JP2008179187A - Omnidirectional moving carriage and its traveling control method - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an ominidirectional moving carriage with a slim outer shape and short turning radius and effective to ride on a step without mounting a large-scale step riding-on mechanism, which is an obstacle for a compact size, to a moving carriage. <P>SOLUTION: This omnidirectional moving carriage comprises a moving carriage body 1, first, second and third omni-wheels 3a, 3b, 3c for moving the moving carriage body, and drive parts 2a, 2b, 2c for independently driving rotation of the first, second and third omni-wheels 3a, 3b, 3c. The carriage is provided with a first turning drive part 4 for turning the first omni-wheel around a vertical shaft. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an omnidirectional mobile trolley for carrying goods, guiding facilities, guarding, cleaning, and the like, and a traveling control method thereof in airports, homes, medical welfare facilities, and the like.

In recent years, many mobile trolleys using an omni foil as a driving wheel have come to be adopted for home robots and security robots because of their small turning ability. As shown in FIG. 7, the omni foil has three or more barrels 5 that are rotatable in the axial direction of the foil on the outer periphery of the wheel frame 6, and the omni foil is placed on the movable carriage main body on the same circumference. It is possible to move in any direction by arranging two or more parts.
For example, in FIG. 6, when going straight in the traveling direction shown in FIG. 6, only the two omnifoils 3b and 3c are driven in the rotational direction by the driving units 2b and 2c, and the remaining one omnifoil 3a is free from the barrel 5. To act as a caster. When the mobile carriage turns, the three omni foils 3a, 3b, 3c can be turned on the spot by rotating them in the same direction by the drive units 2a, 2b, 2c. Moreover, the movement while turning is also possible by combining the straight movement and the turning action. As described above, the omnidirectional mobile trolley using the omni foil has a smaller turn than the two-wheel mobile trolley and is effective for moving in a narrow area.

In recent years, with the aging of society, buildings have become barrier-free, but there are still many steps at home and outdoors. In order to provide a mobile trolley that can play an active role in a wide range of situations, it is necessary to be able to cope with these steps. Conventional omnidirectional mobile trolleys using omni foil are advantageous in moving in a narrow area as described above, but are disadvantageous in comparison with two-wheel type mobile trolleys in terms of getting over steps. For example, in FIG. 6, the omni foil 3a that does not act as a drive when going straight in the direction of travel shown in FIG. 6 acts as a free caster for the barrel 5 of the omni foil, so that its turning radius is smaller than the diameter of the omni foil. It was difficult to get over a small, large step.
The present invention has been made in view of such problems, and it is easy to make a small turn while maintaining a slim external shape without mounting a large step climbing mechanism that hinders downsizing in a mobile carriage. An object of the present invention is to provide an omnidirectional mobile trolley that is advantageous for getting over two steps.

In order to solve the above problem, the present invention is configured as follows.
According to the first aspect of the present invention, the rotation of the movable carriage main body, the first, second and third omnifoils for moving the movable carriage main body, and the rotation of the first, second and third omnifoils respectively. An omnidirectional mobile trolley including a drive unit that is independently driven includes a first turning drive unit that turns the first omni foil about a vertical axis.
According to a second aspect of the present invention, the second and third omnifoils are respectively provided with second and third turning drive portions for turning around a vertical axis.
The invention described in claim 3 is characterized in that the first, second and third omnifoils can be manually turned.
The invention described in claim 4 includes a control unit that gives a command to the turning drive unit so that the first, second, and third omnifoils are all parallel to the traveling direction. To do.
According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, the first omni foil is perpendicular to the vertical plane of the step based on a step detecting means for detecting a step on the floor surface and a detection signal from the step detecting means. And a control unit that gives a command to the turning drive unit so as to turn in a direction.
According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a movable carriage body, first, second and third omnifoils for moving the movable carriage body, and rotations of the first, second and third omnifoils, respectively. In an omnidirectional mobile trolley comprising a drive unit that is driven independently and a turning drive unit that turns the first omni foil about a vertical axis, the first omni foil is moved with respect to a vertical surface of a step on a floor surface. It is characterized in that it is swung so that it becomes a right angle.
According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, there is provided a movable carriage body, first, second and third omnifoils for moving the movable carriage body, and rotation of the first, second and third omnifoils, respectively. An omnidirectional mobile trolley comprising: a drive unit that is independently driven; and a swivel drive unit that swivels each of the first, second, and third omnifoils about a vertical axis, wherein the first omnifoil is a floor surface And the second and third omni foils are respectively rotated in parallel with the first omni foil.
The invention according to claim 8 is directed to a movable carriage main body, first, second and third omnifoils for moving the movable carriage main body, and rotation of the first, second and third omnifoils, respectively. In the omnidirectional mobile trolley comprising a drive unit that is independently driven, and a turning drive unit that turns the first, second, and third omnifoils about a vertical axis, respectively, the first, second, and third The omni foil is made to turn so as to be parallel to the traveling direction and run with the maximum propulsive force.
According to the ninth aspect of the present invention, the rotation of the movable carriage main body, the first, second and third omnifoils for moving the movable carriage main body, and the rotation of the first, second and third omnifoils respectively. In the omnidirectional mobile carriage, comprising: a drive unit that is driven independently; a turning drive unit that turns the first omni foil about a vertical axis; and a step detection unit that detects a step on the floor surface. The first omni foil is swiveled in a direction perpendicular to the vertical plane of the step based on a step detection signal from.
The invention according to claim 10 is directed to a movable carriage body, first, second and third omnifoils for moving the movable carriage body, and rotation of the first, second and third omnifoils, respectively. Omnidirectionally provided with a drive unit that is driven independently, a swivel drive unit that swivels each of the first, second, and third omnifoils about a vertical axis, and a step detection unit that detects a step on the floor surface In the mobile carriage, based on the step detection signal from the step detection means, the first omni foil is turned so as to be perpendicular to the vertical surface of the step on the floor surface, and the second and third omni foils are moved. Each of the first omni foils is pivoted in parallel.

According to the first and sixth aspects of the invention, when the moving carriage goes straight, turning the omni foil serving as a rotatable free caster by 90 degrees increases the rolling radius of the omni foil with respect to the traveling direction. Steps that could not be exceeded by the rolling radius of the barrel can also be overcome. Moreover, since the said omni wheel also gives a driving force to a moving trolley as a driving wheel, the driving force as a whole rises and it becomes easier to cross a step.
According to the invention described in claim 2, since all the omni foils can be arranged in parallel to the traveling direction by giving all the omni foils a degree of freedom around the vertical axis, the direction perpendicular to the traveling direction becomes free. , It is possible to follow the guide and move straight. In addition, since there is no loss of driving torque due to the tilt of the wheels, the propulsive force when traveling straight can be increased.
According to the invention described in claim 3, by making it possible to manually turn all the omni wheels, even when the wheels cannot be rotated from the output side due to a failure of a reduction gear of the drive motor, etc., manually By rotating an arbitrary omni foil so that a specific direction can rotate freely, manual movement in a specific direction can be easily performed. The same measures should be taken when it is difficult to rotate the wheels from the output side due to the specifications, such as when the reduction gear ratio is large, or when the slope is manually rolled during loading / unloading of the moving carriage. Thus, manual movement in a specific direction can be easily performed.
According to the seventh and tenth aspects of the present invention, a propulsive force can be applied to the moving carriage without loss, so that it becomes easier to exceed the step.
According to the fourth and eighth aspects of the present invention, when it is necessary to produce a propulsive force that is greater than the propulsive force that can be produced in the normal omni foil mounting direction, a command is automatically issued from the upper control unit to the omni foil turning motor. The omni wheel can be turned in the direction that gives the maximum propulsive force when going straight.
According to the fifth, ninth, and tenth aspects of the invention, even if the user does not give an instruction to the moving carriage each time, the moving carriage detects the step by itself with a sensor mounted on the moving carriage so that the user can easily get over the step. You can turn the omni foil automatically and get over the steps.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 shows a first embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 1, reference numeral 1 denotes a movable carriage main body, 3 a, 3 b, and 3 c are omnifoils arranged on the movable carriage main body 1 on the same circumference at a pitch of 120 degrees.
Reference numerals 2a, 2b, and 2c denote drive motors (drive units) that individually drive the rotation of the omni foils 3a, 3b, and 3c. Reference numeral 4 denotes a turning motor (turning drive unit) which is connected to at least one of the three omni foils and turns the omni foil in an arbitrary direction around the vertical axis. The output shafts of the drive motor and the turning motor may be provided with a speed reducer as required, and the drive unit and the turning drive unit include not only the motor alone but also the speed reducer (hereinafter referred to as the speed reducer). The same applies to the examples).
The part where the present invention is different from the prior art is a part provided with a turning motor capable of turning the omni foil in an arbitrary direction around a vertical axis.

  For example, when the moving carriage of the present invention tries to get over the step while proceeding in the traveling direction shown in FIG. 2, the omni foil 3a is turned 90 degrees from the state shown in FIG. ), The rolling radius of the omni foil 3a with respect to the traveling direction is increased, so that a step that cannot be exceeded by the rolling radius of the barrel 5 can be exceeded. Moreover, since the omni foil 3a also gives a driving force to the moving carriage as a driving wheel, the driving force as a whole increases and it becomes easier to cross the step. After overcoming the step, the omni foil 3a is turned to return to the original state.

  FIG. 3 shows a second embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 3, 4a, 4b, and 4c are turning motors that can turn the omnifoils 3a, 3b, and 3c in any direction around the vertical axis.

  When the mobile carriage of the present invention proceeds in the traveling direction shown in FIG. 4a or 4b, by arranging all the omnifoils in parallel to the traveling direction as shown in the same figure, the direction perpendicular to the traveling direction becomes free. Therefore, it is possible to perform a proper operation such as going straight along the guide. Further, by disposing the omni foil as shown in FIGS. 4a and 4b, the loss of driving torque due to the inclination of the wheels is eliminated, so that the propulsive force during straight traveling can be increased as compared with the conventional configuration shown in FIG.

  Further, in FIG. 3, a control unit (not shown) that automatically controls the turning motors 4a, 4b, and 4c is provided, and traveling that requires more thrust than the thrust that can be generated in the direction of the omni wheel shown in FIG. In the case of the condition, it is automatically judged, and the omni wheel is automatically turned in a direction that maximizes the propulsive force when traveling straight as shown in FIGS. 4a and 4b.

Moreover, the omni foils 3a, 3b, and 3c can be easily turned manually.
Thereby, when it becomes impossible to rotate the wheel from the output side due to a failure such as a reduction gear of the drive motor, the omni foils 3a, 3b, 3c are manually turned and arranged as shown in FIGS. 4a, 4b, A specific direction can be freely rotated, and the movement in the free direction shown in FIGS. 4a and 4b can be easily performed manually. In addition, even when it is difficult to rotate the wheel from the output side due to specifications, such as a reduction gear ratio of the speed reducer, the moving carriage can be easily moved manually by taking the same means. Furthermore, even when the slope is manually rolled when the moving carriage is carried in and out, the moving carriage can be moved with a lighter force by taking the same means.

  In the first embodiment, as in this embodiment, when the omni foil 3a that first crosses the step and the other omni foils 3b and 3c are all arranged in parallel, a propulsive force is given to the movable carriage without loss for the above-described reason. Because it can, it will be easier to cross the step.

FIG. 5 shows a third embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 5, reference numeral 7 denotes a sensor (step detecting means) for automatically detecting a step on the floor surface. 8 is a control unit that gives a command to the turning motor 4 to turn the omni foil 3 in a direction that easily gets over the step, that is, a direction that is perpendicular to the vertical plane of the step, based on the detection signal from the sensor 7. is there.
According to the present embodiment, by providing the sensor 7 and the control unit 8, the mobile carriage detects the step by itself using the sensor 7, and the omni foil can easily get over the step without giving a command each time. You can turn over to get over the step.
When the omni foil 3a that first crosses the step and the other omni foils 3b and 3c are all arranged in parallel when the step is overcome, a propulsive force can be given to the moving carriage without loss for the reason described in the second embodiment. It becomes easier to cross the step.

1 is a block diagram of a mobile carriage showing a first embodiment of the present invention. The figure which shows the effect of 1st Example of this invention Configuration diagram of mobile cart showing second embodiment of the present invention The figure which shows the effect of 2nd Example of this invention Configuration diagram of mobile cart showing third embodiment of the present invention Configuration diagram of conventional omnidirectional mobile trolley Omnifoil structure

Explanation of symbols

1 Mobile trolley body 2a, 2b, 2c Drive motor (drive unit)
3a, 3b, 3c Omnifoil 4 Turning motor (turning drive)
4a, 4b, 4c Turning motor (turning drive)
5 Barrel 6 Wheel frame 7 Sensor (Step detection means)
8 Control unit

Claims (10)

A movable trolley body, first, second and third omnifoils for moving the movable trolley body, and driving units for independently driving rotations of the first, second and third omnifoils. In the omnidirectional mobile trolley equipped,
An omnidirectional mobile trolley comprising a first turning drive unit for turning the first omni foil about a vertical axis. The omnidirectional mobile trolley according to claim 1, further comprising second and third turning drive portions for turning the second and third omnifoils around a vertical axis, respectively. The omnidirectional mobile trolley according to claim 2, wherein the first, second and third omnifoils can be turned manually. 3. The omnidirectional device according to claim 2, further comprising a control unit that gives a command to the turning drive unit so that all of the first, second, and third omnifoils are parallel to the traveling direction. Mobile trolley. A level difference detecting means for detecting a level difference on the floor,
A control unit that gives a command to the turning drive unit to turn the first omni foil in a direction perpendicular to a vertical plane of the step based on a detection signal from the step detection unit. An omnidirectional mobile trolley according to any one of claims 1 to 4. A movable carriage main body, first, second and third omnifoils for moving the movable carriage main body, a drive unit for independently driving rotations of the first, second and third omnifoils; An omnidirectional mobile trolley comprising: a turning drive for turning the first omni foil about a vertical axis;
A travel control method for an omnidirectional mobile trolley, characterized in that the first omni foil is turned so as to be perpendicular to a vertical surface of a step on a floor surface. A movable carriage main body, first, second and third omnifoils for moving the movable carriage main body, a drive unit for independently driving rotations of the first, second and third omnifoils; In an omnidirectional mobile trolley comprising a turning drive unit for turning the first, second and third omnifoils about a vertical axis,
Swiveling the first omni foil so as to be perpendicular to the vertical surface of the step on the floor surface;
A travel control method for an omnidirectional mobile trolley, characterized in that the second and third omni foils are turned in parallel to the first omni foil, respectively. A movable carriage main body, first, second and third omnifoils for moving the movable carriage main body, a drive unit for independently driving rotations of the first, second and third omnifoils; In an omnidirectional mobile trolley comprising a turning drive unit that turns the first, second, and third omnifoils around a vertical axis,
A travel control method for an omnidirectional mobile trolley, characterized in that the first, second and third omnifoils are all swiveled so as to be parallel to the traveling direction and traveled with maximum thrust. A movable carriage main body, first, second and third omnifoils for moving the movable carriage main body, a drive unit for independently driving rotations of the first, second and third omnifoils; In an omnidirectional mobile trolley comprising a turning drive unit for turning the first omni foil around a vertical axis, and a step detecting means for detecting a step on the floor surface,
A travel control method for an omnidirectional mobile trolley, characterized in that the first omni foil is turned in a direction perpendicular to a vertical plane of the step based on a step detection signal from the step detection means. A movable carriage main body, first, second and third omnifoils for moving the movable carriage main body, a drive unit for independently driving rotations of the first, second and third omnifoils; In the omnidirectional mobile trolley comprising: a turning drive unit that turns the first, second, and third omnifoils around a vertical axis; and a step detection unit that detects a step on the floor surface.
Based on the step detection signal from the step detection means, the first omni foil is turned so as to be perpendicular to the vertical surface of the step on the floor surface,
A travel control method for an omnidirectional mobile trolley, characterized in that the second and third omni foils are turned in parallel to the first omni foil, respectively.

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