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

Abstract

To provide a technique for smoothly switching from a transport method that utilizes the movement of a moving body by movement control to a transport method of a moving body that uses a transport device.SOLUTION: A transport method switching device includes: a position estimation unit that estimates a position of a moving body by using moving body information detected by a moving body detector that detects at least one of moving body information including 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 and outputs a control command for automatically moving the moving body by movement control by using the estimated position of the moving body; and a movement control determination unit that determines whether or not to stop movement control by using a transport start position of the moving body in a transport device and a moving body position that is a position of the moving body in a transport section, including the estimated position. The command generation unit generates and outputs a control command to stop the movement control when the movement control determination unit determines that the movement control should be stopped.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a transportation method switching device, a transportation method switching method, and a moving body. [Background technology]

[0002] For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a technology that uses different transport methods in a manufacturing system for manufacturing vehicles, namely, transporting a vehicle using a belt and transporting the vehicle by using remote control to move the vehicle. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Special Publication No. 2017-538619 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] However, in the past, only configurations have been considered in which transportation of a vehicle using a belt is followed by transportation using remotely controlled vehicle movement, and the reality is that no consideration has been given to a configuration in which transportation using remotely controlled vehicle movement is followed by transportation of a vehicle using a belt. [Means for solving the problem]

[0005] The present disclosure can be realized in the following forms.

[0006] (1) According to one embodiment of the present disclosure, a transport method switching device is provided. The transport method switching device includes a position estimation unit that estimates a position of a moving body using moving body information detected by a moving body detector that detects at least one of an image of a moving body that can be moved by unmanned operation and three-dimensional point cloud data of the moving body, a command generation unit that generates and outputs a control command for automatically moving the moving body by movement control using the estimated position of the moving body, and a movement control determination unit that determines whether to stop the movement control using a transportation start position of the moving body in a transportation device that can transport the moving body in a predetermined transportation section and a moving body position that is the position of the moving body in the transportation section and includes the estimated position. When it is determined by the movement control determination unit that the movement control is to be stopped, the command generation unit generates and outputs a control command for stopping the movement control. According to the transport method switching device of this aspect, it is possible to smoothly switch from a transport method that utilizes the movement of the moving body by the movement control to a transport method that uses 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 this form of conveying method switching device, by stopping movement control at the conveying start position of the conveying device, it is possible to suppress power consumption and processing burden caused by the conveying method switching device during conveying by the conveying device, and to efficiently switch conveying methods. (3) In the transport method switching device of the above aspect, the command generation unit may generate and output a control command to stop 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. According to the transport method switching device of this aspect, it is possible to stop movement control in a simpler manner than by turning off the power of the transport method switching device or the moving body, thereby reducing the processing burden during transportation by the transport device. (4) In the transport method switching device of the above-described form, when the movement control judgment unit determines that the movement control should be stopped, the command generation unit may switch between a state in which power from the prime mover is not transmitted to a moving unit for moving the moving body, and a state in which a transmission unit for transmitting power from the prime mover to the moving unit is fixed, and then generate and output a control command to stop the movement control. According to the transport method switching device of this aspect, by switching the moving body to an immovable state before transport by the transport device, it is possible to suppress or prevent positional deviation of the moving body during transport by the transport device. (5) The transport method switching device of the above aspect may further include a transport information acquisition unit that acquires a transport speed of the moving body transported by the transport device. The transport control determination unit may further check the acquired transport speed when the transport control determination unit determines that the transport control is to be stopped. When the confirmed transport speed is slower than a predetermined reference speed, the command generation unit may turn off a power supply to the moving body and generate and output a control command to stop the transport control, and when the confirmed transport speed is equal to or higher than the reference speed, the command generation unit may generate and output a control command to stop the transport control without turning off a power supply to the moving body. According to the transport method switching device of this aspect, it is possible to stop the movement control in an appropriate state for each transport time by the transport device. (6) In the above-described transport method switching device, a subsequent instruction unit may be provided that, when the moving body is not transported by the transport device after the movement control is stopped, outputs an instruction to delay the timing of arrival of a subsequent moving body that is scheduled to be transported by the transport device after the moving body at the transport device. 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 that is stopped at the transport start position before transport by the transport device has started. (7) The transport method switching device of the above aspect may further include a notification unit that issues a notification when the moving object is not transported by the transport device after the movement control is stopped. According to the transport method switching device of this aspect, it is possible to prompt the transport device to take measures against the transport abnormality, and to promptly restore the transport device. (8) In the above-described transport method switching device, a transport instruction unit may be further provided that outputs an instruction to stop the transport of the moving body by the transport device when the moving 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 is unable to transport the moving body, transport by the transport device is stopped, thereby making it possible to secure time to implement measures to deal with the abnormality. The present disclosure can also be realized in various forms other than the transport method switching device, such as a remote control device, a transport switching method, a moving body, a transport device, a transport system, a method for transporting a moving body, a method for controlling a transport device, a method for controlling a transport system, a computer program for realizing these control methods, a non-transitory recording medium on which the computer program is recorded, and the like. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0007] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram showing a schematic configuration of a transport system including a remote control device as a transport method switching device. [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing the internal functional configuration of a vehicle. [Diagram 3] 1 is a block diagram showing the internal functional configuration of a remote control device according to a first embodiment. [Figure 4A] 4 is a flowchart showing a vehicle driving method implemented by the remote control device. [Figure 4B] FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an internal functional configuration of a transport control device. [Diagram 5] 4 is a flowchart showing a vehicle transport method according to the first embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 6] FIG. 11 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a method for stopping remote control at a transfer start position. [Figure 7] 10 is a flowchart showing a vehicle transport method according to a second embodiment. [Figure 8]FIG. 11 is a block diagram showing the functional configuration of an ECU in a vehicle according to a third embodiment. [Figure 9] 10 is a flowchart showing a vehicle running method according to a third embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0008] A. First embodiment: 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 the first embodiment of the present disclosure. The conveying system 600 is used, for example, in a factory that manufactures vehicles 100. The conveying target of the conveying system 600 is the vehicle 100 that can run by remote control. The conveying system 600 is used, for example, in an inspection process of the vehicle 100 or an assembly process of the vehicle 100, and conveys the vehicle 100 over a predetermined conveying section in the manufacturing process of the vehicle 100. The conveying system 600 includes the remote control device 300, a vehicle detector 80, and a conveying device 500.

[0009] FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing the internal functional configuration of the vehicle 100. The vehicle 100 is, for example, a passenger car, a truck, a bus, and a construction vehicle. In this embodiment, the vehicle 100 is an electric vehicle (BEV: Battery Electric Vehicle) that can run by unmanned driving. "Unmanned driving" means driving without the driving operation of a passenger. Driving operation means at least one operation of the vehicle, such as "running", "turning", and "stopping". Unmanned driving is realized by automatic or manual remote control using a device provided outside the vehicle, or autonomous control of the vehicle. A passenger who does not perform driving operation may be on board a vehicle that runs by unmanned driving. Passengers who do not perform driving operation include, for example, a person who simply sits in the seat of the vehicle, and a person who performs work other than driving operation, such as assembly, inspection, and operation of switches, while riding in the vehicle. Driving by a passenger's driving operation is sometimes called "manned driving". 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 executes various controls of the vehicle 100. The ECU 200 includes a storage device 220 such as an 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 via an internal bus so as to be able to communicate bidirectionally. The actuator 140 and the vehicle communication device 190 are connected to the interface circuit 230. The vehicle communication device 190 performs wireless communication with devices outside the vehicle 100 connected to a network, such as a remote control device 300, via an access point in a factory or the like.

[0011] Computer programs for implementing at least some of the functions provided in this embodiment are stored in the storage device 220. The CPU 210 executes various computer programs stored in the memory to implement functions such as the operation control unit 212.

[0012] The driving control unit 212 executes driving control of the vehicle 100. The "driving control" refers to various controls for driving each actuator 140 that performs the functions of "running", "turning" and "stopping" of the vehicle 100, such as adjusting acceleration, speed and steering angle. If the vehicle 100 is replaced by a moving body, it may be called "movement control" instead of "driving control". In this embodiment, the actuator 140 includes an actuator of the driving device 160 for accelerating the vehicle 100, an actuator of a steering device for changing the traveling direction of the vehicle 100, and an actuator of a braking device for decelerating the vehicle 100. The actuator 140 may further include an actuator for swinging the wipers of the vehicle 100, an actuator for opening and closing the power windows of the vehicle 100, and the like.

[0013] The actuator of the drive device 160 includes a driving battery (not shown), a driving motor 168 driven by power from the driving battery, wheels 166, a transmission unit 162, and a lock 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 wheels 166 rotate by power transmitted from the driving motor 168. The wheels 166 are an example of a moving unit for moving the moving body.

[0014] The transmission unit 162 includes a transmission mechanism such as gears and a shaft, and transmits power from the traveling motor 168 to the wheels 166. The lock unit 164 switches between locking and unlocking the transmission mechanism of the transmission unit 162. The lock unit 164 is sometimes called a "parking lock pole." When the function of the transmission unit 162 is switched to the "P range" by remote control by the remote control unit 312 or manual operation of an operation lever in the vehicle interior by the driver or the like, the transmission mechanism of the transmission unit 162 is fixed by the lock unit 164. As a result, the wheels 166 are fixed and do not rotate. When the function is switched to the "N range," the gears of the transmission mechanism of the transmission unit 162 are disconnected, and power from the traveling motor 168 is not transmitted to the wheels 166. In the N range, the wheels 166 are in a state in which they can be rotated by an external force. It should be noted that the "D range" is a state in which the transmission unit 162 transmits power from the driving motor 168 to the wheels 166, thereby enabling the vehicle 100 to travel.

[0015] When a driver is on board the vehicle 100, the driving control unit 212 controls the actuator 140 in response to an operation by the driver, thereby allowing the vehicle 100 to travel. In addition, the driving control unit 212 can also control the actuator 140 in response to a control command transmitted from the remote control device 300, thereby allowing the vehicle 100 to travel, regardless of whether a driver is on board the vehicle 100 or not.

[0016] The vehicle detector 80 is a device for measuring vehicle information. The "vehicle information" is information used to estimate at least one of the position of the vehicle 100 and the orientation of the vehicle 100. In this embodiment, the vehicle detector 80 uses a LiDAR (Light Detection And Ranging) which is a distance measuring device. The vehicle detector 80 measures three-dimensional point cloud data of the vehicle 100 as the vehicle information. The three-dimensional point cloud data is data indicating the three-dimensional position of a point cloud. By using the LiDAR, it is possible to obtain highly accurate three-dimensional point cloud data. Note that the orientation and running direction of the vehicle 100 may be estimated by obtaining only the position of the vehicle 100 by the vehicle detector 80 and obtaining the position change of the vehicle 100 over time, etc.

[0017] The vehicle detector 80 is communicatively connected to the remote control device 300 via wireless or wired communication. The remote control device 300 can acquire the relative position and orientation of the vehicle 100 with respect to the target route in real time by acquiring three-dimensional point cloud data from the vehicle detector 80. The position of the vehicle detector 80 is fixed near the travel path SR and the conveyance device 500.

[0018] 3 is a block diagram showing an 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, transmits the control command to the vehicle 100, and executes the driving control of the vehicle 100 by remote control. For example, the remote control device 300 transports the vehicle 100 in a transport section in a factory by automatically driving the vehicle 100 by remote control. In this embodiment, the remote control device 300 also functions as a transport method switching device that determines whether or not to stop the driving control of the vehicle 100 by remote control, using transport status information indicating the transport status of the vehicle 100 by the transport device 500, as described later.

[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 to each other via an internal bus so as to be able to communicate in both directions. The interface circuit 350 is connected to the remote communication device 390. The remote communication device 390 communicates with the vehicle 100 and the transportation control device 400 via a network or the like.

[0020] The storage device 340 is, for example, a RAM, a ROM, a HDD, an SSD, etc. A reference speed SV is stored in a readable / writable area of ​​the storage device 340. The reference speed SV is a conveying speed set in normal times among the variable conveying speeds at which the conveying device 500 conveys the vehicle 100. The "conveying speed set in normal times" is, for example, a conveying speed that is set in advance to achieve a target manufacturing time. The target manufacturing time is a manufacturing time set in a process to manufacture one vehicle 100. The target manufacturing time is sometimes called a "takt time." The reference speed SV functions as a threshold value for determining the timing to remove the vehicle 100 from the conveying device 500, as described later.

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

[0022] The position estimation unit 314 acquires vehicle information from the vehicle detector 80 and estimates the position and orientation of the vehicle 100 using the acquired vehicle information. In this embodiment, the position estimation unit 314 uses 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 acquired three-dimensional point cloud data. Specifically, the position estimation unit 314 executes template matching on the three-dimensional point cloud data using the vehicle point cloud data stored in advance 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. For example, the three-dimensional CAD data of the vehicle 100 can be used as the template of the vehicle point cloud data. The vehicle point cloud data may include information for identifying the orientation of the vehicle 100. For example, an ICP (Iterative Closest Point) algorithm or an NDT (Normal Distribution Transform) algorithm can be used for template matching of the vehicle point cloud data with the three-dimensional point cloud data.

[0023] The remote control unit 312 functions as a command generating unit that generates control commands for causing the vehicle 100 to perform various operations and outputs the control commands to the vehicle 100. For example, the remote control unit 312 generates a control command for remote control using the estimated position and orientation of the vehicle 100 and transmits the control command to the vehicle 100. The control command is, for example, a command to make the vehicle 100 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, and a steering angle. Alternatively, the control command may 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 realized by the driving control unit 212 of the ECU 200, and as a result, the vehicle 100 travels automatically.

[0024] 4A is a flowchart showing a method for driving the vehicle 100 realized by the remote control device 300. The remote control unit 312 acquires the estimation results of the position and orientation of the vehicle 100 by the position estimation unit 314 (step S1). In this embodiment, the position of the vehicle 100 includes 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 from the vehicle information acquired from the vehicle detector 80, and acquires the position of the vehicle 100 in the factory from the detected position of the vehicle 100.

[0025] The remote control unit 312 determines a target position to which the vehicle 100 should next head (step S2). In this embodiment, the target position is represented by X, Y, and Z coordinates in the global coordinate system of the factory. An ideal route, which is a route along which the vehicle 100 should travel, is stored in advance in the storage device 340 of the remote control device 300. The route is represented by nodes indicating the starting point, nodes indicating passing points, nodes indicating the destination, and links connecting the nodes. The remote control unit 312 uses the position of the vehicle 100 and the ideal route to determine a target position to which the vehicle 100 should next head. The remote control unit 312 determines a target position on the ideal route that is ahead of the current position of the vehicle 100.

[0026] The remote control unit 312 generates a travel control signal for driving the vehicle 100 toward the determined target position (step S3). In this embodiment, the travel control signal includes the acceleration and steering angle of the vehicle 100 as parameters. The remote control unit 312 calculates the travel speed of the vehicle 100 from the transition of the position of the vehicle 100, and compares the calculated travel speed with a predetermined target speed of the vehicle 100. When the travel speed is lower than the target speed, the remote control unit 312 determines the acceleration so that the vehicle 100 accelerates, and when the travel speed is higher than the target speed, the remote control unit 312 determines the acceleration so that the vehicle 100 decelerates. When the vehicle 100 is located on the ideal route, the remote control unit 312 determines the steering angle so that the vehicle 100 does not deviate from the ideal route, and when the vehicle 100 is not located on the ideal route, in other words, when the vehicle 100 deviates from the ideal route, the remote control unit 312 determines the steering angle so that the vehicle 100 returns to the ideal route.

[0027] The remote control unit 312 transmits the generated driving control signal to the vehicle 100 (step S4). The remote control unit 312 repeats, at a predetermined cycle, obtaining the position of the vehicle 100, determining the target position, generating the driving control signal, and transmitting the driving control signal.

[0028] The driving control unit 212 of the vehicle 100 receives the driving control signal from the remote control unit 312 (step S5), and controls the actuator 140 using the received driving control signal to make the vehicle 100 drive at the acceleration and steering angle indicated in the driving control signal (step S6). The driving control unit 212 repeats receiving the driving control signal and controlling the actuator 140 at a predetermined cycle. As described above, by making the vehicle 100 drive by remote control, it is possible to move the vehicle 100 without using transportation equipment such as a crane or a conveyor.

[0029] Returning to FIG. 3, the remote control determination unit 316 determines whether to stop the remote control. Specifically, the remote control determination unit 316 determines whether to stop the remote control using the transportation start position of the vehicle 100 in the transportation section of the transportation device 500 and the vehicle position. The remote control determination unit 316 is an example of a movement control determination unit that determines whether to stop the movement control of the moving body using the transportation start position where the transportation of the moving body is started by the transportation device 500 and the moving body position which is the position of the moving body in the transportation section. The "vehicle position" is the position of the vehicle 100 in the transportation section of the transportation device 500. The vehicle position may be the overall position of the vehicle 100 or may be a part of the position of the vehicle 100. The "overall position of the vehicle 100" may be, for example, the positions of the ends of the vehicle 100 in the length direction, width direction, and height direction, a position representative of the vehicle 100 such as the center of gravity of the vehicle 100, or a set of the positions of each part of the vehicle 100. The "transport start position" is a position that is included in the transport section of the transport device 500 and at which the transport device 500 starts transporting the vehicle 100. The details of the transport 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 a transportation method 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 in a state where it can be transported by the transportation device 500. When the vehicle 100 becomes in a state where it can be transported by the transportation device 500, the remote control determination unit 316 determines that the remote control is stopped. 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. "Stopping remote control" includes, for example, stopping the generation of control commands for remotely controlling the vehicle 100 by the remote control unit 312 and stopping the transmission of the control commands 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, etc.

[0031] The conveyance information acquisition unit 318 acquires conveyance status information indicating the conveyance status of the vehicle 100. The "conveyance status information" is the vehicle position and the conveyance speed of the vehicle 100 by the conveyance device 500. The conveyance information acquisition unit 318 acquires the vehicle position VP stored in the storage device 440 from the conveyance control device 400, or acquires the position of the vehicle 100 on the conveyor unit 510 from the vehicle detector 80 if it is possible to acquire it from the vehicle detector 80, thereby acquiring the vehicle position. The conveyance information acquisition unit 318 may acquire the vehicle position directly from the conveyance position detector 526. In addition, in this embodiment, the conveyance information acquisition unit 318 acquires the conveyance speed by acquiring the conveyance speed CV stored in the storage device 440 from the conveyance control device 400. The conveyance information acquisition unit 318 may acquire the conveyance speed directly from the conveyance speed detector 524.

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

[0033] The notification unit 324 issues a notification when an abnormality occurs in the traveling of the vehicle 100 under remote control. The notification unit 324 issues a notification when an abnormality occurs in the transportation of the vehicle 100 by the transportation device 500 after the remote control is stopped, for example.

[0034] The following instruction unit 326 outputs an instruction to delay the timing of the following vehicle's arrival at the transport device 500 when, for example, an abnormality occurs in the transport of the vehicle 100 by the transport device 500 after the remote control is stopped. The "following vehicle" is a vehicle that is scheduled to be transported by the transport device 500 after the vehicle 100 or thereafter.

[0035] The vehicle information acquisition unit 328 acquires vehicle identification information of the vehicle 100 to be transported by the transport device 500 from a production management device or the like. The "vehicle identification information" refers to various information that can individually identify the vehicle 100. The vehicle identification information includes, for example, ID information given to each vehicle 100, such as a vehicle identification number (VIN: Vehicle Identification Number), and a serial number of the vehicle 100 used for production management. The vehicle identification information may further 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, and may include information for identifying a plurality of vehicles 100 for each predetermined unit, such as a lot number. The vehicle identification information can be acquired, for example, 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 may be acquired by reading a two-dimensional code attached to the vehicle 100 with a camera or the like.

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

[0037] The conveyor unit 510 conveys the vehicle 100, which is the object of conveyance, in the conveying direction DR. In this embodiment, the conveyor unit 510 is a belt conveyor having a circular endless belt, and conveys the vehicle 100 in a state where it is grounded on the endless belt. The conveyor unit 510 is not limited to only a belt conveyor, and may be various conveyors capable of conveying the vehicle 100, such as a roller conveyor and a chain conveyor. The conveyor unit 510 is continuously driven regardless of whether the vehicle 100 is on the conveyor unit 510 or not. However, the conveyor unit 510 may be driven only when the vehicle 100 is placed on the conveyor unit 510. The object of conveyance conveyed by the conveyor unit 510 is not limited to only the vehicle 100, and for example, a worker who performs processing on the vehicle 100, parts of the vehicle 100, etc. may be conveyed together with the vehicle 100. In addition, the vehicle 100 does not need to be transported with all the wheels 166 of the vehicle 100 in contact with the conveyor unit 510, and may be transported with only the wheels 166 on either one side in the vehicle width direction in contact. The conveyor unit 510 is not limited to a device that transports the vehicle 100 in a grounded state, but may be a device that transports the vehicle 100 in a state where the vehicle 100 is not grounded, such as a so-called lifter, on the premise that the vehicle 100 is made in a state where it can run by remote control at the start and end of the transport by the conveyor unit 510. The vehicle 100 on the conveyor unit 510 can leave the conveyor unit 510 at any timing by automatic running by remote control.

[0038] The conveying speed detector 524 detects the conveying speed of the vehicle 100 by the conveyor unit 510. The conveying position detector 526 detects the presence or absence of the vehicle 100 on the conveyor unit 510. The conveying position detector 526 is, for example, an infrared sensor, an ultrasonic sensor, a millimeter wave radar, or other detector capable of detecting the presence or absence of a target. In this embodiment, there are a plurality of conveying position detectors 526, and a plurality of conveying information acquisition units 318 are installed for each predetermined conveying section by the conveying system 600, thereby making it possible to detect the presence or absence of the vehicle 100 for each conveying section. The detection results by 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 to determine whether or not to stop the remote control, the conveying speed detector 524 and the conveying position detector 526 may be omitted.

[0039] FIG. 1 shows a schematic diagram of a transport section of the vehicle 100 from a range AR1 to a range AR5. FIG. 1 also shows vehicles 100p, 100q, 100r, 100s, and 100t, which are examples of the vehicle 100, and vehicle detectors 80p and 80t, which are examples of the vehicle detector 80. The ranges AR1 and AR5 are transport sections in which the vehicle 100 is automatically driven by remote control. In the range AR1, the vehicle 100p, which has started driving from the previous process, drives to the transport device 500 by remote control using the vehicle information acquired from the vehicle detector 80p. The range AR5 is a transport section in which the vehicle 100t, which has left the transport system 600, drives to the next process or the like by remote control using the vehicle information acquired from the vehicle detector 80p.

[0040] The range AR2 to the range AR4 is a transport section of the vehicle 100 by the transport device 500. The range AR2 is a transport start position where transport of the vehicle 100 by the transport device 500 starts. In the range AR2, the transport method of the vehicle 100 is switched from self-propelled transport by remote control to conveyor transport by the transport device 500. As shown on the left side of FIG. 1, the vehicle 100p traveling by remote control passes over the start point SP on one end side of the conveyor unit 510 and enters the range AR2. The vehicle 100q that has reached the range AR2 is ready to be transported by the conveyor unit 510.

[0041] The range AR3 is an area where a predetermined process such as an inspection process is performed on the vehicle 100r being transported by the transport device 500. In this embodiment, the range AR3 is outside the detection range of the vehicle detector 80, and the vehicle 100r is not automatically driven by remote control. However, in the range AR3, the vehicle 100r may be in a state where it can wirelessly communicate with the remote control device 300, and remote control that does not use vehicle information, such as turning on and off the power of the vehicle 100 and each part, may be performed. Moreover, the range AR3 may be set within the detection range of the vehicle detector 80, and remote control using vehicle information may be performed in the range AR as well.

[0042] The range AR4 is an area where the transportation of the vehicle 100 by the transport device 500 ends. The vehicle 100 reaches the range AR4 after the processing in the range AR3 is completed. In the range AR4, the vehicle 100s can be detected by the vehicle detector 80t. That is, in the range AR4, the vehicle 100s can be automatically transported by remote control and can be moved away from the conveyor unit 510. In this embodiment, the range AR4 is set in advance as a range from the end point EP on the other end side of the conveyor 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, the range AR4 can be any range from the position where the processing for the vehicle 100r is completed in the range AR3 to the end point EP, assuming that the vehicle detector 80t can detect the vehicle 100t. In this case, the size of the range AR4 is variable depending on the progress of the processing for the vehicle 100 in the range AR3.

[0043] 4B is a block diagram showing the internal functional configuration of the transportation control device 400. The transportation control device 400 includes a CPU 410 as a central processing unit, a storage device 440, an interface circuit 450, and a transportation 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 in both directions. The interface circuit 450 is connected to the transportation communication device 490. The transportation 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. A transport speed CV detected by a transport speed detector 524 and a vehicle position VP detected by a transport position detector 526 are stored in a readable / writable area of ​​the storage device 440. The storage device 440 stores a program for implementing at least a part of the functions provided in this embodiment. The CPU 410 executes the program to function as a conveyor control unit 412 and a transport status acquisition unit 414. The conveyor control unit 412 drives a motor 522 to control the on / off and transport speed of the conveyor unit 510.

[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, i.e., the vehicle position, from the transport position detector 526 and stores it as the vehicle position VP in the storage device 440. The position of the vehicle 100 in the transport section may be acquired using the vehicle detector 80. The transport status acquisition unit 414 acquires the transport speed CV of the vehicle 100 by the transport device 500 from the transport speed detector 524 and stores it as the transport speed CV in the storage device 440. Note that, when the transport speed and the transport position are not used in the judgment of whether or not to stop the remote control by the remote control judgment unit 316, the transport status acquisition unit 414 may be omitted.

[0046] 5 is a flowchart showing a conveyance switching method for the vehicle 100 according to the first embodiment of the present disclosure. This flow starts when the vehicle 100, which has completed processing in the previous process, starts traveling toward the conveyance device 500. In the following, in order to facilitate understanding of the technique, the description will be made with reference to FIG. 1 as appropriate.

[0047] In step S10, the remote control unit 312 automatically drives the vehicle 100p toward the conveying device 500 by remote control, as shown in the range AR1 in FIG. 1. More specifically, the remote control unit 312 generates a control command for remote control using the position and orientation of the vehicle 100p estimated by the position estimation unit 314, and transmits the control command to the vehicle 100p. When the vehicle 100p arrives at the conveying device 500, the remote control unit 312 drives the vehicle 100p so as to pass over the start point SP of the conveyor unit 510 by remote control using the vehicle information acquired from the vehicle detector 80p. Note that, before the start of conveying by the conveying device 500, the conveying control device 400 acquires vehicle identification information from the vehicle 100p that has arrived at the conveying device 500, and checks whether the vehicle identification information matches the vehicle identification information of the conveying target in production management. However, the check may be omitted, and when the vehicle identification information is not used, the vehicle information acquisition unit 328 may be omitted.

[0048] In step S20, the remote control unit 312 remotely controls the vehicle 100 on the conveyor unit 510 to automatically travel to the transfer start position within range AR2. In step S30, as shown by vehicle 100q in FIG. 1, when the estimated position of vehicle 100q acquired by vehicle detector 80t reaches the transfer 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 lock unit 164 of the vehicle 100 by remote control, and switches the function of the transmission unit 162 to the P range. The remote control unit 312 may switch the function of the transmission unit 162 to the N range instead of the P range. In this case, it is preferable that the remote control unit 312 further drives an electric parking brake (EPB) or the like by remote control, to reliably stop the vehicle 100. In step S50, the remote control unit 312 stops the remote control of the vehicle 100.

[0050] Fig. 6 is an explanatory diagram showing a schematic diagram of a method for stopping the remote control at the transfer start position. Fig. 6 shows an enlarged view of the start point SP and its vicinity in the transfer section of the transfer device 500. The vehicle 100Q1 travels under the remote control of the remote control unit 312, passes over the start point SP, enters the conveyor unit 510, and arrives at the transfer start position.

[0051] The transfer start position is not limited to a predetermined fixed position, and can be set using a predetermined range. The transfer start position can be set using any range included in the transfer section of the transfer device 500, for example, on the premise that the vehicle 100Q1 can reach the position by remote-controlled automatic driving. "The vehicle 100Q1 has arrived at the transfer start position" means that the vehicle 100Q1 is in a state where it can be transferred by the transfer device 500, and for example, the entire vehicle 100Q1 does not have to be included in the range AR2, and for example, a part of the rear side of the vehicle 100Q1 may be out of the start point SP. The transfer start position may be set using a range wider than these ranges, taking into account an error in the stopping position of the vehicle 100 due to remote control. However, from the viewpoint of miniaturization of the conveyor unit 510, it is preferable that the range of the transfer start position is small. In addition, the transfer start position may be set individually for each individual vehicle corresponding to the vehicle identification information, taking into account the difference in size between vehicle types.

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

[0053] As shown in FIG. 6, the vehicle 100Q1 that has arrived at the transfer start position is ready to be transferred by the conveyor unit 510. When the vehicle 100Q1 reaches the transfer start position, the remote control determination unit 316 determines to stop remote control of the vehicle 100Q1. In this embodiment, whether the vehicle 100Q1 has arrived at the range AR2 can be determined using an estimated position of the vehicle 100Q1 relative to the start point SP in the three-dimensional point cloud data acquired by the vehicle detector 80p. However, whether the vehicle 100Q1 has arrived at the range AR2 may be detected by a detection result of the presence or absence of the vehicle 100Q1 in the range AR2 by the transfer position detector 526 installed in the range AR2, or the like.

[0054] In this embodiment, before stopping the remote control, the remote control unit 312 drives the lock unit 164 shown in FIG. 2 by remote control to switch the function of the transmission unit 162 to the P range. As a result, the transmission mechanism of the transmission unit 162 is fixed, and the vehicle 100Q1 is stopped from traveling. The remote control unit 312 may further turn off the power supply of the vehicle 100Q1 or the power supply of any part of the vehicle 100Q1. When the remote control unit 312 switches the vehicle 100Q1 to a traveling stop state, the remote control unit 312 stops the remote control of the vehicle 100Q1. In this embodiment, the remote control of the vehicle 100q can be stopped by stopping the generation of a control command by the remote control device 300 or by stopping the transmission of a control command to the vehicle 100q.

[0055] In this way, by stopping the remote control of the vehicle 100 during transportation by the transport device 500, it is possible to suppress power consumption of the remote control device 300 and the like, and also to reduce the processing burden of devices mounted on the vehicle 100Q1, such as the remote control device 300 and other control devices. Also, by stopping the traveling of the vehicle 100Q1 during transportation by the transport device 500, it is possible to suppress power consumption of the vehicle 100Q1. Also, by stopping the traveling of the vehicle 100Q1, for example, an operator can smoothly inspect the electric system, engine room, and the like of the vehicle 100Q1 during transportation of the vehicle 100Q1.

[0056] Returning to FIG. 5, in step S60, the transport control device 400 controls the motor 522 to drive the conveyor unit 510, thereby starting the transport of 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 checks whether there is an abnormality in the transport by the transport device 500. Whether the vehicle 100 is being transported by the transport device 500 can be detected, for example, by the presence or absence of the vehicles 100q, 100r acquired by the transport position detector 526 provided in the range AR2 or range AR3 shown in FIG. 2, or by vehicle information acquired by the vehicle detector 80t.

[0057] If transportation of the vehicle 100 is detected (S100: YES), the remote control unit 312 transitions the process to step S200. If transportation of the vehicle 100 is not detected (S100: NO), the remote control unit 312 transitions the process to step S110 and executes various abnormality measures. Note that the following steps S110 to S140 may be executed in any order or simultaneously.

[0058] In step S110, the transport instruction unit 322 outputs an instruction to the transport control device 400 to stop the transport of the vehicle 100 by the transport device 500, as an example of an abnormality measure. The transport control device 400 that has received the stop instruction stops the conveyor unit 510 by stopping the motor 522, etc., and stops the transport of the vehicle 100. Note that, in cases where the transport abnormality can be resolved quickly, the transport instruction unit 322 may output an instruction to reduce the transport speed of the vehicle 100 by the transport device 500 instead of stopping the transport device 500.

[0059] In step S120, the notification unit 324 notifies the fact that movement of the vehicle 100 has not been detected, that an abnormality measure has been taken, etc. The notification unit 324 notifies, for example, a worker who performs work 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 following instruction unit 326 outputs an instruction to delay the timing at which the following vehicle arrives at the conveying device 500. The following instruction unit 326 can output the instruction to, for example, a process management device for a previous process, a production management device that manages each process, a remote control device that drives the following vehicle by remote control, and the like. The following instruction unit 326 delays the timing at which the following vehicle arrives according to, for example, a delay time with respect to a target production time. By delaying the arrival of the following vehicle, it is possible to suppress the following vehicle from arriving at the conveying device 500 before the conveying device 500 is restored, and suppress or prevent an increase in work-in-progress waiting to be conveyed by the conveying device 500, thereby suppressing a decrease in production efficiency.

[0061] In step S140, the transport instruction unit 322 outputs an instruction to the transport control device 400 to operate the stopped transport device 500. As a result, the transport of the vehicle 100 by the transport device 500 is resumed. If 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 the transport control device 400 to return the reduced transport speed CV to the original transport speed CV. In order to eliminate the delay with respect to the target production time, the transport speed CV may be set to a transport speed faster than the transport speed before the restart. In addition, the following instruction unit 326 restores the traveling of the delayed following vehicle to normal traveling.

[0062] In step S200, the remote control unit 312 detects that 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 remotely controlled can be detected from, for example, the transport position detector 526 provided in the range AR4 shown in FIG. 1 or 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 reached 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 range by remote control, and starts the vehicle 100 traveling by remote control. Specifically, the remote control unit 312 drives the lock unit 164 to release the fixing of the transmission mechanism of the transmission unit 162, and switches the vehicle 100 to a traveling state. As shown in the range AR4 of FIG. 1, the remote control device 300 uses the vehicle information acquired from the vehicle detector 80t to generate a control command for automatically traveling the vehicle 100s and transmits it to the vehicle 100s. In step S240, the remote control unit 312 remotely controls the vehicle 100s to leave the conveyor unit 510, and ends this flow. The vehicle 100t that has left the transport device 500 is delivered to the next process by automatic traveling.

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

[0065] According to the remote control device 300 of this embodiment, the remote control determination unit 316 determines to stop remote control when the estimated position of the vehicle 100 acquired by the position estimation unit 314 reaches the transfer start position. The vehicle 100 can be caused to reach the transfer start position of the transport device 500, and whether the vehicle 100 has been placed at the transfer start position can be performed by the vehicle detector 80 and the remote control device 300, without using each unit of the transport device 500. Therefore, by stopping the remote control at the transfer start position of the transport device 500, it is possible to reduce the power consumption and processing load of the remote control device 300, etc. during transport by the transport device 500, and to efficiently switch the transport method.

[0066] According to the remote control device 300 of this embodiment, the remote control unit 312 stops remote control by either stopping generation of a control command or stopping transmission of the generated control command to the vehicle 100. Therefore, remote control can be stopped in a simpler manner than powering off the remote control device 300 or the vehicle 100, thereby reducing the processing load during transportation by the transport device 500. Furthermore, when transportation of the vehicle 100 by the transport device 500 ends, remote control can be easily resumed.

[0067] According to the remote control device 300 of this embodiment, when the remote control determination unit 316 determines to stop the remote control, the remote control unit 312 switches to either an N range state in which power from the driving motor 168 is not transmitted to the wheels 166 of the vehicle 100, or a P range state in which the transmission unit 162 for transmitting power from the driving motor 168 to the wheels 166 is fixed, and then stops the remote control. By switching the vehicle 100 to a state in which it cannot run before transportation by the transport device 500, it is possible to suppress or prevent the position of the vehicle 100 from shifting during transportation by the transport device 500.

[0068] The remote control device 300 of this embodiment further includes a succeeding instruction unit 326 that outputs an instruction to delay the timing of arrival at the conveyance device 500 of the succeeding vehicle that is scheduled to be conveyed by the conveyance device 500 after the vehicle 100, at the conveyance device 500, when the vehicle 100 is not conveyed by the conveyance device 500 after the vehicle 100 is conveyed after the vehicle 100 is conveyed, when the vehicle 100 is stopped at the conveyance start position without conveyance by the conveyance device 500 being started, so that the succeeding vehicle can be prevented from colliding with the vehicle 100.

[0069] The remote control device 300 of this embodiment further includes a notification unit 324 that issues a notification 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 against the transport abnormality, and can prompt the transport device 500 to recover quickly.

[0070] The remote control device 300 of this 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, the transport by the transport device 500 is stopped, thereby making it possible to secure time to execute abnormality measures.

[0071] B. Second embodiment: FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing a method for transporting the vehicle 100 according to the second embodiment. The transport method according to this embodiment differs from the transport method according to the first embodiment shown in FIG. 5 in that steps S40 and S230 are omitted. In the first embodiment, when the remote control determination unit 316 determines that the remote control is to be stopped, the function of the transmission unit 162 is switched to the P range state and then the remote control is stopped. In contrast, for example, when the movement of the vehicle 100 is restricted by a fixture or the like for fixing the vehicle 100 during transport by the transport device 500, the remote control may be stopped without switching the function of the transmission unit 162 as in this embodiment.

[0072] The transport method of this embodiment differs from the transport method of the first embodiment in that the processes from step S100 to step S140 are omitted. Specifically, in the above-described first embodiment, an example was shown in which abnormality measures from step S110 to step S140 are executed when the vehicle 100 is not transported by the transport device 500 after the remote control is stopped. In contrast, as in this embodiment, the processes from step S100 to step S140 may be omitted so that these abnormality measures are not executed. However, any one of abnormality measures such as stopping the transport device 500, an alarm by the alarm unit 324, and output of an instruction to delay the arrival timing of the following vehicle, or an arbitrary combination of these abnormality measures may be executed.

[0073] The transport method of this embodiment is different from the transport 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 to stop the remote control in step S30, the process proceeds to step S300. In step S300, the remote control determination unit 316 further confirms the transport speed CV of the vehicle 100 by the transport device 500 and compares it with the reference speed SV. If the confirmed transport speed CV is slower than the reference speed SV (S300: YES), the remote control unit 312 proceeds to step S50. The remote control unit 312 may confirm the transport time instead of the transport speed CV, and proceed to step S50 if the transport time is longer than the reference transport time. In step S50, the remote control unit 312 stops the remote control of the vehicle 100 by the same method as in the first embodiment. More specifically, the remote control unit 312 stops the movement of the vehicle 100 without turning off the power to the vehicle 100, by stopping the generation of control commands for remotely controlling the vehicle 100 or by stopping the transmission of the generated control commands to the vehicle 100.

[0074] If the conveying speed CV is equal to or higher than the reference speed SV (S300: NO), the remote control unit 312 shifts the process to step S310 and turns off the power supply of the vehicle 100 by remote control. "Turning off the power supply 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 may be stopped by turning off the power supply of the vehicle 100 in step S320, or may be stopped by stopping the generation of the control command for remotely controlling the vehicle 100 by the remote control unit 312 or stopping the transmission of the generated control command to the vehicle 100, as in the first embodiment. In step S322, the conveyance control device 400 controls the motor 522 to drive the conveyor 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 a remote control preparation start position. The "remote control preparation start position" is a position where advance preparation is started to enable remote control to be executed at a predetermined position. In this embodiment, the "predetermined position" is any position within the range AR4, and the preparation start position is a position included in the range AR3. The arrival of the vehicle 100 at the preparation start position can be detected by the transport position detector 526 provided in the range AR3 or the like. If the vehicle detector 80 is provided in the range AR3, the vehicle detector 80 may detect the arrival of the vehicle 100 at the preparation start position. In step S340, the remote control unit 312 turns on the power of the vehicle 100 and starts controlling each part of the vehicle 100 and the remote control device 300 to start preparation for remote control. Preparation for remote control is completed by the time the vehicle 100 reaches an area where it can be transported by remote control, and the remote control unit 312 can start 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 checks the transport speed CV of the vehicle 100 by the transport device 500. When the confirmed transport speed CV is slower than the predetermined reference speed SV, the remote control unit 312 turns off the power of the vehicle 100 and stops the remote control. When the transport speed CV is equal to or higher than the reference speed SV, the remote control is stopped without turning off the power of the vehicle 100. When the transport time by the transport device 500 is long and sufficient preparation time for resuming the remote control is obtained, the power of the vehicle 100 is turned off to reduce the power consumption of the vehicle 100, and when the transport time is short and the preparation time for resuming the remote control is short, instead of turning off the power of the vehicle 100, the remote control of the vehicle 100 is stopped by a simple method, so that the remote control can be resumed early. Therefore, the remote control can be stopped in a suitable state for each transport time by the transport device 500.

[0077] C. Third embodiment: 9 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 conveyance system 600 differs from the first embodiment in that it does not include the remote control device 300. Specifically, it differs from the first embodiment in that the ECU 200c provided in the vehicle 100 has a function as a conveyance method switching device instead of the remote control device 300. The other configurations of the conveyance system 600 are the same as those of the first embodiment unless otherwise described.

[0078] As shown in Fig. 8, the ECU 200c differs 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 implementing 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 notification 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 further 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 notification unit 224, the subsequent instruction unit 226, and the vehicle information acquisition unit 228 corresponding to these functions. The storage device 220c also stores the reference speed SV stored in the remote control device 300. In this embodiment, the driving control determination unit 216 uses the transportation start position of the transport device 500 and the vehicle position to determine whether or not to stop the automatic traveling of the vehicle 100 by the driving control. The driving control determination unit 216 is an example of a movement control determination unit that uses the transportation start position and the moving body position to determine whether or not to stop the movement 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 traveling by the driving control is to be stopped. According to the vehicle 100 configured in this manner, the vehicle 100 has the function of a transportation method switching device, so that it is possible to smoothly switch from a transportation method using the traveling of the vehicle 100 by remote control to a transportation method of the vehicle 100 by the transportation device 500 without using a device separate from the vehicle 100, such as the remote control device 300.

[0079] FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing a driving method of the vehicle 100 according to the present embodiment. The position estimation unit 214 acquires the position and orientation of the vehicle 100 using the vehicle information output from the vehicle detector 80 (step S410). The driving control unit 212 determines the target position to which the vehicle 100 should next move (step S420). In the present embodiment, an ideal route is stored in advance in the storage device 220c of the ECU 200c. The driving control unit 212 generates a driving control signal for driving the vehicle 100 toward the determined target position (step S430). The driving control unit 212 controls the actuator 140 using the generated driving control signal to drive the vehicle 100 at the acceleration and steering angle represented by the driving control signal (step S440). The driving control unit 212 repeats the acquisition of the position and orientation of the vehicle 100, the determination of the target position, the generation of the driving control signal, and the control of the actuator 140 at a predetermined cycle. According to the vehicle 100 of this embodiment, the vehicle 100 can be caused to run under autonomous control without remotely controlling the vehicle 100 using the remote control device 300.

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

[0081] (D2) In the above embodiment, an example in which the vehicle detector 80 is a LiDAR was shown. In contrast, instead of or together with the LiDAR, an external camera provided at a location different from the vehicle 100 can be used as the vehicle detector 80. 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 can estimate the position of the vehicle 100 and the orientation of the vehicle 100 using the captured image acquired by the external camera. The position of the vehicle 100 can be acquired, for example, by calculating the coordinates of the positioning point of the vehicle 100 in the image coordinate system using the outer shape of the vehicle 100 detected from the captured image, and converting the calculated coordinates into coordinates in the global coordinate system. The orientation of the vehicle 100 can be estimated based on the orientation of the movement vector of the vehicle 100 calculated from the position change of the feature point of the vehicle 100 between frames of the captured image, for example, using an optical flow method. The orientation of the vehicle 100 may be calculated, for example, using the output result of a yaw rate sensor or the like mounted on the vehicle 100.

[0082] The outer shape of the vehicle 100 included in the captured image can be detected, for example, by inputting the captured image into a detection model that utilizes artificial intelligence. As the detection model, for example, a trained machine learning model that has been trained to realize either semantic segmentation or instance segmentation can be used. As this machine learning model, for example, a convolutional neural network (hereinafter, CNN) trained by supervised learning using a training dataset can be used. The training dataset has, for example, a plurality of training images including the vehicle 100, and a correct answer label indicating whether each area in the training image is an area indicating the vehicle 100 or an area indicating something other than the vehicle 100. During training of the CNN, it is preferable that the parameters of the CNN are updated by backpropagation (error backpropagation method) so as to reduce an error between the output result of the detection model and the correct answer label.

[0083] (D3) In the above embodiments, examples have been given in which the vehicle 100 is a passenger car, a truck, a bus, a construction vehicle, and the like. However, the vehicle 100 may be various moving bodies. The term "moving body" refers to an object that can move, such as a vehicle or an electric vertical take-off and landing aircraft (a so-called flying car). The vehicle may be a vehicle that runs on wheels or a vehicle that runs on caterpillar tracks, such as a two-wheeled vehicle, a four-wheeled vehicle, or a tank. The vehicle includes an electric vehicle (BEV: Battery Electric Vehicle), a gasoline vehicle, a hybrid vehicle, and a fuel cell vehicle. When the moving body is other than a vehicle, the expressions "vehicle" and "car" in this disclosure may be appropriately replaced with "moving body", and the expression "running" may be appropriately replaced with "movement".

[0084] (D4) The vehicle 100 may have a configuration capable of moving by unmanned driving. For example, the vehicle 100 may be in the form of a platform having the configuration described below. Specifically, the vehicle 100 may have at least the ECU 200, a drive device, a steering device, and a braking device in order to perform the three functions of "running," "turning," and "stopping" by unmanned driving. When the vehicle 100 acquires information from the outside for unmanned driving, the vehicle 100 may further have a vehicle communication device 190. That is, the vehicle 100 capable of moving by unmanned driving may not have at least a part of interior parts such as a driver's seat and a dashboard, may not have at least a part of exterior parts such as a bumper and a fender, and may not have a body shell. In this case, the remaining parts such as a body shell may be attached to the vehicle 100 before the vehicle 100 is shipped from the factory, or the remaining parts such as a body shell may be attached to the vehicle 100 after the vehicle 100 is shipped from the factory in a state in which the remaining parts such as the body shell are not attached to the vehicle 100. Each part may be attached from any direction, such as the upper side, lower side, front side, rear side, right side, or left side of the vehicle 100, and may be attached from the same direction or from different directions. Note that the position of the platform shape may be determined in the same manner as the vehicle 100 in the first embodiment.

[0085] (D5) The vehicle 100 may be manufactured by any manufacturing method. For example, the vehicle 100 may be manufactured by combining a plurality of modules. A module means a unit composed of a plurality of parts grouped according to the location or function of the vehicle 100. For example, the platform of the vehicle 100 may be manufactured by combining a front module that constitutes the front part of the platform, a central module that constitutes the central part of the platform, and a rear module that constitutes the rear part of the platform. The number of modules that constitute the platform is not limited to three, and may be two or less, or four or more. In addition to or instead of the parts that constitute the platform, parts that constitute parts of the vehicle 100 that are different from the platform may be modularized. The various modules may include any exterior parts such as a bumper or a grille, or any interior parts such as a seat or a console. In addition, not limited to the vehicle 100, any type of moving 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 a fastener, or may be manufactured by integrally molding at least a part of the parts that constitute the module as one part by casting. The molding method for integrally molding a single component, particularly a relatively large component, is also called gigacast or megacast. For example, the front module, the center module, and the rear module may be manufactured using gigacast.

[0086] (D6) In the above first embodiment, an example was shown in which the remote control device 300 executes the processes from acquiring the position and orientation of the vehicle 100 to generating the driving control signal. However, at least a part of the processes from acquiring the position and orientation of the vehicle 100 to generating the driving control signal may be executed by the vehicle 100. For example, the following forms (1) to (3) may be used.

[0087] (1) The remote control device 300 may acquire the position and orientation of the vehicle 100, determine a target position to which the vehicle 100 should next head, and generate a route from the current location of the vehicle 100, which is indicated in the acquired position, to the target position. The remote control device 300 may generate a route to a target position between the current location and the destination, or may generate a route to the destination. The remote control device 300 may transmit the generated route to the vehicle 100. The vehicle 100 may generate a travel control signal so that the vehicle 100 travels on the route received from the remote control device 300, and control the actuator 140 using the generated travel control signal.

[0088] (2) The remote control device 300 may acquire the position and orientation of the vehicle 100, and transmit the acquired position and orientation to the vehicle 100. The vehicle 100 may determine a target position to which the vehicle 100 should next head, generate a route from the current location of the vehicle 100 indicated in the received position to the target position, generate a driving control signal so that the vehicle 100 travels along the generated route, and control the actuator 140 using the generated driving control signal.

[0089] (3) In the above embodiments (1) to (2), the vehicle 100 may be equipped with an internal sensor, and a detection result output from the internal sensor may be used for at least one of generating a route and generating a driving control signal. The internal sensor may include, for example, a camera, a LiDAR, a millimeter wave radar, an ultrasonic sensor, a GPS sensor, an acceleration sensor, and a gyro sensor. For example, in the above embodiment (1), the remote control device 300 may acquire the detection result of the internal sensor, and when generating a route, may reflect the detection result of the internal sensor in the route. In the above embodiment (1), the vehicle 100 may acquire the detection result of the internal sensor, and when generating a driving control signal, may reflect the detection result of the internal sensor in the driving control signal. In the above embodiment (2), the vehicle 100 may acquire the detection result of the internal sensor, and when generating a route, may reflect the detection result of the internal sensor in the route. In the above embodiment (2), the vehicle 100 may acquire the detection result of the internal sensor, and when generating a route, may reflect the detection result of the internal sensor in the driving control signal.

[0090] (D7) In the above second embodiment, an internal sensor may be mounted on the vehicle 100, and a detection result output from the internal sensor may be used for at least one of generating a route and generating a driving control signal. For example, the vehicle 100 may acquire the detection result of the internal sensor, and when generating a route, may reflect the detection result of the internal sensor in the route. The vehicle 100 may acquire the detection result of the internal sensor, and when generating a driving control signal, may reflect the detection result of the internal sensor in the driving control signal.

[0091] (D8) In the second embodiment, the vehicle 100 acquires the position and orientation of the vehicle 100 using the detection result of the vehicle detector 80. In contrast, the vehicle 100 may be equipped with an internal sensor, and the vehicle 100 may acquire the position and orientation using the detection result of the internal sensor, determine the target position to which the vehicle 100 should next head, generate a route from the current location of the vehicle 100 represented by the acquired position and orientation to the target position, generate a travel control signal for traveling along the generated route, and control the actuator 140 using the generated travel control signal. In this case, the vehicle 100 can travel without using any of the detection results of the vehicle detector 80. The vehicle 100 may acquire the target arrival time and traffic congestion information from outside the vehicle 100, and reflect the target arrival time and traffic congestion information in at least one of the route and the travel control signal. In addition, the configuration of the transport system 600 and the functional configuration of the remote control device 300 may all be provided in the vehicle 100. In other words, the processes performed by the conveying system 600 and the remote control device 300 shown in the present disclosure, such as the process of switching at least one device provided in the vehicle 100 from a standby state to an operating state, may be performed by the vehicle 100 alone.

[0092] (D9) In the above first embodiment, the remote control device 300 automatically generates a driving control signal to be transmitted to the vehicle 100. In contrast, the remote control device 300 may generate a driving control signal to be transmitted to the vehicle 100 in accordance with the operation of an operator located outside the vehicle 100. For example, the operator may operate a control device including a display for displaying an 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 by wired communication or wireless communication, and the remote control device 300 may generate a driving control signal in accordance with the operation applied to the control device.

[0093] (D10) Transporting a vehicle using unmanned vehicle driving is also called "self-propelled transport." Also, a configuration for realizing self-propelled transport is also called a "vehicle remote-controlled autonomous driving transport system." Also, a production method for producing vehicles using self-propelled transport is also called "self-propelled production." In self-propelled production, for example, at a factory where vehicles are manufactured, at least a part of the transportation of the vehicles is realized by self-propelled transport.

[0094] (D11) Some or all of the functions of the conveyor control unit 412 and the like realized by the transport control device 400 shown in each of the above embodiments may be realized by the remote control device 300. In other words, the transport system 600 may be configured by the remote control device 300 alone.

[0095] The control and the method described in the present disclosure may be realized by a special-purpose computer provided by configuring a processor and a memory programmed to execute one or more functions embodied in a computer program. Alternatively, the control unit and the method described in the present disclosure may be realized by a special-purpose computer provided by configuring a processor with one or more dedicated hardware logic circuits. Alternatively, the control unit and the method described in the present disclosure may be realized by one or more special-purpose computers configured by a combination of a processor and a memory programmed to execute one or more functions and a processor configured with one or more hardware logic circuits. In addition, the computer program may be stored in a computer-readable non-transitory tangible recording medium as instructions executed by a computer.

[0096] The present disclosure is not limited to the above-mentioned embodiment, and can be realized in various configurations without departing from the spirit of the present disclosure. For example, the technical features in the embodiments corresponding to the technical features in each aspect described in the Summary of the Invention column can be appropriately replaced or combined to solve some or all of the above-mentioned problems or to achieve some or all of the above-mentioned effects. Furthermore, if the technical feature is not described as essential in this specification, it can be appropriately deleted. [Explanation of symbols]

[0097] 80, 80p, 80t...vehicle detector, 100, 100Q1, 100p, 100q, 100r, 100s, 100t...vehicle, 140...actuator, 160...drive device, 162...transmission unit, 164...lock unit, 166...wheel, 168...travel motor, 190...vehicle communication device, 200, 200c...ECU, 210, 210c, 310, 410...CPU, 212...driving control unit, 214...position estimation unit, 216...driving control determination unit, 218...transport information acquisition unit, 222...transport instruction unit, 224...notification unit, 226...following instruction unit, 228...vehicle information acquisition unit, 220, 220c, 340, 440...storage device, 230, 350, 450...interface circuit, 300...remote control device, 312...remote control unit, 314...position estimation unit, 316...remote control judgment unit, 318...transport information acquisition unit, 322...transport instruction unit, 324...alert unit, 326...follow-up instruction unit, 328...vehicle information acquisition unit, 390...remote communication device, 400...transport control device, 412...conveyor control unit, 414...transport status acquisition unit, 490...transport communication device, 500...transport device, 510...conveyor unit, 522...motor, 524...transport speed detector, 526...transport position detector, 600...transport system, CV...transport speed, EP...end point, SP...start point, SR...travel path, SV...reference speed, VP...vehicle position

Claims

1. A conveying method switching device, a position estimation unit that estimates a 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 a moving body that can move by unmanned driving and three-dimensional point cloud data of the moving body; a command generation unit that generates and outputs a control command for automatically moving the moving object by movement control using the estimated position of the moving object; a movement control determination unit that determines whether to stop the movement control using a conveyance start position of the moving body in a conveyance device that can convey the moving body in a predetermined conveyance section and a moving body position that is a position of the moving body in the conveyance section, the moving body position including the estimated position; The command generation unit stops the movement control when the movement control determination unit determines that the movement control should be stopped. Conveying method switching device.

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

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

4. The conveying method switching device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, When the movement control determination unit determines that the movement control should be stopped, the command generation unit switches to either a state in which power from a prime mover is not transmitted to a movement unit for moving the moving body, or a state in which a transmission unit for transmitting power from the prime mover to the movement unit is fixed, and then stops the movement control. Conveying method switching device.

5. The conveying method switching device according to claim 1, further comprising a transport information acquisition unit that acquires a transport speed of the moving object transported by the transport device, the movement control determination unit further checks the acquired conveying speed when it is determined by the movement control determination unit to stop the movement control; The command generation unit If the confirmed transport speed is slower than a predetermined reference speed, turning off the power supply of the moving body and generating and outputting a control command to stop the movement control; If the confirmed transport speed is equal to or greater than the reference speed, the power supply to the moving body is not turned off, and the movement control is stopped. Conveying method switching device.

6. The conveying method switching device according to claim 1, and a subsequent instruction unit that outputs an instruction to delay the timing at which a subsequent moving object to be transported by the transport device after the moving object arrives at the transport device when the moving object is not transported by the transport device after the movement control is stopped. Conveying method switching device.

7. The conveying method switching device according to claim 1, The control unit further includes a notification unit that notifies the user when the moving object is not transported by the transport device after the movement control is stopped. Conveying method switching device.

8. The conveying method switching device according to claim 1, Further, a transport instruction unit is provided that outputs an instruction to stop the transport of the moving body by the transport device when the moving body is not transported by the transport device after the movement control is stopped. Conveying method switching device.

9. A transportation switching method, estimating a position of the moving body using 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; determining whether to stop movement control of the moving body using a transport start position of the moving body in a transport device capable of transporting the moving body in a predetermined transport section and a moving body position that is a position of the moving body in the transport section, the moving body position including an estimated position of the moving body; When it is determined that the movement control should be stopped, the movement control is stopped. Transport switching method.

10. A mobile body that can move by unmanned operation, a position estimation unit that estimates a position of the moving object using moving object information detected by a moving object detector that detects moving object information of at least one of an image of the moving object and three-dimensional point cloud data of the moving object; a command generation unit that generates and outputs a control command for automatically moving the moving object by movement control using the estimated position of the moving object; a movement control determination unit that determines whether to stop the movement control using a conveyance start position of the moving body in a conveyance device that can convey the moving body in a predetermined conveyance section and a moving body position that is a position of the moving body in the conveyance section, the moving body position including the estimated position; The command generation unit stops the movement control when the movement control determination unit determines that the movement control should be stopped. Mobile object.

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