JP2011235800A - Travelling device and robot - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a travelling device and robot having enhanced performances of traveling at a soft ground such as sand land and muddy ground.SOLUTION: The robot includes a body 1 and travelling devices 2 arranged at the right side and the left side of this body 1. Each of the travelling devices 2 has a front side wheel 10 and a rear side wheel 10 and an endless cover belt 20 made of a resilient material that are removably applied in tension over these wheels 10. The wheel 10 has a rigid wheel body 11 and a tire 12 of a resilient material installed at the outer periphery of the wheel. The tire 12 has many ground contacting rugs 16 at its outer periphery. The cover belt 20 has a major section 25 and a pair of locking sections 26 protruded from both side edges of the major section 25 toward its inner periphery side. The major section 25 of the cover belt 20 keeps a contact with the extremity ends of the grounding rugs 16 and the locking sections 26 abut against the sides of the grounding rugs 16.

Description

  The present invention relates to a traveling device and a robot suitable for traveling on soft ground such as sand or muddy ground.

As shown in Patent Document 1, a crawler (infinite orbit) is often used to travel on soft ground such as sand or muddy ground such as the seabed to reduce the contact pressure. However, the crawler has a drawback that it is heavy and has a large load of power required to drive the belt (crawler belt), and is not suitable for a small traveling device such as a robot. Moreover, it is necessary to apply tension so that the crawler does not come off, and there is a problem that a tension applying device is required.
The submarine traveling robots disclosed in Patent Documents 2 and 3 are provided with wheels arranged at the front and rear instead of the crawler to reduce the weight.

JP-A-9-296477 (FIGS. 1 and 5) JP 59-18894 (FIG. 1) Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2002-254361 (FIG. 2)

The robot wheels disclosed in Patent Documents 2 and 3 are suitable for traveling on a leveled road surface, but when traveling on soft ground such as sand or muddy ground such as the seabed, the following inconvenience occurs. . First, the wheels dig up sand and mud and go deep and become unable to run. Second, when performing seabed exploration, etc., even if it is possible to travel on sandy or swampy land on the seabed, the wheels will roll up fine sand and sediment during traveling, causing poor visibility. Sometimes.

  In order to solve the above problems, the present invention includes first and second wheels that are separated from each other in the front-rear direction, each wheel having a rigid wheel body and a tire made of an elastic material attached to the outer periphery thereof. The first and second wheels are characterized in that an endless cover belt that can be expanded and contracted is detachably stretched over a natural length.

According to the above configuration, the following effects can be obtained.
When the traveling device travels on soft ground such as sand, the wheels are covered with a cover belt, so that the ground can be traveled stably without being dug.
・ When used for seabed exploration, etc., the wheels will not raise sand or sediment.
-Since the cover belt is lightweight, the load applied to the drive source is smaller than the crawler drive and can be equivalent to the wheel drive.
A versatile traveling device with wheels suitable for traveling on hard ground can be used as a basic structure, and manufacturing costs can be reduced.
-A stable wearing state can be obtained by the contraction force of the cover belt.
-The friction between the cover belt and the wheel due to the contraction force allows the cover belt to follow the rotation of the wheel satisfactorily, and reliably transmits the rotation to the driven wheel when the driving wheel is either front or rear. Can do.
-The cover belt can be easily attached to and removed from the wheel, and a device for applying tension to the cover belt is not required.
・ Even if the cover belt breaks, unlike the rubber crawler, which cannot run, the tire can run, so the robot can be easily collected.

Preferably, a large number of ground lugs protrude from the outer periphery of the tire of the wheel, and the cover belt is stretched so as to be in contact with the leading edge of the ground lug.
According to this configuration, the grounding lug can be prevented from digging the ground, and sand and deposits can be prevented from being rolled up. Further, when the traveling apparatus encounters an obstacle, the cover belt extends locally, so that the grounding lug can be hooked on the obstacle without causing any obstacle, and thus the obstacle can be overcome.

Preferably, the cover belt includes a main portion that contacts the leading edge of the ground lug, and a pair of locking portions that are provided over the entire circumference so as to protrude from both side edges of the main portion in the width direction. These locking portions are in contact with the side surface of the grounding lug.
According to this configuration, it is possible to prevent the cover belt from being laterally displaced and coming off the wheel.

Preferably, the cover belt has an endless belt member and endless string members provided on both side edges of the belt member, and at least a central portion of the belt member is provided as the main portion. The string member is provided as at least a part of the locking portion.
According to this configuration, the cover belt can be securely attached to the wheel by the string member.

Preferably, the width of the belt member is larger than the width of the grounding lug, and the belt member has a U-shaped cross section when the cover belt is attached, and the side edge portion of the belt member and the string member are locked. Offered as a part.
According to this structure, the width | variety of a latching | locking part can be ensured widely and a cover belt can be attached to a wheel still more firmly.

Preferably, the belt member has an elongated sheet shape, and a plurality of through holes are formed at both side edge portions at intervals in the circumferential direction, and the string member is separated from the belt member, and the belt member Are attached to the belt member by sequentially passing through the through holes in the circumferential direction.
According to this configuration, the cord member can be attached to the belt member without using a means such as adhesion, although the configuration is simple.

Preferably, a number of discharge holes are formed in the cover belt, and a space between the ground lugs is connected to the outside through the discharge holes.
According to this structure, sand removal and mud removal can be favorably performed from the space between the grounding lugs through the discharge hole.

  According to another aspect of the present invention, a robot includes a body and the traveling device provided on the left and right sides of the body.

  According to the traveling device of the present invention, it is possible to stably travel on soft ground such as sand or muddy ground.

1 is a plan view of a robot according to a first embodiment of the present invention, in which one traveling device of the robot is shown in a cover belt wearing state, the other traveling device is shown in a state before wearing a cover belt, and the other traveling device is shown. The cover belt is shown in cross-section with the same shape as the wearing state. FIG. 3 is a side view showing the robot with only a cover belt separated, and showing the cover belt in the same shape as the attached state. FIG. 2 is a side view showing the robot with a cover belt attached. It is a top view shown in the state where a part of the cover belt was spread on one plane. It is the front sectional view which expands and shows in a state where the important section of the wheel and cover belt of the traveling device was disassembled. It is the front sectional view which expands and shows the principal part of the wheel of the traveling apparatus and the cover belt with which this wheel was equipped. It is a schematic side view which shows the state when the robot gets over a level | step difference, and shows the outer peripheral surface of a cover belt as an outline of a traveling apparatus. It is an expanded sectional view of the A section in FIG. FIG. 6 is a plan view of a robot according to a second embodiment of the present invention, in which one traveling device of the robot is shown with a cover belt attached, and the other traveling device is shown before the cover belt is attached. It is a side view showing the robot concerning the 2nd embodiment in the state before wearing a cover belt. FIG. 10 is a view corresponding to FIG. 9 showing the robot according to the third embodiment. It is a side view of the robot concerning a 4th embodiment of the present invention. It is a side view showing a state when the robot of the fourth embodiment gets over the step. FIG. 7 is a view corresponding to FIG. 6 showing a modification of the cover belt used in the first to fourth embodiments. It is the figure which made the further modification of the cover belt used by the 1st-4th embodiment into the cross section along the circumferential direction. It is the figure which made the further modification of the cover belt used by the 1st-4th embodiment into the cross section along the circumferential direction. It is the figure which made the further modification of the cover belt used by the 1st-4th embodiment into the cross section along the circumferential direction. It is a top view which shows the further modification of the cover belt used by the 1st-4th embodiment.

Hereinafter, a lightweight and small robot according to a first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.
First, the basic configuration of the robot will be described with reference to FIGS. In FIG. 1, front, rear, left and right are indicated by arrows for easy understanding. The robot includes a body 1 that is elongated in the front-rear direction, and a pair of traveling devices 2 provided on the left and right sides of the body 1.

  A video camera 3 is mounted on the front of the body 1, and a grip 4 is fixed on the rear. The robot can be carried by grasping the grip 4.

The body 1 further includes a transmitter / receiver 5, which can transmit / receive to / from a transmitter / receiver of a base station (not shown) remote from the robot. The operator controls the traveling of the robot by operating the remote controller of the base station while viewing the video imaged by the video camera 3. When used underwater, such as undersea exploration, travel control is performed by transmitting and receiving via a cable to the mother ship on which the base station is arranged.
Note that various accessories and sensors such as a robot arm may be mounted on the body 1 in accordance with the role required of the robot.

  Each of the traveling devices 2 includes first and second wheels 10 rotatably supported on front and rear ends of a side plate 6 (wheel support) of the body 1 and an elastic material spanned between the wheels 10. And an auxiliary wheel 30 rotatably supported by the side plate 6 between the first and second wheels 10. At least one of the front and rear wheels 10 is driven by a motor (not shown) built in the body 1.

  As best shown in FIG. 2, the wheel 10 includes a metal (rigid) wheel body 11 fixed to an axle (not shown) extending in the left-right direction from the body 1, and an outer periphery of the wheel body 11. And a tire 12 made of a fixed rubber (elastic material).

  The tire 12 includes an annular tire body 15 and a large number of ground lugs 16 that are formed to protrude from the outer periphery thereof. These grounding lugs 16 have the same height as the thickness and the same height, extend in the width direction of the tire body 15, and have the same width as the tire body 15. These ground lugs 16 are classified into two types, a first ground lug 16a and a second ground lug 16b, depending on the thickness (circumferential dimension) and shape.

If it demonstrates referring FIG. 2, the outer periphery of the said tire main body 15 has a relatively short 1st lug formation area and a relatively long 2nd lug formation area in the circumferential direction alternately. In the first lug formation region, a predetermined number of, for example, two first ground lugs 16a are arranged at intervals, and in the second lug formation region, a number of second ground lugs 16b are arranged at intervals. Has been.
The first ground lug 16a is thick, has high bending rigidity in the cover belt circumferential direction, and extends straight in the width direction. The second ground lug 16b is thin, has a low bending rigidity in the cover belt circumferential direction, and has a planar shape that is bent into a square shape.

The operation of the robot in a state where the cover belt 20 is not attached will be briefly described. When each traveling device 2 is driven by a motor (not shown) built in the body 10, the robot performs forward movement, backward movement, left-right turn, and pivot turn (turn around the central axis). In the present embodiment, only one of the front wheels and the rear wheels is motor-driven, but super-confinement turning (in-situ turning) is also possible by making all the front and rear wheels motor-driven.
When traveling, the ground lug 16 of the tire 12 contacts the ground. Whether the ground is leveled or uneven, the high grounding lug 16 can be used to travel well.

  Since the robot has a high ground lug 16, the robot can get over a step (obstacle). In particular, in this embodiment, when the robot travels and hits a step, the thin second grounding lug 16b having a low bending rigidity is bent, and in this state, the first grounding lug 16a having a thick bending rigidity is high. Because it gets caught on the nose, you can get over even if the level difference is high.

The robot is suitable for traveling on leveled or uneven terrain or traveling on a level difference, but is not suitable for soft ground such as sand or muddy ground. This is because the independent wheel 22 digs sand and mud and enters deeply, making it impossible to run. In particular, in this embodiment, the high grounding lug 16 digs sand and mud, so that it enters deeper.
Also, when performing seabed exploration or the like, even if it is possible to travel on a sandy seabed, each wheel 10 with the ground lug 16 scratches and removes fine sand and sediment even when traveling. Cause poor visibility.

  When the robot is used for traveling on sand (soft ground), an endless cover belt 20 which is a feature of the present invention is detachably attached to the wheel 10. An auxiliary wheel (roller wheel) 30 is rotatably supported on the lower side of the side plate 6 of the body 1 so that the attached cover belt 20 is not recessed due to unevenness of the ground. In this embodiment, there is one wheel, but it is preferable to have a plurality of small wheels.

  The configuration of the cover belt 20 will be described in detail. As best shown in FIG. 4, the cover belt 20 includes a belt member 21 composed of an elongated endless sheet (flat belt) having a uniform thickness over the entire circumference, and both side edges in the width direction of the belt member 21. And a pair of endless tubes (string members) 22 provided on the end. The belt member 21 and the tube 22 are made of an elastic rubber material such as SBR (expandable and flexible elastic material).

  A large number of through holes 21a are formed on both side edges of the belt member 21 at intervals in the circumferential direction over the entire circumference. On the other hand, both ends of the tube 22 before installation are separated. One end of the tube 22 is passed through the through hole 21a in order, and finally both ends of the tube 22 are fitted and fixed to a short rod-shaped member to make them endless. In the tube 22, portions between the adjacent through holes 21 a are alternately arranged on one side and the other side of the belt member 21.

  The circumferential length of the belt member 21 in a natural state is shorter than an ellipse circumscribing the leading edges of the large number of ground lugs 16 of the front and rear wheels 10 and is about 70 to 90% of the length of the line. The natural length of the tube 22 is even shorter than the natural length of the belt member 21.

  After the cover belt 20 is positioned so as to cover the front and rear wheels 10 in a state where the cover belt 20 is extended in the circumferential direction and the width direction as shown in FIG. Release the manual pulling state. As a result, the cover belt 20 contracts and is stretched between the front and rear wheels 10.

In the mounted state of the cover belt 20, the central portion in the width direction of the belt member 21 is in contact with the leading edge of the ground lugs 16 of the front and rear wheels 20 and becomes a main portion 25 that covers these ground lugs 16. Although the main portion 25 is in tension and is in contact with the tip edge of the ground lug 16 with elasticity, it does not have a fixed relationship with the ground lug 16 and can therefore be slightly displaced in the circumferential direction.
The inner periphery of the main portion 25 of the cover belt 20 is also in contact with the outer periphery of the auxiliary wheel 30.

Both side edge portions of the belt member 21 are drawn by the tube 22 having a shorter circumferential length, and are bent inward in the radial direction with respect to the main portion 25. As a result, the belt member 21 has a U-shaped cross section. Since the pair of tubes 22 are also stretched in the circumferential direction in the mounted state, they hit the both side surfaces in the width direction of the ground lug 16 with elasticity. See FIG. Each side edge portion of the belt member 21 and the tube 22 are provided as a locking portion 26 that contacts the side surface of the ground lug 16.
The engaging portion 26 of the cover belt 20 also hits both side surfaces of the auxiliary wheel 30.

  When the robot travels on sandy or muddy ground with the cover belt 20 attached as described above, the wheel 10 is covered with the cover belt 20, and the ground lug 16 of the wheel 10 is also covered with the cover belt 20. , You can drive stably without digging sand or muddy ground. Further, when used for seafloor exploration or the like, since the wheel 10 or the grounding lug 16 does not scratch the sand, it is possible to prevent inconveniences such as minute sand and deposits flying up and blocking the view.

By attaching the cover belt 20, a function equivalent to that of the crawler is added, and super-revolution (in-situ turn) is possible as well as the devotion.
As described above, since the pair of locking portions 26 are in contact with both side surfaces of the ground lug 16, the cover belt 20 can be stably passed over the wheel 10, for example, super-spinning (in-situ turning) Even if a twisting force is applied to the cover belt 20 as in the case of time, it is possible to prevent the cover belt 20 from being laterally displaced and detached from the wheel 10.

  The belt member 21 has a plurality of discharge holes 21b, and the space between the ground lugs 16 covered with the cover belt 20 is connected to the outside through the discharge holes 21b. Therefore, the sand accumulated in these spaces can be discharged to the outside.

  Even when the cover belt 20 is attached, the robot can get over the high step 102 (obstacle) as shown in FIGS. This is because the cover belt 20 has elasticity and flexibility, and when the second grounding lug 16b hits the step 102 and bends, the cover belt 20 is deformed accordingly. This is because it is caught via the cover belt 20.

As described above, the robot travels without the cover belt 20 when traveling on level ground and rough terrain, and wears the cover belt 20 when traveling on soft ground such as the seabed so that the robot can travel on different ground conditions. Can also be used.
The robot may be used only for running on soft ground with the cover belt 20 attached. In this case, since the basic structure of a general-purpose wheeled robot can be used as it is, the production cost can be reduced.

Next, another embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In these embodiments, components corresponding to the preceding embodiments are assigned the same reference numerals and detailed description thereof is omitted.
In the second embodiment shown in FIGS. 9 and 10, the tire 12 </ b> A of the wheel 10 </ b> A does not have a grounding lug as in the first embodiment, and a groove (tread) 19 is formed on a smooth outer peripheral surface. In the present embodiment, the groove 19 extends in the width direction of the tire 12A and is linear and has a relatively wide groove width. However, as in a normal vehicle tire, the groove extending direction, shape, and groove Various widths can be adopted.

  The cover belt 20 similar to that of the first embodiment can be also passed over the front and rear wheels 10A having the above configuration. At this time, the main portion 25 of the cover belt 20 is in contact with the outer peripheral surface of the tire 10A, and the locking portion 26 is in contact with the side surface of the tire 10A or the side surface of the tire 10A and the wheel body 11.

  In 3rd Embodiment shown in FIG. 11, the outer peripheral surface of the tire 10B of the wheel 10B does not have a groove | channel, but is smooth over the perimeter. Other configurations are the same as those of the second embodiment.

Next, a robot according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. In this robot, a pair of left and right traveling devices 2A are provided on the front end side of the body 1A, and a pair of left and right traveling devices 2A are also provided on the rear end side. These traveling devices 2A are of a flipper type, and are rotated around rotation axes L1 and L2 extending horizontally in the left-right direction.
The basic structure of each traveling device 2A is the same as the traveling device 2 of the first embodiment. In the present embodiment, each traveling device 2A is supported by sandwiching the wheel 10 between the left and right side plates 6A, and the wheel 10 is not visible from the side by the side plates 6A.

In the robot according to the fourth embodiment, by turning the traveling device 2A as shown in FIG. 13, it is possible to easily get over the high step 102 (obstacle) in a more stable state.
In addition, you may use the traveling apparatus of 2nd, 3rd embodiment shown in FIGS. 9-11 as a traveling apparatus of the robot concerning 4th Embodiment.

Next, various modifications of the cover belt will be described. In each cover belt, the same components as those in the cover belt described above are denoted by the same reference numerals in the drawing and description thereof is omitted.
A cover belt 20B shown in FIG. 14 has a belt member 21B having the same shape as that of the first embodiment, and a tube (string member) 22 bonded to the inner periphery of both side edges.
The width of the belt member 20 </ b> B is smaller than that of the belt member 20 of the first embodiment, and the locking portion 26 is configured by only the tube 22.

In the cover belt 20B of FIG. 14, since the dimension of the tube 22 (the dimension in the height direction of the ground lug 16) is smaller than the height of the ground lug 16, a gap D is formed between the tire body 15 and the tube 22. The space between the ground lugs 16 is connected to the outside through the gap D. As a result, sand can be removed from this space via the gap D.
Note that the cover belt 20B of FIG. 14 may be attached to the wheels 10A and 10B of the second and third embodiments. In this case, the tube 22 contacts the side surfaces of the tires 12A and 12B.

  In the cover belt 20 </ b> C shown in FIG. 15, a large number of protrusions 25 x are provided on the inner peripheral surface of the main portion 25 in a substantially dotted manner, and the inner peripheral surface of the main portion 25 and the front end surface (or the ground lug 16 of the tire 12). Sand clearance is ensured between the tires 12A and 12B and the sand discharge performance is improved.

  In the cover belt 20D shown in FIG. 16, one or more protrusions 25y continuous in the circumferential direction of the cover belt 20D are provided on the inner circumferential surface of the main portion 25, and the strength against the tensile force in the circumferential direction of the cover belt 20D is increased. And improve sand discharge.

In the cover belt 20E shown in FIG. 17, a protrusion 25z extending in the width direction is provided on the inner peripheral surface of the main portion 25 so as to improve sand discharge performance like the cover belts of FIGS. .
Further, if the cover belt 20E is used for the wheel 10 of the first embodiment or the wheel 10A of the second embodiment, the projection 25z of the cover belt 20E is caught by the grounding lug 16 or the groove 19, thereby the cover belt 20E and the wheel. The relative slip with respect to 10 is prevented, and the driving force loss is reduced.

  In the cover belt 20F shown in FIG. 18, a belt member 21F is formed by weaving wires 29 (linear bodies) made of relatively thick fibers or elastic materials obliquely as shown in the figure, and both side edges of the belt member 21F. A string member (not shown) made of an elastic material is passed through the mesh of the part.

  A main portion 25 is constituted by the central portion in the width direction of the belt member 21F, and an engaging portion is constituted by both side edge portions and the string member. A gap between the fibers 29 is provided as a discharge hole 21b for sanding out. In FIG. 18, the weave of the fibers 29 is shown coarser than the actual one for easy understanding.

In the modification of FIG. 18, the string member may be formed of an elastic material such as rubber, and the fiber 29 may be formed of a normal high-strength synthetic fiber instead of an elastic material. In this case, the cover belt can be elastically stretchable in the circumferential direction by the weaving of the fibers 29, and the same function as the other cover belts described above can be exhibited.
In the modification of FIG. 18, the belt member may be elastically stretchable in the circumferential direction by knitting the fibers 29.
Both the fiber 29 and the string member may be formed of a non-elastic material such as a resin. In this case, the string member is not endless before mounting and has both ends. And after covering the belt member 21F which can be elastically expanded-contracted in the circumferential direction, the both ends of a string member are tied.

The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various aspects can be adopted. For example, in the first embodiment, the grounding lug of the wheel may be divided in the width direction. The ground lugs may all have the same shape.
A cover belt having a U-shaped cross section having a main portion and a locking portion may be integrally formed. For example, the belt member and the string member may be integrally formed.
The string member may be solid.
The string member may be approximately the same length as the natural state in the wheel mounted state.

  The traveling device and the robot of the present invention can be used for traveling on soft ground such as sand.

1,1A Body 2,2A Traveling device 10, 10A, 10B Wheel 11 Wheel body 12, 12A, 12B Tire 16, 16a, 16b Ground lug 20, 20B, 20C, 20D, 20E, 20F Cover belt 21, 21B, 21F Belt Member 21a Through hole 21b Discharge hole 22 Tube (string member)
25 Main part 26 Locking part

Claims (8)

In a traveling device that includes first and second wheels that are separated in the front-rear direction, each wheel having a rigid wheel body and a tire made of an elastic material attached to the outer periphery thereof,
A traveling device, wherein an endless cover belt that can be expanded and contracted is detachably stretched between the first and second wheels in a state of extending from a natural length. A large number of ground lugs protrude from the outer periphery of the tire of the wheel,
The traveling device according to claim 1, wherein the cover belt is stretched so as to be in contact with a leading edge of the grounding lug.   The cover belt has a main portion that contacts the leading edge of the grounding lug and a pair of locking portions that are provided over the entire periphery so as to protrude from both side edges in the width direction of the main portion. The traveling device according to claim 2, wherein the engaging portions are in contact with a side surface of the ground lug. The cover belt has an endless belt member and an endless string member provided on both side edges of the belt member;
The travel device according to claim 3, wherein at least a central portion of the belt member is provided as the main portion, and the string member is provided as at least a part of the locking portion. The width of the belt member is larger than the width of the ground lug,
5. The travel according to claim 4, wherein the belt member has a U-shaped cross section when the cover belt is mounted, and a side edge portion of the belt member and the string member are provided as the locking portion. apparatus. The belt member has an elongated sheet shape, and a large number of through holes are formed at both side edges at intervals in the circumferential direction.
6. The belt member according to claim 4, wherein the string member is separated from the belt member, and is attached to the belt member by sequentially passing through a through hole of the belt member along a circumferential direction. Traveling device.   The traveling device according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein a number of discharge holes are formed in the cover belt, and a space between the ground lugs is connected to the outside through the discharge holes.   A robot comprising a body and the traveling device according to claim 1 provided on the left and right sides of the body.

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