JPH09257448A - Contact-type distance-measuring sensor - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a contact-type distance-measuring sensor in which a rotation member can be turned surely when the rotation member is pressed by an object to be measured. SOLUTION: A contact-type distance-measuring sensor is constituted of a shaft 9 which is turned inside a prescribed face 15, of a contact maker 13 which comes into contact with an object to be measured, of a potentiomater 5 which detects the angle of rotation of the shaft 9 and of a torsion coiled spring 12 which is used to keep the position of the shaft 9. The shaft 9 is attached to a position in which the axis of the shaft 9 is deviated with reference to the axis 6 of the potentiometer. Thereby, even when the shaft 9 is pressed vertically by the object to be measured, the direction of a pressure force by the contact maker 13 and the object to be measured is not passed through the axis 6 of the potentiometer, and the shaft 9 is turned surely.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a contact type distance measuring sensor, and more particularly to a contact type distance measuring sensor, even if its rotating member comes into contact with a measurement object.
The present invention relates to a contact type distance measuring sensor in which a rotating member can reliably rotate.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art For example, an autonomous mobile robot that travels along a wall has been conventionally known. In these robots, a contact distance measuring sensor is used to detect the distance between the wall and the robot.

Specifically, the contact type distance measuring sensor is composed of a rod-shaped shaft that contacts an object (object to be measured, object to be contacted) such as a wall, and a potentiometer connected to one end of the shaft. There is.

When the shaft comes into contact with an object, the shaft rotates about the axis of the potentiometer. The rotated angle is measured by a potentiometer.
The distance between the robot and the wall is calculated from the measured rotation angle.

Such a contact type sensor is disclosed, for example, in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 59-28404 as a contact type copying sensor for a reaper harvesting machine with a copying sensor. Further, in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 5-204448, it is disclosed as an obstacle detecting means for an automated guided vehicle.

[0006]

FIG. 14 is a perspective view of a conventional contact type distance measuring sensor, and FIG. 15 is a side view of the contact type distance measuring sensor shown in FIG.

As shown in FIGS. 14 and 15, the contact-type distance measuring sensor includes a contactor 1 that contacts an object such as a wall.
3 and a shaft 9 whose one end is connected to the contactor 13
A potentiometer 5 for detecting the angle of rotation of the shaft 9; a rotary shaft 6 of the potentiometer 5;
And a shaft holder 10 for connecting the sensor base plate 7, a sensor base plate 7 connected to the potentiometer 5 and used for mounting a contact distance measuring sensor on a robot, and a base plate pawl 8 integrally formed with the sensor base plate 7. , A shaft center positioning pawl 11 formed integrally with the shaft holder 10
And a torsion coil spring 12 that applies a biasing force to the shaft in a direction toward the neutral position of the shaft by sandwiching the base plate pawl 8 and the shaft center positioning pawl 11 at both ends thereof.

The shaft 9 is rotatable about the rotation axis 6 of the potentiometer 5 in a predetermined plane 17 shown by a dotted line in a clockwise direction and a counterclockwise direction by a predetermined angle.

When the object contacts the shaft 9 or the contact 13, the shaft 9 rotates in a predetermined plane 17, but when the object separates from the contact 13 or the shaft 9, a torsion coil spring is formed. The shaft 9 is returned to the neutral position by the biasing force given by 12.

FIG. 16 is a plan view for explaining the features of the contact type distance measuring sensor shown in FIG.

FIG. 16B shows a neutral state of the shaft 9, and FIG.
Shows the state in which the shaft 9 moves in a predetermined plane due to the contact between the two.

From the state shown in FIG. 16 (b), when the object 14 comes into contact with the contact 13, the shaft 9 rotates clockwise around the rotation axis 6 as shown in FIG. 16 (a). Turn to. In the state shown in FIG. 16A, the torsion coil spring 12 biases the shaft 9 through the shaft holder 10 in the counterclockwise direction about the rotary shaft 6 of the potentiometer. Assuming that the angle (rotation angle) at which the shaft 9 is rotated from the neutral state is A, the length of the shaft 9 is L, and the radius of the contact 13 is r, the object (target object) can be detected from the axis of the rotary shaft 6 of the potentiometer. The distance d to the (measurement object) 14 is represented by the equation (1).

D = r + L × cosA (1) As a result, the distance between the contact distance measuring sensor and the object is calculated.

16 (a), the shaft 9 is rotated clockwise from the state shown in FIG. 16 (b), but it is also possible to rotate it counterclockwise.

However, such a contact type distance measuring sensor has the following problems.

Since the contact type distance measuring sensor detects the distance between the sensor 13 and the object 14 by bringing the contact 13 and the object 14 into contact with each other, it makes contact with a moving body such as a robot. When mounting the distance measuring sensor, it is necessary to mount the shaft 9 and the contact 13 so as to project from the moving body.

FIG. 17 is a plan view for explaining how the conventional contact type distance measuring sensor and an object are brought into contact with each other.

When the contact type distance measuring sensor is attached to an autonomous mobile robot which autonomously travels (follows) along an object such as a wall surface, as shown in FIG. , Their shafts 9 are attached so as to project in a direction perpendicular to the forward direction "X" of the body 2 of the robot.

The autonomous mobile robot performs not only forward and backward movements of the vehicle body 2 in the front-rear direction, but also lateral movements of the vehicle body 2 in the left-right direction and rotation operations for changing the traveling direction. For example, when an autonomous mobile robot that is autonomously moving laterally moves in a direction perpendicular to the forward direction “X” of the vehicle body unit 2, the contact-type distance measuring sensor attached to the vehicle body unit 2 moves on a wall surface. 4 may be touched perpendicularly. Further, when the autonomous mobile robot performs a rotation operation in a horizontal plane to change the traveling direction, the contact distance measuring sensor may contact the wall surface 4 vertically.

By the lateral movement and rotation of the autonomous mobile robot, a force "Y" is applied to the vehicle body 2 in a direction perpendicular to the forward direction "X" of the vehicle body 2, and the contact 13
When, for example, contacts the wall surface 4 which is the object in a direction perpendicular to the wall surface 4, a force “Y ′” in the opposite direction to the force “Y” is applied from the wall surface 4 to the contact 13 and the shaft 9. At this time, since the direction of the force "Y '" passes through the rotary shaft 6 of the potentiometer, a force is directly applied to the rotary shaft of the potentiometer, and the shaft 9 cannot rotate in either the left or right direction. Further, when an excessive force is applied to the rotary shaft 6, the rotary shaft 6 and the sensor base plate 7 may be damaged. Such breakage is particularly likely to occur when the robot is heavy and moves at a high speed.

The present invention has been made to solve the above problems, and a contact type distance measuring sensor capable of reliably rotating a shaft, which is a rotating member, when the shaft is pressed against an object to be measured. Is intended to provide.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a contact type distance measuring sensor which is less likely to be damaged.

[0023]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the contact type distance measuring sensor according to claim 1 receives a pressing force when at least one point of the contact type distance measuring sensor is in contact with the measuring object, and a predetermined axis. A rotating member that rotates around the rotating member; and a measuring unit that measures the distance between the rotating member and the object to be measured by measuring the angle of rotation of the rotating member. It is characterized in that the direction of the pressing force generated by the contact between the rotating member and the measurement object at the point of contact with the object does not pass through the central axis about which the rotating member rotates.

According to the first aspect of the invention, when the rotating member and the object to be measured are in contact with each other, the direction of the pressing force generated by the contact does not pass through the central axis of the rotating member. It is possible to obtain the contact type distance measuring sensor in which the rotating member can reliably rotate even if the member is pressed by the measurement target.

As a result, it is possible to obtain a contact type distance measuring sensor which is unlikely to be damaged.

[0026]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the drawings, the same reference numerals indicate the same or corresponding parts.

(1) First Embodiment FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a contact type distance measuring sensor according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 1, the contact-type distance measuring sensor includes a contactor 13 that contacts an object such as a wall and a contactor 1.
3, a shaft 9 having one end thereof connected to the potentiometer 5, a potentiometer 5 that detects the angle of rotation of the shaft 9, a shaft holder 10 that connects the rotary shaft 6 of the potentiometer 5 to the shaft 9, and a potentiometer 5. A sensor base plate 7 used for attaching the contact distance measuring sensor to a robot, a base plate pawl 8 integrally formed with the sensor base plate 7, and a shaft center positioning pawl integrally formed with the shaft holder 10. 11, a base plate pawl 8 and a shaft center positioning pawl 11 are sandwiched by both ends thereof, and a torsion coil spring 12 which applies a biasing force to the shaft in a direction toward the neutral position of the shaft.

In the contact type distance measuring sensor according to the first embodiment of the present invention, the shaft 9 is attached at a position displaced from the rotary shaft 6 of the potentiometer.

The shaft 9 is rotatable about the rotation axis 6 of the potentiometer 5 in a predetermined plane 15 shown by a dotted line in a clockwise direction and a counterclockwise direction by a predetermined angle.

Further, when the object comes into contact with the shaft 9 and the contactor 13, the shaft 9 is moved to a predetermined plane 15.
Rotate inside. When the object separates from the contactor 13 and the shaft 9, the shaft 9 is returned to the neutral position by the biasing force applied by the torsion coil spring 12.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the configuration of the autonomous mobile robot according to the embodiment of the present invention.

The autonomous mobile robot includes a moving section 20 having a drive mechanism for driving the robot, a vehicle body section 2,
It is composed of a work unit 3 for performing work such as cleaning. As shown in FIG. 2, the vehicle body portion 2 is rotatably provided above the moving portion 20 as indicated by an arrow around the same axis as the rotation center of the moving portion 20. The working unit 3 is provided behind the vehicle body unit 2 so as to be slidable in the left-right direction as indicated by an arrow.

FIG. 3 is a plan view showing the configuration of an autonomous mobile robot having a contact distance measuring sensor according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

The body part 2 of the autonomous mobile robot is provided with two contact-type distance measuring sensors 1a-1d on the left and right sides with respect to the forward direction "X" of the robot. The contact distance measuring sensors 1a to 1d are attached such that their shafts are oriented in a direction perpendicular to the forward direction "X" of the vehicle body 2.

The moving portion 20 includes driven wheels 24F and 24F.
B, drive wheels 25R and 25L, drive wheel bearings 26R and 26L, drive wheel motors 27R and 27L, a vehicle body part support and rotation mechanism 28, and a vehicle body part support and rotation mechanism drive motor 29.

A driven wheel 24F is mounted in front of the moving portion 20 so as to be rotatable in an arbitrary direction. Similarly, the driven wheel 24B is attached to the rear of the moving unit 20. A drive wheel 25R is attached to the right side of the moving unit 20,
The rotation of the drive wheel motor 27R is transmitted to the drive wheel 25R via a drive wheel bearing 26R by a belt (not shown). Similarly, a drive wheel 25L is attached to the left side of the moving unit 20, and the drive wheel bearing 26 is attached to the drive wheel 25L.
The rotation of the drive wheel motor 27L is transmitted via L.

That is, the drive wheels 25R and 25L can be controlled independently of each other, which enables the autonomous mobile robot to travel. Left and right drive wheels 2
The autonomous mobile robot moves forward or backward by rotating 5L and 25R in the same direction. In addition, the autonomous mobile robot travels in a curve by increasing or decreasing the rotational speed of either the drive wheel 25L or the drive wheel 25R. Although not shown, encoders are provided at the other ends of the drive shafts of the drive wheel motors 27R and 27L, respectively.
It is possible to detect the rotation amount and the rotation speed of 7L.
It is also possible to calculate the traveling distance from the detected rotation amount and output the traveling distance as the output of the encoder.

At the center of the moving part 20, there is provided a vehicle body part supporting / rotating mechanism 28 for rotatably supporting the vehicle body part 2, and the vehicle body part for rotating the vehicle body part 2 via the vehicle body part supporting / rotating mechanism 28. A motor 29 for driving the support rotation mechanism is provided. That is, the moving unit 20 and the vehicle body unit 2 can rotate independently. Left and right drive wheels 25L and 25R
By rotating each of them in the opposite directions, the autonomous mobile robot performs a rotating operation of rotating 90 ° clockwise or counterclockwise with the center of the body portion 2 as the center of rotation.

Next, the operation of the autonomous mobile robot having the contact distance measuring sensor will be described.

FIG. 4 is a plan view for explaining how the autonomous mobile robot having the contact type distance measuring sensor according to the first embodiment of the present invention travels in a contact copying manner.

In FIG. 4, the autonomous mobile robot is performing autonomous movement (contact copying traveling) along the wall surface 4 on the left side in the forward direction "X". In this state,
By contacting the wall surface 4, the contact-type distance measuring sensors 1c and 1d provided on the left side with respect to the forward direction “X” are
The shaft is rotated counterclockwise with respect to the drawing from the neutral state. The rotation angle of the shaft is detected by a potentiometer (not shown), and thus the distance between the vehicle body portion 2 and the wall surface 4 is detected. Based on the detected distance, the robot runs along the wall surface 4, and the working unit 3 is controlled along the wall surface 4.

The autonomous mobile robot shown in FIG. 4 is controlled to perform the following operations so that it is possible to perform cleaning work on every corner of the wall.

As shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, always 2
The control is performed so that the end of the working unit 3 comes on the extension line 16 of the contact distance measuring sensor of the book.

That is, as shown in FIG. 5, when the autonomous mobile robot moves away from the wall surface 4 along the forward direction "X", the contact type distance measuring sensor 1c and the contact type distance measuring sensor 1 are used.
The working unit 3 is controlled so that the wall-side end of the working unit 3 is located on the extension line 16 connecting the respective contacts of d.

On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 6, even when the autonomous mobile robot approaches the wall surface 4 along the forward direction "X", the contact type distance measuring sensor 1c and the contact type distance measuring sensor are similarly used. The working portion 3 is provided on the extension line 16 connecting the respective contacts of 1d.
The working unit 3 is controlled so that the end portion on the wall surface side of the working unit 3 is positioned.

These controls are performed by the contact type distance measuring sensor 1c.
The rotation angle of each shaft of the contact type distance measuring sensor 1d and the contact type distance measuring sensor 1d is measured by a potentiometer, and by these controls, the autonomous mobile robot moves to the wall surface even when it is separated from the wall surface (FIG. 5). Even when approaching (Fig. 6), you can always work in every corner.

Next, a method for contacting the wall surface with the contact type distance measuring sensor attached to the vehicle body of the autonomous mobile robot when the autonomous mobile robot is traveling autonomously away from the wall surface will be described.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a method of bringing the contact type distance measuring sensor into contact with the wall surface when the wall surface is present in the forward direction of the autonomous mobile robot.

FIG. 7 (a) shows a state in which the autonomous mobile robot is moving forward toward the front wall surface 4. As shown in FIG. 7B, the autonomous mobile robot has a body part 2
The vehicle moves forward until the front portion of touches the wall surface 4. Then Figure 7
As shown in (c), the autonomous mobile robot moves backward by a predetermined distance. Further, as shown in FIG. 7D, the contact-type distance measuring sensor 1 is rotated by rotating the vehicle body clockwise.
c and 1d contact the wall surface 4. At this time, depending on how the autonomous mobile robot rotates, the contact distance measuring sensors 1c and / or 1d and the wall surface 4 make vertical contact.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a method of bringing a contact type distance measuring sensor into contact with a wall surface when the wall surface is in a direction perpendicular to the forward direction of the autonomous mobile robot.

FIG. 8A shows the autonomous mobile robot moving away from the wall surface 4 and running autonomously along the wall surface 4 in parallel. The autonomous mobile robot stops traveling as shown in FIG. 8B and then rotates only the moving unit 20 counterclockwise by 90 ° as shown in FIG. 8C.
Next, as shown in FIG. 8D, the left and right drive wheels 25L and 25R are rotated in the same direction while the moving unit 20 is being rotated by 90 °, and the contact distance measuring sensors 1c and 1C are
The vehicle body is moved forward until d contacts the wall surface 4. That is, in FIG. 8, the autonomous mobile robot brings the contact distance measuring sensors 1c and 1d into contact with the wall surface 4 by moving laterally. By such lateral movement, the contact distance measuring sensors 1c and / or 1d attached to the autonomous mobile robot and the wall surface 4 come into vertical contact with each other.

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing a state in which the contact type distance measuring sensor of the autonomous mobile robot having the contact type distance measuring sensor according to the first embodiment of the present invention makes vertical contact with the wall surface.

When the contact type distance measuring sensor is attached to the autonomous mobile robot, as shown in FIG. 9, in the contact type distance measuring sensors 1a to 1d, their shafts 9 have their shafts 9 in the forward direction "X". It is mounted so that it is oriented in a direction perpendicular to. Therefore, a force "Y" directed in the direction perpendicular to the forward direction "X" is applied to the vehicle body portion 2 by the lateral movement or rotation operation of the autonomous mobile robot as described above, and the contact 13 is applied to the wall surface 4 or the like. When abutting against the object in the vertical direction, a force "Y '" (not shown) opposite to the force "Y" is applied from the wall surface 4 to the contact 13 and the shaft 9.

FIG. 10 is a plan view for explaining how the contact-type distance measuring sensor and the object in the first embodiment of the present invention are in contact with each other.

When the contact distance measuring sensor according to the first embodiment of the present invention is attached to an autonomous mobile robot,
As shown in FIG. 10, the shaft 9 is always attached to the axis 6 of the potentiometer while being displaced in the direction opposite to the forward direction "X" of the vehicle body 2.

The axis of the shaft 9 is the axis 6 of the potentiometer.
By installing it in a position displaced with respect to the contact 1,
Even when the shaft 3 and the shaft 9 are pressed vertically against the wall surface 4, the straight line extending in the direction of the pressing force “Y ′” of the contact 13 and the object 4 does not pass through the axis 6 of the potentiometer. That is, even when the contactor 13 and the shaft 9 are pressed vertically against the object 4, the pressing force "Y '" is not directly applied to the shaft 6 of the potentiometer, so that the shaft 9 cannot rotate to the left or right. That can be avoided.

Further, when the force "Y '" is applied, the force "Z" in the counterclockwise rotation direction is applied to the shaft 6 of the potentiometer, and the shaft 9 operates reliably.
Therefore, it is possible to prevent excessive force from being applied to the potentiometer shaft 6, the sensor base plate 7, and the like, and to prevent damage to these.

The contact type distance measuring sensor shown in FIG. 10 is, for example, in FIG. 9, a contact type distance measuring sensor provided on the left side surface of the vehicle body 2 with respect to the forward direction "X" of the vehicle body 2. It represents 1c and 1d.

The contact type distance measuring sensors, such as the contact type distance measuring sensors 1a and 1b, provided on the right side surface of the vehicle body portion 2 with respect to the forward direction "X" of the vehicle body portion 2 are shown in FIG.
A shaft 9 is provided in a direction indicated by 1 so as to be offset from the axis 6 of the potentiometer.

Although not shown, a force for moving the vehicle body portion 2 from the left side to the right side of the vehicle body portion 2 is applied, so that the contact type distance measuring sensors 1a and 1b are located on the right side with respect to the forward direction of the vehicle body portion 2. When it is pressed vertically against the object, a clockwise turning force is applied to the shaft 6 of the potentiometer, and the shaft 9 operates reliably.

That is, when the shaft 9 is mounted so as to be displaced with respect to the axis 6 of the potentiometer in the direction opposite to the forward direction "X" of the vehicle body part 2, the shaft 9 is pressed vertically against the wall surface 4 as the object. First, the shaft 9 always rotates in the direction opposite to the forward direction "X" of the vehicle body 2. As a result, the autonomous mobile robot can continue to move forward without being stopped even after being pressed by the wall surface or the like.

FIG. 11 is a plan view for explaining the features of the contact type distance measuring sensor according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 11 (b) shows the neutral state of the shaft 9, and FIG. 4 (a) shows that the shaft 14 moves in a predetermined plane when the object 14 contacts the contactor 13. It shows the state.

From the state shown in FIG. 11B, when the object 14 comes into contact with the contactor 13, as shown in FIG. Rotate around. In the state shown in FIG. 11A, the torsion coil spring 12 causes the shaft 9
A force toward the counterclockwise direction about the rotary shaft 6 of the potentiometer is applied to the shaft holder 10 via the shaft holder 10. Here, the angle at which the shaft 9 rotates from the neutral state (rotation angle) is A, the length of the shaft 9 is L, and the contact 13
R is the radius, and the rotary axis 6 of the potentiometer of the shaft 9 is
The distance d from the axis of the rotary shaft 6 of the potentiometer to the object (object to be measured) 14 is represented by the equation (2), where b is the amount of eccentricity with respect to the axis.

D = r + L × cosA−b × sinA (2) As a result, the distance between the contact distance measuring sensor and the object is calculated.

The contact distance measuring sensor shown in FIG. 11 is a sensor provided on the right side surface of the vehicle body in the forward direction of the robot.

The contact type distance measuring sensor provided on the left side surface of the vehicle body with respect to the forward direction of the robot is the sensor shown in FIG. 11 (b), which is located on the left side of the rotary shaft 6 of the potentiometer with respect to the drawing. The amount of eccentricity b of the shaft 9 is shown on the right side of the drawing (FIG. 10).
reference).

(2) Second Embodiment Next, a contact type distance measuring sensor according to a second embodiment of the present invention will be described.

The second embodiment is characterized by a method of attaching a contact type distance measuring sensor to an autonomous mobile robot. The contact type distance measuring sensor has a conventional contact type distance measuring sensor shown in FIG. A distance sensor can be used. The configuration and operation of the autonomous mobile robot are basically the same as those in the first embodiment.

FIG. 12 is a plan view of an autonomous mobile robot having a contact distance measuring sensor according to the second embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 13 is a contact type according to the second embodiment of the present invention. It is a top view for explaining a mode of contact of an object and a ranging sensor. The contact type distance measuring sensor shown in FIG. 13 is the contact type distance measuring sensor 1c provided on the left side surface of the vehicle body 2 with respect to the forward direction "X" of the vehicle body 2 of the autonomous mobile robot in FIG. Or it represents 1d.

As shown in FIGS. 12 and 13, in the contact type distance measuring sensor, within a predetermined plane in which the shaft 9 rotates, the shaft 9 is in a direction perpendicular to the forward direction "X" of the vehicle body 2. It is mounted so as to face the direction rotated in the opposite direction to the forward direction "X" by a predetermined angle α from Y ". Therefore, a lateral movement or rotation of the autonomous mobile robot imparts a force “Y” directed in a direction perpendicular to the forward direction “X” of the vehicle body portion 2 to the vehicle body portion 2 so that the contactor 13 and the shaft 9 are wall surfaces. Even in the case of being pressed by 4, the direction of the pressing force "Y '" opposite to the force "Y" does not pass through the potentiometer shaft 6, as shown in FIG.

That is, even when the force "Y" is applied in the direction perpendicular to the forward direction "X" of the vehicle body 2 and the contact 13 and the shaft 9 are pressed against the wall surface 4, the pressing force "Y" is applied. The shaft 9 is always able to rotate, since no ′ ″ is applied directly to the potentiometer shaft 6. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the potentiometer shaft 6 and the sensor base plate 7 from being applied with excessive force and being damaged.

As shown in FIG. 13, the pressing force "Y '"
Is applied to the shaft 6 of the potentiometer, a force "Z '" that rotates counterclockwise in the direction opposite to the forward direction "X" is applied, and the shaft 9 operates reliably.

Although not shown, a force for moving the vehicle body 2 to the right is applied by lateral movement or rotation of the autonomous mobile robot, and the contact distance measuring sensors 1a and 1b are
When vertically pressed against the wall surface located on the right side of the vehicle body portion 2, a force that rotates clockwise is applied to the axis of the potentiometer, and the shaft 9 reliably rotates.

That is, the contact type distance measuring sensor is
Since it is attached diagonally rearward with respect to
When the shaft 9 is pressed against the wall surface 4, the shaft 9 inevitably falls backward with respect to the forward movement direction "X" of the robot, whereby the movement such as forward movement and copying travel is continued.

The contact-type distance measuring sensors according to the first and second embodiments of the present invention use a slippery material such as Teflon for the contactor or a rotating member in order to reduce friction with the object to be measured. You may use a roller.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a contact-type distance measuring sensor according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a configuration of an autonomous mobile robot according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a plan view showing a configuration of an autonomous mobile robot having a contact distance measuring sensor according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a plan view for explaining a state of contact contour traveling of an autonomous mobile robot having a contact distance measuring sensor according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a first diagram for explaining the operation of the autonomous mobile robot in FIG.

FIG. 6 is a second diagram for explaining the operation of the autonomous mobile robot of FIG.

FIG. 7 is a first diagram showing a method of bringing the contact-type distance measuring sensor into contact with the wall surface of the autonomous mobile robot having the contact-type distance measuring sensor according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a second diagram showing a method of bringing the contact type distance measuring sensor into contact with the wall surface of the autonomous mobile robot having the contact type distance measuring sensor according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a plan view showing a state in which the contact-type distance measuring sensor of the autonomous mobile robot having the contact-type distance measuring sensor according to the first embodiment of the present invention is in vertical contact with the wall surface.

FIG. 10 is a plan view for explaining how the contact distance measuring sensor and the object in the first embodiment of the present invention are in contact with each other.

FIG. 11 is a plan view for explaining the features of the contact distance measuring sensor of FIG.

FIG. 12 is a plan view of an autonomous mobile robot having a contact distance measuring sensor according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 13 is a plan view for explaining how the contact-type distance measuring sensor and the object in the second embodiment of the present invention are in contact with each other.

FIG. 14 is a perspective view of a conventional contact type distance measuring sensor.

FIG. 15 is a side view of the contact type distance measuring sensor of FIG.

16 is a plan view for explaining the features of the contact distance measuring sensor of FIG. 14. FIG.

17 is a plan view for explaining how the contact distance measuring sensor of FIG. 14 contacts an object.

[Explanation of symbols]

 4 Wall surface 5 Potentiometer 6 Rotation axis of potentiometer 7 Sensor base plate 8 Base plate pawl 9 Shaft 10 Shaft holder 11 Shaft center positioning pawl 12 Torsion coil spring 13 Contactor

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A rotating member that rotates around a predetermined axis when a measuring object comes into contact with at least one of the points and a rotating angle of the rotating member is measured. A contact-type distance measuring sensor, comprising: a measuring unit that measures a distance between the rotating member and the measuring object at a point where the rotating member contacts the measuring object. A contact type distance measuring sensor characterized in that the direction of the pressing force generated by the contact does not pass through the shaft.