SMALL MOBILE ROBOT WITH BUILT-IN AUXILIARY WHEEL FOR OVERCOMING TOPOGRAPHY

• US 20110132671A1
• Filed: 07/29/2009
• Published: 06/09/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 08/01/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Hoyarobot Co., Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Hoyarobot Co., Ltd.
• Inventors: Kim, Min-Kyu, Lee, So-Young, Kang, Jeong-Ho
• Granted Patent: US 8,162,351 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 180/8.3
• CPC Class Codes: B25J 13/081 Touching devices, e.g. pressure-sensitive
• CPC Class Codes: B25J 5/007 mounted on wheels

Abstract

Provided is a small mobile robot which moves back and forth and left and right while keeping its posture by two main wheels. The small mobile robot includes built-in auxiliary wheels to overcome topographical elevation differences. The auxiliary wheels of the small mobile robot are attached to a servomotor. The servomotor is driven by remote control, and the auxiliary wheel can be moved to the position required for operation. When the robot is in a normal state, the auxiliary wheels are retracted in the robot. When the robot meets a stepped topography, the auxiliary wheels are lowered out to contact a ground to support the main wheels going over the stepped topography. The small mobile robot includes a sensor for sensing obstacles and a control module to make a detour around obstacles while moving to a target point.

Claims

1. A mobile robot that communicates while in motion and transmits various types of information at an intended position in real time, the mobile robot comprising:

a main body including two main wheels at both sides thereof;

a servomotor installed on the main body and including a rotation shaft that rotates forward and backward;

an auxiliary wheel connected to the rotation shaft of the servomotor through a linkage part; and

a one-way rotation member attached to the auxiliary wheel to allow the auxiliary wheel to rotate only in a forward direction and prevent the auxiliary wheel from rotating in a reverse direction, and wherein the auxiliary wheel is retracted in the main body in a normal state, and is lowered out to contact a ground when meeting a stepped topography such that the auxiliary wheel functions as a support in the reverse direction and functions as a rotation auxiliary wheel in the forward direction to go over a stepped part.

2. The mobile robot of claim 1, wherein the linkage part includes:

a first linkage having an end connected to the rotation shaft of the servomotor; and

a second linkage having an end rotatably connected to the other end of the first linkage, and the other end on which the auxiliary wheel is rotatably installed, and wherein the second linkage is rotatably connected to a hinge shaft of the main body.

3. The mobile robot of claim 2, wherein the second linkage has an elongated hole in a middle portion thereof, and is connected to the hinge shaft through the elongated hole, and the hinge shaft moves along the elongated hole.

4. The mobile robot of claim 2, wherein the linkage part rotates the auxiliary wheel upward to an upper space of the main body such that the auxiliary wheel is disposed in the main body when the servomotor rotates in a first direction, and the linkage part rotates the auxiliary wheel downward from the upper space of the main body such that the auxiliary wheel is in close contact with a ground when the servomotor rotates in a second direction that is opposite to the first direction.

5. The mobile robot of claim 1, wherein the auxiliary wheel includes a wheel rotatably installed on an end of the linkage part, and the one-way rotation member is installed on a side surface of the wheel.

6. The mobile robot of claim 1, wherein the auxiliary wheel includes a plurality of wheels rotatably installed on an end of the linkage part, and the one-way rotation member is installed on a side surface of the wheel.

7. The mobile robot of claim 5, wherein the one-way rotation member includes:

a toothed member fixed to a side surface of the wheel; and

a braking bar having an end that is caught to the toothed member, and wherein the end that is caught to the toothed member is disposed at a front side of a center axis of the wheel to allow the auxiliary wheel to rotate forward and prevent the auxiliary wheel from rotating rearward.

8. The mobile robot of claim 6, wherein the one-way rotation member includes:

a toothed member fixed to a side surface of the wheel; and

a braking bar having an end that is caught to the toothed member, and wherein the end that is caught to the toothed member is disposed at a front side of a center axis of the wheel to allow the auxiliary wheel to rotate forward and prevent the auxiliary wheel from rotating rearward.

9. The mobile robot of claim 7, wherein the one-way rotation member includes a protrusion part at an upper side of an end of the linkage part, and the braking bar is rotatable, and the protrusion part protrudes out of the wheel.

10. The mobile robot of claim 8, wherein the one-way rotation member includes a protrusion part at an upper side of an end of the linkage part, and the braking bar is rotatable, and the protrusion part protrudes out of the wheel.

11. The mobile robot of claim 9, wherein a circumferential surface of the wheel is provided with a toothed rough surface.

12. The mobile robot of claim 10, wherein a circumferential surface of the wheel is provided with a toothed rough surface.