JPWO2019045065A1 - Connectable traveling vehicle - Google Patents

Abstract

Crossing performance is improved by connecting multiple independent autonomous robots. In the connection mode, the two autonomous mobile robots 100 and 200 of the same type are connected by the arm 300. The automatic traveling robot 100 is arranged on the rear side, and the automatic traveling robot 200 is arranged on the front side. Furthermore, it is also possible to connect three or more automatic traveling robots of the same type via another arm 300. In the connected mode, when the front automatic traveling robot gets over the obstacle, the rear automatic traveling robot assists the front automatic traveling robot to get over the obstacle by pushing the front automatic traveling robot through the arm. When the vehicle has passed over an obstacle, the rear automatic traveling robot is pulled through the arm to assist the rear automatic traveling robot in getting over the obstacle.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a connectable traveling vehicle in which a plurality of single traveling vehicles can be connected to each other to improve crossing performance.

Highly rough ground crossing performance is required for automatic robots used for exploration and work on the moon, planets, exploration and various works at construction sites on the earth, disaster sites, volcanic areas, etc. Therefore, it has been proposed to improve the rough ground crossing performance by using a crawler for the wheels while keeping the center of gravity relatively low (for example, Patent Document 1).

In addition, various types of automatic traveling robots have been proposed for the purpose of overcoming obstacles having high steps. For example, Patent Document 2 proposes a crawler robot in a form in which a triangular crawler device as a main body and a driven crawler device separately from the triangular crawler device are connected by a link. According to Patent Document 2, it is possible to overcome a high obstacle by using such a configuration.

WO2016/129139 JP 2007-237991 A

However, there is a limit to the ability of one single traveling vehicle to get over obstacles, and improvement of rough terrain crossing performance is also limited.

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a connectable traveling vehicle capable of improving the crossing performance by connecting a plurality of single traveling vehicles.

In order to solve the above problems, a connectable traveling vehicle of the present invention is a vehicle body, a first drive wheel provided on the vehicle body, a drive unit for driving the drive wheel, and the vehicle body. A fixed part fixed to the upper part, an arm part extending from the fixed part forward of the vehicle main body, a hand provided at the tip of the arm part and capable of being combined with a clamped part of another forward traveling vehicle positioned forward in the traveling direction. And a clamped portion that is provided on the upper portion of the vehicle body and that is coupled by the hand portion of another backward traveling vehicle that is located rearward in the traveling direction.

It is preferable that a crawler is wound around the first drive wheel.

The clamp portion may be detachably fixed to the vehicle body.

Further, a flipper having a crawler wrapped around it is provided so as to project forward and upward of the vehicle body, and the crawler wrapped around the flipper can be driven by the drive unit.

A rear frame may be provided at a rear portion of the vehicle body.

In the connection mode in which the connectable traveling vehicle is connected to the front traveling vehicle by the clamp portion, when the front traveling vehicle gets over an obstacle, the front traveling vehicle is pushed by pushing the front traveling vehicle through the arm portion. In a connection mode in which a vehicle traveling in front of the vehicle travels over an obstacle and is connected by a clamp portion of the vehicle traveling in the rear direction and a vehicle traveling in the vehicle traveling in the rear direction, the vehicle travels rearward through the arm portion when the vehicle itself passes over the obstacle. Pulling the vehicle assists in overcoming obstacles of the backward traveling vehicle.

By connecting the plurality of traveling vehicles via the arm portion, it is possible to improve the crossing performance of the connected plurality of traveling vehicles as a whole.

1 is a perspective view of a traveling vehicle in which two vehicles are connected by an arm according to an embodiment of the present invention. 1 is a side view of a traveling vehicle in which two vehicles are connected by an arm according to an embodiment of the present invention. 1 is a plan view of a traveling vehicle in which two vehicles are connected by an arm according to an embodiment of the present invention. It is a side view for explaining each section of the running vehicle concerning one embodiment of the present invention. It is the figure which showed the experiment which gets over a low obstacle in single mode. It is the figure which showed the experiment which gets over a low obstacle in single mode. It is the figure which showed the experiment which gets over a low obstacle in single mode. It is the figure which showed the experiment which gets over a low obstacle in single mode. It is the figure which showed the experiment which gets over a low obstacle in single mode. It is the figure which showed the experiment which gets over a low obstacle in single mode. It is the figure which showed the experiment which gets over a low obstacle in single mode. It is the figure which showed the experiment which gets over a low obstacle in single mode. It is the figure which showed the experiment which gets over a high obstacle in single mode. It is the figure which showed the experiment which gets over a high obstacle in single mode. It is the figure which showed the experiment which gets over a high obstacle in single mode. It is the figure which showed the experiment which gets over a high obstacle in single mode. It is the figure which showed the experiment which gets over a high obstacle in single mode. It is the figure which showed the experiment which gets over a high obstacle in single mode. It is the figure which showed the experiment which gets over a high obstacle in connection mode. It is the figure which showed the experiment which gets over a high obstacle in connection mode. It is the figure which showed the experiment which gets over a high obstacle in connection mode. It is the figure which showed the experiment which gets over a high obstacle in connection mode. It is the figure which showed the experiment which gets over a high obstacle in connection mode. It is the figure which showed the experiment which gets over a high obstacle in connection mode. It is the figure which showed the experiment which gets over a high obstacle in connection mode. It is the figure which showed the experiment which gets over a high obstacle in connection mode. It is the figure which showed the experiment which gets over a high obstacle in connection mode. It is the figure which showed the experiment which gets over a high obstacle in connection mode. It is the figure which showed the experiment which gets over a high obstacle in connection mode. It is the figure which showed the experiment which gets over a high obstacle in connection mode. It is the figure which showed the experiment which gets over a high obstacle in connection mode.

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

1A to 1C show, as an embodiment of a connectable traveling vehicle according to the present invention, a state in which two connectable traveling vehicles 100 and 200 are connected by an arm 300, and FIG. A perspective view, FIG. 1B is a side view, and FIG. 1C is a plan view. The left side of FIG. 1B is the front (direction of travel), and the right side is the rear. The traveling vehicle 100 is disposed on the rear side and the traveling vehicle 200 is disposed on the front side. However, the traveling vehicle 100 may be arranged on the front side and the traveling vehicle 200 may be arranged on the rear side. Although omitted in FIGS. 1A to 1C, the traveling vehicle 200 is also provided with a clamp portion (described later) including the arm 300. Further, it is possible to connect three or more traveling vehicles of the same type via the arm 300 of another traveling vehicle. Further, in the present embodiment, a case where the traveling vehicle is operated alone is referred to as a single mode, and a case where two or more traveling vehicles are connected by the arm 300 and operated is referred to as a connection mode.

FIG. 2 is a side view on the left side in the traveling direction, which is somewhat simplified in order to explain each part of the clamp part including the traveling vehicle 100 and the arm 300. The main body of the traveling vehicle 100 is provided with drive wheels 10 and rolling wheels 12, 14, 16 and 18 on the rear side. A crawler 20 is wound around the driving wheel 10 and the rolling wheels 12, 14, 16 and 18. A similar crawler 20 is also wound around the right side surface of the traveling vehicle 100 in the traveling direction.

By driving the drive wheels 10, the rollers 12, 14, 16, 18 and the crawlers 20 rotate, and move forward (leftward in the figure), move backward (rightward in the figure), rotate, etc. Is possible. By using the crawler 20, the crossing performance on rough terrain is improved as compared with the case where only the wheels are used, but an embodiment in which the crawler is not used is also possible. In the present embodiment, the drive wheel is provided on the rear side of the main body as an example, but it may be provided on the central portion of the main body or on the front side of the main body, or on both the rear and front portions.

A flipper 30 is provided at a front portion of the traveling vehicle 100 so as to project obliquely upward and forward from a portion of the wheel 18. The flipper 30 is configured such that the rolling wheels 18 and the guide wheels 34 are provided at both ends of the flipper frame 32, and the flipper crawler 36 is wound between them. That is, the rolling wheel 18 is shared by the crawler 20 and the flipper crawler 36. Below the flipper frame 32, a sliding back plate 38 that replaces the guide wheel is provided.

When the driving wheel 10 is driven, the roller wheel 18 rotates as the crawler 20 rotates, and the flipper crawler 36 also rotates in conjunction with the rotation of the roller wheel 18. That is, the crawler 20 and the flipper crawler 36 are synchronously driven together by one driving device (motor). The rotation direction of the flipper crawler 36 is the same as the rotation direction of the crawler 20. By providing such a flipper 30, it is possible to improve the ability to get over an obstacle in front. In particular, even when the wall surface of the obstacle is more than 90° and is inclined toward the traveling vehicle, the possibility of getting over it increases by providing the flipper 30. Therefore, it is desirable to provide the flipper 30 in order to improve the ability to get over the obstacle, but it is not essential to provide the flipper in the present invention.

A clamp portion including the arm 300 is provided on the upper portion of the traveling vehicle 100. The clamp part includes the fixed part 52, the arm 300, and the hand 70 provided at the tip of the arm 300. In the fixed part 52, the clamp part is detachably attached to the upper part of the main body. The arm 300 includes a rear half portion 62 on the side of the fixed portion 52 and a front half portion 64 on the front end side with the elastic damper 60 as a central portion, and is configured such that the central portion where the elastic bumper 60 is located is higher than both end portions. There is. The shape of the arm 300 is designed so as not to interfere with the traveling vehicle main body when overcoming an obstacle to be described later, but if it does not interfere with the traveling vehicle main body, for example, another upward convex arc shape. It can also be

It is desirable that the overall length of the arm 300 is set in consideration of the fact that the overcoming performance is sufficiently improved when overcoming an obstacle in the coupled mode as compared with the overtime mode. The elastic damper 60 and the torque limiter 61 are used when the rear traveling vehicle exerts excessive force in the direction of pushing the front traveling vehicle and when the front traveling vehicle exerts excessive force pulling the rear traveling vehicle. In addition, it is designed to passively release this excessive force to prevent the arms from being bent or broken.

A connected clamped portion 54 is further provided on the upper portion of the traveling vehicle 100. The connected clamped portion 54 is clamped by a hand 70 (described later) provided at the tip of the front half portion 64 of the traveling vehicle 100 when the traveling vehicle 100 is coupled to the rear side of the traveling vehicle 100. It is supposed to be done. The fixed portion 52 is provided with a drive shaft 56 for raising and lowering the arm 300 when working in the single mode. In the connection mode in which the arm 300 connects to another traveling vehicle, the angle of the drive shaft 56 is driven. Although not shown in FIG. 2, a swivel shaft is also provided at the base of the arm 300, and swivel operation in a horizontal plane is also possible.

An elastic damper 66 for allowing twisting (rolling) of the arm 300 is provided substantially at the center of the rear half portion 62. A hand 70 is provided at the tip of the front half portion 64 via a drive shaft 68 so as to be rotatable around the drive shaft 68. In the single mode, the drive shaft 68 and the hand 70 can be used to perform various operations such as sampling. On the other hand, in the connection mode, the hand 70 is clamped and fixed to the connection clamped portion 54 of the traveling vehicle ahead. Further, in the single unit mode, the clamp part including the arm 300 can be removed if unnecessary.

A right-angled triangular rear frame 90 is provided at the rear end of the traveling vehicle 100. The rear frame 90 has a portion corresponding to the hypotenuse of the right triangle extending obliquely upward from the inner portion of the drive wheel 10. A sliding plate made of a resin having good sliding property is attached to the portion corresponding to the oblique side. When the rear frame 90 moves forward and crosses over an obstacle, the sliding plate slides on the upper portion of the obstacle after passing over, so that the rear portion of the main body can land smoothly without falling from the obstacle. Help to do. In other words, it functions as if there is a simple flipper at the rear part (tail part) of the traveling vehicle 100. The rear frame 90 may be removable from the main body. Further, the shape of the rear frame 90 may be any shape as long as the rear portion of the main body can land smoothly, and is not limited to the right triangle.

Next, the obstacle passing performance of the traveling vehicle in the single mode and the connected mode will be described. FIGS. 3A to 3H, FIGS. 4A to 4F, and FIGS. 5A to 5M simply show the states of the actually conducted experiments. Further, on the left side of these figures, a scale for indicating the height of the obstacle is shown.

3A to 3H show a state in which an experiment was carried out in which the traveling vehicle 100 travels from the right to the left in the single mode to get over the obstacle 92 having the height h. As shown in FIG. 3B, when the flipper 30 of the traveling vehicle 100 traveling to the left comes into contact with an obstacle 92 provided in the front and the traveling vehicle 100 further proceeds to the left, the flipper 30 serves as a guide, and FIG. As shown in FIG. 3D, the front side rides on the obstacle 92 while inclining clockwise, and finally the entire body climbs on the obstacle 92 as shown in FIG. 3E. When the crawler of the traveling vehicle 100 further rotates, the traveling vehicle 100 can move to the left and get off the obstacle 90 to get over the obstacle 90, as shown in FIGS. 3F, 3G, and 3H.

Next, a case where the obstacle 94 having a height of 2h is overcome in the single mode will be described with reference to FIGS. 4A to 4F. As in the case of the obstacle 90 having the height h, when the flipper 30 of the traveling vehicle 100 comes into contact with the obstacle 94 and proceeds further, the traveling vehicle 100 rotates clockwise as shown in FIGS. 4C, 4D, and 4E. Although the vehicle inclines, the traveling vehicle 100 cannot ride on the obstacle 94 after the traveling vehicle 100 is vertically oriented upward as shown in FIG. 4E because the height of the obstacle 94 is too high. , Tilted backward due to the position of the center of gravity and fell as shown in FIG. 4F. As described above, the traveling vehicle 100 in the single mode may not be able to get over when the height of the obstacle becomes high.

Next, a case where the obstacle 94 having the same height 2h is overcome in the connection mode will be described with reference to FIGS. 5A to 5M. In this connection mode, the traveling vehicle 100 is a rear vehicle and the traveling vehicle 200 is a front vehicle, and both are connected by a clamp portion including the arm 300. In the connected mode, the traveling vehicles 100 and 200 both drive their own drive wheels 10 to move.

As shown in FIG. 5A, when the flipper 30 of the traveling vehicle 200 in front abuts the obstacle 94 and the traveling vehicles 100 and 200 further advance, the traveling vehicle 200 tilts clockwise as shown in FIGS. 5B and 5C. 4E and 4F in the case of the single mode, the traveling vehicle 200 on the rear side is pushed by the crawler of the traveling vehicle 200 on the front side against the obstacle 94 via the arm 300. Is prevented from falling to the rear side and becomes vertically upward along the side wall of the obstacle 94 as shown in FIG. 5D.

At this time, the traveling vehicle 200 is pushed horizontally from the rear via the arm 300 as shown by the arrow, so that the frictional force between the crawler and the obstacle of the traveling vehicle 200 is increased and the climbing force is improved. When the crawler of the traveling vehicle 200 rotates in this state, the traveling vehicle 200 moves upward as indicated by the arrow. That is, the rear traveling vehicle 100 assists the front traveling vehicle 200 in getting over the obstacle. At this time, the drive shafts 56 and 68 (see FIG. 2) need only be driven in a driven manner.

When the central portion of the crawler of the traveling vehicle 200 exceeds the upper end portion of the obstacle 94, the traveling vehicle 200 rotates counterclockwise as shown in FIG. 5E and rides on the obstacle 94 as shown in FIG. 5F. Further, as shown in FIGS. 5G and 5H, the obstacle 94 is overcome.

Then, when the traveling vehicles 100 and 200 drive their own driving wheels 10 and move further to the left side, as shown in FIG. , The traveling vehicle 100 inclines clockwise as shown in FIG. 5K.

At this time, the traveling vehicle 200 on the front side pulls the traveling vehicle 100 on the rear side to the left (front side) in the drawing via the arm 300, and the rearward fall of the traveling vehicle 100 is prevented. As indicated by the arrow, the crawler of the traveling vehicle 100 is attracted to the side surface of the obstacle 94, the frictional force between the crawler of the traveling vehicle 100 and the obstacle is increased, and the climbing force is improved. As the crawler of the traveling vehicle 100 rotates, the traveling vehicle 100 moves upward along the side wall of the obstacle 94. In this way, the front traveling vehicle 200 assists the rear traveling vehicle 100 in getting over the obstacle.

Further, the traveling vehicle 100 is pulled leftward by the traveling vehicle 200 and the crawler of the traveling vehicle 100 rotates, so that the traveling vehicle 100 rides on the obstacle 94 as shown in FIG. 5L, and further the obstacle 94 as shown in FIG. 5M. get over. Also at this time, the drive shafts 56 and 68 (see FIG. 2) need only be driven in a driven manner. After that, the rear portion (tail portion) of the traveling vehicle 100 at the rear is expected to suddenly drop from the obstacle 94, but the rear frame 90 (see FIG. 2) suppresses the sudden drop accompanying the impact at that time.

As described above, when the two traveling vehicles are set to the coupling mode in which the arms 300 and the clamp portion including the hand 70 are coupled to each other, when the traveling vehicle 200 in the front passes over the obstacle, the traveling vehicle 100 in the rear assists the overcoming operation. When the traveling vehicle 100 in the rear passes over the obstacle, the traveling vehicle 200 in the front assists the overpassing operation to overcome the obstacle at a height which cannot be overcome by the traveling vehicle alone in the single mode. This makes it possible to improve the ability to overcome obstacles.

When overcoming an irregular obstacle such as a large rock different from the artificial and orthogonal obstacles shown in FIGS. 3A to 3H, 4A to 4F, and 5A to 5M, The arm 300 may try to be (dynamically) twisted due to the difference in the grounding direction and inclination of the traveling vehicle 200 and the traveling vehicle 100 behind. In such a case, since the elastic damper 66 (see FIG. 2) copes with such a twist, it is possible for the connected traveling vehicle as a whole to flexibly overcome such an irregular obstacle. Further, with respect to inclination and bending of the forward traveling vehicle 200 and the rearward traveling vehicle 100 with respect to the propulsion direction, which may occur when getting over an irregular obstacle, the rotation axis provided at the base of the arm 300 is driven. Can respond.

In the present embodiment, the two traveling vehicles 100 and 200 have been described as traveling vehicles of the same type. It is certainly desirable to connect a plurality of identical traveling vehicles in terms of cost reduction by mass-producing a large number of traveling vehicles. However, from the viewpoint of improving the obstacle transfer performance, which is the main effect of the present invention, it is not always necessary that the traveling vehicles that connect two or more vehicles in the connected mode are exactly the same. For example, even if a plurality of traveling vehicles to be connected have slightly different shapes and performances, at least an arm or an equivalent thereof can be connected to each other so as to be within the technical scope of the present invention. It should be understood that they are included, and the term “same type” in the present specification includes those having some difference in the structure and function.

By setting the traveling vehicle according to the present invention in the connected mode, it becomes possible to get over a high obstacle that cannot be overcome in the single mode. Therefore, for example, by transporting a single traveling vehicle separately to other celestial bodies such as the moon and planets with a small rocket with a small payload, and linking multiple of these on the spot to make it a connected mode, high obstacles It can be used for future space applications because it can be provided with the ability to ride over objects. Also, as a ground application, it can be used for various work in a narrow space under a highway or in a building construction site where people are difficult to enter because of a low ceiling but there are obstacles inside. ..

Further, for example, when performing various operations using a large number of traveling vehicles in a wide area, if an obstacle that cannot be overcome by a single traveling vehicle is found, a plurality of single traveling vehicles may be separated from each other as necessary. It is also conceivable to use the method of connecting each other into the connection mode, overcoming obstacles in this state, and then returning to the original single mode to continue the work.

10 Drive Wheels 12, 14, 16, 18 Rolling Wheel 20 Crawler 30 Flipper 32 Flipper Frame 34 Guide Wheel 36 Flipper Crawler 38 Sliding Back Plate 52 Fixing Part 54 Clamped Part for Connection 56 Drive Shaft 60, 66 Elastic Damper 70 Hand 90 Rear frame 92,94 Obstacle 100,200 Traveling vehicle 300 Arm

Claims (7)

The vehicle body,
A first drive wheel provided on the vehicle body;
A drive unit for driving the drive wheels,
A fixed portion fixed to the upper portion of the vehicle body, an arm portion extending from the fixed portion to the front side of the vehicle body, and a clamped portion of another forward traveling vehicle that is provided at the tip of the arm portion and is located forward of the traveling direction. Clamp part with possible hand part,
A clamped portion that is provided on the upper portion of the vehicle body and that is coupled by the hand portion of another backward traveling vehicle that is located rearward in the traveling direction,
A traveling vehicle that is equipped with and is connectable to other traveling vehicles. The connectable traveling vehicle according to claim 1, wherein a crawler is wound around the first drive wheel. The connectable traveling vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the clamp portion is detachably fixed to the vehicle body. 2. A flipper having a crawler wrapped around it, which is provided so as to project forward and upward of the vehicle body, and is configured to drive the crawler wrapped around the flipper by the drive unit. The connectable traveling vehicle according to any one of claims 1 to 3. The connectable traveling vehicle according to any one of claims 1 to 4, further comprising a rear frame provided at a rear portion of the vehicle body. In the connection mode in which the forward traveling vehicle is connected by the clamp portion, when the forward traveling vehicle gets over an obstacle, the obstacle of the forward traveling vehicle is pushed by pushing the forward traveling vehicle through the arm portion. In the connection mode, which assists in getting over and is connected by the clamps of the backward traveling vehicle and the backward traveling vehicle, when the vehicle overruns an obstacle, the backward traveling vehicle is pulled by the arm portion. The connectable traveling vehicle according to any one of claims 1 to 5, which assists in overcoming an obstacle of the traveling vehicle. A connectable traveling vehicle that travels in a connection mode in which a plurality of the connectable traveling vehicles according to any one of claims 1 to 6 are connected by the clamp portion and the clamped portion.

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