JPH0818247B2 - A device that can move along the surface of an object - Google Patents

Description

Description: TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to an apparatus capable of moving along an object surface.

<Prior Art> An apparatus capable of moving along the surface of an object and treating the surface is generally an apparatus body, a traveling means for moving the apparatus body, and a surface treatment means for treating the object surface. It is equipped with.

However, in the conventional device of this type, the traveling means having a traveling function and the surface treatment means having a treating function are constituted by dedicated and independent means. Therefore, the constitution is complicated and the whole device is large in size. However, there is a problem that the manufacturing cost becomes higher.

<Object of the Invention> The present invention has been made in view of the above facts, and an object thereof is to provide an excellent device that can move along an object surface with a relatively simple structure. .

<Summary of the Invention> In order to achieve the above object, according to the present invention, a device capable of moving along the surface of an object is provided. A rotating body rotatably mounted on the device body about a central axis, a drive source mounted on the device body and rotating the rotating body with respect to the device body, and a drive source mounted on the rotating body. An annular surface treatment means that is rotated by contact with the drive source in an inclined state with respect to the surface; and an auxiliary traveling means installed in the apparatus main body so as to contact the surface. When viewed from above the axis, it is located on a line passing through the vertical axis and extending in the direction in which the rotation center axis is inclined,
So that the tangential direction at the contact portion of the surface treatment means with the surface substantially coincides with the straight traveling direction of the auxiliary traveling means,
An apparatus is provided, wherein a positional relationship between the surface treatment means and the auxiliary traveling means is defined.

<Preferred Specific Examples of the Invention> Specific examples of an apparatus configured according to the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. 1 to 3.

Mainly referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, the apparatus of the specific example includes an apparatus main body 2 formed of, for example, a rigid frame. The illustrated apparatus main body 2 has a cylindrical portion 4, a mounting portion 6 and a connecting portion 8 connecting the both.

A rotating body 10 is rotatably mounted on the cylindrical portion 4 of the apparatus body 2. In a specific example, a drive source 12 such as an electric motor capable of rotating in the forward and reverse directions is mounted on the upper portion of the cylindrical portion 4, and an output shaft 12a of the drive source 12 penetrates the cylindrical portion 4 and projects downward to output the output shaft 12a. The rotating body 10 is attached to the protruding end portion where the rotation is applied. In this first example, the drive source 12
Is mounted on the cylindrical portion 4 such that the output shaft 12a extends at a slight angle to an axis 16 which is substantially perpendicular to the object surface 14 such as the floor, and thus, as shown in FIG. The body 10 is rotated about an axis of rotation 18 that is somewhat inclined with respect to an axis 16 that is substantially perpendicular to the object surface 14. The inclination angle α ₁ of the rotation axis 18 with respect to the axis 16 may be, for example, about 3 to 5 degrees.

For example, in the rotating body 10 that can be formed from a disc,
An annular surface treatment means, generally designated by the numeral 20, is provided. The illustrated surface treatment means 20 has a treatment means 22 mainly for treating the object surface 14 and a support means 24 mainly for supporting the apparatus main body 2. Processing means shown
22 is composed of a relatively flexible brush member 26 acting on the object surface 14, and is arranged at the peripheral edge of the rotating body 10. Further, the supporting means 24 shown in the figure is composed of an annular member 28 which can be formed of, for example, polyurethane rubber, and has a rotating body.
The brush member 26 of 10 is mounted on the inner side of the disposition site. The annular member 28 has a part thereof, that is, a portion located on the side where the rotation center axis 18 is inclined, because the rotating body 10 is rotated about the rotation axis 18 which is slightly inclined with respect to the axis 16 on the object surface. 14 is made to contact more strongly than other parts (the ground contact pressure of the contact part is increased more than that of other parts). This contact area is perpendicular to the vertical axis 16 when viewed from above the vertical axis 16.
It is located on a line that extends in the direction in which the rotation center axis 18 passes through.

On the other hand, the mounting portion 6 of the apparatus main body 2 is provided with auxiliary traveling means composed of wheels 30. A forward / reverse electric motor 32 constituting an auxiliary drive source is mounted on the lower surface of the mounting portion 6, and a wheel 30 is mounted on an output shaft 33a of a speed reduction means 33 drivingly connected to the output shaft of the electric motor 32. There is. still,
In order to increase the coefficient of friction between the wheel 30 and the object surface 14,
It is preferable that the high friction layer 34 is provided by coating the peripheral surface of the wheel 30 with a high friction material such as rubber.

As is apparent from FIGS. 1 to 3 and the following description, the tangential direction at the contact portion of the surface treatment means 20 with the object surface 14 and the straight traveling direction (arrow 40) of the auxiliary traveling means (wheel) 30 are substantially the same. The surface treatment means 20 and the auxiliary traveling means 30 so that they match each other.
The positional relationship with is defined.

In the apparatus of this specific example, the apparatus main body 2 is supported on the object surface 14 mainly through the annular member 28 mounted on the rotating body 10 and the wheels 34 mounted on the output shaft 33a of the speed reducing means 33. Then, when the rotating body 10 is rotated as required by the action of the driving source 12, the treatment of the object surface 14 is performed mainly by the action of the brush member 26, and the apparatus is operated mainly by the action of the annular member 28 and the auxiliary traveling means. Moved along the object surface 14. That is, the rotating body 10 is the arrow 36 or
When rotated in the direction indicated by 38, the free end of the brush member 26 mounted on the rotating body 10 is rotated integrally with the rotating body 10 while always contacting the object surface 14 (the brush member 26 is the object surface 14). Therefore, the cleaning of the object surface 14 is performed by the action (friction action) of the brush member 26.

As will be easily understood, as the processing means 20, for example, when cleaning the object surface 14, instead of the brush member 26, a member formed of a rubber material, a woven fabric or a non-woven fabric, or the like is used. And also for example the surface of an object
In the case of polishing or grinding 14, a member formed of a polishing cloth containing an abrasive can be used in place of the brush member 26, and when a polishing agent or the like is applied to the object surface, Instead of the brush member 26, it is possible to use a member formed of porous sponge rubber having an excellent liquid content.

Further, when the rotating body 10 is rotated, the annular member 28 moves the axis 16
Since it is rotated about the rotation axis 18 which is slightly inclined with respect to the rotation axis 18, a part of the annular member 28 (a part located at the left end in FIG. 2 and on a line extending in the inclination direction of the rotation axis 18) The site where it is located acts on the object surface 14 (the same rotational driving action as the wheels), which produces a tangential force that tends to move the device between the annular member 28 and the object surface 14. The force thus generated and the action of the wheels 30 which are rotationally driven by the electric motor 32 can move the device as desired.

This point will be further described with reference to FIGS. 3-A and 3-B. When the drive source 12 is rotated in the forward direction to rotate the rotating body 10, and thus the annular member 28 in the direction indicated by the arrow 36,
The device is oriented in the direction indicated by arrow 40, that is, the object surface 14 of the annular member 28.
In the tangential direction at the contact portion with, there is a tendency to move in the direction opposite to the rotation direction indicated by arrow 36. At this time,
The electric motor 32 is rotated in the forward direction to rotate the wheel 30 in the direction indicated by the arrow 42, and the peripheral speed of the contact portion of the annular member 28 with the object surface 14 and the peripheral speed of the contact portion of the wheel 30 with the object surface 14 are set. If they are made to be substantially the same, as will be easily understood,
The device goes straight in the direction indicated by arrow 40.

On the other hand, when the peripheral speed of the contact portion of the annular member 28 and the peripheral speed of the contact portion of the wheel 30 are made to differ in the normal rotation state of the drive source 12 and the electric motor 32, for example, the annular member 26 When the peripheral speed of the contact portion is higher than the peripheral speed of the contact portion of the wheel 30, the annular member 28 comes to advance in the direction shown by the arrow 40, and therefore the device moves while turning in the direction shown by the arrow 44, For example, when the peripheral speed of the contact portion of the annular member 26 is lower than the peripheral speed of the contact portion of the wheel 30, the wheel 30 comes to advance in the direction indicated by the arrow 40, and the device therefore turns in the direction indicated by the arrow 46. While moving.

On the other hand, when the electric motor 30 is in the normal rotation state, the drive source 12 is rotated in the reverse direction so that the rotating body 10, and thus the annular member 28 is indicated by an arrow.
When rotated in the direction indicated by 38, the device is pivoted about its center in the direction indicated by arrow 48. Even when the electric motor 32 is in the reverse rotation state, the electric motor 32 is allowed to travel in the same manner.

In a specific example, as shown in FIG. 2, in order to increase the contact area between the annular member 28 and the object surface 14, the annular member
It is preferable that the shape of the lower surface of 28 is substantially parallel to the object surface 14 at the contact portion with the object surface 14.

As described above, in the apparatus of the specific example, the rotating body 10 is rotated about the rotation axis 18 which is slightly inclined with respect to the axis 16, and therefore, the processing attached to the rotating body 10 is performed. The means 20 has a surface treatment function for acting on the object surface 14 to clean the surface (mainly the brush member 28 has this function), and a running function for moving the device with respect to the object surface 14 (mainly the annular member 28 has this function). Have a function). Therefore, a part of the traveling means for traveling the device can be shared by the processing means 20, and simplification and downsizing of the device can be achieved.

In this embodiment, the supporting means 24 such as the annular member 28 can be omitted if the processing means 22 such as the brush member 26 can sufficiently support the apparatus. At this time, the processing means 22 has both a surface treatment function and a traveling function. In this case, part of the processing means 22 (rotation axis 18
The ground contact pressure of the portion on the side of the inclination direction) increases compared to that of the other portions, and there is a tendency to move it in the tangential direction.

<Effects of the Invention> According to the present invention, an excellent device that can move along the surface of an object with a relatively simple structure can be obtained.

In this apparatus, the contact portion of the surface treatment means with the object surface, that is, the contact located on a line extending in the direction in which the central axis of rotation is inclined through the vertical axis as viewed from above the axis perpendicular to the surface. The positional relationship between the surface treatment means and the auxiliary traveling means is defined so that the tangential direction of the portion and the straight traveling direction of the auxiliary traveling means substantially coincide with each other, and the surface is treated by the action of the surface treatment means rotated by the drive source. In addition, the device is configured to be moved by the cooperation of the surface treatment means and the auxiliary traveling means. That is, the surface treatment means has a traveling function of moving the device relative to the object surface, in addition to the original surface treatment function of acting on the object surface to clean the surface. Therefore, since a part of the traveling means for traveling the device can also be used as the surface treatment means, the structure of the entire device can be remarkably simplified and downsized, and the manufacturing cost can be greatly reduced.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a plan view showing a specific example of an apparatus constructed according to the present invention. 2 is a sectional view taken along the line II-II of FIG. FIGS. 3-A and 3-B are explanatory views for explaining the traveling of the apparatus of FIG. 1, respectively. 2 ... Device body 10 ... Rotating body 12 ... Drive source 14 ... Object surface 18 ... Rotation axis 20 ... Surface treatment means 22 ... Treatment means 24 ... Support means

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A device capable of moving along an object surface, which is attached to the device body rotatably about a rotation center axis inclined with respect to an axis substantially perpendicular to the surface. Mounted rotating body, a drive source mounted on the apparatus body for rotating the rotating body with respect to the apparatus body, and a state mounted on the rotating body and inclined with respect to the surface by the driving source. And an auxiliary traveling means installed in the main body of the apparatus so as to be brought into contact with the surface, and when viewed from above the vertical axis, it passes through the vertical axis. The surface treatment means is arranged so that the tangential direction at the contact portion of the surface treatment means with the surface located on the line in which the rotation center axis extends in the inclined direction substantially coincides with the straight traveling direction of the auxiliary traveling means. The auxiliary traveling means The positional relationship is defined, and wherein the. 2. The apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising an auxiliary drive source for driving the auxiliary traveling means. 3. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the surface treatment means includes a treatment means mainly for treating the surface and a support means mainly for supporting the main body of the apparatus. 4. The processing means is composed of a brush member which is arranged on the peripheral portion of the rotating body and acts on the surface, and the supporting means is arranged inside the arrangement portion of the rotating member on which the brush member is arranged. 4. The device according to claim 3, wherein a part of the annular member, which is made up of an annular member that is located on a line extending in the direction in which the central axis of rotation is inclined, is brought into contact with the surface.