A multifunctional deformation wheel

Abstract

The present invention discloses a multifunctional deformable wheel, including a skeleton system, a driving wheel group, a road wheel group and a track; the telescopic cylinder can drive the road wheel group to move to a first state: the driving wheel body and the road wheel body are distributed in a circle, and the track is in a circular ring shape; it can also drive the road wheel group to move to a second state: the road wheel body close to the ground is distributed in a straight line, and its bottom edge is lower than the driving wheel body, and the lower side section of the track is in contact with the ground. The skeleton plate is an integral plate, and the driving wheel body is installed on the skeleton plate, which can greatly improve its installation stability. When the mobile platform is running at high speed and encounters an obstacle impact, it can effectively prevent the driving wheel body from being displaced and the track from being loosened. In the tracked form, the bottom edge of the road wheel body is lower than the driving wheel body, that is, the driving wheel body is in a suspended state. This suspended design can effectively reduce the probability of a direct collision between the driving wheel body and an obstacle on the ground, thereby protecting the driving wheel body.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The invention mainly relates to the technical field of deformation wheels, and in particular to a multifunctional deformation wheel. Background Art

[0002] Wheeled mobile platforms have advantages such as simple structure, high speed and easy control, but they also have disadvantages such as low steering efficiency, large turning radius and poor obstacle crossing ability; tracked mobile platforms have advantages such as low rolling resistance, small ground contact pressure, large support area, small turning radius and excellent obstacle crossing ability, but they also have disadvantages such as large energy loss and slow walking speed; the two have different adaptability in different usage scenarios. In order to adapt to more complex usage scenarios or facilitate conversion between different types of usage scenarios, a multifunctional deformable wheel that can realize free transformation of wheeled or tracked structures through structural deformation is needed.

[0003] Although the prior art (such as the technical solution disclosed in the Chinese patent named "Deformable Wheel" and application number 202210112848.8) has disclosed the design concept of deformable wheels, the crawler type is triangular. In this state, the two driving wheel bodies (i.e., the wheel bodies that drive the crawler to rotate, called support wheels in the patent document) are close to the ground one after the other. When the mobile platform moves at high speed, obstacles on the ground will directly impact the driving wheel body located at the front side, so the structure is very easy to be damaged. Once the driving wheel body is damaged, the crawler loses its reliable driving force, which will cause the mobile platform to lose its mobility.

[0004] Moreover, since the mounting base of the driving wheel body is a movable structure (the supporting wheel uses the first transmission component as the mounting base, and the first transmission component is a movable structure), and the stability of the movable structure is often not as good as the fixed structure, when the mobile platform moves at high speed, obstacles on the ground will cause impact on the mounting base of the driving wheel body. At this time, the movable structure may be deformed due to the impact, thereby causing the driving wheel body to move, which may cause the track to loosen from the driving wheel body.

[0005] Therefore, it is necessary to optimize the structure of the deformation wheel. Summary of the invention

[0006] The technical problem to be solved by the present invention is to overcome the deficiencies of the prior art and provide a multifunctional deformation wheel.

[0007] In order to solve the above technical problems, the present invention adopts the following technical solutions:

[0008] A multifunctional deformable wheel, comprising:

[0009] The skeleton system includes a skeleton plate and several telescopic cylinders installed on the skeleton plate; the skeleton plate is an integral plate and a fixed structure, which is more stable than the movable structure in the prior art. By setting up the skeleton system and using the skeleton plate to provide a stable installation foundation for other components, the stability of the overall structure is guaranteed, so that the deformation wheel can work more reliably in different form conversions and operation processes, and avoid failures caused by loose structures; the telescopic cylinders installed on the skeleton plate can accurately and powerfully drive the load-bearing wheel group to change its position, so as to realize the free switching between wheeled and crawler structures, meet the needs of different scenarios, and solve the problem of poor adaptability of the single structure of traditional mobile platforms.

[0010] The driving wheel group includes a driving wheel body, which is installed on a skeleton plate, and also includes a transmission gear group with one end meshing with the driving wheel body and the other end meshing with an external speed change device; the driving wheel body is installed on the skeleton plate, which greatly improves its installation stability compared with the prior art in which the driving wheel body is installed on a movable structure. When the mobile platform encounters an obstacle impact when running at high speed, it can effectively prevent the driving wheel body from being displaced and the track from loosening; the setting of the transmission gear group, on the one hand, realizes the effective connection between the driving wheel body and the external speed change device, making the power transmission smoother and more efficient to meet different speed requirements, and on the other hand, ensures the synchronous rotation of the two driving wheel bodies at the same azimuth angle, so that the force is more evenly distributed during crawler movement and the operation is smoother, overcoming the disadvantages of the prior art such as easy damage of the track and unstable movement of the mobile platform due to uncoordinated driving.

[0011] The road wheel assembly includes a mounting frame with one end hinged to the frame plate and the other end connected to the telescopic cylinder, and a plurality of road wheel bodies arranged on the mounting frame; this structural design enables the road wheel assembly to flexibly change position under the drive of the telescopic cylinder to achieve the switching between wheeled and tracked forms. In the tracked form, the road wheel body can effectively support the track, disperse the pressure, and prevent the track from being deformed or damaged due to excessive local pressure; in the wheeled form, the road wheel body and the driving wheel body work together to ensure the smooth operation of the mobile platform, improve the overall obstacle crossing ability and the ability to adapt to complex terrain, which is a great improvement compared to the single support structure of the traditional wheeled or tracked mobile platform.

[0012] The crawler track is mounted on the driving wheel body and the road wheel body and protrudes from the frame plate, and the crawler track is meshed with the driving wheel body; the meshing design of the crawler track and the driving wheel body ensures reliable power transmission, and the driving wheel body can accurately drive the crawler track to operate, so that the mobile platform can have stable driving force whether it is driving at high speed on a flat road or crawling slowly on complex terrain, avoiding the situation in the prior art where the driving structure is unstable and the crawler track is easy to loosen and loses mobility, and the crawler track protruding from the frame plate can better fit the surface of the obstacle when surmounting the obstacle, thereby improving the obstacle surmounting effect.

[0013] The telescopic cylinder can drive the road wheel group to move to the first state: the driving wheel body and the road wheel body are distributed in a circle, and the crawler track is in a ring shape; it can also drive the road wheel group to move to the second state: the road wheel body close to the ground is distributed in a straight line, and its bottom edge is lower than the driving wheel body, and the lower side section of the crawler track is in contact with the ground. This flexible deformation design allows the mobile platform to quickly switch between wheeled and crawler forms according to actual use scenarios. On flat roads that need to move quickly, switch to the wheel form to reduce energy loss and increase the moving speed; when encountering complex terrain and an environment with many obstacles, switch to the crawler form, and use the advantages of the crawler track to achieve stable obstacle crossing and small radius steering, which greatly broadens the scope of application of the mobile platform and solves the problem that traditional wheeled and crawler mobile platforms cannot take into account different scenarios. In particular, in the crawler form, the bottom edge of the road wheel body is lower than the driving wheel body, that is, the driving wheel body is in a suspended state. This suspended design can effectively reduce the probability of direct collision between the driving wheel body and obstacles on the ground, thereby protecting the driving wheel body.

[0014] As a further improvement of the above technical solution:

[0015] The skeleton system also includes a slip ring installed through the middle of the skeleton plate, and the slip ring has a built-in hydraulic pipe for connecting the hydraulic telescopic cylinder and the external hydraulic station. The design of the slip ring and the built-in hydraulic pipe enables the hydraulic telescopic cylinder to maintain a stable hydraulic connection with the external hydraulic station during the rotation or deformation of the skeleton plate, ensuring uninterrupted power supply to the telescopic cylinder, thereby ensuring the smooth deformation of the road wheel group, avoiding power transmission failures caused by entanglement and pulling of the hydraulic pipe, and improving the reliability and stability of the entire deformation wheel system.

[0016] There are two skeleton plates, which are spaced apart, and the transmission gear set is located in the gap between the two skeleton plates. The two spaced apart skeleton plates provide a relatively closed and stable installation space for the transmission gear set, which can not only protect the transmission gear set from external interference such as collision and dust, and extend its service life, but also ensure that the transmission gear set is accurately meshed and efficiently transmitted in a stable environment, further improve the synchronous rotation accuracy of the driving wheel body, and provide more reliable power support for crawler-type movement, which is a great improvement compared to the unstable installation foundation of the driving wheel body in the prior art.

[0017] The skeleton plate is configured as a polygonal plate, each side of which is equipped with a telescopic cylinder, and each corner of which is equipped with a driving wheel body. The polygonal skeleton plate structure cooperates with multiple sets of telescopic cylinders and driving wheel bodies. On the one hand, the overall force of the deformable wheel is more uniform, and in complex force conditions, such as obstacle crossing and high-speed turning, the pressure can be better dispersed to avoid local structural damage; on the other hand, multiple driving wheel bodies work together to improve the driving force during crawler movement and enhance the obstacle crossing ability. Compared with the single driving wheel body layout of the traditional deformable wheel, it has a stronger ability to adapt to complex scenes.

[0018] The skeleton plate is arranged in an equilateral triangle. The equilateral triangle skeleton plate has a unique advantage in stability. During the process of the deformation wheel switching the shape and running, even if it is impacted by an unbalanced external force, it can quickly restore the balance by relying on its own structural characteristics, ensure the relative position stability of each component, prevent the internal components from being dislocated and damaged due to the deformation of the skeleton plate, and ensure the continuous and reliable operation of the mobile platform, which is particularly suitable for complex and changeable outdoor working environments. In addition, since telescopic cylinders and road wheel assemblies are installed on each side of the skeleton plate, and driving wheel assemblies are installed on each corner, the skeleton plate is arranged in an equilateral triangle, and the number of telescopic cylinders, driving wheel assemblies and road wheel assemblies can be reduced to a minimum without affecting the deformation, thereby simplifying the structure and reducing costs.

[0019] The telescopic cylinder is located at the center of each side of the skeleton plate, and its telescopic direction is perpendicular to the side. Such a layout enables the telescopic cylinder to push the road wheel group to move more evenly, avoiding problems such as uneven movement and inaccurate deformation of the road wheel group caused by the offset position of the telescopic cylinder or the incorrect telescopic direction. The telescopic cylinder is perpendicular to the telescopic direction of the edge of the skeleton plate, which can ensure that the road wheel group always maintains a vertical relationship with the skeleton plate during movement, thereby ensuring the tension and stability of the track during the deformation process, avoiding the phenomenon of loosening and slipping of the track during deformation, improving the stability and reliability of the deformation wheel during the deformation process, and ensuring that the deformation wheel can work normally in different forms.

[0020] A driving wheel body is installed on the corner of each frame plate, and the two driving wheels at the same azimuth are meshed with the same transmission gear set to achieve synchronous rotation. The synchronous rotation design of the dual driving wheels at the same azimuth greatly enhances the driving force during crawler movement, especially in complex terrain with large resistance, such as mud, sand, steep slopes, etc., which can drive the crawler more powerfully to ensure the smooth passage of the mobile platform. At the same time, it also improves the stability of the crawler operation, reduces the crawler vibration and wear caused by uneven driving force, and extends the service life of the crawler.

[0021] The driving wheel set also includes a cover shell mounted outside the transmission gear set. The setting of the cover shell can effectively protect the transmission gear set from the invasion of external dust and debris and the influence of harsh environments such as rain, mud and sand, so as to ensure the normal operation and service life of the transmission gear set. At the same time, the cover shell can also play a certain role in sound insulation and heat insulation, reducing the influence of noise and heat generated by the transmission gear set during operation on the surrounding environment and other components of the mobile platform, thereby improving the overall performance and reliability of the deformable wheel.

[0022] Two sets of the road wheel assemblies are installed on each side of the skeleton plate, and the telescopic cylinders located on the side synchronously push the two to move symmetrically. This symmetrical layout of the road wheel assembly design allows the road wheel assemblies on both sides to move synchronously and evenly during the deformation process, thereby ensuring that the tension and stability of the track during the deformation process are more balanced. The symmetrically moving road wheel assembly can effectively avoid problems such as track deflection and distortion caused by one side of the road wheel assembly moving too fast or too slow, improve the stability and reliability of the deformation wheel during the deformation process, and also enable the deformation wheel to maintain a good working condition in different forms, improving the driving performance and passability of the mobile platform.

[0023] The mounting frame is configured as a three-link structure, and the road wheel body is mounted in the middle section; one end of the mounting frame is hinged to the frame plate, and the other end is connected to the movable end of the telescopic cylinder. The mounting frame of the three-link structure not only ensures the flexibility of the connection between the road wheel body, the frame plate, and the telescopic cylinder, so that they can smoothly complete the position change and realize the form switching, but also provides a certain buffering capacity for the road wheel body during operation. When encountering ground bumps and obstacles, it can effectively reduce the impact force on the frame plate and the telescopic cylinder, protect the overall structure, and improve the reliability and durability of the deformable wheel. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0024] Figure 1 is a front view schematic diagram of the multifunctional deformation wheel in Example 1;

[0025] Figure 2 is a three-dimensional schematic diagram of the multifunctional deformation wheel in Example 1;

[0026] Figure 3 is a simplified structural diagram of the multifunctional deformation wheel in Example 1;

[0027] Figure 4 is a front view schematic diagram of the multifunctional deformation wheel in Example 2;

[0028] Figure 5 It is a simplified structural diagram of the multifunctional deformation wheel in Example 2.

[0029] The numbers in the figure represent: 1. frame system; 11. frame plate; 111. mounting hole; 12. telescopic cylinder; 13. slip ring; 14. hydraulic pipe; 2. driving wheel set; 21. driving wheel body; 22. transmission gear set; 3. road wheel set; 31. mounting frame; 32. road wheel body; 33. auxiliary wheel; 4. track. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0030] The present invention will be further described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings and specific embodiments.

[0031] Example 1

[0032] like Figures 1 to 3 As shown, the multifunctional deformable wheel in this embodiment is in a track-type form, which includes a skeleton system 1, a driving wheel set 2, a load-bearing wheel set 3 and a track 4.

[0033] Specifically, the skeleton system 1 includes two skeleton plates 11 arranged at intervals, and the two skeleton plates 11 have the same shape and are both regular triangle plates. A telescopic cylinder 12 is installed at the center of each of the three sides of the skeleton plate 11. The telescopic cylinder 12 spans the two skeleton plates 11, and the telescopic direction of its movable end is perpendicular to the side of the skeleton plate 11. At the same time, the centroids of the two skeleton plates 11 are formed with mounting holes 111, and the mounting holes 111 are provided with slip rings 13. The slip rings 13 pass through the two skeleton plates 11, and a plurality of hydraulic pipes 14 are provided inside the slip rings 13; one end of the hydraulic pipe 14 built into the slip ring 13 is connected to the telescopic cylinder 12, and the other end thereof is connected to the external hydraulic station. The external hydraulic station transmits hydraulic oil to the telescopic cylinder 12 through the hydraulic pipe 14, so as to drive the telescopic cylinder 12 to extend or contract.

[0034] The driving wheel set 2 includes three driving wheel bodies 21 respectively mounted on the three corners of the frame plate 11, and a transmission gear set 22 for transmitting torque, one end of which is meshed with the driving wheel body 21 and the other end is meshed with an external speed change device. The transmission gear set 22 is arranged in the gap between the two frame plates 11, and a cover (not shown in the figure) is provided on the outside to protect the transmission gear set 22 from impurities and external impacts. The two driving wheel bodies 21 at the same azimuth are meshed with the same transmission gear set 22, and the two can achieve synchronous rotation under the drive of the transmission gear set 22.

[0035] The road wheel group 3 includes six groups of mounting frames 31, two groups of mounting frames 31 are arranged on each of the three sides of the frame plate 11, and the two groups of mounting frames 31 located on the same side are symmetrical along the center line of the frame plate 11. The mounting frames 31 are arranged in a three-link structure, one end of which is hinged to the frame plate 11, and the other end is connected to the movable end of the telescopic cylinder 12. The two groups of mounting frames 31 located on the same side are connected to the same telescopic cylinder 12, and the two groups move synchronously and symmetrically under the drive of the telescopic cylinder 12. Two groups of road wheel bodies 32 are installed on each group of mounting frames 31, and the road wheel bodies 32 are located in the middle section of the mounting frames 31.

[0036] The crawler 4 is mounted on the driving wheel body 21 and the road wheel body 32, and meshes with the driving wheel body 21. The crawler 4 can rotate under the drive of the driving wheel body 21. In addition, the crawler 4 protrudes outside the frame plate 11, that is, the frame system 1, the driving wheel set 2 and the road wheel set 3 are all covered on the inner side of the crawler 4.

[0037] In this embodiment, a secondary wheel 33 is also installed on the mounting frame 31, the telescopic cylinder 12 is in a retracted state, the road wheel bodies 32 and secondary wheels 33 on the two sets of mounting frames 31 on the same side are distributed in a straight line, and the bottom edges of the road wheel bodies 32 and secondary wheels 33 close to the ground are lower than the driving wheel body 21 (the driving wheel body 21 is suspended), and at this time, the crawler 4 presents a hexagonal ring structure. In this state, the bottom edge of the skeleton plate 11 is parallel to the ground, and the crawler 4 corresponding to this edge can fit the ground.

[0038] The external speed change device can be a reduction box disclosed in Chinese patent application number CN202220231096.2, whose output shaft is meshed with the transmission gear set 22 and whose output flange is fixed to the skeleton plate 11. When the multifunctional deformable wheel is in a crawler-type form, the output flange of the reduction box is fixed and only the output shaft rotates, thereby driving the driving wheel body 21 to rotate, and then driving the crawler 4 to rotate.

[0039] Example 2

[0040] like Figure 4 and Figure 5 As shown, the multifunctional deformable wheel in this embodiment is in a wheeled shape, and the only difference from Embodiment 1 is that the telescopic cylinder 12 is elongated, and at this time the driving wheel body 21 and the road wheel body 32 are distributed in a circle, and the crawler track 4 mounted thereon is in a circular ring shape.

[0041] The external speed change device can be a reduction box disclosed in Chinese patent application number CN202220231096.2, whose output shaft is meshed with the transmission gear set 22 and whose output flange is fixed to the skeleton plate 11. When the multifunctional deformable wheel is in a crawler-type form, the output flange and output shaft of the reduction box rotate simultaneously, thereby driving the crawler 4 to rotate.

[0042] Although the present invention has been disclosed as above with preferred embodiments, it is not intended to limit the present invention. Any technician familiar with the art can make many possible changes and modifications to the technical solution of the present invention by using the technical content disclosed above without departing from the scope of the technical solution of the present invention, or modify it into an equivalent embodiment of equivalent changes. Therefore, any simple modification, equivalent change and modification made to the above embodiments according to the technical essence of the present invention without departing from the content of the technical solution of the present invention should fall within the scope of protection of the technical solution of the present invention.

Claims

1. A multifunctional deformation wheel, characterized in that: include: A skeleton system (1) comprises a polygonal skeleton plate (11) and a plurality of telescopic cylinders (12) mounted on the skeleton plate (11); A driving wheel assembly (2) comprising a driving wheel body (21) mounted on the frame plate (11), and a transmission gear assembly (22) having one end meshing with the driving wheel body (21) and the other end meshing with an external speed change device; The road wheel assembly (3) comprises a mounting frame (31), two sets of the mounting frames (31) are arranged on each side of the frame plate (11), two sets of road wheel bodies (32) are mounted on each set of the mounting frames (31), the mounting frames (31) are arranged in a three-link structure, and the road wheel bodies (32) are mounted in the middle section; one end of the mounting frame (31) is hinged to the frame plate (11), and the other end is connected to the movable end of the telescopic cylinder (12); A crawler belt (4) is mounted on the driving wheel body (21) and the road wheel body (32) and protrudes outside the frame plate (11), wherein the crawler belt (4) is meshed with the driving wheel body (21); The telescopic cylinder (12) can drive the road wheel assembly (3) to move to a first state: the driving wheel body (21) and the road wheel body (32) are arranged in a circle, and the crawler track (4) is in a circular ring shape; it can also drive the road wheel assembly (3) to move to a second state: the road wheel body (32) close to the ground is arranged in a straight line, and its bottom edge is lower than the driving wheel body (21), and the lower side section of the crawler track (4) is in contact with the ground.

2. The multifunctional deformation wheel according to claim 1, characterized in that: The skeleton system (1) further comprises a slip ring (13) installed through the middle of the skeleton plate (11), wherein the slip ring (13) has a built-in hydraulic pipe (14) for connecting the hydraulic telescopic cylinder (12) and an external hydraulic station.

3. The multifunctional deformation wheel according to claim 1, characterized in that: There are two skeleton plates (11) which are spaced apart from each other, and the transmission gear set (22) is located in the gap between the two skeleton plates (11).

4. The multifunctional deformation wheel according to claim 1, characterized in that: Each side of the skeleton plate (11) is mounted with a telescopic cylinder (12), and each corner thereof is mounted with a driving wheel body (21).

5. The multifunctional deformation wheel according to claim 4, characterized in that: The skeleton plate (11) is arranged in the shape of an equilateral triangle.

6. The multifunctional deformation wheel according to claim 4, characterized in that: The telescopic cylinder (12) is located at the center of each side of the frame plate (11), and its telescopic direction is perpendicular to the side.

7. The multifunctional deformation wheel according to claim 3, characterized in that: A driving wheel body (21) is mounted on a corner of each frame plate (11), and two driving wheel bodies (21) located at the same azimuth angle mesh with the same transmission gear set (22) to achieve synchronous rotation.

8. The multifunctional deformation wheel according to claim 1, characterized in that: The driving wheel set (2) further comprises a cover casing which is sleeved outside the transmission gear set (22).

9. The multifunctional deformation wheel according to claim 1, characterized in that: Two sets of the road wheel assemblies (3) are installed on each side of the frame plate (11), and the telescopic cylinders (12) located on the side synchronously push the two to move symmetrically.

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