JPH069965B2 - Control method and device for traveling vehicle - Google Patents

Description

Description: TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a control method and a device for a three-wheel guided vehicle having a scissor mechanism as a basic structure.

[Prior Art] Conventionally, as shown in FIG. 5 and FIG. 6, one using a scissors mechanism as a traveling vehicle in a pipe (for example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 59-10470).
And Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 59-109470). These have the characteristics that they can flexibly adapt to changes in the shape and diameter of the pipe and enable traveling inside the pipe without being affected by gravity or the like. However, no special method has been found for controlling the wheels, and when the normal wheels having rims are used as the three wheels and all the three wheels are the power wheels, the traveling vehicle does not always move smoothly. Not necessarily. This is because the rotation of the unicycle acts as a load on the other wheels, and a part of the driving force is not used as energy for traveling. Such a situation occurred especially in a pipe having a wall surface with remarkable undulations or a pipe having a large change in diameter.

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] FIGS. 5 and 6 show an example of a traveling vehicle device. Both devices have a scissor mechanism with arms 1b and 1c as a basic structure, and wheels 2a, 2b and 2c are provided on A, B and C corresponding to the fulcrum of the scissors and the tip of the arm. However, arms 1b and 1c in FIG. 6 have a pantograph structure in which free-moving cross links 3b and 3c are connected to the tips. Wheels 2a, 2b, 2c are drive devices 4a, 4b, 4c
It rotates according to the output of. The spring 6 hanging on the fulcrum 5 is
The wheel 2 has a role of pulling the pair of arms 1b and 1c to each other.
It acts to push a toward one wall 7 and the wheels 2b and 2c toward the opposite wall 7. Therefore, the traveling vehicle is self-supporting in the pipe (the scissors angle θ is reduced) and at the same time,
Wheels 2 are driven by energy from drive units 4a, 4b, 4c.
A, 2b, 2c are rotated and it runs. Then, by changing the rotation direction and steering angle of the wheels, it is possible to switch between the front-rear direction and the traveling direction. In the following description, the arm tip point on the traveling direction side is referred to as B, the wheel 2b is referred to as the front wheel, and the wheel 2c is referred to as the rear wheel.

The above-mentioned technique is a conventional technique, and since the three wheels simply rotate, there is a drawback that competition between the wheels occurs and some of the rotational force is invalidated. For example, in the traveling situation explanatory diagram of FIG. 7, when the wheels 2a and 2c reach the change point of the pipe diameter, they temporarily rotate in the reverse direction. You cannot drive a car from left to right. If the wheels 2a and 2c are continuously rotated with the same rotational force, the arm 1b (1b, 3b) that supports the wheel 2b.
The wheel 2b cannot climb over the step only by increasing the pressure in b).

[Means for Solving the Problem] In the traveling situation explanatory view of FIG. 3, the wheels 2c are used when the traveling vehicle reaches the mountain, and the wheels 2b are used when the traveling vehicle leaves the mountain.
However, the wheels 2a cannot pass through the mountain to advance the traveling vehicle from left to right unless they rotate in the reverse direction or the driving force is reduced. This is clear from the fact that the position C of the wheel 2c and the position B of the wheel 2b in the figure not only move forward with time but also move backward temporarily. In order to realize such control, the present invention controls the wheels by using the pressure acting on the arms 1b, 1c supporting the wheels 2b, 2c or the links 3b, 3c. That is, the wheel 2b
And the pressure acting on the arm supporting 2c are detected, the driving force to the three wheels is determined based on the information, and as a result, the situation where the person cannot move (competitive state) is avoided and traveling. Move the car forward.

In order to solve these problems, the present invention acts on a support arm of a wheel in a three-wheel in-vehicle vehicle having a fulcrum of a link structure capable of changing the distance between two end points with at least one shaft fulcrum and a wheel at the end point. (EN) Provided are a control method and apparatus for a traveling vehicle, which determines a driving force to a wheel using pressure as judgment information, uses the driving energy of the wheel without waste even in a complicated pipe, and moves the vehicle autonomously.

[Examples] Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail with reference to Examples.

Specifically, the driving force of the three wheels is determined so that the pressure value detected by the arm is constant. This idea can be easily understood by paying attention to the fact that the pressure acting on the arm becomes smaller when excessive pressure is applied to the arm that supports the immovable wheel, and when the urging force necessary for self-reliance decreases. Can understand.
For this reason, in the device required for the present invention, a pressure sensor such as a load cell is attached to an arm or a link that supports the wheels 2b and 2c. Reference numerals 8b and 8c in the embodiments shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 show this.

Hereinafter, how to use the pressure sensors 8b and 8c will be described with reference to FIG. 7 as an example. However, it is assumed that the front wheels 2b generate energy proportional to the speed or traction of the traveling vehicle. First, a driving force is applied to the wheel 2a to provide the arm 1b (3b).
The output of the sensor 8b (not shown) is set to a reference value required for self-sustaining. This reference value is set in advance as a pressure value required to surely make the traveling vehicle independent of any posture of the traveling vehicle. That is, if the pressure value is below a certain value, a forward force is applied to increase the pressure value, and if it is above a certain value, a backward force is applied to reduce the pressure value. Then, a driving force is applied to the wheel 2c to set the output of the sensor 8c (not shown) on the arm 1c (3c) to a reference value required for self-support. It is exactly the same as in the case of the wheel 2a that the forward force is applied to increase the pressure when the pressure value is equal to or lower than a fixed value, and the backward force is applied to decrease the pressure when the pressure value is equal to or higher than the fixed value. However, the output reference values of the sensors 8b and 8c do not necessarily have to be the same. In this way, the wheel 2b actively climbs the step, and the wheels 2a, 2c climb in a posture depending on it. As a result, the backward movement control of the wheels 2a, 2c is automatically performed on the way.

Further, the usage of the pressure sensor 8 will be described with reference to the example of FIG. 3. While the wheels 2b are driven by a signal proportional to the speed or traction force of the traveling vehicle, the pressure values of the sensors 8b and 8c become reference values, respectively. The wheels 2a and 2c are driven.
Specifically, when the traveling vehicle climbs a mountain, the forward force of the wheel 2c is weakened so that the sensor 8c (not shown) on the arm 1c (3c) does not detect a force equal to or higher than a reference value. Further, when descending the mountain, the forward force of the wheel 2a is strengthened so that the sensor 8b (not shown) on the arm 1b (3b) does not detect a force below the reference value. Further, the advancing force of the wheel 2c is strengthened so that the detection value of the sensor 8c, which tends to decrease under the influence thereof, does not fall below the reference value. By the control method described above, even if the pipe wall has a step, unevenness, or a bend, the traveling vehicle can pass through it without difficulty.
In the above description, the wheel 2b is used as the main driving wheel, but it is also possible to use the wheel 2a or the wheel 2c as the main driving wheel and determine the driving force to another wheel by using the outputs of the sensors 8b and 8c.

FIG. 4 shows an example of the configuration of an apparatus necessary for carrying out the method for controlling three wheels using the outputs of the sensors 8b and 8c. However, this is the case where the wheel 2b is the main driving wheel. In the figure,
Ma, Mb, and Mc are motors that are means for driving the wheels 2a, 2b, and 2c, 9 is a differential amplifier, and 10 is a power amplifier. Reference numeral 11 is an input signal to the device, specifically, a value 11b proportional to the speed or traction of the traveling vehicle, wheels 2b.
Is the pressure reference value 11a of the arm supporting the wheel, and the pressure reference value 11c of the arm supporting the wheel 2c. The power amplifier 10 to which the value 11b is input constitutes a first signal generation circuit that generates the magnitude of voltage and current required for driving in proportion to the speed or traction of the traveling vehicle. The differential amplifier 9 and the power amplifier 10 connected thereto compare the pressure value of the arm supporting the wheel 2b or 2c, that is, the output from the sensor 8b or 8c with a predetermined reference value 11a or 11c, and compare the difference between them. A second signal generation circuit that generates a signal proportional to The arm pressure reference values 11a and 11c are determined by the scissor angle θ.
It can also be set according to the size of. The motor Mb is
While the motor Ma and Mc are constantly driven by the output signal (11b) of the first signal generation circuit, the motors Ma and Mc are different from the pressure reference value 11a and the output of the sensor 8b and the pressure reference value 11c.
Are driven based on the difference between the outputs of the sensor 8c and the sensor 8c. In the above example, the case where the output of the first signal generating circuit is used for controlling the wheel 2b has been described, but the present invention is not limited to this, and the output of the first signal generating circuit is It may be applied to any one of the three wheels, and the second signal generation circuit may be applied to the remaining wheels. INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY The present invention is a wheel control method that utilizes arm pressure, and is effective in achieving stable independence and movement when the traveling vehicle is stationary or moving.

[Operation] In summary, according to the present invention, one of the three wheels is used as a main driving wheel and is driven by a signal proportional to the speed or traction of the traveling vehicle, and the remaining two wheels are driven wheels and are used as arms for supporting the front and rear wheels. The present invention relates to a method and an apparatus for controlling the acting pressure so that a reference value can be detected.In a pipe where wall conditions such as size, shape, posture, and undulation vary in various ways, autonomous traveling control of a traveling vehicle is very important. It is possible to realize with a simple device. In particular, the present invention is a method that is effective from the viewpoint of protecting the inside of the pipe and saving energy because it is possible to realize traveling that effectively uses the supplied energy without applying an unreasonable force to both the traveling vehicle and the wall surface.

[Effects of the Invention] The present invention is applied to maintenance, inspection, and inspection work in pipes, which is indispensable for preventing dangerous vapor, gas, and liquid from leaking out from various industrial facilities such as nuclear plants and chemical plants. It is very effective as a necessary control method of a traveling device and a device, and enables autonomous control of traveling in a pipe, which has been impossible in the past. When a large traction force is generated, it is expected to be used as a control technology for a transportation device in the fields of construction and civil engineering.

[Brief description of drawings]

1 and 2 are explanatory views showing a control device for a traveling vehicle in a pipe necessary for carrying out the present invention, FIG. 3 is an explanatory view of a traveling situation, FIG. 4 is a block diagram of a device configuration of the present invention, and FIG. FIG. 6 is an explanatory view showing a device of a conventional in-pipe traveling vehicle, and FIG. 7 is a traveling situation explanatory view. 1b, 1c ... arms 2a, 2b, 2c ... wheels 3b, 3c ... links 4a, 4b, 4c ... driving device 5 ... shaft fulcrum 6 ... spring 7 ... pipe wall surface 8b, 8c ... pressure sensor 9 ... Differential amplifier 10 ... Power amplifier 11a, 11b, 11c ... Input signal A ... Arm fulcrum B, C ... Arm end point Ma, Mb, Mc ... Motor

Continuation of front page (56) References JP-A-61-85258 (JP, A) JP-A-59-199331 (JP, A)

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A three-wheel in-vehicle traveling vehicle having a wheel at each of the fulcrum and each of the end points of a link structure capable of changing the distance between two end points with at least one shaft fulcrum,
It is characterized in that the pressures acting on the arms respectively supporting the front wheels and the rear wheels located at the respective end points are detected, and the three wheels are driven so that the respective detected pressures respectively become preset reference values. Control method for in-service vehicles. 2. A driving force is applied in the order of first the front wheels, secondly the wheels located at the fulcrum, thirdly the rear wheels, and a master-slave relationship is provided between the three wheels. The method for controlling a traveling vehicle in a pipe according to claim 1. 3. A control method for a traveling vehicle in a pipe according to claim 1, wherein a reference value of pressure is determined depending on a magnitude of an opening angle of the arm around the fulcrum. . 4. A control device for a three-wheeled in-vehicle traveling vehicle having wheels at each of the fulcrum and each of the end points of a link structure capable of changing the distance between the two end points with at least one shaft fulcrum. A first signal generating circuit for generating a signal proportional to the speed or traction force of the arm, and a second signal generating circuit for comparing the pressure value of the arm supporting the wheel at the end point with a predetermined reference value and generating a signal proportional to the difference. Signal generator circuit and one of the wheels depending on the output of the first signal generator circuit.
And a means for driving the remaining one of the wheels by the output of the second signal generating circuit.