JPH0767913B2 - Traveling device with electromagnetically driven crawler - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Industrial field of application] The present invention relates to a structure constructed of a magnetic material such as an iron plate (particularly,
A traveling device that moves along the surface of a floating dock, a floating tank, a marine structure such as a ship, and in particular, an electromagnetically driven crawler that moves while adsorbing to the surface of the structure by electromagnetic force. Regarding traveling equipment.

[Conventional technology]

Generally, when performing maintenance / inspection or cleaning of a structure constructed of a magnetic material such as an iron plate, a traveling device that can move along the surface of the structure is used.

As a driving force of such a traveling device, thrust by a thruster, frictional force between a wheel and the surface of the structure, and the like have been conventionally used.

The position control of the traveling device is performed by detecting the position of the traveling device by a position detection device provided in the traveling device and feeding back the detection signal to the drive control mechanism.

Further, when the traveling device is brought into close contact with the bottom surface of the marine structure in water, thrust by a thruster or buoyancy of the traveling device itself is used.

[Problems to be solved by the invention]

However, in the conventional traveling device as described above, the position detecting device is required to perform accurate position control of the traveling device, but in the driving means using thrusters and wheels, the position detecting device is used. However, highly accurate position control is extremely difficult.

In addition, if the traveling device is brought into close contact with the bottom surface of the marine structure in water, using thrusters and buoyancy as described above,
Although it is extremely easy, it is impossible for the conventional traveling device to travel while being in close contact with the lower surface or the side surface of the land structure.

The present invention is intended to solve these problems, and enables a structure constructed of a magnetic material to move accurately along the surface of the structure regardless of whether it is underwater or on land. An object of the present invention is to provide a traveling device with an electromagnetically driven crawler belt.

[Means for solving problems]

Therefore, the traveling device with the electromagnetically driven crawler belt of the present invention is a traveling device having a pair of front and rear rotating wheels and an endless crawler belt spanned between the rotating wheels, and is arranged along the outer periphery of the crawler belt. A large number of electromagnets provided and an electromagnetic induction type power feeding mechanism arranged on the rotating wheel and the crawler belt to feed power to the electromagnets are provided, and the magnetic force is applied to move the traveling device forward on a magnetic material surface. A power distribution mechanism for sequentially attracting the electromagnets to the material surface is interposed between the electromagnetic induction type power feeding mechanism and the electromagnets.

[Action]

In the traveling device with the electromagnetically driven crawler belt of the present invention described above, electric power is supplied to the electromagnets arranged in a row on the outer circumference of the endless crawler belt through the electromagnetic induction type power feeding mechanism and the power distribution mechanism, and the power distribution mechanism causes Since the electromagnets are sequentially attracted to the magnetic material surface, the traveling device travels along the magnetic material surface.

〔Example〕

An electromagnetically driven traveling device with crawler belts according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a schematic side view of the traveling device, and FIG. Fig. 3 is a wiring diagram showing the power distribution mechanism, Fig. 4 is a schematic side view for explaining the operation, and Figs. 5 (a) and 5 (b) are all rotated from the traveling device body. It is a typical sectional view showing a modification of arrangement of a slip ring for supplying power to an electromagnetic induction type power supply mechanism in a wheel.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the main body 1 of the traveling apparatus of this embodiment is provided with a pair of front and rear rotary wheels 8 and 8 mounted on a shaft 9 fixed to the main body 1 via bearings 10. Has been.

An endless crawler belt 7 is laid between the rotary wheels 8 and 8.

Further, the crawler belt 7 has a large number (in the present embodiment, along its outer periphery).
20 sets of electromagnet blocks M are arranged in a row. As shown in FIG. 2, the electromagnet block M includes a pair of left and right electromagnets 3,3 that can be attracted to the magnetic material surface 2 and a transformer secondary coil 4b arranged between the electromagnets 3,3. It consists of and.

Further, an electromagnetic induction type power feeding mechanism 4 is arranged on the rotary wheel 8 and the crawler belt 7 so as to feed power to the electromagnets 3, 3.
This electromagnetic induction type power feeding mechanism 4 includes a large number (10 in this embodiment) of transformer primary side coils 4a arranged on the inner circumference of one (right side of FIG. 1, ie, front side) rotating wheel 8. Transformer secondary coil 4b included in electromagnet block M
Composed of and.

The primary coil 4a of the transformer and the secondary coil 4b of the transformer face each other as the endless crawler belt 7 and the rotary wheel 8 move (the right semicircular portion of the rotary wheel 8 on the right side in FIG. 1). Alternatively, the electromagnetic induction power supply mechanism 4, that is, the transformer (transformer)
Is formed, and power is supplied from the transformer primary coil 4a to the transformer secondary coil 4b by electromagnetic induction.

The transformer primary coil 4a in the rotary wheel 8 is connected to the power supply wiring 6a on the main body 1 side through a power supply wiring 6a and a slip ring 5 mounted on the outer circumference of the shaft 9. The power supply wiring 6 is guided to the main body 1 through the shaft 9 and is connected to the power supply device 11 in the main body 1.

Further, in FIG. 1, the slip ring 5 is formed only on the right half part side around the shaft 9 and is located on the right half part side 5 thereof.
Power is supplied to the primary coil 4a of each transformer.

Furthermore, the magnetic material surface 2 to which the electromagnets 3, 3 can be attracted is the surface of a structure constructed of a magnetic material such as a steel plate or an iron plate.

By the way, in the traveling device of the magnetic material surface, since the main body 1 is advanced on the magnetic material surface 2, the power distribution mechanism S for attracting the electromagnet 3 to the magnetic material surface 2 is as shown in FIG. It is composed of a large number of power supply wirings 6 b and is interposed between the electromagnetic induction type power supply mechanism 4 and the electromagnet 3.

Here, in order to facilitate the description of the wiring state and the operation of the present apparatus described later, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, for convenience, each of the 20 sets of electromagnet blocks M has a lowercase Roman numeral i to xx. In addition, the 10 primary coils 4a of the transformer are shown with Roman capital letters I to X in order respectively.

As shown in FIG. 3, in this embodiment, when the transformer primary side coil 4a and the transformer secondary side coil 4b face each other, the transformer primary side coil 4a to the transformer secondary side coil 4b. The electric power supplied to the electromagnets 3 in the same set of electromagnet blocks M is not directly sent to
The electric power is supplied to the electromagnets 3, 3 in the electromagnet block M at a position offset by five sets via the power supply wiring 6b.

That is, the wiring state by the power supply wiring 6b between the electromagnet blocks M is as follows. Electromagnet block M
The transformer secondary coil 4b in (i) is connected to the electromagnets 3,3 in the electromagnet block M (vi), and the transformer secondary coil 4b in the electromagnet block M (ii) is in the electromagnet block M (vii). The secondary coil 4b of the transformer in the last electromagnet block M (xx) is connected to the electromagnets 3, 3 in the electromagnet block M (v).

As an example of the arrangement of the slip ring 5, in addition to the arrangement shown in FIG. 2, the arrangement shown in FIGS. 5 (a) and 5 (b) can be considered.

In the arrangement example shown in FIG. 5A, the rotating wheels 8 and 8 are fixed to both ends of the shaft 9, and the shaft 9 is rotatably supported by the main body 1 via bearings 10. In the main body 1, a slip ring 5 is mounted on the outer circumference of the shaft 9 to connect the power supply wirings 6 and 6a.

Further, the arrangement example shown in FIG. 5 (b) has substantially the same structure as that shown in FIG. 5 (a), but in this example, the shaft 9 is divided into left and right parts, and left and right rotations are performed. Wheel 8,
The arrangement state of the slip ring 5 in the case where 8 are independently rotated is shown.

The endless crawler belt 7 and the rotary wheel 8 are made of a non-magnetic material.

Since the traveling device with the electromagnetically driven crawler belt as one embodiment of the present invention is configured as described above, the traveling movement along the magnetic material surface 2 of the main body 1 of the traveling device is performed as follows. That is, first, the power supply device 11 starts supplying power to the transformer primary side coil 4a in the rotary wheel 8 via the power supply wiring 6, the slip ring 5, and the power supply wiring 6a, so that the main body 1 of the traveling device travels forward (first Move to the right in Fig. 1, 4).

FIG. 4 shows a state where the main body 1 of the traveling device starts traveling and has a certain speed. In the state shown in FIG. 4, the shape of the slip ring 5 causes the transformer primary coil 4a ( (I to V) is supplied with electric power, and these transformer primary side coils 4a (I to V) and transformer secondary side coils 4b in the electromagnet blocks M (i to v) face each other and are electromagnetic induction type. The power feeding mechanism 4 is configured.

The electric power supplied from the transformer primary coil 4a to the transformer secondary coil 4b by electromagnetic induction is supplied to the power supply wiring 6b.
Via the electromagnet block M (vi ~ x) of the electromagnet 3,
3 is supplied to the magnetic material surface 3, and these electromagnets 3, 3 are excited and attracted to the magnetic material surface 2.

From this state, the electromagnet block M is moved along with the clockwise rotational movement of the rotary wheel 8 due to the forward movement.
The electromagnets 3, 3 of (v) are close to the magnetic material surface 2 and
Transformer primary coil 4a (X) and electromagnet block M
The electromagnetic induction type power feeding mechanism 4 is configured so as to face the transformer secondary coil 4b of (xx).

As a result, the power supplied from the transformer primary coil 4a (X) to the transformer secondary coil 4b of the electromagnet block M (xx) is supplied to the electromagnets 3 and 3 of the electromagnet block M (v) via the power supply wiring 6b. Then, these electromagnets 3, 3 are excited and attracted to the magnetic material surface 2.

At this time, due to the shape of the slip ring 5, the power supply to the transformer primary coil 4a (V) is interrupted, and the transformer primary coil 4a (V) and the electromagnet block M
Since the state in which the transformer secondary coil 4b in (v) is opposed is separated, the electromagnet block M (v)
Transformer secondary coil 4b to electromagnet block M (x)
The power supply to the electromagnets 3 and 3 is also stopped.

Therefore, the electromagnets 3,3 of the electromagnet block M (x) are
Is separated from the magnetic material surface 2 in a non-excited state, and is guided by the endless crawler belt 7 to the rear rotating wheel 8.

Thus, as the rotary wheel 8 rotates, the electromagnets 3, 3 in the front electromagnet block M are sequentially moved (v → iv → iii →
ii → i → xx → ... → v) While being excited, the magnetic material surface 2 is attracted and the electromagnets 3, 3 in the electromagnet block M on the rear side are sequentially (x → ix → viii ... → i → xx → ... →). x) By being in the non-excited state, the main body 1 of the traveling device travels forward in the right direction in FIGS. 1 and 4 without using a driving device such as a motor.

As described above, in the present embodiment, the main body 1 of the traveling device digitally moves with the interval between the electromagnet blocks M, M as one step. Therefore, by counting the number of moving steps, a special position is obtained. The position of the main body 1 can be easily obtained with high accuracy without using a detection device.

In addition, in the traveling apparatus of the present embodiment, since power is supplied by electromagnetic induction without having an electrically exposed portion to the outside, the main body 1 may be placed on the magnetic material surface 2 in water or on land. Can run without.

Further, since the electromagnets 3 (five sets in this embodiment) in contact with the magnetic material surface 2 are always excited, the lower surface (bottom surface) of the structure.
However, the present device can easily travel without falling by adjusting the attraction force of the electromagnet 3.

Such a traveling device is an underwater robot (TV) that inspects the bottom surface of floating docks, floating tanks, ships, etc. underwater.
Those equipped with cameras and floodlights, etc.) are used as both a drive unit and a position detection device, and on land, they are also used as an internal inspection robot for tanks and the like.
When inspecting the circular tank, the endless crawler belt 7 is formed according to the radius of curvature of the circular tank.

Further, the traveling device as described above is also applied to an automatic thickness measuring device for a steel plate or the like and an automatic deep wound device.

In this embodiment, 10 transformer primary coils 4a or 20 electromagnet blocks M around the outer circumference of the endless crawler belt 7 are provided, but the number of these may be other cases and is limited to the number of this embodiment. Not done.

Further, in the present embodiment, the traveling in the forward direction (rightward in the drawing) is described, but the transformer primary is also attached to the other rotary wheel 8 so that the vehicle can travel in the backward direction (leftward in the drawing). The side coil 4a may be provided, or the power distribution mechanism S may be provided with a switching mechanism so that the electromagnets 3, 3 to which the transformer secondary side coil 4b is fed can be appropriately switched.

〔The invention's effect〕

As described in detail above, according to the traveling device with the electromagnetically driven crawler belt of the present invention, in a traveling device having a pair of front and rear rotating wheels, and an endless crawler belt hung between the rotating wheels, A large number of electromagnets lined up along the outer circumference of the crawler track and an electromagnetic induction type power feeding mechanism arranged on the rotating wheel and the crawler track to feed power to the electromagnet are provided, and the traveling device is mounted on the magnetic material surface. A structure constructed with a magnetic body with a simple configuration in which a power distribution mechanism for sequentially adsorbing the electromagnets on the magnetic material surface in order to move forward is provided between the electromagnetic induction type power supply mechanism and the electromagnets. If it is an object, it can run underwater or on land, and since this device moves while being accurately positioned by an electromagnet, without using a special position detection device,
The position of this device can be detected, and accurate position control of this device becomes possible.

[Brief description of drawings]

1 to 5 show a traveling device with an electromagnetically driven crawler belt as an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1 is a schematic side view of the traveling device, and FIG. 2 is an enlarged schematic diagram of a main part thereof. Cross section,
FIG. 3 is a wiring diagram showing the power distribution mechanism, FIG. 4 is a schematic side view for explaining the operation, FIG. 5 (a),
FIG. 3B is a schematic cross-sectional view showing a modified example of a slip ring for supplying power from the traveling device body to the electromagnetic induction power supply mechanism in the rotary wheel. 1 ... Main body of traveling device, 2 ... Magnetic material surface, 3 ... Electromagnet, 4 ... Electromagnetic induction type power feeding mechanism, 4a ... Transformer primary coil, 4b ... Transformer secondary coil, 5 ... Slip ring, 6,6a, 6b ... Power supply wiring, 7 ... Endless track, 8
...... Rotating wheel, 9 ... Axis, 10 ... Bearing, 11 ... Power supply device, M ... Electromagnetic block, S ... Distribution mechanism.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A traveling device having a pair of front and rear rotating wheels and an endless crawler belt stretched between the rotating wheels, wherein a large number of electromagnets arranged along the outer circumference of the crawler belt and the same electromagnet. An electromagnetic induction type power feeding mechanism disposed on the rotating wheel and the crawler belt is provided to feed power to the magnetic material surface, and in order to advance the traveling device on the magnetic material surface, the electromagnets are sequentially attracted to the magnetic material surface. The electromagnetically driven traveling device with a crawler track, wherein the power distribution mechanism is installed between the electromagnetic induction type power feeding mechanism and the electromagnet.