at a distance of 80 cm to 2200 cm from the ground. The continuous points connected by line segments among the identified points are the points belonging to the length of the empty frame.

[0024] For the converted point set, points belonging to the container are identified in the data parallel to the earth and 3500 cm to 4500 cm away from the earth. The continuous points connected by line segments among the identified points are points belonging to the length of the container.

[0025] In this application, the point set is converted to a point set in a coordinate system with the ground perpendicular to the center of the spreader as the Y axis, the road surface as the X axis, and the direction perpendicular to the road as the Z axis. Specifically, the conversion is:

[0026] X2=M-cos(a)*L;

[0027] Y2=HL*sin(a)cos(b);

[0028] Z2=T / 2-L*sin(a)sin(b)-N;

[0029] Where H is the installation height of the laser scanner; L is the ranging distance of the i-th point Ai extracted by the laser scanner; M is the initial deviation between the projection of the laser scanner center on the horizontal lane line and the horizontal projection of the spreader center; N is the vertical distance between the projection of the laser scanner center on the ground and the end face of the IGV close to the ARMG side; T is the IGV width; a is the angle between the i-th ranging light and the horizontal plane; b is the angle between the scanning surface of the laser scanner and the vertical line of the ground; Bi (X2, Y2, Z2) is the converted point.

[0030] In the present application, the absolute value of the preset allowable deviation range is set to the range (0 mm, 50 mm).

[0031] In this application, the absolute value range of the relative deviation is set to (50 mm, 300 mm).

[0032] Compared with the existing technology, the IGV and ARMG automatic guidance alignment method provided by this application has the following advantages and beneficial effects:

[0033] (1) The guided alignment method can exchange alignment data between the IGV and the ARMG before the ARMG performs loading and unloading operations, scan the IGV in real time and guide the alignment to ensure reliable and accurate alignment, and effectively ensure the safety of the loading and unloading operations;

[0034] (2) This guided alignment method can accurately align both the empty IGV frame (i.e., a single vehicle) and the IGV vehicle loaded with containers in real time, ensuring the success rate of receiving and sending container waybills;

[0035] (3) The guidance alignment method is simple, effective and accurate, and the interaction time between IGV and ARMG can be completed within 1 minute, thereby greatly improving the efficiency of loading and unloading operations;

[0036] (4) In terms of hardware, only a laser scanner is added, and a data interaction interface between the laser scanner and the rail crane ECS is added. The transformation process is simple and the cost investment is low.

[0037] The present application also provides an IGV and ARMG automatic guidance alignment system, characterized by comprising:

[0038] The guidance module includes a laser scanner, a processing unit, and a network communication unit; the laser scanner is used to collect data of the empty IGV frame or the container on the frame on the lane below the ARMG; the processing unit is used to receive the data collected by the laser scanner and process the data to obtain the center position of the empty frame or the container on the frame, and the relative deviation between the center position of the empty frame or the container and the corresponding standard position;

[0039] The rail crane ECS communicates with the guidance module via the network communication unit and issues alignment instructions based on the relative deviation of the empty frame or container;

[0040] The FMS is used to manage the IGV and communicate with the track crane ECS. After receiving the alignment instruction, it controls and guides the IGV to align until the alignment is completed.

[0041] In the present application, the absolute value of the preset allowable deviation range is set to the range (0 mm, 50 mm).

[0042] In this application, the absolute value range of the relative deviation is set to (50 mm, 300 mm).

[0043] Other features and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent after reading the detailed description of the present invention in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0044] In order to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention, the following is a brief introduction to the drawings required for use in the embodiments. Obviously, the drawings described below are some embodiments of the present invention. For ordinary technicians in this field, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without paying any creative work.

[0045] Figure 1 It is a system block diagram during the interactive operation of IGV and ARMG;

[0046] Figure 2 It is a flow chart of an embodiment of the IGV and ARMG automatic guided alignment method proposed by the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0047] The technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention will be clearly and completely described below in conjunction with the drawings in the embodiments of the present invention. Obviously, the described embodiments are only part of the embodiments of the present invention, rather than all the embodiments.

[0048] Based on the embodiments of the present invention, all other embodiments obtained by ordinary technicians in this field without making creative work are within the scope of protection of the present invention. In the description of the present invention, it should be understood that the terms "center", "up", "down", "front", "back", "left", "right", "vertical", "horizontal", "top", "bottom", "inside", "outside" and the like indicate orientations or positional relationships based on the orientations or positional relationships shown in the accompanying drawings, and are only for the convenience of describing the present invention and simplifying the description, rather than indicating or implying that the device or element referred to must have a specific orientation, be constructed and operated in a specific orientation, and therefore cannot be understood as limiting the present invention.

[0049] In the description of the present invention, it should be noted that, unless otherwise expressly specified or limited, the terms "installed," "connected," and "connected" should be understood in a broad sense. For example, they can refer to fixed connections, detachable connections, or integral connections. A person of ordinary skill in the art will understand the specific meanings of the above terms in the present invention in specific circumstances. In the description of the above embodiments, specific features, structures, materials, or characteristics may be combined in any appropriate manner in any one or more embodiments or examples.

[0050] The terms "first" and "second" are used for descriptive purposes only and should not be construed as indicating or implying relative importance or implicitly specifying the quantity of the technical features being referred to. Thus, a feature specified as "first" or "second" may explicitly or implicitly include one or more of such features. In the description of the present invention, unless otherwise specified, "plurality" means two or more.

[0051] See also Figure 1 , which shows the system block diagram of IGV during operation.

[0052] refer to Figure 1 , specifically describe the process of interaction between IGV and ARMG operations.

[0053] When TOS has a waybill task, a task notification message is generated through TMS (Terminal Manager System).

[0054] First, the TMS obtains the IGV vehicle number through the FMS based on whether the vehicle is online and the number of vehicle waybill tasks; then, the TMS (Terminal Manager System) sends the waybill task carrying the vehicle information to the FMS.

[0055] After the FMS parses the waybill task, it sends the waybill to the designated IGV and sends the target operation location instruction to the IGV to execute the task.

[0056] The IGV generates a global path to the corresponding target operation location and drives to the target operation location.

[0057] When the IGV reaches the operating bay point on the ARMG side, if it is not guided and aligned at this time, after the IGV is locked through the interaction between the rail crane ECS (Electrical Control System) and the FMS, the interaction may fail due to inaccurate IGV alignment during loading and unloading operations. Therefore, the guided alignment method proposed in the present invention will be used to automatically align the IGV to the target operating position on the lane to complete the accurate IGV alignment.

[0058] The guidance alignment involved in this part will be combined as follows Figure 2 Provide a description.

[0059] After the IGV completes the alignment, the rail crane ECS notifies the FMS to lock the IGV and the ARMG performs the loading and unloading operations.

[0060] After the ARMG completes the loading and unloading operations, the rail crane ECS feeds back the loading and unloading completion information to the FMS, and the FMS issues an unlock and departure command to the IGV.

[0061] If the FMS has a new instruction (such as an instruction to pick up the box at the original location or an instruction to load and unload the box at another location), the FMS sends an instruction to receive the box at the original location or an instruction to load and unload the box at another location to the IGV, and the IGV waits at the original location or drives away to the new instruction location.

[0062] If the FMS has no new instructions, the FMS sends a parking instruction back to the IGV, and the IGV drives back to the parking space.

[0063] In this application, guidance and alignment are performed for two situations: an IGV with an empty frame (i.e., a single vehicle without any containers) and an IGV carrying containers (e.g., carrying 20-foot containers or 40-foot containers), where the containers are located in the center of the empty frame.

[0064] In this application, the IGV and ARMG automatic guided alignment method (hereinafter referred to as the guided alignment method) is implemented on the basis of the automatic guided alignment system (hereinafter referred to as the guided alignment system).

[0065] Therefore, combined with the automatic guidance alignment system, to describe Figure 2 The guidance alignment method shown in the figure includes a guidance module, a rail crane ECS, an FMS and an IGV. Through the instruction transmission between the guidance module and the rail crane ECS, the FMS controls the IGV and the ARMG to accurately align, thereby realizing reliable and accurate interaction between the IGV and the ARMG.

[0066] See also Figure 2 , which shows a flow chart of the guided location method.

[0067] S1: The empty IGV frame or the IGV loaded with containers moves to the ARMG side operating position.

[0068] During the ARMG box sending / receiving operation, the IGV / IGV carrying box automatically moves to the ARMG side operation position according to the instructions under the FMS system scheduling, waiting for interactive operation with the ARMG.

[0069] S2: The laser scanner performs two-dimensional scanning and ranging on the empty IGV frame or the container on the frame on the lane below the ARMG toward the working surface, and obtains a polar coordinate point set.

[0070] The guidance module includes a laser scanner, a processing unit and a network communication module.

[0071] The laser scanner is a sick2D LIDAR sensor, which emits laser beams to detect the target's contour, position and other characteristic quantities; based on the point cloud data obtained by the laser scanner, the corresponding contour of the object is obtained.

[0072] In this application, the laser scanner is installed on the track side ladder at a position 12 meters above the ground, with its working surface facing the working surface, and the installation position does not obstruct the scanning of the working surface.

[0073] The acquired point set is sent to the processing unit.

[0074] The processing unit is connected to the laser scanner through an Ethernet interface. Through the interface protocol provided by the laser scanner, a TCP connection is established, and a read command is sent to obtain real-time scanning data from the laser scanner. The scanning data structure of the laser scanner is the distance of the reflection point measured by the laser scanning at each scanning angle (0.125 or 0.25 degree interval) within a cycle, which forms a polar coordinate point set.

[0075] Here, the laser scanner will perform real-time scanning on the empty IGV frame or the container on the empty IGV frame.

[0076] S3: Convert the point set into a three-dimensional coordinate system with the vertical line of the spreader center as the Y axis, the lane ground as the X axis, and the direction perpendicular to the lane as the Z axis.

[0077] In order to facilitate processing of the point set in polar coordinates, the point set in polar coordinates is transformed, and this transformation is performed by the processing unit.

[0078] Specifically, the point set can be converted in the following manner.

[0079] X2=M-cos(a)*L;

[0080] Y2=HL*sin(a)cos(b);

[0081] Z2=T / 2-L*sin(a)sin(b)-N;

[0082] Where H is the installation height of the laser scanner; L is the ranging distance of the i-th point Ai extracted by the laser scanner; M is the initial deviation between the projection of the laser scanner center on the horizontal lane line and the horizontal projection of the spreader center; N is the vertical distance between the projection of the laser scanner center on the ground and the end face of the IGV close to the ARMG side; T is the IGV width; a is the angle between the i-th ranging light and the horizontal plane; b is the angle between the scanning surface of the laser scanner and the vertical line of the ground; Bi (X2, Y2, Z2) is the converted point.

[0083] In this way, the point sets in polar coordinates are converted into three-dimensional point sets in a three-dimensional coordinate system.

[0084] In this application, the position of the IGV empty frame or IGV back box focuses on the X coordinate in the lane line direction, and the IGV guidance alignment also adjusts the IGV position according to the X coordinate.

[0085] S4: For the converted point set, obtain the center position of the empty frame or the container on the frame.

[0086] For the IGV empty frame, the center position of the IGV empty frame is obtained. The center position here only cares about the X coordinate of the center position.

[0087] For containers on the frame, whether it is a 20-foot container or a 40-foot container, it will be placed in the center of the empty frame. At this time, the center position of the container is obtained. The center position here only cares about the X coordinate of the center position.

[0088] The following describes the two situations of obtaining the center position of an empty IGV frame and a container on the frame respectively.

[0089] (1) IGV empty frame: First, obtain the points belonging to the empty frame outline and obtain the length of the empty frame. Second, based on a number of points belonging to the empty frame length (denoted as point set SetA), the median of the X coordinates of each point in this point set SetA is used as the center position of the empty frame.

[0090] For the converted point set, in the data parallel to the ground and 80cm to 2200cm away from the ground, the IGV vehicle special feature related data, mainly the undercarriage length, undercarriage width, and IGV front and rear end guide plate shape characteristics (for example, width, height of the upper end of the guide plate from the ground, etc.), are retained and stored in the processing unit to identify points belonging to the outline of the empty frame. The continuous points connected into line segments among the identified points (i.e., point set SetA) are points belonging to the length of the empty frame.

[0091] The median of the X coordinates of each point in this point set SetA is used as the center position of the empty frame.

[0092] To facilitate subsequent alignment guidance, the center position of the empty frame is recorded as I1.

[0093] (2) Container on the frame: First, obtain the points belonging to the container outline and the length of the container. Second, based on the points belonging to the length of the container (denoted as point set SetB / SetB'), the median of the X coordinates of each point in this point set SetB / SetB' is used as the center position of the container.

[0094] The container here can refer to a 20-foot container or a 40-foot container. When carrying a 20-foot container, the 20-foot container should be placed in the center of the frame.

[0095] For the back of a 40-foot container, in the data parallel to the ground and 3500cm to 4500cm away from the ground, the data related to the main container top shape features are retained and stored in the processing unit to identify points belonging to the container outline. The continuous points connected by line segments among the identified points (i.e., point set Set B) are points belonging to the container length.

[0096] The median of the X coordinates of each point in this point set SetB is used as the center position of the 40-foot box.

[0097] To facilitate subsequent alignment guidance, the center position of the 40-foot container is recorded as J1.

[0098] For a 20-foot container, in the data parallel to the ground and 3500cm to 4500cm away from the ground, the data related to the main container top shape features are retained and stored in the processing unit to identify points belonging to the container outline. The continuous points connected by line segments among the identified points (i.e., point set SetB') are points belonging to the container length.

[0099] The median of the X coordinates of each point in this point set SetB' is used as the center position of the 20-foot container.

[0100] To facilitate subsequent alignment guidance, the center position of the 20-foot container is recorded as H1.

[0101] The acquisition of the center position I1 of the empty frame, the center position J1 of the frame carrying a 40-foot container, and the center position H1 of the frame carrying a 20-foot container as described above is achieved by the processing unit.

[0102] S5: Obtain the relative deviation of the empty frame or container according to the center position of the empty frame or container and the corresponding standard position.

[0103] For the IGV empty frame and the container on the frame, the standard position will be set in advance before the guidance correspondence, which will serve as the reference position for guidance alignment.

[0104] That is, for an empty IGV frame, a standard position I0 is set; for carrying a 40-foot container, a standard position J0 is set; and for carrying a 20-foot container, a standard position H0 is set.

[0105] The standard position I0, the standard position J0 and the standard position H0 are also obtained by the method of obtaining the standard position I1, the standard position J1 and the standard position H1 as described above, and are not described in detail here.

[0106] Once the standard position I0, the standard position J0, and the standard position H0 are acquired, the standard position I0, the standard position J0, and the standard position H0 are set in the processing unit as reference positions.

[0107] Before obtaining the standard position I0, the IGV needs to be placed at the standard position I0, that is, the center line of the ARMG sling in the direction perpendicular to the ground passes through the center position of the IGV empty frame. At this position, a laser scanner is used to collect data from the IGV empty frame. The data processing process is the same as the method of obtaining the center position I1 of the IGV empty frame, which will not be repeated here.

[0108] Before obtaining the quasi-position J0, the IGV carrying the 40-foot container needs to be placed at the standard position J0, that is, the center line of the ARMG spreader in the direction perpendicular to the ground passes through the center position of the IGV (that is, the center position of the 40-foot container). At this position, the laser scanner is used to collect data of the 40-foot container. The data processing process is the same as the method for obtaining the center position J1 of the 40-foot container, which will not be repeated here.

[0109] Before obtaining the quasi-position H0, the IGV carrying the 20-foot container needs to be placed at the standard position H0, that is, the center line of the ARMG spreader in the direction perpendicular to the ground passes through the center position of the IGV (that is, the center position of the 20-foot container). At this position, the laser scanner is used to collect data of the 20-foot container. The data processing process is the same as the method of obtaining the center position H1 of the 20-foot container, which will not be repeated here.

[0110] As described above, the laser scanner only needs to collect data once to obtain the standard position I0, the standard position J0 and the standard position H0.

[0111] According to the center positions I1 , J1 and H1 acquired in S4 , and the standard positions I0 , J0 and H0 described above, the processing unit calculates the corresponding relative deviations.

[0112] The relative deviation of the IGV empty frame is △E1=I0-I1.

[0113] The relative deviation of carrying a 40-foot container is △E2=J0-J1.

[0114] The relative deviation of carrying a 20-foot container is △E3=H0-H1.

[0115] The relative deviation △E1 / △E2 / △E3 can be a positive value or a negative value.

[0116] S6: Determine whether the corresponding relative deviation is within the absolute value of the preset allowable deviation range. If so, proceed to S8; if not, proceed to S7.

[0117] When the relative deviation △E1 / △E2 / △E3 is within the absolute value of the preset allowable deviation range (that is, for an empty IGV frame, the relative deviation △E1 is within the absolute value of the preset allowable deviation range; for carrying a 40-foot container, the relative deviation △E2 is within the absolute value of the preset allowable deviation range; for carrying a 20-foot container, the relative deviation △E3 is within the absolute value of the preset allowable deviation range), it indicates that the guided alignment is completed.

[0118] After completing the guided alignment, the rail crane ECS sends a locking command to the FMS. The IGV completes the locking and informs the FMS. The FMS then feeds back a locking completion signal to the rail crane ECS.

[0119] If the relative deviation △E1 / △E2 / △E3 is not within the absolute value of the preset allowable deviation range, it means that the IGV needs to be controlled to move and align until the relative deviation △E1 / △E2 / △E3 is within the absolute value of the preset allowable deviation range.

[0120] In this application, the absolute value of the preset allowable deviation range is set to (0 mm, 50 mm).

[0121] In order to ensure the validity of the data, the absolute value range of the relative deviation △E1 / △E2 / △E3 is set to (50mm, 300mm).

[0122] When the absolute value of the relative deviation △E1 / △E2 / △E3 is less than 50 mm (that is, the absolute value of the relative deviation △E1 / △E2 / △E3 is within the preset allowable deviation range), it indicates that the guidance alignment is completed or guidance is not performed by default.

[0123] When the absolute value of the relative deviation △E1 / △E2 / △E3 is greater than 300mm, the relative deviation is considered invalid and the alignment is not guided by it. It is necessary to return to S2 and re-collect and process the data.

[0124] S7: According to the relative deviation of the empty frame or container, control and guide the IGV to align and return to S2.

[0125] The rail crane ECS communicates with the guidance module in real time through the network communication unit, and will issue alignment instructions in real time based on the relative deviation △E1 / △E2 / △E3.

[0126] After the FMS receives the alignment instruction sent by the track crane ECS, it controls the IGV alignment guidance. During the IGV alignment guidance process, it will return to S2 for data collection and processing, and calculate the relative deviation △E1 / △E2 / △E3.

[0127] When the relative deviation △E1 / △E2 / △E3 is within the absolute value of the preset allowable deviation range, the rail crane ECS no longer sends the alignment instruction to the FMS, and the alignment is completed at this time. Otherwise, it will continue to return to S2 until it is determined in S6 that the relative deviation △E1 / △E2 / △E3 is within the preset allowable deviation range, and then proceed to S8.

[0128] S8: Guidance alignment is completed.

[0129] During the ARMG box collection operation, after the guidance alignment is completed, the rail crane ECS sends a vehicle locking command to the FMS. The IGV completes the vehicle locking and informs the FMS. The FMS then feeds back a vehicle locking completion signal to the rail crane ECS.

[0130] At this time, since the IGV carrying the box has completed the guidance alignment, the ARMG can accurately pick up the box and place it on the loading yard, avoiding the situation where the ARMG cannot collect the box due to large position deviation of the IGV or failure to reach the interaction area, and the corresponding safety issues.

[0131] During the ARMG box delivery operation, after the guidance alignment is completed, the rail crane ECS sends a vehicle locking command to the FMS, the IGV completes the vehicle locking and informs the FMS, and the FMS feeds back the vehicle locking completion signal to the rail crane ECS.

[0132] At this time, since the IGV empty frame has completed the guidance alignment, the ARMG can accurately place the box on the IGV, avoiding the situation where the ARMG cannot send the box and the corresponding safety issues due to large position deviation of the IGV or failure to reach the interaction area.

[0133] The above embodiments are only used to illustrate the technical solutions of the present invention, rather than to limit the same. Although the present invention has been described in detail with reference to the aforementioned embodiments, it is still possible for a person skilled in the art to modify the technical solutions described in the aforementioned embodiments, or to replace some of the technical features therein with equivalents. However, these modifications or replacements do not deviate the essence of the corresponding technical solutions from the spirit and scope of the technical solutions claimed to be protected by the present invention.

Claims

1. An automatic guided alignment method for IGV and ARMG, characterized in that: include: S1: The empty IGV frame or the IGV loaded with containers moves to the ARMG side operating position; S2: The laser scanner performs two-dimensional scanning and ranging on the empty IGV frame or the container on the frame on the lane below the ARMG toward the working surface, and obtains a point set with polar coordinates; S3: converting the point set into a point set in a three-dimensional coordinate system with the ground perpendicular to the center of the spreader as the Y axis, the lane ground as the X axis, and the direction perpendicular to the lane as the Z axis; S4: For the converted point set, identify points belonging to the length of the empty frame or the length of the container on the frame; based on the identified points, the median of the X coordinates of the points belonging to the length of the empty frame is used as the center position of the empty frame, and the median of the X coordinates of the points belonging to the length of the container on the frame is used as the center position of the container; S5: Obtaining the relative deviation of the empty frame or container based on the center position of the empty frame or container and the corresponding standard position; S6: Determine whether the corresponding relative deviation is within the preset allowable deviation range of absolute value, if so, proceeds to S8, if not, proceeds to S7; S7: Control and guide the IGV to align according to the relative deviation of the empty frame or container, and return to S2; S8: Guidance alignment completed; The standard position is a pre-set position, at which the center line of the ARMG spreader in the direction perpendicular to the ground passes through the center position of the empty frame or container.

2. The IGV and ARMG automatic guidance alignment method according to claim 1, characterized in that: For the converted point set, identify the data belonging to the empty frame length or the container length on the frame, specifically: For the converted point set, identify the points belonging to the outline of the empty frame in the data parallel to the ground and at a distance of 80 cm to 2200 cm from the ground. The continuous points connected by line segments among the identified points are the points belonging to the length of the empty frame. For the converted point set, points belonging to the container are identified in the data parallel to the earth and 3500 cm to 4500 cm away from the earth. The continuous points connected by line segments among the identified points are points belonging to the length of the container.

3. The IGV and ARMG automatic guidance alignment method according to claim 1, characterized in that: The point set is converted to a point set in a coordinate system with the ground perpendicular to the center of the spreader as the Y axis, the lane ground as the X axis, and the direction perpendicular to the lane as the Z axis. The specific conversion is: X2=M-cos(a)*L; Y2=HL*sin(a)cos(b); Z2=T / 2-L*sin(a)sin(b)-N; Where H is the installation height of the laser scanner; L is the ranging distance of the i-th point Ai extracted by the laser scanner; M is the initial deviation between the projection of the laser scanner center on the horizontal lane line and the horizontal projection of the spreader center; N is the vertical distance between the projection of the laser scanner center on the ground and the end face of the IGV close to the ARMG side; T is the IGV width; a is the angle between the i-th ranging light and the horizontal plane; b is the angle between the scanning surface of the laser scanner and the vertical line of the ground; Bi (X2, Y2, Z2) is the converted point.

4. The IGV and ARMG automatic guidance alignment method according to claim 1, characterized in that: The absolute value of the preset allowable deviation range is set to a range of (0 mm, 50 mm).

5. The IGV and ARMG automatic guidance alignment method according to claim 4, characterized in that: The absolute value range of the relative deviation is set to (50mm, 300mm).

6. An IGV and ARMG automatic guidance alignment system, characterized in that: include: a guidance module comprising a laser scanner, a processing unit, and a network communication unit; The laser scanner performs two-dimensional scanning and ranging on the IGV empty frame or the container on the frame on the lane below the ARMG toward the working surface to obtain a point set of polar coordinates; The processing unit is used to receive the point set collected by the laser scanner and process the point set to obtain the center position of the empty frame or the container on the frame, and the relative deviation between the center position of the empty frame or the container and the corresponding standard position; The processing unit obtains the center position of the empty frame or the container on the frame by: converting the point set into a point set in a three-dimensional coordinate system with the ground perpendicular to the center of the spreader as the Y axis, the road surface as the X axis, and the direction perpendicular to the road as the Z axis; identifying points belonging to the length of the empty frame or the length of the container on the frame for the converted point set; based on the identified points, the median value of the X coordinates of each point belonging to the length of the empty frame is used as the center position of the empty frame, and the median value of the X coordinates of each point belonging to the length of the container on the frame is used as the center position of the container; The rail crane ECS communicates with the guidance module via the network communication unit and issues alignment instructions based on the relative deviation of the empty frame or container; FMS, which is used to manage IGV and communicate with the rail crane ECS, controls and guides the IGV to align after receiving the alignment instruction; When the corresponding relative deviation is within the absolute value of the preset allowable deviation range, the alignment is completed.

7. The IGV and ARMG automatic guided alignment system according to claim 6, characterized in that: The absolute value of the preset allowable deviation range is set to a range of (0 mm, 50 mm).

8. The IGV and ARMG automatic guided alignment system according to claim 7, characterized in that: The absolute value range of the relative deviation is set to (50mm, 300mm).

Images