An AGV vehicle-mounted snow melting device and path planning method

Abstract

The present invention provides an AGV vehicle-mounted snow melting device and a path planning method, belonging to the field of application of automatic guided vehicle equipment and vehicle navigation in an automated terminal. The path planning information input unit is used to provide coordinate information, AGV spreader gear information, and spreading range information for the snow melting agent spreading map unit, and to update the snow melting agent spreading map information in real time; the AGV path planning unit plans the AGV driving snow melting path according to the starting point and destination of snow melting; the AGV navigation unit controls the operation of the AGV vehicle according to the AGV driving snow melting path; the snow melting agent spreading map unit is used to record the actual position information and driving path information, and at the same time record the snow melting agent spreading amount and the snow melting agent spreading amount threshold; the remote operation unit is used to receive the driving control instruction sent by the user through the handheld terminal, control the snow melting agent spreading amount, and adjust the spreading range; the present invention can spread the snow melting agent on the snow and ice-covered road surface based on the operation of the AGV to achieve snow melting and ice melting, making the snow melting more efficient and intelligent.

Description

Background Art

[0002] At present, in winter, there is much rain and snow in the coastal areas where automated container terminals are located, resulting in snow accumulation on the road surfaces in the automated operation areas. Due to the special operating conditions of automated container terminals, AGVs need to undertake the task of transporting containers. The self-weight of AGVs is relatively large. When an AGV carries a container and drives over a snow-covered road surface, it will cause the road surface to freeze, and the friction coefficient between the AGV tires and the road surface will decrease, which is likely to lead to abnormal situations such as vehicle skidding, slipping, and brake failure, seriously affecting the operation safety of AGVs.

[0003] In response to the problems of snow and ice accumulation on the road surfaces in the automated operation areas, most automated terminals adopt the method of manually spreading snow melting agents. Before the rain and snow weather arrives, snow melting agents are manually spread in the automated operation areas in advance. When the snowfall is light, the driving speed of AGVs is restricted to avoid problems such as vehicle skidding and brake failure; when the snowfall is heavy, the terminal operation is stopped, and the manual spreading of snow melting agents continues. After the rain and snow weather stops and the manual snow and ice removal is completed, the production operation is resumed.

[0004] However, the method of manually spreading snow melting agents not only requires interrupting the operation and personnel to enter the automated operation areas, which not only consumes a large amount of manpower, has potential safety hazards of human-machine cross-operation, but also affects the operation efficiency. Moreover, when the snowfall is light and the AGVs are driving at a reduced speed, it is difficult to manually spread snow melting agents over all the automated operation areas, seriously affecting the snow melting effect. After the snowfall increases, it is necessary to stop production to carry out manual snow and ice removal, which is time-consuming, laborious and affects the terminal production. Summary of the Invention

[0005] The present invention provides an AGV vehicle-mounted snow melting device, which can reduce the impact of winter rain and snow weather on AGV driving and can also avoid human-machine cross-operation and reduce the labor consumption for snow and ice removal.

[0006] The AGV vehicle-mounted snow melting device includes: a path planning information input unit, an AGV power supply unit, a snow melting agent spreading map unit, a remote operation unit, an AGV path planning unit, and an AGV navigation unit;

[0007] The path planning information input unit is used to provide coordinate information, AGV spreader gear information, and spreading range information for the snow melting agent spreading map unit, and to update the snow melting agent spreading map information in real time;

[0008] The AGV path planning unit is used to plan the AGV driving snow melting path according to the starting point and destination of snow melting;

[0009] The AGV navigation unit is used to control the operation of the AGV vehicle according to the AGV driving snow melting path;

[0010] The snow melting agent spreading map unit is used to record the actual position information and driving path information, and at the same time record the snow melting agent spreading amount and the snow melting agent spreading amount threshold;

[0011] The remote operation unit is used to receive the driving control instruction sent by the user through the handheld terminal, control the snow melting agent spreading amount, and adjust the spreading range;

[0012] The AGV power supply unit is used to supply electric energy to the device.

[0013] Furthermore, it should be noted that it also includes: an AGV container loading platform, and an AGV vehicle-mounted spreading machine device is installed at the rear end of the AGV container loading platform;

[0014] The AGV vehicle-mounted spreading machine device is provided with a bracket, and a snow melting agent storage tank is installed at the upper end of the bracket;

[0015] A funnel is installed at the lower end of the bracket, and the snow melting agent storage tank is communicated with the funnel;

[0016] A spreading device is installed at the bottom end of the funnel, and the spreading device is connected with a driving device.

[0017] Furthermore, it should be noted that a snow melting agent storage amount sensor is installed inside the snow melting agent storage tank;

[0018] An electric control valve is arranged at the outlet of the funnel;

[0019] The remote operation unit is respectively connected with the snow melting agent storage amount sensor and the electric control valve, obtains the remaining capacity of the snow melting agent inside the snow melting agent storage tank, and sends it to the handheld terminal, and receives the electric control valve control instruction sent by the user through the handheld terminal to control the snow melting agent to enter the spreading device;

[0020] The remote operation unit is also connected with the driving device, receives the driving control instruction sent by the user through the handheld terminal, and changes the spreading range of the spreading device by adjusting the rotation speed of the driving device.

[0021] This application also provides an AGV vehicle-mounted snow melting method, and the method includes:

[0022] Define the vehicle coordinate information, the AGV spreader gear information, the spreading range information, and update the snow melting agent spreading map information in real time;

[0023] Plan the AGV driving snow melting path according to the starting point and destination of snow melting;

[0024] Control the operation of the AGV vehicle according to the AGV driving snow melting path;

[0025] Record the actual position information and driving path information of the AGV vehicle, and at the same time record the snow melting agent spreading amount and the snow melting agent spreading amount threshold;

[0026] Receive the driving control instructions sent by the user through the handheld terminal, control the amount of snowmelt agent spread, and adjust the spreading range.

[0027] Further, it should be noted that the method further includes: defining the boundary points of the AGV operation area, setting a as the width of the spreading map unit, and A ij is the snowmelt agent spreading value for each map feature unit, and i and j are the column number and row number of the map feature unit respectively;

[0028] Define four end points as Z respectively according to the preset order ij (1), Z ij (2), Z ij (3), Z ij (4), and the end point coordinates are:

[0029] .

[0030] Further, it should be noted that in the method, according to the end point coordinates of each map unit and the current driving coordinates of the AGV, the following steps are used to assign values to each map unit:

[0031] Assign values to the map units through the current driving direction of the AGV;

[0032] Driving along the positive X-axis: Map unit end points Z ij (1) and Z ij (2), based on the X coordinate being greater than the X coordinate of the center point at the rear of the AGV, the snowmelt agent spreading value is the snowmelt agent spreading value at the previous moment;

[0033] Driving along the negative X-axis: Map unit end points Z ij (3) and Z ij (4), based on the X coordinate being less than the X coordinate of the center point at the rear of the AGV, the snowmelt agent spreading value is the snowmelt agent spreading value at the previous moment;

[0034] Driving along the positive Y-axis: Map unit end points Z ij (2) and Z ij (3), based on the Y coordinate being greater than the Y coordinate of the center point at the rear of the AGV, the snowmelt agent spreading value is the snowmelt agent spreading value at the previous moment;

[0035] Driving along the negative Y-axis: Map unit end points Z ij (1) and Z ij (4), based on the Y coordinate being less than the Y coordinate of the center point at the rear of the AGV, the snowmelt agent spreading value is the snowmelt agent spreading value at the previous moment, that is:

[0036] .

[0037] Further, it should be noted that in the method, the unassigned map units are assigned based on the distances of the AGV end points, and the assignment methods include: calculating the distances from each end point in the feature area to the center point of the rear part of the AGV:

[0038] ;

[0039] Among them, = 1, 2, 3, 4; respectively representing each end point of the feature area;

[0040] According to the distances from the end points of the feature area to the center point of the rear part of the AGV, a distance feature matrix of each feature area is defined:

[0041] ;

[0042] Among them, when , = 1; when , = 0;

[0043] The snow melting agent spreading value of the feature area is assigned according to the distance feature matrix:

[0044] When , ;

[0045] When , .

[0046] Further, it should be noted that in the method,

[0047] When the feature matrix is , the snow melting agent spreading area in the feature area is:

[0048] ,

[0049] When the feature matrix is , the snow melting agent spreading area in the feature area is:

[0050] ,

[0051] When the feature matrix is , the snow melting agent spreading area in the feature area is:

[0052] ,

[0053] When the feature matrix is , the snow melting agent spreading area in the feature area is:

[0054] 。

[0055] Further, it should be noted that the method also calculates the spreading action time of the snow melting agent in the characteristic area:

[0056] ,

[0057] In the formula, is the spreading action time of the snow melting agent in the ij-th characteristic area, is the current moment, is the initial value of the effective action moment of the snow melting agent spreading in the n-th characteristic area;

[0058] When the spreading action time of the snow melting agent in the characteristic area is greater than the maximum effective action time of the snow melting agent in the method, that is :

[0059] ;

[0060] When the spreading action time of the snow melting agent in the characteristic area is greater than the maximum effective action time of the snow melting agent and the spreading value of the snow melting agent in the characteristic area is corrected, the initial value of the effective action moment of the snow melting agent spreading in the characteristic area is updated:

[0061] 。

[0062] Further, it should be noted that the AGV snow melting agent spreading path planning algorithm in the method includes the following steps:

[0063] Step S51: Set the AGV to the automatic mode;

[0064] Step S52: Determine whether the snow melting agent storage in the snow melting agent storage tank is greater than the vehicle-mounted snow melting agent replenishment threshold;

[0065] If the snow melting agent storage in the snow melting agent storage tank is lower than the vehicle-mounted snow melting agent replenishment threshold, the AGV path planning unit automatically jumps to the snow melting agent filling driving path, and the end point of the driving path is the snow melting agent replenishment point for vehicle-mounted snow melting agent replenishment;

[0066] Step S53: Locate the characteristic area with the minimum snow melting agent spreading value according to the snow melting agent spreading map, and preset the characteristic area with the minimum snow melting agent spreading value as the end point of the AGV driving path;

[0067] Step S54: Obtain the distance between the preset end point of the AGV driving path and the current AGV;

[0068] Set the AGV path distance difference threshold. When the distance between the preset end point of the AGV driving path and the current vehicle position is less than the path distance difference threshold, jump to step S55;

[0069] Otherwise, cancel the preset AGV driving path, and return to step S53 to exclude the end point of the current preset AGV driving path and re-select the end point of the preset AGV driving path;

[0070] Step S55: Determine the difference between the end point of the preset AGV driving path in step S54 and the snow melting agent threshold of this feature area;

[0071] Set the snow melting agent spreading amount threshold for each feature area of the snow melting agent spreading map according to the lane application frequency;

[0072] When the snow melting agent spreading value of the feature area at the end point of the preset AGV driving path is less than the snow melting agent spreading amount threshold of the area, jump to step S56;

[0073] Otherwise, cancel the preset AGV driving path, and return to step S53 to exclude the end point of the current preset AGV driving path and re-select the end point of the preset AGV driving path;

[0074] Step S56: Determine the AGV driving direction;

[0075] If there are multiple end points of the preset AGV driving path that simultaneously meet steps S53 to S55, preferentially select the AGV to drive along the long axis direction of the AGV driving area, and select the driving path where multiple end points of the preset AGV driving path are adjacent and connected;

[0076] Step S57: The navigation system executes the AGV vehicle-mounted snow melting agent spreading driving path.

[0077] From the above technical solutions, it can be seen that the present invention has the following advantages:

[0078] The AGV vehicle-mounted snow melting device and path planning method provided by this application can make the snow melting agent spreading on the snow and ice-covered roads in the AGV operation area of the automated terminal more efficient and intelligent. Combining with the operation mode of the AGV vehicle-mounted spreader, automatically plan the snow melting agent spreading path, replace manual operation, solve the safety hazards of human-machine intersection in manual snow and ice removal at the terminal, and realize the parallel operation of terminal operations and snow and ice removal operations, improving the operation efficiency of the automated terminal.

[0079] This application can realize the scientific spreading of the snow melting agent in the AGV operation area. Build a snow melting agent spreading map, display the snow melting agent spreading amount in the AGV operation area in real time and accurately, and according to the actual situation of the automated terminal, switch the spreader gear, adjust the effective spreading range of the spreader, and can remotely set the snow melting agent spreading amount threshold for the specified area to make the snow melting agent spreading more uniform.

[0080] This application can achieve accurate planning of the spreading path of the AGV. According to the snow melting agent spreading map of the AGV operation area and the vehicle operation status, it accurately plans the spreading path of the on-vehicle spreader AGV, the power supply path, and the snow melting agent replenishment path, enabling the AGV to travel to the area where the snow melting agent needs to be laid in a timely and accurate manner, achieving an ideal snow and ice removal effect. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0081] In order to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions of the present invention, the drawings required for description will be briefly introduced below. Obviously, the drawings in the following description are only some embodiments of the present invention. For those of ordinary skill in the art, without creative efforts, other drawings can also be obtained based on these drawings.

[0082] Figure 1 Schematic diagram of the AGV on-vehicle snow melting device;

[0083] Figure 2 Schematic diagram of an embodiment of the AGV on-vehicle snow melting device;

[0084] Figure 3 Schematic diagram of the AGV on-vehicle snow melting device;

[0085] Figure 4 Schematic diagram of an embodiment of the AGV on-vehicle spreader device;

[0086] Figure 5 Principle diagram for the assignment calculation of the snow melting agent spreading map unit;

[0087] Figure 6 Flow chart of the AGV on-vehicle snow melting method. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS

[0088] In the following description, specific details such as specific system structures and technologies are presented for the purpose of illustration rather than limitation, in order to thoroughly understand the embodiments of the present application. However, those skilled in the art should clearly understand that the present application can also be implemented in other embodiments without these specific details.

[0089] It should be understood that when used in the specification of the present application, the term "comprising" indicates the presence of the described features, wholes, steps, operations, elements, and / or components, but does not exclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, wholes, steps, operations, elements, components, and / or their combinations. The terms "comprising", "including", "having" and their variants all mean "including but not limited to", unless otherwise specifically emphasized in other ways.

[0090] It should be understood that the "one or more" mentioned in this application refers to one, two or more than two, and the "multiple" mentioned in this application refers to two or more than two. In the description of this application, unless otherwise specified, " / " means "or". For example, A / B can mean A or B. The "and / or" herein is merely an association relationship describing associated objects, indicating that there can be three relationships. For example, A and / or B can mean: A exists alone, A and B exist simultaneously, and B exists alone.

[0091] For the convenience of clearly describing the technical solutions of this application, terms such as "first" and "second" are used to distinguish identical items or similar items with basically the same functions and roles. Those skilled in the art can understand that terms such as "first" and "second" do not limit the quantity and execution order, and terms such as "first" and "second" do not necessarily limit to being different.

[0092] The statement such as "an embodiment" or "some embodiments" described in this application means that the specific features, structures or characteristics described in this embodiment are included in one or more embodiments of this application. Thus, statements such as "in one embodiment", "in some embodiments", "in other some embodiments", "in still other embodiments" etc. that appear in different places in this application do not necessarily refer to the same embodiment, but mean "one or more but not all embodiments", unless otherwise specifically emphasized in other ways.

[0093] Next, the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention will be clearly and completely described in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in the embodiments of the present invention. Obviously, the described embodiments are only a part of the embodiments of the present invention, rather than all the embodiments. All other embodiments obtained by those of ordinary skill in the art based on the embodiments of the present invention without creative efforts shall fall within the scope of protection of the present invention.

[0094] Please refer to Figure 1 The following is a schematic diagram of an AGV vehicle-mounted snow melting device in a specific embodiment. The AGV vehicle-mounted snow melting device includes: a path planning information input unit, an AGV power supply unit, a snow melting agent spreading map unit, a remote operation unit, an AGV path planning unit, and an AGV navigation unit.

[0095] In this embodiment, the path planning information input unit is used to provide coordinate information, AGV spreader gear information, and spreading range information for the snow melting agent spreading map unit, and to update the snow melting agent spreading map information in real time.

[0096] The AGV path planning unit is used to plan the AGV driving snow melting path according to the starting point and destination of snow melting.

[0097] The AGV navigation unit is used to control the operation of the AGV vehicle according to the snow melting path of the AGV vehicle.

[0098] The snow melting agent spreading map unit is used to record the actual position information and driving path information, and at the same time record the snow melting agent spreading amount and the snow melting agent spreading amount threshold.

[0099] The remote operation unit is used to receive the driving control instructions sent by the user through the handheld terminal, control the snow melting agent spreading amount, and adjust the spreading range.

[0100] The AGV power supply unit is used to supply electrical energy to the device. Specifically, the AGV power supply unit can include a storage battery and the corresponding power supply circuit, which can supply power to the AGV to meet the snow melting needs.

[0101] As an embodiment of the AGV vehicle-mounted snow melting device of the present application, the operation process of the device can be realized in the following way. Specifically, the AGV receives relevant parameters such as the starting point, destination, estimated snow melting amount, and road conditions of the snow melting task.

[0102] The AGV path planning unit plans the optimal driving snow melting path according to the starting point and destination, combining information such as the road network, obstacle positions, and traffic conditions.

[0103] The AGV navigation unit prepares navigation data according to the planned path, including control instructions such as direction and speed.

[0104] When starting to drive, the AGV starts to drive according to the navigation instructions, and real-time senses the surrounding environment through sensors such as lidar, cameras, GPS, etc. to ensure driving along the planned path.

[0105] The way of the snow melting agent spreading operation is based on the initialization of the spreading map: the snow melting agent spreading map unit records the starting position of the AGV, and initializes the driving path information and the snow melting agent spreading amount counter.

[0106] According to the preset spreading strategies such as spreading amount, spreading speed, spreading range, etc., the AGV automatically or adjusts the spreading of the snow melting agent according to the remote instruction during driving. The snow melting agent spreading map unit real-time records the current position information, driving path, and the amount of snow melting agent that has been spread, and compares it with the preset snow melting agent spreading amount threshold to ensure that the spreading amount is appropriate.

[0107] This embodiment specifically has the function of remote monitoring and adjustment. It can continuously monitor the instructions sent by the user through the handheld terminal based on the remote operation unit, including driving control instructions such as pause, acceleration, deceleration, steering, etc., snow melting agent spreading amount adjustment instructions, and spreading range adjustment instructions, etc.

[0108] When executing remote instructions, according to the received instructions, the remote operation unit controls the driving of the AGV and the spreading of deicing agent, realizing real-time adjustment and optimization of the deicing process.

[0109] When the AGV completes the deicing task according to the planned path and reaches the preset deicing effect, the system confirms the completion of the task. The data during the task execution process, such as the driving path, the amount of deicing agent spread, and the task duration, are sorted into a report and fed back to the user's handheld terminal or the upper computer through the remote operation unit.

[0110] Based on the above embodiments, in order to further improve the reliability of the AGV vehicle-mounted deicing device provided in the above embodiments, as a feasible implementation, in one embodiment, it is possible to, according to the characteristics and functions of the current AGV vehicle-mounted deicing device, such as Figure 2 An overall schematic diagram of the AGV vehicle-mounted deicing device is provided. Figure 3 It is a partial schematic diagram of the device. Figure 4 It is a schematic diagram of the rear part of the device.

[0111] In an exemplary embodiment, the AGV vehicle-mounted deicing device further includes: an AGV container loading platform 1, and an AGV vehicle-mounted spreading device is installed at the rear end of the AGV container loading platform 1; the AGV vehicle-mounted spreading device is provided with a bracket 3, and a deicing agent storage tank 2 is installed at the upper end of the bracket 3; a funnel 4 is installed at the lower end of the bracket 3, and the deicing agent storage tank 2 is communicated with the funnel 4; a spreading device 5 is installed at the bottom end of the funnel 4, and the spreading device 5 is connected with a driving device 6.

[0112] In this embodiment, a deicing agent reserve sensor is installed inside the deicing agent storage tank 2; an electric control valve is arranged at the outlet of the funnel 4; the remote operation unit is respectively connected with the deicing agent reserve sensor and the electric control valve, obtains the remaining capacity of the deicing agent inside the deicing agent storage tank 2, and sends it to the handheld terminal, and receives the electric control valve control instruction sent by the user through the handheld terminal to control the deicing agent to enter the spreading device; the remote operation unit is also connected with the driving device 6, receives the driving control instruction sent by the user through the handheld terminal, and changes the spreading range of the spreading device 5 by adjusting the rotation speed of the driving device 6.

[0113] In this embodiment, the electric control valve can limit the deicing agent from entering the spreading device. The driving device is composed of a driving motor, which is used to drive the spreading device to work. The driving device changes the effective spreading range of the spreader by adjusting the rotation speed. Five gears are set according to the rotation speed of the driving device and the effective spreading range of the spreader. The rotation speed of the driving device and the effective spreading range of the spreader increase gradually from the first gear to the fifth gear, and can be adjusted and controlled by the remote operation system.

[0114] According to an embodiment of the present application, for the AGV vehicle-mounted snow melting device to implement the functions of each unit, the AGV vehicle-mounted snow melting device may further include a wireless communication unit, an audio / video input unit, a user input unit, a sensing unit, a display unit, a memory, an interface unit, a controller, and so on. However, it should be understood that it is not required to implement all the components shown. More or fewer components may be alternatively implemented.

[0115] The wireless Internet access technology of the wireless communication unit here may include wireless local area networks (Wi-Fi, WLAN, Wireless Local Area Networks), wireless broadband (Wibro), worldwide interoperability for microwave access (Wimax), high speed downlink packet access (HSDPA, High Speed Downlink Packet Access), and so on.

[0116] The display unit may display the information processed in the AGV vehicle-mounted snow melting device.

[0117] The controller may be implemented by using at least one of an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC, Application Specific Integrated Circuit), a digital signal processor (DSP, Digital Signal Processing), a digital signal processing device (DSPD, Digital Signal Processing Device), a programmable logic device (PLD, Programmable Logic Device), a field programmable gate array (FPGA, Field Programmable Gate Array), a processor, a controller, a microcontroller, a microprocessor, and an electronic unit designed to execute the functions described here. In some cases, such an implementation may be implemented in the controller. For a software implementation, an implementation such as a process or a function may be implemented with a separate software module that allows execution of at least one function or operation. The software code may be implemented by a software application (or program) written in any suitable programming language, and the software code may be stored in the memory and executed by the controller.

[0118] In the description of the present invention, it should be noted that the orientation or positional relationship indicated by the terms "upper", "lower", "inner", "outer", "front end", "back end", "both ends", "one end", "the other end", etc. is based on the orientation or positional relationship shown in the drawings. It is 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 should not be construed as a limitation of the present invention. In addition, the terms "first" and "second" are only used for descriptive purposes and should not be construed as indicating or implying relative importance.

[0119] In the description of the present invention, it should be noted that unless otherwise clearly specified and defined, the terms "installed", "provided with", "connected", etc. should be understood in a broad sense. For example, "connected" can be a fixed connection, a detachable connection, or an integral connection; it can be a mechanical connection or an electrical connection; it can be directly connected or indirectly connected through an intermediate medium, and it can be the communication inside two elements. For those of ordinary skill in the art, the specific meanings of the above terms in the present invention can be understood according to specific situations.

[0120] The following are embodiments of the AGV vehicle snow melting method provided by the embodiments of the present disclosure. This method and the AGV vehicle snow melting device in the above embodiments belong to the same inventive concept. For the details not described in detail in the embodiments of the AGV vehicle snow melting method, reference can be made to the embodiments of the AGV vehicle snow melting device.

[0121] The method includes:

[0122] Define vehicle coordinate information, AGV spreader gear information, and spreading range information, and update the snow melting agent spreading map information in real time;

[0123] Plan the AGV driving snow melting path according to the starting point and destination of snow melting;

[0124] Control the operation of the AGV vehicle according to the AGV driving snow melting path;

[0125] Record the actual position information and driving path information of the AGV vehicle, and at the same time record the snow melting agent spreading amount and the snow melting agent spreading amount threshold;

[0126] Receive the driving control instruction sent by the user through the handheld terminal, control the snow melting agent spreading amount, and adjust the spreading range.

[0127] It should be understood that the magnitudes of the sequence numbers of the steps in the above embodiments do not mean the order of execution. The execution order of each process should be determined according to its function and internal logic, and should not constitute any limitation to the implementation process of the embodiments of the present invention.

[0128] During the process of the above AGV vehicle-mounted snow melting method, the snow melting agent distribution map is combined with the actual operation area of the AGV in the automated terminal as the basis for regional segmentation, divided into multiple characteristic regions, the distribution of the snow melting agent is assigned, and the assigned value of the characteristic region passed by is updated in real time according to the actual driving track of the AGV and the spreading gear of the automatic snow melting agent spreading device. For the snow melting agent distribution map, the remote operating system can set the snow melting agent spreading threshold for the specified characteristic region to delimit the upper limit of the snow melting agent spreading in this region. At the same time, the snow melting agent distribution map can set the effective time of the snow melting agent spreading according to the snowfall in the terminal and the usage characteristics of the snow melting agent, and correct the snow melting agent spreading value of the map characteristic region.

[0129] This application can perform vehicle driving path planning: determine whether the AGV is intervened by humans, and the AGV preferentially executes the manual path planning instruction; according to the vehicle's own operating state, determine whether the AGV needs to replenish electric energy or snow melting agent, and plan the vehicle's replenishment driving path; according to the snow melting agent distribution map, compare and calculate the snow melting agent spreading value of the characteristic region near the current vehicle position, and preferentially plan the vehicle's snow melting agent spreading driving path for the region with a lower snow melting agent spreading amount.

[0130] The remote operating system described in the present invention consists of an AGV operation map and an operation unit. The AGV operation map displays the snow melting agent spreading characteristic region and the snow melting agent spreader, and the operation map displays the current coordinate position and driving path of the AGV in real time. The system operation unit includes functions such as spreading device gear setting, manual driving path dispatching, snow melting agent spreading threshold setting for characteristic regions, snow melting agent effective time, replenishment station setting, etc., to assist the AGV path planning unit in planning the vehicle driving path.

[0131] In some embodiments of the present application, the constructed snow melting agent distribution map unit is based on the AGV actual operation area map, divided into multiple characteristic regions with the same size and area, and the width of each characteristic region is the width of the AGV operation lane. According to the actual driving track of the AGV and the spreading gear of the automatic snow melting agent spreading device, the assigned value of the characteristic region passed by is updated in real time. For the snow melting agent distribution map, the remote operating system can set the snow melting agent spreading threshold for the specified characteristic region to delimit the upper limit of the snow melting agent spreading in this region. At the same time, the snow melting agent distribution map can set the effective time of the snow melting agent spreading according to the snowfall in the terminal and the usage characteristics of the snow melting agent, and correct the snow melting agent spreading value of the map characteristic region.

[0132] Furthermore, as a refinement and expansion of the specific implementation manner of the above embodiment, in order to fully illustrate the specific implementation process in this embodiment, a specific AGV vehicle-mounted snow melting method is also provided. The assignment calculation principle of the snow melting agent distribution map unit described in this embodiment is as Figure 5 and Figure 6 shown, and the specific assignment calculation principle is as follows:

[0133] Define the boundary points of the AGV operation area, and set a as the width of the spreading map unit. For the snow melting agent spreading value of each map feature unit, i and j are the column number and row number of the map feature unit respectively.

[0134] Define four end points in a preset order as Z ij (1), Z ij (2), Z ij (3), Z ij (4), and the end point coordinates are:

[0135] 。

[0136] In an exemplary embodiment, according to the end point coordinates of each map unit and the current driving coordinates of the AGV, the following steps are used to assign values to each map unit:

[0137] 1. Assign values to some map units through the current driving direction of the AGV.

[0138] (1) Driving along the positive X-axis: The X coordinates of the map unit end points Z ij (1) and Z ij (2) are greater than the X coordinate of the center point of the rear part of the AGV, and the snow melting agent spreading value is the snow melting agent spreading value of the previous moment;

[0139] (2) Driving along the negative X-axis: The X coordinates of the map unit end points Z ij (3) and Z ij (4) are less than the X coordinate of the center point of the rear part of the AGV, and the snow melting agent spreading value is the snow melting agent spreading value of the previous moment;

[0140] (3) Driving along the positive Y-axis: The Y coordinates of the map unit end points Z ij (2) and Z ij (3) are greater than the Y coordinate of the center point of the rear part of the AGV, and the snow melting agent spreading value is the snow melting agent spreading value of the previous moment;

[0141] (4) Driving along the negative Y-axis: The Y coordinates of the map unit end points Z ij (1) and Z ij (4) are less than the Y coordinate of the center point of the rear part of the AGV, and the snow melting agent spreading value is the snow melting agent spreading value of the previous moment, that is:

[0142] 。

[0143] 2. Assign values to some unassigned map units in step 1 through the distance between the AGV end points.

[0144] (1) Calculate the distance from each end point of each feature area to the center point of the rear part of the AGV:

[0145] ;

[0146] Among them, = 1, 2, 3, 4; respectively represent the endpoints of each feature region.

[0147] (2) Define the distance feature matrix of each feature region according to the distance from the endpoint of the feature region to the center point at the rear of the AGV:

[0148] ;

[0149] Among them, when holds, = 1; when holds, = 0.

[0150] (3) Assign a value to the snow melting agent spreading value of the feature region according to the distance feature matrix:

[0151] When holds, ;

[0152] When holds, .

[0153] 3. When holds, calculate the spreading area of the snow melting agent within the feature region.

[0154] (1) When the feature matrix is , the spreading area of the snow melting agent within the feature region is:

[0155] ,

[0156] (2) When the feature matrix is , the spreading area of the snow melting agent within the feature region is:

[0157] ,

[0158] (3) When the feature matrix is , the spreading area of the snow melting agent within the feature region is:

[0159] ,

[0160] (4) When the feature matrix is , the spreading area of the snow melting agent within the feature region is:

[0161] .

[0162] 4. Assign values to the above unassigned map units according to the snow melting agent spreading area within the characteristic region.

[0163] When then ;

[0164] When then .

[0165] Wherein, is the total area of the characteristic region.

[0166] 5. Modify the snow melting agent spreading value within the characteristic region according to the effective time of the snow melting agent.

[0167] (1) Calculate the spreading action time of the snow melting agent within the characteristic region:

[0168] ,

[0169] Wherein, is the spreading action time of the snow melting agent within the ij-th characteristic region, is the current time, is the initial value of the effective action time of the snow melting agent spreading within the n-th characteristic region.

[0170] (2) Modify the snow melting agent spreading value within the characteristic region.

[0171] When the spreading action time of the snow melting agent within the characteristic region is greater than the maximum effective action time of the snow melting agent, that is :

[0172] .

[0173] (3) Update the initial value of the effective action time of the snow melting agent spreading within the characteristic region.

[0174] When the spreading action time of the snow melting agent within the characteristic region is greater than the maximum effective action time of the snow melting agent and the modification of the snow melting agent spreading value within the characteristic region is completed, update the initial value of the effective action time of the snow melting agent spreading within the characteristic region:

[0175] .

[0176] According to the embodiments of the present application, the AGV snow melting agent spreading path planning algorithm proposed by the present application, the specific path planning principle of the device is as Figure 5 shown in the following steps:

[0177] Step S51: Determine whether there is manual intervention in the AGV driving path planning unit.

[0178] Step S511: If an AGV driving path instruction is manually dispatched, the navigation system preferentially executes the manual driving instruction.

[0179] Step S52: Determine whether the snow melting agent storage on the AGV vehicle is sufficient. The snow melting agent replenishment threshold is associated with the current driving position of the AGV, and this threshold should ensure that the snow melting agent on the AGV can be spread from the current position to the snow melting agent replenishment position.

[0180] Step S521: If the snow melting agent storage on the AGV vehicle is lower than the snow melting agent replenishment threshold, the AGV driving path planning unit automatically jumps to the snow melting agent filling driving path, and the end point of the driving path is the snow melting agent replenishment point to replenish the snow melting agent on the vehicle.

[0181] Step S53: During the operation of the snow melting agent spreader on the AGV vehicle, determine the minimum feature area of the snow melting agent spread value. According to the snow melting agent spread map, locate the minimum feature area of the snow melting agent spread value and preset this feature area as the end point of the AGV driving path.

[0182] Step S54: Determine the distance between the end point of the AGV driving path preset in Step S53 and the current vehicle position. Set the AGV path distance difference threshold. When the distance between the end point of the preset AGV driving path and the current vehicle position is less than the path distance difference threshold, jump to Step S55. Otherwise, cancel this preset AGV driving path and return to Step S53, excluding the current end point of the preset AGV driving path and reselecting the end point of the preset AGV driving path.

[0183] Step S55: Determine the difference between the end point of the AGV driving path preset in Step S54 and the snow melting agent threshold of this feature area. The vehicle management system can set the snow melting agent spread amount threshold for each feature area of the snow melting agent spread map according to the lane application frequency. When the snow melting agent spread value of the feature area at the end point of the preset AGV driving path is less than the snow melting agent spread amount threshold of this area, jump to Step S56. Otherwise, cancel this preset AGV driving path and return to Step S53, excluding the current end point of the preset AGV driving path and reselecting the end point of the preset AGV driving path.

[0184] Step S56: Determine the driving direction of the AGV. If there are multiple end points of the preset AGV driving path that simultaneously meet Steps S53 - S55, give priority to selecting the AGV to drive along the X-axis (the long axis direction of the AGV driving area), and give priority to selecting the driving path where multiple end points of the preset AGV driving path are adjacent and connected.

[0185] Step S57: The navigation system executes the AGV vehicle snow melting agent spreading driving path.

[0186] According to the embodiments of the present application, this method can make the spreading of snow melting agents on the snow- and ice-covered roads in the AGV operation area of the automated terminal more efficient and intelligent. By using the method of an AGV-mounted spreader, the spreading path of the snow melting agent is automatically planned to replace manual operation, solve the potential safety hazards of human-machine interaction in manual snow and ice removal at the terminal, and enable the parallel operation of terminal operations and snow and ice removal operations, thereby improving the operation efficiency of the automated terminal.

[0187] This application can achieve the scientific spreading of snow melting agents in the AGV operation area. A snow melting agent spreading map is built to display the spreading amount of snow melting agents in the AGV operation area in real time and accurately. According to the actual situation of the automated terminal, the spreader gear is switched, the effective spreading range of the spreader is adjusted, and the spreading amount threshold of the snow melting agent in the specified area can be remotely set to make the spreading of the snow melting agent more uniform.

[0188] This invention can achieve the accurate planning of the AGV spreading path. According to the snow melting agent spreading map in the AGV operation area and the vehicle operation status, the spreading path of the on-vehicle spreader AGV, as well as the power supply and snow melting agent replenishment paths, are accurately planned, enabling the AGV to drive to the area where the snow melting agent needs to be laid in a timely and accurate manner to achieve an ideal snow and ice removal effect.

[0189] The AGV vehicle-mounted snow melting method involved in this application combines the units and algorithm steps of each example described in the embodiments disclosed herein and can be implemented by either electronic hardware, computer software, or a combination of both. To clearly illustrate the interchangeability of hardware and software, the composition and steps of each example have been generally described according to their functions in the above description. Whether these functions are executed in a hardware or software manner depends on the specific application and design constraints of the technical solution. Professional technicians can use different methods to implement the described functions for each specific application, but such implementation should not be considered to exceed the scope of this invention.

[0190] Those skilled in the art of the relevant technical field can understand that various aspects of the AGV vehicle-mounted snow melting method involved in this application can be implemented as a system, method, or program product. Therefore, various aspects of this disclosure can be specifically implemented in the following forms, namely: a complete hardware implementation, a complete software implementation (including firmware, microcode, etc.), or an implementation combining hardware and software aspects, which can be collectively referred to herein as "circuit", "module", or "system".

[0191] The above description of the disclosed embodiments enables those skilled in the art to implement or use this invention. Various modifications to these embodiments will be obvious to those skilled in the art, and the general principles defined herein can be implemented in other embodiments without departing from the spirit or scope of this invention. Therefore, this invention will not be limited to the embodiments shown herein, but will conform to the widest scope consistent with the principles and novel features disclosed herein.

Claims

1. An AGV vehicle-mounted snow melting method, characterized in that, The method is implemented by using an AGV vehicle-mounted snow melting device; The AGV vehicle-mounted snow melting device includes: a path planning information input unit, an AGV power supply unit, a snow melting agent spreading map unit, a remote operation unit, an AGV path planning unit, and an AGV navigation unit; The method includes: Defining vehicle coordinate information, AGV spreader gear information, spreading range information, and updating snow melting agent spreading map information in real time; Planning an AGV driving snow melting path according to the starting point and destination of snow melting; Controlling the operation of the AGV vehicle according to the AGV driving snow melting path; Recording the actual position information and driving path information of the AGV vehicle, and at the same time recording the snow melting agent spreading amount and the snow melting agent spreading amount threshold; Receiving a driving control instruction sent by the user through a handheld terminal, controlling the snow melting agent spreading amount, and adjusting the spreading range; In the method, based on the actual operation area of the AGV in the automated terminal, the snow melting agent spreading map is combined for regional segmentation, divided into multiple feature regions; calculating the snow melting agent spreading action time in the feature region: ， In the formula, is the spreading action time of the snow melting agent in the ij-th characteristic area, is the current moment, is the initial value of the effective action moment of the snow melting agent spreading in the n-th characteristic area; When the spreading action time of the snow melting agent in the feature area is greater than the maximum effective action time of the snow melting agent in the method, that is : ； is the snow melting agent spreading value at the current moment; is the snow melting agent spreading value at the previous moment; When the snow melting agent spreading action time in the feature region is greater than the maximum effective action time of the snow melting agent, and after the snow melting agent spreading value in the feature region is corrected, updating the initial value of the effective action moment of the snow melting agent spreading in the feature region: 。 2. The AGV vehicle-mounted snow melting method according to claim 1, wherein, It further includes: an AGV container loading platform (1), and an AGV vehicle-mounted spreading machine device is installed at the rear end of the AGV container loading platform (1); The AGV vehicle-mounted spreading machine device is provided with a bracket (3), and a snow melting agent storage tank (2) is installed at the upper end of the bracket (3); A funnel (4) is installed at the lower end of the bracket (3), and the snow melting agent storage tank (2) is communicated with the funnel (4); A spreading device (5) is installed at the bottom end of the funnel (4), and the spreading device (5) is connected with a driving device (6).

3. The AGV vehicle-mounted snow melting method according to claim 2, wherein, A snow melting agent storage amount sensor is installed inside the snow melting agent storage tank (2); An electric control valve is arranged at the outlet of the funnel (4); The remote operation unit is respectively connected with the snow melting agent storage amount sensor and the electric control valve, obtains the remaining capacity of the snow melting agent inside the snow melting agent storage tank (2), and sends it to the handheld terminal, and receives the electric control valve control instruction sent by the user through the handheld terminal to control the snow melting agent to enter the spreading device; The remote operation unit is also connected with the driving device (6), receives the driving control instruction sent by the user through the handheld terminal, and changes the spreading range of the spreading device (5) by adjusting the rotation speed of the driving device (6).

4. The AGV vehicle-mounted snow melting method according to claim 1, characterized in that The method further includes: defining the boundary points of the AGV running area, setting a as the width of the spreading map unit, and A ij is the deicing agent spreading value of each map feature unit, and i and j are the number of columns and rows of the map feature unit respectively; Define four endpoints as Z according to a preset order ij (1), Z ij (2), Z ij (3), Z ij (4), and the endpoint coordinates are: 。 5. The AGV vehicle-mounted snow melting method according to claim 4, characterized in that, In the method, according to the endpoint coordinates of each map unit and the current driving coordinates of the AGV, the following steps are used to assign values to each map unit: Assigning values to the map unit through the current driving direction of the AGV; Traveling in the positive X-axis direction: Map unit endpoint Z ij (1) and Z ij (2) Based on the X coordinate being greater than the X coordinate of the center point at the rear of the AGV, the snow melting agent spreading value is the snow melting agent spreading value at the previous moment; Traveling in the reverse direction of the X-axis: Endpoint Z of the map unit ij (3) and Z ij (4), based on the X coordinate being less than the X coordinate of the center point at the rear of the AGV, the snow melting agent spreading value is the snow melting agent spreading value at the previous moment; Traveling in the positive direction of the Y-axis: Map unit endpoint Z ij (2) and Z ij (3), based on the Y coordinate being greater than the Y coordinate of the center point at the rear of the AGV, the snow melting agent spreading value is the snow melting agent spreading value at the previous moment; Traveling in the reverse direction along the Y-axis: Map unit endpoint Z ij (1) and Z ij (4), based on the Y coordinate being less than the Y coordinate of the center point at the rear of the AGV, the snowmelt agent spreading value is the snowmelt agent spreading value at the previous moment, that is: 。 6. The AGV vehicle-mounted snow melting method according to claim 5, characterized in that, In the method, based on the AGV endpoint distance, unassigned map units are assigned values, and the assignment methods include: calculating the distance from each endpoint in the feature region to the center point of the rear part of the AGV: ； Among them, = 1, 2, 3, 4; respectively representing the endpoints of each feature region; Defining a distance feature matrix for each feature region according to the distance from the feature region endpoint to the center point of the rear part of the AGV: ； Among them, when then = 1; when then = 0; Assigning values to the snow melting agent spreading values in the feature region according to the distance feature matrix: When , ; When then .

7. The AGV vehicle-mounted snow melting method according to claim 6, characterized in that, In the method, When the feature matrix is the spreading area of snow melting agent within the feature region is: ， When the feature matrix is the spreading area of the snow melting agent within the feature region is: ， When the feature matrix is the spreading area of snow melting agent within the feature region is: ， When the feature matrix is the snow melting agent spreading area within the feature region is: 。 8. The AGV vehicle-mounted snow melting method according to claim 1, characterized in that The AGV snow melting agent spreading path planning algorithm in the method includes the following steps: Step S51: Set the AGV to the automatic mode; Step S52: Determine whether the snow melting agent storage capacity in the snow melting agent storage tank is greater than the vehicle-mounted snow melting agent replenishment threshold; If the snow melting agent storage capacity in the snow melting agent storage tank is lower than the vehicle-mounted snow melting agent replenishment threshold, the AGV path planning unit automatically jumps to the snow melting agent filling driving path, and the end point of the driving path is the snow melting agent replenishment point to replenish the vehicle-mounted snow melting agent; Step S53: Locate the feature area with the minimum snow melting agent spreading value according to the snow melting agent spreading map, and preset the feature area with the minimum snow melting agent spreading value as the end point of the AGV driving path; Step S54: Obtain the distance between the preset end point of the AGV driving path and the current AGV; Set the AGV path distance difference threshold. When the distance between the preset end point of the AGV driving path and the current vehicle position is less than the path distance difference threshold, jump to step S55; Otherwise, cancel the preset AGV driving path, return to step S53, exclude the current preset end point of the AGV driving path, and re-select the preset end point of the AGV driving path; Step S55: Judge the difference between the preset end point of the AGV driving path in step S54 and the snow melting agent threshold of this feature area; Set the snow melting agent spreading amount threshold for each feature area of the snow melting agent spreading map according to the lane application frequency; When the snow melting agent spreading value of the feature area at the preset end point of the AGV driving path is less than the regional snow melting agent spreading amount threshold, jump to step S56; Otherwise, cancel the preset AGV driving path, return to step S53, exclude the current preset end point of the AGV driving path, and re-select the preset end point of the AGV driving path; Step S56: Judge the driving direction of the AGV; If there are multiple preset end points of the AGV driving path that simultaneously meet steps S53 to S55, give priority to selecting the AGV to drive along the long axis direction of the AGV driving area, and select the driving path connecting adjacent preset end points of the AGV driving path; Step S57: The navigation system executes the AGV vehicle-mounted snow melting agent spreading driving path.

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