JP2006248248A - Pulley for crawler belt - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a pulley for a crawler belt capable of obtaining a sufficient propulsive force while preventing deviation (coming off) of the crawler belt. <P>SOLUTION: Pulley teeth 7 are formed on an outer peripheral surface of a pulley body 4. A flange 5 is provided on both end parts in the central axis direction of the pulley body 4. The crawler belt 2 is wound on the pulley body 4. The outer peripheral part of the flange 5 is projected further to the outside in the radial direction than the outer peripheral part of the crawler belt 2. The tooth part 10 is provided as a slip stopper to prevent a slip relative to a traveling surface 3. The sufficient propulsive force is obtained by a friction force between the flange 5 and the traveling surface 3. The crawler belt 2 is lifted up from the traveling surface 3, and it is blocked that a lateral force acts on the crawler belt 2. The deviation (coming off) of the crawler belt 2 from the pulley boy 4 is prevented. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a crawler belt pulley that is used by winding a crawler belt in order to cause a self-propelled robot to travel on a traveling surface such as a floor surface.

  In general, a crawler-type self-propelled robot or the like travels on a traveling surface such as a floor surface by winding a crawler belt around a crawler belt pulley and rotating the pulley (for example, Patent Document 1).

  FIG. 5 shows a cross-sectional view of a crawler belt pulley (wheel) and a crawler belt (crawler belt) disclosed in Patent Document 1.

  The crawler belt pulley 101 is provided with flanges 104 at both ends of a pulley body 103 having pulley teeth 102 on the outer peripheral portion, and a crawler belt 105 is wound around the pulley body 103.

  The outer peripheral portion of the flange 104 protrudes radially outward from the outer peripheral portion of the pulley main body 103 and retreats radially inward from the outer peripheral portion of the crawler belt 105 wound around the pulley main body 103. As a result, the flange 104 brings the crawler belt 105 into contact with the running surface without coming into contact with the running surface, and restricts deviation (disconnection) of the crawler belt 105.

  The crawler belt 105 includes tooth portions 106 on the outer peripheral surface and belt teeth 107 that mesh with the pulley teeth 102 on the inner peripheral surface, and inclined surfaces 108 are formed on both side surfaces of the belt teeth 107.

The inclined surface 108 of the crawler belt 105 abuts on the outer peripheral portion of the flange 104 when the crawler belt 105 is displaced with respect to the pulley main body 103 due to deformation of the main body frame or the like (solid line state in FIG. 5). As a result, the crawler belt 105 moves in the belt width direction, and the crawler belt 105 and the pulley main body 103 are normally engaged with each other (a state of a two-dot chain line in FIG. 5).
JP-A-61-89182 (page 2, left column, line 13 to right column, line 10; FIG. 5)

  However, the configuration in which the inclined surfaces are formed on both sides of the crawler belt as in Patent Document 1 has an effect of preventing the deviation due to the displacement of the crawler belt, but the crawler belt is different from the direction of the self-propelled robot. When a strong lateral force is exerted on the surface, the deviation prevention effect may be insufficient.

  In order to increase the effect of preventing the crawler belt from departing from the flange, it is better to increase the protrusion length of the flange outward in the radial direction to make it difficult for the crawler belt to ride on the flange, but simply increase the protrusion length of the flange. In this case, the outer periphery of the flange is more likely to protrude than the outer periphery of the crawler belt. In this case, when the outer peripheral portion of the flange contacts the running surface, the crawler belt is lifted from the running surface, and the propulsive force is easily lost.

  On the other hand, when the crawler belt is brought into contact with the running surface by increasing the protrusion length of the flange and setting the crawler belt thick, the crawler belt has increased bending rigidity and the crawler belt due to poor winding around the pulley body. It is easy to produce a deviation.

  An object of this invention is to provide the pulley for crawler belts which can obtain sufficient propulsive force, preventing the crawler belt from deviating (detaching).

  In order to achieve the above object, the crawler belt pulley provided by the present invention comprises a pulley body having pulley teeth on the outer peripheral surface and flanges provided at both ends in the central axis direction of the pulley body. The crawler belt is wound around the pulley body for use. The flange is set to a size such that its outer peripheral portion protrudes radially outward from the outer peripheral portion of the crawler belt, and a slip stopper is provided on the outer peripheral portion of this flange to prevent slippage with the running surface.

  According to this configuration, since the flange protrudes radially outward from the outer peripheral portion of the crawler belt, the crawler belt can be prevented from riding on the flange, and the crawler belt can be lifted from the running surface so that the crawler belt can be moved sideways. It is possible to prevent the crawler belt from acting and to prevent the crawler belt from escaping from the pulley body.

  In this case, the propulsive force of the crawler belt that has lifted from the running surface is lost, but since a slip stopper is provided on the outer periphery of the flange that contacts the running surface, instead of the frictional force between the crawler belt and the running surface, the flange and Sufficient propulsive force can be obtained by utilizing the frictional force with the running surface.

  As a non-slip, a configuration in which a material with a large friction coefficient such as rubber is provided on the outer peripheral portion of the flange, or a configuration in which the outer peripheral portion of the flange is roughened, the outer peripheral portion of the flange is roughened. As a structure, the structure which formed the tooth | gear part in the outer peripheral part of a flange can be illustrated. If teeth having the same shape as those employed in ordinary toothed pulleys are used as the teeth formed on the flange, existing equipment can be used for the processing.

  If the flange is set to a size that protrudes in the range of 2 mm or less outward from the outer periphery of the crawler belt whose outer periphery is wound around the pulley body, when traveling on an uneven traveling surface, It is possible to improve the running performance when overcoming a step.

  In other words, when traveling on a flat surface, only the propulsive force by the flange is sufficient, but when the traveling surface is uneven, any of the plurality of flanges may float and the propulsive force may be weakened. is there. On the other hand, by setting the protruding length of the flange from the outer peripheral portion of the crawler belt to 2 mm or less, the crawler belt can easily come into contact with the protruding portion on the running surface, and the propulsive force can be increased.

  It is preferable that at least the outer peripheral portion of the flange is made of aluminum. In other words, aluminum is easy to deform, and by running the running surface for a long time, the outer periphery of the flange is deformed and fits appropriately, and the propulsive force shared by each flange and crawler belt can be gradually brought closer to the ideal distribution. it can.

  Moreover, this invention provides the apparatus for rough terrain travel provided with said pulley for crawler belts, and the crawler belt wound around this pulley for crawler belts. A self-propelled robot or the like equipped with this rough terrain traveling device can prevent the crawler belt from deviating from the pulley body at the time of changing the direction, and can travel on uneven rough terrain.

  As described above, according to the present invention, the flange protrudes from the outer peripheral portion of the crawler belt, and the outer peripheral portion is provided with a slip stopper, so that sufficient propulsive force can be achieved while preventing the crawler belt from departing (disengaging). Can be obtained. As a result, it is possible to freely change the direction of the self-propelled robot that may cause the crawler belt to deviate, and to improve its running performance.

  Hereinafter, the best mode for carrying out the crawler belt pulley according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. 1A and 1B show a crawler belt pulley according to the present invention, in which FIG. 1A is a front view and FIG. 1B is a side view. FIG. 2 is a side view of the rough terrain traveling device, and FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along line AA.

  The crawler belt pulley 1 wraps around the crawler belt 2 to form, for example, a rough terrain traveling device 13 installed in a crawler-type self-propelled robot. This is for running the surface 3. The crawler belt pulley 1 includes a pulley main body 4 around which the crawler belt 2 is wound, and a flange 5 that regulates deviation (detachment) of the crawler belt 2 from the pulley main body 4.

  The pulley body 4 is made of, for example, a steel cylinder, and is attached to a drive shaft or a driven shaft (not shown) that passes through the central hole 6 thereof. The intermediate portion 4a in the central axis direction of the pulley body 4 has pulley teeth 7 on the outer peripheral surface thereof, and the crawler belt 2 is wound around the intermediate portion 4a.

  Both end portions 4b of the pulley body 4 are formed so that the outer diameter thereof is smaller than the root circle 8 of the pulley teeth 7 in the intermediate portion 4a, and the flange 5 is positioned at the step on the outer peripheral side at the boundary with the intermediate portion 4a. It has become. In FIG. 2, reference numeral 9 denotes a tooth tip circle of the pulley 1 for a crawler belt.

  The flange 5 is formed in a disk shape having a central hole from aluminum, and is externally fitted and fixed to both end portions 4b of the pulley body 4 by shrink fitting, caulking after press-fitting, or the like. A tooth portion 10 for preventing slippage with the running surface 3 is formed on the outer peripheral portion of the flange 5, and the tooth tip of the tooth portion 10 is from the outer peripheral portion of the crawler belt 2 wound around the pulley body 4. Also protrudes radially outward in a range of 2 mm or less.

  The crawler belt 2 is, for example, an endless belt made of rubber, and belt teeth 11 that mesh with the pulley teeth 7 are formed on the inner peripheral surface thereof, and tooth portions 12 that serve as slip stoppers are formed on the outer peripheral surface. The crawler belt 2 transmits the rotation of the driving-side crawler belt pulley 1a to the driven-side crawler belt pulley 1b, and the tooth portion 12 comes into contact with the convex portion of the running surface 3 to obtain a propulsive force. ing.

  Next, how the rough terrain traveling device 13 travels on the traveling surface will be described. First, the crawler belt 2 is wound around the crawler belt pulley 1a attached to the driving shaft and the crawler belt pulley 1b attached to the driven shaft. By rotating the driving shaft, the crawler belt 2 rotates and transmits the rotation of the driving shaft to the driven shaft.

  Here, the case where the rough terrain traveling device 13 travels on a flat traveling surface as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3 will be described. When the traveling surface 3 is flat, the outer peripheral portion of the flange 5 of the crawler belt pulleys 1a and 1b comes into contact with the traveling surface 3, and the tooth portion 10 formed on the outer peripheral portion grips the traveling surface 3, so that the driving force is generated. obtain.

  A gap (s) having a size of 2 mm or less is formed between the tip of the tooth portion 12 of the crawler belt 2 and the running surface 3, and the crawler belt 2 is lifted from the running surface 3. Thereby, a lateral force due to a change of direction or the like is not generated on the crawler belt 2, and deviation of the crawler belt 2 from the pulley body 4 is prevented.

  Next, the case where the rough terrain traveling device 13 travels on an uneven traveling surface (irregular ground) will be described. FIG. 4 is a side view of the rough terrain traveling device traveling on the stepped portion. As shown in FIG. 4, when the traveling surface 3 is an uneven surface having unevenness (stepped portion), the crawler belt 2 rides on the convex portion after the flange 5 gets over the convex portion. At this time, the flange 5 is lifted from the traveling surface 3, and the tooth portion 12 of the crawler belt 2 grips the convex portion of the traveling surface 3, thereby obtaining a predetermined propulsive force.

  Since the crawler belt 2 is in contact with the running surface 3, a slight lateral force acts on the crawler belt 2 due to direction change or the like, but the flange 5 is set to a size that protrudes from the outer peripheral portion of the crawler belt 2. Therefore, the deviation of the crawler belt 2 is sufficiently prevented by the flange 5.

  Even when traveling on a flat traveling surface or an uneven traveling surface (irregular terrain), since the flange 5 is made of aluminum, the tooth tip of the tooth portion 10 becomes the traveling surface 3 by traveling for a long time. Deform to fit. As a result, the tooth portion 12 of the crawler belt 2 comes into contact with the running surface 3 with a small contact pressure, and the propulsive force by the crawler belt 2 is also obtained. The propulsive force by the flange 5 and the propulsive force by the crawler belt 2 are obtained. , Close to the ideal distribution.

  In addition, this invention is not limited to said embodiment, A change can be suitably added within the scope of the present invention. For example, instead of forming the entirety of the flange 5 from aluminum, the center portion may be formed from another material, and only the outer peripheral portion may be formed from aluminum. Moreover, you may form the whole flange 5 from other raw materials, such as a synthetic resin, instead of aluminum.

  The protrusion amount of the flange 5 based on the outer periphery of the crawler belt 2 is preferably set within a range of 2 mm or less. However, when the lateral force due to the direction change is large, the protrusion amount of the flange 5 is set large. Thus, it is preferable to more reliably prevent the crawler belt 2 from departing. On the other hand, when the lateral force is weak, it is preferable to increase the running performance by setting the protrusion amount of the flange 5 small.

  As a slip stopper provided on the outer peripheral portion of the flange 5, finer irregularities may be formed instead of the tooth portion 10, or a material having a large friction coefficient such as rubber may be attached. You may form from a material with big.

The figure which shows the pulley for crawler belts which concerns on this invention Side view of rough terrain equipment A-A cross section Side view of rough terrain device that travels on steps Sectional view of conventional crawler belt pulley and crawler belt

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Crawler belt pulley 2 Crawler belt 3 Running surface 4 Pulley body 5 Flange 7 Pulley tooth 10 Tooth part 13 Rough ground running device

Claims (5)

A pulley for a crawler belt, comprising a pulley body having pulley teeth on an outer peripheral surface, and flanges provided at both ends in the central axis direction of the pulley body, and used by winding a crawler belt around the pulley body.
The outer periphery of the flange is set to a size that protrudes radially outward from the outer periphery of the crawler belt, and an anti-slip is provided on the outer periphery of the flange to prevent slippage with the running surface. Crawler belt pulley characterized by.   The pulley for a crawler belt according to claim 1, wherein the anti-slip is a tooth portion formed on an outer peripheral portion of a flange.   The said flange is set to the magnitude | size which protrudes in the range of 2 mm or less to the radial direction outer side from the outer peripheral part of the crawler belt with which the outer peripheral part is wound around a pulley main body. The pulley for crawler belts described in 1.   The pulley for a crawler belt according to claim 1, wherein at least an outer peripheral portion of the flange is made of aluminum.   An apparatus for traveling on rough terrain, comprising the crawler belt pulley according to claim 1 and a crawler belt wound around the crawler belt pulley.

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