JP2014226983A - Travelling mechanism - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a travelling mechanism that allows great traction to be obtained when travelling on a bumpy road and an irregular ground.SOLUTION: A travelling mechanism 1 comprises a wheel 10 and a plurality of engaging members 20, where each of the engaging members 20 is attached to an outer periphery of the wheel 10 slidably in a longitudinal direction along the circumferential direction of the wheel 10, and has engaging portions 25 on front and rear end portions along the circumferential direction of the wheel 10. The travelling mechanism 1 has elastic members 30, where each of the elastic members 30 is attached to the wheel 10 or the engaging members 20 to be energized in a direction of returning the slid engaging members 20.

Description

  The present invention relates to a traveling mechanism.

  There are many mobile devices that can be moved in various environments and road conditions. For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a pipe inspection apparatus that has a simple structure and can be moved in a desired direction by a bent pipe, a branch pipe, or the like.

JP 2012-76475 A

  By the way, in a mobile vehicle that travels on a stepped road surface such as an obstacle or rough terrain, various contrivances have been made to obtain a large traction, that is, an ability to transmit driving force to the road surface, such as wheels that contact the road surface. Yes.

  For example, as shown in FIG. 8, there is a traveling mechanism 100 having a wheel 110 and a plurality of locking portions 120 that are protrusions called a grower attached to the surface of the wheel 110. The locking part 120 of the traveling mechanism 100 shown in FIG. 8 protrudes radially outward from the surface of the wheel 110 and is fixed. In the traveling mechanism 100, the traction can be obtained by the locking portion 120 locking to the road surface.

  However, the traveling mechanism 100 is difficult to get over, for example, when the height of the step is higher than the radius of the wheel 110. Further, by increasing the interval between the adjacent locking portions 120 or by increasing the protrusions of the locking portions 120, it becomes easier to lock the road surface, and a larger traction can be obtained. However, as a result, the shape connecting the tips of the locking portions 120 becomes a more non-circular shape, which causes problems such as vibration and a decrease in movement efficiency during traveling.

  The present invention provides a traveling mechanism capable of obtaining a large traction when traveling on a road surface having a step or rough terrain.

  According to the first aspect of the present invention, a wheel and a plurality of locking members are provided, and each of the locking members is swingable in the front-rear direction along the circumferential direction of the wheel. A traveling mechanism is provided that is attached to an outer peripheral portion and has a locking portion at front and rear ends along the circumferential direction of the wheel.

  According to the invention of claim 2, in the invention of claim 1, further comprising an elastic member, wherein the elastic member biases the swinging locking member in a restoring direction. A traveling mechanism is provided which is attached to the wheel or the locking member.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the first or second aspect of the present invention, the locking member swings about an axis parallel to the rotation axis of the wheel. Is provided.

  According to the invention described in claim 4, in the invention described in any one of claims 1 to 3, each of the locking members has a convex curved traveling surface that contacts the road surface during traveling. A travel mechanism is provided.

  According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the invention according to any one of the first to fourth aspects, each of the locking members has a fan-shaped longitudinal cross-sectional shape. Is provided.

  According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, there is provided the traveling mechanism according to the fifth aspect, wherein the radius of curvature of the fan-shaped arc is larger than the radius of the wheel.

  Further, according to the invention described in claim 7, in the invention described in any one of claims 1 to 6, the locking members are arranged at equal intervals along the circumferential direction of the wheel. A travel mechanism is provided.

  According to the invention described in each claim, there is a common effect that a large traction can be obtained when the vehicle travels on a stepped road surface or rough terrain.

It is a perspective view of the traveling mechanism by one mode of the present invention. It is a front view of the traveling mechanism of FIG. It is a perspective view of the wheel of the traveling mechanism of FIG. It is a perspective view of the locking member of the traveling mechanism of FIG. It is a perspective view of the elastic member of the traveling mechanism of FIG. It is a figure which shows the state of a driving | running | working of the traveling mechanism of FIG. It is a figure which shows the Example of the elastic member different from the traveling mechanism of FIG. It is a figure which shows the conventional traveling mechanism.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. Corresponding components are denoted by common reference symbols throughout the drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a traveling mechanism 1 according to an aspect of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a front view of the traveling mechanism 1 of FIG. The travel mechanism 1 has one wheel 10, six locking members 20, and one elastic member 30. 3 is a perspective view of the wheel 10 of the traveling mechanism 1 of FIG. 1, FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the locking member 20 of the traveling mechanism 1 of FIG. 1, and FIG. 3 is a perspective view of an elastic member 30 of the mechanism 1. FIG.

  In the following description, the front-rear direction is defined along the circumferential direction of the wheel 10, the direction toward which the wheel 10 rotates is defined as “front”, and the opposite side is defined as “rear”. In the accompanying drawings, for example FIG. 2, it is assumed that the wheel 10 rotates clockwise. When the wheel 10 rotates counterclockwise, the front and rear are reversed, but there is no difference in configuration and effect.

  Referring to FIG. 3, the wheel 10 is a bobbin-like member having a cylindrical wheel body 11 and annular plates 12 that are disposed at both ends of the wheel body 11 and have a larger diameter than the wheel body 11. Each of the annular plates 12 is formed with six mounting holes 13 at equal intervals in the circumferential direction around the central axis of the wheel 10. Further, the mounting holes 13 are arranged at positions facing each other between the opposed annular plates 12. A drive shaft or the like of the moving device can be inserted into the insertion hole 14 of the wheel body 11. The wheel 10 is a rigid member.

  Referring to FIG. 4, the locking member 20 includes a swing shaft 21, a traveling surface 22 that contacts the road surface when the traveling mechanism 1 travels, a substantially fan-shaped end surface 23, and a front surface and a rear surface of the locking member 20. And a certain locking surface 24. Each of the locking members 20 is configured such that both ends of the swing shaft 21 are fitted into the mounting holes 13 of the annular plate 12 at both ends of the wheel 10 so that the wheel can swing back and forth along the circumferential direction of the wheel 10. 10 is attached to the outer periphery (FIGS. 1 and 2). In the traveling mechanism 1, the rotation axis of the wheel 10 and each swing axis of the locking member 20 are parallel to each other, and therefore the locking member 20 swings about an axis parallel to the rotation axis of the wheel 10.

  The traveling surface 22 is formed in a convex curved surface formed of a part of a cylindrical surface extending in the axial direction of the swing shaft 21. The two locking surfaces 24 are rectangular flat surfaces extending between the substantially fan-shaped straight radial portions of the opposing end surfaces 23. Accordingly, the vertical cross-sectional shape perpendicular to the axis of the swing shaft 21 of the locking member 20 is substantially a sector shape. The fan-shaped central angle of the end surface 23, that is, the angle formed by the two locking surfaces 24 is α (FIG. 2). A radially outer portion of the locking surface 24, that is, a portion or an end near the running surface 22 constitutes a locking portion 25 described later. The locking member 20 is a rigid member.

  Referring to FIG. 5, a through hole 31 is formed in the elastic member 30 so as to have a cylindrical inner surface shape into which the wheel body 11 of the wheel 10 is inserted. That is, the inner diameter of the through hole 31 of the elastic member 30 is substantially equal to the outer diameter of the wheel body 11 of the wheel 10. The elastic member 30 is formed with six groove portions 32 having a substantially circular cross section in the axial direction at equal intervals in the circumferential direction around the central axis of the through hole 31. The distance from the central axis of the through hole 31 of the elastic member 30 to the groove 32 is equal to the distance from the central axis of the wheel 10 to the mounting hole 13. Therefore, when the elastic member 30 is attached to the wheel 10, each of the six groove portions 32 of the elastic member 30 can be aligned with each of the six attachment holes 13 of the wheel 10.

  Further, between the adjacent groove portions 32 of the elastic member 30, six raised portions 33 that protrude radially outward and extend in the axial direction are formed. At the tip of each raised portion 33, an outer peripheral surface 34 is formed which is formed in a convex curved surface formed of a part of a cylindrical surface extending in the central axis direction of the through hole 31 of the elastic member 30. The distance from the central axis of the through hole 31 of the elastic member 30 to the outer peripheral surface 34 of the raised portion 33 is larger than the outer diameter of the annular plate 12 of the wheel 10, and the running surface 22 of the locking member 20 attached to the wheel 10. It is smaller than the distance.

  Further, each of the raised portions 33 has a rectangular contact surface 35 which is a front surface and a rear surface. The angle formed by the adjacent contact surfaces 35 between the adjacent raised portions 33 is substantially the same as the above-described fan-shaped center angle of the end surface 23, that is, the angle α formed by the two locking surfaces 24. Therefore, when the traveling mechanism 1 attaches the swing shaft 21 of the locking member 20 to the annular plate 12 of the wheel 10 with the wheel body 11 of the wheel 10 inserted into the through hole 31 of the elastic member 30, the locking member The 20 rocking shafts 21 are accommodated in the grooves 32 of the elastic member 30, and the locking surface 24 of the locking member 20 is disposed in contact with or close to the contact surface 35 of the elastic member 30.

  The elastic member 30 can be formed from a material having rubber elasticity such as an elastomer, or a porous material such as a sponge. The elastic member 30 is formed of a sponge for weight reduction. In particular, when a closed-cell sponge in which each bubble is independently sealed is used as the porous material, the liquid is not sucked, so that it can travel on a road surface wet with the liquid and has buoyancy in water. Is preferable.

  Since each of the locking members 20 is disposed between the adjacent raised portions 33 of the elastic member 30, the elastic member 30 is moved in the direction to return the rocking locking member 20 to the original position, that is, in the direction to restore. A biasing force due to elasticity is generated. In other words, when the locking member 20 swings, the locking surface 24 of the locking member 20 contacts and presses against the contact surface 35 of the opposing elastic member 30. As a result, the elastic member 30, particularly the raised portion 33 is elastically deformed, and the force for restoring the deformation becomes the urging force for restoring the locking member 20.

  When traveling on a flat road surface, the traveling mechanism 1 can travel like a wheel with a normal circular cross section by the traveling surface 22 formed in a convex curved surface shape of the locking member 20. That is, the traveling mechanism 1 starts grounding from the front end 22a on one traveling surface 22 of the six locking members 20 according to the rotation of the wheel 10, and the grounding point gradually moves rearward. Continue to grounding end 22b.

  Here, the grounded portion of the running surface 22 of the locking member 20 receives a drag (vertical drag) from the road surface. When the direction of the drag force is offset from the swinging shaft 21 of the locking member 20, a moment acts and the locking member 20 swings around the swinging shaft 21. Therefore, when the front end 22a or the rear end 22b of the running surface 22 is in contact with the ground, the moment is the largest and the rocking angle of the locking member 20 is the largest.

  As described above, after the wheel 10 rotates, the contact point with the road surface reaches the rear end 22b of the traveling surface 22 of the locking member 20, and then to the front end 22a of the adjacent traveling surface 22 of the rear locking member 20. Is grounded. In other words, the shape of the running surface 22, the interval between the locking members 20, the material of the elastic member 30, and the like are such that the transition of the ground point between the running surfaces 22 of the adjacent locking members 20 can be performed smoothly. It is determined. For example, the radius of curvature of the longitudinal cross-sectional shape of the running surface 22 is preferably larger than the radius of the wheel 10, that is, the radius of the wheel body 11 or the annular plate 12. As a matter of course, the adjacent locking members 20 are spaced apart so as not to interfere with each other.

  On the other hand, the case where the traveling mechanism 1 gets over the step will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a traveling state of the traveling mechanism 1 of FIG. A situation in which the vehicle travels from a flat road surface to a road surface having a step S is shown. In FIG. 6, the elastic member 30 is omitted.

  In FIG. 6, when the traveling mechanism 1 traveling from the left to the right reaches the step S, the rear portion of the traveling surface 22 of the first locking member 20a comes into contact with the opposing wall surface W and receives a drag force. Accordingly, the first locking member 20 a swings toward the rear end 22 b of the traveling surface 22. As a result, the locking portion 25 of the locking surface 24 of the adjacent second locking member 20b at the rear is exposed, so that it is locked to the upper surface T of the step S. Next, the traveling mechanism 1 can get over the step S with the locking portion 25 as a fulcrum. In other words, the locking portion 25 is formed at the front and rear end portions of the locking member 20 so that the locking portion 25 can be locked to the upper portion or the upper surface of the locking member 25 when going over the step.

  As described above, according to the traveling mechanism 1, the locking member 20 receives the drag force according to the rotation of the wheel 10, so that it can passively swing and overcome the step. Therefore, according to the traveling mechanism 1, it is possible to obtain a large traction with a simple and lightweight mechanism when traveling on a stepped road surface or rough terrain.

  In the traveling mechanism 1 according to one aspect of the present invention described above, the locking member 20 has a substantially sector-shaped vertical cross-sectional shape. However, any shape can be adopted as long as the vehicle can stably travel on a flat road surface and the locking portion functions when overcoming a step. For example, the longitudinal sectional shape of the running surface 22 of the locking member 20 may have continuously different radii of curvature. Further, the number of locking members included in the traveling mechanism is not limited to six, and may be five or less or seven or more.

  In the traveling mechanism 1 according to one aspect of the present invention described above, the sponge elastic member 30 is used. However, other general elastic members such as a coil spring, a torsion spring, and a leaf spring can be used to achieve the same effect. It may be.

  In this regard, FIG. 7 is a view showing an embodiment of an elastic member 50 different from the traveling mechanism 1 of FIG. In FIG. 7, a coil spring is used as the elastic member 50. One end of the elastic member 50 is attached to the locking surface 24 of the locking member 20, and the other end is attached to the wheel 10, for example, the wheel body 11. That is, in this embodiment, both ends of the elastic member 50 are fixed ends. Therefore, in this embodiment, one of the elastic members 50 attached to the front and rear locking surfaces 24 is compressed and the other is expanded by the swing of the locking member 20. Therefore, the locking member 20 is restored by using the urging forces of the two front and rear elastic members 50.

  When the sponge elastic member 30 of the traveling mechanism 1 in FIG. 1 is schematically shown using a coil spring as shown in FIG. 7, one end of the elastic member 30 is attached to the locking member 20. It can be said that there is no free end. On the other hand, in FIG. 7, the elastic member may be attached to the locking surface 24 of the locking member 20 to form a fixed end, and the outer peripheral side of the wheel 10 may be the free end.

  The traveling mechanism 1 according to one aspect of the present invention described above can be replaced with wheels of various vehicles such as a two-wheel vehicle and a four-wheel vehicle. The traveling mechanism 1 according to one aspect of the present invention is not limited to a vehicle, and can be applied to various moving devices. For example, you may apply to the traveling mechanism of a snake-shaped robot by arrange | positioning three or more traveling mechanisms 1 continuously in a line. Further, a crawler belt in an endless track may be used instead of the wheel 10 of the traveling mechanism 1. That is, a plurality of swingable locking members may be disposed on the outer surface that contacts the road surface of the crawler belt, and elastic members may be disposed between the locking members. In addition, the present invention may be applied to a traveling mechanism having a flat traveling surface such as a sled.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Traveling mechanism 10 Wheel 20 Locking member 25 Locking part 30 Elastic member

Claims (7)

Comprising a wheel and a plurality of locking members;
Each of the locking members is attached to the outer peripheral portion of the wheel so as to be swingable in the front-rear direction along the circumferential direction of the wheel, and the locking portion is provided at the front and rear end portions along the circumferential direction of the wheel. A traveling mechanism characterized by comprising:   The elastic member is further provided, and the elastic member is attached to the wheel or the locking member so as to urge the rocking locking member in a restoring direction. The traveling mechanism described.   The travel mechanism according to claim 1, wherein the locking member swings about an axis parallel to the rotation axis of the wheel.   The travel mechanism according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein each of the locking members has a convex curved travel surface that contacts the road surface during travel.   5. The travel mechanism according to claim 1, wherein each of the locking members has a fan-shaped vertical cross-sectional shape.   The traveling mechanism according to claim 5, wherein a radius of curvature of the fan-shaped arc is larger than a radius of the wheel.   The travel mechanism according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the plurality of locking members are arranged at equal intervals along a circumferential direction of the wheel.

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