JP2006219053A - Multiple direction movable vehicle - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a vehicle that is movable in multiple directions to be suitable as various movable bodies. <P>SOLUTION: A multi-wheel drive vehicle that is capable of moving in multiple directions is provided as a carriage part. A part of a load-carrying platform or a seat is provided separately from the direction of the carriage part. Multiple direction movement and rotation (turning) of the load-carrying platform or seat part are thus both achieved. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

The present invention relates to a vehicle capable of multidirectional movement and a control / operation method thereof.

Conventionally, the configuration of a wheel of a multi-directional moving vehicle using this type of wheel with a roller is a multi-wheel drive vehicle in which the direction of the wheel is aligned in two different directions and is set to 10 o'clock or mouth, or in three different directions. There was a multi-wheel drive vehicle with the same orientation.

In the case of a three-wheel drive vehicle in which wheels are arranged in three directions, it is shown in FIG. 1 of the patent (Japanese Patent No. 3357668), Japanese Patent No. 2954268, and FIGS. 15 and 16 of Japanese Patent No. 3241564. There are methods.

However, when the above-described multidirectional moving vehicle is used as a transport vehicle or a wheelchair, it is necessary to drive all the wheels in order to change direction (turn on the spot). I thought that there was no need to fix the bag, and devised to move only the luggage part.

An object of the present invention is to provide a more practical multi-directional moving vehicle that is capable of multi-directional movement and that can independently rotate (turn) the cargo bed portion or the seat portion of the chair. There is a thing.

The multi-directional moving vehicle of the present invention is rotated (turned) independently of the carriage part while the control signal and the distribution line of each part remain connected by a spiral cable (spiral cable) passed through the support column. Enable exercise.

In addition, the control is performed such that the direction in which the loading platform or the seat of the chair, which can be rotated (turned) independently, is always set in front of the operating device, instead of matching the front, rear, left and right of the operating device with the direction of the carriage.

Since the platform or chair seat can be rotated (turned) independently of the direction of vehicle movement, when used as a transport vehicle, only the platform can be rotated to match the direction convenient for loading and unloading. However, when used as an electric wheelchair, it is not necessary to drive all the wheels just to turn sideways, and as a result, a more convenient and practical multi-directional moving vehicle can be realized.

Since the multidirectional moving vehicle of the present invention uses wheels with rollers, it is desirable to use it on a flat place.

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 illustrates the wheels of a vehicle constituting a carriage part of a multidirectional moving vehicle according to the present invention from the front and side.
The wheel 1 rotates around the rotation shaft 2, and a roller 5 similar to the free roller 4 having the rotation shaft 3 is attached to the entire circumference of the ground contact surface of the wheel 1. The rotating shaft 2 of the wheel 1 and the rotating shafts of all the free rollers are configured to intersect three-dimensionally at 90 degrees.

FIGS. 2 and 3 are drawn as seen from above in order to explain the arrangement of the wheels of a multi-wheel drive vehicle which is a carriage part of the mobile imaging device of claim 1 and is constituted by the wheels with rollers of FIG. It is a conceptual diagram. FIG. 2 shows wheels arranged in at least two directions, and FIG. 3 is a conceptual diagram of a multi-wheel drive vehicle capable of multi-directional movement by wheels arranged in three different directions.

FIGS. 2A and 2B are examples of a multi-wheel drive vehicle capable of multi-directional movement, which is composed of wheels arranged in two directions that intersect at right angles. The wheel 6 and the wheel 7 in FIG. 2A are a four-wheeled vehicle in which the wheels 8 and 9 are arranged in the same direction and orthogonal to this.

For example, if only the wheels 6 and 7 are rotated so that the driving force works upward in the drawing, the grounded free roller will rotate and the friction will be released even if the wheels 8 and 9 do not rotate. The vehicle moves as it is on the drawing. On the contrary, if only the wheels 8 and 9 rotate and the driving force works to the left in the drawing, the grounded free roller rotates and rubs even if the wheels 6 and 7 do not rotate. The vehicle moves to the left as it is.

Further, when all four wheels rotate, for example, if the wheels 6, 7, 8, and 9 rotate as described above, they move in the diagonally upper left direction in the drawing without changing the direction of the vehicle.
In this way, if the rotation of each wheel is controlled, the vehicle can be moved in a total of eight directions, that is, four directions of up and down, left and right and oblique angles on the drawing without changing the direction of the vehicle.

FIG. 2B shows a six-wheeled vehicle in which the wheels 10, 11, 12, and 13 are arranged in the same direction and the wheels 14 and 15 are arranged in a direction orthogonal to the wheels. As in the case of the four-wheel vehicle in FIG. 2A, if only the wheels arranged in the same direction are rotated, it moves in the vertical and horizontal directions on the drawing, and if all the wheels arranged in the two directions are rotated, the wheels are inclined. Is also possible.

3A is a three-wheeled vehicle in which the rotational axes of the wheels are gathered at the center of gravity 26 of the vehicle at intervals of 120 degrees, and B in FIG. 4 is a three-wheeled vehicle where the rotational directions of the wheels are gathered at the center of gravity 27 of the vehicle at intervals of 120 degrees. It is.

For example, if the wheel 30 and the wheel 31 of the three-wheeled vehicle in FIG. 4A rotate and the driving force works in the directions 32 and 33, respectively, the vehicle is seen from the center of gravity 26 even if the wheel 34 does not rotate. It moves without changing the direction of the vehicle in the direction of the upper direction 35. This time, if the wheel 31 rotates without rotating, and the wheel 30 rotates in the direction 32 and the wheel 34 rotates in the direction 36, the vehicle changes its direction in the direction 37 as seen from the center of gravity 26. Without moving.

That is, the three-wheeled vehicle in FIG. 3A can move in six directions at intervals of 60 degrees as seen from the center of gravity 26 of the vehicle without changing the direction of the vehicle. The three-wheeled vehicle shown in FIG. 3B can move in six directions at intervals of 60 degrees without changing the direction of the vehicle, like the three-wheeled vehicle shown in FIG. 3A. In both cases, driving force works in the moving direction.

The continuous operation of the transport vehicle using the multi-wheel drive vehicle capable of multi-directional movement described above as a carriage part will be described with reference to FIG. 4, the electric wheelchair is shown in FIG. 5, the aerial work vehicle is shown in FIG. An example of this will be described with reference to FIG.

In FIG. 4, a multi-wheel drive vehicle capable of multi-directional movement is used as a carriage part, and the wheels with rollers of FIG. In addition, there is a platform on which an item is placed, and this cargo platform portion is connected to the lower cart portion by a rotating shaft, and is a transport vehicle 47 that can rotate (turn) regardless of the orientation of the cart.

4A, 4B, and 4C illustrate the continuous operation of the transport vehicle 47 with a top view so that the orientation of the loading platform 48 can be understood. The carriage portion 49 can move directly in multiple directions, but the carriage portion rotates (turns) while moving from A to C regardless of the direction and movement direction of the carriage.

The loading part 48 carries the load 50 at the position A, rotates 90 degrees clockwise at the position B (turns), and further rotates (turns) 90 degrees at the position C to lower the load 50. At this time, the lower cart portion 49 has just moved to the right without changing its orientation.

FIG. 5 is a front view and a side view of the electric wheelchair 51. There is a seat portion 53 connected by a rotary shaft to a cart portion 52 that can be moved in multiple directions, and a joystick 54 that is an operating device is provided at an armrest portion. The cable 55 of the joystick 54 is connected from the bottom of the armrest to the control board 57 of the carriage portion 52 through the pipe 56 which is a rotation shaft through the seat.

This electric wheelchair can rotate (turn) regardless of the direction of the carriage portion 52 that can be moved in multiple directions in the same manner as the transport vehicle 47 of FIG. Furthermore, the direction in which the seat 53 faces is always recognized as the front even though the forward tilting operation of the operating device is the same so that the direction in which the person sitting on the seat 53 faces is always forward, the carriage part changes the traveling direction. .

FIG. 6 shows an indoor aerial work vehicle 58. There is a work table 59 connected by a rotating shaft with a cart part that can move in multiple directions, and this work table rises with a person on it. It can be used mainly as a dolly for interior work on the ceiling of the room.

FIG. 7 is an example of an operating device capable of simultaneously operating the moving direction of the multi-wheel drive vehicle capable of multi-directional movement and the rotating operation of the loading platform or the seat portion of the chair connected by the column of the rotating (turning) axis. .

The vehicle is controlled by capturing the tilt of the joystick 60 with two potentiometers (difference in the current of the variable resistor) on the X-axis and Y-axis and reflecting them in the rotation speed and rotation direction of each wheel based on the numerical values. Alternatively, the vehicle is controlled by reflecting the number of rotations and the direction of rotation of each wheel by a plurality of contact sensors (pressure sensors) provided around the tilt of the joystick 60.

By the operation 62 for rotating the Z-axis (twist direction) 61 of the joystick 60, the loading platform or the seat portion of the chair is rotated (turned). Since the operation of the Z-axis 61 can be performed independently of the control of the vehicle and the tilting of the joystick 60, the joystick 60 is held with one hand, the operation of the vehicle and the rotation of the loading platform or the seat portion of the chair provided thereon ( (Swivel) operation can be operated simultaneously or separately.

Regarding the industrial applicability of the multi-wheel drive vehicle that can move in multiple directions as described above, the electric wheelchair can be used as an OA chair that can run on its own, and the transport vehicle depends on the layout of the runway. The indoor aerial work vehicle can be used conveniently as a dolly for interior work near the ceiling in the room.

Wheel with roller Conceptual diagram of a multi-wheel drive vehicle with wheels in two directions Conceptual diagram of a multi-wheel drive vehicle with wheels attached in three directions Top view and side view showing continuous operation of transport vehicle Top view / side view of electric wheelchair Top view / side view of an aerial work vehicle Side / top view of the console

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Wheel with roller 2 Rotation axis of wheel with roller 3 Rotation axis of roller 4 Roller 5 Other roller 6-15 Wheel 20-24 Vector 26-29 Center of gravity 30/31 Wheel 32/33 direction 34 Wheel 35-37 direction 38 to 40 Vectors 41 to 43 Wheels 44 to 46 Direction 47 Transport vehicle 48 Transport vehicle loading platform 49 Transport vehicle carriage portion 50 Luggage 51 Electric wheelchair 52 Electric wheelchair carriage portion 53 Electric wheelchair seat portion 54 Joystick 55 Joystick cable 56 Pipe 57 which is a rotating shaft Control board 58 Work platform at high altitude 59 Work platform 60 at high altitude work vehicle Joystick 61 of operation console 61 Z axis of joystick (twist direction)
62 Joystick twisting operation

Claims (2)

A multi-wheel drive vehicle that can move in multiple directions using wheels with rollers that are fitted together with the rotating shafts of several rollers so that it intersects the rotating shaft of the wheels 90 degrees on the ground contact surface of the wheel. The platform or chair seat that can be rotated (turned) independently of the carriage part is connected by a column of the rotation (swing) axis, and control signals and distribution lines for each part are spiraled inside the column. A vehicle that can move in multiple directions, characterized by being passed through a cable (spiral cable). In the joystick-type operating device and its vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the multi-directional movement of the carriage part is controlled by tilting (X / Y axis) and the rotation (turning) of the loading part or chair seat part is controlled by twisting (Z axis). A control / operating method characterized in that the traveling direction is always determined with the front viewed from the loading platform or chair seat as the front of the carriage.

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