Chain-like self-moving robot and control system therefor
First Claim
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1. A chain-like self-moving robot crawling on an object, comprising:
- at least three capsule units;
coupling means for interconnecting said capsule units serially in a chain-like manner;
a plurality of expanding and contracting means each provided between said coupling means and said capsule unit and capable of being in an expanding state and a contracting state, for stretching and diminishing a space between said interconnected capsules by expanding and contracting only in a direction of movement of said robot; and
control means for controlling the expanding and contracting means in a predetermined sequence on the basis of predetermined expansion/contraction control signals, said predetermined sequence being such that a changing operation between the expanding state and contracting state is propagated through said plurality of expanding and contracting means in said direction of movement of said robot to provide a motion with less than a half of said capsule units being moved while the remaining capsule units are held stationary is repeated sequentially to move said robot as a whole.
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Abstract
A chain-like self-moving robot includes three or more capsule units connected to one another in a string by means of couplers. By expanding and contracting intercapsule spaces in a predetermined sequence so that a smaller number of the capsules are moved while a larger number of capsules remain stationary, the chain-like robot can move forwardly or backwardly.
52 Citations
37 Claims
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1. A chain-like self-moving robot crawling on an object, comprising:
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at least three capsule units; coupling means for interconnecting said capsule units serially in a chain-like manner; a plurality of expanding and contracting means each provided between said coupling means and said capsule unit and capable of being in an expanding state and a contracting state, for stretching and diminishing a space between said interconnected capsules by expanding and contracting only in a direction of movement of said robot; and control means for controlling the expanding and contracting means in a predetermined sequence on the basis of predetermined expansion/contraction control signals, said predetermined sequence being such that a changing operation between the expanding state and contracting state is propagated through said plurality of expanding and contracting means in said direction of movement of said robot to provide a motion with less than a half of said capsule units being moved while the remaining capsule units are held stationary is repeated sequentially to move said robot as a whole. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30)
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31. A method of moving a chain-like self-moving robot composed of at least three capsule units and coupling means for interconnecting said capsule units, comprising steps of:
leaving at least more than a half of said capsule units in stationary state while moving the remaining number of said capsule units by selectively expanding and contracting inter-capsule spaces in a direction of movement of the robot without substantially changing the lateral dimensions of the inter-capsule spaces, wherein the capsule units to be moved are sequentially changed over to thereby move said robot as a whole. - View Dependent Claims (32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37)
Specification