JP2023059233A - Carrying vehicle - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a carrying vehicle that can be moved in all directions, which can improve a degree of freedom of a position where a placement part is provided.

SOLUTION: A carrying vehicle 100 comprises placement parts 110, an all-directional driving part 120, auxiliary wheels 130 and a load dispersion mechanism 140. The placement parts are formed so as to extend in a horizontal direction and are configured so that a cargo can be placed thereon. The all-directional driving part is connected to one sides of the placement parts and constituted of a plurality of driving wheels 121, and is configured to be movable in an arbitrary direction in accordance with rotation of the driving wheels. The auxiliary wheels are arranged at bottom parts at the other sides of the placement parts, which are configured to be able to support the placement part. The load dispersion mechanism disperses loads in the placement parts to the all-direction driving part.

SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

COPYRIGHT: (C)2023,JPO&INPIT

Description

The present invention relates to transport vehicles.

A Mecanum wheel vehicle for transporting cargo is disclosed (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

Japanese Patent Publication No. 2018-502767

By the way, in the vehicle disclosed in Patent Literature 1, it was necessary to match the center of gravity of the four mecanum wheel drive units with the center of gravity of the cargo placement unit. For example, in a vehicle in which the load placement section is formed in such a manner that the center of gravity of the four mecanum wheel driving sections and the center of gravity of the load placement section do not match, when a load is placed on the load placement section, There was a risk that one of the Mecanum wheels would lift and spin.

A transport vehicle having a mecanum wheel drive or an omni wheel drive moves in an arbitrary direction according to the rotation of each wheel. Therefore, in such a transport vehicle, the position where the placement section can be provided is limited.

In view of the above circumstances, the present invention aims to provide a omnidirectionally movable carrier vehicle that can improve the degree of freedom in the position where the placement section is provided.

According to one aspect of the invention, a transport vehicle is provided. The carrier vehicle includes a placement section, an omnidirectional drive section, auxiliary wheels, and a load distribution mechanism. The placing portion is formed to extend in the horizontal direction and configured to be able to place a load. The omnidirectional drive unit is connected to one side of the mounting unit, is composed of a plurality of drive wheels, and is configured to be movable in any direction according to the rotation of each drive wheel. The training wheels are arranged on the bottom portion on the other side of the placing portion, and are configured to be able to support the placing portion. The load distribution mechanism distributes the load on the mounting section to the omnidirectional driving section.

According to the above disclosure, it is possible to improve the degree of freedom of the position where the placing section is provided in the omnidirectionally movable transport vehicle.

1 is a perspective view showing a configuration of a carrier vehicle 100; FIG. 3 is a diagram showing the configuration of a mecanum wheel 121. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing the configuration of a mecanum wheel 121. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing the relationship between each part of the transport vehicle 100 and the link mechanism 140 when the fork 110 is lowered. FIG. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing the structure of a link mechanism 140 in a lowered state of the fork 110; 4 is a schematic diagram for explaining the mechanism of the omnidirectional driving unit 120; FIG. 4 is a diagram showing the relationship between each part of the transport vehicle 100 and the link mechanism 140 when the forks 110 are raised. FIG. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing the configuration of a link mechanism 140 in a state in which the fork 110 is raised;

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. Various features shown in the embodiments shown below can be combined with each other.

1. Configuration Section 1 describes the configuration of this embodiment.

1.1 Transportation vehicle 100
FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the configuration of the carrier vehicle 100. As shown in FIG. The carrier vehicle 100 includes a fork (corresponding to a mounting section in the claims) 110 , an omni-directional drive section 120 , auxiliary wheels 130 and a link mechanism (corresponding to a load distribution mechanism in the claims) 140 . These components are further described. Here, it is assumed that the transport vehicle 100 receives a control signal by a communication unit (not shown) and can operate based on the control signal. Since the training wheel 130 is arranged at the bottom of the fork 110, it is not visible in FIG. 1, so it is indicated by a dashed line in FIG.

1.2 Fork 110
Fork 110 is configured to be able to move up and down. The fork 110 is raised by hydraulic pressure and lowered by releasing the hydraulic pressure. The fork 110 can lift the pallet by moving it from the lowered state to the raised state by hydraulic pressure while being inserted into the insertion port of the pallet. In other words, the fork 110 is configured to be able to place the palletized cargo together with the pallet.

Fork 110 is made of steel. The fork 110 is bifurcated with the chevron portion 111 as a base point. The fork 110 is formed such that each of the forked portions extends horizontally with the chevron portion 111 as a base point. Fork 110 is hollow.

1.3 Omni-directional drive unit 120
The omni-directional drive unit 120 includes a plurality of driving wheels, a shaft 122, a front chassis (corresponding to the front part of the claims) 123, a central chassis (corresponding to the central part of the claims) 125, and a rear chassis (corresponding to the central part of the claims) 125. ) 126 and a rotating shaft portion 127 . The front chassis 123, the central chassis 125, the rear chassis 126, and the rotary shaft 127 will be described later.

Each drive wheel is composed of a mecanum wheel 121 . A front chassis 123 and a rear chassis 126 rotatably support each mecanum wheel 121 . The shaft 122 is formed extending vertically upward from the central chassis 125 . The omnidirectional drive unit 120 is configured to be movable in any direction according to the rotation of each mecanum wheel 121 . The omni-directional drive portion 120 (central chassis 125 ) is connected to one side of the fork 110 via a shaft 122 and a connecting portion 124 between the chevron portion 111 .

1.4 Training wheel 130
Training wheel 130 is configured to support fork 110 . Auxiliary wheels 130 are rotatably supported by support members 131 . The auxiliary wheel 130 is arranged on the bottom of the fork 110 on the side opposite to the chevron 111 (corresponding to the other side in the claims). The training wheel 130 is made of urethane.

1.5 Overview of Linkage Mechanism 140 The linkage 140 distributes the load on the fork 110 to the omnidirectional drive 120 . In other words, the link mechanism 140 distributes at least a portion of the load of the load loaded on the pallet to the omnidirectional drive unit 120 when the forks 110 are raised. Specifically, the link mechanism 140 applies at least a portion of the load applied to the fork 110 (and the auxiliary wheel 130) to the omnidirectional drive unit 120 as the fork 110 rises. It is configured to increase the ground pressure of the drive unit 120 .

The linkage 140 is connected to the omnidirectional drive 120 via a connection 149 with the central chassis 125 . The link mechanism 140 is arranged inside the fork 110 . The link mechanism 140 is connected to the support member 131 via a connection portion 132 with the support member 131 . The link mechanism 140 is made of metal. The link mechanism 140 is formed to extend from the chevron portion 111 side of the fork 110 to the training wheel 130 side.

If the link mechanism 140 is made of metal, excellent strength and rigidity can be obtained, so that the effects of the present embodiment can be achieved more reliably. Details of the link mechanism 140 will be described later.

1.6 Mecanum wheel 121
2 and 3 are diagrams showing the configuration of the mecanum wheel 121. FIG. The mecanum wheel 121 comprises a plurality of rollers 221 around the rim of the wheel. The roller 221 is rotatably mounted at an angle of 45° with respect to the rotational axis of the rim of the mecanum wheel 121 . The roller 221 has a barrel shape. The rollers 221 of the mecanum wheels 121 are each in contact with the ground. The roller 221 has no direct drive and can rotate freely around its axis of rotation. Each mecanum wheel 121 has an electric motor (not shown). The mecanum wheel 121 can be driven by an electric motor with adjustable direction of rotation and variable speed of rotation.

Some mecanum wheels 121 include a plurality of rollers 222 instead of the plurality of rollers 221 . The roller 222 is rotatably mounted at an angle of −45° with respect to the rotational axis of the rim of the mecanum wheel 121 . Other structures and functions of the roller 222 are the same as those of the roller 221 .

A mecanum wheel 121 is placed at each vertex of the rectangle. The direction of rotation of the mecanum wheels 121 with respect to the ground is individually selected by control of the electric motor. The direction of motion of the transport vehicle 100 can be adjusted based on the vector sum of the individual mecanum wheels 121 . Thereby, any desired direction of movement of the transport vehicle 100, ie omnidirectional drive, can be realized.

1.7 Details of Link Mechanism 140 FIG. 4 is a diagram showing the relationship between each part of the transport vehicle 100 and the link mechanism 140 when the fork 110 is lowered. FIG. 5 is a diagram showing the structure of the link mechanism 140 when the fork 110 is lowered. The link mechanism 140 includes a first link portion 141 , a second link portion 142 and a third link portion 143 .

The first link portion 141 is configured to be swingable around a swing shaft 144 . The swing shaft 144 is fixed to the inner wall surface of the fork 110 . The first link portion 141 is swingably supported by the fork 110 . The first link portion 141 is connected to the support member 131 via the connection portion 132 at one end thereof. The first link portion 141 is connected to the second link portion 142 by a pair 147 at the tip on the other side. The first link portion 141 has an L shape. The swing shaft 144 is arranged at the L-shaped corner of the first link portion 141 .

A slider 146 is fixed to the inner wall surface of the fork 110 . A long hole corresponding to the slider 146 is formed in the second link portion 142 . The slider 146 and the long hole are slidably fitted. The second link portion 142 is configured to be slidable in a direction substantially parallel to the fork 110 . The second link portion 142 is connected to the first link portion 141 by a pair 147 at one end thereof. The second link portion 142 is connected to the third link portion 143 by a pair 148 at the tip on the other side. The second link portion 142 is formed in a rod shape.

The third link portion 143 is configured to be swingable around a swing shaft 145 . The swing shaft 145 is fixed to the base end portion (the chevron portion 111) of the fork 110. As shown in FIG. The third link portion 143 is swingably supported by the base end portion (the chevron portion 111 ) of the fork 110 . The third link portion 143 is connected to the second link portion 142 by a pair 148 at one end thereof. The third link portion 143 is connected to the central chassis 125 via a connection portion 149 at the other end portion. In other words, the omnidirectional drive section 120 is connected to the third link section 143 via the connection section 149 . The third link portion 143 has an L shape. The swing shaft 145 is arranged at the L-shaped corner of the third link portion 143 .

1.8 Mechanism of Omnidirectional Driving Section 120 FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram for explaining the mechanism of the omnidirectional driving section 120. As shown in FIG. The omnidirectional driving unit 120 includes a central chassis 125 , a front chassis 123 , a rear chassis 126 and a rotating shaft portion 127 . In FIG. 6, for convenience of explanation, components other than the central chassis 125, the front chassis 123, the rear chassis 126, and the rotary shaft 127 are omitted.

The central chassis 125 is configured to be able to support the front chassis 123 and the rear chassis 126 via the rotating shaft portion 127 . A central chassis 125 is connected to one side of the fork 110 . A central chassis 125 is positioned between the front chassis 123 and the rear chassis 126 .

The front chassis 123 rotatably supports the pair of mecanum wheels 121 . The front chassis 123 is arranged to face the central chassis 125 . A front chassis 123 is located on the opposite side of the fork 110 .

The rear chassis 126 rotatably supports the pair of mecanum wheels 121 . The rear chassis 126 is arranged to face the central chassis 125 . The rear chassis 126 is arranged opposite the front chassis 123 . That is, the rear chassis 126 is located on the same side as the forks 110 . The rear chassis 126 is arranged below the chevron portion 111 of the fork 110 .

The rotating shaft portion 127 connects the central chassis 125 and the front chassis 123 . The rotating shaft portion 127 connects the central chassis 125 and the rear chassis 126 . In this embodiment, the rotating shaft portion 127 is inserted from the front chassis 123 through the central chassis 125 and then through the rear chassis 126, but is not limited to this. And it may be arranged between the central chassis 125 and the rear chassis 126 . The rotating shaft portion 127 may be, for example, a pivot shaft.

Therefore, the central chassis 125, the front chassis 123, and the rear chassis 126 are configured to be independently swingable about the rotating shaft portion 127. As shown in FIG.

2. Action Section 2 describes the action of the present embodiment.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing the relationship between each part of the transport vehicle 100 and the link mechanism 140 when the forks 110 are raised. FIG. 8 is a diagram showing the configuration of the link mechanism 140 when the fork 110 is raised.

The transport vehicle 100 transports a pallet loaded with cargo. At this time, the fork 110 is in a lowered state. The carrier vehicle 100 moves so as to insert the forks 110 into the insertion openings of the pallets. Subsequently, the fork 110 is inserted all the way into the insertion opening of the pallet. Subsequently, the fork 110 is lifted by the action of a hydraulic pump (not shown). At this time, the auxiliary wheel 130 protrudes downward together with the support member 131 .

Subsequently, the first link portion 141 swings as the fork 110 rises. That is, the first link portion 141 swings about the swing shaft 144 in the direction of the arrow 241 in conjunction with the support member 131 projecting downward as the fork 110 rises.

Subsequently, the second link portion 142 slides as the first link portion 141 swings. That is, the second link portion 142 slides in the direction of the arrow 242 when a force acts in the direction of the arrow 242 in accordance with the rocking of the first link portion 141 in the direction of the arrow 241 .

Subsequently, the third link 143 swings as the second link 142 slides. That is, the third link portion 143 swings in the direction of the arrow 243 in conjunction with the sliding of the second link portion 142 in the direction of the arrow 242 about the swing shaft 145 .

Subsequently, the third link portion 143 lowers the omnidirectional driving portion 120 . That is, the third link portion 143 lowers the central chassis 125 through the connection portion 149 in conjunction with the swinging motion in the direction of the arrow 243 . The lowering of the central chassis 125 acts to lower the front chassis 123 and the rear chassis 126 via the rotating shaft portion 127 .

3. Effect Section 3 describes the effect of the present embodiment.

According to this embodiment, each mecanum wheel 121 of the transport vehicle 100 can maintain contact with the ground even when a load is applied to the forks 110 . That is, the transportation vehicle 100 can reduce the possibility of the mecanum wheel 121 slipping even when a load is applied to the fork 110 and a force acts in a direction in which the omnidirectional driving unit 120 is lifted. In other words, the transport vehicle 100 can move in a desired direction based on the driving force of the mecanum wheels 121 even when a load is applied to the forks 110 .

Therefore, since the transportation vehicle 100 can move in a desired direction without restriction on the position where the placing section is provided, it is possible to improve the convenience of transportation of the luggage.

In addition, since the front chassis 123, the central chassis 125, and the rear chassis 126 can swing independently, even if the transport vehicle 100 travels on uneven ground, can be suppressed. For example, when one wheel of the auxiliary wheel 130 runs over a step while the transport vehicle 100 is traveling, the center chassis 125 connected to the fork 110 tilts according to the tilt of the fork 110, but the front chassis 123 and the rear chassis 126 tilt. does not tilt. That is, the mecanum wheel 121 supported by the front chassis 123 and the mecanum wheel 121 supported by the rear chassis 126 can maintain contact with the ground.

Therefore, the transport vehicle 100 can achieve both grounding of each drive wheel (mecanum wheel 121) and stabilization of the center of gravity of the load.

4. Others Although the embodiment of the present invention has been described above, the present invention is not limited to this and can be modified as appropriate without departing from the technical idea of the invention.

As a first modification, the link mechanism 140 is not limited to metal, and may be made of resin, for example.

According to the first modified example, the link mechanism 140 has excellent corrosion resistance and can be easily reduced in weight, so that the effects of the present embodiment can be obtained more reliably.

As a second modified example, the placing section is not limited to the fork 110, and may be, for example, a loading platform on which a load can be directly placed.

As a third modified example, the load distribution mechanism is not limited to the link mechanism 140, and may be, for example, an actuator, an electrical/mechanical transducer, a sensory transducer, or the like.

As a fourth modification, the drive wheels in the omnidirectional drive unit 120 are not limited to mecanum wheels, and may be omni wheels, for example.

As a fifth modification, the mecanum wheels 121 are not limited to four wheels, and may be, for example, six or more wheels.

As a sixth modification, the training wheel 130 is not limited to being made of urethane, and may be made of metal, for example.

As a seventh modification, the elevating mechanism of the fork 110 is not limited to a hydraulic type, and may be, for example, a pneumatic type, an electric type (for example, an electric actuator), or the like.

It may be provided in each aspect described below.
The transport vehicle, wherein the plurality of drive wheels are composed of Mecanum wheels.
In the transport vehicle, the placement section is configured to be able to move up and down, and the load distribution mechanism is configured to increase the ground pressure of the omnidirectional driving section as the placement section rises. vehicle.
In the transport vehicle, the load distribution mechanism is configured by a link mechanism.
In the transport vehicle, the link mechanism includes a first link portion, a second link portion, and a third link portion, and the first link portion is swingably supported by the mounting portion. The second link portion is connected to the first link portion and configured to be slidable in a direction substantially parallel to the mounting portion, and the third link portion is connected to the second link portion and configured to be slidable on the mounting portion. The omnidirectional drive section is connected to the third link section, the first link section swings according to the rise of the mounting section, and the The second link portion slides according to the rocking motion of the first link portion, and the third link portion rocks according to the sliding motion of the second link portion to lower the omnidirectional driving portion. vehicle.
The transport vehicle, wherein the link mechanism is made of metal.
The transport vehicle, wherein the link mechanism is made of resin.
In the transport vehicle, the omnidirectional drive section includes a central section, a front side section, a rear side section, and a rotating shaft section, the central section is connected to one side of the mounting section, and the front side section The rear side portion faces the central portion and is arranged on the opposite side of the mounting portion, the rear side portion faces the central portion and is arranged on the opposite side of the front side portion, and the rotating shaft portion is arranged on the central portion. and the front side portion, and the rotating shaft portion connects the central portion and the rear side portion, and the central portion, the front side portion, and the rear side portion are centered around the rotating shaft portion, Conveyance vehicles configured to be independently swingable.
Of course, this is not the only case.

100: Conveying vehicle 110: Fork 111: Angled portion 120: Omnidirectional drive portion 121: Mecanum wheel 122: Shaft 123: Front side chassis 124: Connection portion 125: Center chassis 126: Rear side chassis 127: Rotating shaft portion 130: Auxiliary Ring 131 : Supporting member 132 : Connecting portion 140 : Link mechanism 141 : First link portion 142 : Second link portion 143 : Third link portion 144 : Swing shaft 145 : Swing shaft 146 : Slider 147 : Pair 148 : Pair 149: Connection portion 221: Roller 222: Roller 241: Arrow 242: Arrow 243: Arrow

Claims (8)

a transport vehicle,
A mounting unit, an omnidirectional driving unit, an auxiliary wheel, and a load distribution mechanism,
The placing portion is formed to extend in a horizontal direction and is configured to be able to place a load,
The omnidirectional drive unit is connected to one side of the mounting unit, is composed of a plurality of drive wheels, and is configured to be movable in an arbitrary direction according to the rotation of each of the drive wheels,
The auxiliary wheel is arranged on the bottom portion of the other side of the mounting portion and configured to support the mounting portion,
The load distribution mechanism distributes the load on the placement section to the omnidirectional drive section.
transport vehicle. The transport vehicle of claim 1,
The plurality of drive wheels are composed of mecanum wheels,
transport vehicle. The transport vehicle of claim 1,
The placing section is configured to be able to move up and down,
The load distribution mechanism is configured to increase the ground pressure of the omnidirectional drive unit as the mounting unit rises.
transport vehicle. The transport vehicle of claim 1,
The load distribution mechanism is composed of a link mechanism,
transport vehicle. In the transport vehicle according to claim 4,
The link mechanism includes a first link portion, a second link portion, and a third link portion,
The first link portion is swingably supported by the mounting portion,
The second link portion is connected to the first link portion and configured to be slidable in a direction substantially parallel to the mounting portion,
the third link portion is connected to the second link portion and is swingably supported by the base end portion of the mounting portion;
The omnidirectional drive section is connected to the third link section,
The first link portion swings according to the rise of the mounting portion,
the second link portion slides according to the rocking movement of the first link portion;
The third link portion swings in accordance with the sliding of the second link portion to lower the omnidirectional driving portion,
transport vehicle. In the transport vehicle according to claim 4,
The link mechanism is made of metal,
transport vehicle. In the transport vehicle according to claim 4,
The link mechanism is made of resin,
transport vehicle. The transport vehicle of claim 1,
the omnidirectional drive unit is composed of a central portion, a front side portion, a rear side portion and a rotating shaft portion;
The central portion is connected to one side of the mounting portion,
The front side portion faces the central portion and is arranged on the opposite side of the mounting portion,
said rear side portion facing said central portion and disposed opposite said front side portion;
The rotating shaft portion connects the central portion and the front side portion,
The rotating shaft portion connects the central portion and the rear side portion,
The central portion, the front side portion, and the rear side portion are configured to be independently swingable about the rotation shaft,
transport vehicle.

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