JPH0214541Y2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] The present invention relates to a self-propelled device that travels in any direction between a pair of opposing wall surfaces, and is particularly suitable when the wall surfaces are not parallel.

A self-propelled device used to run between a pair of opposing walls such as a double pipe or a double wall to inspect the gap is shown in Figure 1, which schematically shows its cross-sectional structure. something is known.

In other words, a pair of wall materials 2 facing each other in parallel
A support tube 25 is fixed to the center of the casing 22 located between the casing 1 and 26 so as to pass through the casing 22 and into which the telescopic tube 28 is slidably spline-fitted. A ball nut 27 that is screwed into a ball screw 23 rotatably attached to the support tube 25 is fixed to the base end of the telescopic tube 28 located inside the support tube 25. A motor 24 fixed to is connected.

Therefore, by driving this motor 24, the ball screw 23 rotates to move the telescopic cylinder 28 to the first position.
In the figure, a driving wheel and an idler wheel, which will be described later, are pressed against a pair of wall materials 21 and 26 by being displaced vertically. Note that it is of course possible to use other means such as a fluid pressure cylinder as a means for displacing the telescoping cylinder 28.

A wheel holder 29 facing one wall material 21 is integrally fixed to the tip of the telescopic tube 28, and can rollably abut against the one wall material 21 on this wheel holder 29. A turning member 30 that rotatably supports a pair of idle wheels 31 is rotatably attached. In this case, the mounting position of the turning member 30 with respect to the wheel holder 29 is set so that the idle wheels 31 are lined up front and rear in the traveling direction of the self-propelled device.

On the other hand, on both ends of the casing 22 with the support tube 25 in between, the proximal ends of a pair of wheel brackets 32, 32a are rotatably supported around an axis parallel to the direction of expansion and contraction of the telescoping tube 28.
Driving wheels 31a and 31b are rotatably attached to the tips of the walls 2 and 32a, and are rotatably abutted against the other wall material 26. In this case, the mounting positions of the wheel brackets 32, 32a relative to the casing 22 are set so that the drive wheels 31a, 31b are lined up on the left and right in the traveling direction of the self-propelled device.

The wheel brackets 32, 32a have a worm 34 rotatably attached to the casing 22,
Worm wheels 33, 33a that mesh with 34a
An endless chain 36 is wound around sprockets 35, 35a, which are integrally fitted and coaxial with the worms 34, 34a. Moreover, the drive wheel 31
Bevel gears 41, 41a are fixed to the tips of rotating shafts 37, 37a that are perpendicular to the rotational axes of wheels a, 31b and rotatably pass through the center portions of the base ends of the pair of wheel brackets 32, 32a, respectively. Bevel gears 39, 39a, which are rotatably attached to wheel brackets 32, 32a, are meshed with these bevel gears 41, 41a, respectively.
Spur gears 40, 40a coaxially integrated with these bevel gears 39, 39a are connected to the drive wheels 31, 3.
Spur gears 38, 38 integrally attached to 1a
a are engaged, and furthermore, the wheel bracket 3
An endless chain 36 is wound around sprockets 35 and 35a that are coaxially and integrally fixed to the base ends of sprockets 2 and 32a, respectively.

A sprocket 44 is connected to a drive motor 45 assembled to the casing 22 together with a reducer 43, and a sprocket 46 at one end of a relay shaft 49 rotatably supported with respect to the casing 22 is connected to the sprocket 44. , an endless chain 36b is wound around it. An endless chain 36b is wound around the sprocket 46 integrally fixed to the other end of the relay shaft 49 and the sprocket 55 of the electromagnetic clutch 51a installed in the casing 22. A bevel gear 56a, which is rotatably attached to the casing 22, meshes with a bevel gear 56 connected to the electromagnetic clutch 51a. A sprocket 58 is coaxially integrated with this bevel gear 56a, and a sprocket 57 is coaxially integrated with one of the worms 34.
An endless chain 58 is wound around.

Therefore, the driving force of the drive motor 45 is transmitted to the relay shaft 49 and the electromagnetic clutch 51 via the endless chain 36b.
a, the power is transmitted to the worm 34 in this order, and is simultaneously transmitted to the worm 34 by the endless chain 36, and the wheel brackets 32, 32a integrated with the worm wheels 33, 33a turn to rotate the drive wheels 31.
a, 31b are designed to be steered.

An electromagnetic brake 52 is provided on the side of the relay shaft 49.
An electromagnetic clutch 51 is installed in the casing 22, and a spur gear 50 attached to the electromagnetic clutch 51 is meshed with a spur gear 47 integrally provided on the relay shaft 49. Further, a sprocket 53 connected to the electromagnetic brake 52 and a sprocket 4 of one of the rotating shafts 37
An endless chain 36c is wound around the sprocket 54, which is integrally coaxial with the sprocket 2.

Therefore, the driving force of the drive motor 45 is transmitted through the endless chain 36b to the relay shaft 49, the electromagnetic clutch 51,
It is transmitted in this order to the electromagnetic brake 52, the endless chain 36c, and the sprocket 54, and then to the endless chain 36b.
drive wheel 31 via rotating shafts 37, 37a.
As a result of driving rotation of a and 31b, the casing 22
is designed to run between the wall materials 21 and 26.

Note that the casing 22 is equipped with working equipment such as an inspection device that moves in a direction facing the wall materials 21 and 26 by an actuator (not shown).

In this way, in this device, the idle wheels 31 and the driving wheels 31a, 31b are arranged in pairs with their arrangement directions changed by 90 degrees, but it is preferable to provide one pair of wheels so that three or more of the wheels are not lined up in a straight line. Even if I sway,
Stability can be improved. In this case, one wheel on the other side is sufficient.

By the way, when this self-propelled device is run, when the electromagnetic clutch 51a is disconnected and the electromagnetic clutch 51 is connected, and the electromagnetic brake 52 is further released to operate the drive motor 45, the rotation of the drive motor 45 is caused by the relay shaft. 49 and the electromagnetic clutch 51 to the rotating shafts 37, 37a, the pair of drive wheels 31a, 31b simultaneously rotate by the same amount, and the self-propelled device moves in a fixed direction.

Next, by disengaging the electromagnetic clutch 51 and operating the electromagnetic brake 52 to restrict the rotation of the sprocket 53, the driving wheels 31a, 31
When the electromagnetic clutch 51a is connected after fixing b to prevent movement of the self-propelled device, the drive motor 45
The rotation of the worm 34 and the endless chain 36 is transmitted to the worm 34a via the relay shaft 49 and the electromagnetic clutch 51a, and the wheel bracket 3 is integrated with the worm wheels 33, 33a that mesh with these.
2 and 32a turn in the same direction and at the same angle. That is, by adjusting the amount of rotation of these wheel brackets 32, 32a, the moving direction of the self-propelled device can be changed arbitrarily. The turning movement of the wheel brackets 32, 32a is controlled by the electromagnetic clutch 5.
It can be stopped by separating the wheel brackets 32, 32 with an electromagnetic brake, etc.
The worm wheels 33, 33a and the worms 34, 3 do not have to be fixed to the casing 22.
4a, the turning movement of the wheel brackets 32, 32a is naturally restrained.

In this way, the moving direction of the self-propelled device can be arbitrarily selected by switching the electromagnetic clutches 51, 51a. For example, the wheel bracket 32,
When the self-propelled device is moved by turning 32a every 90 degrees, it becomes possible to move in a zigzag pattern as shown in Figure 2, which shows the movement trajectory, and the pitch P at this time can be arbitrarily determined. . Moreover, in this device, the drive wheels 31a, 31b and the wheel bracket 3
2 and 32a at the same time, it is also possible to travel on curves.

In addition, in order to stabilize this device, the wall material 21,
When three or more wheels facing 26 are provided so as not to be lined up in a straight line, one of the wheels is configured as a driving wheel 31a supported by a wheel bracket 32 that can freely turn with respect to the casing 22. The other wheels may be driven by the drive motor 45, and the remaining wheels may be idle wheels.

As mentioned above, the conventional self-propelled device shown in FIG. Since it can be changed arbitrarily using a single drive motor via a clutch, the entire device can be made smaller, and the direction of movement of the device can be changed by changing the rolling direction of only the wheels without changing the direction of the casing. Since it can be changed, there is no need to worry about cables getting caught, and it is possible to improve the operability and safety of the device.

On the other hand, as shown by the two-dot chain line in FIG. As a result of uneven contact between 31 and wall material 21,
Around the pivot axis of the wheel holder 29 when moving the device
A rotational force is generated, which causes the drive wheels 31a, 3
Idler wheel 3 in a direction perpendicular to the direction of movement by 1b.
1 was facing towards the other side, making it impossible to drive stably.

The present invention was proposed to effectively solve this problem, and aims to provide a self-propelled device that can stably move against a pair of walls that are not parallel to each other.

The self-propelled device of the present invention that achieves this objective includes a drive wheel that abuts one of a pair of opposing wall surfaces and is rotatably attached to the casing, and a drive wheel that abuts the other wall surface and is attached to the casing. an idler wheel rotatably attached to the wall, a wheel pressing means capable of pressing the idler wheel and the driving wheel against the wall surface, and a wheel pressing means provided between the casing and the driving wheel to steer the driving wheel. A self-propelled device comprising a steering means, and a following means provided between the casing and the idler wheel for causing the direction of the idler wheel to follow the steering direction of the drive wheel, wherein the idler wheel is rotatable. The supporting holder includes the rotation axis of the idler wheel and has an arcuate groove bottom centered on the center of the idler wheel in a plane orthogonal to the traveling direction of the self-propelled device, so that the rotation of the idler wheel is controlled. It is characterized by forming a tilting guide groove that slidably engages and holds the shaft end.

Hereinafter, an embodiment in which the self-propelled device according to the present invention is applied to the conventional device shown in FIG. 1a will be described with reference to FIGS. 3 and 4.

Wheel holder 2 fixed to the tip of the telescopic cylinder 28
A pair of turning members 30c arranged in front and rear in the moving direction of the device are rotatably attached to 9.
The axle 3 of the idler wheel 31c is disposed on the tip side of the turning member 30c that rotatably supports the idler wheel 31c.
A pair of tilting guides having an arc-shaped groove bottom centered on the center of the idler wheel 31c in a plane including the axis 1d and orthogonal to the running direction of the device (this corresponds to the paper plane in FIG. 3). Grooves 30e are respectively formed, and the shaft end of an axle 31d of an idler wheel 31c is slidably and rotatably engaged and held in these tilt guide grooves 30e.

Therefore, in FIG. 3, the axle 31d is capable of tilting in the ζ direction corresponding to the inclination of the wall material 21, and rotates in the θ direction. Therefore, in this embodiment, the shaft end of the axle 31d is formed in a hemispherical shape, and the groove bottom of the tilting guide groove 30e also has a hemispherical cross section. 31c is rotatably mounted, the axle 31d can be set to have a rectangular cross section, etc. In this case, the axle 31d can be set to have a rectangular cross section, etc.
There is no need to rotate 1d.

The degree of freedom of the axle 31d in the ζ direction is restricted by stopper portions 30d formed at both ends of the tilting guide groove 30e of the turning member 30c.

On the other hand, sprockets 900 are integrally attached to the base ends of the turning members 30c, and these sprockets 900 and a sprocket 820, which is integral with the output shaft 810 of the motor 800 installed in the wheel holder 29, have a single endless sprocket. A chain 890 is wound around the idler wheel 31c so that the idler wheel 31c can turn following the steering of the drive wheel (not shown).

Therefore, when the floating wheel 31c is pressed against the wall material 21, the axle 31d slides on the tilting guide groove 30e so that the outer circumferential surface of the floating wheel 31c comes into close contact with the wall material 21 due to the force acting on these contact points. Since the idler wheels 31c contact and roll against the wall material 21 without making partial contact with the wall material 21, the device can be reliably moved in a predetermined direction.

In the above embodiment, a motor 800 for switching the running direction, an endless chain 890, and sprockets 900, 820 were assembled to the turning member 30c to constitute a following means, but a caster type one shown in FIG. Even if adopted, the same effect can be obtained by making the bearing portion of the idler wheel 31c have a structure as shown in FIG.

As is clear from the above description, according to the self-propelled device of the present invention, the wheel holder is provided with an arc-shaped tilting mechanism so that the axle of the wheel of the self-propelled device can be tilted in a plane perpendicular to the moving direction of the device. By forming a guide groove and slidably engaging the shaft end of the idler wheel with this tilting guide groove, it became possible to stably move the self-propelled device even between a pair of non-parallel walls. .

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1a is a vertical cross-sectional view of a conventional self-propelled device, FIG. 1b is a view taken in the direction of arrow A, FIG. FIG. 4 is a cutaway view of the idler wheel portion of the running device, and is a view taken in the direction of arrow A. Also, in the figures, 21 and 26 are wall materials, 22 is a casing, 23 is a ball screw, 24 is a motor,
25 is a support tube, 27 is a ball nut, 28 is a telescopic tube, 29 is a wheel holder, 30 and 30c are turning members, 30d is a stopper portion, 30e is a tilting guide groove,
31a and 31b are driving wheels, 31c is an idler wheel,
31d is an axle, 32, 32a are wheel brackets,
33, 33a are worm wheels, 34, 34a
is a worm, 37 and 37a are rotating shafts, 45 is a drive motor, 49 is a relay shaft, 51 and 51a are electromagnetic clutches, 52 is an electromagnetic brake, 800 is a motor, 8
20,900 is a sprocket, and 890 is an endless chain.

Claims (1)

[Scope of utility model registration request] a drive wheel that abuts one of a pair of opposing wall surfaces and is rotatably attached to the casing; an idler wheel that abuts the other of the wall surfaces and is rotatably attached to the casing; A wheel pressing means capable of pressing an idler wheel and a drive wheel against the wall surface, a steering means provided between the casing and the drive wheel to steer the drive wheel, and a space between the casing and the idler wheel. In the self-propelled device, the holder for rotatably supporting the floating wheel includes a rotation axis of the floating wheel. and a tilting groove having an arc-shaped groove bottom centered on the center of the idler wheel in a plane perpendicular to the running direction of the self-propelled device to slidably engage and hold the rotating shaft end of the idler wheel. A self-propelled device characterized by forming a guide groove.