JP2016097774A - Amphibian motor car - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an amphibian motor car capable of improving performance of getting over an obstacle, by restraining a car body from bending backward.SOLUTION: An amphibian motor car includes: a body 10 having a drive unit; a land travel device 20 that is rotatively driven by driving of the drive unit; and a water jet 11 that serves as a propulsion unit for generating a thrust by jetting a fluid downward in the rear of the car body 10 by driving of the drive unit. The thrust is also generated upward in a vertical direction to restrain the body from bending backward when getting over an obstacle. This enables an improvement in performance of getting over the obstacle.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

  The present invention relates to an amphibious vehicle. In particular, it has a propulsion device that propels the main body by thrust (propulsive force).

  An amphibious vehicle is a vehicle capable of running on water and running on land. When traveling on land, the vehicle is driven by driving an engine or the like and rotationally driving on-ground traveling means such as wheels and crawler belts. Further, when sailing on the sea, the engine is driven to drive a propulsion device such as a propeller and a water jet (see, for example, Patent Documents 1 and 2).

JP 2014-094657 A JP 2014-108689 A

  FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating a problem in a conventional amphibious vehicle. For example, even if there is an obstacle such as a rock at the water's edge, an amphibious vehicle may travel over the obstacle. At this time, depending on the height of the obstacle, when riding on the obstacle, the center of gravity of the amphibious vehicle may not be able to get over the obstacle, and the main body (vehicle body) may slide. If the body gets too big, you can't get over obstacles.

  SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to solve the above-described problems, and to realize an amphibious vehicle capable of suppressing the sliding of the vehicle body and improving the performance related to overcoming obstacles.

  In order to solve the above-described problems, an amphibious vehicle according to the present invention is a vehicle body having a driving device, a traveling device that is rotationally driven by driving of the driving device, and a fluid that ejects fluid downward downward by driving of the driving device. And a propulsion device that generates thrust.

  According to the amphibious vehicle according to the present invention, the propulsion device that generates the thrust to the vehicle body by ejecting the fluid is caused to eject the fluid downward and downward, so that the thrust is also generated upward in the vertical direction, It is possible to suppress the sliding of the main body when overcoming obstacles and to improve the performance related to overcoming obstacles.

It is a figure which shows the outline of a structure of the amphibious vehicle 100 which concerns on Embodiment 1 of this invention. It is a figure which shows schematic structure of the water jet 11 in the amphibious vehicle 100 which concerns on Embodiment 1 of this invention. It is a figure explaining the effect in the amphibious vehicle 100 which concerns on Embodiment 1 of this invention. It is a figure which shows schematic structure of the water jet 11 in the amphibious vehicle 100 which concerns on Embodiment 2 of this invention. It is a figure explaining the mode switching using the bucket 18 which concerns on Embodiment 2 of this invention. It is a figure for explanation concerning automatic control of the jet direction of water jet 11 concerning Embodiment 3 of the present invention. It is a figure explaining the subject in the conventional amphibious vehicle.

  Hereinafter, an amphibious vehicle according to an embodiment of the invention will be described with reference to the drawings. Here, in FIG. 1 and the following drawings, the same reference numerals denote the same or corresponding parts, and are common to the whole text of the embodiments described below. And the form of the component represented by the whole specification is an illustration to the last, Comprising: It does not limit to the form described in the specification. In particular, the combination of the components is not limited to the combination in each embodiment, and the components described in the other embodiments can be applied to another embodiment. In the drawings, the size relationship of each component may be different from the actual one.

Embodiment 1 FIG.
FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of an amphibious vehicle 100 according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention. An amphibious vehicle 100 in FIG. 1 includes a land traveling device (traveling device) 20 and a water jet 11 in a main body (vehicle body) 10. The land traveling device 20 rotates the sprocket 21 by a driving device (not shown) such as an engine, and rotationally drives the crawler belt 22 to travel on the ground (including the seabed) to perform land traveling, coastal traveling, and the like. Make it possible. Here, the crawler belt 22 is rotationally driven to perform land travel, but for example, the wheels may be rotationally driven to perform land travel. Further, the land traveling device 20 may be used not only for land traveling but also for surface traveling.

  A water jet 11 serving as a propulsion device is attached to the rear of the main body 10. When the amphibious vehicle 100 sails on the water, for example, in order to move the main body 10 forward, the sucked-in water is ejected (sent out) backward, and thrust (hereinafter referred to as thrust) is applied to the main body 10. In the first embodiment, for example, when the amphibious vehicle 100 is landed, the thrust for getting over an obstacle in the water (hereinafter referred to as thrust) is obtained. Basically, a water jet is used to travel on the water in a vehicle including an amphibious vehicle. Therefore, in order to increase the thrust in the horizontal direction, the water jet and the nozzle are installed in the horizontal direction (a direction parallel to the vehicle length direction of the main body 10) and are directed rearward in the horizontal direction (vehicle length direction). Spout water.

  Here, the water jet 11 is used not only for running on water but also for getting over obstacles. At this time, in the first embodiment, the water jet 11 has a jet direction in which water is jetted slightly downward (inclination direction) from the horizontal direction (backward) (the direction of thrust is, for example, the diagonally upward front direction). . By directing the jet direction slightly downward, a thrust is also generated in the vertical direction in addition to the thrust for moving the main body 10 forward in the horizontal direction. The upward thrust in the vertical direction at the rear of the main body 10 generates a moment in the opposite direction to the sliding direction due to overcoming obstacles at the front of the main body 10, thereby suppressing the sliding of the main body 10. And the obstacle is overcome by the horizontal thrust of the land traveling device 20 and the water jet 11 so that the center of gravity of the amphibious vehicle 100 exceeds the obstacle.

  FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of the water jet 11 in the amphibious vehicle 100 according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention. The duct 12 is a pipe serving as a flow path for water jetted from the nozzle 14 and communicates with the water intake 13 and the nozzle (jet nozzle) 14. The water intake 13 is an opening for taking in the water jet 11 on the bottom surface of the main body 10. The nozzle 14 ejects water. In order to increase thrust, the nozzle 14 is tapered.

  A drive shaft 15, a moving blade (impeller) 16, and a stationary blade 17 are installed in the duct 12. The rotating blade 16 rotates to form a flow of water from the intake port 13 to the nozzle 14. The stationary blade 17 rectifies water and sends it to the nozzle 14. The drive shaft 15 is connected to the engine, and a driving force is applied from the engine to rotate the moving blade 16.

  Here, FIG. 2 (a) shows the water jet 11 (an amphibious vehicle) in which the entire water jet 11 is installed so as to incline so that water is ejected downward (inclination direction) from the horizontal direction, and the jet direction is downward and downward. 100). Further, FIG. 2B realizes the water jet 11 (an amphibious vehicle 100) in which the nozzle 14 is tilted so that water is ejected downward (inclination direction) from the horizontal direction, and the jet direction is downward and downward. Is. Here, although illustrated separately from the drawings, both the water jet 11 and the nozzle 14 may be inclined.

  As described above, in the amphibious vehicle 100 according to the first embodiment, the water jet 11 is configured so that the jet flows from the water jet 11 in the depression direction (downward) rather than in the horizontal direction. A moment in the direction opposite to the sliding direction can be generated, and the sliding of the main body 10 can be suppressed.

  FIG. 3 is a diagram for explaining the effect of the amphibious vehicle 100 according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention. For example, it is assumed that the amphibious vehicle 100 having a length of 100 is equipped with a water jet 11 capable of generating a thrust of about 10% of the vehicle body weight. And we shall get over an obstacle at a depth of about 5.38. The height H of the water jet 11 (nozzle 14) from the bottom of the amphibious vehicle 100 is set to H = about 19.54 with respect to the length 100 due to restriction of priming water and the like. Further, the horizontal distance between the contact point between the amphibious vehicle 100 (land travel device 20) and the obstacle and the center of gravity is L1, the contact point between the amphibious vehicle 100 (land travel device 20) and the obstacle, and the buoyancy Q. Let L2 be the horizontal distance from the point of action. Here, about the dimension demonstrated based on FIG. 3, the value with respect to the length 100 of the amphibious vehicle 100 is shown. Further, it is assumed that the buoyancy is Q, the thrust is F, and the weight of the amphibious vehicle 100 is W.

  In order for the amphibious vehicle 100 to get over the obstacle, the moment M needs to satisfy the following equation (1).

  M = F · H + Q · L2−W · L1> 0 (1)

  Therefore, the thrust of F> (W * L1-Q * L2) / H is required. As shown in FIG. 3, when the vehicle gets over an obstacle at a water depth of about 5.38, when the obstacle is located at a position about 31 from the front end of the main body 10, the amphibious vehicle 100 has the largest inclination. In this case, if the jet direction by the water jet 11 is 10 ° downward (the depression angle 10 °), H = 31.66. For this reason, the thrust may be 19.54 / 31.66 = about 0.62 (62%).

  Further, even if the direction of the jet is directed 10 ° in the depression direction (downward) with respect to the horizontal direction, the thrust in the horizontal direction is cos 10 ° = 0.985. Therefore, it is only reduced by 1.5% and does not affect the original propulsion performance such as water navigation. Moreover, when the amphibious vehicle 100 tries to get over an underwater obstacle, the grip force of the land traveling device 20 with respect to the obstacle is often not sufficiently secured. Therefore, the water jet 11 may require a horizontal thrust to move forward. For this reason, it is necessary to avoid damaging the thrust in the horizontal direction as much as possible. Considering this, even if the direction of the jet of the water jet 11 is extremely downward, an effect related to overcoming an obstacle cannot be obtained, so the jet direction is preferably less than about 10 °.

  Therefore, the obstacle climbing performance can be greatly improved by slightly lowering the direction of the jet from the water jet 11 or the nozzle within a range not affecting the thrust in the horizontal direction. For this reason, for example, when trying to get over obstacles only with the thrust in the horizontal direction, the driving force (thrust) of the engine is required and the engine needs to be enlarged, but this is not necessary.

Embodiment 2. FIG.
FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of the water jet 11 in the amphibious vehicle 100 according to Embodiment 2 of the present invention. In FIG. 4, the same reference numerals as those in FIG. 2 perform the same operations as those described in the first embodiment. In FIG. 4, the bucket 18 changes the flow of water ejected from the nozzle 14.

  In the above-described embodiment, water is ejected by attaching at least one of the water jet 11 and the nozzle 14 so as to face the depression direction rather than the horizontal direction. The present invention is not limited to this. A bucket 18 is provided, and when thrust in the vertical direction is required, such as when overcoming an obstacle at the water's edge, the direction of the thrust is changed by the bucket 18 by changing the direction of the jet flow from the nozzle 14. May be.

  FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating mode switching using the bucket 18 according to Embodiment 2 of the present invention. For example, by controlling the angle of the bucket 18, the direction of the jet may be changed according to the mode. In the second embodiment, it is assumed that the mode can be switched to four modes of the normal traveling mode, the obstacle overcoming mode, the inclination decreasing mode, and the sway decreasing mode. The switching is performed by, for example, the mode switching unit 31 in the control device 30 that controls the travel, sailing, and the like of the amphibious vehicle 100. Here, although the control apparatus 30 which the amphibious vehicle 100 has the mode switching part 31 is provided, it does not specifically limit. For example, when the unmanned amphibious vehicle 100 is sailed using radio or the like, the control device outside the amphibious vehicle 100 may include the mode switching unit 31.

  Here, in the obstacle overpass mode, as described in the first embodiment, the direction of the jet is slightly inclined when overcoming the obstacle. Further, in the inclination reduction mode, the bucket 18 is controlled to an angle that increases the thrust in the vertically upward direction as compared with the obstacle overriding mode, so that the rear part of the amphibious vehicle 100 is pushed up to reduce the inclination. It is a mode to let you do.

  And about shaking reduction mode, when the amphibious vehicle 100 has the water jet 11 which becomes a pair in a vehicle width direction (left-right direction), for example, the direction of a jet is downward (vertical direction). In this mode, the water jets 11 are individually controlled to give a thrust force in the vertically upward direction, thereby reducing the vibration when the water jet 11 is stopped on the water.

  As described above, according to the amphibious vehicle 100 of the second embodiment, by providing the bucket 18 in the water jet 11, the jet direction from the nozzle 14 is set to the horizontal direction, and the angle of the bucket 18 is changed when necessary. The direction of the jet can be changed.

Embodiment 3 FIG.
FIG. 6 is a diagram for explaining automatic control of the jet direction of the water jet 11 according to Embodiment 3 of the present invention. In the second embodiment described above, the change of the jet direction using the bucket 18 has been described. However, the change of the jet direction may be automatically performed using data obtained from a sensor or the like.

  For example, with regard to overcoming obstacles, in FIG. 6, the navigation control device 40 is obtained from a satellite positioning system (GPS: Global Positioning System) 51, a terrain data storage device 52, a tide level data storage device 53, and an obstacle detection device 54. Based on the data, the jet direction of the water jet 11 is controlled. Here, the control device 30 having the mode switching unit 31 described in the second embodiment may have the function of the navigation control device 40.

  The satellite positioning system 51 receives a radio wave from a GPS satellite and measures the position (latitude, longitude) of the amphibious vehicle 100. The terrain data storage device 52 stores data related to the terrain of the place where the amphibious vehicle 100 travels (travels). The tide level data storage device 53 stores data related to tide filling as tide level data. The obstacle detection device 54 is a device such as an underwater camera or sonar, and is a device that detects the depth of an obstacle.

  As described above, according to the amphibious vehicle 100 of the third embodiment, the jet direction of the water jet 11 can be automatically controlled based on data obtained from a detection device, a positioning device, and the like.

Embodiment 4 FIG.
In the above-described first to third embodiments, the propulsion device is the water jet 11 that sends out water. However, the propulsion device may eject a fluid other than water.

10 Body (car body)
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 11 Water jet 12 Duct 13 Water intake 14 Nozzle 15 Drive shaft 16 Rotor blade 17 Stator blade 18 Bucket 20 Land traveling device 21 Sprocket 22 Crawler 30 Controller 31 Mode switching part 40 Navigation controller 51 Satellite positioning system 52 Terrain data storage device 53 Tide level data storage device 54 Obstacle detection device 100 Amphibious vehicle

Claims (6)

A vehicle body having a drive device;
A traveling device that is rotationally driven by driving the driving device;
An amphibious vehicle, comprising: a propulsion device that generates a thrust by ejecting fluid downward and rearward of the vehicle body by driving of the drive device.   The amphibious vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the propulsion device is a water jet that sends out water from a nozzle to generate thrust.   The amphibious vehicle according to claim 2, wherein the water jet sends out water with an opening portion of the nozzle directed downward toward the rear of the vehicle body.   4. The amphibious vehicle according to claim 2, wherein the water jet is tilted downward toward the rear of the vehicle body to send out water relative to the vehicle body. 5.   The amphibious vehicle according to any one of claims 2 to 4, wherein the water jet further includes a bucket that changes a direction of water fed from a nozzle by adjusting an angle.   A mode switching unit that switches between a normal traveling mode, an obstacle overcoming mode, an inclination reduction mode that adjusts the inclination of the vehicle body, and a vibration reduction mode that shakes the vehicle body, and based on the mode related to the switching by the mode switching unit, The amphibious vehicle according to claim 5, further comprising a control device that controls an angle of the bucket.

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