JPS624272B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a traveling device that is used as the legs of a robot that performs various tasks, inspections, etc. on behalf of a worker in a cramped or poor working environment.

In places where the work environment is poor due to the radioactive atmosphere, such as inside the building of a nuclear power plant, or in places where it is not suitable for workers to work due to narrow spaces or uneven surfaces, these tasks and inspections can be performed on behalf of workers by robots. Attempts are being made to do so. Therefore, there is a need for a traveling device that will serve as the legs of such a work robot and can not only travel on flat surfaces, but also be able to travel on slopes, stairs, and overcome obstacles, as well as be able to make sudden turns and change course. .

The present invention has been made in response to the above-mentioned needs, and an object of the present invention is to provide a traveling device that can not only travel on flat surfaces, but also be able to climb stairs, climb over obstacles, and the like.

The structure of the present invention to achieve such an object is that two wheels that can be driven and rotated independently are mounted coaxially on the left and right sides of the lower part of the main body of the device, and two driving wheels that have pivots parallel to the rotation axes of these wheels are provided. Bendable leg joints A total of four legs each consisting of three arms interconnected via these leg joints, each having a pivot axis parallel to the rotational axis of the wheel at the left and right, front and back of the upper part of the device main body. It is attached via a rotatable joint, and the distance between the front and rear joints is set shorter than the length of the arm, and a base having a lower surface with a high friction coefficient is attached to the tip of each leg, and the base It is characterized by having a retractable spherical roller on the bottom surface.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The structure of the present invention will be explained in detail below based on an embodiment shown in the drawings.

The traveling device of the present invention has four legs 10, 11, 12, and 13 attached to a device main body 3 provided with two wheels 1 and 2. The wheels 1 and 2 are mounted coaxially on the left and right sides of the lower part of the device body 3 so as to be able to rotate independently, and are driven by separate drive motors equipped with low reduction gears (not shown). Further, each leg 10, 11, 12, 13 is formed by connecting three arms 7, 8, 9 through two leg joints 5, 6, and these four legs 10, 11,
12 and 13 are attached at their proximal ends to the left and right front and back of the upper part of the device main body 3 via joints 4, respectively. The distance between these joints 4 in the anteroposterior direction is leg 1
Arms 7, 8, which constitute 0, 11, 12, 13,
The length is set shorter than the length of 9, so that interference with the main body 3 of the device can be avoided when going up and down stairs. Also, leg joints 5, 6 and legs 10, 11, 1 that interconnect the arms 7, 8, 9,
Joint 4 for attaching 2 and 13 to the device body 3
both have pivot axes parallel to the rotation axes of the wheels 1, 2, whereby each leg 10, 11, 1
2 and 13 bend and extend within a plane perpendicular to the rotation axis of the wheels 1 and 2. These joints 4, 5, and 6 each have their own drive source, such as a motor (not shown) and a high speed reducer (not shown), and each operates independently to drive the legs 10, 11, 12, 13. The legs 10, 11, 12, and 13 can be bent. Furthermore, each leg 10, 11, 1
Bases 14 are swingably attached to the distal ends of the bases 2 and 13, respectively. The lower surface of this base 14 is
It is made of a material with a high friction coefficient, such as rubber, to prevent slipping on the running surface, and a spherical roller (not shown) such as a stroke bearing is incorporated inside the base 14 so as to be retractable from the lower surface of the base 14. . Therefore, if the spherical rollers are protruded from the lower surface of the base 14, the device can run, but if they are retracted, the device is fixed to the floor 15 etc. by the friction of the base 14.

Therefore, the wheels 1 and 2 are placed on the floor surface 1, which is the running surface.
If the spherical rollers are taken out from the base 14 of each leg 10, 11, 12, 13 and the wheels 1 and 2 are rotated while pressing against the wheels 1 and 2, the traveling device runs on a flat part (second
(see figure). At this time, since the two wheels 1 and 2 can rotate independently, various movements can be achieved by giving a difference in rotational speed and rotational direction between them. For example, if the left and right wheels 1 and 2 are simultaneously rotated at the same speed and in the same direction, the traveling device moves straight. However, if the left and right wheels 1 and 2 are rotated at different speeds, the device will move toward the one with the smaller number of rotations while turning.
The degree of this bending is determined by the speed ratio. Therefore, if you want to make a sharp turn, you can do so by increasing the rotational speed of one wheel and decreasing or stopping the rotational speed of the other wheel. Further, if the vehicle is to be rotated around point o, it is possible to do so by rotating the left and right wheels in opposite directions at the same speed.

In addition, as shown in FIG. 3, by firmly stepping on the running surface with the base 14 into which the spherical roll is retracted, and then bending and stretching the legs 10, 11, 12, and 13, the stairs 16, which are the running surface, can be ascended and descended. It is possible. In other words, in the state shown by the solid line, the device main body 3 is placed on the step 16c of the stairs 16 to support its own weight, while the rear left and right legs 10, 11 are placed on the step 16a two steps below the device main body 3 and are tilted upward. Support the left and right legs in front so that they do not bend over.
2 and 13 are placed on the step 16e two steps above to support them so that they do not fall forward. In order to move the running body 3 from the solid line state to the virtual line state, the legs 10, 11, 12, 13 must be related so that the joints 4, 5, 6 do not hit the corners of the stairs. This is done by moving. That is, when moving forward, only one set of legs steps out and the other three sets are securely fixed to the steps.
The relevant operation method for each of the legs 10, 11, 12, 13 may be a master slave method or a sequence control method. For example, in order to go up to step 16e of the next staircase from the virtual line state, first place the front legs 12 and 13 one step at a time on step 16f, then place the rear legs 10 and 11 on the step 16f one step at a time. Place it on the upper step 16b. After that, the device main body 3 is moved from step 16c to step 1.
The apparatus main body 3 is moved to the next step 16e in the same manner as it was moved to step 6e. By repeating the above-described operation, the traveling device travels on the stairs. In addition, when getting off the train, the operation described above can be reversed.

Furthermore, when traveling sideways on a slope, which is a running surface, as shown in FIG.
2 is being extended. The running thrust at this time can be obtained by bringing one wheel 2 into contact with the slope 17.

Furthermore, when traveling between vertical walls 18, which are running surfaces, the base 14 is brought into contact with one wall 18 and all legs 10, 1 are moved as shown in FIG.
By extending wheels 1, 12, 13 and pressing wheels 1, 2 against the other wall 18, the device is prevented from falling. At this time, the vehicle can be moved in any direction by operating the two wheels 1 and 2 in the same way as when traveling on a plane.

Next, explaining how to pass through the obstacle 19, it will be understood that the process is the same as when traveling on a plane, as shown in FIG. However, unlike the plane traveling shown in FIG. 2, the legs 10, 11, 12, and 13 are simply spread out and the posture is kept low.
Further, when the obstacle 19 is used as a running surface to overcome it, the stair climbing motion shown in FIG. 3 is used. First, as shown in FIG. 7, the front and rear legs 10, 11,
12 and 13 and lift the device main body 3 upward. Next, as shown in FIG.
2 and 13 are placed one by one on the obstacle 19, and then the rear legs 10 and 11 are placed one by one on the obstacle 19, and the entire device is placed on the obstacle 19. Then again, front legs 12 and 13 → back leg 1
0 and 11, one by one, to complete overcoming obstacle 19. If the obstacle 19 is thin, the driver is made to directly climb over the obstacle 19 so as to straddle it.

Furthermore, when rotating and traveling within the cylinder 20 that is the traveling surface, the legs 10, 11, 1 as shown in FIG.
This is possible by stretching the wheels 1, 2 and pressing the spherical rollers of the base 14 against the inner peripheral surface of the cylinder. Running thrust is obtained from wheels 1 and 2.

As described above, according to the traveling device of the present invention, two
By operating the four wheels and four pairs of legs, the robot can not only travel on flat surfaces, but also go up and down stairs, travel on slopes, go under and over obstacles, and travel within cylinders, etc., freely and easily.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 shows a schematic structure of a traveling device according to the present invention, in which a is a front view, b is a plan view, c is a right side view, and d is a view in the direction of arrow A. FIGS. 2 to 9 are explanatory diagrams showing how the traveling device is used. FIG. 2 shows the case where the vehicle travels on a flat surface, where a is a front view and b is a plan view. FIG. 3 shows the ascending and descending state of the stairs. Figure 4 shows the case of moving on a slope, a is a side view, b
is a plan view. FIG. 5 shows the case of going up and down between vertical walls. FIG. 6 shows a case where the vehicle passes through an obstacle; a is a front view and b is a plan view. Figure 7 shows the stretched state. FIG. 8 shows a state in which the vehicle overcomes an obstacle. FIG. 9 shows the rotating movement within the cylinder, with a being a front view and b being a sectional view taken along line B-B. In the drawing, 1 and 2 are wheels, 3 is the main body of the device, 4,
5, 6 are joints, 7, 8, 9 are arms, 10, 1
1, 12, 13 are legs, 14 is base, 15, 1
Reference numerals 6, 17, 18, 19 and 20 are running surfaces such as floors, stairs, slopes, walls, obstacles, and cylinders.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1 Two wheels that can be driven and rotated independently are installed coaxially on the left and right sides of the lower part of the device body, and two driveable and bendable leg joints having pivots parallel to the rotational axis of these wheels are connected via these leg joints. A total of four legs consisting of three arms connected to each other are attached to the upper left and right sides of the upper part of the device main body, front and back, respectively, through drive-rotatable joints each having a pivot parallel to the rotation axis of the wheel. The distance between the front and rear joints is set to be shorter than the length of the arm, and a base having a lower surface with a high coefficient of friction is attached to the tip of each leg, and a spherical roller that can be retracted from the lower surface of the base is provided. A traveling device characterized by: