JP2000006062A - Leg type mobile robot - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a leg type mobile robot which prevents output voltage of operating power supply from dropping to operation ensuring voltage or lower while the leg type mobile robot is operating by suppressing reduction in the availability efficiency of the operating power supply and an increase in weight. SOLUTION: This leg type mobile robot is provided with an operation control means 11, a capacitor 2 which supplies operating power supply to the leg type mobile robot, a voltage detecting means 5, a fuel cell 8, a charging means 9 charging the capacitor 2, a voltage drop detecting means 16 which determines whether or not the output voltage of the capacitor 2 drops less than the prescribed operation ensuring voltage when operation is started and performed, and an operation management means 14 which orders the stop of the operation to the operation control means 11 or makes a change to the operation to contents executable with the output voltage of the capacitor 2 detected by the voltage detecting means 5 for performing it, when the voltage drop detecting means 16 determines that the output power supply of the capacitor 2 drops less than the operation ensuring voltage.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a legged mobile robot, and more particularly, to controlling the operation of a legged mobile robot according to the output voltage of a built-in power supply.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, when a legged mobile robot performs an operation such as walking for a predetermined distance, an operation sequence of an actuator such as a motor provided in the legged mobile robot according to the content of the operation. Is determined, and each actuator is operated according to the operation sequence.
A device that performs the operation is known. And
As an operating power supply mounted on the legged mobile robot, a secondary battery such as a nickel-cadmium battery or a lithium-ion battery is generally employed.

[0003] However, since the weight of the secondary battery increases as the charging capacity increases, the charging capacity of the rechargeable battery that can be mounted is limited in consideration of the decrease in walking performance of the legged mobile robot. Therefore, the operable time of the legged mobile robot equipped with the secondary battery as the operating power source must be short (for example, 30 minutes).

Therefore, a fuel cell having a larger energy capacity per weight (corresponding to a charging capacity) than a secondary battery is adopted as a power supply for operating a legged mobile robot, and the fuel cell is mounted on the legged mobile robot. Can be considered. However, since the instantaneous maximum output of the fuel cell is lower than the instantaneous maximum output of the secondary battery, it is difficult to directly operate the legged mobile robot with the output of the fuel cell.

[0005] Therefore, a small-capacity secondary battery is charged by the output of the fuel cell and power for operating the legged mobile robot is extracted from the secondary battery, which is necessary for the operation of the legged mobile robot. It is conceivable to secure an instantaneous supply of large power.

Here, in the case of the legged mobile robot, the power consumption when walking is much larger than the power consumption when stopping. Therefore, when an operation with large power consumption such as fast walking is performed, the current supplied from the secondary battery to the legged mobile robot may be larger than the charging current supplied from the fuel cell to the secondary battery. .

In this case, since the charge charged in the secondary battery is discharged, the output voltage of the secondary battery decreases, but the remaining charge of the secondary battery is small, and When the operation with large power consumption is performed in the state where the output voltage is low,
During the execution of the operation, there is a possibility that the output voltage of the secondary battery decreases until it becomes lower than the operation guarantee voltage of the legged mobile robot. When the output voltage of the secondary battery becomes lower than the operation guarantee voltage of the legged mobile robot, normal operation of the legged mobile robot becomes impossible.

Therefore, the output voltage of the secondary battery is detected when the legged mobile robot starts operation, and when the operation is started with the detected output voltage, the secondary battery is detected during execution of the operation. It is desirable to determine whether or not the output voltage falls below the operation assurance voltage, and when it is determined that the output voltage drops, the execution of the operation is stopped.

However, the internal resistance of the secondary battery changes depending on the temperature of the secondary battery and the remaining charge amount, and the output voltage of the secondary battery also changes according to the change in the internal resistance. Therefore, when the operation of the legged mobile robot is started, it has been difficult to accurately determine whether or not the output voltage of the secondary battery drops below the operation guarantee voltage when the operation is executed.

[0010] Then, it is erroneously determined whether or not the output voltage of the secondary battery drops below the operation guarantee voltage. During the operation of the legged mobile robot, the output voltage of the secondary battery is lower than the operation guarantee voltage. When this happens, there is a disadvantage that the legged mobile robot cannot operate normally as described above.

In order to prevent such an erroneous determination, the operation is started only when the output voltage of the secondary battery at the time of starting the operation has a considerable margin with respect to the operation guarantee voltage. However, in this case, it is necessary to mount a secondary battery having a larger capacity than the actually required charging capacity on the legged mobile robot. Therefore, the ratio of the actually used charge amount to the charge capacity of the secondary battery is reduced, so that the use efficiency of the secondary battery is deteriorated and the weight of the secondary battery is increased.

[0012]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention solves the above-mentioned disadvantages, suppresses the use efficiency of the power supply for operation and suppresses an increase in weight, and suppresses the output of the power supply during operation of the legged mobile robot. It is an object of the present invention to provide a legged mobile robot in which a voltage is prevented from being lower than an operation guarantee voltage.

[0013]

In order to achieve the above object, a legged mobile robot according to the present invention comprises an operation control means for controlling the operation of the legged mobile robot, and an operation power supplied to the legged mobile robot. A capacitor to be supplied, voltage detecting means for detecting an output voltage of the capacitor, a fuel cell, and a charging current for the capacitor generated from output power of the fuel cell. Charging means for charging the capacitor with the charging current so that the output voltage becomes a predetermined reference voltage; and an output of the capacitor detected by the voltage detecting means when the legged mobile robot starts operating. A voltage drop determining means for determining whether or not the output voltage of the capacitor drops below a predetermined operation guarantee voltage when the operation is performed based on the voltage; When, by the voltage drop judging means,
When it is determined that the output voltage of the capacitor decreases to the operation guarantee voltage or less when the operation is performed, the operation control unit is instructed to stop performing the operation, or the operation is controlled to the voltage. And an operation management means for instructing execution by changing to contents executable by the output voltage of the capacitor detected by the detection means.

In the present invention, the capacitor is charged by the charge control means so that the output voltage is maintained at the reference voltage. However, when an operation that consumes a large amount of power of the legged mobile robot is executed by the operation control unit, such as when the legged mobile robot walks fast, the discharge from the capacitor to the legged mobile robot is performed. When the amount exceeds the amount of charge from the charging means to the capacitor, the output voltage of the capacitor may decrease.

If the output voltage of the capacitor is lower than the operation guarantee voltage, the legged robot cannot operate normally. Therefore, the voltage drop determination means, when the legged robot starts operation, based on the output voltage of the capacitor, when the operation is executed, the output voltage of the capacitor drops to the operation guarantee voltage or less. It is determined whether or not to perform.

Here, the internal resistance of the capacitor does not change depending on the remaining charge amount, and the temperature dependence is lower than that of the secondary battery, so that the stability is high. Therefore, the output voltage of the capacitor does not fluctuate due to the effect of its internal resistance, and the voltage drop determination unit reduces the output voltage of the capacitor to the operation guarantee voltage or less when the operation is performed. Can be accurately determined.

Therefore, in order to prevent the output power of the capacitor from being lower than the operation guarantee voltage during the execution of the operation due to the erroneous judgment of the voltage drop judging means, it is necessary to give a large margin to the capacitance of the capacitor. And the electric charge stored in the capacitor can be completely used up. As a result, the use efficiency of the capacitor can be increased, and the power supply unit can be downsized and the durability of the power supply unit can be improved as compared with a case where the secondary battery is charged with the output of the fuel cell. be able to.

[0018] The operation management means is configured to execute the operation control when the voltage drop determination means determines that the output voltage of the capacitor is equal to or lower than the operation guarantee voltage when the operation of the legged mobile robot is started. Instructing means to stop the execution of the operation, or instructing the unit to execute the operation after changing the operation to a content executable by the output voltage of the capacitor. Therefore, the operation of the legged mobile robot is started in a state where the output voltage of the capacitor is low, and the output voltage of the capacitor becomes equal to or lower than the operation assurance voltage during execution of the operation, which hinders the operation of the legged mobile robot. Can be prevented.

The operation management means, after instructing the operation control means to stop the execution of the operation, when the operation is executed by the voltage drop determination means, the output voltage of the capacitor is reduced by the voltage drop determination means. When the charging means charges the capacitor to a level determined not to drop below the operation guarantee voltage, the operation control means is instructed to start executing the operation.

According to the present invention, the operation management means, after instructing the operation control means to stop the execution of the operation, executes the operation by the voltage drop determination determination means. When the capacitor is charged to a level at which the output voltage of the capacitor is determined not to drop below the operation guarantee voltage, the operation control unit is instructed to execute the operation. Therefore, the operation control means can execute the operation while preventing the output voltage of the capacitor from being equal to or lower than the operation assurance voltage during execution of the operation.

A current detecting means for detecting an output current of the capacitor; and an internal circuit of the capacitor using an output current detected by the current detecting means and an output voltage of the capacitor detected by the voltage detecting means. And an internal resistance monitoring means for calculating the resistance and notifying the calculation result to the voltage drop determining means.

As described above, since the internal resistance of a capacitor is stable, once it has been determined by measurement, there is basically no need to subsequently determine the internal resistance of the capacitor again. However, due to aging and deterioration due to overcharging,
In some cases, the internal resistance of the capacitor changes. In this case, the output voltage of the capacitor changes, and the determination by the voltage drop determining unit may be erroneously made.

Therefore, the internal resistance monitoring means calculates the internal resistance of the capacitor and notifies the voltage drop determination means. With this, the voltage drop determination unit can accurately determine whether or not the output voltage of the capacitor is equal to or less than the operation assurance voltage when the operation is performed in consideration of the change in the internal resistance of the capacitor. Can be done.

Further, when the legged mobile robot starts operation, based on the output voltage of the capacitor detected by the voltage detecting means, when the operation is executed, the output voltage of the capacitor becomes equal to the output voltage of the capacitor. Voltage rise determining means for determining whether or not the voltage rises to or above a charging upper limit voltage set near the rated upper limit voltage of the capacitor, and by the voltage rise determining means, the output voltage of the capacitor is increased when the operation is executed. A charging voltage changing means for lowering the reference voltage when it is determined that the voltage rises to the charging upper limit voltage or more is provided.

When the legged mobile robot performs, for example, a crouching operation, regenerative energy may be generated from the actuator. In this case, since the capacitor is charged by the generated regenerative energy, the output voltage of the capacitor increases. It is not preferable that the output voltage of the capacitor exceeds the rated upper limit voltage in protecting the characteristics of the capacitor.

In view of the above, the charging voltage changing means determines that the output voltage of the capacitor rises above the charging upper limit voltage set near the rated upper limit voltage when the operation is performed by the voltage rise determining means. When it is determined, the reference voltage is reduced. Thus, the output voltage of the capacitor at the time of starting the operation can be reduced, and the output voltage of the capacitor can be prevented from exceeding the rated upper limit voltage during the execution of the operation.

Further, the capacitor is an electric double layer capacitor. The electric double layer capacitor has a particularly small change rate of the internal resistance with respect to the change in the remaining charge amount and the temperature, and has high stability. Therefore, by using an electric double layer capacitor as the capacitor, the determination accuracy of the voltage drop determination unit can be further increased.

[0028]

FIG. 1 shows an example of an embodiment of the present invention.
This will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 1 is a control block diagram of the legged mobile robot of the present invention, FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram of the operation of the charging circuit shown in FIG. 1, FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram showing a transition of the output voltage of the capacitor shown in FIG. FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram of the constant current control of the charging circuit shown in FIG.

Referring to FIG. 1, a legged mobile robot 1 of the present invention includes an electric double layer capacitor 2 (corresponding to the capacitor of the present invention), which is a power supply for operating the legged mobile robot 1, and an electric double layer capacitor 2 , A control unit 4 for controlling the operation of the legged mobile robot 1, a voltage sensor 5 for detecting the output voltage of the electric double layer capacitor 2, and a current for detecting the output current of the electric double layer capacitor 2. Sensor 6
Is provided.

The charging section 3 includes a fuel cylinder 7 and a fuel cell 8
, A charging circuit 9 and a charging characteristic setting device 10. The fuel cylinder 7 holds hydrogen, which is the fuel of the fuel cell 8, and supplies it to the fuel cell 8. The fuel cell 8 generates electric power by a chemical reaction between hydrogen supplied from the fuel cylinder 7 and oxygen in the air, and outputs the electric power to the charging circuit 9. Charging circuit 9
Generates a charging current from the power supplied from the fuel cell 8 and supplies the charging current to the capacitor 2.

The charging circuit 9 has a function of limiting the input current from the fuel cell 8 and a function of limiting the output voltage to the electric double layer capacitor 2. Hereinafter, FIGS. 2A to 2
The operation of the charging circuit 9 will be described with reference to FIG.

FIG. 2A is an output characteristic diagram of the fuel cell 8, and the output voltage decreases as the output current increases.
If the output current of the fuel cell 8 exceeds the output limit value, the fuel cell 8 may not operate as desired characteristics. When it reaches, an input inhibit (INHIBIT) signal is output to the charging circuit 9. Charging circuit 9
Sets the current input port from the fuel cell 8 to a high impedance state while the input prohibition signal is being input. As a result, the flow of a current exceeding the output limit value of the fuel cell 8 from the fuel cell 8 to the charging circuit 9 is restricted, so that the fuel cell 8 operates according to desired characteristics.

Further, FIG. 2 (b), with reference to FIG. 2 (c), the charging circuit 9, the output voltage of the electric double layer capacitor 2 is detected by the voltage sensor 2 reaches the charging standard voltage V _B up (time t ₀ ~t ₁₎ charges the electric double layer capacitor 2 with a constant current I _2. This limits output of a high voltage (for example, V _B ) from the charging circuit 9 to the electric double layer capacitor 2 in a state where the charge amount of the electric double layer capacitor 2 is small and its output voltage is low. 2 prevents an overcurrent from flowing.

The charging circuit 9 includes an electric double layer capacitor.
Output voltage of the sensor 2 is the charging reference voltage V _BAfter reaching
Output of electric double layer capacitor 2 detected by pressure sensor 5
The voltage is the charging reference voltage V_B(For example, 144V)
Thus, the magnitude of the charging current is adjusted. For example, figure
2 (b), the time t₁Thereafter, the charging current is set to I₁Keep
(At this time, the current consumption of the legged mobile robot 1 =
I₁) Output voltage of electric double layer capacitor 2 is charged
Pressure V_BI keep it.

Next, referring to FIG. 1, the power consumption of the legged mobile robot 1 changes according to the operating state of the legged robot 1, and accordingly, the current supplied to the legged mobile robot 1 (load current). ) I _L is varied. Then, the charging circuit 9, as described above, the output voltage of the electric double layer capacitor 2 is detected by the voltage sensor 5, to adjust the magnitude of the charging current I _D to match the charging reference voltage V _B .

[0036] However, there is an upper limit to the charging current I _D can be supplied from the charging circuit 9, when the load current I _L exceeds the upper limit, the load current I _L is greater than the charging current I _D ( I _D <I _L), insufficient current supplied to the legged robot 1. In this case, the load current to compensate for the shortage of the I _L, an electric double layer capacitor 2 from the legged mobile robot 1
Discharge current I _S is supplied to.

When the supply of the discharge current I _S is continued, the output voltage V _{C of} the electric double layer capacitor 2 decreases as the remaining charge of the electric double layer capacitor 2 decreases. In this case, the output voltage V _C of the electric double layer capacitor 2 is determined from the standard voltage of the computer mounted on the legged mobile robot 1, the supply voltage necessary for maintaining the stopped state of the legged mobile robot 1, and the like. below the operation guarantee voltage V _m, it becomes impossible legged mobile robot 1 operates normally.

Therefore, the operation control unit 4 controls the operation of the legged mobile robot 1 so that the output voltage V _C of the electric double layer capacitor 2 does not become lower than the operation guarantee voltage V _m .
Referring to FIG. 1, operation control unit 4 includes operation control unit 11.
, Internal resistance monitoring means 12 and voltage fluctuation determining means 13
, An operation management unit 14 and a charging voltage changing unit 15.

The operation control means 11 controls the operation of the legged mobile robot 1, such as walking a predetermined number of steps. The operation control means 11 determines the operation sequence of each actuator (motor or the like) of the legged robot 1 according to the operation content of the legged mobile robot 1 and operates each actuator according to the operation sequence to perform the operation. Execute.

The internal resistance monitoring means 12 calculates the output voltage of the electric double layer capacitor 5 detected by the voltage sensor 5,
Electric double layer capacitor 2 detected by current sensor 6
Then, the internal resistance r of the electric double layer capacitor 2 is calculated from the output current of the electric double layer capacitor 2, and the calculation result is notified to the voltage drop determining means 16. The internal resistance r of the electric double layer capacitor 2 is low in the rate of change of the remaining charge amount and temperature change of the electric double layer capacitor 2 and high in stability. No need to ask. However, it is conceivable that the internal resistance of the electric double layer capacitor 2 changes due to a change over time or the like. Therefore, the internal resistance monitoring means 12 is connected to the electric double layer capacitor 2 as described above.
Is calculated and notified to the voltage drop determining means 16.

The voltage fluctuation judging means 13 has a voltage drop judging means 16 and a voltage rise judging means 17. The voltage drop judging means 16 analyzes the content of the operation sequence according to the operation of the legged mobile robot 1 determined by the operation control means 11, and when the operation is executed, the output voltage of the electric double layer capacitor 2 is reduced. Predict how it will change. Then, when the operation is performed, it is determined whether or not the output voltage of the electric double layer capacitor 2 drops to the operation guarantee voltage _Vm or less.

Here, the internal resistance r of the electric double layer capacitor 2 is stable as described above, and the output voltage of the electric double layer capacitor 2 is proportional to the remaining charge amount (charge amount) of the electric double layer capacitor 2. I do. Therefore, the relationship between the remaining charge amount of the electric double layer capacitor 2 and the output voltage is determined by the internal resistance r
It does not change under the influence of.

Therefore, the voltage drop determination means 16 assumes the change in the power consumption of the legged mobile robot 1 during the execution of the operation, and takes into account the magnitude of the charging current _ID from the constant current charging circuit 9 to obtain a capacitor. By estimating the change of the remaining charge amount of No. 2, it is possible to accurately predict the change of the output voltage of the electric double layer capacitor 2 when the operation is executed. Thus, when the execution of said operating, whether the output voltage V _c of the electric double layer capacitor 2 decreases to less secure operating voltage V _m can be determined accurately. Further, by predicting the transition of the output voltage of the electric double layer capacitor 2 in consideration of the internal resistance of the electric double layer capacitor 2 calculated by the above-described internal resistance monitoring means 12, the judgment accuracy of the voltage drop judgment means 16 is determined. Can be further improved.

The operation of the voltage drop judging means 16 will be described below with reference to FIG. 3 (a) it is walking trot 8 steps (trot walking, t ₁₁ ~t ₁₂₎ and, trot 8 steps walking (rapid walking gait, t ₁₃ ~t ₁₄₎ when the is intended to be executed continuously 3 shows the transition of the output voltage of the electric double layer capacitor 2 predicted by the voltage drop determining means 16.

[0045] First, when performing rapid walking gait (t ₁₁ ~t _12), referring to FIG. 1, in accordance with the movement of the legs of the legged mobile robot 1, the load than the charging current I _D current I _L increases, although the electric double-layer capacitor 2 discharge current I _S is supplied the output voltage of the electric double layer capacitor 2 decreases does not become less secure operating voltage Vm. Therefore, the voltage drop determining means 16 determines that the output voltage of the electric double layer capacitor 2 does not drop below the operation assurance voltage Vm when walking fast.

Next, after the execution of the rapid walking gait, before the output voltage V _C of the electric double layer capacitor 2 is restored to near the charging reference voltage V _a, when subjected to rapid walking gait (t ₁₃ ~t _14), the electrical second output voltage of the layer capacitor 2 becomes equal to or less than the guaranteed operating voltage V _m. Therefore, the voltage drop determining means 16 determines that the output voltage of the electric double layer capacitor 2 drops to the operation guarantee voltage _Vm or less when the user walks fast.

When the operation of the legged mobile robot 1 is started by the voltage drop judging unit 16, if the operation is executed by the voltage drop judging unit 16, the output voltage V _C of the electric double layer capacitor 2 is reduced. When it is determined that the voltage drops to the operation guarantee voltage _Vm or less, the operation control unit 11 is instructed to stop or change the execution of the operation. This prevents the output voltage V _C of the electric double layer capacitor 1 from lowering to the operation guarantee voltage V _m or less during the operation of the legged mobile robot 1.

The operation of the operation management means 14 will be described below with reference to FIGS. 3 (b) and 3 (c). FIG. 3 (b),
(C), after the end of the quick walking shown in FIG.
When attempting to perform a rapid walking gait immediately by the voltage drop determination unit 16, preterm output voltage V _C is guaranteed operating voltage V of the electric double layer capacitor 2 when running the legged
₃ shows the transition of the output voltage V _C of the electric double layer capacitor 2 when it is determined that the voltage falls to _m or less and the operation management means 14 performs a process according to the determination.

FIG. 3B shows the operation management means 14
Shows a transition of the output voltage V _C of the electric double layer capacitor 2 when the process was made to abort the rapid walking gait. The operation management unit 14 instructs the operation control unit 11 to stop the execution of the quick walking, and then the output voltage V _C of the electric double layer capacitor 2 detected by the voltage sensor 5 increases due to charging. When it is determined that the output voltage V _C of the capacitor 2 does not drop below the operation assurance voltage V _m when the fast walking is performed (t ₂₃ ), the operation control means 11 starts the execution of the fast walking. To instruct. As a result, the operation control means 11
It can be the output voltage V _C of is prevented from being lowered to below the guaranteed operating voltage V _m, to perform a rapid walking gait (t ₂₃ ~t _24).

Next, FIG. 3 (c), the operation management unit 14, shows changes in the output voltage V _C of the electric double layer capacitor 2 when performing processing to change the rapid walking gait walking usually eight steps ing. The operation management means 14 is the operation control means 1
In contrast to the above, the content of the operation determined by the operation control means 11 is changed so as to be executable at the output voltage V _C of the electric double layer capacitor 2 at the time of starting the walking operation (t ₃₃ ). Instruct.

That is, the operation control means 11 is instructed to change the walking of eight fast steps with high power consumption to the walking of normal eight steps with low power consumption and execute the operation. In response to this instruction, the operation for normal eight steps walking is performed by the operation control means 11 (t ₃₃ ~t _34), during the execution of said operating, the output voltage V _C is guaranteed operating voltage of the capacitor 2 It can be prevented from lowering to _Vm or less.

Next, referring to FIG. 1, the voltage rise determining means 17 and the charging voltage changing means 15 provided in the voltage fluctuation determining means 13 are electrically operated when the legged mobile robot 1 squats down. This is for protecting the double layer capacitor 2. When the legged mobile robot 1 performs, for example, a squatting motion, a decrease in the potential energy held by the legged mobile robot 1 may be generated as regenerative energy by an actuator such as a motor.

The regenerative energy generated in this way is absorbed by the electric double layer capacitor 2, and the output voltage of the electric double layer capacitor 2 rises by absorbing the regenerative energy. It is not preferable that the output voltage of the electric double layer capacitor 2 exceeds the rated upper limit voltage of the electric double layer capacitor in order to protect the characteristics of the electric double layer capacitor 2.

The voltage rise determining means 17 analyzes the operation of the legged mobile robot in the same manner as the voltage drop determining means 16, and when the operation is performed, the legged mobile robot 1 generates regenerative energy. It is determined whether or not the output voltage of the electric double layer capacitor 2 increases to or above the charging upper limit voltage set near the rated upper limit voltage of the electric double layer capacitor 2 by the regenerative energy.

When the voltage rise determining means 17 determines that the output voltage of the electric double layer capacitor 2 has risen to the charge upper limit voltage or more, the charging voltage changing means 15 determines in advance the charging voltage of the electric double layer capacitor 2. change in the charging reference voltage V lower voltage than _B (e.g., 136V). This prevents the output voltage of the electric double layer capacitor 2 from exceeding the rated upper limit voltage when the legged mobile robot 1 performs a squatting operation or the like and regenerative energy is absorbed by the electric double layer capacitor 2. ing.

The voltage fluctuation judging means 13 receives a monitoring signal from the fuel cylinder 7, the fuel cell 8, and the constant current charging circuit 9 indicating the operating status of these. And
When recognizing that there is a possibility that charging of the electric double layer capacitor 2 may become impossible from these monitoring signals, the voltage change determining means 13 gives an instruction to the operation managing means 14 to prohibit the subsequent operation.

[0057] Further, in the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 2 (b), FIG. 2 (c), the until the output voltage of the electric double layer capacitor 2 is charged reference voltage V _B is a constant current I _Two
Although the charging circuit 9 for charging is shown in the above, other methods, for example, (1) charging such that the output power from the charging circuit 9 to the electric double layer capacitor 2 is constant, (2) the fuel cell 8 (3) Perform charging so that the current input from the fuel cell 8 to the charging circuit 9 is constant, (4) Fuel cell 8 Is input to the charging circuit 9 from the fuel cell 8.
The electric double layer capacitor 2 may be charged by a method such as charging the electric power so that the maximum output possible power is obtained.

When these methods are used, the charging current value supplied from the charging circuit 9 to the electric double layer capacitor 2 should not exceed the allowable input current value of the electric double layer capacitor 2 and the charging should be performed. A protection circuit is provided so as not to exceed the maximum output current value of the output transistor of the circuit 9.

Further, when charging the electric double layer capacitor 2 at a constant current, as shown in FIG.
Is basically based on the output current I ₄₀ (detected by the current sensor 40), but the input / output current I ₄₁ to the electric double layer capacitor 2 (detected by the current sensor 41)
Alternatively, the output current I ₄₂ from the fuel cell 8 to the charging circuit 9 (detected by the current sensor 42) may be used as a reference.

In particular, when the input / output current I ₄₁ to / from the electric double layer capacitor 2 is used as a reference, constant current control can be performed in consideration of the effect of the regenerative current flowing into the electric double layer capacitor due to the regenerative energy described above. . still,
In addition to performing the constant current control based on the detected current at any one of I ₄₀ , I ₄₁ , and I ₄₂ , the constant current control is performed based on the detected current at a plurality of locations of I ₄₀ , I ₄₁ , and I ₄₂ Control may be performed.

Further, referring to FIG.
In the operation contents of the legged mobile robot 1 analyzed by
Accordingly, the specification of the charging control of the charging circuit 9 is changed to, for example,
The constant current shown in FIG. 4 can be changed between (1) to (4).
Current I as a reference for control₄₀~ I ₄₂Change the selection of charging
A property setting device 10 may be provided.

Further, in the present embodiment, walking has been described as an example of the operation of the legged mobile robot 1, but other operations, such as raising and lowering a heavy object, are similarly performed. It is possible to prevent the output voltage V _C of the electric double layer capacitor 2 from being lower than the operation guarantee voltage V _m during the execution of the operation.

Further, in this embodiment, the walking operation that is completed in a relatively short time has been described. However, as shown in FIG.
When two operations are performed consecutively, the entire two operations may be treated as one operation. In this case, the operation control unit 11 determines the operation sequence of each actuator for executing the entire two operations as one action plan, and the voltage drop determination unit 16 starts the execution of the action plan. to determine whether the output voltage V _C of the electric double layer capacitor 2 when executing the action plan is less than or equal to the charging reference voltage V _a.

As described above, when a plurality of continuous operations are treated as one action plan, referring to FIG. 1, the voltage drop judging means 16 sets the electric double layer capacitor 2 when the action plan is executed. output voltage is charging reference voltage V _a
When it is determined to decrease to below, the operation management means 1
4 can instruct the operation control means 11 to start the action plan after waiting for the output voltage of the electric double layer capacitor 2 to recover. As a result, FIG.
To wait for middle recovery of the output voltage of the electric double layer capacitor 2 operates as shown (b), the operation of a legged mobile robot 1 is interrupted (t ₂₂ ~t ₂₃₎ that and, FIG. 3
As shown in (c), the action plan can be executed without changing the operation content during the operation.

Further, when executing an action plan combining a large number of operations, the execution order of each operation is changed according to the output voltage of the electric double layer capacitor 2, or the operation is started from an operation having a low priority. The content may be changed.

In this embodiment, the accuracy of the judgment by the voltage drop judging means 16 is further improved by using an electric double layer capacitor. However, the effect of the present invention can be obtained by using other types of capacitors. Can be obtained.

In the present embodiment, the fuel (hydrogen) is supplied from the fuel cylinder 7 to the fuel cell 8. However, instead of the fuel cylinder, a raw material tank for holding a raw material such as methanol is provided. And a reformer that generates fuel from the raw material supplied from the raw material tank and supplies the fuel to the fuel cell.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a control block diagram of a legged mobile robot of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram of an operation of the charging circuit shown in FIG.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram showing transition of output voltage of the electric double layer capacitor shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram of constant current control of the charging circuit shown in FIG.

[Description of Signs] 1 ... Legged mobile robot 2 ... Electric double layer capacitor 3
... Charging part, 4 ... Operation control part, 5 ... Voltage sensor, 6 ... Current sensor, 7 ... Fuel cylinder, 8 ... Fuel cell, 9 ... Charging circuit, 10 ... Charge characteristic setting device, 11 ... Operation control means, 12
... internal resistance monitoring means, 13 ... voltage fluctuation determination means, 14 ...
Operation management means, 15: charging voltage changing means, 16: voltage drop determining means, 17: voltage rise determining means

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuing on the front page (72) Inventor Kenichi Ogawa 1-4-1 Chuo, Wako-shi, Saitama Prefecture Inside Honda R & D Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Naohide Ogawa 1-4-1 Chuo, Wako-shi, Saitama Inside the Honda R & D Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Nobuaki Ozawa 1-4-1 Chuo, Wako-shi, Saitama F-term inside the Honda R & D Co., Ltd. 3F060 BA07 CA14 HA02

Claims (5)

[Claims] An operation control means for controlling the operation of a legged mobile robot, a capacitor for supplying operating power to the legged mobile robot, a voltage detection means for detecting an output voltage of the capacitor, a fuel cell, Generating a charging current for the capacitor from the output power of the fuel cell, and charging the capacitor with the charging current such that the output voltage of the capacitor detected by the voltage detecting means becomes a predetermined reference voltage. Charging means, when the legged mobile robot starts operation, based on the output voltage of the capacitor detected by the voltage detection means, when the operation is performed, the output voltage of the capacitor Voltage drop determining means for determining whether the voltage drops to an operation guarantee voltage or less; When it is determined that the output voltage of the capacitor is reduced to the operation guarantee voltage or less, the operation control unit is instructed to stop the execution of the operation, or the operation of the capacitor is detected by the voltage detection unit. A legged mobile robot, comprising: operation management means for instructing execution by changing the content to an executable content with an output voltage. 2. The operation management means, after instructing the operation control means to stop execution of the operation, when the operation is executed by the voltage drop determination means, the output voltage of the capacitor is set to 2. The operation control unit is instructed to start executing the operation when the capacitor is charged by the charging unit up to a level determined not to drop below the operation guarantee voltage. The legged mobile robot described. A current detecting means for detecting an output current of said capacitor; and an internal portion of said capacitor using an output current detected by said current detecting means and an output voltage of said capacitor detected by said voltage detecting means. 3. An internal resistance monitoring means for calculating a resistance and notifying the calculation result to the voltage drop determining means.
The legged mobile robot described. 4. When the legged mobile robot starts operating, based on the output voltage of the capacitor detected by the voltage detecting means, when the operation is executed, the output voltage of the capacitor is changed to the output voltage of the capacitor. Voltage rise determining means for determining whether or not the voltage rises to or above a charging upper limit voltage set near the rated upper limit voltage of the capacitor; andthe output voltage of the capacitor is increased by the voltage rise determining means when the operation is performed. 4. The legged mobile robot according to claim 1, further comprising a charging voltage changing unit configured to decrease the reference voltage when it is determined that the charging voltage rises to a charging upper limit voltage or higher. 5. 5. The capacitor according to claim 1, wherein said capacitor is an electric double layer capacitor.
The legged mobile robot described in the item.