JP2000233743A - Steering part adjusting mechanism of automated guided vehicle - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To maintain operational accuracy of steering control of an automated guided vehicle by providing an angle holding means for preventing an angle of sensors from being dislocated relative to a driving wheel when adjusting tension of a connecting belt. SOLUTION: In a steering part adjusting mechanism of an automated guided vehicle 1, a tension adjusting mechanism 20 is composed of tensioner pulleys 21, 22 in parts arranged on both sides of a pulley 8 to thereby prevent a steering angle of guide sensors 7a, 7b and a driving wheel 3 from being dislocated at tension adjusting time of a connecting belt 10. Thus, adverse influence is not exerted on steering control of the automated guided vehicle 1 by a tension adjustment of the connecting belt 10 as usual. An angle of the guide sensors 7a, 7b relative to the driving wheel 2 can also be adjusted. Operational accuracy of the structurally simple and inexpensive automated guided vehicle 1 can be always maintained by adopting the adjusting mechanism.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a steering unit adjusting mechanism for an unmanned vehicle suitable for use in, for example, an unmanned guided vehicle traveling in a factory.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As is well known, unmanned vehicles (unmanned vehicles) are frequently used in factories and the like to automatically convey parts and products.

As shown in FIG. 4, such an automatic guided vehicle 1 is provided with a driving wheel 3 on a bottom surface of a vehicle body 2 on which parts and products are mounted, and the driving wheel 3 is rotatable about a vertical axis. I have. A sprocket 4 is provided integrally with a rotating shaft of the driving wheel 3, and a steering motor 6 is connected to the sprocket 4 via a chain 5. Further, guide sensors 7a and 7b for detecting a magnetic guidance track or the like laid on a floor or the like are provided rotatably around a vertical axis.
The guide sensors 7a, 7b and the driving wheel 3 are connected to pulleys 8, 9
And connected by a connection belt 10 wound therearound.

[0004] In such an automatic guided vehicle 1, the driving wheel 3 is driven to rotate so as to run on its own.
The guide sensors 7 before and after the guide sensor mounting plate 7
a, 7b to detect the position and orientation of the magnetic guidance track and the like, and output the detection data to the control unit of the steering motor 6,
The control unit determines the direction of the driving wheel 3 based on the detection data, activates the steering motor 6, turns the driving wheel 3 in a predetermined direction, and automatically performs the steering of the automatic guided vehicle 1. . At this time, if the direction of the driving wheel 3 changes,
The guide sensors 7a connected via the connecting belt 10,
7b also changes its direction at the same time, so that the angle between the driving wheel 3 and the guide sensors 7a and 7b always coincides with each other.

[0005] Incidentally, in the automatic guided vehicle 1 described above,
A tensioner 11 including a pulley 11a is provided, and the tension of the connecting belt 10 can be adjusted by moving the pulley 11a.

[0006]

However, the above-mentioned conventional techniques have the following problems.
That is, as shown in FIG. 5, the pulley 11a of the tensioner 11 is used to adjust the tension of the connecting belt 10.
Is moved, for example, in the direction of the arrow (a) in the figure, the connecting belt 10 is displaced only on one side of the pulley 8 of the guide sensors 7a, 7b, whereby the guide sensors 7a, 7b
Is rotationally displaced in the direction of the arrow (b) in the figure. Then, as a result, the rake angle of the driving wheel 3 and the rake angles of the guide sensors 7a and 7b are different from each other, and there is a problem that the steering control of the automatic guided vehicle 1 is adversely affected.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and is capable of appropriately adjusting the tension of a belt connecting a guide sensor and a driving wheel without adversely affecting steering control. An object of the present invention is to provide a steering section adjusting mechanism for a vehicle.

[0008]

The invention according to claim 1 is
A driving wheel rotatably provided around a vertical axis for running the unmanned vehicle, and a driving wheel connected to the driving wheel via a connecting belt, turning in synchronization with the driving wheel, and laying to guide the unmanned vehicle. A steering unit for detecting the direction of the guided track being detected and outputting the detection result, and a steering drive source for rotating the driving wheel based on the detection result output from the sensor. The steering unit is provided with a tension adjusting mechanism that adjusts the tension of the connection belt, and the tension adjustment mechanism has an angle of the sensor when the tension of the connection belt is adjusted. An angle holding means for preventing a deviation from the angle is provided.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided the steering unit adjusting mechanism for an unmanned vehicle according to the first aspect, wherein a tensioner for adjusting a tension of the connecting belt is provided as the angle holding means. The sensor is provided on one side and the other side with respect to the sensor.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided the steering unit adjusting mechanism for an unmanned vehicle according to the first aspect, wherein the angle holding means is provided between the pulley side around which the connecting belt is wound and the sensor side. And a connecting / disconnecting device capable of transmitting and blocking the rotational force.

In the case where, for example, tensioners are provided on both sides of the sensor as the angle holding means, the tension of the connection belt is adjusted evenly by the tensioners on both sides, and for example, a connection breaking device is provided as the angle holding means. In this case, when the tension of the belt is adjusted, by setting the rotational force between the pulley side and the sensor side to be interrupted by the connection / interruption device, the tension can be adjusted without deviation of the angle between the driving wheel and the sensor.

[0012]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, first and second embodiments of a steering unit adjusting mechanism for an unmanned vehicle according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.

[First Embodiment] First, here, an example in which tensioners are provided on both sides of a guide sensor as angle holding means will be described. In the following description, portions common to FIGS. 4 and 5 shown as conventional examples are denoted by the same reference numerals.

As shown in FIG. 1, an automatic guided vehicle (unmanned vehicle)
1 includes a driving wheel 3 rotatable around a vertical axis on a bottom surface of a vehicle body 2. The driving wheel 3 is connected to a sprocket 6 a of a steering motor (steering drive source) 6 via a sprocket 4 and a chain 5. A guide sensor (sensor) 7 for detecting a magnetic guide track or the like laid on the floor or the like is provided rotatably about a vertical axis. The guide sensors 7a and 7b and the driving wheel 3 are connected to pulleys 8 and 9 respectively. And a connecting belt 10 wound around the steering wheel, thereby constituting a steering section 15 of the automatic guided vehicle 1.

The connecting belt 10 is provided with a tension adjusting mechanism 20 for adjusting the tension. The tension adjusting mechanism 20 includes a pair of tensioner pulleys (tensioners, angle holding means) 21 and 22.
The tensioner pulleys 21 and 22 are provided on the pulley 8 on both sides thereof so as to abut against the connecting belt 10. These tensioner pulleys 2
The brackets 1 and 22 are supported by brackets (not shown) so as to be movable along a direction intersecting the connecting belt 10 at a predetermined angle, and move the positions of the tensioner pulleys 21 and 22 in the direction. Thereby, the tension of the connection belt 10 can be adjusted.

In such an automatic guided vehicle 1, the driving wheel 3 is driven to rotate so as to run on its own.
And the guide sensor 7 before and after the guide sensor mounting plate 7
The steering motor 6 is operated to rotate the driving wheel 3 based on the detection data of the position and orientation of the magnetic guidance track detected in a and 7b, and the automatic guided vehicle 1 is automatically steered. Thereby, the automatic guided vehicle 1 is caused to travel along a magnetic guiding track or the like. At this time, when the direction of the driving wheel 3 changes, the directions of the guide sensors 7a and 7b connected via the connection belt 10 also change at the same time, and the angles of inclination of the driving wheel 3 and the guide sensors 7a and 7b always coincide. ing.

Then, as shown in FIG.
When adjusting the tension of 0, a pair of two tensioner pulleys 21,
The tension is evenly adjusted on both sides of the pulley 8 by moving the same 22 by the same size. As a result, the force applied to the connection belt 10 is opposite between the tensioner pulley 21 side and the tensioner pulley 22 side, so that the pulley 8 is not rotationally displaced due to the tension adjustment of the connection belt 10, and the guide sensors 7a, It is possible to prevent deviation of the angle between the wheel 7b and the driving wheel 3. If the angle between the guide sensors 7a, 7b and the driving wheel 3 is deviated for some reason, the pair of two tensioner pulleys 2
By adjusting only one of 1,2,
The angles of the guide sensors 7a and 7b with respect to the driving wheel 3 can be adjusted.

In the steering adjusting mechanism of the automatic guided vehicle 1 described above, the tension adjusting mechanism 20 is constituted by a pair of two tensioner pulleys 21 and 22 provided on both sides of the pulley 8. When the tension is adjusted, it is possible to prevent the angle between the guide sensors 7a, 7b and the driving wheel 3 from being shifted from each other.
The zero tension adjustment does not adversely affect the steering control of the automatic guided vehicle 1. Further, the angles of the guide sensors 7a and 7b with respect to the driving wheel 3 can also be adjusted. Thus, by adopting the adjustment mechanism,
The operation accuracy of the automatic guided vehicle 1 can be always maintained.
In addition, since it is only necessary to provide two pairs of tensioner pulleys 21 and 22, the structure is simple and the above effects can be obtained at low cost.

[Second Embodiment] Next, a description will be given of an example in which a connection / interruption device is used as the angle holding means. In the second embodiment described below,
The same components as those in the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, and description thereof is omitted.

As shown in FIG. 3, the driving wheels 3 of the automatic guided vehicle 1
A connecting belt 10 is connected between the pulley 9 and the pulley 8 of the guide sensors 7a and 7b.
0 is a tension adjustment mechanism 3 for tension adjustment.
0 is provided. The tension adjusting mechanism 30 includes a tensioner pulley 31 that abuts the connecting belt 10 from the inside on one side between the pulleys 8 and 9, and a connection blocking device (angle holding unit) 32 mounted inside the pulley 8. Have been. In the tension adjusting mechanism 30,
As before, the tensioner pulley 31 is connected to the connecting belt 10.
The tension of the connecting belt 10 can be adjusted by moving the connecting belt 10 at a predetermined angle with respect to.

When the tension of the connecting belt 10 is adjusted by moving the tensioner pulley 31, the connecting / cutting device 32 fixes the pulley 8 so as not to be rotationally displaced with the displacement of the connecting belt 10. The connection cut-off device 32 allows the shaft side and the pulley 8 side to be detachably attached between a shaft (not shown) connected to the guide sensor mounting plate 7 and the pulley 8 by, for example, tightening or loosening a bolt. Connecting to transmit torque
It is intended to be able to cut off freely.

When the tension of the connecting belt 10 is adjusted, the pulley 8 is fixed by the connection blocking device 32 so as not to rotate.
The pulley 8 is not rotationally displaced due to the zero tension adjustment, and it is possible to prevent the deviation of the angle between the guide sensors 7a and 7b and the driving wheel 3. Further, when the angle between the guide sensors 7a and 7b and the driving wheel 3 is deviated for some reason or the like, the guide sensors 7a and 7
The angle b can be adjusted.

In the steering section adjusting mechanism of the automatic guided vehicle 1 described above, the same effect as in the first embodiment can be obtained by providing the tension adjusting mechanism 30 with the connection breaking device 32. Moreover, in this case, when adjusting the tension of the connecting belt 10, only one tensioner pulley 31 needs to be adjusted, and the adjustment operation can be performed more easily.

In the first and second embodiments, each component of the automatic guided vehicle 1 may have any configuration. There is no intention to limit the structure of the guide sensors 7a and 7b and the structure of the driving wheel 3 as well as the structure of the automatic guided vehicle 1 as a whole, and other structures can be adopted as appropriate.

Other than this, any configuration may be adopted as long as it does not deviate from the gist of the present invention, and it is needless to say that the above-mentioned configurations may be appropriately selectively combined. No.

[0026]

As described above, according to the steering unit adjusting mechanism for an unmanned vehicle according to the first aspect, the steering unit of the unmanned vehicle includes:
A connecting belt for connecting the driving wheel and the sensor is provided with a tension adjusting mechanism, and the tension adjusting mechanism is provided with angle holding means for preventing an angle between the driving wheel and the sensor from being shifted when the tension is adjusted. It has become. According to the steering unit adjusting mechanism for an unmanned vehicle according to the second aspect, tensioners are provided on both sides of the sensor as angle holding means. Further, according to the steering unit adjustment mechanism for an unmanned vehicle according to the third aspect, the connection breaking device is provided as the angle holding means. Thereby, the tension of the connecting belt can be adjusted without deviation of the angle between the driving wheel and the sensor by a tensioner provided on both sides of the driving wheel and the sensor, and the angle holding means such as the connection breaking device, and the steering control of the unmanned vehicle is performed. It is possible to always maintain a predetermined operation accuracy without any adverse effect.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a plan view showing an example of a steering unit adjusting mechanism for an unmanned vehicle according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a plan view showing a state in which the tension of a connecting belt is adjusted by the adjusting mechanism.

FIG. 3 is a plan view showing another example of the steering unit adjusting mechanism of the unmanned vehicle according to the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a plan view showing an example of a conventional steering unit adjustment mechanism of an unmanned vehicle.

FIG. 5 is a plan view showing a state when the tension of the connecting belt is adjusted by a conventional adjusting mechanism.

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Unmanned guided vehicle (unmanned vehicle) 3 Wheel 6 Steering motor (steering drive source) 7 Guide sensor (sensor) 10 Connection belt 20 and 30 Tension adjustment mechanism 21 and 22 Tensioner pulley (tensioner, angle holding means) 32 Connection breaking device ( Angle holding means)

Continued on the front page F term (reference) 3D030 EA22 EA33 3D032 CC20 DA84 DB11 EA01 EB04 EB08 EC22 EC34 GG07 3J049 AA01 AB01 BB05 BB08 BC01 BG10 BH02 CA10 5H301 AA01 BB05 CC06 EE04

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A driving wheel rotatably provided around a vertical axis for running an unmanned vehicle, and a driving wheel connected to the driving wheel via a connecting belt to rotate in synchronization with the driving wheel to rotate the unmanned vehicle. A sensor for detecting the direction of the guide track laid for guiding and outputting the detection result, and a steering drive source for rotating the driving wheel based on the detection result output from the sensor, The steering unit of the unmanned vehicle is configured, the steering unit is provided with a tension adjustment mechanism for adjusting the tension of the connection belt, and the tension adjustment mechanism includes the sensor when the tension of the connection belt is adjusted. A steering unit adjusting mechanism for an unmanned vehicle, comprising an angle holding means for preventing the angle of the vehicle from deviating from the driving wheel. 2. The steering unit adjusting mechanism for an unmanned vehicle according to claim 1, wherein a tensioner for adjusting a tension of the connection belt is provided as one of the angle holding means with respect to the sensor of the connection belt. A steering unit adjusting mechanism for an unmanned vehicle, which is disposed on each of the side and the other side. 3. The steering unit adjusting mechanism for an unmanned vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the angle holding means transmits a torque between the pulley side around which the connecting belt is wound and the sensor side. A steering unit adjusting mechanism for an unmanned vehicle, comprising: a connection / disconnection device that enables disconnection.