Omni-wheel based drive mechanism

Abstract

An omni-wheel based driving mechanism includes a spherical wheel, a pair of first omni wheels, and a pair of second omni wheels. The first omni wheels are arranged at two sides of the spherical wheel to space from each other by a predetermined distance in a first direction, so that the spherical wheel is rollably positioned between the first omni wheels. The second omni wheels are arranged at another two sides of the spherical wheel to space from each other by a predetermined distance in a second direction, so that the spherical wheel is rollably positioned between the second omni wheels. Therefore, a good driving efficiency can be obtained between the spherical wheel and the-first omni wheels and the second omni wheels.

Description

FIELD OF THE INVENTION[0001]The present invention relates to a drive mechanism, and more particularly to an omni-wheel based drive mechanism.BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION[0002]With the constantly developed scientific technologies, the use of robots has become highly popular among different industrial and commercial fields. There are many different types of drive mechanisms designed for robots. One of the most common robots is a wheeled robot provided with one or more wheels. Usually, for the purpose of keeping static and dynamic balance, the conventional wheeled robots have three or more wheels each. In the case of having a large number of wheels, the robot usually requires a relatively large turning radius to move to another direction. Thus, while a robot with more wheels can be accepted for use outdoors, it fails to move smoothly when being used indoors, such as in a house, because the paths available in the house for the robot are usually narrow and complicated.[0003]To enable the ...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0008]A primary object of the present invention is to provide an omni-wheel based drive mechanism that enables good driving of a spherical wheel with a plurality of omni wheels and vice versa.

[0011]With the technical means adopted by the present invention, the omni wheels can keep rotating in a rotating direction following the rolling direction of the spherical wheel without the risk of becoming stuck due to different included angles between the omni wheels and the -spherical wheel. Therefore, it is not necessary to produce the spherical wheel with a low-friction material to ensure the slipping between the spherical wheel and the omni wheels. Meanwhile, under guiding by the omni wheels, the spherical wheel can roll in a smooth manner to ensure high driving efficiency.

[0012]With respect to the driving efficiency of the present invention, since the spherical wheel is driven to roll by paired omni wheels, enhanced and balanced driving force can be obtained. In addition, there is a relatively large contact area between the omni wheels and the spherical wheel to ensure sufficient friction force and accordingly, reduced possibility of undesired slipping between them. Further, the driving forces produced by the omni wheels are always tangent to the spherical wheel and can therefore produce the largest torque while driving the spherical wheel. Moreover, during driving, it is a plurality of guide rollers mounted on the circumferential wheel faces of the omni wheels that sequentially contact with the spherical wheel. Since the wheel faces of the omni wheels are not in direct and close contact with the spherical wheel, the problem of accumulated dust between the omni wheels and the spherical wheel can be avoided.

[0013]With the present invention, both the structural weight and the structural load of the whole omni-wheel based drive mechanism will be transformed into a contact force between the omni wheels and the spherical wheel. The contact force will increase proportionally with the increasing structural weight or the structural load to reduce the possibility of undesired slipping. Further, the magnitude of the contact force is in a fixed proportion to the space between two omni wheels in one pair. The smaller the space between the paired omni wheels is, the larger the contact force between the omni wheels and the spherical wheel will be. Therefore, it is possible to apply the drive mechanism of the present invention to different loading conditions by adjusting the space between the paired omni wheels.

Problems solved by technology

Thus, while a robot with more wheels can be accepted for use outdoors, it fails to move smoothly when being used indoors, such as in a house, because the paths available in the house for the robot are usually narrow and complicated.

The high friction of the spherical wheel would, however, cause difficulty in slipping between the spherical wheel and the drive roller and the idler roller and accordingly, have adverse influence on the driving efficiency of the drive roller.

In conclusion, there are still many problems being encountered with in designing the drive mechanism for a robot.

A robot with three or more wheels can stably maintain balance, but it requires a relatively large space to turn around and is therefore not suitable for using indoors.

And, in the one-wheeled robot, the required friction between the spherical wheel and the drive rollers and idler rollers is different from the required friction between the spherical wheel and the floor, and it is impossible for the spherical wheel to have a high friction and a low friction at the same time.

As a result, the one-wheeled robot usually has relatively low driving efficiency.

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