Work vehicle

Abstract

To provide a work vehicle that can reduce burdens on a worker and reduce a working time while performing work accurately.SOLUTION: A work vehicle is equipped with: a part 41 for loading cargoes on a vehicle provided on a chassis 2; a connection switching part 42 which is connected between the part 41 for loading cargoes on a vehicle and an airframe hatch 12 of an airplane 11 from which the cargoes are carried or to which the cargoes are carried, and which is used to switch cargoes; cameras 437a, 437b and 439 which are provided in the connection switching part 42 and which acquire data on surrounding object images; and a control part 220 that controls driving actuators 412, 443, 444 and 452 on the basis of acquired results by the cameras 437a, 437b and 439, so that the connection switching part 42 is moved relatively to the chassis 2. The control part 220 comprises an object image identification unit 221 having an object detection part 223 that detects an object from a distance image and a storing part 225 storing identifiers M1, M2 and M3 that are used by the object image detection part 223 in order to detect the airframe hatch 12.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 7

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a work vehicle that includes a luggage carrying section provided on a vehicle chassis, and a connection and switching section that is connected between the luggage carrying section and a luggage loading / unloading section at a luggage destination or luggage source and is used to switch luggage. [Background technology]

[0002] 2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as this type of work vehicle, there is known one that enters an airport and performs baggage replacement work on the body of an airplane (see, for example, Patent Document 1). The work vehicle in the above-mentioned Patent Document 1 is a high-lift truck for airports, commonly known as a catering truck, and is configured so that a box-shaped baggage carrying section can be raised and lowered relative to the chassis by a scissor-link type lifting mechanism. This high-lift truck for airports also includes a platform that is movable relative to the baggage carrying section and serves as a connecting / switching section that connects the body of the airplane and the baggage carrying section.

[0003] The airport high lift truck transports in-flight meal carts loaded with in-flight meals from the in-flight meal factory to aircraft parked at the airport, and travels not only within the airport but also on public roads. An operator parks the airport high lift truck at a designated parking position below the aircraft's doorway, raises the baggage carrier and platform to the height of the aircraft's doorway, and then moves the platform horizontally to connect to the doorway. The operator then transports the in-flight meal cart in the baggage carrier through the platform and doorway to the galley inside the aircraft. In this way, the in-flight meal cart as baggage is swapped between the baggage carrier and the aircraft as the baggage loading / unloading section. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] JP 2005-225569 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] In conventional airport high-lift trucks, after stopping the truck, the worker raises and lowers the baggage compartment and moves the platform horizontally to align the platform tip near the bottom edge of the aircraft's entrance, but this alignment operation requires careful operation by the worker. If the platform tip hits the aircraft's entrance door or its surroundings and damages the aircraft, it could have a significant impact on the operation of the aircraft, which was a burden on the worker. In addition, after a worker first aligns the height position of the baggage carrying section with the height of the aircraft's entrance, if a misalignment occurs between the height position of the baggage carrying section and the height position of the aircraft's entrance due to refueling, etc., the worker must then fine-tune the height position of the baggage carrying section again. The burden on the worker is also increased in that the worker must constantly check whether the misalignment exceeds an acceptable range. In addition, when the above-mentioned truck parks at a designated position below the aircraft's entrance, the entrance is no longer in the forward field of view of the worker in the driver's seat when the truck gets close enough to the aircraft, making it difficult to determine a suitable stopping position for connecting the baggage loading section to the aircraft entrance, so another worker is needed to guide the truck.

[0006] The present invention has been made in consideration of the above-mentioned circumstances, and aims to provide a work vehicle that is equipped with a luggage carrying section provided on the chassis, and a connection and switching section that is connected between the luggage carrying section and a luggage loading / unloading section at the luggage destination or source, and is used to switch luggage, thereby enabling accurate work to be performed while reducing the burden on workers. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] The present invention provides a means for solving the above-mentioned problems as follows: That is, a first invention is characterized by comprising a luggage carrying section provided on a vehicle chassis, a connection switching section provided on the luggage carrying section and connected between the luggage carrying section and a luggage loading / unloading section of a luggage destination or luggage source for switching luggage, an object image acquisition section provided on the luggage carrying section and / or the connection switching section for acquiring data on surrounding object images, and a control section for controlling a drive actuator based on the acquisition result of the object image acquisition section to move the luggage carrying section and / or the connection switching section relatively to the vehicle chassis.

[0008] According to the first aspect of the present invention, the control unit can recognize the positional relationship between the luggage loading / unloading unit and the luggage vehicle mounting unit and the connection and replacement unit on behalf of the worker using the object image acquisition unit. Then, based on the recognized positional relationship, the control unit can move the luggage vehicle mounting unit and the connection and replacement unit to appropriate positions relative to the vehicle chassis. That is, the movement of the luggage vehicle mounting unit and the connection and replacement unit is automatically controlled based on the acquisition result of surrounding object image data by the object image acquisition unit. Moreover, the movement control is performed without hesitation based on objective object image data, so work can be performed accurately and quickly. In addition, after the height position of the luggage carrying section has been temporarily adjusted to the height of the aircraft's entrance / exit, if a positional deviation occurs between the height position of the luggage carrying section and the height position of the aircraft's entrance / exit, the control section can recognize the positional deviation using the object image acquisition section and automatically correct the position. As a result, the operator is no longer required to perform the conventional positioning operation, and the workload is reduced. In the airport high lift truck, the control unit accurately aligns the platform tip near the lower edge of the aircraft's fuselage doorway without the operator having to perform the operation. This reduces the operator's burden and shortens the work time while performing the work accurately when using the airport high lift truck to transport in-flight meal carts and the like.

[0009] In a second invention, in the first invention, the luggage carrying section is configured to be able to be raised and lowered relative to the chassis by a lifting mechanism, and the control section is configured to move the luggage carrying section in the lifting and lowering direction by controlling the drive actuator of the lifting mechanism based on the acquisition results of the object image acquisition section.

[0010] According to the second invention, the baggage carrying unit is automatically controlled to be elevated and positioned at an accurate height based on the data of the surrounding object image acquired by the object image acquisition unit. This makes it possible to automate the operation of lifting the baggage carrying unit to the height of the aircraft's doorway after the operator stops the airport high-lift truck at a predetermined parking position below the aircraft's doorway. As a result, the operator does not need to carefully control the elevation of the baggage carrying unit as in the past, reducing the burden on the operator.

[0011] In a third aspect of the present invention, the hydraulic system according to the second aspect of the present invention further includes a hydraulic pump that drives the drive actuator, a hydraulic control valve that switches the direction of movement of the drive actuator, and a hydraulic oil tank provided between the hydraulic pump and the hydraulic control valve, The control unit is configured to switch the hydraulic control valve with the hydraulic pump stopped when lowering the luggage carrier based on the results of acquisition by the object image acquisition unit, and to release hydraulic oil from the drive actuator of the lifting mechanism to the hydraulic oil tank.

[0012] According to the third invention, the position of the luggage carrying part in the downward direction can be adjusted based on the data of the surrounding object image acquired by the object image acquisition part without driving the hydraulic pump. In the case of an airport high lift truck, the height of the luggage carrying part is once adjusted to the height of the entrance of the aircraft, and then the height of the entrance of the aircraft is lowered due to refueling of the aircraft, etc., and the height of the luggage carrying part is slightly lowered for fine adjustment. In such a case, it is possible to shorten the work time and save energy by switching the hydraulic control valve to lower the luggage carrying part according to gravity, rather than first adjusting the height of the luggage carrying part and then driving the stopped hydraulic pump again to lower the luggage carrying part.

[0013] In a fourth invention, in any one of the first to third inventions, the connection switching unit is connected to the baggage carrying unit so as to rise and fall together with the baggage carrying unit, and is configured so that at least a part of the connection switching unit can be moved horizontally relative to the baggage carrying unit by a horizontal movement mechanism, and the control unit is configured to move the connection switching unit horizontally by controlling the drive actuator of the horizontal movement mechanism based on the acquisition result of the object image acquisition unit.

[0014] According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, the connection and switching unit is automatically controlled to move horizontally and accurately aligned with the entrance / exit based on the data of the surrounding object image acquired by the object image acquisition unit. This automates the operation of an airport high-lift truck in which an operator parks the truck at a predetermined parking position below the entrance / exit of an airplane body, raises the baggage carrier unit to the height of the entrance / exit of the aircraft, and then moves the platform as the connection and switching unit horizontally. As a result, the horizontal control of the connection and switching unit does not require careful operation as in the past, reducing the burden on the operator.

[0015] In a fifth invention, in any one of the first to fourth inventions, a display unit that displays the vehicle's traveling direction is connected to the control unit, and the control unit is configured to create stopping guide information regarding a specified stopping position relative to the baggage loading / unloading area based on the acquisition results of the object image acquisition unit, and display it on the display unit.

[0016] According to the fifth invention, the worker can easily stop the vehicle at a predetermined stopping position while referring to the stopping guide information displayed on the display unit. In addition, the display unit notifies the worker of obstacles in the vehicle's traveling direction until the vehicle stops, so the worker can easily recognize the approach of an obstacle without constantly looking around. This allows the airport high-lift truck to easily stop at the predetermined stopping position without the need for another worker to guide the vehicle to the stopping position. As a result, the number of workers required for guidance can be reduced, and the burden on the worker driving the work vehicle can be reduced.

[0017] In a sixth invention, in any one of the first to fifth inventions, the control unit is provided with an object image recognition unit that processes data acquired from the object image acquisition unit to recognize an object, and the object image recognition unit has a distance image generation unit that generates a distance image from the data, an object detection unit that detects the object from the generated distance image, and a memory unit that contains an identifier used by the object image detection unit to detect the luggage loading / unloading section.

[0018] According to the sixth aspect of the invention, the control unit can recognize not only the two-dimensional shape of the object but also the distance to the object by the object image recognition unit. Then, the control unit can accurately grasp the position to the baggage loading and unloading unit that is the approach target by using the identifier of the baggage loading and unloading unit. This allows the connection and switching unit to be accurately connected to the object storage unit. In the airport high lift truck, the tip of the platform as the connection and switching unit can be accurately aligned with the aircraft body entrance as the baggage loading and unloading unit.

[0019] In a seventh invention, in the sixth invention, the identifier has a first identifier used when the vehicle approaches the baggage loading / unloading section as the vehicle is traveling, and a second identifier used when moving the connection / switching section after the vehicle stops at a predetermined stopping position relative to the baggage loading / unloading section.

[0020] According to the seventh invention, even if the appearance of the baggage loading / unloading section from the object image acquisition unit is significantly different between when the vehicle approaches the baggage loading / unloading section by driving the vehicle and when the connection switching unit is moved after the vehicle stops at a predetermined stopping position relative to the baggage loading / unloading section, the identifier is changed according to each appearance, so that the position of the baggage loading / unloading section can be accurately recognized in either case. In an airport high-lift truck, when the vehicle is stopped at a predetermined stopping position, if the optical axis of the object image acquisition unit is directed in the direction of travel of the vehicle, only the part of the aircraft body serving as the baggage loading / unloading section below the entrance is visible. If the entrance of the aircraft is to be viewed from this stopping position, the optical axis of the object image acquisition unit needs to be directed diagonally upward, but the shape of the entrance as viewed from this upward angle is significantly different from the shape of the entrance as viewed from the front of the aircraft entrance. In this case, if an attempt is made to recognize the entrance using only an identifier for the shape of the aircraft entrance according to one of the two ways of viewing, a recognition error will occur when the baggage loading / unloading section and the platform are either in the lowered state or the raised state. Therefore, if a classifier for the shape of the aircraft entrance when viewed from above and a classifier for the shape of the aircraft entrance when viewed from the front are stored in the memory section of the object image recognition unit, the aircraft entrance can be accurately recognized whether the baggage loading section and platform are in a lowered or raised state.

[0021] In an eighth invention, in the seventh invention, the control unit is configured to switch between using the first identifier and using the second identifier based on the switching timing of a power switching switch that switches between the power for vehicle running and the power for moving the connection switching unit after the vehicle is stopped at the specified stopping position.

[0022] According to the eighth aspect of the present invention, the switching between the identifiers of the baggage loading / unloading section required before the vehicle stops and the identifiers of the baggage loading / unloading section required when moving the connection and switching section after the vehicle stops can be automatically performed immediately before the connection and switching section starts to move. This eliminates the need for the worker to manually switch the identifiers, thereby reducing the burden on the worker. In addition, there is no risk of forgetting to switch the identifiers, which improves the accuracy of the work.

[0023] In a ninth invention, in any one of the first to eighth inventions, the control unit has a communication unit that wirelessly communicates with a management center, and a position information acquisition unit is connected to the control unit, and target position information regarding the current position of the luggage loading / unloading unit is transmitted from the management center to the communication unit, and the control unit is configured to start recognizing the luggage loading / unloading unit based on the acquisition results of the object image acquisition unit when it recognizes that the vehicle has approached a predetermined distance from the luggage loading / unloading unit by obtaining current position information of the vehicle from the position information acquisition unit and calculating the distance to the position of the luggage loading / unloading unit based on the target position information.

[0024] According to the ninth aspect of the present invention, the recognition of the baggage loading / unloading section based on the acquisition result of the object image acquisition unit can be prevented until the vehicle approaches the baggage loading / unloading section to a predetermined distance. As a result, even if there are multiple other baggage loading / unloading sections similar in shape to the target baggage loading / unloading section, the control unit can accurately recognize only the target baggage loading / unloading section without being confused by the other baggage loading / unloading sections. As a result, the accuracy of the work can be improved and the work time can be shortened. In an aviation high lift truck, it is necessary to approach a target airplane among multiple airplanes of the same manufacturer and model parked at an airport. Even in such a case, the overall shape of the target airplane and the shape of the aircraft entrance can be accurately recognized.

[0025] In a tenth invention, in the ninth invention, loading / unloading section information including information regarding the position and shape of the entrance / exit at the baggage loading / unloading section is transmitted to the communication unit from the management center, and the control unit is configured to control the movement of the connection switching unit to match the position of the entrance / exit based on the loading / unloading section information.

[0026] According to the tenth invention, the latest information on the position and shape of the entrance of the target baggage loading / unloading section can be constantly obtained from the management center. As a result, even if the baggage loading / unloading section at the originally planned position is suddenly changed to another baggage loading / unloading section, the entrance of the other baggage loading / unloading section can be easily recognized and the connection / switching section can be moved accurately. In the case of an airport high lift truck, the parking location of the target airplane in the airport may suddenly change due to a problem or the like. Even if the parking location is different from the planned parking location before departure from the in-flight catering factory for the airport, if the new parking location of the target airplane is received from the airport management center immediately before or immediately after entering the airport, the vehicle can be directed to the new parking location without hesitation.

[0027] In an eleventh invention, in the tenth invention, the control unit is configured to stop driving the drive actuator when the entrance / exit is not recognized by the object detection unit when the connection switching unit is moved by controlling the drive actuator from a position where the entrance / exit is not included in the data acquired by the object image acquisition unit to the position of the entrance / exit based on the loading / unloading unit information.

[0028] According to the eleventh aspect of the present invention, the connection switching unit starts moving with the position of the entrance / exit of the luggage loading / unloading unit included in the loading / unloading unit information transmitted from the management center as the target, and if the control unit cannot recognize the shape of the entrance / exit included in the loading / unloading unit information even after the connection switching unit has moved to the position of the entrance / exit, the movement of the connection switching unit can be stopped at that point even if the stroke end of the drive actuator has not been reached. This makes it possible to prevent the connection switching unit from moving abnormally too much even if an error in recognizing the entrance by the control unit has occurred. As a result, it is possible to prevent the connection switching unit from hitting the luggage loading / unloading unit and damaging it, which is safe. Effect of the Invention

[0029] According to the work vehicle of the present invention, the movement of the luggage carrying section and the connection and switching section is automatically controlled based on the results of acquisition of surrounding object image data by the object image acquisition section. In particular, since this object image acquisition section is provided in the luggage carrying section and the connection and switching section that move relative to the chassis, data on the object image (target object) to be moved can be accurately acquired, thereby realizing highly accurate movement control. Furthermore, since the movement control is performed without hesitation based on such objective object image data, not only the accuracy but also the speed of the luggage transfer work can be greatly improved. Furthermore, even if a positional discrepancy occurs between the height position of the luggage carrying section and the height position of the aircraft's entrance / exit after the height position of the luggage carrying section has been temporarily adjusted to the height of the aircraft's entrance / exit, the control section has the above-mentioned characteristics, so that the positional discrepancy can be recognized by the object image acquisition section and the position can be automatically corrected. As a result, the workload of the workers is greatly reduced since the conventional alignment operation is no longer necessary. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0030] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a plan view showing a travel path of a high lift truck to which the present invention is applied. [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is an enlarged plan view of the main part of FIG. 1, which is the vicinity of the airplane. [Diagram 3]1A and 1B are diagrams showing the above-mentioned truck when connected to the aircraft entrance / exit, in which (a) is a side view and (b) is a plan view omitting the eaves portion. [Figure 4] FIG. 2 is a partially enlarged perspective view of the connection switching section of a high lift truck as viewed from below. [Diagram 5] FIG. 2 is a partially enlarged perspective view of a connection exchange unit of a high lift truck as viewed from above. [Figure 6] 1A and 1B are enlarged perspective views showing a power transmission mechanism of a gang plate unit of a high lift truck, in which FIG. 1A is a perspective view seen from the left side of the vehicle, and FIG. 1B is a perspective view seen from the right side of the vehicle. [Figure 7] FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a control system of a high lift truck. [Figure 8] This is a flowchart showing the control from when a high-lift truck enters an airport to when it connects to the aircraft entrance / exit. [Figure 9] 10 is a flowchart showing the control of the control unit regarding the search for an aircraft entrance / exit and the display of stopping guide information after the aircraft entrance / exit is recognized. [Figure 10] FIG. 3 is a camera image diagram taken by a first camera and a second camera with their optical axes oriented horizontally while the high lift truck is moving in the direction of arrow C in FIG. 2. [Figure 11] FIG. 3 is a camera image diagram taken by a first camera and a second camera with optical axes directed obliquely upward while the high lift truck is moving in the direction of arrow D in FIG. 2. [Figure 12] 3 is a diagram showing camera images taken by a first camera and a second camera with optical axes directed obliquely upward when the high lift truck moves to the stopping position De in FIG. 2. FIG. [Figure 13] 3 is a camera image taken by the third camera while the high lift truck is raising the loading platform at the stopping position De in FIG. 2. FIG. [Figure 14] 13 is a flowchart showing how the control unit controls the lifting of the loading platform. [Figure 15] 3 is a camera image taken by the third camera when the high lift truck raises its loading platform to the height of the vehicle entrance / exit at the stopping position De in FIG. 2. [Figure 16]FIG. 16 is a camera image taken by the third camera when the connection switching unit is moved horizontally from FIG. 15 to bring the gangway plate into contact with the floor surface of the aircraft entrance / exit. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0031] Hereinafter, an embodiment in which the present invention is applied to an airport high lift truck (hereinafter simply referred to as "truck") 1 will be described with reference to the drawings. In the following description, the terms "front / rear," "left / right," and "up / down" refer to directions seen by an operator in the cab of the truck 1.

[0032] As shown in FIG. 1, a truck 1 as a work vehicle loads in-flight meal carts containing in-flight meals at an in-flight meal factory 10 outside the airport, travels on public roads and within the airport as indicated by arrow A, moves to a waiting position W, and waits for the arrival of a target airplane 11. After the airplane 11 arrives, the truck 1 moves from the waiting position W in the order of arrows B, C, and D, stops, and a connection operation is performed to load and unload the in-flight meal carts at an aircraft entrance / exit 12 of the airplane 11. The truck 1 moves by the driver, and while moving, the presence or absence of obstacles is also monitored by a camera (object image acquisition unit) mounted on the truck 1. In particular, when the truck 1 moves within a radius L1 centered on the aircraft entrance / exit 12 as shown in FIG. 2 and approaches the aircraft entrance / exit 12 (arrows C and D), the target stopping position is displayed on a display unit (display) mounted on the vehicle using data from the camera, and the truck can move to this position as a target, and the above-mentioned connection operation is performed after the truck stops. The display unit also displays the airplane 11 and its surroundings through the camera, and the shooting angle is appropriately controlled to prevent the aircraft entrance / exit 12, which is located at a high position, from being removed from the camera image when the airplane approaches the parking position De as in the area of ​​arrow D. The radius L1 is set so as to include the surrounding area of ​​the airplane 11 parked at the parking spot of the boarding gate 16 with the aircraft entrance / exit 12 of the airplane 11 to be connected as the center, but not to include the surrounding area of ​​the airplane 19 parked at the adjacent boarding gate 18 (see FIG. 1).

[0033] As shown in Fig. 3(a), the truck 1 includes a drivable chassis 2, a lifting mechanism 3 provided on the chassis 2, and a loading platform 4 provided on the chassis 2 and raised and lowered relative to the chassis 2 by the lifting mechanism 3. When the truck 1 stops at the above-mentioned stopping position De, the loading platform 4 is raised vertically upward (arrow E1) and controlled to be connected to the vehicle body entrance / exit 12. When the loading platform 4 is connected, movement control (arrows E2, E3, and E4 in Fig. 3(b) or arrow E5 in Fig. 3(a)) described later is also performed.

[0034] The chassis 2 comprises a frame 200 extending forward and backward, a cab 201 provided at the front of the frame 200 where an operator drives the vehicle, and running tires 202 provided on the frame 200. A torii-shaped stopper 203 is erected behind the cab 201.

[0035] The lifting mechanism 3 includes a pair of left and right outer links 300, 300, a pair of left and right inner links 301, 301 provided inside the outer links 300, 300, and a hydraulic lifting cylinder 302 attached between the inner links 301, 301. The outer link 300 and the inner link 301 are pivotally connected to each other at their central portions by a link shaft 303.

[0036] The loading platform 4 comprises a baggage carrier section 41 that houses the in-flight meal carts, and a connection and exchange section 42 that is provided at the front of the baggage carrier section 41 and is used to exchange the in-flight meal carts with the airplane 11, and this connection and exchange section 42 comprises a base section 43 that can move relatively in the left-right direction with respect to the baggage carrier section 41 (chassis 2) by a slide mechanism 432, and a platform 44 that is provided at the front of the base section 43 and serves as a runway between the aircraft entrance / exit 12 and the baggage carrier section 41. The airplane 11 is the section (baggage loading / unloading section) that is the destination or source of the in-flight meal cart to be exchanged.

[0037] 4, the baggage carrying section 41 includes a storage box 410 for storing an in-flight meal cart, a pair of left and right front and rear guide rails 411, 411 that are provided on the bottom of the storage box 410 and extend forward and backward with a U-shaped cross section, and a hydraulic first slide cylinder 412 disposed between the front and rear guide rails 411, 411. Shutters 413 (see FIG. 5) are provided at the front and rear of the storage box 410.

[0038] The upper ends of the inner link 301 and the outer link 300 are connected to the front-rear guide rail 411. Specifically, the upper ends of a pair of left and right inner links 301, 301 are connected to each other via an inner upper end shaft 304, and rolling rollers 305, 305 attached to both ends of the shaft 304 are rollably fitted into the front-rear guide rails 411, 411. The outer link 300 is similar, although not shown. A tube of a first slide cylinder 412 is connected to the inner upper end shaft 304, and a rod is connected to a cross member 411c installed on the pair of left and right front-rear guide rails 411, 411, and the expansion and contraction of the cylinder 412 moves the baggage carrier 41 in the front-rear direction relative to the inner link 301 and the outer link 300 (chassis 2). The lower end of the outer link 300 is pivotally connected to the frame 200, and the lower end of the inner link 301 is slidably connected to the frame 200. By extending and contracting the lifting cylinder 302, the cargo bed 4 can be raised and lowered while remaining parallel to the chassis 2.

[0039] The base portion 43 has a tunnel portion 430 consisting of a bottom portion 430a, left and right side portions 430b, 430b, and a ceiling portion 430c, and an eave portion 436 provided on the ceiling portion 430c.

[0040] In the tunnel section 430, left and right guide rails 431 extending left and right are provided on the lower surface side of the bottom section 430a and the rear surface side of the ceiling section 430c, and up and down guide rails 434, 434 extending up and down are provided on the front surface side of each of the left and right side sections 430b. The left and right guide rails 431 of the bottom section 430a are strip members fixed to the bottom section 430a, and are placed on roller members (not shown) provided on the upper surface of the front and rear guide rails 411. The left and right guide rails 431 of the ceiling section 430c are channel members fixed to the rear surface of the ceiling section 430c, and are fitted into roller members (not shown) provided on the upper edge of the front end of the storage box 410. The up and down guide rails 434 are formed of channel members, and are provided so that the side groove portions face inward left and right.

[0041] The eaves portion 436 is formed to cover the upper part of the PF44 and extend forward, and a first camera 437a and a second camera 437b for capturing an image of the front of the truck 1 are attached to the front end of the eaves portion 436. The first camera 437a and the second camera 437b are integrated to form a stereo camera, and the direction of their optical axes can be changed up and down by an electric camera rotation motor 438. In addition, a third camera 439, which is a monocular camera capturing an image of an area at the same height as the tunnel portion 430, is fixed to a central position on the left and right side of the front side of the ceiling portion 430c with its optical axis facing forward of the vehicle, and the camera image includes the PF44.

[0042] The slide mechanism 432 includes a ball screw (not shown) that is provided to span the upper ends of the pair of left and right front and rear guide rails 411 in the left-right direction, and an electric slide motor 433 that rotates and drives the ball screw and is provided on the outer surface of one of the front and rear guide rails 411. A nut portion of the ball screw of the slide mechanism 432 is connected to the lower surface side of the bottom 430a of the tunnel portion 430. By driving the slide motor 433, the base portion 43 is moved in the left-right direction relative to the front and rear guide rails 411, and the PF 44 provided in the front part of the tunnel portion 430 is also moved in the left-right direction integrally with the tunnel portion 430. Note that the illustrated state is a state in which the connection switching portion 42 is moved to the left side relative to the baggage car loading portion 41.

[0043] 4 and 5, the platform (hereinafter simply referred to as "PF") 44 has a base end PF440, an intermediate PF441 provided in front of the base end PF440 and slidable back and forth relative to the base end PF440, and a tip end PF442 provided in front of the intermediate PF441 and rotatable left and right relative to the intermediate PF441. The PF44 is provided on the left and right of the base end PF440 so as to be vertically movable relative to the vertical guide rails 434 via support members 435. The support member 435 is formed by assembling three frame members, a base, a vertical side, and an oblique side, into a triangle. A vertical side roller portion (not shown) is provided on the outer surface of the vertical side frame member, and the vertical side roller portion is fitted into the groove portion of the upper and lower guide rails 434.

[0044] The base end PF440 is a flat plate member having a substantially rectangular shape in a plan view, and is fixed in a state of being clamped to the upper edge of the frame material at the bottom of the left and right support members 435. A stay 446 protruding downward is provided at the bottom of the base end PF440, and the stay 446 abuts against a torii-shaped stopper 203 (see FIG. 3(a)) when the loading platform 4 descends. As a result, the base end PF440 of the loading platform 4 maintains the stopped height position, while the baggage carrying section 41 can be further lowered to the stored state. In addition, a stopper (not shown) is provided at the lower end of the upper and lower guide rails 434 to prevent the rollers of the support members 435 from falling off the lower ends of the upper and lower guide rails 434. Further, a hydraulic second slide cylinder 443 is provided at the bottom of the base end PF 440. A tube of the cylinder 443 is fixed to a cross member 443a that is installed between a pair of left and right support members 435, 435.

[0045] The intermediate PF441 is a plate member having a substantially rectangular shape in a plan view, and is fixed at both left and right end edges in a state of being supported by the PF rail member 441a, which is U-shaped and opens outward and extends forward and backward. An intermediate bottom plate 441b having substantially the same shape as the intermediate PF441 is fixed at a predetermined interval to the lower surfaces of the left and right PF rail members 441a, and the intermediate PF441 and the intermediate bottom plate 441b, which are integrated via the PF rail member 441a, are provided below the base end PF440. A bottom roller portion 435a having an axis in the left-right direction is provided on the inner surface of the bottom frame material of the support member 435, and this bottom roller portion 435a is supported by the support member 435 by being fitted into the U-shaped portion of the PF rail member 441a. A rod tip of a second slide cylinder 443 is attached to the lower side of the intermediate bottom plate 441b, and the extension and contraction of the second slide cylinder 443 allows the intermediate PF 441 to move relatively in the front-rear direction with respect to the base end PF 440.

[0046] The tip PF442 has a first PF450 pivotably connected to the middle PF441, and a second PF451 pivotably connected to the first PF450. The first PF450 is a plate member having a generally rectangular shape in plan view and a narrower left-right width than the intermediate PF441, and its part except for its tip is inserted between the intermediate PF441 and the intermediate bottom plate 441b. A first pivot shaft 445 having an axial center direction in the vertical direction is fixed to the base end of the first PF450 (see FIG. 3(b)), and the upper and lower ends of the first pivot shaft 445 are supported by the PF441 and boss portions (not shown) of the intermediate bottom plate 441b. The first PF 450 is adapted to be rotated left and right in a horizontal plane relative to the intermediate PF 441 about a first pivot shaft 445 by a hydraulic first pivot motor 444 (see FIG. 8, omitted in FIG. 4) provided on the intermediate bottom plate 441b.

[0047] The second PF451 is a roughly trapezoidal plate member that is axially supported by a second pivot shaft 453 provided at the tip of the first PF450, and is rotated left and right in a horizontal plane relative to the first PF450 around the second pivot shaft 453 by a hydraulic second pivot motor 452 (see FIG. 8) provided on its underside. A cross plate unit 455 is provided in front of the second PF 451. The cross plate unit 455 has a cross plate 456 provided in front of the second PF 451, and is rotatable from a position in which the cross plate 456 stands up relative to the PF 44 to a position substantially the same as the horizontal position of the PF 44. Note that, at least when the platform 4 is in the ascending operation, the shutter 413 provided on the storage box 410 is in a closed state.

[0048] 6(a) and 6(b), the rotation mechanism of the cross plate 456 includes a power transmission mechanism 457 that rotates the tip of the cross plate 456 up and down with respect to the second PF 451, and an electric cross plate rotation motor 458 that is provided in the second PF 451 and drives the power transmission mechanism 457. The power transmission mechanism 457 includes a drive sprocket 457a connected to the output shaft of the cross plate rotation motor 458, a driven sprocket 457b on the cross plate 456 side, a chain 457c wound around the drive sprocket 457a and the driven sprocket 457b, a first disk 457d that rotates integrally with the driven sprocket 457b, and a second disk 457e that is connected to the rotation shaft of the cross plate 456, is disposed to face the first disk 457d, and is rotatable relative to the first disk 457d.

[0049] The first disk 457d has an engagement protrusion 457f protruding toward the second disk 457e. The second disk 457e has an engagement long hole 457g formed along the circumferential direction to engage with the engagement protrusion 457f. When the drive sprocket 457a is driven by the cross plate rotation motor 458, the drive force is transmitted by the chain 457c to rotate the engagement protrusion 457f, and the cross plate 456 rotates with the rotating engagement protrusion 457f and the circumferential end of the engagement long hole 457g in contact with each other except at the beginning and end of the rotation. In addition, the second PF 451, which is located near the cross plate unit 455, is provided with a pair of infrared or ultrasonic distance sensors on the left and right, and in FIG. 6, the second distance sensor 459b provided on the left side of the second PF 451 is shown as a representative example (the first distance sensor 459a is provided on the right side).

[0050] In the truck 1 having the above configuration, when in a traveling state (for example, in the range of arrows A or B in Figure 1), the cargo bed 4 is lowered and stored, the PF44 is contracted, and the bridge plate 456 is also raised relative to the PF44.

[0051] The control system of the truck 1 will be described with reference to FIG.

[0052] The truck 1 includes a control unit 220 that receives an operation signal based on image data from the first camera 437a and the second camera 437b, or the third camera 439, and performs various controls to connect the loading platform 4 to the airplane 11 in a good condition. The control unit 220 includes an object recognition unit 221 that performs object recognition based on the image data, an equipment control unit 226 that outputs a control signal to a control valve 215 that drives the motors 444, 452, etc., the cylinders 412, 443, 302, etc., a chassis control unit 227 that controls the chassis 2, and a communication unit 228 that communicates with airport facilities to acquire information.

[0053] The object recognition unit 221 includes a distance image generation unit 222 connected to the first camera 437a and the second camera 437b, an object detection unit 223 connected to the generation unit 222 and the third camera 439, a judgment processing unit 224 connected to the distance image generation unit 222 and the object detection unit 223 so that signals can be input and output, and a memory unit 225 connected to the judgment processing unit 224 and the object detection unit 223 so that signals can be input and output. Furthermore, the judgment processing unit 224 is also connected to the mounting control unit 226 so that signals can be input and output, and has a processing function based on the detection data acquired by the sensors 459a, 459b, and 460, and also has a function of outputting various data in the object recognition unit 221 to the mounting control unit 226.

[0054] Distance image generator 222 is connected to first camera 437a and second camera 437b, and is capable of generating a distance image having distance information to an object by stereo matching processing based on a pair of image data sent from these cameras. Stereo matching processing is a process in which a parallax is obtained by matching corresponding pixels between reference image data captured by one camera and comparison image data captured by the other camera, and the distance between both cameras and an object contained in the image is calculated from the parallax. As the stereo matching processing, a block matching method is applied in which an area is cut out from the images to be compared, and the sum of the brightness differences (SAD: Sum of Absolute Difference) for the area is calculated in order to evaluate the similarity between the images.

[0055] The object detection unit 223 is connected to the distance image generation unit 222 and the third camera 439, and receives as input data of an image without distance information acquired by the third camera 439 in addition to data of the distance image generated by the distance image generation unit 222. The object detection unit 223 raster scans a detection window in the input image and calculates a feature amount in each detection window area. In this embodiment, a HOG (Histograms of Oriented Gradients) feature amount is used as this feature amount. The HOG feature amount is an amount calculated by creating a plurality of blocks in which the gradient direction of brightness in a local area (cell) of the distance image is histogrammed based on the gradient strength of brightness, normalizing the histograms of each block, and then concatenating them. The object detection unit 223 inputs the above feature amount to one of three types of classifiers M1, M2, and M3 (described later) read from the storage unit 225, and sends the output score to the judgment processing unit 224.

[0056] In this embodiment, the third camera 439 is a camera that does not have distance information due to differences in usage between the first camera 437a and the second camera 437b. That is, the first camera 437a and the second camera 437b are used when the truck 1 moves from the standby position W toward the vehicle entrance / exit 12 by the operator, and require distance information for the object recognition unit 221 to recognize the distance to the vehicle entrance / exit 12 and the presence or absence of an obstacle. On the other hand, the third camera 439 is used when connecting the connection / exchange unit 42 to the vehicle entrance / exit 12 after the truck 1 stops, and does not require distance information as long as it can recognize the positional relationship between the vehicle entrance / exit 12 and the tip of the PF44 two-dimensionally, up and down, left and right. The third camera 439 is provided on the ceiling part 430c of the tunnel part 430 in order to align the vehicle entrance / exit 12 and the tip of the PF44 by including both the vehicle entrance / exit 12 and the PF44 in the camera image. However, at the mounting position of the third camera 439, even if distance information can be measured, it is difficult to recognize the change in the distance between the tip of the PF44 and the vehicle entrance / exit 12 in the tunnel part 430 (because the distance relationship between the third camera 439 and the vehicle entrance / exit 12 does not change due to the expansion and contraction of the PF44). Therefore, in this embodiment, the change in the distance between the tip of the PF44 and the vehicle entrance / exit 12 is detected by the first distance sensor 459a and the second distance sensor 459b.

[0057] The storage unit 225 stores in advance three types of classifiers for recognizing the aircraft entrance / exit 12 based on image data acquired by the camera. These three types of classifiers M1, M2, and M3 refer to a distant classifier M1 that is referenced when the vehicle is distant from the aircraft entrance / exit 12 (for example, in the range of movement indicated by the arrow C in FIG. 2), a close classifier M2 that is referenced when the vehicle is approaching the aircraft entrance / exit 12 (for example, in the range of movement indicated by the arrow D), and a horizontal classifier M3 that is referenced when the vehicle is in the range of movement indicated by the arrows E1 to E4 in FIG. The three types of classifiers M1, M2, and M3 are programs that have previously learned the parameters of the judgment criteria by a Support Vector Machine (SVM) using learning data consisting of the HOG features of a large number of "aircraft entrances" images captured by the cameras 437a, 437b, and 439 and the HOG features of a large number of "non-aircraft entrances" images in which the aircraft entrances 12 are not captured. For example, the "aircraft entrances" images are previously learned as a positive value of +1, and the "non-aircraft entrances" images are previously learned as a negative value of -1. When each classifier is used, the classifier is set to output a score greater than 0 and less than 1 if the aircraft entrances 12 are captured in the area of ​​the detection window that raster scans the camera image, and to output a score greater than -1 and less than 0 if the aircraft entrances 12 are not captured. The higher the recognition accuracy of the aircraft entrances 12, the closer the value is to 1, and the lower the recognition accuracy, the closer the value is to 0.

[0058] In addition, the three types of classifiers M1, M2, and M3 have different types of image data for learning. The image data for learning of the distant classifier M1 is image data from the first camera 437a and the second camera 437b whose optical axes are directed horizontally, and the image data for learning of the approaching classifier M2 is image data from the first camera 437a and the second camera 437b whose optical axes are directed diagonally upward. Moreover, the image data for learning of the horizontal classifier M3 is image data from the third camera 439. Note that the "machine entrance" image to be learned may be an image of only the machine entrance 12 (door 13), or may be a combination of the machine entrance 12 and the reinforcing plate 14 provided directly below the machine entrance 12.

[0059] The judgment processing unit 224 processes the output value of the object detection unit 223 based on the classifiers M1, M2, and M3, and sends an activation signal to the mounting control unit 226. Specifically, in the case of the distant classifier M1, if the value is equal to or greater than the first positive threshold value, which is the limit value for recognizing the vehicle entrance / exit 12, the judgment processing unit 224 sends the judgment result that the vehicle entrance / exit 12 has been recognized to the mounting control unit 226, and in the case of the close classifier M2, if the value is equal to or greater than the second positive threshold value, which is the limit value for recognizing the vehicle entrance / exit 12, the judgment processing unit 224 sends the judgment result that the vehicle entrance / exit 12 has been recognized to the mounting control unit 226. In addition, in the case of the horizontal classifier M3, if the value is equal to or greater than the fourth positive threshold value, which is the limit value for recognizing the vehicle entrance / exit 12, the judgment processing unit 224 sends the judgment result that the vehicle entrance / exit 12 has been recognized to the mounting control unit 226. When the output value based on the distant classifier M1 has dropped to a predetermined third threshold (>first threshold) that is close to the first threshold but has not yet reached the recognizable limit value, the judgment processing unit 224 controls the classifier used in the object detection unit 223 to be switched from the distant classifier M1 to the close classifier M2.

[0060] Next, the equipment control unit 226 is electrically connected to the communication unit 228, the position information acquisition unit 229, the first distance sensor 459a, the second distance sensor 459b, and the ground sensor 460 in addition to the object recognition unit 221, and is capable of autonomously controlling each electric or hydraulic actuator mainly based on information output from these. The equipment control unit 226 is also electrically connected to the speaker 201a and the display unit 201b, and outputs the recognition results of obstacles around the truck 1 and the vehicle entrance / exit 12. In addition, the equipment control unit 226 is electrically connected to an equipment operation unit 230 operated by an operator, and the operator can manually operate each actuator by sending an operation signal from this equipment operation unit 230 to the equipment control unit 226. Furthermore, the mounting control unit 226 is electrically connected to the chassis control unit 227 so as to be capable of inputting and outputting signals.

[0061] The chassis control unit 227 sends operating signals to the engine 210 and transmission 211 of the truck 1 to control their drive, and performs driving control such as changing the speed of the driving force of the engine 210 through the transmission 211 and transmitting it to the running tires 202, and control for switching the PTO 212 attached to the transmission 211.

[0062] The communication unit 228 obtains aircraft information of the aircraft 11 to be connected (horizontal coordinate target position information for the aircraft entrance / exit 12 to be connected among multiple aircraft entrances, model information including the type and size of the aircraft, the number of the boarding gate 16 to be arrived at, the height from the ground to the aircraft entrance / exit, the shape of the aircraft entrance / exit, etc.) via wireless communication from the airport control tower 15 (see Figure 1) and sends it to the equipment control unit 226. The above-mentioned target position information is information calculated in the control tower 15 based on the above-mentioned model information, relative position information for the nose wheel of the airplane 11 with respect to the aircraft entrance / exit 12 to be connected, and horizontal coordinate information of the parking spot (the airplane nose wheel stopping position) corresponding to the arriving boarding gate 16. The height from the ground to the aircraft entrance and the shape of the aircraft entrance correspond to the "carry-in / out area information" in the claims.

[0063] The position information acquisition unit 229 can receive signals transmitted from positioning satellites to obtain position information of the truck 1, and transmits the position information to the equipment control unit 226. In addition, the position information of the truck 1 obtained by the position information acquisition unit 229 can also be transmitted to the control tower 15 (see FIG. 1) by the communication unit 228. By using the position information of the traveling truck 1 and the above-mentioned target position information, the equipment control unit 226 can calculate the distance of the radius L1 of the aircraft entrance 12 of the airplane 11 and grasp the position and timing for transmitting and receiving with the control tower 15. Furthermore, the distance L from the position of the truck 1 to the aircraft entrance 12 is continuously calculated by the equipment control unit 226, and the equipment control unit 226 can continuously send information on the distance L to the judgment processing unit 224 of the object recognition unit 221.

[0064] The sensors 459a, 459b, and 460 are used when the second PF 451 approaches the vehicle entrance 12 during the connection work between the loading platform 4 of the parked truck 1 and the vehicle entrance 12. The first distance sensor 459a and the second distance sensor 459b each detect the distance from the tip of the second PF 451 to the airplane 11 and send the detection result (distance data) to the equipment control unit 226. The ground sensor 460 is a pressure sensor or a light and dark sensor provided on the underside of the tip of the bridge plate 456, and detects that the tip of the bridge plate 456 has landed on the floor surface of the airplane 11 when the bridge plate 456 rotates up and down, and outputs a signal to the equipment control unit 226, which causes the equipment control unit 226 to stop driving the bridge plate rotation motor 458.

[0065] The mounting control unit 226 controls each of the hydraulic actuators 412, 413, ... by outputting a control signal to the control valve 215. The control valve 215 is a multiple hydraulic valve unit, and the hydraulic pump 213 is driven by the power extracted by the PTO 212, so that the hydraulic oil in the hydraulic oil tank 214 is supplied to the hydraulic actuators via the control valve 215.

[0066] The speaker 201a and the display unit 201b are provided in the cab 201, and the operator driving the truck 1 can easily stop the truck 1 at a predetermined stopping position De by moving the truck 1 toward the aircraft entrance / exit 12 of the airplane 11 according to the stopping guide information displayed on the display unit 201b and the alarm sound from the speaker 201a. In addition to the speaker 201a and the display unit 201b, the cab 201 is also provided with an equipment operation unit 230 for operating the lifting / lowering and horizontal movement of the loading platform 4, and a PTO switch 231 for switching the PTO 212 (outputting the driving force to the traveling tires 202 side or the hydraulic pump 213 side).

[0067] Next, the operation of connecting the truck 1 to the aircraft doorway 12 of the airplane 11 will be described with reference to the flow chart of FIG.

[0068] The work of the truck 1 according to this embodiment is a first work state (S0-S2) in which the truck travels with the platform 4 in a lowered, stored state and enters the airport, a second work state (S3) in which the truck travels while displaying images of other vehicles working in the airport and moves to a distance of radius L1 of the aircraft entrance / exit 12, a third work state (S4-S10) in which the truck approaches the aircraft entrance / exit 12 further while referring to the displayed stopping guide information, and a fourth work state (S11-S23) in which the truck stops and connects the platform 4 to the aircraft entrance / exit. Note that the first work state is the range of arrow A in FIG. 1, the second work state is the range of arrow B in the same figure, the third work state is the range of arrows C and D in the same figure, and the fourth work state is the state of arrows E1, E2, E3, E4, and E5 in FIG. 3.

[0069] In the first work state, the equipment control unit 226 judges whether the truck 1 has entered the destination airport based on the current position of the truck 1 sent from the position information acquisition unit 229. For example, the equipment control unit 226 judges that the truck 1 has entered the airport when the current position of the truck 1 is inside the airport from the position of the airport entrance / exit 17 (see FIG. 1) (S1). After the equipment control unit 226 judges that the truck 1 has entered the airport, it receives aircraft information of the airplane 11 to be connected by wireless communication with the control tower 15 (S2). The aircraft information includes target position information, model information, the number of the boarding gate 16 to be arrived at, and the like. By the truck 1 receiving the aircraft information early, it is possible to accurately display the desired stopping position De that can be handled at least in the third work state and the fourth work state. Therefore, the operator who drives the truck 1 can drive the truck 1 to a suitable stopping position De with peace of mind.

[0070] In the second work state, after receiving the vehicle information (S2), the truck travels while monitoring surrounding obstacles with the first camera 437a and the second camera 437b, and moves to a position that is a radius L1 away from the vehicle entrance / exit 12. The equipment control unit 226 calculates the distance L between the current position of the truck 1 sent from the position information acquisition unit 229 and the position of the vehicle entrance / exit 12 based on the vehicle information, and compares the distance L with the radius L1. If it is determined that the distance is less than the radius L1 (S3), the second work state is completed. If the truck 1 mistakenly moves toward the airplane 18, it is not determined that the distance is less than the radius L1, so the second work state is not completed and the truck does not move to the third work state.

[0071] When the system transitions to the third work state (S4 to S10), a search and display step (S4) is performed to accurately search for the vehicle entrance 12 and display stop guide information indicating the stopping position De of the truck 1 after the vehicle entrance 12 is recognized, and a display adjustment step (S5 to S10) is performed to maintain a good display state of the stop guide information. The steps (S4 to S10) in the third work state are sequentially repeated while the truck 1 is moving, and in the display adjustment step, optical axis change control is also performed so that the elevation angles of the first camera 437a and the second camera 437b can be changed when the truck 1 approaches the vehicle entrance 12.

[0072] After the truck 1 is stopped at a suitable position, the system transitions to a fourth work state (S11-S23), in which the platform 4 is connected to the vehicle body entrance / exit 12. In the fourth work state, a platform lifting step (S11-S15) for lifting the platform 4 by the lifting mechanism 3, a left / right adjustment step (S16-S19) for adjusting the left / right position of the platform 4, and a front / rear adjustment step (S20-S23) for adjusting the front / rear position of the platform 4 are performed.

[0073] In the above-mentioned third and fourth work states, a number of controls are carried out using output data from cameras 437a, 437b, 439, etc., which will now be described.

[0074] In the search and display step (S4), as shown in FIG. 10, a search sub-step (S41 to S45) for recognizing the aircraft entrance / exit 12 and an adjustment sub-step (S46 to S48e) for displaying stopping guide information based on the data acquired in the sub-steps are performed.

[0075] After the truck 1 moves to a position less than the radius L1 of the vehicle entrance 12 (S3), in the search sub-step (S41 to S46), a pair of image data acquired by the first camera 437a and the second camera 437b is input to the distance image generating unit 222 (S41), and a distance image is generated by stereo matching processing (S42). The data of this distance image is input to the object detecting unit 223, and the object detecting unit 223 performs processing to narrow down the detection candidate area of ​​the vehicle entrance 12 (S43 to S45). Specifically, the judgment processing unit 224 uses information on the distance L that has been continuously calculated by the equipment control unit 226 and sent from the equipment control unit 226 since before the third work state, and judges an area within the range of the radius distance L±Lm from the vehicle entrance 12 from the generated distance image as the detection candidate area (S44). Upon receiving this judgment signal from the judgment processing unit 224, the object detection unit 223 raster scans the detection window in the detection candidate area and calculates the HOG feature amount in each detection window area (S45). This provides input data that can be input to the program of the far-field classifier M1 or the close-field classifier M2. By narrowing down the detection candidate area as described above while generating a range image of a wide area by the cameras 437a and 437, the area (range image) in which the aircraft entrance / exit 12 is clearly not present can be excluded from the scanning target in advance, and the aircraft entrance / exit 12 can be recognized with high accuracy in a short time. The allowable range Lm is set to a value that takes into account the error of the position information received by the position information acquisition unit 229. For example, if the position detection accuracy of the position information acquisition unit 229 has an error of about 10 m on average, Lm is set to 10 m.

[0076] When the raster scan is completed and the process proceeds from the search sub-steps (S41 to S45) to the adjustment sub-steps (S46 to S48e) for displaying the parking guide information, the determination processing unit 224 determines the classifier in the storage unit 225 that the object detection unit 223 reads (S46). If the truck 1 has just entered inside the area of ​​radius L1 of the vehicle entrance / exit 12 and has not been changed from the initial state (far classifier M1), the object detection unit 223 sends the recognition result (positive value or negative value) for each area to the determination processing unit 224 based on each HOG feature input to the far classifier M1. The determination processing unit 224 searches for and extracts areas whose output value is positive and equal to or greater than the first threshold (S47a). Furthermore, when the judgment result that the vehicle entrance / exit 12 was recognized by finding an area equal to or greater than the first threshold is sent from the judgment processing unit 224, the equipment control unit 226 displays on the display unit 201b a recognition mark H surrounding the area judged to be equal to or greater than the first threshold (the area recognized as the vehicle entrance / exit 12) and target left / right lines I,I and target front / rear lines J,J based on the distance to the area (S47c). In addition, the equipment control unit 226 also displays on the display unit 201 a vehicle position line K serving as a mark for aligning the target front / rear lines J,J. These target left / right lines I,I, target front / rear lines J,J, and vehicle position line K become stopping guide information. When there are a plurality of regions that are determined to be equal to or greater than the first threshold value, it is preferable to display the recognition mark H in the region with the maximum output value.

[0077] The worker can realize highly accurate and efficient connection control of the loading platform 4 in the fourth work state (S11 to S23) by parking the truck 1 so that the recognition mark H is located between the two target left and right lines I, I and the vehicle position line K indicating the position of the truck 1 is located between the two target front and rear lines J, J. On the other hand, if an area equal to or larger than the first threshold is not found, the judgment processing unit 224 sends a judgment result to the equipment control unit 226 that the machine body entrance / exit 12 could not be recognized, and the equipment control unit 226 displays an error on the display unit 201b (S47d).

[0078] Here, a state in which the recognition mark H, the target left and right lines I,I, and the target front and rear lines J,J are displayed on the display unit 201b will be described with reference to Fig. 9. Fig. 9 is a view of camera images taken by the first camera 437a and the second camera 437b, whose optical axes are directed horizontally when the truck 1 enters the area of ​​radius L1 from the vehicle entrance / exit 12 and moves there.

[0079] When the vehicle entrance / exit 12 is recognized by the object recognition unit 221, a recognition mark H is displayed, along with a pair of left and right target left and right lines I,I extending in the vertical direction, a pair of upper and lower target front and rear lines J,J extending in the horizontal direction, and a vehicle position line K extending in the horizontal direction. The target left and right lines I,I are displayed symmetrically with respect to the left and right center line in the camera image of the display unit 201b, i.e., the left and right center of the truck 1, and the left and right lines I,I respectively correspond to the left and right end positions of the crossing plate 456 that has moved left and right in the connection exchange unit 42 that can move left and right.

[0080] The width of the lines I, I can be adjusted according to the distance from the first camera 437a and the second camera 437b to the vehicle entrance / exit 12. As described above, the left-right width set based on the maximum left-right movable position of the crossing plate 456 is set to be smaller according to the reduction ratio of the left-right width of the vehicle entrance / exit 12, which becomes smaller in the camera image as it moves away from the vehicle entrance / exit 12. As a result, the operator driving the truck 1 can stop the truck 1 at a desired position by steering the truck 1 so that the recognition mark H of the vehicle entrance / exit 12 falls within the line width of the target left-right lines I, I, and the loading platform 4 can be well connected to the vehicle entrance / exit 12 by each control in the fourth work state. The desired position is a suitable stopping position De in this embodiment.

[0081] Furthermore, the target front and rear lines J, J are set so that when the truck 1 is stopped at the desired position (preferred stopping position De) described above, the vehicle position line K falls within the line width, and when the truck 1 is far from the vehicle entrance / exit 12, it is located above the vehicle position line K, and as the truck 1 is brought closer to the vehicle entrance / exit 12, it approaches the vehicle position line K. By using the above two types of lines I and J, the driver only needs to drive toward the position displayed on the display unit 201b, and there is no need to assign a separate person to indicate the stopping position De, which reduces manpower. In the figure, the left end shows that the recognition mark H has not yet entered the target left and right lines I, I, as shown by "left and right x," and the right end shows that the truck 1 needs to move 20 m horizontally to the vehicle entrance / exit 12, as shown by "20 m forward and backward."

[0082] When the process moves to the adjustment sub-step, even if the classifier read by the object detection unit 223 is not the distant classifier M1, but the truck 1 has already approached the vehicle entrance / exit 12 significantly and the optical axes of the cameras 437a, 437b have been changed to the approaching classifier M2 diagonally above, the control performed by the object detection unit 223, the judgment processing unit 224, and the equipment control unit 226 is the same as that in the case of the distant classifier M1 (S48b to S48e). Note that if the memory unit 225 fails and cannot detect a suitable classifier, an error is displayed on the display unit 201b (S48e).

[0083] 9, in the display adjustment steps (S5 to S10) following the search and display step (S4), display adjustment is performed in the case where the aircraft entrance 12 is no longer included in the camera images of the first camera 437a and the second camera 437b as the truck 1 approaches the aircraft entrance 12, which is provided at a high position on the curved aircraft surface of the airplane 11. However, this display adjustment transitions to stopping judgment control (S10) when the equipment control unit 226 receives a judgment from the judgment processing unit 224 that the aircraft entrance 12 cannot be recognized. When the equipment control unit 226 receives a determination from the judgment processing unit 224 that the aircraft entrance / exit 12 has been recognized (S5), it determines based on the output data from the processing unit 224 whether the vertical position of the aircraft entrance / exit 12 in the camera images from the first camera 437a and the second camera 437b is inappropriate.

[0084] When the cargo bed 4 is in the stored state, the height positions of the first camera 437a and the second camera 437b are lower than the height position of the aircraft entrance / exit 12 of the airplane 11, and if the cameras 437a, 437b approach the airplane 11 while keeping the optical axes of the cameras 437a, 437b facing horizontally, at least a part of the aircraft entrance / exit 12 will be above the camera images of the cameras 437a, 437b, making it difficult to accurately recognize the aircraft entrance / exit 12 or a recognition error will occur. Therefore, the mounting object control unit 226 judges whether the upper end of the vehicle entrance 12 is in contact with the upper end of the camera image in the camera images of the cameras 437a, 437b with the optical axis oriented horizontally, and judges that the state is inappropriate if the upper end of the camera image is in contact (S6). If the mounting object control unit 226 judges that the state is inappropriate, the mounting object control unit 226 outputs a signal to the camera rotation motor 438 to rotate the cameras 437a, 437b upward by a predetermined angle, so that the vehicle entrance 12 can be accurately recognized (for example, the state shown in FIG. 11). In addition, when the equipment control unit 226 determines that the vertical position of the aircraft body entrance / exit 12 is appropriate within the camera images of the cameras 437a and 437b, it does not change the optical axes of the cameras 437a and 437b.

[0085] Next, in the area of ​​the vehicle entrance 12 where the recognition mark H is displayed in the camera images of the cameras 437a and 437b, the judgment processing unit 224 judges (S8) whether the output value output by the distant classifier M1 of the object detection unit 223 is less than a third threshold (>first threshold) and outputs the result to the mounting control unit 226. If this output value is less than the third threshold, the mounting control unit 226 switches the classifier read by the object detection unit 223 to the approaching classifier M2 (S9). Note that if the approaching classifier M2 is selected in the search and display step (S4), the judgment in step S8 is not performed.

[0086] The shape of the vehicle entrance 12 provided on the curved vehicle surface is significantly different when viewed from the front at a distance from that when viewed diagonally up from close range, and when viewed diagonally up from close range, as shown in FIG. 12, for example, the shape of the vehicle entrance 12 viewed diagonally up from a distance is more distorted than the shape of the vehicle entrance 12 viewed from the front at a distance. Therefore, if the vehicle entrance 12 is recognized using the classifier (far classifier M1) used when viewed from a distance, there is a risk of a recognition error occurring while the truck 1 is moving, but accurate recognition can be continued by controlling the switching from the far classifier M1 to the close classifier M2 as described above. Note that the switching from the far classifier M1 to the close classifier M2 is performed based on a third threshold value at which the output value of the object detection unit 223 using the far classifier M1 becomes low and the vehicle entrance 12 becomes difficult to clearly recognize, and if the output value output by the classifier M1 (or classifier M2) of the object detection unit 223 is equal to or higher than the third threshold value, the classifier is not switched.

[0087] While the worker drives the truck 1 using an appropriate identifier, the equipment control unit 226 judges whether the truck 1 has stopped at a suitable position (S10) based on the position information of the truck 1 from the position information acquisition unit 229, with the conditions that the truck 1 has not moved for a predetermined time (about several tens of seconds) and that the truck 1 is near a desired stopping position De based on the vehicle information. If it is judged that the truck 1 has "stopped," the operation proceeds from the third operation state to the loading platform raising step (S11 to S15) of the fourth operation state. In this step, the body control unit 226 determines via the chassis control unit 227 that the PTO 212 is on (S11), and issues an instruction to the judgment processing unit 224 to switch the camera to be used from the first camera 437a and the second camera 437b to the third camera 439, causes the display unit 201b to display the image acquired by the third camera 439 (S12), and issues an instruction to switch the classifier to be used from the approach classifier M2 to the horizontal classifier M3 (S13).

[0088] Next, the loading platform 4 is raised based on a signal from the equipment operation unit 30. At this time, the display unit 201b displays an ascent determination line N extending to the left and right as shown in Fig. 13. This ascent determination line N is always displayed on the camera image of the third camera 439 regardless of whether the vehicle entrance / exit 12 is recognized or not, and the relative positions in the height direction between the tunnel section 430 to which the third camera 439 is attached and the PF 44 do not change even when each actuator is driven, so the vertical position of the ascent determination line is set not to change.

[0089] The ascent judgment line N is a mark that allows the gang plate 456 to be hung on the inner floor surface of the aircraft entrance / exit 12 at a reasonable rotation angle (a rotation angle that allows a worker to easily push the in-flight meal cart on the gang plate 456) when the loading platform 4 is stopped at a point where the upper and lower height positions match with the lower end of the aircraft entrance / exit 12 in the camera image of the third camera 439. The ascent determination line N is drawn at a position in the camera image of the third camera 439 where the tip of PF44 will reach when the tip of PF44 is extended from the stopping position De of the truck 1 to a distance that allows the gangplank 456 to be spanned. Since the farther the distance from the camera is in the camera image, the closer to the center of the image it is displayed, the higher the position of the tip of PF44 is, so the ascent determination line N is displayed slightly above the position of the tip of PF44 before extension.

[0090] Incidentally, immediately after the loading platform 4 starts to rise, the third camera 439 is located at a height position lower than the aircraft entrance / exit 12 and its optical axis is directed horizontally, so the camera image does not include the aircraft entrance / exit 12 at all. However, as the loading platform 4 rises, the lower part of the aircraft entrance / exit 12 comes to be included in the camera image.

[0091] The display of the above-mentioned rise judgment line N and the control of the lifting operation of the platform 4 (S14) will be described with reference to FIG. When the system is transitioned to the fourth work state and switched to the third camera 439 (S12), the ascent determination line N is displayed (S141), and image data acquired by the third camera 439 is input to the object detection unit 223 (S142). The object detection unit 223 raster scans the detection window in the camera image, calculates the HOG feature amount in each detection window area (S143), and sends the recognition result (positive value or negative value) in each area in the object detection unit 223 to the judgment processing unit 224 based on each HOG feature amount input to the horizontal classifier M3. The judgment processing unit 224 searches and extracts an area whose output value is positive and equal to or greater than a fourth threshold (S144). Furthermore, by finding an area equal to or greater than the fourth threshold (S145), the equipment control unit 226 displays a recognition mark P surrounding the area determined to be equal to or greater than the fourth threshold (area recognized as the machine body entrance / exit 12) on the display unit 201b (S147a).

[0092] During the continued lifting operation of the loading platform 4, the equipment control unit 226 judges whether the lower end of the vehicle body entrance 12 overlaps the lifting judgment line N (S147b), and when the loading platform 4 is lifted to a position where the lower end of the vehicle body entrance 12 overlaps the lifting judgment line N, the height of the loading platform 4 becomes a height at which the loading platform 4 can be connected to the vehicle body entrance 12. At this time, the equipment control unit 226 stops the lifting of the loading platform 4 and generates a sound from the speaker 201a to notify the completion of the lifting (S147c). Note that, as shown in FIG. 15, if the lifting judgment line N is present below the lower end of the vehicle body entrance 12 even though the vehicle body entrance 12 is recognized, the loading platform 4 has not yet been lifted to a position at which the loading platform 4 can be connected to the vehicle body entrance 12, and the lifting cylinder 302 is extended by a predetermined stroke to lift the loading platform 4 by a predetermined height.

[0093] Since the platform lifting step starts immediately after the platform 4 is lifted, the camera image does not include the vehicle entrance 12 at all or includes a partially missing vehicle entrance 12 at the beginning, making it difficult to recognize the vehicle entrance 12 (S145). The equipment control unit 226 calculates the difference between the height position h1 of the lifting / lowering PF44 and the height position h2 of the vehicle entrance 12 based on the vehicle information (S146a), and judges whether the calculation result h1-h2 is negative or not (S146b). Here, the height position h1 of the PF44 can be detected based on the stroke of the lifting / lowering cylinder 302. At this time, since h1-h2 is negative while the vehicle entrance 12 is not included in the camera image (until the loading platform 4 is raised to a certain extent), the equipment control unit 226 displays "unrecognized" on the display unit 201b (S146c). The "unrecognized" display notifies the user that the vehicle entrance 12 is being recognized but is not recognized because the loading platform 4 has not been raised sufficiently. After the unrecognized display, the equipment control unit 226 extends the lift cylinder 302 by a predetermined stroke to raise the loading platform 4 by a predetermined height (S146d), and repeats the loading platform raising step.

[0094] By repeating the above-mentioned bed lifting step, most of the vehicle entrance 12 is included in the camera image as shown in FIG. 13, and the judgment processing unit 224 extracts the vehicle entrance 12 as an area equal to or greater than the fourth threshold value, and sends the judgment result that the vehicle entrance 12 has been recognized to the equipment control unit 226 (S145). On the other hand, even if the bed 4 has risen to a height where it can be connected to the vehicle entrance 12, the vehicle entrance 12 may not be recognized (S145), and h1-h2 may become a positive value, causing the equipment control unit 226 to stop the lift of the bed 4 in an emergency and display an error on the display unit 201b (S146e). By stopping the lift of the bed 4 in an emergency, it is possible to prevent the bed 4 from colliding with the wing of the airplane 11. In addition, the error display can prompt the worker to check the equipment of the truck 1.

[0095] When the above-mentioned raising of the loading platform 4 is completed, in order to continue the automatic control as shown in Figure 8, the equipment control unit 226 checks whether it recognizes the vehicle entrance / exit 12 (S15), and if it recognizes it, the left / right adjustment steps (S16 to S19) and the front / rear adjustment steps (S20 to S23) are performed, whereas if it cannot be recognized, the autonomous control by the equipment control unit 226 is discontinued and the worker uses the equipment operation unit 230 to manually operate the horizontal movement mechanism.

[0096] In the left-right adjustment step, first, the equipment control unit 226 judges whether the gangway plate 456 is misaligned left or right with respect to the aircraft entrance / exit 12 (S16). During the movement of the truck 1 from the in-flight catering factory 10 to the stopping position De in the airport, the base unit 43 is stopped in the left-right center and the PF 44 is stopped in the left-right center. Therefore, if the truck 1 can stop without misalignment in the left-right direction with respect to the aircraft entrance / exit 12 (S16), the aircraft entrance / exit 12 is located in the left-right center of the image of the third camera 439, and the left-right center position of the image of the third camera 439 and the left-right center position of the recognition mark P match, so the base unit 43 does not slide and the first PF 450 and the second PF 451 do not rotate. However, when the truck 1 stops at the stopping position De, if the vehicle entrance 12 is shifted to the left or right from the left-right center of the image of the third camera 439 (S16), the equipment control unit 226 calculates the amount of deviation between the left-right center position of the image of the third camera 439 and the left-right center position of the recognition mark P. At this time, if the equipment control unit 226 determines that there is a deviation that exceeds the allowable range, it determines whether the amount of deviation exceeds the left-right movement limit of the base unit 43 (S17).

[0097] When the equipment control unit 226 determines that the left-right movement limit of the base unit 43 has been exceeded, the first PF450 and the second PF451 are rotated by a predetermined angle each until the left-right center positions of the PF44 and the bridge plate 456 are aligned with the left-right center position of the recognition mark P (S18). Specifically, the equipment control unit 226 rotates the first PF450 and the second PF451 by a predetermined angle so that the leading edge of the second PF451 is approximately parallel to the lower edge of the vehicle entrance 12 and so that the left-right position of the second PF451 approaches the vehicle entrance 12.

[0098] On the other hand, if the equipment control unit 226 does not determine that the amount of deviation exceeds the left-right movement limit of the base part 43, the base part 43 is moved left and right by a predetermined distance at a time by the slide mechanism 432 up to the left-right movement limit so that the left-right center of the recognition mark P coincides with the left-right center positions of the PF44 and the cross plate 456 (S19). If it is determined that the amount of misalignment of the link plate 456 due to the sliding movement of the base portion 43 and the pivoting movement of the first PF 450 and the second PF 451 is within an allowable range (S16), the process proceeds to the front-rear adjustment steps (S20 to S23).

[0099] In this step, the equipment control unit 226 determines whether the distance from the tip of the second PF 451 to the aircraft entrance / exit 12 is less than the connectable distance L2 based on the distance data sent from the first distance sensor 459 and the second distance sensor 459b. If the connectable distance is greater than or equal to L2 (NO in S20), the equipment control unit 226 extends one or both of the slide cylinders 412, 443 to move the tip of the second PF451 forward a predetermined distance (in the direction indicated by arrow E4 or arrow E5 in Figure 3) (S21).

[0100] If the operation of step S21 is repeated and it is determined in step S20 that the distance is less than the connectable distance L2, the equipment control unit 226 rotates the upright cross plate 456 downward toward the vehicle entrance 12 to connect (S22). In addition, the equipment control unit 226 stops the rotation of the cross plate 456 when the cross plate 456 touches the floor surface of the vehicle entrance 12 and a ground contact signal is sent from the ground contact sensor 460. In addition, the driving of the bridge plate rotating motor 458 may be stopped with a predetermined delay from the timing when the ground contact signal is sent. In this way, since the portion of the second disk 457e that engages with the engaging protrusion 457f is the engaging long hole 457g, when the airplane 11 sinks due to the loading of fuel or the like, the bridge plate 456 can be tilted slightly without moving the bridge plate rotating motor 458 so as to follow the sinking.

[0101] After the gangplank 456 is placed on the floor of the aircraft entrance 12, the equipment control unit 226 drives the shutter opening / closing motor 414 to open the shutter 413 (S23). This allows movement between the baggage loading section 41 and the interior of the airplane 11 through the PF 44 and the gangplank 456, and allows loading and unloading of in-flight meal carts.

[0102] The object recognition unit 221 continues to recognize the vehicle entrance 12 even after the bridge plate 456 is connected to the vehicle entrance 12, and the equipment control unit 226 judges whether the lower end of the vehicle entrance 12 overlaps with the ascent judgment line N. If the lower end of the vehicle entrance 12 falls below the ascent judgment line N, the equipment control unit 226 switches the control valve 215 with the hydraulic pump 213 stopped to discharge hydraulic oil from the lift cylinder 302 to the hydraulic oil tank 214. At this time, by stopping the discharge of hydraulic oil at the timing when the lower end of the vehicle entrance 12 overlaps with the ascent judgment line N, the loading platform 4 can be lowered to the height position of the vehicle entrance 12.

[0103] The above control allows the loading platform 4 to be connected to the airplane (baggage loading / unloading section) 11 simply, accurately, and quickly. In addition, since the connection control is performed according to the height position of the aircraft entrance 12 while image recognition is performed, the crossing plate 456 can also be made substantially horizontal, which is also suitable for loading and unloading in-flight meal carts. In addition, the above-mentioned first camera 437a and second camera 43 used for image recognition preferably detect an object that may come into contact with the truck 1 based on the distance image generated by the distance image generating unit 222 while the truck 1 moves from the waiting position W to the stopping position De. For example, the possibility of contact can be determined based on the size of the recognized object and the distance to the object. If it is determined that such an object is present, a warning sound is output from the speaker 201a, or a warning display that surrounds the object is displayed on the display unit 201b.

[0104] In this embodiment, the electric actuators include a camera rotation motor 438, a shutter opening / closing motor 414, a bridge plate rotation motor 458, or a slide motor 433. The hydraulic actuators include a first slide cylinder 412 that slides the luggage carrier 41 in the front-rear direction of the chassis, a second slide cylinder 443 that slides the middle PF 441 back and forth, a first swivel motor 444 that swivels the first PF 450 of the tip PF 442 left and right, a second swivel motor 452 that swivels the second PF 451 left and right, and a lifting cylinder 302 that lifts and lowers the platform 4. However, these are not limited to being electric or hydraulic, and can be changed as appropriate.

[0105] In addition, the number and movement of the components of the platform (PF) 44 can be changed as appropriate. For example, the platform may be divided into two, a base end PF and a tip end PF, or the tip end PF may be configured to move only forward and backward without rotating.

[0106] In this embodiment, the first camera 437a and the second camera 437b are provided on the PF 44 of the connection and replacement unit 42, and the third camera 439 is provided on the base unit 43 of the connection and replacement unit 42, but the number and mounting locations of the cameras are not limited to this. For example, cameras may be provided on both the connection and replacement unit and the baggage vehicle mounting unit, or only on the baggage vehicle mounting unit. In addition, the luggage carrying section 41 is moved in the front-to-rear direction relative to the chassis 2 by the extension and contraction of the first slide cylinder 412, and the connection replacement section 42 is moved in the left-to-right direction relative to the chassis 2 by the slide mechanism 432, but the present invention is not limited to this, and it may be configured so that only one of the luggage carrying section and the connection replacement section is moved relative to the chassis.

[0107] In terms of control, in this embodiment, the work on the truck 1 consists of four work states, the first work state to the fourth work state, and in the third work state, the equipment control unit 226 uses the output data of the first camera 437a and the second camera 437b to display stop guide information such as target left and right lines I, I on the display unit 201b. In the fourth work state, the equipment control unit 226 uses the output data of the third camera 439 to automatically stop the lifting of the loading platform 4 at a height at which it can be connected to the vehicle entrance / exit 12. The present invention is not limited to this, and the equipment control unit may only automatically stop the loading platform when it is lifted after stopping, without displaying the stop guide. In addition, the order of the loading platform lifting step (S11 to S15), the left and right adjustment step (S16 to S19), and the front and rear adjustment step (S20 to S23) in the fourth work state can also be changed as appropriate.

[0108] In this embodiment, the first camera 437a and the second camera 437b serving as the object image acquisition unit are configured as stereo cameras, but the object image acquisition unit may be configured with other devices capable of detecting a three-dimensional object shape and a distance to the object. For example, a 3D-LIDAR or a distance image sensor may be used as the object image acquisition unit.

[0109] In this embodiment, a chassis 2 is used in which an operator drives the truck 1 to a predetermined stopping position De for the airplane 11 and stops the truck 1 there, but the present invention is not limited to this and a chassis capable of automatic driving may also be used.

[0110] In this embodiment, the chassis 2 of the truck 1 includes an engine 210, a transmission 211, and a PTO 212 attached to the transmission 211, and is configured to switch the PTO 212 (output driving force to the traveling tires 202 side or the hydraulic pump 213 side) using a PTO switch 231 as a power changeover switch. The present invention is not limited to this, and can also be applied to a work vehicle that runs using an electric motor for running instead of an engine and drives the hydraulic pump using an electric motor dedicated to the mounted equipment, and does not have a PTO. In this case, the power changeover switch corresponds to a main power switch for driving the mounted equipment.

[0111] In this embodiment, the high lift truck 1 is used to transport in-flight meal carts, but the present invention is not limited to this and can also be applied to high lift trucks for transporting in-flight items such as magazines and headphones, and high lift trucks for carrying disabled people in wheelchairs or stretchers onto an airplane. In addition, in this embodiment, an aviation high lift truck has been described as an example of a work vehicle to which the present invention can be applied, but the present invention is not limited to this and can be applied to various work vehicles.

[0112] For example, there are many types of work vehicles in airports, including not only high-lift trucks that transport in-flight meal carts, but also fuel tankers, lavatory vehicles, trash cars, de-icing cars, etc. Among such work vehicles in airports, the present invention can be applied to those that require accurate alignment with airplanes. Specifically, for example, in a fuel tanker as shown in JP 2003-154886 A, a lift mechanism is provided at the rear of the vehicle, and this lift mechanism is used to raise and lower a lifter serving as a work platform. The tip nozzle of a fuel supply hose is also provided on the lifter. Such a fuel tanker is stopped after aligning the lifter so that it is below the fuel supply port on the underside of the wing of an airplane. Then, an operator manually raises the lifter and manually aligns the tip nozzle of the fuel supply hose with the fuel supply port, then connects them, and the fuel stored in the vehicle tank is supplied to the airplane. For example, the vehicle tank of such a fuel tanker is considered to be the baggage vehicle loading section of the present invention, and the lift mechanism is considered to be the connection and replacement section of the present invention. Then, when it is desired to automatically raise the lifter and automatically align the tip nozzle of the fuel supply hose with the fuel supply port, the present invention can be applied by photographing the fuel supply port with a camera as an object image acquisition section, and controlling the lifting of the lift mechanism with a control section based on the output data.

[0113] Also, for example, a lavatory vehicle as shown in JP 2012-1104 A has a tank for loading toilet wastewater from an airplane, and a work platform and a lifting device for raising and lowering the work platform are provided at the rear of the vehicle. Such a lavatory vehicle is parked after aligning the work platform so that it is below the wastewater outlet of the airplane. Then, an operator climbs onto the work platform and manually raises the work platform while connecting the hose tip to the wastewater outlet of the airplane. The on-board tank of this lavatory vehicle is considered as the baggage vehicle mounting part of the present invention, and the lifting device is considered as the connection switching part of the present invention. Then, when it is desired to automatically raise the work platform and automatically align the hose tip with the wastewater outlet, the present invention can be applied by photographing the wastewater outlet with a camera as an object image acquisition part, and controlling the lifting of the lifting device with a control part based on the output data.

[0114] The present invention is applicable not only to airport work vehicles such as the above-mentioned fuel tanker and lavatory vehicle, but also to various work vehicles that transport waste, parcels, mail, etc. For example, a garbage truck as shown in JP 61-124402 A includes a garbage container for containing waste, a movable arm provided on the side of the vehicle, and a gripping device attached to the tip of the movable arm for gripping the garbage container. When the garbage truck is stopped, the worker adjusts the front-rear position of the vehicle so that the gripping device is near the location where the garbage container is placed. After the garbage truck is stopped, the worker manually operates the movable arm to move the gripping device to the side of the vehicle to align it with the garbage container and have the gripping device grip the garbage container. Furthermore, the worker operates the movable arm to throw the waste in the garbage container into the garbage container. In the case of such a garbage truck, the garbage container is considered to be the luggage vehicle loading section of the present invention, the movable arm is considered to be the connection and switching section of the present invention, and the garbage container is considered to be the luggage carrying-in / out section. The present invention can be applied by photographing the waste container with a camera serving as an object image acquisition unit, and controlling the movement of the movable arm with a control unit based on the output data.

[0115] Also, for example, a mobile body for home delivery as shown in JP 2018-177439 A can move automatically by storing luggage in an internal space area. In addition, this mobile body is equipped with an extended rail section such as a belt conveyor installed in the delivery box section, and a storage mechanism that stores luggage moved to the mobile body side via the extended rail section in the internal space area. This mobile body moves to the front of the delivery box at the delivery destination and stops. After stopping, the extended rail section is aligned with the opening and closing door of a specific locker section among a plurality of locker sections provided in the delivery box. In the case of such a mobile body, the internal space area is considered to be the luggage vehicle mounting section of the present invention, the extended rail section is considered to be the connection and switching section of the present invention, and the locker section is considered to be the luggage carrying-in and -out section. Then, the present invention can be applied by photographing the opening and closing door of the locker section with a camera as an object image acquisition section, and controlling the movement of the extended rail section with a control section based on the output data.

[0116] -Other embodiments- The embodiments disclosed herein are illustrative in all respects and are not intended to be limiting. The technical scope of the present invention is not interpreted solely by the above-described embodiments, but is defined by the claims. The technical scope of the present invention includes all modifications within the scope and meaning equivalent to the claims. [Explanation of symbols]

[0117] 1 Truck (work vehicle) 2 Chassis 3 Lifting mechanism 4 Cargo platform 11 Airplane (baggage handling area) 12. Aircraft entrance / exit (entrance / exit for baggage handling area) 15 Control Tower (Management Center) 41 Luggage Carriage Section 42 Connection and switching section 43 Base 44 Platform (PF) 201a Display section 213 Hydraulic Pump 214 Hydraulic Oil Tank 215 Hydraulic Control Valve 220 Control section 221 Object Recognition Unit 222 Distance image generation unit 223 Object detection unit 224 Judgment processing unit 225 Storage section 226 Bodywork Control Unit 228 Communications Department 229 Location information acquisition unit 231 PTO switch (power changeover switch) 412 First slide cylinder (driving actuator) 432 Slide mechanism 443 Second slide cylinder (driving actuator) 437a 1st camera (object image acquisition unit) 437b 2nd camera (object image acquisition part) 439 3rd Camera (Object Image Acquisition Unit) 444 1st rotation motor (drive actuator) 452 2nd rotation motor (drive actuator) 456 Gangplank 458 Cross plate rotation motor De stop position H Recognition mark P Recognition mark I Target left and right lines (stop guide information) J Lines before and after the target (stop guide information) K Vehicle position line (stop guide information) M1 Far Discriminator (Discriminator) M2 proximity discriminator (first discriminator) M3 horizontal discriminator (second discriminator) N Rise Judgment Line

Claims

1. A luggage carrying section provided on the chassis; a connection and switching unit that is provided in the luggage carrying section and is connected between the luggage carrying section and a luggage carrying-in / out section of a luggage destination or luggage source to be used for switching luggage; an object image acquisition unit provided in the baggage loading unit and / or the connection switching unit and configured to acquire data on surrounding object images; a control unit that controls a drive actuator based on the result of the acquisition by the object image acquisition unit, and moves the baggage loading unit and / or the connection switching unit relative to the chassis; A work vehicle comprising:

2. The luggage carrying section is configured to be raised and lowered relative to the chassis by a lifting mechanism, 2. The work vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the control unit is configured to move the baggage carrier in a lifting / lowering direction by controlling the drive actuator of the lifting mechanism based on the result of acquisition by the object image acquisition unit.

3. a hydraulic pump that drives the drive actuator, a hydraulic control valve that switches the direction of movement of the drive actuator, and a hydraulic oil tank provided between the hydraulic pump and the hydraulic control valve, 3. The work vehicle according to claim 2, wherein the control unit is configured to switch the hydraulic control valve with the hydraulic pump stopped when lowering the luggage carrier based on the results of acquisition by the object image acquisition unit, thereby releasing hydraulic oil from the drive actuator of the lifting mechanism to the hydraulic oil tank.

4. the connection and switching unit is connected to the baggage vehicle carrying unit so as to rise and fall together with the baggage vehicle carrying unit, and at least a portion of the connection and switching unit is configured to be horizontally movable relative to the baggage vehicle carrying unit by a horizontal movement mechanism; The work vehicle according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the control unit is configured to move the connection switching unit in a horizontal direction by controlling the drive actuator of the horizontal movement mechanism based on the acquisition result of the object image acquisition unit.

5. A display unit that displays the vehicle travel direction is connected to the control unit, 2. The work vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the control unit is configured to create stopping guide information regarding a predetermined stopping position relative to the baggage loading and unloading section based on the acquisition result of the object image acquisition unit, and display the information on the display unit.

Images