JP2011078729A - Rolling robot - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a rolling robot provided with a lightweight and rigid body case. <P>SOLUTION: The rolling robot 1 includes a motor having a rotary shaft, a rotary member mounted on the rotary shaft, and a substantially cube-like body case which encloses the motor and the rotary member. The body case 2 includes a case frame 51 composed of a plurality of frames (52-57) formed in an annular shape by metal to be mutually connected in an integrated manner, and a case cover composed of a plurality of plate members (62, 63, 64) formed in a sheet-like shape by resin to cover each between the frames (52-57). <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2011,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a rolling robot that moves by rolling a main body case.

  As shown in Patent Document 1, a rolling robot includes a motor having a rotating shaft, a flywheel as a rotating member attached to the rotating shaft of the motor, a battery for supplying electric power to the motor, a motor, and a flywheel. And a substantially cubic main body case containing the battery, and the motor is attached to the inner wall of the main body case. Then, the flywheel is accelerated / decelerated by the motor, and the main body case rotates and rolls by the rotational reaction force acting on the main body case by the acceleration / deceleration of the flywheel.

 Further, in the main body case, an angular velocity sensor that detects the rotation angle of the main body case and a control device that controls the driving of the motor based on a signal from the angular velocity sensor are provided. Then, the power supplied to the motor is controlled by the control device so that the main body case of the rolling robot has a target rotation angle. Further, for example, the rolling robot is required to be inverted while maintaining a balance at the side of the main body case, and needs to be controlled with high accuracy with respect to a target rotation angle.

JP 2008-119315 A

  As described above, the rolling robot rolls with the power of the built-in battery. Therefore, in order to lengthen the continuous operation time and to use a small battery for cost reduction, it is desired that the rolling robot is operated with less power. Therefore, it is necessary to reduce the amount of electric power supplied to the motor, and it is required to reduce the weight of the main body case rotated by the operation of the motor in order to reduce the electric energy. Further, in order to improve the responsiveness of the rolling operation of the rolling robot, the weight of the main body case is required.

  In addition, the rolling robot needs to be controlled with high accuracy so as to achieve a target rotation angle. For this purpose, the main body case is required not to be deformed by its own weight or rolling operation, and the main body case is required to have a certain degree of high rigidity.

  Accordingly, the present invention has been made in view of the above-described circumstances, and provides a rolling robot including a main body case that is lightweight and has high rigidity.

  In order to solve the above problems, a rolling robot according to a first aspect of the present invention includes a motor having a rotation shaft, a rotation member attached to the rotation shaft, the motor and the rotation member. In a rolling robot comprising a substantially cubic main body case, the main body case is formed in a ring shape from metal and is formed of a plurality of frames that are integrally connected to each other, and a plate shape from resin. And a case cover formed from a plurality of plate members covering between the frames.

As described above, the case frame that secures the strength of the main body case is formed of a plurality of frames that are annularly formed from metal and are integrally connected to each other, thereby increasing the rigidity of the main body case. Further, the weight of the main body case can be reduced by configuring the case frame with an annular frame to reduce the weight, and configuring the case cover with a light plate member formed in a plate shape from resin.

  The rolling robot according to a second aspect of the present invention is the rolling robot according to the first aspect, wherein the case frame is formed by first to sixth frames having substantially square shapes having four sides, and the second frame. The frame is disposed substantially parallel to the first frame, the third and fourth frames are disposed substantially perpendicular to the first frame, and the fifth and sixth frames are disposed on the first and third frames. It is characterized by being arranged substantially perpendicularly.

  Thus, by arranging each frame, the case frame can be made to have high rigidity with respect to the external force from any three-dimensional direction.

  A rolling robot according to a third aspect of the present invention is the rolling robot according to the second aspect, characterized in that the four corners of the first to sixth frames are each chamfered in an arc shape.

  In this way, by forming the case frame with a frame whose four corners are chamfered in an arc shape, the connection portion of each surface of the substantially cubic case frame is formed in an arc shape. For this reason, there is no portion where stress acts intensively at the connected portion, and the stress is dispersed. As described above, the stress at the connection portion is dispersed, so that the rigidity of the case frame is further increased and the rigidity of the main body case is improved.

  According to the present invention, the case frame that ensures the strength of the main body case is formed of a plurality of frames that are annularly formed from metal and are integrally connected to each other, so that the rigidity of the main body case can be increased. . Further, the weight of the main body case can be reduced by configuring the case frame with an annular frame to reduce the weight, and configuring the case cover with a light plate member formed in a plate shape from resin.

It is a perspective view of a rolling robot in a 1st embodiment of the present invention. It is a perspective view of the rolling robot of the 1st Embodiment of this invention shown by the cross section AA in FIG. It is a block diagram which shows schematic structure of the control apparatus of the rolling robot in the 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a perspective view of a case frame in a 1st embodiment of the present invention. It is a perspective view which shows a part of main body frame in the 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a partially expanded perspective view which shows the main body frame of the rolling robot in the 2nd Embodiment of this invention. It is sectional drawing which shows a part of main body frame in the 2nd Embodiment of this invention.

  Hereinafter, a first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an external shape of a rolling robot according to the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view showing an internal structure of the rolling robot shown by a section AA in FIG.

  The rolling robot 1 has a substantially cubic main body case 2 that forms an outer shell. A main motor (motor) 3 and a rotating shaft 4 of the motor 3 are provided inside the main body case 2. A flywheel (rotating member) 5 that is rotatably supported, motor support shafts 6 and 7 that extend in a direction substantially orthogonal to the rotation shaft 4 and rotatably support the motor 3, and a main motor 3 It mainly includes a sub motor 8 that rotates around the motor support shafts 6, 7, a sensor 9 that detects the attitude of the rolling robot 1, and a control device 10 that controls the operation of the main motor 3 and the sub motor 8. That is, the motor 3 and the flywheel 5 are enclosed in the main body case 2.

  The main body case 2 has a substantially cubic shape, and has a configuration in which corners formed at connecting portions of each surface are chamfered in an arc shape. The shape of the main body case 2 is not limited to that shown here, and can be formed as a rectangular parallelepiped, a tetrahedron, or other polyhedrons, for example. Details of the main body case 2 will be described later.

  The main motor 3 is a well-known electric motor that generates a rotational force on the rotating shaft 4, and rotates itself around the motor support shafts 6 and 7 while rotating the flywheel 5 at a high speed.

  The motor support shaft 6 is inserted into a shaft hole 21 provided in a bearing member 27 attached to the robot body case 2 at the upper end side and is rotatably supported, and the lower end side of the cover 22 covering the body of the motor 3. Connected to the top. The motor support shaft 7 is arranged substantially coaxially with the support shaft 6, and a lower end side thereof is fixed to the main body case 2 by a support member 23 provided on the robot main body case 2, and a gear 24 is provided on the upper end side. It is attached.

  The sub motor 8 is fixed to a gear box 25 connected to the lower part of the cover 22 of the motor 3. The pinion gear 26 attached to the rotation shaft of the sub motor 8 is in mesh with the gear 24 of the motor support shaft 7, and the sub motor 8 rotates around the motor support shafts 6 and 7 when the rotation shaft rotates. Move to turn. Accordingly, the motor 3 to which the sub motor 8 is fixed rotates around the motor support shafts 6 and 7. In this way, by connecting the sub motor 8 to the main motor 3 and rotating integrally, it is easy to send and receive control signals to both the main motor 3 and the sub motor 8 from the control device 10 and to supply power. There is an advantage that As the sub motor 8, a servo motor or the like that can control the angle of the rotation of the support shaft 7 with high accuracy can be used.

  Alternatively, the sub motor 8 is fixed to the inner surface of the robot body case 2 instead of the motor 3, while the lower end side of the motor support shaft 7 is rotatably supported by the body case 2, and the upper end side of the sub motor 8 is fixed to the motor 3. It is also possible to connect them.

  The sensor 9 is attached to the inner surface of the main body case 2 and connected to the control device 10 via a communication line (not shown) so as to be communicable. As this sensor 9, for example, a triaxial acceleration sensor that can detect acceleration vectors in the front-rear, left-right, and vertical directions, or a triaxial angular velocity sensor that can detect angular velocity vectors can be used. The detection result of the sensor 9 (information on the gravity vector, the acceleration at the time of rolling and the angular velocity vector) is sent to the control device 10, and the posture of the rolling robot 1 and the rotation angle at the time of rolling when the control device 10 performs control. And is used as information on angular velocity.

  The control device 10 is attached to the motor 3 on the other end side opposite to the one end side on which the rotating shaft 4 extends. The control device 10 can execute control so as to generate a rotational moment that accelerates or decelerates the flywheel 5 and causes a rotational reaction force necessary for rolling to act on the main body case 2. The main body case 2 is rotated by this rotational reaction force acting on the main body case 2, and the rolling robot 1 performs a rolling operation.

  In this case, the control device 10 is attached to the casing of the main motor 3 and rotates integrally with the motor 3, but does not rotate at a high speed like the flywheel 5. Communication can be realized with a simple configuration. For example, communication between the control device 10 and the sensor 9 can be realized by a communication line (wired) whose length and arrangement are determined in consideration of the rotation range of the control device 10.

    Alternatively, a configuration in which a sensor for detecting the posture of the rolling robot 1 is provided in the control device 10 (see the sensor 9 'in FIG. 1) is also possible. Thus, by attaching the sensor 9 ′ to the main motor 3 together with the control device 10, transmission and reception of control signals and power supply between the control device 10 and the main motor 3 or the sub motor 8, and the control device 10 and the sensor 9 ′. Can be realized with a simple configuration.

  FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of the control device for the rolling robot. The control device 10 includes a main controller 31 that comprehensively controls the rolling operation of the rolling robot, a main motor driver 32 for driving the main motor 3, and a sub motor driver 33 for driving the sub motor 8. And mainly consists of As the motor drivers 32 and 33, known drivers capable of controlling the speed, torque, positioning and the like in the motors 3 and 8 can be used.

  The main controller 31 has an antenna for receiving a command signal S from an external controller 41 having operation keys for an operator and the like, and in order to execute a rolling operation instructed by the command signal S, Control signals for the motor drivers 32 and 33 are generated. At this time, the main controller 31 can grasp the posture of the rolling robot 1, the rotation angle at the time of rolling, and the angular velocity by acquiring the detection result of the sensor 9. The motor drivers 32 and 33 drive the motors 3 and 8 in accordance with control signals received from the main controller 31 to control speed, torque, positioning, and the like.

  The main controller 31 generates control signals for the motor drivers 32 and 33 in accordance with a control program stored in advance in a memory or the like provided in the rolling robot 1 without depending on the command signal S from the external controller 41. Configuration is also possible. In addition, a battery for supplying power to the main motor 3 and the sub motor 8 is attached to the control device 10.

  Next, details of the main body case 2 will be described with reference to the drawings. As shown in FIG. 1, the main body case 2 is made of metal and formed of a plurality of frames (52 to 57) that are connected to each other, and is formed into a plate shape with a resin. 52 to 57) and a case cover 61 formed of plate members (62 to 64). In the present embodiment, the frames (52 to 57) are made of aluminum and are light and have high strength.

  FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing an external shape of the case frame. As shown in the figure, the case frame 51 is formed of first to sixth frames (52 to 57).

  Each frame (52 to 57) has two substantially U-shaped frame members ((52a, 52b) (53a, 53b) (54a, 54b) (55a) whose corners which are connecting portions are chamfered in an arc shape. , 55b) (56a, 56b) (57a, 57b)). Then, the first to fourth frames (52 to 55) are respectively connected by screws SC, thereby connecting members ((52c, 52d) (53c, 53d) (54c, 54d) (55c, 55d)) as connecting means. Are integrally connected.

  The first to sixth frames (52 to 57) formed as described above have four sides that are linear, and are substantially square shapes that are arranged at positions where the adjacent four sides are orthogonal to each other. Are formed in a substantially quadrant circular arc shape. The first to sixth frames (52 to 57) are all formed in substantially the same shape.

  Next, the arrangement of the frames (52 to 57) will be described below. The second frame 53 is disposed substantially parallel to the first frame 52 at a predetermined interval, and the third and fourth frames (54, 55) are arranged with respect to the first and second frames (52, 53). They are arranged substantially perpendicularly at a predetermined interval. Further, the fifth and sixth frames (56, 57) are substantially perpendicular to the first and second frames (52, 53), and are also substantially perpendicular to the third and fourth frames (54, 55). They are arranged vertically at a predetermined interval.

  In the arrangement positions of the frames (52 to 57) as described above, the frames (52 to 57) are integrally connected to each other by fitting and the case frame 51 is integrated with the frames (52 to 57). Formed in the structure. The ramen structure is a structure having high strength and is also used in general buildings and bridge girders. By making the case frame 51 into such a ramen structure, the case frame 51 has high rigidity.

  Furthermore, the connection part of each surface of the substantially cubic case frame 51 is formed in an arc shape by the shape of the four corners of each frame (52 to 57). For this reason, there is no portion where stress acts intensively at the connected portion, and the stress is dispersed. In this way, the rigidity of the case frame 51 is further increased by dispersing the stress at the connection portion.

  As shown in FIG. 2, in the rolling robot 1, the motor 3, the flywheel 5, and the like need to be included in the main body case 2. Therefore, when the rolling robot 1 is assembled, The case frame 51 is required to be splittable. In this regard, as described above, the first to fourth frames (52 to 55) are connected by the connecting members ((52c, 52d) (53c, 53d) (54c, 54d) (55c, 55d)). It has a configuration. Therefore, the connecting member ((52c, 52d) (53c, 53d) (54c, 54d) (55c, 55d)) and each frame member ((52a, 52b) (53a, 53b) (54a, 54b) (55a, 55b) The case frame 51 can be divided by releasing the connection with ()).

  Next, details of the case cover 61 provided in the main body case 2 will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 5. FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing a part of the main body case.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 5, the case cover 61 includes six flat plate members 62, eight arch plate members 63, and eight dome plate members 64, and each plate member (62, 63, 64) is inserted and fixed between the frames (52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57), and covers between the frames (52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57). Each plate member (62, 63, 64) is formed in a thin plate shape with a lightweight resin, so that the weight of the main body case 2 is reduced.

  The flat plate member 62 is formed in a square plane shape. In the case frame 51, as shown in FIG. 5, for example, the flat plate member 62 is inserted and fixed between the first to fourth frames (52 to 55) forming the square plane S1. And covers between the first to fourth frames (52 to 55). Six square planes as described above are formed in the case frame 51, and these square planes are covered by six flat plate members 62.

  The arch plate member 63 is formed in a square curved surface shape, and, as shown in FIG. 5, in the case frame 51, for example, first to third frames (52 to 54) and a fifth frame forming a square curved surface S2. 56 is inserted and fixed between the first to third frames (52 to 54) and the fifth frame 56. The case frame 51 has eight rectangular curved surfaces as described above, and these eight curved surfaces are covered by the eight arch plate members 63.

  The dome plate member 64 is formed in a mountain shape. In the case frame 51, as shown in FIG. 5, for example, the second, third, and fifth frames (53, 54, 56) that form a triangular curved surface S3. ), And covers between the second, third and fifth frames (53, 54, 56). Eight triangular curved surfaces as described above are formed in the case frame 51, and these triangular curved surfaces are covered by the eight dome plate members 64.

  The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and includes various modifications made to the above-described embodiment without departing from the spirit of the present invention.

  Next, the rolling robot 100 according to the second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. The rolling robot 100 in the second embodiment differs from the rolling robot 1 in the first embodiment only in the shape of some of the flat plate members included in the main body case. In the rolling robot 100 according to the second embodiment, the shapes of other parts other than the flat plate member are the same as those of the rolling robot 1 according to the first embodiment. Therefore, only the above flat plate member and the like will be described below, and the other components are denoted by the same reference numerals as those of the rolling robot 1 in the first embodiment, and a part of the description is omitted.

  The rolling robot 100 has a substantially cubic main body case 20 that forms an outer shell thereof. The main body case 20 includes a case frame 51 and a case cover 61 formed from a plate member (62 to 64, 162) formed of a resin and covering between the frames (52 to 57).

  In the plate members (62 to 64, 162), the arch plate member 63 has hook-shaped locking portions 63a formed integrally at both ends thereof. Further, in the flat plate member (62, 162), the flat plate member 162 that comes into contact with the connecting member (52c, 52d, 53c, 53d, 54c, 54d, 55c, 55d) is formed at both ends in the same manner as the arch plate member 63. It has the latching | locking part 162a formed integrally.

  Next, attachment of the flat plate member 162 and the arch plate member 63 to the case frame 51 will be described with reference to FIG. First, the flat plate member 162 is installed so that the locking portions 162 a formed integrally at both ends thereof are disposed at positions where the locking portions 162 a are in contact with the case frame 51 from the inside of the main body case 20. Then, after that, the arch plate member 63 is installed so that the locking portions 63a formed integrally at both ends thereof are arranged at positions where they come into contact with the locking portions 162a of the flat plate member 162 from the inside of the main body case 20. The Since the arch plate member 63 is made of an elastic resin, the arch-shaped arc can be deformed into a clip shape. Therefore, it is possible to arrange the arch plate member 63 at the above position by deforming the arch plate member 63 into a clip shape.

As described above, by attaching the flat plate member 162 and the arch plate member 63 to the case frame 51, the flat plate member 162 is attached to the case frame 5.
1 and the locking part 63a of the arch plate member 63 hold the locking part 162a of the flat plate member 162 and fix it to the case frame 51. The arch plate member 63 is fixed to the case frame 51 with the side wall of the hook-shaped locking portion 63 a abutting against the case frame 51.

  Further, as described above, the arch plate member 63 can deform an arch-shaped arc into a clip shape. Therefore, by deforming the arch plate member 63 into a clip shape, the arch plate member 63 is removed from the case frame 51, and after the arch plate member 63 is removed from the case frame 51, the flat plate member 162 is removed from the case frame 51. It is possible.

  As described above, since the arch plate member 63 and the flat plate member 162 can be detached from the case frame 51, maintenance such as charging of the battery BT provided in the rolling robot 100 can be performed from the outside. It is.

  The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and includes various modifications made to the above-described embodiment without departing from the spirit of the present invention. Therefore, the arch plate member 63 does not need to be formed from resin, and may be a metal material having elasticity.

1 Rolling robot 2 Body case 3 Main motor (motor)
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 4 Rotating shaft 5 Flywheel 6, 7 Motor support shaft 8 Sub motor 9 Sensor 10 Control device 21 Shaft hole 22 Cover 23 Support member 24 Gear 25 Gear box 26 Pinion gear 27 Bearing member 31 Main controller 32 Main motor driver 33 Sub motor driver 41 External controller S Command signal 42 Antenna BT Battery 51 Case frame 52 First frame 52a Frame member 52b Frame members 52c, 52d, 53c, 53d, 54c, 54d, 55c, 55d Connecting member (connecting means)
53 Second frame 53a, 53b, 54a, 54b, 55a, 55b, 56a, 56b, 57a, 57b
Frame member 54 3rd frame 55 4th frame 56 5th frame 57 6th frame 61 Case cover 62 Flat plate member 63 Arch plate member 63a Locking portion 64 Dome plate member SC Screw 162 Flat plate member 162a Locking portion

Claims (5)

In a rolling robot comprising: a motor having a rotating shaft; a rotating member attached to the rotating shaft; and a substantially cubic main body case containing the motor and the rotating member.
The main body case is formed of a plurality of frames that are annularly formed from metal and are integrally connected to each other, and a plurality of plate members that are formed in a plate shape from resin and cover each frame. A rolling robot comprising a case cover.   The case frame is formed by first to sixth substantially square-shaped frames having four sides, the second frame is disposed substantially parallel to the first frame, and the third and fourth frames are the first frame. The rolling robot according to claim 1, wherein the rolling robot is disposed substantially perpendicular to a frame, and the fifth and sixth frames are disposed substantially perpendicular to the first and third frames.   The rolling robot according to claim 2, wherein the four corners of the first to sixth frames are each chamfered in an arc shape.   The plate member includes a square flat plate-shaped flat plate member that covers between the frames that form a square plane in the case frame, and a square-curved arch plate member that covers the frames that form a square curved surface in the case frame. The rolling robot according to claim 3, further comprising: a mountain-shaped dome plate member that covers between the frames forming a triangular curved surface in the case frame. Each of the first to fourth frames has two substantially U-shaped frame members and connecting means for integrally connecting the two frame members,
The rolling robot according to claim 2, wherein the case frame can be divided by the connecting means.

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