JPH0295989A - Wall surface running robot - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To allow moving and running between two surfaces crossing while getting over obstacles and/or level differences by coupling at least two sets of attracting/running elements in series with rotatability and mutual distance variability wherein each attracting/running element is equipped with a suction element for wall surface and a running wheel partially provided ahead it in the advancing direction, and by pressing it with a pressing mechanism of leaf spring type or operational cylinder type. CONSTITUTION:Two sets of attracting/running elements 1 are coupled rotatably by a coupling shaft 9 in parallel with the wall surface 30, and each attracting/ running element 1 is pressed to the wall surface 30 by the force of a leaf spring 11 etc. Two slide shafts 7, 8 in parallel with each other are held movable in the axial direction by two guides 5 installed on the oversurface of an attracting element 2 and located fixedly by two sets of locking mechanisms 6. This allows advancing while the front two wheels 4 are rolling even though it encounters any obstacle or level difference, which is thus got over, and this force of leaf spring 11 etc. ensures that the wall surface running is made smoothly and safely.

Description

[Detailed description of the invention]

[Industrial Application Field] This invention can safely remove obstacles on walls, cracks, etc. 111! This invention relates to a wall-running robot that can actually climb over walls, move and travel between two intersecting surfaces, and has a simple structure and operation. [Prior Art] Conventionally, robots have been developed that adsorb vertical surfaces such as walls or ceiling surfaces using vacuum force and run on wheels driven by motors. It is used for measurements, etc.

[Problem to be solved by the invention]

However, with conventional wall-running robots, it is difficult to overcome large obstacles or steps, or to move between two surfaces that are perpendicular to each other or intersect at arbitrary angles, such as from a wall to a ceiling or floor. It is technically difficult and has not yet been put into practical use. In response to these demands, two or more units are connected by an arm with a joint such as a swing mechanism with one or more degrees of freedom, and the vacuum degree and running part of each unit are improved. There is also a concept to solve this problem by controlling the motors of each joint. However, in this method, obstacles,
It is necessary to appropriately and delicately control the traveling position and joint angles depending on the relative positions of these units and the wall surface. Therefore, various sensors are required to detect obstacles, detect the distance between the unit and the running surface, and detect the presence or absence of contact.
The disadvantage is that the control algorithm is also quite complex. The object of this invention is to overcome the problems of the conventional technology, safely and reliably overcome obstacles on walls, cracks, and nine steps, and even move and run between two intersecting surfaces. The purpose of the present invention is to provide a wall-running robot with a simple structure and operation.

[Means to solve the problem]

In order to solve this problem, the wall-running robot according to the present invention includes: a wall-mounting adsorbent; a running wheel whose part is installed in front of the wall-mounting member in the direction of movement; and one wheel that is movable parallel to the wall. At least two sets of suction/traveling bodies each having the above-mentioned connecting portions are connected in series at the connecting portion so as to be rotatable about an axis parallel to the wall surface with variable mutual spacing; A pressing mechanism of, for example, a leaf spring type or an operating cylinder type is provided between the two suction/travel bodies for pressing the two suction/travel bodies against the wall surface.

[For use]

Each adsorption/traveling body has the ability to overcome obstacles or cracks because its running wheels come into contact with obstacles, cracks, etc. one step ahead of the suction part, and in addition, each adsorption unit of two sets related to each connection part has the ability to overcome obstacles or cracks. - The traveling body is rotatable around the axis of the connecting portion following the wall surface, and at the same time, the mutual spacing is variable as necessary, and moreover, it is pressed against the wall surface by a pressing mechanism.

【Example】

An embodiment of the wall running robot according to the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a side view of one embodiment, and FIG. 2 is a plan view thereof. In FIGS. 1 and 2, roughly speaking, two sets of suction/travel bodies 1 are rotatably connected by a connecting shaft 9 parallel to a wall surface 30, and each suction/travel body 1 is connected to a plate. It is pressed against the wall surface 30 by the urging force of the spring 11. The suction/traveling body 1 includes a suction body 2 capable of vacuum suction to a wall surface 30, a total of four motor-driven wheels 4, including two located in front of the suction body 2 in the direction of movement, and two mutually parallel motor-driven wheels 4. It consists of slide shafts 7 and 8. The slide shaft 7.8 is fixed to the substrate 10 and is held movably in the axial direction by two guides 5 provided on the top surface of the suction body 2. It is positioned and fixed by the locking mechanism 6. This locking mechanism 6 will be described in detail later. The left and right suction/traveling bodies 1 in FIG. 1 are rotatably connected around their axes by a connecting shaft 9 at opposite ends of their slide shafts 7.8. To be more precise, the slide shafts 7 belonging to the left and right suction/traveling bodies 1
．． The opposite ends of 8 are slightly contoured, as shown in FIG. 2, to engage each other. Next, the locking mechanism 6 will be explained. FIG. 3 is a side view of the locking mechanism 6 and its surroundings, and FIG. 4 is a partially cutaway front view thereof. The locking mechanism 6 is a kind of solenoid type actuator, and by turning on and off the current flowing through the coil, a positioning pin 6a located at the center of the coil is driven straight in the axial direction of the coil. 8 is engaged with one of the grooves 7a and 8a provided at several locations on the outer periphery along the axial direction. The slide shafts 7 and 8 are detached, and the slide shafts 7 and 8 are positioned and fixed in the axial direction and released. The operation of this embodiment is as follows. As shown in FIG. 1, normally two sets of suction/traveling bodies 1 are connected in series and are attracted to a wall surface 30 by the suction bodies 2, while traveling on the wall surface 30 by the wheels 4. If it encounters an obstacle or a gap in one level, the two front wheels 4 follow the obstacles and roll to get over them. In order to overcome this problem, the two wheels 4 need to be installed in front of the adsorbent 2 in the traveling direction. Moreover, the leaf spring 11
Due to the pressing force, each suction/traveling body 1 is pressed against the wall surface 30, and its traveling on the wall surface is smooth and safe.
become certain. In addition, each of the two sets of suction/traveling bodies 1 can rotate around the connecting shaft 9 following the wall surface 30, and at the same time can respond to the size of the obstacle by moving the slide shaft 7.8 in the axial direction. The mutual spacing is variable. Therefore, in combination with the action of the leaf spring 11, it is also possible to move and run between two wall surfaces that intersect at a right angle or generally at a certain angle, as will be specifically explained in another embodiment below. Furthermore, by attaching two sets of slide shafts 7.8 to the suction/traveling body 1 and connecting the three sets of suction/traveling bodies 1 in series, wall surface running can be made even safer and more reliable. Next, another embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. The difference in FIG. 5 from the embodiment described in FIGS. 1 and 2 is that an operating cylinder 21 with a large pressing force is used as the pressing mechanism instead of the leaf spring 11. That is, pistons 23 protrude from both sides of the pneumatic cylinder 22, and each tip end thereof is connected to a connecting member 24 fixed to the corresponding slide shaft 7.8 side. Note that a method may be adopted in which the biasing force of a coil spring is used instead of air pressure. In any case, a force that pushes and spreads each connector 24 is always working. Therefore, in order to follow the slope of the floor and to overcome obstacles, the adsorption/traveling body l on the leading side lifts up first, and returns to its original position when it crosses it, as necessary. It acts on In addition, FIG. 5 shows that the slide shaft 7.8 has been moved to a position where its end protrudes outward from the guide 5 so that the mutual distance between the two sets of suction/traveling bodies 1 is reduced. Further, FIG. 6 is an example of movement between two orthogonal wall surfaces, and shows a state in which the preceding suction/traveling body 1 has already moved to another vertical surface and is suctioned thereon. The suction body 2 on the horizontal surface side is brought to atmospheric pressure, and the vertical surface is bounded by the running force of the suction/traveling body 1 on the vertical surface side, and then this is pressed against the vertical surface by the action of the operation cylinder 21, and then the vacuum Operate the blower and move up the vertical surface. Note that the purpose of making the mutual spacing between the suction and traveling bodies 1 variable is as follows.
For example, this is to prevent two sets of suction/traveling bodies 1 from riding on an obstacle by providing a gap depending on the size of the obstacle. If the two suction/traveling bodies 1 run over an obstacle, the airtight seal will naturally become ineffective and they will fall if they are traveling on a vertical or ceiling surface.

[Effects of the Invention] According to the present invention, there are the following superior effects compared to the conventional technology. (1) Overcoming obstacles on walls, moving between two intersecting surfaces, and traveling can be achieved safely and reliably through simple movements without the need for various sensors or complex control algorithms. (2) Since the mutual spacing between the suction/traveling bodies connected in series can be varied as necessary, it is possible to deal with obstacles realistically and flexibly.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Fig. 1 is a side view of one embodiment of the present invention, Fig. 2 is a plan view thereof, Fig. 3 is a side view of the main part thereof, and Fig. 4 is a partially cutaway front view of the main part thereof. , FIG. 5 is a side view of another embodiment when it is traveling horizontally, and FIG. 6 is a side view of another embodiment when it is moving between perpendicular wall surfaces. Code explanation 1: Adsorption/traveling body, 2: Adsorption body, 4: Wheel, 5 Ni guide, 6: Locking mechanism, 7.8 Ni Ride shaft, 9: Connection shaft, 1
1: Leaf spring, 21: Operation cylinder, light 2 side helmet 3 figure light 4 key 1PnI)ng' A5 figure 6

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1) A wall adsorbent, a traveling wheel that is partially installed in front of it in the direction of travel, and a 1 that is movable parallel to the wall.
At least two of the suction/traveling bodies comprising at least two connecting parts
The sets are connected in series at the connecting portions so as to be rotatable about an axis parallel to the wall surface with a variable distance between each other, and the two suction/traveling bodies related to each of the connecting portions are connected to the wall surface. A wall running robot characterized in that a pressing mechanism for pressing is provided between each of the suction/traveling bodies.