Running gear and control device

Abstract

To provide a travel device that makes a tire of a vehicle that is a transportation object less likely to rub a ground surface, and to provide a control device for the same.SOLUTION: A travel device 10 includes: a base 12 capable of getting into a lower space of a vehicle that is a transportation object; a clamp part installed to the base 12 and gripping a tire of the vehicle; a clamp state detection sensor 40 for detecting a state where the clamp part grips a tire; and a height adjustment device 34 for adjusting a height of the base 12 on the basis of a detection result by the clamp state detection sensor 40. The clamp part includes a pair of clamp bars for gripping a tire. At least one of the clamp bars is rotatably provided so as to approach the other clamp bar. The clamp state detection sensor 40 detects a rotation angle of the clamp bar.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a traveling device capable of transporting an automobile and a control device for controlling the traveling device. [Background technology]

[0002] Patent Document 1 discloses a combination vehicle that has air bellows that constitute an air suspension and that controls the vehicle height to be constant by adjusting the air pressure in the air bellows. This combination vehicle estimates, while empty, the increase in load that will be applied to the air bellows when a specified weight of cargo is loaded, limits the vehicle height so that it does not become higher than the vehicle height when the increase in load is estimated, and adjusts the air pressure in the air bellows so that the air pressure is sufficient to support the estimated increase in load while limiting the vehicle height. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2014-46764 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] When the traveling device transports a vehicle, the vehicle's tires may be damaged if they rub against the ground, and depending on the type of vehicle and the unevenness of the ground, there is a risk that the tires may rub against the ground.

[0005] An object of the present invention is to provide a traveling device and a control device thereof that make it difficult for the tires of a vehicle to be transported to rub against the ground during transportation. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] To solve the above problems, one aspect of the present invention is a traveling device for transporting automobiles, comprising: a base that can get under the automobile to be transported; a clamp unit provided on the base and having a pair of clamp bars that grip the automobile's tires; a detector that detects the state of the clamp unit gripping the tire; and a height adjustment device that adjusts the height of the base based on the detection result of the detector. At least one of the pair of clamp bars is rotatable so as to approach the other clamp bar, and the detector detects the rotation angle of the clamp bar. The rotation angle when the pair of clamp bars are parallel is set to zero, and the height adjustment device adjusts the height of the base so that the greater the rotation angle of the pair of clamp bars in the direction in which the pair of clamp bars expands, the higher the height of the base.

[0007] Another aspect of the present invention is a control device. This control device controls a traveling device that includes a base that can get under a vehicle to be transported, a clamp unit that is provided on the base and has a pair of clamp bars that grip the vehicle's tire, a detection unit that detects the state of the clamp unit gripping the tire, and a height adjustment device that adjusts the height of the base based on the detection result of the detection unit, and includes an acquisition unit that acquires the detection result of the detection unit, and a height adjustment processing unit that sets the height of the base based on the detection result of the detection unit. At least one of the pair of clamp bars is rotatable so as to approach the other clamp bar, the detection unit detects the rotation angle of the clamp bar, and the height adjustment processing unit adjusts the rotation angle of the clamp bar. Based on Set the height of the base. The rotation angle when the pair of clamp bars are parallel is set to zero, and the greater the rotation angle of the pair of clamp bars in the direction in which the pair of clamp bars spread apart, the higher the height of the base is set by the height processing device. [Effects of the Invention]

[0008] According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a traveling device and a control device thereof that make it difficult for the tires of a vehicle to be transported to rub against the ground during transportation. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0009] [Figure 1] FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the traveling device of the embodiment. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a traveling device carrying a vehicle. [Figure 3] FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a functional configuration of a traveling device. [Figure 4]FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a state in which the rear clamp portion grips a vehicle tire. [Figure 5] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a state in which the rear clamp portion grips a tire of another vehicle. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0010] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a traveling device 10 according to an embodiment. FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the traveling device 10 loaded with a vehicle 50. The traveling device 10 is used to transport the vehicle 50 as shown in FIG. 2. The vehicle 50 is an automobile with at least four wheels. The traveling device 10 has no passengers and has the function of traveling to a destination by automatic driving control. Note that FIG. 2 shows a state in which the traveling device 10 is loaded with the vehicle 50 from the rear side, but the vehicle 50 may also be loaded from the front side.

[0011] The traveling device 10 includes a base 12, front wheels 14, rear wheels 16, a housing 18, a first front clamp bar 20a, a second front clamp bar 20b, a front clamp drive unit 24, a first rear clamp bar 26a, a second rear clamp bar 26b, a first rear clamp drive unit 28a, a second rear clamp drive unit 28b, a control device 30, a traveling drive unit 32, a height adjustment device 34, a mounting sensor 38, and a clamp state detection sensor 40.

[0012] The base 12 extends rearward from the housing 18 and longitudinally in the front-to-rear direction. The base 12 is extendable in the front-to-rear direction, and the extension function is provided between the front wheels 14 and the rear wheels 16. The base 12 fits under the vehicle 50 to be transported. The front wheels 14 are provided as a pair at the bottom of the housing 18. The rear wheels 16 are provided as a pair behind the front wheels 14.

[0013] The housing 18 is provided at the front of the traveling device 10. A control device 30, a traveling drive device 32, and a height adjustment device 34 are provided inside the housing 18. The control device 30 controls the traveling drive device 32 and the height adjustment device 34.

[0014] The traveling drive device 32 includes a drive unit that moves the traveling device 10 forward and backward, a steering unit that steers the front wheels 14, and a braking unit that brakes the front wheels 14. The drive unit may be a motor that rotates the front wheels 14.

[0015] The height adjustment device 34 adjusts the height of the base 12 from the ground. The height adjustment device 34 is provided between the front wheels 14 and the base 12, and between the rear wheels 16 and the base 12, respectively, and moves the base 12 up and down while keeping it horizontal. The height adjustment device 34 may adjust the height of the base 12, for example, by operating a hydraulic jack driven by a motor.

[0016] The first front clamp bar 20a and the second front clamp bar 20b constitute the front clamp unit 20 that grips the tire 52b of the vehicle 50. The first front clamp bar 20a is fixed in a state where it protrudes in the left-right direction. The left-right direction is a direction that runs along the top surface of the base 12 and is perpendicular to the front-to-rear direction. The second front clamp bar 20b is rotatably provided along the top surface of the base 12. The front clamp drive unit 24 rotates the second front clamp bar 20b from the front-to-rear direction to the left-to-right direction.

[0017] The first rear clamp bar 26a and the second rear clamp bar 26b constitute the rear clamp unit 26 that grips the tire 52a of the vehicle 50. The first rear clamp bar 26a and the second rear clamp bar 26b are rotatably mounted so as to approach each other. The first rear clamp drive unit 28a rotates the first rear clamp bar 26a in all directions, from the front-to-rear direction to the left-to-right direction, and the second rear clamp drive unit 28b rotates the second rear clamp bar 26b in all directions, from the front-to-rear direction to the left-to-right direction. In this way, a portion of the front clamp unit 20 and the rear clamp unit 26 are rotatably mounted on the base 12. In other words, at least one of the pair of clamp bars is rotatably mounted so as to approach the other clamp bar.

[0018] Clamp state detection sensors 40 are provided on the first rear clamp drive unit 28a and the second rear clamp drive unit 28b, respectively, and detect the drive amounts of the first rear clamp drive unit 28a and the second rear clamp drive unit 28b as the rotation angles of the first rear clamp bar 26a and the second rear clamp bar 26b. Alternatively, clamp state detection sensors 40 may be provided on the rotation shafts of the first rear clamp bar 26a and the second rear clamp bar 26b and directly detect the rotation angles.

[0019] The clamp state detection sensor 40 sends the detection results to the control device 30. The rotation angles of the first rear clamp drive unit 28a and the second rear clamp drive unit 28b are set to zero in the left-right direction and increase in the front-rear direction. The clamp state detection sensor may be provided in the front clamp drive unit 24 and detect the rotation angle of the second front clamp bar 20b. The clamp state detection sensor 40 functions as a detector that detects grip state information that indicates the state in which the front clamp unit 20 and / or rear clamp unit 26 are gripping the tire.

[0020] The on-board sensor 38 detects information used for the travel of the traveling device 10 and the gripping operations of the front clamp unit 20 and the rear clamp unit 26. The on-board sensor 38 may be, for example, a camera, optical laser, or sonic sensor that detects an object. In particular, the on-board sensor 38 detects the positions of the bumper, tires 52a, and tires 52b of the vehicle 50. The positional relationship between the vehicle 50 and the traveling device 10 can be recognized based on the detection results of the on-board sensor 38.

[0021] The operation of the traveling device 10 to load the vehicle 50 will be described. The traveling device 10 moves the base 12 under the vehicle 50 by the traveling drive device 32, and stops traveling by bringing the first front clamp bar 20a into contact with the tire 52b of the vehicle 50. The base 12 extends and retracts to match the wheelbase of the vehicle 50.

[0022] Next, the front clamp drive unit 24 rotates the second front clamp bar 20b to bring it into contact with the tread portion of the tire 52b, and the front clamp unit 20 grips the tread portion of the tire 52b as shown in Fig. 2. The first rear clamp drive unit 28a and the second rear clamp drive unit 28b rotate the first rear clamp bar 26a and the second rear clamp bar 26b in the horizontal direction so that they approach each other and are brought into contact with the tread portion of the tire 52a, and the rear clamp unit 26 grips the tread portion of the tire 52a as shown in Fig. 2. The first rear clamp bar 26a and the second rear clamp bar 26b grip the tire 52a by closing from a position aligned in the front-to-rear direction to approaching parallel.

[0023] Next, the height adjustment device 34 is activated to raise the base 12, thereby lifting the vehicle 50. Here, the amount by which the lower ends of the tires 52a, 52b protrude downward from the front clamp unit 20 and the rear clamp unit 26 varies depending on the vehicle model. Therefore, if the height to which the base 12 is raised is insufficient, and depending on the unevenness of the ground, the tires 52a, 52b of the vehicle 50 may rub against the ground. Therefore, in the traveling device 10 of the embodiment, the height of the base 12 is adjusted based on the gripping state of the front clamp unit 20 and the rear clamp unit 26, so that the tires 52a, 52b do not hit the ground.

[0024] 3 is a diagram showing the functional configuration of the traveling device 10. In terms of hardware, each function of the control device 30 of the traveling device 10 can be configured using circuit blocks, memory, and other LSIs, and in terms of software, it is realized by system software, application programs, etc. loaded into memory. Therefore, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that each function of the control device 30 can be realized in various ways using only hardware, only software, or a combination of these, and is not limited to any one of them.

[0025] The control device 30 includes an acquisition unit 42, a height adjustment processing unit 44, a grip processing unit 46, and a control unit 48. The acquisition unit 42 acquires the detection results of the mounting sensor 38 and the clamp state detection sensor 40.

[0026] The gripping processing unit 46 executes a process for gripping the tires 52a, 52b with the front clamp unit 20 and the rear clamp unit 26. When the base 12 is set under the vehicle 50, the gripping processing unit 46 starts a process for gripping the tires 52a, 52b, i.e., a process for driving the front clamp drive unit 24, the first rear clamp drive unit 28a, and the second rear clamp drive unit 28b. The base 12 being set under the vehicle 50 is recognized when the pair of first front clamp bars 20a abut against the pair of tires 52b, respectively, and the mounting sensor 38 detects the positions of the tires 52a and 52b, thereby extending or contracting the base 12. In other words, when the gripping processing unit 46 determines, based on the detection result of the mounting sensor 38, that the base 12 is set under the vehicle 50, it instructs the control unit 48 to drive the front clamp drive unit 24, the first rear clamp drive unit 28a, and the second rear clamp drive unit 28b.

[0027] The control unit 48 drives the front clamp drive unit 24, the first rear clamp drive unit 28a, and the second rear clamp drive unit 28b in response to instructions from the gripping processing unit 46. The front clamp drive unit 24, the first rear clamp drive unit 28a, and the second rear clamp drive unit 28b stop driving and lock when the second front clamp bar 20b, the first rear clamp bar 26a, and the second rear clamp bar 26b come into contact with the tire.

[0028] Here, differences in the gripping state of the rear clamp portion 26 depending on the vehicle will be described. Figure 4 shows a state in which the rear clamp portion 26 grips a tire 52a of a vehicle 50. Figure 4(a) is a diagram of the rear clamp portion 26 as seen from above, and Figure 4(b) is a diagram of the rear clamp portion 26 as seen from the left and right.

[0029] 4(a), the first rear clamp bar 26a and the second rear clamp bar 26b are parallel to each other when gripping the tire 52a. At this time, the rotation angle of the first rear clamp bar 26a and the second rear clamp bar 26b, i.e., the cross angle, is zero degrees because they are parallel.

[0030] 4(b), the tire 52a gripped by the rear clamp 26 protrudes below the base 12. Therefore, the distance L2 from the ground 56 to the lower end 54 of the tire 52a is shorter than the distance L1 from the ground 56 to the base 12.

[0031] Figure 5 shows the rear clamp portion 26 gripping a tire 152a of another vehicle 150. Figure 5(a) is a diagram of the rear clamp portion 26 seen from above, and Figure 5(b) is a diagram of the rear clamp portion 26 seen from the left and right.

[0032] The wheelbase of the vehicle 150 shown in Fig. 5(a) is larger than that of the vehicle 50 shown in Fig. 4(a). As shown in Fig. 5(a), the first rear clamp bar 26a and the second rear clamp bar 26b are intersecting with each other to grip the tire 152a. The rotation angle of the first rear clamp bar 26a and the second rear clamp bar 26b at this time, i.e., the intersecting angle, is θ degrees.

[0033] In FIG. 5(b), the distance L4 from the ground 56 to the lower end 54 of the tire 152a is shorter than the distance L3 from the ground 56 to the base 12. Note that the distance L1 from the ground 56 to the base 12 shown in FIG. 4(b) is the same as the distance L3 shown in FIG. 5(b). The distance L4 from the ground 56 to the lower end 54 of the tire 152a is shorter than the distance L2 from the ground 56 to the lower end 54 of the tire 52a shown in FIG. 4(b). Therefore, depending on the uneven shape of the ground 56, there is a risk that the tire 152a will rub against the ground 56 when the traveling device 10 is transporting the vehicle 150.

[0034] Therefore, the height adjustment processor 44 adjusts the height of the base 12 based on the rotation angles of the first rear clamp bar 26a and the second rear clamp bar 26b. The controller 48 drives the height adjuster 34 so that the height of the base 12 is equal to the height calculated by the height adjustment processor 44. As a result, when the first rear clamp bar 26a and the second rear clamp bar 26b are spread apart from their parallel positions and the tires 52a are closer to the ground, the height adjustment processor 44 sets the height of the base 12 sufficiently high, reducing the possibility of the tires 52a scraping against the ground. Note that unnecessarily increasing the height of the base 12 increases energy loss and impairs running stability during transport.

[0035] The height adjustment processing unit 44 estimates the distance L2 between the lower end 54 of the tire 52a and the ground 56 based on the detection result of the clamp state detection sensor 40. The height adjustment device 34 adjusts the height of the base 12 based on the estimated distance L2 so that the distance between the lower end 54 of the tire 52a and the ground 56 is equal to or greater than a predetermined height. The predetermined height is set through experiments, etc. This allows the height of the base 12 to be sufficiently high so that the lower end 54 of the tire 52a does not rub against the ground 56 even if the ground 56 is rough. A map indicating the relationship between the rotation angles of the first rear clamp bar 26a and the second rear clamp bar 26b and the height of the base 12 is stored in the control device 30. The height adjustment processing unit 44 may derive the height of the base 12 from the rotation angles based on the map.

[0036] The greater the rotation angle of the first rear clamp bar 26a and the second rear clamp bar 26b, the higher the height adjustment device 34 adjusts the height of the base 12. This reduces the possibility that the tires 52a of the vehicle 50 to be transported will scrape against the ground surface 56.

[0037] The height adjustment processing unit 44 may adjust the height of the base 12 based on the rotation angle of the second front clamp bar 20b. The height adjustment processing unit 44 may adjust the height of the base 12 based on the rotation angle of the second front clamp bar 20b and the rotation angles of the first rear clamp bar 26a and the second rear clamp bar 26b. For example, the height adjustment processing unit 44 may adjust the height of the base 12 based on the average value of the rotation angle of the second front clamp bar 20b and the rotation angles of the first rear clamp bar 26a and the second rear clamp bar 26b.

[0038] The present disclosure has been described above based on examples. The present disclosure is not limited to the above examples, and various modifications such as design changes may be made based on the knowledge of those skilled in the art. [Explanation of symbols]

[0039] 10 Traveling device, 12 Base, 14 Front wheel, 16 Rear wheel, 18 Housing, 20 Front clamp section, 20a First front clamp bar, 20b Second front clamp bar, 24 Front clamp drive section, 26 Rear clamp section, 26a First rear clamp bar, 26b Second rear clamp bar, 28a First rear clamp drive section, 28b Second rear clamp drive section, 30 Control device, 32 Traveling drive device, 34 Height adjustment device, 38 Mounted sensor, 40 Clamp state detection sensor, 42 Acquisition unit, 44 Height adjustment processing unit, 46 Grasping processing unit, 48 Control unit, 50 Vehicle, 52a, 52b Tires, 56 Ground, 54 Lower end section.

Claims

1. A traveling device for transporting an automobile, A base that can fit under the vehicle to be transported; a clamp unit provided on the base and having a pair of clamp bars for gripping the tire of the automobile; a detection unit that detects a state in which the clamp unit is gripping the tire; a height adjustment device that adjusts the height of the base based on the detection result of the detection unit, At least one of the pair of clamp bars is rotatably provided so as to approach the other clamp bar, the detection unit detects a rotation angle of the clamp bar, A traveling device characterized in that the rotation angle when the pair of clamp bars are parallel is zero, and the greater the rotation angle of the pair of clamp bars in the direction in which the pair of clamp bars expands, the higher the height adjustment device adjusts the height of the base.

2. 2. The traveling device according to claim 1, further comprising a height adjustment processing unit that estimates a distance between a bottom end of the tire and the ground based on the detection result of the detection unit, and sets the height of the base to a level at which the distance between the bottom end of the tire and the ground is equal to or greater than a predetermined height based on the estimated distance.

3. A control device for controlling a traveling device, the control device comprising: a base that can enter under an automobile to be transported; a clamp unit that is provided on the base and has a pair of clamp bars that grip the tire of the automobile; a detection unit that detects a state in which the clamp unit is gripping the tire; and a height adjustment device that adjusts the height of the base based on the detection result of the detection unit, an acquisition unit that acquires a detection result from the detection unit; a height adjustment processing unit that sets the height of the base based on the detection result of the detection unit, At least one of the pair of clamp bars is rotatably provided so as to approach the other clamp bar, the detection unit detects a rotation angle of the clamp bar, the height adjustment processing unit sets the height of the base based on the rotation angle of the clamp bar, A control device characterized in that the rotation angle when the pair of clamp bars are parallel is set to zero, and the greater the rotation angle of the pair of clamp bars in the direction in which the pair of clamp bars expand, the higher the height processing device sets the height of the base.

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