JPS5973372A - Travelling machine - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To obtain a travelling machine having a great capability of ascending and descending stairs, and easily controlled, by providing respective wheels at ends of arm portions and a rotary central portion. CONSTITUTION:When a wheel 6a comes into collision with a side surface of a first step 22a, such a collision is detected by a travel control mechanism 20, and a rotary arm body 3 is forwardly rotated by a drive mechanism 8. Accordingly, the rotary arm body 3 is upwardly rotated about the wheel 6a, and a wheel 6b is abutted against an upper surface of the first step 22a. Then, when the rotary arm body 3 is further rotated, it is upwardly rotated about the wheel 6b abutted against the upper surface of the first step 22a to be ascended to the first step 22a. Then, when the rotary arm body 3 is rotated at an angle of 120 deg., the rotation is stopped, and at the same time, the rotary arm body is unrotatably fixed, thereafter forwardly rotating the wheels 6a-6d to travel the arm body on the upper surface of the first step 22a. Subsequently, in the same manner as above, the arm body may ascend stairs 22 step by step.

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] The present invention improves the ability to climb stairs and get over obstacles.
Regarding R running objects.

Recently, when performing various types of work such as inspection, monitoring, maintenance, and repair of equipment in an environment where standing trees the size of a nuclear reactor containment vessel are not suitable for sheltering, a distance of 15' + j 4 ψ is used instead of the worker. I have attempted to use a lower pot that can perform these tasks. Such a robot is generally constructed by mounting work equipment for each fΦ such as inspection and monitoring on a running body that can freely navigate the inside of the I413 reactor. By the way, inside the reactor containment vessel, there are many l&'t! The road surface on which such a robot must run is complex, and there are many stairs and obstacles along the way. For this reason, Una Robo.

In order to put the robot into practical use, it will be necessary to have a running vehicle that can freely go up and down stairs and freely overcome obstacles.

An example of such a running body is a crawler type (e> i
,'u.

It is conceivable that a crawler-type one has IXjφ world in its ability to go up and down stairs and overcome obstacles. A so-called traveling body with multiple legs has also been developed. Such a running body has the ability of a dog to go up and down stairs and overcome obstacles, but the structure of the legs and its driving mechanism are complicated, and a lot of information is needed to control the operation of the legs. However, the leg control mechanism was extremely complicated.

The present invention was developed based on the above-mentioned circumstances, and its purpose is to have a high ability to go up and down stairs, climb over harmful objects, etc., have a simple structure, and provide easy-to-control running. It's about getting a body.

The present invention will be described below according to an embodiment shown in the drawings. This embodiment is for inspecting and supervising equipment in the reactor containment vessel. In the figure, reference numeral 1 denotes a vehicle body, on which monitoring equipment such as a television camera 2 is mounted. At the front end and the rear end of the vehicle body 1, there are a total of four rotary arms, one pair each on the left and right sides...
is installed. The weight of these rotating arms is attached to the vehicle body 1 by a rotating shaft 4 so that it can freely rotate within a vertical plane. Each of these rotary arm weights is provided with three arm portions 5 that project radially from the center of rotation tL. Fj wheels 6 are rotatably attached to the tips of these arms M+, 5, respectively, by axles 7...C. Then, the rotating arm body l
A wheel 6 is rotatably attached to the center of rotation (■).

Inside the vehicle body 1 are the rotating arm section, 1. ,? . . . Each of the wheels 6 and the above-mentioned wheels 6 and 6 are provided with a rotary arm drive mechanism that can drive the wheels 6 and 6 for one rotation, respectively, and that can be fixed to the IF-4 at any desired position.
・・Independent of the rotation of the busy rotating arm body L・・1 times +1
i 1ffi IIIJ wheel drive mechanism...
tQKera) 1. The rotary arm drive structure A... and the wheel drive mechanism L... are provided with similar configurations for each rotary arm body L.... , Referring to Figure 3 below, the rotary arm body driving machine M8 and wheel set M for the weight of one rotary arm
<The configuration of the Ij structure will be explained. 10 is 11), Arno Body Office, diυ1゜t, 4 structures,! (It is a K-motion motor, and its rotating shaft 11 has a gear 12, and this gear 12 is attached to a gear 13, which is attached to the rotation rPri shaft 4 of the rotating arm body l. (The drive motor 10 is capable of forward and reverse rotation, and -
It also has a built-in brake device, and is configured to rotate the weight of the rotary arm in the forward and reverse directions, and to fix the rotation of the rotary arm body at an arbitrary position. Note that the motor 10 may include several motors that have a complete clutch mechanism built-in. Reference numeral 14 denotes a drive motor of the torpedo wheel drive mechanism, and a gear 16 is attached to its rotating shaft 15, and this gear 16 meshes with a gear 8 attached to a drive shaft 17. . The drive shaft 17 passes through the rotary shaft 4 of the weight of the rotary arm so as to be rotatable concentrically therewith. And this drive shaft 17 (
- The arm part of the rotary arm body l is connected to the axle 7 of a wheel 6 attached to the tip of the arm part 5 via a gear train 19'r provided in the arm part 5. =! 1. The tip of this moving shaft 17 is directly connected to the wheel #'iii 6 which is attached to the rotating arm body 30 during rotation. Kakeru 11
IIJ motor 4 is capable of forward and reverse rotation (σ).
Cars-1i, j6f are constructed so that they can rotate forward and backward.

Further, a traveling control mechanism 20 is provided inside the vehicle body 1. This traveling control mechanism 2θ includes, for example, the wheels 6
The lifting f) of the wheels 6... is detected from the changes in the load acting on the wheels 6..., and from the changes in the impact and torque acting on the wheels 6... The weight of each rotating arm...and the car 1.11i6...
- It is borrowed to control the rotation of the machine.

Next, the operation of the above embodiment will be explained. - First, when traveling on a flat road surface, two of the wheels 6 attached to the tip ψl'1.1 of the arm part 5 of each rotary arm weight... as shown in No. 41 1. Axle 6: Fully grounded,
The rotation of each rotary arm body is not fixed and is allowed to rotate freely. And 1 during IH. , i6... are rotated by the drive mechanisms to perform the forward H (f; backward movement. In this case, each rotary arm body 3 can rotate freely, so there are some unevenness on the road surface. As the rotating arm body l... rotates, the two wheels 6 are constantly rotated.
... can be reliably grounded, allowing stable driving. Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 5, even if the road surface 21' is inclined, the rotary arm body rotates, and the two wheels 6 are always rotated.
... can be grounded. Next, operations when going up and down stairs or getting over obstacles or books will be explained with reference to FIGS. 6 to 10. In addition, in the above-mentioned FIGS. 6 to 10, only one rotating arm body is shown for ease of explanation. Although shown schematically, all four rotating arm bodies operate in the same way. First, the case of climbing stairs will be explained with reference to FIGS. 6(,) to (e).

When the traveling body traveling on the road surface reaches the position of the stairs 22, the wheels 6a located in front move to the first position as shown in FIG. 6(a).
It collides with the -IIJll surface of stage 22a. This state is detected by the travel control mechanism 2θ due to an impact acting on the wheel 6a, stopping of the wheel 6a, a change in torque, etc., and the weight of the rotary arm is rotated in the forward direction by the 1 drive mechanism 8. Therefore, the rotating armoire body 3 is rotated upward G with the center of the wheel 6af.
- The wheel 6b rotates ζ and comes into contact with the upper surface of the first stage 2'2a as shown in FIG. 416 (b). Then, when the rotating arm (4C, ?') is rotated, this rotating arm body rotates the wheel 6b that is in contact with the upper surface of the first F422a.
It closes and rotates upwards, and rises twice as high as the first stage 22a as shown in FIG. wheel 115
If a large forward rotational torque is applied to a, 6h+6' cr6d, the rotating arm body will mainly have a large reaction torsion in the reverse direction, and the wheels 6 a) #b,...
6 c , 6 d f If the copying %jJ is maintained, the wheels 6a and 6b will roll backwards, so
A slight forward rotation torque is applied to a, 6b, 6c, and 6d. Next (when the rotating arm body l rotates 1200 times, that's it!), stop l'Ni and fix it so that it cannot rotate, and turn the wheel 1!i 8 + 6b r 60
+ 6d forward rotation awn, and the upper surface of the first stage 22g runs upward. Then, ε (as shown in FIG. 56(d), the wheel 6b
is the second stage 22 h LJ) li! When the vehicle collides with the vehicle, the control mechanism 20 detects this and rotates the rotary arm body 1 in the same manner as described above, and rises to the top of the second stage 22b. Thereafter, the user ascends the stairs 22 one step at a time in the same manner. As shown in Fig. 6 (e), when the vehicle rises to the top of the top stage 22n, the front wheel 6a will not collide with the side surface of the next stage even if the wheels 6aI6b*66+6d rotate fully. Then, in the travel control mechanism 20, the rotation of the rotary arm rest 3 is completely fixed,
Even if the wheels 6a, 6b, 6c, 6d- are rotated and run for a predetermined distance, the Oki motorcycles 6a, 6b, 6
If there is no collision, it is determined that the vehicle has climbed the stairs 1, and the rotary arm body J is completely released from the fixation, and the vehicle is in a running state on a flat road surface. 1. If the pitch of the stairs 22' is pebbles, if the rotary arm body is rotated as shown in FIG. 7(a), the next wheel 6b will come into contact with the top surface of the first step 22'a. First, it may come into contact with the side surface of the second stage 22'b. In this case, the rotational torque applied to the wheels 6a, 6b*6c, 6d is relatively small, so the rotational torque of the rotating arm J and the weight of the vehicle body 1 are
6b The rotating arm body overcomes the forward rotation torque;? t
/'J continues to rotate, and the car φIj56Q moves backward while rotating in the opposite direction. As shown in b), it comes into contact with the upper surface of the first stage 22'a. Therefore, even if the pitch of the stairs 22' is small, it is possible to climb the stairs 22'. Next, the operation when descending the stairs will be explained with reference to Figures 8 (a) to (e).

When the body reaches the top of the stairs 23, the axle 6a of 1111 force rises. E, te, due to changes in the 141 group acting on this car Ii 6λ, the running +llI ru
l (% structure 20 is that this wheel 6a has risen 44.
Distribute, control the weight of the rotating arm and rotate it in the normal direction σ, -1
Also, the wheels 6a, 6b, 6C, and 6d are rotated in the opposite direction so that the rear wheel 6a does not fall off the first stage 23a. Therefore, as shown in Fig. 8(b), the first car duck i6a descends, and the second
When this wheel 6a touches the soil surface VCy of rA2 second stage 2? ), this second stage 2 is pressed against the side surface of the first stage 23h.
3b is prevented from falling. In steps 1 to 1, it is confirmed whether or not the wheel 6b positioned in front of the travel control mechanism 2θK has touched the ground while the rotary arm body 1 has rotated 120' as shown in FIG. 8(a) VC. If the wheel 6b is not in contact with the ground, it is determined that the stairs 23 continue, and the same operation as above is performed, so that the stairs 23 are completely descended one step at a time. Then, as shown in FIG. 8(e), when the lowermost stage 23nf descends and the rotating arm weight rotates 120', the previous wheel 6a touches the ground. Therefore, the traveling control mechanism 20 detects this entire state, determines that the person has descended the stairs 23, sets the rotation of the weight of the rotary arm to a free rotation state, and rotates the vehicle 6a*6b, 6ck in the forward direction to return to the state of running on a flat road surface. do. In addition, if the pitch of the stairs 23' is small, as shown in FIG.
There are cases where the tip a does not touch the upper surface of the second stage 23'b but comes into contact with the side surface of the second stage 23'b. In such a case, wheel 6
Reverse rotation torque of a, 6b, 6cr6d Total weight of traveling body f
If the positive rotational torque applied to this wheel 6ak is made smaller than #2, this wheel 6a will descend to the 411 plane of the second stage 23/b while rotating in the forward direction by 70 degrees, as shown in Figure 9(b). Since it comes into contact with the upper surface of the third step 23'a, it is possible to descend this step 23' in the same manner as described above. Next, the case of overcoming an obstacle will be explained with reference to FIGS. 10(a) to (g). First, when the front wheel 6a collides with the (l(!1) surface of the obstacle 24 as shown in FIG.
As shown in FIG. 10(b), the wheel 6b is 1'? F harmful substance 24
touches the top surface of the Then, the rotating arm body 1 continues to rotate in the normal direction, and as shown in FIG.
When it rotates 120' and gets on top of the obstacle 24, the rotation of the weight of this rotary arm is stopped and the rotation is completely fixed, and the wheels 6m, 6b, 6c, and 6d are rotated in the forward direction to move the rotary arms fully forward. As shown in FIG. 10(d), il+1. Moe. When the wheel 6b moves further forward and comes to the opposite side of the obstacle J24, the wheel 6b, which is moving forward, floats up as shown in FIG. 10 (,). Then, similar to the case of descending the stairs described above, this state is detected by the running action ft1 mechanism 20, and the wheels 6a are moved.

6h, 6c, and 6d are rotated in the reverse direction, and the rotary arms are rotated in the forward direction while being braked. Therefore, the front wheel 6
b descends and touches the ground as shown in Figure 10 (r). Then, the rotary arm unit further rotates, and the wheel 6c located in front rotates 120 degrees as shown in FIG. 10(g).
When the wheel 6h touches the ground, the traveling control mechanism 20 detects this state, determines that the obstacle 24 has been overcome, and stops the rotation of the weight of the rotary arm so that it can rotate freely.
, 6b, 6e*6df are rotated forward to drive on a flat road surface.

In addition, when the obstacle is small, when the front wheel 6a collides with the side of the obstacle, the weight of the rotary arm rotates in the normal direction, but as shown in FIG.
Contact the top surface of and get over it.

Therefore, the vehicle of this embodiment can not only travel on a flat road surface, but also be able to ascend and descend slopes and all steps, climb over obstacles, etc., and can travel on all surfaces of any slope ν1;. In this embodiment, the highest quality H of the level difference that can be overcome is as shown in FIG. r+R+x・・・・
...(1). And x = RSin 30'−r −
-(2), so H=3=R 2 (3). In order to prevent this traveling body from rolling downward while ascending and descending on the southern stage, the horizontal distance #i1. L
x, the height from the center of weight of the rotating arm to the center of gravity G is Ly
Let θ be one light of the cabinet.
-Lyslnθ) R (4). Therefore, by increasing the radius R of the arm part 50 within a range that fully satisfies equation (4) for the expected maximum inclination angle θ, the height of the step that can be climbed can be increased, and the height of the step that can be climbed can be increased. This dog is extremely capable of overcoming obstacles.

In addition, this central suitable example has a simple structure, with only wheels 6 provided at the tip of the arm portion 5 of the rotating arm body 3 and at the center of rotation. Moreover, since the wheel 6d is located at the center of rotation of the weight of the rotating arm, the rotating shaft 4 of the rotating arm body l will not be damaged by hitting the corner of a staircase or an obstacle. In addition, it is possible to cope with all running conditions by simply controlling the weight of the rotary arm and the rotation of the wheels 6, and the control is easy.゛Also, in this embodiment, the condition of the running road surface is detected by the collision or floating LO of the wheels 6..., so the condition of the running road surface 1g4 is detected.
2. The detection mechanism is also simple.

Note that the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment.

For example, the number of arm portions of the rotating arm body is not necessarily limited to three, but may be four or more.

Further, the driving control mechanism is not necessarily limited to one that detects the condition of the driving road surface by the collision or lifting of the vehicle, but may also detect the condition of the driving road surface by other ultrasonic or optical detection means. .

Further, the configurations of the rotating arm drive rock structure, wheel drive mechanism, etc. are not necessarily limited to those described above.

Furthermore, the present invention is applicable not only to traveling bodies for inspecting and monitoring inside nuclear reactor containment vessels, but also to traveling bodies for maintenance and inspection of equipment in unmanned factories, and also to traveling bodies in general such as wheelchairs for people with physical disabilities. It is.

As described above, the present invention includes a rotating arm body having three or more radially arranged arm metals, which is rotatably attached to a vehicle body,
In addition, wheels are provided at the tip and center of rotation of these arms, and a rotating arm drive mechanism and a wheel drive mechanism are provided to drive the rotating arm body and wheels independently, respectively, and the running control mechanism controls the running road surface. The system detects the spiral movement and controls the rotation of the rotary arm body and wheels in response to this, allowing the robot to climb stairs, climb over obstacles, etc. Therefore, by increasing the radius of the arm, the steps that can be climbed can be made thicker, and the ability to climb stairs and get over obstacles is extremely high, and the structure is simple and easy to control. The effect is great.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

The drawings show one embodiment of the present invention, the first being a side view and the second being a side view.
The figure is a plan view, FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along line 1lI-■ in FIG. 1, FIG. 4 is a side view showing the state of running on a flat road surface, and FIG. A side view showing the state of driving on a highly sloping road surface, Figures 6 (a) to (e)/Ii A diagram schematically showing the state of climbing stairs, and Figures 7 (a) and (b) are those with a small pitch. Figure 8 (&) to (e) is a diagram schematically showing the state of climbing the stairs; Figure 8 (&) to (e) is a diagram schematically showing the state of descending the stairs completely; Figure 9 (a)
a (b) is when descending stairs with a small pitch'f:
Schematic diagram, No. i. Figures (a) to (g) are diagrams schematically showing the state of overcoming an obstacle, Figure 11 is a diagram schematically showing the state of overcoming a small obstacle, and Figure 12 is a diagram showing the radius of the arm and the climbing Figure 13 is a diagram explaining the relationship between the height of the step and the height of the step.
FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating the relationship between the center of gravity and the radius of the arm portion to prevent IL. DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1...Vehicle body, mutually...rotating arm body, 4...rotating shaft, 5...arm part, 6...wheel, B...axle, mutually...rotating arm body drive mechanism, 9...wheel drive mechanism,
2θ...Travel control mechanism. , Applicant's Representative Patent Attorney Takehiko Suzue Figure 3 Figure 4 Figure 5 Figure 6 (a) (b) (c) (d) Figure 6 (e) Figure 7 Figure 8 (a) ( C) C Figure (b) (d) Figure 8 (e) Figure 9 (a) (b) Figure 10 (a) (b) (C) (d) Figure 10 (e) (f) ( 9) Figure 11

Claims (2)

[Claims] (1) A vehicle body, a rotary arm body that is rotatably attached to the vehicle body and has three or more arm metal parts protruding radially from the center of rotation, and the tip of the arm of this rotary arm body and the center of rotation. a wheel rotatably attached to each of the parts, a rotary arm body drive mechanism that rotatably drives the rotary arm body, and a wheel drive mechanism that rotatably drives the heavy wheel independently of the rotation of the rotary arm body; 111. A running body comprising a self-rotating arm body and a running control unit that controls the rotation of wheels in accordance with the shape of a running road surface. (2) The scope of the patent h1'4 that the control mechanism is capable of determining the condition of the traveling road surface depending on whether the wheel collides with an obstacle or lifts the wheel. 1st
Traveling object described in section.