Rail suspension type steering and advancing device capable of stably passing through ditch

Abstract

A track suspension type steering advancing device capable of stably passing through a trench adopts the design that a track intersection can be steered in situ, forward bridging is carried out by means of an extension support before crossing a track through groove, and backward bridging is carried out by means of the extension support after crossing the track through groove, so that track transfer advancing on a crossed track can be realized; and the steel plate can stably pass through the track through groove when crossing the track through groove. The utility model relates to the field of rail carrying tools, in the whole process of crossing a rail through groove, the height of a wheel hardly falls due to suspension, and the situation that the lower half part of the wheel is clamped or blocked by the rail through groove does not occur, so that the stability of crossing the rail through groove can be greatly improved; and the wheels cannot be clamped by the track through grooves, and the torque of the motor for driving the wheels does not need to be very large, so that the motor with the same torque can drive a larger load, and the overall load capacity is improved.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The utility model relates to the field of rail transport vehicles, and particularly relates to a rail suspension type steering and traveling device capable of smoothly crossing a ditch. Background Art

[0002] Rail transport is widely used in many fields. Its core concept is to use suspended rails to provide a traveling and moving route for transport vehicles, so as to realize the transportation of goods, products, parts, raw materials, components and other items that need to be moved or transferred from one position along the rails to the target position. The main application scenarios include logistics handling, warehouse management, drug distribution, intelligent food delivery, smart factory, semiconductor component handling, automated production line, unmanned factory, etc. Since the rails are suspended, they do not occupy ground space and will not have movement conflicts and interferences with ground personnel and equipment. Therefore, they operate reliably and stably, with high safety, and have relatively broad development potential and application value.

[0003] Due to the lack of stable, effective and low-cost cross-rail steering technology, the existing rail transport mainly uses single-track rails, that is, the rails are designed as single-track. Although this rail transport method can achieve full-area coverage of the rail path through the bending design of the rails, it is difficult to solve the traffic jam problem of the single track. Moreover, due to the use of the rail bending design, the actual distance between two points with a very short straight-line distance on the rails may be very long on the winding rail path. These two significant defects also limit the application of single-track rails.

[0004] To solve the above inherent defects of single-track rails, the rail transport rail-changing technology has also been developed to a certain extent. A relatively common rail-changing technology is similar to that of a train. A rail-changing device is set at the position where rail-changing is required. The working principle of this rail-changing device is similar to that of a railway switch device, so as to realize the rail-changing of the running route of the transport vehicle. Another rail-changing technology is to set a in-situ steering device at each intersection of the rails. This technology does not rely on the transport vehicle itself to achieve steering, but relies on the in-situ steering device at the intersection to achieve steering. Although it reduces the requirements for the transport vehicle, it also means that as many in-situ steering devices need to be set on the rails as there are intersections. This undoubtedly greatly increases the laying cost of the rails, as well as the complexity and maintenance difficulty of rail construction. The above two rail-changing methods both set rail-changing auxiliary mechanisms on the rails to realize the rail-changing of the transport vehicle, and the transport vehicle itself does not have the ability to change rails. In summary, it can be found that there are still many problems and deficiencies in the existing rail transport technology, especially the rail-changing technology at intersections. It is these problems and deficiencies that limit the application and development of rail transport technology. Therefore, there is an urgent need for a rail-changing technology that can achieve effective rail-changing and steering, operate stably and reliably, and has a relatively low rail construction cost and maintenance cost.

[0005] To solve the above problems, the inventor of the present invention proposed a solution for active track-changing steering and traveling in the previously filed Chinese patent "A Suspended Mobile Charging Pile System with Four-wheel Independent Drive and Steering" (Application No.: 2023201748902) and the Chinese patent "A Suspended Track Four-wheel Independent Steering and Traveling System" (Application No.: 2023214703187), which well solved the problem of autonomous track-changing at the intersection of cross tracks for track transportation. However, in subsequent further development and testing, it was found that although the track transportation robot designed according to the above two patents can indeed achieve autonomous track-changing at cross tracks, when it crosses the track through slot at the track intersection position, that is, when crossing a ditch, the smoothness of crossing the ditch is slightly lacking, and the motor torque required for the driving wheels to travel during the ditch-crossing process is relatively high. This situation also results in a low load capacity of the above-mentioned track transportation robot. To solve this problem, the present utility model proposes a track-suspended steering and traveling device that can cross the ditch smoothly, which can greatly improve the smoothness of crossing the ditch in this scenario and at the same time significantly improve the corresponding load capacity. Summary of the Invention

[0006] The purpose of the present utility model is to provide a track-suspended steering and traveling device that can cross the ditch smoothly, which can achieve in-situ steering at the intersection of cross-type suspended tracks, and can continue to travel along the path of the track after steering. And regardless of whether the current traveling direction of the steering and traveling device in the cross tracks is horizontal or vertical, it can pass smoothly when crossing the track through slot, and the height of the wheel hardly drops due to suspension during the whole process, and there will be no situation where the lower half of the wheel is stuck or blocked by the track through slot. This can greatly improve the smoothness of crossing the ditch, reduce the vibration and sway of the lower-mounted part, and moreover, since the wheel will not be stuck by the track through slot, the motor torque of the driving wheel does not need to be very large. In this way, a motor with the same torque can drive a larger load, thereby improving the overall load capacity.

[0007] To achieve the above invention purpose, the corresponding technical solutions are as follows:

[0008] An orbital suspension type steering and traveling device capable of smoothly crossing a ditch. The device is suspended and installed in the orbit, and the orbit is a suspended cross orbit arranged in a suspended manner, including an orbit supporting surface and an orbit through groove. Its orbital path includes a plurality of straight sections, a plurality of intersection sections, and greater than or equal to zero turning sections. The orbital suspension type steering and traveling device capable of smoothly crossing a ditch includes a traveling and steering module, an extended support, a mounting platform, a control unit, and a power supply module. The traveling and steering module and the extended support are both installed on the mounting platform. The traveling and steering module includes a steering drive unit and a plurality of drive wheels, and is powered by the power supply module. The steering drive unit is connected to the control unit. The traveling support plane of the drive wheels is the orbit supporting surface. The steering drive unit can rotate the wheel axis direction of the drive wheels along the horizontal plane so as to change the traveling direction of the drive wheels. The traveling states of the traveling and steering module include a longitudinal traveling state and a lateral traveling state. Under the control of the control unit, the traveling and steering module can move along the orbital path of the suspended cross orbit, and perform straight traveling or steering according to the needs of the traveling route at the intersection sections and turning sections of the suspended cross orbit. It should be noted that the longitudinal traveling state and the lateral traveling state do not refer to actual specific directions, but are only used to distinguish the changes in the traveling direction of the traveling and steering module before and after steering. Any current traveling state can be defined as the longitudinal traveling state or the lateral traveling state. For example, if the current traveling state is defined as the longitudinal traveling state, then when the traveling and steering module completes a turn, its traveling state becomes the lateral traveling state. And if the current traveling state is defined as the lateral traveling state, then when the traveling and steering module completes a turn, its traveling state becomes the longitudinal traveling state.

[0009] The external support includes a plurality of support portions. The bottom end of each support portion is higher than the bottom of the driving wheel in the vertical direction. The layout of the plurality of support portions satisfies that: whether the traveling steering module is in the longitudinal traveling state or the lateral traveling state, there is at least one support portion in front of the foremost driving wheel and at least one support portion behind the rearmost driving wheel along the advancing direction of the traveling steering module. And the horizontal distance between the bottom end of the foremost support portion and the bottom of the foremost driving wheel in the advancing direction of the traveling steering module is greater than or equal to the width of the track through groove, and the horizontal distance between the bottom end of the rearmost support portion and the bottom of the rearmost driving wheel in the advancing direction of the traveling steering module is greater than or equal to the width of the track through groove. When the traveling steering module travels along the track path, if the driving wheel with the most forward position along its traveling direction is called the front wheel and the driving wheel with the most rearward position along its traveling direction is called the rear wheel, then the above design can ensure that: when the traveling steering module crosses the track through groove, at least one support portion will cross the track through groove ahead of the front wheel, and after this support portion crosses the track through groove, before the front wheel is about to enter the critical state of suspension, this support portion has completely crossed the track through groove. In this way, when the front wheel enters the suspended state, since the traveling steering module loses the support of the front wheel, the lowermost end of the support portion that has crossed the track through groove will come into contact with the track supporting surface in front of the track through groove under the action of gravity. In this process, this support portion acts as an early bridge, so that the suspended front wheel will not drop significantly in the vertical direction, thus enabling the front wheel to cross the track through groove smoothly. If the traveling steering module continues to move forward at this time, the rear wheel will also cross the track through groove and enter the suspended state. At this time, there is also at least one support portion that crosses the track through groove behind the rear wheel. The lowermost end of this support portion will come into contact with the track supporting surface behind the track through groove under the action of gravity, actually acting as a backward bridge, so that the suspended rear wheel will not drop significantly in the vertical direction until the rear wheel comes into contact with the track supporting surface in front of the track through groove, and thus a complete crossing of the track through groove is completed.

[0010] Preferably, the bottoms of several supporting parts of the epitaxial support are at the same height in the vertical direction, and this height is 0.01 mm to 7 mm higher than the height of the bottom of the driving wheel. Keeping the bottom heights of the supporting parts consistent is to ensure consistency, which can make the entire process of crossing the ditch smoother and more stable. And good consistency is also very beneficial for the development of the motor and electronic control of the traveling and steering module. As for the height that the bottom of the supporting part is higher than the bottom of the driving wheel, theoretically, the smaller this value is, the better. When this value is smaller, the height that the front wheel or rear wheel drops due to suspension during the process of crossing the ditch will also be smaller, thus making the process of crossing the ditch smoother and more stable. However, in practice, due to manufacturing and assembly errors of parts, if this value is designed too small, it may cause the bottom of a certain supporting part to be lower than the bottom of a certain driving wheel, resulting in the driving wheel being lifted and remaining suspended all the time, and unable to provide the driving force for the traveling and steering module to move forward normally. Therefore, in actual implementation, this value needs to be reasonably selected according to the manufacturing and assembly errors of parts. Preferably, according to the different diameters of the driving wheels, this value should be selected between 0.01 mm and 7 mm. The smaller the diameter of the driving wheel, the smaller this value should be as much as possible. When the diameter of the driving wheel is larger, this value can be appropriately larger.

[0011] Preferably, the supporting part adopts a ball scheme. In this scheme, the supporting part includes a supporting column and a ball. The upper end of each supporting column is installed on the installation platform, and a ball installation cavity with an opening at the bottom is provided at the lowermost end of each supporting column. The ball is installed in the ball installation cavity and can roll freely in the ball installation cavity. The advantages of adopting the above ball scheme for the supporting part are very obvious, mainly including: simple structure, low cost, easy installation and maintenance, and high service life. In addition, since the ball pair belongs to a spherical pair, the degree of freedom is very high, and it can adapt to the bridging of ditches in any direction.

[0012] Preferably, the supporting part adopts a universal wheel scheme. In this scheme, the supporting part includes a universal wheel module, and the bottom of the universal wheel module is the lowermost end of the supporting part. The universal wheel scheme is also a preferred wheel set scheme for multi-degree-of-freedom and multi-directional driving on a plane. However, when used in the scenario of bridging ditches described in the present invention, it has slightly more disadvantages compared with the ball scheme. Its structure is relatively complex, the cost is slightly higher, and the service life is usually lower than that of the ball scheme. Moreover, when changing the traveling direction, the flexibility of the universal wheel is also slightly worse than that of the ball. Of course, the universal wheel scheme also has advantages. For example, when there are small hard dirt such as dust and iron filings on the driving surface, the universal wheel scheme is relatively less affected. When adopting the ball scheme, it may be affected by dust, iron filings, etc. entering the gap between the ball and the ball installation cavity, resulting in the ball being stuck or the smoothness of rolling being affected.

[0013] Preferably, the support part adopts an immovable hard connection solution. In this solution, the support part includes a support column, and the bottom end of the support column is a hemispherical protrusion protruding downward. The bottom end of the support column is the bottommost end of the support part. This solution is the simplest. During the bridging process, the hemispherical protrusion at the bottom end of the support part directly contacts the track supporting surface, and this hemispherical protrusion cannot roll. The relative movement between it and the track supporting surface can only be sliding. Therefore, in this case, in order to improve the smoothness of crossing the trench, the track supporting surface and the hemispherical protrusion should preferably be made of materials with relatively small frictional damping. When necessary, lubrication measures can also be added. The advantages and disadvantages of this solution are both obvious. The advantage is that the structure is simple and the cost is very low. The disadvantage is that the friction between the hemispherical protrusion and the track supporting surface is relatively significant, which will increase the traveling resistance during the trench crossing process and also affect the smoothness of crossing the trench. It should be noted that the so-called hemispherical protrusion does not refer to a strictly hemispherical shape, but only a general descriptive description of its shape. It can be a standard hemispherical shape, an ellipsoidal shape close to a hemispherical shape, or other shapes close to a hemispherical shape.

[0014] Preferably, the support part adopts a support wheel electric steering solution. In this solution, the support part includes a support wheel steering module and a support wheel. The bottom of the support wheel is the bottommost end of the support part, and the support wheel steering module can drive the support wheel to change the traveling direction. The characteristic of this solution is that a support wheel steering module needs to be added. When the traveling direction of the traveling steering module needs to be changed, the support wheel steering module is required to change the axle direction of the support wheel so that the rotation direction of the support wheel is consistent with the rotation direction of the driving wheel. The support wheel steering module can be an ordinary motor, a servo motor, or other devices that can be electrically driven to steer. This solution has certain advantages in the scenario of assisting in crossing the trench of the track through slot, especially for the case where the tracks intersect perpendicularly. This solution can not only have the reliability of changing the direction but also does not need to consider the influence of the dirt on the track supporting surface. However, the disadvantages of this solution are also relatively obvious. The biggest disadvantage is that the cost is relatively high and the structure is relatively complex.

[0015] Preferably, the traveling and steering module is a four-wheel independent in-situ steering and traveling module. The four-wheel independent in-situ steering and traveling module includes four independent steering and drive wheel modules. Each independent steering and drive wheel module includes a steering motor, a power motor, a rotating frame, and a drive wheel. The steering drive unit includes the steering motor and the rotating frame. The tread of the drive wheel contacts the track supporting surface during movement. The power motor is installed on the rotating frame. The rotating frame is fixedly connected to the rotating shaft of the steering motor. The drive wheel is provided with rotational power by the power motor. The rotating shaft of the steering motor is along the vertical direction, and the rotating shaft of the power motor is along the horizontal direction. The central axis of the rotating shaft of the steering motor intersects with the central axis of the rotating shaft of the power motor. The central axis of the rotating shaft of the steering motor passes through the center point where the tread of the drive wheel contacts the track supporting surface. Under the drive of the steering motor, each drive wheel can independently rotate in-situ around the center point where its tread contacts the track supporting surface. Under the drive of the power motor, each drive wheel can independently rotate forward and backward around its wheel axis. The characteristic of the above traveling and steering module is that the motors for traveling and steering are independent of each other. Therefore, its control strategy is relatively simple, and it is relatively stable and reliable in operation.

[0016] Preferably, the traveling and steering module is a four-wheel offset steering and traveling module. The drive wheel is an offset wheel. The four-wheel offset steering and traveling module includes four offset drive wheel modules. Each offset drive wheel module includes a power motor, a steering shaft, an offset wheel, and an angle locking module. The tread of the offset wheel contacts the track supporting surface during movement. The traveling and steering module further includes a steering shaft mounting hole. The power motor is fixedly installed at the lower end of the steering shaft. The upper end of the steering shaft is installed in the steering shaft mounting hole. The offset wheel is provided with rotational power by the power motor. The central axis of the steering shaft is along the vertical direction, and the rotating shaft of the power motor is along the horizontal direction. There is an offset distance between the center point where the tread of the offset wheel contacts the track supporting surface and the central axis of the steering shaft in the horizontal direction. The angle locking module is used to restrict the rotation of the steering shaft so that the steering shaft can be fixed when it rotates to a specific angle. Under the drive of the power motor, each offset wheel can independently rotate forward and backward around its wheel axis. The characteristic of the above traveling and steering module is that only four motors are required. With these four motors, both traveling along the track path and steering at the track intersection nodes can be achieved. Therefore, the hardware cost of this solution is significantly lower than the previous four-wheel independent in-situ steering and traveling solution that requires eight motors. However, this solution also has certain disadvantages compared with the four-wheel independent in-situ steering and traveling solution, mainly manifested in greater control difficulty and higher requirements for the overall control accuracy, track, and component accuracy.

[0017] Furthermore, the track-mounted steering and traveling device capable of smoothly crossing ditches further includes a traveling guiding unit. Preferably, the traveling guiding scheme is a "wheel-groove" constraint, specifically: the traveling guiding unit includes a track supporting surface guiding groove, which is a long groove provided on the track supporting surface along the track path, and the tread of the driving wheel contacts the track supporting surface guiding groove. When the traveling steering module moves along the track path, the driving wheel travels along the track supporting surface guiding groove.

[0018] Preferably, the traveling guiding scheme adopts a "guide wheel-track side wall" constraint, specifically: the traveling guiding unit includes a plurality of guide wheels, and the guide wheels are arranged on the traveling steering module. When the traveling steering module moves along the track path, the wheel surface of the guide wheel is constrained by the inner side wall of the track, so that the traveling steering module will not deviate from the path.

[0019] Advantages of the present utility model:

[0020] (1) In the present utility model, the design of the extension support enables the driving wheel not to significantly drop due to the wheel being suspended when crossing the track through slot, and will not be stuck by the track through slot. Therefore, whether going straight or turning at the track intersection node, it can smoothly cross the track through slot, realizing smooth and unobstructed ditch crossing and not being prone to vibration or bump;

[0021] (2) Due to the adoption of the extension support design, the track through slot hardly generates additional resistance to the driving wheel when crossing the ditch. Therefore, in the case of using motors with the same torque performance, the load capacity of the present utility model will be significantly greater than that without the extension support, because once the driving wheel partially falls into the track through slot, a very large motor torque is required to make the driving wheel cross over the track through slot. Therefore, the design of the extension support can greatly improve the load capacity of the traveling steering module, and the present utility model will have very significant advantages in application scenarios where heavy items or materials need to be transported;

[0022] (3) By using the traveling steering module of the present utility model, it is possible to achieve in-situ steering at the intersection of the cross-type suspended tracks and continue to travel along the track path after steering, meeting various traveling requirements of the track carrier vehicle for turning left, turning right, and going straight at the intersection, and can flexibly and reliably achieve track change and steering, thus easily achieving regional coverage of the track path;

[0023] (4) Since it can turn flexibly and borrow lanes flexibly, there is no problem of traffic congestion, and the path optimization of the carrier vehicle from the current position to the target position can be realized through reasonable path planning. This feature can also realize the flexible scheduling of the carrier vehicle on the track;

[0024] (5) The setting of the traveling guiding unit can ensure that the traveling steering module will not deviate from the path when moving along the track path of the suspension track, thus making the operation of the whole system stable and reliable.

[0025] (6) Since it does not rely on the steering device on the track and can achieve flexible steering at the intersection on the track by relying on the traveling steering module itself, there is no need to spend expensive costs to lay and deploy complex tracks. The track in the present utility model only needs to use simple profiles to complete the laying. The track itself has no moving parts and power devices, so the track construction cost and maintenance cost are relatively low, and it has good practicability and economy.

[0026] (7) In the present utility model, the track is suspended, which does not occupy the ground space and will not have movement conflicts and interferences with ground personnel and equipment. Therefore, the operation is reliable and stable, and the safety is high.

[0027] The above beneficial effects have been verified during the actual implementation in the product development process. In addition, it should be noted that the beneficial effects of the present utility model are not limited to the above description. The beneficial effects can be understood in combination with specific technical solutions and preferred implementation manners, and there are also descriptions of the technical effects and beneficial effects of a specific technical solution or preferred implementation manner interspersed in the invention content and the following implementation manners of the present utility model. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0028] Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of a track suspension type steering traveling device capable of smoothly crossing a ditch in the present utility model with a load hanging below and suspended on the track.

[0029] Figure 2 is an axonometric schematic diagram of a track suspension type steering traveling device capable of smoothly crossing a ditch in the present utility model. In the figure, the support part adopts a ball scheme, the traveling steering module adopts a four-wheel independent in-situ steering traveling scheme, and the traveling guiding scheme adopts a "guide wheel - track side wall" constraint.

[0030] Figure 3 is a schematic diagram of the lower view of a track suspension type steering traveling device capable of smoothly crossing a ditch in the present utility model. In the figure, the support part adopts a ball scheme, the traveling steering module adopts a four-wheel independent in-situ steering traveling scheme, and the traveling guiding scheme adopts a "guide wheel - track side wall" constraint.

[0031] Figure 4 is a schematic diagram of the process of a track suspension type steering traveling device capable of smoothly crossing a ditch in the present utility model crossing the track through slot. In the figure, the support part adopts a ball scheme, and the traveling steering module adopts a four-wheel independent in-situ steering traveling scheme.

[0032] Figure 5 This is a schematic diagram when the front wheel of a track - suspended steering and traveling device capable of smoothly crossing a ditch of the present utility model crosses the track through - slot, and when the traveling and steering module completes steering. In the figure, the support part adopts a ball scheme, and the traveling and steering module adopts a four - wheel independent in - place steering and traveling scheme.

[0033] Figure 6 This is a schematic diagram of the lower - view angle of a vertical cross - track.

[0034] Figure 7 This is a three - dimensional schematic diagram of a track - suspended steering and traveling device capable of smoothly crossing a ditch of the present utility model. In the figure, the support part adopts a universal wheel scheme, the traveling and steering module adopts a four - wheel independent in - place steering and traveling scheme, and the traveling guiding scheme adopts a "guide wheel - track side wall" constraint.

[0035] Figure 8 This is a three - dimensional schematic diagram of the independent steering drive wheel module.

[0036] Figure 9 These are the front - view schematic diagram and side - view schematic diagram of the independent steering drive wheel module.

[0037] Figure 10 This is a schematic diagram of the four drive wheels steering in - place when turning at the intersection of a vertical cross - track.

[0038] Figure 11 This is a three - dimensional schematic diagram of the traveling and steering module adopting a four - wheel offset steering and traveling scheme.

[0039] Figure 12 This is an exploded schematic diagram of the components of the traveling and steering module adopting a four - wheel offset steering and traveling scheme.

[0040] Figure 13 This is a top - view schematic diagram of the offset drive wheel module when the traveling and steering module adopts a four - wheel offset steering and traveling scheme.

[0041] Figure 14 This is a top - view schematic diagram of the traveling and steering module performing a steering action when the traveling and steering module adopts a four - wheel offset steering and traveling scheme. Detailed implementation mode

[0042] The following will further elaborate and describe the present utility model in detail in conjunction with the embodiments, implementation manners and drawings of the present utility model. It should be noted that the described embodiments or implementation manners are only a part of the embodiments or implementation manners of the present utility model, rather than all of them. The drawings are also only a schematic diagram for convenience of explanation, rather than a complete limitation of the implementation manners of the present utility model. Based on the embodiments or implementation manners in the present utility model, all other embodiments or implementation manners obtained by those of ordinary skill in the art without creative efforts shall fall within the scope of protection of the present utility model.

[0043] The following description of the embodiments or implementation manners of the present utility model is actually only illustrative and shall in no way be construed as a limitation to the present utility model and its application or use.

[0044] As Figures 1 - 5 shown, a track-mounted steering and traveling device capable of smoothly crossing a ditch. The device is suspended and installed in the track. The track is a suspended cross-track and is arranged in a suspended manner. It includes a track supporting surface and a track through groove. Its track path includes several straight sections 1, several intersection sections, and zero or more turning sections 4. It should be noted that the straight section 1 does not require to be a completely straight track section, but refers to a track section without bifurcation and large turning. The intersection section can be a cross intersection section 2 perpendicular to each other, or a "T" intersection 3. The turning section 4 refers to a track section that requires a large turn but has no bifurcation.

[0045] The track-mounted steering and traveling device capable of smoothly crossing a ditch includes a traveling and steering module, an extension support, an installation platform 8, a control unit, and a power supply module. The traveling and steering module and the extension support are both installed on the installation platform 8. The traveling and steering module includes a steering drive unit and several driving wheels, and is powered by the power supply module. The steering drive unit is connected to the control unit. The traveling support plane of the driving wheels is the track supporting surface. The steering drive unit can rotate the wheel axis direction of the driving wheels along the horizontal plane to change the traveling direction of the driving wheels. The traveling states of the traveling and steering module include a longitudinal traveling state and a lateral traveling state. Under the control of the control unit, the traveling and steering module can move along the track path of the suspended cross-track, and perform straight traveling or steering at the intersection section and turning section positions of the suspended cross-track according to the needs of the traveling route.

[0046] 〈Track implementation manner〉

[0047] As Figure 1 、 Figure 4 、 Figure 5 、 Figure 6As shown, the track is arranged in a suspended manner, and is used to provide a traveling track and a suspension supporting force for the traveling steering module. The specific dimensions, cross-section, material, etc. of the track are set according to actual load-bearing and strength requirements.

[0048] Preferably, the track includes a track supporting surface and a track through groove, and the track path of the track includes a plurality of straight sections 1, a plurality of intersection sections, and zero or more turning sections 4.

[0049] Figure 4 The process schematic diagram of the traveling steering module crossing the track through groove in the cross intersection section 2 is shown. In the figure, the cross intersection section 2 includes track bifurcations in two directions parallel and perpendicular to the picture plane. Since the track is hollow, the hollow cavity inside the track is called the track cavity. Among them, the track cavity parallel to the picture plane includes a left track cavity 211 and a right track cavity 209, and the track cavity perpendicular to the picture plane includes a longitudinal track cavity 210. The lower surface of the cavity of the left track cavity 211 is the left track supporting surface 219, and the lower surface of the cavity of the right track cavity 209 is the right track supporting surface 220.

[0050] As Figure 1 、 Figure 3 、 Figure 4 shown, a load module 10 is suspended below the track-suspended steering traveling device capable of smoothly crossing a ditch. The load module is the load that the track-suspended steering traveling device needs to transport or carry, such as various items, materials, equipment, instruments, etc. A connecting rod 9 is required to connect the traveling steering module and the load module 10. The track through groove is exactly used to enable the connecting rod 9 to pass through and the connecting rod 9 will not interfere with the track when moving along the track path. As Figure 4 、 Figure 6 shown, the track through groove includes a first through groove 101 on the straight section 1, a second through groove 215, a third through groove 216, a fourth through groove 217, and a fifth through groove 218 on the cross intersection section 2.

[0051] As shown in 1 Figure 6 shown, preferably, connection flanges are provided at the end faces of the straight section, intersection section, and turning section. Bolt holes are provided on the connection flanges to enable connection between track sections through the connection flanges and bolts. Preferably, the form of the connection flange is as shown by the first connection flange 104 provided at the end face of the straight section 1 in Figure 6 .

[0052] Preferably, the straight section 1 is an extruded profile, and the connection flange is a detachable flange.

[0053] Preferably, the track can be fixed by means of the ceiling, load-bearing columns, walls, etc. of the erection site, so that the track has load-bearing capacity.

[0054] When there is no ceiling, wall or load-bearing column in the erection site, preferably, the track can be suspended and fixed by means of column brackets, etc. The number, position, structure and material of the column brackets are set according to the actual load-bearing and construction requirements.

[0055] 〈Embodiment of the traveling and steering module〉

[0056] As Figures 1 - 10 shows a first preferred embodiment of the traveling and steering module. In this embodiment, the steering and traveling scheme adopts a four-wheel independent in-situ steering and traveling scheme. Specifically, the traveling and steering module includes four independent steering and driving wheel modules, namely the first independent steering and driving wheel module, the second independent steering and driving wheel module, the third independent steering and driving wheel module, and the fourth independent steering and driving wheel module. Each independent steering and driving wheel module includes a steering motor, a power motor, a rotating frame, and a driving wheel. For example, the first independent steering and driving wheel module includes a first steering motor 5, a first power motor 7, a first rotating frame 6, and a first driving wheel 11. The four wheels are the first driving wheel 11, the second driving wheel 12, the third driving wheel 13, and the fourth driving wheel 14 respectively. The tread of the driving wheel contacts the track supporting surface during movement. The power motor is installed on the rotating frame, and the rotating frame is fixedly connected to the rotating shaft of the steering motor. The driving wheel is provided with rotational power by the power motor. The rotating shaft of the steering motor is along the vertical direction, the rotating shaft of the power motor is along the horizontal direction, the center line of the rotating shaft of the steering motor intersects the center line of the rotating shaft of the power motor, and the center line of the rotating shaft of the steering motor passes through the center point where the tread of the driving wheel contacts the track supporting surface. Under the drive of the steering motor, each driving wheel can independently rotate in-situ around the center point where its tread contacts the track supporting surface. Under the drive of the power motor, each driving wheel can independently rotate forward and backward around its wheel axis center line.

[0057] Preferably, the traveling and steering module is connected to the load module 10 through a connecting rod 9. A suspension connection flange 15 is fixed at the lower end of the connecting rod 9 for connecting to the load module 10.

[0058] The characteristics of the first preferred embodiment of the above-mentioned traveling and steering module are that the motors for traveling and steering are independent of each other. Therefore, its control strategy is relatively simple and its operation is relatively stable and reliable.

[0059] Figures 11 - 14Shows the second preferred embodiment of the traveling steering module. In this embodiment, the steering traveling scheme adopts a four-wheel offset steering traveling scheme. Specifically, the traveling steering module is a four-wheel offset steering traveling module. In this embodiment, the drive wheels adopt an offset design, which is called offset wheels. The four-wheel offset steering traveling module includes four offset drive wheel modules. Each offset drive wheel module includes a power motor, a steering shaft, an offset wheel, and an angle locking module. The tread of the offset wheel contacts the track supporting surface during movement. The traveling steering module further includes a steering shaft mounting hole. The power motor is fixedly installed at the lower end of the steering shaft, and the upper end of the steering shaft is installed in the steering shaft mounting hole. The offset wheel is provided with rotational power by the power motor. The axis of the steering shaft is in the vertical direction, and the rotation axis of the power motor is in the horizontal direction. There is an offset distance between the center point of the tread of the offset wheel in contact with the track supporting surface and the axis of the steering shaft in the horizontal direction. The angle locking module is used to restrict the rotation of the steering shaft so that the steering shaft can be fixed when it rotates to a specific angle. Driven by the power motor, each offset wheel can independently rotate forward and backward around its wheel axis. The characteristic of the above-mentioned traveling steering module is that only four motors are required. With these four motors, it can not only travel along the track path but also turn at the track intersection node. Therefore, this scheme is significantly lower in hardware cost than the previous four-wheel independent in-situ steering traveling scheme that requires eight motors. However, this scheme also has certain disadvantages compared with the four-wheel independent in-situ steering traveling scheme, mainly manifested in the greater control difficulty and higher requirements for the overall control accuracy, track and component accuracy.

[0060] 〈Epitaxial support implementation method〉

[0061] Such as Figures 1 - 5 Illustrates the first implementation method of the epitaxial support. In the first implementation method of the epitaxial support, the epitaxial support includes 4 support parts, and ball bearings are provided at the bottom end of each support part. Figure 3 Shows the detailed schematic diagram of one of the support parts. The support part shown in the figure includes a first support extension frame 35, a first support column 32, a first ball bearing mounting part 33, and a first ball bearing 34. The bottom end of the ball bearing of each support part is higher than the bottom of the drive wheel in the vertical direction. In the first implementation method of the epitaxial support, the layout of the 4 support parts satisfies that: whether the traveling steering module is in the longitudinal traveling state or the lateral traveling state, there are two support parts in front of the frontmost drive wheel and two support parts behind the rearmost drive wheel along the advancing direction of the traveling steering module, and the horizontal distance between the bottom ends of the two front support parts and the bottom of the frontmost drive wheel in the advancing direction of the traveling steering module is greater than or equal to the width d of the track through slot. The width d of the track through slot is in Figure 4It is marked in (b). Similarly, the horizontal distance between the bottom end of the rear support part and the bottom of the rearmost driving wheel in the forward direction of the traveling and steering module is also greater than or equal to the width d of the track through groove. When the traveling and steering module travels along the track path, if the driving wheel with the most forward position along its traveling direction is called the front wheel, and the driving wheel with the most rear position along its traveling direction is called the rear wheel, then the above design can ensure that: when the traveling and steering module crosses the track through groove, at least one support part will cross the track through groove before the front wheel, and after this support part crosses the track through groove, before the front wheel is about to enter the critical state of suspension, this support part has completely crossed the track through groove. In this way, when the front wheel enters the suspended state, since the traveling and steering module loses the support of the front wheel, the lowest end of the support part that has crossed the track through groove will come into contact with the track supporting surface in front of the track through groove under the action of gravity. In this process, this support part acts as an early bridge-building role, so that the suspended front wheel will not have a significant drop in the vertical direction, thus enabling the front wheel to smoothly cross the track through groove. If the traveling and steering module continues to move forward at this time, the rear wheel will also cross the track through groove and enter the suspended state. At this time, at least one support part will cross the track through groove after the rear wheel, and the lowest end of this support part will come into contact with the track supporting surface behind the track through groove under the action of gravity, actually playing a role of building a bridge backward, so that the suspended rear wheel will not have a significant drop in the vertical direction until the rear wheel comes into contact with the track supporting surface in front of the track through groove, and thus a complete crossing of the track through groove is completed. Figure 4 Shows a schematic diagram of the process of crossing the track through groove with the help of the extended support, Figure 4 The arrow direction in (a) is the moving direction.

[0062] In the first embodiment of the extended support, the support part adopts a ball scheme. In this scheme, the upper end of each support column is installed on the installation platform 8 through a support extension frame, and a ball installation part is provided at the lowest end of each support column. The ball installation part is provided with a ball installation cavity with an opening at the bottom, and the ball is installed in the ball installation cavity and can freely roll in the ball installation cavity. The advantages of the support part adopting the above ball scheme are very significant, mainly including: simple structure, low cost, easy installation and maintenance, high service life. In addition, since the ball pair belongs to a spherical pair, the degree of freedom is very high, and it can adapt to bridging across grooves in any direction.

[0063] Figure 7 Shows the second embodiment of the extended support. In the second embodiment of the extended support, the support part adopts a universal wheel scheme. In this scheme, the support part includes a universal wheel module, and the bottom of the universal wheel module is the lowest end of the support part. Figure 7Among them, the supporting part includes 4 universal wheel modules, and their layout is similar to the first embodiment of the extension support. Figure 7 As shown, a universal wheel module includes a universal wheel fixed support seat 41, a universal wheel movable support seat 42, and a universal wheel 43.

[0064] 〈Embodiment of the traveling guiding unit〉

[0065] Furthermore, the track suspension type steering traveling device capable of smoothly crossing a ditch further includes a traveling guiding unit.

[0066] Preferably, the guiding scheme adopted in the first embodiment of the traveling guiding unit is the "wheel - wheel groove" constraint. Specifically: the traveling guiding unit includes a track supporting surface guiding groove, which is a long strip groove arranged on the track supporting surface along the track path. The tread of the driving wheel contacts the track supporting surface guiding groove. When the traveling steering module moves along the track path, the driving wheel travels along the track supporting surface guiding groove.

[0067] Preferably, as Figures 1 - 7 shown, the guiding scheme adopted in the second embodiment of the traveling guiding unit is the "guide wheel - track side wall" constraint. Specifically: the traveling guiding unit includes a plurality of guide wheels 31. The guide wheels 31 are arranged on the traveling steering module. When the traveling steering module moves along the track path, the wheel surface of the guide wheels 31 is constrained by the inner side wall of the track, so that the traveling steering module will not deviate from the path.

[0068] 〈Embodiment of the control unit〉

[0069] The control unit should at least have the capabilities of data analysis processing and control. It can be a general - purpose chip, such as a central processing unit CPU, a micro - controller unit MCU, etc., or a dedicated processing and control chip, or a circuit board module with the above - mentioned chips as the main control chip. Programs or software for implementing corresponding functions are usually loaded on the control unit. The present invention does not limit the type of the control unit. Based on the present invention, simply changing the type of the control unit should fall within the protection scope of the present invention.

[0070] 〈Embodiment of the power supply module〉

[0071] Preferably, the power supply module can be a rechargeable battery or can be powered through a wired power supply line. The present invention does not limit the type of the power supply module. Based on the present invention, simply changing the type of the power supply module should fall within the protection scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. An orbital suspension type steering and traveling device capable of smoothly crossing ditches, the device is suspended and installed in the track, the track is a suspended cross track, and is arranged in a suspended manner, including a track supporting surface and a track through groove, and its track path includes a plurality of straight sections, a plurality of intersection sections, and zero or more turning sections, and is characterized in that, It includes a traveling and steering module, an extended support, a mounting platform, a control unit, and a power supply module. The traveling and steering module and the extended support are both mounted on the mounting platform. The traveling and steering module includes a steering drive unit and a plurality of drive wheels, and is powered by the power supply module. The traveling support plane of the drive wheels is the track support plane. The steering drive unit can rotate the axial direction of the drive wheels along the horizontal plane to change the traveling direction of the drive wheels. The traveling states of the traveling and steering module include a longitudinal traveling state and a lateral traveling state. Under the control of the control unit, the traveling and steering module can move along the track path of the suspended cross track, and can go straight or turn at the intersection section and turning section of the suspended cross track according to the requirements of the traveling route. The extended support includes a plurality of support parts. The bottom end of each support part is higher than the bottom of the drive wheels in the vertical direction. The layout of the plurality of support parts satisfies that: whether the traveling and steering module is in the longitudinal traveling state or the lateral traveling state, there is at least one support part in front of the foremost drive wheel and at least one support part behind the rearmost drive wheel along the advancing direction of the traveling and steering module, and the horizontal distance between the bottom end of the foremost support part and the bottom of the foremost drive wheel in the advancing direction of the traveling and steering module is greater than or equal to the width of the track through slot, and the horizontal distance between the bottom end of the rearmost support part and the bottom of the rearmost drive wheel in the advancing direction of the traveling and steering module is greater than or equal to the width of the track through slot.

2. The track suspension type steering and traveling device capable of smoothly crossing a ditch according to claim 1, wherein The bottom ends of the plurality of support parts of the extended support are at the same height in the vertical direction, and this height is 0.01 mm to 7 mm higher than the height of the bottom of the drive wheels.

3. The track suspension type steering and traveling device capable of smoothly crossing a ditch according to claim 1, wherein, The support part includes a support column and a ball. The upper end of each support column is mounted on the mounting platform. The lowermost end of each support column is provided with a ball mounting cavity with an opening downward. The ball is mounted in the ball mounting cavity and can roll freely in the ball mounting cavity.

4. The track suspension type steering and traveling device capable of smoothly crossing a ditch according to claim 1, wherein The support part includes a universal wheel module, and the bottom of the universal wheel module is the lowermost end of the support part.

5. The track suspension type steering and traveling device capable of smoothly crossing a ditch according to claim 1, characterized in that, The support part includes a support column, and the bottom end of the support column is a hemispherical protrusion protruding downward, and the bottom end of the support column is the lowermost end of the support part.

6. The track suspension type steering and traveling device capable of smoothly crossing a ditch according to claim 1, wherein, The support part includes a support wheel steering module and a support wheel. The bottom of the support wheel is the lowermost end of the support part, and the support wheel steering module can drive the support wheel to change the traveling direction.

7. The track suspension type steering and traveling device capable of smoothly crossing a ditch according to claim 1, characterized in that The traveling and steering module is a four-wheel independent in-situ steering and traveling module. The four-wheel independent in-situ steering and traveling module includes four independent steering and driving wheel modules. Each independent steering and driving wheel module includes a steering motor, a power motor, a rotating frame, and a driving wheel. The steering drive unit includes the steering motor and the rotating frame. The tread of the driving wheel contacts the track supporting surface during movement. The power motor is installed on the rotating frame. The rotating frame is fixedly connected to the rotating shaft of the steering motor. The driving wheel is provided with rotational power by the power motor. The rotating shaft of the steering motor is along the vertical direction, and the rotating shaft of the power motor is along the horizontal direction. The axis line of the rotating shaft of the steering motor intersects with the axis line of the rotating shaft of the power motor. The axis line of the rotating shaft of the steering motor passes through the center point where the tread of the driving wheel contacts the track supporting surface. Driven by the steering motor, each driving wheel can independently rotate in-situ around the center point where its tread contacts the track supporting surface. Driven by the power motor, each driving wheel can independently rotate forward and backward around its wheel axis line.

8. The track suspension type steering and traveling device capable of smoothly crossing a ditch according to claim 1, characterized in that, The traveling and steering module is a four-wheel offset steering and traveling module. The driving wheel is an offset wheel. The four-wheel offset steering and traveling module includes four offset driving wheel modules. Each offset driving wheel module includes a power motor, a steering shaft, an offset wheel, and an angle locking module. The tread of the offset wheel contacts the track supporting surface during movement. The traveling and steering module further includes a steering shaft mounting hole. The power motor is fixedly installed at the lower end of the steering shaft. The upper end of the steering shaft is installed in the steering shaft mounting hole. The offset wheel is provided with rotational power by the power motor. The axis line of the steering shaft is along the vertical direction, and the rotating shaft of the power motor is along the horizontal direction. There is an offset distance between the center point where the tread of the offset wheel contacts the track supporting surface and the axis line of the steering shaft in the horizontal direction. The angle locking module is used to restrict the rotation of the steering shaft so that the steering shaft can be fixed when it rotates to a specific angle. Driven by the power motor, each offset wheel can independently rotate forward and backward around its wheel axis line.

9. The track suspension type steering and traveling device capable of smoothly crossing a ditch according to claim 1, characterized in that, It further includes a traveling guiding unit. The traveling guiding unit includes a track supporting surface guiding groove. The track supporting surface guiding groove is a long strip-shaped groove provided on the track supporting surface along the track path. The tread of the driving wheel contacts the track supporting surface guiding groove. When the traveling and steering module moves along the track path, the driving wheel travels along the track supporting surface guiding groove.

10. The track suspension type steering and traveling device capable of smoothly crossing a ditch according to claim 1, characterized in that, It further includes a traveling guiding unit. The traveling guiding unit includes a plurality of guiding wheels. The guiding wheels are arranged on the traveling and steering module. When the traveling and steering module moves along the track path, the wheel surface of the guiding wheel is restricted by the inner side wall of the track, so that the traveling and steering module will not deviate from the path.

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