JP2023130298A - Positioning adjustment mechanism and positioning adjustment system - Google Patents

Abstract

To achieve high positioning precision of a drive device.SOLUTION: A positioning adjustment mechanism 120 includes a first guide member 121 which adjusts the horizontal position and posture of a travel device 1 by abutment onto sides of a pair of travel bodies 10a, 10b during approach to a prescribed stopping position (a chargeable position C) of the travel device 1 and a second guide member 125 which adjusts the longitudinal position and posture of the travel device 1 by abutment onto front parts of a pair of travel bodies 10a, 10b when the travel device 1 reaches a stopping position.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 8

Description

The present invention relates to a positioning adjustment mechanism and a positioning adjustment system.

BACKGROUND ART In recent years, autonomous mobile robots (traveling devices) have been used in a variety of environments and applications to support tasks that were traditionally performed manually and to perform tasks in environments that humans cannot handle.

For example, Patent Document 1 discloses, as an example of such an autonomous mobile type traveling device, a traveling device equipped with a crawler-type traveling body in order to improve stability during traveling.

However, Patent Document 1 does not describe a mechanism for accurately stopping at a target position, and there is room for improvement.

An object of the present invention is to improve the positioning accuracy of a traveling device.

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, a positioning adjustment mechanism according to one aspect of the present invention adjusts the positioning of a traveling device that has a main body and a pair of traveling bodies that are driven by being in contact with a traveling surface on both sides of the main body. The mechanism includes: a first contact member that contacts side portions of the pair of traveling bodies while the traveling device approaches a predetermined stop position; A second contact member that contacts the front portions of the pair of traveling bodies.

The positioning accuracy of the traveling device can be improved.

A perspective view showing a schematic configuration of a traveling device applied in an embodiment Side view of the track type traveling body in Figure 1 Diagram showing an example of the hardware configuration of the traveling device Diagram explaining the mechanism of the charging task in this embodiment Schematic configuration diagram of a positioning adjustment system according to an embodiment Charging task flowchart A perspective view showing a schematic configuration of a positioning adjustment mechanism according to the present embodiment A perspective view of the traveling device positioned by the positioning adjustment mechanism A plan view showing the first stage of the adjustment process by the positioning adjustment mechanism. Side view showing the second stage of the adjustment process by the positioning adjustment mechanism Side view showing the third stage of the adjustment process by the positioning adjustment mechanism Plan views showing first, second, and third modified examples of the positioning adjustment mechanism. A plan view showing a fourth modification of the positioning adjustment mechanism. A plan view showing a fifth modification of the positioning adjustment mechanism A diagram showing an application example of the positioning adjustment system according to the present embodiment

Embodiments will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. In order to facilitate understanding of the description, the same components in each drawing are denoted by the same reference numerals as much as possible, and redundant description will be omitted.

The positioning adjustment system 100 according to the embodiment is a system for positioning the traveling device 1 at a predetermined stop position. In this embodiment, as an example of the traveling device, a traveling device 1 including track-type (crawler-type) traveling bodies 10a and 10b will be described. Moreover, in this embodiment, as an example of the task of positioning the traveling device 1, a charging task of positioning the charging device 110 at the chargeable position C will be exemplified and explained.

<Configuration of traveling device>
First, with reference to FIGS. 1 to 3, the configuration of a traveling device 1 including crawler-type traveling bodies 10a and 10b will be described. FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a schematic configuration of a traveling device 1 applied in the embodiment. FIG. 2 is a side view of the track type traveling body 10 in FIG. 1. In FIG. 2, since the pair of crawler-type traveling bodies 10a and 10b have the same configuration, they are collectively designated by the reference numeral 10.

Note that in the description of FIGS. 1 and 2, the x1 direction, y1 direction, and z1 direction are directions perpendicular to each other. The x1 direction and the y1 direction are horizontal directions, and the z1 direction is a vertical direction. The x1 direction is the longitudinal direction of the traveling device 1. The y1 direction is the left-right direction of the traveling device 1. Furthermore, for convenience of explanation, the z1 positive direction side may also be expressed as the upper side and the z1 negative direction side may be expressed as the lower side below.

As shown in FIG. 1, the traveling device 1 has a main body 50 at the center in the y1 direction, and has a pair of traveling bodies on both sides of the main body 50 in the y1 direction that are driven by being in contact with a running surface. The pair of running bodies are track type running bodies 10a and 10b. The traveling device 1 is configured to change the traveling direction by giving a speed difference to each of the pair of track type traveling bodies 10a and 10b.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the traveling device 1 includes a triangular track-type traveling body 10 formed by a drive wheel with a built-in in-wheel motor and two rolling wheels in order to stabilize the posture and travel. Use. As described above, the traveling device 1 having the track-type traveling body 10 has high traveling performance and can stably travel on uneven terrain. On the other hand, compared to the traveling device 1 using wheels, it is more difficult to finely adjust the position, and it is difficult to move to a target position with high precision. Furthermore, there is a problem that when stopped, the vehicle tends to be tilted horizontally and vertically, and the posture when stopped is unstable.

Such a track-type traveling body 10 can perform highly accurate positioning within ± several tens of millimeters relative to the target position when charging or stopping when connecting/disconnecting a conveyed object. It is required to maintain the posture within ± several degrees.

The configuration of each part of the traveling device 1 will be further explained. The track-type traveling bodies 10a and 10b are units that serve as moving means for the traveling device 1. The track-type traveling bodies 10a and 10b are crawler-type traveling bodies using metal or rubber belts. A track-type traveling object has a wider ground contact area than a traveling object such as a car that runs on tires, and can run stably even in an environment with poor footing, for example. In addition, a traveling body that runs on tires requires a turning space when making rotational movements, whereas a traveling device equipped with a track-type traveling body can perform so-called super pivot turns. , allows for smooth rotation even in limited space.

The main body 50 is a support body that supports the track-type traveling bodies 10a and 10b in a movable state, and is equipped with a control device that performs control for driving the traveling device 1. Further, the main body 50 is equipped with a battery 530, which will be described later, which supplies electric power to drive the track-type traveling bodies 10a and 10b.

As shown in FIG. 1, the main body 50 of the traveling device 1 includes an emergency stop button 31, a status display lamp 33, and a contact charging section 35. The emergency stop button 31 is an operation means that is pressed by a person near the traveling device 1 to stop the traveling device 1 while it is running.

The status display lamp 33 is a notification means for notifying the status of the traveling device 1. For example, when the state of the traveling device 1 changes, such as when the remaining battery level decreases, the status display lamp 33 lights up to notify surrounding people of the change in the state of the traveling device 1. Further, the status display lamp 33 lights up when there is a risk of an abnormality occurring, such as when the presence of an obstacle that impedes the travel of the traveling device 1 is detected, for example. Although FIG. 1 shows an example in which the traveling device 1 is provided with two status display lamps 33, the number of status display lamps 33 may be one, or three or more. . Further, the notification means may be configured to notify the state of the traveling device 1 not only by the status display lamp 33 but also by a warning sound emitted from a speaker or the like.

The contact charging unit 35 is an element that supplies power from the charging device 110 to the battery inside the main body 50 by contacting the charging device 110 during a charging task. In this embodiment, the outer shape of the main body 50 is formed in a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape, and the front surface 50A with the x1 direction as the normal direction is disposed at the frontmost position. Contact charging section 35 is installed on this front surface 50A. In the contact charging unit 35, two metal contact surfaces 35A and 35B are provided on the front surface of a rectangular frame body 35C made of resin, for example. The two contact surfaces 35A and 35B are formed in substantially the same substantially rectangular shape with the length or long side in the y1 direction, and are arranged in parallel.

As shown in FIG. 2, the track type traveling body 10 has a triangular shape formed by a drive wheel 13 and two rolling wheels 15a and 15b. For example, when the triangular-shaped track-type traveling body 10 has a restriction on the front and rear sizes of the traveling body, it is possible to increase the ground contact area within the limited size of the front and rear, thereby improving stability during running. can be improved. On the other hand, so-called tank-type crawlers, where the upper side (driving wheel side) is longer than the lower side (rolling wheel side), have a smaller overall ground contact area and are disadvantageous if there are size restrictions on the front and rear. It becomes stable. In this way, the track-type traveling body 10 is effective in improving the traveling performance of the relatively small-sized traveling device 1.

The track type traveling body 10 includes a track 11, a drive wheel 13, an in-wheel motor 14, wheels 15a, 15b, idlers 18a, 18b, a link 19, side plates 20a, 20b, and a tensioner 25.

The crawler belt 11 is also called a crawler and is made of metal or rubber. The crawler belt 11 is wound around the driving wheel 13 and the rolling wheels 15a and 15b. The crawler belt 11 rotates the crawler-type traveling body 10 by moving along the rotational direction of the drive wheel 13 and causing the wheels 15a and 15b to follow. Furthermore, a plurality of protrusions 11a and 11b are provided on the surface of the crawler belt 11. The outer protrusion 11a of the crawler track 11 is provided, for example, in order to stably run over small obstacles such as stones on the road surface. Further, the inner protrusion 11b is provided, for example, to prevent the drive wheel 13 or the wheels 15a and 15b from coming off.

The drive wheels 13 transmit a driving force to the crawler belt 11 to rotate the crawler type traveling body 10 . The track-type traveling body 10 transmits the driving force (rotational force) transmitted by the in-wheel motor 14 to the drive wheels 13 to the wheels 15a and 15b via the track 11.

The in-wheel motor 14 is built inside the drive wheel 13 and transmits rotational force to the drive wheel 13. The in-wheel motor 14 is driven to rotate around a motor shaft 141 serving as a drive shaft. The rotation shaft (motor shaft 141) of the in-wheel motor 14 becomes the rotation shaft (drive shaft) of the drive wheel 13, and the drive wheel 13 is rotated by the rotational force of the in-wheel motor 14. The rotational force of the in-wheel motor 14 is then transmitted to the crawler belt 11 as driving force. Specifically, the in-wheel motor 14 provides the drive wheels 13 with rotation in a positive direction to move the traveling device 1 forward, or rotation in a negative direction to move the traveling device 1 backward.

Furthermore, the in-wheel motor 14 can be built into the drive wheel 13 to simplify its structure. For example, by not using parts such as a drive chain or gears, the in-wheel motor 14 is free from malfunctions caused by those parts. Risk can be reduced. Furthermore, by incorporating the in-wheel motor 14 into the drive wheel 13, the in-wheel motor 14 can generate driving force near the outer periphery of the track-type traveling body 10, so that the torque can be increased.

The wheels 15a and 15b are rotatably attached to the track type traveling body 10. The wheels 15a, 15b are rotated by the driving force (rotational force) transmitted from the drive wheel 13 via the crawler belt 11, using the wheel shafts 151a, 151b as rotation axes.

Here, the driving wheel 13, the rolling wheels 15a, and the rolling wheels 15b form a triangle in a side view. The crawler belt 11 is wrapped around the driving wheel 13, the rolling wheels 15a, and the rolling wheels 15b, and the range between the rolling wheels 15a and the rolling wheels 15b is in contact with the ground. That is, the drive wheels 13 in which the in-wheel motor 14 is built-in do not touch the road surface. Therefore, the in-wheel motor 14 of the crawler-type traveling body 10 will not be submerged in water even if it runs through a puddle, for example, so there is no need to install a special waterproofing mechanism for the in-wheel motor 14.

Further, the drive wheel 13 and the rolling wheels 15a, 15b have different diameters. It is necessary to design the layout of a running body taking into account factors such as required size restrictions and running performance. Generally, the smaller the diameter of a motor, the lower the torque per unit width of the motor. Therefore, a drive wheel with a built-in in-wheel motor needs to have a diameter equal to or larger than the diameter of the motor that can meet the required torque performance. Therefore, the track-type traveling body 10 has a layout that satisfies the size limitations of the traveling device 1 or the track-type traveling body 10 and also satisfies the required running performance by changing the diameter of the drive wheels 13 installed above. It is designed to be larger than the diameter of the rings 15a and 15b. Note that if the diameter of the wheels is increased while the size is limited, the ground contact area will become smaller and running stability will be impaired. Therefore, there is an advantage in adopting the rolling wheels 15a, 15b having a relatively small diameter in consideration of the diameter of the driving wheel 13.

The idlers 18a and 18b are auxiliary wheels that are provided between the two wheels 15a and 15b and rotate following the crawler belt 11. The idlers 18a and 18b rotate about idler shafts 181a and 181b as rotational axes, respectively. Further, the link 19 is a support that supports the idler 18a and the idler 18b.

The side plate 20a supports the drive wheel 13, the wheels 15a, 15b, and the idlers 18a, 18b in the track type traveling body 10. The side plate 20a is installed on the side surface of the track type traveling body 10 on the y1 positive direction side. Furthermore, a side plate 20b having the same shape as the side plate 20a is set on the side surface of the track type traveling body 10 on the y1 negative direction side, which is opposite to the side plate 20a. The track-type traveling body 10 has a dual-supported structure that supports the driving wheel 13, the rolling wheels 15a, 15b, etc. using two side plates 20a, 20b. The side plates 20a and 20b support the drive wheel 13 using the motor shaft 141. Further, the side plates 20a, 20b support the rolling wheels 15a, 15b, respectively, using the rolling wheel shafts 151a, 151b. Further, the side plates 20a, 20b support the idlers 18a, 18b via a link shaft 191 of the link 19 that supports the idlers 18a, 18b.

The tensioner 25 is formed of an elastic member such as a spring, and is connected to a motor shaft 141 that is a rotation shaft of the in-wheel motor 14 and the drive wheel 13. The tensioner 25 is installed so that the drive wheel 13 presses against the inside of the crawler belt 11, and applies tension to the crawler belt 11. The tensioner 25 plays a role in adjusting the tension applied from the drive wheels 13 to the crawler belt 11 during running. The tensioner 25 serves, for example, to maintain a reference tension substantially constant during traveling, with reference to the tension when the crawler-type traveling body 10 is at rest. In addition, the crawler belt type traveling body 10 maintains normal transmission of driving force by the crawler belt 11 by adjusting the slack of the crawler belt 11 by the tensioner 25. Furthermore, the crawler belt type traveling body 10 can prevent the crawler belt 11 from coming off the track by applying tension to the crawler belt 11 using the tensioner 25.

Here, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the track-type traveling body 10 has a substantially symmetrical structure in the front and rear directions in the traveling direction with the driving wheels 13 as the center. More specifically, in a side view seen from the y1-axis direction as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the track type traveling body 10 has an in-wheel position relative to a straight line connecting the wheel axes of the two wheels 15a and 15b. The structure is approximately line symmetrical with respect to a perpendicular from the motor shaft 141 of the motor 14.

For example, a traveling device that travels in a narrow space such as an office hallway must frequently move forward and backward and make sharp turns. In this case, if the shape of the track or the arrangement of drive wheels, rollers, tensioners, etc. are asymmetrical in the front and back, the driving characteristics of the traveling device may change when moving forward or backward, or the center rotation may not be possible during a corner turn. There is. Therefore, by making the layout (structure) of the track-type traveling body 10 approximately symmetrical in the front and rear, it is possible to improve the stability of the traveling device 1 during traveling and to simplify the control. Further, since the track type traveling body 10 can be attached without being conscious of the right and left sides of the traveling device 1, it is possible to reduce the number of parts.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of the hardware configuration of the traveling device 1. The traveling device 1 includes a main body 50 that controls processing or operation of the traveling device 1, as shown in FIG. The main body 50 includes a radio control receiving section 501, a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 502, a memory 503, a communication I/F (Interface) 506, a battery 530, a travel control motor driver 540, an attitude control motor driver 550, and an attitude control motor driver 540. It includes motors 555a and 555b. Further, the radio control receiving section 501, the CPU 502, the memory 503, the communication I/F 506, the battery 530, the travel control motor driver 540, and the attitude control motor driver 550 are connected via a system bus 510. The system bus 510 is an address bus, a data bus, etc. for electrically connecting each of the above components, and transmits address signals, data signals, various control signals, and the like.

The radio control receiving unit 501 receives an operation instruction signal transmitted from a transmitter such as a PC used by the operator of the traveling device 1.

The CPU 502 controls the traveling device 1 as a whole. The CPU 502 is an arithmetic device that realizes each function of the traveling device 1 by reading out the program P1 or various data necessary for operating the traveling device 1 stored in the memory 503 and executing processing.

The memory 503 stores various data necessary for operating the traveling device 1, including the program P1 executed by the CPU 502. The program P1 is provided and incorporated in the memory 503 in advance.

The program P1 is a file in an installable or executable format and is a record readable by the CPU 502 (computer) such as a CD-ROM, a flexible disk (FD), a CD-R, or a DVD (Digital Versatile Disc). It may be configured to be recorded on a medium and provided. Furthermore, the program P1 may be stored on a computer connected to a network such as the Internet, and may be provided by being downloaded to the traveling device 1 via the network. Further, the program P1 may be configured to be provided or distributed via a network such as the Internet. When the program P1 is provided externally, the CPU 502 reads the program P1 via the communication I/F 506. Note that instead of causing the CPU 502 to operate according to the program P1, the traveling device 1 implements a dedicated ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit) that has the same arithmetic function and control function as the program P1 executes. may be operated.

The communication I/F 506 is a communication interface that communicates (connects) with other devices or devices via a communication network. The communication I/F 506 is, for example, a communication interface such as a wired or wireless LAN (Local Area Network). The communication I/F 506 supports 3G (3rd Generation), LTE (Long Term Evolution), 4G (4th Generation), 5G (5th Generation), Wi-Fi (Wireless Fidelity) (registered trademark), WiMAX (Worldwide Interoperability for A communication interface such as Microwave Access), Zigbee (registered trademark), or millimeter wave wireless communication may be provided. Further, the traveling device 1 may include a communication circuit for performing short-range wireless communication such as NFC (Near Field communication) or Bluetooth (registered trademark).

The battery 530 is a power supply unit that supplies power necessary for processing or operation of the traveling device 1. The battery 530 supplies power to, for example, the in-wheel motors 14a and 14b and the attitude control motors 555a and 555b. The battery 530 is electrically connected to the contact charging unit 35, and is charged by being supplied with power from the charging device 110 via the contact charging unit 35 during a charging task.

The travel control motor driver 540 drives the in-wheel motors 14a, 14b by supplying motor drive signals to the in-wheel motors 14a, 14b, respectively.

The in-wheel motors 14a, 14b are installed inside the drive wheels 13a of the track type traveling body 10a and the drive wheels 13b of the track type traveling body 10b, respectively, and transmit rotational force to the drive wheels 13a, 13b. The in-wheel motors 14a, 14b provide drive wheels 13a, 13b with rotation in a positive direction to move the traveling device 1 forward, or rotation in a negative direction to move the traveling device 1 backward. Further, the in-wheel motors 14a, 14b rotate only one drive wheel 13a (or 13b) in the positive or negative direction and stop the other drive wheel 13b (or 13a), thereby rotating the traveling device 1. Make a pivot turn. Further, the in-wheel motors 14a, 14b rotate one drive wheel 13a (or 13b) in the positive direction and rotate the other drive wheel 13b (or 13a) in the negative direction, thereby causing the in-wheel motors 14a, 14b to move over the traveling device 1. Make a pivot turn.

The attitude control motor driver 550 drives the attitude control motors 555a, 555b by supplying motor drive signals to the attitude control motors 555a, 555b, respectively. The attitude control motors 555a, 555b adjust the heights of the idlers 18a, 18b by, for example, changing the height of the link 19 up or down in accordance with a control signal from the attitude control motor driver 550. Further, the posture control motors 555a and 555b prevent the traveling device 1 from falling over, for example, by controlling the posture of the main body 50.

Note that the traveling device 1 is not limited to a configuration in which it travels in response to an operation instruction received by the radio-controlled receiver 501, but may be configured to travel using techniques such as autonomous travel or line tracing. Further, the traveling device 1 may be configured to travel by remote control from a user in a remote location by receiving an operation instruction signal transmitted via a communication network at the communication I/F 506. Furthermore, in addition to manual remote control by an operator, the traveling device 1 can also be configured to automatically perform operations such as traveling and various tasks by a host system such as a server. In this case, the traveling device 1 can receive an operation instruction signal from the host system via the radio control receiving section 501 and the communication I/F 506.

The dimensions of the traveling device 1 illustrated in FIGS. 1 to 3 are, for example, about 1 meter in length in the front-rear direction, width in the left-right direction, and height.

Note that the traveling device targeted by the positioning adjustment system 100 of this embodiment is not limited to the traveling device 1 having the track type traveling body 10 illustrated in FIGS. 1 to 3. That is, the present invention is not limited to the crawler-type traveling body 10 having a configuration in which the tensioner 25 is disposed on the rotating shaft 141 of the in-wheel motor 14. This is because crawler-type traveling devices with other configurations also have the problem of difficulty in finely adjusting positioning.

Autonomous mobile traveling devices are required to have high positioning accuracy with respect to target positions so that they can work in poor road environments and in limited spaces. In conventional autonomous mobile traveling devices, there is room for improvement in terms of positioning accuracy. In particular, in a structure in which the traveling direction is changed by giving a speed difference to each of a pair of traveling bodies, such as the track type traveling body disclosed in Patent Document 1, fine position adjustment is difficult. Remarkable.

<Overview of charging task>
As an example of a configuration for positioning the traveling device 1, a configuration of a charging task for positioning the charging device 110 at a chargeable position C will be illustrated and explained. FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating the structure of the charging task in this embodiment.

An example of the contact charging unit 35 includes a resin frame 35C, in which two metal contact surfaces 35A and 35B are installed. The two contact surfaces 35A and 35B are horizontally long rectangular shapes and have substantially the same shape, and are arranged one above the other.

The terminal portion 114 of the charging device 110 has a base portion 112 that is extendable and retractable with respect to the charging device main body 111, and two contact terminals 113A and 113B arranged at the tip of the base portion 112. An elastic element such as a spring is connected to the base of the contact terminals 113A, 113B, and the contact terminals 113A, 113B are configured to be recessed with respect to the base 112 when they abut against the contact charging section 35. The charging device 110 can determine whether there is a contact state between the terminal portion 114 and the contact charging section 35 of the traveling device 1, for example, by detecting the operation of the contact terminals 113A and 113B. The two contact terminals 113A, 113B are arranged side by side in the vertical direction similarly to the two contact surfaces 35A, 35B of the traveling device 1. Note that the arrangement direction of the contact terminals 113A, 113B and the contact surfaces 35A, 35B may be any direction in which the corresponding terminals are arranged in parallel so that they can be contacted, for example, in the left-right direction (width direction, y1 direction). A direction other than the vertical direction (z1 direction) may be used.

In the charging task, as shown in FIG. 4, first, the traveling device 1 is moved to a stop position (corresponding to the charging possible position C shown in FIG. 5, etc.) at a predetermined distance from the charging device 110. At this stop position, the contact charging section 35 of the traveling device 1 directly faces the terminal section 114 of the charging device 110. Next, as shown by the arrow in FIG. come into contact with. Thereafter, the battery of the traveling device 1 is charged from the charging device 110 via the terminal section 114 and the contact charging section 35.

As described above, since the contact surfaces 35A and 35B of the contact charging section 35 have a substantially rectangular shape with the major axis in the y1 direction, a horizontal positional shift occurs between the contact surfaces 35A and 35B and the contact terminals 113A and 113B. However, if the amount of positional deviation is within the range of the long axis of the contact surfaces 35A, 35B, it is possible to easily bring the contact terminals 113A, 113B into contact with the contact surfaces 35A, 35B. Since the size of each of the contact surfaces 35A and 35B of the contact charging unit 35 is, for example, about 60 mm in the horizontal direction, the horizontal positional deviation can be guaranteed to be about ±30 mm. That is, the contact terminals 113A and 113B of the terminal portion 114 can be contacted. There is a distance of about 30 mm in the vertical direction, so a slight deviation can be guaranteed, but since the two contact surfaces 35A and 35B are arranged on the same plane, if there is a large deviation in posture due to forward or backward tilting, the two contact terminals A problem may occur in which one of 113A and 113B cannot be contacted.

Note that the structure of the charging task shown in FIG. 4 is an example, and the charging task is not limited to the contact charging type shown in FIG. 4, and other methods such as non-contact charging may be used. In any case, it is necessary to bring the traveling device 1 close to the charging device 110 to a position where it can be charged.

As described above, the accuracy required for the charging task is about ±several tens of mm in the left and right directions with respect to the traveling direction of the traveling device 1. Further, at this time, even if the traveling device 1 is tilted horizontally and vertically with respect to the charging device 110, charging may be hindered. For this reason, it is necessary for the traveling device 1 to have an angle of about ± several degrees.

Further, when the traveling device 1 is used as a transportation robot, it is desirable to autonomously connect and disconnect objects to be transported from the viewpoint of labor saving. In this case, as described above, the same level of stopping position accuracy and posture stabilization as during the charging task is required.

<Positioning adjustment system>
The positioning adjustment system 100 according to this embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 5 to 11. FIG. 5 is a schematic configuration diagram of the positioning adjustment system 100 according to the embodiment. In FIG. 5, as an example of a configuration for positioning the traveling device 1, a configuration of a charging task for positioning the charging device 110 at a chargeable position C will be illustrated and explained.

In addition, in the description after FIG. 5, the x2 direction, the y2 direction, and the z2 direction are directions perpendicular to each other. The x2 direction and the y2 direction are horizontal directions, and the z2 direction is a vertical direction. The x2 direction is the direction in which the charging device 110 and the positioning adjustment mechanism 120 are arranged, the direction in which the points A, B, and C are arranged, and the depth direction of the positioning adjustment mechanism 120. The y2 direction is the width direction of the positioning adjustment mechanism 120. Furthermore, for convenience of explanation, the z2 positive direction side may also be expressed as the upper side, and the z2 negative direction side may also be expressed as the lower side.

As shown in FIG. 5, the positioning adjustment system 100 includes a traveling device 1 and a positioning adjustment mechanism 120. Further, the positioning adjustment system 100 includes a control device that controls the operation of the traveling device 1, but in this embodiment, elements such as the CPU 502 and the driving control motor driver 540 inside the main body 50 of the traveling device 1 are connected to the control device. functions as That is, the control device is built into the main body 50 of the traveling device 1.

The positioning adjustment mechanism 120 is an element for guiding the traveling device 1 to a predetermined stop position, adjusting the position and posture, and stopping the traveling device 1. In this embodiment, the "predetermined stopping position" is a charging possible position C where the traveling device 1 can be charged from the charging device 110. The charging position C is a position where the contact charging section 35 of the traveling device 1 can come into contact with the terminal section 114 of the charging device 110 shown in FIG. 4, and is a position on the x2 negative direction side of the charging device 110. The positioning adjustment mechanism 120 is installed adjacent to the x2 negative direction side of the charging device 110 so that the traveling device 1 directly faces the charging device 110 at the charging position C.

The positioning adjustment mechanism 120 is, for example, a member formed by connecting a plurality of square members on a plane. Details of the configuration of the positioning adjustment mechanism 120 will be described later with reference to FIG. 7 and the like.

In the charging task shown in FIG. 5, a place where the traveling device 1 is away from the charging device 110 is set as an initial position (upper left position in the figure) P, and the traveling device 1 moves from this initial position P to a charging possible position C with the charging device 110. (second setting position). At this chargeable position C, the positioning adjustment mechanism 120 according to the present embodiment is arranged.

Further, point B (first set position) is set at a position further on the x2 negative direction side from the end of the positioning adjustment mechanism 120 on the x2 negative direction side. Point B is, for example, a position approximately 1 m away from the end position of the positioning adjustment mechanism 120 on the x2 negative direction side. Furthermore, point A is set at a position on the x2 negative direction side from point B. Point A is, for example, a position approximately 5 m away from the end position of the positioning adjustment mechanism 120 on the x2 negative direction side. That is, point A, point B, and chargeable position C are arranged in a straight line along the x2 direction.

In the example of FIG. 5, the initial position P of the traveling device 1 is set in the positive direction of y2 from the point A, but the arrangement of the initial position P is not limited to this. The initial position P may be any position that can guide the traveling device 1 to at least the point A.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart of the charging task.

In step S1, the control device of the traveling device 1 moves the traveling device 1 from the initial position P to a point A, and turns at the point A so that the front surface 50A of the traveling device 1 faces in the x2 positive direction. That is, the traveling device 1 is positioned at point A so that the direction of point B and chargeable position C is the forward direction.

In step S2, the controller of the traveling device 1 moves the traveling device 1 from point A to point B.

Note that the moving operation of the traveling device 1 from the initial position P to the point B (first set position) shown by the arrow A in FIG. is preferred. In this case, the control device of the traveling device 1 detects the position of the traveling device 1 using a GPS signal, and controls the traveling device 1 to move from the initial position P to the point B via the point A. This makes it possible to finally move the traveling device 1 to point B (first set position) with an acceptable range of accuracy even if the initial position P is set to an arbitrary location, increasing the degree of freedom in setting the initial position P. You can improve.

Note that the movement control from the initial position P to the point B in steps S1 and S2 only needs to be able to move the traveling device 1 to the point B with at least an allowable range of accuracy, for example, using a lidar (light detection and ranging) sensor. A configuration that uses information other than GPS signals, such as a self-position detection method that uses a GPS signal, may also be used. The "accuracy within the allowable range" is, for example, the range that can be adjusted by the positioning adjustment mechanism 120 according to the present embodiment.

In the example of FIG. 5, the distance from point A to point B is about 4 m, but by the above-mentioned movement control, by moving from point A to point B by about 4 m, the traveling device 1 is moved by the positioning adjustment mechanism 120. It has been experimentally shown that the left and right positions and angles can be controlled to a level that allows entry into the area.

In step S3, the controller of the traveling device 1 moves the traveling device 1 from the point B to the charging position C. The movement control in step S3 is different from steps S1 and S2 in that the traveling device 1 autonomously moves straight without using a GPS signal or the like. For example, when the traveling device 1 reaches point B in step S2, the control device is configured to be able to communicate with the charging device 110 by wireless communication or the like. With this configuration, the control device of the traveling device 1 can recognize that the traveling device 1 has reached a predetermined first set position (point B), for example, by using the reception of some information from the charging device 110 as a trigger. After this recognition, the control device can move the traveling device 1 forward by a predetermined distance to the charging position C. Note that the forward distance in step S3 depends on the dimension of the positioning adjustment mechanism 120 in the x2 direction, and is, for example, about 50 cm to 1 m.

In step S3, by the time the traveling device 1 reaches the chargeable position C, the position and attitude are adjusted by the positioning adjustment mechanism 120 according to the present embodiment, and the traveling device 1 reaches the target stop position. Note that when traveling straight from point B to charging position C in step S3, it is preferable to move traveling device 1 at a low speed. The degree of speed reduction at this time can be set to a speed lower than the traveling speed to point B, for example. This makes it possible to suppress back and forth shaking due to acceleration and deceleration. Further, it is more preferable that the speed at this time is constant. Thereby, it is possible to further suppress back and forth shaking due to acceleration and deceleration.

Here, with reference to FIGS. 7 to 11, a mechanism for adjusting the position and attitude of the traveling device 1 by the positioning adjustment mechanism 120 in step S3 will be described.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing a schematic configuration of the positioning adjustment mechanism 120 according to this embodiment. As shown in FIG. 7, the positioning adjustment mechanism 120 includes a first guide member 121 (first contact member), a second guide member 125 (second contact member), and a third guide member 126 (third contact member). and wall portions 127A and 127B.

When the traveling device 1 approaches a predetermined stop position (charging possible position C), the first guide member 121 is inserted into the side portions of the pair of track-type traveling bodies 10a and 10b, particularly the side portions of the crawler track 11 in this embodiment. come into contact with. The first guide member 121 adjusts the position and attitude of the traveling device 1 in the left-right direction by coming into contact with the side portions of the pair of track-type traveling bodies 10a and 10b. Further, in the present embodiment, the first guide member 121 is arranged so as to be able to come into contact with a side portion of the pair of track type traveling bodies 10a, 10b on the side (inside) of the main body 50.

When the traveling device 1 reaches the stop position, the second guide member 125 is connected to the front portion of the pair of track-type traveling bodies 10a and 10b (the side of the rolling wheels 15a), particularly to the front portion of the crawler track 11 in this embodiment. Contact. The second guide member 125 adjusts the position and attitude of the traveling device 1 in the front-rear direction by coming into contact with the front portions of the pair of track-type traveling bodies 10a and 10b. In this embodiment, the second guide member 125 is formed to extend along the arrangement direction (y2 direction) of the pair of track type traveling bodies 10a, 10b of the traveling device 1.

The first guide member 121 has a pair of straight portions 122A, 122B and a pair of inclined portions 123A, 123B. The pair of straight portions 122A and 122B extend in parallel along a direction (x2 direction) perpendicular to the extending direction of the second guide member 125, and the base end portions on the x2 positive direction side are connected to the second guide member 125. Link. The pair of inclined parts 123A, 123B are connected to the tips of the pair of straight parts 122A, 122B on the x2 negative direction side, respectively, and extend in the direction of a predetermined angle θ with respect to the extending direction of the straight parts 122A, 122B. . The pair of inclined portions 123A, 123B are formed such that the width thereof becomes narrower as the distance from the connecting portion with the straight portions 122A, 122B increases, that is, as the slope portions move toward the x2 negative direction. In other words, the inclined portions 123A, 123B can be expressed as being inclined at a predetermined angle θ in the x2, y2 plane with respect to the extending direction of the straight portions 122A, 122B. The inclined parts 123A, 123B and the straight parts 122A, 122B are inclined to each other. Further, the inclined portions 123A and 123B extend substantially linearly in this embodiment.

Further, the first guide member 121 connects the tip portions of the pair of inclined portions 123A and 123B, and has a front end extending along the arrangement direction (y2 direction) of the pair of track type traveling bodies 10a and 10b of the traveling device 1. It has a section 124.

That is, the first guide member 121 has a portion on the x2 negative direction side formed into a substantially trapezoidal shape by the pair of inclined portions 123A, 123B and the front end portion 124. The width W1 in the y2 direction at the base end portion on the x2 positive direction side of the pair of inclined portions 123A, 123B is larger than the width W2 at the tip end portion on the x2 negative direction side, that is, the length of the front end portion 124.

When the traveling device 1 reaches the stop position (charging position C), the third guide member 126 is connected to the rear part (side of the roller 15b) of the pair of track-type traveling bodies 10a, 10b, especially the crawler track in this embodiment. By coming into contact with the rear part of the traveling device 11, the longitudinal position and posture of the traveling device 1 are adjusted. In this embodiment, the third guide member 126 extends in the same direction as the second guide member 125 (y2 direction), and has straight parts 122A, 122B and inclined parts 123A, 123B of the first guide member 121. It is placed at a position that passes through the connecting part of.

The pair of wall portions 127A and 127B are arranged on the outer sides of the pair of track-type traveling bodies 10a and 10b in the left-right direction when the traveling device 1 is at the stop position (chargeable position C). In the present embodiment, the ends of the pair of walls 127A and 127B on the x2 positive direction are connected to both ends of the second guide member 125, and the ends on the x2 negative direction are connected to both ends of the third guide member 126, respectively. is connected with.

The heights of the first guide member 121 and the third guide member 126 are approximately the same. These height dimensions are preferably set to be at least larger than the thickness of the crawler belt 11 of the crawler type traveling body 10, and are formed to be, for example, about 30 mm. Further, the height of the pair of wall portions 127A and 127B is set to be larger, for example, about twice the height of the first guide member 121 and the third guide member 126, and is formed to be, for example, about 60 mm.

The second guide member 125 is formed in a stepped shape with respect to the front portions of the pair of track-type traveling bodies 10 . In other words, the step shape is such that there is a high step 125B on the x2 positive direction side. In the example of FIG. 7, there are two steps, but there may be three or more steps. The step shape of the second guide member 125 is such that the corners on the x2 negative direction side of each of the steps 125A and 125B come into contact with the track type traveling body 10 almost simultaneously when the traveling device 1 approaches. It is preferable that the curved shape of the crawler belt 11 corresponds to the curved shape of the crawler belt 11 along the front wheel 15a of the crawler-type traveling body 10 when viewed.

In the case of the second guide member 125 having a two-stage shape shown in FIG. , x2 It is preferable that the height dimension of the high step 125B on the positive direction side is approximately the same as the height of the pair of wall portions 127A and 127B.

Thereby, the first guide member 121 and the side part of the crawler belt 11 of the track type traveling body 10 can be brought into contact more reliably, and the second guide member 125 and the front part of the crawler belt 11 of the track type traveling body 10 can be brought into contact with each other more reliably. The third guide member 126 and the rear part of the crawler belt 11 of the crawler type traveling body 10 can be brought into contact more reliably. As a result, the position and posture of the crawler-type traveling body 10 can be guided more reliably by the guide members 121, 125, and 126.

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of the traveling device 1 positioned by the positioning adjustment mechanism 120. As shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, in the positioning adjustment mechanism 120, the linear portion 122A of the first guide member 121, the second guide member 125, the third guide member 126, and the wall portion 127A allow track-type traveling. A substantially rectangular recess 128A into which the body 10a fits is formed. Similarly, the linear portion 122B of the first guide member 121, the second guide member 125, the third guide member 126, and the wall portion 127B form a substantially rectangular recess 128B in which the track type traveling body 10b is fitted. It is formed.

As shown in FIG. 8, when the traveling device 1 finally reaches the charging position C, the pair of track-type traveling bodies 10a and 10b of the traveling device 1 are fitted into the recesses 128A and 128B of the positioning adjustment mechanism 120, respectively. Then, the position is set.

At this time, the front side of the crawler belt 11 of the traveling device 1 abuts against the second guide member 125, and at the same time, the rear side also comes into contact with the third guide member 126. Thereby, the vertical inclination of the entire traveling device 1 can be restricted and the angle can be stabilized. Further, at this time, by disposing the pair of wall portions 127A and 127B, which are higher than the other guide members, on the outside of the crawler belt 11, it is possible to suppress the traveling device 1 from popping out from the recesses 128A and 128B of the positioning adjustment mechanism 120. Furthermore, the pair of wall portions 127A and 127B also have a function to return the traveling device 1 that is tilted in the left-right direction during guiding.

The recesses 128A and 128B are arranged such that when the traveling device 1 is in the charging position C, the outer shape of the lower part of the track-type traveling bodies 10a and 10b of the traveling device 1 is accommodated therein in a plan view (as shown in FIG. 9). (See double-dashed lines 10a3 and 10b3). In order to form such recesses 128A and 128B, the length of the second guide member 125 in the longitudinal direction (y2 direction) is set to be larger than the dimension of the traveling device 1 in the width direction. Further, the pair of straight portions 122A and 122B of the first guide member 121 are arranged in the respective second guide members such that the distance W1 between the outer sides in the y2 direction is smaller than the dimension in the width direction of the main body 50 of the traveling device 1. The connection position with 125 is set. The length of the pair of straight portions 122A, 122B in the longitudinal direction (x2 direction) is set to be equal to the length of the lower portions of the track-type traveling bodies 10a, 10b of the traveling device 1 in the front-rear direction.

FIG. 9 is a plan view showing the first stage of the adjustment process by the positioning adjustment mechanism 120. As shown in FIG. 9, when the traveling device 1 enters the positioning adjustment mechanism 120, the trapezoidal portion at the tip of the first guide member 121, that is, the portion formed by the pair of inclined portions 123A, 123B and the front end portion 124. , enters between the track-type traveling bodies 10a and 10b of the traveling device 1. At this time, if the horizontal position of the traveling device 1 is shifted from the charging position C in the y2 direction, this trapezoidal portion comes into contact with the inner side (main body 50 side) of the lower part of each traveling body 10a, 10b, Thereby, by applying force to the track type traveling body 10 in the lateral direction, it is possible to adjust the position in the left and right direction when the traveling device 1 moves forward. With this configuration, it is possible to adjust the position in the left-right direction by guiding the track-type traveling body 10 without adding any parts to the traveling device 1 side.

For example, as shown by the dotted line in FIG. 9, when the traveling device 1 is shifted to the right side (y2 negative direction side), the left track type traveling body 10a1 is connected to the left inclined portion 123A of the first guide member 121. Contact. When the traveling device 1 continues to move forward in the x2 direction in this state, the track type traveling body 10a1 presses the inclined portion 123A and receives a reaction force from the inclined portion 123A. As a result, the traveling device 1 moves to the left front as shown by the arrow A1, and is adjusted to the correct position in the left-right direction as shown by the solid lines of the track-type traveling bodies 10a and 10b. Thereafter, as shown by the arrow A3, the track-type traveling body is guided from the inside in the width direction by the straight parts 122A and 122B, and moves straight in the x2 direction, and finally, as shown by the two-dot chain line in FIG. The track-type traveling bodies 10a3 and 10b3 fit into the recesses 128A and 128B and stop.

Similarly, as shown by the dashed line in FIG. 123B. When the traveling device 1 continues to move forward in the x2 direction in this state, the track type traveling body 10b2 presses the inclined portion 123B and receives a reaction force from the inclined portion 123B. As a result, the traveling device 1 moves forward to the right as indicated by the arrow A2, and is adjusted to the correct position in the left-right direction as shown by the solid lines of the track-type traveling bodies 10a and 10b. Thereafter, as shown by arrow A3, the track type traveling bodies 10a3 and 10b3 move straight in the x2 direction and finally stop when they fit into the recesses 128A and 128B as shown by the two-dot chain line.

Note that the width W1 of the trapezoidal portion of the first guide member 121 is set such that the width W1 into which the traveling device 1 finally enters is set by adding some margin (for example, about 20 to 30 mm) to the inner interval of the track type traveling body 10. is preferred. Further, it is desirable that the width W2 at the tip of the trapezoidal portion is as small as possible in order to increase the margin at the time of approach. On the other hand, the shorter the length L of the inclined portions 123A and 123B of the first guide member 121, the smaller the entire mechanism becomes. The angle θ at this time is determined by W1, W2, and L, but if it exceeds a certain value, there is a possibility that guiding will not be possible. In this experiment, it was confirmed that guiding is possible if θ is smaller than about 16 degrees, and it is preferable to operate within this range. During actual evaluation, adjustments were made using a guide at W1 = 360 mm, W2 = 160 mm, L = 300 mm, and θ = 15.7 deg. In this case, since (W1-W2)/2=100, guiding is possible within a range of ±100 mm from the target position to the left and right. In other words, the range that can be guided by the positioning adjustment mechanism 120 can be kept within the error range of GPS.

As long as the above condition of θ is satisfied, the longer L is, the better the left-right adjustment function is. Ideally, it is preferable that the inclined portions 123A and 123B form a triangular shape. However, if L is too long, the front-back dimension of the first guide member 121 will increase, and the size of the positioning adjustment mechanism 120 will increase. Therefore, in this embodiment, the front end of the first guide member 121 is formed into a trapezoid shape having a width W2 so as to achieve both the adjustment function and the suppression of the size increase, thereby achieving miniaturization while ensuring θ.

In the charging task, it is assumed that the charging device 110 is installed outdoors. In this case, it is thought that a roof will be provided above the charging device 110 and the charging position C where the traveling device 1 stops when connected to the charging device 110 in order to prevent rain etc. from entering the device. It will be done. For this reason, when the positioning adjustment mechanism 120 becomes larger, for example by increasing the dimension L of the inclined portion 123 of the first guide member 121 as described above, the roof provided on the charging device 110 also needs to be enlarged. For this reason, it is desirable to make the positioning adjustment mechanism 120 as small as possible while also fully demonstrating its guide function. In the structure of the positioning adjustment mechanism 120 of this embodiment, the front part of the first guide member 121 is formed into a trapezoidal shape as described above, so that the mechanism can be made smaller and the guide function can be ensured at the same time.

FIG. 10 is a side view showing the second stage of the adjustment process by the positioning adjustment mechanism 120. In FIG. 10, a portion of the positioning adjustment mechanism 120 is illustrated in a cross-sectional view. As shown in FIG. 10, in the traveling device 1, after the horizontal adjustment is performed by the first guide member 121, the track type traveling bodies 10a, 10b climb over the third guide member 126 and enter the recesses 128A, 128B. do.

FIG. 11 is a side view showing the third stage of the adjustment process by the positioning adjustment mechanism 120. Also in FIG. 11, a part of the positioning adjustment mechanism 120 is illustrated in a cross-sectional view. As shown in FIG. 11, the traveling device 1 continues to move forward at a constant speed until the front portions of the track-type traveling bodies 10a, 10b finally hit the corners of the respective stages 125A, 125B of the second guide member 125. As a result, the traveling device 1 is stopped and can be stopped at the target position. Furthermore, at this time, the rear portions of the track-type traveling bodies 10a and 10b also come into contact with the corner portion of the third guide member 126 on the x2 positive direction side. As a result, the track-type traveling bodies 10a and 10b are respectively fitted into the recesses 128A and 128B of the positioning adjustment mechanism 120, and are positioned in the front-rear direction and the left-right direction. Further, by contact between the second guide member 125, the third guide member 126, and the front and rear of the traveling body 10, the posture of the traveling device 1 also becomes a state in which it faces in the horizontal direction.

Returning to FIG. 6, in step S4, the base 112 of the terminal section 114 of the charging device 110 extends toward the traveling device, and the contact terminals 113A, 113B contact the contact surfaces 35A, 35B of the contact charging section 35 of the traveling device 1, respectively. . That is, the state described with reference to FIG. 4 is reached.

In step S5, charging device 110 performs charging. For example, when both of the contact terminals 113A and 113B of the terminal section 114 hit the contact surfaces 35A and 35B of the contact charging section 35 and receive a reaction force, and this reaction force can be detected, the charging device 110 charges the contact charging section 35. Charging control can be started upon determining that the connection is complete.

In this way, in the positioning adjustment system 100 of the present embodiment, the control device for the traveling device 1 firstly controls the traveling device 1 to separate from the first guide member 121 and the second guide member 125, and the second guide member The traveling device 1 is moved to a first set position (point B) facing the first guide member and facing in a direction in which it can travel straight along the first guide member (steps S1 and S2). Second, the traveling device 1 is moved straight to a second setting position (chargeable position C) where the pair of track type traveling bodies 10a, 10b of the traveling device 1 can come into contact with the second guide member 125 (step S3). . Thereby, the traveling device 1 is positioned at a predetermined stop position. Further, in steps S1 and S2, the control device detects the position of the traveling device 1 using a GPS signal, and performs control to move the traveling device 1 to the first set position.

With this configuration, it is possible to move to a rough position using GPS (accuracy from ± several tens of centimeters to about 1 meter), and then use the positioning adjustment mechanism 120 to easily and accurately position the device by simply moving straight. Become.

Further, the positioning adjustment mechanism 120 of the present embodiment is configured so that the traveling device 1 comes into contact with the sides of the pair of traveling bodies 10a and 10b while the traveling device 1 approaches a predetermined stop position (chargeable position C). When the traveling device 1 reaches the stop position, the first guide member 121 that adjusts the horizontal position and posture of the traveling device 1 collides with the front parts of the pair of traveling bodies 10a and 10b, thereby changing the front and rear of the traveling device 1. It includes a second guide member 125 that adjusts the directional position and posture.

With this configuration, by simply moving the traveling device 1 into the positioning adjustment mechanism 120, the first guide member 121 adjusts the position and attitude of the traveling device 1 in the horizontal direction with respect to the chargeable position C, and then the 2. The position and posture in the front-rear direction are adjusted using the guide member 125. That is, by simply moving the traveling device 1 into the positioning adjustment mechanism 120, the position and posture of the traveling device 1 in the front-rear direction and left-right direction can be adjusted easily and with high precision. As a result, the positioning adjustment mechanism 120 of this embodiment can improve the positioning accuracy of the traveling device 1.

Further, in the positioning adjustment mechanism 120 of the present embodiment, the first guide member 121 is arranged so as to be able to come into contact with a side portion of the pair of traveling bodies 10a, 10b on the side (inside) of the main body 50. With this configuration, the widthwise dimension of the first guide member 121 can be shortened, so the positioning adjustment mechanism 120 can be made compact.

Furthermore, in the positioning adjustment mechanism 120 of this embodiment, the second guide member 125 is formed to extend along the arrangement direction (y2 direction) of the pair of traveling bodies 10a, 10b of the traveling device 1. The first guide member 121 includes a pair of straight portions 122A and 122B that extend in a direction (x2 direction) orthogonal to the extending direction of the second guide member 125, and whose base end portions are connected to the second guide member 125. It has a pair of inclined parts 123A, 123B connected to the tip ends of the pair of straight parts 122A, 122B, respectively, and extending in a direction at a predetermined angle θ with respect to the extending direction of the straight parts 122A, 122B. The pair of sloped portions 123A, 123B are formed such that the width thereof becomes narrower as the distance from the connection portion with the straight portions 122A, 122B increases.

With this configuration, when the traveling device 1 enters the positioning adjustment mechanism 120, the traveling device 1 is first advanced along the pair of inclined portions 123A, 123B, so that the traveling bodies 10a, 10b of the traveling device 1 are moved to the straight portion. 122A, 122B, and then move the traveling device 1 forward along the pair of straight portions 122A, 122B to prevent the traveling device 1 from tilting in the left-right direction. You can adjust your posture. Thereby, the horizontal position and attitude of the traveling device 1 relative to the chargeable position C can be adjusted more reliably.

Furthermore, in the positioning adjustment mechanism 120 of this embodiment, the first guide member 121 connects the tip portions of the pair of inclined parts 123A and 123B, and extends along the arrangement direction (y2 direction) of the pair of traveling bodies 10a and 10b. It has an extending front end 124 . With this configuration, the dimensions of the pair of inclined portions 123A and 123B in the front-rear direction can be shortened, so that the positioning adjustment mechanism 120 can be further miniaturized.

In addition, the positioning adjustment mechanism 120 of the present embodiment is arranged so that when the traveling device 1 reaches the stop position (charging position C), the positioning adjustment mechanism 120 makes contact with the rear portions of the pair of traveling bodies 10a and 10b, thereby allowing the traveling device 1 to move in the front-rear direction. A third guide member 126 is provided to adjust the position and posture of the. With this configuration, in addition to positioning the forward positions of the traveling bodies 10a, 10b by the second guide member 125, it is also possible to simultaneously position the backward positions of the traveling bodies 10a, 10b by the third guide member 126. , the position and attitude of the traveling device 1 can be adjusted with even higher precision.

If the pair of traveling bodies of the traveling device 1 are crawler type, it is difficult to make fine adjustments in the left and right direction, and it is also difficult to make fine adjustments in the front and rear positions. Because the crawler has the ability to overcome obstacles, its posture tends to fluctuate by leaning forward or backward. If the vehicle remains in the charging position tilted forward or backward, there is a risk that the terminal portion 114 of the charging device 110 may not be able to come into contact with the chargeable range of the contact charging portion 35 of the traveling device 1. In this way, how to determine the attitude of the traveling device 1 at the stop position is also an important factor. In this embodiment, the second guide member 125 positions the front of the traveling body, and the third guide member 126 positions the rear of the traveling body, so the attitude of the traveling device 1 can be easily determined horizontally. .

In addition, in the case of the crawler-type traveling device 1, the side view in Figure 2 shows it installed at the center of the bottom surface, but this is when it is stationary, and when accelerating, the front end part rises and is slightly tilted backwards. However, when decelerating or stopping, inertia is applied to the front, causing the vehicle to lean forward slightly. Therefore, if the traveling device 1 approaches a predetermined stop position by accelerating or attempts to stop by decelerating the traveling object, there is a possibility that the traveling device 1 will stand still in a forward or backward tilted state. In this embodiment, when traveling straight from point B to chargeable position C in step S3, traveling device 1 moves at a constant speed and comes to rest by hitting second guide member 125. As a result, when the traveling device 1 reaches the charging position C, it is possible to suppress the posture from tilting forward or backward, and it is possible to stabilize the posture when stopped, and not only the position. You can also adjust your posture appropriately. In the positioning adjustment mechanism of this embodiment, "positioning the posture" means adjusting the posture so that the posture at rest is, for example, as shown in the side view of FIG.

Further, the positioning adjustment mechanism 120 of the present embodiment has wall portions 127A and 127B disposed on the outer sides of the pair of traveling bodies 10a and 10b in the left-right direction when the traveling device 1 is at the stop position (charging position C). Equipped with With this configuration, when the traveling device 1 reaches the stop position, it can be suppressed from jumping outward from within the guide range in the left-right direction.

As described above, according to the positioning adjustment system 100 using the positioning adjustment mechanism 120 according to the present embodiment, it is possible to easily and accurately position the traveling device 1 at a desired position, direction, and attitude at a predetermined stop position. . In this embodiment, if the traveling device 1 to be positioned is a crawler-type traveling device having a pair of track-type traveling bodies 10a and 10b, fine positional adjustment is difficult as described above, and acceleration/deceleration is difficult. Since the change in posture is large, the above effect can be clearly exhibited and is particularly effective.

<Modified example of positioning adjustment mechanism>
Modifications of the positioning adjustment mechanism according to the above embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 12 to 14. FIG. 12 is a plan view showing first, second, and third modified examples 120A, 120B, and 120C of the positioning adjustment mechanism.

A configuration having only the first guide member 121 and the second guide member 125 may be used, as in a first modification example 120A shown in FIG. 12(A). That is, the configuration may be such that the third guide member 126 and the pair of wall portions 127A and 127B are excluded from the configuration of the above embodiment.

A configuration including a first guide member 121, a second guide member 125, and a pair of wall portions 127A and 127B may be used, as in a second modification example 120B shown in FIG. 12(B). That is, a configuration may be adopted in which the third guide member 126 is excluded from the configuration of the above embodiment.

A configuration including a first guide member 121, a second guide member 125, and a third guide member 126 may be used, as in a third modification example 120A shown in FIG. 12(C). That is, the configuration may be such that the pair of wall portions 127A and 127B are excluded from the configuration of the above embodiment.

In each of the modified examples 120A, 120B, and 120C shown in FIGS. Since adjustment in the front and rear directions is possible, the same effects as the mechanism 120 of the above embodiment can be achieved.

In addition, in the case of a configuration in which the third guide member 126 is not provided, as in the first modification example 120A and the second modification example 120B, it is preferable that the height of the second guide member 125 is made larger than in the above embodiment. As a result, even if the rear of the crawler-type traveling body 10 does not come into contact with the guide member when stopped, it is possible to more reliably stop the crawler-type traveling body 10 in an appropriate position and posture at a predetermined stopping position. Further, in this case, it is also possible to stop the battery at an appropriate position and posture by making the moving speed from point B to chargeable position C smaller than that in the above embodiment.

FIG. 13 is a plan view showing a fourth modification example 120D of the positioning adjustment mechanism. As in a fourth modification example 120D shown in FIG. 13, the first guide member 221 may be arranged outside the track type traveling body 10 in the left-right direction.

In this configuration, the first guide member 221 has a pair of straight portions 222A, 222B and a pair of inclined portions 223A, 223B. The pair of straight portions 222A and 222B have base end portions connected to both ends of the second guide member 125. The pair of inclined portions 223A, 223B are connected to the tips of the pair of straight portions 222A, 222B, respectively, and the width of both increases as they move away from the connecting portions with the straight portions 222A, 222B, that is, as they move toward the x2 negative direction. formed to become larger.

As shown in FIG. 13, when the traveling device 1 enters the positioning adjustment mechanism 120D, the track-type traveling bodies 10a and 10b of the traveling device 1 are placed between the pair of inclined portions 223A and 223B of the first guide member 221. enter. At this time, if the horizontal position of the traveling device 1 is shifted from the charging position C in the y2 direction, the inclined portions 223A, 223B are formed on the outer side (opposite side to the main body 50) of the lower part of each traveling body 10a, 10b. contact, thereby applying force to the track-type traveling body 10 in the lateral direction, thereby making it possible to adjust the position in the left-right direction when the traveling device 1 moves forward. With this configuration, it is possible to adjust the position in the left-right direction by guiding the track-type traveling body 10 without adding any parts to the traveling device 1 side.

For example, as shown by the dotted line in FIG. 13, when the traveling device 1 is shifted to the right side (y2 negative direction side), the right track type traveling body 10b1 is connected to the right inclined portion 223B of the first guide member 221. Contact. When the traveling device 1 continues to move forward in the x2 direction in this state, the track type traveling body 10b1 presses the inclined portion 123B and receives a reaction force from the inclined portion 223B. As a result, the traveling device 1 moves forward to the right as shown by the arrow B1, and is adjusted to the correct position in the left-right direction as shown by the solid lines of the track-type traveling bodies 10a and 10b. After that, as shown by the arrow B3, the track type traveling body is guided from the outside in the width direction by the straight parts 222A and 222B, and moves straight in the x2 direction, and finally, as shown by the two-dot chain line in FIG. The track-type traveling bodies 10a3 and 10b3 hit the second guide member 125 and stop.

Similarly, as shown by the dashed line in FIG. 223A. When the traveling device 1 continues to move forward in the x2 direction in this state, the track type traveling body 10a2 presses the inclined portion 223A and receives a reaction force from the inclined portion 223A. As a result, the traveling device 1 moves to the left front as shown by arrow B2, and is adjusted to the correct position in the left-right direction as shown by the solid lines of the track-type traveling bodies 10a and 10b. After that, as shown by the arrow B3, the track type traveling body is guided from the outside in the width direction by the straight parts 222A and 222B, and moves straight in the x2 direction, and finally, as shown by the two-dot chain line in FIG. The track-type traveling bodies 10a3 and 10b3 hit the second guide member 125 and stop.

Also in the fourth modification 120D shown in FIG. 13, the adjustment in the left-right direction by the first guide member 221 and the adjustment in the front-rear direction by the second guide member 125 are possible, similarly to the embodiment described above. The same effect as the mechanism 120 can be achieved. Furthermore, since the width of the tips of the pair of inclined parts 223A and 223B can be made larger than the width of the pair of straight parts 222A and 222B, that is, the width of the traveling device 1, when the traveling device 1 enters the positioning adjustment mechanism 120D, Even if the horizontal position deviates by more than the GPS error (approximately ±100 mm), the pair of inclined parts 223A and 223B can adjust the position, making the effective range of horizontal position adjustment wider than in the above embodiment. can.

FIG. 14 is a plan view showing a fifth modification example 120E of the positioning adjustment mechanism. As in a fifth modification example 120E shown in FIG. 14, the tip portion of the first guide member 321 may not be trapezoidal as in the above embodiment but may be triangular in shape, further extending in the x2 negative direction.

In this configuration, the first guide member 321 has a pair of straight portions 122A, 122B and a pair of inclined portions 323A, 323B. The pair of inclined portions 323A, 323B are connected to the tips of the pair of straight portions 122A, 122B, respectively, and the width of both increases as they move away from the connecting portions with the straight portions 122A, 122B, that is, as they move toward the x2 negative direction. It is formed so as to become narrow and connect at the tip on the x2 negative direction side. That is, the first guide member 321 has a portion on the x2 negative direction side formed into a substantially triangular shape by a pair of inclined portions 323A and 323B.

Note that the angle of inclination of the pair of inclined parts 323A, 323B with respect to the extending direction of the straight parts 122A, 122B is preferably equal to the angle θ of the inclined parts 123A, 123B in the above embodiment. As a result, compared to the above embodiment, the length of the pair of inclined parts 323A and 323B is increased, and the length from the connecting part with the pair of straight parts 122A and 122B to the tip on the x2 negative direction side is also increased. Therefore, when the traveling device 1 enters the positioning adjustment mechanism 120E, even if the position in the left and right direction deviates by more than the GPS error (approximately ±100 mm), the position can be adjusted by the pair of inclined parts 323A and 323B. , the effective range of position adjustment in the left and right direction can be made wider than in the above embodiment.

<Application example of positioning adjustment system>
The positioning adjustment system 100 according to this embodiment can be applied to tasks other than the above-mentioned charging task. Application examples other than charging tasks will be described with reference to FIG. 15.

FIG. 15 is a diagram showing an application example of the positioning adjustment system 100 according to this embodiment. FIG. 15 shows a state in which two robots 1A and 1B are installed at the target base. These robots 1A and 1B correspond to the traveling device 1 of the above embodiment.

FIG. 15 shows an example of an outdoor base with a large site area, such as a plant factory, as the target base. In the target base shown in FIG. 15, there are a plurality of target objects X1, X2, X3, and X4 that require maintenance management such as daily inspection or periodic inspection. For example, when the target base is a plant factory, the inspection target is a measurement meter of a storage tank, a tanker that performs an infusion operation into the storage tank, etc.

The robots 1A and 1B move autonomously within the target base and execute the inspection task at a predetermined position in order to execute the inspection task assigned by the host system. Note that the robots 1A and 1B may move within the target base using techniques such as line tracing or remote control from the communication terminal 70. Further, at the target base, a charging station for charging the batteries of the robots 1A and 1B is provided at base position P0. The charging station at this base position P0 corresponds to the charging device 110 of the above embodiment. Therefore, the positioning adjustment mechanism 120 according to the above embodiment can be installed at the position where the robots 1A, 1B stop at the base position P0 for charging.

In the example of FIG. 15, the robots 1A and 1B move to the base position A1 and execute the inspection task for the target object X1 in order to execute the inspection task for the target object X1. Further, the robots 1A and 1B move to the base position A2 and execute the inspection task for the target object X2. Further, the robots 1A and 1B move to the base position A3 and perform an inspection task on the object X3. Furthermore, the robots 1A and 1B move to position A4 and perform an inspection task on object X4.

The positioning adjustment mechanism 120 according to the above embodiment can also be installed at the positions where the robots 1A and 1B stop at the base positions A1, A2, A3, and A4 to perform inspection tasks. This makes it possible to keep the positions and postures of robots 1A and 1B constant at each base location A1, A2, A3, and A4 every time the task is executed multiple times, increasing the reliability of inspection tasks at fixed point locations. You can improve.

Here, the inspection tasks that the robots 1A and 1B perform at each base location include, for example, measuring the atmospheric pressure, temperature, luminous intensity, gas concentration, odor, etc. around the robots and objects X1, X2, X3, and X4. , regular work at a fixed point, such as imaging work in which objects X1, X2, Contains tasks that can be performed.

Here, the inspection task is an example of a task to be executed by the robot 1, and the tasks to be executed by the robot 1 are not limited to inspection work. Further, the target base where the robot 1 is installed is not limited to a plant factory, and may be, for example, a business office, a construction site, a substation, or other outdoor facility. For example, if a worker performs inspection work at a base with a large site area, it may take time to complete all the inspection work, or it may be necessary to divide the inspection work among multiple workers. Therefore, the robot 1 installed at the target base can improve work efficiency by performing tasks (tasks) that were conventionally performed manually in place of the workers. Note that target locations are not limited to outdoors, but may also be indoor offices, schools, factories, warehouses, commercial facilities, or other facilities, and there is a need to have robots 1 perform tasks that were previously performed manually. Any base where exists is sufficient.

The present embodiment has been described above with reference to specific examples. However, the present disclosure is not limited to these specific examples. Design changes made by those skilled in the art as appropriate to these specific examples are also included within the scope of the present disclosure as long as they have the characteristics of the present disclosure. The elements included in each of the specific examples described above, their arrangement, conditions, shapes, etc. are not limited to those illustrated, and can be changed as appropriate. The elements included in each of the specific examples described above can be appropriately combined as long as no technical contradiction occurs.

In the above embodiment, the crawler-type traveling device 1 was illustrated as the traveling device targeted by the positioning adjustment system 100 of the present embodiment, but other types of traveling devices such as AGV and robots are also applicable. be. Further, in the case of the traveling device 1 of the type that changes the traveling direction by giving a speed difference to each of the pair of traveling bodies 10a and 10b, positioning such as fine adjustment from side to side is difficult, so the positioning adjustment system 100 of this embodiment is difficult. Although the application is particularly advantageous, it can also be applied to other types of traveling equipment, such as steered wheel type vehicles.

Aspects of the present invention are, for example, as follows.
<1> A positioning adjustment mechanism for a traveling device including a main body and a pair of traveling bodies that are driven in contact with a traveling surface on both sides of the main body,
a first contact member that contacts sides of the pair of traveling bodies while the traveling device approaches a predetermined stop position;
a second contact member that contacts the front portions of the pair of traveling bodies when the traveling device reaches the stop position;
Equipped with
Positioning adjustment mechanism.
<2> The first contact member is arranged so as to be able to come into contact with a side portion of the pair of traveling bodies on the side of the main body.
The positioning adjustment mechanism according to <1> above.
<3> The second contact member is formed to extend along the arrangement direction of the pair of traveling bodies of the traveling device,
The first contact member is
a pair of straight parts extending in a direction perpendicular to the extending direction of the second contact member, and having a base end connected to the second contact member;
a pair of inclined portions each connected to the tip end portions of the pair of linear portions and extending in a direction at a predetermined angle with respect to the extending direction of the linear portion;
The pair of sloped portions are formed such that the width thereof becomes narrower as the distance from the connecting portion with the straight portion increases.
The positioning adjustment mechanism according to <2> above.
<4> The first contact member has a front end portion that connects the tip portions of the pair of inclined portions and extends along the arrangement direction.
The positioning adjustment mechanism according to <3> above.
<5> A third contact member is provided that adjusts the longitudinal position and posture of the traveling device by coming into contact with the rear portions of the pair of traveling bodies when the traveling device reaches the stop position.
The positioning adjustment mechanism according to any one of <1> to <4> above.
<6> A wall portion disposed outside the pair of traveling bodies in the left-right direction when the traveling device is at the stop position;
The positioning adjustment mechanism according to any one of <1> to <5> above.
<7> The second contact member is formed in a stepped shape with respect to the front portions of the pair of traveling bodies.
The positioning adjustment mechanism according to any one of <1> to <6> above.
<8> The traveling device is configured to change the traveling direction by giving a speed difference to each of the pair of traveling bodies,
The positioning adjustment mechanism according to any one of <1> to <7>.
<9> The pair of traveling bodies are track type traveling bodies,
The positioning adjustment mechanism according to <8> above.
<10>
The positioning adjustment mechanism according to any one of <1> to <9>above;
A control device that controls the operation of the traveling device,
The control device includes:
First, the traveling device is spaced apart from the first contact member and the second contact member, and faces the second contact member and faces in a direction in which it can move straight along the first contact member. moving the traveling device to a first setting position;
Second, moving the traveling device straight to a second setting position where the pair of traveling bodies of the traveling device can come into contact with the second contact member,
positioning the traveling device at the stop position;
Positioning adjustment system.
<11> The control device detects the position of the traveling device using a GPS signal, and performs control to move the traveling device to the first set position.
The positioning adjustment system according to <10> above.

1 Traveling device 50 Main body 10, 10a, 10b Track type traveling body (traveling body)
540 Travel control motor driver (control device)
100 Positioning adjustment system 110 Charging device 120, 120A, 120B, 120C, 120D, 120E Positioning adjustment mechanism 121 First guide member (first contact member)
122A, 122B Straight section 123A, 123B Inclined section 124 Front end section 125 Second guide member (second contact member)
126 Third guide member (third contact member)
127A, 127B Wall part B point (first setting position)
C Charging position (second setting position, predetermined stopping position)

JP 2021-116061 Publication

Claims (11)

A positioning adjustment mechanism for a traveling device including a main body and a pair of traveling bodies that are driven by being in contact with a traveling surface on both sides of the main body,
a first contact member that contacts sides of the pair of traveling bodies while the traveling device approaches a predetermined stop position;
a second contact member that contacts the front portions of the pair of traveling bodies when the traveling device reaches the stop position;
Equipped with
Positioning adjustment mechanism. The first contact member is arranged so as to be able to come into contact with a side portion of the pair of traveling bodies on the side of the main body.
The positioning adjustment mechanism according to claim 1. The second contact member is formed to extend along the arrangement direction of the pair of traveling bodies of the traveling device,
The first contact member is
a pair of straight parts extending in a direction perpendicular to the extending direction of the second contact member, and having a base end connected to the second contact member;
a pair of inclined portions each connected to the tip end portions of the pair of linear portions and extending in a direction at a predetermined angle with respect to the extending direction of the linear portion;
The pair of sloped portions are formed such that the width thereof becomes narrower as the distance from the connecting portion with the straight portion increases.
The positioning adjustment mechanism according to claim 2. The first contact member connects the tip portions of the pair of inclined portions and has a front end portion extending along the arrangement direction.
The positioning adjustment mechanism according to claim 3. comprising a third contact member that adjusts the longitudinal position and posture of the traveling device by coming into contact with rear portions of the pair of traveling bodies when the traveling device reaches the stop position;
The positioning adjustment mechanism according to claim 1. a wall portion disposed outside the pair of traveling bodies in the left-right direction when the traveling device is at the stop position;
The positioning adjustment mechanism according to claim 1. The second contact member is formed in a stepped shape with respect to the front portions of the pair of traveling bodies.
The positioning adjustment mechanism according to claim 1. The traveling device is configured to change the traveling direction by giving a speed difference to each of the pair of traveling bodies.
The positioning adjustment mechanism according to claim 1. the pair of running bodies are track-type running bodies;
The positioning adjustment mechanism according to claim 8. The positioning adjustment mechanism according to any one of claims 1 to 9,
A control device that controls the operation of the traveling device,
The control device includes:
First, the traveling device is spaced apart from the first contact member and the second contact member, and faces the second contact member and faces in a direction in which it can move straight along the first contact member. moving the traveling device to a first setting position;
Second, moving the traveling device straight to a second setting position where the pair of traveling bodies of the traveling device can come into contact with the second contact member,
positioning the traveling device at the stop position;
Positioning adjustment system. The control device detects the position of the traveling device using a GPS signal and performs control to move the traveling device to the first set position.
The positioning adjustment system according to claim 10.

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