JP5857658B2 - Flapping robot - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a flapping robot, and more particularly to a flapping robot that can obtain a flapping state such as an insect or a bird.

  In recent years, research and development of small unmanned flying vehicles have been actively conducted for the purpose of remote monitoring of environments that cannot be accessed by land vehicles, such as reconnaissance at disaster sites. As this unmanned flying object, there is a flapping type that operates like an insect or a bird, in addition to a fixed wing type such as an aircraft or a rotary wing type such as a helicopter. In particular, the flapping type is expected to be realized as an ultimate unmanned flying vehicle with high maneuverability such as stationary flight and sudden turn.

  By the way, Patent Document 1 discloses a flapping airplane that enables a flapping motion that moves a wing up and down and a feathering motion that tilts the wing. This flapping airplane has a wing composed of a wing vibration system that performs coupled resonance vibration with two degrees of freedom of flapping vibration and feathering vibration, and the wing vibration system includes an excitation means and an attenuation means, and the attenuation means By adjusting the damping coefficient, the flapping vibration amplitude and the feathering vibration amplitude of the blade can be independently changed.

Japanese Patent No. 3879771

  However, in the flapping airplane of Patent Document 1, flapping vibration and feathering vibration can be realized only within the range of the resonance mode, and there is a disadvantage that the operation of the wing is limited. In addition, since the relationship between the attenuation coefficient and the flight effect is unknown, there is an inconvenience that it is difficult to adjust the attenuation coefficient for performing a desired flight.

  The present invention has been devised by paying attention to such inconveniences, and its purpose is to easily perform a flapping motion and a feathering motion in many desired modes while reducing the size and weight of the device configuration. It is to provide a flapping robot that can do this.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention mainly provides a wing member that is cantilevered and performs a predetermined flapping operation, a wing operation mechanism that operates the wing member, and an operation of the wing member by the wing operation mechanism. In a flapping robot equipped with a control device to control,
The blade operating mechanism includes a front power transmission means for transmitting power in the vertical direction to a front portion on the base end side of the wing member, and a rear power transmission for transmitting power in the vertical direction to a rear portion on the base end side of the wing member. Means and
The control device independently controls power transmission by the front power transmission means and the rear power transmission means so that a flapping motion for moving the wing member up and down and a feathering motion for tilting the wing member can be performed. It is configured to be possible.

  In the present specification and claims, “front” and “rear” mean “front” and “rear” in the direction of movement of the flapping robot in the air unless otherwise specified. Further, “left” and “right” mean “left” and “right” in FIG. 1 unless otherwise specified. Furthermore, “up” and “down” mean “up” and “down” in the ascending / descending direction of the flapping robot, that is, “up” and “down” in FIG.

  According to the present invention, there is no need to provide a mechanism for displacing the wing member inside the wing member, and a complicated mechanism such as a crank mechanism for distributing one driving means is not required. The overall size and weight can be reduced. Moreover, by independently controlling the transmission of power by the front power transmission means and the rear power transmission means, flapping motion and feathering motion can be performed, and many desired flapping motions and feathering motions can be performed. Can be done easily.

  In particular, it is possible to increase the lift of the wing member by performing a flapping motion when the wing member is lowered, and to further reduce the downforce of the wing member by performing a feathering motion when the wing member is launched. Can be small.

1 is a schematic plan view of a flapping robot according to the present embodiment. The schematic front view which looked at the said flapping robot from the front (upper direction in FIG. 1). The principal part enlarged view of FIG. 1 which shows a left side part. Sectional drawing which follows the AA line of FIG. Sectional drawing which follows the BB line of FIG. Sectional drawing which follows the CC line | wire of FIG. (A), (B) is sectional drawing similar to FIG. 6 for demonstrating operation | movement of the arm at the time of a feathering exercise | movement.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 shows a schematic plan view of a flapping robot according to the present embodiment, and FIG. 2 shows a schematic front view of the flapping robot as viewed from the front in the upper part of FIG. In these drawings, the flapping robot 10 includes a pair of left and right wing members 11, 11, a wing operation mechanism 12 that operates the wing member 11, and a control device 14 that controls the operation of the wing member 11 by the wing operation mechanism 12. I have.

  The wing members 11, 11 have the same configuration on both the left and right sides, and their one end sides are cantilevered by the wing operation mechanism 12, and flapping with the one end side as the base end side by the operation of the wing operation mechanism 12. Doing exercise. Specifically, the wing members 11 and 11 can perform a flapping motion that moves the wing members 11 and 11 up and down and a feathering motion that tilts (twists) the wing members 11 and 11 as a flapping motion. . Moreover, although detailed illustration is abbreviate | omitted, as for the wing | blade member 11 of this embodiment, the frame | skeleton part is formed with a wire, and the sheet | seat material is affixed on the said frame | skeleton part, and is formed in the horizontally long surface shape. In addition, as long as the wing | blade member 11 has a planar part which spreads from the front end side used as the free end side to the base end side, various shapes and structures can be employ | adopted.

  The wing operating mechanism 12 supports a left side portion 16 for operating the left wing member 11, a right side portion 17 for operating the right wing member 11, and both the left and right side portions 16, 17. It consists of a plate-like base 18. The left side portion 16 and the right side portion 17 have the same configuration and are disposed on the base 18 in a bilaterally symmetrical manner. In the following description, only the left side portion 16 will be described in detail, and the right side portion 17 will not be described using the same reference numerals for the same or equivalent components as the left side portion 16.

  As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the left side portion 16 includes a front power transmission means 20 that transmits power in the vertical direction to the front portion 11 </ b> A on the base end side of the wing member 11, and a base end of the wing member 11. It is comprised by the rear power transmission means 21 which transmits the motive power of an up-down direction to the rear part 11B of the side.

  As shown in FIGS. 3, 4, and 5, the front power transmission means 20 is swingable in the vertical direction by driving the front motor 24 as a front drive device fixed to the base 18 and the front motor 24. And a front arm 25 provided.

  The front arm 25 has a shape extending from the front motor 24 toward the blade member 11, and includes a first front connection member 26 connected to the front motor 24, a first front connection member 26, and the blade member 11. And a second front connection member 27 that connects the two.

  One end side of the first front connection member 26 is fixed to the rotating shaft 24A of the front motor 24, and forward and reverse rotation of the front motor 24 enables vertical movement with the other end side as a free end side.

  The second front side connection member 27 has one end side rotatably connected to the other end side of the first front side connection member 26 by a fastener P such as a pin, and the other end side is a base end side of the wing member 11. It is fixed to the front part 11A. Specifically, the second front connection member 27 is connected to the first front connection member 26 so as to be rotatable about the fastener P. Therefore, the front arm 25 can be torsionally rotated at the connection portions of the first and second front connection members 26 and 27. Although not particularly limited, the second front connection member 27 of the present embodiment is attached by a fastener B such as a screw or a rivet so as to be detachable from the wing member 11. .

  As shown in FIGS. 3, 4, and 6, the rear power transmission means 21 is fixed to the base 18 and a bar-like connecting member 28 that extends rearward from the rear portion 11 </ b> B of the wing member 11. The rear motor 29 serving as the rear drive device and the rear arm 30 provided so as to be swingable in the vertical direction by the driving of the rear motor 29.

  The rear arm 30 extends from the rear motor 29 toward the blade member 11, and is connected to the rear motor 29, and a spherical plain bearing fixed to the other end of the rear connection member 32. 33.

  One end of the rear connection member 32 is fixed to the rotating shaft 29 </ b> A of the rear motor 29, and forward / reverse rotation of the rear motor 29 enables vertical movement with the other end being the free end.

  The spherical plain bearing 33 is fixed to the other end side of the rear connection member 32, and supports the connecting member 28 by changing the support position and supporting posture of the connecting member 28. That is, the connecting member 28 is inserted into the spherical plain bearing 33, the movement of the connecting member 28 in the extending direction with respect to the spherical plain bearing 33, and the swiveling motion around the fulcrum of the connecting member 28 in the spherical plain bearing 33. Is supported by the spherical plain bearing 33.

  In the present embodiment, voice coil motors are used as the front motor 24 and the rear motor 25. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and various drives can be used as long as the operation described below is achieved. An apparatus can be used.

  The control device 14 is configured by software and / or hardware, and includes a plurality of program modules and / or processing circuits such as a processor. In this control device 14, each command voltage to the front motor 24 and the rear motor 29 is controlled based on an input by an input means (not shown) and / or a program stored in advance, and the left and right blade members 11, Eleven flapping movements and feathering movements are performed selectively or in combination. In addition, the vertical movement amount (amplitude) of the wing member 11 during the flapping movement and the inclination angle (elevation angle) of the wing member 11 during the feathering movement can be controlled to be a desired size. ing.

  Next, the operation of the flapping robot 10 in this embodiment will be described.

  For example, when a simple flapping motion is performed, the control device 14 causes the command voltages for the time to the front motor 24 and the rear motor 29 to have a periodic voltage waveform having the same phase and the same amplitude. Therefore, the front motor 24 and the rear motor 29 are repeatedly rotated forward and backward so that the same driving state, that is, the driving timing, the driving speed, and the driving range are the same. At this time, power is transmitted from the front motor 24 and the rear motor 29 in the same state to the front ends of the front arm 25 and the rear arm 30, and interlocked vertically at the same height position (vertical position). To do. Here, the front end side of the front arm 25 is connected to the front portion 11A on the base end side of the wing member 11, and the front end side of the rear arm 30 is connected to the rear portion 11B on the base end side of the wing member 11. Has been. For this reason, when the front arm 25 and the rear arm 29 perform the same operation, the wing member 11 repeatedly moves up and down while maintaining the same posture. When changing the amplitude of the flapping motion, that is, the range of the vertical movement of the wing member 11, the control device 14 changes the amplitude of the command voltage to the front motor 24 and the rear motor 29 to change the front arm 25. The movable range of the vertical movement of the rear arm 30 may be changed.

  Further, when performing the feathering motion, the command voltage for the time to the front motor 24 and the rear motor 29 is controlled by the control device 14 to a state of a periodic voltage waveform whose phases are shifted from each other. The front side motor 24 and the rear side motor 29 repeatedly rotate forward and backward with their drive timings shifted. At this time, power is transmitted from the front motor 24 and the rear motor 29 in different states to the front ends of the front arm 25 and the rear arm 30 and move up and down at their own timing. Here, the front arm 25 is capable of torsional rotation in the middle, and the position and posture of the connecting member 28 are variable by the front spherical plain bearing 33 in the rear arm 30 as shown in FIG. Therefore, the wing member 11 is inclined forward and backward in accordance with the operations of the front arm 25 and the rear arm 30. The inclination angle of the blade member 11 is adjusted by adjusting the phase shift and amplitude of the command voltage to the front motor 24 and the rear motor 29.

  Here, as a result of the experimental research by the present inventors, the lift generated when the blade member 11 is dropped is maximized when no phase difference is provided in the command voltages to the front motor 24 and the rear motor 29. 11 decreases as the phase difference between the command voltages to the front motor 24 and the rear motor 29 increases. When the phase difference exceeds a predetermined value (for example, 45 deg), the downforce is lifted. It was found that it is almost negligible compared to. Therefore, when the wing member 11 is lowered during the flight of the flapping robot 10, the wing member is caused to perform a flapping motion with the same phase difference and amplitude of the command voltage to the front motor 24 and the rear motor 29. 11, the driving of the front motor 24 and the rear motor 29 is controlled so that a feathering motion is performed in which the phase difference between the command voltages to the front motor 24 and the rear motor 29 is more than a certain level. Is preferred.

  For example, when the wing member 11 is at the uppermost point, as shown in FIG. 4, the front end side of the front arm 25 and the front end side of the rear arm 30 are set to the same height position (vertical position), and the wing member 11 is moved. Keep it horizontal. Then, when the front motor 24 and the rear motor 29 are rotationally driven at the same speed, the front ends of the front arm 25 and the rear arm 30 are lowered at the same speed, and the wing member 11 is kept in the uppermost position while maintaining the horizontal state. Move from point to bottom. Thereafter, when raising the wing member 11 from the lowest point, first, with the rear motor 29 stopped, only the front motor 24 is driven in the opposite direction to the above, and the front end side of the front arm 25 is raised. However, it operates so that the front side of the wing member 11 is inclined upward (see FIG. 7A). When the front end side of the front arm 25 moves to the uppermost point, the driving of the front motor 24 is stopped, and the rear motor 29 starts driving in the direction opposite to that when the blade member 11 is lowered. Thereby, the front end side of the rear arm 30 rises (see FIG. 7B), the rear side of the wing member 11 is lifted upward, and the inclination angle of the wing member 11 gradually decreases. When the distal end side of the rear arm 30 moves to the uppermost point at the same height as the distal end side of the front arm 25 and the wing member 11 becomes horizontal, the above-described lowering operation of the wing member 11 is performed. By repeating the operation described above, the wing member 11 performs a continuous flapping operation.

  The control of the command voltage to the front motor 24 and the rear motor 29 is not limited to the above example, and various modes can be adopted by arbitrarily setting the command by the control device 14. it can.

  In addition, in the left side portion 16 and the right side portion 17, the control of the motors 24 and 29 is made the same, the flapping operations of the left and right wing members 11 and 11 are matched, and the control of the motors 24 and 29 is changed left and right. Thus, the flapping operations of the left and right wing members 11, 11 can be made different.

  In addition, the configuration of each part of the apparatus in the present invention is not limited to the illustrated configuration example, and various modifications are possible as long as substantially the same operation is achieved.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Flapping robot 11 Wing member 11A Front part 11B Rear part 12 Wing | wing operation mechanism 14 Control apparatus 20 Front power transmission means 21 Back power transmission means 24 Front motor (front drive device)
25 Front arm 28 Connecting member 29 Rear motor (rear drive unit)
30 Rear arm

Claims (5)

In a flapping robot comprising a wing member that is cantilevered and performs a predetermined flapping operation, a wing motion mechanism that operates the wing member, and a control device that controls the operation of the wing member by the wing motion mechanism,
The blade operating mechanism includes a front power transmission means for transmitting power in the vertical direction to a front portion on the base end side of the wing member, and a rear power transmission for transmitting power in the vertical direction to a rear portion on the base end side of the wing member. Means and
The front power transmission means is attached to a front portion of the base end side of the wing member and is capable of torsional rotation, and a front drive device that is driven and controlled by the control device and swings the front arm in the vertical direction. And
The rear power transmission means includes a connecting member provided continuously to a rear portion of the base end side of the wing member, and a rear arm that supports the connecting member by changing a support position and a support posture of the connecting member. And a rear drive device that is driven and controlled by the control device and swings the rear arm in the vertical direction. The control device includes a flapping motion that moves the wing member up and down and a feather that tilts the wing member. A flapping robot characterized in that the power transmission by the front power transmission means and the rear power transmission means can be independently controlled so that ring motion can be performed.   The control device controls the blade operating mechanism so that power transmission by the front power transmission unit and the rear power transmission unit is performed in the same state when performing the flapping motion, 2. The flapping robot according to claim 1, wherein the wing motion mechanism is controlled so that power is transmitted by the front power transmission means and the rear power transmission means in different states when performing the motion.   The control device controls the wing operation mechanism so that the flapping motion is performed when the wing member is lowered and the feathering motion is performed when the wing member is launched. Item 3. A flapping robot according to item 1 or 2. In the control device, the front drive device and the rear drive device are controlled so as to change the movable range of the vertical movement of the front arm and the rear arm, whereby the blade member during the flapping motion is controlled. 4. The flapping robot according to claim 1, wherein the flapping robot is provided so that the amplitude can be adjusted. In the control device, the blades during the feathering motion are controlled by controlling the front drive device and the rear drive device so as to change the difference in the movable state of the vertical movement of the front arm and the rear arm. The flapping robot according to claim 1, wherein the tilt angle of the member is adjustable.

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