The present disclosure relates to a moving body that is movable using wheels.
In recent years, research and development of autonomous driving vehicles have been actively conducted all over the world. Some autonomous driving vehicles have a separation structure including a carriage and a cabin (see, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 10,124,688). The autonomous driving vehicle described in U.S. Pat. No. 10,124,688 travels with a battery, and when a battery capacity becomes insufficient, the carriage is replaced with another carriage on which a charged battery is mounted. At this time, it is planned where the replacement with the other carriage is to be performed. In the following description, the autonomous driving vehicle is referred to as “vehicle”, the carriage is referred to as “self-propelled carriage unit”, and the cabin is referred to as “cabin unit”.
However, in the autonomous driving vehicle described in U.S. Pat. No. 10,124,688 described above, when the battery capacity for going to a destination is insufficient, it is necessary to replace the carriage with the other carriage on the way, and it takes time to perform the replacement work. Further, a replacement point does not necessarily exist on an optimal route, and in a case where the replacement point does not exist on the optimal route, the replacement is performed on a route in which a detour occurs, and therefore a useless time is spent.
An object of the present disclosure is to provide a moving body that can maximize a traveling distance of a self-propelled carriage unit and control an optimal charging timing.
The present disclosure provides a moving body including: a first body including at least one wheel, the first body being configured to travel by the wheel; and a second body attachable to and detachable from the first body, wherein the first body includes an electric motor configured to drive the at least one wheel and a first secondary battery that allows first electric power to be supplied to the electric motor, wherein the second body includes a predetermined electric power load and a second secondary battery that allows second electric power to be supplied to the predetermined electric power load, and wherein when the second body is mounted on the first body, at least one of the second secondary battery and the first secondary battery is allowed to be charged in a charging mode including at least one of a first charging mode and a second charging mode, wherein in the first charging mode, the second secondary battery is charged using third electric power output from the first secondary battery, and wherein in the second charging mode, the first secondary battery is charged using fourth electric power output from the second secondary battery.
The present disclosure provides a battery control method for a moving body, the moving body including: a first body including at least one wheel, the first body being configured to travel by the wheel; and a second body attachable to and detachable from the first body, wherein the first body includes an electric motor configured to drive the at least one wheel and a first secondary battery that allows first electric power to be supplied to the electric motor, wherein the second body includes a predetermined electric power load and a second secondary battery that allows second electric power to be supplied to the predetermined electric power load, the battery control method including: charging at least one of the second secondary battery and the first secondary battery in a charging mode when the second body is mounted on the first body, the charging mode including at least one of a first charging mode and a second charging mode, wherein in the first charging mode, the second secondary battery is charged using third electric power output from the first secondary battery, and wherein in the second charging mode, the first secondary battery is charged using fourth electric power output from the second secondary battery.
The present disclosure provides a non-transitory computer-readable medium storing instructions that, when executed by one or more processor, cause a computer to perform operations for a moving body, the moving body including: a first body including at least one wheel, the first body being configured to travel by the wheel; and a second body attachable to and detachable from the first body, wherein the first body includes an electric motor configured to drive the at least one wheel and a first secondary battery that allows first electric power to be supplied to the electric motor, wherein the second body includes a predetermined electric power load and a second secondary battery that allows second electric power to be supplied to the predetermined electric power load, the operations including: charging at least one of the second secondary battery and the first secondary battery in a charging mode when the second body is mounted on the first body, the charging mode including at least one of a first charging mode and a second charging mode, wherein in the first charging mode, the second secondary battery is charged using third electric power output from the first secondary battery, and wherein in the second charging mode, the first secondary battery is charged using fourth electric power output from the second secondary battery.
Hereinafter, an embodiment specifically disclosing a moving body management system according to the present disclosure (hereinafter, referred to as “the present embodiment”) will be described in detail with reference to the drawings as appropriate. However, unnecessarily detailed description may be omitted. For example, detailed description of well-known matters and redundant description of substantially the same configuration may be omitted. This is to avoid unnecessary redundancy in the following description and to facilitate understanding of those skilled in the art. The accompanying drawings and the following description are provided for a thorough understanding of the present disclosure for those skilled in the art, and are not intended to limit the subject matter in the claims.
Hereinafter, preferred present embodiments for carrying out the present disclosure will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.
Hereinafter, a moving body management system of a first embodiment will be described with reference to the drawings.
Instead of using the front wheels 501F as the steered wheels and the rear wheels 501R as the driven wheels, the steered wheels may also serve as the driven wheels (a drive system referred to as so-called front-engine front-drive (FF)). Further, the self-propelled carriage unit 5 is a four-wheeled vehicle including the four wheels 501F and 501R, but may be a single-wheeled vehicle including one wheel. That is, at least one wheel may be provided.
In contrast, the cabin unit 7 does not include wheels, is attachable to and detachable from the self-propelled carriage unit 5, and is mounted on the self-propelled carriage unit 5 to move. The cabin unit 7 is placed on ground or stands by itself at a leg portion by being detached from the self-propelled carriage unit 5. The leg portion of the cabin unit 7 has a foldable structure or a collapsible structure, and is in a state of being placed on the ground by being in a folded state or a collapsed state to a minimum.
The cabin unit 7 shown in
In the cabin unit 7 of the vending machine type shown in
The cabin unit 7 may be of a store type in addition to the vending machine type. In the cabin unit 7 of the store type, it is possible to provide rice balls, box lunches, confectionery, drinking water, miscellaneous goods, and the like, to provide coffee, to provide a microwave oven, and the like. Other using modes of the cabin unit 7 are shown in
In this way, there are various using modes of the cabin unit 7, but batteries 720 (see
Next, configurations and operations of the self-propelled carriage unit 5 and the cabin unit 7 will be described.
In
The wireless communication circuit 511 performs wireless communication with the management server 3, and receives an instruction related to battery charging (corresponding to an external instruction). A dedicated frequency band, a frequency band of moving body communication, or the like is used for the wireless communication by the wireless communication circuit 511. The wireless communication circuit 511 outputs the received information on the battery charging to the autonomous driving ECU 515. The electric motor 512 provides a drive force to the two driven wheels 501R of the self-propelled carriage unit 5. Electric power (first electric power) output from the battery 517 is supplied to the electric motor 512. Electric power (fourth electric power) output from the battery 720 of the cabin unit 7 is also supplied to the electric motor 512. The steering control unit 513 performs control to change a wheel angle of the two steered wheels 501F of the self-propelled carriage unit 5. The wheel angle refers to an angle of a wheel with respect to a direction of the wheel when the self-propelled carriage unit 5 travels straight, and may be generally referred to as a tire angle. The safety device 514 is a component for ensuring safety, such as a light and a direction indicator.
The autonomous driving ECU 515 generates information for the self-propelled carriage unit 5 to autonomously travel by using the information from the sensor 510, and outputs the generated information to the vehicle control ECU 516. Further, when receiving the instruction related to the battery charging from the management server 3, the autonomous driving ECU 515 outputs the instruction to the vehicle control ECU 516. The vehicle control ECU 516 controls the electric motor 512, the steering control unit 513, and the safety device 514 in accordance with information for autonomous traveling from the autonomous driving ECU 515. Further, when the instruction related to the battery charging is output from the autonomous driving ECU 515, the vehicle control ECU 516 controls the battery control unit 521 in accordance with the instruction. The autonomous driving ECU 515 includes a central processing unit (CPU), a read only memory (ROM) in which a program for controlling the CPU is stored, and a random access memory (RAM) used for an operation of the CPU (not shown). Details of battery control by the vehicle control ECU 516 will be described later. The vehicle control ECU 516 includes a CPU, a ROM that stores a program for controlling the CPU, and a RAM used for an operation of the CPU (not shown).
The battery 517 supplies electric power not only to the electric motor 512 of the self-propelled carriage unit 5 but also to units of the self-propelled carriage unit 5. Further, the battery 517 is also used to charge the battery 720 of the cabin unit 7. The BMS 518 detects a total voltage, a remaining capacity, and the like of the battery 517 in real time, warns an input and output current and an overcurrent, and controls a dedicated charger. The charger 519 charges the battery 517 with electric power supplied from an external power supply (not shown). When the battery 517 is charged by the external power supply, a cable (not shown) of the external power supply is connected to the charging connector 523. The charging control unit 520 is controlled by the battery control unit 521, and controls charging of the battery 517 such that the battery 517 is not overcharged.
When the cabin unit 7 is mounted on the self-propelled carriage unit 5 and the charging connector 524 of the self-propelled carriage unit 5 is connected to the charging connector 726 of the cabin unit 7, the battery control unit 521 charges the battery 720 of the cabin unit 7 based on electric power (third electric power) output from the battery 517 of the self-propelled carriage unit 5 (an example of a first charging mode), and charges the battery 517 of the self-propelled carriage unit 5 based on electric power (fourth electric power) output from the battery 720 of the cabin unit 7 (an example of a second charging mode). In this case, when the instruction from the management server 3 is to charge the battery 720 of the cabin unit 7, a signal based on the instruction is given from the vehicle control ECU 516 to the battery control unit 521, and when the instruction from the management server 3 is to charge the battery 517 of the self-propelled carriage unit 5, a signal based on the instruction is given from the vehicle control ECU 516 to the battery control unit 521.
In this way, when the instruction from the management server 3 is to charge the battery 720 of the cabin unit 7, the battery control unit 521 charges the battery 720 of the cabin unit 7 based on the electric power (third electric power) output from the battery 517 of the self-propelled carriage unit 5, and when the instruction from the management server 3 is to charge the battery 517 of the self-propelled carriage unit 5, the battery control unit 521 charges the battery 517 of the self-propelled carriage unit 5 based on the electric power (fourth electric power) output from the battery 720 of the cabin unit 7. As described above, the battery charging is performed when the battery 517 of the self-propelled carriage unit 5 charges the battery 720 of the cabin unit 7, and when the battery 720 of the cabin unit 7 charges the battery 517 of the self-propelled carriage unit 5. In addition to enabling both, it may be possible to enable only one of them.
When the battery charging is performed between the self-propelled carriage unit 5 and the cabin unit 7, the battery control unit 521 stops an operation of the charger 519 so as not to receive electric power from the external power supply.
In
The first display 714 is used as signage in the vehicle when the cabin unit 7 is, for example, a store. The second display 715 is used as signage outside the vehicle when the cabin unit 7 is, for example, a store. A large-sized liquid crystal display, an organic electro luminescence (EL) display, or the like is used as the first display 714 and the second display 715. The payment terminal 716 is used for payment of sale and purchase of a commodity when the cabin unit 7 is, for example, a store. The electric compressor 717 is used for cooling and heating or refrigerating showcases in the cabin unit 7. The electric fan 710, the first light 711, the second light 712, the coffee machine 713, the first display 714, the second display 715, the payment terminal 716, and the electric compressor 717 correspond to a predetermined electric power load.
The battery 720 supplies electric power to various electric devices (the electric fan 710, the first light 711, and the like described above) of the cabin unit 7. Further, the battery 720 is also used to charge the battery 517 of the self-propelled carriage unit 5 when the cabin unit 7 is mounted on the self-propelled carriage unit 5. Further, the battery 720 is also used as electric power for causing the electric motor 512 of the self-propelled carriage unit 5 to operate when the cabin unit 7 is mounted on the self-propelled carriage unit 5. The electric motor 512 drives the two driven wheels 501R based on the electric power (first electric power) output from the battery 517 of the self-propelled carriage unit 5 and the electric power (fourth electric power) output from the battery 720 of the cabin unit 7.
The BMS 721 has the same function as that of the BMS 518 of the self-propelled carriage unit 5, detects a total voltage, a remaining capacity, and the like of the battery 720 in real time, warns an input and output current and an overcurrent, and controls a dedicated charger. The charger 722 charges the battery 720 with electric power supplied from an external power supply (not shown) through the charging connector 725. When the battery 720 is charged with the electric power from the external power supply, a cable (not shown) of the external power supply is connected to the charging connector 725.
In this way, when the cabin unit 7 is mounted on the self-propelled carriage unit 5, the battery 720 of the cabin unit 7 can be charged by the electric power of the battery 517 of the self-propelled carriage unit 5, but when the cabin unit 7 is not mounted on the self-propelled carriage unit 5, the battery 720 of the cabin unit 7 can be charged by the electric power from the external power supply. The charging control unit 723 is controlled by the BMS 721 and controls charging of the battery 720 such that the battery 720 is not overcharged.
Here, details of battery control of the vehicle control ECU 516 of the self-propelled carriage unit 5 will be described.
When the cabin unit 7 is mounted on the self-propelled carriage unit 5, when a voltage of the battery (first secondary battery) 517 of the self-propelled carriage unit 5 is smaller than a first value, and when a voltage of the battery (second secondary battery) 720 of the cabin unit 7 is larger than a second value, the vehicle control ECU 516 of the self-propelled carriage unit 5 charges the battery 517 based on the fourth electric power output from the battery 720. That is, the electric power is charged from the battery 720 having a high voltage to the battery 517 having a low voltage.
When the cabin unit 7 is mounted on the self-propelled carriage unit 5, when the voltage of the battery (second secondary battery) 720 is smaller than a third value, and when the voltage of the battery (first secondary battery) 517 is larger than a fourth value, the vehicle control ECU 516 of the self-propelled carriage unit 5 charges the battery 720 based on the third electric power output from the battery 517. That is, the electric power is charged from the battery 517 having a high voltage to the battery 720 having a low voltage.
When the cabin unit 7 is mounted on the self-propelled carriage unit 5, the vehicle control ECU 516 of the self-propelled carriage unit 5 charges the battery 517 based on the fourth value output from the battery (second secondary battery) 720 based on a use schedule of the cabin unit 7. Here, the use schedule is, for example, “business plan of one day”. For example, in a case of a moving convenience store (convenience store), the cabin unit 7 is moved to a business place based on the business plan of one day, and is returned to a garage or a warehouse after business. Based on the business plan, when the cabin unit 7 is mounted on the self-propelled carriage unit 5 to move, in a case where a schedule thereafter is a schedule for returning to the garage and being charged, the battery 720 of the cabin unit 7 is not used for business. In such a scenario, a using method of the cabin unit 7 is to play a role of charging a battery side with power is formed. The use schedule may be given from the management server 3 or may be directly written in a memory of the vehicle control ECU 516.
When the cabin unit 7 is mounted on the self-propelled carriage unit 5, the vehicle control ECU 516 of the self-propelled carriage unit 5 charges the battery 720 based on the third electric power output from the battery (first secondary battery) 517 based on a movement schedule of the self-propelled carriage unit 5. Here, the movement schedule is, for example, a “traveling plan of one day”. For example, the self-propelled carriage unit 5 also has the traveling plan of one day in advance, and when the cabin unit 7 is mounted to move, and in a case where a remaining amount of the battery 517 is large for a traveling plan until the self-propelled carriage unit 5 is charged thereafter, although similar to the using method in the above-described scenario in a case of the use schedule, a using method of the self-propelled carriage 5 is to play a role of charging the battery 720 of the cabin unit 7. The movement schedule may be given from the management server 3 or may be directly written in the memory of the vehicle control ECU 516.
In addition to the configuration in which the wireless communication circuit 511 of the self-propelled carriage unit 5 receives the instruction from the management server 3 and the vehicle control ECU 516 charges the battery 720 of the cabin unit 7 based on the third electric power output from the battery 517 of the self-propelled carriage unit 5 in response to the instruction, the wireless communication circuit 511 and the vehicle control ECU 516 may be provided in the cabin unit 7 such that the vehicle control ECU 516 charges the battery 517 of the self-propelled carriage unit 5 based on the fourth electric power output from the battery 720 of the cabin unit 7 in response to the external instruction received by the wireless communication circuit 511. In this case, in addition to enabling both the case where the battery 720 of the cabin unit 7 is charged using the third electric power output from the battery 517 of the self-propelled carriage unit 5 and the case where the battery 517 of the self-propelled carriage unit 5 is charged using the fourth electric power output from the battery 720 of the cabin unit 7, only one of the cases may be enabled.
The battery may be provided only on a self-propelled carriage unit 5 side, or the battery may be provided only on a cabin unit 7 side.
When receiving the notification of the battery remaining amounts of the batteries 517 and 720 from the vehicle 2, the management server 3 calculates a battery using plan of the self-propelled carriage unit 5 and the cabin unit 7 based on a future operation status, the traveling plan, and a charging plan (step S2). Next, the management server 3 notifies the self-propelled carriage unit 5 of the calculated battery using plan (step S3).
When the self-propelled carriage unit 5 is notified of the battery using plan, the vehicle control ECU 516 of the self-propelled carriage unit 5 uses the batteries 517 and 720 based on the using plan notified from the management server 3 (step S4). When starting using the batteries 517 and 720, the vehicle control ECU 516 monitors using statuses of the batteries 517 and 720 (step S5). When the using of the batteries 517 and 720 does not match the plan, the vehicle control ECU 516 returns to the processing of step S2. On the contrary, when the batteries 517 and 720 are used as planned, the batteries 517 and 720 are used as they are (step S6), and the present processing ends.
As described above, according to the vehicle 2 that constitutes the moving body management system 1 of the first embodiment, various control methods are possible by mounting the batteries on both the self-propelled carriage unit 5 and the cabin unit 7, and this is effective in the following cases.
(1) The battery 517 of the self-propelled carriage unit 5 can be charged while using the battery 720 of the cabin unit 7 during traveling, and a traveling distance of the self-propelled carriage unit 5 can be extended.
(2) When returning to a warehouse at a moving store or the like, in a case where there is a remaining battery remaining amount, the remaining battery remaining amount can be used for electric power for traveling and charging of the self-propelled carriage unit 5.
(3) It is possible to calculate a charging time after traveling and a charging timing for extending lives of the batteries 517 and 720 based on the traveling plan and the battery remaining amounts on the self-propelled carriage unit 5 side and the cabin unit 7 side, to control which battery is to be used, and to implement efficient reusing of the batteries by performing control on a management server 3 side.
Since when the battery is provided only on the self-propelled carriage unit 5 side, the electric power is not used on the cabin unit 7 side, or when an external power supply is available at a movement destination, it is not necessary to mount the battery 720 on the cabin unit 7 side, a degree of freedom in designing of the cabin unit 7 is increased, a weight is also reduced, and electric power consumption is improved. Further, since the battery itself is not mounted, a cost is also reduced. In contrast, when the battery 720 is mounted only on the cabin unit 7 side, the self-propelled carriage unit 5 side needs to be always mounted with a cabin unit including a battery to travel, but when the battery is consumed, the cabin unit is replaced with a cabin unit that has been charged, so that the self-propelled carriage unit 5 is continuously operated without having a charging time. Accordingly, an asset of the vehicle 2 itself can be reduced.
A moving body of the first embodiment includes: a first body that includes at least one wheel and that is configured to travel by the wheel; and a second body attachable to and detachable from the first body, in which the first body includes an electric motor configured to drive the at least one wheel, and a first secondary battery configured to supply first electric power to the electric motor, in which the second body includes a predetermined electric power load and a second secondary battery configured to supply second electric power to the predetermined electric power load, and in which when the second body is mounted on the first body, the second secondary battery is charged using third electric power output from the first secondary battery, and/or the first secondary battery is charged using fourth electric power output from the second secondary battery.
With this configuration, since the secondary batteries are mounted on both the first body and the second body, it is possible to control whether the secondary battery on a first body side is used or the secondary battery on a second body side is used depending on a situation, and it is possible to maximize a traveling distance of the first body and to control an optimal charging timing. Further, it is possible to efficiently use both the secondary batteries, for example, to lengthen lives of both the secondary batteries. For example, in a case where a capacity of the secondary battery for going to the destination is insufficient in the first body, when the capacity can be compensated by performing charging with the secondary battery of the second body, it is possible to go to the destination without replacing the self-propelled carriage unit with another self-propelled carriage unit on the way. Further, since there is no need to go to the replacement point, there is no need to go to a detour route.
In the moving body of the first embodiment, in the above-described configuration, the predetermined electric power load of the second body includes at least one of a first light disposed on an outer side of the second body, a second light disposed on an inner side of the second body, an electric compressor disposed in the second body, an electric fan disposed in the second body, a first display disposed inside the second body, and a second display disposed on a side surface outside the second body.
With this configuration, the predetermined electric power load disposed in the second body can be operated by the second secondary battery, and when the capacity of the second secondary battery is reduced, the second secondary battery can be charged by the first secondary battery of the first body, so that it is possible to operate the predetermined electric power load over a long period of time.
In the moving body of the first embodiment, in the above-described configuration, when the second body is not mounted on the first body, the second body is installed on ground.
With this configuration, when the second body is not mounted on the first body, the second body can be installed on the ground.
In the moving body of the first embodiment, in the above-described configuration, when the second body is not mounted on the first body, the second secondary battery of the second body is charged by electric power from an external power supply.
With this configuration, when the second body is not mounted on the first body, the second secondary battery of the second body can be charged with electric power from the external power supply.
In the moving body of the first embodiment, in the above-described configuration, the electric motor is configured to drive the at least one wheel based on the first electric power output from the first secondary battery and the fourth electric power output from the second secondary battery.
With this configuration, the wheel can be driven by both the first electric power output from the first secondary battery of the first body and the fourth electric power output from the second secondary battery of the second body.
In the moving body of the embodiment, in the above-described configuration, when the second body is mounted on the first body, when a voltage of the first secondary battery is smaller than a first value, and when a voltage of the second secondary battery is larger than a second value, the first secondary battery is charged using the fourth electric power output from the second secondary battery.
With this configuration, when the second body is mounted on the first body, the voltage of the first secondary battery of the first body is smaller than the first value, and the voltage of the second secondary battery of the second body is larger than the second value, the first secondary battery can be charged with the fourth electric power output from the second secondary battery.
In the moving body of the first embodiment, in the above-described configuration, when the second body is mounted on the first body, when a voltage of the second secondary battery is smaller than a third value, and when a voltage of the first secondary battery is larger than a fourth value, the second secondary battery is charged using the third electric power output from the first secondary battery.
With this configuration, when the second body is mounted on the first body, the voltage of the second secondary battery of the second body is smaller than the third value, and the voltage of the first secondary battery of the first body is larger than the fourth value, the second secondary battery can be charged with the third electric power output from the first secondary battery.
In the moving body of the first embodiment, in the above-described configuration, when the second body is mounted on the first body, the first secondary battery is charged using the fourth electric power output from the second secondary battery based on a use schedule of the second body.
With this configuration, when the second body is mounted on the first body, the first secondary battery can be charged with the fourth electric power output from the second secondary battery based on the use schedule of the second body.
In the moving body of the first embodiment, in the above-described configuration, when the second body is mounted on the first body, the second secondary battery is charged using the third electric power output from the first secondary battery based on a movement schedule of the first body.
With this configuration, when the second body is mounted on the first body, the second secondary battery can be charged with the third electric power output from the first secondary battery based on the movement schedule of the first body.
In the moving body of the first embodiment, in the above-described configuration, the first body and/or the second body include(s) a wireless communication circuit, and in response to an external instruction received by the wireless communication circuit, the second secondary battery is charged using the third electric power output from the first secondary battery and/or the first secondary battery is charged using the fourth electric power output from the second secondary battery.
With this configuration, the second secondary battery of the second body can be charged with the third electric power output from the first secondary battery of the first body, and the first secondary battery of the first body can be charged with the fourth electric power output from the second secondary battery of the second body, by a wireless operation.
According to the first embodiment, it is possible to provide a moving body that can maximize a traveling distance of a first body and control an optimal charging timing.
Next, a moving body management system of a second embodiment will be described.
The moving body management system 15 of the second embodiment is a vehicle having a separation structure including a self-propelled carriage unit and a cabin unit attachable to and detachable from the self-propelled carriage unit, and has a function of, when the cabin unit is mounted on the self-propelled carriage unit, acquiring attribute information of the cabin unit and switching traveling control of autonomous traveling based on the acquired attribute information by the self-propelled carriage unit.
Since the function of switching the traveling control is provided, particularly, when an infant, a toddler, or an elderly person is placed in the cabin unit, it is possible to change traveling conditions such as acceleration during acceleration and deceleration and acceleration during turning in which riding comfort is emphasized, and to perform safe traveling without causing motion sickness, and when the cabin unit carries a fragile object or an object weak to vibration as a cargo, not only acceleration is changed to acceleration for carrying safely, but also the cargo can be carried safely while avoiding a rough road with large vibration, a steep slope, or a traffic jam.
The vehicle 16 includes a self-propelled carriage unit (corresponding to “first body”) 17, and a cabin unit mounted on the self-propelled carriage unit 17 (corresponding to “second body”) 18. The self-propelled carriage unit 17 includes two front wheels 170F (only one of the two front wheels 170F is shown in
The self-propelled carriage unit 17 includes, in addition to the wheels 170F and 170R described above, a communication device 171, a sensor 172, a drive control unit 173, a steering control unit 174, a safety device 175, a battery 176, a charger 177, an autonomous driving ECU (attribute information acquisition circuit) 178, and a vehicle control ECU 179. The communication device 171 performs wireless communication with the management server 19, and acquires the external information such as the weather information and the traffic information (traffic jam, accident regulation, and the like). A dedicated frequency band, a frequency band of moving body communication, or the like is used for the wireless communication by the communication device 171. The sensor 172 is directed to an outside of the self-propelled carriage unit 17 of the vehicle 16, is disposed on an end portion in a predetermined traveling direction, and is used to monitor a front side in the predetermined traveling direction. For example, a camera or a Lidar is used as the sensor 172. Information of the sensor 172 is taken into the autonomous driving ECU 178.
The drive control unit 173 controls an electric motor (not shown) that provides a drive force to the two driven wheels 170R that are driven wheels of the self-propelled carriage unit 17. The steering control unit 174 performs control to change a wheel angle of the two wheels 170F that are steered wheels of the self-propelled carriage unit 17. The wheel angle refers to an angle of a wheel with respect to a direction of the wheel when the self-propelled carriage unit 17 travels straight, and may be generally referred to as a tire angle. The safety device 175 is a component for ensuring safety, such as a light and a direction indicator. The battery 176 supplies electric power to the above-described electric motor (not shown). The charger 177 charges the battery 176 with electric power supplied from an external power supply (not shown).
The autonomous driving ECU 178 generates information for the self-propelled carriage unit 17 to autonomously travel by using the information from the sensor 172, and outputs the generated information to the vehicle control ECU 179. The autonomous driving ECU 178 includes a CPU, a ROM that stores a program for controlling the CPU, and a RAM used for an operation of the CPU (not shown). Details of control of the autonomous driving ECU 178 will be described later. The vehicle control ECU 179 controls the drive control unit 173, the steering control unit 174, and the safety device 175 in accordance with the information for the autonomous traveling from the autonomous driving ECU 178.
The communication device 171 and the sensor 172 are connected to the autonomous driving ECU 178 by an in-vehicle LAN. Further, the autonomous driving ECU 178 and the vehicle control ECU 179 are connected to each other by a controller area network (CAN). Further, the drive control unit 173, the steering control unit 174, the safety device 175, the battery 176, and the charger 177 are also connected to the vehicle control ECU 179 by the CAN. The communication device 171 and the sensor 172 may be wirelessly connected to the autonomous driving ECU 178. The vehicle control ECU 179 includes a CPU, a ROM that stores a program for controlling the CPU, and a RAM used for an operation of the CPU (not shown).
In contrast, the cabin unit 18 is provided with a cabin side ECU (attribute information holding unit) 180. The cabin side ECU 180 holds the attribute information, but holding of the attribute information may be implemented by an electric circuit such as a memory circuit, or may be implemented by an object other than the electric circuit such as a barcode. The cabin side ECU 180 is connected to the autonomous driving ECU 178 of the self-propelled carriage unit 17 by the in-vehicle LAN. The cabin side ECU 180 manages a mounted object of the cabin unit 18, and when there is a notification to request the mounted object of the cabin unit 18 from the autonomous driving ECU 178 of the self-propelled carriage unit 17, the cabin side ECU 180 notifies the autonomous driving ECU 178 of the self-propelled carriage unit 17 of cabin unit mounting information (attribute information) indicating the mounted object of the cabin unit 18.
In the present embodiment, the autonomous driving ECU 178 of the self-propelled carriage unit 17 directly acquires the attribute information held by the cabin side ECU 180 of the cabin unit 18, but the management server 19 may hold the attribute information, and the autonomous driving ECU 178 of the self-propelled carriage unit 17 may acquire the attribute information from the management server 19. That is, the cabin side ECU 180 of the cabin unit 18 may hold identification information of the cabin unit 18, the management server 19 may hold the attribute information, and the autonomous driving ECU 178 may acquire the identification information held by the cabin side ECU 180, and may acquire the attribute information corresponding to the identification information via the communication device (wireless communication circuit) 171. In this case, holding of the identification information of the cabin side ECU 180 may be implemented by an electric circuit such as a memory circuit, or may be implemented by an object other than the electric circuit such as a barcode. Instead of acquiring the attribute information from the management server 19, the autonomous driving ECU 178 may acquire information itself of traveling control of autonomous traveling to switch traveling control.
Here,
The traveling route generation unit 185 generates a traveling route based on the traveling conditions set by the traveling condition setting unit 181, the map information output from the HD map 182, the own vehicle position calculated by the own vehicle position calculation unit 183, and the obstacle detected by the obstacle detection unit 184. The vehicle control unit 186 performs vehicle control for causing the vehicle to travel along the traveling route generated by the traveling route generation unit 185. The vehicle control unit 186 performs vehicle control on the vehicle control ECU 179.
Next, an operation of the moving body management system 15 of the second embodiment will be described.
After setting the destination, the autonomous driving ECU 178 acquires external information from the management server 19 (step S13). The external information includes the weather information, the traffic information (the traffic jam, the accident regulation, and the like), and the like. After acquiring the external information from the management server 19, the autonomous driving ECU 178 deletes an unavailable route on the HD map 182 based on the calculated hill-climbing performance, a vehicle height limitation, and the external information (step S14). Next, the autonomous driving ECU 178 determines whether there is an available route among remaining routes obtained by deleting the unavailable route (step S15). When determining that there is no available route (when determining as “No” in step S15), the autonomous driving ECU 178 notifies the management server 19 that the vehicle can not travel (step S16). After notifying the management server 19 that the vehicle can not travel, the autonomous driving ECU 178 ends the present processing. When determining in the determination of step S15 that there is the available route (when determining as “Yes”), the autonomous driving ECU 178 calculates a shortest route based on the available route (step S17). As the shortest route, it is also possible to select a riding comfort priority route. The riding comfort priority route is a route that satisfies, for example, a good paved state of a roadway, a small number of ups and downs, a small number of signals, and a small number of traffic jams.
After calculating the shortest route based on the available route, the autonomous driving ECU 178 starts autonomous driving (step S18). That is, the self-propelled carriage unit 17 is caused to travel along the calculated shortest route. After the autonomous driving is started, the autonomous driving ECU 178 determines whether there is designation of traveling conditions (step S19). When determining that there is no designation of the traveling conditions (when determining as “No” in step S19), the autonomous driving ECU 178 causes the self-propelled carriage unit 17 to travel at a default speed and acceleration. The autonomous driving ECU 178 causes the self-propelled carriage unit 17 to travel to the destination at the default speed and acceleration, and then ends the present processing. When determining in step S19 that there is the designation of the traveling conditions (when determining as “Yes”), the autonomous driving ECU 178 causes the self-propelled carriage unit 17 to travel by changing an upper limit speed and acceleration during the autonomous driving. Then, when the self-propelled carriage unit 17 reaches the destination, the present processing is ended. It is possible to perform driving with priority on riding comfort, and the driving with the priority on the riding comfort is driving with reduced number of acceleration and deceleration, driving with reduced acceleration, or the like.
Next, an overview of control when there is a limitation to a vehicle height of the vehicle 16 will be described.
Here,
Returning to
When determining in the determination of step S33 that the traveling route candidate is less than the height limitation H′ (when determining as “Yes” in step S33), the autonomous driving ECU 178 determines the traveling route candidate (step S34) and starts traveling by autonomous driving (step S35). After causing the self-propelled carriage unit 17 on which the cabin unit 18 is mounted to travel to the destination, the autonomous driving ECU 178 ends the present processing.
After calculating the hill-climbable angle θ, the autonomous driving ECU 178 sets a destination (step S42). An HMI (not shown), the management server 19, or the like is used for setting the destination. Next, the autonomous driving ECU 178 checks a maximum inclination degree θ′ of a traveling route candidate from the HD map 182 (step S43), and determines whether the maximum inclination degree θ′ of the candidate route is equal to or smaller than the hill-climbable angle θ (step S44). When determining that the maximum inclination degree θ′ of the candidate route is not equal to or smaller than the hill-climbable angle θ (when determining as “No” in step S44, that is, when determining that the maximum inclination degree θ′ of the candidate route exceeds the hill-climbable angle θ), the autonomous driving ECU 178 determines whether there is a remaining candidate (step S47). When determining that there is the remaining candidate (when determining as “Yes” in step S47), the autonomous driving ECU 178 returns to step S43. When determining that there is no remaining candidate (when determining as “No” in step S47), the autonomous driving ECU 178 determines that there is no available route and it is not possible to travel (step S48), and ends the present processing.
When determining in the determination of step S44 that the maximum inclination degree θ′ of the candidate route is equal to or smaller than the hill-climbable angle θ (when determining as “Yes” in step S44), the autonomous driving ECU 178 determines the traveling route candidate (step S45), and starts traveling by autonomous driving (step S46). After causing the self-propelled carriage unit 17 on which the cabin unit 18 is mounted to travel to the destination, the autonomous driving ECU 178 ends the present processing.
Next, after detecting an obstacle, the autonomous driving ECU 178 sets conditions for starting braking as the traveling conditions (step S52). Next, the autonomous driving ECU 178 sets a destination (step S53). After setting the destination, the autonomous driving ECU 178 selects a route with less acceleration and deceleration such as undulation, a traffic jam, and a signal of the route from traveling route candidates (step S54). Next, the autonomous driving ECU 178 travels while controlling acceleration and deceleration so as to be within a designated acceleration range (step S55).
Next, the autonomous driving ECU 178 selects a traveling route from the HD map 182 (step S62). Then, a set speed v0 is compared with set speeds v1 and v2 for each curve on the selected traveling route, and a turning speed at each curve is determined (step S63). After determining the turning speed at each curve on the selected traveling route, the autonomous driving ECU 178 acquires weather conditions (wind speed and the like) from the management server 19 and determines a final turning speed (step S64). Then, traveling by autonomous driving in consideration of the determined final turning speed is started (step S65). After causing the self-propelled carriage unit 17 on which the cabin unit 18 is mounted to travel to the destination, the autonomous driving ECU 178 ends the present processing.
The speeds v1 and v2 described above can be obtained as follows.
A center-of-gravity position is exemplified as a parameter that influences the turning speed.
rotation radius: r
total mass: m
turning speed: v
vehicle center of gravity: G
center of gravity height: h′
track width: 2w
gravitational acceleration: g
centrifugal force: F
friction coefficient: μ
frictional force toward rotation center: f
In a case of the above-described conditions, the centrifugal force F is expressed by F=mv2/r, and the frictional force toward rotation center f is expressed by f=μmg.
Since a limit speed v1 with respect to sideslip is a speed satisfying F=f, the limit speed v1 is expressed by the following equation.
A moment M around a ground contact point of a left wheel with respect to floating of the left wheel is expressed by the following equation.
When M becomes equal to or larger than 0, the wheel tends to float.
Therefore, the limit speed v2 with respect to the floating is expressed by the following equation.
A smaller one of v1 and v2 is set as the turning speed.
Since not only the center of gravity height but also the total mass and a height (vertical direction) are influenced by wind or the like, the turning speed can be changed in accordance with the weather conditions from the management server 19.
Here, the turning speed differs depending on a difference in a height of a center-of-gravity position of the cabin unit 18. For example, the cabin unit (second body) 18 includes at least a fifth type of second body and a sixth type of second body. A height of a center-of-gravity position of the fifth type of second body is a first height, and a height of a center-of-gravity position of the sixth type of second body is a second height higher than the first height. When the fifth type of second body is mounted on the cabin unit 18, a maximum speed for a predetermined turning radius in traveling control of autonomous traveling is a fifth speed. When the sixth type of second body is mounted on the cabin unit 18, the maximum speed for the predetermined turning radius in the traveling control of the autonomous traveling is a sixth speed lower than the fifth speed.
The turning speed also differs depending on a difference in a mass of the cabin unit 18. For example, the cabin unit (second body) 18 includes at least a first type of second body and a second type of second body. A mass of the first type of second body is a first weight, and a mass of the second type of second body is a second weight larger than the first weight. When the first type of second body is mounted on the cabin unit 18, the maximum speed for the predetermined turning radius in the traveling control of the autonomous traveling is a first speed. When the second type of second body is mounted on the cabin unit 18, the maximum speed for the predetermined turning radius in the traveling control of the autonomous traveling is a second speed lower than the first speed.
The turning speed also differs depending on a difference in a height in a vertical direction of the outline of the cabin unit 18. For example, the cabin unit (second body) 18 includes at least a third type of second body and a fourth type of second body. A height in a vertical direction of an outline of the third type of second body is a first length, and a height in a vertical direction of an outline of the fourth type of second body is a second length larger than the first length. When the third type of second body is mounted on the cabin unit 18, the maximum speed for the predetermined turning radius in the traveling control of the autonomous traveling is a third speed. When the fourth type of second body is mounted on the cabin unit 18, the maximum speed for the predetermined turning radius in the traveling control of the autonomous traveling is a fourth speed lower than the third speed.
A selection of a traveling route also differs depending on the difference in the height in the vertical direction of the outline of the cabin unit 18. For example, the cabin unit (second body) 18 includes at least the third type of second body and the fourth type of second body. The height in the vertical direction of the outline of the third type of second body is the first length, and the height in the vertical direction of the outline of the fourth type of second body is the second length larger than the first length. When the third type of second body is mounted on the cabin unit 18, a traveling route in the traveling control of the autonomous traveling is a first route. When the fourth type of second body is mounted on the cabin unit 18, the traveling route in the traveling control of the autonomous traveling is a second route in which a height limitation in the route is less strict than that of the first route.
The selection of the traveling route also differs depending on a difference in an allowable inclination degree of the cabin unit 18. For example, the cabin unit (second body) 18 includes at least a seventh type of second body and an eighth type of second body. An allowable inclination degree of the seventh type of second body is a first inclination degree, and an allowable inclination degree of the eighth type of second body is a second inclination degree smaller than the first inclination degree. When the seventh type of second body is mounted on the cabin unit 18, the traveling route in the traveling control of the autonomous traveling is a third route. When the eighth type of second body is mounted on the cabin unit 18, the traveling route in the traveling control of the autonomous traveling is a fourth route in which a maximum inclination degree in the route is smaller than that of the third route.
As described above, according to the vehicle 16 that constitutes the moving body management system 15 of the second embodiment, the vehicle can autonomously travel by the steered wheels 170F and the driven wheels 170R. The vehicle 16 includes the self-propelled carriage unit 17 including the autonomous driving ECU 178 that acquires the attribute information of the cabin unit 18, and the cabin unit 18 attachable to and detachable from the self-propelled carriage unit 17. When the cabin unit 18 is mounted on the self-propelled carriage unit 17, the self-propelled carriage unit 17 switches the traveling control of the autonomous traveling based on the cabin unit mounting information including at least one of the mass of the cabin unit 18, the height in the vertical direction of the outline of the cabin unit, the center-of-gravity position of the cabin unit 18, the attribute of the load object that is put in the cabin unit 18, the acceleration request level of the cabin unit 18, and the allowable inclination degree of the cabin unit 18. Therefore, when an infant, a toddler, or an elderly person is placed in the cabin unit 18, it is possible to change traveling conditions such as acceleration during acceleration and deceleration and acceleration during turning in which riding comfort is emphasized to perform safe traveling without causing motion sickness, and when the cabin unit 18 carries a fragile object or an object weak to vibration as a cargo, not only acceleration is changed to acceleration for carrying safely, but also the cargo can be carried safely while avoiding a rough road with large vibration, a steep slope, or a traffic jam.
([1] of Third Embodiment)
Next, a moving body management system of [1] of a third embodiment will be described.
The moving body management system of [1] of the third embodiment includes a vehicle and a management server, similar to the moving body management systems 1 and 15 of the first and second embodiments described above. A reference numeral 25 is assigned to the moving body management system of [1] of the third embodiment, and a reference numeral 26 is assigned to the vehicle that constitutes the moving body management system 25. The vehicle 26 is a moving body that operates autonomously.
The self-propelled carriage unit 27 has a rectangular box shape, includes two front wheels 28F (only one of the two front wheels 28F is shown in
The self-propelled carriage unit 27 may not move by the wheels 28F and 28R, but may include a propeller and can move while floating in air by the propeller (for example, a drone).
The self-propelled carriage unit 27 includes a support surface 29 that can support at least a part of the cabin unit 50. The self-propelled carriage unit 27 includes two sensor circuits 60 and 61 each of which acquires information on an outside of the self-propelled carriage unit 27. The sensor circuit 60 is directed to an outside of the self-propelled carriage unit 27, and at least a part of the sensor circuit 60 is disposed below the support surface 29 of the self-propelled carriage unit 27 in a vertical direction at an end portion 30 in a forward-traveling direction. The sensor circuit 61 is directed to an outside of the self-propelled carriage unit 27, and at least a part of the sensor circuit 61 is disposed below the support surface 29 of the self-propelled carriage unit 27 in the vertical direction at an end portion 31 in a direction opposite to the forward-traveling direction.
Each of the sensor circuits 60 and 61 includes sensors such as a camera including an image-capturing element, a microphone, and a Lidar (Lidar: light detection and ranging). Video information is obtained by the cameras of the sensor circuits 60 and 61, sound information is obtained by the microphones, and distance information is obtained by the Lidars. It is not necessary to include all of the camera, the microphone, and the Lidar, and at least one of them may be provided. Further, the microphone also includes an ultrasonic sensor. The self-propelled carriage unit 27 autonomously operates based on information acquired by the sensor circuits 60 and 61.
The cabin unit 50 has a rectangular box shape (in the drawing, since the drawing is seen in a plan view, the cabin unit 50 cannot be seen in the box shape, but actually, the cabin unit 50 has the box shape) in which a length in the vertical direction is longer than a length of the self-propelled carriage unit 27 in the vertical direction (that is, a height), and a length in a horizontal direction (that is, a length corresponding to a traveling direction of the vehicle 26) is slightly shorter than a length of the self-propelled carriage unit 27 in a horizontal direction (that is, the length corresponding to the traveling direction of the vehicle 26). When the cabin unit 50 is mounted on the self-propelled carriage unit 27, at least a part of the cabin unit 50 is disposed above the self-propelled carriage unit 27 with respect to the length in the vertical direction (that is, the height). For example, when a person is placed in the cabin unit 50, the cabin unit 50 includes a occupant's region reserved for an occupant therein, and a seat on which the occupant can sit is disposed in the occupant's region. For example, a part of the cabin unit 50 may protrude, and may be located below the self-propelled carriage unit 27.
The shape of the self-propelled carriage unit 27 and the shape of the cabin unit 50 are not limited to the shapes shown in
When the cabin unit 52, which is larger than the self-propelled carriage unit 27 and protrudes forward and backward in the horizontal direction, is mounted on the self-propelled carriage unit 27, the sensor circuits 60 and 61 arranged on the self-propelled carriage unit 27 may be hidden behind protruding portions of the cabin unit 52. In this case, an unmonitorable region may be generated in each of the sensor circuits 60 and 61. In
Next, an electrical configuration of the self-propelled carriage unit 27 and an electrical configuration of the cabin unit 50 will be described. Since electrical configurations of the self-propelled carriage units 32 and 35 are the same as that of the self-propelled carriage unit 27, description thereof will be omitted. Further, since the cabin unit 51 is also the same as the cabin unit 50, description thereof will be omitted.
Information output from each of the sensor circuits 60 and 61 is taken into the autonomous driving device 270. The autonomous driving device 270 generates information for autonomous traveling of the self-propelled carriage unit 27 by using the information of each of the sensor circuits 60 and 61 and the like, and outputs the generated information to the vehicle control device 271. The autonomous driving device 270 includes a CPU, a ROM that stores a program for controlling the CPU, and a RAM used for an operation of the CPU (not shown). The vehicle control device 271 controls the electrical motor (electric motor) 272 and the like in accordance with the information for autonomous traveling acquired from the autonomous driving device 270. The electrical motor 272 provides a drive force to the two driven wheels 28R that are driven wheels of the self-propelled carriage unit 27. Electric power output from the battery 273 is supplied to the electrical motor 272. The self-propelled carriage unit 27 of the present embodiment also includes a steering control unit for steering, and the steering control unit performs control to change the wheel angle of the two front wheels 28F that are the steered wheels of the self-propelled carriage unit 27. The vehicle control device 271 includes a CPU, a ROM that stores a program for controlling the CPU, and a RAM used for an operation of the CPU (not shown).
In this way, in the vehicle 26 of the moving body management system 25 of [1] of the third embodiment, the sensor circuits 60 and 61 are provided only on a self-propelled carriage unit 27 side, so that behavior of the self-propelled carriage unit 27 can be monitored regardless of presence or absence of the cabin unit 50. Further, since it is not necessary to provide the sensor circuits 60 and 61 on a cabin unit 50 side where the number of the sensor circuits 60 and 61 is larger than the number of the self-propelled carriage units 27, an installation cost of the sensor circuits 60 and 61 can be reduced, and a degree of freedom in designing the cabin unit 50 can be increased.
([2] of Third Embodiment)
Next, a moving body management system of [2] of the third embodiment will be described.
In the moving body management system 25 of [2] of the third embodiment, the sensor circuits 60 and 61 are provided only on a cabin unit 50 side.
In
The cabin unit 92 includes the sensor circuits 60 and 61 and the wireless communication circuit 920. The wireless communication circuit 920 performs wireless communication with a wireless communication circuit 914 of the self-propelled carriage unit 91, and transmits information from the sensor circuits 60 and 61.
When determining that the cabin unit 92 is placed on the self-propelled carriage unit 91 (when determining as “Yes” in step S71), the autonomous driving device 910 requests information of the sensor circuits 60 and 61 from the cabin unit 92 (step S73). Here, transmission and reception of the information of the sensor circuits 60 and 61 is performed between the wireless communication circuit 914 of the self-propelled carriage unit 91 and the wireless communication circuit 920 of the cabin unit 92. After requesting the information of the sensor circuits 60 and 61, the autonomous driving device 910 receives the information (step S74). Next, the autonomous driving device 910 activates a monitoring system as a subroutine (step S75). Thereafter, the request for the information of the sensor circuits 60 and 61 is canceled (step S76), and the present processing is ended. The monitoring system is implemented by the autonomous driving device 910, and details of the processing will be described later.
In contrast, in
When it is determined not to start the monitoring and the traveling monitoring (when it is determined as “No” in step S91), the autonomous driving device 910 returns to step S90 and continues to acquire the information of the sensor circuits 60 and 61. When it is determined to start the monitoring and the traveling monitoring (when it is determined as “Yes” in step S91), the autonomous driving device 910 starts the monitoring and the traveling monitoring based on the information of the sensor circuits 60 and 61. Then, it is determined whether there is no abnormality in the monitoring and the traveling monitoring (step S92). When it is determined that there is an abnormality (when it is determined as “Yes” in step S92), the vehicle control device 911 is notified of the abnormality (step S93).
When starting the monitoring and the traveling monitoring and determining that there is no abnormality (when determining as “No” in step S92), the autonomous driving device 910 determines whether to end the monitoring and the traveling monitoring (step S94). When determining not to end the monitoring and the traveling monitoring (when determining as “No” in step S94), the autonomous driving device 910 returns to step S92 and continues the determination of whether there is no abnormality. When determining to end the monitoring and the traveling monitoring (when determining as “Yes” in step S94), the autonomous driving device 910 ends the present processing. Further, the vehicle control device 911 determines the end of the monitoring and the traveling monitoring, but the monitoring and the traveling monitoring may be ended in accordance with a preset schedule.
In this way, in the vehicle 90 of the moving body management system 25 of [2] of the third embodiment, the sensor circuits 60 and 61 are provided only on a cabin unit 92 side, and therefore, in a case of a vehicle having a separation structure in which vehicle heights when the cabin unit 92 is mounted and when the cabin unit 92 is not mounted are equal to each other, in addition to the function of the traveling monitoring, the vehicle 90 can be used for applications other than the traveling monitoring, such as door opening and closing monitoring and cabin unit internal monitoring.
Since positions of the sensor circuits 60 and 61 can be adjusted for each size of the cabin unit 92, a degree of freedom in designing the cabin unit 92 can be increased.
A degree of freedom in designing the self-propelled carriage unit 91 can be increased. A plurality of self-propelled carriage units 91 can be monitored by the sensor circuits 60 and 61 installed on the cabin unit 92, so that an installation cost can be reduced.
([3] of Third Embodiment)
Next, a moving body management system of [3] of the third embodiment will be described.
In the moving body management system 25 of [3] of the third embodiment, the sensor circuits 60 and 61 are provided on both the self-propelled carriage unit and the cabin unit. The sensor circuit on a self-propelled carriage unit side acquires at least information on an outside of the self-propelled carriage unit, and the sensor circuit on a cabin unit side acquires at least information on an outside of the cabin unit.
Next, the autonomous driving device 910 activates the monitoring system (step S105). The monitoring system performs monitoring based on the information from the sensor circuits 60B and 61B of the cabin unit 92. After activating the monitoring system, the autonomous driving device 910 cancels the information request of the sensor circuits 60B and 61B to the cabin unit 92 (step S106), and ends the present processing.
In contrast, in
In the moving body management system 25 of [3] of the third embodiment, when the cabin unit 92 is not placed on the self-propelled carriage unit 94, only the information from the sensor circuits 60A and 61A of the self-propelled carriage unit 94 is acquired, and when the cabin unit 92 is placed on the self-propelled carriage unit 94, only the information from the sensor circuits 60B and 61B of the cabin unit 92 is acquired. However, both the information from the sensor circuits 60A and 61A and the information from the sensor circuits 60B and 61B may be acquired simultaneously. That is, the following may be performed.
(1) The sensor circuits 60A and 61A acquire the information on the outside of the self-propelled carriage unit 94, and the sensor circuits 60B and 61B do not acquire the information on the outside of the cabin unit 92.
(2) The sensor circuits 60A and 61A do not acquire the information on the outside of the self-propelled carriage unit 94, and the sensor circuits 60B and 61B acquire the information on the outside of the cabin unit 92.
(3) The sensor circuits 60A and 61A acquire the information on the outside of the self-propelled carriage unit 94, and the sensor circuits 60B and 61B acquire the information on the outside of the cabin unit 92 simultaneously.
In this way, in the vehicle 93 of the moving body management system 25 of [3] of the third embodiment, the sensor circuits 60A and 61A necessary when the cabin unit 92 is not mounted are mounted on the self-propelled carriage unit 94 side, and the sensor circuits 60B and 61B necessary when the cabin unit 92 is mounted are mounted on the cabin unit 92 side, so that even when the cabin unit 52 having a large size, structure, or the like is placed on the self-propelled carriage unit 94 as shown in
While the present invention has been described in detail with respect to specific embodiments, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various changes and modifications can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention.
The present application is based on Japanese Patent Application (Japanese Patent Application No. 2019-206879, Japanese Patent Application No. 2019-206880, and Japanese Patent Application No. 2019-206881) filed on Nov. 15, 2019, and the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.
The present application also discloses a moving body and a traveling control switching control method for autonomous traveling of the moving body described in [A-1] to [A-10] below.
[A-1] A moving body including:
a first body including at least one steered wheel and at least one driven wheel, the first body being configured to autonomously travel by the steered wheel and the driven wheel; and
a second body attachable to and detachable from the first body,
wherein the first body includes an attribute information acquisition circuit configured to acquire attribute information of the second body,
wherein when the second body is mounted on the first body, the first body switches traveling control of autonomous traveling based on the attribute information of the second body, and
wherein the attribute information of the second body includes at least one of:
a mass of the second body,
a height in a vertical direction of an outline of the second body,
a center-of-gravity position of the second body,
an attribute of a load object that is put in the second body,
an acceleration request level of the second body, and
an allowable inclination degree of the second body.
[A-2] The moving body according to [A-1],
wherein the steered wheel and the driven wheel are the same.
[A-3] The moving body according to [A-1] or [A-2],
wherein the second body includes an attribute information holding unit configured to hold the attribute information of the second body, and
wherein the attribute information acquisition circuit of the first body is configured to acquire the attribute information held by the attribute information holding unit of the second body.
[A-4] The moving body according to [A-1] or [A-2],
wherein the second body includes an identification information holding unit configured to hold identification information of the second body,
wherein the first body includes a wireless communication circuit configured to communicate with an external server, and
wherein when the second body is mounted on the first body, the attribute information acquisition circuit acquires the identification information held by the identification information holding unit of the second body, and acquires the attribute information corresponding to the identification information via the wireless communication circuit.
[A-5] The moving body according to any one of [A-1] to [A-4],
wherein the second body includes at least a first type of second body and a second type of second body,
wherein a mass of the first type of second body is a first weight,
wherein a mass of the second type of second body is a second weight larger than the first weight,
wherein when the first type of second body is mounted on the first body, a maximum speed for a predetermined turning radius in the traveling control of the autonomous traveling is a first speed, and
wherein when the second type of second body is mounted on the first body, a maximum speed for the predetermined turning radius in the traveling control of the autonomous traveling is a second speed lower than the first speed.
[A-6] The moving body according to any one of [A-1] to [A-5],
wherein the second body includes at least a third type of second body and a fourth type of second body,
wherein a height in a vertical direction of an outline of the third type of second body is a first length,
wherein a height in a vertical direction of an outline of the fourth type of second body is a second length larger than the first length,
wherein when the third type of second body is mounted on the first body, a maximum speed for a predetermined turning radius in the traveling control of the autonomous traveling is a third speed, and
wherein when the fourth type of second body is mounted on the first body, a maximum speed for the predetermined turning radius in the traveling control of the autonomous traveling is a fourth speed lower than the third speed.
[A-7] The moving body according to any one of [A-1] to [A-6],
wherein the second body includes at least a fifth type of second body and a sixth type of second body,
wherein a height of a center-of-gravity position of the fifth type of second body is a first height,
wherein a height of a center-of-gravity position of the sixth type of second body is a second height higher than the first height,
wherein when the fifth type of second body is mounted on the first body, a maximum speed for a predetermined turning radius in the traveling control of the autonomous traveling is a fifth speed, and
wherein when the sixth type of second body is mounted on the first body, a maximum speed for the predetermined turning radius in the traveling control of the autonomous traveling is a sixth speed lower than the fifth speed.
[A-8] The moving body according to any one of [A-1] to [A-7],
wherein the second body includes at least a third type of second body and a fourth type of second body,
wherein a height in a vertical direction of an outline of the third type of second body is a first length,
wherein a height in a vertical direction of an outline of the fourth type of second body is a second length larger than the first length,
wherein when the third type of second body is mounted on the first body, a traveling route in the traveling control of the autonomous traveling is a first route, and
wherein when the fourth type of second body is mounted on the first body, a traveling route in the traveling control of the autonomous traveling is a second route in which a height limitation is less strict than that in the first route.
[A-9] The moving body according to any one of [A-1] to [A-8],
wherein the second body includes at least a seventh type of second body and an eighth type of second body,
wherein an allowable inclination degree of the seventh type of second body is a first inclination degree,
wherein an allowable inclination degree of the eighth type of second body is a second inclination degree smaller than the first inclination degree,
wherein when the seventh type of second body is mounted on the first body, a traveling route in the traveling control of the autonomous traveling is a third route, and
wherein when the eighth type of second body is mounted on the first body, a traveling route in the traveling control of the autonomous traveling is a fourth route in which a maximum inclination degree is smaller than that in the third route.
[A-10] A traveling control switching control method for autonomous traveling of a moving body, the traveling control switching control method being usable for the moving body, the moving body including a first body including at least one steered wheel and at least one driven wheel, the first body being configured to autonomously travel by the steered wheel and the driven wheel, and a second body attachable to and detachable from the first body, the traveling control switching control method including:
acquiring attribute information of the second body and switching traveling control of the autonomous traveling based on the attribute information of the second body when the second body is mounted on the first body,
wherein the attribute information of the second body includes at least one of:
a mass of the second body,
a height in a vertical direction of an outline of the second body,
a center-of-gravity position of the second body,
an attribute of a load object that is put in the second body,
an acceleration request level of the second body, and
an allowable inclination degree of the second body.
The present application also discloses a moving body described in [B-1] to [B-17] below.
[B-1] A moving body configured to autonomously operate, the moving body including:
a first body including at least one wheel, the first body being configured to travel by the wheel;
a second body attachable to and detachable from the first body; and
a sensor circuit installed on the first body, the sensor circuit being configured to acquire at least information on an outside of the first body,
wherein the sensor circuit is configured to acquire at least one of video information and sound information.
[B-2] The moving body according to [B-1],
wherein the sensor circuit includes at least an image-capturing element.
[B-3] The moving body according to [B-1] or [B-2],
wherein the sensor circuit includes at least a microphone.
[B-4] The moving body according to any one of [B-1] to [B-3],
wherein the first body is configured to travel on ground by the wheel, and
wherein when the second body is mounted on the first body, at least a part of the second body is disposed above the first body in a vertical direction.
[B-5] The moving body according to any one of [B-1] to [B-4],
wherein the first body includes a support surface configured to support at least a part of the second body, and
wherein at least a part of the sensor circuit is disposed above the support surface in a vertical direction.
[B-6] The moving body according to [B-5],
wherein at least a part of the first body includes a protruding part that protrudes upward in the vertical direction with respect to the support surface, and
wherein at least a part of the sensor circuit is disposed on the protruding part.
[B-7] The moving body according to [B-6],
wherein the protruding part of the first body is foldable.
[B-8] The moving body according to any one of [B-1] to [B-7],
wherein a traveling direction of the moving body includes a predetermined traveling direction,
wherein the sensor circuit is directed to an outside of the first body and is disposed at an end portion in the traveling direction.
[B-9] The moving body according to any one of [B-1] to [B-8],
wherein the moving body autonomously operates based on information acquired by the sensor circuit.
[B-10] The moving body according to any one of [B-1] to [B-9],
wherein at least one of the first body and the second body includes a wireless communication circuit, and
wherein the information acquired by the sensor circuit is transmitted to an outside via the wireless communication circuit.
[B-11] The moving body according to any one of [B-1] to [B-10],
wherein the sensor circuit is a first sensor circuit, and
wherein the second body includes a second sensor circuit configured to acquire at least information on an outside of the second body.
[B-12] The moving body according to [B-11],
wherein the second sensor circuit acquires at least the information on the outside of the second body simultaneously with the first sensor circuit acquiring at least the information on the outside of the first body.
[B-13] The moving body according to [B-11],
wherein the first sensor circuit acquires at least the information on the outside of the first body, and
wherein the second sensor circuit does not acquire at least the information on the outside of the second body.
[B-14] The moving body according to [B-11],
wherein the first sensor circuit does not acquire at least the information on the outside of the first body, and
wherein the second sensor circuit acquires at least the information on the outside of the second body.
[B-15] The moving body according to any one of [B-11] to [B-14],
wherein the second body on which the second sensor circuit is mounted is larger than the first body on which the first sensor circuit is mounted in a plan view.
[B-16] The moving body according to any one of [B-11] to [B-15],
wherein the second sensor circuit mounted on the second body protrudes from the first sensor circuit mounted on the first body in a horizontal direction.
[B-17] The moving body according to any one of [B-1] to [B-16],
wherein the autonomous operation includes autonomous driving.
A moving body management system of the present disclosure is useful for a system that manages a vehicle that can move autonomously such as a motorcycle and an automobile.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
---|---|---|---|
2019-206879 | Nov 2019 | JP | national |
2019-206880 | Nov 2019 | JP | national |
2019-206881 | Nov 2019 | JP | national |
This is a continuation of International Application No. PCT/JP2020/038811 filed on Oct. 14, 2020, and claims priority from Japanese Patent Application No. 2019-206879 filed on Nov. 15, 2019, Japanese Patent Application No. 2019-206880 filed on Nov. 15, 2019, and Japanese Patent Application No. 2019-206881 filed on Nov. 15, 2019, the entire content of which is incorporated herein by reference.
Number | Date | Country | |
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Parent | PCT/JP2020/038811 | Oct 2020 | US |
Child | 17742932 | US |