Obstable avoidance motion carrier

Abstract

An obstacle avoidance vehicle includes a motion base and a rotating module. The motion base is configured for autonomous movement, turning, and rotation. The rotating module is mounted on the motion base and includes a rotating axis actuator and a rotating platform. The rotating axis actuator is fixed to the motion base. The rotating platform is positioned above and connected to the rotating axis actuator, wherein the rotating axis actuator is configured to rotate to drive the rotating platform to rotate relative to the motion base. The obstacle avoidance vehicle may further include a first translation module and / or a second translation module, such that the first platform of the first translation module can move along a first horizontal axis and / or the second platform of the second translation module can move along a second horizontal axis, thereby achieving obstacle avoidance performance of the obstacle avoidance vehicle in the horizontal direction.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to an obstacle avoidance vehicle. Prior Technology

[0002] Generally speaking, autonomous mobile robots (AMRs) are fixed, integrated structures. Therefore, they can only rotate within channels whose width is greater than their own rotation diameter, and cannot rotate within channels whose width is less than their own rotation diameter. Summary of the Invention

[0003] This invention provides an obstacle avoidance vehicle, comprising a motion base and a rotating module. The motion base is configured for autonomous movement, turning, and rotation. The rotating module is mounted on the motion base and includes a rotating axis actuator and a rotating platform. The rotating axis actuator is fixed to the motion base. The rotating platform is positioned above and connected to the rotating axis actuator, wherein the rotating axis actuator is configured to rotate to drive the rotating platform to rotate relative to the motion base.

[0004] In some embodiments of the present invention, the obstacle avoidance vehicle further includes a first translation module disposed on a rotating platform, and includes a first horizontal axis actuator and a first platform. The first horizontal axis actuator is fixed to the rotating platform and has a first movable slider. The first platform is disposed above the first horizontal axis actuator and fixed on the first movable slider, wherein the first horizontal axis actuator is configured to move the first movable slider to move the first platform relative to the rotating platform along a first horizontal axis.

[0005] In some embodiments of the present invention, when the rotary shaft actuator rotates to drive the rotary carrier plate to rotate relative to the moving base, the rotary carrier plate and the first translation module rotate together.

[0006] In some embodiments of the present invention, the obstacle avoidance vehicle further includes a second translation module disposed on the first carrier plate, and includes a second horizontal axis actuator and a second carrier plate. The second horizontal axis actuator is fixed to the first carrier plate and has a second movable slider. The second carrier plate is disposed above the second horizontal axis actuator and fixed on the second movable slider, wherein the second horizontal axis actuator is configured to move the second movable slider so that the second carrier plate moves relative to the first carrier plate along a second horizontal axis different from the first horizontal axis.

[0007] In some embodiments of the present invention, when the rotary shaft actuator rotates to drive the rotary carrier plate to rotate relative to the moving base, the rotary carrier plate, the first translation module and the second translation module rotate together.

[0008] In some embodiments of the present invention, the first horizontal axis actuator moves the first moving slider so that when the first carrier plate moves relative to the rotating carrier plate along the first horizontal axis, the first carrier plate and the second translation module move together along the first horizontal axis.

[0009] In some embodiments of the present invention, the motion base includes two drive wheels that can rotate in both directions.

[0010] In some embodiments of the present invention, the motion base includes navigation elements and / or obstacle avoidance sensing elements, which are disposed only on one side of the motion base. Simple Explanation of the Diagram

[0011] The invention will be best understood from the following description in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and embodiments. However, it should be understood that, according to industry practice, the various features are not necessarily drawn to scale. In fact, for clarity, the shapes of the various features may be appropriately adjusted, and the dimensions of the various features may be arbitrarily increased or decreased.

[0012] Figure 1 is a perspective view of an obstacle avoidance vehicle according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0013] Figure 2 is a three-dimensional schematic diagram of the obstacle avoidance vehicle shown in Figure 1 (the cover of the base and the rotating platform are transparently displayed).

[0014] Figure 3 is a perspective view of an obstacle avoidance vehicle according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0015] Figure 4 is a three-dimensional schematic diagram of the obstacle avoidance vehicle in Figure 3 (the first platform is transparent).

[0016] Figure 5 is a perspective view of an obstacle avoidance vehicle according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0017] Figure 6 is a three-dimensional schematic diagram of the obstacle avoidance vehicle in Figure 5 (the second platform is transparent).

[0018] Figure 7 is a perspective view of an obstacle avoidance vehicle and a carrier base according to an embodiment of the present invention. Implementation

[0019] The advantages and features of the present invention will be more readily understood by referring to the exemplary embodiments and accompanying drawings. However, the present invention may be implemented in different forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein. Rather, these embodiments provided will enable those skilled in the art to more thoroughly and completely convey the scope of the invention.

[0020] The spatial relative terms used in this article, such as "down" and "up," are for the convenience of describing the relative relationship between one element or feature and another in the diagram. The true meaning of these spatial relative terms includes other orientations. For example, when the diagram is rotated 180 degrees vertically, the relationship between one element and another may change from "down" to "up." The spatial relative descriptions used in this article should be interpreted in the same way.

[0021] As described in the prior art, autonomous mobile robots are generally monolithic fixed structures. Therefore, they can only rotate within channels wider than their own rotation diameter and cannot rotate within channels narrower than their own rotation diameter. Accordingly, this invention provides an obstacle-avoiding motion vehicle, comprising a motion base and a rotating module. The rotating module includes a rotation axis actuator and a rotating platform. A load-bearing base may be provided above the rotating platform. The rotation axis actuator is configured to rotate to drive the rotating platform to rotate relative to the motion base. The motion base is configured to autonomously move, turn, and rotate. When the autonomous mobile robot enters a channel whose width is smaller than its own rotation diameter, the motion base rotates in one direction (e.g., clockwise), and the rotation axis actuator rotates in the opposite direction (e.g., counterclockwise) to drive the rotating platform and the load base above it to rotate in the opposite direction relative to the motion base. This allows the rotating platform and the load base above it to maintain the same absolute orientation angle, which does not change with the orientation angle of the motion base. In other words, from an appearance perspective, only the motion base turns, but the rotating platform and the load base above it may not turn, allowing the obstacle-avoiding motion vehicle to complete a turning motion and then leave the channel whose width is smaller than its own rotation diameter, effectively solving the problems described in the prior art. Furthermore, the obstacle-avoiding motion vehicle may further include a first translation module and / or a second translation module, so that the first platform of the first translation module can move along a first horizontal axis and / or the second platform of the second translation module can move along a second horizontal axis, thereby achieving obstacle avoidance performance in the horizontal direction. Various embodiments of the obstacle-avoiding motion vehicle of the present invention will be described in detail below.

[0022] Figure 1 is a perspective view of an obstacle avoidance vehicle according to an embodiment of the present invention. Figure 2 is a perspective view of the obstacle avoidance vehicle of Figure 1 (the cover of the motion base and the rotating platform are transparently displayed). As shown in Figures 1 and 2, the obstacle avoidance vehicle includes a motion base 110 and a rotating module 120.

[0023] The motion base 110 is configured for autonomous movement. In some embodiments, as shown in FIG2, the motion base 110 includes two drive wheels 111 capable of bidirectional rotation. The motion base 110 can move by rotating the two drive wheels 111 in the same direction. The motion base 110 is also configured for autonomous steering and rotation. The motion base 110 can be steered or rotated by rotating the two drive wheels 111 in opposite directions. In some embodiments, the motion base 110 further includes unpowered driven wheels 112.

[0024] In some embodiments, referring to FIG7, the motion base 110 includes a navigation element 113a and / or an obstacle avoidance sensing element 113b. Since the motion base 110 is rotatable, the navigation element 113a or the obstacle avoidance sensing element 113b may be provided only on one side of the motion base 110, without the need to provide the navigation element 113a and / or the obstacle avoidance sensing element 113b on both sides of the motion base 110.

[0025] A rotating module 120 is mounted on a motion base 110 and includes a rotating shaft actuator 121 and a rotating carrier plate 122. The rotating shaft actuator 121 is fixed to the motion base 110. In some embodiments, the cover of the motion base 110 includes an upper cover with an opening, and the rotating shaft actuator 121 is disposed within the opening. The rotating carrier plate 122 is disposed above and connected to the rotating shaft actuator 121. The rotating shaft actuator 121 is configured to rotate to drive the rotating carrier plate 122 to rotate relative to the motion base 110. In this way, when the autonomous mobile robot (which may include the obstacle avoidance vehicle shown in Figure 1 and the cargo base (e.g., the cargo base 200 shown in Figure 7)) enters a channel whose width is smaller than its own rotation diameter, the motion base 110 rotates in one direction (e.g., clockwise) and the rotation axis actuator 121 rotates in the opposite direction (e.g., counterclockwise) to drive the rotating plate 122 and the cargo base above it to rotate in the opposite direction relative to the motion base 110. This allows the rotating plate 122 and the cargo base above it to maintain the same absolute orientation angle, which does not change with the orientation angle of the motion base 110. That is, in appearance, only the motion base 110 turns, but the rotating plate 122 and the cargo base above it may not turn, so that the obstacle avoidance vehicle can complete the turning action and then leave the channel whose width is smaller than its own rotation diameter.

[0026] Figure 3 is a perspective view of an obstacle avoidance vehicle according to an embodiment of the present invention. Figure 4 is a perspective view of the obstacle avoidance vehicle of Figure 3 (the first carrier plate is transparently displayed). As shown in Figures 3 and 4, the obstacle avoidance vehicle further includes a first translation module 130, which is disposed on a rotating carrier plate 122 and includes a first horizontal axis actuator 131 and a first carrier plate 132. The first horizontal axis actuator 131 is fixed on the rotating carrier plate 122 and has a first movable slider 131s. The first carrier plate 132 is disposed above the first horizontal axis actuator 131 and fixed on the first movable slider 131s. The first horizontal axis actuator 131 is configured to move the first movable slider 131s so that the first carrier plate 132 can move bidirectionally relative to the rotating carrier plate 122 along the first horizontal axis. For example, the first carrier plate 132 can move bidirectionally along the length direction of the first carrier plate 132. In this way, when there are obstacles near the loading base of the autonomous mobile robot (e.g., the obstacle avoidance vehicle shown in FIG3 and the loading base (e.g., the loading base 200 shown in FIG7)), the robot can avoid the obstacles by moving horizontally along the first horizontal axis together with the first carrier plate 132 and the loading base above it.

[0027] On the other hand, in some embodiments, as shown in Figures 2 to 4, when the rotary shaft actuator 121 rotates to drive the rotary carrier plate 122 to rotate relative to the motion base 110, the rotary carrier plate 122 and the first translation module 130 can rotate together.

[0028] Figure 5 is a perspective view of an obstacle avoidance vehicle according to an embodiment of the present invention. Figure 6 is a perspective view of the obstacle avoidance vehicle of Figure 5 (the second carrier plate is transparently displayed). As shown in Figures 5 and 6, the obstacle avoidance vehicle further includes a second translation module 140, which is disposed on the first carrier plate 132 and includes a second horizontal axis actuator 141 and a second carrier plate 142. The second horizontal axis actuator 141 is fixed on the first carrier plate 132 and has a second sliding slider 141s. The second carrier plate 142 is disposed above the second horizontal axis actuator 141 and fixed on the second sliding slider 141s. The second horizontal axis actuator 141 is configured to move the second sliding slider 141s so that the second carrier plate 142 moves relative to the first carrier plate 132 along a second horizontal axis different from the first horizontal axis. For example, the second carrier plate 142 can move bidirectionally along the width direction of the second carrier plate 142. In this way, when there are obstacles near the loading base of the autonomous mobile robot (e.g., the obstacle avoidance vehicle shown in FIG5 and the loading base (e.g., the loading base 200 shown in FIG7)), the robot can move horizontally along the second horizontal axis together with the second carrier plate 142 and the loading base above it to avoid the obstacles.

[0029] On the other hand, in some embodiments, as shown in Figures 2 to 6, when the rotary shaft actuator 121 rotates to drive the rotary carrier plate 122 to rotate relative to the motion base 110, the rotary carrier plate 122, the first translation module 130 and the second translation module 140 can rotate together.

[0030] In some embodiments, as shown in Figures 4 to 6, the first horizontal axis actuator 131 moves the first moving slider 131s so that when the first carrier plate 132 moves relative to the rotating carrier plate 122 along the first horizontal axis, the first carrier plate 132 and the second translation module 140 can move together along the first horizontal axis to avoid obstacles. For example, the first carrier plate 132 and the second translation module 140 can move together bidirectionally along the length direction of the first carrier plate 132.

[0031] In some embodiments, the width of the first carrier plate 132 is smaller than the width of the rotating carrier plate 122. In some embodiments, the length of the first carrier plate 132 is greater than the width of the rotating carrier plate 122, thereby increasing the area on which the first carrier plate 132 carries an object. In some embodiments, the width of the second carrier plate 142 is smaller than the width of the rotating carrier plate 122. In some embodiments, the length of the second carrier plate 142 is greater than the width of the rotating carrier plate 122, thereby increasing the area on which the second carrier plate 142 carries an object. In some embodiments, the width of the second carrier plate 142 is approximately the same as the width of the first carrier plate 132, and the length of the second carrier plate 142 is approximately the same as the length of the first carrier plate 132. However, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments, and the width of the rotating carrier plate 122, the length and width of the first carrier plate 132, and the length and width of the second carrier plate 142 can be appropriately adjusted according to actual needs.

[0032] Furthermore, in other embodiments, referring to Figures 5 and 6, the first translation module 130 and the second translation module 140 can be interchanged. In other embodiments, referring to Figures 3 and 4, the rotation module 120 may only have the second translation module 140 shown in Figures 5 and 6.

[0033] Figure 7 is a perspective view of an obstacle-avoiding motion vehicle and a carrying base according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in Figure 7, the carrying base 200 can be disposed and fixed on the second carrier plate 142. However, the present invention is not limited thereto. In other embodiments, the carrying base 200 can also be disposed and fixed on the rotating carrier plate 122 shown in Figure 1 or the first carrier plate 132 shown in Figure 3. Referring to Figures 1 to 7, the motion base 110 of the obstacle-avoiding motion vehicle can provide movement, turning and rotation functions. The rotating module 120, the first translation module 130 and the second translation module 140 of the obstacle-avoiding motion vehicle can respectively provide the relative rotation, longitudinal obstacle avoidance and lateral obstacle avoidance functions of the carrying base 200. In this way, the obstacle avoidance performance of the autonomous mobile robot in all directions can be realized.

[0034] The above description is merely a preferred embodiment of the present invention and should not be construed as limiting the scope of the invention. Any simple equivalent changes and modifications made in accordance with the claims and description of the invention are still within the scope of the patent. Furthermore, no embodiment or claim of the present invention needs to achieve all the objectives, advantages, or features disclosed in the invention. In addition, the abstract and headings are merely for assisting in patent document searches and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention.

[0035] 110: Sports base 111: Drive wheel 112: Driven wheel 113a: Navigation element 113b: Obstacle avoidance sensing element 120: Rotating Module 121: Rotary shaft actuator 122: Rotating Carrier Plate 130: First translation module 131: First horizontal axis actuator 131s: First movement of the slider 132: First carrier plate 140: Second translation module 141: Second horizontal axis actuator 141s: Second movement slider 142: Second carrier plate 200: Cargo base

Claims

1. An obstacle avoidance vehicle, comprising: A motion base, designed for autonomous movement, turning, and rotation; A rotating module, disposed on the motion base, includes: a rotating axis actuator fixed to the motion base; a rotating carrier plate disposed above and connected to the rotating axis actuator, wherein the rotating axis actuator is configured to rotate to drive the rotating carrier plate to rotate relative to the motion base; a first translation module, disposed on the rotating carrier plate, includes: a first horizontal axis actuator fixed to the rotating carrier plate and having a first movable slider; and a first carrier plate disposed above the first horizontal axis actuator and fixed to the first movable slider, wherein the first horizontal axis actuator is configured to move the first movable slider to move the first carrier plate relative to the rotating carrier plate along a first horizontal axis; and a second translation module, disposed on the first carrier plate, includes: A second horizontal axis actuator is fixed to the first carrier plate and has a second movable slider; and a second carrier plate is disposed above the second horizontal axis actuator and fixed to the second movable slider, wherein the second horizontal axis actuator is configured to move the second movable slider so that the second carrier plate moves relative to the first carrier plate along a second horizontal axis different from the first horizontal axis.

2. The obstacle avoidance vehicle as described in claim 1, wherein when the rotary shaft actuator rotates to drive the rotary carrier plate to rotate relative to the motion base, the rotary carrier plate and the first translation module rotate together.

3. The obstacle avoidance vehicle as described in claim 1, wherein when the rotary shaft actuator rotates to drive the rotary carrier plate to rotate relative to the motion base, the rotary carrier plate, the first translation module and the second translation module rotate together.

4. The obstacle avoidance vehicle as claimed in claim 1, wherein when the first horizontal axis actuator moves the first moving slider so that the first carrier plate moves relative to the rotating carrier plate along the first horizontal axis, the first carrier plate and the second translation module move together along the first horizontal axis.

5. The obstacle avoidance vehicle as described in claim 1, wherein the motion base includes two drive wheels capable of bidirectional rotation.

6. The obstacle avoidance motion vehicle as claimed in claim 1, wherein the motion base includes a navigation element and / or an obstacle avoidance sensing element disposed only on one side of the motion base.

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