JP2017132404A - Omnidirectional wheel and vehicle - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To improve non-slip property as possible, and improve a performance for facilitating getting over of an obstacle such as a step on a road surface.SOLUTION: The invention comprises: a wheel 1 which is rotated around a central shaft P; and a main wheel 3 formed of plural sets of a plurality of lateral turning rollers 2 which land sequentially when the wheel 1 rotates, the main wheel being provided rotatably in a direction different from a rotation direction of the wheel 1 on an outer periphery of the wheel 1. An inner plate located inside of the main wheel 3 of the wheel 1 comprises an auxiliary wheel 10 having a center which is the central shaft P of the wheel 1, having a maximum outer diameter R2 being smaller than a maximum outer diameter R1 of the main wheel 3, and whose outer peripheral part 11 is formed of rubber. The auxiliary wheel 10 comprises a disk-shaped base plate 12 which is detachably attached to the wheel 1, and the outer peripheral part 11 is provided on the outer peripheral surface of the base plate 12.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

  The present invention relates to an omnidirectional wheel having a plurality of rollover rollers on the outer periphery of the wheel and a vehicle having the omnidirectional wheel, and in particular, an omnidirectional wheel adapted to cope with a road surface with an obstacle such as a step, and the like. The present invention relates to a vehicle having omnidirectional wheels.

  Conventionally, as this kind of omnidirectional wheel, there exists what was published by Unexamined-Japanese-Patent No. 2012-30735 (patent document 1), for example. As shown in FIG. 7, the omnidirectional wheel Sa is a wheel 100 that is rotated around a central axis, and is provided on the outer periphery of the wheel 100 so as to be rotatable in a direction different from the rotation direction of the wheel 100, and the wheel 100 rotates. Thus, a main wheel 102 composed of a set of a plurality of rollover rollers 101 that are sequentially grounded is provided. Further, on the outer side of the main wheel 102 of the wheel 100, a resin auxiliary wheel 103 having a maximum outer diameter R2 smaller than the maximum outer diameter R1 of the main wheel centering on the central axis of the wheel 100 is provided. The outer periphery of the auxiliary wheel 103 is formed in an arc surface so that the distance from the road surface increases as the distance from the main wheel 102 increases. Further, a resinous disc-shaped auxiliary wheel 104 having a maximum outer diameter R3 smaller than the maximum outer diameter R1 of the main wheel 102 centered on the central axis of the wheel 100 is also provided inside the main wheel 102 of the wheel 100. ing.

  As a result, in a vehicle to which the omnidirectional wheel Sa is attached, for example, when turning, if there is an obstacle such as a step on the road surface, in the case of only the main wheel 102, the rollover roller 101 slips and becomes obstructed. Although it may be difficult to get over the obstacle, before the rollover roller 101 reaches the obstacle, the rotating auxiliary wheel 103 or the auxiliary wheel 104 is first brought into contact with the obstacle so as to make it easier to get over the obstacle. I have to.

JP 2012-30735 A

  By the way, in the conventional omnidirectional wheel Sa, the auxiliary wheels 103 and 104 are provided to make it easier to get over obstacles such as steps on the road surface when the vehicle turns, for example. For example, if the road surface is a snowy road surface and there are wrinkles, or if only one side of the road surface is melted and there is a step as an obstacle, the auxiliary wheel is made of resin. When it comes into contact, it becomes slippery, and when it slips, the torque generation of the wheel becomes insufficient, the omnidirectional wheel Sa can not come out of the kite, or the vehicle body is flushed along the step, There was a problem that the overpass performance was not good.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and an omnidirectional wheel and an omnidirectional wheel that improve performance to make it as easy as possible to get over obstacles such as steps on a road surface by making it as difficult to slip as possible. An object is to provide a vehicle equipped.

In order to achieve such an object, an omnidirectional wheel of the present invention includes a wheel that is rotated around a central axis, and is provided on the outer periphery of the wheel so as to be rotatable in a direction different from the rotation direction of the wheel. In an omnidirectional wheel including a main wheel composed of a set of a plurality of roll rollers that are sequentially grounded by rotating,
An auxiliary wheel having a maximum outer diameter smaller than the maximum outer diameter of the main wheel and having an outer peripheral portion formed of rubber is provided outside and / or inside the main wheel and centered on a central axis of the wheel. It has a configuration.

  As a result, in a vehicle equipped with this omnidirectional wheel, for example, when turning, even if there is an obstacle such as a step on the road surface, the rotating auxiliary wheel becomes an obstacle before the rollover roller reaches the obstacle. Since it contacts, it becomes easy to get over an obstacle. In particular, for example, when the road surface is a snowy road surface, even if there is a wrinkle or only one surface of the road surface is melted and a step as an obstacle occurs, the outer peripheral portion of the auxiliary wheel is formed of rubber. Therefore, the frictional resistance is increased, so that it is difficult to slip against the obstacle, and the obstacle can be reliably overcome.

  If necessary, the auxiliary wheel is configured to include a disc-shaped base plate that is detachably attached to the wheel, and the outer peripheral portion is attached to the outer peripheral surface of the base plate. Since the base plate is provided, the strength is increased and the support of the auxiliary wheel can be ensured. Further, when the outer peripheral portion of the auxiliary wheel is worn and needs to be replaced, the base plate can be removed and replaced, so that workability can be improved.

  Moreover, it is set as the structure which formed the uneven | corrugated outer periphery of the said auxiliary | assistant wheel as needed. Since the outer peripheral portion is formed with irregularities, it can be easily caught by an obstacle, can be made even more difficult to slip, and can easily get over the obstacle.

  Further, if necessary, the outer peripheral portion of the auxiliary wheel includes a base plate portion and a protruding portion that protrudes in a comb-like shape on the surface of the base plate portion and extends in the central axis direction. doing. Since the ridge extends in a direction perpendicular to the traveling direction of the wheel, it becomes easier to catch an obstacle, making it more difficult to slip and making it easier to get over the obstacle.

  In this case, the protrusion is formed with a pair of side surfaces orthogonal to the circumferential direction and parallel to each other, and a V-shaped groove along the central axis direction is formed on the distal end surface of the protrusion, It is effective to form a pair of crests with a tapered tip at the front and rear in the circumferential direction. Since the tip of the ridge is bifurcated by the pair of ridges, it is easy to reliably catch an obstacle, making it more difficult to slip and making it easier to get over the obstacle.

In order to achieve the above object, the vehicle of the present invention includes at least a pair of front wheels and a pair of rear wheels in the front-rear direction of the chassis, and a wheel that rotates the front wheels and the rear wheels around a central axis. A vehicle comprising an omnidirectional wheel provided on the outer periphery of the wheel so as to be rotatable in a direction different from the rotation direction of the wheel and having a main wheel comprising a set of a plurality of rollover rollers that are sequentially grounded as the wheel rotates. In
The at least one pair of front wheels are configured by omnidirectional wheels provided with the auxiliary wheels.

  Thus, in this vehicle, for example, when turning, even if there is an obstacle such as a step on the road surface, the rotating auxiliary wheel contacts the obstacle before the rollover roller reaches the obstacle. It becomes easier to get over things. In particular, for example, when the road surface is a snowy road surface, there are wrinkles, only one surface of the road surface is melted, and a step as an obstacle is generated, or the sherbet-like snow freezes and rough unevenness Even if it is a surface, the outer peripheral part of the auxiliary wheel is made of rubber, so the frictional resistance is large, so it is difficult to slip against the obstacle and reliably get over the obstacle become able to.

  In this case, it is effective to support the omnidirectional wheel with respect to the chassis via a suspension mechanism. In vehicles without suspension, even if you ride on an obstacle, other wheels will float, the grounding force will decrease, and you will not be able to run or run badly, causing problems in control. be able to.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to improve performance to make it as difficult to slip as possible and to easily get over obstacles such as steps on the road surface. That is, in a vehicle equipped with the omnidirectional wheel of the present invention, for example, when turning, even if there is an obstacle such as a step on the road surface, the rotating auxiliary wheel is obstructed before the rollover roller reaches the obstacle. It will be easy to get over obstacles. In particular, for example, when the road surface is a snowy road surface, even if there is a wrinkle or only one surface of the road surface is melted and a step as an obstacle occurs, the outer peripheral portion of the auxiliary wheel is formed of rubber. Therefore, the frictional resistance is increased, so that it is difficult to slip against the obstacle, and the obstacle can be reliably overcome.

1 is a perspective view showing an omnidirectional wheel according to an embodiment of the present invention attached to a vehicle. It is the perspective view which looked at the omnidirectional wheel which concerns on embodiment of this invention from the inner side. It is sectional drawing shown in the state which attached the omnidirectional wheel which concerns on embodiment of this invention to the vehicle. It is a principal part perspective view which shows the outer peripheral part of the omnidirectional wheel which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a top view which shows the vehicle which concerns on embodiment of this invention which attached the omnidirectional wheel which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the turning state of the vehicle which concerns on embodiment of this invention which attached the omnidirectional wheel which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows an example of the conventional omnidirectional wheel.

  Hereinafter, an omnidirectional wheel according to an embodiment of the present invention and a vehicle according to the embodiment of the present invention to which the wheel is attached will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 to 4, an omnidirectional wheel S according to an embodiment of the present invention has a wheel 1 that is rotated around a central axis P, and a direction different from the rotation direction of the wheel 1 on the outer periphery of the wheel 1. And a main wheel 3 composed of a set of a plurality of rollover rollers 2 that are sequentially grounded as the wheel 1 rotates. A disc-shaped outer plate 4 and an inner plate 5 that protect the main wheel 3 are provided outside and inside the main wheel 3 of the wheel 1. The roll roller 2 is made of resin or rubber, and is rotatable about a rotary shaft (not shown) provided on the wheel 1 so as to freely rotate in a horizontal direction orthogonal to the straight direction of the main wheel 3. A plurality of rings are arranged on the wheel 1.

  The inner plate 5 of the wheel 1 is provided with an auxiliary wheel 10 having a maximum outer diameter R2 smaller than the maximum outer diameter R1 of the main wheel 3 centered on the central axis P of the wheel 1 and having an outer peripheral portion 11 formed of rubber. It has been. In the embodiment, for example, the maximum outer diameter R1 of the main wheel 3 is set to R1 = 350 mm to 340 mm, and the maximum outer diameter R2 of the auxiliary wheel 10 is set to R2 = 331 mm to 316 mm under the condition of R1 ≧ R2. Has been. The maximum outer diameter R2 of the auxiliary wheel 10 is set so that at least the distance E between the outer periphery of the auxiliary wheel 10 and the ground plane G (FIG. 3B) satisfies 5 mm ≦ E in consideration of the collapse of the main wheel 3. It is desirable to define.

  The auxiliary wheel 10 includes a disc-shaped base plate 12 that is detachably attached to the inner plate 5 of the wheel 1, and an outer peripheral portion 11 is attached to the outer peripheral surface of the base plate 12. Specifically, the base plate 12 includes a ring portion 13 having a flat plate ring shape, and a ring-shaped flange 14 projecting from the center of the inner periphery of the ring portion 13. A letter-shaped cross section is formed. A plurality of mounting holes 15 are formed in the flange 14 at equal angular intervals. On the other hand, a plurality of female screws 16 are formed in the inner plate 5 at positions corresponding to the mounting holes 15, and the flanges 14 are attached to the inner plate 5 by inserting bolts 17 through the mounting holes 15 and screwing into the female screws 16. It is done.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the outer peripheral portion 11 is unevenly formed. Specifically, the outer peripheral portion 11 is formed in a plate-like substrate portion 20 having the same width as that of the ring portion 13 and a plurality of comb-like rows on the surface of the substrate portion 20 so as to project integrally with the substrate portion 20, and the central axis P It is comprised including the protrusion part 21 extended in a direction. The substrate portion 20 is formed in three layers with a cushion rubber 24 interposed between a lower rubber 22 and an upper rubber 23. The ridge portion 21 is formed to have a pair of side surfaces 25 orthogonal to the circumferential direction and parallel to each other, and the circumferential thickness T of the ridge portion 21 and the interval K between the adjacent ridge portions 21 are the same. (T = K). Further, a V-shaped groove 26 along the direction of the central axis P is formed on the distal end surface of the ridge portion 21, and a pair of crest portions 27 and 28 having a tapered distal end are formed in the front and rear in the circumferential direction. The ridges 27 and the ridges 28 are alternately formed at equal intervals Pa. The outer peripheral portion 11 is bonded and fixed to the ring portion 13 of the base plate 12 with an adhesive in the substrate portion 20.

  In addition, the width L of the outer peripheral portion 11 (FIG. 3B) is L = 45 mm to 36 mm, the thickness D of the substrate portion 20 is D = 3.0 mm to 2.5 mm, and the peak portions 27 and 28 are The pitch Pa is set to Pa = 3 mm to 5 mm, and the protrusion height H is set to H = 0 mm to 7.5 mm. Desirably, H = 3 mm to 7.5 mm. In the embodiment, L = 38 mm, D = 2.5 mm, Pa = 5 mm, and H = 5 mm are set.

  Next, the vehicle V according to the embodiment of the present invention will be described. A vehicle V according to the embodiment is an unmanned transport vehicle that transports various articles, and is an automatic transport vehicle that travels by wireless communication with a base station. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 5, the vehicle V is a transport vehicle having six wheels and suitable for transporting heavy objects, and includes a chassis 30 formed of a metal frame. A pair of front wheels Wf, a pair of intermediate wheels Wc, and a pair of rear wheels Wd, each having the same tread in the front-rear direction, are provided. Each wheel Wf, Wc, Wd is supported by a chassis 30 via a suspension mechanism 40 described later, and the wheel axis of each wheel Wf, Wc, Wd is provided so as to be orthogonal to the front-rear direction of the chassis 30. Yes.

  And the front wheel Wf and the rear wheel Wd are comprised by the omnidirectional wheel S which provided the auxiliary wheel 10 which concerns on said embodiment. The intermediate wheel Wc is composed of a rubber tire. The rubber tire is used for the intermediate wheel Wc in order to obtain a reaction force against the centrifugal force by gripping the road surface with the tire 4 during turning such as cornering. Each wheel Wf, Wc, Wd is formed in a size with the same diameter.

  Each wheel Wf, Wc, Wd is provided with a drive unit 31 that can independently output the maximum drive torque commanded to each wheel Wf, Wc, Wd. The drive unit 31 is an in-wheel motor and is constituted by an electric motor having a driver that functions in accordance with a command from a control unit (not shown), and its rotation shaft is directly connected to the wheel shaft.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 3, the suspension mechanism 40 that supports the wheels Wf, Wc, and Wd is an independent suspension mechanism, which is a so-called double wishbone suspension mechanism. Specifically, the suspension mechanism 40 includes a holding portion 41 that holds the driving portion 31, a support portion 42 that is fixed to the chassis 30, and both ends of the suspension mechanism 40 that are pivotally supported between the holding portion 41 and the support portion 42. And a pair of upper and lower links 43, 44 constituting a link mechanism. The suspension mechanism 40 is provided with a pair of dampers 45 having a coil spring between the support portion 42 and the lower link 44.

  Further, the vehicle V is provided with a control unit that controls each drive unit 31 to move the chassis 30 forward and backward. The control unit includes a CPU, performs wireless communication with the base station, and performs control such as individually controlling each drive unit 31 (see, for example, Japanese Patent No. 5762367).

  Therefore, according to the vehicle V according to this embodiment, the vehicle V is caused to travel by wireless communication with the base station. In this travel, the control unit commands the required rotation speed and rotation direction of each wheel Wf, Wc, Wd, distributes and commands the maximum driving torque to control each driving unit 31, and controls the chassis 30. Move forward and backward and turn. Here, the turning includes not only the turn of the vehicle V in place but also the turning of the steering operation in the normal traveling and the operation of turning at the intersection.

  In this case, for example, when turning, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 3, even if there is an obstacle such as a step on the road surface, the rotating auxiliary wheel 10 is obstructed before the rollover roller 2 reaches the obstacle. Since it abuts on an object, it becomes easier to get over the obstacle. In particular, for example, when the road surface is a snowy road surface, there are wrinkles, when only one side of the road surface is melted and a step as an obstacle occurs, or when the sherbet-like snow freezes and the rough surface is uneven Even in such a case, since the outer peripheral portion 11 of the auxiliary wheel 10 is made of rubber, the frictional resistance is large, so that it is difficult to slip against the obstacle and surely gets over the obstacle. Will be able to.

  That is, for example, as shown in FIG. 6, in the case of a right turn, when a wheel slips on a snowy road surface due to dredging or sleet and some wheels lose grip, the wheels are idled momentarily by the allocated torque. However, when the snow road surface is captured again by the auxiliary wheel 10, the auxiliary wheel 10 smaller than the outer shape of the main wheel 3 generates a larger torque on the ground contact surface, and the uneven obstacle captured by the auxiliary wheel 10 is removed. get over. At this time, the right turn behaves as if the steering is turned stronger than usual, but the turn is surely performed.

  Further, since the outer peripheral portion 11 of the auxiliary wheel 10 is formed with irregularities, it can be easily caught by an obstacle, can be made more difficult to slip, and can easily get over the obstacle. In particular, since the tip of the ridge portion 21 of the outer peripheral portion 11 is bifurcated by a pair of mountain portions 27, 28, it becomes easy to reliably catch an obstacle, so-called grip force is increased, and it is more difficult to slip, It can make it easier to get over obstacles. Further, the auxiliary wheel 10 has an advantage that a bolt or the like dropped on the floor or the like can be repelled by the auxiliary wheel 10 before being wound around the rollover roller 2 during turning.

  Further, since each wheel Wf, Wc, Wd is supported by the chassis 30 via the suspension mechanism 40, even if the vehicle V without a suspension rides on an obstacle, the other wheels float. The grounding force is reduced, and the vehicle becomes unable to run or runs poorly, causing trouble in the control. However, this situation can be prevented.

  If the outer peripheral portion 11 of the auxiliary wheel 10 is worn due to use, the bolt 17 that fixes the base plate 12 of the auxiliary wheel 10 is removed to remove the auxiliary wheel 10 from the inner plate 5. Exchange. Since the auxiliary wheel 10 can be attached and detached, replacement work can be easily performed.

  In the above embodiment, the auxiliary wheel 10 is provided on the inner plate 5, but is not necessarily limited thereto, and may be provided on the outer plate 4, and both the inner plate 5 and the outer plate 4 may be provided. May be provided as appropriate, and may be changed as appropriate. In short, the auxiliary wheel 10 may be provided outside and / or inside the main wheel 3 of the wheel 1. Further, in the vehicle V according to the above-described embodiment, the auxiliary wheels 10 are provided on the front wheels Wf and the rear wheels Wd. However, the auxiliary wheels 10 are not necessarily limited thereto, and may be provided only on the front wheels Wf. There is no problem. Moreover, although the vehicle V which concerns on said embodiment is a thing of 6 wheels, the number of wheels is not necessarily limited to this. Furthermore, although the vehicle V has been described as an example of a transport vehicle, the vehicle V is not necessarily limited to this, and may be applied to any vehicle such as a nursing wheelchair.

S omnidirectional wheel V vehicle 1 wheel P central shaft 2 roll roller 3 main wheel 4 outer plate 5 inner plate 10 auxiliary wheel 11 outer periphery R1 maximum outer diameter of main wheel R2 maximum outer diameter 12 of auxiliary wheel base plate 13 ring portion 14 Flange 15 Mounting hole 20 Substrate part 21 Projection part 30 Chassis Wf Front wheel Wc Intermediate wheel Wd Rear wheel 31 Drive part 40 Suspension mechanism

Claims (7)

A main wheel comprising a wheel rotated around a central axis, and a plurality of rollover rollers provided on the outer periphery of the wheel so as to be rotatable in a direction different from the rotation direction of the wheel and sequentially contacting the ground as the wheel rotates In an omnidirectional wheel with
An auxiliary wheel having a maximum outer diameter smaller than the maximum outer diameter of the main wheel and having an outer peripheral portion formed of rubber is provided outside and / or inside the main wheel and centered on a central axis of the wheel. An omnidirectional wheel characterized by that.   2. The omnidirectional wheel according to claim 1, wherein the auxiliary wheel includes a disk-shaped base plate that is detachably attached to the wheel, and the outer peripheral portion is attached to an outer peripheral surface of the base plate. .   The omnidirectional wheel according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the outer peripheral portion of the auxiliary wheel is formed with irregularities.   The outer peripheral portion of the auxiliary wheel includes a substrate portion, and a protrusion that protrudes in a plurality of rows in a comb shape on the surface of the substrate portion and extends in the central axis direction. The omnidirectional wheel according to claim 3.   The protrusion is formed with a pair of side surfaces orthogonal to the circumferential direction and parallel to each other, a V-shaped groove along the central axis direction is formed on the distal end surface, and a pair of tapered ends at the front and rear in the circumferential direction. The omnidirectional wheel according to claim 4, wherein a mountain portion is formed. A wheel having at least a pair of front wheels and a pair of rear wheels in the front-rear direction of the chassis, and a wheel capable of rotating the front wheels and the rear wheels around a central axis, and a direction different from the rotation direction of the wheels on the outer periphery of the wheel In a vehicle constituted by an omnidirectional wheel provided with a main wheel composed of a set of a plurality of rollover rollers that are rotatably provided and are sequentially grounded as the wheel rotates,
A vehicle characterized in that the at least one pair of front wheels are constituted by omnidirectional wheels provided with the auxiliary wheels according to any one of claims 1 to 5.   The vehicle according to claim 6, wherein the omnidirectional wheel is supported by a chassis via a suspension mechanism.

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