JP3454525B2 - Micromachines and power systems in micromachines - Google Patents

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a micromachine, which is a micromachine having a size of several millimeters or less, and more particularly to a micromachine to which energy is supplied from the outside of the machine without a rope.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, a micromachine called a micromachine, which has a size of several millimeters or less, has been proposed, and various researches and developments have been carried out for practical use.
As a driving method for such a micromachine, a cable-operated method for supplying energy (electric power) and a control signal from outside to a machine unit equipped with various actuators via a cable, and an energy source such as a storage battery are provided in the machine unit. It is also known that there is a wireless system in which only control signals are wirelessly supplied from the outside.

In the case of the cable system, since the energy source is outside the machine unit, the unit itself can be miniaturized, and the amount of driving energy is not limited, so that the degree of freedom in designing the micromachine is large. However, on the other hand, since the cable for supplying energy is indispensable, the operating range and movement of the machine unit are limited.

On the other hand, in the case of the ropeless type, the movement of the machine unit is not limited, but the energy source for driving the machine unit must be mounted in the unit, which increases the size and weight of the entire machine and increases the size of the micromachine. There are drawbacks that impair the original function.

Therefore, in the ropeless micromachine, the energy source is not mounted on the machine unit, but electromagnetic waves such as light rays are radiated to the machine unit.
A method of supplying energy from the outside without a rope has been studied (for example, Japanese Patent Application No. 3-7243). In this case, the surface of the micromachine unit is covered with a photovoltaic element such as a solar cell to convert the applied electromagnetic waves into electric power.

[0006]

However, since the micromachine is miniaturized as much as possible, the electromagnetic wave reception area (light reception area) is limited.
However, the power conversion efficiency of a photovoltaic element such as a solar cell is low, and is at most about 20 to 30% at present.

Further, when a micromachine is inserted into the pipe in a cordless manner for the purpose of inspecting the pipe wall and the electromagnetic wave is supplied to the micromachine in the pipe, the transmission source of the electromagnetic wave is installed at the entrance of the pipe. Therefore, as the micromachine advances to the inner part of the tube, the energy of the electromagnetic wave reaching the micromachine weakens.

Even if it is possible to move the micromachine to a predetermined position, there is a risk of power shortage when performing the original operation such as pipe wall inspection at that position.

An object of the present invention, in the micromachine of untethered mode, micromachines no possibility of occurrence of power shortage
And to provide a power system in micromachines .

[0010]

Micromachine according to the present invention
Oite the emission had a light, microwave, a plurality of converting a plurality of energy beam receiving unit to receive the plurality of kinds of energy rays wave or the like, the energy beam received by the energy beam receiving means to the power electromotive Power means and inside the tube
In addition to being equipped with a mechanism for self-propelled,
The main body consists of a barrel-shaped body and a front or rear end of the body.
Section has a taper part that is coaxially projected to
As one of the replacement means, a photovoltaic element is at least the above-mentioned matrix.
The thin body is provided so as to cover the surface of the tapered portion .

Further, if necessary, a means for accumulating the electric power converted by the electromotive force means is provided.

[0012]

In the above micromachine , for example, when a photovoltaic element is provided as one of the energy ray receiving means, even if the entire surface of the micromachine is covered by the photovoltaic element, a microwave-power converter, etc. It is possible to additionally equip other energy ray receiving means. This makes it possible to supply more energy to the micromachine, exceeding the maximum amount of energy supplied by the light beam.

Further, for example, a sound wave transmitter (61) is arranged close to a predetermined position where the original operation of the micro machine is to be performed, and a sound wave which is an energy ray is emitted from the sound wave transmitter (61) toward the micro machine. For example, the sonic energy can reach the micromachines with almost no weakening, and can sufficiently cover the power for a predetermined operation.

Further, if a means for storing the electric power converted by the electromotive force means is provided, the electricity storage means is charged when the power consumption is low, and the electricity storage means is discharged when necessary, so that the electricity is temporarily stored. It is also possible to generate high power.

Further, when a light ray is used as one energy ray, the main body of the micromachine is composed of a barrel-shaped barrel portion and a taper portion, and when the light ray is irradiated toward the taper portion, the vertical wall is photo-generated. It is possible to increase the light absorption efficiency in the tapered portion, as compared with the case where the power element is arranged.

In this case, an optical means such as a diffraction grating plate is provided on the body of the machine body so as to project parallel rays traveling in the tube axis direction toward the gap between the body and the inner wall of the tube. If the configuration is such that the light is refracted or reflected toward the power element, the amount of received light can be further increased.

[0017]

According to the micro machine according to the present invention,
For example, since a larger electromotive force can be obtained than in the case where all the electric power is covered by the photoelectromotive force, there is no fear of power shortage.

[0018]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings. Micromachine unit as shown in FIG.
(1) is to be inserted into a pipe (9) having a diameter of about 5 to 10 mm to perform a predetermined operation such as a pipe wall inspection, and a plurality of driving legs (2) and a micromachine unit (1). It is possible to move the pipe (9) forward and backward by expanding and contracting the main body.

In this embodiment, four types of energy rays to be irradiated from the outside are used: laser beams, microwaves, sound waves, and magnetic force lines.

In the micromachine unit (1), the main body of the machine is composed of an expandable / contractible barrel portion and a taper portion protruding from the front end portion of the barrel portion. The laser is supplied from the outside of the machine. A large number of photovoltaic elements (3) are arranged so as to cover the surfaces of the body and the tapered portion in order to convert light rays into electric power.

Further, in the machine body, a plurality of diffraction grating plates (30) are arranged from the boundary line between the cylindrical portion and the tapered portion toward the inner wall of the tube (9).
, A light beam traveling in the tube axis direction toward the gap between the main body tube portion and the inner wall of the tube is refracted toward the photovoltaic element (3) on the body surface as shown in FIG. The amount of light received by the element (3) is increased.

The photovoltaic element (3) is an aS shown in FIG.
The i solar cell is formed by laminating a transparent electrode (35), an a-Si substrate (31) and a back surface electrode (36) on a transparent insulating substrate (37) by, for example, a plasma CVD method. a-S
The i-substrate (31) has a p-layer (3
2), i with a thickness of approximately 5000 to 10000 angstroms
Layer (33) and n-layer (34) approximately 500 angstroms thick
It has a well-known joining structure consisting of.

According to the above photovoltaic element (3), when the incident light intensity is 1 mW / mm ² , the light receiving area is 50 mm ² , and the conversion efficiency is 30%, the transparent electrode (35) and the back electrode (36) are used. In the meantime, the electric power P of about 15 mW is obtained.

Further, as shown in FIG. 1, the tip of the micromachine unit (1) is equipped with an antenna (5) for receiving a microwave which is a second energy ray, and the microwave received by the antenna (5). Is a microwave-power converter (51)
Is supplied to.

For example, the microwave-power converter (51) is composed of a monolithic microwave IC, and the microwave power supplied from the outside is ² mW / mm ² , the receiving area is 20 mm ² , and the antenna efficiency is 60%. In case of 24m
An output of W will be obtained.

On the outer wall of the tube (9), a sound wave transmitter (61) for emitting an ultrasonic wave as a third energy ray is installed. The ultrasonic wave from the sound wave transmitter (61) passes through the wall of the tube and is guided by the tube (9).
It is radiated inside and reaches the electromotive force element (6) provided in the rear portion of the micromachine unit (1).

The sound electromotive force element (6) is a vibrating plate made of a piezoelectric material, and the intensity of the incident sound wave is, for example, 20 mW / mm.
² , when the sound receiving area is 25 mm ² and the conversion efficiency is 0.2%,
Generates 1 mW of power.

Further, a primary side coil (71) which surrounds the outer wall of the tube (9) and radiates a magnetic field line which becomes a fourth energy line is provided. On the other hand, inside the micromachine unit (1), a secondary coil (7) to be electromagnetically coupled with the primary coil (71) is arranged.

By connecting an AC power source to the primary coil (71), an induced electromotive force is generated in the secondary coil (7). For example, if the input magnetic field to the secondary coil (7) is 32
Secondary coil with 5T and coil gap of 2 mm
After rectifying the output of (7), assuming that the Ni-Cd battery having a diameter of 13.5 mm and a length of 3.5 mm is charged, an electric power of about 3.75 mW can be obtained.

As a self-propelled mechanism of the micromachine (1),
As shown in Fig. 5, the front body (1a) that can expand and contract the machine body
And a rear body (1b), and a front body (1a) and a rear body
The outer peripheral surface of (1b) has a plurality of extendable front drive legs, respectively.
(2a) and the rear drive leg (2b) are projected.

The extension / contraction drive mechanism for the main body and drive leg includes
A laminated piezoelectric actuator (4) as shown in FIG. 4 can be adopted. The laminated piezoelectric actuator (4) has a positive electrode (41) and a negative electrode (42) on both sides of the piezoelectric ceramic piece (43).
Of the piezoelectric ceramic pieces (43) by applying a predetermined voltage Vd between the electrodes (41) and (42).
Expands and contracts like a chain line.

When the micromachine (1) moves forward,
As shown in FIG. 5 (a), the front main body (1a) and the rear main body (1b) are contracted with each other, and the front drive leg (2a) and the rear drive leg (2b) are protruded so that the tip end is on the inner wall of the pipe (9). From the pressed state,
As shown in (b), the front drive leg (2a) is contracted, and the front body (1a) is further extended forward.

Next, as shown in FIG. 5 (c), the front drive leg (2a) is extended to press the tip end thereof against the inner wall of the pipe (9), and then the rear drive leg (2).
With the (2b) contracted, the rear body (1b) is contracted to the front body (1a) side. Then, extend the rear drive leg (2b) and
It returns to the state of.

Through the above steps, the micromachine (1)
Moves forward by the amount of expansion and contraction L of the front body (1a) and the rear body (1b), and the forward movement can be continued by repeating this process. Similarly, backward movement is also possible.

FIG. 6 shows the circuit configuration of the micromachine unit (1). The output of the photovoltaic element (3) is supplied to the control circuit (81), and the microwave-power converter (5
1), the output of the electromotive force element (6) and the secondary coil (7) is A
After being converted to direct current through the C-DC converter (8),
It is supplied to the control circuit (81).

The control circuit (81) includes a drive system (11) such as a piezoelectric actuator which constitutes the above-mentioned self-propelled mechanism, and an operation system for realizing the original operation function of the micromachine such as pipe wall inspection.
Each of the necessary electric power is distributed to the (12), and the output of the control circuit (81) is subjected to voltage adjustment and the like by the DC-DC converter (83), and then the drive system (11) and the operating system. Supplied to (12).

Further, a storage battery (82) such as a Ni-Cd battery or a lithium secondary battery is connected to the control circuit (81) and is configured to store surplus power.

According to the above-mentioned micromachine unit (1), the maximum output exceeds 40 mW when all the energy rays are supplied at the same time. For example, it is difficult to supply power only by the photovoltaic element (3). High-load work becomes possible.

Further, by controlling the control circuit (81), the surplus power at the time of low load is stored in the storage battery (82), so that the storage battery (82) is discharged at the time of high load to cover the necessary power. You can also

The sound wave transmitter (61) and the primary coil of FIG.
If the configuration is such that the (71) is moved following the micromachine unit (1), the power conversion efficiency can be further increased. However, as described above, the storage battery (8
It is also possible to provide the sound wave transmitter (61) and the primary side coil (71) at arbitrary positions by installing the device 2), and use this position as a power supply station.

The above description of the embodiments is for explaining the present invention, and should not be construed as limiting the invention described in the claims or limiting the scope. The configuration of each part of the present invention is not limited to the above-mentioned embodiment, and it goes without saying that various modifications can be made within the technical scope described in the claims.

For example, in the above embodiment, the energy of a plurality of energy rays is not distinguished and is used as a common electric power source. However, if the constitution is such that the uses are distinguished by the characteristics of the energy rays, for example, the voltage value, etc., It is possible to use energy efficiently. Further, it is possible to use electric lines of force as the energy lines.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a configuration of a power system in a micromachine according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an operation of a diffraction grating plate.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged cross-sectional view showing the structure of a photovoltaic element.

FIG. 4 is a front view showing a schematic configuration of a piezoelectric actuator.

FIG. 5 is a series of side views showing the self-propelled movement of the micromachine unit.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing a circuit configuration of a power system in a micromachine according to the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

(1) Micromachine unit (2) Drive leg (3) Photovoltaic device (30) Diffraction grating plate (5) Microwave antenna (6) Photovoltaic device (61) Sound wave transmitter (7) Secondary coil (71) Primary coil

─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁷ Identification code FI B81B 7/02 B81B 7/02 (72) Inventor Yoichi Domoto 2-18 Kyohanhondori, Moriguchi-shi, Osaka Sanyo Electric Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Hiroshi Hosokawa 2-18 Keihan Hondori, Moriguchi City, Osaka Sanyo Electric Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Hiroaki Izu 2-18 Keihan Hondori, Moriguchi City, Osaka Sanyo Electric Co., Ltd. (72 ) Inventor Takashi Kuwahara 2-18-18 Keihanhondori, Moriguchi-shi, Osaka Sanyo Electric Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Keisho Yamamoto 2-18-2 Keihanhondori, Moriguchi-shi, Osaka Sanyo Electric Co., Ltd. (72) Invention Seiichi Kiyama 2-18-18 Keihan Hondori, Moriguchi-shi, Osaka Sanyo Electric Co., Ltd. (56) Reference JP-A-4-112305 (JP, A) JP-A-3-107341 (JP, A) JP Flat 5-58359 ( P, A) JP 4-164581 (JP, A) JP 1-298901 (JP, A) JP 63-114888 (JP, A) JP 62-137546 (JP, A) International publication 92/001415 (WO, A1) (58) Fields investigated (Int.Cl. ⁷ , DB name) H02J 17/00 B25J 7 / 00,19 / 00 B61B 13/10 B81B 7/02

Claims (4)

(57) [Claims] 1. A plurality of energy ray receiving means for receiving a plurality of types of energy rays such as light rays, microwaves and sound waves, and a plurality of electromotive forces for converting the energy rays received by each energy ray receiving means into electric power. Means and inside the tube
In addition to being equipped with a mechanism for self-propelled,
The main body consists of a barrel-shaped body and a front or rear end of the body.
Section has a taper part that is coaxially projected to
As one of the replacement means, a photovoltaic element is at least the above-mentioned matrix.
A micromachine provided so as to cover the surface of the tapered portion of the thin body . 2. The micromachine according to claim 1, further comprising means for accumulating the electric power converted by each electromotive force means . 3. The photovoltaic element is a taper portion of a machine body.
The machine is installed from the surface to cover the surface of the body.
The main body has a tube axis facing the space between the body surface and the inner wall of the tube.
A light beam that travels in a direction to a photovoltaic element on the body surface
The micromachine according to claim 1 , further comprising an optical unit that is bent to bend . 4. The mask according to claim 1, wherein
Power system in micromachine with micromachine
Tem.