JPH0233552B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a device that travels by endless rotation of crawlers.

The crawler mechanism of a crawler type traveling device can be roughly divided into the following two types. The first type is a crawler mechanism that includes large-diameter front and rear end wheels and a crawler wrapped around these wheels. The second type has an upper end front wheel disposed ahead and above the lower end front wheel, and a crawler is wound around these wheels and other rear wheels, and the crawler is guided diagonally between a lower end front wheel and an upper end front wheel.

In the case of the first crawler mechanism, the ability to pass over protrusions, steps, etc. on the road surface is determined by the radius of the front end wheel, and in the case of the second crawler mechanism,
It is determined by the vertical spacing of the axles of the lower end front wheel and the upper end front wheel. Conventionally, since the vertical distance between the above radii remains constant, it is impossible to get over road protrusions, steps, etc. that exceed these radii.
It had poor adaptability to road surfaces. Therefore, it may be possible to increase the above radius or vertical separation dimension in advance to improve overtaking performance, but this would increase the vehicle height of the crawler type traveling device, impairing traveling stability, and preventing protrusions. At the end of passing the vehicle or at the beginning of descending the stairs, the traveling device tends to tilt sharply and fall, which is undesirable.

The present invention was developed under the above circumstances, and its purpose is to improve the ability to climb up and down over protrusions, steps, etc. on the road surface, and to smoothly move over protrusions, steps, etc. without impairing running stability. An object of the present invention is to provide a crawler-type traveling device that can be used to get off the vehicle.

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

In the figure, reference numeral 1 denotes a traveling trolley, on which working equipment (not shown) is mounted. Note that this work equipment and the crawler type traveling device of the present invention form a remotely controlled robot, and this robot can inspect equipment, etc. in an environment where it is not desirable for people to enter, such as a nuclear reactor containment vessel. It is used to perform various tasks such as monitoring, maintenance, and repair on behalf of workers.

This traveling truck 1 is provided with a crawler mechanism 2. Note that this embodiment shows a dual-rail type vehicle in which crawler mechanisms 2 are provided on both left and right sides of the traveling vehicle 1. This crawler mechanism 2 includes a pair of front and rear lower end wheels 3, 4, a plurality of auxiliary wheels 5 disposed between these wheels 3, 4, a pair of front and rear upper end wheels 6, 7, and a plurality of auxiliary wheels 5 disposed between these wheels 3, 4. It is formed by comprising a crawler 8 wrapped around each wheel 3 to 7.
The upper end wheels 6, 7 are the lower end wheels 3,
4 in the traveling direction (forward direction and backward direction) of the traveling trolley 1. Therefore, between the upper and lower front end wheels 3 and 6 and between the rear end wheels 4 and 7, the crawler 8
Each of them is designed to be guided obliquely in the stretched state. One of the lower end wheels 3, 4, for example wheel 3, is used as a drive wheel, and the other wheel 4 is used as a guide wheel. The shaft 3a of the end wheel 3 serving as a drive wheel is connected to a drive device 9 built into the traveling truck 1. This drive device 9
is a prime mover 9a and an output shaft 9b of this prime mover 9a.
The shaft 3a is connected to a power transmission mechanism that rotates the shaft 3a. Further, the auxiliary wheels 5 are used to correct deflection of the crawler 8 due to small protrusions, steps, etc. on the road surface. In addition, 4a in the figure
〜7a indicates the axle of each wheel 4 to 7, respectively, and
Reference numeral 10 indicates a member that connects the left and right upper end wheels 6, 6 to each other and 7, 7 to each other.

The front and rear pair of upper end wheels 6 and 7 are
By the adjustment mechanism 11 attached to each traveling trolley 1,
It is supported so that it can move up and down. The adjustment mechanism 11 is
A support lever 12 with an upper end wheel 6 or 7 supported at one end is pivotally connected to the traveling truck 1, and the traveling truck 1 is provided with a drive source 13 with a brake for rotating the support lever 12, and the support lever is always connected. One end of a support link 14 having a biasing means 14a for biasing the support link 12 downward is pivotally connected to the support link 14.
The other end is formed to engage with the support lever 12. In addition, 15 in the figure has one end attached to the support lever 1.
Reference numeral 16 indicates a pivot shaft of the support link 14, and the other end thereof is connected to the drive source 13. Further, in the case of this embodiment, the support link 14 is
A link base material 14 that is connected to the pivot shaft 16 and houses a spring, for example, as a biasing means 14a.
b is provided with a rod 14c pressed by a spring. Furthermore, in the case of this example,
The tip of this rod 14c is engaged with a hole 12a provided in the support lever 12.

Further, the traveling truck 1 is provided with a crawler tension constant mechanism 17. This constantization mechanism 17 is
The upper and lower rollers 18 and 19 that sandwich the crawler 8, and the support shafts 18a and 19a of these rollers 18 and 19
And these shafts 18a, 19a are each moved by a crawler 8.
It is formed with a spring 20 that presses it toward.

The crawler-type traveling device having the above configuration moves forward or backward through the endless rotation of the crawler 8 by rotating the lower end wheels 3 in the forward or reverse direction through the operation of the drive device 9. The direction change is achieved by decelerating or stopping one of the crawler mechanisms 2 with respect to the other during the process.

As shown in FIG. 3, this crawler traveling device is normally run with the upper end wheel on the traveling direction side, such as the wheel 6, being at its lowest position. In addition,
For convenience of explanation, the road surface and axle 6a in this condition
Let A be the vertical distance between the two.

In such a running state, if the height dimension B is higher than the vertical separation dimension A, and an obstacle C such as a protrusion or stairs is reached, the drive source 13 of the adjustment mechanism 11 is activated as shown in FIG. Thus, the support lever 12 is rotated upward, and the position of the upper end wheel 6 is raised to match the height dimension B of the obstacle C. In this case, the support link 14 is shortened by pushing the rod 14c into the link base 14b against the force, and after the vertical adjustment is completed, the drive source 13
The adjustment mechanism 11 is fixed by the brake. By this adjustment, the vertical distance D between the axle 6a of the upper end wheel 6 and the road surface becomes larger than the height B of the obstacle C such as the stairs. Then, by restarting the drive device 9, the crawler mechanism 2
The traveling trolley 1 overcomes the obstacle C via the .

That is, for example, the upper end wheel 6 as described above
By adjusting the height position, it is possible to easily overcome obstacles C of various heights B, and when adjusting the height position, the above-mentioned dimension D is adjusted to a degree slightly higher than the above-mentioned height dimension B. This can further reduce the sudden fall of the crawler type traveling device immediately after passing the vehicle. Furthermore, when descending stairs or the like, by lowering the height of the upper end wheels 6, it is possible to prevent the crawler type traveling device from falling suddenly and to descend smoothly. Note that the above applies not only to the forward movement of the crawler type traveling device.
In this embodiment, the same applies to the case of reversing. Also,
As described above, various obstacles C can be overcome by adjusting the height position of the upper end wheel 6, so there is no need for a design that ensures the above-mentioned dimension D to be large in advance, and therefore the vehicle height can be increased. It is possible to prevent this from happening and ensure stable driving.

In the case of this embodiment, since the crawler tension stabilization mechanism 17 is provided, even if the crawler 8 is deflected due to the height adjustment by the adjustment mechanism 11,
Accordingly, the upper and lower rollers 18, 1 of the mechanism 17
The position 9 moves up and down while holding the crawler 8 in between. As a result, the tension of the crawler 8 is always constant, and it is possible to prevent the crawler 8 from separating from each of the wheels 3 to 7 due to the influence of deflection.

Further, in the case of this embodiment, the support lever 12 of the adjustment mechanism 11 is engaged with a support link 14 having a biasing means 14a that always biases the lever 12 downward, so that it is possible to avoid obstacles while traveling. For example, when the upper end wheel 6 hits C via the crawler 8, the reaction force at that time can be received by the support link 14. In other words, due to the contact, the support lever 12
tries to rotate upward, but this movement is prevented by the biasing force of the biasing means 14a, thereby protecting the adjustment mechanism 11.

Although the present embodiment is configured as described above, in carrying out the present invention, unless it goes against the gist of the invention, the traveling truck, crawler mechanism, lower end wheel, upper end wheel, adjustment mechanism, The specific structure, shape, position, etc. of the support lever, drive source with brake, urging means, support link, etc. are not limited to the one embodiment described above, and of course can be configured and implemented in various ways. It is. For example, in the above-mentioned embodiment, the upper end wheel and the corresponding adjustment mechanism are provided on both the front and rear sides, but the present invention is not limited to this, and a configuration may be adopted in which the upper end wheel and the corresponding adjustment mechanism are provided on either the front or the rear, for example, only on the front. Furthermore, the crawler mechanism of the crawler-type traveling device of the present invention may be of a single-gauge type, and the present invention is not limited to use only in a nuclear reactor containment vessel, but can also be used in an unmanned factory and other purposes. It is.

As explained above, the present invention includes a traveling truck, a lower end wheel attached to the front, rear, left, and right sides of the traveling truck, and a lower end wheel located above the lower end wheel and positioned closer to the traveling direction than the traveling truck. An upper end wheel is provided, a pair of left and right crawlers are stretched between the upper end wheel and the lower end wheel, and the upper end wheel is moved vertically to remove the upper end from the running road surface. The vehicle is equipped with an adjustment mechanism that adjusts the vertical distance to the wheels, and a crawler tension constant mechanism that maintains the tension of the crawler constant. Therefore,
By adjusting the height position of the upper end wheel using an adjustment mechanism, the present invention can improve the ability to ascend and descend from protrusions and steps on the road surface, as well as ensure running stability, and also improve the ability to descend from protrusions and steps. The effects are great, such as making it smoother. Furthermore, since the present invention is equipped with a crawler tension constant mechanism that keeps the tension of the crawler constant, even if the upper end wheel is moved in the vertical direction, the crawler will not be deflected, and the upper end wheel will not be deflected. The crawler can be prevented from falling off the wheels and the lower end wheels.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

The drawings show an embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 1 is a side view, FIG. 2 is a plan view, and FIGS. 3 and 4 are schematic views showing the operation of the present invention. 1... Traveling trolley, 2... Crawler mechanism, 3, 4
...Lower end wheel, 6, 7...Upper end wheel, 8
... Crawler, 11 ... Adjustment mechanism, 12 ... Support lever, 13 ... Drive source with brake, 14 ... Support link, 14a ... Biasing means.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A running bogie, lower end wheels attached to the front, rear, left and right sides of the running bogie, and an upper end wheel located above the lower end wheel and provided on the side in the running direction of the running bogie. , a pair of left and right crawlers stretched between the upper end wheel and the lower end wheel,
An adjustment mechanism that moves the upper end wheel in the vertical direction to adjust the vertical distance dimension from the running road surface to the upper end wheel, and a crawler tension constant mechanism that maintains the tension of the crawler constant. A crawler-type traveling device featuring: