JP6669002B2 - Traveling device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a traveling device on which a user rides and travels.

  In recent years, personal mobility has been spotlighted. Personal mobility is often manufactured in a small size, giving priority to short turn, and therefore has a problem that it lacks stability during high-speed running. In addition to personal mobility, vehicles capable of adjusting the wheelbase length have been proposed from the viewpoint of improving stability during high-speed running (for example, see Patent Documents 1 and 2).

JP-A-1-106717 JP 2005-231415 A

  Many vehicles proposed so far with adjustable wheelbase length are vehicles derived from passenger cars, and there has been no consideration of getting on and off as easily as a bicycle. In a lightweight traveling device that can be easily boarded and dismounted as personal mobility, it has been an issue how to maintain stability when the wheelbase length is shortened while securing running performance. In particular, there is a need for stability that enables passengers to disembark so as not to lose their balance.

  The present invention has been made in order to solve such a problem, and has both traveling performance and stability in a traveling apparatus in which a wheelbase length can be adjusted.

A traveling device according to one embodiment of the present invention is a traveling device in which a user rides and travels, and rotatably supports a front wheel supporting member that rotatably supports a front wheel and a plurality of rear wheels that are arranged in a traveling direction. A bogie base, a user's riding section installed on the bogie base, and a bogie supporting member pivotally supported by the bogie base around a swing axis parallel to a rotation axis of each of the plurality of rear wheels. a drive unit for driving at least one of the front wheels and the plurality of rear wheels comprise a rotation unit that relatively rotates the front wheel support member and the carriage supporting member, a front wheel supporting member and the carriage supported by the operation of the user is transmitted An adjustment mechanism in which the angle formed by the members changes to adjust the wheelbase lengths of the front wheel and the plurality of rear wheels, and control for controlling the drive unit based on a target speed associated with a parameter linked to the wheelbase length. Department Equipped with a.

  With such a configuration, even when the wheelbase length is shortened, the user can board the vehicle stably. In particular, it is possible to reduce the possibility that the traveling device tilts or the user loses balance at the time of getting off. Further, since the vehicle has a vehicle structure similar to a so-called rocker bogie mechanism, high running performance can be expected even on unevenness of the running surface.

  Advantageous Effects of Invention According to the present invention, it is possible to achieve both running performance and stability in a traveling device in which the wheelbase length can be adjusted.

It is a side view at the time of low speed running of the running device concerning this embodiment. FIG. 2 is a top view of the traveling device. It is a side view at the time of high speed driving | running | working of a driving | running | working apparatus. FIG. 3 is a control block diagram of the traveling device. 4 is a graph showing a relationship between a rotation angle and a target speed. 9 is a table showing a relationship between a rotation angle and a target speed in another example. It is a flowchart which shows the process during a run.

  Hereinafter, the present invention will be described through embodiments of the invention, but the invention according to the claims is not limited to the following embodiments. In addition, all of the configurations described in the embodiments are not necessarily essential as means for solving the problem.

  FIG. 1 is a schematic side view of the traveling device 100 according to the present embodiment when traveling at a low speed, and FIG. 2 is a schematic top view of the traveling device 100 in the state of FIG. 1 as viewed from above. In FIG. 2, the user 900 shown by a dotted line in FIG. 1 is omitted.

  The traveling device 100 is a type of personal mobility, and is an electric mobile vehicle that assumes that a user stands and board. The traveling device 100 includes one front wheel 101 and four rear wheels 102 (right front rear wheel 102a, left front rear wheel 102b, right rear rear wheel 102c, and left rear rear wheel 102d) in the traveling direction.

  The front wheel 101 changes its direction when the user 900 operates the handle 115, and functions as a steered wheel. The right front rear wheel 102a and the left front rear wheel 102b are connected by an axle 103a, and the right rear rear wheel 102c and the left rear rear wheel 102d are connected by an axle 103b. The axle 103a and the axle 103b are arranged in parallel to the traveling direction, and a pair of a right front rear wheel 102a and a left front rear wheel 102b, and a pair of a right rear rear wheel 102c and a left rear wheel 102d are There is a positional relationship in front of and behind the traveling direction.

  The four rear wheels 102 are driven by a motor (not shown) and a speed reduction mechanism, and function as drive wheels. By using the four rear wheels 102 as drive wheels, even if the running surface has irregularities, the possibility of any one of the rear wheels touching the ground increases, and high running performance can be expected. In the case where the vehicle is used on a running surface with little unevenness, for example, one of a pair of a front right rear wheel 102a and a front left rear wheel 102b and a pair of a rear right rear wheel 102c and a rear left rear wheel 102d is used as a drive wheel. It is good.

  The front wheel 101 is rotatably supported by a front wheel support member 110. The front wheel support member 110 includes a front column 111 and a fork 112. The fork 112 is fixed to one end of the front support column 111, and rotatably supports the front wheel 101 so as to sandwich the front wheel 101 from both sides. A handle 115 is fixed to the other end of the front support 111 so as to extend in the rotation axis direction of the front wheel 101. When the user 900 turns the handle 115, the front column 111 transmits the operation force to change the direction of the front wheel 101.

  The four rear wheels 102 are rotatably supported via axles 103 (103a, 103b) by a main body 122 functioning as a bogie base. The main body 122 also has a function of a housing that houses the above-described motor, a speed reduction mechanism, a battery that supplies power to the motor, and the like. A step 141 is provided on the upper surface of the main body 122 as a riding section on which the user 900 places his / her feet.

A bogie joint 123 protrudes vertically upward in the vicinity of the center of the main body 122. The bogie joint 123 supports one end of the rear support column 121 as a bogie support member around the swing axis JA. Thereby, the rear support column 121 can swing around the swing axis JA that is parallel to the axle 103, relative to the main body 122.

The front support 111 and the rear support 121 are connected via a swivel joint 131 and a hinge joint 132. The swivel joint 131 is fixed to a position near the other end of the front support column 111 to which the handle 115 is fixed. Furthermore, pivot joint 131 is pivoted to the hinge joint 132, the extending direction parallel to the pivot axis _{T A} around the front pillar 111, to rotate relative to the hinge joint 132. The hinge joint 132 is pivotally provided with the other end of the rear support column 121 opposite to the one end supported by the bogie joint 123, and around a hinge axis _HA parallel to the extension direction of the axle 103, It rotates relatively to the rear support 121.

This structure, the user 900, when turning the handle 115, a front wheel supporting member 110 to pivot _{T A} around against the rear pillar 121 is changed the direction of the front wheel 101 to pivot. Further, when the user 900 tilts the handle 115 forward with respect to the traveling direction, the front column 111 and the rear column 121 relatively rotate around the hinge axis _HA , and the front column 111 and the rear column 121 are rotated. Can be made smaller. When the angle formed between the front support 111 and the rear support 121 becomes smaller, the WB length, which is the distance between the front wheel 101 and the wheel base (WB) of the rear wheel 102, becomes shorter.

Conversely, when the user 900 tilts the handle 115 backward with respect to the running direction, the front support 111 and the rear support 121 rotate relatively around the hinge axis _HA , and the front support 111 and the rear support The angle formed by 121 can be increased. As the angle between the front support 111 and the rear support 121 increases, the WB length increases. Here, the WB length is, as shown in FIG. 1, a distance connecting the front wheel and the center of the rear wheel 102 along the traveling direction. The definition of the WB length is not limited to this, and may be any value that represents the distance between the front wheel and the rear wheel along the traveling direction.

An urging spring 133 is attached near the hinge joint 132. The biasing spring 133 exerts a biasing force around the hinge axis _{HA in} a rotational direction that reduces the angle formed by the front support 111 and the rear support 121. The biasing spring 133 is, for example, a torsion spring. When the user 900 does not touch the handle 115, the urging force of the urging spring 133 is changed so that the angle formed by the front support 111 and the rear support 121 becomes the minimum structural angle. The handle 115 is set to such an extent that the handle 115 can be easily tilted backward with respect to the traveling direction. Therefore, the user 900 can adjust the angle formed between the front support 111 and the rear support 121 by changing at least one of the weight applied to the handle 115 and the weight applied to the step 141, thereby adjusting the WB length.

A rotation angle sensor 134 is mounted near the hinge joint 132. The rotation angle sensor 134 outputs an angle formed between the front support 111 and the rear support 121 around the hinge axis _HA . The rotation angle sensor 134 is, for example, a rotary encoder. The output of the rotation angle sensor 134 is transmitted to a control unit described later.

  The traveling device 100 travels at a low speed when the WB length is short, and travels at a high speed when the WB length is long. FIG. 1 shows a state during low-speed running with a short WB length. FIG. 3 is a side view of the traveling device 100 similar to that of FIG. 1, but shows a state at the time of high-speed traveling with a long WB length.

As shown in the figure, the angle formed by the front support 111 and the rear support 121 is defined as a rotation angle θ, where the direction in which the support is relatively opened is positive. The minimum value (minimum angle) that the rotation angle θ can _assume is θ _MIN , and the maximum value (maximum angle) is θ _MAX . For example, θ _MIN = 10 degrees and θ _MAX = 80 degrees. In other words, a structural regulating member is provided so that the rotation angle θ falls within the range of θ _MIN and θ _MAX .

  The WB length has a one-to-one correspondence with the rotation angle θ, and can be converted by a function of WB length = f (θ). That is, the rotation angle θ is a parameter linked to the WB length. Therefore, the WB length can be adjusted by changing the rotation angle θ. The traveling device 100 accelerates when the user 900 increases the rotation angle θ, and decelerates when the user 900 decreases the rotation angle θ. That is, the target speed is associated with the rotation angle θ, and when the rotation angle θ changes, acceleration / deceleration is performed so as to reach the target speed corresponding thereto. In other words, the WB length is associated with the target speed using the rotation angle θ as a parameter, and when the user 900 adjusts the WB length, the target speed changes according to the WB length.

  When the rotation angle θ is small, the WB length is short, so that small turning is effective. That is, it can move around even in a narrow place. Conversely, when the rotation angle θ is increased, the WB length is increased, so that traveling stability, particularly straightness, is improved. That is, even when the vehicle travels at a high speed, the vehicle is less likely to be rocked by a step on the road surface. In addition, since the speed and the WB length change in conjunction with each other, the WB length does not become long even though the speed is low, and the movement can be performed with the minimum required projection area at that speed. That is, the area on the road surface required for the traveling device 100 to move is small, and no extra space is required. This is especially effective when parking. Further, if the user 900 tilts the handle 115 back and forth, both the speed and the WB length can be changed in conjunction with each other, so that the driving operation is simple and easy.

  FIG. 4 is a control block diagram of the traveling device 100. The control unit 200 is, for example, a CPU, and is housed in the main unit 122. The drive wheel unit 210 includes a drive circuit and a motor for driving the rear wheel 102, which is a drive wheel, and is housed in the main body 122. The control unit 200 executes a rotation control of the rear wheel 102 by sending a drive signal to the drive wheel unit 210.

  The vehicle speed sensor 220 monitors the amount of rotation of the rear wheel 102 or the axle 103 to detect the speed of the traveling device 100. Vehicle speed sensor 220 transmits a detection result to control unit 200 as a speed signal in response to a request from control unit 200. The rotation angle sensor 134 detects the rotation angle θ as described above. The rotation angle sensor 134 transmits a detection result to the control unit 200 as a rotation angle signal in response to a request from the control unit 200.

  The load sensor 240 is, for example, a piezoelectric film that detects a load applied to the step 141, and is embedded in the step 141. The load sensor 240 transmits a detection result to the control unit 200 as a load signal in response to a request from the control unit 200.

  The memory 250 is a nonvolatile storage medium, for example, a solid state drive is used. The memory 250 stores, in addition to a control program for controlling the traveling device 100, various parameter values, functions, look-up tables, and the like used for control. The memory 250 stores a conversion table 251 for converting the rotation angle θ into a target speed.

FIG. 5 is a graph showing a relationship between the rotation angle θ and the target speed as an example of a conversion table 251 for converting the rotation angle θ into the target speed. As shown in the figure, the target speed is expressed as a linear function of the rotation angle θ, and the target speed is set to increase as the rotation angle θ increases. The target speed is 0 at the minimum angle θ _MIN (degrees), and the maximum speed V _m (km / h) at the maximum angle θ _MAX (degrees). As described above, the conversion table 251 may be in a function format.

  FIG. 6 is a table showing a relationship between the rotation angle θ and the target speed as another example of the conversion table 251 for converting the rotation angle θ into the target speed. In the example of FIG. 5, a continuously changing target speed is associated with a continuously changing rotation angle θ. In the example of FIG. 6, the continuously changing rotation angle θ is divided into a plurality of groups, and one target speed is associated with each.

As illustrated, the rotation angle theta is, theta when it is more than theta less than _{1 MIN} associated target speed 0 (km / h), the target speed 5.0 is less than theta ₁ or θ ₂ (km / h) and the target speed 10.0 (km / h) when θ ₂ or more and less than θ ₃ , and the target speed 15.0 (km / h) when θ ₃ or more and _MAX or less. Is associated. In such a case, the conversion table 251 can adopt a lookup table format. By associating the target speed with the range of the rotation angle θ having a certain width in this way, for example, the target speed does not change little by little due to the shaking of the body of the user 900, and a smooth speed change is achieved. Can be expected. Of course, hysteresis may be provided at the boundary of the range. If the boundary of the range is different between acceleration and deceleration, a smoother speed change can be expected.

  The association between the rotation angle θ and the target speed is not limited to the examples of FIGS. 5 and 6, and various associations are possible. For example, it is also possible to arrange such that the change amount of the target speed with respect to the change amount of the rotation angle θ is set small in a low speed region and large in a high speed region. Further, in the present embodiment, since the rotation angle θ has a one-to-one correspondence with the WB length, the conversion table 251 for associating the rotation angle θ as a parameter with the target speed is employed. A conversion table that associates the WB length with the target speed may be employed. In this case, the rotation angle θ obtained from the rotation angle sensor 134 may be converted into a WB length using the above function, and then the conversion table may be referred to.

  Next, the traveling processing in this embodiment will be described. FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing a process during traveling. The flow starts when the power switch is turned on and a signal indicating that there is a load is received from the load sensor 240, that is, when the user 900 is on board.

  In step S101, the control unit 200 acquires the rotation angle signal from the rotation angle sensor 134 and calculates the current rotation angle θ. Then, in step S102, the calculated rotation angle θ is applied to the conversion table 251 read from the memory 250, and the target speed is set.

  After setting the target speed, the control unit 200 proceeds to step S103, and transmits an acceleration / deceleration drive signal to the drive unit 210. Specifically, first, a speed signal is received from the vehicle speed sensor 220, and the current speed is confirmed. If the target speed is higher than the current speed, a drive signal for accelerating is transmitted to the drive unit 210. If the target speed is lower than the current speed, a drive signal for deceleration is transmitted to the drive unit 210.

  The control unit 200 monitors whether the rotation angle θ has changed even during acceleration / deceleration, that is, whether the user 900 has tilted the handle 115 back and forth (step S104). If it is determined that the rotation angle θ has changed, the process is repeated from step S101. If it is determined that it has not changed, the process proceeds to step S105. When the conversion table as shown in FIG. 6 is employed, it is determined that there is no change while the rotation angle θ remains within one range.

  Control unit 200 receives the speed signal from vehicle speed sensor 220 in step S105, and determines whether or not the target speed has been reached. If it is determined that the target speed has not been reached, the process returns to step S103, and acceleration / deceleration is continued. If it is determined that the target speed has been reached, the process proceeds to step S106. In step S106, it is confirmed whether or not the target speed was 0. If the target speed is 0, the traveling device 100 has stopped at the time of step S106. Otherwise, since the vehicle is traveling at the target speed, the control unit 200 transmits a drive signal to the drive wheel unit 210 so as to maintain traveling at that speed (step S107).

  The control unit 200 monitors whether the rotation angle θ has changed even while traveling at a constant speed in step S107, that is, whether the user 900 has tilted the steering wheel 115 back and forth (step S108). If it is determined that the rotation angle θ has changed, the process returns to step S101. If it is determined that there is no change, the process returns to step S107 to continue the constant speed traveling.

  If it is determined in step S106 that the target speed is 0, the process proceeds to step S109, and it is determined whether the user 900 has exited from the load signal received from the load sensor 240. If it is determined that the user 900 has not got off, that is, that there is a load, the process returns to step S101 to continue running control. If it is determined that the vehicle has been disembarked, a series of processing ends.

  According to the traveling device 100 as described above, when the WB length is increased by the user's operation, the speed is automatically increased to the associated target speed, so that the operation feeling is intuitive, and There is no need for such complicated operations. Further, even when the WB length is shortened, the rear wheels are provided in a plurality in the running direction, so that even if there is some unevenness on the running surface, sufficient grip force is exhibited, and the user can stably operate. Can be boarded. That is, since the traveling device 100 has a structure similar to a so-called rocker bogie mechanism, the advantage can be enjoyed.

  Also, if the conventional personal mobility structure is adopted as it is, when the speed is set to 0 in accordance with the operation in which the WB length is the shortest, the user on board sometimes loses balance. In the traveling device according to the aspect, since the user is supported by the plurality of rear wheels, such a risk is small. In particular, in a situation where the user gets off the vehicle, it is easy to avoid that the device is knocked down when one foot is lowered.

  The traveling device 100 according to the present embodiment has been described above, but the combination of the number of front wheels and the number of rear wheels is not limited to one and four. The front wheels may also be composed of a plurality of wheels along the traveling direction and the axle direction, respectively, and the rear wheels may have more wheels along the traveling direction. Further, at least a part of the front wheel and the rear wheel does not have to be a wheel, and may be a grounding element such as a spherical wheel and a crawler. The power source for driving the drive wheels is not limited to a motor, but may be a gasoline engine or the like.

  In the traveling device 100, a hinge is used as a rotating unit that relatively rotates the front support 111 and the rear support 121, but the present invention is not limited to this. Various structures can be adopted as long as the angle is formed between the front support 111 and the rear support 121 by transmitting a user's operation. For example, even in a structure in which the front support 111 and the rear support 121 are connected by an elastic member such as a leaf spring, the handle 115 connected to the front support 111 is inclined forward and backward to form the front support 111 and the rear support 121. Angle can be changed.

  Reference Signs List 100 traveling device, 101 front wheel, 102 rear wheel, 103 axle, 110 front wheel support member, 111 front support, 112 fork, 115 handle, 121 rear support, 122 body, 123 bogie joint, 131 swivel joint, 132 hinge joint, 133 biasing spring, 134 rotation angle sensor, 141 step, 200 control unit, 210 drive wheel unit, 220 vehicle speed sensor, 230 WB adjustment mechanism, 240 load sensor, 250 memory, 251 conversion table, 900 user

Claims (1)

A traveling device on which a user rides and travels,
A front wheel supporting member that rotatably supports the front wheel,
A bogie base that rotatably supports each of the plurality of rear wheels arranged in the traveling direction,
A boarding section of the user installed on the carriage base,
A bogie support member pivotally supported by the bogie base around a pivot axis parallel to each rotation axis of the plurality of rear wheels,
A drive unit that drives at least one of the front wheel and the plurality of rear wheels,
An angle between the front wheel support member and the bogie support member is changed by transmitting a user's operation, and the front wheel support member and the bogie support member include a rotating unit that relatively rotates the bogie support member. An adjustment mechanism for adjusting the wheelbase length of the plurality of rear wheels,
A traveling unit comprising: a control unit that controls the driving unit based on a target speed associated with a parameter that is linked to the wheelbase length.

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