Moving body

Abstract

The scanner (12a) is disposed on the bottom surface side of the moving body (1) facing the ground surface, and repeatedly generates, as a first ground surface image, a line image having a predetermined width perpendicular to the advancing direction of the moving body (1). A controller that controls the drive device such that the moving body (1) travels on a predetermined path so as to reduce deviation between the current position of the moving body (1) detected on the basis of the first ground image and the predetermined path; a caster (11) having a driven wheel in contact with the ground and a scanner (12a) are fixed to the frame body (13).

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a moving body. Background Art

[0002] A mobile device includes: a moving unit that moves the device along the surface of a structure; an imaging unit that is provided on the bottom surface of the device and images the surface of the structure; and a determination unit that compares the image data output from the imaging unit with reference data for each position registered in advance to determine the position of the device (for example, refer to Patent Document 1).

[0003] [Prior Art Documents]

[0004] [Patent Documents]

[0005] Patent Document 1: Japanese Patent, Laid-Open No. 2019-185465 Summary of the Invention

[0006] (Problems to be Solved by the Invention)

[0007] However, in the above-described mobile device, due to the influence of the self-weight of the mobile device, etc., the mobile device deforms along the ground shape, resulting in a change in the distance from the ground (structure surface) to the bottom surface of the mobile device. If the ground (structure surface) deviates from the depth of field of the imaging unit, the captured image becomes blurred, and it may not be possible to accurately determine the current position of the mobile device.

[0008] The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object thereof is to obtain a moving body that can accurately determine its current position.

[0009] (Solutions to the Problems)

[0010] The moving body of the present invention includes: a driving device that generates a driving force for traveling; a scanner that optically scans the ground and generates a first ground image; a controller that controls the driving device so that the moving body travels on the path in a manner that reduces the deviation between the current position of the moving body detected based on the first ground image and a specified path; a frame body having a frame structure; and casters having follower wheels that contact the ground.

[0011] The scanner is configured to: (a) be disposed on the bottom surface side of the moving body opposite to the ground, and (b) repeatedly generate a line image having a specified width perpendicular to the advancing direction of the moving body as the first ground image; and the casters and the scanner are fixed to the frame body.

[0012] (Advantages of the Invention)

[0013] According to the present invention, a moving body that can accurately determine its current position can be obtained.

[0014] The above or other objects, features, and advantages of the present invention will become clearer based on the following detailed description in combination with the drawings. Description of the Drawings

[0015] Figure 1 It is a perspective view of a moving body showing an embodiment of the present invention.

[0016] Figure 2 It shows Figure 1 A perspective view of the mechanical structure of the moving body shown.

[0017] Figure 3 It is a view showing the scanner structure in the moving body of the first embodiment.

[0018] Figure 4 It shows Figure 1 A perspective view of the electrical structure of the moving body shown.

[0019] Figure 5 It is a view showing an example of the ground.

[0020] Figure 6 It is a view showing the scanner structure in the moving body of the second embodiment.

[0021] Figure 7 It is a view showing another example of the ground.

[0022] Figure 8 It is a side view of the moving body of the fourth embodiment. Detailed Embodiments

[0023] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described based on the drawings.

[0024]

First Embodiment

[0025] Figure 1 It is a perspective view of a moving body showing an embodiment of the present invention. Figure 2 It shows Figure 1 A perspective view of the mechanical structure of the moving body shown.

[0026] Figure 1 The moving body 1 shown is a self-propelled moving body and is an automatic guided vehicle (AGV: Automatic Guided Vehicle), an autonomous mobile robot (AMR: Autonomous Mobile Robot), etc. As Figure 2 shown, the moving body 1 includes: four casters 11 provided at the four corner portions of the bottom surface, scanners 12a, 12b, and a frame body 13 to which the casters 11 and the scanners 12a, 12b are fixed.

[0027] The caster 11 has a driven wheel that contacts the ground and is rotatably fixed to the frame body 13.

[0028] The scanner 12a optically scans the ground and generates a first ground image. The scanner 12a is disposed at the front end portion in the advancing direction of the moving body 1. The scanner 12b optically scans the ground and generates a second ground image. The scanner 12b is disposed at the rear end portion in the advancing direction of the moving body 1.

[0029] Each of the scanners 12a and 12b is configured to: (a) be disposed on the bottom surface side of the moving body 1 that faces the ground, and (b) repeatedly generate a line image having a predetermined width perpendicular to the advancing direction of the moving body 1 as the first ground image or the second ground image.

[0030] The scanners 12a and 12b scan the ground at a predetermined high resolution (e.g., 600 dpi).

[0031] The frame body 13 is the main body of the frame structure. For example, the frame body 13 is formed by shaping a metal pipe such as steel. For example, as Figure 2 shown, the caster 11 and the scanners 12a and 12b are fixed to the bottom surface of the frame body 13.

[0032] Furthermore, the moving body 1 includes drive wheel units 21a, 21b, 21c, and 21d.

[0033] Each of the drive wheel units 21a, 21b, 21c, and 21d respectively includes: a drive wheel 31 that contacts the ground, a support portion 32 that rotatably supports the drive wheel 31, a wheel frame portion 33 to which the support portion 32 is fixed, a rotational support portion 34 that rotatably fixes one end of the wheel frame portion 33 to the frame body 13 (one of the cross bars 13a and 13b), and a spring member 35 that applies a force to the other end of the wheel frame portion 33 to make it face the frame body 13 (the other of the cross bars 13a and 13b).

[0034] By doing so, using the restoring force of the spring member 35, the drive wheel 31 is pressed against the ground (i.e., the traveling surface) with a predetermined pressure.

[0035] Further, each of the drive wheel units 21a, 21b, 21c, and 21d has a drive device (not shown) that generates driving force for traveling and transmits it to the drive wheel 31. Further, the drive devices are provided independently of the drive wheel units 21a, 21b, 21c, and 21d, respectively, and generate driving force individually and transmit it to the drive wheel 31. Here, the drive device generates driving force by an electric motor and transmits this driving force to the drive wheel 31 through gears or the like. The drive wheel 31 has, for example, a drive shaft connected to the drive device, a hard wheel fixed to the drive shaft, and an elastic tire fitted outside the wheel.

[0036] Figure 3 It is a diagram showing the scanner structure in the moving body of the first embodiment.

[0037] In the first embodiment, for example, as Figure 3 shown, each of the scanners 12a, 12b has a light emitting part (not shown) that irradiates light onto the ground, an image sensor 41, and a reduction optical system 42 (one or more lenses) that condenses the reflected light formed by the light emitted from the light emitting part and reflected by the ground onto the image sensor 41.

[0038] Figure 4 It is a diagram showing Figure 1 the three-dimensional electrical structure of the moving body 1 in. As Figure 4 shown, in addition to the above-described drive device 51, the moving body 1 further includes a power supply device 52, a communication device 53, and a controller 54.

[0039] The power supply device 52 has, for example, a secondary battery built therein, and supplies power to the drive device 51, the communication device 53, and the controller 54. Further, the power supply device 52 may have a charging circuit that is connected to an industrial power supply and charges the secondary battery. Further, the secondary battery may be configured to be detachable.

[0040] The communication device 53 performs data communication with an external device (such as a server) by wireless communication based on a prescribed communication protocol.

[0041] The controller 54 includes a computer or an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit), and performs data processing, control of the drive device 51, control of the communication device 53, etc. through a computer (software processing) or an ASIC (hardware processing).

[0042] The controller 54 controls the drive device 51 so that the moving body 1 travels on the path in a manner that reduces the deviation between the current position of the moving body 1 detected based on the above-mentioned first ground image (here, based on the above-mentioned first ground image and the second ground image) and the path. Further, the controller 54 causes the moving body 1 to stop at a specified position (the terminal or an intermediate point of the path) according to the current position of the moving body 1 detected based on the first ground image.

[0043] In the first embodiment, the controller 54 detects the deviation between the current position of the moving body 1 and the path based on the first ground image. Figure 5 This is a diagram showing an example of the ground. For example, as Figure 5 shown, on the ground 101, there are provided a linear marker (such as a tape) 111 indicating the path and a marker 111a indicating the stop position. Then, the controller 54 detects the edge of the marker 111 image in the first ground image, derives the deviation from the path in the direction perpendicular to the forward direction based on the position of the edge in the first ground image, and further, based on the inclination of the edge, derives the inclination of the forward direction with respect to the path, and controls the drive device 51 in a manner that reduces the deviation and the inclination.

[0044] In addition, if the rotational speeds of the drive wheels 31 of the drive wheel units 21a and 21b are the same as those of the drive wheels 31 of the drive wheel units 21c and 21d, the moving body 1 travels straight; if the rotational speeds of the drive wheels 31 of the drive wheel units 21a and 21b are different from those of the drive wheels 31 of the drive wheel units 21c and 21d, the moving body 1 turns. Thus, the drive devices 51 of the respective drive wheel units 21a, 21b, 21c, and 21d are controlled in a manner that reduces the above-mentioned deviation and inclination.

[0045] Alternatively, it may be configured to derive the inclination of the forward direction with respect to the path based on the deviation obtained from the first ground image and the deviation obtained from the second ground image.

[0046] In addition, when the controller 54 detects the image of the marker 111a in the first ground image by pattern matching or the like, it controls the drive device 51 to stop the moving body 1.

[0047] Next, the operation of the moving body in the first embodiment will be described.

[0048] In the moving body 1, when the controller 54 detects an operation by the user on an input device (such as a switch) (not shown) or receives a start command through the communication device 53, it controls the drive device 51 to start the moving body 1.

[0049] Then, the scanner 12a (and scanner 12b) repeatedly generates a line image as the first ground image (and the second ground image). Based on the first ground image (and the second ground image), the controller 54 determines the deviation of the current position of the moving body 1 from the path, controls the drive device 51 in a manner to reduce this deviation, and causes the moving body 1 to continue traveling.

[0050] In addition, when the controller 54 determines from the first ground image (and the second ground image) that the current position of the moving body 1 is a stop position, the drive device 51 is stopped, thereby causing the moving body 1 to stop.

[0051] As described above, according to the first embodiment, the scanner 12a is configured to: (a) be disposed on the bottom surface side of the moving body 1 opposite to the ground 101, and (b) repeatedly generate a line image with a predetermined width perpendicular to the advancing direction of the moving body 1 as the first ground image; the controller 54 controls the drive device 51 to cause the moving body 1 to travel on the path in a manner to reduce the deviation between the current position of the moving body 1 detected based on the first ground image and the predetermined path. Moreover, the caster 11 having a driven wheel in contact with the ground and the scanner 12a are fixed to the frame body 13.

[0052] By doing so, the caster 11 and the scanner 12a are fixed to the frame body 13 with high rigidity, and the distance from the ground contacted by the caster 11 to the scanner 12a hardly changes, and the ground is not likely to deviate outside the depth of field of the scanner 12a. Therefore, a ground image directly below the moving body 1 can be obtained well with high resolution, and the moving body 1 can be accurately stopped at a desired position.

[0053]

Second Embodiment

[0054] Figure 6 FIG. is a diagram showing the structure of the scanner in the moving body according to the second embodiment.

[0055] In the second embodiment, the scanners 12a and 12b, for example, as Figure 6 shown, have contact image sensors. That is, in the second embodiment, the scanners 12a and 12b are scanners having an equal magnification optical system including a line sensor 41a including a plurality of light receiving elements and a lens array 42a.

[0056] In addition, regarding the other structures and operations of the moving body according to the second embodiment, since they are the same as those of the first embodiment, their descriptions are omitted.

[0057]

Third Embodiment

[0058] In the third embodiment, the communication device 53, according to a request from the controller 54, (a) sends a first ground image (image data) to a specified server, and receives from the server the deviation between the current position and the path of the moving body 1 detected by the server based on the first ground image, or the control amount corresponding to the deviation. Then, the controller 54 controls the drive device 51 according to the received deviation or control amount (the control amount of each drive device 51) so that the moving body 1 travels on the above path.

[0059] In the third embodiment, the server stores ground images of the entire area of the ground 101 (i.e., the moving range of the moving body 1). By pattern matching or the like, the position of the first ground image (i.e., the partial ground image sent from the moving body 1) in the ground image is determined, and the actual current position corresponding to this position is determined. Further, path information of the moving body 1 is stored in the server, the deviation between the path based on this path information and the current position is determined, and the deviation or the corresponding control amount is sent to the moving body 1. Here, a line image of a specified number of lines is sent as the first ground image to the server.

[0060] Further, when the derived current position coincides with a preset stop position, the server sends a stop instruction to the moving body 1. In the moving body 1, when the communication device 53 receives this stop instruction, the controller 54 stops the drive device 51, thereby stopping the moving body 1.

[0061] Figure 7 FIG. is another example showing the ground. For example, in addition to the original pattern 112 of the ground 101 (i.e., the pattern on the surface of floor materials such as tiles and concrete), there are scratches, dirt, etc. Therefore, in a high-resolution ground image, the image pattern varies according to the position. Therefore, the current position of the moving body 1 can be determined based on the first ground image.

[0062] In addition, here, the first ground image is sent to the server, but it may also be configured such that, in the same manner, the first ground image and the second ground image are sent to the server, and the current position is derived for the first ground image and the second ground image, respectively, in the same way.

[0063] In addition, it may also be configured such that for the first ground image (and the second ground image), after data compression is performed in the moving body 1, it is sent to the server, and data decompression is performed in the server.

[0064] Further, it may also be configured such that instead of using the above server, the moving body 1 stores ground images of the entire area of the ground 101 (i.e., the moving range of the moving body 1), determines the position of the first ground image in the ground image by pattern matching or the like, and determines the actual current position corresponding to this position.

[0065] In addition, regarding the other structures and operations of the mobile body according to the third embodiment, since they are the same as those of the first or second embodiment, the description thereof is omitted.

[0066]

Fourth Embodiment

[0067] Figure 8 FIG. is a side view of the mobile body according to the fourth embodiment. In the fourth embodiment, the mobile body 1 includes: a housing 1a that protrudes forward from the casters 11 and the scanner 12a, an infrared sensor 81 for preventing collisions, and a main switch 82. For example, as Figure 8 shown, the infrared sensor 81 and the main switch 82 are disposed at the front end on the front side of the housing 1a. When an obstacle or the like is detected by the infrared sensor 81, the controller 54 causes the mobile body 1 to stop urgently.

[0068] For example, as Figure 8 shown, since the housing 1a protrudes forward from the scanner 12a, external light hardly enters the scanner 12a.

[0069] In addition, regarding the other structures and operations of the mobile body according to the fourth embodiment, since they are the same as any one of the first to third embodiments, the description thereof is omitted.

[0070] In addition, regarding the above embodiments, various changes and modifications can be made without departing from the gist and scope thereof and without weakening the intended advantages. Since these changes and modifications are obvious to those skilled in the art, these changes and modifications should also be included in the scope of the claims of the present application.

[0071] For example, in the above embodiments, the scanner 12b may not be provided.

[0072] (Industrial Applicability)

[0073] The present invention can be applied to, for example, a mobile body.

Claims

1. A mobile body, characterized in that: It includes: A driving device that generates a driving force for traveling, A scanner that optically scans the ground and generates a first ground image, A controller that controls the driving device so that the mobile body travels on the path in a manner that reduces the deviation between the current position of the mobile body detected based on the first ground image and a specified path, A frame body with a frame structure, and Caster wheels that have follower wheels in contact with the ground; The scanner is configured to: (a) be arranged on the bottom surface side of the mobile body opposite to the ground, (b) repeatedly generate a line image with a specified width perpendicular to the forward direction of the mobile body as the first ground image; The caster wheels and the scanner are fixed to the frame body.

2. The mobile body according to claim 1, characterized in that: The scanner has: A light emitting part; An image sensor; and A reduction optical system that condenses the reflected light formed by the light emitted from the light emitting part and reflected by the ground onto the image sensor.

3. The mobile body according to claim 1, characterized in that: The scanner has a contact image sensor.

4. The mobile body according to claim 1, characterized in that: The controller detects the deviation between the current position of the mobile body and the path based on the first ground image.

5. The mobile body according to claim 1, characterized in that: The mobile body further includes a communication device, The communication device (a) sends the first ground image to a specified server and receives the deviation between the current position of the mobile body and the path, or the control amount corresponding to the deviation, where the deviation is detected by the server based on the first ground image, The controller controls the driving device according to the deviation or the control amount so that the mobile body travels on a specified path.

6. The mobile body according to claim 1, characterized in that: The mobile body further includes a rear scanner, which is arranged at the rear part in the forward direction of the mobile body, optically scans the ground and generates a second ground image, The scanner is arranged at the front part in the forward direction of the mobile body, The rear scanner repeatedly generates a line image with a specified width perpendicular to the forward direction of the mobile body as the second ground image, The controller controls the driving device so that the mobile body travels on the path in a manner that reduces the deviation between the current position of the mobile body detected based on the first ground image and the second ground image and the path.

7. The mobile body according to claim 1, characterized in that: The mobile body further includes: A frame body that protrudes forward compared to the caster wheels and the scanner (12a), An infrared sensor, which is a collision prevention sensor arranged at the front end of the frame body.

Images