JPH06312650A - Traveling type manipulator with outrigger - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To provide a traveling type manipulator with outrigger which can ensure straight traveling and steering ability even at the time of ground contact load traveling of an outrigger or by remote maneuver. CONSTITUTION:This manipulator is provided with an outrigger 20 which is protruded freely to the right and left in the longitudinal direction of a vehicle body 10 and is equipped with caster wheels 21a, 21b mounted at ground parts on the right and left sides respectively, and an outrigger height adjusting means 30 which is provided between the outrigger 20 and the vehicle body 10.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention is suitable for holding a heavy object such as a material in a factory, a construction site, a civil engineering site, etc., and quickly positioning the heavy object at a predetermined mounting target position while moving. A mobile manipulator with an outrigger.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Outriggers and remote control of mobile manipulators have been found as prior art similar to the present invention. These will be described below.

First, the outrigger will be described. Vehicles that handle heavy objects with long arms, whether crawler type vehicles or wheel type vehicles, employ fixed outriggers that overhang the outriggers and fix the vehicle to the ground as a fall prevention measure. Generally (for example, JP-A-57-58540 and JP-A-2-14)
4161, JP-A-3-247822, JP-A-4-3
No. 1507, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 4-55178, Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open No. 63-6
No. 1458, No. 2-8208 and No. 3-15
781). Specifically, rough terrain cranes, crawler cranes, truck cranes, etc. are equipped with this fixed outrigger.

[0004] The fixed outrigger allows the entire machine to be lightweight and small in size and can increase the load to be hoisted, but the vehicle is fixed to the ground, so that the maneuverability is impaired. .

As a technique for solving such an inconvenience, Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 4-66356 and Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open No. 4-58590 have been proposed. These are proposals of an outrigger that allows the vehicle to run while the outrigger is grounded while the outrigger is in a load state.The outrigger is extended from the upper revolving structure, and the upper revolving structure and the direction are integrated. When the moving arm is loaded, the fulcrum of the outrigger is close to the load, so it has the advantage of not falling.

Next, remote control of the mobile manipulator will be described. This is disclosed in JP-A-62-253877.
JP-A-64-21173, JP-A-2-17607
No. 5 and Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 3-117577 have been proposed, and as a means for positioning while moving to the installation target location by holding the material, the operator does not sit in the driver's seat of the vehicle and locates near the installation target location. However, the mobile manipulator is remotely controlled while observing the relative distance between the material and the installation target location.

[0007]

Next, problems of the above-mentioned prior art will be described. One of the features that allows the vehicle to move with the outrigger in the grounded state
There is No. 58590.

However, when the upper revolving structure is located on the side of the vehicle body, the straightness and the steerability during traveling of the vehicle are extremely high due to the relationship between the center of gravity of the entire vehicle, the load fulcrum, and the load amount. It has the disadvantage of becoming worse. This is a phenomenon in which the vehicle cannot go straight or cannot be steered, that is, the vehicle cannot run, and is an unavoidable phenomenon unless the center of gravity and the load fulcrum are changed. In addition, the outriggers that extend from the upper revolving structure have the same direction as the outriggers and the upper revolving structure. Therefore, the outriggers do not fall over in any turning direction only when the vehicle is stationary. In other words, the outrigger is merely a refill bar.

Next, a proposal concerning remote control of a mobile manipulator (Japanese Patent Laid-Open Nos. 62-253877 and 64/64).
No. 21173, JP-A No. 2-176075, and JP-A No. 3-117577), there is simply a description area such as “remote control”, “remote control device”, or “the advantage that an operator can work safely”. The reality is that it remains and cannot be understood well. For example, there is no description about fine operability.

In view of the above-mentioned conventional state of the art, the present invention provides a mobile manipulator with an outrigger capable of securing straightness and steerability even when the outrigger is traveling with a ground load or even remote control. To aim.

[0011]

To achieve the above object, a movable manipulator with an outrigger according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. 1. The first invention is a vehicle body 1
Outrigger 20 that is freely extended to the left and right in the longitudinal direction of 0, and has wheels 21a and 21b with casters at the left and right ground contact portions, and outrigger height adjusting means 30 that is installed between the outrigger 20 and the vehicle body 10. It is configured to include and.

Further, a second invention is the structure of the first invention, wherein the outrigger 20 comprises equalizer means 22 for the left and right wheels 21a and 21b with casters.

Further, in the third invention, in the structure of the first invention or the second invention, when the vehicle body 10 is of a crawler type, the positions of the lower surfaces of the left and right guide wheels 11a, 11b are the left and right lower rolling wheels 12a. , 12b is provided higher than the position of the lower surface.

Further, the fourth invention is based on the first invention and the second invention.
In the invention or the third invention, the manipulator 40 includes:
At least the manipulator 40, the vehicle body 10, and the remote control device 50 for the outrigger 20 are provided.

[0015]

According to the first aspect of the invention, the outrigger 20 has the vehicle body 1
Since it is provided so as to project to the left and right in the longitudinal direction of 0, the straightness and steerability of the outrigger 20 at the time of traveling with a ground load are improved as compared with those provided so as to project to the left and right in the narrow width direction. The free extension of the outrigger 20 means that the outrigger has a detailed structure of expansion / contraction or folding and can be stored, like a normal outrigger. By equipping the right and left ground contact parts of the outrigger 20 with wheels 21a and 21b with casters respectively, it is possible to run a ground load with the outrigger 20, but the more important point is that the caster function does not improve straightness and steering. This is a point to be improved. According to the outrigger height adjusting means 30, when this means 30 is operated when the outrigger 20 is running on a ground load, a predetermined load amount can be shared by predetermined left and right ground contact surfaces of the undercarriage on the vehicle body side, and straightness can be improved. It is possible to obtain a predetermined traction force in addition to the improvement of the steering performance.

The second invention is equalizer means 2 according to the first invention.
Because of the configuration in which 2 is added, the left and right loads on the left and right ground contact surfaces of the undercarriage on the vehicle body side are made substantially uniform, which further improves the straightness and the steerability of the outrigger 20 during ground load travel.

More specifically, the groundability of the outrigger is important in a vehicle that runs with the outrigger grounded.
Particularly in the outrigger 20 having two wheels with casters 21a and 21b on the left and right as in the first aspect of the invention, the even distribution of the load to these wheels has a great influence on the running performance.

For example, there are cases where the wheels 21a and 21b with casters do not contact the road surface evenly on the left and right due to manufacturing errors in the detailed components of the outrigger 20. In such a case, the left and right ground contact surfaces of the lower traveling body on the vehicle body side also have a left-right difference in the amount of load. As a result, the left and right traction forces of the undercarriage also differ, and the straightness and steerability are significantly impaired.

Therefore, in the second invention, the same load amount is shared by the left and right wheels 21a and 21b with casters, that is, the left and right ground contact surfaces of the lower traveling body on the vehicle body side are also shared by the same load amount. As described above, the equalizer means 22 is added.

The third invention is applied when the vehicle 10 is of a crawler type. In the crawler type, the outrigger 20
The ground contact position of the lower traveling body when the vehicle is in contact with the ground load is a crawler belt on the lower surface of the left and right guide wheels and a crawler belt on the lower surface of the left and right activation wheels (the degree of freedom is 2). Comparing these cases, not only the traction force but also the straightness and the steerability are different from each other, and it cannot be said that both are generally good.

Therefore, in the third invention, the left and right guide wheels 11a,
By configuring the lower surface of 11b to be higher than the lower surfaces of the left and right lower wheels 12a and 12b, the lower surface of the guide wheel,
It is designed so that the track can be grounded on the lower surface of the starting wheel or the lower surface of the lower rolling wheel in the middle of these (the degree of freedom is 3),
As a result, good traction force, straightness and steerability can be appropriately selected.

The fourth invention will be described. As mentioned above, the first invention, the second invention, or the third invention is, to some extent,
Good straightness and steerability are ensured when the outrigger 20 is running on a ground load. Since it is such a mobile manipulator with an outrigger, it is possible to add a remote control device while maintaining fine operability.

That is, the fourth invention is a manipulator 40.
At least the manipulator 40, the vehicle body 10,
The remote control device 50 for the outrigger 20 is provided.

[0024]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS A crawler-type movable manipulator with an outrigger according to an embodiment will be described below with reference to the drawings.
Since this embodiment is an embodiment of the fourth invention, it has a structure including all the structures of the first invention, the second invention, and the third invention.

An outline will be described with reference to FIGS. 1, 2 and 3.

The outrigger 20 is provided via three fulcrums a, b1 and b2 in front of the traveling base 13 which is the longitudinal direction of the vehicle body 10.
Is installed. The hydraulic cylinder 30 for adjusting the outrigger height is rotatably mounted at one end thereof at one fulcrum a of the traveling unit mount 13 and at the other end thereof at a fulcrum c of the outrigger mount 23. The rear of the outrigger mount 23 is rotatably mounted at two fulcrums b1 and b2 of the traveling part mount 13.

The front part of the outrigger mount 23 is fitted to the inner ring of the bearing 24, and the outer ring of the bearing 24 is fitted with the left and right swing plates 25. Wheels 21 with casters are provided on the lower surface of the tip at the lower left and right sides of the front surface of the left and right swing plate 25.
Outrigger lower columns 27a, 27 provided on a and 21b
b is rotatably mounted and overhangs.

Inside the upper revolving structure 14 of the vehicle body 10, there are mounted a manipulator 40, a hydraulic operation valve for controlling the drive system of the vehicle body 10 and the outrigger 20, and the like. A multi-axis manipulator 40 is mounted on the upper surface of the upper swing body 14. The multi-axis manipulator 40 has a first arm 41,
The second arm 42, hydraulic cylinders 43, 44 for the arm,
The parallel links 45 and 46, the end effector mount 47, the end effector 48, and the like are configured, and a remote control device 50 is fixedly mounted on the end effector mount 47.

A cable 51 is connected between the remote control device 50 and the hydraulic control valve 15 or the like, and a command from the operation lever 52 on the remote control device 50 is transmitted to the hydraulic control valve 15 or the like via this cable 51. It is designed to be used.

Each main part will be described below individually. First, the outrigger height adjusting means 30 will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 4.

As shown in FIG. 1, both ends of the outrigger height adjusting hydraulic cylinder 30 are rotatably supported by a pin a at the center of the front part of the traveling unit mount 13 and a pin c at the upper center of the outrigger mount 23. It is pivotally mounted and has an outrigger mount 2
The left and right lower ends of 3 are pins b1 at the left and right ends of the traveling unit base 13,
It is rotatably pivoted at b2.

Therefore, when the outrigger height adjusting hydraulic cylinder 30 is expanded and contracted, the outrigger mount 23 is moved up and down, and the height of the wheels with casters 21a and 21b provided at the tips of the outriggers 20 can be adjusted.

Now, with reference to FIG. 4, a description will be given of changes in the positions of the left and right ground contact surfaces of the vehicle-body-side lower traveling body (that is, the driving points of the vehicle) and the pulling force thereof by adjusting the outrigger height of the outrigger height adjusting means 30. .

The lower surface of the illustrated guide wheel 11a is located slightly higher than the lower surfaces of the two lower rolling wheels 12a1 and 12a2 and the starting wheel 16a, h.

FIG. 4 (A) shows the ground contact state when the center of gravity of all vehicles is between the lower wheel 11a1 and the starting wheel 16a. However, when the manipulator 40 is loaded, the overall center of gravity position (position and weight are W, the same applies hereinafter) is located in front of the guide wheel 11a. Ground contact points P1, P3, P5 of the wheels 21a with casters at this time
4 (B), 4 (C), and 4 (C) and FIG. 4 (C) show changes in the ground contact surfaces P2, P4, P6 of the crawler belt 17 on the vehicle body side and the respective burden loads (also referred to as P1 to P6). Figure 4
(D).

In the state shown in FIGS. 4 (B) to 4 (D), the center of gravity W of the entire body is such that the caster-equipped wheel 21a and the guide wheel 11a.
And the wheels 21a with casters are slightly raised from the ground surface, the vehicle body 1
0 leans forward and the fulcrum is P1 of the wheels 21a with casters,
It is P2 of the guide wheel 11a. A qualitative state between the fulcrums P1 and P2 and the load magnitudes P1 and P2 is shown in FIG. The load P2 that the vehicle body 10 bears is the largest in this state, and the driving force at the time of traveling is also large.
Since 1 and P2 are close to each other, the vehicle becomes unstable.

Therefore, when the outrigger 20 is pulled toward the ground and the height of the outrigger 20 is gradually lowered,
The qualitative state between the fulcrum P2 of the vehicle body 10 and the shared load P2 is
It changes from FIG. 4 (C) to FIG. 4 (D), that is, from fulcrum P2 to fulcrum P4 to fulcrum P6.

In the case of FIG. 4 (D), the fulcrums P5 and P6 are separated from each other, so that the stability of the vehicle is good, but since the sharing addition P6 on the vehicle body 10 side is small, the running performance and the steering performance are slightly deteriorated. .

In the case of FIG. 4 (C), stability, running property and steering property are appropriate. Thus, according to the present embodiment, by selecting which case, stability, straightness, excessive steering traction, and the like can be appropriately selected.

Next, the equalizer means 22 will be described with reference to FIGS. 2, 3 and 5. As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, a bearing 24 is provided at the front of the outrigger mount 23.
The left and right swing plates 25 are installed via the. The left and right swing plates 25 are supported rotatably around the x-axis with the outrigger mount 23 as a base.

One end of each of the outrigger upper support columns 26a and 26b and one end of each of the outrigger lower support columns 27a and 27b are provided at the left, right, and upper sides of the front surface of the left and right swing plate 25, respectively.
1, e1, d2, and e2 are rotatably attached to the shaft, and the other ends of the outrigger upper columns 26a and 26b and the substantially central upper surface of the outrigger lower columns 27a and 27b are pin f.
It is fixed at 1 and f2. Outrigger lower support 27
wheels 21a with casters on the lower surface of the other end of a, 27b,
21b is attached.

With the above construction, the left and right swing plates 25 are freely rotatable around the x-axis. Therefore, even if the outrigger 20 is pressed against the ground by the outrigger height adjusting hydraulic cylinder 30 and stretched, the wheels 21a with the left and right casters, 21
The same load amount can be distributed to b, and the load amount can be evenly applied to the left and right ground contact surfaces of the lower traveling body on the vehicle body side. In other words, this equalizer function makes it possible to secure the straightness and steerability of the outrigger when the load is in contact with the ground.

Even if the wheels 21a and 21b with casters get over obstacles of different heights, the equalizer function can ensure the running performance.

FIG. 5 illustrates another form of the equalizer means 22. This is an example of a manual equalizer means 22. The equalizer means 22 is shown in the drawing x
The right and left oscillating plate 25 was able to rotate about the axis, and even if the ground had unevenness, it was possible to automatically equalize. However, when there is no large unevenness like the indoor floor and it is not necessary to automatically equalize, as shown in FIG. 5, one of the left and right outrigger upper columns 26a, 26b is made into a turn butter type. , By turning this by hand, the wheels 21a, 21b on the left and right casters
The load may be evenly distributed.

FIG. 6 shows the outrigger 20 in this embodiment.
It is a figure which shows the storage state of. This is an example in which the wheels 21a and 21b with casters are manually stored, and the pins e1, e2, and f on both ends of the outrigger upper support columns 26a and 26b are used.
1, f2 is removed, and the outrigger upper columns 26a, 26b
Is removed, the outrigger lower columns 27a and 27b are folded upward, and the pins and the pin holes are used for pin coupling and stored.

Finally, with reference to FIGS. 1 and 7, the remote control device 50 in this embodiment will be described. The manipulator 40 of this embodiment is a remote control device 50 having a lever on an end effector mount 47 of a multi-axis manipulator.
Is provided.

The end effector mount 47 maintains a constant posture by the action of the parallel links 45 and 46 even if the postures of the arms 41 and 42 change. The remote control device 50 fixed to the end effector mount 47 includes
As shown in FIG. 1, various operation levers 52 are arranged.

The remote control will be described below with reference to the example of FIG. A remote control device 50 shown in the figure is equipped with a forward / backward movement lever 52 of the vehicle body 10. One end of a push-pull cable 51 is fixed to the lever 52, and the other end is connected to the spool 15 of the forward / backward hydraulic directional control valve of the vehicle body 10. Therefore, when the lever 52 is moved, the forward / rearward traveling signal becomes a force and is transmitted to the push-pull cable 51 to move the spool 15. As a result, a traveling hydraulic motor (not shown) is activated to rotate the starter wheels to move the vehicle forward and backward.

The bush pull cable 51 transmits a command of force by the operator to the spool 15. In other words, the operator can sense the fine movement from the spool 15. So-called force feedback control is possible. The remote feedback medium is not limited to the bush pull cable 51,
Other feedback medium such as electric type may be used. For example,
It is obvious that the electric control valve, the electric cable and the electric command lever may be used when it is desired to steer from a remote place where the bush pull cable cannot be lengthened.

The effects of the above embodiment will be described. In the above embodiment, good straightness and steerability could be obtained even when the outrigger was running on the ground load. Since it is such a mobile manipulator with an outrigger, remote control is possible, and as a result of the above, it has become possible to speedily perform highly accurate positioning work while visually observing materials in the vicinity.

[0051]

As described above, according to the mobile manipulator with an outrigger of the present invention, it is possible to obtain good straightness and steerability even when the outrigger is running on a ground load. Of course, remote control is also possible, and as a result, it is possible to speedily perform highly accurate positioning work while visually recognizing materials in the vicinity.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an overall view of a crawler-type mobile manipulator with an outrigger according to an embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a partially enlarged side view of the outrigger in the embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a partially enlarged front view of the outrigger in the embodiment.

4A and 4B are diagrams for explaining changes in a fulcrum position and load sharing thereof due to height adjustment of the outriggers. FIG. 4A is a no-loading state of the outriggers, and FIG. 4B is a state in which the outriggers are slightly lowered during loading. FIG. 6C is a diagram showing a state in which the outrigger is lowered a little further under load, and FIG. 6D is a diagram showing a state in which the outrigger is further lowered under load.

FIG. 5 is a view showing an example of equalizer means substituted with a turnbuckle.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of storage of outriggers.

FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating an example of a remote control device.

[Explanation of symbols]

 10 Vehicle Body 11a, 11b Guide Wheel 12a, 12b Lower Roller Wheel 20 Outrigger 21a, 21b Wheel with Casters 22 Equalizer Means 30 Outrigger Height Adjusting Means 40 Manipulator 50 Remote Control Device

 ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (72) Inventor Hiroyuki Tokunaga 1200 Manda, Hiratsuka-shi, Kanagawa Komatsu Ltd. Research Laboratory

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. Wheels 21 that are freely extended to the left and right in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle body 10 and have caster wheels 21 on the left and right ground contact portions, respectively.
A movable manipulator with an outrigger, comprising an outrigger 20 provided with a and 21b, and an outrigger height adjusting means 30 installed between the outrigger 20 and the vehicle body 10. 2. The mobile manipulator with an outrigger according to claim 1, wherein the outrigger 20 is provided with an equalizer means 22 for the left and right wheels 21a and 21b with casters. 3. When the vehicle body 10 is of a crawler type, the lower surface positions of the left and right guide wheels 11a, 11b are higher than the lower surface positions of the left and right lower rolling wheels 12a, 12b. A mobile manipulator with an outrigger according to claim 1 or 2. 4. The manipulator 40 includes at least the manipulator 40, a vehicle body 10, and an outrigger 20.
The mobile manipulator with an outrigger according to claim 1, 2 or 3, characterized in that a remote control device (50) for (1) and (2) is provided.