JP2012211667A - Suction cup and wall surface moving machine - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a suction cup capable of stably adhering to a window, a wall or the like and movable while adhering to it, and a wall surface moving machine adopting the suction cup.SOLUTION: The suction cup includes: a body part 11 having a recess 11h recessed from one surface; and space maintaining members 15 providing restrictions so that the one surface and an inner bottom face 11s of the recess 11h do not come closer to each other and a predetermined distance or longer is left between them. A friction reduction part reducing friction resistance is installed on a contact surface on the one face side of the space maintaining member 15. The space maintaining member 15 is arranged so that a distance from the contact surface to the inner bottom face 11s of the recess 11h is set shorter than a distance from the one face of the body 11 to the inner bottom face 11s of the recess 11h.

Description

  The present invention relates to a suction cup and a wall surface moving machine. More specifically, the present invention relates to a suction cup that can be adsorbed to a wall surface such as a wall or a window glass, and a wall surface moving machine including the suction cup.

Conventionally, a window glass and a wall surface of a building are cleaned by a worker on a gondola or the like suspended from the roof of the building and using a brush or the like from within the gondola.
However, the gondola is usually only suspended by a wire or the like, and it is unstable and sways when the wind blows. Therefore, the cleaning work is dangerous.
Under such circumstances, there has been a demand for a machine that automatically cleans wall surfaces and window glass.

  As a machine for cleaning window glass and wall surfaces, a machine that can be attached to a window glass or wall surface with a suction cup or the like has been researched and developed.

For example, Patent Literature 1 discloses a wall surface mobile robot that cleans a wall surface of a high-rise building or the like by providing a cleaning mechanism. This wall surface mobile robot is equipped with a substantially L-shaped soft rubber sheet along the outer peripheral edge of the case body on the side opposite to the wall surface, and the air inside the case body is made to adhere to the wall surface. By discharging, the whole body can function as a suction cup. Since the wall surface mobile robot has a drive wheel inside the case body, by operating the drive wheel, the wall surface mobile robot can be moved along the wall surface while the wall surface mobile robot is attached to the wall surface. it can. Then, since the wall surface mobile robot is equipped with a cleaning mechanism, if the wall surface mobile robot moves along the wall surface, the wall surface can be cleaned by the cleaning mechanism.
In addition, the rubber sheet is provided with a wrapping prevention plate that is harder than the soft rubber disposed so as to be parallel to the movement direction of the wall surface mobile robot (that is, parallel to the wall surface). The movement of the rubber sheet is restricted by the plate, and the rubber sheet can be prevented from being caught inside the case body. Specifically, when a portion of the rubber sheet that is perpendicular to the wall surface is deformed, the rubber sheet prevents the rubber sheet from being bent more than necessary by contacting a portion of the rubber sheet that is provided with the anti-roll-up plate. Therefore, the rubber sheet can be prevented from being caught inside the case body.

  However, in the technique of Patent Document 1, when the portion provided with the wrapping prevention plate comes into contact with the wall surface due to deformation of the rubber sheet, the contact resistance between the rubber sheet and the wall surface increases and the wall surface mobile robot moves on the wall surface. Resistance increases. Then, a large driving force is required to move the wall surface mobile robot along the wall surface. In addition, since the smooth movement of the wall surface mobile robot is hindered by the influence of the contact resistance between the rubber sheet and the wall surface, the moving speed of the wall surface mobile robot is reduced and the efficiency of cleaning the wall surface is deteriorated.

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 7-95936

  In view of the circumstances described above, an object of the present invention is to provide a suction cup that can be stably attached to a window glass, a wall, and the like and that can move smoothly while sticking, and a wall surface moving machine that employs the suction cup. .

(Suction cup)
The suction cup of the first invention comprises a main body having a recess recessed from one surface, and a space maintaining member that regulates the one surface and the inner bottom surface of the recess so as not to approach closer than a predetermined distance. A contact surface located on the one surface side of the space maintaining member is provided with a friction reducing portion for reducing a frictional resistance, and the space maintaining member is disposed inside the recess from the contact surface. The distance to the bottom surface is arranged to be shorter than the distance from one surface of the main body portion to the inner bottom surface of the recess.
The suction cup of a second invention is characterized in that, in the first invention, the space maintaining member is provided in the recess.
A suction cup according to a third aspect is characterized in that, in the first or second aspect, the friction reducing portion is a roller attached to the contact surface so as to be able to roll.
A suction cup according to a fourth aspect of the invention is characterized in that in the third aspect of the invention, the three rollers are provided, and the three rollers are arranged so that each roller is positioned at the apex of a triangle.
A suction cup according to a fifth aspect of the present invention is the first, second, third, or fourth aspect, wherein the main body portion includes a lip portion having a base end attached to the opening of the concave portion. It is characterized by extending outward from the opening of the recess so that the angle formed with the wall surface of the recess becomes an acute angle.
A suction cup according to a sixth aspect of the present invention is the first, second, third, fourth or fifth aspect, wherein the main body includes a base portion forming an inner bottom surface of the recess and a base end on an outer peripheral edge of the base portion. Are connected to each other, and the base end portion is formed so as to have higher rigidity than the side wall portion.
A suction cup according to a seventh aspect of the invention is characterized in that, in the first, second, third, fourth, fifth or sixth aspect of the invention, the suction cup is provided with a suction passage communicated with the inside of the recess.
(Wall moving machine)
A wall surface moving machine according to an eighth aspect of the present invention is a machine that moves on a wall surface, and includes a base portion, the suction cup according to claim 7 provided in the base portion, and the suction passage provided in the suction cup. A suction means for sucking air in the concave portion of the main body portion, and a moving means provided on the base portion. The moving means includes a driving portion for generating a driving force, and driving of the driving portion. And a traveling portion that travels on the wall surface to which force is transmitted.

(Suction cup)
According to the first invention, if the opening of the concave portion of the main body portion is applied to the wall surface or the like so that the pressure inside the concave portion is lower than the outside, the pressure is caused by the differential pressure between the inside of the concave portion and the external pressure. The main body can be attached to a wall surface or the like by force. At this time, the concave portion is deformed and the inner bottom surface of the concave portion approaches the wall surface or the like, but when the contact surface of the space maintaining member contacts the wall surface or the like, the concave portion is not further deformed. In addition, the force resulting from the differential pressure between the inside of the recess and the external pressure is applied to both the opening end surface of the recess and the contact surface of the space maintaining member. Then, since the force generated between the opening end surface of the recess and the wall surface is reduced, the frictional resistance between the opening end surface of the recess and the wall surface is reduced when the main body is moved along the wall surface. be able to. In addition, since the friction reducing portion that reduces the frictional resistance is provided on the contact surface of the space maintaining member, even if the space maintaining member moves along the wall surface or the like, the frictional resistance therebetween is small. Therefore, even if the suction cup is moved along the wall surface while being attached to the wall surface, the suction cup can be moved smoothly.
According to the second aspect of the invention, the main body can be attached to the wall surface or the like by the force resulting from the differential pressure between the inside of the recess and the external pressure. Since the space maintaining member is provided in the recess, deformation of the recess can be suppressed.
According to the third aspect of the invention, since the friction reducing portion is a roller attached to the contact surface so as to be able to roll, the space maintaining member can be smoothly moved along the contact surface.
According to the fourth invention, all the rollers can be brought into contact with the wall surface or the like in a stable state.
According to the fifth aspect of the invention, since the lip portion extends from the opening of the recessed portion outward so that the angle formed with the wall surface of the recessed portion becomes an acute angle, the main body portion moves along the wall surface. Even if it contacts a step such as a wall surface, the wall surface forming the opening of the recess can be prevented from being caught in the recess. And since the angle | corner which the lip | rip part and the wall surface of a recessed part make is an acute angle, it can prevent that a lip | rip part contacts a wall surface etc. and becomes a movement resistance.
According to the sixth invention, since the rigidity of the substrate part is higher than that of the side wall part, when the atmospheric pressure in the recess becomes lower than the outside, the substrate part is not deformed and only the side wall part is deformed, so that it is stable. The main body can be attached to a wall surface or the like. Further, when the space maintaining member is provided in the recess, the force applied from the space maintaining member can be supported in a stable state if the rigidity of the substrate portion is high.
According to the seventh aspect of the present invention, since the suction passage communicated with the inside of the recess is provided, the air in the recess can be sucked through the suction passage. Therefore, if the suction passage is connected to a device that can suck the air in the recess, such as a vacuum pump, the main body can be securely attached to a wall surface or the like.
(Wall moving machine)
According to the eighth aspect of the present invention, if the air in the recess of the main body of the suction cup is sucked by the suction means in a state where the wall moving machine is arranged so that the suction cup is in contact with the wall face, the suction cup has a negative pressure. The wall surface moving machine can be attached to the wall surface or the like. In this state, the contact surface of the space maintaining member of the suction cup and the traveling part of the moving means are both in contact with the wall surface and the excessive force for pressing the traveling part against the wall surface is not applied. Then, if the drive unit of the moving means is operated, the wall surface moving machine can be smoothly moved along the wall surface by the traveling unit while the wall surface moving machine is attached to the wall surface by the suction cup.

It is a schematic explanatory drawing of the suction cup 10 of this embodiment, (A) is AA-A sectional drawing of (B), (B) is a bottom view of the suction cup 10. FIG. It is a schematic explanatory drawing of the suction cup 10 of other embodiment, (A) is AA-A sectional drawing of (B), (B) is a bottom view of the suction cup 10. FIG. It is a schematic bottom view of the wall surface moving machine 1 of this embodiment. (A) is a schematic sectional drawing of the wall surface moving machine 1 of this embodiment, (B) is a principal part enlarged view. It is a schematic explanatory drawing of the wall surface moving machine 1 of other embodiment.

  The suction cup of the present invention is attached to the surface (hereinafter referred to as a wall surface) of a building outer wall or inner wall, ceiling, window glass, production plant, bridge, ship, aircraft, solar panel, condensing mirror in solar thermal power generation, electric bulletin board, etc. It is characterized in that it can be moved smoothly along the wall surface while sticking to the wall surface.

  Although the use of the suction cup of the present invention is not particularly limited, for example, a working robot that moves along the wall surface can be used as means for attaching the wall to the wall surface. Examples of the working robot that moves along the wall surface include, but are not limited to, a robot that performs work such as a window cleaning robot that cleans a window glass.

(Description of sucker)
The suction cup 10 of this embodiment is demonstrated based on drawing.
As shown in FIG. 1, the suction cup 10 of the present embodiment includes a main body portion 11 and a space maintaining member 15 attached to the main body portion 11.

(Main body)
First, the main body 11 is a member formed in a substantially dish shape having a recess 11h recessed from one surface 11a. For example, the main body 11 can be manufactured by forming a plate-like member or by processing and forming a rectangular member, as long as it is formed in the shape as described above. The manufacturing method is not particularly limited.

  The main body portion 11 includes a substrate portion 12 formed in a substantially flat plate shape, and a side wall portion 13 provided at an outer peripheral edge of the substrate portion 12. A recessed portion 11h is formed in the enclosed space.

  The board | substrate part 12 is a flat part formed in the substantially circular shape by planar view. One surface of the substrate portion 12 is an inner bottom surface 11s of the recess 11h.

  The side wall portion 13 is provided so that the base end thereof is continuous with the outer peripheral edge of the substrate portion 12, and is formed so as to expand toward the tip end. That is, the side wall portion 13 is formed to be an inclined wall that is inclined outward from the proximal end toward the distal end. The leading edge of the side wall 13 corresponds to the one surface 11a described above.

  And the main-body part 11 is formed with the raw material which has elasticity, such as rubber | gum. Specifically, the main body 11 is formed of a material having flexibility that deforms according to the force applied, and recoverability that returns to the original shape when the force is removed. . The material of the main body 11 is not particularly limited as long as it is a material having the above properties.

  Since the structure is as described above, if the main body part 11 is arranged so that the opening of the concave part 11h faces the wall surface and the tip edge of the side wall part 13 contacts the wall surface, the concave part is formed between the main body part 11 and the wall surface. A space blocked from the outside can be formed by 11h. If the atmospheric pressure inside the space is lower than the outside in this state, the side wall portion 13 is formed so as to expand from the proximal end toward the distal end. A force that pushes the side wall portion 13 inward is generated by a force to be applied (hereinafter referred to as a pasting force). Then, the side wall portion 13 is deformed so as to be recessed inward by this sticking force, and the front end edge of the side wall portion 13 is pressed against the wall surface, so that the main body portion 11 can be stuck to the wall surface.

  If the rigidity of the substrate part 12 is made higher than that of the side wall part 13, when the atmospheric pressure in the recess 11h becomes lower than the outside, the substrate part 12 is not deformed and only the side wall part 13 is deformed. it can. For example, if soft rubber is used for the side wall portion 13 and hard rubber is used for the substrate portion 12, the main body portion 11 can be deformed while maintaining its basic shape (that is, a substantially dish shape) to some extent. In this state, the main body 11 can be attached to the wall surface. In particular, if a member having a high bending rigidity (reference numeral 11p in FIG. 1) such as a metal plate is disposed on the inner surface or the outer surface of the substrate portion 12, the deformation of the substrate portion 12 can be prevented more reliably.

In addition, the method of making the atmospheric | air pressure inside the space between the main-body part 11 and a wall surface lower than the exterior is not specifically limited.
For example, the main body part 11 is pushed toward the wall surface from the state in which the main body part 11 is arranged so that the tip edge of the side wall part 13 is in contact with the wall surface. Then, since the side wall part 13 is formed so that it may spread as it goes to the front-end | tip from the base end, the side wall part 13 deform | transforms so that the front-end edge may spread further outward than the original state. That is, the main body 11 is deformed so that the concave portion 11h is crushed, the volume of the concave portion 11h is reduced, and the air inside the space leaks from between the tip edge of the side wall portion 13 and the wall surface. If the main body 11 returns to the original shape from this state, the volume becomes larger than the state in which the recess 11h is crushed, so that the atmospheric pressure inside the space can be made lower than the outside.

  Further, a suction passage 11r communicating with the inside of the recess 11h is provided in the main body 11 (see FIG. 2), and the air in the recess 11h, that is, the air inside the space is sucked from the suction passage by a vacuum pump or the like. Thus, the air pressure inside the space may be lower than the outside. In this case, compared with the case where the main body part 11 is pushed toward the wall surface, the pressure difference between the inside and the outside of the space can be increased and the attaching force can be increased, so that the main body part 11 can be securely attached to the wall surface. it can.

(Space maintenance member 15)
As shown in FIG. 1, three space maintaining members 15 are provided in the recess 11 h of the main body 11. The space maintaining member 15 regulates the tip edge of the side wall portion 13 so as not to approach the inner bottom surface 11s of the recess 11h more than a predetermined distance. Specifically, the space maintaining member 15 is disposed such that the distance from the tip of the space maintaining member 15 to the inner bottom surface 11s of the recess 11h is shorter than the distance from the tip edge of the side wall 13 to the inner bottom surface 11s of the recess 11h. ing. For example, if the distance L1 from the front end edge of the side wall portion 13 to the inner bottom surface 11s of the recess 11h is 3 to 7 mm, preferably about 5 mm, the distance L2 from the front end of the space maintaining member 15 to the inner bottom surface 11s of the recess 11h is It arrange | positions so that it may become 2-6 mm, Preferably it is about 4 mm. That is, the side wall 13 is disposed so that the deformation amount (L1-L2) is 0.5 to 2 mm, preferably about 1 mm.

A roller 16 is attached to the tip of each space maintaining member 15 so as to be able to roll. The three space maintaining members 15 are arranged so that the roller 16 of each space maintaining member 15 is located at the apex of a triangle, preferably the apex of an equilateral triangle, with the central axis of the recess 11h of the main body 11 as the center. ing.
In addition, the three space maintaining members 15 are arranged such that the tips (the surfaces of the rollers 16) are all at the same distance from the inner bottom surface 11s of the recess 11h. That is, the three space maintaining members 15 are arranged such that the surface including the three tips is parallel to the inner bottom surface 11s of the recess 11h.

  When the space maintaining member 15 is provided on the suction cup 10 as described above, the following effects can be obtained.

First, when the suction cup 10 is attached to the wall surface with the atmospheric pressure in the recess 11h lower than the outside, the distance from the leading edge of the side wall 13 to the inner bottom surface 11s of the recess 11h is shortened, and the three space maintaining members 15 are eventually added. The roller 16 contacts the wall surface. Then, the sticking force is applied to the wall surface not only by the front end edge of the side wall portion 13 but also by the rollers 16 of the three space maintaining members 15.
For this reason, the sticking force is applied not only to the front end edge of the side wall portion 13 but also to the wall surface via the rollers 16 of the three space maintaining members 15. Then, since the force applied to the wall surface from the front end edge of the side wall portion 13 is reduced, the frictional resistance generated between the front end edge of the side wall portion 13 and the wall surface can be reduced.
On the other hand, the space maintaining member 15 comes into contact with the wall surface by the roller 16 provided on the front end surface thereof, so that the frictional resistance generated between the space maintaining member 15 and the wall surface is small.
Therefore, when the suction cup 10 is moved along the wall surface while the suction cup 10 is attached to the wall surface, the movement resistance generated between the suction cup 10 and the wall surface, that is, between the tip edge of the side wall portion 13 and the wall surface. In addition, since the frictional resistance generated between the space maintaining member 15 and the wall surface becomes small, the suction cup 10 can be smoothly moved along the wall surface.

  Further, the three space maintaining members 15 are arranged such that the rollers 16 are positioned at the apexes of the triangle. Moreover, since the surfaces including the surfaces of the rollers 16 of the three space maintaining members 15 are arranged in parallel with the inner bottom surface 11s of the recess 11h, the suction cup 10 has the inner bottom surface 11s of the main body portion 11 thereof. It sticks to the wall surface while being kept parallel to the wall surface. Then, since the force applied to the wall surface from the front end edge of the side wall portion 13 becomes almost the same regardless of the position, the suction cup 10 moves smoothly along the wall surface.

  When the space maintaining member 15 is provided, a reaction force from the wall surface is applied to the substrate unit 12 of the main body unit 10 through the space maintaining member 15. Therefore, when the space maintaining member 15 is provided, if the rigidity of the substrate portion 12 is high, the force applied from the space maintaining member 15 can be supported by the substrate portion 12 in a stable state, so that the suction cup 10 can be stably attached to the wall surface. Can be pasted.

  The number of space maintaining members 15 is not limited to three, but may be one or two, or four or more. However, when three space maintaining members 15 are provided, since the number of contact points with the wall surface is increased as compared with the case where one or two space maintaining members 15 are provided, there is an advantage that the stability of the suction cup 10 is increased. It is done. Further, when three space maintaining members 15 are provided, all the rollers are brought into contact with the wall surface without increasing the mounting accuracy of the space maintaining member 15 as compared with the case where four or more space maintaining members 15 are provided. Can do. Then, the advantage that the suction cup 10 is easily manufactured and the structure is not complicated can be obtained.

  The roller 16 of the space maintaining member 15 described above corresponds to the friction reducing portion referred to in the claims, but the configuration of the friction reducing portion is not limited to the structure as described above, and when the tip surface contacts the wall surface, It is sufficient that the frictional resistance with the wall surface is reduced. For example, a caster may be provided on the distal end surface of the space maintaining member 15 instead of the roller. Further, as shown in FIG. 5A, if the front end surface 15a of the space maintaining member 15 is formed on a sliding surface that can slide while being in contact with the wall surface as a friction reducing portion, the space maintaining member 15 and The frictional resistance with the wall surface can be reduced. Such a sliding surface can be formed by providing PTFE (polytetrafluoroethylene), polyethylene, nylon resin, or the like having a small friction coefficient on the tip surface 15a of the space maintaining member 15.

  The position where the space maintaining member 15 is provided is not particularly limited. In the above example, the space maintaining member 15 is provided in the recess 11h. However, the space maintaining member 15 may be provided outside the recess 11h of the main body 11. . For example, as shown in FIG. 5B, by attaching a plate 12p or the like to the substrate part 12 of the main body part 11 and attaching the space maintenance member 15 to the plate 12p, the space maintenance member 15 is removed from the recess 11h. It can also be arranged outside.

  Furthermore, when the suction cup 10 is smoothly moved along the wall surface, a portion in contact with the wall surface (or a portion that may be in contact) in the main body portion 11 is formed so that the frictional resistance is reduced. preferable. For example, if the coating of PTFE (polytetrafluoroethylene) or DLC (diamond-like carbon) or molybdenum disulfide is applied to the tip edge portion of the side wall portion 13, the frictional resistance with the wall surface can be reduced. The suction cup 10 can be moved more smoothly.

Further, the space maintaining member 15 has a force generated between the space maintaining member 15 and the wall surface between the front end edge and the wall surface of the side wall portion 13 in a state where a sticking force is generated on the front end edge of the side wall portion 13. It is preferably formed so as to be larger than the force generated between them. In other words, it is preferable that the space maintaining member 15 be caused to bear more force generated between the suction cup 10 and the wall surface by the sticking force than the front end edge of the side wall portion 13.
This is because the side wall portion 13 is required to have a function of maintaining airtightness with the wall surface, and thus selection of materials and shapes is limited to some extent, but the space maintaining member 15 only needs to be able to support the sticking force. This is because the material and shape can be freely selected. In other words, the space maintaining member 15 can be freely selected from those having high slidability and rolling performance with the wall surface, in other words, those having low friction with the wall surface. Even if the force generated in the surface increases, it is possible to reduce the frictional resistance with the wall surface.
And if the force which the space maintenance member 15 bears larger than the force which the front-end edge of the side wall part 13 bears, even if the pasting force becomes strong, the friction between the suction cup 10 and the wall surface as a whole The resistance can be reduced, and the suction cup 10 can be moved smoothly along the wall surface.

  In addition, the ratio of the force which the space maintenance member 15 and the front-end edge of the side wall part 13 bear is not specifically limited, What is necessary is just to be able to move the suction cup 10 along a wall surface. However, the force borne by the side wall 13 must be at least greater than the force that can maintain the airtightness between the side wall 13 and the front end edge wall surface in a state where the suction cup 10 is moved along the wall surface. It is. And if the force which the front-end edge of the side wall part 13 bears becomes the minimum necessary to obtain the airtightness between the front-end edge of the side wall part 13 and the wall surface, the suction cup 10 is made the wall surface most smoothly. Can be moved along.

  As described above, the method of lowering the rigidity of the side wall portion 13 than the space maintaining member 15 and the substrate portion 12 is not limited to the method of changing the material of the space maintaining member 15 and the substrate portion 12 and the side wall portion 13. For example, the rigidity of the side wall portion 13 may be lowered by a method such as making the side wall portion 13 into a bellows shape. In this case, since the substrate part 12 and the side wall part 13 can be integrally molded, an advantage that the manufacturing of the main body part 11 becomes easy is obtained. In addition, when the board | substrate part 12 and the side wall part 13 are shape | molded integrally, it is more preferable to install the member with high bending rigidity which supports the board | substrate part 12, as described in the paragraph 0020.

(Lip part 20)
Further, when the suction cup 10 is moved along the wall surface, the tip edge of the side wall portion 13 of the main body 11 is caught by the unevenness of the wall surface and the tip edge is prevented from being caught in the recess 11h. It is preferable to provide a lip portion 20 extending from the leading edge of the side wall portion 13.
For example, as shown in FIG. 2, the angle formed with the side wall portion 13 from the front end edge to the outside along the front end edge (that is, the opening of the recess 11h) of the side wall portion 13 of the main body portion 11 is an acute angle. The inclined wall can be extended so as to be the lip portion 20. If the lip portion 20 has such a shape, the lower surface of the lip portion 20 can be formed as an inclined surface that extends from the outside toward the tip edge of the side wall portion 13. Then, even if the wall surface located in the moving direction of the suction cup 10 has irregularities, the lower surface of the lip portion 20 first comes into contact with the irregularities, and the lower surface of the lip portion 20 slides on the irregular surface as the suction cup 10 moves. Move like so. Then, even if the unevenness reaches the position of the leading edge of the side wall part 13, the leading edge of the side wall part 13 does not get caught by the unevenness, so that the leading edge of the side wall part 13 moves smoothly even if there is unevenness. Can be made. Therefore, if the lip portion 20 is provided, it is possible to prevent the front end edge of the side wall portion 13 from being caught in the recess 11h even if the wall surface is uneven.

In order to smoothly move the lip portion 20 along the uneven surface of the wall surface, it is preferable that the lip portion 20 has a certain degree of rigidity and is formed of a material having rigidity higher than at least the side wall portion 13. It is preferable.
Further, if the lower surface of the lip portion 20 is coated with PTFE (polytetrafluoroethylene), DLC (diamond-like carbon) or molybdenum disulfide, the frictional resistance with the unevenness can be reduced. The increase in movement resistance due to the provision of 20 can be prevented.
Furthermore, a high-rigidity ring 21 made of metal or the like may be provided at the upper end portion of the lip portion 20. In this case, when the lip portion 20 comes into contact with unevenness or the like, even if the unevenness is large, the lip portion 20 can be surely prevented from being deformed, and the occurrence of entrainment is more likely. It can be surely prevented.

(Wall moving machine)
Next, a wall surface moving machine that includes the suction cup 10 as described above and moves the wall surface while sticking to the wall surface by the suction cup 10 will be described.

  In FIG. 3, the code | symbol 2 has shown the base part used as the flame | frame in which each apparatus of the wall surface moving machine 1 is attached to the wall surface moving machine 1 of this embodiment.

A moving means 5 is attached to the base portion 2.
The moving means 5 includes a wheel 6 and a driving unit 7 that supplies a driving force to the wheel 6. The wheels 6 are attached to the base member 2 via axles, and the axles are disposed so as to be substantially parallel to the wall surface when the wall surface moving machine 1 is attached to the wall surface. The drive unit 7 includes, for example, an electric motor and a speed reducer that decelerates the driving force of the electric motor and supplies it to the axle, that is, the wheel 6, as long as the driving force can be supplied to the wheel 6. There is no particular limitation.

  Further, the base portion 2 is provided with a plurality of the suction cups 10 described above on one surface thereof. The suction cup 10 is formed with a suction passage 10h that communicates between the recess 11h and the outside (see FIG. 2). The suction passage 10h is in communication with suction means 3 (not shown) that sucks air in the recess 11h of the main body 11 of the suction cup 10. The suction means 3 is not particularly limited, and examples thereof include a vacuum pump and a vacuum ejector.

The plurality of suction cups 10 are all formed such that the distance from the inner bottom surface 11s of the recess 11h to the roller 16 of the space maintaining member 15 of each suction cup 10 is the same distance. In other words, the inner bottom surfaces 11s of the recesses 11h of all the suction cups 10 are disposed so as to be substantially on the same surface. Moreover, the plurality of suction cups 10 are all arranged so that the distance from one surface of the base portion 2 to the inner bottom surface 11s of the recess 11h is the same.
When all the suction cups 10 are attached to the wall surface, the distance from the surface where the wheel 6 contacts the wall surface to the inner bottom surface 11s of the recess 11h is different from the inner bottom surface 11s of the recess 11h. The space maintaining member 15 is formed to have the same length as the distance to the roller 16 (see FIG. 4B).

With the above configuration, if the air in the concave portion 11h of the main body portion 11 of the suction cup 10 is sucked by the suction means 3 with the base portion 2 disposed so that the suction cup 10 contacts the wall surface, the inside of the concave portion 11h is formed. Since the negative pressure is applied, the base 2, that is, the wall surface moving machine 1 can be attached to the wall surface by the force of the suction cup 10 sticking to the wall surface and the suction cup 10 sticking to the wall surface.
In this state, both the roller 16 of the space maintaining member 15 of the suction cup 10 and the wheel 6 of the moving means 5 are in contact with the wall surface (see FIG. 4B), and the force pressing the wheel 6 against the wall surface is excessive. Don't be. Then, if the drive part 7 of the moving means 5 is operated, appropriate friction can be generated between the wheel 6 and the wall surface, so that the wall surface moving machine 1 is moved along the wall surface by the rotation of the wheel 6. be able to. That is, the wall surface moving machine 1 can be smoothly moved along the wall surface by the wheel 6 while the wall surface moving machine 1 is attached to the wall surface by the suction cup 10.
Then, if the wall surface moving machine 1 includes a brush or the like for cleaning the wall surface or the window glass, the wall surface moving machine 1 can automatically clean the wall surface, the window glass, or the like by self-running.

  In addition, in the said example, although the wheel 6 of the moving means 5 is equivalent to the traveling part said to a claim, a traveling part is not restricted to a wheel, For example, a crawler etc. may be used and it does not specifically limit.

  The number of the suction cups 10 provided in the wall surface moving machine 1 is not particularly limited, and may be one or two or more. However, when the number of the suction cups 10 is one, when the sticking force is lost due to damage of the suction cups 10 or the like, there is a possibility that the mobile machine 1 may fall. Therefore, in order to operate the wall surface moving machine 1 safely, it is preferable to include a plurality of suction cups 10.

  The suction cup of the present invention is suitable as a suction cup for a moving machine that moves along the wall surface while sticking to the wall surface.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Wall surface moving machine 2 Base part 3 Suction means 5 Moving means 6 Wheel 7 Drive part 10 Suction cup 11 Main body part 11r Suction passage 11h Recess 11s Inner bottom face 12 Substrate part 13 Side wall part 15 Space maintenance member 16 Roller 20 Lip part

Claims (8)

A main body having a recess recessed from one surface;
A space maintaining member that regulates the one surface and the inner bottom surface of the recess so as not to approach closer than a predetermined distance, and
The contact surface located on the one surface side of the space maintaining member is provided with a friction reducing portion that reduces frictional resistance,
The space maintaining member is
A suction cup, characterized in that a distance from the contact surface to the inner bottom surface of the recess is shorter than a distance from one surface of the main body portion to the inner bottom surface of the recess. The suction cup according to claim 1, wherein the space maintaining member is provided in the recess. The friction reducing part is
The suction cup according to claim 1, wherein the suction cup is a roller attached to the contact surface in a rollable manner. Comprising three rollers,
The three rollers
The suction cup according to claim 3, wherein each roller is disposed so as to be positioned at a vertex of a triangle. The main body is
A lip portion having a base end attached to the opening of the recess,
The lip part is
5. The suction cup according to claim 1, wherein the suction cup extends outward from the opening of the recess so that an angle formed with the wall surface of the recess becomes an acute angle. The main body is
A substrate portion forming an inner bottom surface of the recess,
A side wall part that forms a side wall of the recess, the base end of which is connected to the outer peripheral edge of the substrate part, and
The substrate portion is
The suction cup according to claim 1, wherein the suction cup is formed to have higher rigidity than the side wall portion. The suction cup according to claim 1, further comprising a suction passage communicating with the inside of the recess. A machine that moves on the wall,
A base part;
The suction cup according to claim 7, provided on the base portion,
A suction means for sucking air in the recess of the main body of the suction cup through a suction passage provided in the suction cup;
Moving means provided in the base part,
The moving means is
A wall surface moving machine comprising: a driving unit that generates a driving force; and a traveling unit that travels on the wall surface to which the driving force of the driving unit is transmitted.

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