JP3536966B2 - Steering system for omnidirectional vehicles - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a steering device for controlling a moving direction of a vehicle moving in an omnidirectional vehicle employed in a forklift or the like.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Generally, an omnidirectional vehicle has a parallel movement mode in which its traveling wheels are held in the same direction and moves, and a turning movement mode in which each wheel is set in a different direction and turns. By appropriately switching or combining these two modes, the direction and traveling direction of the vehicle can be freely set and operated in all directions.

[0003] A steering device of such an omnidirectional vehicle which is often employed is a switch for switching between the parallel movement mode and the turning movement mode in addition to a normal circular steering wheel, that is, a steering wheel. It is provided on the operation panel. According to this device, the traveling mode is fixedly set to one of parallel and turning by switching the switch, and the operation of the steering wheel merely sets the steering angle of the traveling wheel in the set traveling mode. Absent. In order to make a transition from straight running to turning running with this vehicle, first, the switch is operated to switch from the parallel movement mode to the turning movement mode, and at the same time, an operation for correcting and controlling the steering wheel in accordance with the turning direction is performed. Since these two operations are performed almost simultaneously during traveling, considerable skill is required to perform smooth traveling control of the vehicle.

Various proposals have been made to solve such a problem. A typical example is a control panel provided with a lever that can be tilted in all directions and that can rotate about an axis. According to this device, the traveling direction of the vehicle is determined according to the falling direction of the lever, and the turning direction of the vehicle is set according to the rotation angle of the axis of the lever. When performing parallel movement, the lever is tilted in the traveling direction without rotating, and when turning, the lever is rotated (rotated) as it is. Accordingly, in order to shift from straight running to turning running with this vehicle, an operation of simply rotating the lever by an amount corresponding to the turning direction is performed without changing the tilt direction of the lever. A feature of such an improved device is that the traveling in both the parallel movement and the turning movement is controlled and operated by only one device (lever),
In addition, it is sufficient to perform only one operation (rotation of the lever) when switching the traveling.

[Problems to be solved by the invention]

The problem with the improved device described above is that the device for steering the vehicle is special and different from a normal vehicle.
It is necessary to perform a special operation peculiar to this vehicle. In a normal vehicle that cannot move in parallel, the steering operation is performed only by the above-mentioned circular handle. Therefore, such a special operation is not preferable for an operator who is accustomed to the steering operation.

Accordingly, a first object of the present invention is to provide a steering device which is easy to operate in an omnidirectional vehicle, and a second object is to operate the vehicle as compared with an ordinary vehicle which cannot move in parallel. It is an object of the present invention to provide a more preferable steering device without a sense of discomfort.

[Means for Solving the Problems]

[0007] The first invention in the present application is at least 2
Steering of an omnidirectional vehicle having two steerable wheels for traveling and capable of performing a parallel movement that moves while maintaining the same direction of each wheel and a turning movement that moves with the directions of each wheel being different. A traveling direction instructing means for instructing a traveling direction of the parallel movement and a turning direction instructing means for instructing a turning direction of the turning movement are provided independently on a control panel of the vehicle. A steering angle calculating means for calculating a steering angle of each wheel based on the traveling direction and the turning direction instructed by the both instructing means; and a steering wheel for each wheel based on each steering angle obtained by the calculating means. and a wheel steering means that
And the turning direction instructing means is provided by an operator.
Rotating steering wheel and the steering wheel
The rotation angle is detected, and the arithmetic means is notified of the turning direction instruction.
And a detector that outputs a signal.
A steering lever rotated by an operator and the lever
The rotation angle of the key is detected and the traveling direction is indicated to the arithmetic means.
And a detector for outputting a signal of the wheel steering wheel.
The steps are individually located on all of the steerable travel wheels.
Each wheel based on the signal from the arithmetic means.
The steering motor, which is driven to rotate by the steering angle of the
The present invention relates to a steering device for an omnidirectional vehicle that is provided .

In the first aspect of the present invention, the operator directly performs the steering operation on the traveling direction instructing means and the turning direction instructing means. One of the traveling direction instructing means is only the traveling direction of the parallel movement of the vehicle. And the other turning direction instructing means is used to instruct only the turning direction of the turning movement. These two indicating means are independent of each other on the operation panel,
That is, they are separately provided separately.

The steering direction signal input by the two instruction means is calculated by the steering angle calculation means and output as a steering angle signal of each traveling wheel. Generally, a computer is used for this calculation means, and a required steering angle of each traveling wheel is obtained.

When performing parallel movement, the operator operates only the traveling direction instructing means and does not operate the turning direction instructing means. Conversely, when performing a turning movement, only the turning direction indicating means is operated, and the traveling direction indicating means is not operated. When shifting from the parallel movement to the turning movement, the operation of the turning direction indicating means may be added. Conversely, when shifting from the turning movement to the parallel movement, the turning direction indicating means may be returned to the neutral position where there is no turning movement, and the traveling direction indicating means may be operated.

Therefore, when performing only parallel movement or only turning movement, the operator only needs to operate one instruction means, and it is not necessary to operate both at the same time. Since the two indicating means are separated and independent from each other, there is no or no possibility that one operation affects the other operation. By operating both instruction means simultaneously, complicated complex traveling can be realized. Note that the turning direction described above can be replaced with the turning center position or turning radius of the arc when the vehicle runs on the arc.

The turning direction indicating means cannot be translated.
Circular C commonly used in normal vehicles
Handle according to the angle of rotation of this handle.
Since both turning directions are specified, only turning movement is required.
In this case, the same operation as that of a conventional vehicle is performed.

According to the advancing direction indicating means, the lever
Direction of the vehicle is indicated according to the rotation angle of the
When performing parallel movement, perform only the rotation operation of the lever.
become.

Each traveling wheel is driven by a machine
Rather than being steered, the motors individually
Since the steering is performed, flexible steering control is possible.

[0015] A second invention is directed to the first invention.
The steering lever can be tilted by the operator.
And detecting the inclination angle of the lever to drive the vehicle.
A detector that outputs a signal indicating power is provided.
It is characterized by. In this case, the steering lever rotates
The direction of travel of the vehicle is specified according to the angle, and
Then, the driving power of the vehicle is instructed. So the translation
If not, the operator will use
The turning direction can be set using the turning direction instructing means.
Then, the same steering operation as that of the above-described normal vehicle is performed.

[0016]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to examples.

[0017]

FIG. 1 shows an example in which the present invention is applied to a forklift. In FIG. 1, reference numeral 1 denotes a reach-type forklift main body driven by a battery. The main body 1 includes a mast 2 which can move forward and backward, and a pair of L-shaped side forks 3 is provided along the mast 2 so as to be movable up and down. Can be
Reference numeral 4 denotes an operation panel for an operator.

In FIG. 2, the forklift has two straddle arms 5, 5 for retracting the fork 3 in front of the forklift, and has load wheels LW1, LW2 near the respective ends thereof. A drive wheel DW is provided on one side of the body of the forklift, that is, the rear of the vehicle body 1.
However, a caster wheel CW as an auxiliary wheel is provided on the other side. The road wheels LW1 and LW2 are disposed at symmetrical positions with respect to the vehicle center line L, the drive wheel DW is disposed to the left, and the caster wheel CW is disposed to the right.

The load wheels LW1 and LW2 are free wheels having no driving source, and their directions can be freely changed around shafts 6 and 6 orthogonal to the vehicle body. Steering motor SM1, S
By M2, the steering angles are individually changed and controlled.

The drive wheel DW has a drive motor DM for rotating the drive wheel DW, and the vehicle body 1 is provided with a driving force for running by the rotation of the drive wheel DW. The steering angle of the drive wheel DW around the shaft 7 is changed and controlled by a separately provided steering motor SM3.

Each of the above wheels LW1, LW2, DW
Are provided with potentiometers for detecting the actual steering angle, that is, detectors S1, S2, and S3. The caster wheel CW is the other wheel LW1, LW2, DW
Similarly, the vertical support shaft 8 is provided eccentrically with respect to the wheel CW, so that the steering angle freely changes about the shaft 8 as the vehicle travels.

Reference numeral 9 denotes a steering wheel provided on the operation panel 4 as turning direction indicating means, that is, a circular steering handle device, and reference numeral 10 denotes a steering wheel also provided on the operation panel 4 as traveling direction indicating means. Lever device.
The two devices 9 and 10 are arranged on the operation panel 4 at a predetermined distance from each other. In this embodiment, the operator can operate the handle device 9 with the left hand and the lever device 10 with the right hand.

The handle device 9 is rotatable about a shaft 11, and is of a general type in which a turning direction of the forklift is inputted by a rotation operation of an operator. The lever device 10 is rotatable in all directions with respect to a plane along the operation panel 4, and is simultaneously tiltable. The lever device 10 outputs the traveling direction of the vehicle according to the rotation direction thereof, and outputs the rotational driving force of the drive motor DM, that is, the traveling driving force of the vehicle body 1 according to the inclination angle.

Each instruction of the turning direction by the handle device 9 and the traveling direction by the lever device 10 is input to the control device 12 provided in the forklift body. The control device 12 is mainly composed of an arithmetic device 13 and a drive device 14. After the above-mentioned respective inputs are input to the arithmetic device 13 and operated, each of the steering motors SM1,
Output to SM2 and SM3, respectively. The computing device 1
Reference numeral 3 denotes each wheel LW1, LW based on the input signal.
2, a signal corresponding to the steering angle of DW
The power conversion unit 4 converts the signal into a signal having a size capable of driving a motor and outputs the signal. The instruction of the vehicle body driving force due to the tilt of the lever device 10 is output to the drive motor DM via another drive device 15.

FIGS. 3A, 3B and 3C show the structure of the lever device 6. FIG. In the figure, reference numeral 20 denotes a block fixed to the operation panel 4, and 21 and 21 denote plates fixed to the upper surface thereof. A spacer 2 is provided between the plates 21 and 21.
2, 22 are interposed between the two plates 21 and 21.
A chamber 23 is formed between them.

The block 20 and the plates 21, 22
A shaft 24 is inserted in the center of the control panel 4 so as to be perpendicular to the operation panel 4. The shaft 24 is rotatable around the axis by a bearing 25, and is rotated by a potentiometer 26 fixed to the lower end of the block 20. The angle is detected. The potentiometer 26
Is input to the arithmetic unit 13.

Further, a gear 27 located in the chamber 23 is fixed to the outer periphery of the shaft 24 as shown in FIG. 3C. Reference numeral 28 denotes an arm pivotally supported between the plates 21 and 21 by a shaft 29. A protrusion 30 is formed at substantially the center of the arm to engage with the gear 27. A spring 32 stretched from 31 is engaged. Therefore, when the shaft 24 rotates, the protrusion 30 slides along the teeth of the gear 27, and a certain load is applied to the rotation of the shaft 27 to prevent unexpected rotation.

The upper end of the shaft 24 is formed in a forked shape,
In the meantime, the lower end of the lever 35 having the annular grip portion 34 is inserted. Both the upper end of the shaft 24 and the lower end of the lever 35 are penetrated from the side by a shaft 36. The shaft 36 is fixed to the lever 35 and is rotatable with respect to the shaft 24 by a bearing 37. Further, a potentiometer 38 is provided at one end of the shaft 36 to detect the rotation angle of the shaft 36, and the lever 35 is always connected to the operation panel 4 at the other end.
A spring 39 is provided for urging upright. The lever 35 obtained by the potentiometer 38
, That is, the drive signal of the drive motor DM is input to the drive device 15. Reference numerals 40, 40 denote stoppers fixed to the shaft, which define the maximum inclination angle of the lever 35.

Since the handle device 9 is similar to a conventional general circular steering handle, its detailed structure is not shown. However, as shown in FIG. Is provided, and the handle 4 obtained by the potentiometer 41 is provided.
The rotation angle of 2, that is, the signal for instructing the turning direction of the vehicle body is input to the arithmetic unit 13 and converted, and then the steering angle of each of the traveling wheels LW1, LW2, DW is set via the drive unit 14.

The operation of the device of the present invention described above will be described.
This will be described below with reference to FIGS. 4, 5, 6, and 7. In each figure, [a] is the handle device 9, [b] is the lever device 10, and [c] is the body 1 of the forklift.
FIG. 3 is a diagram schematically showing a state viewed from above.

The triangle mark 41 in [a] of each figure
Is provided to indicate the rotation direction of the handle 42. Therefore, in the case of [a] in FIG. 4, the mark 41 is directed to the front of the vehicle body, and the rotation angle is 0, that is, a state where the turning instruction is not issued. [B] shows a state where the lever 35 is rotated and inclined toward the front of the vehicle body,
This means that the angle of the parallel movement is 0, that is, the traveling direction is determined toward the front of the vehicle body.

In the case of FIG. 4, that is, when the handle 42 is in the state [a] and the lever 35 is in the state [b], the vehicle 1
As shown in [c], each of the running wheels is directed in a direction parallel to the vehicle body center line L, and the vehicle body 1 is in a straight traveling state.

FIG. 5 shows a state in which the handle 42 is oriented in the same direction as in FIG. 4, and the lever 35 is rotated to the right front α degree and tilted. At this time, as shown in [c], all the wheels of the vehicle body 1 face the same front right α-degree as the lever 35 and travel straight in that direction. If the value of α is 90 degrees, the vehicle body 1 travels in the lateral direction, that is, at right angles to the straight line L.

FIGS. 6 and 7 show the case where the handle 42 is rotated rightward by β degrees. FIG. 6 shows the lever 35 facing the front of the vehicle body as in the example of FIG. 4, and FIG. As in the example of FIG. 5, a case is shown where the vehicle is turned to the right front α degree.

In the case of FIG. 6, each wheel LW1,
The directions of LW2, DW, and CW are set individually, that is, non-identically, according to the steering angles calculated by the arithmetic unit 13, and the vehicle body turns right around the point C1. When the state of FIG. 4 shifts to the state of FIG. 6, that is, when only the handle device 9 rotates rightward by β degrees, the vehicle body traveling direction changes from the arrow 43 to the arrow 44.

In the case of FIG. 7, as in the example of FIG. 6, the wheels are set non-identically, and the vehicle turns around the point C2.
When the state of FIG. 5 shifts to the state of FIG. 7, that is, when only the handle device 9 rotates rightward by β degrees, the traveling direction of the vehicle body changes from the arrow 45 to the arrow 46.

That is, when there is an instruction to change the direction from the handle device 9 or the lever device 10, the arithmetic device 13
The direction of each wheel up to that point is determined by the potentiometer S
1, S2, and S3, the required steering angle of each wheel is obtained from the value and the value of the newly designated direction by a predetermined map, and is output to the driving device 14.

FIGS. 8 and 9 show an example in which the rotation angle of the handle 42 is sufficiently large as compared with FIGS. 6 and 7. FIG. In general, it is known that in an omnidirectional vehicle, the larger the turning angle is, the closer the turning center is to the center of the vehicle body. However, the same applies to the embodiment of the present invention. The case where the turning center overlaps the center of the vehicle body because the angle γ is larger than the predetermined angle is shown.

In this case, the traveling directions 47, 49
Are different from each other, the turning center moves to the center of the vehicle body when the turning instruction of the vehicle body 1 is received, and the vehicle turns on the spot as shown by arrows 48 and 50.

As described above, according to the present embodiment,
The handle device 9 for instructing the turning direction of the vehicle body and the lever device 10 for instructing the parallel movement direction of the vehicle body are separated and independent from each other, which causes erroneous operation or difficulty in operation due to mutual influence of the operations. There is no fear.

Therefore, when performing only the turning operation, it is sufficient to rotate only the handle device 9, and the operation is very easy since there is no difference from a normal forklift. In addition, the parallel movement can be freely performed by operating the lever device 10, so that it is convenient for loading and unloading work in a narrow warehouse. When performing only the parallel movement, the lever device 1 is used.
A simple operation of only 0 is sufficient.

When shifting from the parallel movement to the turning movement,
Only the rotation operation of the handle device 9 is required, and no special operation for switching itself from parallel to turning is required. In addition, since the turning direction after this transition is set based on the direction of the parallel movement up to that point, the operator only has to operate the steering wheel based on the traveling direction of the vehicle body 1 at all times, and it is possible to perform a comfortable driving.

[0043]

As described above, according to the first aspect of the present invention, since the direction of the parallel movement and the direction of the turning movement of the vehicle body are indicated by means independent of each other, both operations influence each other. Therefore, the steering operation is extremely easy because no operation is required to switch between the parallel movement and the turning movement. In addition, when the parallel movement is not performed, only the turning direction instructing means is required, and when the turning movement is not performed, only the traveling direction instructing means is only required to perform the steering operation.

The turning direction indicating means is a circular hand.
The vehicle is equipped with a
There is an advantage that there is no discomfort.

In addition, the instruction to translate the vehicle body is also made by turning the lever.
The lever in the direction of travel of the vehicle.
Because only rotation is required, steering operation for parallel movement is also extremely
And easy.

Further, each running wheel is provided with the above two fingers.
Steering by the electric motor controlled by the indicating means
It does not require a complicated configuration and ensures smooth operation.
There are advantages.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, the driving of the vehicle body is performed.
The force can also be operated by tilting the lever,
Two means, the turning direction indicating means and the traveling direction indicating means.
Can be operated, and there are two directions, a direction instruction and a driving force instruction.
Operations can be easily performed simultaneously.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a side view showing an entire forklift to which the present invention is applied.

FIG. 2 is a plan view schematically showing the structure of the forklift.

FIG. 3a is a front view showing a traveling direction indicating means according to the present invention.

FIG. 3b is a side view showing the traveling direction indicating means according to the present invention.

FIG. 3c is a sectional view taken along line AA in FIG. 3a.

FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram for explaining the operation of the device of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram for explaining the operation of the device of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram for explaining the operation of the device of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram for explaining the operation of the device of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram for explaining the operation of the device of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram for explaining the operation of the device of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

1: Forklift body 4: Operation panel 9: Handle device (turning direction indicating means) 10: lever device (traveling direction indicating means) 13: Arithmetic unit (arithmetic means) 26: Potentiometer (detector) 35: Lever 38: Potentiometer (detector) 41: Potentiometer (detector) 42: handle LW1: Road wheel LW2: Road wheel DW: Drive wheel CW: caster wheel SM1: Steering motor (wheel steering means) SM2: Steering motor (wheel steering means) SM3: Steering motor (wheel steering means) DM: Drive motor

Continuation of front page (58) Field surveyed (Int.Cl. ⁷ , DB name) B62D 7/14 B62D 6/00

Claims (2)

(57) [Claims] A parallel movement having at least two steerable wheels for traveling and moving while maintaining the same direction of each wheel, and a turning movement moving with the directions of each wheel being non-identical. A steering device for an omnidirectional vehicle, comprising: a traveling direction instructing unit that instructs a traveling direction of the parallel movement; and a turning direction instructing unit that instructs a turning direction of the turning movement, on an operation panel of the vehicle. A steering angle calculating means which is provided independently of each other, and which calculates a steering angle of each wheel based on the traveling direction and the turning direction instructed by the two instructing means; and a steering angle calculated by the calculating means. and a wheel steering means for steering the respective wheel on the basis of, and the turning direction
The indicating means is a circular steering wheel that is rotated by the operator.
And calculating the rotation angle of the handle and
A detector that outputs a signal of the turning direction instruction is provided at each step.
The traveling direction indicating means is rotated by the operator.
Detecting the steering lever and the rotation angle of the lever
A detector for outputting a signal indicating the traveling direction to the arithmetic means;
And the wheel steering means is configured to be capable of steering.
Signals from the above calculation means, which are individually arranged for all of the eel
Based on the steering angle of each wheel.
A steering device for an omnidirectional vehicle, comprising a steering motor that is rolled and driven . 2. The vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the steering lever is tiltable by an operator, and further includes a detector for detecting a tilt angle of the lever and outputting a signal indicating a driving force of the vehicle. The steering apparatus for an omnidirectional vehicle according to claim 1.