JPWO2020129844A1 - Traveling device - Google Patents

Abstract

It enables highly accurate control of the traveling direction of the traveling device. The traveling device (20) includes wheels (41a) arranged in parallel, wheels (41b), a motor (25a) for driving the wheels (41a), a motor (25b) for driving the wheels (41b), and a motor (25a). Power transmission mechanism (first stage gear (44a), first reduction gear (45a), second reduction gear (46a), third reduction gear (47a)) and motor (25b) that transmit the driving force of It has a power transmission mechanism (first stage gear (44b), first reduction gear (45b), second reduction gear (46b), third reduction gear (47b)) for transmitting the driving force of the above to the wheels (41b). Further, the traveling device (20) includes a support shaft (42) to which two wheels (41a, 41b) are commonly attached and rotatably supports each wheel (41) with respect to the shaft.

Description

The present invention relates to a traveling device having two wheels arranged in parallel.

In a traveling device using a parallel two-wheel mechanism including two wheels arranged in parallel, a structure in which both wheels are driven by separate motors is known. The traveling device can travel straight by rotating both wheels at the same speed, and can rotate around by rotating both wheels at different speeds.

In the conventional traveling toy, the wheel, the motor, and the gear mechanism are assembled into an integrated module for each wheel, and the two modules are arranged side by side to form a parallel two-wheel traveling device.

The conventional configuration in which the two wheels are made into separate modules has a problem that it is difficult to align the rotation center axes of both wheels, that is, the coaxiality of the axles of both wheels may be low. This decrease in coaxiality can occur, for example, due to the placement accuracy of the two modules. Further, when a pin is erected on a sheet metal to serve as a wheel shaft, it is not always easy to make the pin perpendicular to the sheet metal, and this may also reduce the coaxiality. Then, the decrease in the coaxiality causes, for example, a decrease in the straight-ahead accuracy and causes a problem that it is difficult to control the toy as intended.

The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a technique capable of improving the accuracy of controlling the traveling direction of a traveling device, and particularly improving the straight-ahead accuracy.

The traveling device according to the present invention is a traveling device having a first wheel and a second wheel arranged in parallel, and has a first motor for driving the first wheel and the second wheel. A second motor to be driven, a first power transmission mechanism for transmitting the driving force of the first motor to the first wheel, and a driving force of the second motor to be transmitted to the second wheel. A second power transmission mechanism and a support shaft to which the first wheel and the second wheel are commonly attached and rotatably support each wheel with respect to the shaft are provided.

In one aspect of the present invention, the first motor and the second motor are arranged between the first wheel and the second wheel in a direction orthogonal to the direction in which the two wheels are arranged. The support shaft is arranged in the gap between the first motor and the second motor, and the first motor, the first power transmission mechanism, the second motor, and the second motor are arranged. The power transmission mechanism of is a rotationally symmetric structure.

Further, in one aspect of the present invention, the chassis further includes a chassis in which the mounting portion to which the first motor and the second motor are fixed and the bearing portion of the support shaft are integrated.

In this embodiment, the chassis has a pair of wall surface portions that are parallel to the rotating surface of the wheel and are arranged so as to face each other with the first motor and the second motor interposed therebetween. The bearing portion may be configured to be provided with a hole through which the support shaft is passed.

In a further aspect of the present invention, a first rotary encoder provided corresponding to the first wheel, a second rotary encoder provided corresponding to the second wheel, and the first rotary encoder are further provided. A control circuit for feedback-controlling the first motor and the second motor based on the outputs of the rotary encoder 1 and the second rotary encoder is provided.

In this aspect, the power transmission mechanism is a gear mechanism including a first-stage gear attached to the output shaft of the motor, and the first-stage gear may be integrated with a grid disk of the rotary encoder.

In another aspect of the present invention, the power transmission mechanism is a gear mechanism including a first stage gear attached to an output shaft of the motor and a plurality of transmission gears for sequentially transmitting the rotation of the first stage gear, and the plurality of gears. The transmission gear is a double gear having a large-diameter gear portion and a small-diameter gear portion, and is the same as each other.

In this embodiment, the gear mechanism includes first to third transmission gears that sequentially transmit rotation, and the first and third transmission gears are rotatably attached to the support shaft, and the support shaft is rotatably attached to the support shaft. Can be shared as the central axis of rotation.

Further, the transmission gear of the final stage is rotatably attached to the support shaft, and the wheel has a tooth-shaped groove that fits with the gear portion on the output side of the transmission gear of the final stage. Can be done.

It is a perspective view which shows an example of the toy system which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a block diagram which shows the schematic structure of the control system mainly of the toy system which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a schematic vertical sectional view of the traveling device which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a schematic perspective view of the power part provided in the traveling device which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a schematic perspective view which removed the chassis from the main part of a power part. It is a schematic plan view which looked at the main part of the power part from the bottom with the chassis removed. It is a schematic exploded perspective view of the main part of a power part.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention (hereinafter referred to as embodiments) will be described with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an example of a toy system 2 according to an embodiment of the present invention, and the toy system includes a traveling device according to the present invention as a component. The toy system according to the present invention includes a device control device 10, traveling devices 20a and 20b, a controller 17, and a cartridge 18. The traveling device 20 (20a, 20b) includes a parallel two-wheel mechanism in which two wheels are driven by separate motors, and performs straight traveling and turning traveling.

The device control device 10 controls the traveling device 20 via radio. The controller 17 is an input device that acquires an operation by the user, and is connected to the device control device 10 by a cable.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of a control system mainly of the toy system 2. The device control device 10 includes a processor 11, a storage unit 12, a communication unit 13, and an input / output unit 14. The traveling device 20 includes a processor 21, a storage unit 22, a communication unit 23, a camera 24, a motor 25, and a rotary encoder 26. The device control device 10 may be a dedicated device for control, or may be a general-purpose computer (including a smartphone or a tablet terminal).

The processor 11 operates according to the program stored in the storage unit 12, and controls the communication unit 13, the input / output unit 14, and the like. The processor 21 operates according to a program stored in the storage unit 22, performs arithmetic processing on information input from the camera 24, the rotary encoder 26, and the like, and controls the communication unit 23, the camera 24, the motor 25, and the like. .. The program is stored and provided in a computer-readable storage medium such as a flash memory in the cartridge 18 shown in FIG. 1, but may be provided via a network such as the Internet.

The storage unit 12 is composed of a DRAM (Dynamic Random Access Memory) and a flash memory built in the device control device 10, a flash memory in the cartridge 18, and the like. The storage unit 22 is composed of a DRAM, a flash memory, and the like. The storage units 12 and 22 store the above program. Further, the storage units 12 and 22 store information and calculation results input from the processors 11, 21 and the communication units 13, 23 and the like.

The communication units 13 and 23 are composed of integrated circuits, antennas, and the like for communicating with other devices. The communication units 13 and 23 have a function of communicating with each other according to, for example, a Bluetooth (registered trademark) protocol. Based on the control of the processors 11 and 21, the communication units 13 and 23 input the information received from the other devices to the processors 11 and 21 and the storage units 12 and 22, and transmit the information to the other devices. The communication unit 13 may have a function of communicating with another device via a network such as a LAN (Local Area Network).

The input / output unit 14 includes a circuit for acquiring information from an input device such as a controller 17 and a circuit for controlling an output device such as an audio output device or an image display device. The input / output unit 14 acquires an input signal from the input device, and inputs the converted information of the input signal to the processor 11 and the storage unit 12. Further, the input / output unit 14 causes the speaker to output the sound and outputs the image to the display device based on the control of the processor 11 or the like.

The motor 25 is a so-called servomotor in which the rotation direction, the amount of rotation, and the rotation speed are controlled by the processor 21. The motor 25 is provided for each wheel. That is, the traveling device 20 includes two motors 25, and as described above, the two wheels constituting the parallel two-wheel mechanism are driven by separate motors 25.

The camera 24 is arranged so as to photograph the lower part of the traveling device 20, and photographs a pattern printed on a sheet or the like on which the traveling device 20 is placed. In the present embodiment, a pattern recognized in the infrared wavelength region is printed on the sheet or the like. Specifically, unit patterns of a predetermined size (for example, 0.2 mm square) are arranged in a matrix on a sheet or the like, and each unit pattern has the coordinates of the position where the pattern is arranged. Is encoded. The traveling device 20 and the device control device 10 decode the pattern included in the image captured by the camera 24 to acquire the position and orientation of the traveling device 20.

The rotary encoder 26 is provided to measure the rotation angle and the amount of rotation of the motor 25. In the present embodiment, the rotary encoder 26 is an optical type, and has a lattice disk attached to the axis to be measured and a slit of the lattice disk that emits light. Includes a light transmitting and receiving element that detects light passing through. A rotary encoder 26 is also provided for each wheel in response to the motor 25 being provided for each wheel. In the present embodiment, in order to reduce the size of the traveling device 20, the rotary encoder 26 has a structure in which the function of detecting the rotation direction is omitted, but a rotary encoder 26 having the function may be used. Further, the rotary encoder 26 may be of another type such as a magnetic type, and another rotation angle sensor may be used instead of the rotary encoder 26. The traveling device 20 and the device control device 10 feedback-control the two motors 25 based on the outputs of the two rotary encoders 26. For example, the processors 11 and 21 function as a control circuit that performs the control.

FIG. 3 is a schematic vertical cross-sectional view of the traveling device 20, showing a cross-sectional view in a plane passing through the centers of two wheels arranged in parallel. The traveling device 20 houses the power unit 32, the circuit board 34, the battery 36, and the like in the cover 30. The power unit 32 is housed in the lower space inside the cover 30, and is fixed to the cover 30, for example, by screwing or the like. Further, the circuit board 34 is arranged on the power unit 32, and the battery 36 is housed in the upper space of the cover 30. In addition to the power unit 32 and the circuit board 34, parts such as the camera 24 are also housed in the lower space of the cover 30, but they are not shown in FIG.

The circuit board 34 is composed of, for example, a rigid printed circuit board and electronic components attached to the rigid printed circuit board, and the processor 21, storage unit 22, communication unit 23, and the like shown in FIG. 2 are provided on the circuit board 34.

The battery 36 supplies electric power to the circuit board 34, the motor 25, and the like.

The power unit 32 includes a parallel two-wheel mechanism driven by a motor 25, and generates a driving force for moving the traveling device 20 on a surface such as a seat on which the traveling device 20 is placed. FIG. 4 is a schematic perspective view of the power unit 32. The power unit 32 is configured in combination with the holder 40, and in FIG. 4, the power unit 32 is shown by being disassembled into a main unit including the motor 25 and the chassis 43 and the holder 40. FIG. 5 is a schematic perspective view in which the chassis 43 is removed from the main part of the power unit 32, and FIG. 6 is a schematic plan view of the main part viewed from below with the chassis 43 removed. Further, FIG. 7 is a schematic exploded perspective view of the main portion of the power unit 32.

The main parts of the power unit 32 are the motor 25 (25a, 25b), the wheels 41 (41a, 41b), the support shaft 42, the chassis 43, the first stage gear 44 (44a, 44b), and the first reduction gear 45 (45a, 45b). , The second reduction gear 46 (46a, 46b) and the third reduction gear 47 (47a, 47b) are included.

Here, the wheels 41 are composed of two wheels 41a and 41b constituting the parallel two-wheel mechanism, and they are arranged with the chassis 43 on which the two motors 25 are mounted sandwiched between them. Assuming that the side on which the wheels 41a are arranged is on the right side of the power unit 32 (or the traveling device 20) and the side on which the wheels 41b are arranged is on the left side for convenience, the distinction between the left and right components provided is clarified. In that case, "a" is attached to the one located on the right side, and "b" is attached to the one located on the left side.

Further, in the following description, the horizontal direction and the vertical direction of the traveling device 20 are defined by the posture when the traveling device 20 travels on the horizontal plane.

The two motors 25 are single-axis motors, respectively, and the motor 25a is fixed to the chassis 43 with the output shaft 25s facing the right side to drive the wheels 41a, while the motor 25b has the output shaft 25s facing the left side of the chassis 43. It is fixed to and drives the wheel 41b.

The power unit 32 is provided for each wheel 41 and has a power transmission mechanism for transmitting the driving force of the motor 25 to the wheels. In the present embodiment, a gear mechanism is provided as a power transmission mechanism, and the gear mechanism corresponding to the wheel 41a includes a first stage gear 44a, a first reduction gear 45a, a second reduction gear 46a, and a third reduction gear 47a. Similarly, the gear mechanism corresponding to the wheel 41b includes a first stage gear 44b, a first reduction gear 45b, a second reduction gear 46b, and a third reduction gear 47b. The first stage gear 44 is integrally formed with the grid disk 44e of the rotary encoder 26.

The axis of rotation of the wheel 41 is horizontal. That is, the wheel 41 rotates vertically. Incidentally, a part of the circumference of the wheel 41 protrudes out of the cover 30 from a slot provided on the lower surface of the cover 30, whereby the wheel 41 can come into contact with the traveling surface and move the traveling device 20.

The wheel 41 is attached to the support shaft 42. The support shaft 42 is a shaft to which two wheels are commonly attached, and supports each wheel 41 rotatably with respect to the shaft. That is, the wheel 41 and the support shaft 42 are not fixed, and the support shaft 42 does not have a function of transmitting power to the wheel 41. Incidentally, the power transmission from the motor 25 to the wheels 41 is performed via the gear mechanism as described above.

The support shaft 42 is inserted into a hole provided in the center of the wheel 41 to support the wheel 41. The support shaft 42 is a straight rod having high rigidity, and has a function of sharing the rotation axes of the two wheels 41. That is, the support shaft 42 aligns the rotation shaft of the wheel 41a with the rotation shaft of the wheel 41b. As a result, it is possible to improve the accuracy of controlling the traveling direction of the traveling device 20, and in particular, the straight-ahead accuracy is improved. The support shaft 42 is made of a metal having a high Young's modulus, such as a steel material.

The motors 25a and 25b are arranged between the two wheels 41 in a direction orthogonal to the direction in which the two wheels 41 are lined up. For example, in the present embodiment, assuming that the direction in which the wheels 41 are lined up is the left-right direction of the traveling device 20, the motors 25 are lined up in the front-rear direction. The support shaft 42 is arranged in the gap between the motor 25a and the motor 25b. That is, the support shaft 42 passes between the two motors 25 and is bridged between the right wheel 41a and the left wheel 41b.

In this arrangement of the motor 25, the output shaft 25s of the motor 25 is located offset from the rotation shaft of the wheel 41, and the power transmission between the output shaft 25s and the rotation shaft of the wheel 41 is performed by the gear mechanism. In the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 6, the motor 25a and the power transmission mechanism corresponding to the wheel 41a and the motor 25b and the power transmission mechanism corresponding to the wheel 41b have a rotationally symmetric structure. Specifically, it has symmetry with respect to a rotation of 180 ° in a horizontal plane centered on a certain point on the central axis of the support shaft 42.

In the symmetrical structure, the gear mechanism, which is a power transmission mechanism, also has a symmetrical structure. For example, the left and right first stage gears 44a and 44b have the same structure, and similarly, the first reduction gear 45, the second reduction gear 46, and the third reduction gear 46. The structure of the reduction gear 47 is the same on the left and right. The arrangement of the gears 44 to 47 is also symmetrical on the left and right, and the rotation is transmitted in the order of the first stage gear 44, the first reduction gear 45, the second reduction gear 46, and the third reduction gear 47.

Here, a specific structure of the gear mechanism will be described. The first reduction gear 45, the second reduction gear 46, and the third reduction gear 47 are double gears each having a large diameter gear portion and a small diameter gear portion. In the present embodiment, since the speed is sequentially reduced from the motor 25 to the wheels 41, the gear portion having a large diameter becomes the gear on the input side and the gear portion having a small diameter becomes the gear on the output side in each double gear.

For example, in the gear mechanism on the right side, the first stage gear 44a is attached to the output shaft 25s of the motor 25, the first reduction gear 45a and the third reduction gear 47a are rotatably attached to the support shaft 42, and the second reduction gear 46 It is rotatably attached to a pin 64 fixed to the chassis 43. Then, the first stage gear 44a meshes with the large diameter gear portion of the first reduction gear 45a, the small diameter gear portion of the first reduction gear 45a meshes with the large diameter gear portion of the second reduction gear 46a, and the second reduction gear 46a The small-diameter gear portion of the above meshes with the large-diameter gear portion of the third reduction gear 47a.

The wheel 41a rotates integrally with the third reduction gear 47a. Specifically, the wheel 41a has a gear socket portion 41g. The gear socket portion 41g is a hole provided in the center of the wheel 41 and is represented by the wheel 41b in FIG. 7. A groove having a structure that fits with the teeth of the third reduction gear 47 is provided on the side surface of the gear socket portion 41g. When the gear portion on the output side of the third reduction gear 47a, which is the final stage transmission gear, is fitted into the gear socket portion 41g of the wheel 41a, the wheel 41a rotates integrally with the third reduction gear 47a.

The structure of the gear mechanism corresponding to the right wheel 41a has been described above, but the configuration includes the first stage gear 44b, the first reduction gear 45b, the second reduction gear 46b, and the third reduction gear 47b corresponding to the left wheel 41b. The structure of the gear mechanism is the same, and it is configured to be rotationally symmetrical with the right side. By forming the left and right gear mechanisms symmetrically in this way, the parts of the gear mechanism can be manufactured in common on the left and right, and the behavior of the left and right gear mechanisms can be easily aligned. That is, the operation accuracy of the left and right gear mechanisms is standardized, which makes it possible to further improve the accuracy of the control of the traveling direction of the traveling device 20.

Further, the position accuracy of the shaft to which the gear is attached may affect the operation accuracy of the gear mechanism, but in the present embodiment, the first reduction gears 45a and 45b and the second reduction gears 46a and 46b are commonly attached to the support shaft 42. By doing so, it is possible to reduce the decrease in operation accuracy due to the influence.

Further, it is not necessary to use the final stage gear as a double gear only from the point of integrally rotating the final stage reduction gear and the wheel 41. However, as described above, in the structure in which the third reduction gear 47 in the final stage is used as a double gear and the gear portion on the output side thereof is fitted into the wheel 41 to stop the rotation with the wheel 41, the first reduction gear 45 and the second reduction gear 45 and the second reduction gear 47 are used. Not only the reduction gear 46 but also the third reduction gear 47 can be a double gear. As a result, the first reduction gear 45, the second reduction gear 46, and the third reduction gear 47 can be set to the same gear. That is, when the left and right gear mechanisms are symmetrical, all the reduction gears can be manufactured as common parts, and for example, the gear manufacturing cost can be reduced by reducing the number of molds for manufacturing the gears.

The chassis 43 integrally comprises a mount portion to which the two motors 25 are fixed and a bearing portion of the support shaft 42. For example, the chassis 43 can be formed from a single sheet metal, and the sheet metal can be bent or perforated. If the motors 25a and 25b that drive the wheels 41a and 41b are attached to the traveling device 20 separately, it becomes difficult to ensure the accuracy of their relative positional relationship, which in turn may affect the way the left and right wheels rotate. In this respect, by determining the positional relationship between the two motors 25 by one chassis 43 having rigidity and further determining the positional relationship between the orientation of the support shaft 42 and the motor 25, the assembly between the plurality of traveling devices 20 is performed. Variations can be suppressed, contributing to higher accuracy in controlling the traveling direction.

The structure of the chassis 43 in this embodiment will be described. The chassis 43 includes a pair of wall surface portions that are parallel to the rotating surface of the wheel 41 and are arranged so as to face each other across the two motors 25, and a horizontal bottom surface portion that is located under the motor 25 and connects between the two wall surface portions. It has an upper surface portion extending horizontally from the upper end of the wall surface portion to the outside, that is, toward the wheel 41 side.

As shown in FIG. 7, each wall surface portion of the chassis 43 is provided with a bearing hole 61 as a bearing portion. The support shaft 42 is passed through a bearing hole 61a provided in the wall surface portion on the wheel 41a side and a bearing hole 61b provided in the wall surface portion on the wheel 41b side. It should be noted that the support shaft 42 does not need to rotate around the shaft, and basically the bearing hole 61 only needs to pass through the support shaft 42, so that the gap between the bearing hole 61 and the support shaft 42 is reduced. be able to. As a result, the fluctuation range of the direction of the support shaft 42 can be reduced. Further, even if the direction of the support shaft 42 fluctuates, the directions of the rotation shafts of the wheels 41a and 41b commonly attached to the support shaft 42 change in common, and the gear mechanism is configured to be rotationally symmetric. Therefore, the influence on the rotation method of the wheel 41 is basically the same for the wheel 41a and the wheel 41b. These points also contribute to the improvement of straight-line accuracy.

The motor hole 62 provided on the wall surface of the chassis 43 has a shape in which the surface of the motor 25 on the output shaft 25s side fits, and the motor 25 projects the output shaft 25s from the motor hole 62 and is fixed to the chassis 43. That is, the output shaft 25s of the motor 25a protrudes to the right from the motor hole 62a, and the first stage gear 44a is attached to the output shaft 25s. Further, the output shaft 25s of the motor 25b protrudes to the left from the motor hole 62b, and the first stage gear 44b is attached to the output shaft 25s. The hole 63 provided in the wall surface is a screw hole for mounting the motor 25.

Further, a pin 64 is erected on the wall surface portion perpendicularly to the wall surface portion. For example, the pin 64 is fixed by inserting the root thereof into a hole provided in the wall surface portion and crimping the end portion protruding to the opposite side. FIG. 7 shows the pin fixing end 64h formed in this way.

Further, the locking hole 65 and the insertion hole 66 shown in FIG. 7 are provided for assembling the holder 40 to the chassis 43. Although not shown, flexible printed circuit boards (FPCs) are arranged on the motor 25 mounted on the chassis 43. Wiring for supplying electric power to the motor 25 and the like are formed in the FPC, and the transmission / reception element 70 of the rotary encoder 26 is attached. The FPC is connected to the circuit board 34. The holder 40 has a function of pressing the FPC from above and restricting its movement.

FIG. 4 shows a perspective view of the holder 40. The holder 40 has a horizontal portion mounted on the upper surface portion of the chassis 43 and two arms 52 protruding downward from the horizontal portion, and openings 50, 51 and the like are provided in the horizontal portion.

The arm 52 has a function of locking the holder 40 to the chassis 43 and a function of a thrust bearing between the first reduction gear 45 and the chassis 43, and has a locking claw 53 and a locking claw 53 for the former locking function. A hole 54 is provided for the latter bearing function. Further, in order to fulfill these functions, the two arms 52 are aligned on the axis of the support shaft 42 and the arm 52a is on the right side of the chassis 43 with respect to the position in the horizontal plane when the holder 40 is mounted on the chassis 43. The arm 52b is provided at a position close to the outer surface of the wall surface portion and close to the outer surface of the left wall surface portion.

The insertion holes 66a and 66b of the chassis 43 described above are holes for inserting the arms 52a and 52b, respectively, and their positions and shapes are designed according to the positions and shapes of the arms 52 on the horizontal plane.

FIG. 3 shows a cross section including the arm 52 with the holder 40 mounted on the chassis 43. The locking hole 65 of the chassis 43 is provided corresponding to the locking claw 53, and when the holder 40 is attached to the chassis 43, the arm 52 is inserted along the outer surface of the wall surface portion of the chassis 43 and is inserted into the wall surface portion. The locking claws 53 provided so as to face each other fit into the locking hole 65. As a result, the holder 40 is locked to the chassis 43.

The hole 54 is formed so as to come to the position of the support shaft 42 when the holder 40 is mounted on the chassis 43. That is, the holes 54 of the arms 52a and 52b face the bearing holes 61a and 61b of the chassis 43, respectively. The support shaft 42 is passed through the hole 54 and the bearing hole 61 after the holder 40 is attached to the chassis 43. Then, the first reduction gear 45 is attached to the support shaft 42. The arm 52 is located between the chassis 43 and the first reduction gear 45. The edge of the hole 54 on the first reduction gear 45 side is convex toward the first reduction gear 45, and the convex portion receives the first reduction gear 45 approaching the chassis 43 side to form the first reduction gear 45. The contact area of the first reduction gear 45 is reduced to reduce friction, and the axial movement of the first reduction gear 45 is restricted, thereby ensuring smooth rotation of the first reduction gear 45.

As shown in FIG. 3, in the present embodiment, the hole provided in the central shaft of the wheel 41 is a through hole, and the support shaft 42 penetrates both wheels 41. For example, the support shaft 42 has a length at which both ends reach the inner surface of the side wall of the cover 30, and the movement of the support shaft 42 in the axial direction is restricted by the cover 30. Further, for example, a recess serving as a bearing hole 72 may be provided at a position corresponding to both ends of the support shaft 42 on the inner wall surface of the cover 30, and the length of the support shaft 42 may be set to fit into the recess. As a result, the support shaft 42 is supported on both sides of the wheel 41 and the gear mechanism corresponding to the wheel 41 by the bearing hole 61 of the chassis 43 and the bearing hole 72 of the cover 30, and the bending and vibration of the support shaft 42 are suppressed. As a result, the wheels 41 and the gear mechanism are kept in a fixed position, and the traveling control is stabilized.

As can be understood from FIG. 4, the opening 50 of the holder 40 is provided at a position overlapping the opening 60 of the chassis 43 with the holder 40 mounted on the chassis 43. The opening 60 is provided on the lattice disk 44e, and the light transmitting / receiving element 70 is arranged in the hole formed by the opening 50 and the opening 60. Specifically, the end portion of the FPC to which the transmitting / receiving element 70 is attached is pulled out from the lower side to the upper side of the holder 40 through the opening 51, and the transmitting / receiving element 70 is inserted from above the opening 50. FIG. 5 shows the attached light transmitting and receiving element 70, and the light transmitting and receiving element 70a inserted into the openings 50a and 60a is a lattice disk of the first stage gear 44a between the light transmitting portion and the light receiving portion. It is arranged so that the slit of 44e passes through. Similarly, the slit of the lattice disk 44e of the first stage gear 44b passes between the light transmitting portion and the light receiving portion of the light transmitting / receiving element 70b inserted into the openings 50b and 60b. As described above, the lattice disk 44e is integrated with the first stage gear 44, and when the first stage gear 44 attached to the motor 25 rotates, the lattice disk 44e also rotates. The rotary encoder 26 outputs a periodic signal from the light transmitting / receiving element 70 according to the rotation of the lattice disk 44e, and can detect the rotation speed of the motor 25 based on the signal.

As described above, the output signals of the left and right rotary encoders 26 are input to the processor 11 or the processor 21, and the processor 11 or the processor 21 rotates each of the two motors 25a and 25b based on the outputs of the two rotary encoders. Feedback control. As a result, it is possible to improve the accuracy of controlling the traveling direction of the traveling device 20, and in particular, the straight-ahead accuracy is improved.

In the present embodiment, the measurement target shaft of the rotary encoder 26 is the output shaft 25s of the motor 25, and the grid disk 44e is integrally formed with the first stage gear 44 attached to the output shaft 25s. It may be configured to measure.

Further, since the support shaft 42 rotatably supports the wheel 41, the first reduction gear 45, and the third reduction gear 47, the portion supporting them has at least a circular cross section. Therefore, in the present embodiment, the support shaft 42 is a cylindrical rod having a uniform diameter as a whole. However, the cross-sectional shape can be different between the portion that supports the wheel 41 and the like and the other portion.

In the above-described embodiment, the traveling device 20 operates by receiving a control signal from the device control device 10 provided separately from the traveling device 20, but the operation control of the traveling device 20 is another embodiment. You may. For example, the traveling device 20 may take on the function of the device control device 10 in the above-described embodiment. In this case, for example, the controller 17 is connected to the traveling device 20 with a cable, the user operates the controller 17, and the processor 21 controls the operation of the motor 25 or the like in response to the operation. Further, the traveling device 20 may be autonomously operated by a program executed by the processor 21 without being operated by the user. The program may control the operation of the traveling device 20 according to the output of the sensor mounted on the traveling device 20, and therefore, the traveling device 20 is equipped with a sensor other than the camera 24 and the rotary encoder 26 described above. May be good.

Claims (9)

A traveling device having a first wheel and a second wheel arranged in parallel.
The first motor that drives the first wheel and
The second motor that drives the second wheel and
A first power transmission mechanism that transmits the driving force of the first motor to the first wheel, and
A second power transmission mechanism that transmits the driving force of the second motor to the second wheel, and
A support shaft to which the first wheel and the second wheel are commonly attached and rotatably support each wheel with respect to the shaft,
A traveling device characterized by being equipped with. In the traveling device according to claim 1,
The first motor and the second motor are arranged between the first wheel and the second wheel in a direction orthogonal to the direction in which the two wheels are lined up.
The support shaft is arranged in the gap between the first motor and the second motor.
The first motor and the first power transmission mechanism and the second motor and the second power transmission mechanism have a rotationally symmetric structure.
A traveling device characterized by. In the traveling device according to claim 1 or 2, further
A traveling device comprising a chassis in which a mount portion to which the first motor and the second motor are fixed and a bearing portion of the support shaft are integrated. In the traveling device according to claim 3,
The chassis has a pair of wall surface portions that are parallel to the rotating surface of the wheel and are arranged so as to face each other with the first motor and the second motor interposed therebetween.
Each wall surface portion is provided with a hole through which the support shaft is passed as the bearing portion.
A traveling device characterized by. In the traveling device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, further
A first rotary encoder provided corresponding to the first wheel,
A second rotary encoder provided corresponding to the second wheel,
A control circuit that feedback-controls the first motor and the second motor based on the outputs of the first rotary encoder and the second rotary encoder, respectively.
A traveling device characterized by being equipped with. In the traveling device according to claim 5,
The power transmission mechanism is a gear mechanism including a first stage gear attached to the output shaft of the motor.
The first stage gear is integrated with the grid disk of the rotary encoder.
A traveling device characterized by. The traveling device according to any one of claims 1 to 6.
The power transmission mechanism is a gear mechanism including a first stage gear attached to an output shaft of the motor and a plurality of transmission gears that sequentially transmit the rotation of the first stage gear.
The plurality of transmission gears are double gears having a large diameter gear portion and a small diameter gear portion and are the same as each other.
A traveling device characterized by. In the traveling device according to claim 7,
The gear mechanism includes first to third gears that sequentially transmit rotation.
The first and third transmission gears are rotatably attached to the support shaft, and the support shaft is shared as a rotation center shaft.
A traveling device characterized by. In the traveling device according to claim 7 or 8.
The transmission gear of the final stage is rotatably attached to the support shaft and is attached to the support shaft.
The wheel has a tooth-shaped groove that fits with the gear portion on the output side of the transmission gear in the final stage.
A traveling device characterized by.

Images