JP7301358B2 - self-propelled robot - Google Patents

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a self-propelled robot, and more particularly to a self-propelled robot capable of improving the movement speed of the self-propelled robot that mimics peristaltic motion.

Conventionally, as a pipe inspection device for inspecting the inside of pipes such as sewers, a plurality of telescopic units that expand when contracted and contract when expanded are connected, and the telescopic units are sequentially expanded and contracted so as to imitate the peristaltic motion of an earthworm. It is known that a propulsion force is generated in the pipe by using the above (Patent Document 1).

JP 2014-228658 A

However, while the total length of sewage pipes is 460,000 km, it is expected that the number of aging pipes that are more than 50 years old will increase rapidly. It is required to improve the movement speed of However, since the pipeline is provided with a direction changing part such as a curved pipe or an elbow that changes the direction at right angles, the passage of the telescopic unit is hindered.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide a self-propelled robot that can smoothly advance in a pipeline even when a direction changing part is set in the pipeline.

As a configuration of the actuator for solving the above problems, an outer cylinder, an inner cylinder provided inside the outer cylinder, and axial ends of the outer cylinder and the inner cylinder are provided at each end in the axial direction. and an end member forming a closed space together with the inner circumference and the outer circumference of the inner cylinder, and when a fluid is supplied to the closed space, the end member contracts in the axial direction and expands in the radial direction, thereby removing the fluid from the closed space. A self-propelled type that obtains a propulsive force by connecting a plurality of telescopic units that expand in the axial direction and contract in the radial direction when discharged, and operate the telescopic units in the pipe so as to simulate peristaltic motion. In the robot, the connecting means comprises a supporting means having a group of fibers extending radially around the axis of the telescopic unit, and the supporting means has a pipe structure in which the tips of all the fibers constituting the group of fibers are pipes. By contacting the inner wall of the tube, the telescopic unit is supported so as to advance along the center side of the tube .
According to this configuration, since the telescopic unit and the connecting means do not come into contact with the inner wall of the pipe, the robot can move smoothly even in a curved pipe portion, and as a result, the movement speed of the self-propelled robot can be improved.
Further, as a configuration of the self-propelled robot, the connection means is composed of a mounting body attached to one telescopic unit and a mounting body attached to the other telescopic unit, each mounting body being rotatably mounted, and two mounting bodies are provided. A universal joint comprising a connecting body for connecting bodies and a coil spring reaching from the inner peripheral space of one attachment body to the inner peripheral space of the other attachment body via the inner peripheral space of the joining body, or It may be arranged such that it is in contact with the inner wall of the tube all the way around, or the support means may be attached to each joint.

1 is a schematic configuration diagram of a self-propelled robot; FIG. FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of an expansion unit; FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of an elastic expansion body of the expansion unit; It is a figure which shows operation|movement of an expansion-contraction unit. Fig. 3 shows a joint; FIG. 4 is a plan view of a support means; FIG. 10 is a diagram showing the motion of the joint; 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of a valve unit; FIG. It is a figure which shows the effect|action of a support means.

Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail through embodiments of the invention, but the following embodiments do not limit the invention according to the claims, and all combinations of features described in the embodiments are It includes configurations that are not necessarily essential to the solution and are selectively adopted.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described based on each drawing. FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of a self-propelled robot 1 that moves within a tube Z according to this embodiment. The self-propelled robot 1 generally includes a traveling unit 10 as a mobile object that moves within the tube Z, a compressor 70 that operates the traveling unit 10, and a controller 80.

The traveling section 10 includes a plurality of telescopic units 20 , joints 40 connecting the telescopic units 20 to each other, a valve unit 60 , and a leading portion 90 . In the following description, the direction along the arrow X1 is defined as the traveling direction of the traveling portion 10, and the forward and backward directions are specified as the front side along the traveling direction and the rear side along the opposite direction.

FIG. 2 is an axial sectional view showing one configuration example of the telescopic unit 20. As shown in FIG. The telescopic unit 20 includes an inner cylinder 21, an outer cylinder 22 disposed so as to surround the outer circumference of the inner cylinder 21 so as to form a double pipe together with the inner cylinder 21, and ends of the inner cylinder 21 and the outer cylinder 22. and a pair of end members 23;

The inner cylinder 21 is a tubular body having a circular cross-section and having a bellows structure that can be expanded and contracted along the axial direction. Although the bellows structure of this embodiment is described as having a spiral bellows structure, it is not limited to this. The material forming the inner cylinder 21 is preferably made of, for example, a flexible material that allows bending of the axis and is resistant to deformation due to pressure from the inner peripheral side and the outer peripheral side. Each end of the inner cylinder 21 is attached to an inner cylinder fixing portion 28 provided on the end member 23 .

FIG. 3 is an exaggerated view of the cross section of the outer cylinder 22 taken along line A1-A1 in FIG. As shown in the figure, the outer cylinder 22 is composed of a cylindrical cylinder main body 22A made of an elastic material and a plurality of fibers 22B tightly inserted inside the cylinder main body 22A. As the material of the cylinder main body 22A, an elastic material having airtightness and elasticity such as synthetic rubber such as silicone rubber or natural rubber such as natural latex rubber is suitable.

The fibers 22B are arranged within the wall thickness of the outer cylinder 22 so as to extend along the axis so as to be continuous from one end side to the other end side. . In addition, the fiber 22B may be a single layer without being laminated. The fibers 22B are shown as extending along the axial direction of the tubular body 22A, but they may be provided so as to intersect the axial direction. The outer cylinder 22 is attached to an outer cylinder fixing portion 29 provided on the end member 23 at each end.

As the material of the fiber 22B, a material with a small change in expansion and contraction in the axial direction is suitable. For example, as the material of the fiber 22B, for example, aramid fiber, carbon fiber, glass fiber, nylon, polyamide fiber, polyolefin fiber, metal fiber, etc., which have stretchability can be appropriately selected and used. can be done. Adhesiveness can be sufficiently improved by applying an appropriate primer treatment or surface oxidation treatment to the fiber, but the selection should preferably be made according to the adhesiveness to rubber.
In addition, the form of the fiber 22B can be used in any form such as filament, yarn (spun yarn and filament yarn), strand, etc. Further, untwisted fibers converged without twisting, these fibers It is also possible to use a fiber prepared by twisting a plurality of . Depending on the type of fiber, two or more types of fibers made of different materials or fibers of different shapes may be combined.
In addition, to be continuous from one end side to the other end side described above means that one fiber 22B reaches from one end side to the other end side of the outer cylinder 22, or is shorter than the axial length of the outer cylinder 22. A plurality of fibers are intended to reach from one end side to the other end side by being distributed continuously in the axial direction.

Moreover, any material may be used as the material for forming the cylinder main body 22A as long as the material can change its shape by supplying and discharging compressed air to and from the air chamber S, which will be described later. Further, the thickness of the cylinder main body 22A and the arrangement of the fibers 22B are determined in consideration of the elongating force of the outer cylinder 22 when the air is discharged.

The end member 23 is a cylindrical body made of, for example, resin, hard rubber, metal, or the like. a portion 29;
The inner cylinder fixing portion 28 is provided on one end side of the inner peripheral surface of the end member 23 so that the outer periphery of the inner cylinder 21 can be fitted. In this embodiment, since the inner cylinder 21 has a helical bellows structure, the inner cylinder fixing portion 28 can be screwed into the outer circumference of the inner cylinder 21, for example, using the helical shape of the inner cylinder 21. Formed as a spiral groove. Hereinafter, the side of the end member 23 on which the inner cylinder fixing portion 28 is provided in the axial direction will be referred to as the inner side, and the opposite side will be referred to as the outer side.

For example, the helical groove forming the inner cylinder fixing portion 28 is preferably formed so that at least the outer peripheral side of the inner cylinder 21 has one pitch or more of the helical peaks in consideration of the airtightness with the inner cylinder 21 . Further, by forming the inner cylinder fixing portion 28 so as to form an interference fit with the outer peripheral surface of the inner cylinder 21, for example, airtightness with the inner cylinder 21 can be made more reliable.

The outer cylinder fixing portion 29 is formed on the outer peripheral surface of the end member 23 . The outer cylinder fixing portion 29 is positioned axially outward by a predetermined distance from the end surface of the inner cylinder 21 fixed to the inner cylinder fixing portion 28, and the outer diameter gradually increases along the outer circumference of the end member 23 in the axial direction. It is formed, for example, in a spherical shape or a tapered shape so as to have a small diameter. A ring-shaped caulking member 30 is attached to the outer cylinder 22 from the axially outer side of the end member 23 in a state in which the outer cylinder 22 is disposed so that the end portion passes the outer cylinder fixing portion 29 on the outer side in the axial direction. It is fixed to the end member 23 by putting it on the outer peripheral surface side and fixing it so as to sandwich the outer peripheral surface of the end member 23 with a pair of fixing members 32 formed in a semicircular shape from the outside of the crimping member 30 .

By fixing the ends of the inner cylinder 21 and the outer cylinder 22 to the end members 23; An air chamber S as a closed space surrounded by the inner peripheral surface of 22 is formed.

Further, the end member 23 is provided with a joint fixing portion 34 for fixing the joint 40 and a supply/discharge hole 36 for enabling supply/discharge of air to/from the air chamber S.
The joint fixing portion 34 is provided, for example, so as to be exposed axially outward from the above-described fixing member 32 in a state where the outer cylinder 22 is fixed to the end member 23 . The joint fixing portion 34 is formed, for example, as a screw hole penetrating through the end member 23 in the thickness direction (radial direction).

The supply/discharge hole 36 is formed so as to be able to supply/discharge air from the inner peripheral side to/from the air chamber S formed between the inner cylinder fixing portion 28 and the outer cylinder fixing portion 29 . For example, the supply/discharge hole 36 is formed as a through hole penetrating from the inner peripheral surface of the end member 23 to the inner end surface of the end member 23 . A tube extending from a valve unit 60 described later is connected to the supply/discharge hole 36 .

4A and 4B are diagrams showing the operation of the telescopic unit 20. FIG. By supplying air to the air chamber S, the telescopic unit 20 axially contracts in length from x1 to x2 and radially expands in outer diameter from d1 to d2. Further, when the air is discharged from the air chamber S, the length in the axial direction is extended from x2 to x1 and the outer diameter is contracted in the radial direction from d2 to d1. Hereinafter, the state in which air is supplied to the air chamber S so as to be in contact with the inner wall of the tube Z is referred to as an expanded state, and the state in which air is discharged from the air chamber S is referred to as a contracted state. The telescopic unit 20 functions as an actuator that generates friction between the outer peripheral surface of the outer cylinder 22 and the inner wall of the tube Z by supplying and expanding air.

FIG. 5 is an external view of the joint 40. FIG.
The joint 40 includes a pair of attachment bodies 41 attached to the extensible unit 20 , a connecting body 42 that couples the attachment bodies 41 together, and a coil spring 44 .
The mounting body 41, for example, is diametrically opposed to a cylindrical base portion 41A formed in a size that can be fitted to the outer periphery of the end member 23, on one side of the base portion 41A, and axially of the base portion 41A. A pair of projecting pieces 41B; 41B projecting with the same length so as to extend along the

The connecting body 42 is formed as an annular member having an outer diameter that allows sliding on the inner peripheral surface side of the projecting piece 41B of the mounting body 41 . The joint 40 is attached to the combined body 42 in a state in which the projecting pieces 41B; 41B of one mounting body 41 and the projecting pieces 41B; For example, each mounting body 41 is connected via a shaft member 43 in the thickness direction of each projecting piece 41B and the thickness direction of the connecting body 42, so that each mounting body 41 is connected to the connecting body 42 by the shaft member. It is rotatably attached with 43 as an axis. That is, joint 40 functions as a hollow universal joint.

As shown in FIGS. 5A and 5B, the coil spring 44 extends from the inner peripheral space of one attachment body 41 to the inner peripheral space of the other attachment body 41 via the inner peripheral space of the coupling body 42. provided in The coil spring 44 has, for example, an outer diameter slightly smaller than the inner diameter of the coupling body 42, and is attached to the attachment bodies 41;

As described above, by forming the attachment body 41 and the connecting body 42 in a ring shape, the space inside the inner cylinder 21 of the telescopic unit 20 can be maintained continuously when the telescopic unit 20 is connected. The insertion of the tube for operating the unit 20 is not hindered.

Further, the joint 40 is provided with a fixing portion 46 into which the tip of a screw that passes through the joint fixing portion 34 is screwed when the mounting body 41 is arranged at a predetermined position with respect to the end member 23 . . The fixing portion 46 is provided, for example, as a recess with a bottom that is cylindrically recessed from the outer peripheral surface of the base portion 41A. formed possible.

Each base 41A; 41A of the joint 40 is provided with a support means 50 that supports the telescopic unit 20 and prevents the telescopic unit 20 from coming into contact with the inner wall of the tube Z. As shown in FIG.
FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of the support means 50. As shown in FIG. The support means 50 includes a pedestal 51 formed so as to be attachable to the outer periphery of the base portion 41A of the mounting body 41, and a fiber group 53 that contacts the outer peripheral surface side of the pedestal 51. As shown in FIG.

As shown in FIG. 6, the pedestal 51 has, for example, a semicircular inner peripheral surface that can be fitted along the outer peripheral shape of the base portion 41A. A pair of positioning pieces 52 are provided on the inner peripheral surface of the pedestal 51 to be inserted between the protruding pieces 41B when the pedestal 51 is attached to the base portion 41A and to position the base portion 41A with respect to the base portion 41A.
The fiber group 53 includes a plurality of fibers 53z extending radially around the center of the inner peripheral surface of the semicircular base 51 when the support means 50 is viewed from above. is implanted, for example, to form a brush. The material of the fibers forming the fiber group 53 is preferably a material having elasticity, such as nylon fiber. More preferably, for example, as shown in FIG. 1, joints 40 connected to both ends of the telescopic unit 20 prevent the telescopic unit 20 from contacting the inner wall of the tube Z in the contracted state shown in FIG. It is good to choose thickness and material so that rigidity such as contact) can be obtained. More preferably, the fiber group 53 should have a thickness, a material, and a quantity of fibers 53z selected so that the elastic unit 20 and the joint 40 do not come into contact with the inner wall of the pipe Z when traveling through the curved pipe section. . Further, the direction in which the fibers 53z forming the fiber group 53 extend from the pedestal 51 is not limited to a radial direction in the above-described planar view, and when the traveling portion 10 advances through the curved pipe portion, the expansion unit 20 and the joint 40 It may be changed appropriately so as not to contact the inner wall of the tube Z.
The supporting means 50 are attached in pairs to the base portion 41A so that the fiber group 53 extends radially around the circumference of the base portion 41A. The length of the fibers 53z that form the fiber group 53 may be in light contact with the inner wall of the tube Z over almost the entire circumference to such an extent that the movement of the earthworm is not hindered by its friction, and the entire circumference does not contact. In both cases, it is sufficient that the tube Z is large enough to support the telescopic unit 20 connected to the center of the tube Z by the joint 40 so as to advance. Moreover, it may be divided on the circumference.
Note that the fiber group 53 may be configured to be detachable (exchangeable) with respect to the base 51 . By configuring the fiber group 53 to be detachable from the pedestal 51, for example, when the fiber 53z is worn, it can be replaced while the pedestal 51 is attached to the joint 40. FIG. In addition, for example, when the diameter of the tube Z is different, the functions described above can be achieved by simply replacing the fiber group 53 with a fiber group 53 having a different length of the fiber 53z.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing the operation of the joint. The telescopic units 20:20 connected by the joint 40 to which the support means 50 is attached are in a straight state as shown in FIG. It is possible to bend like this.
In addition, as shown in FIG. 7B, the pedestals 51 of the support means 50 collide with each other due to bending of the joint 40, and the bending of the connected extensible unit 20 is restricted. The bending angle can be controlled by appropriately changing the width. In addition, by controlling the contact between the pedestals 51, unnecessary bending of the extensible units 20 can be suppressed, so that the propulsion speed can be improved along with the smooth progress in the curved pipe portion.

FIG. 8 is a schematic configuration diagram of the valve unit 60. As shown in FIG.
The valve unit 60 is connected to the rear of the telescopic unit 20 at the tail end via the aforementioned joint 40, for example.
The valve unit 60 includes an electromagnetic valve 62 for supplying compressed air from the compressor 70 to the air chamber S of each telescopic unit 20 or discharging the compressed air supplied to the air chamber S. Two electromagnetic valves 62 are provided for one telescopic unit 20, and in this embodiment, 14 electromagnetic valves 62 corresponding to seven telescopic units 20 are housed integrally in one housing.
Each solenoid valve 62 supplies compressed air to the telescopic unit 20, discharges the compressed air from the telescopic unit 20, and maintains the expanded state of the telescopic unit 20 by supplying the compressed air based on the signal output from the controller 80. , maintenance of the retracted state of the telescopic unit 20 by discharging compressed air, and the like are controlled. A three-way valve, for example, can be applied to the solenoid valve 62 .

The compressor 70 is a drive source for driving the telescopic unit 20, and supplies compressed air pressurized to a predetermined pressure to the electromagnetic valve 62 of the valve unit 60 described above. For example, by connecting the solenoid valves 62 through distribution pipes in the valve unit 60 described above, one pipe may be extended from the compressor 70 and connected to the valve unit 60 .

The controller 80 is a so-called computer such as a one-chip, and is connected to the plurality of electromagnetic valves 62 so as to be able to output signals individually. The controller controls a plurality of electromagnetic valves so that the telescopic unit 20 connected via the joint 40 is expanded, contracted, maintained in the expanded state, and maintained in the contracted state in a predetermined order so as to imitate peristaltic motion. 62 separately.

The head part 90 is attached to the telescopic unit 20A at the head of the traveling direction. Communication means and the like are accommodated.

According to the traveling portion 10 having the above configuration, even when the tube Z has the bent tube portion Zm shown in FIG. 1, it can move smoothly. 9A and 9B are diagrams showing the operation of the support means 50. FIG. The curved tube portion Zm shown in FIG. 9(a) shows a case with the smallest radius of curvature, which is called a so-called elbow. In such a bent pipe portion Zm, a pipe inner wall Za is formed which is bent at a right angle as shown in FIG. 9(b). For example, if the running portion 10 does not have the support means 50, when the running portion 10 passes through the curved pipe portion Zm, it will advance so as to rub against the right-angled inner wall Za of the pipe, resulting in a large propulsive force. cause resistance.
On the other hand, as described in the present embodiment, by attaching the support means 50 to the joint 40 of the running portion 10, the fiber group 53 moves while rubbing against the right-angled pipe inner wall Za. It can be kept away from the wall Za to reduce friction. As a result, the traveling portion 10 can smoothly pass through the curved pipe portion Zm with the propulsive force being suppressed from being lowered.

Also in the straight pipe portion Zs in FIG. 1, the fiber group 53 of the support means 50 supports the expansion unit 20 and the joint 40 so as to separate from the pipe inner wall Za as shown in FIG. 9(c). Friction can be reduced when 10 travels through the straight pipe portion Zs. For example, when the support means 50 described above is not attached to the joint 40, as shown in FIG. When expanded (axially contracted), the axis of the telescopic unit 20 moves from the position where the outer cylinder 22 is in contact with the pipe inner wall Za to a position substantially aligned with the center line of the pipe inner wall Za.
On the other hand, as shown in this embodiment, when the support means 50 is attached to the joint 40, the telescopic unit 20 and the joint 40 are supported so as to separate from the pipe inner wall Za. A change in the axis of the telescopic unit 20 leading to expansion (contraction in the axial direction) can be reduced. As a result, in the peristaltic movement of the telescopic unit 20, the bending angle of the joint 40 becomes small, and the propulsive force can be obtained efficiently.

In the above-described embodiment, the support means 50 is described as being composed of the pedestal 51 and the fiber group 53, but is not limited to this. As long as it has flexibility and resilience to avoid direct contact with the pipe inner wall Za of 40, it may be changed as appropriate.

1 self-propelled robot, 10 travel unit, 20 telescopic unit, 21 inner cylinder, 22 outer cylinder,
23 end member, 30 caulking member, 32 fixing member,
34 joint fixing part, 36 supply and discharge hole, 40 joint, 41 mounting body,
42 conjugates,
43 shaft member, 50 support means, 51 pedestal, 53 fiber group, 60 valve unit,
70 compressor, 80 controller.

Claims (4)

an outer cylinder, an inner cylinder provided inside the outer cylinder, and an inner cylinder provided at each end in the axial direction of the outer cylinder and the inner cylinder, forming a closed space together with the inner circumference of the outer cylinder and the outer circumference of the inner cylinder. an end member forming
A telescopic unit that contracts in the axial direction and expands in the radial direction when a fluid is supplied to the closed space, and expands in the axial direction and contracts in the radial direction when the fluid is discharged from the closed space. A self-propelled robot that obtains a propulsion force by connecting a plurality of telescopic units through a pipe and operating in a pipe so as to imitate peristaltic movement,
The connecting means is
A support means having a group of fibers extending radially around the axis of the telescopic unit ,
The support means are
A self-propelled robot characterized in that the extensible unit is supported so as to advance along the center side of the pipe by contacting the tips of all the fibers constituting the fiber group with the inner wall of the pipe. The connecting means is
a mounting body attached to one telescopic unit;
a mounting body attached to the other telescopic unit;
a coupling body to which each of the attachment bodies is rotatably attached and which couples the two attachment bodies;
a coil spring that reaches from the inner peripheral space of one mounting body to the inner peripheral space of the other mounting body via the inner peripheral space of the coupling body;
2. The self-propelled robot according to claim 1, comprising a universal joint having a 3. The self-propelled robot according to claim 1, wherein said fiber group is provided so as to be in contact with the inner wall of a pipe over a circumference. 4. The self-propelled robot according to claim 2 , wherein said support means is attached to each joint.

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