US-20260125125-A1 - MOVING DEVICE, CONTROL METHOD FOR MOVING DEVICE, AND NON-TRANSITORY COMPUTER READABLE STORAGE MEDIUM STORING CONTROL PROGRAM

Abstract

A moving device that travels by adhering to a surface of a structure, the moving device includes a plurality of traveling bodies supported by a vehicle body, a detector that detects that a ground contact force of the traveling body has decreased, and an applicator that, in a case where the detector detects that a ground contact force of one traveling body has decreased, applies a force to the one traveling body in a direction toward a ground contact surface.

Inventors

• HIROKAZU FUJIMOTO
• Haruhiko Eto

Assignees

• SUMITOMO HEAVY INDUSTRIES, LTD.

Dates

Publication Date

20260507

Application Date

20251230

Priority Date

20230808

Claims (11)

1. 1 . A moving device that travels by adhering to a surface of a structure, the moving device comprising: a plurality of traveling bodies supported by a vehicle body; a detector that detects that a ground contact force of the traveling body has decreased; and an applicator that, in a case where the detector detects that a ground contact force of one traveling body has decreased, applies a force to the one traveling body in a direction toward a ground contact surface.
2. 2 . The moving device according to claim 1 , wherein the applicator controls a wheel driver that individually drives the plurality of traveling bodies, and causes torque in a direction that causes the one traveling body to make ground contact to act on the vehicle body.
3. 3 . The moving device according to claim 1 , wherein the vehicle body includes a first vehicle body and a second vehicle body that individually support the traveling bodies, and the first vehicle body and the second vehicle body are connected to each other via a suspension mechanism changing a positional relationship between the first vehicle body and the second vehicle body in a twisting direction.
4. 4 . The moving device according to claim 1 , wherein, in a case where the detector detects that the ground contact force of the one traveling body has decreased, the applicator controls operations of the traveling bodies excluding the one traveling body among the plurality of traveling bodies and applies the force to the one traveling body in the direction toward the ground contact surface.
5. 5 . The moving device according to claim 4 , wherein the vehicle body includes a first vehicle body and a second vehicle body that individually support the plurality of traveling bodies, the first vehicle body and the second vehicle body are connected to each other via a suspension mechanism changing a positional relationship between the first vehicle body and the second vehicle body in a twisting direction, and in a case where, in one of the first vehicle body and the second vehicle body, a ground contact force of one traveling body on a front side in a traveling direction has decreased while the vehicle body is advancing in a direction perpendicular to a direction in which the first vehicle body and the second vehicle body are arranged side by side, the applicator moves, to a rear side in the traveling direction, the other traveling body that is on a rear side of the one vehicle body and whose ground contact force is not decreased.
6. 6 . The moving device according to claim 4 , wherein the vehicle body includes a first vehicle body and a second vehicle body that individually support the plurality of traveling bodies, the first vehicle body and the second vehicle body are connected to each other via a suspension mechanism changing a positional relationship between the first vehicle body and the second vehicle body in a twisting direction, and in a case where, in one of the first vehicle body and the second vehicle body, a ground contact force of one traveling body on a front side in a traveling direction has decreased while the vehicle body is advancing in a direction perpendicular to a direction in which the first vehicle body and the second vehicle body are arranged side by side, the applicator moves the plurality of traveling bodies in the other vehicle body of the first vehicle body and the second vehicle body to a front side in the traveling direction.
7. 7 . The moving device according to claim 1 , wherein the applicator selects an operation pattern for the traveling bodies excluding the one traveling body, based on a traveling direction of the moving device immediately before the ground contact force of the one traveling body decreases.
8. 8 . The moving device according to claim 1 , further comprising: a magnet that is incorporated into each of the plurality of traveling bodies and is rotatably supported about a rotary shaft; and a wheel driver that individually drives the plurality of traveling bodies, wherein the detector detects that the ground contact force of the traveling body has decreased, based on at least one of an angle of the magnet about the rotary shaft and an output of the wheel driver.
9. 9 . The moving device according to claim 1 , further comprising: a notifier that, in a case where the detector detects that the ground contact force of the one traveling body has decreased, notifies an operator of the decrease of the ground contact force, wherein the applicator executes control to cause the ground contact force of the one traveling body to be restored, based on an execution command of the operator.
10. 10 . A control method for a moving device, the control method being executed by a controller of the moving device including a plurality of traveling bodies supported by a vehicle body and traveling by adhering to a surface of a structure, the control method comprising: detecting that a ground contact force of the traveling body has decreased; and applying a force to one traveling body in a direction toward a ground contact surface in a case where it is detected that a ground contact force of the one traveling body has decreased.
11. 11 . A non-transitory computer readable storage medium storing a control program for a moving device, the control program when executed by a processor, causing the processor to: detect that a ground contact force of a traveling body has decreased, and applies a force, in a case where the decrease in a ground contact force of one traveling body is detected, to the one traveling body in a direction toward a ground contact surface.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS This is a bypass continuation of International PCT Application No. PCT/JP2024/024055, filed on July 3, 2024, which claims priority to Japanese Patent Application No. 2023-129166, filed on August 8, 2023, which are incorporated by reference herein in their entirety. BACKGROUND Technical Field A certain embodiment relates to a moving device, a control method for the moving device, and a non-transitory computer readable storage medium storing a control program. Description of Related Art The related art discloses a moving device which can travel on a wall surface while adhering four wheels to the wall surface by using a magnetic force. In this type of moving device, a back-driving available motor is adopted for driving a magnet incorporated into the wheel. In this way, the magnet can be passively adhered to a traveling surface of a magnetic body. SUMMARY One or more embodiments provide a moving device that travels by adhering to a surface of a structure, the moving device includes a plurality of traveling bodies supported by a vehicle body, a detector that detects that a ground contact force of the traveling body has decreased, and an applicator that, in a case where the detector detects that a ground contact force of one traveling body has decreased, applies a force to the one traveling body in a direction toward a ground contact surface. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1A is a plan view of a traveling robot, according to an embodiment. FIG. 1B is a perspective view of the traveling robot, according to the embodiment. FIG. 2A is a sectional view taken along a line perpendicular to a Y direction, showing a structure of a wheel, according to the embodiment. FIG. 2B is a sectional view taken along a line perpendicular to an X direction, showing the structure of the wheel, according to the embodiment. FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a schematic control configuration of the traveling robot, according to the embodiment. FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing a procedure of lift-off return processing, according to the embodiment. FIG. 5A is a diagram showing an example of a change in a speed of the wheel when the wheel has lifted off. FIG. 5B is a diagram showing an example of a change in an electric current value of a wheel driver when the wheel has lifted off. FIG. 5C is a diagram showing an example of a change in an angle of a magnet when the wheel has lifted off. FIG. 6A is a diagram illustrating an operation pattern A of a lift-off return operation, according to the embodiment. FIG. 6B is a diagram illustrating the operation pattern A of the lift-off return operation, according to the embodiment. FIG. 6C is a diagram illustrating the operation pattern A of the lift-off return operation, according to the embodiment. FIG. 7A is a diagram illustrating an operation pattern B of the lift-off return operation, according to the embodiment. FIG. 7B is a diagram illustrating the operation pattern B of the lift-off return operation, according to the embodiment. FIG. 7C is a diagram illustrating the operation pattern B of the lift-off return operation, according to the embodiment. FIG. 8A is a diagram illustrating a method of selecting a lift-off return operation pattern, according to the embodiment. FIG. 8B is a diagram illustrating a method of selecting the lift-off return operation pattern, according to the embodiment. FIG. 9A is a diagram illustrating an operation of the traveling robot in a case where the traveling robot moves rearward while causing the wheel returned from the lift-off to make ground contact, in the lift-off return processing, according to the embodiment. FIG. 9B is a diagram illustrating an operation of the traveling robot in a case where the traveling robot moves rearward while causing the wheel returned from the lift-off to make ground contact, in the lift-off return processing, according to the embodiment. FIG. 9C is a diagram illustrating an operation of the traveling robot in a case where the traveling robot moves rearward while causing the wheel returned from the lift-off to make ground contact, in the lift-off return processing, according to the embodiment. FIG. 10A is a diagram illustrating the lift-off return operation in a case of a configuration in which a suspension mechanism functions about a roll axis. FIG. 10B is a diagram illustrating the lift-off return operation in a case of the configuration in which the suspension mechanism functions about the roll axis. FIG. 10C is a diagram illustrating the lift-off return operation in a case of the configuration in which the suspension mechanism functions about the roll axis. FIG. 11A is a diagram illustrating the lift-off return operation in a six-wheel rocker bogie system. FIG. 11B is a diagram illustrating the lift-off return operation in the six-wheel rocker bogie system. FIG. 11C is a diagram illustrating the lift-off return operation in the six-wheel rocker bogie system. FIG. 11D is a diagram illus