Mock obstacle transport device

Abstract

Provided is a mock obstacle transport device for use in a performance test for an automobile, the device comprising: a vehicle body; a travel unit that causes the vehicle body to travel; a first power source that supplies power to the travel unit; a position information identification unit that identifies position information of the vehicle body; a control unit that controls the travel unit on the basis of the position information; and a second power source that supplies power to the control unit and is different from the first power source. The control unit has a storage unit for storing the position information and a travel route along which the vehicle body is caused to travel, and initializes the position information and the travel route stored in the storage unit when being activated by power supplied from the second power source.

Description

Simulated obstacle transport device

[0001] The present invention relates to a simulated obstacle transporting device used in automobile performance testing.

[0002] In order to objectively evaluate a vehicle's obstacle recognition and avoidance performance, a performance test is conducted by simulating specific collision conditions to evaluate the degree of collision avoidance and damage reduction. This performance test is conducted using a vehicle to be evaluated and a simulated obstacle transporter (hereinafter abbreviated as "transporter") (see, for example, Patent Document 1). The transporter runs while carrying simulated obstacles (e.g., dummies simulating various obstacles such as people and bicycles) used in vehicle performance tests, reproducing the movements of various obstacles. By conducting a highly reproducible performance test using the transporter, the vehicle's collision safety can be accurately evaluated.

[0003] Special Publication No. 2019-520585

[0004] Since transportation devices, including the transportation device disclosed in Patent Document 1, are generally battery-powered, when the remaining battery charge falls below a certain level, the transportation vehicle's control system must be shut down, the battery replaced, and the control system restarted. As a result, the transportation device cannot be used for automobile performance testing until the control system has fully started up, and it takes time before the performance test can be resumed. For example, the transportation device uses location information acquired by the Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) to calculate its own driving route, and it takes time (e.g., several minutes to several tens of minutes) to acquire location information from the GNSS and become ready for autonomous driving. This results in a long downtime during which the transportation device cannot be used for performance testing.

[0005] An object of the present invention is to provide a simulated obstacle transporting device that can reduce downtime and improve the efficiency of automobile performance testing.

[0006] In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a simulated obstacle transporting device for use in automobile performance testing, comprising a vehicle body, a running unit that drives the vehicle body, a first power source that supplies power to the running unit, a position information identifying unit that identifies position information of the vehicle body, a control unit that controls the running unit based on the position information, and a second power source that supplies power to the control unit and is different from the first power source.

[0007] According to the present invention, it is possible to reduce downtime of the obstacle transporting simulator and improve the efficiency of automobile performance testing.

[0008] 1 is a perspective view showing the external configuration of a simulated obstacle transporting device according to a first embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 2 is a plan view showing the external configuration of the simulated obstacle transporting device according to the first embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 3 is a bottom view of the vehicle body and traveling device of the simulated obstacle transporting device according to the first embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 4 is a diagram showing the height relationship between the overall height of the simulated obstacle transporting device according to the first embodiment of the present invention and the minimum ground clearance of a vehicle to be tested; FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram showing the operating mode of the simulated obstacle transporting device according to the first embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram showing the operating mode of the simulated obstacle transporting device according to the first embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram showing the operating mode of the simulated obstacle transporting device according to the first embodiment of the present invention; 10 is a graph showing the transition of the power supply voltage of the control unit when switching power supplies in the example of Fig. 9. Fig. 11 is a block diagram showing the schematic configuration of a drive system of a simulated obstacle carrying device according to a second embodiment of the present invention. Fig. 12 is a schematic diagram of a memory of a simulated obstacle carrying device according to a second embodiment of the present invention. Fig. 13 is a flowchart showing an example of a processing procedure by a control unit when two second power supplies are replaced in a second embodiment of the present invention.

[0009] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

[0010] <First Embodiment> -Simulated Obstacle Transporting Device- Fig. 1 is a perspective view showing the external configuration of a simulated obstacle transporting device according to a first embodiment of the present invention, Fig. 2A is a plan view thereof, and Fig. 2B is a bottom view thereof. Fig. 3 is a diagram showing the height relationship between the overall height of the simulated obstacle transporting device shown in Fig. 1 and the minimum ground clearance of the vehicle being tested, and Figs. 4A to 4D are schematic diagrams showing the operational form of the simulated obstacle transporting device. The right, left, top, and bottom of Fig. 2A correspond to the front, rear, left, and right of the simulated obstacle transporting device 1 (hereinafter abbreviated as transporting device 1) of this embodiment.

[0011] The transport device 1 shown in FIG. 1 and other figures is a device used for performance testing of a vehicle (test vehicle) A. Specifically, the transport device 1 carries a simulated obstacle B, a dummy obstacle used in the performance test of the vehicle A, and runs and stops to simulate a static or dynamic obstacle. The body of the simulated obstacle B is generally made of a soft material such as a balloon, so that even if the vehicle A collides with the simulated obstacle B during the performance test, the simulated obstacle B and the vehicle A are unlikely to be damaged. The performance test tests, for example, the AD (Autonomous Driving) and ADAS (Advanced Driver-Assistance Systems) functions of the vehicle A. The transport device 1 is configured to be low-profile and thin so that it is unlikely to be recognized as an obstacle by the external recognition sensor of the vehicle A under test, and so that when the vehicle A collides with the simulated obstacle B, the vehicle A can avoid contact with the body of the vehicle A and can climb up onto the simulated obstacle B. As shown in FIG. 3, the overall height of the transport device 1 from the ground surface is lower than the minimum ground clearance H of the vehicle A, for example, approximately 100 mm.

[0012] As components, the transport device 1 includes a running unit (running device) 2, a vehicle body 3, connection units 4 and 5, a control unit 6 (Figure 6), first power sources (batteries) 7a and 7b (Figure 6), and second power sources (batteries) 8a and 8b (Figure 6).

[0013] The traveling unit 2 is a device that allows the vehicle body 3 to travel under its own power and is attached to the vehicle body 3. As shown in FIG. 2B , the transport device 1 is equipped with multiple (three in this embodiment) traveling units 2 (drive wheels 2L, 2R and steering wheels 2F). These drive wheels 2L, 2R and steering wheels 2F each include one wheel 25. Note that the transport device 1 of this embodiment is configured to perform braking solely through regeneration of the drive motors 2a, 2b ( FIG. 6 ) of the drive wheels 2L, 2R, thereby achieving compactness by omitting a mechanical brake. Furthermore, the transport device 1 omits a suspension mechanism, assuming travel on paved surfaces such as a test course, thereby achieving further compactness. However, mechanical brakes and suspension mechanisms can also be installed as needed.

[0014] The steering wheel 2F is a driven wheel (which may also be a drive wheel) that controls the traveling direction of the transporter 1 and is disposed in the front center of the vehicle body 3. The drive wheel 2L is disposed on the rear left side of the left vehicle body 3, and the drive wheel 2R is disposed on the rear right side of the vehicle body 3. Specifically, the drive wheels 2L and 2R are disposed in the rear corners of the main body 3a of the vehicle body 3, and the steering wheel 2F is disposed near the front inner wall of the main body 3a of the vehicle body 3. In this way, the wheelbase and tread are maximized within the limited space inside the main body 3a of the vehicle body 3, thereby improving straight-line stability. In this embodiment, the transporter 1 is driven by the drive wheels 2L and 2R, which are the rear wheels, and steered by the steering wheel 2F, which is the front wheel. However, it is possible to add a steering mechanism to the drive wheels 2L and 2R, or to add a traveling drive mechanism to the steering wheel 2F. In addition, the transport device 1 is a tricycle that runs on a total of three wheels 25, consisting of a steering wheel 2F and drive wheels 2L and 2R, and since the three wheels 25, which are spaced apart at three locations, are always in contact with the ground, a height adjustment mechanism for the wheels 25 is not required.

[0015] To further enhance the straight-line stability of the transporter 1, a control device mounting area X for mounting relatively heavy control devices is located in the triangular area S surrounded by the drive wheels 2L, 2R and the steering wheel 2F. Furthermore, left and right battery mounting areas Y for mounting batteries (first power sources 7a, 7b and second power sources 8a, 8b) and left and right areas Z for mounting other electronic devices are located in front of the left and right drive wheels 2L, 2R, respectively, on either side of the control device mounting area X and the steering wheel 2F. In this embodiment, the control unit 6 ( FIG. 6 ) is mounted in the control device mounting area X and located in the center of the vehicle body 3. The first power sources 7a, 7b are driving batteries that supply power to the drive motors 2a, 2b ( FIG. 6 ) of the drive wheels 2L, 2R of the traveling unit 2 and provide propulsion power to the transporter 1. The second power sources 8a, 8b are mainly control batteries that supply power to the control unit 6 and other components, and are separate batteries from the first power sources 7a, 7b. In this embodiment, the second power sources 8a and 8b also serve as the power source for the servo motor 2c (FIG. 6) for steering the steering wheel 2F. In this way, the power source for the drive wheels 2L and 2R that provide propulsive force to the vehicle body 3 is separate from the power sources for other devices such as the control system.

[0016] In addition, multiple first power sources 7a, 7b (two in this embodiment) are provided, and power is supplied individually from the first power source 7a to the drive motor 2a of the drive wheel 2L, and from the first power source 7b to the drive motor 2b of the drive wheel 2R. Multiple second power sources 8a, 8b (two in this embodiment) are also provided. The first power sources 7a, 7b are arranged facing each other across the control unit 6, and the second power sources 8a, 8b are also arranged facing each other across the control unit 6. The first power source 7a and the second power source 8b are also arranged facing each other across the control unit 6. The first power source 7b and the second power source 8a are also arranged facing each other across the control unit 6. In the example of FIG. 2B , the first power sources 7a, 7b for driving are arranged on the sides (rear sides) of the left and right battery mounting areas Y closer to the driving unit 2 (rear sides) so as to sandwich the control unit 6, and the second power sources 8a, 8b are arranged on the left and right sides of the first power sources 7a, 7b, sandwiching the control unit 6 therebetween. By distributing the batteries evenly in this manner, the center of gravity of the transport device 1 is located approximately in the center of the body 3.

[0017] The vehicle body 3 is the housing of the transport device 1, has connection parts 4 and 5 for connecting the simulated obstacle B, and covers the traveling part 2, control part 6, first power sources 7a and 7b, second power sources 8a and 7b, etc. In this embodiment, the vehicle body 3 is configured to include a main body part 3a (core block) and a slope part 3b (cover). The vehicle body 3 can be configured as an assembly of the main body part 3a and the slope part 3b, with the main body part 3a and the slope part 3b being separate structures, or the main body part 3a and the slope part 3b can be configured as an integrally molded structure.

[0018] In this embodiment, the main body 3a has a thin, rectangular (square in the illustrated example) box-like shape in a plan view, with front, rear, left, and right sides and a top, and is open at the bottom. In this embodiment, the top (top surface) of the main body 3a is a horizontal plane, but this is not necessarily the case. The main body 3a is made of metal and has high strength enough to withstand the load of being run over by the automobile A. Although not shown in FIG. 2B , appropriate ribs are provided inside the main body 3a (the volume space enclosed by the front, rear, left, and right sides and the top) to improve the strength of the main body 3a. Furthermore, an opening 3d is provided on the top surface of the main body 3a to access the battery mounting area Y, and this opening 3d is covered by an opening / closing cover 3c. FIG. 2A shows the state in which the opening / closing cover 3c is removed, allowing access to the battery mounting area Y from the top side through the opening 3d. The opening / closing cover 3c is designed to allow battery replacement without turning the transport device 1 upside down.

[0019] The sloped surface 3b is located on the outer periphery of the main body 3a and surrounds the entire periphery of the main body 3a. In this embodiment, the sloped surface 3b is detachably attached to the front, rear, left, and right sides of the main body 3a. The upward surface of the sloped surface 3b is a sloped surface that slopes downward from the horizontal center of the vehicle body 3 toward the outside, and descends from the upper surface of the main body 3a toward the ground surface. The inclination angle of this sloped surface is set so that the wheels of the vehicle A can smoothly ride up onto the transport device 1 when the vehicle A interferes with the simulated obstacle B. The sloped surface 3b is a replaceable part and is made of lightweight resin. Figure 2B illustrates a structure in which the sloped surface 3b is hollowed out to reduce weight.

[0020] The connection part 4 is a mechanism for fixing the simulated obstacle B to the vehicle body 3 and is provided on the upper part of the vehicle body 3, for example, in the center of the top surface. The configuration of the connection part 4 is appropriately adopted depending on the mechanism for attaching and detaching the simulated obstacle B to the transport device 1. The connection part 4 illustrated in FIG. 1 is a mechanism similar to a clamp that holds down the base plate of a pole (such as a pipe). The simulated obstacle B is fixed to the transport device 1 by attaching it to a pole supported by the connection part 4 or by fastening the simulated obstacle to the pole. Alternatively, the connection part 4 can be configured with a screw hole into which a bolt for fixing the simulated obstacle B is screwed. The configuration of the connection part 4 can be modified in various ways. Furthermore, the connection part 5 uses a magnet and fixes the simulated obstacle B by attracting an iron plate provided at the bottom of the simulated obstacle B. Both connection parts 4 and 5 do not necessarily need to be provided; either one may be omitted. Furthermore, the layout of the connection parts 4 and 5 can be modified as appropriate. A simulated obstacle B is attached to the top of the body 3 of the transport device 1 via these connection parts 4, 5, and the transport device 1 runs in this state, whereby the movement of the obstacle simulated by the simulated obstacle B is reproduced by the transport device 1.

[0021] The simulated obstacle B is selected in a shape appropriate for the purpose of the performance test and attached to the transporter 1. Fig. 4A shows an example in which a simulated obstacle B simulating a pedestrian B1 is mounted on the transporter 1. Fig. 4B shows an example in which a bicycle B2 is mounted on the transporter 1, Fig. 4C shows an example in which a motorcycle B3 is mounted on the transporter 1, and Fig. 4D shows an example in which a car B4 is mounted on the transporter 1. The transporter 1 travels in accordance with, for example, a radio signal in response to remote control operation by an operator, a radio signal remotely controlled by a control device, or a predetermined program, and reproduces the predetermined movement of the mounted simulated obstacle B.

[0022] FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram showing a performance test of automobile A using a transporter 1. In the performance test, the transporter 1 loaded with a simulated obstacle B stops or travels under test conditions specified in the performance test. The automobile A being tested travels relative to the simulated obstacle B loaded on the transporter 1, recognizing the simulated obstacle B as a real obstacle using its obstacle recognition function and activating a collision avoidance function as necessary. If a collision with the simulated obstacle B cannot be avoided, the body of automobile A collides with the simulated obstacle B as shown in FIG. 5. Participants in the performance test observe the collision between automobile A and simulated obstacle B from a location at an appropriate distance from automobile A and the transporter 1.

[0023] In such performance tests of automobile A, when automobile A collides with simulated obstacle B, the transport device 1 often gets under the body of automobile A or is run over by the wheels of automobile A. In such a usage environment, it is necessary to prevent damage to the running part 2 etc. even if run over by automobile A so that the transport device 1 can be used repeatedly for performance tests.

[0024] - Drive System - Figure 6 is a block diagram showing the schematic configuration of the drive system of the transport device 1. As shown in Figure 6, the transport device 1 is equipped with switches 9a and 9b, a power source selection unit 10, and a control system 20. In addition to the elements shown in the figure, the drive system actually includes various circuit components with functions such as rectification, surge prevention, backflow prevention, and voltage conversion, although these are omitted from Figure 6 to avoid complexity.

[0025] The switches 9a and 9b respectively open and close the electrical paths connecting the first power sources 7a and 7b and the traveling unit 2. Specifically, the switch 9a opens and closes the electrical path connecting the first power source 7a and the drive motor 2a of the left drive wheel 2L. The switch 9b opens and closes the electrical path connecting the other first power source 7b and the drive motor 2b of the right drive wheel 2R. These switches 9a and 9b are operated by control signals from the control unit 6.

[0026] -Control Unit- In addition to the control unit 6, the control system 20 includes sensors 21 mounted on the transporting device 1 for travel control. The sensors 21 include a position information identification unit (GNSS sensor) that identifies position information of the vehicle body 3, an inertial measurement unit (IMU) that detects three-dimensional inertial motion of the vehicle body 3, and the like. The control unit 6 is an on-board computer equipped with a processing device such as a CPU, and outputs control signals to the travel unit 2 (drive motors 2a, 2b, servo motor 2c) based on information measured by these sensors 21, i.e., position information and acceleration information, to control the travel operation of the transporting device 1.

[0027] The control unit 6 is equipped with or connected to various storage devices. As shown in Fig. 7, the storage devices include a non-volatile main memory device 6a that retains data even when powered off, a volatile memory 6b that retains data only when powered on, and a battery remaining capacity meter 6c, which is an IC that measures the remaining amount of power stored in the power source used by the control unit 6. When testing the performance of the automobile A, the control unit 6 calculates various data necessary for controlling the traveling operation of the transport device 1 (e.g., autonomous navigation control) and outputs control signals to the drive motors 2a, 2b and the servo motor 2c, based on data such as test conditions input by wired or wireless communication with a predetermined terminal (e.g., a PC).

[0028] The various data input to or calculated by the control unit 6 include test condition data, sensor data, and intermediate parameters of the navigation control software. The test condition data includes specified values ​​such as the travel route, speed (acceleration), and automatic travel start conditions of the transport device 1. The sensor data includes positioning data of the vehicle body 3 obtained by the GNSS sensor and acceleration data obtained by the IMU. The travel route included in the test condition data is set by the operator in the local coordinate system of the transport device 1 and converted to coordinate values ​​in the global coordinate system based on the positioning data from the GNSS sensor. The intermediate parameters of the navigation control software include, for example, offset values ​​for the steering angle and speed command value. These intermediate parameters are parameters learned by the control unit 6 from, for example, travel data from the most recent autonomous travel and are used to improve the travel accuracy of the transport device 1. At least a portion of this data is calculated and stored in the volatile memory 6b, which is suitable for high-speed processing. The data stored in the volatile memory 6b is lost if power to the control unit 6 is interrupted. The lost data is reset or recalculated if necessary.

[0029] -Power Source Selection Unit- Fig. 8 is a block diagram of the power source selection unit 10. As shown in Fig. 8, a plurality of second power sources 8a, 8b are connected in parallel to the control unit 6. The power source selection unit 10 selectively connects these plurality of second power sources 8a, 8b to the control unit 6, and is configured to include an input switching unit 11 and an uninterruptible power supply (UPS) unit 12.

[0030] The input switching unit 11 switches the battery used as the main power source for the control unit 6, and selectively connects to the second power sources 8a and 8b.

[0031] The uninterruptible power supply unit 12 prevents the power supply voltage V of the control unit 6 from falling below a control system power-off threshold V2 ( FIG. 10 ) due to a momentary power outage during battery switching, i.e., a momentary voltage drop during switching operation of the input switching unit 11. The control system power-off threshold V2 is a set value, and if the power supply voltage V falls below the control system power-off threshold V2, data stored in the volatile memory 6b may be lost. The uninterruptible power supply unit 12 incorporates an auxiliary power supply (battery) 13, an auxiliary power supply control unit 14, and a power supply switching unit 15. The auxiliary power supply 13 is an auxiliary battery with a smaller capacity than the second power supplies 8a and 8b. The auxiliary power supply control unit 14 is a switch that has a charger / discharger 16 and switches between charging and discharging of the auxiliary power supply 13, and switches between a charging mode in which the auxiliary power supply 13 is connected to a main power supply (either of the second power supplies 8a or 8b) and charged with power supplied from the main power supply, and a discharging mode in which the auxiliary power supply 13 is connected to a load device (the control system 20 or the servo motor 2c) and power is supplied from the auxiliary power supply 13 to the load device.

[0032] The power source switching unit 15 is a switch that switches the power source that supplies power to the load device between the main power source (either the second power sources 8 a or 8 b ) and the auxiliary power source 13 .

[0033] - Control power supply switching procedure - Fig. 9 is a flowchart showing an example of the processing procedure by the control unit 6 when switching the power supply from one of the second power supplies 8a, 8b to the other, and Fig. 10 is a graph showing the transition of the power supply voltage V of the control unit 6 at that time. In this example, an example of switching the power supply from the second power supply 8a to the second power supply 8b will be described.

[0034] As described in FIG. 7 , the control unit 6 has a memory unit (main memory unit 6a and volatile memory 6b) that stores information about the route and location of the vehicle body 3. The data stored in the main memory unit 6a is retained even when the control unit 6 is powered off, and may remain in the main memory unit 6a when the control unit 6 is started up. When the power is turned on at time t1 (step S901), the control unit 6 first initializes (clears) the route and location information stored in the memory unit (main memory unit 6a) when powered up by the second power source 8a (step S902). In this example, it is assumed that the second power sources 8a and 8b and the auxiliary power source 13 are all fully charged at time t1.

[0035] Next, the control unit 6 receives test conditions and GNSS positioning data via communication with a predetermined terminal (e.g., a PC) (step S903), calculates various data, such as a travel path (global coordinate system) necessary for controlling the traveling operation of the transporting device 1 (e.g., autonomous navigation control) based on the received data, and controls the traveling operation of the transporting device 1 during the test of the vehicle A. During the repeated traveling associated with the test, the control unit 6 learns intermediate parameters of the navigation control software from the traveling data. During this time, the control unit 6 also determines whether the power supply voltage V (the voltage of the second power supply 8a) has dropped below a predetermined power supply replacement threshold V1 (step S904).

[0036] If the power supply voltage V drops to the power supply replacement threshold V1 during operation, for example, at time t2, the control unit 6 notifies the operator that a power supply replacement is necessary (step S905). The notification to the operator is transmitted via wireless communication to a control PC (not shown) operated by the operator. At the same time, the control unit 6 outputs a control signal to the power supply selection unit 10, which switches the auxiliary power supply 13 to a discharge mode using the charger / discharger 16 (step S906), and switches the power supply in use from the second power supply 8a to the auxiliary power supply 13 (step S907). Specifically, when the auxiliary power supply control unit 14 and the power supply in use switching unit 15 are switched from the state shown in FIG. 7, the connection between the main power supply (second power supply 8a) and the load equipment (such as the control system 20 and the servo motor 2c) is cut off, and the auxiliary power supply 13 is connected to the load equipment. When the power source switches to the auxiliary power source 13 (times t2 to t3), the power source voltage V of the control unit 6 drops instantaneously as shown in Figure 10, but the power source replacement threshold V1 is set higher than the control system power interruption threshold V2 by an amount equal to or greater than the instantaneous voltage drop, so the power source voltage V of the control unit 6 does not fall below the control system power interruption threshold V2. The auxiliary power source 13 is connected to the second power source 8a until time t2, and is in a fully charged state at times t2 and t3.

[0037] The control unit 6 continues to monitor the power supply voltage V during this period. After confirming that the power supply voltage V has exceeded the power supply replacement threshold V1 at time t3 after the power supply has been switched (step S908), the control unit 6 outputs a control signal to the power supply selection unit 10 at time t4 to switch the power supply from the auxiliary power supply 13 to the second power supply 8b (step S909), and switches the auxiliary power supply 13 to a charging mode using the charger / discharger 16 (step S910). Specifically, the auxiliary power supply control unit 14 and the power supply switching unit 15 switch to the states shown in FIG. 7 , disconnecting the auxiliary power supply 13 from the load device and simultaneously connecting the main power supply (second power supply 8b) to the load device (times t4 to t5). The operator replaces the second power supply 8a while the control unit 6 is operating on the second power supply 8b.

[0038] Furthermore, the control unit 6 repeats the processes of steps S904 to S910 until an operation to turn off the power supply (shut down) of the control unit 6 is performed, and when the operation to turn off the power supply is performed, the flow of step S9 ends (step S911).

[0039] -Effects- (1) In the transport device 1, the power consumption of the traveling unit 2 (the drive motors 2a, 2b of the drive wheels 2L, 2R) is greater (e.g., approximately 10 times greater) than the power consumption of the control system 20. If the transport device 1 only has one battery, the power consumption for traveling will be consumed, and the control unit 6 will be turned off and the data stored in the volatile memory 6b will be lost each time the battery is replaced. Therefore, after a battery replacement, initial tasks such as inputting data such as test conditions into the transport device 1 and recalculating data required for positioning the vehicle body 3 and testing will be required again, resulting in a long time before the test can be resumed. Furthermore, the transport device 1 must be configured thin, which places significant size constraints on it. Therefore, it is difficult to use a large battery, which naturally increases the frequency of battery replacement. While it is possible to use a small-sized, high-capacity battery, such a battery would be custom-made and expensive.

[0040] In contrast, in this embodiment, the second power supplies 8a, 8b that supply power to the control unit 6 are provided separately from the first power supplies 7a, 7b for driving. Therefore, the second power supplies 8a, 8b and the first power supplies 7a, 7b can be replaced individually. This allows the control unit 6 to remain powered by the second power supplies 8a, 8b and retain data in the volatile memory 6b even when replacing the first power supplies 7a, 7b due to power consumption during driving. Because the first power supplies 7a, 7b for driving can be replaced while the control unit 6 is operating, there is no need to repeatedly perform the initial tasks required for conducting an automated driving test, such as positioning the vehicle body 3 and setting test conditions, thereby improving overall test efficiency. Furthermore, because the power consumption of the control power supplies is lower than that of the driving power supplies, the frequency of replacement of the second power supplies 8a, 8b is also lower than that of the first power supplies 7a, 7b. In this way, downtime of the transport device 1 can be reduced, improving the efficiency of the performance test of the vehicle A. Furthermore, commercially available products can be used for the first power sources 7a and 7b and the second power sources 8a and 8b, which can also suppress increases in the manufacturing costs of the transport device 1.

[0041] (2) The transporting device 1 recognizes the position of the vehicle body 3 in the global coordinate system using the GNSS, while the data of the specified travel route is given in the local coordinate system of the transporting device 1. The travel route specified by the values ​​of the local coordinate system is used after being converted into the global coordinate system of the GNSS. Therefore, if past data on the position of the vehicle body 3 is stored in, for example, the main memory device 6a when the control unit 6 is started, and if the past position data differs from the actual current position, the travel route will be set in the global coordinate system based on an incorrect current position, which may cause the transporting device 1 to travel in an unintended direction.

[0042] In contrast, in this embodiment, when the control unit 6 is started up, it initializes the travel route, vehicle body position information, and the like stored in the main memory device 6a, so the transporting device 1 cannot travel automatically until the operator resets the travel conditions and completes the measurement of the current position of the vehicle body 3. This prevents the transporting device 1 from traveling unintentionally based on erroneous data, and allows the desired test to be performed.

[0043] (3) The vehicle is provided with switches 9a and 9b that open and close the electrical circuit connecting the first power sources 7a and 7b for driving and the driving unit 2. Therefore, when replacing the first power sources 7a and 7b, surges and sparks can be prevented by opening the contacts of the switches 9a and 9b.

[0044] In particular, in this embodiment, drive motors 2a, 2b are provided for the left and right drive wheels 2L, 2R, and switches 9a, 9b are provided in the electrical circuits of the drive motors 2a, 2b, respectively. For example, if the frequency of driving clockwise is higher than that of driving counterclockwise, the power consumption of the battery (first power source 7a) of the left drive motor 2a is greater. Although there may be a difference in the remaining charge levels of the first power sources 7a, 7b, the first power sources 7a, 7b can be replaced individually, and the switches 9a, 9b can prevent surges and sparks during this process.

[0045] (4) A plurality of second power supplies 8a, 8b are connected in parallel to the control unit 6, and the power supply selector 10 selectively connects one of the plurality of second power supplies 8a, 8b to the control unit 6. By providing redundant control power supplies in this manner, if it becomes necessary to replace one of the second power supplies 8a, 8b serving as control power supplies, power can be supplied to the control unit 6 from the other of the second power supplies 8a, 8b, thereby avoiding a loss of power to the control unit 6. This allows the control power supply to be replaced without shutting down the control system 20, enabling continuous operation of the control system 20.

[0046] In particular, in this embodiment, the power source selection unit 10 is equipped with an uninterruptible power source unit 12, and power source switching between the second power sources 8a and 8b is performed with the auxiliary power source 13 connected to the control unit 6, so that momentary power outages when power source switching between the second power sources 8a and 8b can be avoided.

[0047] (5) Furthermore, the control unit 6 is disposed in the center of the vehicle body 3, and the first power source 7a and the second power source 8b, and the first power source 7b and the second power source 8a, are disposed in positions facing each other with the control unit 6 in between. In this way, by distributing and evenly arranging the relatively heavy batteries in a thin vehicle body 3 with limited space, the center of gravity of the transport device 1 can be positioned in the center of the vehicle body 3, improving the weight balance of the vehicle body 3 and improving driving stability.

[0048] (6) Furthermore, a plurality of first power sources 7a, 7b and a plurality of second power sources 8a, 8b are provided, and the first power sources 7a, 7b are arranged in positions facing each other across the control unit 6, and similarly, the second power sources 8a, 8b are arranged in positions facing each other across the control unit 6. By arranging each power source in the vicinity of the load device to be powered in this way, the layout of the electrical wiring can be simplified.

[0049] In this embodiment, an example has been described in which the first power sources 7a, 7b and the second power sources 8a, 8b are arranged on either side of the control unit 6, but if it is possible to achieve a weight balance while obtaining the above-mentioned effect (5), the first power sources 7a, 7b may be arranged in the battery mounting area Y on the left side of the vehicle body 3, and the second power sources 8a, 8b may be arranged in the battery mounting area Y on the right side.

[0050] <Second embodiment> Fig. 11 is a block diagram showing the schematic configuration of a drive system of a simulated obstacle transporting device according to a second embodiment of the present invention, and Fig. 12 is a schematic diagram of a memory of a simulated obstacle transporting device according to the second embodiment of the present invention. Figs. 11 and 12 correspond to Figs. 6 and 7, respectively. However, the battery remaining gauge 6c is omitted from Fig. 12. Fig. 13 is a flowchart showing an example of a processing procedure by the control unit when replacing the second power supply in the second embodiment of the present invention.

[0051] As shown in Fig. 11, this embodiment differs from the first embodiment in that there is only one control power supply and the power supply selection unit 10 is omitted. Fig. 11 illustrates a configuration in which the second power supply 8b and the power supply selection unit 10 are omitted from the configuration of the first embodiment.

[0052] Since the transport device 1 of this embodiment has only one control power supply (second power supply 8a), in order to avoid the loss of data stored in the volatile memory 6b when the second power supply 8a is replaced, the control unit 6 has the function of saving the data sets necessary for autonomous driving (e.g., test conditions, sensor data, and intermediate parameters of the navigation control software) stored in the volatile memory 6b in the non-volatile main memory device 6a as shown in FIG. 12, and reading out the data sets saved in the non-volatile main memory device 6a into the volatile memory 6b after the second power supply 8a is replaced upon restart.

[0053] A specific example of the processing procedure of the control unit 6 when replacing the control power supply will be described using FIG. 13 . During operation of the transport device 1, the control unit 6 determines whether the power supply voltage V (the voltage of the second power supply 8a) has dropped below the power supply replacement threshold V1 (step S1301). The processing of step S1301 is the same as step S904 in FIG. 9 . If the power supply voltage V subsequently drops to the power supply replacement threshold V1, the control unit 6 writes various data stored in the volatile memory 6b to the main storage device 6a (step S1302), notifies the operator that a power supply replacement is necessary (step S1303), and executes a power OFF (shutdown) process (step S1304). The processing of step S1303 is the same as step S905 in FIG. 9 . The notified operator then replaces the second power supply 8a. After the second power supply 8a is replaced, the control unit 6 starts up in response to an operation by the operator to start up the control system 20 (step S1305), reads the various data stored in the main storage device 6a in step S1302 before shutdown into the volatile memory 6b (step S1306), and ends the flow of Fig. 13. The control unit 6 repeatedly executes the above process.

[0054] In other respects, the second embodiment is similar to the first embodiment, and can obtain the same basic effects as the first embodiment.

[0055] In the first embodiment, the provision of multiple second power sources 8a, 8b maintains the control unit 6 in a continuous operating state, thereby avoiding the loss of data stored in the volatile memory 6b. In contrast, in this embodiment, the data stored in the volatile memory 6b is saved in the main storage device 6a when the voltage of the second power source 8a is reduced, thereby avoiding the loss of data stored in the volatile memory 6b. In this embodiment, since there is only one control power source (the second power source 8a), replacing the control power source requires a shutdown of the control unit 6, but as in the first embodiment, the loss of data stored in the volatile memory 6b can be avoided. Furthermore, the fact that only one second power source 8a is sufficient is advantageous in terms of reducing the number of parts and manufacturing costs of the transport device 1.

[0056] - Additional remarks - The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments and may include various modifications. For example, the above-described embodiments have been described in detail to clearly explain the present invention, and are not necessarily limited to those including all of the described configurations. For example, it is possible to replace some of the configurations with other configurations. It is also possible to delete some of the configurations of the embodiments or add other configurations.

[0057] For example, by combining the first and second embodiments, if the voltage of the second power supply 8a drops below the power supply replacement threshold V1 (step S904) in the flow of Fig. 9, when the operator is notified (step S905), the data in the volatile memory 6b is written to the main storage device 6a (step S1302) as in the second embodiment. As a result, even if the voltage of the second power supply 8b is insufficient for some reason (or the second power supply 8b is not installed) in the flow of Fig. 9, when the power source in use is switched to the second power supply 8a in step S909, and the power supply voltage falls below the control system power interruption threshold V2, causing the data in the volatile memory 6b to be lost, the data can be read from the main storage device 6a and restored without spending time on initial work.

[0058] REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 1...simulated obstacle transporting device, 2...traveling unit, 3...vehicle body, 6...control unit, 6a...main memory device (storage unit), 6b...volatile memory (storage unit), 7a, 7b...first power source, 8a, 8b...second power source, 9a, 9b...switch, 10...power source selection unit, 21...sensors (position information identification unit), A...vehicle, B...simulated obstacle

Claims

1. A simulated obstacle transport device used in automobile performance testing, comprising: a vehicle body; a traveling unit that drives the vehicle body; a first power source that supplies power to the traveling unit; a position information identification unit that identifies position information of the vehicle body; a control unit that controls the traveling unit based on the position information; and a second power source that supplies power to the control unit and is different from the first power source.

2. A simulated obstacle transporting device as described in claim 1, wherein the control unit has a memory unit that stores the travel route along which the vehicle body is to travel and the position information, and when the simulated obstacle transporting device is started up by power supply from the second power source, the control unit initializes the travel route and position information stored in the memory unit.

3. A simulated obstacle transporting device according to claim 1, characterized in that it is provided with a switch for opening and closing an electric circuit connecting said first power source and said traveling part.

4. A simulated obstacle transporting device as described in claim 1, characterized in that a plurality of said second power sources are connected in parallel to said control unit, and said device is provided with a power source selecting unit that selectively connects a plurality of said second power sources to said control unit.

5. A simulated obstacle transporting device according to claim 1, characterized in that the control unit is disposed in the center of the vehicle body, and the first power source and the second power source are disposed in positions facing each other across the control unit.

6. A simulated obstacle transporting device as described in claim 1, characterized in that the first power source and the second power source are each provided in plural, the plural first power sources are arranged in positions facing each other across the control unit, and the plural second power sources are arranged in positions facing each other across the control unit.

Images