JPH023754B2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Industrial Application Field] The present invention is applicable as a means for transporting a remote control manipulator for patrol inspections and emergency work inside nuclear reactors, factories, construction sites, chemical plants, etc.
The present invention also relates to an active adaptive crawler vehicle that is used as a vehicle for mining in mountainous areas or for undersea work, and which enables adaptive movement over rough terrain.

[Conventional technology]

As a transportation means that is more adaptable to movement on uneven ground, a pair of crawlers 52 having endless tracks as an undercarriage instead of wheels as shown in FIG. 10 is used.
There is a crawler traveling vehicle 51 equipped with.

However, such a crawler vehicle 51 does not have sufficient ground adaptability, and when trying to get over obstacle 0 by moving from A to B to C in the figure, the state of B, which has climbed over obstacle 0, is In this case, the attitude is extremely unstable, and from this state, the center of gravity shifts in the direction of travel, resulting in a shocking landing as shown in C, making it impossible to move smoothly.

Figures 11, 13, and 14 all show proposals that have been made to address such problems.
, four crawlers 56, 56 are respectively attached to the body 54 so as to be swingable about the main shaft 55.
..., and can assume various postures in addition to the postures illustrated in Figures 12A and B, making it highly adaptable to ground conditions. The crawler vehicle 57 shown in FIG. 13 has a structure in which four crawlers 60, 60, .
The zero inclination angle passively changes depending on the condition of the road surface. Further, the crawler vehicle 61 in FIG. 14 has a pair of crawlers 63, 63, and each crawler 63 has a body 6.
2, a planetary wheel 66 that can be displaced by an arm 67, and the three wheels 64,
The crawler 63 is deformed by the displacement of the planetary ring 66, and as shown in FIG. Or, as shown in FIG. 16, it is possible to move up and down a slope or stair-like road surface using an operation sequence of A→B→C or C→B→A.

[Problem that the invention seeks to solve]

These improved crawler vehicles are
As mentioned above, it has high ground adaptability, but
Each has the following problems.

First, the crawler traveling vehicle 53 shown in FIG. 11 has a first problem in that it must be equipped with a dedicated and powerful actuator for swinging each crawler 56 about the main shaft 55. In other words, even if eight actuators are installed, four of them are for propulsion of each crawler 56, and the other four are for propulsion of each crawler 56.
The platform is for swinging, and when traveling on a relatively flat road surface that is not uneven, the actuator for swinging the crawler 56 is not driven and only acts as a load, so the design is uneconomical in terms of output weight ratio. I have to say that there is. The second problem is that when stopping an operation, it is necessary to use a brake device or to generate a strong moment using a servo in the actuator to obtain a balance force for stopping. However, in the former case, in addition to the brake device for the propulsion actuator, a powerful brake device dedicated to the swinging actuator is required, resulting in a large weight, and in the latter case, there is always a large energy loss even when stopped. Both of these are undesirable.

Regarding the crawler vehicle 57 in FIG.
In addition to actuators for propulsion of each of the crawlers 60, 60..., each crawler 0 is
Since a strong actuator is required to freely move up and down via the actuator 9, the output/weight ratio is considered to be a design that is not necessarily desirable, similar to the example shown in FIG. 11 above. Furthermore, the inclination angle of the crawler 60 is determined passively according to the road surface it comes into contact with, but when crossing a groove, the angle of the crawler 60 must be actively fixed. If the groove width is 1/2 or more of the length of the crawler 60 in the longitudinal direction, it is conceivable that the treadability will be impaired.

Furthermore, although the crawler vehicle 61 shown in FIG. 14 can be made relatively small, mechanically simple, and has a high output-to-weight ratio, it is difficult to overcome obstacles such as those illustrated in FIGS. In order to go over a slope, go up or down a stepped road surface, etc., preliminary operations such as reversing the arm 67 (displacing the planetary wheels 66) and changing the shape of the crawler 63 each time and setting the angle of attack and departure angle θ are performed. , so there is a problem that the movement speed cannot be improved.

In view of the above-mentioned problems, the present invention has been made with the aim of improving ground adaptability and output-to-weight ratio.

[Means for solving problems]

That is, in the crawler vehicle according to the present invention, two pairs of four crawlers in total are attached to the lower part of the body in a state in which they can rotate and swing about their respective longitudinal centers as fulcrums, and the drive system of each crawler is fixed to the lower part of the body. A central output shaft located at the center of the direction, an eccentric output shaft located at a position offset to one side from the center, a motor fixed to the body side that rotates the central output shaft, and a motor fixed to the crawler that rotates the eccentric output shaft. The motor has a structure in which a plurality of these motors interfere with each other.

[Effect]

The drive system described above uses multiple motors that interfere with each other to give the crawler two freedoms: propulsion (rotating the track of the crawler) and rotation and oscillation around the center in the longitudinal direction. By combining the movements of each of the four crawlers, the crawler vehicle of the present invention can actively move adaptively to the ground. All four crawler motors can be used and large output can be obtained.

〔Example〕

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An active adaptive crawler vehicle according to the present invention will be described below based on illustrated embodiments.

In FIG. 1, reference numeral 1 denotes a body on which a TV camera (not shown), a manipulator, etc. is mounted, and fixed legs 3, 3 supporting the body 1 are attached to the lower part of the body via link mechanisms 2, 2. ing. The fixed legs 3, 3 are joined at both lengthwise ends via support tubes 4, 4, and are integral with each other. Reference numerals 5, 5, . . . designate crawlers as traveling devices, which are disposed at both ends (that is, four locations) of the support tubes 4, 4 protruding outward from the fixed legs 3, 3, respectively.

As shown in FIG. 2, the frame 6 of each crawler 5 is inserted into the end of the support cylinder 4 via a bearing 7 at the center in the longitudinal direction, and It is capable of rotating and swinging around the central axis. In the drive system of the crawler 5, reference numeral 8 denotes the center axis, that is, a central output shaft located at the center in the longitudinal direction of the crawler 5, 9 a motor fixed within the frame 4 and rotating the central output shaft 8, and 10 a motor that rotates the central output shaft 8. An eccentric output shaft 11 located at a position offset to one side from the center in the horizontal direction is fixed to the frame 6 of the crawler 5 and the eccentric output shaft 10 is fixed to the frame 6 of the crawler 5.
This is another motor that rotates the . A drive gear 1 is attached to each of the output shafts 8 and 10.
2 and 13 are interlocked with each other, so that both motors 9 and 11 interfere with each other. Reference numerals 14 and 15 denote wheels inserted near both longitudinal ends of the frame 6, and bearings 18a, 18b, 1 are mounted on the frame 6.
The wheels 14 and 15 are rotatably mounted on support shafts 16 and 17 via wheels 9a and 19b, respectively, and an endless track 20 is wound around both wheels 14 and 15.
Driven gears 21 and 22 are attached to the support shafts 16 and 17, respectively, of which the driven gear 21 is connected to the drive gear 13 of the eccentric output shaft 10 and the driven gear 22.
is in a position symmetrical to the drive gear 13 of the eccentric output shaft 10 and is rotatably mounted on a support shaft 24 by a bearing 25, and on the other hand engages with a driven gear 23 that engages with the drive gear 12 of the central output shaft 8. There is. Note that the pitches of the gears 12, 13, and 23 are equal, and the pitches of 21 and 22 are equal.

The drive system includes drive gears 1 for both output shafts 8 and 10.
Since the motors 9 and 11 are interlocked and interfere with each other, the motors 9 and 11 are rotated in opposite directions, as shown in FIG. Here, the angular velocity ω ₀ of the rocking motion of the crawler 5 with the central axis of the support tube 4 as the center of rotation is set to zero, that is, the endless track 2 is held in a posture in which the longitudinal direction of the crawler 5 is kept horizontal.
When performing only a propulsion operation that moves the motor 0, both motors 9 and 11 have the same speed, that is, if the angular velocity ω _A of the motor 9 is ω, the angular velocity ω _B of the other motor 11 is -ω. Further, when the angular velocity ω ₀ of the rocking motion of the crawler 5 is set to Δω and the posture of the crawler 5 is inclined, the sum of the angular velocities ω _A and ω _B of both motors 9 and 11 is set to Δω. In general, in order to move the endless track 20 at a speed V (V=Kω when converted to the angular velocity of the motor 12) and perform the swinging operation at an angular velocity ω ₀ =Δω, for example, the motor 9
Let the angular velocity ω _A of the motor 11 be ω+Δω, and the angular velocity ω _B of the motor 11 be −ω. In this way, according to the above drive system,
Normally, even when traveling on flat ground, both motors 9 and 11 are driven and share the propulsive force, so all 8 motors (8 degrees of freedom), 2 per crawler, are moved. It has the great advantage of improving the power-to-weight ratio.

Note that although this mechanism shown in FIGS. 2 and 3 is composed of only the motor 9 and one motor 11, the motor 11 is attached to the shaft 24 of the driven gear 23.
A third motor may be installed which performs exactly the same function. If interference drive is used, the output weight ratio will be large.

Now, the ground adaptability of the crawler vehicle of the present invention having such a drive system will be explained.

As mentioned above, the four crawlers 5, 5... have fixed legs 3, 3 at the center of each length direction.
Since it is swingably attached to both ends of the support tubes 4, 4 that protrude outside, if the control of the drive system is set to follow mode, each crawler 5
It passively adapts to the ground having some unevenness, and exhibits the same functionality as the conventional crawler vehicle 57 shown in FIG. 13. Such functionality is achieved by, for example, the crawler vehicle 53 shown in FIG. 11, which is also shown as a conventional example.
This is difficult to achieve with a type of vehicle where the support part of the crawler is biased, and there is a constant energy loss to obtain static torque that fixes the crawler at a certain angle while moving, or an actuator that swings the crawler. However, the crawler vehicle of the present invention has problems such as an increase in weight due to the introduction of a dedicated brake device, but since the crawler vehicle of the present invention passively adapts to the ground as described above during normal running, this problem is not solved. problems will be resolved.

Additionally, if there is a large obstacle in front of you, you can stably straddle obstacle 0 by operating each crawler 5 as shown in Figure 4 A→B→C→D→E. , when going up and down steps, see Figure 5A.
By operating each crawler as →B→C or C→B→A, the length l of crawler 5 is
It can easily go up and down steps with a height of about 70-80%.

Here, to explain the link mechanism 2 that connects the body 1 and the fixed leg 3, referring back to FIG. It has a small pulley 27 fixedly attached to the pulley 27, an endless belt 28 including a wire, chain, etc. is wound around the outer periphery of both pulleys 26, 27, and the center of both pulleys 11, 12 is connected by a link arm 29. have. That is, the pin 30 attached to the upper end of the link arm 29
is rotatably inserted into the body 1 at the center of the large pulley 26, and the pin 31 attached to the lower end is inserted into the fixed leg 3 from the center of the small pulley 27, and the motor 32 is fixed to the fixed leg 3. The link arm 29 is configured to swing in response to an output from a driving means such as the like.

In this link mechanism 2, when the link arm 29 is swung, the relative angular displacement between the pulley 26 and the link arm 29 is smaller than the relative angular displacement between the pulley 27 and the link arm 29 due to the difference in the diameters of the pulleys 26 and 27. The greatest advantage is that by utilizing this, the body 1 can be held horizontally regardless of the inclination of the crawlers 5, 5... and fixed legs 3, 3, and the center of gravity of the entire traveling vehicle can be stabilized. It has the characteristics of For example, when climbing up a slope or stairs as shown in FIG. It moves from to G and comes to be located approximately at the center of the ground planes of the crawlers 5, 5. The same posture can be used when going downhill. In the case of climbing over an obstacle as shown in FIG. 4 and going up and down a step as shown in FIG. 5, the movement of the center of gravity by the link mechanism 2 is highly effective in stabilizing each movement. Note that the drive of the motor 32 that swings the link arm 29 is automatically controlled using the detected angle by an unillustrated posture sensor (such as a tilt angle sensor that uses the relationship between gravity and a pendulum) built into the body 1 as a control factor. There is.

Furthermore, the link mechanism 2 has a large pulley 26 rotatable relative to the body 1, and is rotatably connected to an auxiliary pulley 33 (see FIGS. 7 and 9) driven by an auxiliary motor within the body 1. , it can be configured to allow active posture control. That is, with this configuration, the angle of the body 1 can be freely changed regardless of the inclination of the link arm 29. For example, by moving the center of gravity as shown in the action from A to B or from B to A in FIG. 7, this crawler vehicle can cross even a relatively wide groove. If is fixed to body 1, as shown by the dashed line,
Although the body 1 is not horizontal, the auxiliary pulley 33
With the above-mentioned device, it can be held horizontally.

When turning the entire vehicle, as shown in Fig. 8, the crawlers 5, 5... should be tilted moderately so that only their opposite ends 5', 5' in the front and rear direction touch the ground, and the right two By propelling the two crawlers and the two crawlers on the left side in opposite directions, it is possible to perform a turn without causing a large slip as would be the case if the entire lower surface of the four crawlers were grounded.

In addition, if the posture is to be raised, all the crawlers 5, 5... may be set vertically, and when crossing a slope or step, as shown in Fig. 9, the right and left crawlers 5, 5... By adjusting the angle of the body 1 so that the body 1 is horizontal, stable running becomes possible.

In the above embodiment, the drive gear 12 of the central output shaft 8 and the drive gear 13 of the eccentric output shaft 10 directly mesh with each other, so that the motors 9 and 11 interfere with each other. 12,13
One or more driven gears may be interposed between them, or a timing belt or the like may be used for interference. In this case, it is also possible to make the rotation directions of both motors 9 and 11 the same.

〔Effect of the invention〕

As explained above, in the ground-adaptive crawler vehicle according to the present invention, each of the four crawlers at the bottom of the body is able to swing about its longitudinal central portion as a fulcrum, and a plurality of crawlers are arranged on each crawler. By mechanically interfering with each other, it is possible to keep all motors in continuous operation, and the output of all motors is used for both propulsion and crawler rocking operations. Therefore, compared to conventional crawler vehicles, which have separate drive systems for propulsion and rocking, it is possible to output more than twice as much power. In addition, since each crawler is supported at the center of its length, it is possible to eliminate the weight increase and energy loss that would be caused by the introduction of a dedicated brake device to maintain the crawler's posture, and it can be used on any uneven ground. It quickly and proactively adapts to the current conditions and enables stable driving, demonstrating extremely high functionality.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

Fig. 1 is a perspective view showing an embodiment of the active adaptive crawler vehicle of the present invention, Fig. 2 is a cross-sectional view showing the internal structure of the crawler, Fig. 3 is an explanatory diagram of the internal operation of the crawler, and Fig. 4 is When crossing obstacles,
Figure 5 shows when going up and down a step, Figure 6 shows when going up and down a slope, Figure 7 shows when crossing a groove, Figure 8 shows when turning, and Figure 9 shows when traveling along a slope or step. FIG. 10 is a schematic illustration of the posture when overcoming an obstacle in the first example of a conventional crawler vehicle, and FIG. A perspective view showing an example, FIG. 12 a posture explanatory diagram, FIG. 13 a side view showing a third example of a conventional crawler vehicle, and FIG. 14 a fourth example of a conventional crawler vehicle. The perspective view, FIG. 15, and FIG. 16 are explanatory views of the posture of the crawler vehicle, respectively. DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1...Body, 2...Link mechanism, 3...Fixed leg, 4...Support cylinder, 5...Crawler, 8...Central output shaft, 9...Motor, 10...Eccentric output shaft, 1
1...another motor, 12, 13...driving gears, 14, 15...wheels, 20...an endless track.

[Claims]

1 A pulley, gear, or similar small band wrapping body is provided on the traveling mechanism side, a large band wrapping body is provided on the loaded material side, and a connecting band such as a belt, wire, or chain is installed between the two band wrapping bodies. and
a link mechanism that connects the centers of each of the double-strip wrapped bodies with a link, an attitude sensor, and a driving means such as a motor that swings the link around one end based on information obtained from the attitude sensor. The above-mentioned double-strip wrapping body is fixed to the traveling mechanism side or the loaded material side, respectively, and the link is swung to adjust the center of gravity of the loaded material to maintain a stable posture. Attitude maintenance mechanism for vehicles traveling on rough terrain.