Wheel side drive device and intelligent guided transfer equipment

Abstract

The present disclosure relates to a wheel hub drive device and an intelligent guiding and transporting device. The wheel hub drive device includes: a swing frame (1) having a hollow inner cavity (11); a wheel rim rotatably connected to at least one side of the swing frame (1); and a drive mechanism at least partially disposed in the hollow inner cavity (11) and connected to the wheel rim for driving the wheel rim to rotate about its own axis. In the embodiments of the present disclosure, by disposing the drive mechanism in the hollow inner cavity of the swing frame connecting the wheel rim and driving the rotation of the wheel rim by the drive mechanism, the structure of the wheel hub drive device is made more compact, and it is more convenient to arrange the wheel hub drive device on the equipment.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present disclosure relates to the field of power drive, and particularly to a wheel-side drive device and an intelligent guided transfer device. Background Art

[0002] In 1993, the world's first automated container terminal was built in the Port of Rotterdam in the Netherlands. Ports such as the Port of London in the UK, the Port of Kawasaki in Japan, the Port of Singapore, and the Port of Hamburg in Germany have successively undergone automated upgrades. After more than 20 years of development, container terminals have reached the fourth-generation level, and more than 30 intelligent automated terminals have been built internationally.

[0003] The construction of automated container terminals in China started relatively late. Intelligent automated container terminals will surely become the key development direction in the future and an inevitable trend of scientific and technological development. As the port at the forefront of import and export trade, it is necessary to accelerate the process of intelligent automation construction. With the acceleration of the global integration development process, intelligent automated terminals can improve the transfer efficiency by 40% and meet the growing demand for container throughput. From 2016 to 2017, a total of 3 automated terminals were built in China, and the construction and development of intelligent automated container terminals in China have entered the fast lane.

[0004] So far, there are two types of wheel-side drive systems for port container unmanned intelligent guided transfer equipment. One is mainly a drive system composed of a traditional steering drive through-bridge, a transmission shaft, and an external drive motor. The power source of this wheel-side drive system transmits power to the external drive motor through a cable, and the external drive motor then transmits power to the steering drive through-bridge through the transmission shaft, and the steering drive through-bridge drives the tire rim to perform the whole machine driving function.

[0005] The other is a small number of drive systems composed of a steering drive short bridge, a transmission shaft, and an external drive motor. The power source of this wheel-side drive system transmits power to the external drive motor through a cable, and the drive motor directly transmits power to the steering drive short bridge, and the steering drive short bridge drives the tire rim to perform the whole machine driving function.

[0006] The above two types of drive systems for unmanned intelligent guided transfer equipment have problems such as complex structure, many transmission components, messy layout, low transmission efficiency, and high failure rate in the middle and later stages, which restrict the development of the construction of intelligent automated container terminals. Summary of the Invention

[0007] In view of this, embodiments of the present disclosure provide a wheel-side drive device and an intelligent guided transfer device with an optimized structure.

[0008] In one aspect of the present disclosure, a wheel-side drive device is provided, including:

[0009] A swing frame having a hollow inner cavity;

[0010] A rim rotatably connected to at least one side of the swing frame; and

[0011] A drive mechanism at least partially disposed within the hollow inner cavity and connected to the rim for driving the rim to rotate about its own axis.

[0012] In some embodiments, the drive mechanism includes: a drive motor, the body of the drive motor being fixedly disposed within the hollow inner cavity, and the rim being connected to the output shaft of the drive motor.

[0013] In some embodiments, the drive mechanism includes: a drive motor and a speed reducer, the body of the drive motor being fixedly disposed within the hollow inner cavity, the speed reducer being fixedly disposed at the rotation center of the rim and connected to the output shaft of the drive motor.

[0014] In some embodiments, the rotating part of the speed reducer is fixedly connected to the rim through a flange.

[0015] In some embodiments, the in-wheel drive device further includes: a transition flange plate, the drive motor and the speed reducer being respectively fixedly connected to two sides of the transition flange plate through flanges.

[0016] In some embodiments, the in-wheel drive device further includes:

[0017] A tire sleeved on the outer periphery of the rim.

[0018] In some embodiments, the swing frame is a welded structural member.

[0019] In some embodiments, the rim includes: a first rim and a second rim, respectively rotatably connected to two sides of the swing frame.

[0020] In some embodiments, the drive mechanism is configured to drive the first rim or the second rim, or independently drive the first rim and the second rim.

[0021] In some embodiments, the drive mechanism includes:

[0022] A first speed reducer and a second speed reducer, respectively fixedly disposed at the rotation centers of the first rim and the second rim;

[0023] A first drive motor and a second drive motor, fixedly disposed within the hollow inner cavity and respectively connected to the first speed reducer and the second speed reducer through their respective output shafts.

[0024] In some embodiments, a swing axis or a shaft hole for mounting the swing axis is further provided on the swing frame, and the swing frame can swing relative to the swing axis.

[0025] In some embodiments, the swing frame has a symmetric structure, and the axis of the swing axis lies in the symmetry plane of the swing frame.

[0026] In some embodiments, the rim includes: a first rim and a second rim, symmetrically connected to both sides of the swing frame; the drive mechanism includes:

[0027] a first speed reducer and a second speed reducer, respectively fixedly arranged at the rotation centers of the first rim and the second rim;

[0028] a first drive motor and a second drive motor, fixedly arranged in the hollow inner cavity and respectively connected to the first speed reducer and the second speed reducer through output shafts, for respectively driving the first rim and the second rim to rotate around their own axes.

[0029] In one aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided an intelligent guiding and transporting device, including the aforementioned wheel side drive device.

[0030] Therefore, according to the embodiments of the present disclosure, by arranging the drive mechanism in the hollow inner cavity of the swing frame connecting the rims and driving the rotation of the rims by the drive mechanism, the structure of the wheel side drive device is made more compact, and it is more convenient to arrange the wheel side drive device on the equipment. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0031] The drawings forming a part of the specification depict embodiments of the present disclosure and, together with the description, are used to explain the principles of the present disclosure.

[0032] Referring to the drawings, the present disclosure can be more clearly understood from the following detailed description, wherein:

[0033] Figure 1 is a schematic structural diagram of some embodiments of the wheel side drive device according to the present disclosure.

[0034] It should be understood that the dimensions of the various parts shown in the drawings are not drawn in actual proportional relationships. In addition, the same or similar reference numerals represent the same or similar components. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS

[0035] Various exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure will now be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. The description of the exemplary embodiments is merely illustrative and in no way limits the present disclosure or its application or use. The present disclosure may be implemented in many different forms and is not limited to the embodiments described herein. These embodiments are provided to make the present disclosure thorough and complete and to fully convey the scope of the present disclosure to those skilled in the art. It should be noted that: unless otherwise specifically stated, the relative arrangements of components and steps, the components of materials, numerical expressions, and numerical values set forth in these embodiments should be construed as merely exemplary and not as limitations.

[0036] The terms "first", "second", and similar terms used in the present disclosure do not denote any order, quantity, or importance, but are merely used to distinguish different parts. Terms such as "comprising" or "including" mean that the elements preceding the term encompass the elements listed after the term, and do not exclude the possibility of also encompassing other elements. Terms such as "upper", "lower", "left", "right", etc. are only used to indicate relative positional relationships, and when the absolute position of the object being described changes, the relative positional relationship may also change accordingly.

[0037] In the present disclosure, when it is described that a specific device is located between a first device and a second device, there may or may not be an intermediate device between the specific device and the first device or the second device. When it is described that a specific device is connected to other devices, the specific device may be directly connected to the other devices without an intermediate device, or may not be directly connected to the other devices and have an intermediate device.

[0038] All terms used in the present disclosure (including technical terms or scientific terms) have the same meaning as understood by those of ordinary skill in the art to which the present disclosure pertains, unless otherwise specifically defined. It should also be understood that terms defined in a general dictionary, for example, should be construed as having a meaning consistent with their meaning in the context of the relevant art and should not be interpreted in an idealized or overly formal sense, unless specifically defined as such herein.

[0039] Techniques, methods, and devices known to those of ordinary skill in the relevant art may not be discussed in detail, but where appropriate, the techniques, methods, and devices should be regarded as part of the specification.

[0040] As Figure 1 shown, it is a schematic structural diagram of some embodiments of the in-wheel motor drive device according to the present disclosure. Refer to Figure 1, in some embodiments, the wheel side drive device includes: a swing frame 1 having a hollow inner cavity 11, a rim, and a drive mechanism. The swing frame 1 is preferably a welded structural member, making it lighter in weight and easier to process. Compared with the axles in the prior art, the production cycle of the swing frame 1 is shorter and the cost is lower. The swing frame 1 can also adopt other processing techniques, such as casting, etc.

[0041] The rim is rotatably connected to at least one side of the swing frame 1. A tire 5 can be sleeved on the outer periphery of the rim. The drive mechanism is at least partially disposed in the hollow inner cavity 11 and is connected to the rim for driving the rim to rotate about its own axis. Compared with the prior art method of transmitting the power of an external drive motor to the rim through a steering drive through-bridge or short-bridge, in this embodiment, the drive mechanism is disposed in the hollow inner cavity of the swing frame connecting the rim, which can effectively reduce the space occupied by the drive mechanism, simplify the connection structure, and make the overall structure more compact, so that it is more convenient and orderly to arrange the wheel side drive device on the equipment. Moreover, the drive mechanism in this embodiment drives the rim inside the swing frame, which not only shortens the drive distance, but also improves the reliability of the drive system and reduces the possibility of failure.

[0042] In order to make the size of the drive mechanism meet the built-in requirements, it is preferred that the drive mechanism includes a drive motor that can achieve a smaller size. The drive motor is also more convenient to control. The body of the drive motor can be fixedly disposed in the hollow inner cavity 11, and the rim is connected to the output shaft of the drive motor. In this way, when the drive motor operates, the output shaft of the drive motor can drive the rim to rotate about its own axis on the swing frame 1. The output shaft of the drive motor here can be directly connected to the rim to improve the power transmission efficiency, for example, fixedly connecting the output shaft to the mounting plate at the rotation center position of the rim. In some other embodiments, the output shaft of the drive motor and the rim can also be connected for power through some intermediate components, such as a speed reducer or a shorter connecting shaft.

[0043] Reference Figure 1 , in some embodiments, the drive mechanism includes a drive motor and a speed reducer. The body of the drive motor is fixedly disposed in the hollow inner cavity 11, and the speed reducer is fixedly disposed at the rotation center of the rim and is connected to the output shaft of the drive motor. For example, the output shaft of the drive motor is inserted into the input end of the speed reducer in a spline form to ensure more reliable torque transmission. The speed reducer can be connected to the drive motor through a connecting member (such as a bolt), and can also be connected to the rim through a connecting member (such as a bolt). The speed reducer can convert the output of the drive motor with a higher speed into an output with a lower speed and a higher torque to meet the operating speed and load requirements of the wheel side drive device.

[0044] Reference Figure 1, in some embodiments, the rotating part of the speed reducer can be fixedly connected to the rim through a flange. The wheel side drive device may further include a transition flange plate 6, and the drive motor and the speed reducer are respectively fixedly connected to both sides of the transition flange plate 6 through flanges. In this way, in order to ensure the coaxiality of the relatively heavy motor and the speed reducer, the coaxiality of the two stop mouths on both sides of the transition flange plate 6 can be used to solve the coaxiality problem between the motor and the speed reducer.

[0045] For the swing frame 1, the rim and the drive mechanism for driving the rim can be provided only on one side thereof. In order to improve the stability of the wheel side drive device, it is preferable to provide rims on both sides of the swing frame 1. The rims on both sides can be driven uniformly by the drive mechanism or can be driven separately by the drive mechanism.

[0046] Reference Figure 1 , in some embodiments, the rim includes: a first rim 21 and a second rim 22, which are respectively rotatably connected to both sides of the swing frame 1. The drive mechanism can independently drive the first rim 21 and the second rim 22. That is to say, through the driving action of the drive mechanism, the first rim 21 can have different rotational speeds and / or rotational directions from the second rim 22, so that the wheel side drive device can meet more complex motion requirements. In other embodiments, the drive mechanism can also drive the first rim 21 or the second rim 22 on one side, and the un-driven side on the other side serves as the driven side.

[0047] In Figure 1 , the drive mechanism may include: a first speed reducer 41, a second speed reducer 42, a first drive motor 31 and a second drive motor 32. The first speed reducer 41 and the second speed reducer 42 are respectively fixedly arranged at the rotation centers of the first rim 21 and the second rim 22. The first drive motor 31 and the second drive motor 32 are fixedly arranged in the hollow inner cavity 11 and are respectively connected to the first speed reducer 41 and the second speed reducer 42 through their respective output shafts. The first drive motor 31 and the second drive motor 32 can be respectively controlled by separate controllers, and the differential speed of the two wheels can be realized by changing the relationship between the rotational speeds and output torques of the two, so as to realize the steering of the wheel side drive device.

[0048] The first drive motor 31 and the second drive motor 32 can be of the same specification or can be of different specifications. The first speed reducer 41 and the second speed reducer 42 can be of the same specification or can be of different specifications.

[0049] Reference Figure 1, in some embodiments, a swing shaft or a shaft hole 12 for mounting the swing shaft may further be provided on the swing frame 1. By providing the swing shaft or the shaft hole 12, the swing frame 1 can swing relative to the swing shaft, so that the device using the wheel side drive device can achieve steering through the swing of the swing frame 1. The swing shaft or the shaft hole 12 may be perpendicular to the ground to make the steering smoother. The swing frame 1 is preferably of a symmetric structure, and the axis of the swing shaft is located in the symmetric plane of the swing frame 1, so that the wheel side drive device can achieve steering only through motor differential without relying on an external steering device. In other embodiments, the swing frame 1 may also be of an asymmetric structure.

[0050] In Figure 1 , the first wheel rim 21 and the second wheel rim 22 are symmetrically connected to both sides of the swing frame 1. The first speed reducer 41 and the second speed reducer 42 are respectively fixedly arranged at the rotation centers of the first wheel rim 21 and the second wheel rim 22. The first driving motor 31 and the second driving motor 32 are fixedly arranged in the hollow inner cavity 11 and are respectively connected to the first speed reducer 41 and the second speed reducer 42 through output shafts for respectively driving the first wheel rim 21 and the second wheel rim 22 to rotate around their own axes.

[0051] Through the arrangement structure of the above wheel side drive device embodiments, the wheelbase of the axle can be reduced (for example, less than 0.9 m), which is beneficial to reducing the overall width of the device using the wheel side drive device. Moreover, there are fewer components involved in the wheel side drive device, and both the motor and the speed reducer are mature components, which can be completed through simple assembly, with convenient and fast maintenance, and reduce the failure rate of the drive system, increasing the reliability of the whole machine. In addition, with the advantages of lower component cost and lower energy consumption, etc., the embodiments of the present disclosure are higher in overall economy than traditional axles. In some embodiments, the structure form of directly driving the speed reducer by the motor is adopted, and there are no other transmission or connection components in the middle, so the energy loss is lower. Compared with the transmission efficiency and energy utilization rate of traditional axles, the embodiments of the present disclosure can make the driving motor and the speed reducer be in the high-efficiency working area of ≥98% for a long time by selecting a speed reducer with a suitable reduction ratio and controlling the motor speed and torque, and the energy utilization rate of the whole system is greater than 96%, with less energy consumption.

[0052] Due to the advantages of simpler and more compact structure, good reliability, easy arrangement, etc. of the above wheel side drive device embodiments, they are applicable to various vehicles or the chassis of movable devices, especially applicable to intelligent guiding and transferring devices operating in intelligent ports and used for transporting containers or other goods. Therefore, the present disclosure also provides an intelligent guiding and transferring device, including any one of the foregoing wheel side drive devices.

[0053] Thus far, the embodiments of the present disclosure have been described in detail. To avoid obscuring the concept of the present disclosure, some details well known in the art have not been described. Those skilled in the art can fully understand how to implement the technical solutions disclosed herein based on the above description.

[0054] Although some specific embodiments of the present disclosure have been described in detail by way of examples, those skilled in the art should understand that the above examples are for illustrative purposes only and not for limiting the scope of the present disclosure. Those skilled in the art should understand that the above embodiments can be modified or partial technical features can be equivalently replaced without departing from the scope and spirit of the present disclosure. The scope of the present disclosure is defined by the appended claims.

Claims

1. A wheel side drive device, characterized in that, it comprises: A swing frame (1) having a hollow inner cavity (11); A rim rotatably connected to at least one side of the swing frame (1); A drive mechanism at least partially disposed within the hollow inner cavity (11) and connected to the rim for driving the rim to rotate about its own axis; and A tire (5) sleeved on the outer periphery of the rim; wherein, a swing shaft or a shaft hole (12) for installing a swing shaft is further provided on the swing frame (1), and the swing frame (1) can swing relative to the swing shaft; The rim comprises: A first rim (21) and a second rim (22) respectively rotatably connected to both sides of the swing frame (1); The drive mechanism comprises: A first speed reducer (41) and a second speed reducer (42) respectively fixedly disposed at the rotation centers of the first rim (21) and the second rim (22); A first drive motor (31) and a second drive motor (32) fixedly disposed within the hollow inner cavity (11) and respectively connected to the first speed reducer (41) and the second speed reducer (42) through their respective output shafts.

2. The wheel side drive device according to claim 1, characterized in that, The drive mechanism comprises: a drive motor, the body of the drive motor is fixedly disposed within the hollow inner cavity (11), and the rim is connected to the output shaft of the drive motor.

3. The wheel side drive device according to claim 1, characterized in that, The drive mechanism comprises: a drive motor and a speed reducer, the body of the drive motor is fixedly disposed within the hollow inner cavity (11), the speed reducer is fixedly disposed at the rotation center of the rim, and is connected to the output shaft of the drive motor.

4. The wheel side drive device according to claim 3, characterized in that, The rotating part of the speed reducer is fixedly connected to the rim through a flange.

5. The wheel side drive device according to claim 3, characterized in that, It further comprises: A transition flange plate (6), the drive motor and the speed reducer are respectively fixedly connected to both sides of the transition flange plate (6) through flanges.

6. The wheel side drive device according to claim 1, characterized in that, The swing frame (1) is a welded structural member.

7. The wheel side drive device according to claim 1, characterized in that, The drive mechanism is configured to drive the first rim (21) or the second rim (22), or independently drive the first rim (21) and the second rim (22).

8. The wheel side drive device according to claim 1, characterized in that, The swing frame (1) is a symmetric structure, and the axis of the swing shaft is located in the symmetry plane of the swing frame (1).

9. The wheel side drive device according to claim 8, characterized in that, The rim comprises: a first rim (21) and a second rim (22), symmetrically connected to both sides of the swing frame (1); the drive mechanism comprises: A first speed reducer (41) and a second speed reducer (42) respectively fixedly disposed at the rotation centers of the first rim (21) and the second rim (22); The first drive motor (31) and the second drive motor (32) are fixedly arranged in the hollow inner cavity (11) and are respectively connected to the first speed reducer (41) and the second speed reducer (42) through output shafts, and are used for respectively driving the first wheel rim (21) and the second wheel rim (22) to rotate around their own axes.

10. An intelligent guiding and transporting device, characterized in that it includes: The wheel-side drive device according to any one of claims 1 to 9.

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