WO2023140021A1

WO2023140021A1 - Mobile device

Info

Publication number: WO2023140021A1
Application number: PCT/JP2022/046988
Authority: WO
Inventors: 直史牧; 武志安慶
Original assignee: パナソニックＩｐマネジメント株式会社
Priority date: 2022-01-21
Filing date: 2022-12-20
Publication date: 2023-07-27

Abstract

This mobile device moves along a rail and comprises: a housing that is suspended from a rail; a first rotary part that is provided to the housing, and is in contact with the rail and moves the housing along the rail; a drive part that is provided to the housing, and rotates the first rotary part; a power source part that is provided to the housing, and supplies power to the drive part; and an elastic part that is provided to the housing, and presses the first rotary part to the rail.

Description

moving device

The present disclosure relates to mobile devices.

Patent Document 1 discloses a single-track traveling device comprising a vehicle body, one or more drive wheels rotatably supported by the vehicle body and pressed against a single track, a support member swingably supported by the vehicle body, a plurality of rotating members holding the single track, and a plurality of pressing means provided between the supporting member and the plurality of rotating members and pressing the rotating members against the single track.

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 7-329775

The single-track traveling device described above is a single-track traveling device that travels on a single track (rail) that rises and lowers in the vertical direction, and enables traveling along the single track by balancing forces in the vertical direction by each of the driving wheels, supporting members, multiple rotating members, and multiple pressing means (specifically, coil springs), and obtaining propulsive force from the rotation of the driving wheels pressed from the lower surface of the single track. Here, in recent years, there is a single-track traveling apparatus that is equipped with a camera or the like and performs imaging with the camera while traveling on a single-track. However, in such a single-track traveling apparatus, there is a possibility that the captured video or captured image captured by the camera is blurred due to drive vibration of the driving wheels, elastic vibration of the pressing means, and the like, resulting in deterioration of image quality.

In addition, there is a desire to freely design, expand, or change the single track according to the layout of each installation location (for example, facilities such as factories). However, when a travel route is designed using a highly versatile single track, the designed travel route may be tilted due to construction errors, individual differences in ceiling rails, etc., or misalignment may occur at the joints of the single tracks. When the transport vehicle travels on such a travel route, it travels with the single-track traveling device tilted, so that the housing of the single-track traveling device and the ceiling rail come into contact with each other, causing deceleration or generating frictional noise. In particular, the single track traveling device has a problem that the housing tends to tilt due to the centrifugal force generated during cornering, and deceleration or frictional noise is more likely to occur.

The present disclosure has been devised in view of the conventional circumstances described above, and aims to improve the linearity of the housing during running and to provide a moving device that effectively suppresses vibration during running.

The present disclosure provides a moving device that moves a rail, comprising: a housing suspended from the rail; a first rotating section provided in the housing that contacts the rail and moves the housing along the rail; a driving section that is provided in the housing and rotates the first rotating section; a power supply section that is provided in the housing and supplies power to the driving section;

According to the present disclosure, it is possible to improve the linearity of the housing during running and effectively suppress vibration during running.

1 is a diagram showing an example of the overall configuration of a rail movement system according to Embodiment 1; FIG. Block diagram showing an example of the internal configuration of a mobile device Appearance perspective view of moving device Perspective view of the transfer device with the bottom cover removed Cross-sectional view for explaining the positional relationship between the power receiving electrode portion of the moving device and the power transmitting electrode portion of the rail. Enlarged perspective view of main part of drive unit FIG. 7 is an enlarged perspective view of a main part of the drive unit when FIG. 6 is viewed from another angle Enlarged plan view of main part of drive unit Front view of the rail on which the support unit is suspended

Hereinafter, embodiments specifically disclosing a moving device according to the present disclosure will be described in detail with reference to the drawings as appropriate. However, more detailed description than necessary may be omitted. For example, detailed descriptions of well-known matters and redundant descriptions of substantially the same configurations may be omitted. This is to avoid unnecessary verbosity in the following description and to facilitate understanding by those skilled in the art. It should be noted that the accompanying drawings and the following description are provided for a thorough understanding of the present disclosure by those skilled in the art and are not intended to limit the claimed subject matter.

First, referring to FIG. 1, the overall configuration of a rail movement system 11 according to Embodiment 1 will be described. FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of the overall configuration of a rail movement system 11 according to Embodiment 1. As shown in FIG.

The rail movement system 11 according to Embodiment 1 includes one or more rails 13 and a movement device 15 . The rails 13 are installed, for example, on the ceilings of facilities such as public facilities, stores, offices, warehouses, etc., and each of the plurality of rails 13 is connected to form a moving route of the moving device 15 . Further, the rail 13 is a rail 13 capable of constructing a straight movement path, a curved movement path, or a straight and curved movement path.

The moving device 15 is movably attached along each of one or more rails 13 attached to the ceiling. While moving along the rail 13, the moving device 15 can take an image or pick up a sound at a predetermined position designated by the operator, and can convey the article to an arbitrary position set on the moving route. Although the moving device 15 shown in the first embodiment has, as an example, a configuration including two cameras 17 and a microphone 19, it goes without saying that the moving device 15 may have another configuration such as a robot arm capable of transporting articles.

The mobile device 15 includes two cameras 17 and a microphone 19. The two cameras 17 included in the moving device 15 are so-called stereo cameras, and enable measurement of the position of the object with respect to the moving device 15 based on the positions of the objects shown in the two captured images.

The rail movement system 11 includes a router 21 that enables wireless data communication between the movement device 15 and the server 25 or terminal device 29, respectively. The wireless communication here is communication via a wireless LAN (Local Area Network) such as Wi-Fi (registered trademark).

The terminal device 27 is connected to the mobile device 15 for wireless communication. The terminal device 27 is, for example, a notebook PC (Personal Computer), a tablet terminal, a smart phone, a remote controller, or other device capable of accepting operator operations, and converts the accepted operator operations into electrical signals. Terminal device 27 transmits the converted electrical signal to mobile device 15 . The terminal device 27 generates an electrical signal (control command) for controlling each of the two cameras 17, the microphone 19, and various motors (such as the traveling motor 45, the PAN motor 47, or the TILT motor 49 shown in FIG. 2) based on the accepted operator operation, and transmits the generated electrical signal to the moving device 15.

The mobile device 15 is connected to the terminal device 27 and to the server 25 and the terminal device 29 via the router 21 and the network 23 so that data can be transmitted and received. The mobile device 15 controls the two cameras 17, the microphone 19, and various motors (the traveling motor 45, the PAN motor 47, or the TILT motor 49 shown in FIG. 2, etc.) based on electrical signals (control commands) transmitted from the terminal device 27. The mobile device 15 transmits captured images captured by the two cameras 17 and audio signals of voices collected by the microphone 19 to the server 25 or the terminal device 29 .

The router 21 is connected to the network 23 and transmits and receives data between the mobile device 15 and the server 25 or terminal device 29 .

The server 25 is connected to the mobile device 15 and the terminal device 29 so that data can be transmitted and received. The server 25 stores captured images, audio signals and the like transmitted from the mobile device 15 . In addition, the server 25 extracts the stored predetermined captured image, audio signal, etc. based on the control command requesting the transmission of the predetermined captured image or the audio signal transmitted from the terminal device 29 and transmits them to the terminal device 29.

The terminal device 29 is connected to the mobile device 15 and the server 25 so that data can be transmitted and received. The terminal device 29 is, for example, a device such as a PC, a notebook PC, a tablet terminal, a smart phone, or the like, which can receive operator's operation, and converts the accepted operator's operation into an electric signal. The terminal device 29 displays a captured image transmitted from the mobile device 15 or the server 25, converts an audio signal into audio, and outputs the audio.

Next, the internal configuration of the mobile device 15 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an example of the internal configuration of the mobile device 15. As shown in FIG. As an example, the mobile device 15 shown in FIG. 2 includes two cameras 17 and a microphone 19. However, it goes without saying that the mobile device 15 is not limited to this.

The moving device 15 includes at least a power supply 31 that is a power supply unit, a DC/DC converter 32, a processor 35, a first motor driver 37, a travel motor 45, a travel motor encoder 51, a wireless communication unit 65, and a memory 63.

The power supply 31 supplies AC voltage received by the power receiving electrode section 107 (see FIG. 5) to each section of the moving device 15 . The power supply 31 converts the AC voltage received by the power receiving electrode unit 107 into a DC voltage. Power supply 31 supplies the DC voltage after conversion to uninterruptible power supply 33 and DC/DC converter 32 .

The uninterruptible power supply 33 is a battery capable of storing electric charge, and stores the DC voltage (specifically, electric charge) supplied from the power supply 31 . The uninterruptible power supply 33 supplies the stored DC voltage to the DC/DC converter 32 instead of the power supply 31 when power is not supplied from the power supply 31 . The uninterruptible power supply 33 is not an essential configuration and may be omitted, but in the plurality of rails 13 configured as a movement route, the power transmission electrode unit 105 is not provided, or the power transmission electrode unit 105. If the power transmission function of the power transmission electrode unit 105 is OFF, it may be an essential configuration when a parasitic rail is included.

The DC/DC converter 32 converts the DC voltage supplied from the power supply 31 or the uninterruptible power supply 33 into processor drive power (DC voltage) and motor drive power (DC voltage), respectively. The DC/DC converter 32 supplies the processor 35 with the DC voltage converted to the processor driving power supply, and supplies the motor driving power supply (voltage) to the first motor driver 37 , the second motor driver 39 , and the third motor driver 41 .

The processor 35 is configured using, for example, a CPU (Central Processing Unit), a DSP (Digital Signal Processor) or an FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array), and controls the operation of each section. The processor 35 is supplied with a DC voltage from the DC/DC converter 32 and cooperates with the memory 63 to perform various processing and control in an integrated manner. Specifically, the processor 35 refers to the programs and data held in the memory 63 and executes the programs, thereby implementing the functions of the units. Note that the units referred to here are the motor control unit 43, the pulse receiving unit 57, the camera control unit 59, and the microphone control unit 61, respectively.

The motor control unit 43 is controlled by the processor 35 to control the first motor driver 37 that drives the travel motor 45, the second motor driver 39 that drives the PAN motor 47, and the third motor driver 41 that drives the TILT motor 49.

The first motor driver 37 is controlled by the motor control unit 43, and controls the amount of current supplied to the travel motor 45, the rotation speed and rotation direction of the travel motor 45, and the like.

The second motor driver 39 is controlled by the motor control unit 43, and controls the amount of current supplied to the PAN motor 47, the rotation speed and rotation direction of the PAN motor 47, and the like.

The third motor driver 41 is controlled by the motor control unit 43 to control the amount of current supplied to the TILT motor 49, the rotation speed and rotation direction of the TILT motor 49, and the like.

The traveling motor 45 is controlled by the first motor driver 37 to move the moving device 15 . The travel motor 45 includes a motor whose rotation can be controlled by a pulse signal.

The PAN motor 47 is controlled by the second motor driver 39 to pan rotate the camera 17 . The PAN motor 47 has a motor whose rotation can be controlled by a pulse signal.

The TILT motor 49 is controlled by the third motor driver 41 to tilt and rotate the camera 17 . The TILT motor 49 has a motor whose rotation can be controlled by a pulse signal.

The traveling motor encoder 51 generates a pulse signal based on the rotation angle of the traveling motor 45 indicating the travel distance of the moving device 15 and outputs it to the pulse receiving section 57 .

The PAN motor encoder 53 generates a pulse signal based on the rotation angle of the PAN motor 47 indicating the pan rotation angle of the camera 17 and outputs it to the pulse receiving section 57 .

The TILT motor encoder 55 generates a pulse signal based on the rotation angle of the TILT motor 49 that indicates the tilt rotation angle of the camera 17 and outputs it to the pulse receiving section 57 .

The pulse receiving unit 57 acquires pulse signals output from each of the traveling motor encoder 51, PAN motor encoder 53, and TILT motor encoder 55. The pulse receiving unit 57 calculates the movement distance of the moving device 15 based on the pulse signal output from the travel motor encoder 51, calculates the pan rotation angle of the camera 17 based on the pulse signal output from the PAN motor encoder 53, and calculates the tilt rotation angle of the camera 17 based on the pulse signal output from the TILT motor encoder 55.

The camera control unit 59 executes imaging control of the two cameras 17 . The camera control unit 59 acquires captured images output from the two cameras 17 and outputs them to the wireless communication unit 65 . Wireless communication unit 65 transmits the captured image output from camera control unit 59 to server 25 or terminal device 29 via router 21 and network 23 . Note that the camera control unit 59 may output captured images output from the two cameras 17 to the memory 63 for storage.

The microphone control unit 61 executes sound pickup control of the microphone 19 . The microphone control section 61 acquires the audio signal output from the microphone 19 and outputs it to the wireless communication section 65 . Wireless communication unit 65 transmits the audio signal output from microphone control unit 61 to server 25 or terminal device 29 via router 21 and network 23 . Note that the microphone control unit 61 may output the audio signal output from the microphone 19 to the memory 63 for storage.

Note that the processor 35 may measure the position of an object to be imaged (for example, an article) based on the captured images output from the two cameras 17, or may generate video data using the captured images output from the two cameras 17 and the audio signal output from the microphone 19, output it to the wireless communication unit 65, and transmit it to the server 25 or the terminal device 29.

The memory 63 has, for example, a RAM (Random Access Memory) as a work memory used when executing each process of the processor 35, and a ROM (Read Only Memory) for storing programs and data that define the operation of the processor 35. Data or information generated or obtained by the processor 35 is temporarily stored in the RAM. A program that defines the operation of the processor 35 is written in the ROM.

The wireless communication unit 65 transmits and receives data to and from the router 21 and the terminal device 27 by wireless communication. The wireless communication unit 65 outputs an electrical signal (control command) transmitted from the terminal device 27 to the processor 35 . Also, the wireless communication unit 65 transmits the picked-up image, audio signal, etc. output from the processor 35 to the server 25 or the terminal device 29 via the router 21 and the network 23 .

3 is an external perspective view of the moving device 15. FIG. In addition, in FIG. 3, illustration of a part of the rail 13 is omitted.

The moving device 15 is supported (suspended) with the main plate 67 suspended from the rails 13 . The main plate 67 has two cameras 17 covered with a lower cover 69 , a travel motor 45 , a PAN motor 47 and a TILT motor 49 on the lower surface of the main plate 67 . The main plate 67 and the lower cover 69 constitute a housing 121 of the moving device 15 .

The main plate 67 has a roller 71, which is a first rotating part driven by the traveling motor 45 (see FIG. 4), protruding upward from the upper surface of the main plate 67. As shown in FIG. In addition, the main plate 67 includes horizontal bearings 73, which are a plurality of second rotating portions, on the side opposite to the rollers 71 with the rail 13 interposed therebetween. In Embodiment 1, each of the pair of lateral bearings 73 is spaced apart along the rail 13 . Note that the moving device 15 according to Embodiment 1 may include a plurality of one set (pair) of the horizontal bearings 73 .

Each of the horizontal bearings 73 is rotatably supported on a horizontal bearing bracket 135 about a rotation axis along the vertical direction (gravitational direction). Each of the horizontal bearings 73 is formed by, for example, cutting and raising the main plate 67 . Each of the horizontal bearings 73 is arranged on the opposite side of the rail 13 from the roller 71 which is the first rotating part, and sandwiches the rail 13 by coming into contact with the rail 13 from the opposite side. Specifically, the roller 71 (an example of the first rotating portion) and the pair of horizontal bearings 73 (an example of the second rotating portion) are in contact with each other from the outside of the rail 13 .

The roller 71 is in contact with one side surface of the rail 13 and is rotated by the traveling motor 45 in a direction corresponding to the moving direction of the moving device 15 . The travel motor 45 , rollers 71 and lateral bearings 73 constitute a drive section 75 . The travel motor 45 is housed inside the main plate 67 .

In the moving device 15, the rollers 71 are rotated by the traveling motor 45 in a state in which the rollers 71 are in contact with one side of the rail 13 and the horizontal bearings 73 are in contact with and sandwiched from the other side of the rail 13. As a result, the moving device 15 can move in a predetermined moving direction along the rail 13. As shown in FIG.

It should be noted that each of the pair of horizontal bearings 73 may be another traveling motor that rotates in the opposite direction to the traveling motor 45 .

Next, the moving device 15 with the lower cover 69 removed will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the moving device 15 with the lower cover 69 removed.

The rollers 71 are supported by the main plate 67 by means of the rail motor plate 77 so that they can move toward or away from one side surface of the rail 13 . The rail motor plate 77 is biased toward one side surface of the rail 13 by a biasing spring 79 which is an elastic member. Thereby, each of the rollers 71 and the lateral bearings 73 can hold the rail 13 from both sides with a predetermined holding force (grip force) based on the biasing force of the biasing spring 79 to support the housing 121 .

The moving device 15 includes a pan bracket 85 rotatable around a pan rotation center 83 at one end 81 of the main plate 67 . The pan bracket 85 is rotated by the PAN motor 47 (see FIG. 2). The pan bracket 85 includes a tilt bracket 89 that is horizontally rotatable about a tilt rotation center 87 . The tilt bracket 89 supports a camera unit 91 on which two cameras 17 and a microphone 19 (see FIG. 2) are mounted so that it can tilt and rotate.

The main plate 67 has support units 95 at one end 81 and the other end 93 of the main plate 67 . The support unit 95 has a columnar support shaft 99 that enters a rail opening 97 (see FIG. 5) from below the rail 13 . The support shaft 99 has a support bearing shaft (hereinafter referred to as “shaft”) that is a support member passing through the support shaft 99 in a diametrical direction.

Next, the power receiving electrode section 107 and the power transmitting electrode section 105 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view for explaining the positional relationship between the power receiving electrode portion 107 in the moving device 15 and the power transmitting electrode portion 105 of the rail 13. As shown in FIG. FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of the rail 13 cut in a direction orthogonal to the direction along the tangential line of the rail 13 shown in FIGS. 3 and 4 (that is, the moving direction of the moving device 15).

The cross-sectional shape of the rail 13 in the direction orthogonal to the direction along the tangential line of the moving device 15 has a substantially U-shape that opens downward. The rail 13 is sandwiched between rollers 71 and a pair of horizontal bearings 73 from both sides of the rail 13 (that is, left and right directions on the paper). The rail 13 has a pair of fishing support portions 103 on both sides of the rail opening 97 .

In the following description, the "front" in the moving device 15 indicates the one end 81 side of the housing 121 on which the camera unit 91 (see FIG. 4) is provided. The “rear” in the mobile device 15 indicates the other end 93 side of the housing 121 on which the camera unit 91 (see FIG. 4) is not provided.

Each of the pair of fishing support portions 103 supports shafts 101 (see FIG. 4) projecting from both sides of the support shaft 99 (see FIG. 4) entering the rail opening 97. Thereby, the moving device 15 can support the load of the moving device 15 on the rails 13 .

The power receiving electrode portion 107 is provided inside the rail 13 and contacts the power transmitting electrode portion 105 extending along the extending direction of the rail 13 to receive power from the power transmitting electrode portion 105 . The power receiving electrode unit 107 supplies the received power to the power source 31 (see FIG. 2).

The power receiving electrode portion 107 abuts on the power transmitting electrode portion 105 and expands and contracts (displaces) in a direction substantially perpendicular to the moving direction of the moving device 15 (that is, the direction along the tangential line of the rail 13). Moving device 15 according to Embodiment 1 may have rail 13 sandwiched between roller 71 and power receiving electrode portion 107 , and may be configured to move by rotating roller 71 driven by traveling motor 45 .

The power receiving electrode portion 107 is composed of a first power receiving electrode portion 111 that contacts the first power transmitting electrode portion 109 and a second power receiving electrode portion 115 that contacts the second power transmitting electrode portion 113 . The first power receiving electrode portion 111 and the second power receiving electrode portion 115 can expand and contract (displace) independently.

The power transmission electrode portion 105 of the rail 13 is composed of a pair of electrodes, a first power transmission electrode portion 109 and a second power transmission electrode portion 113 , and supplies power 31 to the mobile device 15 .

The power receiving electrode part 107 has four elastic parts (not shown), and can be expanded and contracted (displaced) by each of the four elastic parts. Note that the elastic portion is realized by, for example, a coil spring. The four elastic portions include two elastic portions that bias the first power receiving electrode portion 111 toward the first power transmitting electrode portion 109, and two elastic portions that bias the second power receiving electrode portion 115 toward the second power transmitting electrode portion 113.

In the power receiving electrode portion 107, the length between the first power receiving electrode portion 111 and the second power receiving electrode portion 115 (hereinafter referred to as "width between power receiving electrodes") is maximized when each of the four elastic portions is stretched to the maximum, and is longer than the distance between the first power transmitting electrode portion 109 and the second power transmitting electrode portion 113 (hereinafter referred to as "distance between power transmitting electrodes"). In other words, the width between the power receiving electrodes is longer than the distance between the power transmitting electrodes when each of the four elastic portions is maximally stretched (separated).

In addition, in the power receiving electrode portion 107, the width between the power receiving electrodes is longer than the length between the holding portion 117 that holds the first power transmission electrode portion 109 and the holding portion 117 that holds the second power transmission electrode portion 113 when each of the four elastic portions is contracted to the maximum. In other words, the width between the power receiving electrodes is longer than the length between the pair of holding portions 117 when each of the four elastic portions is maximally contracted (approached).

The power receiving electrode portion 107 has a vertically tapered structure at the end portion that contacts the power transmitting electrode portion 105 . A pair of holding portions 117 holding the first power transmission electrode portion 109 and the second power transmission electrode portion 113 respectively has a substantially U-shaped cross-sectional shape in a direction perpendicular to the direction along the tangential line of the moving device 15 . A pair of holding portions 117 are arranged such that respective openings 119 formed in a substantially U-shape face each other. The first power transmission electrode portion 109 and the second power transmission electrode portion 113 are accommodated on the far side of the opening 119 .

Each of the first power receiving electrode portion 111 and the second power receiving electrode portion 115 is inserted through the opening 119 of the holding portion 117 having a U-shaped cross section, and comes into contact with the power transmitting electrode portion 105 (that is, the first power transmitting electrode portion 109 and the second power transmitting electrode portion 113) housed on the back side of the holding portion 117, and is electrically connected.

The first power receiving electrode portion 111 and the second power receiving electrode portion 115 each have a tapered surface 123 whose thickness in the vertical direction gradually decreases in the direction of entering the opening 119 . The tapered surface 123 has a protruding portion 125 at its tip. The projecting portion 125 of the first power receiving electrode portion 111 and the second power receiving electrode portion 115 contacts the first power transmitting electrode portion 109 and the second power transmitting electrode portion 113 .

The first power receiving electrode portion 111 and the second power receiving electrode portion 115 are supported by the base portion 127 . The base portion 127 supports the first power receiving electrode portion 111 and the second power receiving electrode portion 115 by a plurality of pin-shaped support portions 129 so as to be expandable (displaceable). The base portion 127 is rotatably supported around the central axis of the connecting shaft 131 by the bracket portion 133 fixed to the main plate 67 via the connecting shaft 131 passing vertically through the support hole (not shown).

FIG. 6 is an enlarged perspective view of a main portion of the driving portion 75. FIG.

The rail motor plate 77 has a rectangular vertical plate 137 to which the travel motor 45 is fixed. The travel motor 45 is fixed to the vertical plate 137 on a surface substantially orthogonal to the direction along the tangential line of the rail 13 . The travel motor 45 has a vertical drive shaft on the vertical plate 137, and a bevel gear 139 is fixed to the tip of this drive shaft.

The vertical plate 137 is bent in the horizontal direction, and a horizontal plate 141 having a surface facing the main plate 67 is connected to the upper side. A bearing unit 143 is fixed to the lower surface of the horizontal plate 141 .

A roller shaft 145 is fixed to the upper end of the bearing unit 143 passing through the horizontal plate 141 . The bearing unit 143 rotatably supports a roller shaft 145 that fixes the roller 71 .

A bevel gear 147 meshing with the bevel gear 139 of the traveling motor 45 is fixed to the lower end of the roller shaft 145 . The bevel gear 147 is driven by the drive shaft and transmits the rotational force of the rotating bevel gear 139 to the roller shaft 145 and the rollers 71 . As a result, the rotation of the travel motor 45 is transmitted to the rollers 71 via the

bevel gears

139 and 147 , so that the moving device 15 can move in a predetermined moving direction along the tangential line of the rail 13 .

The horizontal plate 141 has an edge portion opposite to the side where the roller 71 abuts against the rail 13, and an upright piece portion 149 that stands up vertically is connected. That is, the standing piece 149 and the horizontal plate 141 are connected so as to form a substantially L shape.

The standing piece portion 149 is fixed to the standing plate 153 of the first hinge 151 . The first hinge 151 has a horizontal plate 157 that is rotatable relative to the upright plate 153 about a rotation center axis 155 along the extending direction of the rail 13 . This horizontal plate 157 is fixed to the main plate 67 .

A biasing spring 79 is provided on an L-shaped washer 159 fixed on the main plate 67 . The biasing spring 79 has one end supported by an L-shaped washer 159 and the other end abuts against the standing plate 153 facing the L-shaped washer 159 . The biasing spring 79 biases the standing piece 149 fixed to the contacting standing plate 153 and the horizontal plate 141 connected to the standing piece 149 in the direction in which the roller 71 faces one side surface of the rail 13 (that is, the contact direction).

Thereby, the moving device 15 can clamp the rail 13 by the roller 71 biased by the biasing spring 79 and the pair of horizontal bearings 73 fixedly installed on the main plate 67 .

FIG. 7 is an enlarged perspective view of the driving part 75 shown in FIG. 6, viewed from a different angle.

The vertical plate 137 has a vertical piece 161 bent parallel to the longitudinal direction of the rail 13 connected to the side adjacent to the side to which the horizontal plate 141 is connected. This vertical piece 161 is fixed to the hanging plate 165 of the second hinge 163 .

The second hinge 163 has a horizontal plate 167 which is rotatable relative to the hanging plate 165 around the rotation center axis 155 along the longitudinal direction of the rail 13 . This horizontal plate 167 is fixed to the main plate 67 . Each of the first hinge 151 and the second hinge 163 is rotatable around the coaxial rotation center axis 155 .

In this way, the drive unit 75 is configured integrally with the rollers 71 and the traveling motor 45 by means of the rail motor plate 77 . The rail motor plate 77 is rotatable around the rotation center axis 155 via the first hinge 151 and the second hinge 163, and supports the roller 71 so as to approach or move away from the rail 13. As shown in FIG.

As described above, the roller 71 is biased toward one side surface of the rail 13 by the biasing spring 79 pressing the upright piece 149 of the rail motor plate 77 . As a result, the moving device 15 can absorb vibrations by expanding and contracting the biasing spring 79 when the traveling motor 45 is driven. Further, when the moving device 15 moves along the rail 13 , the vibration generated in the moving device 15 including the camera unit 91 can be absorbed by the expansion and contraction of the urging spring 79 via the roller 71 . As a result, the moving device 15 can absorb the vibration transmitted to the camera unit 91 during movement by the urging spring 79 , so that deterioration in image quality of the captured image captured by the camera 17 can be suppressed.

FIG. 8 is an enlarged plan view of a main portion of the drive section 75. FIG.

In the moving device 15, the rollers 71 and the horizontal bearings 73 are arranged such that an orthogonal line 169 that passes through the rotation center P1 of the roller 71 and is perpendicular to the direction along the tangential line of the rail 13 is located at the midpoint of a line segment 171 that passes through the rotation centers P2 and P3 of the horizontal bearing 73 located on the opposite side of the roller 71 across the rail 13.

The two horizontal bearings 73 abutting on the side surfaces of the rail 13 have a line segment 171 that connects contact points f1 and f2 with the rail 13 and is perpendicular to the orthogonal line 169 . That is, the lines connecting the contact points f1 and f2 at both ends of the line segment 171 and the contact point f3 at which the roller 71 contacts the rail 13 form a triangle.

If the orthogonal line 169 orthogonal to the line segment 171 is the bisector of the line segment 171, the triangle connecting the three points is an equilateral triangle or an isosceles triangle. Moving device 15 according to Embodiment 1 arranges roller 71 and two lateral bearings 73 so that the triangle connecting these three points is an equilateral triangle or an isosceles triangle, thereby making it more difficult for the moment around rotation center P1 of roller 71 to occur, and further stabilizing the posture of housing 121.

FIG. 9 is a front view of the rail 13 on which the support unit 95 is suspended.

The moving device 15 is arranged so that, in the height direction perpendicular to the upper surface of the main plate 67, the midpoint P4 on the contact surface of the roller 71 (an example of the first rotating portion) that contacts the rail 13 and the midpoint P5 on the contact surface of each of the pair of horizontal bearings 73 (an example of the second rotating portion) that contact the rail 13 are at approximately the same height.

That is, in a cross section perpendicular to the direction along the tangential line of the rail 13, a line 173 connecting three points, the midpoint P4 of the roller 71 and the midpoint P5 of each of the pair of lateral bearings 73, is a straight line. 9, only the midpoint P5 of one lateral bearing 73 is illustrated, and the midpoint of the other lateral bearing 73 is omitted.

In addition, the moving device 15 is arranged so that, in the height direction perpendicular to the upper surface of the main plate 67, the midpoint P4 on the contact surface of the roller 71 contacting the rail 13, the midpoint P5 on the contact surface of each of the pair of lateral bearings 73, and the power supply height of the power source 31 are substantially at the same height. Here, the power supply height of the power supply 31 is the height of each of the contacts P6 and P7 of the protruding portions 125 of the first power receiving electrode portion 111 and the second power receiving electrode portion 115 that are in sliding contact with and electrically connected to the pair of power transmitting electrode portions 105, respectively. Each of the points of contact P6, P7 is located on a line 173 connecting each of the midpoints P4, P5.

As shown in FIG. 9 , the support unit 95 includes support rotating parts 177 on both sides of a pedestal 175 that supports the support shaft 99 and facing the lower surface of the suspension support part 103 of the rail 13 . The support rotating part 177 is rotatably provided, and when the moving device 15 is tilted, it contacts the lower surface of the suspension part 103 and rotates on the lower surface of the suspension part 103 to prevent contact between the rail 13 and the housing 121.

As described above, the moving device 15 according to the first embodiment is a moving device 15 that moves on the rail 13, and includes a housing 121 suspended from the rail 13, rollers 71 (an example of a first rotating section) provided on the housing 121 and contacting the rail 13 to move the housing 121 along the rail 13, a driving section 75 provided on the housing 121 to rotate the first rotating section, and a driving section 75 provided on the housing 121 to supply power to the driving section 75. A power supply 31 (an example of a power supply section) and a biasing spring 79 (an example of an elastic section) that is provided in the housing 121 and presses the first rotating section against the rail 13 are provided.

Thus, in the moving device 15 according to Embodiment 1, the housing 121 of the moving device 15 is suspended from the elevated rails 13 . The moving device 15 is supplied with electric power from the power source 31 and can move along the rails 13 by rotating the rollers 71 that are brought into contact with the rails 13 by the biasing springs 79 by the drive section 75 . Therefore, in the moving device 15 , the roller 71 urged by the urging spring 79 is displaced in a direction approaching the rail 13 , and the pressing force of the urging spring 79 presses the roller 71 against the rail 13 . As a result, the rollers 71 can obtain rotational friction against the rails 13 and generate a driving force in the direction along the rails 13 . Further, since the moving device 15 can absorb vibration, shaking, etc. due to movement or driving of the drive unit 75 by the elasticity of the biasing spring 79, smoother movement can be realized. In addition, the movement device 15 absorbs shakes, vibrations, and the like, so that it is possible to suppress deterioration in the image quality of the captured image captured by the camera 17, for example.

As described above, the housing 121 of the moving device 15 according to Embodiment 1 further includes the horizontal bearing 73 (an example of the horizontal bearing 73) that contacts the rail 13 on the side opposite to the roller 71 with the rail 13 interposed therebetween. As a result, the moving device 15 according to Embodiment 1 can move along the rail 13 by gripping (sandwiching) the rail 13 with the roller 71 and the horizontal bearing 73 contacting the rail 13 on the side opposite to the roller 71 with the rail 13 interposed therebetween.

Also, as described above, a plurality of horizontal bearings 73 are installed in the moving device 15 according to the first embodiment. As a result, since the moving device 15 according to the first embodiment can hold the rail 13 between the rollers 71 and the plurality of horizontal bearings 73, the generation of the moment force about the rotation center P1 of the rollers 71 can be more effectively suppressed, and the housing 121 can be less likely to tilt during movement. Therefore, the moving device 15 can maintain the linearity of the housing 121 with respect to the rails 13 and stabilize the posture.

Further, as described above, the horizontal bearings 73 in the moving device 15 according to Embodiment 1 are arranged side by side in the direction along the tangential line of the rails 13 . As a result, since the moving device 15 can hold the rail 13 between the roller 71 and the plurality of horizontal bearings 73 arranged in the direction along the tangential line of the rail 13, the generation of the moment force centered on the rotation center P1 of the roller 71 can be more effectively suppressed, and the housing 121 can be less likely to tilt during movement. Therefore, the moving device 15 can maintain the linearity of the housing 121 with respect to the rails 13 and stabilize the posture.

As described above, in the moving device 15 according to Embodiment 1, the orthogonal line 169 passing through the rotation center P1 of the roller 71 and in a direction substantially orthogonal to the direction along the tangential line of the rail 13 passes through the midpoint of the line segment 171 connecting the rotation centers P2 and P3 of the plurality of lateral bearings 73. As a result, the moving device 15 according to Embodiment 1 clamps the rail 13 so that the contact f3 at which the roller 71 contacts the rail 13 and the contact f1 and f2 at which the horizontal bearing 73 contacts the rail 13 form a triangle, and the posture of the housing 121 during movement can be further stabilized.

Also, as described above, each of the rollers 71 and the lateral bearings 73 in the moving device 15 according to the first embodiment comes into contact with the rail 13 from the outside. Thus, in the moving device 15 according to Embodiment 1, the rollers 71 and the lateral bearings 73 abut on the rails 13 from the outside and from both sides to sandwich the rails 13, so that the rails 13 can be prevented from expanding in a direction substantially perpendicular to the direction along the tangential line of the rails 13.

As described above, in the moving device 15 according to Embodiment 1, the height of the rollers 71 and the height of the lateral bearings 73 are arranged at the same height in the height direction perpendicular to the upper surface of the housing 121 (that is, the main plate 67). As a result, in the moving device 15 according to the first embodiment, the midpoint P4 of the contact surface of the roller 71 that contacts the rail 13 and the midpoint P5 of the contact surface of the pair of lateral bearings 73 that contact the rail 13 are substantially at the same height, so that the housing 121 can be more effectively prevented from rotating and tilting about the direction along the tangential line of the rail 13 during movement, and the posture of the housing 121 can be further stabilized.

As described above, in the moving device 15 according to Embodiment 1, the height of the roller 71, the height of the horizontal bearing 73, and the height of the power source 31 are arranged at the same height in the height direction perpendicular to the upper surface of the housing 121 (that is, the main plate 67). As a result, in moving device 15 according to Embodiment 1, contacts P6 and P7 between power transmitting electrode portion 105 and power receiving electrode portion 107 are arranged on line 173 connecting midpoint P4 on the contact surface of roller 71 and midpoint P5 on the contact surfaces of the pair of lateral bearings 73. Therefore, the moving device 15 can further stabilize the contact state between the power transmitting electrode portion 105 and the power receiving electrode portion 107 by the pinching force of the rail 13 by the roller 71 and the pair of horizontal bearings 73, and can further stabilize the electrode supply.

Although various embodiments have been described above with reference to the accompanying drawings, the present disclosure is not limited to such examples. It is clear that a person skilled in the art can conceive of various modifications, modifications, substitutions, additions, deletions, and equivalents within the scope of the claims, and it is understood that they also belong to the technical scope of the present disclosure. In addition, the constituent elements of the various embodiments described above may be combined arbitrarily without departing from the gist of the invention.

This application is based on a Japanese patent application (Japanese Patent Application No. 2022-007904) filed on January 21, 2022, the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.

The present disclosure is useful as a moving device that improves the linearity of the housing during travel and effectively suppresses vibration during travel.

13 Rail 15 Moving Device 31 Power Supply 71 Roller 73 Horizontal Bearing 75 Driving Part 79 Biasing Spring 121 Case 169 Orthogonal Lines P1, P2, P3 Rotation Center

Claims

A moving device for moving a rail,
a housing suspended from the rail;
a first rotating part provided in the housing, contacting the rail and moving the housing along the rail;
a drive unit provided in the housing for rotating the first rotating unit;
a power supply unit provided in the housing for supplying power to the driving unit;
an elastic part provided in the housing and pressing the first rotating part against the rail;
mobile device.
The housing further comprises a second rotating part that contacts the rail on the opposite side of the first rotating part across the rail,
The mobile device of claim 1 .
A plurality of the second rotating parts are installed,
3. A mobile device according to claim 2.
The second rotating parts are arranged side by side in a direction along a tangential line of the rail,
4. A mobile device according to claim 3.
an orthogonal line passing through the center of rotation of the first rotating portion and extending in a direction substantially perpendicular to the direction along the tangent line of the rail passes through the midpoint of a line segment connecting the centers of rotation of each of the plurality of second rotating portions;
4. A mobile device according to claim 3.
each of the first rotating portion and the second rotating portion abuts from the outside of the rail;
3. A mobile device according to claim 2.
In a height direction perpendicular to the upper surface of the housing, the height of the first rotating part and the height of the second rotating part are arranged at the same height,
3. A mobile device according to claim 2.
In a height direction perpendicular to the upper surface of the housing, the height of the first rotating section, the height of the second rotating section, and the height of the power supply section are arranged at the same height.
3. A mobile device according to claim 2.