JP2011057095A - Coaxial motorcycle - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a coaxial motorcycle including a compact fall avoidance means. <P>SOLUTION: The coaxial motorcycle 1 includes: a vehicle body 10 an occupant rides; a first wheel 30 and a second wheel 30 which respectively rotate around a shaft L orthogonal to a traveling direction of the vehicle body 10, and are disposed along an orthogonal direction and on both sides with the vehicle body 10 interposed therebetween; a control section 40 for performing travel control and the posture control of the vehicle body 10 by controlling drives of the first wheel 30 and the second wheel 30; and a fall avoidance section 50 for avoiding fall of the coaxial motorcycle 1. The fall avoidance section 50 includes a determination part 51 for determination a traveling state of the coaxial motorcycle 1; an airbag deployment part 52 controlled by the determination part 51; and an airbag 53 controlled by the airbag deployment part 52 and arranged on the outer periphery of the vehicle body 10 so that it can support the coaxial motorcycle 1 during deployment. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2011,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a coaxial two-wheeled vehicle that controls the driving of wheels and performs an inverted control, and more particularly to a coaxial two-wheeled vehicle that protects a passenger more safely when the inverted control of the coaxial two-wheeled vehicle becomes unstable.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a coaxial two-wheeled vehicle that travels with a human being is known, and when the inverted control of the coaxial two-wheeled vehicle is operating normally, the autonomous two-wheeled vehicle travels stably and stably. However, when the inversion control becomes unstable for some reason, the coaxial two-wheeled vehicle may lose its balance and fall over.

Therefore, in Patent Document 1, when a control abnormality is sensed in the control unit or when a power interruption occurs, the support leg is extended in the overturn direction to avoid the overturn.
Further, in Patent Document 2, a cushion is deployed when the vehicle falls over for the purpose of protecting the passenger from injury caused by the vehicle falling over. That is, the vehicle disclosed in Patent Document 2 has a cushion in a folded state attached to the side, rear, front, etc. of the vehicle body, and inflates the cushion in response to detection of the vehicle inclination, Contact between the overturned vehicle and the running surface is produced with the inflated cushion. That is, the vehicle disclosed in Patent Document 2 inflates the cushion attached to the vehicle body when the vehicle is inclined, and the expanded cushion is interposed between the running surface and the vehicle body. As a result, the vehicle disclosed in Patent Document 2 reduces the impact at the time of collision between the vehicle body and the traveling surface of the vehicle, and further reduces the impact transmitted to the passenger through the vehicle body, thereby preventing the passenger from being injured. Protect.

JP 2006-247802 A JP-T-2001-521856

The mobile robot disclosed in Patent Document 1 avoids overturning by extending the support leg in the overturning direction. However, since the mobile robot avoids overturning by mechanical means, it cannot respond quickly. In addition, when a mechanical means is employed, the size of the mobile robot is increased, which in turn increases the size of the mobile robot.
The vehicle disclosed in Patent Document 2 is not configured to avoid a fall.

  An object of this invention is to provide a coaxial two-wheeled vehicle provided with a compact fall avoidance means.

  The coaxial two-wheeled vehicle according to the present invention rotates around a vehicle body on which a passenger is boarded and an axis orthogonal to the traveling direction of the vehicle body, and is disposed on both sides of the vehicle body along the orthogonal direction. By controlling the driving of the first wheel and the second wheel, and the first wheel and the second wheel, a control unit that performs travel control and attitude control of the vehicle body, and avoids the overturn of the coaxial two-wheeled vehicle. A fall avoiding unit, the fall avoiding unit being controlled by the judging unit for judging a traveling state of the coaxial two-wheeled vehicle, an airbag deploying unit controlled by the judging unit, and the airbag deploying unit. An airbag disposed on the outer periphery of the vehicle body so as to support the coaxial two-wheel vehicle sometimes. Based on the running state of the coaxial two-wheeled vehicle, the determination unit controls the airbag deployment unit to deploy the airbag. Therefore, the coaxial two-wheeled vehicle can avoid a fall and can ensure the safety of the passenger. Further, since the fall avoiding portion does not use mechanical means, it is compact, and the coaxial two-wheeled vehicle is not enlarged.

It is preferable that the determination unit monitors traveling control of the control unit or attitude control of the vehicle body and determines a traveling state of the coaxial two-wheeled vehicle based on the monitoring result.
In particular, the determination unit monitors whether or not the control unit is executing calculation processing for executing travel control or vehicle body posture control, and determines that the calculation processing is not being performed. It is preferable to deploy the airbag by controlling the bag deployment portion.

  Alternatively, the determination unit executes the calculation process when the supply of power from the power supply unit to the control unit is interrupted and the calculation process for the control unit to execute travel control or vehicle body posture control stops. Preferably, it is determined that the airbag is not deployed, and the airbag deployment section is controlled to deploy the airbag.

  Alternatively, the determination unit executes the calculation process when a control stop signal is input from the stop switch to the control unit, and the calculation process for the control unit to execute the travel control or the posture control of the vehicle body is stopped. Preferably, it is determined that the airbag is not deployed and the airbag deployment section is controlled to deploy the airbag.

Alternatively, it is preferable that the determination unit determines a traveling state of the coaxial two-wheeled vehicle based on a detection result of the posture detection unit that detects the posture of the vehicle body.
At this time, it is preferable that an impact detection unit is provided, and the determination unit controls the airbag deployment unit to deploy the airbag when a detection signal is input from the impact detection unit.
Alternatively, it is preferable that a contact detection unit is provided, and the determination unit controls the airbag deployment unit to deploy the airbag when a detection signal is input from the contact detection unit.

  As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to provide a coaxial two-wheeled vehicle including a compact tip-over avoiding means.

It is a perspective view which shows a coaxial two-wheeled vehicle typically. 1 is a block diagram showing a system configuration of a coaxial two-wheel vehicle according to a first embodiment of the present invention. (A) shows the state of the overturn avoiding unit when the running state of the coaxial two-wheeled vehicle is normal, and (b) shows the state of the overturn avoiding unit when the running state of the coaxial two-wheeled vehicle is abnormal. It is a schematic diagram which shows a fall avoidance part. It is a block diagram which shows the system structure of the coaxial two-wheeled vehicle of 2nd Embodiment which concerns on this invention. It is a block diagram which shows the system structure of the coaxial two-wheeled vehicle of 3rd Embodiment which concerns on this invention. It is a block diagram which shows the system structure of the coaxial two-wheeled vehicle of 4th Embodiment which concerns on this invention. It is a block diagram which shows the system configuration | structure of the coaxial two-wheeled vehicle of 5th Embodiment which concerns on this invention. It is a block diagram which shows the system structure of the coaxial two-wheeled vehicle of 6th Embodiment which concerns on this invention.

  The best mode for carrying out the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. However, the present invention is not limited to the following embodiments. In addition, for clarity of explanation, the following description and drawings are simplified as appropriate.

<First Embodiment>
A first embodiment of the present invention will be described.
The coaxial two-wheeled vehicle 1 of this embodiment is a so-called self-propelled inverted two-wheeled vehicle.
As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the coaxial two-wheel vehicle 1 includes a vehicle body 10, a drive unit 20, first and second wheels 30, a control unit 40, and a fall avoidance unit 50.

  The vehicle body 10 is a frame body that forms the skeleton of the coaxial two-wheeled vehicle 1. The vehicle body 10 includes a boarding surface 11 on which a rider rides. The boarding surface 11 is rotatable in the left-right direction of the vehicle body 10, for example, at the upper part of the vehicle body 10. A handle 12 is erected from the front center of the vehicle body 10.

  The drive unit 20 includes a first drive circuit 21, a second drive circuit 22, a first motor 23, and a second motor 24. The first and second drive circuits 21 and 22 generate a drive signal based on the control signal from the control unit 40 and output the drive signal to the first and second motors 23 and 24. The first and second motors 23 and 24 are attached to the vehicle body 10. Wheels 30 are attached to the first and second motors 23 and 24, respectively. The first and second wheels 30 rotate around an axis L that is orthogonal to the traveling direction of the vehicle body 10. The first and second wheels 30 are disposed on both sides of the vehicle body 10 along the orthogonal direction. The first and second motors 23 and 24 rotate and drive the wheel 30 based on the input drive signal.

  The control unit 40 performs driving control and posture control of the vehicle body 10 by controlling the driving of the first and second wheels 30. That is, the control unit 40 executes predetermined calculation processing based on a detection signal from the posture detection sensor unit (posture detection unit) 61, a detection signal from the angle detection sensor 62, and the like, and sends necessary control signals to the first and first control signals. 2 to the drive circuits 21 and 22. The posture detection sensor unit 61 is used to detect an angular velocity and acceleration during traveling of the coaxial two-wheel vehicle 1 and control the angular velocity and acceleration. For example, the posture detection sensor unit 61 includes a gyro sensor and an acceleration sensor. . The angle detection sensor 62 detects the rotation angle of the riding surface 11. The control unit 40 includes, for example, an arithmetic circuit having a microcomputer (CPU), a storage device having a program memory, a data memory, and other RAMs and ROMs. A first battery (power supply unit) 71, first and second drive circuits 21 and 22, and a fall avoiding unit 50 are connected to the control unit 40.

  When turning the coaxial two-wheeled vehicle 1 having such a configuration, the passenger rotates the riding surface 11 in the turning direction. At this time, when the angle detection sensor 62 detects the rotation angle of the boarding surface 11, the angle detection sensor 62 outputs a detection signal to the control unit 40. The control unit 40 to which the detection signal is input performs a predetermined calculation process based on the detection signal, and determines how much the rotational speed of the inner wheel in the turning direction is reduced or the rotation of the outer wheel in the turning direction. Whether to accelerate the speed is calculated, and a signal indicating the calculation result is output to the first and second drive circuits 21 and 22. The first and second drive circuits 21 and 22 to which a signal indicating the calculation result is input control the rotation speeds of the first and second motors 23 and 24 based on the signal indicating the calculation result and The 1st and 2nd wheel 30 is rotationally driven. In this way, turning of the coaxial two-wheel vehicle 1 is realized.

  Further, when the coaxial two-wheeled vehicle 1 is moved forward or backward, when the passenger gets on the boarding surface 11, the load of the passenger is moved forward or backward, and the coaxial two-wheeled vehicle 1 is rotated in the front-rear direction. The attitude detection sensor unit 61 detects the angular velocity and acceleration of the coaxial two-wheel vehicle 1 and outputs a detection signal to the control unit 40. The control unit 40 to which the detection signal is input performs a predetermined calculation process based on the detection signal, calculates a driving torque necessary to stabilize the coaxial two-wheel vehicle 1 so as not to fall, and shows the calculation result. The signal is output to the first and second drive circuits 21 and 22. The first and second drive circuits 21 and 22 to which a signal indicating the calculation result is input control the rotation speeds of the first and second motors 23 and 24 based on the signal indicating the calculation result and The 1st and 2nd wheel 30 is rotationally driven. In this way, traveling of the coaxial two-wheel vehicle 1 forward or backward is realized.

  The fall avoiding unit 50 is means for avoiding the fall of the coaxial two-wheel vehicle 1 as shown in FIG. The fall avoidance unit 50 includes a determination unit 51, an airbag deployment unit 52, and an airbag 53, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 4. The determination unit 51 determines the traveling state of the coaxial two-wheeled vehicle 1. That is, the determination unit 51 monitors the travel control of the control unit 40 or the attitude control of the vehicle body 10 that is executed as described above. More specifically, the determination unit 51 executes arithmetic processing for the control unit 40 to execute traveling control or posture control of the vehicle body 10 and outputs control signals to the first and second drive circuits 21 and 22. Monitor whether or not When the determination unit 51 determines that the control unit 40 is not executing the calculation process, the determination unit 51 generates and outputs a control signal to the airbag deployment unit 52. Incidentally, power is supplied to the determination unit 51 from the first battery 71.

  The airbag deployment unit 52 is controlled by the determination unit 51. That is, when the control signal is input from the determination unit 51, the airbag deployment unit 52 sends gas such as an inflator to the airbag 53 and deploys the airbag 53. However, the deployment method of the airbag 53 can be substituted within the range of the usual airbag deployment method. Incidentally, power is supplied from the first battery 71 to the airbag deployment section 52.

  The airbag 53 is a bag body that is deployed by being filled with a gas such as an inflator as described above. The airbag 53 is disposed on the outer periphery of the vehicle body 10 so that the coaxial two-wheel vehicle 1 can be supported when deployed. The airbag 53 of the present embodiment is a bag body that has a cylindrical shape when deployed, and is provided in a lower portion on the front side of the vehicle body 10 and a lower portion on the lower side of the vehicle body 10. However, the airbag 53 should just be arrange | positioned at the front side of the vehicle body 10 at least.

  In such a coaxial two-wheeled vehicle 1, the control unit 40 does not execute arithmetic processing for executing travel control or posture control of the vehicle body 10, and outputs a control signal to the first and second drive circuits 21 and 22. Otherwise, the control system will fail and the vehicle will fall forward or backward. At this time, in the coaxial two-wheel vehicle 1 of the present embodiment, if the control signal is not output to the first and second drive circuits 21 and 22, as shown in FIG. The airbag 53 is deployed by controlling the part 52. Therefore, the coaxial two-wheeled vehicle 1 can avoid the overturn and can secure the safety of the passenger. Further, the overturn avoiding unit 50 is compact because no mechanical means is used, and the coaxial two-wheeled vehicle 1 is not enlarged.

Second Embodiment
A second embodiment of the present invention will be described.
The coaxial two-wheeled vehicle according to the present embodiment is configured to cope with a sudden interruption of the power supply from the first battery 71 to the control unit 40. That is, the determination unit 51 stops the calculation process for the power supply from the first battery 71 to the control unit 40 being cut off, and the control unit 40 to execute the travel control or the attitude control of the vehicle body 10. If it is determined that the control signal is not output to the first and second drive circuits 21 and 22, the airbag deployment section 52 is controlled to deploy the airbag 53 as in the first embodiment. At this time, since the supply of power to the determination unit 51 and the airbag deployment unit 52 is also cut off, it is preferable to include the second battery 81 as shown in FIG. As a result, even when the power supply from the first battery 71 is interrupted, the determination unit 51 and the airbag deployment unit 52 are supplied with power from the second battery 81 and can secure the activated state.

  In such a coaxial two-wheeled vehicle, the determination unit 51 controls the airbag deployment unit 52 to deploy the airbag 53 based on the traveling state of the coaxial two-wheeled vehicle. Therefore, the coaxial two-wheeled vehicle can avoid a fall and can ensure the safety of the passenger. Further, since the fall avoiding portion does not use mechanical means, it is compact, and the coaxial two-wheeled vehicle is not enlarged.

<Third Embodiment>
A third embodiment of the present invention will be described.
The coaxial two-wheeled vehicle according to the present embodiment is configured to be able to cope with a control stop of the control unit 40 by operating a stop switch. That is, the coaxial two-wheeled vehicle includes a stop switch 91 as shown in FIG. When the occupant operates the stop switch 91, a control stop signal is input to the control unit 40, and the control unit 40 stops arithmetic processing for executing travel control and attitude control of the vehicle body 10. When the determination unit 51 determines that the calculation process is stopped and the control signal is not output to the first and second drive circuits 21 and 22, the determination unit 51 controls the airbag deployment unit 52 as in the first embodiment. Then, the airbag 53 is deployed.

  In such a coaxial two-wheeled vehicle, the determination unit 51 controls the airbag deployment unit 52 to deploy the airbag 53 based on the traveling state of the coaxial two-wheeled vehicle. Therefore, the coaxial two-wheeled vehicle can avoid a fall and can ensure the safety of the passenger. Further, since the fall avoiding portion does not use mechanical means, it is compact, and the coaxial two-wheeled vehicle is not enlarged.

<Fourth embodiment>
A fourth embodiment of the present invention will be described.
The coaxial two-wheeled vehicle according to the present embodiment is configured to be able to respond based on the detection result of the attitude detection sensor unit 61. That is, as shown in FIG. 7, for example, an inclination angle in the front-rear direction of the vehicle body 10 is input from the attitude detection sensor unit 61 to the determination unit 51. The determination unit 51 determines whether or not the input tilt angle is equal to or greater than a preset threshold value. The determination unit 51 controls the airbag deployment unit 52 to deploy the airbag 53 when the input inclination angle is equal to or greater than a preset threshold value. Incidentally, the threshold value is appropriately set in consideration of the position of the center of gravity of the coaxial two-wheeled vehicle.

  In such a coaxial two-wheeled vehicle, the determination unit 51 controls the airbag deployment unit 52 to deploy the airbag 53 based on the traveling state of the coaxial two-wheeled vehicle. Therefore, the coaxial two-wheeled vehicle can avoid a fall and can ensure the safety of the passenger. Further, since the fall avoiding portion does not use mechanical means, it is compact, and the coaxial two-wheeled vehicle is not enlarged.

<Fifth Embodiment>
A fifth embodiment of the present invention will be described.
The coaxial two-wheeled vehicle of the present embodiment is configured to be able to cope with external impacts. That is, the coaxial two-wheeled vehicle includes an impact sensor (impact detection unit) 101 as shown in FIG. For example, when an acceleration greater than a set threshold value is input, the impact sensor 101 is connected to a reed switch and outputs an impact detection signal to the determination unit 51. When the detection signal is input, the determination unit 51 controls the airbag deployment unit 52 to deploy the airbag 53.

  In such a coaxial two-wheeled vehicle, the determination unit 51 controls the airbag deployment unit 52 to deploy the airbag 53 based on the traveling state of the coaxial two-wheeled vehicle. Therefore, the coaxial two-wheeled vehicle can avoid a fall and can ensure the safety of the passenger. Further, since the fall avoiding portion does not use mechanical means, it is compact, and the coaxial two-wheeled vehicle is not enlarged.

<Sixth Embodiment>
A sixth embodiment of the present invention will be described.
The coaxial two-wheeled vehicle of the present embodiment is configured to be able to cope with contact with an obstacle or a person. That is, the coaxial two-wheeled vehicle includes a contact sensor (contact detection unit) 102 as shown in FIG. The contact sensor 102 is disposed, for example, before and after the vehicle body 10. The contact sensor 102 is a so-called contact sensor, and when a pressure greater than a set threshold value is applied, for example, the electrode is energized and outputs a contact detection signal to the determination unit 51. When the detection signal is input, the determination unit 51 controls the airbag deployment unit 52 to deploy the airbag 53.

  In such a coaxial two-wheeled vehicle, the determination unit 51 controls the airbag deployment unit 52 to deploy the airbag 53 based on the traveling state of the coaxial two-wheeled vehicle. Therefore, the coaxial two-wheeled vehicle can avoid a fall and can ensure the safety of the passenger. Further, since the fall avoiding portion does not use mechanical means, it is compact, and the coaxial two-wheeled vehicle is not enlarged.

  As mentioned above, although embodiment of the coaxial two-wheeled vehicle which concerns on this invention was described, it can change in the range which is not restricted to said structure and does not deviate from the technical idea of this invention.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Coaxial motorcycle 10 Car body, 11 Boarding surface, 12 Handle 20 Drive part, 21 1st drive circuit, 22 2nd drive circuit, 23 1st motor, 24 2nd motor 30 1st wheel, 2nd Wheel 40 Control unit 50 Fall avoidance unit, 51 determination unit, 52 airbag deployment unit, 53 airbag 61 attitude detection sensor unit 62 angle detection sensor 71 first battery 81 second battery 91 stop switch 101 impact sensor 102 contact sensor

Claims (8)

The body on which the passenger is boarded,
A first wheel and a second wheel respectively rotated about an axis orthogonal to the traveling direction of the vehicle body, and disposed on both sides of the vehicle body along the orthogonal direction;
By controlling the driving of the first wheel and the second wheel, a control unit that performs travel control and posture control of the vehicle body,
A fall avoidance section for avoiding the fall of the coaxial motorcycle,
The fall avoiding unit is configured to determine a running state of the coaxial two-wheeled vehicle;
An airbag deployment section controlled by the determination section;
An airbag disposed on the outer periphery of the vehicle body so as to be controlled by the airbag deployment portion and to support the coaxial two-wheel vehicle during deployment;
Coaxial motorcycle with   2. The coaxial two-wheeled vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the determination unit monitors traveling control of the control unit or attitude control of the vehicle body, and determines a traveling state of the coaxial two-wheeled vehicle based on the monitoring result.   The determination unit monitors whether or not the control unit is executing a calculation process for executing a travel control or a posture control of the vehicle body. The coaxial two-wheeled vehicle according to claim 2, wherein the airbag is deployed by controlling a deployment portion.   The determination unit executes the calculation process when the supply of power from the power supply unit to the control unit is interrupted, and the calculation process for the control unit to execute the travel control or the posture control of the vehicle body is stopped. The coaxial two-wheeled vehicle according to claim 2, wherein it is determined that the airbag is not installed and the airbag deployment part is controlled to deploy the airbag.   The determination unit does not execute the calculation process when a control stop signal is input from the stop switch to the control unit, and the calculation process for the control unit to execute the travel control or the posture control of the vehicle body is stopped. The coaxial two-wheel vehicle according to claim 2, wherein the airbag is deployed by controlling the airbag deployment portion.   2. The coaxial two-wheeled vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the determination unit determines a traveling state of the coaxial two-wheeled vehicle based on a detection result of an attitude detection unit that detects an attitude of the vehicle body. With an impact detector,
2. The coaxial two-wheeled vehicle according to claim 1, wherein when the detection signal is input from the impact detection unit, the determination unit controls the airbag deployment unit to deploy the airbag. With a contact detector,
2. The coaxial two-wheeled vehicle according to claim 1, wherein when the detection signal is input from the contact detection unit, the determination unit controls the airbag deployment unit to deploy the airbag.

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