Disclosure of Invention
The invention aims to solve the technical problems that: at present, wheels with inclined sub wheels are poor in application flexibility and difficult to adapt to changing road conditions.
In order to solve the technical problems, the invention provides a wheel. The wheel comprises a wheel hub and a plurality of sub wheels arranged on the wheel hub, the plurality of sub wheels can rotate along with the wheel hub around the rotation center line of the wheel hub to realize the running of the wheel, each sub wheel can rotate around the center axis of the wheel, and the wheel further comprises a pose adjusting mechanism which can synchronously adjust the included angle between the center axis of each sub wheel and the rotation center line of the wheel hub.
Optionally, the pose adjusting mechanism is configured to adjust the arc-surface overlap ratio of the adjacent sub-wheels to be varied within a range of 1-1.2 by synchronously adjusting the included angle between the central axis of each sub-wheel and the rotation central line of the hub.
Optionally, the pose adjusting mechanism can synchronously adjust the included angle between the central axis of each sub-wheel and the rotation central line of the hub to be changed within the range of 0-50 degrees.
Optionally, the pose adjusting mechanism can synchronously adjust the included angle between the central axis of each sub-wheel and the rotation central line of the hub to be changed within the range of 40-50 degrees.
Optionally, the hub comprises a first supporting ring and a second supporting ring, the central axis of which coincides with the rotation central line, the first end of each sub-wheel is hinged with the first supporting ring, the second end of each sub-wheel is hinged with the second supporting ring, and the pose adjusting mechanism is in driving connection with at least one of the first supporting ring and the second supporting ring and can enable the second supporting ring and the first supporting ring to rotate relatively around the rotation central line so as to adjust the included angle between the central axis of each sub-wheel and the rotation central line of the hub.
Optionally, the pose adjusting mechanism comprises a gear mechanism, the second support ring is a gear ring, and the pose adjusting mechanism drives the second support ring to rotate relative to the first support ring through engagement of the gear mechanism and the second support ring.
Optionally, the gear mechanism includes a central wheel and a planetary wheel, wherein the central wheel and the second supporting ring are matched to form a differential gear train, the central wheel and the second supporting ring are concentrically arranged, and the planetary wheel is meshed between the central wheel and the second supporting ring, so that the central wheel can drive the second supporting ring to rotate around a rotation center line relative to the first supporting ring through the planetary wheel.
Optionally, the pose adjusting mechanism further comprises an adjusting power source, and the adjusting power source is in driving connection with the gear mechanism and used for driving the gear mechanism to rotate.
Optionally, the wheel further comprises a walking power source, wherein the walking power source is in driving connection with the first supporting ring and is used for driving the first supporting ring to rotate around the rotation center line so as to realize walking of the wheel.
Optionally, the wheel further comprises a plurality of aligning bearings, the plurality of aligning bearings are in one-to-one correspondence with the plurality of sub-wheels, and each aligning bearing is arranged between the first end of the corresponding sub-wheel and the first supporting ring; and/or the wheel further comprises a plurality of spherical hinges, the spherical hinges and the sub-wheels are arranged in one-to-one correspondence, and each spherical hinge is arranged between the second end of the corresponding sub-wheel and the second supporting ring.
In another aspect, the invention provides a transporter comprising a wheel of the invention.
According to the invention, the pose adjusting mechanism is arranged on the wheel, so that the wheel can adjust the inclination angle of each sub-wheel by using the pose adjusting mechanism, the inclination angle of the sub-wheel is adapted to road conditions, and good contact between the sub-wheel and the ground is guaranteed, therefore, the application flexibility of the wheel can be effectively improved, and the walking stability of the wheel is improved.
Other features of the present invention and its advantages will become apparent from the following detailed description of exemplary embodiments of the invention, which proceeds with reference to the accompanying drawings.
Detailed Description
The following description of the embodiments of the present invention will be made clearly and completely with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which it is apparent that the embodiments described are only some embodiments of the present invention, but not all embodiments. The following description of at least one exemplary embodiment is merely exemplary in nature and is in no way intended to limit the invention, its application, or uses. All other embodiments, which can be made by one of ordinary skill in the art without undue burden on the person of ordinary skill in the art based on embodiments of the present invention, are within the scope of the present invention.
Techniques, methods, and apparatus known to one of ordinary skill in the relevant art may not be discussed in detail, but should be considered part of the specification where appropriate.
In the description of the present invention, it should be understood that the azimuth or positional relationships indicated by the azimuth terms such as "front, rear, upper, lower, left, right", "lateral, vertical, horizontal", and "top, bottom", etc., are generally based on the azimuth or positional relationships shown in the drawings, merely to facilitate description of the present invention and simplify the description, and these azimuth terms do not indicate and imply that the apparatus or elements referred to must have a specific azimuth or be constructed and operated in a specific azimuth, and thus should not be construed as limiting the scope of protection of the present invention; the orientation word "inner and outer" refers to inner and outer relative to the contour of the respective component itself.
In the description of the present invention, it should be understood that the terms "first," "second," and the like are used for defining the components, and are merely for convenience in distinguishing the corresponding components, and the terms are not meant to have any special meaning unless otherwise indicated, so that the scope of the present invention is not to be construed as being limited.
Fig. 1 shows an embodiment of the wheel of the present invention. Referring to fig. 1, the wheel 1 provided by the invention comprises a wheel hub and a plurality of sub-wheels 13 arranged on the wheel hub, wherein the plurality of sub-wheels 13 can rotate along with the wheel hub around the rotation center line of the wheel hub to realize the running of the wheel 1, each sub-wheel 13 can rotate around the central axis of the wheel, and the wheel 1 further comprises a pose adjusting mechanism which can synchronously adjust the included angle between the central axis of each sub-wheel 13 and the rotation center line of the wheel hub.
The included angle between the central axis of the sub-wheel 13 and the rotation central line of the hub (hereinafter referred to as the inclination angle of the sub-wheel 13) can affect the arc surface contact ratio of the adjacent sub-wheel 13, and the arc surface contact ratio affects the contact condition of the sub-wheel 13 and the ground in the rotation process of the wheel 1. In the prior art, the inclination angle of the sub-wheel 13 cannot be changed, so that the arc-surface overlap ratio of the adjacent sub-wheels 13 cannot be adjusted according to the actual road conditions, and therefore, the sub-wheels 13 of the wheel 1 can not be ensured to keep good contact with the ground when the road conditions change.
The invention sets the pose adjusting mechanism, so that the wheel 1 can flexibly adjust the inclination angle of each sub-wheel 13 according to the actual road condition, thereby ensuring that the inclination angle of the sub-wheel 13 is suitable for the road condition, being beneficial to realizing the good contact between the wheel 1 and the ground, effectively reducing jolt, improving the walking stability of the wheel 1, adapting to more road conditions, and effectively improving the application flexibility of the wheel 1.
In the invention, the hub can comprise a first supporting ring 11 and a second supporting ring 12, the central axis of which coincides with the rotation central line, the first end of each sub-wheel 13 is hinged with the first supporting ring 11, the second end of each sub-wheel 13 is hinged with the second supporting ring 12, and the pose adjusting mechanism is in driving connection with at least one of the first supporting ring 11 and the second supporting ring 12 and can enable the second supporting ring 12 and the first supporting ring 11 to relatively rotate around the rotation central line, so that synchronous adjustment of an included angle between the central axis of each sub-wheel 13 and the rotation central line of the hub is realized. Based on this, the pose adjusting mechanism drives the first supporting ring 11 and the second supporting ring 12 hinged to the two ends of each sub-wheel 13 respectively to generate relative rotation around the rotation center line, so that the two ends of each sub-wheel 13 generate relative offset, the central axis of each sub-wheel 13 is offset relative to the rotation center line, and the inclination angle of each sub-wheel 13 can be synchronously changed, so that the pose adjusting mechanism is suitable for the actual road condition, and the application flexibility and the walking stability of the wheel 1 are improved.
In order to generate relative rotation between the first support ring 11 and the second support ring 12 about the rotation center line, the posture adjustment mechanism of the present invention may be in driving connection with the first support ring 11 or in driving connection with the second support ring 12, or may be in driving connection with both the first support ring 11 and the second support ring 12. In order to simplify the structure, the pose adjusting mechanism is preferably arranged in driving connection with one of the first supporting ring 11 and the second supporting ring 12, so that the relative rotation of the first supporting ring 11 and the second supporting ring 12 is realized only by driving one of the first supporting ring 11 and the second supporting ring 12, the structure is simpler, and the whole wheel 1 can walk conveniently by driving the other one of the first supporting ring 11 and the second supporting ring 12.
The invention is further described in connection with the embodiment shown in fig. 1.
As shown in fig. 1, in this embodiment, the wheel 1 includes a hub including a first backup ring 11 and a second backup ring 12, a plurality of sub-wheels 13, and a posture adjustment mechanism including a gear mechanism.
As can be seen from fig. 1, in this embodiment, the first support ring 11 and the second support ring 12 are disposed at a distance from each other, the central axes of the first support ring 11 and the second support ring 12 are collinear, and the central axes of the first support ring 11 and the second support ring 12 coincide with the center line of revolution of the wheel hub, so that the wheel 1 performs a traveling function when the wheel hub rotates around the center line of revolution.
In order to achieve a rotation of the entire wheel 1, the wheel 1 may further comprise a walking power source for driving the wheel 1 to walk. In this embodiment, the walking power source is a motor 2 shown in fig. 2, and the motor 2 is in driving connection with the first support ring 11, and drives the wheels 1 to walk by driving the first support ring 11 to rotate around the rotation center line. Of course, other power devices may be used as the walking power source, as long as the walking power can be provided to the wheels 1.
In this embodiment, as shown in fig. 1, all the sub-wheels 13 are connected between the first and second support rings 11 and 12, so that when the hub rotates around the rotation center line, each sub-wheel 13 can also rotate around the rotation center line, and each sub-wheel 13 can be in circular contact with the ground. Moreover, each sub-wheel 13 is simultaneously hinged to the first supporting ring 11 and the second supporting ring 12, so that each sub-wheel 13 can rotate around its own central axis during the running process of the wheel 1, and when the included angle between the central axis of the sub-wheel 13 and the rotation central line is not 0, that is, when the sub-wheel 13 is inclined, the wheel 1 can receive the lateral friction force exerted by the ground, and further generates steering and other movements.
Specifically, as shown in fig. 1, in this embodiment, a aligning bearing 15 is disposed between the first end of each sub-wheel 13 and the first supporting ring 11, and the first end of each sub-wheel 13 is hinged to the first supporting ring 11 through the aligning bearing 15 corresponding to the first end; a spherical hinge 16 is arranged between the second end of each sub-wheel 13 and the second supporting ring 12, and the second end of each sub-wheel 13 is hinged with the second supporting ring 12 through the corresponding spherical hinge 16.
By providing the aligning bearing 15 and the spherical hinge 16, not only can each sub-wheel 13 rotate around its central axis more flexibly, but also the tilt angle of the sub-wheel 13 can be adjusted by the pose adjusting mechanism more conveniently, which will be further described below.
In this embodiment, the pose adjusting mechanism is in driving connection with the second support ring 12 and drives the second support ring 12 to rotate relative to the first support ring 11, that is, in this embodiment, the second support ring 12 is required to rotate around a rotation center line (can be regarded as revolution) along with the first support ring 11 under the driving of the walking power source, and is required to rotate around a central axis of the pose adjusting mechanism (can be regarded as autorotation) under the driving of the pose adjusting mechanism, so that the second support ring 12 rotates relative to the first support ring 11.
Specifically, as can be seen from fig. 1, the second support ring 12 in this embodiment is a gear ring, and the second support ring 13 is meshed with a gear mechanism of the pose adjustment mechanism, so that the pose adjustment mechanism can drive the second support ring 12 to rotate relative to the first support ring 11 through the meshing of the gear mechanism and the second support ring 12, the structure is simple and compact, and the inclination angle of the sub-wheel 13 can be adjusted more accurately.
Because the first end of each sub-wheel 13 is hinged with the first supporting ring 11, and the second end of each sub-wheel 13 is hinged with the second supporting ring 12, when the second supporting ring 12 rotates relative to the first supporting ring 11, the second end of each sub-wheel 13 can deviate relative to the first end of the sub-wheel 12 under the driving of the second supporting ring 12, so that the central axis of each sub-wheel 13 deviates relative to the rotation central line, the included angle of the central axis of each sub-wheel 13 relative to the rotation central line is synchronously changed, namely the inclination angle of each sub-wheel 13 is adjusted, namely the pose of each sub-wheel 13 is adjusted, the application flexibility of the wheel 1 is effectively improved, and the application range is enlarged. Based on the above, when the wheel 1 walks on the rugged road surface, the wheel 1 can synchronously adjust the inclination angle of each sub-wheel 13 by using the pose adjusting mechanism according to the actual road condition, so that the inclination angle of each sub-wheel 13 is adapted to the actual road surface condition, thereby being beneficial to ensuring that the sub-wheel 13 always keeps good contact with the ground in the whole running process, reducing running jolt and improving the running stability of the wheel 1.
Moreover, as previously shown, in this embodiment, the spherical hinge 16 is provided between the second end of the sub-wheel 13 and the second support ring 12, and since the spherical hinge 16 can enable the second end of the sub-wheel 13 to have more rotational degrees of freedom, when the posture adjustment mechanism changes the inclination angle of the sub-wheel 13, the second end of the sub-wheel 13 can rotate with the second support ring 12 relative to the first support ring 11 more flexibly, thereby further improving the flexibility and reliability of posture adjustment; in addition, a self-aligning bearing 15 is arranged between the first end of the sub-wheel 13 and the first supporting ring 11, and the self-aligning bearing 15 can better adapt to the deviation of the second end of the sub-wheel 13 relative to the first end of the sub-wheel 13, so that the adjustment of the inclination angle of the sub-wheel 13 by the pose adjusting mechanism can be more conveniently realized.
More specifically, as shown in fig. 1, the gear mechanism of this embodiment includes a center wheel 141 and a planetary wheel 142 that cooperate with the second carrier ring 12 to form a differential gear train, wherein the center wheel 141 is disposed concentrically with the second carrier ring 12, and the planetary wheel 142 is meshed between the center wheel 141 and the second carrier ring 12. Thus, when the central wheel 141 rotates, the central wheel 141 can drive the second support ring 12 to rotate around the rotation center line relative to the first support ring 11 through the planet wheel 142, so that the pose of each sub-wheel 13 is adjusted. The central wheel 141, the planet wheels 142 and the second supporting ring 12 are arranged to form a differential gear train, so that the pose of each sub-wheel 13 is adjusted, and the structure of the wheel 1 is simpler and more compact. In addition, based on this, when the aforementioned motor 2 for driving the first backup ring to rotate is disposed, the output shaft of the aforementioned motor 2 may be connected to the first backup ring 11 through the center hole of the center wheel 141.
To drive the gear mechanism of this embodiment for rotation, the pose adjustment mechanism may further comprise an adjustment power source (not shown in the figures) drivingly connected to the gear mechanism for powering the rotation of the gear mechanism. For example, the adjustment power source may be a motor drivingly connected to the center wheel 141 of the embodiment, and the center wheel 141 is driven to rotate by the motor, so as to adjust the inclination angle of each sub-wheel 13 (i.e., the pose of each sub-wheel 13).
In this embodiment, in order to better maintain the contact of the sub-wheels 13 with the ground and further improve the walking smoothness, the pose adjustment mechanism is preferably provided so as to be able to adjust the camber line contact of the adjacent sub-wheels 13 to vary in the range of 1-1.2 by synchronously adjusting the inclination angle of each sub-wheel 13.
The cambered surface contact ratio of the adjacent sub-wheels 13 is kept within the range of 1-1.2, so that the sub-wheels 13 are kept in contact with the ground all the time in the rotation process of the wheel 1, the problems of overhead, unstable ground grabbing, lost rotation and the like of the wheel 1 are prevented, and the running stability of the wheel 1 is further improved.
Moreover, the arc-surface overlap ratio of the adjacent sub-wheels 13 is kept within the range of 1-1.2, and the situation of double-wheel contact (that is, the two sub-wheels 13 are simultaneously contacted with the ground) can also exist in the rotation process of the wheel 1. For example, when the wheel 1 includes 9 sub-wheels 13 and the inclination angle of each sub-wheel 13 is adjusted to 45 °, the camber contact ratio of the adjacent sub-wheels 13 is 1, in this case, during the rotation of the wheel 1, the single and double wheels can be alternately contacted with the road surface, specifically: in the interval of 0-15 degrees, the two sub-wheels 13 are simultaneously contacted with the ground; within the interval of 15-55 degrees, the single sub-wheel 13 is contacted with the ground; in the range of 55 DEG to 70 DEG, the two sub-wheels 13 are in contact with the ground, i.e. a rotation process of 'double-wheel contact-single-wheel contact-double-wheel contact' is realized.
Compared with the condition that a single sub-wheel 13 is always contacted with the ground, the contact area of the two sub-wheels 13 is larger when the two sub-wheels are simultaneously contacted with the ground, so that vertical fluctuation can be further reduced, and the running stability is improved; the abrasion of the ground to the sub-wheel 13 can be reduced, the service life of the sub-wheel 13 is prolonged, the working reliability of the wheel 1 is improved, the load capacity of the sub-wheel 13 is effectively improved, and the load capacity of the wheel 1 is enhanced, so that a transport vehicle with the wheel 1 can be used under the condition of heavy load, and the transport vehicle is favorable for carrying cargos with larger load based on fewer transport vehicles.
In this embodiment, the attitude adjustment mechanism is preferably arranged to be able to synchronously adjust the angle between the central axis of each sub-wheel 13 and the centre line of rotation of the hub to vary from 0 ° to 50 °, for example the angles may be 0 °, 42 °, 45 ° and 47 °. When the pose adjusting mechanism adjusts the included angle between the central axis of each sub-wheel 13 and the rotation central line of the hub to be 0 DEG, the sub-wheels 13 are in a non-inclined state, the wheels 1 do not receive lateral component force in the running process, and the wheels 1 are in a straight running state; when the included angle between the central axis of each sub-wheel 13 and the rotation center line of the hub is adjusted to be not 0 ° by the pose adjusting mechanism, for example, preferably, when the included angle between the central axis of each sub-wheel 13 and the rotation center line of the hub is synchronously adjusted by the pose adjusting mechanism to be changed within the range of 40 ° -50 °, the sub-wheels 13 are in an inclined state, the wheels 1 are subjected to lateral component force in the running process, the steering motion can be realized, and the functions of lateral movement or original turning and the like can be completed by the combined use and control of each wheel 1, so that the transport vehicle can work more flexibly, and the application range of the transport vehicle is enlarged.
Fig. 2 shows a schematic diagram of the principle of movement of a transport vehicle comprising four wheels 1 according to the invention. As shown in fig. 2, the transport vehicle comprises four wheels 1 arranged on two sides of a vehicle body, each wheel 1 comprises a motor 2, each motor 2 is used for driving the corresponding wheel 1 to move, and the respective movement states of the four wheels 1 are controlled by the four motors 2, so that multiple running modes of straight running, lateral movement and in-situ turning can be realized.
For example, when the transport vehicle needs to travel straight in the x direction shown in fig. 2, that is, when straight travel is required, the four wheels 1 may be controlled to satisfy the following conditions: w1=w2=w3=w4, and V x =R·W1,V y =0;
When the vehicle needs to travel straight in the y-direction shown in fig. 2, i.e. needs to translate sideways, the four wheels 1 can be controlled to meet the following conditions: w1= -w2= -w3=w4, and V x =0,V y =-R·W1;
When a straight line requires a pivot turn, the four wheels 1 can be controlled to meet the following conditions: w1= -w2=w3= -W4, and V x =0,V y =0,W5=-W1·R/(L1+L2);
Wherein W1, W2, W3 and W4 are respectively the angular velocity of each wheel 1, W5 is the in-situ turning velocity of the transport vehicle, R is the hub radius of the wheel 1, V x 、V y The driving speeds of the transport vehicle along the x-axis and the y-axis are respectively, and L1 and L2 are respectively the distances from the turning center of each wheel 1 in the x-axis direction and the y-axis direction.
Therefore, the wheel 1 is applied to the transport vehicle, so that functions of the transport vehicle can be enriched, more flexible and various transport modes can be realized, and the application range of the transport vehicle is effectively enlarged. Thus, in another aspect the invention also provides a transport vehicle, such as an AGV transport, comprising wheels 1 according to the invention.
The foregoing description of the exemplary embodiments of the invention is not intended to limit the invention to the particular embodiments disclosed, but on the contrary, the intention is to cover all modifications, equivalents, and alternatives falling within the spirit and scope of the invention.