JP2685421B2 - Traveling device - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a traveling device used for, for example, a truck for carrying articles.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A conventional traveling apparatus has an apparatus body having a drive source mounted thereon, drive wheels driven by the drive source, and non-drive wheels. The main body of the apparatus is provided with a power mechanism for raising and lowering the drive wheels to switch between a non-grounded state and a grounded state.

When carrying an article, both the driving wheels and the non-driving wheels are grounded, and the driving source rotates the driving wheels to travel. On the other hand, when the articles are not loaded, the main body of the apparatus becomes lightweight, so that the drive source is stopped and the traveling apparatus is pushed or pulled by an external force, that is, human power to drive the traveling apparatus. In this case, a drive mechanism is used to raise the drive wheels to bring them into a non-grounded state, thereby preventing a load from being applied to the drive source that is stopped.

[0004]

However, in the conventional traveling apparatus, since the special power mechanism is provided for switching the drive wheels between the non-grounded state and the grounded state, the entire traveling apparatus becomes large and heavy, and The structure was complicated. As a result, there is a problem in that the handling of the traveling device during storage, traveling during external force, etc., is degraded, and maintainability is degraded.

An object of the present invention is to solve the above problems, and an object thereof is to provide a traveling device capable of switching a drive wheel between a non-grounded state and a grounded state without using a special power mechanism.

[0006]

The invention according to claim 1 is
A device main body, a non-driving wheel provided in the device main body and held in a grounded state, a drive source provided in the device main body, and a drive source provided in the device main body and driven by the drive source In a traveling device having drive wheels, the device body is provided with switching means that is driven by the drive source and that switches the drive wheels between a grounded state and a non-grounded state.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, a first drive wheel that grounds the drive wheels when the apparatus body travels in the forward direction and a second drive wheel that grounds the drive wheels when the apparatus body travels in the reverse direction It consisted of a circle and a circle.

[0008]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, the drive of the drive wheels and the drive of switching the drive wheels between the grounded state and the non-grounded state are performed by utilizing the driving force of a common drive source.

The invention according to claim 2 has the same operation as the invention according to claim 1, and either one of the first drive wheel and the second drive wheel is grounded corresponding to the traveling direction of the apparatus main body. Therefore, the wear of the drive wheels can be halved.

[0010]

1 is a front view of a traveling apparatus A according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a plan view of the traveling apparatus A. The traveling device A has a device body 1 having a substantially disk shape in a plan view, and a plurality of cages 2 are attached to the lower surface outer peripheral side of the device body 1 along the circumferential direction. The apparatus main body 1 may be made of a metal, a synthetic resin, wood, or the like, and a material having a strength capable of withstanding the load of an article to be loaded may be selected. In this embodiment, the apparatus main body 1 is made of metal.

Each of the plurality of cages 2 holds a spherical non-driving wheel 3 in a rollable state in any direction.
All the non-driving wheels 3 are grounded on the floor surface 4. The outer diameters of the non-driving wheels 3 are all set to be the same, and the apparatus body 1 is held substantially horizontally.

Two pedestals 5 made of metal are provided at opposite positions on the apparatus main body 1, and drive mechanisms D and E are separately provided near the pedestal 5. The gantry 5 has leg portions 6 standing upright at predetermined intervals, and a holding plate 8 fixed on the leg portions 6 with bolts 7. A drive source, for example, a DC servomotor 9 is fixed on the holding plate 8 with bolts 10.
The DC servomotor 9 is controlled to be driven and stopped by a control unit (not shown) and a power source (not shown).
The voltage applied from the DC servo motor 9 to the DC servo motor 9 is also controlled by the control unit.

The control unit may be provided separately from the traveling apparatus A so that the traveling apparatus A can be remotely controlled, or may be provided in a part of the apparatus main body 1. Further, the power source may be mounted on the apparatus main body 1 or may be provided near the control unit.

FIG. 3 is a partial front sectional view taken along the line BB of FIG. 2, and FIG. 4 is a partial right side sectional view taken along the line C-C of FIG. 3, showing the structure of one drive mechanism D. Shows. The configuration of the other drive mechanism E is symmetrical to that of the drive mechanism D, and is therefore omitted.

At positions corresponding to the positions directly below the two mounts 5 in the apparatus body 1, there are provided openings 11 penetrating the apparatus body 1 in the thickness direction. Side plates 12 and 13 are fixed in parallel to the lower surface of the holding plate 8, and bearings 14 are provided at substantially the centers of the side plates 12 and 13, respectively.

The side plate 12 located on the outer peripheral side of the apparatus main body 1 is provided with notches 16 and 17 on both sides of the bearing 14.
Switches 18 and 19 are fixed to the outsides of the cuts 16 and 17 in the side plate 12. The switches 18 and 19 have contact pieces 20 and 21 facing the notches 16 and 17, and are connected to a control unit (not shown).

The bearing 14 holds a rotary shaft 22, and a worm wheel 23 is fixed to the rotary shaft 22. DC
The substantially vertical drive shaft 24 of the servomotor 9 is provided in the hole 2 of the holding plate 8.
5 and reaches between the side plates 12 and 13, and the drive shaft 24
A worm 26 is fixed to the lower end of the. Worm 26
It meshes with the worm wheel 23 .

The rotary shaft 22 has two bearings 27,
Two swing plates 29 and 30 are attached. The two rocking plates 29, 30 are formed in a symmetrical shape, that is, a front half-moon shape,
It is swingable within the opening 11 about the rotary shaft 22.
The radii of the oscillating plates 29 and 30 about the rotary shaft 22 are set to values that do not contact the floor surface 4 even when the non-driving wheels 3 oscillate while in contact with the ground. Further, protrusions 41 and 42 are provided on the side surface of the swing plate 29 on the outer peripheral side of the apparatus main body 1 at symmetrical positions on the same circumference centered on the time of rotation 22. The lengths of the protrusions 41 and 42 are set to such values that the tips of the protrusions project outside the outer surface of the side plate 12.

Two bearings 31 , 32 are fixed to the oscillating plate 29 at symmetrical positions on the same circumference around the rotary shaft 22, and the oscillating plate 30 has bearings corresponding to the bearings 31 , 32. Three
1, 32 are provided. The bearings 31 and 32 hold the holding shafts 33 and 34 separately. Holding shaft 3
3 and 34 are located at corresponding positions between the swing plates 29 and 30,
Drive wheel (first drive wheel) 36, drive wheel (second drive wheel) 35
And gears 37 and 38 are fixed respectively.

The outer diameters of the drive wheels 35 and 36 are the same, and the outer peripheral surfaces thereof are set to values outside the outer peripheral surfaces of the oscillating plates 29 and 30. The material of the drive wheels 35, 36 may be selected from synthetic resin, rubber-like elastic body, metal and the like. The gears 37 and 38 have the same outer diameter and the same number of teeth, and their outer diameters are set to be equal to or smaller than the outer diameters of the drive wheels 35 and 36.

A gear 39 is fixed to the rotary shaft 22 at a position corresponding to the gears 37 and 38, and the gear 39 meshes with the gears 37 and 38. An annular transmission member 40 is mounted between the gear 39 and the oscillating plate 30 on the rotary shaft 22. The transmission member 40 is adhered to the swing plate 30 and is in contact with the gear 39 with a predetermined pressure. Transmission member 4
Reference numeral 0 is a sheet of ultra-high polymer material, and its thickness is set to about 0.25 mm. Examples of the ultra-high polymer material include synthetic resins such as polyester, polypropylene and polystyrene. The abrasion resistance may be set to about 5 times that of 6-nylon and the dynamic friction coefficient may be set to 0.07 to 0.22 μ.

When selecting the material of the transmission member 40,
Mix 2kg of abrasive grains and 3.5kg of water into a container and add water at 20 ℃.
A wear resistance test was conducted in which the test piece was rotated at 1400 rpm for 20 hours in the state of being maintained at 1, and a test piece capable of maintaining a good state after this test was selected. In the above structure, the bearing 2
7, transmission member 40, rocking plates 29, 30, bearings 31, 3
2, the holding shafts 33, 34, etc. constitute switching means.

Next, a method of using the traveling device A will be described.
First, while the non-driving wheels 3 are always grounded on the floor surface 4, when the oscillating plates 29, 30 are stopped at the neutral position as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the driving wheels 35, 36 are It is not in contact with the floor surface 4. When carrying an item (not shown), D
When the C servo motor 9 is driven to rotate the drive shaft 24 in the forward direction, the rotary shaft 22 rotates clockwise in the drawing.

Then, the gear 39 rotates in the clockwise direction in the figure, and the rotation is transmitted through the gears 37 and 38 to the drive wheels 35 and 3.
6, and the drive wheels 35 and 36 rotate counterclockwise in the figure. When the gear 39 rotates, the transmission member 40 also rotates in the same direction due to the frictional resistance, so that the swing plates 29 and 30 swing about the rotation shaft 22 in the clockwise direction in the drawing.

Then, as shown in FIG. 5, the drive wheels 36 are in contact with the ground and the traveling device A travels in the forward direction, that is, in the leftward direction in the drawing.
The protrusion 41 is cut by the swing of the swing plates 29 and 30.
When it enters the inside, it abuts against the abutment piece 20 and the switch 18 operates, and the grounding of the drive wheel 36 is detected. After the grounding of the drive wheel 36, the gear 39 and the transmission member 40 are in a sliding friction state,
The drive wheel 36 is always kept in the grounded state.

On the other hand, the drive shaft 2 is moved from the neutral position shown in FIGS.
When 4 is rotated in the opposite direction, the gear 39 rotates counterclockwise in the figure, and the rocking plates 29, 30 also rock counterclockwise in the figure, and the drive wheels 35 are installed as shown in FIG. A is the opposite direction,
That is, the vehicle runs to the right in the figure.

If the oscillating plates 29 and 30 are stopped at the neutral position as shown in FIG. 3, the drive wheels 35 and 36 are both in the non-grounded state. The load is not applied to the DC servo motor 9 even if the vehicle is pushed or pulled with to run.

As described above, the traveling apparatus A according to the present embodiment is
The drive of the drive wheels 35 and 36 and the operation of switching the drive wheels 35 and 36 between the grounded state and the non-grounded state can be performed by the common DC servomotor 9. Therefore, the traveling device A
It is possible to reduce the size, reduce the weight, and simplify the structure, and improve the handling property and the maintainability when the traveling device A is stored or when traveling by external force.

Further, the drive wheels 3 are driven by the switches 18 and 19.
When it is detected that 5, 5 and 36 are in the grounded state, the control program is such that the voltage applied to the DC servo motor 9 in the grounded state becomes higher than the voltage applied to the DC servo motor 9 in the non-grounded state. Is stored in the control unit, or a control program is stored in the control unit so that the drive speed is faster in the grounded state than in the drive speed of the DC servomotor 9 when the drive wheels 35 and 36 are in the non-grounded state. By doing so, stable and efficient running performance can be secured.

Further, since either one of the drive wheels 35 and 36 comes into contact with the ground in accordance with the traveling direction of the traveling apparatus A, the wear of the drive wheels 35 and 36 can be reduced by half and the durability is improved. The apparatus body 1 may have any planar shape, and a plurality of drive mechanisms D and E may be provided.

[0031]

As described above, in the invention according to claim 1, the driving of the drive wheels and the switching operation between the grounding state and the non-grounding state of the drive wheels can be performed by the common drive source. Therefore, it is possible to realize the downsizing and weight saving of the traveling device and the simplification of the structure, and to improve the handleability and the maintainability when the traveling device is stored or when traveling by an external force.

The invention according to claim 2 has the same effect as that of the invention according to claim 1, and one of the first drive wheel and the second drive wheel is grounded in accordance with the traveling direction of the traveling device. Therefore, the wear of the drive wheels can be reduced by half, and the durability is improved.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a front view of a traveling device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a plan view of the traveling device according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a partial front sectional view taken along the line BB of FIG. 2, showing a traveling device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a partial right side sectional view taken along the line CC of FIG. 3 showing a traveling device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a partial front sectional view of the traveling device according to the embodiment of the present invention, showing a state of traveling in the forward direction.

FIG. 6 is a partial front cross-sectional view showing a traveling device according to an embodiment of the present invention and showing a state of traveling in the opposite direction.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Device Main Body 3 Non-Drive Wheel 9 DC Servo Motor (Drive Source) 27 Bearing (Switching Means) 29, 30 Oscillating Plate (Switching Means) 31, 32 Bearing (Switching Means) 33, 34 Holding Shaft (Switching Means) 36th One driving wheel (driving wheel) 35 Second driving wheel (driving wheel) 40 Transmission member (switching means)

Claims (2)

(57) [Claims] 1. A device main body, and the device main body,
And a non-driven wheel which is held at ground, a drive source provided in the apparatus main body, is provided in the apparatus main body, and the traveling device having a driving wheel driven by said drive source, the drive Mounted on a rotating shaft connected to the source, said rotating
A swing plate that can swing around the shaft is provided, and
A drive wheel is rotatably provided on the moving plate, and the drive source drives the drive wheel to drive the drive wheel.
The force causes the swing plate to swing about the rotation axis.
Switch the drive wheels between grounded and non-grounded
A traveling device having the above-mentioned configuration . 2. The drive wheels are composed of a first drive wheel that is grounded when the apparatus body travels in a forward direction and a second drive wheel that is grounded when the apparatus body travels in a reverse direction. Item 1. The traveling device according to item 1.