Manipulator

Abstract

To provide a manipulator making it possible to input a manipulation suitable for a moving body which moves on a horizontal surface.SOLUTION: A manipulator 5 receives a manipulation input concerning translation of a moving body and / or swiveling about a vertical axis from a user who manipulates a moving body 1. The manipulator includes at least three leg parts 58 extending upward from a vehicle body 2, a manipulation unit 51 that is coupled to each of the leg parts and receives a manipulation input from the user, and a displacement sensor 64 that detects a displacement quantity in a horizontal direction of the manipulation unit. When seen from above, each of the leg parts is located at a position away from a straight line which connects two selected leg parts out of the other leg parts.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 6

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to an operating device, and more particularly to an operating device that accepts an operation input for a moving object that translates and / or rotates within a horizontal plane. [Background technology]

[0002] In factories and other places, carts are used as moving objects for transporting heavy loads. When using a cart to transport a load, the user must apply a large driving force to the cart to push it forward at the start of the transport. This type of transport work places a heavy burden on the user.

[0003] In order to reduce the burden of transportation work, Patent Document 1 discloses an assist unit that assists the driving force applied to the cart by the user.

[0004] The assist unit includes a unit body connected to the cart, an operating handle provided on the unit body, and a sensor for detecting the operating force input to the operating handle. The unit body further includes a pair of left and right drive wheels and an electric motor for applying an assist force to the drive wheels.

[0005] The operating handle is disposed above the unit body and is rod-shaped extending horizontally in the left-right direction. The operating handle is connected to the unit body via two plates disposed at positions spaced apart on the left and right. When a user presses the operating handle, the operating force input from the operating handle is detected by a sensor, and an assist force corresponding to the detected operating force is applied from the electric motor to the drive wheels. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0006] [Patent Document 1] JP 2014-189073 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0007] A moving body such as a cart is placed on a horizontal plane, and a user performs operation input to rotate the moving body in the horizontal plane in the forward / backward / left / right directions or around a vertical axis. In the assist unit of Patent Document 1, when a user pushes the operating handle forward to move the moving body forward, the connection part between the plate material and the unit body is bent. As a result, the operating handle rotates around the connection part between the plate material and the unit body in a side view, and the operating handle is displaced in a direction different from the moving direction of the moving body intended by the user, which may cause a user operating the moving body to feel uncomfortable when performing the operation input.

[0008] In view of the above background, an object of the present invention is to provide an operation device that can perform operation input suitable for a moving object that moves within a horizontal plane. [Means for solving the problem]

[0009] In order to solve the above problems, one aspect of the present invention is an operating device (5) that receives operation inputs related to translation and / or rotation of a moving body (1) about a vertical axis from a user who operates the moving body, the operating device having at least three legs (58) extending upward from a vehicle body (2), operating units (51) connected to each of the legs and receiving operation inputs from the user, and a displacement sensor (64) that detects the horizontal displacement amount of the operating units, and in a top view, each of the legs is located at a distance from a straight line connecting two selected legs among the other legs.

[0010] According to this embodiment, the leg that is located away from the straight line connecting the two legs acts to resist the moment around the horizontal axis that may occur in the operation unit, thereby reducing the rotational movement of the operation unit around the horizontal axis when an operation input is made, and thus it is possible to provide an operation device that can perform operation input suitable for a moving object that moves within a horizontal plane.

[0011] In the above aspect, preferably, the device has four legs, and the legs are disposed at the vertices of a rectangle when viewed from above.

[0012] According to this aspect, the operation unit can be stably supported on the vehicle body.

[0013] In the above aspect, preferably, each of the legs is in the shape of a round bar.

[0014] According to this aspect, even when the operating portion moves in any direction in the horizontal direction, the legs can be bent equally in either direction.

[0015] In the above aspect, preferably, the device has three legs, and the legs are arranged at the apexes of a triangle when viewed from above.

[0016] According to this aspect, the operation unit can be supported on the vehicle body with a simple configuration.

[0017] In the above aspect, preferably, the two legs (58R) are arranged laterally at a distance from each other, and one leg (58F) is arranged in front of the two legs.

[0018] According to this aspect, the operation unit can be supported on the vehicle body with a simple configuration.

[0019] In the above aspect, the leg portion disposed on the front side is preferably disposed between the two legs disposed at the rear when viewed in the front-rear direction.

[0020] According to this aspect, the left-right width of the portion where the legs are located can be made smaller than when the front leg is located outside the two rear legs when viewed in the front-to-rear direction.

[0021] In the above aspect, preferably, each of the legs is in the shape of a round bar.

[0022] According to this aspect, even when the operating portion moves in any direction in the horizontal direction, the legs can be bent equally in either direction.

[0023] In the above aspect, preferably, two of the displacement sensors are provided, and each of the displacement sensors detects the amount of horizontal displacement at a position spaced to the left and right of the corresponding operation unit.

[0024] According to this aspect, it is possible to appropriately detect an operation input by a user for the purpose of turning the moving body.

[0025] In the above aspect, preferably, the device further includes two regulating members supported by the vehicle body and each having a through hole through which the left and right ends of the operating portion pass in the left-right direction.

[0026] According to this aspect, the movement range of the operating part in the front-rear direction is limited, so that it is possible to prevent an excessive load from being applied to the connection part. Effect of the Invention

[0027] According to the above configuration, it is possible to provide an operation device that can perform operation input suitable for a moving object that moves within a horizontal plane. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0028] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a moving object equipped with an operating device according to a first embodiment; [Diagram 2] Plan view of the moving object [Diagram 3] Cross-section of an omni-directional wheel [Figure 4] Side view of the main wheel [Diagram 5] Illustration of left and right omni-directional wheels [Figure 6] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an operating device according to a first embodiment; [Figure 7] FIG. 1 is a top view of an operating device according to a first embodiment; [Figure 8] Modification of the operating device according to the first embodiment [Figure 9]1A is a schematic diagram showing an operating device according to a first embodiment when a forward load is input, and FIG. 1B is a schematic diagram showing an operating device viewed from the side when a lever and a vehicle body are connected by a pair of left and right legs. [Figure 10] FIG. 13 is a perspective view of an operating device according to a second embodiment; [Figure 11] FIG. 11 is a top view of the operating device according to the second embodiment; [Figure 12] Modification of the operating device according to the second embodiment DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0029] Hereinafter, with reference to the drawings, an example in which the operating device according to the present invention is applied to a moving body that can translate forward / backward and left / right and can also rotate will be described. In this embodiment, the moving body functions as a dolly. Hereinafter, each direction will be determined based on the moving body.

[0030] <<First embodiment>> As shown in FIG. 1, a moving object 1 includes a vehicle body 2 and a pair of left and right omnidirectional wheels 3 that are provided on the vehicle body 2 and move the vehicle body 2 in all directions along a floor surface.

[0031] The moving body 1 further includes an operation device 5 that receives an operation input from a user, and a control device 7 that controls each of the omnidirectional wheels 3 based on the operation input received by the operation device 5.

[0032] The vehicle body 2 extends in the front-rear direction. A rear portion 2A of the vehicle body 2 extends upward more than a front portion 2B. A support base 11 for supporting other devices is provided on the front portion 2B of the vehicle body 2. The devices supported by the support base 11 include, for example, inspection equipment such as an X-ray scanner. The devices may be fastened to the support base 11. A control device 7, a battery, and various sensors may be provided inside the rear portion 2A of the vehicle body 2.

[0033] In this embodiment, a pair of omni-directional wheels 3 are provided at the bottom of the rear part 2A of the vehicle body 2. Left and right casters 13 are supported at the bottom of the front part 2B of the vehicle body 2 via a suspension. The suspension is disposed below the vehicle body 2 and has an arm 14 extending left and right, and a spring 15 and a shock absorber 16 disposed between the vehicle body 2 and the arm 14. Each caster 13 is disposed below the left and right ends of the arm 14. Each caster 13 has a fork 13A rotatably connected to the arm 14 about an axis extending vertically, and a wheel 13B rotatably supported by the fork 13A about an axis extending horizontally. The fork 13A rotates freely relative to the arm 14, and the wheel 13B rotates freely relative to the fork 13A.

[0034] As shown in Fig. 2, a pair of left and right omnidirectional wheels 3 are arranged at a distance from each other on the left and right. The position and orientation of each omnidirectional wheel 3 are fixed with respect to the vehicle body 2. In this embodiment, the pair of omnidirectional wheels 3 are arranged at the lower left and lower right of the rear part 2A of the vehicle body 2. As shown in Fig. 3, each omnidirectional wheel 3 has a frame 17, a pair of drive discs 18 rotatably supported by the frame 17, an annular main wheel 19 arranged between the pair of drive discs 18, and a pair of electric motors 20 that rotate the drive discs 18, respectively.

[0035] As shown in Figs. 1 and 3, the frame 17 has a frame upper portion 17A connected to the lower portion of the vehicle body 2, and a pair of frame side portions 17B extending downward from both the left and right ends of the frame upper portion 17A. A support shaft 21 extending left and right is hung between the lower ends of the pair of frame side portions 17B. A pair of drive discs 18 are rotatably supported on the support shaft 21. The pair of drive discs 18 and the support shaft 21 are arranged coaxially. The axis of the pair of drive discs 18 forms the rotation axis A of the omni-directional wheel 3. The position of each drive disc 18 in the left-right direction is restricted with respect to the support shaft 21. The drive discs 18 face each other at a distance from each other in the left-right direction.

[0036] The drive discs 18 are disposed on both sides of the annular main wheel 19, and apply frictional force to the main wheel 19 to rotate the main wheel 19 about the central axis and about the annular axis. The drive disc 18 has a disk-shaped base 18A rotatably supported by the frame 17, and a plurality of drive rollers 18B that are rotatably supported on the outer periphery of the base 18A at an angle to each other and come into contact with the main wheel 19. The base 18A is disposed coaxially with the support shaft 21.

[0037] The pair of opposing drive discs 18 are formed symmetrically. That is, the positions and orientations of the drive rollers 18B of the left drive disc 18 and the positions and orientations of the drive rollers 18B of the right drive disc 18 are symmetrical to each other.

[0038] As shown in FIG. 5, each drive disk 18 is connected to a corresponding electric motor 20 via an electromagnetic brake 22, a reducer 23, and a transmission mechanism 24. The transmission mechanism 24 transmits the rotational force of the electric motor 20 to the corresponding drive disk 18. Each transmission mechanism 24 has a drive pulley 26 coupled to the output shaft of the corresponding reducer 23, a driven pulley 27 coupled to the corresponding drive disk 18, and a belt 28 stretched between the corresponding drive pulley 26 and the driven pulley 27. The driven pulley 27 is provided coaxially with the drive disk 18. The pair of electric motors 20 are provided at the bottom of the vehicle body 2. The electric motors 20 rotate independently of each other, and thus the drive disks 18 rotate independently of each other.

[0039] As shown in FIG. 4, the main wheel 19 is annular, and is disposed coaxially with the drive disk 18 between the pair of drive disks 18. The main wheel 19 is in contact with the drive rollers 18B and is rotatable around the central axis and the annular axis. The main wheel 19 has an annular core body 31 and a plurality of driven rollers 32 rotatably supported by the core body 31. The driven rollers 32 are arranged at equal intervals in the circumferential direction of the core body 31. Each driven roller 32 is supported by the core body 31 so as to be rotatable around the axis of the annular core body 31 (annular axis). Each driven roller 32 can rotate around a tangent to the core body 31 at its respective position relative to the core body 31. Each driven roller 32 rotates relative to the core body 31 when subjected to an external force.

[0040] The main wheels 19 are arranged along the outer periphery of the pair of drive discs 18, and are in contact with a plurality of drive rollers 18B provided on each drive disc 18. The drive rollers 18B of each drive disc 18 are in contact with the inner periphery of the main wheels 19, and sandwich the main wheels 19 from both the left and right sides. The drive rollers 18B of the left and right drive discs 18 are in contact with the inner periphery of the main wheels 19, thereby restricting radial displacement about the rotation axis A. As a result, the main wheels 19 are supported by the left and right drive discs 18, and the central axis of the main wheels 19 (core body 31) is arranged coaxially with the rotation axis A. The main wheels 19 are in contact with the plurality of drive rollers 18B of the left and right drive discs 18 at the plurality of driven rollers 32.

[0041] The main wheels 19 contact the ground below the rotation axis A. That is, in a plan view, the ground contact point of the omni-directional wheel 3 is located on the rotation axis A. The main wheels 19 are disposed on a plane perpendicular to the rotation axis A.

[0042] As shown in FIG. 5, the left and right omnidirectional wheels 3 have the same configuration. The left omnidirectional wheel 3 is designated 3L with a suffix L. The right omnidirectional wheel 3 is designated 3R with a suffix R. In the left omnidirectional wheel 3L, the left element of the pair of left and right components is designated LL and the right element is designated LR. Similarly, in the right omnidirectional wheel 3R, the left element of the pair of left and right components is designated RL and the right element is designated RR. For example, as shown in FIG. 5, the left omnidirectional wheel 3L has a left electric motor 20LL, a right electric motor 20LR, a left transmission mechanism 24LL, a right transmission mechanism 24LR, a left drive disk 18LL, a right drive disk 18LR, and a main wheel 19L. Similarly, the right omnidirectional wheel 3R has a left electric motor 20RL, a right electric motor 20RR, a left transmission mechanism 24RL, a right transmission mechanism 24RR, a left drive disc 18RL, a right drive disc 18RR, and a main wheel 19R.

[0043] The left drive disc 18LL of the left omnidirectional wheel 3L and the left drive disc 18RL of the right omnidirectional wheel 3R have the same shape. The right drive disc 18LR of the left omnidirectional wheel 3L and the right drive disc 18RR of the right omnidirectional wheel 3R have the same shape.

[0044] Each electric motor 20 is provided with a current sensor 33 (33LL, 33LR, 33RL, 33RR) that detects a current flowing through the electric motor 20. Each electric motor 20 is provided with an angular velocity sensor 34 (34LL, 34LR, 34RL, 34RR) that detects the angular velocity of the electric motor 20.

[0045] In each omni-directional wheel 3, when the pair of drive discs 18 rotate in the same direction at the same rotational speed, the main wheel 19 rotates together with the pair of drive discs 18. That is, the main wheel 19 rotates forward or backward around its own axis, which coincides with the rotation axis A. At this time, the drive roller 18B of the drive disc 18 and the driven roller 32 of the main wheel 19 do not rotate relative to the core body 31. In each omni-directional wheel 3, when a rotational speed difference occurs between the pair of drive discs 18, a component force in a direction perpendicular to the circumferential (tangential) force caused by the rotation of the pair of drive discs 18 acts on the driven roller 32 of the main wheel 19 from the left and right drive rollers 18B. Since the axis of the drive roller 18B is inclined with respect to the circumferential direction of the drive roller 18B, a component force occurs between the drive discs 18 due to the rotational speed difference. This component force causes the drive roller 18B to rotate relative to the base 18A and the driven roller 32 to rotate relative to the core body 31. As a result, the main wheels 19 generate driving forces in the left and right directions.

[0046] As shown in FIG. 6, when the right drive disk 18 rotates forward and the left drive disk 18 rotates backward (reverse) in each omni-directional wheel 3, the grounded driven roller 32 rotates rightward, generating a rightward driving force component. The black arrow indicates the rotation direction and magnitude of the angular velocity of the drive disk 18. The white arrow indicates the direction and magnitude of the driving force generated by the omni-directional wheel 3. Here, forward rotation is clockwise rotation when the drive disk 18 is viewed from the right, and negative rotation is counterclockwise rotation. At this time, if the angular velocity (number of rotations) of the right drive disk 18 is smaller than the angular velocity of the left drive disk 18, the main wheel 19 rotates backward, generating a backward driving force component. On the other hand, if the angular velocity of the right drive disk 18 is larger than the angular velocity of the left drive disk 18, the main wheel 19 rotates forward, generating a forward driving force component.

[0047] In each omni-directional wheel 3, when the right drive disc 18 rotates in the negative direction and the left drive disc 18 rotates in the positive direction, the grounded driven roller 32 rotates leftward, generating a leftward driving force component. At this time, if the angular velocity (number of rotations) of the right drive disc 18 is smaller than the angular velocity of the left drive disc 18, the main wheel 19 rotates forward, generating a forward driving force component. On the other hand, if the angular velocity of the right drive disc 18 is larger than the angular velocity of the left drive disc 18, the main wheel 19 rotates backward, generating a backward driving force component.

[0048] As shown in FIG. 6, when the right drive disc 18LR of the left omnidirectional wheel 3L rotates forward and the left drive disc 18LL rotates backward at a greater angular velocity than the drive disc 18LR, and at the same time the right drive disc 18RR of the right omnidirectional wheel 3R rotates forward and the left drive disc 18RL rotates backward at a smaller angular velocity than the drive disc 18RR, the moving object 1 turns left while drifting rightward.

[0049] The left and right omnidirectional wheels 3 rotate forward at the same speed, causing the moving body 1 to move forward. The left and right omnidirectional wheels 3 rotate backward at the same speed, causing the moving body 1 to move backward. The left and right omnidirectional wheels 3 generate speed in the forward and backward rotations, causing the moving body 1 to turn to the right or left. The left and right omnidirectional wheels 3 rotate as driven rollers 32 of each main wheel 19, causing the moving body 1 to move in parallel to the right or left.

[0050] As shown in Fig. 1, the operation device 5 is provided on the rear part 2A of the vehicle body 2. The operation device 5 accepts operation inputs for moving (displacing) the moving body 1 from a user (also called an operator) who operates the moving body 1. The operation inputs accepted by the operation device 5 include operation inputs for translating the moving body 1 in the horizontal direction and / or operation inputs for rotating the moving body 1 around a vertical axis (also called an up-down axis or yaw axis). The operation device 5 outputs the operation inputs accepted from the user to a control device 7 (see Fig. 2).

[0051] As shown in Figures 1 and 6, the operating device 5 has a handle 51 as an operating unit that a user holds to input operations, one or more connection units 52 that connect the handle 51 to the vehicle body 2, and a detection unit 53 that detects displacement of the handle 51.

[0052] As shown in FIG. 6, the handle 51 is a rod-shaped member and is arranged to extend in the left-right direction. In this embodiment, the handle 51 includes a round-rod-shaped grip 55 extending in the left-right direction, and a pair of left and right block parts 56 provided at both ends of the grip 55. Each block part 56 has a rectangular parallelepiped shape and is arranged so that its side faces the front-rear, up-down, and left-right directions. The grip 55 connects the left and right side parts of the block parts 56 that face each other. Hereinafter, the block part 56 arranged on the left side will be referred to as the left block part 56L, and the block part 56 arranged on the right side will be referred to as the right block part 56R, as necessary.

[0053] The connection portion 52 extends vertically and connects the block portion 56 of the handle 51 (operation portion) to the vehicle body 2 of the moving body 1. In this embodiment, the handle 51 is provided with two block portions 56, one on the left and one on the right, and therefore the operation device 5 is provided with two connection portions 52, one on the left and one on the right.

[0054] Each of the connection parts 52 has two legs 58. Since the operation device 5 has two connection parts 52, one on the left and one on the right, the operation device 5 has four legs 58 in total.

[0055] Each of the legs 58 is made of a round bar having a circular cross section. Each of the legs 58 extends in the vertical direction, and is connected to the handlebars 51 at its upper end and to the vehicle body 2 at its lower end.

[0056] However, the cross-sectional shape of the leg portion 58 is not limited to a circle, and may be a square or star-shaped cross section. The diameter of the leg portion 58 is preferably smaller than the diameter of the grip 55.

[0057] 6 and 7, of the four legs 58, two legs 58 are connected at their upper ends (points P and Q in FIG. 7) to the underside of the left block portion 56L and at their lower ends to the upper surface of the vehicle body 2. The remaining two legs 58 are connected at their upper ends (points R and S in FIG. 7) to the underside of the right block portion 56R and at their lower ends to the upper surface of the vehicle body 2.

[0058] The two legs 58 connecting the left block portion 56L and the vehicle body 2 are arranged side by side in the front-rear direction, and the two legs 58 connecting the right block portion 56R and the vehicle body 2 are also arranged side by side in the front-rear direction. As a result, the four legs 58 are provided at the vertices of a rectangle when viewed from above, and are arranged in a square lattice pattern.

[0059] 7, the legs 58 are disposed at four positions that form a rectangle when viewed from above. As a result, when viewed from above, of the four legs 58, each of the remaining legs 58 is disposed at a position away (offset position) from the straight line connecting two selected legs 58.

[0060] The connection positions (points P and Q) between the two legs 58 located on the left side and the left block part 56L and the connection position (point R) between the one leg 58 located on the right front side and the right block part 56R form the vertices of a triangle (triangle PQR) in top view. Thus, the connection part 52 is connected to the handle 51 at each of the three positions that form the vertices of the triangle. Similarly, the connection positions (points R and S) between the two legs 58 located on the right side and the right block part 56R and the one leg 58 (point Q) located on the left rear side form the vertices of a triangle (triangle RSQ) in top view.

[0061] As shown in FIG. 8, a restricting member 60 for restricting the movement range of the handle 51 in the front-rear direction may be provided at the rear part 2A of the vehicle body 2. In this embodiment, a pair of restricting members 60 are provided at the rear part 2A of the vehicle body 2, and are arranged at a distance from each other. As shown in FIG. 8, each restricting member 60 has a through hole 62 through which both the left and right ends of the handle 51 pass. The left and right ends of the handle 51 are inserted into the through hole 62, thereby restricting the movement range of the handle 51 in the front-rear direction and the up-down direction. A small gap is formed between the inner peripheral surface of the through hole 62 and the outer peripheral surface of the handle 51. The movement of the handle 51 in the front-rear direction is permitted within a range in which the outer peripheral surface of the handle 51 does not abut against the inner peripheral surface of the through hole 62.

[0062] In this embodiment, the grip 55 includes a cylindrical grip body 55A extending in the left-right direction, and a generally cylindrical extending portion 55B protruding outward to the left and right from both left and right ends of the grip body 55A. The diameter of the extending portion 55B is smaller than the diameter of the grip body 55A. The handle 51 is configured to penetrate the through hole 62 at the extending portion 55B. The diameter (diameter) of the through hole 62 is set to be larger than the diameter of the extending portion 55B and smaller than the diameter of the grip body 55A. Therefore, when the handle 51 moves in the left-right direction, the left and right end faces of the grip body 55A collide with the left and right inner side surfaces of the regulating member 60. This makes it possible to limit the range of movement of the handle 51 in the left-right direction.

[0063] The detection unit 53 detects an operation input to the handle 51 by the user, and outputs the detection result to the control device 7. In this embodiment, as shown in Fig. 6, the operation device 5 is provided with a pair of detection units 53, one on the left and one on the right, in order to simultaneously detect translational displacement in the front / rear and left / right directions and rotational displacement about the vertical axis of the handle 51 due to the operation input by the user.

[0064] The detection units 53 are each constituted by a displacement sensor 64. The displacement sensors 64 detect the amount of horizontal displacement of the corresponding handle 51 at positions spaced apart from each other on the left and right.

[0065] The displacement sensors 64 may be, for example, laser displacement sensors using laser light, or may be Hall element displacement sensors using magnetism. The displacement sensors 64 detect the displacement of predetermined positions spaced apart on the left and right of the handlebar 51 relative to the vehicle body 2. In this embodiment, the left displacement sensor 64 detects the amount of displacement of the left block portion 56L in the front-rear and left-right directions, and the right displacement sensor 64 detects the amount of displacement of the right block portion 56R in the front-rear and left-right directions.

[0066] The displacement sensor 64 is configured by a Hall element displacement sensor including a magnet 64A provided on the handle 51 and a Hall element 64B supported on the vehicle body 2 via a support member 66.

[0067] 6, the support member 66 includes a main body 66A provided above the block portion 56, and a support leg 66B that connects the main body 66A to the vehicle body 2. The magnet 64A is provided on the upper surface of the block portion 56, and the Hall element 64B is provided at a position facing the magnet 64A on the lower surface of the main body 66A.

[0068] However, the support structure of the displacement sensor 64 is not limited to this embodiment. As shown in Fig. 8, the support member 66 may be connected to the left and right outer surfaces of the regulating member 60 in front of the through hole 62, and connected to the vehicle body 2 via the regulating member 60.

[0069] In the example shown in Fig. 8, the Hall element 64B is coupled to the upper surface of the support member 66. Arm parts 68 are provided at the left and right ends of the handle 51, respectively, which extend to positions facing the upper surface of the support member 66 in the vertical direction. The magnet 64A is coupled to the lower surface of the arm part 68, and is disposed so as to generally face the Hall element 64B in the vertical direction. Note that, in the example shown in Fig. 8, the leg part 58 is coupled at its upper end to the block part 56, and is fixed at its lower end to the vehicle body 2 via a base 70 coupled to the left and right outer surfaces of the regulating member 60.

[0070] In the examples shown in Figures 6 and 8, the Hall element 64B is provided on the vehicle body 2 side and the magnet 64A is provided on the handlebar 51 side, but the magnet 64A may be provided on the vehicle body 2 side and the Hall element 64B may be provided on the handlebar 51 side.

[0071] The position of the magnet 64A relative to the Hall element 64B changes due to the movement of the block portion 56 in the front-rear and left-right directions, and the magnetic field detected by the Hall element 64B changes. That is, the amount of displacement of the handle 51 in the front-rear direction is detected by detecting the change in the magnetic field by the Hall element 64B.

[0072] The control device 7 (see FIG. 2) is provided inside the vehicle body 2. The control device 7 is an electronic control unit (ECU) including a processor such as a CPU, a non-volatile memory (ROM), and a volatile memory (RAM). The control device 7 controls each of the omni-directional wheels 3 by executing arithmetic processing in the processor according to a program stored in the non-volatile memory. The control device 7 may be configured as a single piece of hardware, or may be configured as a unit consisting of multiple pieces of hardware. Furthermore, at least a part of each functional unit of the control device 7 may be realized by hardware such as an LSI, an ASIC, or an FPGA, or may be realized by a combination of software and hardware.

[0073] The control device 7 is connected to the detection unit 53, each electric motor 20, each current sensor 33, and each angular velocity sensor 34. The detection unit 53, each current sensor 33, and each angular velocity sensor 34 output detection signals to the control device 7. The control device 7 outputs control signals to each electric motor 20.

[0074] The control device 7 controls the electric motors 20 of the omni-directional wheels 3 based on signals from the detection unit 53, the current sensors 33, and the angular velocity sensors .

[0075] When the detection unit 53 is configured with the displacement sensor 64, the control device 7 may obtain the front-rear component of the load applied to the handlebar 51 by using the average xave of the front-rear displacement amount xL detected by the left displacement sensor 64 and the front-rear displacement amount xR detected by the right displacement sensor 64. In this case, the control device 7 may obtain k×xave by multiplying the average xave by a proportional constant k as the front-rear component fsx of the load applied to the handlebar 51.

[0076] At the same time, the control device 7 may obtain the front-rear component of the load applied to the handlebar 51 by using the average yave of the left-right displacement amount yL detected by the left displacement sensor 64 and the right-right displacement amount yR detected by the right displacement sensor 64. At this time, the control device 7 may obtain k×yave, which is obtained by multiplying the average yave by a proportionality constant k, as the left-right component fsy of the load applied to the handlebar 51.

[0077] Furthermore, the control device 7 may obtain the moment acting on the handlebar 51 based on the difference Δx between the forward / rearward displacement amount xL detected by the left displacement sensor 64 and the forward / rearward displacement amount xR detected by the right displacement sensor 64. At this time, the control device 7 may obtain k'×Δx obtained by multiplying the difference Δx by a proportional constant k' as the moment mfs acting on the handlebar 51.

[0078] The control device 7 determines a longitudinal velocity target value, a lateral velocity target value, and a yaw angular velocity target value of the moving body 1 based on signals from the detection unit 53. For example, the control device 7 determines the longitudinal velocity target value based on a longitudinal component fsx of the load applied to the handlebar 51, determines the lateral velocity target value based on a lateral component fsy of the load applied to the handlebar 51, and determines the yaw angular velocity target value of the moving body 1 based on a moment mfs applied to the handlebar 51.

[0079] Based on the determined target values, the control device 7 sets the angular velocity target value (target rotation speed value) of each electric motor 20 of each omni-directional wheel 3. The control device 7 may set the angular velocity target value of each electric motor 20 based on the longitudinal velocity target value, lateral velocity target value, and yaw angular velocity target value, using a map that defines the relationship between the longitudinal velocity target value, lateral velocity target value, and yaw angular velocity target value and the angular velocity target value of each electric motor 20.

[0080] As a result, when a load in the front-rear direction is applied to the handle 51, the moving body 1 moves in the front-rear direction in accordance with the direction of the load, and when a load in the left-right direction is applied, the moving body 1 moves in the left-right direction in accordance with the direction of the load. Also, when a moment about the vertical axis is applied to the handle 51, the moving body 1 turns about the vertical axis.

[0081] Next, the operation and effects of the operating device 5 configured as above will be described.

[0082] The handle 51 is connected to the vehicle body 2 via four legs 58. The legs 58 are arranged at four positions that form a rectangle in a top view. This allows the handle 51 to be supported by the vehicle body 2 more stably than when the handle 51 is connected via two legs 58, for example.

[0083] Each of the four legs 58 is disposed at a position offset from the line connecting the other two legs 58 (the connection positions between the legs 58 and the handle 51). As a result, the connection portion 52 is connected to the handle 51 at three positions that form the vertices of a triangle in a top view.

[0084] As shown in FIG. 9(A), when a user applies a load (see the arrow in FIG. 9(A)) to the handle 51 in a forward direction and pushes the handle 51 forward, the front of the handle 51 is pushed down, and a moment may be applied to the handle 51 to rotate about a straight line connecting points Q and S shown in FIG. 7. At this time, the legs 58 (the two legs 58 located on the left and right front sides) that are offset from the straight line PQ in a top view each function to resist the front of the handle 51 that tends to descend in response to the load from the user, and to prevent the handle 51 from rotating about its horizontal axis. Similarly, when the front of the handle 51 is pulled up, the two legs 58 located on the left and right front sides also function to resist the lifting of the front of the handle 51, and to prevent the handle 51 from rotating about its horizontal axis.

[0085] In this way, when a moment about the straight line connecting the connection positions of the two legs 58 and the handle 51 is applied to the handle 51, the displaced legs 58 function to prevent the rotation of the handle 51. Therefore, as shown in Fig. 9(A), the handle 51 becomes difficult to rotate about an axis extending in the horizontal direction, and changes in the orientation of the upper surface of the handle 51 are suppressed.

[0086] On the other hand, when the handle 51 is connected only by a pair of left and right plate members aligned along a straight line in top view or a pair of left and right legs 58, as shown in Fig. 9(B), when the user applies a forward load (see the arrow in Fig. 9(B)) to the handle 51 and pushes the handle 51 forward, the handle 51 passes through the connection between the legs 58 and the body 2 and rotates around an axis extending in the left-right direction. Therefore, the orientation of the top surface of the handle 51 changes significantly compared to the case shown in Fig. 9(A).

[0087] In this way, in the operating device 5, when a load is applied to the handle 51 in the forward direction, the change in the orientation of the upper surface of the handle 51 is suppressed. Similarly, when a load is applied to the handle 51 in the rearward or left / right direction, the legs 58 connected to the handle 51 at a position offset from the horizontally extending rotation axis act on the handle 51 to resist the moment about the rotation axis, thereby suppressing the change in the orientation of the upper surface of the handle 51.

[0088] Since rotation of the upper surface of the handle 51 is suppressed during operation input, the operation device 5 can give the user a natural feeling of operation, and it is possible to provide an operation device 5 that can perform operation input suitable for the moving body 1 moving within a horizontal plane. Furthermore, since the handle 51 moves while roughly maintaining the orientation of its upper surface (or lower surface), when a magnet 64A is provided on the upper surface (or lower surface) of the handle 51 and a Hall element 64B is provided on the vehicle body 2, the horizontal displacement of the handle 51 can be detected satisfactorily.

[0089] Because the legs 58 are made of round bars, it is easier to make the rigidity of the legs 58 uniform in any horizontal direction compared to when the legs 58 are made of plate material. Also, because the legs 58 can be deflected almost uniformly in any horizontal direction, changes in the orientation of the upper surface of the handle 51 can be effectively suppressed. Also, because the legs 58 are made of round bars, the operating device 5 can be made compact, and furthermore, the configuration is simple.

[0090] In addition, two displacement sensors 64 are provided in the operation device 5 at positions spaced apart from each other, and each detects the amount of horizontal displacement at a position spaced apart from each other from the left and right of the corresponding handle 51, thereby making it possible to detect the moment around the vertical axis applied to the handle 51. This makes it possible to properly detect the operation input by the user for the purpose of turning the moving body 1.

[0091] <<Second embodiment>> 10 and 11, the operating device 5 according to the second embodiment is similar to the first embodiment except for the shape of the handle 51, the number and shape of the connecting parts 52, and the position of the displacement sensor 64. Therefore, a description of the same configuration as the first embodiment will be omitted.

[0092] 10, the handle 51 according to the second embodiment has a block portion 56 and a pair of grips 55 provided on the left and right side surfaces of the block portion 56. As in the first embodiment, the block portion 56 is substantially rectangular parallelepiped-shaped with surfaces facing up and down, front and rear, and left and right. The grips 55 are round bar-shaped and extend outward to the left and right from the left and right side surfaces of the block portion 56, respectively.

[0093] As shown in FIG. 11, the connection part 52 includes a pair of left and right legs 58 (hereinafter, rear legs 58R) spaced apart from each other, and one leg 58 (hereinafter, front leg 58F) disposed in front of the pair of left and right rear legs 58R. The rear legs 58R and the front legs 58F extend in the vertical direction like the legs 58 in the first embodiment, and are round bar-shaped with a circular cross section. However, the shapes of the rear legs 58R and the front legs 58F are not limited to this form, and the shapes of the cross sections of the rear legs 58R and the front legs 58F are not limited to a circle, and may be configured so that the cross sections are rectangular or star-shaped. It is preferable that the diameters of the rear legs 58R and the front legs 58F are each smaller than the diameter of the grip 55.

[0094] As shown in FIG. 10, the rear leg 58R and the front leg 58F extend vertically, similar to the leg 58 of the first embodiment, and are connected at their upper ends to the lower surface of the block portion 56 and at their lower ends to the upper surface of the body 2.

[0095] 11, the rear legs 58R and the front legs 58F are arranged to form a triangle in a top view. As a result, the connection part 52 is connected to the handle 51 and the body 2 at each of the three positions constituting the vertices of the triangle in a top view. As a result, of the three legs 58, the remaining leg 58 is arranged at a position shifted (offset) with respect to a line connecting two of the legs 58 in a top view.

[0096] The front leg 58F is disposed between the two rear legs 58R in a front-rear view. As a result, the legs 58 are disposed at the apexes of an isosceles triangle in a top view. The distance between the rear leg 58R located on the left side (or right side) in a top view and the front leg 58F may be longer than the distance between the left and right rear legs 58R, or may be equal to the distance between the left and right rear legs 58R.

[0097] Next, the operation and effects of the operating device 5 configured as above will be described.

[0098] In the second embodiment, as in the first embodiment, one of the three legs 58 is disposed at a position shifted (offset) with respect to a line connecting the connection positions of the other two legs 58 and the handle 51. Therefore, as in the first embodiment, when a moment about the line connecting the connection positions of the two legs 58 and the handle 51 is applied to the handle 51, the leg 58 at the shifted position resists the moment and functions to prevent the handle 51 from rotating, thereby suppressing changes in the orientation of the upper surface of the handle 51.

[0099] In this way, since rotation of the orientation of the upper surface of the handle 51 is suppressed during operation input, the operation device 5 can provide the user with a natural feeling of operation. Also, since the handle 51 moves while roughly maintaining the orientation of its upper surface (or lower surface), when the magnet 64A is provided on the upper surface (or lower surface) of the handle 51 and the Hall element 64B is provided on the vehicle body 2, the horizontal displacement of the handle 51 can be detected satisfactorily.

[0100] In this embodiment, the operating device 5 has three legs 58. Therefore, compared to the first embodiment in which the operating device 5 is provided with four legs 58, the configuration of the operating device 5 is simpler, and the cost required for manufacturing the operating device 5 can be reduced.

[0101] The front leg 58F is disposed between the two rear legs 58R when viewed in the front-rear direction. Therefore, the left-right width of the connection part 52 is smaller than when the front leg 58F is provided on the left and right outer sides of the two rear legs 58R when viewed in the front-rear direction, and therefore the configuration of the connection part 52 can be made compact.

[0102] As in the first embodiment, the legs 58 are made of round bars. This makes it easy to make the legs 58 uniform in rigidity, and allows the legs 58 to bend generally uniformly without bias in any horizontal direction.

[0103] Although the specific embodiment has been described above, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment and can be modified in a wide range of ways.

[0104] In the above embodiment, the handle 51 is configured to have a rod shape extending in the left-right direction, but the shape of the handle 51 is not limited to this form. For example, as shown in FIG. 12, the handle 51 may have only a block portion 56 that is substantially square plate-shaped in top view. In this way, the handle 51 is configured only by the block portion 56, so that the user can grip the handle 51 with one hand and operate the moving body 1. FIG. 12 shows an example in which the block portion 56 and the vehicle body 2 are connected by four legs 58 arranged in a square shape. However, the operating device 5 may be provided with three legs 58, or may be provided with five or more legs 58.

[0105] Even in this case, a detection unit 53 that detects an operational input to the block portion 56 is provided between the block portion 56 and the vehicle body 2. The detection unit 53 may be configured with two displacement sensors 64 that are symmetrically arranged around the central axis of the block portion 56, as in the first embodiment. With this, based on the amount of displacement detected by the displacement sensors 64, the load F in the front-rear direction applied to the block portion 56 can be calculated. X , lateral load F Y , and moment M around the central axis Z can be obtained.

[0106] In the above embodiment, the displacement sensor 64 is configured by a Hall element displacement sensor, but the displacement sensor 64 may be configured by other sensors. The displacement sensor 64 may be configured by a laser sensor, a non-contact sensor such as a capacitance sensor, an LED distance sensor, or an ultrasonic sensor, or a contact sensor equipped with a contact. [Explanation of symbols]

[0107] 1: Moving object 2: Body 51: Handle 52: Connection part 53: Detection unit 58: Legs 58F: Front leg 58R: Rear leg 60: Regulating member 62:Through hole 64: Displacement sensor

Claims

1. An operation device that receives an operation input related to translation and / or rotation of a moving body about a vertical axis from a user who operates the moving body, At least three legs extending upward from the vehicle body; an operation unit coupled to each of the legs and configured to receive an operation input from the user; a displacement sensor that detects a horizontal displacement of the operation unit, An operating device in which, when viewed from above, each of the legs is located at a distance from a straight line connecting two selected ones of the other legs.

2. The four legs are The operating device according to claim 1 , wherein the legs are disposed at vertices of a rectangle when viewed from above.

3. The operating device according to claim 2 , wherein each of the legs is in the shape of a round bar.

4. The leg portion includes three legs. The operating device according to claim 1 , wherein the legs are disposed at vertices of a triangle when viewed from above.

5. 5. The operating device according to claim 4, wherein the two legs are arranged laterally at a distance from each other, and one of the legs is arranged in front of the other two legs.

6. The operating device according to claim 5 , wherein the leg portion disposed on the front side is disposed between the two leg portions disposed on the rear side when viewed in the front-rear direction.

7. The operating device according to claim 6 , wherein each of the legs is in the shape of a round bar.

8. The present invention provides a method for detecting a displacement of a vehicle using a displacement sensor, 8. The operating device according to claim 1, wherein each of the displacement sensors detects a horizontal displacement amount at a position spaced to the left or right of the corresponding operating part.

9. An operating device as described in any one of claims 1 to 7, comprising two regulating members supported on the vehicle body and having through holes through which the left and right ends of the operating portion pass in the left-right direction, respectively.

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