JP2018001963A - Unmanned work vehicle - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an unmanned work vehicle which can turn without making movement difficult or impossible or without falling down.SOLUTION: An unmanned work vehicle 1 moves and performs various kinds of works, by wire or wireless remote operation or autonomous driving, and comprises: a travel body 11 having a crawler 111 on each of right and left parts; and a work body 12 performing various kinds of works. The work body 12 comprises three or more support legs 2 which can horizontally revolve to the travel body 11 and which can be bent by plural joints. In the unmanned work vehicle, ground contact ends 271 of all support legs 2 are landed on outside of a revolving range of the travel body 11 surrounding a portion of the travel body 11 separated by a largest distance, from a revolving center of the work body 12, then respective bent states of the all support legs 2 are controlled and the work body 12 is lifted up, for separating the crawlers 111 of the travel body 11 from a ground surface, and then the travel body 11 is horizontally revolved to the work body 12, for turning the travel body 11.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

  The present invention relates to an unmanned work vehicle that performs various operations while moving by autonomous driving or wired or wireless remote operation.

  In recent years, unmanned work vehicles that perform various operations while moving by autonomous driving or wired or wireless remote operation are used in places where it is difficult or impossible for an operator to go directly, such as a lunar surface or a disaster site. The unmanned work vehicle differs greatly in configuration or structure depending on the work purpose. For example, as seen in Patent Document 1 or Patent Document 2, a manipulator (robot arm) for carrying out various operations is mounted and a large number of wheels ( It is configured to be movable by Patent Document 1) or Crawler (Patent Document 2).

  Patent Document 1 discloses an unmanned work vehicle (traveling robot) including driving wheels at the front and rear of a vehicle body (Patent Document 1 [Claim 1]). The front drive wheel is supported by a support leg that swings back and forth with respect to the suspension arm (rotates about the pitch axis). The suspension arm swings in the left-right direction with respect to the vehicle body (rotates about the roll axis). The rear drive wheel is supported by a swivel leg that swings in the front-rear direction with respect to the support leg. The support leg swings in the front-rear direction with respect to the vehicle body. The unmanned work vehicle disclosed in Patent Document 1 is a self-supporting drive type (Patent Document 1, [0001]) suitable for lunar exploration, and changes its direction by rotating the front drive wheel about a vertical axis (Patent Document 1). Literature 1 [0025]).

  Patent Document 2 discloses an unmanned work vehicle (self-propelled exploration and work robot) having left and right crawlers (Patent Document 2 [Claim 1]). The manipulator has a robot hand and a CCD camera. The manipulator installs or collects a bait with the robot hand, and sends a photographed image to the host computer as an exploration image using the CCD camera (Patent Document 2, [0022]). The unmanned work vehicle disclosed in Patent Document 2 is a self-supporting drive type (Patent Document 2, [0001]) used for extermination of termites and the like, and can change its direction on the spot by reversely rotating the left and right crawlers (patent Literature 1 [0014]).

JP 2011-235692 A JP-A-11-137148

  In unmanned work vehicles, the difference between adopting wheels or crawlers as travel means depends on the location of use and the required specifications. Here, the unmanned work vehicle using the crawler as the traveling means has an advantage that the left and right crawlers are reversely rotated and the direction can be changed on the spot (see Patent Document 2). It is considered that an unmanned work vehicle that uses wheels as traveling means can also change the direction on the spot by reversely rotating the left and right wheels if all the wheels are drive wheels.

  However, when the unmanned work vehicle rotates the left and right wheels and crawlers in the reverse direction to change the direction on the spot, the property, unevenness or inclination of the ground contact surface becomes a problem. For example, if the ground contact surface is soft ground (such as mud) or sand (such as the moon surface), if the left and right wheels and crawlers are rotated in reverse, they will dive into the ground contact surface, making it difficult to escape from the dive position. There is a problem that it cannot move as it is. Also, if the ground contact surface has irregularities (disaster site, etc.) or slopes (slope, etc.), rotating the left and right wheels or crawlers in reverse will cause the unmanned work vehicle to become unstable and cause the worst to fall. There is.

  In this way, the unmanned work vehicle can change the direction on the spot regardless of whether the traveling means is a wheel or a crawler, but if the left and right wheels or the crawler are reversely rotated to change the direction on the spot , Causing problems that make it difficult or impossible to move or toppling over. Therefore, in order to develop an unmanned work vehicle that can change its direction on the spot without making it difficult or impossible to move or overturning, regardless of whether it is a wheel or a crawler.

  What was developed as a result of the study is an unmanned work vehicle that performs various operations while moving by autonomous driving or wired or wireless remote operation, a traveling main body having wheels or crawlers on the left and right, and a work main body that performs various operations The work main body is provided with three or more support legs that can be swiveled horizontally with respect to the travel main body and bendable by a large number of joints, and surrounds the farthest part of the travel main body from the turning center of the work main body. The grounding end of all supporting legs is grounded outside the turning range of the traveling body, and the working body is lifted by controlling the bending state of each of the supporting legs, thereby moving the traveling body wheels or crawlers away from the grounding surface. An unmanned work vehicle characterized in that the traveling body is turned horizontally with respect to the body to change the direction of the traveling body.

  The number of wheels or crawlers that the traveling main body has is at least three, regardless of the number, as long as stable traveling and stopping are possible according to a conventionally known configuration. In this case, at least one or more drive wheels or drive crawlers are used. The traveling body may include both wheels and crawlers. The work body is a work device including any one or more of an observation device, a measurement device, a manipulator, and the like that perform various work, a turning device for the traveling body, the work device and a control device for the turning device and the wheel or crawler, and communication with the outside The device and a battery to be used as a power source are mounted. In order to make the work main body turnable horizontally with respect to the traveling main body, for example, a configuration in which the work device or the like is mounted on a turn table that is turned by an electric motor is preferable.

  The unmanned work vehicle of the present invention does not use the wheels or crawlers that the traveling main body has, but in a state where the working main body and the traveling main body are lifted by the support legs, Turn the traveling body on the spot. The support legs may be fixed in a bent state with the work body and the traveling body lifted, and the work legs and the traveling body are maintained in a horizontal state in accordance with the horizontal rotation of the traveling body with respect to the work body. You may control a bending state according to the raising / lowering of a main body and a driving | running | working main body. The support leg joint may be any joint that can hold or control the bent state by lifting the work body and the traveling body. The joints of the support legs, for example, a servo motor for a relatively small unmanned work vehicle, a cylinder over a bending shaft for a relatively large unmanned working vehicle, and the bending angle controlled by a bending shaft angle sensor or cylinder stroke sensor The configuration is suitable.

  The unmanned work vehicle of the present invention may have a configuration in which only a support leg is provided without providing a manipulator in the work body. Further, when the manipulator is provided in the work main body, it may be provided separately from the support leg. However, when one of the support legs and the manipulator is used, there is a relationship in which the other is not used = exclusive use relationship, but in many cases, the support leg and the manipulator have a common structure in that they have many joints. Therefore, the support leg may be provided with a work attachment that is not grounded when the grounding end is grounded, and also serves as a manipulator. Preferably, the supporting leg may serve as a manipulator by projecting a work attachment in a direction opposite to the grounding end with a joint nearest to the grounding end interposed therebetween.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to provide an unmanned work vehicle capable of changing the direction of the traveling main body on the spot without making it difficult or impossible to move or overturning regardless of whether the traveling means is a wheel or a crawler. This is the effect that the support leg lifts the work main body and the traveling main body, and the traveling main body with the wheels or the crawlers away from the ground surface turns horizontally to change the direction. Since the wheel or crawler of the traveling body is away from the ground contact surface, there is no possibility of being buried in the ground contact surface in the first place. Further, since the support leg simply touches the grounding end and does not move during the direction change of the traveling body, there is no possibility that the posture of the unmanned work vehicle becomes unstable and falls.

  The unmanned exploration vehicle of the present invention can be used for a relatively small lunar exploration vehicle and a relatively large construction machine. Here, the structure that serves as both the support leg and the manipulator has the advantage that the support leg and the manipulator that are in the exclusive use relationship can be combined, and the installation space of the work body can be used without waste, especially a relatively small unmanned work vehicle. A preferable configuration can be obtained. Further, the configuration in which the work attachment protrudes in the direction opposite to the installation end eliminates the possibility that the work attachment is grounded when the grounding end is grounded, and can safely lift the work main body and the traveling main body.

It is a perspective view showing an example of an unmanned work vehicle to which the present invention is applied. It is a front view of the unmanned work vehicle of this example. It is a rear view of the unmanned work vehicle of this example. It is a left view of the unmanned work vehicle of this example. It is a right view of the unmanned work vehicle of this example. It is a top view of the unmanned work vehicle of this example. It is a bottom view of the unmanned work vehicle of this example. It is a side view showing the state where the unmanned work vehicle of this example grounded the grounding end of the support leg. It is a top view showing the state where the unmanned work vehicle of this example grounded the grounding end of the support leg. It is a side view showing the state where the unmanned work vehicle of this example lifted the working body and the traveling body by controlling the bent state of the support legs. It is a top view showing the state which the unmanned work vehicle of this example lifted the work main body and the traveling main body by controlling the bending state of the support leg. It is a side view showing the state where the unmanned work vehicle of this example is turning the traveling body horizontally with respect to the work body. It is a top view showing the state where the unmanned work vehicle of this example is turning the traveling body horizontally with respect to the work body. It is a side view showing the state which the unmanned work vehicle of this example controlled the bending state of the support leg and grounded the traveling body again. It is a top view showing the state which the unmanned work vehicle of this example controlled the bending state of the support leg, and grounded the traveling body again.

  Hereinafter, embodiments for carrying out the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. An unmanned work vehicle 1 to which the present invention is applied includes a traveling body 11 having a pair of crawlers 111 on the left and right sides, and a working body 12 having three support legs 2 that also serve as manipulators, as shown in FIGS. It consists of. In the unmanned work 1 of this example, the work device 122 of the work main body 12 is remotely operated by transmitting and receiving operation signals and monitoring signals wirelessly with an external operation device, a monitoring device and the like (not shown). As long as it does not interfere with the crawler 111, the work device 122 may transmit and receive an operation signal and a monitoring signal to and from an external operation device, a monitoring device, and the like (not shown).

  The traveling body 11 supports a turning table 121 of the work body 12 so as to be horizontally turnable with respect to a driving device 112 that rotationally drives the crawler 111. The turning means for horizontally turning the turning table 121 may be provided on the drive device 112 side or on the turning table 121 side. From the relationship of horizontally turning the traveling body 11 lifted by the support legs 2, the traveling body 11 is a point-symmetric plan view centered on the turning center C (see FIG. 9) of the work body 12 (particularly the turning table 121). It may have an outer shape (see FIG. 6 or FIG. 7).

  The work body 12 includes a star-shaped work device 122 that projects in three directions at equal intervals in the circumferential direction around a turning center C of the work body 12 (see FIG. 9), and a projecting portion of the work device 122. A support leg 2 provided therebetween is provided on the turning table 121. The work device 122 includes a control device for the traveling main body 11 and the support leg 2, a communication device that transmits and receives operation signals and monitoring signals, an antenna of the communication device, and a battery that is a power source of each device surrounded by an exterior. The The configuration and appearance of the working device 122 are not limited by the present invention.

  The support leg 2 includes a first arm 22, a second arm 24, and a grounding foot 27 that can be bent by a first joint 21, a second joint 23, and a third joint 25, and a work attachment 26 is attached to the grounding foot 27. Therefore, it is also used as a manipulator. There are three types of work attachments 26 in this example: a clamshell bucket, an auger, and a grapple. The plurality of work attachments 26 provided may be different from each other as in this example, or one or all of them may be the same type. Since the unmanned work vehicle 1 of the present invention is assumed to be used in a place where it is difficult or impossible for an operator to directly crawl, use as many kinds of work attachments 26 as possible so as to eliminate the need for replacement. Is desirable.

  In this example, the support leg 2 is provided with a grounding end 271 at one end of the grounding foot 27 with a third joint 25 provided in the middle of the grounding foot 28 and a work attachment 26 attached to the other end of the grounding foot 27. ing. The grounding end 271 of this example is an end portion of a pair of metal plates constituting the grounding foot 27, and is configured by pivotally mounting a grounding block having a triangular shape in side view between the metal plates. When the grounding end 271 is directed downward, the grounding block is grounded to the ground 3 with the wide bottom surface facing downward (see FIG. 8 described later). If the grounding block is allowed to swing, the bottom surface is always directed downward under gravity.

  The first joint 21 bends the first arm 22 with respect to the turning table 121 within a vertical vertical plane centered on the turning center C of the work body 12 (see FIG. 9 described later). The second joint 23 bends the second arm 24 in the vertical plane with respect to the first arm 22. The third joint 25 bends the grounding foot 27 in the vertical plane with respect to the second arm 24. Further, the second joint 25 is rotatable with respect to the second arm 24, and the grounding foot 27 can be turned upside down. The first joint 21, the second joint 23, and the third joint 25 are each composed of a servo motor that controls the bending angle and can maintain the bending angle.

  The case where the unmanned work vehicle 1 of this example changes the direction of the traveling body 11 on the spot will be described. The unmanned work vehicle 1 usually has the work attachment 26 facing downward. As shown in FIGS. 8 and 9, the unmanned work vehicle 1 that changes its direction turns the ground joint 27 upside down by rotating the third joint 25 with respect to the second arm 24 by 180 degrees in a stopped state, and moves downward. The facing grounding end 271 is grounded to the ground 3. Since the unmanned work vehicle 1 of this example has three support legs 2, the grounding ends 271 of the support legs 2 distributed to the left and right sides of the traveling main body 11 are grouped. In the case of an even number of support legs 2, the same number is distributed to the left and right of the traveling main body 11 to ground each grounding end 271.

  The grounding end 271 of each support leg 2 is grounded outside the turning range S of the traveling body 11. The turning range S in this example is inside a circle whose radius is the length from the turning center C of the turning table 121 to the corner of the crawler 111. The ground surface 3 to which each grounding end 271 contacts may have a height difference within a range in which the bent state of the support leg 2 can be changed. When there is a height difference on the ground 3, the bending state of each support leg 2 is controlled so that the traveling body 11 is in a horizontal posture. Here, in order to stably lift the traveling main body 11 and the work main body 12 by the support legs 2, it is desirable that the horizontal distances L1, L2, L3 from the turning center C of each grounding end 271 are equal. However, if the horizontal distances L1, L2, and L3 cannot be made equal due to the undulation of the ground 2, the horizontal distances L1, L2, and L3 may be different within a range in which the bending state of the support leg 2 can be changed. Good (L3 is a little long in this example).

  The unmanned work vehicle 1 having finished the grounding of the grounding end 271 controls the bending state of each support leg 2 and lifts the traveling main body 11 and the work main body 12 together as seen in FIGS. 10 and 11. Each support leg 2 not only lifts the traveling body 11 and the work body 12 but also individually connects the first joint 21, the second joint 23, and the third joint 25 so that the traveling body 11 is in a horizontal posture. The bent state is controlled. The bending state of the support leg 2 is finely changed according to the elevation of the traveling main body 11 and the work main body 12, and the horizontal posture of the traveling body 11 is maintained.

  When the crawler 111 of the traveling body 11 is separated from the ground 3 in this way, the working body fixed in position by the support legs 2 as shown in FIGS. 12 and 13 by using the turning means of the working body 12 with respect to the traveling body 11. The traveling body 11 is turned horizontally with respect to 12. In this example, the traveling body 11 is horizontally turned counterclockwise at a turning angle of 45 degrees in plan view. The grounding foot 27 extends in the vertical direction from the grounding end 271 at the lower end to the third joint 25, and as long as the grounding end 271 is grounded outside the turning range S of the traveling body 11, There is no possibility that the crawler 111 located will interfere with the support leg 2 (especially the ground contact foot 27).

  When the traveling body 11 finishes the horizontal turning, the bending state of each support leg 2 is controlled to lower the traveling body 11 and the working body 12, and as shown in FIGS. 14 and 15, the crawler 111 is grounded again. Then, the direction change of the traveling body 11 is completed. When the unmanned work vehicle 1 moves, the ground contact 271 also needs to be separated from the ground 3 because the ground contact 271 becomes a brake if it remains in contact with the ground. However, if only the unmanned work vehicle 1 is moved, it is not necessary to rotate the third joint 25 to turn the grounding foot 27 upside down and to point the work attachment 26 downward.

  Thus, since the unmanned work vehicle 1 of the present invention lifts the crawler 111 away from the ground 3 when turning the traveling body 11 on the spot, there is no possibility of being buried in the ground. In addition, the support leg 2 can control the bending state so that the lifted traveling main body 11 and the work main body 12 are moved horizontally, and can make the crawler 111 pass the step without touching the ground 3. The unmanned work vehicle 1 can get over the level difference even when the crawler 111 travels, but there is no risk of the posture becoming unstable and falling over the level difference, and collapse of rubble and the like can be avoided. Even if the vehicle falls over, the unmanned work vehicle 1 of the present invention can be raised by controlling the bent state of the support legs 2.

1 Unmanned work vehicle
11 Driving body
111 crawler
112 Drive unit
12 Work body
121 swivel table
122 Working equipment 2 Support legs
21 First joint
22 Boom
23 Second joint
24 arms
25 3rd joint
26 Work attachment
27 Grounding feet
271 Grounding end 3 Ground S Turning range of the vehicle L1 to L3 Horizontal distance from the turning center to the grounding end

Claims (3)

In an unmanned work vehicle that performs various operations while moving by autonomous driving or wired or wireless remote operation,
A traveling body having wheels or crawlers on each of the left and right sides;
It consists of a work main body that handles various work,
The work body is provided with three or more support legs that can be swiveled horizontally with respect to the traveling body and bendable by a number of joints.
The grounding end of all the supporting legs is grounded outside the turning range of the traveling body surrounding the part farthest from the turning center of the working body, and the working body is lifted by controlling the bending state of each of the supporting legs. Thus, the wheel or crawler of the traveling body is separated from the grounding surface, and the traveling body is turned horizontally with respect to the working body to change the direction of the traveling body. The unmanned work vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the support leg is provided with a work attachment that is not grounded when the grounding end is grounded, and also serves as a manipulator. 3. The unmanned work vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the support leg also serves as a manipulator by projecting a work attachment in a direction opposite to the ground contact end with a joint immediately adjacent to the ground contact end interposed therebetween.

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