JP7599172B2 - Running gear - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a traveling device used for painting, etc.

When painting a wall surface, a painting device that travels along the wall surface may be used for the work (see, for example, Patent Document 1). In this case, however, if the distance between the painting device and the wall surface cannot be kept constant, it is impossible to ensure the desired painting quality. For example, if the distance is too close, the paint will drip, and if the distance is too far, insufficient film thickness, unevenness, and roughness will occur.

In Patent Document 1, in order to run the painting equipment while maintaining a fixed distance from the wall surface, a guide of a specified length is provided that protrudes from the traveling carriage of the painting equipment toward the outer wall surface, and the traveling carriage is run so that the guide is always in contact with the wall surface, thereby making it possible to maintain a fixed distance from the wall surface.

JP 2019-118875 A

However, the above-mentioned traveling cart does not autonomously (automatically) maintain a constant distance from the wall while traveling, and even if the above-mentioned guide is provided, the worker needs to be aware of the distance from the wall while working. This requires the worker to concentrate, and the worker's attention is distracted from other things, which raises concerns about the paint quality and safety.

Methods for keeping a constant distance from a wall while the traveling cart is moving include, for example, running the traveling cart on rails or grooves along the wall, or controlling the traveling cart while measuring the distance from the wall with a sensor or the like. However, the former is not realistic because it takes time and money to provide the rails or grooves, and the latter would make the equipment expensive due to the inclusion of sensors, etc. Therefore, there has been a demand for a simple, inexpensive mechanism that would keep the traveling cart at a constant distance from the wall.

The present invention was made in consideration of the above problems, and aims to provide a simple and inexpensive traveling device that travels while maintaining a constant distance from walls, etc.

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention provides a running device that runs on wheels along an outer target surface, the running device having a protruding member that protrudes outward from the running device and has a tip that contacts the target surface, and that can move inward and outward relative to the running device, a biasing mechanism that biases the protruding member outward, and a link mechanism that is connected to the base end side of the protruding member and changes the direction of the wheels in accordance with the movement of the protruding member , the running device having a mounting base on which a painting device is placed, the protruding member, the link mechanism, and the biasing mechanism are provided on the underside of the mounting base, the running device being characterized in that when the protruding member has a protruding length from the running device is a predetermined length, the direction of the wheels is a direction that causes the running device to move in a straight line, when the protruding length becomes less than the predetermined length from the predetermined length, the direction of the wheels is a direction that moves the running device away from the target surface compared to when it moved in a straight line, and when the protruding length exceeds the predetermined length from the predetermined length, the direction of the wheels is a direction that moves the running device closer to the target surface compared to when it moved in a straight line.

In the present invention, the distance maintaining mechanism consisting of the above-mentioned protruding member, biasing mechanism, link mechanism, etc., allows the traveling device to travel along the target surface while autonomously maintaining a constant distance from the target surface, and there is no need to worry about the distance between the traveling device and the target surface. In addition, the above-mentioned rails, grooves, and sensors are not required to maintain the distance between the traveling device and the target surface, resulting in a simple and inexpensive configuration.

The biasing mechanism is, for example, an elastic body.
By using an elastic body as the biasing mechanism, the traveling device can be simplified and easily manufactured.

The traveling device of the present invention can be suitably used for carrying out painting work by placing a painting device on the mounting table. At this time, by providing a protruding member or the like on the underside of the mounting table and separating it from the painting device on the mounting table, the painting work can be carried out smoothly. For example, if the protruding member or the like is provided at a high position on the mounting table, there is no problem as long as the protruding member is located in front of the gun (paint spraying part) of the painting device in the direction of travel, but if the protruding member moves in the opposite direction, it will come after the gun and will come into contact with the painted surface. Therefore, in the present invention, by providing the protruding member or the like on the underside of the mounting table, the protruding member can be kept at a height that is not painted, and can be prevented from coming into contact with the painted surface.

The present invention provides a simple and inexpensive traveling device that travels while maintaining a constant distance from a wall or other surface.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing the protrusion 12, the biasing mechanism 13, and the link mechanism 14. FIG. 13A and 13B are diagrams for explaining a function of maintaining a distance between the traveling device 1 and a wall surface W. 4 shows an example of the arrangement of the biasing mechanism 13. 1 shows examples of biasing mechanisms 13a to 13c that utilize gravity. Examples of link mechanisms 14a, 14b. Examples of protruding members 12a and 12b.

The following describes in detail a preferred embodiment of the present invention with reference to the drawings.

Figure 1 is a diagram showing a traveling device 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention. The traveling device 1 is used when painting a wall surface W, and a painting device 2 is placed on its mounting stand 10. The configuration of the painting device 2 is not particularly limited, and a known device can be used. The wall surface W is a surface to be painted that stands vertically, and there is no particular restriction on its material, shape, or where the wall surface W is installed.

The traveling device 1 travels along the wall surface W in the direction indicated by the arrow A using wheels 11 provided on the underside of the mounting base 10. The traveling device 1 is a hand-pushed type, and a gate-shaped handle 101 is provided on the mounting base 10.

In this embodiment, the traveling device 1 is provided with a protrusion 12, a biasing mechanism 13, a link mechanism 14, etc. on the underside of the mounting base 10 as shown in FIG. 2(a) as a separation maintaining mechanism for traveling along the wall surface W while autonomously (automatically) maintaining a constant distance from the wall surface W. In this embodiment, these separation maintaining mechanisms autonomously adjust the orientation of the wheels 11 when the traveling device 1 is traveling.

The wheels 11 are provided at both ends in the width direction of the traveling device 1, on the front and rear wheel sides of the mounting platform 10. The width direction of the traveling device 1 is perpendicular to the traveling direction A in a plane, and will hereinafter be referred to as the device width direction. Each wheel 11 can rotate in a horizontal plane around a rotation shaft 111 supported on the mounting platform 10, thereby allowing the orientation of each wheel 11 to be changed.

The protruding member 12 has a rod 121 that protrudes outward from the mounting base 10 of the traveling device 1, and a roller 122 that is attached to the tip of the rod 121 and rotates in a horizontal plane while in contact with the wall surface W. Note that "outside" refers to the side facing the wall surface W, and the opposite side is called "inside."

The rod 121 is arranged to extend toward the outer wall W through a through-hole 15 fixed to the underside of the mounting base 10, and can be moved inward and outward relative to the mounting base 10 of the traveling device 1.

Mounting parts 123 protruding on both sides from the rod 121 are provided on the inner side of the insertion part 15 of the rod 121. The mounting parts 123 are used to attach the biasing mechanism 13.

The biasing mechanism 13 biases the protruding member 12 toward the outer wall surface W. In this embodiment, a coil spring, which is an elastic body, is used as the biasing mechanism 13, and both ends of the coil spring are attached to the mounting portion 123 and the insertion portion 15 on both sides of the rod member 121, respectively.

The link mechanism 14 is used to change the direction of the wheel 11 in response to the advancement and retreat of the protruding member 12, and has multiple link members 141, 142, and 143.

The link material 141 is a plate-like member extending in the traveling direction A of the traveling device 1, and one end is connected to the inner end of the bar material 121 described above so as to be rotatable within a horizontal plane. A pair of link materials 141 are provided so as to extend from the end toward the front wheel side and rear wheel side of the traveling device 1, and the other end of each link material 141 is connected to link material 142. The link material 141 can rotate within a horizontal plane around a rotation shaft 1412 journaled on the mounting base 10.

The link material 142 is a plate-shaped member extending in the width direction of the device, and is disposed near the rear of the wheel 11 on the front wheel side of the mounting table 10 and near the front of the wheel 11 on the rear wheel side. The other end of the link material 141 is connected to the middle part of the link material 142 in the width direction of the device.

Figure 2(b) shows a longitudinal cross section of the link material 141 at this connection. As shown in Figure 2(b), a long hole 1411 in the axial direction of the link material 141 is provided at the other end of the link material 141. A headed pin 1421 protruding downward is provided at the middle of the link material 142 in the device width direction. The shaft of the pin 1421 is passed through the long hole 1411, and the head of the pin 1421 prevents it from slipping out of the long hole 1411, so that the other end of the link material 141 is connected to the link material 142 so as to be rotatable in the horizontal plane, and the pin 1421 can slide in the long hole 1411 in response to this rotation. The connection between the link material 141 and the rod material 121 also adopts a similar configuration to the above, using a headed pin provided on the rod material 121 and a long hole provided on the link material 141.

Both ends of each link member 142 on the front and rear wheel sides of the platform 10 are rotatably connected in a horizontal plane to plate-shaped link members 143 provided on the wheels 11 at both ends in the width direction of the device. Each link member 143 is attached to the rotation shaft 111 of each wheel 11, and the rotation of the link member 143 rotates the wheel 11, allowing its orientation to be changed.

Figure 3 is a diagram explaining the function of maintaining the distance between the traveling device 1 and the wall surface W by the protruding member 12, the biasing mechanism 13, and the link mechanism 14.

Here, FIG. 2(a) shows a state in which an appropriate distance is maintained between the traveling device 1 and the wall surface W, FIG. 3(a) shows a state in which the distance between the traveling device 1 and the wall surface W is narrower than in FIG. 2(a), and FIG. 3(b) shows a state in which the distance between the traveling device 1 and the wall surface W is wider than in FIG. 2(a).

In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 2(a), in an ideal state where an appropriate distance is maintained between the traveling device 1 and the wall surface W, i.e., when the protruding member 12 protrudes from the traveling device 1 by a predetermined length, the orientation of all the wheels 11 is parallel to the wall surface W, and the traveling device 1 can move straight along the wall surface W. It is also possible to make the protruding length of the protruding member 12 in the state shown in FIG. 2(a), i.e., the above-mentioned predetermined length, adjustable in advance, for example, by making the rod material 121 of the protruding member 12 extendable.

On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 3(a), when the distance between the traveling device 1 and the wall surface W becomes narrower, that is, when the protruding member 12 recedes relative to the traveling device 1 and the protruding length of the protruding member 12 from the traveling device 1 becomes less than the above-mentioned predetermined length, the link members 141, 142, and 143 of the link mechanism 14 rotate or move as shown in FIG. 3(a), so that the orientation of the wheels 11 moves the traveling device 1 away from the wall surface W compared to when it moves straight ahead.

That is, the ends of the pair of link members 141 on the protruding member 12 side move backward together with the protruding member 12, and as a result, the link member 141 rotates about the rotation axis 1412, causing the end of the link member 142 side to move forward toward the wall surface W. This causes the link member 142 to move forward toward the wall surface W, and as a result of this forward movement, the link member 143 rotates, so that on the front wheel side, the wheel 11 is oriented in a direction that moves the traveling device 1 away from the wall surface W, and on the rear wheel side, the wheel 11 is oriented in a direction that moves the traveling device 1 closer to the wall surface W. As a result, the traveling device 1 travels away from the wall surface W while tracing an arc-shaped trajectory as shown by arrow B.

Also, as shown in FIG. 3(b), when the distance between the traveling device 1 and the wall surface W becomes wider, that is, when the protruding member 12 advances relative to the traveling device 1 due to the restoring force (contraction force) of the biasing mechanism 13 and the protruding length of the protruding member 12 from the traveling device 1 exceeds the above-mentioned predetermined length, the link members 141, 142, and 143 of the link mechanism 14 rotate or move as shown in FIG. 3(b), causing the orientation of the wheels 11 to move closer to the wall surface W compared to when the traveling device 1 moves straight ahead.

In other words, in this case, the ends of the pair of link members 141 on the protruding member 12 side move forward together with the protruding member 12, and as a result, the link member 141 rotates about the rotation axis 1412, causing the end on the link member 142 side to move back from the wall surface W. This causes the link member 142 to move back from the wall surface W, and as a result of this movement back, the link member 143 rotates, so that on the front wheel side, the wheel 11 is oriented in a direction that brings the traveling device 1 closer to the wall surface W, and on the rear wheel side, the wheel 11 is oriented in a direction that moves the traveling device 1 away from the wall surface W. As a result, the traveling device 1 travels in an arc-shaped trajectory as shown by arrow C, approaching the wall surface W.

During actual work, the traveling device 1 is set in the starting position as shown in FIG. 2(a), and then the traveling device 1 is pushed by the handle 101, and the wall surface W is painted by the painting device 2 while traveling at a constant speed along the wall surface W. As described above, the traveling device 1 autonomously maintains a constant distance from the wall surface W, so the worker only needs to pay attention to pushing the traveling device 1 at a constant speed, ensuring high painting quality. Note that during actual work, as a result of the trajectory correction as shown in FIG. 3(a) and (b), when the traveling device 1 moves straight (when the protruding length of the protruding member 12 is a predetermined length), its traveling direction may not be completely parallel to the wall surface W as shown in FIG. 2(a). However, even in this case, when the protruding length of the protruding member 12 becomes less than the above-mentioned predetermined length, the orientation of the wheels 11 moves the traveling device 1 away from the wall W compared to when it was moving straight ahead, and when the protruding length exceeds the above-mentioned predetermined length, the orientation of the wheels 11 moves the traveling device 1 closer to the wall W compared to when it was moving straight ahead. As a result, the distance of the traveling device 1 from the wall W is autonomously kept constant.

As described above, in this embodiment, the distance maintaining mechanism, which is composed of the protruding member 12, the biasing mechanism 13, the link mechanism 14, etc., allows the traveling device 1 to travel along the wall surface W while autonomously maintaining a constant distance from the wall surface W, and the worker can work without worrying about the distance between the traveling device 1 and the wall surface W. In addition, the rails, grooves, and sensors described above are not required to maintain the distance between the traveling device 1 and the wall surface W, resulting in a simple and inexpensive configuration.

In addition, in this embodiment, by using an elastic body as the biasing mechanism 13, the traveling device 1 is simplified and easy to manufacture.

The traveling device 1 of this embodiment can be used suitably to carry out painting work by placing the painting device 2 on the mounting table 10. At this time, the protruding material 12, etc., is provided on the underside of the mounting table 10 and separated from the painting device 2 on the mounting table 10, so that the painting work can be carried out smoothly. For example, if the protruding material 12, etc. is provided at a high position on the mounting table 10, there is no problem as long as the protruding material 12 is in front of the gun (paint spraying part) of the painting device in the direction of travel, but if it travels in the opposite direction, the protruding material 12 will come after the gun and will come into contact with the painted surface. Therefore, in this embodiment, by providing the protruding material 12, etc. on the underside of the mounting table 10, the protruding material 12 can be kept at a height that will not be painted, etc., and will not come into contact with the painted surface.

However, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment. For example, in this embodiment, the traveling device 1 is a hand-pushed type, but it may be self-propelled by a drive device such as a motor. However, when performing painting work using a hand-pushed traveling device 1, it is very difficult to travel the traveling device 1 at a constant speed while also paying attention to the distance from the wall surface W, and therefore the effect of applying the traveling device 1 of this embodiment is very large.

In addition, in this embodiment, a pair of coil springs are provided between the mounting portion 123 and the insertion portion 15 on both sides of the protruding member 12 as the biasing mechanism 13 for the protruding member 12, which allows the protruding member 12 to be biased in a balanced manner. However, the number of coil springs and their installation positions are not particularly limited, and it is sufficient to obtain a necessary and sufficient force to bias the protruding member 12 outward.

For example, one end of the coil spring can be attached to the link material 141 instead of the mounting part 123 of the protruding member 12 (see FIG. 2(a)). Also, as shown in FIG. 4, the coil spring can be provided on the opposite side of the wall surface W of the protruding member 12, and in this case too, the protruding member 12 can be biased outward by the restoring force (expansion force) of the coil spring. In the example of FIG. 4, one end of the coil spring is attached to the mounting part 123 of the protruding member 12, and the other end is attached to the fixing part 16 fixed to the underside of the mounting table 10, but one end of the coil spring can also be attached to the link material 141.

The biasing mechanism 13 may be a known elastic body other than a coil spring. Furthermore, the biasing mechanism 13 is not limited to an elastic body, and may utilize gravity, for example. Figure 5(a) shows an example of this, in which the connection between the rod 121 and the link 141 is viewed from a surface along the axial direction of the rod 121.

In this example, one end of the wire 131 hooked onto the pulley 132 is attached to the link material 141, and the other end is attached to the weight 133, forming a biasing mechanism 13a that biases the protruding member 12 outward using the gravity of the weight 133. One end of the wire 131 may be attached to the rod material 121 of the protruding member 12 instead of the link material 141. In this way, using gravity as the biasing mechanism 13a has the advantage of acting with a constant force regardless of the displacement of the protruding member 12.

Similarly, examples of a force mechanism that utilizes gravity include a force mechanism 13b in FIG. 5(b) in which a weight 135 that rolls (or slides) along an inclined surface 134 is provided and the weight 135 is used to force the protruding member 12, and a force mechanism 13c in FIG. 5(c) in which a weight 137 is provided at one end of a dogleg-shaped rotating member 136 that rotates around a bent portion as a central axis 138 and the gravity of the weight 137 is used to force the protruding member 12 at the other end of the rotating member 136. In these cases, the same effect as described above can also be obtained.

In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 2(a), the traveling device 1 travels along the wall surface W when the link material 141 is arranged in a straight line, but the state of the link mechanism 14 in which the traveling device 1 travels along the wall surface W can be determined as appropriate. When the traveling device 1 travels along the wall surface W, the orientation of the pair of wheels 11 on the front and rear wheels may be slightly tilted with respect to the traveling direction A, forming a V-shape in a plan view. These wheels 11 can also be inclined in a V-shape when viewed from the traveling direction A, which may stabilize the traveling.

The shape and configuration of the link mechanism 14 are not particularly limited as long as it can change the orientation of the wheels 11 to an appropriate direction according to the advancement and retreat of the protruding member 12. For example, as shown in FIG. 6(a), it is possible to provide the link mechanism 14a consisting of the link members 141, 142, and 143 only on the front wheel side. This also makes it possible to make the traveling device 1 travel along the wall surface W while autonomously maintaining a constant distance from the wall surface W. Furthermore, the mechanism is simple, lightweight, and inexpensive, and the axial force applied to the protruding member 12 is small, making it less likely to break.

As shown in FIG. 6(b), it is also possible to provide a separation maintaining mechanism consisting of protruding member 12, biasing mechanism 13, link mechanism 14a, etc., independently on the front and rear wheel sides. In this case, too, the traveling device 1 can travel along the wall W while autonomously maintaining a constant distance from the wall W, and the front and rear wheels can be adjusted, making traveling stable. Furthermore, the separation maintaining function works whether the traveling device 1 is moved forward or backward in the traveling direction A, and the axial force applied to the protruding member 12 is small, making it less likely to break.

Also, as shown in FIG. 6(c), by providing a protruding member 12 near the front of the front wheel 11 and directly attaching a link member 143 to the rod member 121 so that it can rotate, the link mechanism 14b can be made even simpler and made up of the link member 143. In this case, however, the position of the front wheel 11 moves backwards by the amount of space required for the protruding member 12, narrowing the gap between the front and rear wheels 11 and raising concerns about stable running. It is also possible to enlarge the platform 10 to maintain the gap between the wheels 11, but in that case the maneuverability of the running device 1 will be compromised.

The protruding member 12 is not limited to the above-mentioned type, and may be any type that can be advanced and retreated relative to the traveling device 1. For example, as shown in FIG. 7(a), the protruding member 12a may be a pair of arc-shaped leaf springs 124 with one end attached to the outer end of a rod 121. The other end of the leaf spring 124 is fixed to a fixing portion 17 provided on the underside of the mounting table 10, and the leaf spring 124, which is an elastic body, also functions as a biasing mechanism that biases the protruding member 12a outward with its restoring force.

As shown in FIG. 7(b), the protruding member 12b may be composed of a pair of link members 125, 126. The inner end of each link member 125 is connected to one end (opposite the link member 142) of the link mechanism 14a (see FIG. 6(b)) provided for each of the front and rear wheels so as to be rotatable in a horizontal plane, and the outer end of each link member 125 is connected to the inner end of each link member 126 so as to be rotatable in a horizontal plane. The outer end of each link member 126 is connected to the roller 122 so as to be rotatable in a horizontal plane, thereby forming the protruding member 12b. The biasing mechanism 13 is provided between each link member 125, and its restoring force (contraction force) narrows the opening angle (see symbol α) of the link member 126, biasing the protruding member 12b outward.

The configuration of the mounting table 10 and the handle 101 is not particularly limited. For example, the mounting table 10 may be made of steel materials arranged in a lattice, cross, or frame shape, and the handle 101 is not limited to a gate type, but may be stick-shaped (rod-shaped). Furthermore, the traveling device 1 is not limited to being used for painting a wall surface W by placing the painting device 2 on the mounting table 10, but can be applied to various cases where the traveling device 1 needs to travel along the target surface, and the height of the target surface, etc. is not particularly limited.

The above describes preferred embodiments of the present invention with reference to the attached drawings, but the present invention is not limited to these examples. It is clear that a person skilled in the art can come up with various modified or revised examples within the scope of the technical ideas disclosed in this application, and it is understood that these also naturally fall within the technical scope of the present invention.

1: Traveling device 2: Painting device 10: Stand 11: Wheels 12, 12a, 12b: Protruding members 13, 13a, 13b, 13c: Pressing mechanism 14, 14a, 14b: Link mechanism

Claims (2)

A traveling device that travels along an outer target surface by wheels,
A protruding member protruding outward from the traveling device and having a tip that contacts the target surface, the protruding member being capable of moving inward and outward relative to the traveling device;
A biasing mechanism that biases the protruding member outward;
a link mechanism connected to a base end side of the protruding member for changing a direction of the wheel in response to the advancement and retreat of the protruding member;
having
The traveling device has a platform on which the coating device is placed,
the protruding member, the link mechanism, and the biasing mechanism are provided on a lower surface of the mounting table,
When the protruding length from the traveling device of the protruding member is a predetermined length, the direction of the wheels is a direction that causes the traveling device to move straight,
When the protruding length becomes less than the predetermined length from the predetermined length, the direction of the wheel is such that the traveling device is moved away from the target surface compared to when the traveling device is moving straight ahead,
A traveling device characterized in that, when the protruding length exceeds the predetermined length, the direction of the wheels changes to a direction that brings the traveling device closer to the target surface compared to when the traveling device is traveling straight. The traveling device according to claim 1, characterized in that the biasing mechanism is an elastic body.

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