JP2003048179A - Deformable moving device composed of multiple gear units - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] [PROBLEMS] To provide a deformable moving device which can pass through from a wide space to a narrow space. Kind Code: A1 A plurality of gear units A to F having a rotation function and a braking function are combined on a plane, and by appropriately controlling the brake and rotation of each unit, it is possible to move at high speed while deforming the plane. Moving equipment.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a deformable moving device which can pass through a wide space to a narrow space.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Generally, there are two types of robot moving devices, a wheel type, a leg type, and a hybrid type having both characteristics. The wheel type is the most widely used moving device because it can move at high speed and with high efficiency.

The leg type is a mode of movement by walking, and it is possible to move on complicated terrain that is difficult to cope with with a wheel type moving device, and the hybrid type, which is a composite form of two moving devices, has respective characteristics. Research and development is underway as a high-performance mobile device that makes the most of this.

However, since these existing moving devices are of a fixed type that cannot be deformed, the working environment is limited. For example, taking a cleaning operation by a cleaning robot as an example, it is impossible to perform the operation in a complicated narrow space such as a gap between furnitures or a shade of a flowerpot. Therefore, at present, a moving device that can be freely deformed is needed.

Conventionally, as an atypical type moving device that enters such a complicated constricted space, a research applying a movement principle and a perceptual mechanism of a flexible structure robot (flexible machine), that is, an atypical type organism represented by an ameba. There is something developed. [For example, basic research on ammo robots using shape memory alloys ... Proceedings of the 37th lecture meeting of the Japan Society of Mechanical Engineers Hokkaido Branch No. 972-1 (1997-)
9.27) etc.]

However, such a device has a fatal defect that the moving speed is slow and the structure is complicated when it is regarded as a moving device.

[0007]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention solves the drawbacks of the prior art, and the moving device of the present invention has a high moving speed, a simple mechanism, and a low manufacturing cost. It is intended for.

[0008]

Therefore, in the technical means adopted by the present invention, a plurality of gear type units having a rotating function and a breaking function are combined on a plane to form a brake for each unit. It is a moving device that can move at high speed while deforming on a plane by appropriately controlling rotation. Further, the moving device is characterized in that a plurality of gear type units are constrained by an elastic material. Further, the moving device is characterized in that magnets magnetized with multiple poles are incorporated into the unit, and the unit group is restrained by the attraction force between the magnets. The gear unit is composed of an upper table and a lower table. Both the upper table and the lower table are composed of a pair of outer table and inner table, and the outer table is outside the upper table. The gear and the inner gear are rotatably connected to each other independently, and the inner gear of the upper table and the outer gear and inner gear of the lower table are integrally fixed, and the inner gear of the lower table is further fixed. Below is a moving device provided with an electromagnetic brake. In addition, it is composed of a plurality of gear type units, the outer gears of the upper and lower tables are meshed with each other, and further, the outer gears of the meshed upper table and the inner gears of the upper table are meshed with each other.
This is a moving device in which the inner gears of the lower table are restrained by restraints. Further, the moving device is characterized by having three or more gear type units and restraining them with an elastic body. Further, the moving device is characterized in that the number of gear type units is three or more, and the unit group is constrained by the attractive force of the multi-pole magnetized permanent magnets incorporated in the unit. Further, the moving device is characterized in that each gear type unit has a work function. Further, the moving device is based on a control method in which each gear type unit is movable by the following operations, on condition that each gear type unit holds a lump of a group such as a dumpling and performs a deforming movement. Action 1. Drive the unit at the maximum distance from the target position. Operation 2. Rotation is performed around the adjacent unit in the direction of approaching the target position. Operation 3. Rotate until it contacts the stationary unit. However, if there are multiple adjacent units, the following conditions shall be complied with. Condition a. The stationary unit that serves as the axis is the unit closer to the target position. Condition b. If there is already a unit in the traveling direction, if the rotary motion cannot be performed, the axis is sequentially changed to the closer unit.

[0009]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS FIG. 1 is a conceptual diagram in which a moving device as a first embodiment of the present invention deforms to pass through a constricted space.
The figure shows the principle of movement in the same form. Figure 3 shows the control method.
Of the movement of three gear type units by the rotor, FIG. 4 shows an example of one gear type unit of a concrete moving device,
FIG. 5 is a diagram in which two gear type units are connected to form a moving device, and FIG. 6 is an external view of the prototype.

As shown in FIG. 1, when the moving device of the present invention has a constricted portion in the movement path, the present invention can deform the shape indefinitely, and therefore the shape can be changed to pass through the constricted portion. it can.

FIG. 2 shows the moving principle of the present invention. The moving device is composed of seven gear type units A to G, and these gear type units A to G are provided with a rotating mechanism and a breaking mechanism. .

Then, the gear type unit G is engaged with the gear type units A, B, C, D, and EF in an annular shape, and the plurality of gear type units A, B, C, D, E, and F are
A group is formed by restraining with an elastic material H that does not interfere with the movement.

Next, the process of moving the formed group will be described. First, it is assumed that FIG. 2A is the initial state and the entire group moves in the direction of the thick arrow. Gear type unit A,
The gear type units C, D, E, and F other than B are in a state of being subjected to a brake.

Now, when the gear type unit A located outside the group on the side opposite to the traveling direction is driven clockwise and the gear type unit B is driven counterclockwise, the gear type unit A rotates and the brake The gear-type unit F and the gear-type unit B which are applied move along the outside of the gear-type unit C which is applied the brake.

After that, by repeating the rotational movement of an arbitrary gear type unit, the group as a whole is moved while being deformed as shown in FIGS. 2 (b) and 2 (c).

In FIG. 2, only seven gear type units are combined, but if the gear type units are downsized and connected to several tens and several hundreds, even finer deformation is possible.

Next, a method for efficiently controlling a plurality of units will be described. P for 3 units
FIG. 3 shows the result of confirming the movement of the simulation experiment performed on the C (Pentium III, 500 MHz) screen.

The control method is a centralized control method in which the operator commands the traveling direction and the speed for the entire group (not for each unit), and the string is not always formed in a single row, The condition was that deformation and movement were carried out while holding the mass of the group such as dumplings. The significance of keeping a mass of groups is
Do not apply excessive tension to the elastic material that is the restraint,
Moreover, it is considered that the robustness against the accident such as the unit failure is enhanced.

As a control program, an initial position (center coordinate of the unit) is given to each unit in advance, and when the operator arbitrarily designates a target position, the unit group starts to act. The rotary motion of the drive unit with the stationary unit as an axis is set as one set, and a series of operations is repeated in the following flow to deform and move the unit group.

Operation 1. Drive the unit at the maximum distance from the target position. Operation 2. Rotation is performed around the adjacent unit in the direction of approaching the target position. Operation 3. Rotate until it contacts the stationary unit. However, if there are multiple adjacent units, the following conditions shall be complied with. Condition a. The stationary unit that serves as the axis is the unit closer to the target position. Condition b. If there is already a unit in the traveling direction, if the rotary motion cannot be performed, the axis is sequentially changed to the closer unit.

The functions required for the unit are summarized below. A. Rotation function B. Break function C. Contact information acquisition function D. Target position acquisition function E. Understanding the number of adjacent units and their positional relationship

First, the unit A at the maximum distance from the target position
Is driven (initial state (I)). The unit A performs a rotational movement around the unit at the target position among the adjacent units (II), and stops when it contacts the stationary unit B (III). Next, at this point, the unit B at the maximum distance from the target position starts to rotate (IV) and continues to move until it contacts the stationary unit (V). After that, the same motion is repeated to move to the target position (VI). This simulator
I was able to confirm that it would move depending on the option.

FIG. 4 shows a single gear-type unit embodied. In this gear type unit, an upper table T1 is composed of an outer gear 1 and an inner gear 2, and a lower rotation table T2 is composed of an outer gear 3 and an inner gear 4 respectively. The inner gear can rotate independently.

The inner gear 2 and the outer gear 3 are fixed, and the rotation of the motor M arranged in the center of the outer gear 1 causes the inner gear 2 and the outer gear 3 to rotate. As a breaking mechanism, an electromagnet 5 is attached to the lower rotation table T2 and the inner gear 4.

Next, FIG. 5 shows a moving device in which two gear type units A and B are combined. The outer gears 1A and 1B of the gear type units A and B are meshed with each other, and a restraint K1 is used. The outer gears 1A and 1B and the inner gears 2A and 2B, 4A and 4B are respectively restrained by the restraint K2, and the electromagnets 5A, 5A and 5B are placed on the ground g formed of an iron plate.
By controlling the on / off of B, the gear type units A and B can be appropriately brought into the break state.

At this time, when the iron plate is adsorbed, the lower rotation table T2 is used.
Lower rotation table T2 to prevent the inner gear 4 from spinning
The outer gear 3 and the inner gear 4 are fixed.

When the gear type unit B is fixed by the electromagnet 5B and the motor MA of the gear type unit A is rotated, the rotation of the motor MA is performed by the inner gear 2A (the outer gear 1A). Outer gear 3A,
Transmitted to the inner gear 4A, the gear type unit A revolves around the gear type unit B while revolving around.

By alternately performing this movement, the entire unit can be moved. In the case of two units as shown in FIG. 5, the length of the restraint member does not change, so it is not necessary to make it stretchable. Required if 3 or more.

Further, the motor and the electromagnet can be remotely controlled by an operator by a computer.
Figure 6 is a photograph of the appearance of the prototype.

Next, the second embodiment according to the present invention will be described. FIG. 7 is a perspective view of an apparatus using a magnet for meshing gears, and FIG. 8 is a problem when a normal two-pole magnet is used. FIG. 9 is a perspective view of a 6-pole magnetized magnet, FIG.
Is a configuration diagram of a 6-pole magnetized magnet, and FIG. 11 is a gear type unit incorporating the 6-pole magnetized magnet.

In the first embodiment, as an internal force generating method for engaging a plurality of gear type units, the entire unit group is restrained by an elastic material such as rubber. However, in this method, since the elastic material always maintains a convex polygon, when the group as a whole involves a concave deformation (see, for example, FIG. 2B),
The elastic material cannot be concave.

In order to solve this problem, in a similar study on other unit type mobile robots, a method using a large number of electromagnets, shape memory alloys, and a unit coupling device having a more complicated mechanism can be considered. The method also has a problem that the device becomes large or becomes very expensive.

Therefore, an internal force generating means using magnetic force is provided. The basic idea of this internal force generating means will be described with reference to FIG. This is a mechanism in which a cylindrical permanent magnet is built into each unit and the gears are engaged by the attractive force of them. However, as shown in FIG. 8, when a normal two-pole magnet is used, when the number of units is three or more, a repulsive force is generated in the adjacent units, and thus there are cases in which deformation cannot be performed well. Therefore, the above problem is solved by using a magnet that is specially processed.

As shown in FIG. 9, the cylinder is divided into six fan-shaped parts, and N
Magnetization is performed alternately with SNSS (6 pole magnetization), and if each unit containing this magnet is arranged so that the N pole and the S pole are in contact with each other, an attractive force always works between adjacent units in any state. (See FIG. 10). The maximum number of units that can contact the outer circumference of a gear (cylindrical) having the same diameter is 6, so 6-pole magnetization is performed.

One unit is composed of two upper and lower rotary tables, and a magnet with 6 poles is fixed between them. FIG. 11 shows the appearance of the device composed of three units. It has been confirmed that sufficient attractive force is generated so that the gears between the units mesh with each other. We also confirmed the unit rotation, which is the basis of the exercise.

The above-described embodiments are merely examples for embodying the present invention, and the present invention can be carried out in any other forms without departing from the spirit or main characteristics thereof. Therefore, the above-described embodiments are merely examples in all respects and should not be limitedly interpreted.

When the present invention is applied to a cleaning robot, for example, a cleaning robot on a wide plane such as an airport lobby,
As a work robot in a complex plant without steps, an inspection robot, or a wall work robot, it is possible to perform cleaning to a smaller part than a conventional robot.

[0038]

According to the present invention, it becomes possible to enter a stenosis space fart, which is difficult to be adapted by the conventional fixed type moving mechanism. Further, since the gear mechanism is used, the rigidity is high, the mechanism is simple, the drive transmission is reliable, the movement can be performed at high speed, and the production can be performed at low cost.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a conceptual diagram in which a moving device of the present invention deforms to pass through a constricted space.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the principle of movement of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a state in which three gear type units are moved by a simulator in a control method.

FIG. 4 is an example of one gear type unit of a specific moving device.

FIG. 5 is a view showing a moving device by connecting two gear type units.

FIG. 6 is an external view of a prototype.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of an apparatus using a magnet for meshing a gear according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram of a problem when a normal two-pole magnet is used.

FIG. 9 is a perspective view of a 6-pole magnetized magnet.

FIG. 10 is a configuration diagram of a 6-pole magnetized magnet.

FIG. 11 is a perspective view of a gear type unit incorporating a 6-pole magnetized magnet.

[Explanation of symbols]

T1 upper table 1 Outer gear 2 inner gear T2 lower table 3 outer gear 4 inner gear 5 electromagnet H restraint

Claims (9)

[Claims] 1. A plurality of gear type units having a rotating function and a breaking function are combined on a plane, and the braking and rotation of each unit are appropriately controlled to move the plane at high speed while deforming the plane. A mobile device that can. 2. The moving device according to claim 1, wherein a plurality of gear type units are constrained by an elastic material. 3. The moving device according to claim 1, wherein a magnet having multi-pole magnetization is incorporated into the unit, and the unit group is constrained by the attraction force between the magnets. 4. A gear unit is composed of an upper table and a lower table, and the upper table and the lower table both consist of a pair of outer table and inner table, and the upper table. The outer gear and the inner gear of the table are rotatably connected to each other independently, and the inner gear of the upper table and the outer gear and the inner gear of the lower table are integrally fixed, and further the lower table.
The moving device according to claim 1, wherein an electromagnetic brake is provided below an inner gear of the bull. 5. Outer gears of upper and lower tables made up of a plurality of gear type units meshing with each other, and further meshed outer gears of the upper table and inner gears of the upper table. The moving device according to claim 4, wherein the two gears and the inner gears of the lower table are restrained by a restraint. 6. The moving device according to claim 5, wherein the number of gear type units is three or more, and the gear type units are restrained by an elastic body. 7. The moving device according to claim 5, wherein the number of gear type units is three or more, and the unit group is constrained by the attractive force of the multi-pole magnetized permanent magnets incorporated in the unit. 8. The moving apparatus according to claim 1, wherein each gear type unit has a work function. 9. The method according to claim 1, wherein each gear type unit is movable by the following operations on condition that a mass of a group such as a dumpling is held and deformed and moved. Control method of the device. Action 1. Drive the unit at the maximum distance from the target position. Operation 2. Rotation is performed around the adjacent unit in the direction of approaching the target position. Operation 3. Rotate until it contacts the stationary unit. However, if there are multiple adjacent units, the following conditions shall be complied with. Condition a. The stationary unit that serves as the axis is the unit closer to the target position. Condition b. If there is already a unit in the traveling direction, if the rotary motion cannot be performed, the axis is sequentially changed to the closer unit.