JPH0911893A - Pipe inside traveling robot - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To provide a pipe inside traveling robot which can efficiently and reliably move in a pipe. CONSTITUTION: In a pipe inside traveling robot in which a traveling device 4 provided in a traveling car body 3 has a pair of left and right wheels 5 in both end side parts of wheel shafts 6 and is constituted as a magnetic attractive traveling device where a pair of left and right wheels 5 are magnetically connected to each other by the wheel shafts 6 and are formed as different magnetic poles and has rotary electric motors 15a and 15b to drive the wheels 5 in rotation, the arranging direction of rotary shafts of the rotary electric motors 15a and 15b is constituted in positional relationship of an almost right angle or a twist to the arranging direction of the wheel shafts 6.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a traveling apparatus provided on a traveling vehicle body, which has a pair of left and right wheels at both end portions of an axle, and the pair of left and right wheels are magnetically connected by the axle to make them different from each other. The present invention relates to a in-pipe traveling robot configured as a magnetic attraction type traveling device having a magnetic pole and provided with a rotary electric motor that rotationally drives the wheels.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in a pipe traveling robot of this type, a rotary electric motor for rotationally driving an axle and wheels is
They were arranged almost in parallel. Therefore, the direction of the axle and the direction of the rotary shaft of the rotary electric motor (this direction is the direction in which the magnets of the rotary electric motor are arranged) are substantially parallel. On the other hand, in the magnetic attraction traveling device as in the present application, a pair of wheels is provided at both end portions of the axle, and in order to make them have different magnetic poles, a traveling body composed of the pair of wheels and the axle is provided. A magnetic field as shown in FIG. 2 is formed around it. In the figure, only the magnetic field formed on the lower side of the traveling body is shown, but the situation does not change much even on the upper side where the rotary motor is arranged.

[0003]

In a pipe traveling robot, the space allowed for the robot is considerably limited. Furthermore, we want to lower the center of gravity of the traveling device as close to the traveling body as possible. For this reason, it is desirable to position the rotary motor on the lower side (traveling body side) as much as possible. However, if the above parallel arrangement structure is adopted,
There is a problem that the magnetic field on the traveling body side affects the rotation of the rotary electric motor, unevenness in the rotation easily occurs, and the reliability is poor. Further, in the conventional in-pipe traveling robot, a rotary electric motor for traveling of the traveling device (for rotationally driving the traveling body),
Since the rotary electric motor for steering the traveling device was separately provided, when only the operation of traveling or steering was performed, when one rotary electric motor worked, the other rotary electric motor was stopped, and both There is a problem that the torque of the rotary motor is not fully utilized. Therefore,
There was room for improvement in the reliability of running that requires high torque, such as running on steps and running on vertical pipes. An object of the present invention is to solve the above problems and to obtain an in-pipe traveling robot capable of efficient and reliable in-pipe movement.

[0004]

In order to achieve this object, the in-pipe traveling robot according to claim 1 according to the present invention is characterized in that the direction in which the rotary shaft of the rotary electric motor is arranged with respect to the direction in which the axle is arranged. It is configured to have a substantially right-angled or twisted positional relationship. Further, in the in-pipe traveling robot according to claim 1, in the traveling device, a rotation drive mechanism including the rotating electric motor capable of independently controlling the rotation speed is provided for each of the wheels, and the pair of left and right sides is provided. It is preferable that the wheels are configured to be independently rotatable, and the traveling device is rotatably mounted around an axis in the vertical direction of the traveling vehicle body. This configuration is a characteristic configuration of the in-pipe traveling robot according to claim 2. The actions and effects thereof are as follows.

[0005]

That is, in the in-pipe traveling robot according to the first aspect of the invention, the axle provided in the traveling device and the direction of the rotating shaft provided in the rotary electric motor have a right-angled or twisted positional relationship. Therefore, it is possible to avoid an unstable state in which a strong magnetic field exists only on one side of the rotating shaft as in the parallel arrangement, and it is possible to suppress the influence of the magnetic field from the axle side on the rotating shaft. As a result, the rotation of the rotary electric motor can be stabilized and the traveling can be stably performed. With this configuration, even if the rotary motor is brought close to the axle side, no serious problems occur, efficient component placement is possible, effective use of space, and lowering of the center of gravity of the traveling device can be achieved. It will be easy. Further, in the in-pipe traveling robot according to the second aspect, the wheels provided at both ends of the axle are independently driven by the rotation drive mechanism. Since the traveling device is configured to be rotatable with respect to the traveling vehicle body, the following traveling state can be realized. That is, when rotating a pair of left and right wheels provided in the traveling device in the same direction at the same number of rotations, the traveling device moves in that direction and moves the entire in-pipe traveling robot including the traveling vehicle body in a predetermined direction. You can On the other hand, when the pair of left and right wheels are rotated in the opposite direction at the same rotational speed, the traveling device is relatively rotated around the vertical axis of the traveling vehicle body, and as a result, steering can be performed. When it takes an intermediate state between these, the movement is straightforward and involves steering. In this structure, even when the vehicle goes straight ahead, steers, or moves together, there is no suspension on the rotary motor side, and the torque possessed can be fully utilized. Further, unlike the conventional case, it is not necessary to provide a high-torque rotary electric motor for rotationally driving both the pair of left and right wheels at a time, and a small-sized one can cover this. On the contrary, if the same exclusive space as the conventional one can be used, almost double the torque can be secured. Therefore, it becomes easy to measure the effective use of space.

[0006]

As a result, by adopting the configuration of the invention according to claim 1, it is possible to perform the rotational driving of the wheels in a stable state, and to provide a highly reliable in-pipe traveling robot in terms of the function of the rotary motor. Obtainable. Further, by adopting the configuration of the invention according to claim 2, the traveling device itself can be made compact by effectively utilizing the torque of each rotary electric motor, and high torque such as traveling on a step or traveling on a vertical pipe is required. Driving reliability can be increased.

[0007]

An embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. A side view of the in-pipe traveling robot 1 of the present application is shown in FIG.
2 is a perspective view of FIG. As shown in these figures,
The in-pipe traveling robot 1 of the present application includes a traveling vehicle body 3 that can move in the tube 2, and a pair of traveling devices 4 in front and rear positions of the traveling vehicle body 3. Each traveling device 4 is provided with a traveling body 7 having a pair of left and right wheels 5 at both end portions of the axle 6 so as to be rotationally driven and operated with respect to the traveling device body 40. The traveling device body 40 is provided so as to be steerable around the vertical axis B of the traveling vehicle body 3.
Further, a rotary drive mechanism 9 for rotationally driving the traveling body 7 with respect to the traveling device body 40 is provided for each traveling device 4, and the traveling device body 40 and the traveling body 7 are integrated into one body 3 for traveling. Steering mechanism 10 for steering control with respect to
Is similarly provided for each traveling device 4.

The traveling device 4 will be described in more detail below. First, the structure of the traveling body 7 will be described with reference to FIG.
As shown in, the traveling body 7 basically has a structure in which a pair of wheels 5 are provided at both left and right end portions of the axle 6. However,
Actually, the axle 6 is configured to be divided at a substantially central portion thereof, and a left axle portion 6a integrally connected to the left wheel 5a and a right axle portion integrally connected to the right wheel 5b. 6b and. Furthermore, the wheels 5 are
Internal wheel 50 integrally connected to the axles 6a and 6b
And an external wheel 51 loosely fitted on the internal wheel 50.
It is configured as a double wheel with and. In this way, by making the wheel 5 a double wheel, the traveling of the stepped portion (not shown) in the pipe 2 and the wall surface portion in the vertical direction (not shown)
It is possible to easily carry out driving and the like.

The traveling body 7 is constructed as a magnetic traveling body. That is, each axle portion 6a, 6b is provided with permanent magnets 11a, 11b in the axial direction C, and the left axle portion 6a and the right axle portion 6b are located at the central end face portion 12 thereof, and the metallic brush 13 is provided. Are magnetically connected by. Therefore, in the traveling body 7, the wheels 5 arranged on the left and right end surfaces have different magnetic poles, and as shown in FIG. It can exert magnetic attraction. Therefore, the traveling device 4 is a magnetic attraction type traveling device.

Next, the rotational drive relationship of the traveling body 7 will be described. The left-side axle portion 6a and the right-side axle portion 6b described above are individually provided with motors 15a and 15b for rotation driving as rotary electric motors, respectively. The rotational driving force from each of the motors 15a and 15b is transmitted to the wheels 5a and 5b via the gear transmission mechanisms 16a and 16b, which are provided independently on the left and right sides, respectively, so that predetermined traveling can be performed. . Here, these motors 15
The rotating shafts 17a and 17b of a and 15b are arranged substantially in the vertical direction of the traveling vehicle body 3.
Motor 15 provided along the arrangement direction of a and 17b
The directions of the magnetic fields of the magnets 18a and 18b of a and 15b and the direction of the magnetic field of the traveling body 7 are in a twisted positional relationship (substantially orthogonal when projected in a predetermined direction). Therefore, the rotation of the motors 15a and 15b is rarely affected by the magnetic field existing in the traveling body 7 (mainly the axle portions 6a and 6b).

The traveling device body 40 supports the traveling body 7, the pair of gear transmission mechanisms 16a and 16b, and the pair of motors 15a and 15b described above with respect to the traveling vehicle body 3. As described above, the traveling device main body 40 is configured to be rotatable about the vertical axis B with respect to the traveling vehicle body 3, and this rotation causes the entire traveling device 4 to move with respect to the traveling vehicle body 3. Be directed.

In the traveling of the in-pipe traveling robot 1, a pair of left and right wheels 5 (including a pair of left and right axle portions 6a and 6b connected to each wheel) are independently driven to rotate. The steering amount with respect to the traveling vehicle body 3 (for example, with respect to the front-rear direction of the traveling vehicle body) is adjusted by the difference between the rotational drive amounts of the motors 15a and 15b. That is, a rotatable support mechanism for the traveling device body 40 with respect to the traveling vehicle body 3, a pair of left and right motors 15a, 15b, a gear transmission mechanism 16a, 1
The steering mechanism 10 described above is configured by 6b and the like.

On the other hand, as described above, each motor 15
a and 15b rotationally drive the corresponding axle portions 6a and 6b. Therefore, the motors 15a and 15b and the gear transmission mechanisms 16a and 16b connected to the motors 15a and 15b form the rotary drive mechanism 9.

The configuration of each traveling device 4 is as described above. As shown in FIG. 1, these traveling devices 4 are substantially at the center position in the width direction of the traveling vehicle body 3 and substantially at the front and rear positions of the traveling vehicle body 3. One pair is evenly arranged. Therefore, each traveling device 4
By appropriately steering and rotating the traveling body 7, the spiral traveling in the tube axis direction A can be performed, for example. Further, in changing the traveling direction of the robot, for example, in the traveling device 4 on the forward side, the traveling direction can be changed by changing the rotational driving amounts of the wheels 5a and 5b arranged at the left and right positions thereof.

The above is the movement of the in-pipe traveling robot 1 of the present application mainly in traveling along the pipe axis direction.
A configuration that is effective when performing rotational travel, which is travel in the pipe circumferential direction, will be described. In the above description, the traveling vehicle body 3 has been described as being configured as a single body, but as shown in FIGS.
Are connecting shafts 19 arranged in the front-rear direction of the traveling vehicle body.
It is composed of a pair of rotating vehicle bodies 30 and 31 that are rotatable around and connected to each other. Further, each of the rotating vehicle bodies 30 and 31 is provided with the single traveling device 4 on one side surface (bottom side) thereof.

With respect to the relationship between the connecting shaft 19 and the rotating vehicle bodies 30 and 31, a rotational phase angle detecting sensor for detecting the rotational phase angle of the rotating vehicle body about the connecting shaft with respect to the rotating body bodies 30 and 31, respectively. 20 and 21 are provided,
The rotating vehicle bodies 30 and 31 are configured to be able to maintain the rotating vehicle bodies 30 and 31 in vehicle body rotating postures in which the rotation phase angles around the connecting shaft 19 are different from each other. That is, the rotating vehicle bodies 30 and 31 are configured so that they can maintain their inclined postures. This posture is called a vehicle body rotation posture and is a posture as shown in FIG. Further, when the mutually rotating vehicle bodies 30 and 31 are in the vehicle body rotation postures as described above, the axles 6 of the respective traveling devices 4 are maintained in the axle shaft rotation postures in which they are substantially oriented in the pipe axis direction A. You can

Further, a straight traveling posture in which the rotating bodies 30, 31 are equal in phase angle around the connecting shaft 19 and the traveling device 4 is in a posture in which the vehicle 5 travels in the tube axis direction A by driving and rotating the wheels 5. Attitude control means 24 is provided for changing the attitudes of the rotary drive mechanism 9 and the steering mechanism 10 between the turning vehicle bodies 30 and 31 and the running posture of the traveling apparatus 4 being the axle turning posture. I have it. This attitude control means 24
The rotary drive mechanism 9 and the steering mechanism 10 are respectively controlled, but as shown in FIG. 4, the steering amount or the rotary drive amount for each of the front traveling device 4a and the rear traveling device 4b is predetermined. It is composed of a combination of basic frames 26 that repeat control independently until the target value is reached. The posture change from the straight traveling posture to the rotating posture will be described below. 1 FIG. 3A shows a state in which the in-pipe traveling robot 1 of the present application is in the straight traveling posture described above. This figure shows a state in which the in-pipe traveling robot 1 is viewed from the front, and each traveling device 4
The traveling body 7 provided in the vehicle has its axle 6 orthogonal to the pipe axis direction A, and the ground contact portion of the wheel 5 can roll in the pipe axis direction A as the wheel 5 rotates. 2 Step 1 of the attitude control means 24 is executed. In the in-pipe traveling robot 1, the traveling device 4a on the front side receives a steering operation, and the device rotates until the axle 6 thereof faces the pipe axis direction A. In the present application, the pair of left and right wheels 5 provided on the traveling device 4a on the front side are rotated in the opposite directions at the same speed to complete steering of the traveling device 4 with respect to the traveling vehicle body 3. FIG. 3B shows the state where the steering is completed. In the figure, the axle 6 of the traveling device 4a on the front side is in a posture along the pipe axis direction A, and that on the rear side is
It is maintained as it was. Therefore, the robot 1 does not fall down. 3 Following step 1 above, in step 2, the traveling device 4a on the front side is subjected to a certain amount of rotational drive control. Therefore, the rotating body 30 on the front side rotates around the connecting shaft 19 with respect to the rotating body 31 on the rear side, and partially climbs the pipe inner wall 14 in the pipe circumferential direction D. In this case, the pair of left and right wheels 5 provided in the traveling device 4a on the front side are rotated in the same direction at the same speed to complete the posture change between the rotating vehicle bodies 30 and 31. FIG. 3C shows a state in which the posture change is completed. 4 Following step 2, step 3 is executed.
The traveling device 4b on the rear side receives a steering operation, and the device rotates until its axle 6 faces the tube axis direction A. In the present application, a pair of left and right wheels 5 provided on the traveling device 4b on the rear side.
However, they are rotated in the opposite directions at the same speed, and the steering of the traveling device 4 with respect to the traveling vehicle body is completed. FIG. 3D shows the state where the steering is completed. In the same figure, the axles 6 of the front-side and rear-side traveling devices 4 are in the posture along the pipe axis direction A. The robot will not fall down even if it is driven. 5 After step 3, step 4 is executed.
As a result, the in-pipe traveling robot 1 rotationally travels in the pipe in a stable state in the circumferential direction. 6. After ending the above-described turning traveling, the operations from Step 1 to Step 3 are reversed in Steps 5 to 7 to complete the return to the straight traveling posture.

[Other Embodiment] In the above embodiment, an example in which the rotary shaft and the axle of the rotary motor are arranged in a positional relationship of being twisted relative to each other has been shown. It may be provided. Also in this case, the influence of the magnetic field from the traveling body side to the rotary electric motor side can be reduced. Further, in the above-described embodiment, the traveling body has the axle formed of a pair of left and right axle portions, and a wheel is provided at one end portion of the axle portions, and the wheels are independently driven to rotate with respect to the pair of axle portions. Although a separate motor is provided for this purpose, the following structure can also be adopted as this structure. That is, wheels are provided at both ends of a single axle, and this axle is rotationally driven about its axis by a traveling motor to secure rotational drive of the traveling body with respect to the traveling apparatus body, and The traveling device main body may be configured to be rotatable around the vertical axis of the vehicle body with respect to the vehicle body, and may be provided with a steering motor for this rotation.

In the claims, reference numerals are provided for convenience of comparison with the drawings, but the present invention is not limited to the configuration shown in the attached drawings.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a side view of a pipe traveling robot of the present application.

FIG. 2 is a pipe axis direction view of the in-pipe traveling robot of the present application.

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram showing the order of posture change from a straight traveling posture to a rotating posture.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing a basic structure of a posture changing sequence from a straight traveling posture to a rotating posture.

[Explanation of symbols]

 3 Travel Car Body 4 Travel Device 5 Wheel 6 Axle 9 Rotation Drive Mechanism 15a Rotary Motor 15b Rotary Motor 17a Rotation Shaft 17b Rotation Axis B Vertical Axis

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A traveling device (4) provided on a traveling vehicle body (3) comprises a pair of left and right wheels (5) at both ends of an axle (6), and the pair of left and right wheels (5) is the axle. Rotation electric motors (15a) (15b) configured as magnetic attraction type traveling devices that are magnetically coupled by (6) and have different magnetic poles, and rotationally drive the wheels (5).
An in-pipe traveling robot comprising: a rotary electric motor (15a) (15b) with respect to a direction in which the axle (6) is arranged.
The in-pipe traveling robot in which the rotating shafts (17a) and (17b) are arranged in a substantially right-angled or twisted positional relationship. 2. The rotary motor (15a) (15) capable of independently controlling the number of revolutions in the traveling device (4).
b) is provided for each of the pair of left and right wheels (5), and a rotary drive mechanism (9) is provided, and the pair of left and right wheels (5) is provided.
a) and (5b) are configured to be independently rotatable and driven, and the traveling device (4) is provided with a vertical axis (B) of the traveling vehicle body (3).
The in-pipe traveling robot according to claim 1, wherein the robot is mounted rotatably around the pipe.