초록 ▼

An automatically guided vehicle wherein a guide line is positioned in a predetermined path on the floor and the vehicle has a sensing head positioned over the guide line to detect the position of the guide line with respect to the vehicle and to generate an error signal representative of the vehicle

An automatically guided vehicle wherein a guide line is positioned in a predetermined path on the floor and the vehicle has a sensing head positioned over the guide line to detect the position of the guide line with respect to the vehicle and to generate an error signal representative of the vehicle position with respect to the guide line. A control circuit is also provided on the vehicle to steer the vehicle responsive to the error signal generated by the sensing head. The sensing head includes a scanning head to scan across the guide line and to generate an output signal representative of the detected light values at discreet positions of the scan. The control circuit is adapted to steer the vehicle along the right edge, left edge or center of the guide line and is responsive to control codes positioned on the floor adjacent the guide line. The control circuit preferably includes a microprocessor which is programmed to compensate the output signals for any nonlinearity of the light source, variations in scan distance from the scanning head to the floor surface and for any variations in the port size of the light-detecting device on the vehicle. The microprocessor includes a data storage bank for storing a data table relating to the position of the vehicle with respect to the guide line and has the ability to compare the data table for one scan with the data table of subsequent scans to determine the presence of a valid guide line and to update the position of the guide line with respect to the vehicle.

대표청구항 ▼

In a system for automatically guiding a vehicle wherein a guide line having a finite width is positioned in a predetermined path on the floor and wherein a vehicle has means to sense the position of the guide line with respect to the vehicle; means for generating an intelligence signal representativ

In a system for automatically guiding a vehicle wherein a guide line having a finite width is positioned in a predetermined path on the floor and wherein a vehicle has means to sense the position of the guide line with respect to the vehicle; means for generating an intelligence signal representative of the position of the vehicle with respect to the guide line; and control means to steer the vehicle responsive to the intelligence signal generated by the sensor means so as to maintain a given position of the vehicle with respect to the guide line as the vehicle moves therealong, the improvement in the sensing means which comprises: means to sequentially scan across the guide line and for generating an output signal having first, second and third components and representative of sequentially detected light values at discreet positions in the scan; and the intelligence signal generating means, being coupled to the scanning means, includes means for detecting the position of the vehicle with respect to the guide line based on the output signal wherein the first and second components are of substantially equal values and in a time sequence with a third component of substantially unequal value therebetween.