Transport method switching device, transport switching method, and moving object

Abstract

This transport method switching device is provided with: a position estimation unit that estimates the position of a moving body using moving body information detected by a moving body detector that detects moving body information of at least one of an image of the moving body that can move by unmanned driving and three-dimensional point cloud data of the moving body; a command generation unit that generates a control command for automatically moving the moving body by movement control using the estimated position of the moving body, and outputs the control command; and a movement control determination unit that determines whether or not to stop movement control using the conveyance start position of the moving body in the conveyance device and the moving body position, which is the position of the moving body in the conveyance section and includes the estimated position. When the movement control determination unit determines that the movement control is stopped, the command generation unit generates a control command for stopping the movement control and outputs the control command.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0001] This application claims priority based on Japanese patent application No. 2023-145728 filed on September 8, 2023, the entire disclosure of which is incorporated by reference into this application. Technical Field

[0002] The present disclosure relates to a transport method switching device, a transport switching method, and a moving body. Background Art

[0003] For example, Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2017-538619 discloses a technology that uses two different transportation methods, transportation using a vehicle with a belt and transportation using a vehicle running under remote control, in a manufacturing system for manufacturing a vehicle. Summary of the invention Technical issues to be solved

[0004] However, the reality in the past is that only the configuration of transporting by the travel of a vehicle based on remote control after transporting by a belt vehicle has been studied, and no research has been conducted on the configuration of transporting by the travel of a vehicle based on remote control followed by transporting by a belt vehicle. Means for solving technical problems

[0005] The present disclosure can be implemented as the following aspects.

[0006] (1) According to one aspect of the present disclosure, a transport method switching device is provided. The transport method switching device includes: a position estimation unit that estimates the position of a mobile body using mobile body information detected by a mobile body detector that detects at least one of an image of a mobile body that can be moved by unmanned driving and three-dimensional point cloud data of the mobile body; a command generation unit that generates a control command for automatically moving the mobile body through movement control using the estimated position of the mobile body and outputs the control command; and a movement control determination unit that determines whether to stop the movement control using the transportation start position of the mobile body in a transportation device that can transport the mobile body in a predetermined transportation interval and the mobile body position, the mobile body position being the position of the mobile body in the transportation interval and including the estimated position. The command generation unit stops the movement control when the movement control determination unit determines that the movement control is to be stopped. According to the transport method switching device of this aspect, it is possible to smoothly switch from the transport method using the movement of the movable body by movement control to the transport method using the transport device. (2) In the transport method switching device of the above aspect, the movement control determination unit may determine to stop the movement control when the acquired estimated position reaches the transport start position. According to the transport method switching device of this aspect, by stopping the movement control at the transport start position of the transport device, it is possible to suppress power consumption and processing load caused by the transport method switching device during transport by the transport device, and efficiently switch the transport method. (3) In the transport method switching device of the above aspect, the command generation unit may stop the movement control by either stopping generation of the control command or stopping transmission of the generated control command to the moving body. According to the transport method switching device of this aspect, the movement control can be stopped by a simpler method than turning off the power of the transport method switching device or the movable body, thereby reducing the processing load during transport by the transport device. (4) In the transport method switching device of the above-mentioned embodiment, the instruction generating unit may stop the movement control on the basis of switching to any one of a state in which the power from the prime mover is not transmitted to the moving part for moving the moving body, and a state in which the transmission part for transmitting the power from the prime mover to the moving part is fixed, when the movement control judging unit judges that the movement control is to be stopped. According to the transport method switching device of this aspect, by switching the movable body to an immovable state before being transported by the transport device, it is possible to suppress or prevent positional deviation of the movable body during transport by the transport device. (5) In the above-mentioned mode of switching the transport method, a transport information acquisition unit may be further provided, which acquires the transport speed of the mobile body transported by the transport device. The movement control determination unit may further confirm the acquired transport speed when the movement control determination unit determines to stop the movement control. The instruction generation unit may generate and output a control instruction to stop the movement control on the basis of disconnecting the power supply of the mobile body when the confirmed transport speed is slower than a predetermined reference speed, and may generate and output a control instruction to stop the movement control without disconnecting the power supply of the mobile body when the confirmed transport speed is higher than the reference speed. According to the transport method switching device of this aspect, the movement control can be stopped in an appropriate state according to the timing of transport by the transport device. (6) In the above-mentioned transport method switching device, there may also be a subsequent indication unit, which outputs an indication to delay the time when the subsequent mobile body arrives at the transport device when the mobile body is not transported by the transport device after the movement control is stopped. The subsequent mobile body is a mobile body that is scheduled to be transported by the transport device immediately after the mobile body. According to the transport method switching device of this aspect, it is possible to prevent the following moving body from coming into contact with the moving body which has not started transport by the transport device and is in a stopped state at the transport start position. (7) The transport method switching device of the above aspect may further include a reporting unit that reports when the transport device is not transporting the movable body after the movement control is stopped. According to the conveying method switching device of this aspect, it is possible to prompt the execution of abnormal measures for the conveying abnormality of the conveying device, and to prompt the conveying device to recover as soon as possible. (8) The transport method switching device of the above aspect may further include a transport instruction unit that outputs an instruction to stop transport of the movable body by the transport device when the movable body is not transported by the transport device after the movement control is stopped. According to the transport method switching device of this aspect, when the transport device fails to transport the movable body, the transport by the transport device is stopped, thereby ensuring time for executing abnormal measures. The present disclosure can also be implemented in various forms other than the transport method switching device, for example, in the form of a remote control device, a transport switching method, a mobile body, a transport device, a transport system, a transport method for a mobile body, a control method for a transport device, a control method for a transport system, a computer program for implementing these control methods, a non-transitory recording medium having the computer program recorded thereon, and the like. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0007] Figure 1 This is an explanatory diagram showing a schematic configuration of a transportation system including a remote control device as a transportation method switching device. Figure 2 It is an explanatory diagram showing the internal functional configuration of a vehicle. Figure 3 This is a block diagram showing the internal functional configuration of the remote control device according to the first embodiment. Figure 4A The flowchart shows a vehicle driving method implemented by the remote control device. Figure 4B It is a block diagram showing the internal functional structure of the transport control device. Figure 5 This is a flowchart showing a vehicle transportation method according to the first embodiment of the present disclosure. Figure 6 It is an explanatory diagram schematically showing a method of stopping the remote control at the conveyance start position. Figure 7 This is a flowchart showing a vehicle transportation method according to the second embodiment. Figure 8 This is a block diagram showing a functional configuration of an ECU in a vehicle according to the third embodiment. Fig. 9 This is a flowchart showing a vehicle driving method according to the third embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0008] A. First Implementation Method: Figure 1 1 is an explanatory diagram showing a schematic configuration of a conveying system 600 including a remote control device 300 as a conveying method switching device according to a first embodiment of the present disclosure. The conveying system 600 is used, for example, in a factory that manufactures vehicles 100. The conveying object of the conveying system 600 is a vehicle 100 that can be driven by remote control. The conveying system 600 is used, for example, in an inspection process of the vehicle 100, an assembly process of the vehicle 100, etc., and conveys the vehicle 100 across a predetermined conveying section in the manufacturing process of the vehicle 100. The conveying system 600 includes a remote control device 300, a vehicle detector 80, and a conveying device 500.

[0009] Figure 21 is an explanatory diagram showing the internal functional structure of the vehicle 100. The vehicle 100 is, for example, a car, a truck, a bus, and a construction vehicle. In the present embodiment, the vehicle 100 is an electric vehicle (BEV: Battery Electric Vehicle) that can be driven by unmanned driving. "Unmanned driving" refers to driving that does not rely on the driving operation of the passengers. The driving operation refers to an operation related to at least one of "driving", "turning", and "stopping" of the vehicle 100. Unmanned driving is achieved by automatic or manual remote control using a device located outside the vehicle 100, or autonomous control of the vehicle 100. In the vehicle 100 that is driven by unmanned driving, passengers who do not perform driving operations can also be carried. Among the passengers who do not perform driving operations, for example, there are people who only sit on the seats of the vehicle 100, and people who perform operations different from driving operations such as assembly, inspection, and operation of switch groups while riding in the vehicle 100. In addition, driving performed by the driving operation of the passengers is sometimes referred to as "manned driving". In this specification, "remote control" includes "full remote control" in which all actions of the vehicle 100 are determined completely from outside the vehicle 100, and "partial remote control" in which part of the actions of the vehicle 100 are determined from outside the vehicle 100. In addition, "autonomous control" includes "full autonomous control" in which the vehicle 100 autonomously controls its own actions without receiving any information from a device outside the vehicle 100, and "partial autonomous control" in which the vehicle 100 autonomously controls its own actions using information received from a device outside the vehicle 100. The vehicle 100 includes a vehicle communication device 190, an actuator 140, and an ECU (Electronic Control Unit) 200.

[0010] The ECU 200 is mounted on the vehicle 100 and performs various controls of the vehicle 100. The ECU 200 includes a storage device 220 such as a HDD (hard disk drive), an SSD (solid state drive), an optical recording medium, or a semiconductor memory, a CPU 210 as a central processing unit, and an interface circuit 230. The CPU 210, the storage device 220, and the interface circuit 230 are connected to each other via an internal bus so as to be able to communicate bidirectionally. The interface circuit 230 is connected to the actuator 140 and the vehicle communication device 190. The vehicle communication device 190 wirelessly communicates with a device outside the vehicle 100 connected to the network such as a remote control device 300 via an access point in a factory or the like.

[0011] Computer programs for realizing at least a part of the functions provided in the present embodiment are stored in the storage device 220. The functions of the driving control unit 212 and the like are realized by the CPU 210 executing various computer programs stored in the memory.

[0012] The driving control unit 212 performs driving control of the vehicle 100. "Driving control" is various controls for driving the actuators 140 that perform the "driving", "turning", and "stopping" functions of the vehicle 100, such as adjustment of acceleration, speed, and steering angle. In addition, if a mobile body is used instead of the vehicle 100, it is sometimes referred to as "movement control" instead of "driving control". In the present embodiment, the actuator 140 includes an actuator of a drive device 160 for accelerating the vehicle 100, an actuator of a steering device for changing the direction of travel of the vehicle 100, and an actuator of a braking device for decelerating the vehicle 100. In addition, the actuator 140 may also include an actuator for swinging the wipers of the vehicle 100, an actuator for opening and closing the electric windows of the vehicle 100, and the like.

[0013] The actuator of the driving device 160 includes a driving battery (not shown), a driving motor 168 driven by the power of the driving battery, a wheel 166, a transmission unit 162, and a locking unit 164. The driving motor 168 is an example of a prime mover. A prime mover such as an internal combustion engine or an external combustion engine may be provided instead of the driving motor 168. The wheel 166 rotates using the power transmitted from the driving motor 168. The wheel 166 is an example of a moving unit for moving a moving body.

[0014] The transmission unit 162 includes a transmission mechanism such as a gear and a shaft, and transmits the power from the driving motor 168 to the wheel 166. The locking unit 164 switches between fixing and releasing the fixing of the transmission mechanism of the transmission unit 162. The locking unit 164 is sometimes referred to as a "parking lock lever". When the function of the transmission unit 162 is switched to the "P range" by remote control of the remote control unit 312 or manual operation of the operating lever in the vehicle cabin by the driver, the transmission mechanism of the transmission unit 162 is fixed by the locking unit 164. As a result, the wheel 166 is fixed and does not rotate. In addition, when the "N range" is switched, the gears and the like of the transmission mechanism of the transmission unit 162 become disconnected, and the power from the driving motor 168 is not transmitted to the wheel 166. In the N range, the wheel 166 becomes a state in which it can rotate by external force. In addition, in the "D range", the transmission unit 162 transmits the power from the driving motor 168 to the wheel 166, thereby enabling the vehicle 100 to travel.

[0015] When the driver is on the vehicle 100, the driving control unit 212 controls the actuator 140 according to the driver's operation to drive the vehicle 100. In addition, regardless of whether the driver is on the vehicle 100, the driving control unit 212 controls the actuator 140 according to the control command sent from the remote control device 300 to drive the vehicle 100.

[0016] The vehicle detector 80 is a device for measuring vehicle information. "Vehicle information" refers to information for estimating at least one of the position of the vehicle 100 and the direction of the vehicle 100, for example. The vehicle detector 80 in this embodiment is equivalent to an external sensor. The external sensor is a sensor located outside the vehicle 100. In addition, the vehicle information is equivalent to the detection result output from the external sensor. In this embodiment, the vehicle detector 80 uses LiDAR (Light Detection And Ranging) as a ranging device. The vehicle detector 80 measures the three-dimensional point cloud data of the vehicle 100 as vehicle information. "Three-dimensional point cloud data" refers to data indicating the three-dimensional position of the point cloud. By using LiDAR, high-precision three-dimensional point cloud data can be obtained. In addition, the vehicle detector 80 can also be used to obtain only the position of the vehicle 100, and obtain the position change of the vehicle 100 over time, thereby estimating the direction and driving direction of the vehicle 100.

[0017] The vehicle detector 80 is communicatively connected to the remote control device 300 through wireless communication or wired communication. The remote control device 300 can obtain the relative position and orientation of the vehicle 100 relative to the target route in real time by obtaining the three-dimensional point cloud data from the vehicle detector 80. The position of the vehicle detector 80 is fixed near the driving road SR and the conveying device 500. In addition, the target path in this embodiment is equivalent to the reference path described later.

[0018] Figure 3 1 is a block diagram showing the internal functional configuration of the remote control device 300 according to the first embodiment. The remote control device 300 generates a control command for automatically driving the vehicle 100 by remote control and transmits it to the vehicle 100, thereby performing driving control of the vehicle 100 by remote control. For example, the remote control device 300 automatically drives the vehicle 100 by remote control, thereby transporting the vehicle 100 in a transport section within a factory. In this embodiment, as described later, the remote control device 300 also functions as a transport method switching device, which uses transport status information indicating the transport status of the vehicle 100 by the transport device 500 to determine whether to stop the driving control of the vehicle 100 by remote control.

[0019] The remote control device 300 includes a CPU 310 as a central processing unit, a storage device 340, an interface circuit 350, and a remote communication device 390. The CPU 310, the storage device 340, and the interface circuit 350 are connected via an internal bus so as to be able to communicate bidirectionally. The remote communication device 390 is connected to the interface circuit 350. The remote communication device 390 communicates with the vehicle 100 and the transport control device 400 via a network or the like.

[0020] The storage device 340 is, for example, a RAM, a ROM, a HDD, and an SSD. A reference speed SV is stored in a readable and writable area of ​​the storage device 340. The reference speed SV is a conveying speed that is normally set among the variable conveying speeds at which the conveying device 500 conveys the vehicle 100. The "conveying speed set normally" refers to, for example, a conveying speed that is pre-set in order to achieve a target manufacturing time. The target manufacturing time is the manufacturing time set for a process in order to manufacture one vehicle 100. The target manufacturing time is sometimes referred to as a "takt time". As described later, the reference speed SV functions as a threshold for determining the moment to detach the vehicle 100 from the conveying device 500.

[0021] The storage device 340 stores a computer program for realizing at least a part of the functions provided in the present embodiment. By executing the computer program stored in the storage device 340, the CPU 310 functions as the remote control unit 312, the position estimation unit 314, the remote control determination unit 316, the transport information acquisition unit 318, the transport instruction unit 322, the report unit 324, the subsequent instruction unit 326, and the vehicle information acquisition unit 328. However, some or all of these functions may be configured by hardware circuits.

[0022] The position estimation unit 314 obtains vehicle information from the vehicle detector 80, and estimates the position and orientation of the vehicle 100 using the obtained vehicle information. The position and orientation estimated by the position estimation unit 314 are equivalent to the vehicle position information described later. In the present embodiment, the position estimation unit 314 uses the three-dimensional point cloud data measured by the vehicle detector 80 as the vehicle information. The position estimation unit 314 estimates the position and orientation of the vehicle 100 in the obtained three-dimensional point cloud data. Specifically, the position estimation unit 314 performs template matching on the three-dimensional point cloud data using the vehicle point cloud data pre-stored in the storage device 340. Therefore, the position and orientation of the vehicle 100 in the three-dimensional point cloud data can be estimated with high accuracy. The vehicle point cloud data as a template can use, for example, the three-dimensional CAD data of the vehicle 100. The vehicle point cloud data may include information for determining the orientation of the vehicle 100. In the template matching of the vehicle point cloud data with respect to the three-dimensional point cloud data, for example, an ICP (Iterative Closest Point) algorithm or an NDT (Normal Distribution Transform) algorithm may be used.

[0023] The remote control unit 312 functions as a command generation unit that generates control commands for causing the vehicle 100 to perform various actions and outputs them to the vehicle 100. For example, the remote control unit 312 generates control commands for remote control using the estimated position and orientation of the vehicle 100 and sends them to the vehicle 100. The control command is, for example, a command for causing the vehicle 100 to travel along a target route stored in the storage device 340. The control command can be generated as a command including a driving force or a braking force, or a steering angle. Alternatively, the control command can also be generated as a command including at least one of the position and orientation of the vehicle 100, and a future travel route. When the vehicle 100 receives a request for remote control, the driving control is implemented by the driving control unit 212 of the ECU 200, and as a result, the vehicle 100 automatically travels.

[0024] Figure 4A 1 is a flowchart showing a driving method of the vehicle 100 implemented by the remote control device 300. In step S1, the remote control device 300 uses the detection result output from the sensor located outside the vehicle 100, that is, the external sensor, to obtain the vehicle position information. The vehicle position information is the position information that becomes the basis for generating the driving control signal. In the present embodiment, the vehicle position information includes the position and orientation of the vehicle 100 in the reference coordinate system of the factory. In the present embodiment, the reference coordinate system of the factory is a global coordinate system, and any position in the factory can be represented by the X, Y, and Z coordinates in the global coordinate system. Specifically, in step S1, the remote control unit 312 obtains the estimation result of the position and orientation of the vehicle 100 by the position estimation unit 314. In the present embodiment, the position of the vehicle 100 includes the X, Y, and Z coordinates in the global coordinate system of the factory. The position of the vehicle detector 80 is adjusted in advance. The remote control unit 312 detects the position of the vehicle 100 based on the vehicle information obtained from the vehicle detector 80, and obtains the position of the vehicle 100 in the factory based on the detected position of the vehicle 100.

[0025] In step S2, the remote control unit 312 determines the target position to which the vehicle 100 should go next. In the present embodiment, the target position is represented by the coordinates of X, Y, and Z in the global coordinate system. In the storage device 340 of the remote control device 300, a reference path as the path that the vehicle 100 should travel is pre-stored. The path is represented by a node indicating a departure point, a node indicating a passing point, a node indicating a destination, and a link connecting each node. The remote control device 300 uses the vehicle position information and the reference path to determine the target position to which the vehicle 100 should go next. The remote control device 300 determines the target position on the reference path that is ahead of the current position of the vehicle 100.

[0026] In step S3, the remote control unit 312 generates a driving control signal for driving the vehicle 100 toward the determined target position. In the present embodiment, the driving control signal includes the acceleration and steering angle of the vehicle 100 as parameters. The remote control unit 312 calculates the driving speed of the vehicle 100 according to the change of the position of the vehicle 100, and compares the calculated driving speed with the target speed. In general, the remote control unit 312 determines the acceleration in a manner to accelerate the vehicle 100 when the driving speed is lower than the target speed, and determines the acceleration in a manner to decelerate the vehicle 100 when the driving speed is higher than the target speed. In addition, when the vehicle 100 is located on the reference path, the remote control unit 312 determines the steering angle and acceleration in a manner so that the vehicle 100 does not deviate from the reference path. When the vehicle 100 is not located on the reference path, in other words, when the vehicle 100 deviates from the reference path, the remote control unit 312 determines the steering angle and acceleration in a manner so that the vehicle 100 returns to the reference path. In other embodiments, the travel control signal may include the speed of the vehicle 100 as a parameter instead of the acceleration of the vehicle 100 , or may include the speed of the vehicle 100 as a parameter in addition to the acceleration of the vehicle 100 .

[0027] In step S4, the remote control unit 312 transmits the generated travel control signal to the vehicle 100. The remote control unit 312 repeatedly acquires vehicle position information, determines a target position, generates a travel control signal, transmits the travel control signal, and the like in a predetermined cycle.

[0028] In step S5, the vehicle 100 receives the travel control signal transmitted from the remote control device 300. In step S6, the vehicle 100 controls the actuator 140 of the vehicle 100 using the received travel control signal, thereby causing the vehicle 100 to travel at the acceleration and steering angle indicated by the travel control signal. The vehicle 100 repeatedly receives the travel control signal and controls the actuator 140 of the vehicle 100 at a predetermined cycle. According to the transport system 600 in this embodiment, the vehicle 100 can be driven by remote control, so that the vehicle 100 can be moved without using transport equipment such as a crane or a conveyor.

[0029] return Figure 3, the remote control determination unit 316 determines whether to stop the remote control. Specifically, the remote control determination unit 316 uses the transportation start position and the vehicle position of the vehicle 100 in the transportation section of the transportation device 500 to determine whether to stop the remote control. The remote control determination unit 316 is an example of a mobile control determination unit that uses the transportation start position where the transportation of the mobile body is started by the transportation device 500 and the position of the mobile body in the transportation section, that is, the mobile body position, to determine whether to stop the movement control of the mobile body. "Vehicle position" refers to the position of the vehicle 100 in the transportation section of the transportation device 500. The vehicle position may be the position of the entire vehicle 100 or the position of at least a part of the vehicle 100. "The position of the entire vehicle 100" may refer to, for example, the positions of each end of the vehicle 100 in the length direction, width direction, and height direction, the center of gravity position of the vehicle 100, or a collection of positions of various parts of the vehicle 100. "Transportation start position" refers to the position included in the transportation section of the transportation device 500 where the transportation of the vehicle 100 is started by the transportation device 500. Details of the transportation start position will be described later.

[0030] At the transportation start position, the transportation method of the vehicle 100 is switched from self-propelled transportation by remote control to transportation by the transportation device 500. When the vehicle 100 traveling by remote control reaches the transportation device 500 and further reaches the transportation start position in the transportation section, it becomes a state in which it can be transported by the transportation device 500. When the vehicle 100 becomes a state in which it can be transported by the transportation device 500, the remote control determination unit 316 determines to stop the remote control. That is, at the transportation start position, the transportation method is switched from self-propelled transportation of the vehicle 100 by remote control to transportation by the transportation device 500. "Stop of remote control" includes, for example, stop of generation of control instructions for remote control of the vehicle 100 by the remote control unit 312, stop of transmission of control instructions generated in the remote control device 300 to the vehicle 100. Other embodiments of stopping remote control include turning off the power supply and communication function of the remote control device 300, turning off the power supply and communication function of the vehicle 100, and the like.

[0031] The transport information acquisition unit 318 acquires transport status information indicating the transport status of the vehicle 100. The "transport status information" refers to the vehicle position and the transport speed of the vehicle 100 by the transport device 500. The transport information acquisition unit 318 acquires the vehicle position VP stored in the storage device 440 from the transport control device 400, or, if it can be acquired from the vehicle detector 80, acquires the position of the vehicle 100 on the transmission unit 510 from the vehicle detector 80, thereby acquiring the vehicle position. The transport information acquisition unit 318 may also directly acquire the vehicle position from the transport position detector 526. In addition, in the present embodiment, the transport information acquisition unit 318 acquires the transport speed CV stored in the storage device 440 from the transport control device 400, thereby acquiring the transport speed. The transport information acquisition unit 318 may also directly acquire the transport speed from the transport speed detector 524.

[0032] The transport instruction unit 322 outputs an instruction regarding transport of the vehicle 100 by the transport device 500 to the transport control device 400. For example, when an abnormality occurs in transport of the vehicle 100 by the transport device 500 after the remote control is stopped, the transport instruction unit 322 outputs an instruction to stop transport of the vehicle 100 by the transport device 500.

[0033] The reporting unit 324 reports when an abnormality occurs in the travel of the vehicle 100 under remote control, etc. For example, the reporting unit 324 reports when an abnormality occurs in the transportation of the vehicle 100 by the transportation device 500 after the remote control is stopped.

[0034] When an abnormality occurs in the transportation of vehicle 100 by transportation device 500 after remote control is stopped, subsequent instruction unit 326 outputs an instruction to delay the arrival of a subsequent vehicle at transportation device 500. A "subsequent vehicle" is a vehicle scheduled to be transported by transportation device 500 immediately after vehicle 100 or later.

[0035] The vehicle information acquisition unit 328 acquires the vehicle identification information of the vehicle 100 that is the transport object of the transport device 500 from the production management device or the like. "Vehicle identification information" refers to various information that can identify the vehicle 100 individually. The vehicle identification information includes, for example, the vehicle identification number (VIN: Vehicle Identification Number) provided to each vehicle 100, or the manufacturing number of the vehicle 100 used in production management. The vehicle identification information may also include specification information of the vehicle 100 such as the model, color, and shape. The vehicle identification information is not limited to information for identifying a single vehicle 100. For example, information for identifying multiple vehicles 100 in a specified unit such as a batch number may also be used. The vehicle identification information can be obtained from a radio frequency identification (RF-ID: Radio Frequency-Identification) tag attached to the vehicle 100 via short-range wireless communication or the like. The vehicle identification information can also be obtained by reading a two-dimensional code attached to the vehicle 100 with a camera or the like.

[0036] return Figure 1 The conveying device 500 includes a conveying unit 510 , a motor 522 , a conveying speed detector 524 , a plurality of conveying position detectors 526 , and a conveying control device 400 . The motor 522 is controlled by the conveying control device 400 to drive the conveying unit 510 .

[0037] The conveying unit 510 conveys the vehicle 100 as the conveying object in the conveying direction DR. In the present embodiment, the conveying unit 510 is a belt conveyor having an endless belt, and conveys the vehicle 100 in a state of being grounded on the endless belt. The conveying unit 510 is not limited to a belt conveyor, and may be various conveyors such as a roller conveyor and a chain conveyor that can convey the vehicle 100. In addition, the conveying unit 510 is continuously driven regardless of whether the vehicle 100 is on the conveying unit 510. However, the conveying unit 510 may be driven only in a state where the vehicle 100 is placed on the conveying unit 510. The conveying object conveyed by the conveying unit 510 is not limited to the vehicle 100, and for example, a worker who handles the vehicle 100, a component of the vehicle 100, etc. may be conveyed together with the vehicle 100. In addition, the vehicle 100 does not need to be conveyed in a state where all the wheels 166 of the vehicle 100 are in contact with the conveying unit 510, and may be conveyed in a state where only the wheels 166 on either side in the vehicle width direction are in contact. The conveyor unit 510 is not limited to a device that conveys the vehicle 100 in a grounded state, and may be a device that conveys the vehicle 100 in a non-grounded state, such as a so-called lift, provided that the vehicle 100 is in a state that can be driven by remote control when the conveyor unit 510 starts and ends conveying. The vehicle 100 on the conveyor unit 510 can be detached from the conveyor unit 510 at any time by automatic driving based on remote control.

[0038] The conveying speed detector 524 detects the conveying speed of the conveying unit 510 for the vehicle 100. The conveying position detector 526 detects whether the vehicle 100 is on the conveying unit 510. The conveying position detector 526 is, for example, various detectors such as an infrared sensor, an ultrasonic sensor, and a millimeter wave radar that can detect the presence or absence of a target object. In the present embodiment, there are multiple conveying position detectors 526, and multiple conveying information acquisition units 318 are provided for each specified conveying section of the conveying system 600, thereby being able to detect the presence or absence of the vehicle 100 in each conveying section. The detection results of the conveying speed detector 524 and the conveying position detector 526 are output to the conveying control device 400. In addition, when the conveying speed and the conveying position are not used in the judgment of whether to stop the remote control, the conveying speed detector 524 and the conveying position detector 526 can also be omitted.

[0039] exist Figure 1 , the transport section of the vehicle 100 from the range AR1 to the range AR5 is schematically shown. Figure 1, vehicles 100p, 100q, 100r, 100s, and 100t are shown as examples of the vehicle 100, and vehicle detectors 80p and 80t are shown as examples of the vehicle detector 80. Ranges AR1 and AR5 are transport sections in which the automatic travel of the vehicle 100 based on remote control is performed. In range AR1, the vehicle 100p that has started traveling from the previous process travels to the transport device 500 by remote control using vehicle information obtained from the vehicle detector 80p. Range AR5 is a transport section in which the vehicle 100t that has separated from the transport system 600 travels to the next process, etc., by remote control using vehicle information obtained from the vehicle detector 80p.

[0040] The range from AR2 to AR4 is the conveying section of the conveying device 500 for the vehicle 100. The range AR2 is the conveying start position where the conveying device 500 starts conveying the vehicle 100. In the range AR2, the conveying method of the vehicle 100 is switched from self-propelled conveying by remote control to conveyor conveying by the conveying device 500. Figure 1 As shown at the left end of FIG. 1 , the vehicle 100p traveling by remote control passes the starting point SP on one end side of the conveying unit 510 and enters the range AR2. The vehicle 100q reaching the range AR2 becomes a state in which it can be conveyed by the conveying unit 510.

[0041] The range AR3 is an area where a predetermined process such as an inspection process is performed on the vehicle 100r transported by the transport device 500. In the present embodiment, the range AR3 is outside the detection range of the vehicle detector 80, and the automatic driving of the vehicle 100r based on the remote control is not performed. However, in the range AR3, the vehicle 100r can be in a state where wireless communication with the remote control device 300 is possible, for example, the vehicle 100r and the power supply of each part can be turned on / off without using the vehicle information. In addition, the range AR3 can be set within the detection range of the vehicle detector 80, and the remote control using the vehicle information can also be performed in the range AR3.

[0042] Range AR4 is an area where the transportation of the vehicle 100 by the transportation device 500 ends. The vehicle 100 reaches range AR4 after the processing in range AR3 is completed. In range AR4, the vehicle 100s can be detected by the vehicle detector 80t. That is, in range AR4, a state of self-propelled transportation based on remote control is achieved, and the vehicle 100s can be automatically driven and separated from the transportation unit 510. In the present embodiment, range AR4 is pre-set to a range from the end point EP on the other end side of the transportation unit 510 to a predetermined distance. This "predetermined distance" is determined, for example, based on the range in which the vehicle detector 80t can detect the vehicle 100t. However, range AR4 can also be set to an arbitrary range from the position where the processing for the vehicle 100r is completed in range AR3 to the end point EP, on the premise that the vehicle detector 80t can detect the vehicle 100t. In this case, the size of range AR4 is variable according to the progress of the processing for the vehicle 100 in range AR3.

[0043] Figure 4B 4 is a block diagram showing the internal functional structure of the transport control device 400. The transport control device 400 includes a CPU 410 as a central processing unit, a storage device 440, an interface circuit 450, and a transport communication device 490. The CPU 410, the storage device 440, and the interface circuit 450 are connected via an internal bus so as to be able to communicate bidirectionally. The transport communication device 490 is connected to the interface circuit 450. The transport communication device 490 communicates with the remote control device 300 and the vehicle 100 via a network or the like.

[0044] The storage device 440 is, for example, a RAM, a ROM, a HDD, or an SSD. In the readable and writable area of ​​the storage device 440, the conveying speed CV detected by the conveying speed detector 524 and the vehicle position VP detected by the conveying position detector 526 are stored. The storage device 440 stores a program for realizing at least a part of the functions provided in this embodiment. By executing the program by the CPU 410, the conveyor control unit 412 and the conveying status acquisition unit 414 function. The conveyor control unit 412 drives the motor 522 to control the on / off of the conveyor unit 510 and the conveying speed.

[0045] The transport status acquisition unit 414 acquires transport status information. Specifically, the transport status acquisition unit 414 acquires the position of the vehicle 100 in the transport section of the transport device 500, that is, the vehicle position, from the transport position detector 526, and stores it in the storage device 440 as the vehicle position VP. The position of the vehicle 100 in the transport section can also be acquired using the vehicle detector 80. The transport status acquisition unit 414 acquires the transport speed CV of the transport device 500 for the vehicle 100 from the transport speed detector 524, and stores it in the storage device 440 as the transport speed CV. In addition, when the transport speed and the transport position are not used in the determination of whether to stop the remote control by the remote control determination unit 316, the transport status acquisition unit 414 can also be omitted.

[0046] Figure 5 1 is a flowchart showing a method for switching the transport of the vehicle 100 according to the first embodiment of the present disclosure. This process starts when the vehicle 100, which has completed the processing based on the previous process, starts to travel toward the transport device 500. Figure 1 Provide explanation.

[0047] In step S10, Figure 1 As shown in the range AR1 of , the remote control unit 312 causes the vehicle 100p to automatically drive toward the conveying device 500 by remote control. More specifically, the remote control unit 312 generates a control command for remote control using the position and direction of the vehicle 100p estimated by the position estimation unit 314, and sends it to the vehicle 100p. When the vehicle 100p arrives at the conveying device 500, the remote control unit 312 causes the vehicle 100p to drive in a manner that passes over the starting point SP of the transmission unit 510 by remote control using the vehicle information obtained from the vehicle detector 80p. In addition, before the start of transportation by the conveying device 500, the transportation control device 400 obtains the vehicle identification information from the vehicle 100p that has arrived at the conveying device 500, and checks whether it matches the vehicle identification information of the transportation object in production management. However, this check can also be omitted, and when the vehicle identification information is not used, the vehicle information acquisition unit 328 can also be omitted.

[0048] In step S20, the remote control unit 312 automatically drives the vehicle 100 on the conveying unit 510 through remote control so that the vehicle 100 reaches the range AR2 as the conveying start position. Figure 1 As shown in the middle vehicle 100q, when the estimated position of the vehicle 100q acquired by the vehicle detector 80t reaches the transport start position, the remote control determination unit 316 determines to stop the remote control.

[0049] In step S40, the remote control unit 312 drives the locking unit 164 of the vehicle 100 through remote control to switch the function of the transmission unit 162 to the P gear. In addition, the remote control unit 312 may also switch the function of the transmission unit 162 to the N gear instead of the P gear. In this case, the remote control unit 312 preferably also drives the electric parking brake (EPB: Electric Parking Brake) through remote control to stop the vehicle 100 reliably. In step S50, the remote control unit 312 stops the remote control of the vehicle 100.

[0050] Figure 6 It is an explanatory diagram schematically showing a method of stopping the remote control at the conveyance start position. Figure 6 The vicinity of the starting point SP in the conveying section of the conveying device 500 is shown in an enlarged manner. The vehicle 100Q1 travels under the remote control of the remote control unit 312, passes the starting point SP, enters the conveying unit 510, and reaches the conveyance start position.

[0051] The conveyance start position is not limited to a predetermined fixed position, and can be set using a specified range. The conveyance start position can be set using an arbitrary range included in the conveyance section of the conveying device 500, for example, on the premise that the vehicle 100Q1 can reach it by remote-controlled automatic driving. "The vehicle 100Q1 reaches the conveyance start position" as long as the vehicle 100Q1 can be conveyed by the conveying device 500. For example, the entire vehicle 100Q1 may not be included in the range AR2, and for example, a portion of the rear side of the vehicle 100Q1 may be separated from the starting point SP. The conveyance start position can also be set using a range wider than these ranges in consideration of errors in the stop position of the vehicle 100 based on remote control. However, from the perspective of miniaturization of the conveying unit 510, it is preferred that the conveyance start position has a smaller range. In addition, the conveyance start position can also be set individually for each individual vehicle corresponding to the vehicle identification information in consideration of the size difference of each vehicle model.

[0052] In the present embodiment, the conveyance start position is preset as a range from the starting point SP to a predetermined distance D1. The predetermined distance D1 is, for example, included in the conveyance section of the conveyance device 500 and is preset based on a range in which the vehicle detector 80p can detect the vehicle 100Q1. Figure 6 In the example of FIG. 1 , the transport start position coincides with the range AR2 and is set within a range that can include the vehicle 100Q1.

[0053] like Figure 6As shown, the vehicle 100Q1 that has arrived at the transport start position becomes capable of being transported by the conveyor 510. When the vehicle 100Q1 arrives at the transport start position, the remote control determination unit 316 determines to stop the remote control of the vehicle 100Q1. In the present embodiment, whether the vehicle 100Q1 has arrived at the range AR2 can be determined using the estimated position of the vehicle 100Q1 relative to the starting point SP in the three-dimensional point cloud data obtained by the vehicle detector 80p. However, whether the vehicle 100Q1 has arrived at the range AR2 can also be detected based on the detection result of the transport position detector 526 provided in the range AR2 on whether the vehicle 100Q1 is in the range AR2.

[0054] In this embodiment, the remote control unit 312 drives the remote control unit 312 through remote control before stopping the remote control. Figure 2 The locking unit 164 shown switches the function of the transmission unit 162 to the P gear. As a result, the transmission mechanism of the transmission unit 162 is fixed, and the driving of the vehicle 100Q1 is stopped. The remote control unit 312 may also disconnect the power supply of the vehicle 100Q1 or the power supply of any part of the vehicle 100Q1. After switching the vehicle 100Q1 to the driving stop state, the remote control unit 312 stops the remote control of the vehicle 100Q1. In the present embodiment, the remote control of the vehicle 100q can be stopped by stopping the generation of the control command based on the remote control device 300 or stopping the sending of the control command to the vehicle 100q.

[0055] Thus, by stopping the remote control of the vehicle 100 during the transportation by the transportation device 500, the power consumption of the remote control device 300 and the like can be suppressed, and the processing burden of the remote control device 300 and other control devices mounted on the vehicle 100Q1 can be reduced. In addition, by stopping the travel of the vehicle 100Q1 during the transportation by the transportation device 500, the power consumption of the vehicle 100Q1 can be suppressed. In addition, by stopping the travel of the vehicle 100Q1, for example, the electrical system and the engine room of the vehicle 100Q1 can be smoothly inspected by a worker during the transportation of the vehicle 100Q1.

[0056] return Figure 5 In step S60, the transport control device 400 controls the motor 522 to drive the conveying unit 510 to start transporting the vehicle 100. In step S100, the transport instruction unit 322 checks whether the vehicle 100 is being transported by the transport device 500. That is, it is checked whether there is any abnormality in the transport performed by the transport device 500. Whether the vehicle 100 is being transported by the transport device 500 can be determined, for example, by Figure 2The presence or absence of the vehicles 100q and 100r is detected by the transport position detector 526 provided in the illustrated range AR2 and range AR3, or the vehicle information is detected by the vehicle detector 80t.

[0057] When the transportation of the vehicle 100 is detected (S100: Yes), the remote control unit 312 transfers the process to step S200. If the transportation of the vehicle 100 is not detected (S100: No), the remote control unit 312 transfers the process to step S110 and executes various abnormal measures. In addition, the following steps S110 to S140 can be executed in any order or simultaneously.

[0058] In step S110, as an example of abnormality measures, the transport instruction unit 322 outputs an instruction to stop the transport of the vehicle 100 by the transport device 500 to the transport control device 400. The transport control device 400 that receives the stop instruction stops the conveying unit 510 by stopping the motor 522, etc., and stops the transport of the vehicle 100. In addition, in the case where the transport abnormality can be eliminated early, the transport instruction unit 322 may output an instruction to reduce the transport speed of the transport device 500 to the vehicle 100 instead of stopping the transport device 500.

[0059] In step S120 , the reporting unit 324 reports that the movement of the vehicle 100 is not detected or that an abnormal measure is taken. The reporting unit 324 reports to, for example, an operator working on the vehicle 100 on the conveyor unit 510 , a manager of the process, or a manager of the transport system 600 .

[0060] In step S130, the subsequent instruction unit 326 outputs an instruction to delay the time when the subsequent vehicle arrives at the conveying device 500. The subsequent instruction unit 326 can output the instruction to, for example, a process management device of a previous process, a production management device that integrates various processes, a remote control device that drives the subsequent vehicle by remote control, etc. The subsequent instruction unit 326 delays the time when the subsequent vehicle arrives, for example, according to the delay time relative to the target manufacturing time. By delaying the arrival of the subsequent vehicle, it is possible to suppress the subsequent vehicle from arriving at the conveying device 500 before the conveying device 500 is restored, suppress or prevent the increase of work-in-progress waiting to be conveyed by the conveying device 500, and suppress the reduction of production efficiency.

[0061] In step S140, the transport instruction unit 322 outputs an instruction to operate the stopped transport device 500 to the transport control device 400. As a result, the transport of the vehicle 100 by the transport device 500 is restarted. In the case where an instruction to reduce the transport speed CV of the vehicle 100 is output instead of stopping the transport device 500, the transport instruction unit 322 may output an instruction to return the reduced transport speed CV to the original transport speed CV to the transport control device 400. In order to eliminate the delay with respect to the target manufacturing time, the transport speed CV may be set to a transport speed faster than the transport speed before the restart. In addition, the subsequent instruction unit 326 restores the delayed travel of the subsequent vehicle to normal travel.

[0062] In step S200, the remote control unit 312 detects whether the vehicle 100 has reached an area where the vehicle 100 can be transported by remote control. Whether the vehicle 100 has reached an area where the vehicle 100 can be transported by remote control can be determined, for example, by Figure 1 The detection is performed by the transport position detector 526 provided in the illustrated range AR4 or the vehicle information acquired by the vehicle detector 80t.

[0063] In step S220, the remote control unit 312 starts remote control of the vehicle 100 that has arrived at the area where remote control is possible. In step S230, the remote control unit 312 switches the function of the transmission unit 162 to the D position through remote control, and starts the driving of the vehicle 100 based on remote control. Specifically, the remote control unit 312 drives the locking unit 164 to release the fixing of the transmission mechanism of the transmission unit 162, and switches the vehicle 100 to a state where it can be driven. Figure 1 As shown in the range AR4, the remote control device 300 uses the vehicle information obtained from the vehicle detector 80t to generate a control command for automatically driving the vehicle 100s and sends it to the vehicle 100s. In step S240, the remote control unit 312 detaches the vehicle 100s from the conveying unit 510 through remote control, and ends this process. The vehicle 100t detached from the conveying device 500 is delivered to the next process through automatic driving.

[0064] As described above, the remote control device 300 of the present embodiment includes the remote control determination unit 316, which determines whether to stop the driving control of the vehicle 100 by stopping the remote control, using the transportation start position of the vehicle 100 in the transportation device 500 and the position of the vehicle 100 in the transportation section of the transportation device 500, that is, the vehicle position. It is possible to smoothly switch from the transportation method using the driving of the vehicle 100 based on the remote control to the transportation method of the vehicle 100 based on the transportation device 500. In addition, by stopping the remote control during transportation, it is possible to reduce the power consumption and processing load caused by the remote control device 300 and the like during transportation by the transportation device 500.

[0065] According to the remote control device 300 of the present embodiment, the remote control determination unit 316 determines to stop the remote control when the estimated position of the vehicle 100 obtained by the position estimation unit 314 reaches the transportation start position. Whether the vehicle 100 reaches the transportation start position of the transportation device 500 and whether the vehicle 100 is arranged at the transportation start position can be performed by the vehicle detector 80 and the remote control device 300, etc. without using each part of the transportation device 500. Therefore, by stopping the remote control at the transportation start position of the transportation device 500, the power consumption and processing load caused by the remote control device 300, etc. can be reduced during the transportation by the transportation device 500, and the transportation method can be efficiently switched.

[0066] According to the remote control device 300 of the present embodiment, the remote control unit 312 stops the remote control by either stopping the generation of the control command or stopping the transmission of the generated control command to the vehicle 100. Therefore, the remote control can be stopped by a simpler method than turning off the power of the remote control device 300 or the vehicle 100, and the processing load during the transportation by the transportation device 500 can be reduced. In addition, the remote control can be easily restarted when the transportation of the vehicle 100 by the transportation device 500 is completed.

[0067] According to the remote control device 300 of the present embodiment, when the remote control determination unit 316 determines that the remote control is to be stopped, the remote control unit 312 stops the remote control after switching to either the N position in which the power from the driving motor 168 is not transmitted to the wheels 166 of the vehicle 100, or the P position in which the transmission unit 162 for transmitting the power from the driving motor 168 to the wheels 166 is fixed. By switching the vehicle 100 to a state in which it cannot travel before being transported by the transport device 500, it is possible to suppress or prevent the position of the vehicle 100 from shifting during the transportation by the transport device 500.

[0068] The remote control device 300 of the present embodiment further includes a subsequent instruction unit 326 that outputs an instruction to delay the time at which a subsequent vehicle, which is a vehicle scheduled to be transported by the transport device 500 immediately after the vehicle 100, arrives at the transport device 500 when the vehicle 100 is not transported by the transport device 500 after the remote control is stopped. This can prevent the subsequent vehicle from colliding with the vehicle 100 that has not started to be transported by the transport device 500 and is in a stopped state at the transport start position.

[0069] The remote control device 300 of this embodiment further includes a reporting unit 324 that reports when the vehicle 100 is not transported by the transport device 500 after the remote control is stopped. This can prompt the transport device 500 to take measures to deal with the transport abnormality, and prompt the transport device 500 to recover as soon as possible.

[0070] The remote control device 300 of the present embodiment further includes a transport instruction unit 322 that outputs an instruction to stop the transport of the vehicle 100 by the transport device 500 when the vehicle 100 is not transported by the transport device 500 after the remote control is stopped. When the vehicle 100 cannot be transported by the transport device 500, by stopping the transport by the transport device 500, time for executing abnormal measures can be ensured.

[0071] B. Second Implementation Method: Figure 7 FIG. 1 is a flow chart showing a transportation method of the vehicle 100 according to the second embodiment. Figure 5 The transportation method according to the first embodiment shown is different in that step S40 and step S230 are omitted. In the first embodiment, when the remote control determination unit 316 determines that the remote control is to be stopped, the remote control is stopped by switching the function of the transmission unit 162 to the P position. In contrast, for example, when the movement of the vehicle 100 is restricted by a fixing device for fixing the vehicle 100 during transportation by the transportation device 500, the remote control may be stopped without switching the function of the transmission unit 162 as in the present embodiment.

[0072] In addition, the transportation method of this embodiment is different from the transportation method of the first embodiment in that the processing of steps S100 to S140 is omitted. Specifically, in the above-mentioned first embodiment, an example of executing abnormal measures of steps S110 to S140 when the vehicle 100 is not transported by the transportation device 500 after the remote control is stopped is shown. In contrast, as in the present embodiment, the processing of steps S100 to S140 may be omitted and these abnormal measures may not be executed. However, any of the abnormal measures such as stopping the transportation device 500, the report of the reporting unit 324, the output of an instruction to delay the arrival time of the subsequent vehicle, or an abnormal measure composed of any combination of these abnormal measures may be executed.

[0073] In addition, the transportation method of this embodiment is different from the transportation method of the first embodiment in that steps S300 to S340 are provided after step S30. Specifically, when the remote control determination unit 316 determines in step S30 that the remote control is to be stopped, the process is transferred to step S300. In step S300, the remote control determination unit 316 also confirms the transportation speed CV of the transportation device 500 to the vehicle 100 and compares it with the reference speed SV. When the confirmed transportation speed CV is slower than the reference speed SV (S300: Yes), the remote control unit 312 transfers the process to step S50. The remote control unit 312 may also confirm the transportation time instead of the transportation speed CV, and when the transportation time is longer than the reference transportation time, the process is transferred to step S50. In step S50, the remote control unit 312 stops the remote control of the vehicle 100 using the same method as the first embodiment described above. More specifically, the remote control unit 312 stops the movement of the vehicle 100 by stopping the generation of a control command for remotely controlling the vehicle 100 or stopping the transmission of the generated control command to the vehicle 100 without turning off the power supply of the vehicle 100 .

[0074] If the conveying speed CV is greater than or equal to the reference speed SV (S300: No), the remote control unit 312 transfers the processing to step S310, and turns off the power of the vehicle 100 by remote control. "Turning off the power of the vehicle 100" means turning off the ignition or engine of the vehicle 100. In step S320, the remote control unit 312 stops the remote control of the vehicle 100. In this case, the remote control can be stopped by turning off the power of the vehicle 100 in step S320, or by stopping the generation of a control instruction for remotely controlling the vehicle 100 by the remote control unit 312, or by stopping the sending of the generated control instruction to the vehicle 100, as in the first embodiment described above. In step S322, the conveying control device 400 controls the motor 522 to drive the conveying unit 510, and starts conveying the vehicle 100.

[0075] In step S330, the vehicle 100 is transported by the transport device 500 and arrives at the remote control preparation start position. The "remote control preparation start position" refers to a position where the preliminary preparation for enabling remote control to be performed at a specified position is started. In the present embodiment, the "specified position" is an arbitrary position within the range AR4, and the preparation start position is a position included in the range AR3. In addition, the arrival of the vehicle 100 at the preparation start position can be detected by the transport position detector 526 set in the range AR3 or the like. In the case where the vehicle detector 80 is set in the range AR3, it can also be detected by the vehicle detector 80. In step S340, the remote control unit 312 turns on the power of the vehicle 100, and starts the control of each part of the vehicle 100 and the remote control device 300, and starts the preparation for remote control. Before the vehicle 100 reaches the area where it can be transported by remote control, the preparation for remote control is completed, and the remote control unit 312 can start the remote control of the vehicle 100.

[0076] As described above, according to the remote control device 300 of the present embodiment, when the remote control determination unit 316 determines that the remote control is to be stopped, the remote control determination unit 316 further confirms the transport speed CV of the transport device 500 to the vehicle 100. When the confirmed transport speed CV is slower than the predetermined reference speed SV, the remote control unit 312 stops the remote control after turning off the power supply of the vehicle 100. When the transport speed CV is higher than the reference speed SV, the power supply of the vehicle 100 is not turned off, and the remote control is stopped. When the transport time by the transport device 500 is long and sufficient preparation time for restarting the remote control is available, the power consumption of the vehicle 100 can be reduced by turning off the power supply of the vehicle 100. When the transport time is short and the preparation time for restarting the remote control is short, the remote control of the vehicle 100 is stopped by a simple method instead of turning off the power supply of the vehicle 100, so that the remote control can be restarted as soon as possible. Therefore, the remote control can be stopped in an appropriate state according to the time of transport by the transport device 500.

[0077] C. Third Implementation Method: Fig. 9 1 is a block diagram showing the functional configuration of the ECU 200c in the vehicle 100 according to the third embodiment. In this embodiment, the transport system 600 is different from the first embodiment in that it does not include the remote control device 300. Specifically, the difference from the first embodiment is that the ECU 200c provided in the vehicle 100 instead of the remote control device 300 has a function as a transport method switching device. The other configurations of the transport system 600 are the same as those of the first embodiment unless otherwise specified.

[0078] like Figure 8 As shown in FIG. 1 , the ECU 200c is different from the ECU 200 shown in the first embodiment in that the ECU 200c includes a CPU 210c instead of the CPU 210 and a storage device 220c instead of the storage device 220. Specifically, the storage device 220c stores a program for realizing functions corresponding to the position estimation unit 314, the remote control determination unit 316, the transport information acquisition unit 318, the transport instruction unit 322, the report unit 324, the subsequent instruction unit 326, and the vehicle information acquisition unit 328 included in the remote control device 300 shown in the first embodiment in addition to the functions of the CPU 210 shown in the first embodiment. As a result, the CPU 210c also functions as the position estimation unit 214, the driving control determination unit 216, the transport information acquisition unit 218, the transport instruction unit 222, the report unit 224, the subsequent instruction unit 226, and the vehicle information acquisition unit 228 corresponding to these functions. In addition, the storage device 220c stores the reference speed SV that was previously stored in the remote control device 300. In the present embodiment, the driving control determination unit 216 uses the transportation start position and the vehicle position of the transportation device 500 to determine whether to stop the automatic driving of the vehicle 100 based on the driving control. The driving control determination unit 216 is an example of a mobile control determination unit that uses the transportation start position and the mobile body position to determine whether to stop the mobile control. In addition, the driving control determination unit 216 functions as a command generation unit that generates a control command for stopping the driving control and outputs it to the driving control unit 212 when it is determined that the automatic driving based on the driving control is to be stopped. According to the vehicle 100 configured in this way, by providing the vehicle 100 with the function of the transportation method switching device, it is possible to smoothly switch from the transportation method using the driving of the vehicle 100 based on the remote control to the transportation method of the vehicle 100 based on the transportation device 500 without using a device separate from the vehicle 100 such as the remote control device 300.

[0079] Fig. 91 is a flowchart showing a driving method of the vehicle 100 according to the present embodiment. In step S410, the position estimation unit 214 obtains the vehicle position information using the detection result output from the external sensor. In step S420, the driving control unit 212 determines the target position to which the vehicle 100 should go next. In step S430, the driving control unit 212 generates a driving control signal for driving the vehicle 100 toward the determined target position. In step S440, the driving control unit 212 controls the actuator 140 of the vehicle 100 by using the generated driving control signal, so that the vehicle 100 drives according to the parameters represented by the driving control signal. The vehicle 100 repeatedly performs the acquisition of the vehicle position information, the determination of the target position, the generation of the driving control signal, and the control of the actuator 140 in a predetermined cycle. According to the driving control in the present embodiment, even if the vehicle 100 is not remotely controlled by the remote control device 300, the vehicle 100 can be driven by the autonomous control of the vehicle 100. In addition, more specifically, in step S410, the position estimating unit 214 acquires the position and orientation of the vehicle 100 using the vehicle information output from the vehicle detector 80. In addition, in the present embodiment, a reference route is stored in advance in the storage device 220c of the ECU 200c.

[0080] D. Other implementation methods: (D1) In the above-mentioned embodiments, the remote control determination unit 316 and the driving control determination unit 216 use the vehicle information detected by the vehicle detector 80 to estimate the position of the vehicle 100 and determine to stop the remote control when the estimated position reaches the transportation start position. In contrast, the remote control determination unit 316 and the driving control determination unit 216 may use the position of the vehicle 100 in the transportation section detected by the transportation position detector 526 or the like instead of the estimated position and determine to stop the remote control when the vehicle 100 reaches the transportation start position.

[0081] (D2) In the above-mentioned embodiments, an example in which the vehicle detector 80 is a LiDAR is shown. In contrast, the vehicle detector 80 may be an external camera installed in a location different from the vehicle 100, instead of or in addition to the LiDAR. In this case, the vehicle detector 80 acquires an image of the vehicle 100 as vehicle information. The position estimation unit 314 and the position estimation unit 214 may estimate the position of the vehicle 100 and the direction of the vehicle 100 using the captured image acquired by the external camera. In this case, Figure 4AIn step S1, the remote control device 300 detects the shape of the vehicle 100 from the captured image, calculates the coordinates of the positioning point of the vehicle 100 in the coordinate system of the captured image, that is, the local coordinate system, and converts the calculated coordinates into coordinates in the global coordinate system, thereby obtaining the position of the vehicle 100. In addition, the remote control device 300 estimates the direction of the movement vector of the vehicle 100 calculated from the position change of the feature point of the vehicle 100 between the frames of the captured image, for example, using the optical flow method, thereby being able to obtain the direction of the vehicle 100. The direction of the vehicle 100 can also be calculated using the output result of the yaw rate sensor mounted on the vehicle 100, for example.

[0082] The shape of the vehicle 100 contained in the captured image can be detected, for example, by inputting the captured image into a detection model using artificial intelligence. The detection model is prepared, for example, inside or outside the conveying system 600, and is pre-stored in the storage device 340 of the remote control device 300. As a detection model, for example, a machine learning model that has been learned in a manner to achieve one of semantic segmentation and instance segmentation can be cited. As the machine learning model, for example, a convolutional neural network (hereinafter referred to as CNN) that has been learned by supervised learning using a learning data set can be used. The learning data set, for example, has a plurality of training images containing the vehicle 100, and labels indicating whether each area in the training image is an area representing the vehicle 100 or an area other than the vehicle 100. When learning the CNN, it is preferred to update the parameters of the CNN by back propagation (error back propagation method) in a manner that reduces the error between the output result of the detection model and the label.

[0083] (D3) In each of the above embodiments, examples are shown in which the vehicle 100 is a car, a truck, a bus, a construction vehicle, and the like. However, the vehicle 100 may also be various mobile bodies. In the present disclosure, a "mobile body" refers to an object that can move, such as a vehicle, an electric vertical take-off and landing aircraft (a so-called flying car). A vehicle may be a vehicle that travels on wheels or a vehicle that travels on tracks, such as a car, a truck, a bus, a two-wheeled vehicle, a four-wheeled vehicle, a tank, a construction vehicle, and the like. Vehicles include electric vehicles (BEV: Battery Electric Vehicle), gasoline vehicles, hybrid vehicles, and fuel cell vehicles. In the case where the mobile body is other than a vehicle, the expressions "vehicle" and "car" in the present disclosure may be appropriately replaced with "mobile body", and the expression "travel" may be appropriately replaced with "movement".

[0084] (D4) In each of the above-mentioned embodiments, the vehicle 100 only needs to have a structure capable of being moved by unmanned driving, for example, it may also be in the form of a platform having the structure described below. Specifically, in order for the vehicle 100 to perform the three functions of "driving", "turning" and "stopping" by unmanned driving, it is sufficient to have at least an ECU 200 as a control device for controlling the driving of the vehicle 100, and actuators such as a drive device, a steering device and a braking device. In the case where the vehicle 100 obtains information from the outside for unmanned driving, the vehicle 100 further has a vehicle communication device 190. That is, on the vehicle 100 that can be moved by unmanned driving, at least a part of the interior components such as the driver's seat and the instrument panel may not be installed, at least a part of the exterior components such as the bumper and the fender may not be installed, and the body shell may not be installed. In this case, the remaining parts such as the body shell may be mounted on the vehicle 100 until the vehicle 100 is shipped from the factory, or the remaining parts such as the body shell may be mounted on the vehicle 100 after the vehicle 100 is shipped from the factory without the remaining parts such as the body shell being mounted on the vehicle 100. Each part may be mounted from any direction such as the upper side, the lower side, the front side, the rear side, the right side, or the left side of the vehicle 100, and may be mounted from the same direction or from different directions. In addition, the position of the stand may be determined in the same manner as the vehicle 100 in the first embodiment.

[0085] (D5) The vehicle 100 can be manufactured by any manufacturing method. For example, the vehicle 100 can be manufactured by combining a plurality of modules. A module refers to a unit composed of one or more components that are aggregated according to the structure and function of the vehicle 100. For example, the rack of the vehicle 100 can be manufactured by combining a front module that constitutes the front part of the rack, a central module that constitutes the central part of the rack, and a rear module that constitutes the rear part of the rack. In addition, the number of modules that constitute the rack is not limited to 3, and may be 2 or less or 4 or more. In addition, in addition to the rack, a part of the vehicle 100 that is different from the rack may be modularized, or a part of the vehicle 100 that is different from the rack may be modularized instead of the rack. In addition, various modules may also include any exterior parts such as bumpers and grilles, and any interior parts such as seats or consoles. In addition, not limited to the vehicle 100, any type of mobile body may be manufactured by combining a plurality of modules. Such a module may be manufactured, for example, by joining a plurality of parts by welding or fixing tools, or by integrally molding at least a portion of the module into one part by casting. The molding method of integrally molding at least a part of a module into one component is also called Giga-casting or Mega-casting. By using Giga-casting, various parts of a moving body that were previously formed by joining multiple parts can be formed into one component. For example, the front module, the center module, and the rear module mentioned above can also be manufactured using Giga-casting.

[0086] (D6) In the first embodiment, the remote control device 300 performs the processing from the acquisition of the vehicle position information to the generation of the travel control signal. In contrast, at least a part of the processing from the acquisition of the vehicle position information to the generation of the travel control signal may be performed by the vehicle 100. For example, the following methods (1) to (3) may be used.

[0087] (1) The remote control device 300 can obtain vehicle position information, determine the target position to which the vehicle 100 should go next, and generate a path from the current position of the vehicle 100 indicated by the obtained vehicle position information to the target position. The remote control device 300 can generate a path to the target position between the current position and the destination, or can generate a path to the destination. The remote control device 300 can send the generated path to the vehicle 100. The vehicle 100 can generate a travel control signal in a manner such that the vehicle 100 travels on the path received from the remote control device 300, and use the generated travel control signal to control the actuator 140 of the vehicle 100.

[0088] (2) The remote control device 300 may also obtain vehicle position information and transmit the obtained vehicle position information to the vehicle 100. The vehicle 100 may also determine a target position to which the vehicle 100 should go next, generate a path from the current position of the vehicle 100 indicated by the received vehicle position information to the target position, generate a travel control signal so that the vehicle 100 travels on the generated path, and control the actuator 140 of the vehicle 100 using the generated travel control signal.

[0089] (3) In the above-mentioned methods (1) and (2), the vehicle 100 may be equipped with an internal sensor, and the detection result output from the internal sensor may be used in at least one of the generation of the route and the generation of the driving control signal. The internal sensor is a sensor mounted on the vehicle 100. Specifically, the internal sensor may include, for example, a camera, LiDAR, a millimeter wave radar, an ultrasonic sensor, a GPS sensor, an acceleration sensor, a gyroscope sensor, etc. For example, in the above-mentioned method (1), the remote control device 300 may also obtain the detection result of the internal sensor, and reflect the detection result of the internal sensor in the route when generating the route. In the above-mentioned method (1), the vehicle 100 may also obtain the detection result of the internal sensor, and reflect the detection result of the internal sensor in the driving control signal when generating the driving control signal. In the above-mentioned method (2), the vehicle 100 may also obtain the detection result of the internal sensor, and reflect the detection result of the internal sensor in the route when generating the route. In the above-mentioned aspect (2), the vehicle 100 may obtain the detection result of the internal sensor and reflect the detection result of the internal sensor in the travel control signal when generating the travel control signal.

[0090] (D7) In the above embodiment in which the vehicle 100 can travel by autonomous control, the vehicle 100 may be equipped with an internal sensor, and a detection result outputted from the internal sensor may be used in at least one of the generation of the route and the generation of the travel control signal. For example, the vehicle 100 may obtain the detection result of the internal sensor, and reflect the detection result of the internal sensor in the route when generating the route. The vehicle 100 may obtain the detection result of the internal sensor, and reflect the detection result of the internal sensor in the travel control signal when generating the travel control signal.

[0091] (D8) In the second embodiment described above, the vehicle 100 uses the detection result of the vehicle detector 80 to obtain the position and direction of the vehicle 100. In contrast, the vehicle 100 may be equipped with an internal sensor, and the vehicle 100 may use the detection result of the internal sensor to obtain vehicle position information, determine the target position to which the vehicle 100 should go next, generate a path from the current position of the vehicle 100 indicated by the obtained vehicle position information to the target position, generate a travel control signal for traveling on the generated path, and control the actuator 140 of the vehicle 100 using the generated travel control signal. In this case, the vehicle 100 can travel without using the detection result of the vehicle detector 80 at all. In addition, the vehicle 100 may obtain the target arrival time and / or congestion information from the outside of the vehicle 100, and reflect the target arrival time and / or congestion information in at least one of the path and the travel control signal. In addition, the structure of the transportation system 600 and the functional structure of the remote control device 300 may all be provided on the vehicle 100. That is, the processing implemented by the transportation system 600 and the remote control device 300 shown in the present disclosure may also be implemented by the vehicle 100 alone.

[0092] (D9) In the first embodiment described above, the remote control device 300 automatically generates a driving control signal to be sent to the vehicle 100. In contrast, the remote control device 300 may generate a driving control signal to be sent to the vehicle 100 in accordance with an operation of an external operator located outside the vehicle 100. For example, the external operator may operate an operating device including a display for displaying a captured image output from the vehicle detector 80, a steering wheel for remotely operating the vehicle 100, an accelerator pedal, a brake pedal, and a communication device for communicating with the remote control device 300 via wired communication or wireless communication, and the remote control device 300 may generate a driving control signal corresponding to the operation applied to the operating device.

[0093] (D10) The transportation of vehicles by the travel of unmanned vehicles is also referred to as "self-propelled transportation". In addition, the structure for realizing self-propelled transportation is also referred to as "vehicle remote control autonomous driving transportation system". In addition, the production method of producing vehicles by self-propelled transportation is also referred to as "self-propelled production". In self-propelled production, for example, in a factory that manufactures vehicles, at least a part of the transportation of vehicles is realized by self-propelled transportation.

[0094] (D11) A part or all of the functions of the conveyor control unit 412 and the like implemented by the conveyance control device 400 shown in the above-mentioned embodiments may be implemented by the remote control device 300. That is, the conveyance system 600 may be constituted by the remote control device 300 alone.

[0095] In the above-mentioned embodiments, part or all of the functions and processes implemented in software may also be implemented in hardware. In addition, part or all of the functions and processes implemented in hardware may also be implemented in software. As hardware for implementing the various functions in the above-mentioned embodiments, various circuits such as integrated circuits or discrete circuits may also be used.

[0096] The present disclosure is not limited to the above-mentioned embodiments, and can be implemented in various configurations within the scope of its main purpose. For example, the technical features in the embodiments corresponding to the technical features in each method described in the invention content section can be appropriately replaced or combined in order to solve part or all of the above-mentioned problems, or to achieve part or all of the above-mentioned effects. In addition, as long as the technical feature is not described as a necessary part in this specification, it can be appropriately deleted.

Claims

1. A conveying method switching device, comprising: a position estimating unit for estimating the position of the mobile object using the mobile object information detected by the mobile object detector by detecting at least one of an image of the mobile object capable of being moved by unmanned driving and three-dimensional point cloud data of the mobile object; a command generating unit that generates a control command for automatically moving the moving body by movement control using the estimated position of the moving body and outputs the control command; as well as a movement control determination unit for determining whether to stop the movement control using a transportation start position of the moving body in a transportation device capable of transporting the moving body in a predetermined transportation interval and a moving body position, the moving body position being a position of the moving body in the transportation interval and including the estimated position, The command generation unit stops the movement control when the movement control determination unit determines that the movement control is to be stopped.

2. The conveying method switching device according to claim 1, wherein: The movement control determination unit determines to stop the movement control when the estimated position reaches the conveyance start position.

3. The conveying method switching device according to claim 1, wherein: The command generation unit stops the movement control by either stopping the generation of the control command or stopping the transmission of the generated control command to the moving body.

4. The conveying method switching device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein: When the movement control judgment unit determines that the movement control is to be stopped, the instruction generating unit stops the movement control based on switching to any one of a state in which the power from the prime mover is not transmitted to the moving part for moving the moving body, and a state in which the transmission part for transmitting the power from the prime mover to the moving part is fixed.

5. The conveying method switching device according to claim 1, wherein: The device further comprises a transport information acquisition unit for acquiring a transport speed of the movable body transported by the transport device. When the movement control determination unit determines that the movement control is to be stopped, the movement control determination unit further confirms the acquired conveying speed. The instruction generating unit, When the transport speed is confirmed to be slower than a predetermined reference speed, the movement control is stopped after the power supply of the moving body is turned off. When the confirmed conveying speed is equal to or higher than the reference speed, the movement control is stopped without turning off the power supply of the moving body.

6. The conveying method switching device according to claim 1, wherein: The device further includes a subsequent instruction unit that outputs an instruction to delay a timing at which a subsequent moving body that is scheduled to be transported by the transport device immediately after the moving body arrives at the transport device when the moving body is not transported by the transport device after the movement control is stopped.

7. The conveying method switching device according to claim 1, wherein: The invention further includes a reporting unit configured to report that the moving object is not transported by the transport device after the movement control is stopped.

8. The conveying method switching device according to claim 1, wherein: The method further includes a transport instruction unit that outputs an instruction to stop transport of the movable body by the transport device when the movable body is not transported by the transport device after the movement control is stopped.

9. A method for transport switching, wherein: The position of the moving object is estimated using moving object information of at least one of an image of the moving object capable of being moved unmanned and three-dimensional point cloud data of the moving object, determining whether to stop movement control of the moving body using a conveyance start position of the moving body in a conveyance device capable of conveying the moving body in a predetermined conveyance interval and a moving body position, the moving body position being a position of the moving body in the conveyance interval and including an estimated position of the moving body; When it is determined that the movement control is to be stopped, the movement control is stopped.

10. A mobile object capable of moving unmanned, comprising: a position estimating unit that estimates the position of the moving object using the moving object information detected by a moving object detector that detects at least one of the image of the moving object and the three-dimensional point cloud data of the moving object; a command generating unit that generates a control command for automatically moving the moving body by movement control using the estimated position of the moving body and outputs the control command; as well as a movement control determination unit for determining whether to stop the movement control using a transportation start position of the moving body in a transportation device capable of transporting the moving body in a predetermined transportation interval and a moving body position, the moving body position being a position of the moving body in the transportation interval and including the estimated position, The command generation unit stops the movement control when the movement control determination unit determines that the movement control is to be stopped.

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