US-12623487-B2 - Mobile body

US12623487B2US 12623487 B2US12623487 B2US 12623487B2US-12623487-B2

Abstract

A mobile body includes a base, three wheels attached to the base, and actuators each of which drives each wheel, and enables omnidirectional movement. Of the three wheels, one or two of the wheels are first configuration wheels, and the remaining wheel or wheels are second configuration wheels. The one wheel is oriented parallel or orthogonal to the orientation of the other two wheels.

Inventors

Ryuichi Suzuki
Fumihiko Iida
Koichi OBANA

Assignees

Sony Group Corporation
SONY INTERACTIVE ENTERTAINMENT INC.

Dates

Publication Date: 20260512
Application Date: 20220808
Priority Date: 20211019

Claims (8)

1 . A mobile body that enables omnidirectional movement comprising: a base; three wheels attached to the base, wherein two of the wheels are first configuration wheels, and the remaining wheel is a second configuration wheel, the second configuration being different from the first configuration, wherein the first configuration wheels each comprise a wheel main body and a plurality of rollers into which support shafts orthogonal to an axle are inserted and that are rotatably attached to an outer circumference of the wheel main body, and the second configuration wheel comprises a wheel main body and a plurality of rollers into which support shafts diagonally inclined relative to the axle are inserted and that are rotatably attached to an outer circumference of the wheel main body; three actuators that each comprise a respective motor and are configured to drive a respective one of the three wheels; and a control section comprising a processor, the control section being configured to independently control the three actuators, wherein the motors and the control section are arranged within the base.
2 . The mobile body according to claim 1 , wherein the second configuration wheel is oriented parallel or orthogonal to an orientation of the first configuration wheels.
3 . The mobile body according to claim 1 , wherein a wheel diameter of the first configuration wheels is different from a wheel diameter of the second configuration wheel.
4 . The mobile body according to claim 1 , wherein each of the three wheels is attached to an outer surface of the base, and an axle of each wheel extends orthogonally to the respective outer surface of the base.
5 . A mobile body that enables omnidirectional movement comprising: a base; three wheels attached to the base, wherein two of the wheels are first configuration wheels, and the remaining wheel is a second configuration wheel, the second configuration being different from the first configuration, wherein the first configuration wheels are omni wheels, and the second configuration wheel is a mecanum wheel; three actuators that each comprise a respective motor and are configured to drive a respective one of the three wheels; and a control section comprising a processor, the control section being configured to independently control the three actuators, wherein the motors and the control section are arranged within the base.
6 . The mobile body according to claim 5 , wherein the second configuration wheel is oriented parallel or orthogonal to an orientation of the first configuration wheels.
7 . The mobile body according to claim 5 , wherein a wheel diameter of the first configuration wheels is different from a wheel diameter of the second configuration wheel.
8 . The mobile body according to claim 5 , wherein each of the three wheels is attached to an outer surface of the base, and an axle of each wheel extends orthogonally to the respective outer surface of the base.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS The present application is based on PCT filing PCT/JP2022/030231, filed Aug. 8, 2022, which claims priority from Japanese Patent Application No. 2021-171192, filed Oct. 19, 2021, the entire contents of each are incorporated herein by reference. TECHNICAL FIELD The present disclosure relates to a mobile body that includes a plurality of wheels and that enables omnidirectional movement. BACKGROUND ART Omni wheels and mecanum wheels are known as wheels for realizing an omnidirectional movement mechanism that enables movement in front-and-back and left-and-right directions. FIGS. 1(a) and 1(b) illustrate a configuration of an omni wheel 10. The omni wheel 10 includes a wheel main body 11 and a plurality of barrel-shaped rollers 12. The plurality of rollers 12 into which support shafts orthogonal to an axle are inserted are rotatably attached to an outer circumference of the wheel main body 11. The omni wheel 10 has the wheel main body 11 and the plurality of rollers 12 that are lined up in a circumferential direction and thus has freedom of movement in the axle direction without rotation of the wheel main body 11. A movement mechanism including three or more omni wheels 10 enables rotational movement and omnidirectional movement. FIG. 2(a) illustrates a configuration of a left mecanum wheel 20a, and FIG. 2(b) illustrates a configuration of a right mecanum wheel 20b. Hereinafter, the left mecanum wheel 20a and the right mecanum wheel 20b will simply be referred to as the “mecanum wheels 20” when no distinction is made therebetween. The mecanum wheel 20 includes a wheel main body 21 and a plurality of barrel-shaped rollers 22. The mecanum wheel 20 has the wheel main body 21 and the plurality of rollers 22 that are lined up in the circumferential direction and thus has freedom of movement in a diagonal direction relative to the axle without rotation of the wheel main body 21. As illustrated in FIG. 2(a), in the left mecanum wheel 20a, the plurality of rollers 22 into which support shafts inclined leftward and diagonally upward by 45 degrees relative to the axle are inserted are rotatably attached to the outer circumference of the wheel main body 21. Further, as illustrated in FIG. 2(b), in the right mecanum wheel 20b, the plurality of rollers 22 into which support shafts inclined rightward and diagonally upward by 45 degrees relative to the axle are inserted are rotatably attached to the outer circumference of the wheel main body 21. A movement mechanism including the two left mecanum wheels 20a and the two right mecanum wheels 20b enables rotational movement and omnidirectional movement. SUMMARY Technical Problem In the omni wheel 10, the support shafts of the rollers 12 are orthogonal to the axle, which makes it necessary, in order to realize an omnidirectional mechanism using the three or more omni wheels 10, to arrange each omni wheel in such a manner that one omni wheel is oriented diagonally relative to (at an angle that is neither parallel nor a right angle with) the orientation of the other omni wheels. Rectangular box-shaped bases have so far often been used as bases of movement mechanisms. However, in the case where three omni wheels are attached to a rectangular box-shaped base, the omni wheels are arranged at positions 120 degrees apart in the circumferential direction, which creates much dead space and makes it difficult to downsize the movement mechanism. Meanwhile, in the movement mechanism including the four mecanum wheels 20, it is possible to attach the four mecanum wheels 20 to a rectangular box-shaped base such that the wheels are oriented in the same direction, which makes it possible to reduce dead space. Meanwhile, if a four-wheel configuration is adopted, it is necessary to ensure ground contact by providing a suspension apparatus on each wheel in order to reliably transfer a driving force of each wheel to the ground, which makes the suspension apparatus provided on each wheel a hindrance to downsizing the movement mechanism. Therefore, it is an object of the present disclosure to provide a movement mechanism configuration suitable for downsizing. Solution to Problem In order to solve the above problem, a mobile body according to an aspect of the present disclosure is a mobile body that enables omnidirectional movement and includes a base, three wheels attached to the base, and actuators each of which drives each wheel. Of the three wheels, one or two of the wheels are first configuration wheels, and the remaining wheel or wheels are second configuration wheels. The first configuration wheels may be mecanum wheels, and the second configuration wheels may be omni wheels. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS FIGS. 1(a) and 1(b) are views illustrating a configuration of an omni wheel. FIGS. 2(a) and 2(b) are views illustrating a configuration of a mecanum wheel. FIG. 3 is a view illustrating a configuration of a mobile body. FIG. 4 is a view illustrating an exa