JPH0370669B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Technical Field of the Invention] The present invention relates to a moving body that stably moves not only on flat ground but also on stairs, walls, inside and outside of pipes, etc.

[Technical background of the invention and its problems]

Generally, in nuclear power plants, patrols and periodic inspections of various equipment are carried out to ensure safe operation.

Inspection work during such patrol inspections and periodic inspections must be carried out under high radioactivity levels.

Therefore, unmanned automatic inspection devices and the like have been proposed in order to reduce the radiation exposure of workers.

This type of automatic inspection device is formed by mounting various devices for performing inspection work on a moving body that moves within a nuclear reactor building.

These moving bodies include those that move along tracks, those that move using crawlers, those that move using wheels, and those that move using arm wheels.

However, since the above-mentioned track-type moving body can only move along a track, the locations to be inspected are limited. In addition, in crawler-type moving bodies, the weight of the running section is large, the moving speed is slow, and furthermore, it is necessary to take measures such as moving the center of gravity in order to overcome obstacles. In addition, although wheel-based vehicles have a high moving speed, they have poor ability to overcome obstacles, and their usable range is narrowly limited in nuclear power plants with many stairs. In addition, although the arm-wheel type mobile unit has good ability to overcome obstacles, it is heavy and takes up a relatively large space, making it inefficient in terms of space.Furthermore, the arm must be rotated when overcoming an obstacle, allowing it to move up and down. The movement becomes a big one.

In this way, each conventional moving object has its own problems, but in addition, each moving object cannot move along walls or ceilings, so it is possible to move by effectively utilizing the space on walls and ceilings. However, there was an inconvenience in that it was not possible to get close to the areas to be inspected on the walls and ceiling.

Furthermore, there was no moving body that could move freely inside and outside the tube.

[Purpose of the invention]

The present invention was made in consideration of these points, and is capable of running and walking, can move freely not only on flat ground, but also on stairs, walls, ceilings, inside and outside of piping, etc., and is equipped with various devices. The purpose is to provide a flexible moving object.

[Summary of the invention]

The movable body of the present invention includes a movable body capable of mounting various devices, and the movable body is provided with at least one extendable and bendable lower arm extending below the bottom surface of the movable body, and extending laterally. At least three extendable and bendable side arms are provided, and each arm is provided with a wheel that can be adsorbed and removed by negative pressure at the tip thereof.

[Embodiments of the invention]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. 1 to 14.

FIG. 1 is an overall perspective view of the present embodiment, and FIG. 2 is a side view of the device walking by suction on a wall surface.

In the figure, reference numeral 1 denotes a main body of a movable body, and the main body 1 of a movable body has side arms 2, 2, which are extendable and bendable and extend laterally at the front, right and left sides, respectively, through arm drive parts 1a, 1a. A telescopic lower arm 3 extending downward from the lower surface thereof is provided via an arm driving section (not shown since it is located inside the movable body 1). At the tip of each of these arms 2 and 3, a wheel 14 that can be freely adsorbed and removed by negative pressure is provided.

A central control mechanism (not shown) is built into the movable body 1, and a cable 5 for information transmission is connected to the movable body 1 via a cable processing device 4. Furthermore, a manipulator 6 and a TV camera 10 are provided on the pan head 9 on the mobile body 1. The manipulator 6 is formed to be rotatable, extendable, and bendable, and is provided with an image fiber 7 and a handshake 8 for inspection work at its tip. In addition, the TV camera 10 also has a light 1 for illumination.
1 and 11 are attached. Further, various devices attached to the mobile body 1 are protected by the cover 13.

Next, the arms 2, 3 and the wheels 14 will be explained with reference to FIGS. 3 to 8.

As shown in FIG.
It is rotatably attached to the movable body main body 1 via 5. Pivot shafts 17a and 1 are provided between the casing of the arm drive unit 1a and the movable body body 1, respectively.
7b, the cylinder 16a and plunger 16b of the drive actuator 16 are hingedly connected. Therefore, when the plunger 16b of the drive actuator 16 projects in and out of the directions a and b in the figure, the arm drive section 1a rotates around the pivot 15 in the directions c and d.

Note that instead of the drive actuator 16, a motor or the like may be used to rotate the casing of the arm drive section 1a.

Further, as shown in FIG. 5, the side arm 2 includes, from the base to the tip, a first arm element 2a, a second arm element 2b, a third arm element 2c, a fourth arm element 2d, and a fifth arm element 2e. It is divided into.

Each of these arm elements 2a...2e is formed in a hollow shape, and is formed to be relatively rotatable about a perpendicular line to the center of the joint end surface.

As shown in FIG. 4, the first arm element 2a is attached to the side surface of the casing of the arm drive section 1a so as to be able to move conically around the horizontal axis H.
Then, the bevel gear 20 fixed to the base end of the first arm element 2a is rotated via the intermediate bevel gear 19 by the drive motor 18 fixed in the arm drive section 1a, thereby performing the conical movement.

Further, a multi-axial hollow shaft group 21 is rotatably inserted through the axial center of the first arm element 2a. This hollow shaft group 21 is arranged in order from the outside to the inside.
First hollow shaft 21a, second hollow shaft 21b, third hollow shaft 21c, fourth hollow shaft 21d, fifth hollow shaft 21e
It is formed by rotatably mounted on the shaft. and,
Inside the arm drive unit 1a, a hollow shaft group drive mechanism 22 is provided which has a drive gear group 22a that is concentric with the horizontal axis H and has five bevel gears arranged in a conical shape so as to be able to rotate independently. ing. and,
Each of the hollow shafts 21a...21e has a gear 2 that meshes with one bevel gear of the drive gear group 22a.
2b is provided. Therefore, the hollow shaft group 21 makes a conical movement together with the first arm element 2a about the intersection point X between its central axis and the horizontal axis H, and at this time, each of the gears 22b moves in a conical manner with respect to the drive gear group 22.
It revolves while meshing with a. Furthermore, an air duct, a wiring cable 37, etc. are inserted into the innermost hollow shaft 21e, and these air ducts and wiring cables 37 interfere with the gear group 22a through the duct wiring guide 23, which is partially formed in an arc shape. It is connected to the air drive unit 12 without any need to do so.

Further, as shown in FIGS. 5 to 7, the first hollow shaft 21a of the hollow shaft group 21 extends to the tip of the first arm element 2a, and its rotational force is applied to the clutch 24a and the first hollow shaft 21a. A rotational driving force is applied to the second arm element 2b via a driving gear 27b that is meshed with the second arm element 2b and is fixed to the second arm element 2b. Further, the second hollow shaft 21b is connected to the second arm element 2.
b, and its rotational force is similarly applied as rotational driving force to the third arm element 2c via the clutch 24b and the driving gear 27c. This second arm element 2b and third arm element 2
Since the joint surfaces with c are inclined with respect to their respective central axes, a transmission gear group 25 is provided at the joint between the two to transmit the rotation of the third, fourth, and fifth hollow shafts 21c, 21d, and 21e. It is being Also, the third
Inside the arm element 2c is a third hollow shaft 21c whose rear end has a gear and is connected to the transmission gear group 25.
is provided, and its rotational force is applied as rotational driving force from the tip to the fourth arm element 2d via the bevel gears 26, 26 and the driving gear 27d. Further, the rear end of the fourth hollow shaft 21d is gear-coupled with the transmission gear group 25, and its tip extends into the fourth arm element 2d, and its rotational force is transmitted to the fifth The rotational driving force is applied to the arm element 2e. This fourth arm element 2d and the fifth arm element 2
Since the joint surface with e is inclined with respect to the respective central axes, there is a fifth hollow shaft 21e at the joint between the two.
A transmission gear group (not shown) is provided to transmit the rotation of the motor. A wheel 14 is fixed to the tip of a fifth hollow shaft 21e in the fifth arm element 2e whose rear end is gear-coupled to the transmission gear group.

Next, the mounting state of the wheels 14 will be explained with reference to FIG.

The wheel 14 has a hollow shape and is made of a material whose cross-sectional shape can be deformed as shown by solid lines and broken lines in the figure. This wheel 14 has a fifth hollow shaft 21e.
It is fixed to the outer periphery of a disc-shaped foil 28 that is screwed and fixed to the tip of the disc. The wheel 28 and the fifth hollow shaft 21e are supported by the bearings 29 and 30, thereby ensuring smooth rotation of the wheel 14. Further, on the outside of the foil 28, a flap-shaped suction plate 33 is held and fixed by a backing annular member 31 and a tightening bolt/nut 32. This suction board 33
The opening at the base end of the fifth hollow shaft 21e matches the opening at the tip of the fifth hollow shaft 21e, and an elastic ring 38 is embedded inside the large-diameter opening at the tip to maintain its shape. Then, the air duct and wiring cable 37 that have been inserted through the fifth hollow shaft 21e
penetrates the suction plate 33 and reaches the inside of the wheel 14 through a caterpillar-shaped valve 36. An air duct 39 is connected through a gate valve 34 in the middle, and supplies and discharges air into and out of the wheels 14. Further, the wiring cable 37 controls energization of each shape memory alloy ring 39 attached to the inner lower half of the wheel 14 and divided into a plurality of pieces in the circumferential direction. The temperature of this shape memory alloy ring 39 changes depending on the energization state, and accordingly, the shape changes from the state shown by the solid line in FIG. 8 to the state shown by the broken line in FIG. 8, thereby deforming the wheel 14. The adsorption area of this wheel 14 becomes large when it is in the state shown by the broken line in FIG.

The gate valve 34 is formed as shown in FIGS. 9a and 9b. That is, the assembled valve case 34a,
A needle shaft 40 for opening and closing the valve is provided in 34b, and the needle shaft 40 is moved up and down by a shape memory alloy spring 42 to control opening and closing. A wiring cable 4 is connected to this shape memory alloy spring 42.
The energization is controlled through 1. The air duct 37 is connected to the air drive unit 1 provided in the mobile body 1.
Connected to 2.

Further, the lower arm 3 attached to the lower surface of the moving body main body 1 is formed of parts corresponding to the fourth and fifth arm elements 2d and 2e of the side arm 2, as shown in FIG. There is.

FIG. 10 shows a control system for operating the various parts of the moving body in relation to each other.

That is, the movable body is broadly divided into a movable body main body 1, a manipulator 6, an air drive section 12, and an arm section. The mobile main body 1 is connected to an operation section 45 provided in a central control room or the like by a cable 5 or wirelessly.

Next, the operation of this embodiment will be explained.

Traveling is normally carried out with the wheels 14, 14 of the three side arms 2, 2 standing up, as shown in Fig. 1. That is, the fifth arm element 2e of the side arm 2 is rotated 180 degrees from the state shown in FIG. 5 with respect to the fourth arm element 2d to stand the wheel 14 upright. This rotation is performed by rotating the fourth hollow shaft 21d. Then, the vehicle travels by rotating the fifth hollow shaft 21e to rotate the wheels 14. The traveling direction is changed by rotating the third hollow shaft 21c of the side arm 2 attached to the front part of the movable body 1 and rotating the fourth arm element 2d.

In FIG. 1, the wheel 14 attached to the tip of the lower arm 3 is in a horizontal position and is floating above the running surface. The vehicle may also be run with the wheels 14 upright.

Traveling within the pipe is performed, for example, as shown in FIG.

This figure shows a case where the pipe 44 has a relatively small diameter.
The wheels 14, 14 of the side arm 2 and lower arm 3 provided at the front run on the bottom surface of the tube 44, and the wheels 14, 14 of the left and right side arms 2, 2 are connected to the tube 4, respectively.
4 and stably supports the moving body itself.

When the tube 44 has a large diameter, the left and right side arms 2, 2 are lowered diagonally downward, and the movable body stably holds itself as if it were a bicycle's training wheels to travel.

As shown in FIG. 12, the outside of the tube straddles the tube 44 from above and uses the left and right side arms 2, 2.
It travels while hugging the pipe 44 with its wheels 14, 14.

Walking Normal walking is performed with the wall surface 43 in FIG. 2 rotated 90 degrees counterclockwise so that the wall surface 43 is a horizontal plane. That is, each of the four wheels 14, 14 is placed horizontally, and the side surface of the wheel 14 is in contact with the ground to support the load.

Specifically, the hollow shafts 21a...21d are rotationally driven by the hollow shaft group drive mechanism 22 to sequentially move the side arms 2, 2 back and forth or left and right.

For example, as shown in FIG. 13, when moving diagonally downward to the right or directly below from the reference position A,
This is carried out by supporting the load of the main body 1 of the movable body 1, etc. with one wheel (indicated by a circle in the figure), while moving the other wheel one step at a time in the moving direction.

In addition, as shown in FIGS. 14a, b, and c, even if the contact surface 43 of the wheel 14 is deformed in various ways and has unevenness, the wheel 14 has flexibility and the shape memory alloy ring 39 allows deformation. and air duct 3
By supplying and discharging air into the wheel 14 through 7, the side surface of the wheel 14 comes into close contact with the ground surface 43.
Therefore, walking is performed extremely stably.

In addition, in suction walking, the wheels 14 are moved in the same manner as in the normal walking, and the fifth hollow shaft 21 is
This is done by using e itself as an air duct and applying vacuum suction by the air drive unit 12 to cause the suction plates 33 to adsorb to the ground surface 43 under negative pressure. Then,
As shown in Figure 2, the ground plane 4 consists of a vertical wall surface.
3, and can also adsorb and walk on ceiling surfaces. In this case, the wheels 14 control the opening and closing of the gate valve 34, the shape memory alloy ring 39, the elastic ring 38, and the wheel 2.
8. By deforming the backing annular body 31 and the like, it comes into close contact with the ground plane 43. As a result, the wheels 14 act as a skirt for the suction plate 33 and prevent the negative pressure for suction from escaping, so that the suction force can be large and constant, and stable suction walking can be performed.

Levitated Running In a normal walking state, air is blown from the air drive unit 12 through the fifth hollow shaft 21e from the suction plate 33 toward the ground plane 43 to levitate both the wheels 14, 14 and 3 above the ground plane 43. hand,
The frictional force with the ground plane 43 is made zero. Then, a suitable horizontal propulsion device (not shown) such as a propeller or jet is operated to cause the moving body to travel. This horizontal propulsion device is preferably formed to be detachably attached to the main body 1 of the movable body.

Overcoming obstacles can be effectively achieved by using the above-described normal walking and suction walking alone or in combination.

In addition, the wheel 14, the foil 28, the backing annular member 3
1. The suction plate 33, both rings 38, 39, etc. may be made of any material as long as it has flexibility and can be solidified when necessary so that it can adhere closely to the ground surface and run. It may also be a new material developed in biotechnology or the like.

Since the moving body of this embodiment is constructed and operates in this manner, it produces the following effects.

In other words, various movement methods such as running, walking, and suction walking are possible, so it is easy to secure an access route, and the most suitable movement method can be selected for the route conditions, allowing the user to move within a three-dimensional range. inspection and monitoring. Also, even if one travel route becomes impossible due to an accident, etc.,
You can use other spaces and structures to reach your destination. There is no need to lay tracks, etc., and it can be easily introduced into existing plants. Furthermore, since a clutch is provided in the movement mechanism of each arm, the arms will not be damaged or become inoperable.

〔Effect of the invention〕

Such a mobile object of the present invention can run and walk, can move freely not only on flat ground, but also inside and outside of stairs, walls, ceilings, and pipes, and can be loaded with various devices. It has the following effects. In addition, if inspection and monitoring equipment is used as onboard equipment, inspection and monitoring work can be carried out unattended and automatically, reducing radiation exposure for workers at nuclear power plants and improving the working environment and safety. It is possible to improve the reliability and operation rate of work, and to detect abnormalities at an early stage.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

The drawings show one embodiment of the mobile body of the present invention, and the first
The figure is an overall perspective view of the running state, Figure 2 is a side view of the wall suction walking state, Figure 3 is a perspective view of the arm drive section of the side arm, and Figure 4 is a view taken along the - line in Figure 3. 5 is a partially cutaway side view of the side arm; FIG. 6 is a sectional view taken along line - in FIG. 5; FIG. 7 is a sectional view taken along line - in FIG. 5;
Figure 8 is a partially cutaway side view of the wheel part, Figure 9a,
b is a vertical side view of the gate valve, FIG. 10 is a block diagram showing an example of a control system, FIG. 11 is a front view showing running inside the pipe, FIG. 12 is a front view showing running outside the pipe, and FIG. 13 is a front view showing running outside the pipe. FIGS. 14a, 14b, and 14c are longitudinal sectional side views showing deformed states of wheels and the like, respectively. 1...Movable body main body, 2...Side arm, 2a...
2e...Arm element, 3...Lower arm, 14...
...Wheel, 21...Hollow shaft group, 21a...21e...
hollow shaft.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. A movable body capable of mounting various devices is provided, and the movable body is provided with at least one extendable and bendable lower arm extending below the bottom surface of the movable body, and extending to the side thereof. 1. A movable body, comprising at least three independent extendable and refractable side arms, and wheels each disposed at the tip of each arm to be adsorbed by negative pressure and rotatable. 2. The moving object according to claim 1, wherein the wheels have flexibility to deform and adhere closely to the ground surface when adsorbed to the ground surface, and solidity during running. 3. The lower arm and the side arm each have a plurality of hollow arm elements connected in series so as to be relatively rotatable at the joint, and each arm element is connected to the Claim 1 characterized in that it is formed so as to cause relative rotation of the
Mobile object described in section.