JP2022148651A - Vehicular automatic transport device and vehicular automatic transport system - Google Patents

Abstract

To secure safety when a vehicle is loaded into a device to be transported automatically and accurately detect a position of the vehicle to be loaded at low costs.SOLUTION: An automatic transport device 11 of a vehicle C includes: drive units 13 which can be driven grounded; loading units 15 into which at least parts of wheels FW of the vehicle C to be transported may be respectively loaded; a detection unit 17 which may detect a position of a body B of the vehicle C and outer shape information of the body B; and a wheel position calculation unit 29 which may calculate positions of the wheels FW based on position information of the body B and the outer shape information of the body B which are detected by the detection unit 17 and wheel position data stored in a storage unit 27.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 9

Description

The present invention relates to an automatic transport device for vehicles and an automatic transport system for vehicles.

For example, as a means of efficiently transporting finished vehicles such as automobiles mass-produced at a factory to a predetermined location such as a shipping port, a container or other container is used to load multiple finished vehicles into a large container. It is common practice to use a transport vehicle such as a truck to land-transport to a port near the destination, then transfer the loading container to a transport vessel and transport it to the destination by water (see, for example, Patent Documents 1).

In addition, in Patent Document 2, a transport vehicle that travels on a predetermined travel route in a limited area by towing a plurality of trolleys by unmanned automatic operation of a tow vehicle is a completed vehicle to be transported. A system has been proposed in which the robot is carried to a destination while being mounted on a cart.

In addition, in Patent Document 3, the tire position of an adjacent vehicle is detected by a sensing unit provided on the side surface of a cart robot as a transport vehicle, and the cart robot in a state where the transport vehicle is mounted is sufficiently brought close to the adjacent vehicle. A technique is disclosed for stopping in a state where the

JP-A-2004-123258 JP 2019-36036 A JP 2018-203471 A

In recent years, even in the manufacturing industry, there is an increasing need to take measures to compensate for labor shortages in preparation for the coming aging society. From this point of view, when considering how to efficiently transport completed vehicles with a small number of people, for example, the transport vehicle is self-propelled as described in Patent Document 2, and the transport vehicle is manufactured at a low cost to produce a large number of vehicles. can be considered.

On the other hand, when considering the automatic transport of a completed vehicle by loading it onto a transport vehicle as described above, it is important to know the exact position of the completed vehicle relative to the transport vehicle in order to quickly approach the vehicle. becomes. Here, for example, by applying the sensing technology described in Patent Document 3, for example, by detecting the tire position of the vehicle to be mounted with a sensing unit provided in the transport vehicle, the transport vehicle automatically detects the position of the vehicle. It is possible to think of a method of acquiring However, with this method, it is necessary to install the sensing unit to detect the tire position at a height position near the ground. In this case, a sensing section separate from the sensing section for tire position detection is required, which may lead to an increase in cost.

The above-mentioned problems are not limited to completed vehicles, and may also occur, for example, in pre-mounted vehicles that do not have an open cargo bed or a box-shaped cargo room, such as light trucks.

In view of the above circumstances, in this specification, it is possible to accurately detect the position of the vehicle to be mounted at low cost while ensuring safety when the vehicle is loaded and automatically transported. technical issues to be addressed.

The solution of the above problems is achieved by an automatic transport device for a vehicle according to the present invention. That is, the automatic transport apparatus includes a drive section that can be driven while being grounded, and a mounting section that can mount at least a portion of the wheels of a vehicle to be transported. An automatic transport device for a vehicle capable of automatically transporting a vehicle, wherein a detection unit capable of detecting position information of a vehicle body and external shape information of a vehicle body is provided in the automatic transport device or a device capable of communicating with the automatic transport device. a storage unit capable of storing vehicle wheel position data indicating the designed position of the wheels with respect to the body; body position information and body outline information detected by the detection unit; and the wheels stored in the storage unit. and a wheel position calculator capable of calculating the position of the wheel based on the position data.

The body here includes not only the main body but also exterior parts attached to the main body. Further, the information on the outer shape of the body as used herein broadly includes information that enables at least part of the outer shape of the body to be recognized, and includes, for example, coordinate data of a plurality of points on the outer surface of the body.

As described above, in the automatic transport device for a vehicle according to the present invention, it is possible to detect the position information of the vehicle body and the outer shape information of the vehicle body, and the detected position information and the outer shape information of the body are stored in the storage unit. The positions of the wheels can be calculated based on the stored data (wheel position data) indicating the designed positions of the wheels with respect to the vehicle body. By configuring the automatic transport device in this way, the positions of the wheels of the vehicle to be transported can be calculated in real time. Therefore, it is possible to accurately and quickly move the automatic transport device toward a position where the wheels of the vehicle to be transported can be mounted on the mounting portion. Therefore, it becomes possible to mount the vehicle accurately and quickly. In addition, since the detection unit may be placed at a position where it can detect the position information and the outer shape information of the body, for example, the parts of the body located above the wheels (front pillars, windshield, etc. that make up the cabin) A detector can be arranged at a detectable position. As a result, the detection unit can also be used as a sensor for acquiring information about the surroundings of the automatic transport device, so that safe automatic transport and accurate vehicle position detection for vehicle mounting can be achieved at low cost. Realization is possible.

Further, in the automatic transport device for vehicles according to the present invention, the storage unit can store the wheel position data and the body outline design data for only the vehicle types that can be transported, and the outline of the body detected by the detection unit. A vehicle type identification unit may be further provided for identifying the vehicle type based on the information and the body outline design data for the vehicle type stored in the storage unit. In this case, the wheel position calculation unit can calculate the wheel positions based on the body position information and body outline information detected by the detection unit, and the wheel position data of the vehicle type identified by the vehicle type identification unit. may be configured.

In this way, by providing the vehicle type identification unit, even if the vehicle to be transported includes a plurality of vehicle models, the design data (body external design data) of the vehicle to be transported can be appropriately selected each time the mounting work is performed. , wheel position data) to accurately calculate the wheel position.

Further, in the automatic transport device for a vehicle according to the present invention, based on the position of the wheel calculated by the wheel position calculation unit, the automatic transport device moves toward the position where the wheel can be mounted on the mounting part. You may further provide the control part which can control a part.

By controlling the movement of the automatic transport device based on the calculated positions of the wheels in this way, the automatic transport device can be moved to a position where the wheels are mounted on the mounting portion, for example. Therefore, the mounting work of the vehicle can be automatically and accurately carried out. In addition, even when the vehicle itself moves forward or backward to mount the wheels, the mounting part can be brought close to the very vicinity of the wheels, so the subsequent mounting work of the vehicle can be done in a very short time and accurately. It will be possible to implement

Moreover, the solution of the above problems is also achieved by an automatic transport system for vehicles according to the present invention. That is, this automatic transport system includes an automatic transport device having a grounded and drivable drive unit, a mounting unit capable of mounting at least a part of the wheels of a vehicle to be transported, and a controller capable of controlling the drive unit. , wherein the automatic carrier device further has a detection unit capable of detecting position information and body outline information of the body of the vehicle, the automatic carrier device or the automatic carrier device and A storage unit provided in a device capable of communication and capable of storing vehicle wheel position data indicating the designed position of the wheels with respect to the body; It is characterized by further comprising a wheel position calculator capable of calculating the position of the wheel based on the stored wheel position data.

Thus, in the automatic transport system for a vehicle according to the present invention, it is possible to detect the positional information of the vehicle body and the external shape information of the vehicle body, and the detected positional information and the external shape information of the body and the design of the vehicle are detected. The position of the wheel can be calculated based on the wheel position data, which is data. By configuring the automatic transport system in this way, the positions of the wheels of the vehicle to be transported can be calculated in real time. Therefore, it is possible to accurately and quickly move the automatic transport device toward a position where the wheels of the vehicle to be transported can be mounted on the mounting portion. Therefore, it becomes possible to mount the vehicle accurately and quickly. Further, if the detection unit is arranged at a position where the position information and the outer shape information of the body can be detected, the detection unit can be arranged at a position higher than the position where the wheels can be detected. As a result, the detection unit can also be used as a detection unit for acquiring information about the surroundings of the transport vehicle, so that safe automatic transport and accurate vehicle position detection for vehicle loading can be achieved at low cost. Realization is possible.

Also in this case, in the vehicle automatic transport system according to the present invention, the control unit automatically transports the wheels to a position where the wheels can be mounted on the mounting unit based on the wheel positions calculated by the wheel position calculation unit. The drive may be configured to be controllable such that the device moves.

As described above, according to the present invention, the position of a vehicle to be loaded can be accurately detected at low cost while ensuring safety when the vehicle is loaded and automatically transported.

It is a figure showing the whole automatic carrier system composition of vehicles concerning one embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a side view of the automatic transport device shown in FIG. 1; FIG. 2 is a plan view of the automatic transport device shown in FIG. 1; FIG. 2 is a front view of the automatic transport device shown in FIG. 1; FIG. 2 is a side view conceptually showing an example of a detection mode of position information and external shape information of a vehicle body by a detection unit provided in the automatic transport device shown in FIG. 1 ; It is a figure for demonstrating notionally the structure of the terminal control part provided in the automatic carrier. FIG. 2 is a flow chart for explaining an example of work for mounting a vehicle using the automatic transport device shown in FIG. 1; FIG. 3 is a plan view showing a state of detection while the automatic transport device shown in FIG. 1 is detecting position information and outline information of a body by means of a detection unit while approaching the vehicle; FIG. 2 is a plan view showing a detection state when the automatic transport device shown in FIG. 1 has moved to a predetermined position and detection of body position information and outer shape information has been completed by a detection unit; FIG. It is a side view which shows the state which mounted the front wheel of the vehicle on the automatic carrier shown in FIG.

Hereinafter, the contents of an automatic transport system for vehicles according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described based on the drawings.

FIG. 1 shows the overall configuration of an automatic transport system 10 for vehicles according to one embodiment of the present invention. This automatic transport system 10 is for transporting a vehicle C completed in a factory F to a container yard Y, which is a waiting area for vehicles. It mainly includes a control unit 12 that In this embodiment, the left and right front wheels of the vehicle C, which is a front-wheel drive vehicle, are mounted on the automatic transport device 11, and the vehicle C is transported while the left and right rear wheels of the vehicle C are grounded. I will explain the details.

As shown in FIGS. 2 to 4, the automatic transport device 11 includes two driving wheels 13, a power applying unit 14 for applying power to each driving wheel 13, front wheels FW and rear wheels RW (described later) of the vehicle C. (see FIG. 3)), a mounting unit 15 capable of mounting either one of the wheels (here, the left and right front wheels FW serving as the wheels on the drive side), a satellite positioning system receiving unit 16, and a detecting unit 17. have. In this embodiment, each drive wheel 13 is housed in a casing 18 . Also, these two casings 18 are connected to each other by a connecting portion 19 . In this case, the mounting portions 15 are provided at two predetermined positions in the width direction on the connecting portion 19, that is, at two positions in the width direction corresponding to the front wheels FW of the vehicle C to be mounted. Therefore, in this case, the mounting portion 15 is arranged between the two driving wheels 13 . In other words, the mounting portion 15 is arranged at a position overlapping the two drive wheels 13 in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle body (see FIG. 3). The width direction here means a direction orthogonal to the longitudinal direction of the vehicle body when the vehicle C is mounted, and corresponds to the direction in which the two driving wheels 13 are separated from each other in the case of the automatic transport device 11. . In addition, the vehicle C referred to here is not only a finished vehicle that is finally ready for purchase by consumers, but also a vehicle that is mass-produced, for example, and does not have an open cargo bed or a box-shaped luggage compartment of a light truck. , in other words, vehicles that are not mounted (vehicles before mounting) are included.

3 and 4, each driving wheel 13 is composed of two wheels 20 arranged in parallel with each other in this embodiment. Each wheel 20 is configured to be rotatable independently of each other, and is rotatably supported by a rotating shaft 21 arranged between the wheels 20 . The rotating shaft 21 is disposed with its longitudinal direction aligned with the vertical direction when the automatic transport device 11 is running. By rotating only one of the wheels 20, the drive wheel 13 having the two wheels 20 rotates around the rotation shaft 21, and steering as the automatic transport device 11 becomes possible. In the present embodiment, the two wheels 20 as the driving wheels 13 are rotatable 360 degrees around the rotation shaft 21, so for example, although illustration is omitted, these two wheels 20 are rotated 90 degrees. By rotating, the moving direction of the automatic transport device 11 can be changed from the longitudinal direction of the vehicle body to the width direction.

In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 3 , the power application unit 14 is provided in the same number as the wheels 20 and is composed of a plurality of in-wheel motors 22 that apply rotational driving force to each wheel 20 . Each in-wheel motor 22 has, for example, a stator and a rotor (not shown). Accordingly, by rotating the rotor of the in-wheel motor 22, the wheels 20 connected to the rotor can rotate together with the rotor. Further, as will be described later, each in-wheel motor 22 can be electrically controlled independently. 20 can be rotationally driven independently, and the drive wheels 13 can also be independently rotationally driven around the vertical axis and rotationally driven around the horizontal axis.

Further, in this embodiment, the auxiliary wheels 23 are arranged on the vehicle body front side of the connecting portion 19 . In this case, the auxiliary wheels 23 can be grounded on the front side of the vehicle body of the automatic transport device 11 relative to the drive wheels 13, and are driven to rotate (rotate against the ground) as the drive wheels 13 are rotationally driven in the grounded state. motion). Alternatively, as will be described later, when the automatic transport device 11 travels with the front wheels FW of the vehicle C mounted on the mounting portion 15, the auxiliary wheels 23 are driven to rotate in the grounded state of the drive wheels 23. Rotate.

As described above, the receiving unit 16 can receive signals from a plurality of satellites (not shown) for the satellite positioning system. By executing predetermined arithmetic processing based on the received signal, it is possible to obtain the position of the vehicle C (the receiver 16 thereof) on the earth at the time of reception. Here, the arithmetic processing for position acquisition may be executed by the receiving unit 16 or may be executed by the control unit 12 (specifically, the terminal control unit 24 or the integrated control unit 25, which will be described later). The installation position of the receiving unit 16 with respect to the automatic transport device 11 is arbitrary. For example, in consideration of smooth communication with satellites (positioning satellites) for satellite positioning systems such as GPS, it is installed at a position as high as possible from the automatic transport device 11. It's good. In the present embodiment, the receiving section 16 is arranged at the tip (upper end) of the erected section 26 erected from the upper surface of the casing 18 (see FIG. 2, etc.).

The detector 17 is provided at a predetermined position of the automatic transport device 11 . This detection unit 17 is used to accurately know the position of the wheels (here, the front wheels FW) of the vehicle C to be transported. A detection device, an optical camera such as a stereo camera, or an image acquisition device such as an infrared camera may be employed as the detection unit 17 . Among them, a laser sensor such as LiDAR is suitable as the detector 17 in consideration of highly accurate positional information detection and outer shape information detection of the body B required in the automatic transport system 10 .

In this embodiment, the detection unit 17 is used for the purpose of detecting the position of the front wheels FW of the vehicle C, and is also used for the purpose of ensuring safety during movement of the automatic transport device 11 . In consideration of these points, the detection unit 17 is arranged so that a portion positioned above the wheels (here, the front wheels FW) of the vehicle C to be transported is the detection target, as shown in FIG. It is good to be In this embodiment, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, one detection unit 17 is provided at each upper end of two casings 18 positioned on both sides in the width direction of the automatic transport device 11 . In this case, the detection unit 17 detects, for example, the front pillar FP and the windshield, which are parts of the body B of the vehicle C located at the same height level as the detection unit 17, by the laser light L emitted in the horizontal direction from the detection unit 17. It is possible to detect position information and outline information of FG, front door FD, and front door glass FDG (see FIG. 5).

The control unit 12 controls the two driving wheels 13 and the power applying unit 14 to enable automatic traveling accompanied by steering of the automatic transport device 11 . In addition, the control unit 12 detects the position information and external shape information of the body B of the vehicle C detected by the detection unit 17, and the wheel position data described later, the wheels of the vehicle C to be mounted (here, the front wheels FW). position can be calculated.

In this embodiment, the control unit 12 is composed of a plurality of terminal control units 24 provided in each automatic transport device 11 and an integrated control unit 25 that communicates with the plurality of terminal control units 24 . In this case, the integrated control unit 25 corresponds to a device that communicates with the automatic transport device 11 according to the present invention. Here, the terminal control unit 24 receives the command from the general control unit 25, the position information of the automatic transport device 11 obtained by the satellite positioning system through the reception unit 16, and the position information of the automatic transport device 11 obtained by the detection unit 17. By controlling the driving wheels 13 and the power applying unit 14 based on the surrounding space information, automatic traveling accompanied by steering of the automatic transport device 11 is made possible. Further, the position information of the wheels (front wheels FW) of the vehicle C is obtained based on the position information of the body B of the vehicle C, the outer shape information of the body B, and the wheel position data obtained by the detection unit 17 as described later. In this case, the terminal control unit 24, based on the above-described information (command from the general control unit 25, position information of the automatic transport device 11, spatial information around the automatic transport device 11) and position information of the front wheel FW, The drive wheels 13 and the power application unit 14 are controllable. In this case, as shown in FIG. 6, the terminal control unit 24 indicates at least the body outline design data among the design data of a plurality of vehicle types (including the vehicle C) that can be transported, and the design positions of the wheels with respect to the body. a storage unit 27 capable of storing wheel position data; a vehicle type identification unit 28 capable of identifying the vehicle type of the vehicle C; Details of each information processing unit will be described later.

In the above-described case, from the viewpoint of facilitating control by the control unit 12, it is desirable that the power application unit 14 be a device such as a motor that is driven by electric power. Further, in the case where the automatic transport device 11 is provided with a mechanism that performs operations necessary for loading the vehicle C and transporting it in the loaded state, the mechanism is driven by electric power for the same reason as the power applying unit 14. is desirable.

Next, an example of the operation of the automatic transport system 10 for the vehicle C including the automatic transport device 11 having the above configuration will be described mainly with reference to FIGS. 5 to 9. FIG.

First, the integrated control unit 25 sends a command regarding what each automatic carrier device 11 should do next to the plurality of automatic carrier devices 11 . For example, in FIG. 1, an automatic transport device 11 (11a) in an empty state (a state in which no vehicle C is mounted) located between the container yard Y and the factory F is moved toward the factory F. send orders. Also, to the automatic transport device 11 (11b) located in the site of the factory F, a command is sent to move the vehicle C to be transported toward a position where it can be mounted. Further, the automatic transport device 11 (11c) positioned between the factory F and the container yard Y and loaded with the vehicle C is instructed to move toward a predetermined standby position WP in the container yard Y. A command to retreat from the container yard Y is sent to the automatic transport device 11 (11d, 11e) after the delivery and unloading, after changing the posture with respect to the movement direction as necessary. Each automatic transport device 11 (11a to 11e) that has received the command controls the driving wheels 13 and the power application unit 14 by the terminal control unit 24 so as to perform operations according to the content of the command. In this manner, automatic transportation of the vehicle C is continuously performed by the plurality of automatic transportation devices 11 (11a to 11e).

Next, an example of the mounting operation of the vehicle C using the detector 17 will be described in detail.

FIG. 7 is a flow chart mainly showing the operation of the control unit 12 (here, the terminal control unit 24) of the work flow until the automatic transport device 11 approaches the vehicle C to be transported and mounts the vehicle C on it. be. According to this flowchart, the mounting process of the vehicle C includes a body detection step S1 for detecting the body B of the vehicle C, a vehicle type identification step S2 for identifying the vehicle type of the vehicle C based on the detection result of the body B, and a body B wheel position calculation step S3 for calculating the position of the wheel (here, front wheel FW) based on the detection result of , and a movement step S4 for moving the automatic transport device 11 based on the calculated position of the wheel (front wheel FW). . The details of steps S1 to S4 will be described in order below.

(S1) Body detection step In this step, the detection unit 17 provided in the automatic transport device 11 detects position information and outline information of the body B of the vehicle C to be mounted. For example, in the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 8, after moving the automatic transport device 11 to the vicinity of the vehicle C to be mounted, from one width direction side of the vehicle C toward the front side front position of the vehicle C While the automatic transport device 11 is being moved, detection of a predetermined portion of the body B of the vehicle C by the detection unit 17 is started. Here, a predetermined portion of the body B is irradiated with laser light L using a laser rangefinder as the detection unit 17 . As a result, the coordinate positions of a plurality of points P1, P2, . In this embodiment, the detection unit 17 is provided in the automatic transport device 11 at a position and in a manner that can detect the front pillar FP of the body B, the windshield FG, the front door FD, and the front door glass FDG. (See Figure 5). Therefore, as shown in FIG. 8, the body B is detected by the detection unit 17 while moving the automatic transport device 11 from one side in the width direction of the vehicle C toward the front position on the front side. The coordinate positions of the front pillar FP, the windshield FG, the front door FD, and the points P1, P2, . A two-dimensional outline shape of the outer surface at a predetermined height position of the cabin portion of the vehicle C defined by the body constituent parts and the exterior parts can be acquired as the body B outline information.

In this embodiment, the detection operation of the body B by the detection unit 17 is continued until the automatic transport device 11 reaches the front side front position of the vehicle C. As shown in FIG. As a result, as shown in FIG. 9, points P1, P2, . Since the coordinate position of Pn (n>i) is acquired, the two-dimensional contour shape of the cabin of the vehicle C can be detected more accurately.

When the body B is detected by irradiating the laser beam L as described above, the line-shaped laser beam L may be irradiated, or the spot-shaped laser beam L may be scanned.

Further, in this embodiment, the detection unit 17 detects the body B of the vehicle C and also detects the information around the automatic carrier 11, so that the automatic carrier 11 reaches the position shown in FIG. The detection unit 17 may continuously detect information around the automatic transport device 11 from before.

(S2) Vehicle type identification step In this step, the vehicle type of the vehicle C is identified based on the positional information and external shape information of the body B obtained in the body detection step S1. More specifically, the vehicle type identification unit 28 of the terminal control unit 24 uses the external shape information of the body B obtained by the detection unit 17 (in this embodiment, coordinate position data of points P1, P2 . . . Pn on predetermined parts of the body B). ) and body outline design data of portions corresponding to points P1, P2, . The vehicle type related to the body outline design data with the highest correlation is certified as the vehicle type of the vehicle C that is the detection target. Thereby, the vehicle type of the vehicle C is specified.

(S3) Wheel position calculation step In this step, the position information and outer shape information of the body B obtained in the body detection step S1, and the wheels ( The position of the wheel (front wheel FW) to be mounted on the vehicle C is calculated based on the wheel position data indicating the designed position of the front wheel FW. For example, as in the present embodiment, when the automatic transport device 11 has reached the front side front position of the vehicle C, the wheel position calculation unit 29 of the terminal control unit 24 calculates each position on the body B obtained by the detection unit 17, for example. Based on the coordinate position data of the points Pa, Pi, Pb on the windshield FG along the width direction among the points P1, P2, Pn, and the distance data from the points Pa, Pi, Pb to the detection unit 17, each A distance D1 in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle body between the points Pa, Pi, Pb and the automatic transport device 11 (detection unit 17) is calculated (see FIG. 9). In addition, the wheel position calculation unit 29 calculates the vehicle longitudinal direction position data of the axle WA of the front wheels FW among the design data of the vehicle type of the vehicle C stored in the storage unit 27, and each point Pa on the windshield FG. A distance D2 in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle body between the axle WA and each of the points Pa, Pi, Pb is obtained based on the position data in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle body corresponding to Pb. After that, the wheel position calculator 29 calculates a vehicle longitudinal direction distance D3 (=D1-D2) between the automatic transport device 11 and the axle WA based on the distances D1 and D2. As a result, the position of the axle WA in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle body, that is, the position of the front wheel FW in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle body, is calculated with reference to the position of the automatic transport device 11 .

(S4) Movement Step In this step, the automatic transport device 11 is moved based on the positions of the front wheels FW obtained in the wheel position calculation step S3. In this embodiment, the terminal controller 24 drives the automatic transport device 11 toward the vehicle C from the position shown in FIG. It controls the wheel 13 and power supply 14 . At this time, for example, if the automatic transport device 11 has a mechanism capable of lifting the front wheel FW side of the vehicle C, such as a lift-up mechanism, the front wheel FW is mounted on the mounting portion 15 toward the stopped vehicle C. The vehicle C may be mounted on the automatic carrier 11 by moving the automatic carrier 11 to the position. Alternatively, if the automatic transport device 11 has a mechanism capable of rolling and guiding the front wheels FW to the mounting portion 15, such as a slope, the front wheels FW can be guided toward the stopped vehicle C to a position mounted on the mounting portion 15. By moving the automatic transport device 11, or moving the automatic transport device 11 to a position extremely close to the vehicle C, and then moving the vehicle C toward the stopped automatic transport device 11, the vehicle C is moved to the automatic transport device. 11 may be mounted. As described above, the front wheels FW of the vehicle C are mounted on the mounting portion 15 of the automatic transport device 11 (see FIG. 10).

As described above, in the automatic carrier device 11 and the automatic carrier system 10 for the vehicle C according to the present embodiment, the position information of the body B of the vehicle C and the outline information of the body B can be detected, and the detected body B , the outer shape information of the body B, and the wheel position data as the design data of the vehicle C stored in the storage unit 27, the positions of the wheels (here, the front wheels FW) can be calculated. By configuring the automatic transport device 11 in this way, the position of the front wheels FW of the vehicle C to be transported can be calculated in real time. Therefore, the automatic transport device 11 can be moved accurately and quickly toward a position where the front wheels FW of the vehicle C to be transported can be mounted on the mounting portion 15 . Therefore, it becomes possible to mount the vehicle C accurately and quickly.

Further, in the automatic transport device 11 according to the present embodiment, the front pillar FP, the windshield FG, the front door FD, and the front The detector 17 is arranged at a height position where the door glass FDG can be detected (see FIG. 5). As a result, the detection unit 17 can be used not only for acquiring the position information and the outer shape information of the body B, but also as a sensor for acquiring peripheral information of the automatic transport device 11, so that safe automatic transport can be achieved. , and accurate position detection of the vehicle C for mounting on the vehicle C can be realized at low cost.

Further, in the automatic transport device 11 according to the present embodiment, a laser sensor typified by LiDAR is employed as the detector 17 . If the position detection and distance measurement device uses the laser light L as a medium for detection, the detection area (irradiation area of the laser light L) can be reduced. Therefore, even when an object having a curved surface such as body B is to be detected, the position information and outer shape information of a certain portion of body B can always be detected stably and with high accuracy. Become.

Further, in the automatic transport device 11 according to the present embodiment, the two-dimensional shape of the body B can be detected from the front side of the vehicle C as outline information. If the positional information and outline information of the body B are detected from the front side of the vehicle C in this way, the vehicle type can be specified more easily than the case of detecting from the lateral side, for example. In particular, if the portion of the body B that constitutes the cabin portion of the vehicle C (such as the front pillar FP) is targeted for detection, even if the shape is two-dimensional, it becomes easier to understand the difference in the outer shape of each vehicle type. Even if an inexpensive detection device is used for the detection unit 17, it is possible to accurately identify the vehicle type and calculate the position of the front wheel FW with high accuracy.

In addition, in the automatic carrier system 10 according to the present embodiment, automatic traveling is enabled by controlling the automatic carrier device 11. Therefore, after reaching the vicinity of the vehicle C to be mounted, the position of the front wheel FW of the vehicle C is calculated, the automatic transfer device 11 is moved according to the calculated position of the front wheel FW, and the front wheel FW of the vehicle C is mounted. Therefore, the loading work of the vehicles C can be carried out quickly, and a large number of vehicles C can be transported extremely efficiently with a minimum number of people.

Further, in the automatic carrier device 11 according to the present embodiment, the automatic carrier device 11 is provided with the mounting portion 15 capable of mounting only one of the front wheels FW and the rear wheels RW of the vehicle C. The mounting portion 15 can be made smaller than a conventional mounting portion for mounting the entire vehicle C such as a container or a trolley. Further, since the automatic carrier device 11 can be run unmanned, the cabin portion is not required, and the space of the automatic carrier device 11 can be reduced by the amount of the cabin portion. As described above, the space required for loading and unloading can be reduced by at least the loading portion 15 and the cabin portion of the vehicle C as compared with the conventional one, so that the loading and unloading of the vehicle C can be smoothly performed. becomes possible. In addition, by reducing the size of the automatic transport device 11 itself, it is possible to increase the degree of freedom of wiring of the automatic transport device 11 in the container yard Y, for example, where a plurality of vehicles C are arranged in line. Unloading can be done smoothly. As described above, according to the automatic transport system 10 according to the present embodiment, it is possible to efficiently transport the vehicle C including loading and unloading.

An embodiment of the present invention has been described above, but the automatic carrier device for a vehicle and the automatic carrier system for a vehicle according to the present invention can adopt configurations other than those described above without departing from the scope of the invention. .

For example, in the above-described embodiment, the detection unit 17 is positioned at a height position capable of detecting the position and outline information of the front pillar FP, the windshield FG, the front door FD, and the front door glass FDG that constitute the front side of the cabin of the vehicle C. (see FIG. 5, etc.), but of course other parts of the body B, such as bumpers, fenders, hoods, etc. A detection unit 17 may be arranged. Further, the detection direction is not limited to the front side of the vehicle C. For example, a predetermined portion of the body B (for example, a portion constituting the rear side of the cabin such as the back door, the back door glass, the rear door) from the rear side of the vehicle C. The detection unit 17 may be arranged at a position where position information and outline information can be detected. In this case, for example, although illustration is omitted, the automatic transport device 11 may be configured so that the vehicle C can be approached from the rear side and the rear wheels RW can be mounted on the mounting portion 15 .

In the above-described embodiment, the terminal control unit 24 has the storage unit 27 that stores vehicle design data (at least body outline design data and wheel position data) corresponding to vehicle types that can be transported. However, it is of course not limited to this. For example, the storage unit 27 may be provided in the general control unit 25 so that the terminal control unit 24 acquires the design information through communication with the general control unit 25 when vehicle design information is required.

In this embodiment, the terminal control unit 24 is provided with a vehicle type identification unit 28 that identifies the vehicle type of the vehicle C based on the external shape information of the body B detected by the detection unit 17 and the body external design data for each vehicle type. Although the case where it provided was illustrated, of course, it is not restricted to this. For example, the vehicle type identification unit 28 is provided in the overall control unit 25, and the overall control unit 25 acquires the position and external shape information of the body B detected by the detection unit 17 through communication with the terminal control unit 24, so that the vehicle type identification unit 28 may be executed by the integrated control unit 25. Alternatively, if the vehicle C to be transported is of one type, the vehicle type identification unit 28 may be omitted.

Moreover, in this embodiment, the case where the two detection units 17 are arranged on the left and right casings 18 of the automatic transport device 11 is exemplified. For example, although illustration is omitted, the detecting portion 17 may be provided at the upper end of a standing portion erected from the connecting portion 19 . In addition, the number of them may be one, or may be three or more. Alternatively, a detection unit (not shown) for detecting peripheral information of the automatic transport device 11 may be provided separately from the detection unit 17 for detecting the position information and outer shape information of the body B. .

Also, in the above description, the case where the control unit 12 is configured by the terminal control unit 24 and the integrated control unit 25 has been exemplified, but of course the configuration is not limited to this. For example, the integrated control unit 25 may be omitted and the terminal control unit 24 alone may control the automatic traveling of the automatic carrier device 11 . In this case, for example, for the automatic transport device 11, a program related to automatic transport involving loading and unloading is stored in advance in the storage unit 27 of the terminal control unit 24, and based on the program by a predetermined operation of the operator, The drive wheels 13 and the power application unit 14 may be driven and controlled.

Further, in the automatic transport system 10 shown in FIG. 1, the case where only the front wheels FW as some of the wheels of the vehicle C can be mounted on the mounting portion 15 has been exemplified, but of course the present invention is not limited to this. For example, as described above, only the rear wheels RW of the front wheels FW and the rear wheels RW of the vehicle C can be mounted on the mounting portion 15 . Alternatively, both the front wheels FW and the rear wheels RW of the vehicle C can be mounted on the mounting portion 15 .

Also, in the above description, the case where the driving portion of the automatic transport device 11 is the two driving wheels 13 was exemplified, but it is of course not limited to this. Although illustration is omitted, the drive unit may be configured with three or four or more drive wheels 13 . Similarly, in the above description, the case where each driving wheel 13 is composed of two wheels 20 arranged in parallel was illustrated, but of course other configurations are possible. Depending on the number of driving wheels 13 , each driving wheel 13 may be composed of one wheel 20 . Furthermore, the driving portion does not necessarily have to be the driving wheels 13, and may have a shape other than the wheels as long as it can be grounded and driven.

Also, in the above description, a case where a plurality of in-wheel motors 22 are provided as the power applying unit 14 was illustrated, but of course the present invention is not limited to this. As long as a predetermined power (rotational driving force) can be applied to the driving wheels 13 , it is possible to provide the automatic conveying device 11 with a drive source having an arbitrary configuration as the power applying unit 14 .

10 automatic carrier system of vehicle 11 automatic carrier device 12 control unit 13 driving wheel 14 power supply unit 15 mounting unit 16 receiving unit 17 detection unit 18 casing 19 connecting unit 20 wheel 21 rotating shaft 22 in-wheel motor 23 auxiliary wheel 24 terminal control unit 25 Integrated control unit 26 Standing unit 27 Storage unit 28 Vehicle type identification unit 29 Wheel position calculation unit B Body C Vehicles D1, D2, D3 Vehicle longitudinal direction distance F Factory FD Front door FDG Front door glass FG Windshield FP Front pillar FW Front wheel L Laser beams P1, P2, Pa, Pi, Pb, Pn Body detection point RW Rear wheel S1 Body detection step S2 Vehicle type identification step S3 Wheel position calculation step S4 Movement step WA Axle WP Standby position Y Container yard

Claims (3)

A driving unit that can be grounded and driven, and a mounting unit that can mount at least a part of the wheels of a vehicle to be transported, and the vehicle with the wheels mounted can be automatically transported by the control of the driving unit. An automatic transport device for a vehicle that
a detection unit capable of detecting position information of the body of the vehicle and outer shape information of the body;
a storage unit provided in the automatic transport device or a device capable of communicating with the automatic transport device and capable of storing wheel position data of the vehicle indicating the design positions of the wheels with respect to the body;
a wheel position calculation unit capable of calculating the positions of the wheels based on the position information of the body detected by the detection unit, the outer shape information of the body, and the wheel position data stored in the storage unit; An automatic transport device for a vehicle, further comprising: The storage unit can store the wheel position data and the body outline design data by the number of vehicle types that can be transported,
further comprising a vehicle type identification unit that identifies the vehicle type of the vehicle based on the external shape information of the body detected by the detection unit and the body external design data for the vehicle type stored in the storage unit;
The wheel position calculation unit calculates the wheel positions based on the position information of the body detected by the detection unit, the outer shape information of the body, and the wheel position data of the vehicle type identified by the vehicle type identification unit. 2. The automated transport device of claim 1, wherein the automatic transport device is configured to a control unit capable of controlling the drive unit so that the automatic transport device moves toward a position where the wheel can be mounted on the mounting unit based on the position of the wheel calculated by the wheel position calculation unit; 3. The automatic transport device according to claim 1 or 2, further comprising.

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