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JP-2026074652-A - Control system for autonomous robots, autonomous robots, and power supply method for autonomous robots

JP2026074652AJP 2026074652 AJP2026074652 AJP 2026074652AJP-2026074652-A

Abstract

[Problem] The objective is to provide technology that reduces the time that autonomous work robots are stopped from operating in order to charge their batteries. [Solution] An autonomous robot control system comprising one or more autonomous robots equipped with a battery, a power supply device installed at one or more work locations where the autonomous robots perform work and which charges the battery using a contactless power supply method, and a management device for managing the operation of the autonomous robots, wherein the management device moves the autonomous robot to the work location and has it perform the work, and also has the power supply device provide contactless power to the battery for at least a portion of the time until the work is completed. [Selection Diagram] Figure 1

Inventors

  • 松下 克己

Assignees

  • オムロン株式会社

Dates

Publication Date
20260507
Application Date
20241021

Claims (7)

  1. One or more autonomous work robots equipped with batteries, A power supply device is installed in one or more work locations where the autonomous work robot performs its work, and charges the battery using a contactless power supply method. A management device for managing the operation of the autonomous work robot, It has, If the management device has a scheduled task for the autonomous work robot to perform and the power supply device is installed at the work location where the task will be performed, it will move the autonomous work robot to the work location and have it perform the task, and will also have the power supply device provide contactless power to the battery for at least a portion of the time until the task is completed. Control system for autonomous work robots.
  2. The aforementioned control device is If there is an autonomous work robot that is not scheduled to perform any work, and a work location where no work is being performed, the autonomous work robot that is not scheduled to perform any work is moved to the work location where no work is being performed, and contactless power is supplied from the power supply device to the battery. A control system for an autonomous work robot according to claim 1.
  3. The aforementioned control device is The system acquires information regarding the charge rate of each of the autonomous work robots' batteries, prioritizes moving autonomous work robots equipped with batteries that have a low charge rate and are not scheduled to perform any work, moves them to work locations where no work is being performed, and has the power supply device perform contactless power supply to the batteries. A control system for an autonomous work robot according to claim 2.
  4. The aforementioned control device is If there are multiple work locations where the aforementioned work is not being performed, the autonomous work robot that is not scheduled to perform the aforementioned work will be moved to the work location where work has been suspended for a longer period of time, and contactless power will be supplied from the power supply device to the storage battery. A control system for an autonomous work robot according to claim 2.
  5. An autonomous work robot comprising a storage battery, a power receiving unit for supplying power to the storage battery using a contactless power supply method, and a control unit, The control unit, The autonomous work robot is moved to a work location where it can perform the task it is to perform. If a power supply device for supplying power to the battery using a contactless power supply method is installed at the work site, the autonomous work robot will perform the work and receive power to the battery via the power receiving unit. Autonomous work robot.
  6. A method for supplying power to one or more autonomous work robots equipped with a battery, The autonomous robot will install power supply devices at multiple work locations where it performs tasks, which will supply power to the battery using a contactless power supply method. Moving the autonomous work robot, which is scheduled to perform the aforementioned task, to the work location where the aforementioned task can be performed, The autonomous work robot is made to perform the work at the work site, and power is supplied from the power supply device to the storage battery for at least a portion of the period until the work is completed. including, Power supply methods for autonomous work robots.
  7. To determine whether there are any autonomous work robots that are not scheduled to perform work, and any work locations where work is not being performed, If there are autonomous robots that are not scheduled to perform the aforementioned tasks, and work locations where the aforementioned tasks are not being performed, move the autonomous robots that are not scheduled to perform the aforementioned tasks to the work locations where the aforementioned tasks are not being performed, and supply power from the power supply device to the storage battery. Further including, A method for supplying power to an autonomous work robot according to claim 6.

Description

This invention relates to a control system for an autonomous robot, an autonomous robot, and a power supply method for an autonomous robot. Conventionally, autonomous work systems that allow autonomous work robots to autonomously navigate along a work path and perform tasks at predetermined work locations have been known (for example, Patent Document 1). Patent Document 1 discloses an autonomous mobile system that allows an autonomous mobile robot to autonomously navigate within a predetermined area. Furthermore, since autonomous robots are powered by the electricity from their onboard batteries, charging the batteries at some point before their remaining capacity is depleted is necessary for the system to operate smoothly. Japanese Patent Publication No. 2022-112212 Figure 1 is a schematic diagram showing the general configuration of an autonomous work system according to an embodiment of the present invention.Figure 2 is a block diagram illustrating the schematic functional configuration of the power supply device according to this embodiment.Figure 3 is a block diagram illustrating the schematic functional configuration of an autonomous work robot according to this embodiment.Figure 4A is a block diagram showing a schematic hardware configuration of the management device according to the embodiment. Figure 4B is a block diagram showing a partial functional configuration of the management device according to the embodiment.Figure 5A shows an example of information relating to the status of an autonomous work robot referenced by the management device according to the embodiment. Figure 5B shows an example of information relating to the status of a work area referenced by the management device according to the embodiment.Figure 6 is a flowchart showing an example of the power supply process to an autonomous work robot performed by the autonomous work system according to the embodiment. <Examples of application> (Overall system configuration related to the application example) The present invention can be applied, for example, as an autonomous work system 1 as shown in Figure 1. The autonomous work system 1 comprises a plurality of autonomous work robots 20a, 20b, 20c, 20d, 20e..., a plurality of work locations 30a, 30b, 30c, 30d, 30e..., power supply devices 40a, 40b, 40c, 40d, 40e... installed at each work location, and a management device 10 for managing these. The autonomous work system 1 is, It can be implemented not only in fully automated workplaces but also in environments where collaborative work between humans and robots is anticipated. For example, it can be introduced in factories, warehouses, commercial facilities, hospitals, schools, government offices, and construction sites. In the following, unless otherwise specified, autonomous work robots 20a, 20b, 20c, 20d, and 20e will also be referred to as autonomous work robots 20, work areas 30a, 30b, 30c, 30d, and 30e as work areas 30, and power supply devices 40a, 40b, 40c, 40d, and 40e as power supply devices 40. Each autonomous work robot 20 is equipped with a battery (not shown in Figure 1), and is configured to autonomously move and perform tasks at each work site using the power stored in the battery as a power source. Note that the autonomous work robots 20 included in the autonomous work system 1 do not all need to be of the same type; multiple types of autonomous work robots 20 with different functions (roles) may be included. The work area 30 is the area where the autonomous robot 20 performs its work. It may be a workbench where the autonomous robot 20 processes the workpiece independently, or it may be an area where collaborative work is performed with workers or other equipment (not shown), such as near the start or end point of a transport lane, or a pickup location on a loading rack. At least one of the work areas 30 is equipped with a power supply device 40. The power supply device 40 includes a power transmission unit (not shown) that supplies power to the battery of the autonomous work robot 20 using a wireless power transfer (WPT) method. That is, the autonomous work robot 20 is equipped with a power receiving unit (not shown) that receives power via WPT. The management device 10 is an information processing device responsible for managing and controlling the entire autonomous work system 1, and can be configured using a general-purpose computer system. The management device 10 may be configured using a single computer system, or it may be realized through the coordinated operation of multiple computer systems. In this application example, the management device 10 manages the State of Charge (SOC) of the batteries of each autonomous work robot 20 and controls the power supply to each autonomous work robot 20 to avoid, as much as possible, situations where the SOC becomes significantly low. Specifically, if the autonomous work robot 20 has a scheduled task to be performed and the power supply device 40 is installed at the work loc