JP2015080312A - Wheel driving device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To easily fit a wheel driving device which is fitted to a wheeled moving body, and drives and rotates its wheels, to the moving body.SOLUTION: A wheel driving device includes: a pendulum which has an arm part 23, a fulcrum part provided at one end of the arm part 23, and a weight 24 provided at the other end of the arm part 23; a drive part 21 which drives and rotates the pendulum around the fulcrum part; and a control part 25 which controls the driving and rotation by the drive part 21. The control part 25 when rotating wheels 13 so that the moving body (exemplified with a wheel chair 1) moves in its moving direction controls the drive part 21 so as to maintain the weight 24 on the side in the moving direction, thereby driving and rotating the wheels 13 by utilizing position energy of the pendulum.

Description

  The present invention relates to a wheel drive device that is attached to a moving body with wheels and rotationally drives the wheels.

  Conventionally, wheeled moving bodies such as wheelchairs and bicycles have been used for movement. In addition, a driving device for attaching to such a moving body and assisting the propulsion of the moving body has been proposed.

  For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a drive wheel that is driven independently on the left and right sides and is used for both propulsion and steering in order to improve straight-running stability during traveling, to prevent uniflow and wobbling, and to improve safety during operation. And the power vehicle provided with the drive part which performs the drive is disclosed.

JP 2004-120875 A

  In the technique described in Patent Document 1, it is possible to electrify a moving body such as a wheelchair, but the main body of the moving body (wheels) that rotates and holds the wheels to generate drive torque for rotating the wheels. However, it is necessary to receive a reaction force equivalent to the drive torque, and a drive unit or a drive transmission unit for driving the wheel must be provided between the wheel and the main body of the moving body.

  For this reason, the technique described in Patent Document 1 requires complicated work when attaching a wheel drive or transmission unit to a moving body that rotates and moves an existing wheel. For example, even a moving body in which both wheels rotate independently, such as a wheelchair, and the wheel is attached to the main body with a simple fixing bracket outside the rotation axis of the wheel, not only the fixing bracket but also the wheel. It is also necessary to remove the work. Thus, with the technique described in Patent Document 1, it can be said that the attaching operation is difficult and the assemblability and serviceability are poor.

  Such a problem may also occur when a driving force is added to a mobile body that originally has a power source, such as so-called personal mobility or a power-assisted bicycle.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above situation, and the object thereof is to attach to a moving body with wheels, and to easily attach the moving body to a moving body in a wheel driving device for driving the wheels. There is to do.

  In order to solve the above-described problem, a first technical means of the present invention is a wheel drive device that rotationally drives a wheel of a moving body, the arm portion, a fulcrum portion provided at one end of the arm portion, A control unit configured to control the rotation of the pendulum provided at the other end of the arm unit, a drive unit that rotationally drives the pendulum around the fulcrum unit, and the control unit When rotating the wheel so that the moving body moves in the traveling direction, the unit uses the potential energy of the pendulum by controlling the driving unit so as to maintain the weight on the traveling direction side. The wheels are driven to rotate.

  The second technical means of the present invention is characterized in that, in the first technical means, a storage battery for supplying power to the drive unit is provided, and the storage battery is arranged as a part of the weight. It is a thing.

  According to a third technical means of the present invention, in the first or second technical means, when the pendulum does not execute rotational driving by the driving unit, the weight is positioned at the lowest point by gravity. It is characterized by being attached to.

  According to a fourth technical means of the present invention, in any one of the first to third technical means, the wheel drive device has a mass balance other than the pendulum substantially about the rotation axis of the wheel. It is characterized by being evenly arranged.

  According to a fifth technical means of the present invention, in any one of the first to fourth technical means, the moving body is a wheelchair.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, the attachment to a moving body can be easily performed in the wheel drive device for attaching to a moving body with a wheel and driving the wheel to rotate.

It is a side view which shows an example of the wheelchair which can attach the wheel drive device which concerns on this invention. It is a top view which shows the wheelchair of FIG. 1A. It is a side view which shows the example which attached the wheel drive device which concerns on this invention to the wheelchair of FIG. 1A and FIG. 1B. It is a top view which shows the wheelchair with a wheel drive device of FIG. 2A. It is a perspective view which shows the mode before locking a mounting lever in the wheelchair with a wheel drive device of FIG. 2A and FIG. 2B. It is an enlarged view which shows an example of the attachment lever in FIG. 3A. It is a side view which shows the state which removed the exterior part in order to make the internal structure of a wheel drive device easy to understand in one structural example of the wheelchair with a wheel drive device of FIG. 2A and FIG. 2B. It is a top view of the wheelchair with a wheel drive device of Drawing 4A. It is an enlarged view which shows the principal part of the wheel drive device in the wheelchair with a wheel drive device of FIG. 4B. It is a side view which shows the state of the pendulum at the time of moving the wheelchair with a wheel drive device of FIG. 4A. It is a side view which shows the state following FIG. 5A. It is a side view which shows the state following FIG. 5B. It is sectional drawing which shows the pendulum and the drive part in the other structural example of the wheelchair with a wheel drive device of FIG. 2A and FIG. 2B. It is a side view which shows the state which removed the exterior part in order to make it easy to understand the internal structure of a wheel drive device in the other structural example of the wheelchair with a wheel drive device of FIG. 2A and FIG. 2B. It is a top view of the wheelchair with a wheel drive device of Drawing 7A. It is an enlarged view which shows the attachment location of the wheel drive device of the wheelchair with a wheel drive device of FIG. 7B.

  The wheel drive device according to the present invention is a device for rotationally driving a wheel of a moving body, and is a pendulum type wheel drive device utilizing the principle of a pendulum. Examples of the moving body include various wheeled moving bodies such as wheelchairs, unicycles, handcarts, and automobiles, and these moving bodies can be automatically driven by the wheel driving device according to the present invention. Moreover, the wheel drive device according to the present invention can be attached to a moving body having an original power source such as an electrically powered wheelchair, an electrically assisted bicycle, personal mobility, and the like, thereby further adding driving force. be able to.

  Hereinafter, the wheel drive device according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings with reference to an example in which the wheel drive device is mounted on a wheelchair. In addition, the wheelchair is an example having wheels that rotate independently on the left and right and are used for both propulsion and steering. However, the wheelchair can be similarly applied to a moving body having wheels that are connected to each other and rotate simultaneously. In this case, it is only necessary to synchronize and rotate the wheel drive device for both wheels. Further, the present invention is not limited to the example of a wheelchair capable of bidirectional rotation, and can be similarly applied to a moving body such as a bicycle capable of rotating in only one direction only by adding such one-way rotation limitation. is there.

(First embodiment)
First, in order to show a mounting example of the wheel driving device according to the present invention, an existing wheelchair before mounting the wheel driving device according to the present invention will be briefly described with reference to FIGS. 1A and 1B. 1A is a side view showing an example of a wheelchair to which a wheel drive device according to the present invention can be attached, and FIG. 1B is a top view showing the wheelchair of FIG. 1A.

  A wheelchair 10 illustrated in FIGS. 1A and 1B has a rotation shaft 11 on the left and right of the main body, and a wheel 13 with a tire around the rotation shaft 11 and a wheel 13 manually in a traveling direction (forward or backward). A hand rim 12 attached to the outside of the wheel 13 for rotational driving. In addition, the wheelchair 10 also includes a chair for the passenger to board, a pair of casters (universal wheels) at the feet of the passenger, a handle for an operator other than the passenger to push the wheelchair 10, and the like.

  Next, the appearance of a wheelchair with a wheel drive device in which one configuration example of the wheel drive device according to the present invention is attached to such a wheelchair 10 will be illustrated with reference to FIGS. 2A to 3B. 2A is a side view showing an example in which the wheel drive device according to the present invention is attached to the wheelchair of FIGS. 1A and 1B, FIG. 2B is a top view showing the wheelchair with the wheel drive device of FIG. 2A, and FIG. 2A and 2B are perspective views showing a state before the mounting lever is locked in the wheelchair with the wheel drive device of FIG. 2B, and FIG. 3B is an enlarged view showing an example of the mounting lever in FIG. 3A.

  In the wheelchair 1 with a wheel driving device illustrated in FIGS. 2A and 2B, a cover 14 of the wheel driving device is attached to the hand rim 12 by an attachment lever 14a. The cover 14 has an outer diameter substantially the same as the hand rim 12 as illustrated in FIG. 2A, and has a convex shape in the direction of the axle (the rotating shaft 11 of the wheelchair 10) as illustrated in FIG. 2B. Moreover, the cover 14 has the flat part 20 in the hand rim 12 side so that it may illustrate in FIG. 3B.

  In the example of FIG. 2A, the three mounting levers 14a are equally provided in the circumferential direction, but it is sufficient that two or more attachment levers 14a are equally provided. For example, as shown in FIG. 3B, the mounting lever 14 a includes a mounting shaft 14 b that is rotatably attached to the body of the mounting lever 14 a toward the hand rim 12, and a radial direction centering on the rotating shaft 11 from the mounting shaft 14 b. It has the arm part 14c extended | stretched and the recessed part 14d provided in the front-end | tip of the arm part 14c.

  The mounting lever 14a attaches the cover 14 and the hand rim 12 by rotating the arm portion 14c around the mounting shaft 14b and bringing the concave portion 14d into contact with the hand rim 12 in the arrow direction of FIG. 3B from the unlocked state. Lock it. Here, the mounting shaft 14b. If it is configured so that it can be pressed in the direction of the rotating shaft 11 by a spring (not shown), the recess 14 d can be easily fitted into the hand rim 12. Note that the attachment mechanism between the cover 14 and the hand rim 12 is not limited to this example, and the cover 14 is not easily detached from the hand rim 12 and does not interfere with manual forward / backward movement with the hand rim 12 as much as possible. Any mechanism may be used. Needless to say, the shape of the cover 14 is not limited to this example.

  Next, the internal structure in one structural example of the wheel drive device according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 4A to 4C. FIG. 4A is a side view showing a state in which an exterior portion is removed for easy understanding of the internal structure of the wheel drive device in one configuration example of the wheelchair 1 with a wheel drive device, and FIG. 4B is a top view of the wheelchair 1 in FIG. 4A. FIG. 4C is an enlarged view showing a main part of the wheel driving device in the wheelchair 1 of FIG. 4B.

  As illustrated in FIG. 4A, the wheel drive device according to the present invention includes a drive unit 21, a pendulum arm unit (arm) 23, a control unit 25 that controls rotational drive by the drive unit 21, and a pendulum weight. (Weight) 24 is provided.

  The drive unit 21 has a motor 21a, the motor 21a has a drive shaft 21b, and rotates the drive shaft 21b. The drive shaft 21b forms the center of the fulcrum portion of the pendulum, and the fulcrum portion and the arm portion 23 overlap with each other to form a pendulum. In this configuration example, it can be said that the fulcrum portion is configured by the drive unit 21 including the drive shaft 21b.

  In addition, the drive unit 21 will be described with an example having the motor 21a. However, the drive unit 21 is not limited to this, and is not limited to electric drive, and may be any device that rotates the pendulum around the fulcrum portion. . Moreover, it is preferable that the power supply of the motor 21a is supplied from a storage battery such as a lithium ion battery. Of course, the present invention is not limited to the storage battery, and may be configured to supply power to the motor 21a using only a power source other than the storage battery, such as a primary battery.

  Thus, the wheel drive device according to the present invention has one of the main features of using a pendulum. The pendulum itself is basically the same as a general pendulum, the arm portion 23, a fulcrum portion provided at one end of the arm portion 23, and a weight 24 provided (arranged) at the other end of the arm portion 23. As long as it has. Here, the fulcrum portion is attached so that the rotation axis of the rotation shaft 11 of the wheel is the same as the rotation center and is not fixed to the rotation shaft 11.

  4A to 4C, the flat portion 20 of the cover 14 has a hole 20a for inserting the drive unit 21, the pendulum, the control unit 25, and the like into the cover 14. The hole 20a can also be used to replace or charge the power source of the motor 21a, and may be opened by a minimum size for that purpose. In that case, after attaching the drive part 21 etc. to the convex part of the cover 14, the flat part 20 should just be fixed to the convex part.

  Of course, the flat part 20 may be fixed to the convex part after attaching the drive part 21 etc. to the convex part of the cover 14, without providing the hole part 20a. However, in that case, it is desirable that the power source of the drive unit 21 (the power source of the motor 21a) is replaceable. Moreover, when the structure by which the power supply of the motor 21a is supplied from the storage battery is adopted, the connection port of the charging cable may be arranged in the flat portion 20 or the convex portion. In addition, although a solar power generation module can also be mounted in a convex part, in that case, such a connection port does not need to be provided.

  And as a main feature of the present invention, when the wheelchair 1 which is a moving body moves the wheel 13 so that the wheelchair 1 which is a moving body proceeds in the traveling direction (forward or backward), the control unit 25 always applies the weight 24 on the traveling direction side. By controlling the drive unit 21 so as to be maintained, the wheel 13 is rotationally driven using the potential energy of the pendulum (mainly the potential energy of the weight 24).

  The said advancing direction side refers to the area | region of the advancing direction from the center of the rotating shaft 11 or a fulcrum part. 4A, for example, when the wheel 13 is rotated clockwise so that the wheelchair 1 is directed forward (rightward on the paper surface), the pendulum is rotated counterclockwise from the state in which the weight 24 faces downward. Thus, the drive unit 21 is driven so that the weight 24 is always maintained in the forward direction (rightward in the drawing) from the drive shaft (rotary shaft) 21b of the drive unit 21.

  In addition, when the wheel 13 rotates in a vertical plane like a general wheel, the rotation surface of the pendulum is also parallel to the rotation surface of the wheel 13 or the hand rim 12. On the other hand, when the wheel 13 is attached with a negative camber with a slight camber angle from the vertical plane instead of in the vertical plane, the cover 14 becomes large, but the pendulum itself rotates in the vertical plane. What is necessary is just to provide.

  As the control unit 25, for example, an IC (Integrated Circuit) chip or the like on which a control content as described above can be executed is mounted on a control board. This control content may be described as a program in the IC chip. Moreover, although the control part 25 may be fixed to the arm part 23 like FIG. 4A, the fixing position of the control part 25 is not restricted to this.

  In order to enable the control unit 25 to perform the control as described above, the drive unit 21 and the pendulum in the present embodiment are driven by the drive unit 21 so that the pendulum can rotate in the direction opposite to the rotation direction of the wheel 13. Must be mounted so that the pendulum is fixed relative to the wheel 13 and can rotate in the same direction of rotation.

  In this configuration example, the cover 14 serves as an attachment base for attaching the wheel drive device to the wheel 13 of the wheelchair 1, and each cover 14 rotates with the wheel 13 and the hand rim 12 as a pair. Further, as illustrated in FIG. 4C, the attachment portion 21c of the drive unit 21 is fixed inside the convex shape of each cover 14, and the drive shaft 21b of the motor 21a is fixed to the attachment portion 21c.

  With such a configuration, the drive shaft 21b is fixed to the cover 14, and as a result, the drive shaft 21b is indirectly fixed to the wheel 13 side. Therefore, the drive shaft 21b is fixed to the wheel 13 when the drive is stopped, and the motor 21a can be rotated with respect to the wheel 13 when the drive is executed. The direction in which the motor 21a can rotate may be determined so that the motor 21a can rotate in the direction opposite to the rotation direction of the wheel 13 when traveling on the ground by the rotation of the wheel 13. In order to enable the wheelchair 1 to travel forward and backward by forward and reverse rotation of the wheel 13, the motor 21a may be configured to be rotatable in both directions.

  In this configuration example, the drive shaft 21b of the motor 21a corresponds to the fulcrum portion. Therefore, the fulcrum portion in this configuration example can be rotated in the opposite direction to the rotation shaft 11 even when the wheel 13 is grounded by the same rotation center as the rotation shaft 11 by driving the motor 21a. When the drive is stopped, it is fixed to the wheel 13 and can be rotated in the same direction together with the wheel 13.

  With the configuration as described above, in the wheel drive device illustrated in FIGS. 4A to 4C, the arm portion 23 and the weight 24 are integrated with the wheel 13 and the hand rim 12 as a pair by driving the motor 21 a. It can be rotated and moved relative to the mounting base (cover 14), that is, independently of the rotation of the wheel 13 and the hand rim 12. The arm portion 23 and the weight 24 can be rotated in the opposite direction to the rotation of the wheel 13 and the hand rim 12 (that is, so as to maintain the weight 24 on the traveling direction side), and can be rotated by the motor 21a. By stopping, the above-mentioned relative rotational movement can also be stopped.

  In the present invention, under the control of the control unit 25 described above, the drive unit 21 rotates the pendulum to rotate the wheel 13. An example of actually moving the wheelchair 1 illustrated in FIGS. 4A to 4C will be described with reference to FIGS. 5A to 5C. FIG. 4A shows a stopped state of the wheelchair 1. 5A is a side view showing a state of the pendulum when the wheelchair 1 of FIG. 4A is moved, FIG. 5B is a side view showing a state following FIG. 5A, and FIG. 5C is a side view showing a state following FIG. is there.

  When the wheelchair 1 is to be advanced in the traveling direction, that is, when the wheel 13 is to be rotated so that the wheelchair 1 is advanced in the traveling direction, the pendulum is swung up from the state of FIG. Finally, it is maintained at a position of approximately 90 ° as in the state of FIG. 5B. Thus, the position energy (gravity acceleration) applied to the weight 24 is used as a driving force to rotate the wheels 13 in the clockwise direction in the state shown in FIG. 5B.

  When the rotation of the wheel 13 is started by the potential energy of the weight 24, the control unit 25 controls the motor 21a so that the arm portion 23 and the weight 24 are maintained in a direction of approximately 90 °. For example, even when the motor 21a is tilted from the states of FIGS. 4A, 5A, and 5B as shown in FIG. 5C, the arm portion 23 and the weight 24 are maintained in a direction of approximately 90 °.

  In this way, the drive unit 21 rotates the pendulum in the direction of travel and always maintains the weight 24 in the direction of travel (ie, lifts it up). Thereby, the wheelchair 1 always maintains the forward force and accelerates in the traveling direction. The vehicle speed of the wheelchair 1 is constant at a position where the gravity acceleration of the weight 24 and the 13 rolling resistance of the wheel of the wheelchair 1 are balanced.

  Further, by maintaining approximately 90 °, the wheel drive device accelerates with the maximum capability. However, the state of FIG. 4A (stop state) and the state of FIG. By controlling so that the position of the weight 24 is maintained at a position between the angle of 90 ° and the acceleration and the speed can be controlled.

  Although an example in which the wheelchair 1 is advanced forward is given, when the wheelchair 1 is to be moved backward, the pendulum may be rotated and moved to the traveling direction side (reverse direction, left side from the state of FIG. 4A). Further, by rotating the pendulum in the direction opposite to the traveling direction of the wheelchair 1, the pendulum can be operated as a forward brake.

  Further, as illustrated here, in an example of a wheelchair capable of bidirectional rotation, the pendulum may be driven to rotate bidirectionally (that is, rotatable). In contrast, in a wheel drive device for a moving body such as a bicycle that can only rotate in one direction (at least for the rear wheel in the case of a bicycle), it should be able to rotate only in the direction of travel (only in one direction). Good. However, it is preferable to be able to rotate in the opposite direction in order to have a brake function.

  As described above, in the wheel drive device according to the present invention, the potential energy of the weight 24 is used as a reaction force for generating a drive torque for rotating the wheel 13. Therefore, basically, there is no need to bring the wheel drive device into contact with the main body of the wheelchair 1 (other than the wheel 13 and the hand rim 12), and the wheel drive device can be directly attached to the hand rim 12 (or the wheel 13) as it is. it can. Therefore, in the present invention, there is no work burden such as removing the wheel 13 of the wheelchair 1, and the attachment of the wheel drive device to the wheelchair is simplified.

  In addition, in a mobile body that can rotate independently for each wheel, such as the wheelchair 1, by separately controlling the pendulum attached to both wheels (for example, both the left and right wheels), rotation and steering can be freely performed. Will come to work.

  Although the example of the wheelchair has been described above, the present invention is effective even when both sides of the rotating shaft of the wheel are fixed to the main body, for example, like a bicycle. Specifically, when attaching the wheel drive device according to the present invention in such a case, although it is necessary to remove the wheel, there is no restriction for driving in the connection between the wheel drive device and the main body side. After the drive device is directly attached to the wheel side, the components need only be attached to the main body side, and the work load can be reduced.

  Although not shown in FIG. 4C, a bearing such as a rolling bearing that rotatably attaches the tip of the rotating shaft 11 of the wheel 13 is provided on the opposite side of the drive shaft 21b of the motor 21a, and passes through the hole 20a. It is preferable to attach the tip of the rotating shaft 11 to this bearing. Thereby, even if the strength of the cover 14 is slightly lowered, it is possible to prevent the rotation center of the drive shaft 21b and the rotation center of the rotation shaft 11 from blurring.

  In the wheel drive device according to the present invention, as illustrated in FIGS. 2A to 5C, the balance of mass except for the pendulum is substantially uniform around the rotation shaft 11 of the wheel 13 (in any radial direction). It is preferable that they are arranged so as to be substantially equal. In addition, regarding this balance, the component mounted as the pendulum weight 24 is included in the pendulum. Actually, the components attached to the wheels 13 are subject to inertia by the rotation of the wheels 13, but the balance is substantially uniform, so that unnecessary vibrations can be prevented.

  Of course, the pendulum itself is also preferably arranged so that the balance of mass is substantially line symmetric between the vehicle body side and the non-vehicle body side across the rotation surface. Thereby, generation | occurrence | production of an unnecessary vibration etc. can be prevented.

  Moreover, it is preferable that the wheel drive device according to the present invention is provided with an operation unit (not shown) and capable of driving ON / OFF and speed control by a user operation from the operation unit. In particular, the operation unit is preferably configured using a wireless method such as Bluetooth (registered trademark).

  Thereby, an operation part can be mounted without worrying about wiring with the control part 25 and the drive part 21 of a wheel drive device, and a user operation becomes possible freely by the operation part. In addition, this operation unit can be equipped with a GPS (Global Positioning System) navigation system and travel along a predetermined route.

(Second Embodiment)
The first embodiment has been described on the assumption that the pendulum remains fixed to the drive unit 21 when the rotation drive is stopped. The second embodiment of the present invention is configured to release this fixation when the rotational drive is stopped in the first embodiment. Regarding this embodiment, the description of the same part as the first embodiment is omitted.

  When the pendulum in the present embodiment does not execute the rotation drive by the drive unit 21 (that is, when the rotation drive is not applied), the weight 24 is positioned at the lowest point by gravity as illustrated in FIG. 4A. It is attached to do.

  For this purpose, when the rotation drive is executed, the pendulum and the drive unit 21 are connected by the control of the control unit 25, and when the rotation drive is not executed, the connection of the pendulum and the drive unit 21 is disconnected by the control of the control unit 25. What is necessary is just to comprise.

  Details of such a mechanism are not shown separately because existing techniques may be employed. An example will be described with reference to FIG. 4C. For example, the motor 21a main body and the drive shaft 21b are locked when rotating, and the drive shaft 21b can be rotated. In contrast, the drive shaft 21b may be configured to freely rotate. For example, a one-way clutch may be used to deal with only forward movement. By providing a lock mechanism for switching between lock / unlock as exemplified here, connection / disconnection can be switched.

  As a result, the wheel 13 of the wheelchair 1 rotates freely so that traveling by inertia becomes possible, and power consumption can be suppressed. For example, if it is configured so that driving ON / OFF and speed control can be performed by a user operation from an operation unit (not shown), in the state in which the rotation driving stop is instructed by the user operation, it is possible to travel or manually by such inertia. It is also possible to run.

(Third embodiment)
In 1st, 2nd embodiment, it did not mention especially about arrangement | positioning of a storage battery. The wheel drive device according to the third embodiment of the present invention is based on the premise that a storage battery for supplying power to the drive unit 21 is provided in the first or second embodiment, and the storage battery is arranged. Has the main characteristics.

  A configuration example of the wheel drive device of the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view showing a pendulum and a drive unit in another configuration example of the wheelchair with a wheel drive device in FIGS. 2A and 2B. Regarding this embodiment, the description of the same parts as those of the first embodiment and the second embodiment is omitted.

  The pendulum illustrated in FIG. 6 includes a fulcrum part 31e, an arm part 33, and a weight 34, which are parts corresponding to the fulcrum part, the arm part 23, and the weight 24 in the first embodiment, respectively. And the wheel drive device concerning this embodiment serves as a drive part corresponding to drive part 21 of a 1st embodiment to motor 31a with drive shaft 31b, gear 31c attached to drive shaft 31b, and fulcrum part 31e. A fixed gear 31f and a drive transmission belt 31g that passes between the gears 31c and 31f are provided.

  As shown in FIG. 6, for example, the motor 31a rotates the drive shaft 31b counterclockwise to rotate the drive transmission belt 31g in the direction of the arrow, thereby rotating the pendulum in the direction of the white arrow. .

  In addition, the above-described drive unit includes a lock mechanism 31d for switching the lock / unlock described in the second embodiment between the drive shaft 31b and the gear 31c. The details of the lock mechanism 31d are not shown separately because existing techniques may be adopted. However, when the rotation drive is executed, the lock mechanism 31d controls the gear 31c to be locked to the drive shaft 31b. When the rotation drive is not executed, the lock mechanism 31d is controlled so that the gear 31c is separated from the drive shaft 31b, and the pendulum and the motor 31a are disconnected from each other. Such a locking mechanism is not limited to this example, and may be provided between the gear 31f and the fulcrum 31e, for example.

  The main feature of the present embodiment is that a storage battery 32 as a power source of the drive unit is disposed as a part of the weight 34. Furthermore, as illustrated in FIG. 6, it is preferable that the weight 34 is also provided with a main part of the drive unit (in this example, the motor 31 a which is a drive unit main body) and a control unit 35. Similarly to the control unit 25 in the first embodiment, when the wheelchair 1 rotates the wheel 13 so that the wheelchair 1 proceeds in the traveling direction (forward or backward), the control unit 35 always has the weight 34 on the traveling direction side. By controlling the motor 31a so as to be maintained, the wheel 13 is rotationally driven using the potential energy of the pendulum (mainly the potential energy of the weight 34).

  In order to enable such control, the fulcrum portion 31e only needs to be disposed at a position corresponding to the position of the drive shaft 21b and fixed to the attachment portion 21c of the cover 14 as illustrated in FIG. 4C. As a result, the pendulum is fixed to the wheel 13 so that the pendulum can be rotated in the same rotational direction so that the pendulum can rotate in the direction opposite to the rotational direction of the wheel 13 and when driving is stopped by a driving unit such as the motor 31a. Become.

  The weight of the pendulum requires weight to earn potential energy, and if a relatively heavy item such as a drive motor or storage battery is included for that purpose, the wheel drive device itself becomes heavy, and installation work There is a concern that power will be required and power consumption will increase. However, as in this embodiment, the weight as a whole can be reduced by configuring the weights themselves with these heavy objects. This effect becomes more prominent by including as much as possible of the components necessary for the weight 34 as described above.

  Even when a primary battery other than the storage battery is used as a power source, it is preferable that the weight 24 includes the power source as in this embodiment.

(Fourth embodiment)
In 1st Embodiment, it demonstrated on the assumption that the drive part 21 was fixed to the rotating shaft 11 of a wheel indirectly by fixing the drive part 21 to the cover 14. FIG. In the fourth embodiment of the present invention, the drive unit is configured to be directly fixed to the rotating shaft 11 of the wheel 13 in the first embodiment.

  However, in this embodiment, the rotating shaft 11 is fixed to the wheel 13 and the hand rim 12, and is attached so as to be freely rotatable by a ball bearing or the like on the main body side. In the first to third embodiments, not limited to such an attachment method, the rotating shaft 11 is fixed to the main body side, and can freely rotate on the wheel 13 and the hand rim 12 by a ball bearing or the like. Applicable even when installed.

  The structural example of the wheel drive device of this embodiment is demonstrated referring FIG. 7A-FIG. 7C. 7A is a side view showing a state in which an exterior portion is removed for easy understanding of the internal structure of the wheel drive device in another configuration example of the wheelchair with the wheel drive device of FIGS. 2A and 2B, and FIG. The top view of the wheelchair with a wheel drive device of FIG. 7, FIG. 7C is an enlarged view which shows the attachment location of the wheel drive device of the wheelchair with a wheel drive device of FIG. 7B. Regarding this embodiment, the description of the same part as the first embodiment is omitted.

  7A to 7C, the wheelchair 1 with a wheel drive device is a wheel drive device, and includes a drive portion 41 corresponding to the drive portion 21, a fulcrum portion 42 of the pendulum, and an arm portion 43 similar to the arm portion 23 of the pendulum. As with the control unit 25, a control unit 45 that controls the rotational drive of the drive unit 41 and a pendulum weight 44 are provided. In FIG. 7C, the flat portion 20 is omitted, but also in this configuration example, the flat portion 20 of the cover 14 may be provided with a hole 20a as in the first embodiment. .

  The drive part 41 is being fixed to the rotating shaft 11 of the wheel 13 by the fixed part 41d, has a motor 41a, and the motor 41a has a driving shaft (rotating shaft) 41b. The motor 41a is also fixed to the rotating shaft 11 via the housing of the fixed portion 41d and the drive portion 41.

  Furthermore, the drive part 41 has a fixing part 41c which is bifurcated at the tip of the drive shaft 41b, and holds and fixes the outside of the fulcrum part 42 of the pendulum. Further, the fulcrum part 42 is formed in a cylindrical shape coaxially with the rotating shaft 11 and is fixed by a fixing part 41c in a state where the rotating shaft 11 is inserted inside the cylinder. A ball bearing (ball bearing) 42 a is provided inside the cylinder constituting the fulcrum part 42 so that the inserted rotary shaft 11 can rotate with respect to the fulcrum part 42. Further, the rotating shaft 11 is fixed to the motor 41a by the fixing portion 41d via the housing of the driving portion 41 in a state where the inner side of the cylinder is inserted.

  Even with such a configuration, similarly to the first embodiment, the drive unit 41 and the pendulum are stopped by the drive unit 41 so that the pendulum can rotate in the direction opposite to the rotation direction of the wheel 13. In this case, the pendulum can be fixed to the wheel 13 indirectly via the drive unit 41 so as to be rotatable in the same rotational direction. And when the wheelchair 1 rotates the wheel 13 so that the wheelchair 1 advances to the advancing direction (front direction or back direction), the control part 45 controls the drive part 41 so that the weight 44 may always be maintained on the advancing direction side. Thus, the wheel 13 is rotationally driven using the potential energy of the pendulum (mainly the potential energy of the weight 44).

  Also in the present embodiment, the second embodiment can be applied by providing a lock mechanism as described in the third embodiment. Further, in the present embodiment, the third embodiment can be applied, and the motor 41a and a storage battery serving as a power supply source thereof can be arranged in the weight 44 in the configuration examples of FIGS. 7A to 7C. Briefly, a mechanism such as connecting the two crankshafts provided in the arm 43 to the motor provided on the weight 44 side, converting the rotary motion of the motor into a vertical motion and returning it to the rotary motion again. What is necessary is just to provide. Thereby, at least the motor of the drive unit can be included on the weight 44 side.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Wheelchair with a wheel drive device, 10 ... Conventional wheelchair, 11 ... Rotating shaft, 12 ... Hand rim, 13 ... Wheel, 14 ... Cover, 14a ... Mounting lever, 14b ... Mounting shaft of mounting lever, 14c ... Arm of mounting lever Part, 14d ... concave part of mounting lever, 20 ... flat part, 20a ... hole part, 21, 41 ... drive part, 21a, 31a, 41a ... motor, 21b ... motor drive shaft (fulcrum part), 21c ... motor rotation Shaft mounting portion, 23, 33, 43 ... arm portion, 25, 35, 45 ... control portion, 31b, 41b ... motor drive shaft, 31c, 31f ... gear, 31d ... lock mechanism, 31e, 42 ... fulcrum portion, 31g ... drive transmission belt, 32 ... storage battery, 41c ... fixed part for fulcrum part, 41d ... fixed part for rotating shaft, 42a ... ball bearing.

Claims (5)

A wheel drive device that rotationally drives wheels of a moving object,
A pendulum having an arm, a fulcrum provided at one end of the arm, and a weight provided at the other end of the arm;
A drive unit that rotationally drives the pendulum around the fulcrum part;
A control unit for controlling the rotation drive in the drive unit,
The control unit, when rotating the wheel so that the moving body proceeds in the traveling direction, controls the driving unit so as to maintain the weight on the traveling direction side, thereby controlling the potential energy of the pendulum. A wheel driving device characterized in that the wheel is driven to rotate. A storage battery for supplying power to the drive unit;
The wheel drive device according to claim 1, wherein the storage battery is disposed as a part of the weight.   3. The wheel drive according to claim 1, wherein the pendulum is attached so that the weight is positioned at a lowest point by gravity when rotation driving by the driving unit is not executed. 4. apparatus.   4. The wheel drive device according to claim 1, wherein a balance of masses other than the pendulum is arranged so as to be substantially uniform around a rotation axis of the wheel. The wheel drive device described in 1.   The wheel drive device according to claim 1, wherein the moving body is a wheelchair.

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