Autonomous travelling cart system
AssigneeToshiba Tec Kabushiki Kaisha
InventorHiroki Kanno
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
An autonomously traveling cart system includes a mover, a memory, a position detector, and a processor. The mover moves a cart main body. The memory stores map data indicating an autonomously traveling cart storage space installed in an area where the cart main body is movable. The position detector detects a position of the cart main body. The processor designs a moving route from the position of the cart main body which the position detector detects toward the autonomously traveling cart storage space indicated by the map data, and allows the cart main body to move toward the autonomously traveling cart storage space by the mover.
Claims12
An autonomously traveling cart system comprising:
- a mover configured to move a cart main body;
- a memory configured to store map data indicating:
- an autonomously traveling cart storage space installed in an area where the cart main body is movable, and
- a place to be avoided;
- a position detector configured to detect a position of the cart main body within the area;
- and
- a processor configured to:
- determine a moving route from the position toward the autonomously traveling cart storage space,
- cause the mover to move the cart main body toward the autonomously traveling cart storage space based on the moving route,
- record the position over time,
- determine a variation of the position over an interval,
- compare the variation to a threshold, and
- cause the mover to move the cart main body along the moving route after determining that the variation is less than the threshold.
A cart comprising:
- a cart main body;
- a wheel coupled to the cart main body, the wheel rotatable along a surface and moveable with respect to the surface;
- a motor coupled to the wheel, the motor configured to cause the wheel to rotate along the surface and to cause the wheel to move with respect to the surface;
- a position detector coupled to the cart main body and configured to determine a position of the cart main body;
- a memory configured to store map data indicating a place to be avoided;
- and
- a processor communicable with the motor and the position detector, the processor configured to:
- cause the motor to move the cart along a first moving route between the position and a first autonomously traveling cart storage space,
- record the position over time,
- determine a variation of the position over an interval,
- compare the variation to a threshold, and
- cause the motor to move the cart along the first moving route after determining that the variation is less than the threshold.
A system comprising:
- a charging facility located at a first autonomously traveling cart storage space;
- and
- a cart comprising:
- a cart main body,
- a wheel coupled to the cart main body, the wheel rotatable along a surface and moveable with respect to the surface,
- a motor coupled to the wheel, the motor configured to cause the wheel to rotate along the surface and to cause the wheel to move with respect to the surface,
- a position detector coupled to the cart main body and configured to determine a position of the cart main body,
- a memory configured to store map data indicating a place to be avoided,
- an obstacle detector coupled to the cart main body, the obstacle detector configured to detect at least one obstacle proximate the cart main body, and
- a processor communicable with the motor, the position detector, and the obstacle detector, the processor configured to:
- compare the position to a first storage space location associated with the first autonomously traveling cart storage space,
- cause the motor to move the cart along a first moving route,
- adjust the first moving route in response to the obstacle detector detecting the at least one obstacle,
- record the position over time,
- determine a variation of the position over an interval,
- compare the variation to a threshold, and
- cause the motor to move the cart along the first moving route after determining that the variation is less than the threshold.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.