JPH09142347A - Rough terrain moving device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide high rough terrain overrunning ability running the whole distance of an rough terrain environment in severe irregularity of the lunar surface or the like, and make self recovering and running contorting possible regardless of shape of the grounding surface and a tumble condition at tumbling/ lateral turning time. SOLUTION: A diameter D3 of central wheels 4a, set up in a main unit part 6, is formed larger than a vertical direction thickness H2 of the main unit part 6, the other wheels 4 are set up through an articulated link mechanism comprising an upper link 5a, lower 5b and articulations 7, 8 so as to improve rough terrain overrunning ability. It is capable of running even in a back condition at tumbling time by setting the central wheel 4a to be matched with a vertical direction center line 33 of the main part 6 into vertical symmetry, and an and of self recovering at tumbling time. by providing an articulated manipulator set up in the main unit part 6.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a vehicle mechanism structure of an uneven terrain rovers applied to lunar exploration rovers, disaster area exploration mobile robots, and the like.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Some toys have hitherto been found to be mechanically devised so as to recover when they fall. First, Jikken 6-17500 will be described with reference to FIG. This is a radio-controlled traveling toy that is steered in a forward direction and a backward direction by radio control, but when the toy car rolls over due to hitting an obstacle during the radio control, the standing arms 51, 52 are moved. It is opened and rotated, and it is automatically raised by the kicking action of the floor contact.

Next, Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 59-17354 will be described with reference to FIGS. As shown in FIG. 11, when the toy car hits an obstacle such as a wall, the front wheels ascend over the wall as they are and the car rolls backward when the vehicle body tilts substantially vertically. At this time, the bulging portion 61 and the like are designed to be easily rolled on the upper surface of the vehicle so as not to be stopped when the vehicle rolls backward.
Further, since the supporting rod 62 protruding from the upper surface of the vehicle is installed, the vehicle rolls over as shown in FIG. 12, and the outside of the wheel itself is easily rolled. You can roll back to your posture.

Finally, FIG. 13 shows an example of a prior art in which the ability to run on rough terrain is provided by combining wheels and links. This is a central wheel 71, a front wheel 72, a rear wheel 73.
The front wheel 72 and the rear wheel 73 have a link mechanism 74,
Supported by 75. With this structure, when there is a step in the traveling direction, the front wheel is first lifted above the step by a link, and the vehicle body is supported on the step while supporting it with the front wheel and the rear wheel below the step, like a shakutai bug. Lift to
Finally, the rear wheels can be lifted to get over the step.

[0005]

The above-mentioned embodiment is an effective means on a flat ground or a flat surface, but it cannot exert its function on an uneven ground having unevenness. First of all, regarding the first conventional example, Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 6-17500,
When the place where the standing arm is attached is recessed like a hole, it is possible that the standing arm does not reach the ground, or even if the arm reaches, the stroke is insufficient to restore the posture. Also, if it ’s level ground, be sure to tire 5.
3 serves as a fulcrum, but if the tire 53 falls into the recess and cannot serve as a fulcrum, the main body may not be sufficiently raised.

Next, as to Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 59-17354, when the support rod 62 is caught in the recess, or when there is a step in the direction of overturning after backward rolling and a space for overturning cannot be secured. The posture may not be able to be restored.

Finally, in the conventional example in which the wheel and the link are combined, since the wheel is installed through a link mechanism, it is effective for overcoming a step, but the wheel diameter is small and the running performance on uneven ground is uneven. , It was difficult to recover from the fall.

In view of the above points, the present invention has a high ability to run on rough terrain that runs over rough terrain environments such as the moon, and the shape of the installation surface and the state of tipping when overturning or rolling over. The objective is to provide a mechanism that allows the vehicle to continue to run even if there is.

[0009]

According to the present invention, in order to solve the above problems, front and rear wheels are installed in a main body through a multi-joint link mechanism, and the diameter of the central wheel is larger than the thickness of the main body in the vertical direction. The feature is that the large diameter wheels improve the running performance on irregular terrain and enable them to get over bumps such as shakuri bugs.

Further, the center of the large-diameter center wheel is aligned with the center line of the main body in the vertical direction, and is installed so as to be vertically symmetrical, so that the wheel installed in the multi-joint link mechanism by operating the multi-joint link mechanism. By changing the position of, it is possible to run even when the vehicle is upside down.

By installing a multi-joint manipulator on the main body, it is possible to easily return to a posture when the man falls or overturns. By using the multi-joint manipulator as a manipulator having 7 degrees of freedom,
It is characterized by being able to return to any irregular ground.

Further, by installing the multi-joint manipulator so that it is symmetrical with respect to the center of the main body in the vertical direction as in the case of the central wheel, it may hinder the running in the upside-down state during overturning. The feature is that it is not.

[0013]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION The present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the embodiments shown in the drawings. FIG. 1 shows the configuration of an uneven terrain moving apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. The diameter D3 of the center wheel 4a and the wheel 4 is larger than the thickness H2 of the main body portion 6, and the center of each wheel is on the vertical center line 11 of the main body portion 6, which is a vertically symmetrical structure.

The wheel 4 is supported by a link mechanism having two joints 7 and 8. In this link mechanism, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the sprocket 19 of the motor 17 rotates the driven gear 21 via the potentiometer gear 20 to change the posture of the lower link 5b. The brake 18 is connected to the gear 21 and holds the posture of the lower link 5b. Similarly, in the case of the upper link 5a, the motor sprocket 22 rotates the driven gear 23 to change the attitude of the upper link 5a.

As shown in FIG. 4, the structure of the wheel 4 comprises a drive wheel 43, a drive motor 44, a tacho generator 45, a potentiometer 46, a speed reducer 47, and a brake 48. Each of the shafts 43 to 48 meshes with a gear, and when the drive motor 44 rotates, the shafts of the drive wheel 43, the tachogenerator 45, the potentiometer 46, the speed reducer 47, and the brake 48 are subordinately rotated.

The drive wheel 43 is in contact with the ground, and the main body 6
Forward or backward, the drive motor 44 drives the drive wheel 43
Is supplied to the drive wheels 43 to amplify the torque by the speed reducer 47 to rotate the drive wheels 43. The tachogenerator 45 detects the rotational speed of the wheel, and the potentiometer 46 detects the rotational angle of the wheel, which are used as control signals. The brake 48 stops the rotation of the wheels as needed.

The articulated manipulator 1 is attached to the main body 6. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 5, this is attached to the front surface or the rear surface of the main body portion 6 on the vertical centerline 11 of the main body portion 6 so that the entire apparatus can change its posture vertically with respect to the centerline 11. It is like this.

From the normal surface running posture 13, the articulated manipulator 1 or an obstacle such as a wall stands up, and after passing the standing posture 15, the vehicle rolls backward and becomes the rearward running posture 14. However, it is possible to run even in this state. There is.

The articulated manipulator 1 is constructed as shown in FIG. 6, in which R24 represents a roll axis and P25 a pitch axis. Normally, three-dimensional positioning is possible with six degrees of freedom, but since arbitrary posture control is performed, the multi-joint manipulator 1 is provided with a roll shaft 24 as a redundant degree of freedom 26 to have seven degrees of freedom.

This is modeled on the movement of a human hand. In the case of a hand, the three joints of the shoulder, elbow, and wrist each have two degrees of freedom of pitch axis and two degrees of yaw axis. Has a roll axis degree of freedom as a redundant degree of freedom, and has a total of 7 degrees of freedom. In this articulated manipulator, the human hand is based on the pitch axis and yaw axis, and the roll axis is added, whereas it is realized by the roll axis and the pitch axis, but if the range of degrees of freedom is expanded,
It can move more than a human hand.

A concrete embodiment of this articulated manipulator is shown in FIGS. Each of the joints of the first shaft 27 to the seventh shaft 33 includes a motor 34, a speed reducer 35, and a brake 3.
6.

In the case of the roll shaft 24, the motor 34, the speed reducer 35, and the brake 36 are connected to the actuator unit 37.
The joint module (TYPE A) 39, which is assembled into the joint case 38 and is housed in the joint case 38, is applied.

Further, in the case of the pitch axis 25, a joint module (TYPE A) 42 which is put together in an actuator unit 40 and accommodated in a joint case 41 is applied.

The concept of coping with overturning or overturning of this uneven terrain moving apparatus is shown in FIGS. 9 (a), 9 (b), 9 (c),
Shown in (d) and (e). In this case, the centers of the center wheel 4a and the multi-joint manipulator 1 are aligned with the vertical center line 11 of the main body portion 6, but the multi-joint link mechanism and the wheels 4 installed therein are not necessarily aligned with the vertical center line of the main body portion. It is not necessary to match the diameters of the wheels, and it is necessary that the diameter of the center wheel 4a is larger than the thickness of the main body portion. However, the diameters of the other wheels 4 need not necessarily be larger than the thickness of the main body portion.

Normally, the vehicle travels in the posture (a). This is,
When climbing a steep cliff as shown in (b), it may fall down as shown in (c) in some cases. At this time, FIG.
By operating the link mechanisms 5a and 5b of the middle leg and the multi-joint manipulator 1, it is possible to shift to the state (d) (back surface state), and to continue traveling again in this state (d).

Next, in the case where the main body 6 is overturned,
As shown in (e), the manipulator 1 mounted on the ground surface 12 is raised to raise the main body portion 6. After that, by operating the leg link mechanisms 5a and 5b in the raised state, the state shifts to the normal posture (a) or the rear posture (d), and the traveling is restored.

At this time, if the position where the manipulator 1 is attached is a concave portion and the stroke for getting up cannot be sufficiently obtained or the attached place is not a flat surface, the manipulator 1 can be used freely and attached to another place. 1 You can recover by adjusting the angle of the tip according to the angle of the ground surface.

[0028]

As described above in detail with reference to the embodiments, according to the present invention, the diameter of the central wheel is made larger than the vertical thickness of the main body, and the other wheels are installed through the articulated link. By doing so, it is possible to improve running performance on uneven ground and to climb over steps, and by aligning the center of the center wheel with the vertical center line of the main body part, it is possible to run upside down when overturning did.

Further, since the multi-joint manipulator is mounted, it is possible to return to the running state even when the manipulator rolls over. With the multi-joint manipulator having seven degrees of freedom, the manipulator is grounded by selecting an appropriate position for the returning operation. Not only is it possible to adjust the manipulator according to the angle of the ground surface.

Furthermore, by aligning the multi-joint manipulator with the upper and lower center lines of the main body as with the central wheel,
It does not interfere with running in the upside down state when overturning. As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to prevent the vehicle from running or returning to any uneven surface.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of an uneven ground moving device of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a drive mechanism diagram of a joint portion of the multi-joint link of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a cutaway view of a drive mechanism of a joint portion of the multi-joint link of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a mechanical view of a wheel of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a view showing that the uneven ground moving device of the present invention is vertically symmetrical.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a shaft configuration of an articulated manipulator of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an overview of an articulated manipulator of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an outline of the assembly of the joint unit of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing the concept of coping with overturning and overturning of the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a diagram for explaining the operation of a conventional sideways raising device for a wireless traveling toy.

FIG. 11 is a view showing a backward rotation state of a conventional traveling toy.

FIG. 12 is a view showing a state in which a conventional traveling toy is overturned.

FIG. 13 is a diagram showing a configuration of a vehicle mechanism of a conventional moving carriage.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 multi-joint manipulator 2 main body thickness H 3 wheel diameter D 4 wheel 4a central wheel 5 multi-joint link 5a upper link 5b lower link 6 main body 7 wheel support link first joint 8 wheel support link second joint 9 joint 7 Wheels when the link is raised up to the center 10 Wheels when the link is lowered down around the joint 7 11 Center line of the main body 6 12 Ground surface 13 Normal running posture of rough terrain moving device 14 Rough terrain moving device Standing posture 15 Rear running posture of rough terrain moving device 17 Motor for displacing lower link 5b 18 Brake of lower link 5b 19 Sprocket for driving lower link 5b 20 Potentiometer shaft gear for lower link 5b 21 Lower link 5b covered Drive gear 22 Sprocket for driving upper link 5a 23 Driven gear of upper link 5a 24 Roll shaft of multi-joint manipulator 25 Pitch axis of multi-joint manipulator 26 Redundant degree of freedom of multi-joint manipulator 27 First axis of multi-joint manipulator 28 Second axis of multi-joint manipulator 29 Third axis of multi-joint manipulator 30 Fourth axis of multi-joint manipulator 31 Multi-joint manipulator 5th axis 32 6th axis of multi-joint manipulator 33 7th axis of multi-joint manipulator 34 Joint drive motor 35 Joint drive reducer 36 Joint brake 37 Joint actuator unit (for roll axis) 38 Joint case (roll) Axis) 39 Joint Module (TYPE A), Roll Axis 40 Joint Actuator Unit (For Pitch Axis) 41 Joint Case (For Pitch Axis) 42 Joint Module (TYPE B), For Pitch Axis 43 Drive Wheel 44 Drive Motor 45 Octopus Generator 46 Potato Shometa 47 decelerator 48 brake 51 TatsuOkoshi arm 53 tire 61 vehicle upper surface of the bulging portion 62 支杆 71 center wheel 72 before wheel 73 rear wheel 74 and 75 link mechanism

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A central wheel having a diameter larger than a vertical thickness of a main body installed in the main body, a plurality of multi-joint link mechanisms installed in the main body, and wheels installed in each multi-joint link mechanism. Uneven ground moving device. 2. The uneven terrain moving apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the center wheel is installed so that the center of the center wheel is aligned with the center line of the main body in the vertical direction. 3. The uneven terrain moving device according to claim 1, wherein the main body part is provided with an articulated manipulator for assisting a returning operation at the time of falling. 4. A redundant degree of freedom is added to the minimum of 6 degrees of freedom required for positioning an articulated manipulator in a three-dimensional space.
The uneven terrain moving device according to claim 3, wherein the manipulator has a degree of freedom. 5. The uneven terrain moving apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the articulated manipulator is vertically symmetrical by being installed in the middle of the main body in the vertical direction on the entire surface or the rear surface of the main body.