Operation management system

Abstract

The present application provides a kind of operation management system of effectively making 2 mobile bodies adjacent stop without adding new sensor.The operation management system of the present application has: multiple registered mobile bodies that can autonomously travel;And controller, destination instruction information is sent to multiple registered mobile bodies, registered mobile body is in the state of being judged to reach destination and stop traveling, obtains the arrival position information as the position information of itself, and sends the arrival position information to the controller, the controller in the case of making 2 registered mobile bodies adjacent stop, corresponding instruction information is respectively sent to the two, in the case of one registered mobile body reaching destination earlier than the other registered mobile body, the destination of the other registered mobile body is revised based on the arrival position information of one registered mobile body, and the revised destination is sent to the other registered mobile body.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to an operation management system for managing the operation of multiple mobile entities. Background Technology

[0002] A system is being developed to manage the operation of multiple mobile entities capable of autonomous driving. In managing the operation of these mobile entities, it is essential to collect their location information. For example, Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2022-55979 discloses a device that corrects the vehicle's location information at predetermined travel distance intervals based on information from positioning satellites or detection results from inertial sensors.

[0003] Patent Document 1: Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2022-55979 Summary of the Invention

[0004] When a mobile unit receives instructions from the system and autonomously reaches its destination, the destination may differ from the actual stopping position due to factors such as sensor errors or road incline. In situations where system instructions are needed to bring two mobile units to a precise, adjacent stop, especially for cargo handover, the tolerance for positional deviation between the two vehicles is small. This necessitates high accuracy in position detection for each vehicle or numerous instructions from systems related to position adjustment. However, implementing a structure that uses multiple high-precision sensors to calculate position information in real time presents significant challenges in terms of cost, computational load, and the weighting of each sensor.

[0005] The purpose of this invention is to provide an operation management system that can effectively stop two moving bodies adjacent to each other without adding new sensors.

[0006] The operation management system of the present invention comprises: a plurality of registered mobile entities, each capable of acquiring location information and configured to drive autonomously; and a controller that sends instruction information including a destination to the plurality of registered mobile entities. Each registered mobile entity is configured to acquire arrival location information as its own location information and send the arrival location information to the controller when it determines that it has reached the destination and stops driving. When two registered mobile entities stop adjacent to each other, the controller sends the corresponding instruction information to each of the two registered mobile entities. If one of the two registered mobile entities reaches the destination before the other, the controller performs adjacent stop control, corrects the destination of the other registered mobile entity based on the arrival location information of the first registered mobile entity, and sends the corrected destination to the other registered mobile entity.

[0007] Invention Effects

[0008] According to the present invention, even if the arrival position of the first registered mobile body deviates from its destination, the destination of the later registered mobile body is corrected based on the arrival position information, which is information about the actual arrival position. Therefore, it is possible to bring the later registered mobile body to a stop adjacent to the first registered mobile body without adjusting the position of the first registered mobile body. That is, according to the present invention, it is possible to effectively bring two mobile bodies to a stop adjacent to each other without adding new sensors. Attached Figure Description

[0009] Figure 1 This is a structural diagram of the operation and management system of this embodiment.

[0010] Figure 2 This is a flowchart illustrating the adjacent stop control process in this embodiment.

[0011] Figure 3 This is a conceptual diagram used to illustrate the adjacent stop control in this embodiment. Detailed Implementation

[0012] Hereinafter, an operation management system 1, as an embodiment of the present invention, will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings, as a means of carrying out the present invention. Furthermore, in addition to the embodiments described below, the present invention can be implemented in various ways with different modifications and improvements based on the knowledge of those skilled in the art.

[0013] like Figure 1 As shown, the operation management system 1 of this embodiment includes multiple registered mobile bodies 2 and a controller 3. The multiple registered mobile bodies 2 are each configured to acquire location information and drive autonomously. Each registered mobile body 2 is a mobile body that has registered information with the controller 3 as a managed object. The mobile body is an autonomously moving mobile body, such as a vehicle. In this embodiment, the registered mobile body 2 is a small cargo handling vehicle, such as an autonomous trolley or an autonomous handling robot. As an example, each registered mobile body 2 has a front wheel 20a as a steering wheel and a left rear wheel 20b and a right rear wheel 20c as drive wheels.

[0014] Each registered mobile body 2 is equipped with a position detection device 21, a surrounding monitoring device 22, a control ECU 23, and a transport device 24. The position detection device 21 includes a receiver for positioning satellites, namely a receiver for a Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS). In this example, the position detection device 21 is equipped with a GPS receiver. The position detection device 21 sends the detection result (reception result) to the control ECU 23.

[0015] The surrounding monitoring device 22 is a device for detecting information related to surrounding objects (its own surrounding information). The surrounding monitoring device 22 is composed of at least one of a camera, a LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) device, and a radar. The surrounding monitoring device 22 sends the detection results to the control ECU 23.

[0016] The control ECU 23 is an electronic control unit (or computer) that controls the movement of the registered moving body, and has one or more processors and one or more memories. Based on command information received from the controller 3 and the detection results from the position detection device 21 and the peripheral monitoring device 22, the control ECU 23 controls the actuator assembly mounted on the registered moving body 2. The actuator assembly includes, for example, a brake actuator (further including a parking brake actuator), a drive actuator, and a steering actuator.

[0017] Based on the detection results from the surrounding monitoring device 22, the control ECU 23 can avoid or stop the registered moving body 2, such as obstacles. For example, even when the GPS receiver has poor reception, the control ECU 23 can estimate its own position based on pre-set map data and the detection results from the surrounding monitoring device 22.

[0018] The control ECU 23 detects (estimates) its own position, for example, outdoors using a GPS receiver and indoors using LiDAR and map data. In the indoor case, the surrounding monitoring device 22 functions as the position detection device 21. That is, the registered mobile body 2 has multiple position detection functions. The control ECU 23 can also be described as an autonomous driving ECU that controls various devices related to the movement, stopping, and turning of the registered mobile body 2 based on command information and the detection results of various sensors. The registered mobile body 2 drives autonomously under the control of the control ECU 23.

[0019] The transport device 24 is a device for transporting (moving) the loaded goods in a predetermined direction. The transport device 24 is, for example, located at the rear of the registered mobile body 2. In this embodiment, the transport device 24 is configured to move the goods in the lateral (left-right) direction of the registered mobile body 2. Although not shown, the transport device 24 includes, for example, a guide rail extending left and right; a mounting section that moves up, down, left, and right along the guide rail; and a drive unit that moves the mounting section. The control ECU 23 controls the drive unit of the transport device 24, causing the mounting section containing the goods to move to the right along the guide rail, enabling the goods to be placed at a transport destination (e.g., another mobile body or mounting position) on the right side of the registered mobile body 2. The transport device 24 can utilize known transport devices.

[0020] The controller 3 is a device (or management server) that sends instruction information including destination to multiple registered mobile entities 2. The controller 3 is composed of a computer with one or more processors and one or more memories. Map data is stored in the controller 3. The controller 3 and each registered mobile entity 2 have communication capabilities with external systems. In this embodiment, the controller 3 sends instruction information including the destination and target route to the registered mobile entity 2 to which the instruction is intended. The control ECU 23 controls the actuator group based on the received destination and target route. The destination (target location) is, for example, GPS coordinate information. The instruction information may include instructions on the movement speed (vehicle speed) of the registered mobile entity 2.

[0021] The target route may be defined by setting multiple points (coordinates, nodes) between the current location and the destination, and connecting these points by drawing a spline curve. The target route is set so that the orientation of the registered mobile body 2 when it stops at the destination is a specified orientation. For example, it can also be set to adjust the orientation at several points near the destination. Thus, it can be said that the instruction information also includes information related to the stopping orientation of the registered mobile body 2 (e.g., which direction it faces forward or towards the front).

[0022] The registered mobile body 2 is configured to acquire its own location information as location information when it is determined to have reached its destination and has stopped moving, and then send the location information to the controller 3. Under the control of the control ECU 23, the registered mobile body 2 decelerates as it approaches the destination and stops at the destination. The control ECU 23 determines that the registered mobile body 2 has reached its destination if the prescribed arrival conditions are met.

[0023] Arrival conditions include, for example, the situation where the location information (detection result of location detection device 21) obtained by registered mobile body 2 is consistent with the destination, or the situation where the location information (detection result of location detection device 21) obtained by registered mobile body 2 enters a specified range (e.g., within the allowable error range) around the destination.

[0024] When arrival and stopping conditions are met, the control ECU 23 sends the detection results from the position detection device 21 as arrival position information to the controller 3. Stopping conditions include, for example, the parking brake of the registered moving body 2 being engaged (in an active state) and / or the movement (vehicle speed) of the registered moving body 2 reaching 0 km / h. The controller 3 identifies the actual stopping position of the registered moving body 2 by obtaining the arrival position information from the registered moving body 2.

[0025] (Adjacent Stop Control)

[0026] In the operation management of mobile work units, scenarios such as the handover of goods where two registered mobile units 2 are stopped adjacently (e.g., side-by-side or tandem) can be envisioned. When the registered mobile unit 2 is equipped with a handling device 24, it is necessary to stop the registered mobile unit 2 delivering the goods and the registered mobile unit 2 receiving the goods laterally adjacent with high precision (side-by-side stopping). In this case, for example, the controller 3 sets each target route to ensure the two units stop in parallel. Furthermore, the controller 3 sets each destination and each target route to ensure the position / orientation of each handling device 24 is consistent. The controller 3 performs adjacent stop control if one of the two registered mobile units 2 arrives at its destination first.

[0027] When the controller 3 causes two registered mobile bodies 2 to stop adjacently, it sends corresponding instruction information (destination and target route) to each of the two registered mobile bodies 2. In this example, one of the two registered mobile bodies 2 subject to adjacent stop control is designated as "Registered Mobile Body 201" and the other as "Registered Mobile Body 202". In this example, registered mobile bodies 201 and 202 are located in different positions, and their movement start positions are separate.

[0028] If the first registered mobile body 201 arrives at its destination before the second registered mobile body 202, the controller 3, as an adjacent stop control, corrects the destination of the second registered mobile body 202 based on the arrival position information of the first registered mobile body 201, and sends the corrected destination to the second registered mobile body 202. Therefore, if the position laterally adjacent to the actual stopping position of the first registered mobile body 201 (the actual adjacent position) differs from the initial destination of the second registered mobile body 202, the controller 3 sets the actual adjacent position as the new destination (corrected destination) of the second registered mobile body 202 and sends this corrected destination as instruction information to the second registered mobile body 202. In other words, the controller 3 corrects the destination of the subsequently arriving second registered mobile body 202 to the actual adjacent position.

[0029] The deviation between the registered moving body 2's destination and its actual stopping position is considered to occur in the following cases. For example, the registered moving body 2 meets the arrival conditions and stops at the destination, but because the destination is a slope or curve, the registered moving body 2 moves during the period from stopping until the parking brake engages, and the actual stopping position deviates from the destination. Furthermore, for example, the registered moving body 2 decelerates to stop at the destination, meets the arrival conditions, but due to years of deterioration or the size of the cargo load, the braking force differs from the expected (calculated) force, and the actual stopping position deviates from the destination. Furthermore, for example, due to the influence of weather or driving environment, the actual stopping position deviates from the destination due to the effect of momentary interruption (loss) of GPS receiver reception. Furthermore, for example, errors in various sensors and control processes cause errors, resulting in a deviation between the actual stopping position and the destination. As these examples show, even when using various sensors, errors (absolute errors) can sometimes occur between the destination and the actual stopping position (absolute position).

[0030] Here, if the actual stopping position deviates from the destination, it is possible to consider re-driving the first registered mobile body 201 that arrived first to perform another position adjustment. However, there is a possibility that similar errors may occur during adjustment, or that the second registered mobile body 202 that arrived later may also have a position deviation, which could easily increase the load on each registered mobile body 201, 202 and the controller 3. Therefore, the controller 3, as an adjacent stop control, sets the destination of the second registered mobile body 202 that arrived later based on its relative position to the actual stopping position of the first registered mobile body 201 that arrived first. In this way, by correcting the destination of the second registered mobile body 202 that arrived later based on its relative position to the actual stopping position of the first registered mobile body 201 that arrived first, adjacent stops can be effectively achieved based on the actual position without correcting for the position deviation of the first arrival.

[0031] According to this embodiment, even if the arrival position of the first registered mobile body 201 deviates from its destination, the destination of the second registered mobile body 202 that arrives later is corrected based on the arrival position information, which serves as information about the actual arrival position. Therefore, the second registered mobile body 202 can be brought to an adjacent stop with the first registered mobile body 201 without adjusting the position of the first registered mobile body 201. In other words, according to this embodiment, two mobile bodies can be effectively brought to an adjacent stop without adding new sensors.

[0032] (An example of the handover of goods)

[0033] refer to Figure 2 and Figure 3The process of transferring goods between registered mobile bodies 201 and 202 equipped with handling devices 24 will be described. In this example, goods are loaded on the handling device 24 of the first registered mobile body 201. The controller 3 performs adjacent stop control so that the registered mobile bodies 201 and 202 stop side by side at the designated goods transfer position, and goods are transferred from the first registered mobile body 201 to the second registered mobile body 202. The location information in this example is GPS coordinates.

[0034] like Figure 2 As shown, controller 3 determines the handover positions tp1 and tp2 of the goods as the destination, so that the two registered mobile bodies 201 and 202 can hand over the goods (here, laterally and with the same orientation) adjacent to each other (S11). Figure 3 As shown, in this example, the center position of the transport device 24 is identified as the position of the registered moving body 2, and in adjacent stops, the destinations tp1 and tp2 are set in such a way that the center positions of the respective transport devices 24 are adjacent to each other.

[0035] The first registered mobile body 201 and the second registered mobile body 202 send their current positions p1 and p2 to the controller 3 (S81, S91). The controller 3 calculates the target route of the first registered mobile body 201 (from p1 to tp1) and the target route of the second registered mobile body 202 (from p2 to tp2) based on their movement speed, as well as the necessary times t1 and t2 for each registered mobile body 201 and 202 to arrive (S12). In this example, the necessary time t1 for the first registered mobile body 201 is less than the necessary time t2 for the second registered mobile body 202 (t1 < t2).

[0036] Each target route is set based on forward movement, and the orientation of registered mobile bodies 201 and 202 is set to be the orientation that allows for the handover of goods (in this example, the same orientation). When registered mobile bodies 201 and 202 approach each other in a way that is opposite to each other, a target route is set for one of the registered mobile bodies (e.g., the registered mobile body that is scheduled to arrive later) so that one of the registered mobile bodies turns around (e.g., makes a U-turn) to align its orientation.

[0037] The controller 3 sends the corresponding destination (coordinate information) tp1, tp2, target route, and movement speed as instruction information to each registered mobile body 201 and 202 (S13). Upon receiving the destination tp1 and target route (S82), the first registered mobile body 201 begins autonomous movement towards the destination tp1 at the instructed movement speed (S83). Upon receiving the destination tp2 and target route (S92), the second registered mobile body 202 begins autonomous movement towards the destination tp2 at the instructed movement speed (S93). Registered mobile bodies 201 and 202 can periodically send their own position information p1 and p2 to the controller 3.

[0038] The first registered mobile body 201 arrives at its destination tp1, satisfying both the arrival and stopping conditions (S84). While stationary, the first registered mobile body 201 re-acquires its current position tp1a via the position detection device 21 (S85). The first registered mobile body 201 sends the acquired position information tp1a as arrival position information to the controller 3 (S86).

[0039] The controller 3 calculates the corrected destination tp2a of the second registered mobile body 202 so that goods can be handed over laterally adjacent to the received arrival location information tp1a (S14). The corrected destination tp2a is set taking into account the specifications (e.g., vehicle width) or vehicle spacing of the registered mobile bodies 201 and 202. The controller 3 sends the calculated corrected destination tp2a as instruction information to the second registered mobile body 202 (S15).

[0040] Upon receiving a corrected destination tp2a (S94), the second registered mobile body 202 sets the destination to position tp2a, corrects at least the last point of the target route to position tp2a, and moves towards the corrected destination tp2a (S95). Alternatively, the controller 3 can also correct the target route and send it as instruction information to the second registered mobile body 202. The second registered mobile body 202 reaches the destination tp2a after meeting the arrival and stopping conditions (S96). Furthermore, if the actual stopping position of the second registered mobile body 202 deviates from the destination tp2a by an amount exceeding the allowable deviation for cargo transfer, the second registered mobile body 202 can, for example, be restarted to automatically perform position adjustment, or the position can be adjusted remotely by the user.

[0041] Based on the acquired location information, if the controller 3 determines that registered mobile bodies 201 and 202 have arrived at their destinations tp1a and tp2a respectively (and / or are in a state where handover is possible), it sends a handover start command to the registered mobile bodies 201 and 202 (S16). Upon receiving the handover start command, the registered mobile bodies 201 and 202 execute the prescribed handover actions (S87, S97). For example, in the handover action, the loading portion of the handling device 24 of the first registered mobile body 201 extends toward the second registered mobile body 202, places the goods on the loading portion of the handling device 24 of the second registered mobile body 202, and then moves back to its original position. Thus, the handover of goods is completed.

[0042] Thus, each registered mobile body 2 of adjacent stopped objects is equipped with a transport device 24 for transporting goods. In adjacent stop control, the controller 3, based on the arrival position information of the first registered mobile body 201, corrects the destination of the second registered mobile body 202 so that goods can be transferred between the first registered mobile body 201 and the second registered mobile body 202 without moving the first registered mobile body 201. Upon receiving information indicating that the corrected destination has been reached from the second registered mobile body 202, the controller 3 activates the transport device 24 of at least one of the two adjacent stopped registered mobile bodies 201 and 202 to perform the transfer of goods.

[0043] According to this embodiment, by resetting the destination of the later-arriving registered mobile body 2 based on the stopping position of the first-arriving registered mobile body 2, the later-arriving registered mobile body 2 can be stopped with an appropriate relative positional relationship, enabling smooth execution of operations such as cargo handover. According to this embodiment, the relative error between mobile bodies in adjacent stops can be reduced, achieving more seamless operations (such as cargo handover).

[0044] (other)

[0045] This invention is not limited to the embodiments described above. For example, when the controller 3 stops two registered mobile vehicles 2 adjacent to each other, and when it estimates (calculates) that the two registered mobile vehicles 2 will arrive at their destination at the same time, it can send instruction information to each registered mobile vehicle 2 to adjust the arrival time so that one of the registered mobile vehicles 2 arrives first. That is, the instruction information includes the destination, the target route from the current position to the destination, and the speed of the registered mobile vehicle. The controller 3 can be configured to set the instruction information for each of the two registered mobile vehicles 2 when they stop adjacent to each other, so that one of the registered mobile vehicles 2 arrives at its destination (its own destination) before the other registered mobile vehicle 2. By adjusting the vehicle speed or the target route, one of the registered mobile vehicles 2 can be intentionally made to arrive at its destination. Thus, the controller 3 can reliably perform adjacent stop control.

[0046] Furthermore, the purpose of adjacent stopping control is not limited to the transfer of goods, but can also be for other purposes. Also, adjacent stopping is not limited to side-by-side parking, but can also be longitudinal parking. Furthermore, the registered moving body 2 can be a vehicle with four or more wheels. Adjacent stopping can also be referred to as adjacent parking.

[0047] Symbol Explanation

[0048] 1-Operation management system, 2-Register moving body, 3-Controller, 24-Transportation device.

Claims

1. An operation management system, comprising: Multiple registered mobile entities, each capable of acquiring location information and configured to move autonomously; and The controller sends instruction information, including the destination, to multiple registered mobile entities. The operation and management system is characterized by the following features: The registered mobile entity is configured to, upon determining that it has reached the destination and has stopped moving, acquire its own arrival location information and send the arrival location information to the controller. The controller performs the following processing: When the two registered mobile units stop adjacent to each other, the corresponding instruction information is sent to each of the two registered mobile units; and If one of the two registered mobile bodies arrives at the destination before the other registered mobile body, as an adjacent stop control, the destination of the other registered mobile body is corrected based on the arrival location information of the one registered mobile body, and the corrected destination is sent to the other registered mobile body.

2. The operation management system according to claim 1, characterized in that, The registered mobile vehicle is configured to acquire the arrival location information and send it to the controller when it is determined that the predetermined arrival conditions have been met and it has stopped moving. The arrival conditions include the case where the location information obtained by the registered mobile body is consistent with the destination, or the case where the location information obtained by the registered mobile body enters a specified range around the destination.

3. The operation management system according to claim 2, characterized in that, The registered mobile body is configured to acquire the arrival location information and send it to the controller when the arrival and stopping conditions are determined to be met. The stopping conditions include the situation where the parking brake of the registered moving body is engaged and / or the moving speed of the registered moving body becomes 0 km / h.

4. The operation management system according to claim 1, characterized in that, The instruction information includes the destination, the target route from the current location to the destination, and the instruction for the movement speed of the registered mobile object. When the controller causes the two registered mobile bodies to stop adjacent to each other, it sets the instruction information for each of the two registered mobile bodies so that one of the registered mobile bodies arrives at the destination before the other registered mobile body.

5. The operation management system according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that, Each of the registered mobile bodies is equipped with a handling device for transporting goods. The controller performs the following processing: In the adjacent stop control, the destination of the other registered mobile body is modified based on the arrival location information of one of the registered mobile bodies, so that the handover of goods between the one registered mobile body and the other registered mobile body can be carried out without moving one of the registered mobile bodies; and Upon receiving information indicating arrival at the corrected destination from another of the registered mobile vehicles, the handling device of at least one of the two adjacent stopped registered mobile vehicles is activated to perform the handover of goods.

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