JPH0329553B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION (A) Field of Industrial Application The present invention relates to a floor-travelling robot whose manipulation section is separated from the truck section and can move up and down and swing.

(b) Prior art In recent years, various robots have come to be used for maintenance and inspection work of equipment in plants with complex equipment and working conditions in adverse environments, such as nuclear plants and chemical plants. . but,
Many of these facilities are designed and constructed to make it easier for humans to work with them. On the other hand, although attempts have been made to design robots to mimic human movements as much as possible, they are subject to certain limitations due to the inherent characteristics of the machines. In particular, for floor-traveling robots, there are obstacles and difficult spots throughout the facility.

For example, in a nuclear power plant, there are difficult places to navigate such as stairs, vertical walls, inverted landings, narrow passages, and obstacles such as ditches and pipes all over the place. In particular, as shown in FIG.
If there is a problem, a human can easily pass through it, but the floor-moving robot 10 cannot pass through it.

Furthermore, since instruments, operating handles, etc. attached to various equipment within a plant are generally installed at a height that is convenient for humans to work with, it is not possible to reduce the height of a floor-moving robot to an extremely low level. In other cases, it may be necessary to work at a higher location than usual.

Conventional floor-traveling robots have not been able to fully meet the demands of navigating through obstacles and adapting the height of the working position, and robots are unable to fully demonstrate their original superior functions such as disassembly. This is hindering the mechanization and automation of safe plant operations.

(c) Problems to be solved by the present invention The problems to be solved by the present invention are as follows:
The object is to enable the vehicle to pass through obstacles while freely adapting to the height of the working position.

(d) Means for Solving the Problems The floor traveling robot of the present invention includes a truck part, a manipulation part, and an artificial brain part, and the robot part and the manipulation part are separated. The above problem is solved by a configuration in which both parts are connected by an elevating and swinging unit and a caster is attached to the bottom of the manipulation part.

(E) Embodiment FIG. 3 shows an example of a general floor-running robot to which the present invention is applied. The floor-moving robot 10 includes a pan head 11, a manipulation section 12, and a cart section 13.
(It usually houses the artificial brain part, battery, etc.). The robot 10 has a truck part 1
Based on the three different drive mechanisms, they are broadly divided into wheel type A, crawler type B, and multi-leg type C.

The wheeled robot 10A is suitable for running on a flat floor, but it becomes difficult to run on a floor with steps. Although the crawler robot 10B can climb over some level differences, it cannot go up and down steep stairs. The multi-legged robot 10C can go up and down stairs with a gentle slope and step over low obstacles on the floor, but cannot go up and down stairs with a steep slope.

The floor-moving robot of the present invention utilizes an artificial brain that has the robot's inherent memory, judgment, and instruction functions.

Although the following explanation will be given by taking a wheeled floor-travelling robot as an example, the present invention can also be applied to crawler-type or multi-legged robots. Floor traveling robot 10 of the present invention
As shown in FIG. 4, the truck section 13 and the manipulation section 12 are separated and the two sections are connected by an elevating and swinging unit 14. A caster 15 is attached to the bottom of the manipulation section 12.

The electric wires of the electric system connecting the two parts are concentrated in one place and housed inside or outside the unit 14.

The lifting/lowering swing unit 14 lifts/lowers the manipulation section 12 with respect to the trolley section 13 (the fourth
(Fig. 5). When the manipulation section 12 is swung and lowered onto the floor, the casters 15 support the manipulation section 12.

In addition to the hydraulic cylinder shown in FIG. 4, the lifting and swinging unit 14 includes a rack-pinion mechanism A, a screw shaft-nut mechanism B, a link-hydraulic cylinder mechanism C, and a hoisting mechanism D as shown in FIG. can be used.

When swinging the manipulation section 12, in order to always maintain the manipulation section 12 in a horizontal position, the unit 14 and the manipulation section 12 are connected to each other as shown in FIG. is rotatably supported.

FIG. 8 shows the vertical swing unit 14 shown in FIG.
An example of a change is shown below. This modification strengthens and makes the unit 14 safer and allows the manipulation section 12 to move in parallel.

FIG. 9 shows an elevating and swinging unit 14 equipped with a mechanism as shown in FIG. 6C or D.

Figures 10 and 11 are unit 1 of Figure 9.
12 shows the rising and falling states of the unit 14, and FIG. 12 shows the swinging state of the unit 14.

In order to prevent the robot 10 from losing its balance and falling when the manipulation section 12 moves up and down or swings, it is preferable to attach a suitable counterweight (not shown) to the carriage section 13.

(F) Function The function of the floor traveling robot 10 of the present invention will be explained. When the robot 10 performs normal maintenance and inspection work, it is in the solid line position in FIG. 4 or in a normal posture as shown in FIG. 9, and the lifting and swinging unit 14 is not operated.

When work at relatively high places is required, the robot 10 sends an instruction from the artificial brain to the unit 14 to move to the position shown by the two-dot chain line in FIGS. 4 and 8 or the position shown in FIG. 10 or 11. Raise the manipulation section 12 until the

While the robot 10 is moving, the traveling obstacle 1 (second
When it is necessary to pass through the
The manipulation section 12 is lowered onto the floor as shown in the two-dot chain line in FIGS. 8 and 8 or as shown in FIG. Next, the truck section 13 pulls the manipulation section 12 to pass through the traveling obstacle 1, as shown in FIG. Thereafter, the unit 14 returns the manipulation section 12 to its original position.

(G) Effects According to the present invention, the posture of the robot can be freely changed by only slightly improving the existing robot, and the workability and running range of the robot can be expanded.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram showing the movement of the floor-moving robot according to the present invention to pass through obstacles. FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing the running operation of a conventional floor running type robot. FIG. 3 shows an example of a floor-moving robot to which the present invention is directed. FIG. 4 is a side view of an embodiment of the floor traveling robot of the present invention. FIG. 5 is a drawing similar to FIG. 4 and shows another operation. FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram showing various mechanisms of the elevating and oscillating unit. FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing a connection structure between a manipulation section and an elevating and swinging unit, and FIG. 8 is a side view showing a modification of the robot shown in FIG. 4. Figure 9 is a side view of another robot. 10 to 12 are side views showing various operating states of the robot shown in FIG. 9. 10: Floor traveling robot, 11: Pan head, 12:
Manipulation part, 13: Carriage part, 14: Lifting and swinging unit, 15: Caster.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. In a floor traveling robot consisting of a bogie section, a manipulation section, and an artificial brain section, the bogie section and the manipulation section are separated and the two parts are connected by an elevating and swinging unit. , a caster is attached to the bottom of the manipulation section, and when the vehicle passes through an obstacle, the manipulation section is lowered to the floor by the lifting and swinging unit, and the cart section is lowered to the floor surface. A floor-running robot characterized by towing the manipulation section.