JPH09240521A - Disaster relief robot - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To eliminate ant obstacles traveling ion a cave-in and steps by setting the pivot to pivot distance of front and rear ceawlers as that maximum tuning circle loci do not interfere with each other and having a maximum extension state in which turning points of the front and rear crawles are outside a robot body and a minimum state in which the respective points are approximate to each other. SOLUTION: A front ceawler 12F and a rear crawler 12R of a robot body 10 are mounted in the robot body 10 with their pivots 14 apart such that their max. turning coracle loci C are nor overlapped to each other and set such that the loci are not interfered to each other while truing. Center of gravity G or the robot 10 is set to pass through center of turning loci C of the ceawlers 12F and 12R and position of the crawler 12F is set to be normally outside the center of gravity G. Thereby, the ceawlers 12F and 12R are positioned to front and rear end of the robot body 10 and their turning point shave max. extension state extending toward front and rear of the robot body 10 and a min. Vehicle body length in which the revolving points are toward the center of gravity side of the body.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a disaster relief robot, and in particular, it is driven by remote control, and is used to transport rescue equipment, medical supplies, foods, etc., outdoors during relief of a wide area disaster such as an earthquake, heavy rain, or landslide. The present invention relates to a disaster relief robot having a structure suitable for use in.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, there is a remote-controlled traveling robot, which has four crawlers for traveling and is used for treating hazardous materials on nuclear facilities and flat lands. This is, for example, as shown in FIG. 9, in which independent crawlers 2 are provided at four corners of the robot main body 1. Each crawler 2 is attached to the main body 1 via a swivel shaft and independently of each other. You can turn. For this reason,
Each crawler 2 can be placed in a horizontal position for normal running, and in a state where the crawler 2 is erected, it can be turned in a narrow space, or the crawler 2 can be tilted to run on stairs or over a step. It is like this.

[0003]

However, the above-described conventional traveling robot has the following problems when it is operated outdoors on an uneven terrain, especially around a disaster-stricken area of a wide-area disaster. That is, as shown in FIG. 10, in the depressed area, the stereo camera 3 mounted on the main body 1 is used, and the rear crawler 2B is tilted, and the camera 3 is directed to the lower front and remote-controlled in a caution posture. To drive the vehicle (a in the figure). There is nothing that blocks the field of view of the camera 3 indoors, so there is no problem if you drive carefully, but in a natural environment such as the area outside the disaster area, weeds often block the field of view, As a result, even if the front crawler 2A deviates, it may continue to move forward (b in the same figure). By continuing to move forward, the entire front crawler 2A deviates and the center of gravity tilts forward. Therefore, the driver who looks at the inclinometer mounted on the vehicle suddenly issues a command to retreat (Fig. C), but the center of gravity collapses. Since there is a shift to the side, there is a problem that it will fall as it is (d in the same figure). Alternatively, even when a warning system is taken as shown in FIG. 8E, it is found that the body leans forward due to the inclination of the main body 1, but it cannot be initially determined whether the road surface is uneven or a depression. Therefore, the robot moves forward while continuing to monitor, but outputs a backward command as the inclination increases (e in the figure), but the center of gravity of the robot that leans forward is moving to the front crawler 2A, and most of the vehicle body weight is lost. The front crawler 2A supported by the grip force slips and falls (f and d in the same figure). In particular, when the road surface is mud, sandy land, or grassland, a large grip force cannot be obtained, and there is a strong tendency to slip.

Further, FIG. 11 shows a traveling operation when climbing up a step. In this case, the front crawler 2A advances along the original posture of normal traveling and the front crawler 2A comes into contact with the step (a in the figure).
Immediately thereafter, the front crawler 2A is swung up and further advanced to hang the tip portion of the front crawler 2A on the top of the step (FIG. 8B). Then, the front and rear crawlers 2 are swung downward to lift the vehicle body (FIG. 7c), and the rear crawler 2B is moved forward so as to be as close as possible to the slope of the step (FIG. 3d). However, since the center of gravity of the main body 1 is not always stable on the steps, if the rear crawler 2B is forced to climb while the rear crawler 2B is in contact with the step slope, the rear center of the crawler 2B will rise to an unstable center of gravity. Tilts backward and the robot falls to the rear (f in the figure). As described above, the conventional traveling robot has a risk of falling at a depression or a step in a natural environment with a depression or a step, such as a wide-area disaster site, and therefore, there is a great limitation in practical activities. There was a shortcoming. In addition, if there is a fall, an excessive impact force is transmitted to the turning power system of the crawler 2, the drive unit is damaged, and the inclination of the crawler 2 cannot be determined after that, and the crawler 2 becomes unusable immediately. there were. The present invention focuses on the above-mentioned conventional problems and has a structure in which there is no hindrance to traveling in a depression or traveling in a stepped portion, and at the same time, there is no problem of power damage due to impact such as dropping. The purpose is to provide.

[0005]

In order to achieve the above object, a first invention of a disaster relief robot according to the present invention is provided in a robot body and in the vicinity of four corners of the robot body in the front, rear, left and right, respectively. Has a sprocket provided on a track frame and a track that is rotatable around an idler, and has a predetermined length in the front-rear direction, and a crawler of a crawler provided on a robot main body via a traveling rotary shaft. Disasters involving traveling on the ground with a crawler including a traveling motor that drives a sprocket and a crawler motor that is provided in the robot body and that rotates the crawler with respect to the robot body about the sprocket side via a pivot shaft. In the rescue robot, the distance between the front turning axis and the rear turning axis is the maximum turning circle about the turning axis and the length of the front crawler. The distance between the trailing and trailing crawlers is set to a distance that does not interfere with the maximum turning circle trajectory, and at least the front and rear crawlers are placed close to each other inside the leading and trailing turning axes and between the turning axes. It has a state in which it runs parallel to the maximum outside in a straight line, and when one of the crawlers comes off the ground during running and the robot body lands on the ground and becomes unable to run, it leaves the ground. It is characterized by rotating the crawler and touching the ground to return to the running state.

A second aspect of the present invention, which is mainly based on the first aspect, comprises a frame which is rotatably supported by the robot body and constitutes a crawler, a rotating shaft which rotates the frame with respect to the robot body, and a robot. From the angle sensor that detects the turning angle of the turning axis with respect to the main body, the torque limiter that is inserted between the turning axis and the turning motor and that shuts off the torque when the reaction force from the frame is greater than or equal to a predetermined value. When the torque limiter is actuated by the signal and the turning angle of the turning axis deviates from the set value, the control device outputs a command to the turning motor to return the signal to the set value of the turning angle before the operation. .

[0007]

According to the above construction, the turning axes of the front and rear crawlers are set at intervals such that both crawlers can independently rotate 360 degrees without interfering with each other. Therefore, it is possible to take a maximum extension state in which the turning front ends of the front and rear crawlers are outside the robot body and a minimum state in which the front ends are brought close to each other. Therefore, when traveling on a depression or a step, only the front crawler is extended forward, and when the front crawler falls off the inclined surface of the depression, it can be reversed by moving it backward to prevent the fall. . Similarly, when climbing a step, the front crawler moves to the top of the step and then the rear crawler is tilted downward and the main body is lifted to move forward. The crawler can be further swung to return to the original position and climb uphill. In this way, since the body length of the main body is increased, the front and rear crawlers can be independently swiveled, and therefore, in a depression or a step. The center of gravity can be smoothly moved to prevent falling.

Further, according to the present invention, by providing the torque limiter in the transmission system of the turning power, even if an impact force is applied to the swiveled crawler, it can be prevented from directly acting on the power unit, and the impact force at the time of falling Thus, even if the external force in the turning direction is forcibly received, the motor and the power transmission system with a high gear ratio can be protected. Also, by disposing the angle sensor of the track frame separately from the transmission system between the load side of the torque limiter and the track frame swing axis, the correspondence between the swing angle on the swing drive side and the swing angle on the track frame side becomes incorrect. However, the actual turning angle can be measured and the operation control can be immediately continued even if an unexpected angle change occurs due to the truck frame falling or the like.

[0009]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Specific embodiments of a disaster rescue robot according to the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a skeleton of a drive mechanism for a crawler of a disaster relief robot according to an embodiment, and FIGS. 2 to 4 are external views of the robot. This robot is equipped with crawlers 12 that are rotatably driven by independent drive sources at the four corners of the robot body 10. Each crawler 12 is provided with a turning shaft 14 and is attached to the robot body 10 so that it can rotate 360 degrees about the turning shaft 14. In this case, the crawler 1 before being located on one side of the robot body 10
The second crawler 12R and the rear crawler 12R are attached to the robot main body 10 with a space between the swivel shafts 14 so that the maximum swirl loci C thereof do not overlap with each other, and are set so as not to interfere with each other when swiveling. That is, the front crawler 12F
The distance L between the turning axes of the rear crawler 12R and the rear crawler 12R is set to be larger than the sum of the radii of the maximum turning locus C of the front crawler 12F and the rear crawler 12R. The center of gravity G of the robot body 10 is the crawlers 12F, 12
Set so that it passes through the middle of the turning trajectory C of R, and crawler 1
The installation position of 2F is always set outside the center of gravity G. Therefore, both crawlers 12F and 12R are arranged at positions closer to the front and rear ends of the robot body 10, and the turning movements of the crawlers 12F and 12R extend the leading ends of the crawlers 12F and 12R to the front and rear of the robot body 10 in a maximum extension state. With this, it is possible to adopt the minimum vehicle body length with the turning tip facing toward the center of body weight.

A drive mechanism of the crawler 12 attached to the robot body 10 will be described with reference to FIG.
The crawler 12 is composed of a track frame 16 and a rubber track 18 wound around a rotary shaft mounted around the track frame 16.
The rotating shaft around which the track 18 is wound is a sprocket 20 for driving which is arranged on one end side of the track frame 16.
And other idlers 22. The sprocket 20 has a rotary shaft 24 penetrating the robot main body 10, and rotation is transmitted by a chain 30 or the like via a traveling motor 26 and a speed reducer 28 in the main body, so that the rubber track 1
8 drives around the outer periphery of the track frame 16 to obtain a running force.

The rotary shaft 14 is a rotary shaft 24 for traveling.
Is a cylindrical shaft that encloses the inside of the robot body 10. The cylindrical shaft is penetrated from the side end portion of the robot body 10 through a bearing. A gear 32 is rotatably mounted on the outer peripheral surface of the turning shaft 14 penetrating into the robot body 10. The gear 32 is integrated with the turning shaft 14 via a torque limiter 34. On the other hand, a turning motor 36 and a speed reducer 38 for applying a rotational driving force to the gear 32 are installed in the robot body 10, and a drive gear 40 attached to the output shaft of the gear and the gear 32 are connected via an intermediate gear 42. It is connected. Therefore, the rotational power of the turning motor 36 is reduced by the speed reducer 38,
It is transmitted to the swivel shaft 14 via the drive gear 40, the intermediate gear 42, the gear 32, and the torque limiter 34, and swivels the crawler 12. The torque limiter 34
Is for shutting off the power transmission path when the crawler 12 is forcibly turned from the outside due to a fall or the like, and when the excessive torque due to the turning impact force is generated, the turning shaft 14 is rotated. The connection with the mounted gear 32 is released. A rotary encoder 44 is attached to the swivel shaft 14 to detect the rotational position of the swivel shaft 14 and thus the swivel angle of the track frame 16. This is especially provided in the turning transmission path from the torque limiter 34 to the track frame 16. The drive mechanism of such a crawler 12 has four
It is provided independently for each crawler 12 at a certain location, and is configured to independently perform traveling drive and turning operation.

Next, FIG. 5 shows a control block diagram for the above driving. This disaster relief robot is remotely controlled by a remote control transmitter 46,
Therefore, the robot main body 10 has a remote control receiver 48,
A controller 50 for inputting remote control signals is mounted. The controller 50 receives the drive signal and outputs a fuel control signal to the engine control device 52 to control the engine 54, and the engine 54 controls a generator 56A which is a power source of the traveling motor 26 and the turning motor 36. I'm trying to drive. In addition, the controller 50
A control signal is output to each of a traveling motor drive power supply device 56 for adjusting the rotational power of the traveling motor 26 and a swing motor drive power supply device 58 for adjusting the rotational power of the turning motor 36, and is attached to the traveling motor 26. The measurement signals of the running speed control encoder 60 and the turning speed control encoder 62 attached to the turning motor 36 are input to perform feedback control, and the running speed and the rotation angle are set based on the steering signal. . Further, the controller 50 directly takes in the output signal of the encoder 44 which detects the rotation angle of the turning shaft 14, and inputs the measurement signal of the inclinometer 64 which detects the inclination of the robot body 10.

The operation of the disaster relief robot configured as described above is as follows. When a fall accident due to a cliff or a depression is expected in the mountain area, this disaster rescue robot uses the output signal of the inclinometer 64 mounted on the vehicle to move forward in order to prevent the fall accident without visual inspection. The abnormal inclination of the robot main body 10 in the inside is detected, and an abnormal alarm is issued to the driver so as to call attention to the front crawler 12F.
Even if it falls into the depression, the posture can be rebuilt and the entire fall accident can be prevented. That is, FIG.
As shown in Fig. 6, in a region where a fall accident is expected, the front crawler 12F is turned and the tip of the lever is moved to the robot body 10
And the rear crawler 12R is run in a vigorous posture such that the tip of the rear crawler 12R is located on the side of the center of gravity of the robot body 10 (a in the figure). When the front crawler 12F deviates to the depressed portion during traveling, the robot main body 10 leans forward (b in the figure). It is not clear at this point that the cause of the inclination is deviation from the depression or unevenness of the road surface. Therefore, if the forward movement is continued, the front crawler 12F will completely fall to the depression, and the front part of the robot body 10 will land on the ground before the depression (c in the same figure). In this state, since the front crawler 12F is idling or has an abnormally light load, and the output of the inclinometer also indicates an abnormal inclination state, automatic determination can be performed. At this point, an abnormal alarm is issued to alert the driver. The driver is the traveling motor 2
6 is reversed and sudden braking is applied to stop the robot body 10.

Then, the front crawler 12F is turned upward to return to the basic posture in which the front ends of the front crawler 12F and the rear crawler 12R are close to each other (FIG. 3D). Since the turning trajectories of the front and rear crawlers 12F and 12R do not overlap each other, this turning operation can be easily performed. In this case, if the front side of the collapse point is inclined forward, most of the weight of the main body is added to the front crawler 12F, and the front crawler 1
If the front half of 2F projects into the recess, the grip force to support the main body load cannot be exerted. Therefore, the front crawler 12F is further swung to lift the front part of the robot body 10 and move to the rear of the center of gravity to put a load on the rear crawler 12R so that a stable grip force can be obtained (see the same figure). e). Then, after moving backward in the same posture, after returning to the warning posture again (f in the same figure), another course may be taken.

Next, the operation of the superbank running on the stepped portion by the disaster relief robot according to the embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. First, when a person is moving forward in the fall warning posture and berths on a step (a in the same figure). The front crawler 12F is swung upward and the tip is hooked on the top of the step (b in the figure). Next, the front and rear crawlers 12F and 12R are turned downward to lift the robot main body 10 (FIG. 11C), and the robot main body 1
When the bottom of 0 rises to the top of the step, the turning is stopped and the vehicle moves forward (d in the figure). And rear crawler 1
When the 2R reaches the step-inclined slope (e in the figure), the rear end of the rear crawler 12R is turned upward, and the forward end is driven while the front end side is installed. (Figure f). At this stage, the center of gravity of the robot body 10 has sufficiently entered the step and is stable, so even if the rear crawler 12R is turned further upward, the body weight of the robot body 10 in the state where the rear part of the body of the robot body 10 is in contact with the ground is reduced. Since it supports, the robot body 10 is prevented from sliding backward. Therefore, it is sufficient to continue the ascending turn, return to the fall caution posture (g in the figure), and move forward again (h in the figure). As described above, the disaster relief robot according to the present embodiment does not have a risk of a fall accident at the depressed portion and does not slide down when the superbank is moved, so that the structure has extremely high safety and excellent workability. can do.

Further, when a fall accident occurs in the borrowing, a large impact force is applied to the crawler 12, and the crawler 12 is given a large impact force to forcibly turn. This turning external force produces an excessive torque in order to forcibly rotate the rotary shaft 14, but since the torque limiter 34 is interposed in the middle of the power transmission system, the impact force is not transmitted to the power source side. Therefore, it is possible to reliably prevent the turning motor 36 and the transmission mechanism having a high gear ratio from being damaged. Furthermore,
Since the turning angle detecting encoder 44 is attached to the rotating shaft 14, the turning angle can be detected even if the transmission system between the crawler 12 and the drive source is cut off. Therefore, even if the correspondence between the rotation angle of the turning motor 36 and the track frame 16 is incorrect, the robot control system can measure the latest turning angle of the track frame 16 as it is. There is. Therefore, in the event of an unexpected fall accident, truck frame 1
Even if 6 is forcedly turned to an unexpected angle, the operation control can be continued immediately after that.

The disaster-relief robot having the above-described structure can perform a fall-prevention operation and a banking operation in the above-mentioned depressed area. In particular, the turning shaft 1 of the front and rear crawlers 12 can be used.
As shown in FIG. 8, since the interval of 4 is large, the storage posture (the same figure a), the reference posture (the same figure b), the walking posture (the same figure c) with the minimum vehicle length and vehicle height, Steep climbing posture (Fig. D)
It is possible to take various postures such as. A winding winch is provided at the front or rear of the vehicle body 10. One end of the wire rope is wound around a tree or a rock and the other end is wound by a winding winch in order to climb or descend a steep slope more safely. It goes without saying that climbing) or rewinding (descent) can be used to assist the climbing force and prevent falling.

[0018]

As described above, in the disaster rescue robot according to the present invention, the track frame of the crawler is attached to the robot body so as to be rotatable, and the maximum swing circle locus interferes with the distance between the swing axes of the front and rear crawlers. Because the robot body's center of gravity is set at a distance that is not set, and the center of gravity of the robot is set at an intermediate position, the ability to climb over a step is significantly improved, and several times the ability improvement can be obtained compared to the conventional one, as well as in the depression terrain. It has the excellent effect of avoiding a fall accident even if an encounter occurs, and it has become possible to safely transport relief supplies outdoors at disaster sites. In addition, a torque limiter is placed in the middle of the turning power transmission system of the track frame, and the torque transmission can be interrupted when the turning reaction force from the track frame side is greater than the set value. Even if there is, there is an advantage that the drive mechanism can be prevented from being damaged and can be restored by a simple repair.
Furthermore, by installing a sensor that detects a turning angle in the turning transmission system from the torque limiter to the track frame, readjustment work of the automatic control device becomes unnecessary after the operation of the torque limiter, improving work efficiency, and more The effect of being able to safely and reliably transport the rescue materials of was obtained in a short time.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram showing a drive mechanism of a disaster relief robot according to an embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a side view showing a drive mechanism of the disaster relief robot according to the embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a plan view showing a drive mechanism of the disaster rescue robot according to the embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a front view showing a drive mechanism of the disaster relief robot according to the embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a configuration diagram of a drive control device of the disaster relief robot.

FIG. 6 is a diagram for explaining the operation of the robot according to the embodiment at the sinking place.

FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram of a banking operation of the robot according to the embodiment.

FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram of possible postures of the robot according to the embodiment.

FIG. 9 is a perspective view of a conventional traveling robot.

FIG. 10 is a diagram for explaining the operation of a conventional robot in a depression.

FIG. 11 is an explanatory diagram of a banking operation by a conventional robot.

[Explanation of symbols]

10 ... Robot body, 12 ... Crawler, 14 ... Swivel axis,
16 ... Truck frame, 18 ... Truck, 20 ... Sprocket, 24 ... Traveling rotary shaft, 28 ... Reduction gear, 26 ...
Motor for traveling, 34 ... Torque limiter, 36 ... Motor for traveling, 44 ... Rotary encoder, 50 ... Controller, 56 ... Power supply device for traveling motor drive, 58 ... Power supply device for traveling motor drive, 60 ... Encoder for traveling speed control,
62 ... Encoder for turning speed control.

 ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of front page (72) Inventor Takuya Sakamoto 2597 Shinomiya, Hiratsuka-shi, Kanagawa Komatsu Ltd.

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A robot main body, and a sprocket provided on each of front, rear, left, and right four corners of the robot main body, each of which has a rotatable track wound around an idler, and the front-back direction. A crawler having a predetermined length, a traveling motor provided on the robot body for driving a crawler sprocket via a traveling rotation shaft, and a crawler centered on the sprocket side via a turning shaft provided on the robot body. In a disaster relief robot that travels on the ground with a crawler composed of a turning motor that turns with respect to the robot body, the distance between the front turning axis and the rear turning axis is about the turning axis. Set a distance that does not interfere with the maximum swirl circle trajectory of the crawler length and the maximum swirl circle trajectory of the subsequent crawler length, and at least Also, the front and rear crawlers have a minimum state in which they are close to each other on the inside between the front and rear turning axes and a state in which they run side by side in a straight line in the maximum state on the outside between the turning axes. When the crawler separates from the ground and the robot body lands on the ground and becomes unable to run, the crawler separated from the ground is rotated to contact the ground and return to the running state. 2. A frame which is rotatably supported by the robot body and constitutes a crawler, a turning axis which turns the frame with respect to the robot body, and an angle sensor which detects a turning angle of the turning axis with respect to the robot body. A torque limiter that is inserted between the swivel shaft and the swivel motor to shut off the torque when the reaction force from the frame exceeds a specified value, and the torque limiter is activated by a signal from the angle sensor to set the swivel angle of the swivel shaft. The disaster relief robot according to claim 1, further comprising a control device that outputs a command to the turning motor to return to a set value of the turning angle before the operation when the value deviates from the value.