JP2015098212A - Shape variable crawler type movable body - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To smoothly perform shape change of a crawler while maintaining required tension of a crawler belt with a simple configuration.SOLUTION: When a leaf spring 34 is attached to a movable arm 26 and the leaf spring 34 is pressed against a crawler belt 30 by rotation of a movable arm 26, the leaf spring 34 receives reaction force from the crawler belt 30 to be elastically deformed. Thus, excessive circumference length of the crawler belt 30 by the rotation of the movable arm 26 can be suppressed. Therefore, huge increase of tension of the crawler belt 30 by the rotation of the movable arm 26 can be prevented, so that change of the tension of the crawler belt 30 can be suppressed. As a result, by a simple configuration that is attachment of the leaf spring 34, shape change of a crawler 14 can be smoothly performed while maintaining required tension of the crawler belt 30.

Description

  The present invention relates to a variable shape crawler type moving body.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a variable shape crawler type moving body that has crawlers on both the left and right sides of a main body and that can change the shape of the crawler has been proposed (for example, see Patent Document 1). In this shape-variable crawler type moving body, a wheel is attached to a distal end portion extending forward or rearward from the main body and a wheel is attached to the base end portion, and a movable arm that can be rotated about the base end portion, A crawler belt hung over the wheels and an arm drive source such as an actuator for rotating the movable arm are provided. Then, the arm driving source is driven by the operation of the operator, and the shape of the crawler is changed by rotating the movable arm.

JP-A-5-155361

  The above-described variable shape crawler type moving body actively rotates the movable arm by driving the arm drive source. In order to appropriately change the crawler shape according to the road surface condition, the operator needs The arm drive source must be appropriately driven by remote control or the like. For this reason, the operation burden on the operator increases, and skill of the operator is also required. In addition, since the arm drive source is provided, problems such as an increase in weight, a complicated mechanism, and a sufficient installation space are caused, which leads to an increase in the size of the variable shape crawler type moving body.

  In order to solve such problems, the arm is not equipped with an arm drive source, but a movable arm is pivotally attached to the main body, and it can be moved using the upward force received from the road surface according to the road surface condition. It is conceivable to rotate the arm passively. When the movable arm is passively rotated, the movable arm does not rotate more than necessary due to the force received from the road surface, and when the force received from the road surface decreases, the movable arm returns to the original state (initial state). Therefore, it is necessary to apply an appropriate tension from the crawler belt to the movable arm.

  Here, a schematic diagram of a crawler of a type in which the movable arm is passively rotated is shown in FIG. In FIG. 9, the rotation center of the movable arm is O, the wheel center of the wheel on the tip side of the arm is F, the wheel center of the wheel on the arm base end side is S, and the wheel center of the wheel on the rear side of the vehicle is B. A format in which the rotation center O is on the axis center S (FIG. 9A) and a format in which the rotation center O is between the axis centers F-S (FIG. 9B) are illustrated. In the form of FIG. 9A, the calculation results in a decrease in the tension of the crawler belt as the rotation angle of the movable arm increases. Therefore, when the movable arm is rotated, appropriate tension is continuously applied to the movable arm. It becomes difficult. For this reason, there exists a possibility that a movable arm may rotate more than needed or a movable arm may not return to an initial state. On the other hand, in the format of FIG. 9 (b), since the tension of the crawler belt increases as the rotation angle of the movable arm increases according to the calculation, an appropriate tension is applied when the movable arm is rotated. Can be hung on a movable arm. For this reason, it is possible to prevent the movable arm from rotating more than necessary and to return the movable arm to the initial state.

  However, in the form of FIG. 9B, the movable arm needs to overcome the increasing tension of the crawler belt and rotate. Therefore, the movable arm rotates smoothly depending on the tension of the crawler belt. There are cases where it is impossible In that case, the operating range of the movable arm cannot be sufficiently secured, and there is a possibility that the crawler cannot get over a step on the road surface. On the other hand, it is conceivable to prevent the crawler belt from being excessively tensioned even if the movable arm is rotated by bending the crawler belt in the initial state to reduce the tension. However, in such a case, there is a case where almost no force restrains the rotation of the movable arm when the rotation angle of the movable arm is small. In that case, there is a risk that the movable arm will turn more than necessary due to an impact when climbing over a step on the road surface and the movable arm will not return to the initial state (illustrated by the dotted line in FIG. 9B). is there. Although it is conceivable to provide a mechanism for adjusting the tension of the crawler belt, problems such as an increase in weight, complexity of the mechanism, and securing of installation space occur as in the case of providing an arm drive source.

  The main object of the shape-variable crawler type moving body of the present invention is to smoothly change the shape of the crawler while ensuring an appropriate tension of the crawler belt with a simple configuration.

  The variable shape crawler type moving body of the present invention adopts the following means in order to achieve the main object described above.

The shape variable crawler type moving body of the present invention is
A variable shape crawler type moving body in which crawlers capable of changing shape according to road surface conditions are attached to both left and right sides of the main body,
A first drive wheel that is rotationally driven by power from a power source;
A movable arm configured to be rotatable with respect to the main body so that the front and rear ends swing around a rotation axis;
A second drive wheel attached to the distal end side of the movable arm;
A crawler belt spanned between the first drive wheel and the second drive wheel;
A leaf spring slidably attached to the crawler belt on the rear end side of the movable arm;
With
When the leaf spring is pressed against the crawler belt by the rotation of the movable arm, a spring constant is determined so as to be elastically deformed by receiving a reaction force from the crawler belt due to the pressing.

  In this variable shape crawler type moving body of the present invention, the leaf spring attached to the crawler belt on the rear end side of the movable arm so as to be slidable is pressed against the crawler belt by the rotation of the movable arm. The spring constant is determined so as to be elastically deformed under the force. Thereby, since the movable arm rotates while being restrained by the tension of the crawler belt, it is possible to prevent the movable arm from rotating more than necessary. Further, when the amount of rotation of the movable arm increases and the crawler belt extends greatly, the elastic deformation of the leaf spring also increases due to the tension (reaction force) of the crawler belt that increases as the elongation increases. It is possible to prevent the crawler belt from extending excessively and to prevent the crawler belt from being excessively tensioned. Therefore, the tension of the crawler belt can be kept substantially constant without providing a special mechanism for adjusting the tension of the crawler belt. As a result, the shape of the crawler can be changed more smoothly while ensuring an appropriate tension of the crawler belt with a simple configuration.

  Further, in the variable shape crawler type moving body of the present invention, the leaf spring may have a portion formed in an arc shape, and slide with the crawler belt in the portion formed in the arc shape. it can. By so doing, the slidability of the leaf spring can be improved, so that the crawler belt can be smoothly rotated even when the leaf spring is attached to the movable arm.

  Further, in the variable shape crawler type moving body according to the present invention of this aspect, the leaf spring has a U-shaped cross section formed by the portion formed in the arc shape and the portion formed in the flat plate shape, and the flat plate It can also be attached to the movable arm at a portion formed in a shape. If it carries out like this, a leaf | plate spring can be attached to a movable arm comparatively easily. Further, since the crawler belt can be prevented from being caught by the plate spring when the crawler belt contacts the surface of the plate spring, the crawler belt can be rotated more smoothly.

  Further, in the variable shape crawler type moving body of the present invention, the leaf spring is attached to the rear end side of the movable arm with a gap, and when the leaf spring is elastically deformed until the gap disappears, the leaf spring is used to A pressing member capable of pressing the crawler belt may be provided. By doing this, after the leaf spring is elastically deformed until there is no gap, the force that restricts the rotation from the crawler belt acts on the movable arm more strongly. For this reason, the movable range of the movable arm can be appropriately set by adjusting the size of the gap, and the movable arm can be more reliably prevented from rotating more than necessary.

1 is an external perspective view showing an external appearance of a crawler type vehicle 10. FIG. 2 is an external perspective view showing a state in which the shape of a crawler 14 of the crawler type vehicle 10 has changed. FIG. 3 is a configuration diagram showing an outline of a configuration of a movable arm 26. FIG. It is a schematic diagram which shows a mode that the movable arm 26 of the crawler 14 of this embodiment rotates. It is a schematic diagram which shows a mode that the movable arm 26B of the movable arm 14B of a comparative example rotates. It is explanatory drawing which shows the circumference of the crawler belt 30 when the movable arm 26 of this embodiment rotates. It is explanatory drawing which shows the circumference of the crawler belt 30 when the movable arm 26B of a comparative example rotates. FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram showing a relationship between a rotation angle θ of movable arms 26 and 26B and a peripheral length L of the crawler belt 30. It is explanatory drawing which shows the schematic diagram of the crawler of the type which rotates a movable arm passively.

  Next, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is an external perspective view showing an appearance of a crawler type vehicle 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is an external perspective view showing a state in which the shape of a crawler 14 of the crawler type vehicle 10 is changed. .

  As shown in FIG. 1, the crawler type vehicle 10 includes a rectangular parallelepiped vehicle main body 12 and crawlers 14 that are attached to the left and right sides of the vehicle main body 12 and can change the shape. However, remote operation by a remote operation device (not shown) is possible. The vehicle main body 12 includes a camera unit 12a that is attached to the front surface so as to photograph the front of the vehicle and transmits a photographed image to a monitor, and a drive unit 12b that includes a drive motor, a gear mechanism, and the like for driving the crawler 14. A control unit 12c that receives an operation signal transmitted from the remote control device and controls the entire vehicle such as drive control of the drive motor based on the operation signal; a camera unit 12a or a drive unit 12b (drive motor); A battery 12d for supplying power to the control unit 12c is mounted. The camera unit 12a is not limited to being attached to the front surface of the vehicle main body 12, but may be attached to the rear surface or the left and right surfaces, or rotated to the upper surface of the vehicle main body 12 so that the photographing direction can be arbitrarily changed by remote control. It may be attached as possible. Further, the drive unit 12b such as a drive motor is not limited to the one mounted on the vehicle body 12, and may be mounted in each crawler 14. Note that the left and right crawlers 14 have the same configuration and will be described without particular distinction.

  The crawler 14 includes a fixed arm 22 in which a pair of plates 22a and 22b are fixed to the vehicle body 12 by a plurality of fixing pins 21, and a rotating shaft 24a connected to the drive shaft of the drive unit 12b in FIG. A rotary shaft 26c is attached to the first pulley 24 attached to the rear end side and the distal end side of the fixed arm 22 in FIG. 1, and the pair of plates 26a and 26b are rotatable (swingable) about the rotary shaft 26c. The movable arm 26 is configured to have a rotating shaft 28a attached to the distal end side in FIG. 1 of the movable arm 26, and has a larger outer diameter than the plates 26a and 26b, and the first pulley 24 and the second pulley 28. And a crawler belt 30 made of rubber that is looped around in a tensioned state.

  If the crawler type vehicle 10 travels in the traveling direction (frontward in FIG. 1) and there is a road step or an obstacle, the movable arm 26 abuts the crawler belt 30 (second pulley 28) on the step. Will receive upward force. In this case, since the movable arm 26 rotates upward about the rotation shaft 26c, the second pulley 28 attached to the distal end side of the movable arm 26 moves upward in an arc shape (see FIG. 2). Thereby, the crawler type vehicle 10 (crawler 14) can get over a level | step difference. As described above, the crawler type vehicle 10 is configured as a so-called passive crawler in which the movable arm 26 is rotated and the crawler 14 is deformed by receiving a force from a road surface step or the like. Further, the second pulley 28 is formed to have a larger outer diameter than the first pulley 24 so that the crawler 14 can easily get over a step or the like. Although the rotation shaft 26c of the movable arm 26 is attached to the fixed arm 22, it may be attached to the vehicle body 12.

  FIG. 3 shows an outline of the configuration of the movable arm 26. In FIG. 3, the illustration of the plate 26a on the front side of the pair of plates 26a and 26b is omitted. As shown in FIG. 3, the movable arm 26 includes a third pulley 32 to which a rotation shaft 32 a is attached at a position on the rear end side of the movable arm 26, that is, a position opposite to the second pulley 28 around the rotation shaft 26 c. A plate spring 34 disposed so as to surround the third pulley 32 and a square bar-shaped attachment member 36 fixed to the plates 26 a and 26 b and to which the plate spring 34 is attached are provided. As shown in the perspective view of FIG. 3, the leaf spring 34 has an arc portion formed in an arc shape in accordance with the outer diameter of the third pulley 32 (so that the gap with the third pulley 32 is substantially equal). A cross section is formed in a U-shape by 34a and a flat plate portion 34b extending in a flat plate shape from both ends of the arc portion 34a and attached to the mounting member 36. The leaf spring 34 has a spring constant so that when the movable arm 26 rotates and is pressed against the crawler belt 30, it receives a reaction force from the crawler belt 30 and elastically deforms. The crawler 14 of the present embodiment has a leaf spring 34 attached so as to surround the third pulley 32. When the movable arm 26 rotates, the leaf spring 34 slides on the crawler belt 30. The pulley 32 does not contact the crawler belt 30 directly.

  A state in which the movable arm 26 of the crawler 14 of the crawler type vehicle 10 configured in this manner rotates will be described. FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram illustrating the crawler 14 of the present embodiment, and FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram illustrating the crawler 14B of the comparative example. Unlike the present embodiment, the crawler 14B of the comparative example includes the same components as the present embodiment except that the leaf spring 34 is not attached to the movable arm 26B. Is attached. In the comparative example that does not include the leaf spring 34, when the movable arm 26B rotates, the third pulley 32 directly contacts the crawler belt 30 and presses the crawler belt 30. Here, the peripheral length L of the crawler belt 30 is set to the same peripheral length L0 in the present embodiment and the comparative example in the initial state where the movable arms 26 and 26B are not rotating (the rotation angle θ is 0 degree). .

  Further, the distance between the position P1 farthest from the rotating shaft 26c of the movable arm 26 on the outer peripheral surface of the second pulley 28 and the axis center of the rotating shaft 26c is R1 (see FIGS. 4A and 5A). The distance between the position P2 farthest from the rotating shaft 26c and the axial center of the rotating shaft 26c in the outer peripheral surface of the leaf spring 34 is R2 (see FIG. 4A), and the outer peripheral surface of the third pulley 32 of the comparative example. Among these, the distance between the position P2B farthest from the rotation shaft 26c and the axis center of the rotation shaft 26c is R2B (see FIG. 5A). Then, the third pulley 32 of the comparative example is arranged so that R2B of the comparative example is substantially equivalent to R2 of the present embodiment in the initial state. Therefore, in the initial state, “R1 + R2” and “R1 + R2B” are substantially equal, and the distance between the axes of the second pulley 28 and the third pulley 32 of the comparative example is the second pulley 28 and the third pulley 32 of the present embodiment. Longer than the distance between the axes.

  When the movable arm 26B of the comparative example rotates, R1 and R2B are constant and do not change. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 5B, the movement locus of the position P1 has a constant radius R1 around the rotation axis 26c. The movement locus of the position P2B has a constant arc shape with a radius R2B around the rotation shaft 26c. On the other hand, when the movable arm 26 of the present embodiment is rotated, R1 is constant and does not change. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 4B, the movement locus of the position P1 is the same as that of the comparative example. However, unlike the comparative example, when the movable arm 26 rotates, the leaf spring 34 is pressed against the crawler belt 30 and deforms so that the leaf spring 34 is crushed. Therefore, R2 changes as the movable arm 26 rotates. It will be. Until the rotation angle of the movable arm 26 reaches a certain angle (as will be described later, until the rotation angle reaches approximately 65 °), the crawler belt 30 increases as the rotation angle of the movable arm 26 increases. Since the tension increases and the tension tends to increase, the amount of deformation of the leaf spring 34 that deforms under the tension of the crawler belt 30 also increases. For this reason, the distance R2 becomes smaller as the rotation angle of the movable arm 26 becomes larger. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 4B, the movement locus of the position P2 is inside the movement locus of the position P2B of the comparative example. For this reason, the fulcrum of the crawler belt 30 by the leaf | plate spring 34 of this embodiment will shift | deviate inward rather than the fulcrum by the 3rd pulley 32 of a comparative example.

  Here, FIG. 6 shows the peripheral length of the crawler belt 30 when the movable arm 26 of the present embodiment rotates, and FIG. 7 shows the peripheral length of the crawler belt 30 when the movable arm 26B of the comparative example rotates. Show. As shown in FIG. 6, in the present embodiment, the belt length between the shafts of the second pulley 28 and the third pulley 32 is L1, the belt winding length around the second pulley 28 is L2, and the second pulley 28 and The belt length between the shafts of the first pulley 24 is L3, the belt winding length around the first pulley 24 is L4, the belt length from the first pulley 24 until it contacts the leaf spring 34 is L5, and the leaf spring 34 The belt winding length to the boundary between the arc portion 34a and the flat plate portion 34b is L6, and the belt winding length to the flat plate portion 34b is L7. L can be calculated as the sum of L1 to L7. On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 7, in the comparative example, the length is determined in the same manner as L1 to L4 and “B” is added at the end, and the distance between the shafts of the first pulley 24 and the third pulley 32 is L1B to L4B. If the belt length is L5B and the belt winding length around the third pulley 32 is L6B, the circumferential length L of the crawler belt 30 can be calculated as the sum of L1B to L6B. The following can be said from the circumferential length L of the crawler belt 30 considered in this way and the state of rotation of the movable arms 26 and 26B described above.

  First, since the interaxial distance between the second pulley 28 and the third pulley 32 in the comparative example is longer than the interaxial distance between the second pulley 28 and the third pulley 32 in the present embodiment, L1 is smaller than L1B. Further, even if L1 that is the belt winding length around the flat plate portion 34b of this embodiment is added to L1, “L1 + L7” is equal to or less than L1B from the relationship in the initial state. Next, since the movement locus of the position P1 of this embodiment and the position P1 of the comparative example is the same, L3 and L3B are substantially equal. The belt winding lengths L2 and L4 are substantially equal to L2B and L4B, respectively. Furthermore, as described above, the fulcrum of the crawler belt 30 by the leaf spring 34 is shifted inward from the fulcrum by the third pulley 32 of the comparative example. Therefore, a virtual distance H is set from the lower end in FIG. 6 of the fixed arm 22 of the present embodiment to the fulcrum of the crawler belt 30 by the leaf spring 34, and the crawler by the third pulley 32 from the lower end in FIG. If the virtual distance HB is set up to the belt 30 fulcrum, since the virtual distance H is shorter than the virtual distance HB, L5 is smaller than L5B. In addition, since L6 is considered that L6B is displaced inward, L6 and L6B are substantially equivalent. For these reasons, the circumferential length L of the crawler belt 30 according to the present embodiment is less stretched than the circumferential length L of the crawler belt 30 of the comparative example.

  Further, based on the concept of the circumferential length L of the crawler belt 30, the circumferential length L when the movable arms 26 and 26 </ b> B rotate is derived. FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram showing the relationship between the rotation angle θ of the movable arms 26 and 26B and the peripheral length L of the crawler belt 30. As shown in FIG. In FIG. 8, a range of 30 ° or more is shown as the rotation angle θ. This is because the leaf spring 34 (the third pulley 32 in the comparative example) is not in contact with the crawler belt 30 in the range where the rotation angle of the movable arm is less than 30 °, or the crawler belt 30 is extended even if it is in contact. This is because the tension of the crawler belt 30 is not increased and the limitation on the rotation of the movable arms 26 and 26B is less problematic. In other words, when the rotation angle of the movable arms 26 and 26B is in the range of 30 ° or more, the rotation of the movable arms 26 and 26B is likely to be limited due to the increase in the tension of the crawler belt 30.

  As shown in FIG. 8, in the comparative example that does not include the leaf spring 34, the circumferential length L of the crawler belt 30 increases as the rotation angle θ increases when the rotation angle θ ranges from about 30 ° to about 65 °. Therefore, when the rotation angle θ exceeds about 65 °, the peripheral length L decreases as the rotation angle θ increases. As described above, in the comparative example, the peripheral length L of the crawler belt 30 is increased, and the tension of the crawler belt 30 is also increased. Therefore, the movable arm 26B may be unable to rotate beyond a certain angle. Further, when the movable arm 26B rotates to the vicinity of the angle at which the movable arm 26B cannot rotate, the tension of the crawler belt 30 becomes excessive, so even when the upward force received from the road surface is reduced (even when the step is over the step). It is also conceivable that the movable arm 26B will not return to the initial state. On the other hand, in this embodiment, as described above, the amount of deformation of the leaf spring 34 increases as the rotation angle of the movable arm 26 increases and the extension of the crawler belt 30 tends to increase (the tension tends to increase). Since the distance R2 becomes small, it is possible to suppress the circumferential length L of the crawler belt 30 from being greatly increased. For this reason, the ideal value of the peripheral length L of the present embodiment is a substantially constant value with almost no change from the peripheral length L0 as shown in the figure.

  Thus, in this embodiment, since the change of the peripheral length L of the crawler belt 30 can be suppressed, the change of the tension of the crawler belt 30 can be suppressed. For this reason, the crawler belt 30 can keep the substantially constant tension applied to the movable arm 26 from the initial state and can smoothly rotate the movable arm 26. In addition, since the tension of the crawler belt 30 can be made substantially constant regardless of the rotation angle of the movable arm 26, it is possible to keep the crawler belt 30 driven well and improve the traveling performance of the crawler type vehicle 10. it can. Furthermore, since the movable arm 26 can be smoothly rotated, the movable arm 26 can be quickly returned to the initial state when the upward force received from the road surface is reduced. In this embodiment, the leaf spring 34 is attached to the movable arm 26 for this reason. The spring constant of the leaf spring 34 is, for example, the force generated by the rotation of the movable arm 26 when the rotation angle θ of the movable arm 26 reaches a predetermined angle (for example, about 50 ° or 60 °). It can be considered that the elastic force of the leaf spring 34 is set so as to substantially correspond to the tension of the crawler belt 30. In setting the spring constant, it is considered necessary to consider the rotation angle θ when the circumferential length L of the crawler belt 30 is maximized, the displacement amount of the distance R2 at that time, and the like.

  In the present embodiment, the third pulley 32 is provided on the inner side of the leaf spring 34 with a gap from the leaf spring 34. Therefore, as the deformation amount of the leaf spring 34 increases, the third pulley 32 The gap will gradually become smaller. When the leaf spring 34 is deformed until there is no gap with the third pulley 32, the third pulley 32 and the leaf spring 34 are integrated, that is, the third pulley 32 moves the crawler belt 30 through the leaf spring 34. Will be pressed. As a result, the distance R2 between the position P2 farthest from the rotating shaft 26c on the outer peripheral surface of the leaf spring 34 and the shaft center of the rotating shaft 26c does not become any smaller, and the crawler belt 30 increases in elongation (the peripheral length L increases). Will be). For this reason, since the tension of the crawler belt 30 is increased and the force acting on the movable arm 26 is also increased, the action of restricting the rotation of the movable arm 26 acts strongly. Thus, after the leaf spring 34 is deformed until there is no gap with the third pulley 32, the movable arm 26 is more pivoted than when there is a gap (when the leaf spring 34 is deformable). Will be limited. Accordingly, even if the movable arm 26 is smoothly rotated by providing the leaf spring 34, it is possible to prevent the movable arm 26 from rotating at once to an unexpected range. From these facts, it can be seen that the third pulley 32 functions as a rotation limiting member that limits the rotation of the movable arm 26. For example, when the rotation angle θ of the movable arm 26 is larger than a predetermined angle (for example, about 70 °, about 80 °, etc.), the gap between the leaf spring 34 and the third pulley 32 disappears. The clearance between the third pulley 32 and the leaf spring 34 can be determined based on the spring constant of the leaf spring 34 so that further rotation can be more strongly restricted.

  Here, the correspondence between the components of the present embodiment and the components of the present invention will be clarified. The crawler 14 of this embodiment corresponds to the crawler of the present invention, the crawler type vehicle 10 corresponds to a variable shape crawler type moving body, the first pulley 24 corresponds to a first drive wheel, and the movable arm 26 serves as a movable arm. The second pulley 28 corresponds to the second drive wheel, the crawler belt 30 corresponds to the crawler belt, and the leaf spring 34 corresponds to the leaf spring. The third pulley 32 corresponds to a pressing member.

  According to the crawler type vehicle 10 of the present embodiment described above, when the plate spring 34 is attached to the movable arm 26 and the plate spring 34 is pressed against the crawler belt 30 by the rotation of the movable arm 26, the plate spring 34 is moved to the crawler belt. Since the elastic force is deformed in response to the reaction force from 30, the peripheral length L of the crawler belt 30 can be prevented from becoming excessive due to the rotation of the movable arm 26. For this reason, since the tension of the crawler belt 30 can be prevented from greatly increasing due to the rotation of the movable arm 26, the crawler belt 30 can be provided without a complicated mechanism for adjusting the tension of the crawler belt 30. The change in tension can be suppressed. As a result, it is possible to smoothly change the shape of the crawler 14 while ensuring the necessary tension of the crawler belt 30 with a simple configuration in which the leaf spring 34 is attached.

  Further, since the leaf spring 34 is pressed against the crawler belt 30 by the arc portion 34a, the slidability when the leaf spring 34 is pressed against the crawler belt 30 can be improved. Furthermore, since the plate spring 34 is formed in a U shape in which the flat plate portion 34b extends from both ends of the arc portion 34a, the crawler belt 30 can be prevented from being caught by the plate spring 34 (such as both ends of the arc portion 34a). . From these things, the drive of the crawler 14 can be made favorable. Further, since the plate spring 34 is attached to the attachment member 36 of the movable arm 26 by the flat plate portion 34b, the plate spring 34 can be easily attached to the movable arm 26. Further, since the third pulley 32 is provided with a gap from the leaf spring 34, after the leaf spring 34 is deformed until the gap disappears, the rotation of the movable arm 26 is more strongly restricted so that the movable arm 26 becomes more than necessary. It is possible to prevent the rotation.

  It should be noted that the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and it goes without saying that the present invention can be implemented in various modes as long as it belongs to the technical scope of the present invention.

  For example, in the embodiment described above, the arc portion 34a of the leaf spring 34 is formed according to the outer diameter of the third pulley 32. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the arc spring 34a is not formed into an arc corresponding to the outer diameter of the third pulley 32. It is good. Moreover, although the leaf | plate spring 34 was formed in the cross-sectional U shape which has the circular arc part 34a and the flat plate part 34b, it is not restricted to this, It is good also as what does not have the flat plate part 34b. In order to improve the slidability, it is preferable that the leaf spring 34 has an arc portion. However, instead of the arc portion, a polygonal portion (for example, a hexagon or more) is used, and the corner of the polygonal portion is set. It is good also as what forms smoothly.

  In the above-described embodiment, the third pulley 32 is provided inside the leaf spring 34. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the third pulley 32 may not be provided. In this case, instead of the third pulley 32, a member capable of pressing the crawler belt 30 via the leaf spring 34 may be provided. As such a member, for example, a plurality of round bars arranged with a predetermined gap from the arc part 34a of the leaf spring 34 may be used. Alternatively, a member capable of pressing the crawler belt 30 via the leaf spring 34 may not be provided.

  In the above-described embodiment, only one (one) leaf spring 34 is provided. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and a plurality of leaf springs 34 may be provided in a stacked manner.

  10 crawler type vehicle, 12 vehicle main body, 12a camera unit, 12b drive unit, 12c control unit, 12d battery, 14, 14B crawler, 21 fixing pin, 22 fixing arm, 22a, 22b plate, 24 first pulley, 24a rotating shaft , 26, 26B movable arm, 26a, 26b plate, 26c rotating shaft, 28 second pulley, 28a rotating shaft, 30 crawler belt, 32 third pulley, 32a rotating shaft, 34 leaf spring, 34a arc portion, 34b flat plate portion, 36 Mounting member.

Claims (4)

A variable shape crawler type moving body in which crawlers capable of changing shape according to road surface conditions are attached to both left and right sides of the main body,
A first drive wheel that is rotationally driven by power from a power source;
A movable arm configured to be rotatable with respect to the main body so that the front and rear ends swing around a rotation axis;
A second drive wheel attached to the distal end side of the movable arm;
A crawler belt spanned between the first drive wheel and the second drive wheel;
A leaf spring slidably attached to the crawler belt on the rear end side of the movable arm;
With
When the leaf spring is pressed against the crawler belt by rotation of the movable arm, a spring constant is determined so as to be elastically deformed by receiving a reaction force from the crawler belt due to the pressing. The variable shape crawler type moving body according to claim 1,
The leaf spring has a portion formed in an arc shape, and slides with the crawler belt at the portion formed in the arc shape. Variable shape crawler type moving body. The variable shape crawler type moving body according to claim 2,
The leaf spring has a U-shaped cross section formed by the arc-shaped portion and the flat plate-shaped portion, and is attached to the movable arm at the flat plate-shaped portion. Type moving body. The variable shape crawler type moving body according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
A variable shape crawler provided with a pressing member that is attached to the rear end side of the movable arm with a gap with the leaf spring and that can press the crawler belt through the leaf spring when the leaf spring is elastically deformed until the gap disappears. Type moving body.

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