JP2007062685A - Vehicle - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To drive balancers so as to keep the center of gravity of a vehicle in the prescribed position. <P>SOLUTION: The vehicle is equipped with a plurality of balancers provided separately from the part for a driver etc. to get on the cabin, arranged movable freely fore and aft, and admitting independent control, and thereby the center of gravity of the whole vehicle is kept in the prescribed position. As one embodiment of the invention, the vehicle is equipped with a first balancer and a second balancer rotatable individually round the axle. When the part of getting on of the vehicle is put in attitude control into the prescribed position, the reaction force required to make attitude control is calculated, and also calculation is made for the angular accelerations of the first and second balancers at which the reaction force is generated and the center of gravity of the vehicle can be kept in the prescribed position. The first and second balancers are connected with respective drive motors, and the drive motors are driven with the angular accelerations calculated. Thereby the reaction force required to make attitude control can be generated while the center of gravity of the whole construction is kept in the prescribed position. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a vehicle, for example, an inverted pendulum vehicle that performs posture control.

An inverted pendulum vehicle, in which a driver gets on a drive wheel arranged on one axis and travels while maintaining a balance like a unicycle, has attracted attention.
These inverted pendulum vehicles are configured to maintain a balance by using the principle of a wheel-type inverted pendulum as shown in the following Patent Document 1, for example.
In an inverted pendulum vehicle, the center of gravity is above the axle, so how to maintain balance is important. The balance can be maintained by moving the vehicle in the direction in which the center of gravity moves (the direction in which the vehicle inclines), but it is more effective to use a balancer together.

Patent Document 2 proposes an inverted pendulum vehicle including a balancer for assisting in maintaining balance.
The technique proposed in Patent Document 2 is a balance method in the case where the drive wheels are formed of spheres, and the principle is as shown in FIG.
That is, when there is a vehicle 100 that includes the drive wheels 11, the riding section 13, and the balancer 101 and has an axle in a direction perpendicular to the traveling direction shown in the drawing, the balancer 101 is moved in the opposite direction with respect to the inclination of the riding section 13. It is moved to maintain balance.

When posture control is performed using such a balancer 101, it is also conceivable to perform posture control with a reaction force (reaction torque) generated by accelerating the balancer 101.
Referring to FIG. 7, when the balancer 101 is rotated (inclined) around the axle, a torque (reaction force torque) that rotates the riding section 13 in the direction opposite to the rotation direction of the balancer 101 is generated. To do.
In this method, when an external force that causes the riding section 13 to tilt forward is applied, the balancer 101 is rotated in the tilting direction of the riding section, thereby rotating in the direction opposite to the rotation direction of the balancer, that is, in the direction opposite to the tilting direction due to the external force. The posture is controlled by applying torque to the riding section.
Further, it is assumed that the riding section 13 is inclined forward more than the target value. When re-establishing this, by rotating the balancer 101 in the direction opposite to the direction in which the riding section 13 is re-established, that is, in the forward tilt direction, the riding section 13 moves in the direction in which it rises due to the reaction force torque generated when the balancer 101 is accelerated. To do.
For example, in FIG. 7, when the balancer 101 is accelerated in the direction of arrow B, the riding section 13 can be moved in the direction of arrow A by the reaction torque.

JP 2005-094898 A JP 2004-129435 A

However, in the vehicle shown in FIG. 7, it is possible to accelerate the balancer 101 and to control the posture of the riding section 13 by the reaction torque, but the balancer 101 and the riding section 13 move so that the entire vehicle The position of the center of gravity will move.
And since the quantity which moves the balancer 101 is decided by the quantity which wants to move the boarding part 13, there exists a problem that the whole gravity center cannot be controlled directly.
Thus, if the entire center of gravity moves as the balancer 101 is driven, the attitude control of the vehicle becomes complicated.

  Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to drive a balancer so as to keep the center of gravity of the vehicle at a predetermined position.

In the first aspect of the present invention, driving wheel driving means for driving the driving wheels disposed on a single axle, a driving operation unit disposed above the driving wheels and performing driving operation of the driving wheels, A plurality of balancers arranged to be movable with respect to the driving operation section and a reaction force (reaction force torque) generated when the plurality of balancers are individually moved so as to keep the center of gravity of the vehicle at a predetermined position. And a posture control means for controlling the posture of the driving operation unit to a predetermined position.
In the invention according to claim 2, the plurality of balancers are arranged so as to be movable around the axle, and the posture control means rotates the plurality of balancers around the axle individually. The vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the vehicle is moved.
The invention according to claim 3 further comprises angular acceleration calculation means for calculating individual angular accelerations of the plurality of balancers so as to keep the center of gravity of the vehicle at a predetermined position, and the attitude control means calculates the calculated The vehicle according to claim 2, wherein the individual balancer is rotated around the axle by angular acceleration.

  According to the present invention, posture control is performed by individually driving a plurality of balancers, so that the position of the center of gravity of the vehicle can be maintained at a predetermined position.

Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the vehicle of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 1 to 6.
(1) Outline of Embodiment The vehicle according to the present embodiment is a separate body from the riding section, and can be freely moved in the front-rear direction (traveling direction) and provided with a plurality of balancers each capable of independent control. The center of gravity position is maintained at a predetermined position.
Two or more balancers are sufficient, but in the present embodiment, as an example, the vehicle includes a first balancer and a second balancer that can be individually rotated around the axle. The vehicle has a predetermined riding section. The first balancer and the second balancer that calculate the reaction force torque necessary for the posture control, generate the reaction force torque, and keep the position of the center of gravity of the vehicle at a predetermined position. Calculate the angular acceleration of the balancer.

The first balancer and the second balancer are respectively connected to individual drive motors, and the vehicle drives the individual drive motors so that the angular accelerations calculated by both balancers are obtained.
Thus, the vehicle can generate reaction force torque necessary for posture control while keeping the position of the center of gravity at a predetermined position.
Further, by controlling the posture in this way, it is possible to suppress the inclination of the riding section during operation and stop, and to hold the riding section on the vertical line.
Furthermore, it is possible to suppress the shaking of the riding section during the movement operation and to improve the stability of the riding section.

(2) Details of Embodiment FIG. 1 illustrates an example of an external configuration of a vehicle.
The vehicle of the present embodiment is composed of an inverted pendulum vehicle, which senses the posture of the riding section and performs posture control so as to maintain the balance in the front-rear direction in the driving direction of the drive wheels according to the posture. It is something to run.
The attitude control method in the present embodiment is disclosed in, for example, US Pat. No. 6,302,230, JP-A 63-35082, JP-A 2004-129435, and JP-A 2004-276727. Various control methods can be used.

As shown in FIG. 1, the inverted pendulum vehicle includes two drive wheels 11a and 11b arranged coaxially.
Both the drive wheels 11 a and 11 b are driven by a drive motor (wheel motor) 12 housed in a wheel motor housing 121.
Further, between the drive wheels 11a and 11b, two first balancers and second balancers (not shown), and a first balancer motor and a second balancer motor for accelerating the respective balancers around the axle are wheel motor housings 121. Inside, it is provided coaxially with the drive wheels 11a and 11b.

A riding section 13 on which the driver rides is disposed above the drive wheels 11a and 11b (hereinafter referred to as drive wheels 11 when referring to both drive wheels 11a and 11b) and the drive motor 12.
The riding section 13 includes a seat surface section 131 on which a driver sits, a backrest section 132, and a headrest 133.
The riding section 13 is supported by a support member 14 (frame) fixed to the wheel motor housing 121.

A control device 15 is disposed on the left side of the riding section 13. The steering device 15 is a driving operation unit that gives instructions for acceleration, deceleration, turning, rotation, stop, braking, and the like of the inverted pendulum vehicle by the operation of the driver.
The control device 15 in the present embodiment is fixed to the seat surface portion 131, but may be configured by a remote controller connected by wire or wirelessly. Moreover, an armrest may be provided and the control device may be arranged on the upper part thereof.

  In this embodiment, control such as acceleration / deceleration is performed by a travel command instructed by operation of the control device 15. For example, as shown in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 10-67254, the driver leans forward with respect to the vehicle. By changing the moment and the front / rear tilt angle, the vehicle may be switchable to perform posture control and travel control according to the tilt angle.

A display / operation unit 17 is arranged on the right side of the boarding unit. The display / operation unit 17 includes a display unit 172 including a liquid crystal display device (not shown), and an input unit 171 including a touch panel and a dedicated function key arranged on the surface of the display unit 172.
The display / operation unit 17 may be configured by the same remote controller as the control device 15. Further, the left / right arrangement of the display / operation unit 17 and the control device 15 may be reversed, or both may be arranged on the same side.

A control unit 16 is disposed between the riding section 13 and the drive wheel 11.
In the present embodiment, the control unit 16 is attached to the lower surface of the seat portion 131 of the riding portion 13, but may be attached to the support member 14.

Next, the principle of attitude control using the first balancer and the second balancer will be described with reference to FIGS.
FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram that models the vehicle of the present embodiment, and shows a front view of the vehicle viewed from the forward direction.
In this model, the vehicle is connected to the riding section 13, the drive motor 12 connected to the riding section 13 via the frame, the drive wheels 11 driven by the drive motor 12, and the first riding section 13 via the frame. The balancer motor 22, the first balancer 20 driven by the first balancer motor 22, the second balancer motor 23 connected to the riding section 13 through the frame, and the second balancer 21 driven by the second balancer motor 23. is doing. However, the mass of the frame is ignored.
The rotation axes of the first balancer motor 22 and the second balancer motor 23 are arranged so as to be coaxial with the axle 25.
The first balancer 20 and the second balancer 21 are each configured such that the mass is distributed above the rotation shaft, and both the first balancer motor 22 and the second balancer motor 23 are independently independent within a finite stroke. It can be rotated in the direction.
In this way, by configuring the balancer so that the mass distribution is asymmetric with respect to the rotation axis, the center of gravity can be moved by the rotation of the balancer.

FIG. 3 shows a state in which the modeled vehicle of FIG. 2 is viewed from the side with respect to the traveling direction.
For simplicity, the first balancer motor 22, the second balancer motor 23, etc. are omitted.
In FIG. 3, the center of gravity of the entire vehicle including the driver is indicated by the center of gravity 26.

Here, the mass of the riding part 13 is m1, the moment of inertia around the center of gravity is I1, the length from the center of gravity to the fulcrum is r1, and the inclination angle of the riding part 13 from the vertical direction is θ1. These values are values including the driver seated in the riding section 13.
That is, the vehicle is assumed to have a function of measuring the weight of the driver and correcting m1, I1, and r1 to values including the driver.
Alternatively, a standard weight of the driver may be assumed in advance, and a calculated value using this value may be fixedly used.

Similarly for the balancer, the mass of the first balancer 20 is m2, the moment of inertia around the center of gravity is I2, the length from the center of gravity to the fulcrum is r2, the inclination angle from the vertical direction is θ2, and the mass of the second balancer 21 is Is m3, the moment of inertia around the center of gravity is I3, the length from the center of gravity to the fulcrum is r3, and the inclination angle from the vertical direction is θ3.
In the following calculation formula, the time derivative is represented by the symbol {}. According to this notation, the angular velocity ω is a time derivative of the angle θ and is represented by ω = {θ}, and the angular acceleration α is a time derivative of the angular velocity and is represented by α = {ω} = {{θ}}. .

Here, the objective is to give the riding section 13 angular acceleration α1 = {{θ1}} for posture control. At this time, the first balancer 20 and the second balancer 21 that do not generate acceleration at the center of gravity 26 are used. Find acceleration conditions.
Here, the angular acceleration α <b> 1 is an angular acceleration when the riding section 13 tilts when an external force is applied to the riding section 13, and is detected by a gyro sensor 162 described later.

First, when the angular acceleration α2 is applied to the first balancer 20 and the angular acceleration α3 is applied to the second balancer 21, the following equation (1) is established.
In the following expression, the power n is represented by (^ n), and for example, the cube of p is represented by p * p * p = (p ^ 3).

  (I2 + m2 (r2 ^ 2)) α2 + (I3 + m3 (r3 ^ 2)) α3 =-(I1 + m1 (r1 ^ 2)) α1 (1)

Here, (I2 + m2 (r2 ^ 2)) α2 corresponds to the balancer torque τ2 applied to the first balancer 20 by the first balancer motor 22, and (I3 + m3 (r3 ^ 2)) α3 is determined by the second balancer motor 23. This corresponds to the balancer torque τ3 applied to the second balancer 21.
On the other hand, the condition that the circumferential acceleration aG of the center of gravity is 0 is expressed by the following equation (2).

  aG = A1cos (θG−θ1−β1) + A2cos (θG−θ2−β2) + A3cos (θG−θ3−β3) = 0 (2)

Here, Ai (i = 1, 2, 3, and so on) is
Ai = (mi / M) ri√ ((αi ^ 2) + (ωi ^ 4))
And is a function of αi.
Note that ωi = {θi} and M = Σmi.
Σ represents a sum related to i, and M = Σmi = m1 + m2 + m3.
Further, tan θG is defined by θG = Σmirisin θi / Σmiricos θi.
Βi is defined by tanβi = (ωi ^ 2) / αi.
Here, Σ represents a sum related to i.
Thus, βi is expressed as a function of αi.

As described above, when α2 and α3 satisfying Expression (2) are given, the acceleration aG = 0 in the circumferential direction of the center of gravity is obtained, and the riding section 13 can be position-controlled without moving the entire center of gravity in the circumferential direction of the axle. .
Therefore, α2 and α3 satisfying both the expressions (1) and (2) are calculated by numerical analysis, and the balancer torque τ2 = (I2 + m2 (r2 ^ 2)) α2 is output to the first balancer motor 22, If the balancer torque τ3 = (I3 + m3 (r3 ^ 2)) α3 is output to the two balancer motor 23, the riding section 13 can be position-controlled without rotating the center of gravity of the entire vehicle in the circumferential direction.

Next, the hardware configuration of the vehicle will be described with reference to FIG.
FIG. 4 shows the configuration of the control unit 16.
The control unit 16 has a function of running the inverted pendulum while the vehicle performs posture control using the first balancer 20 and the second balancer 21.
Hereinafter, each component which comprises the control unit 16 is demonstrated.

The control unit 16 includes a main control device 161, a gyro sensor 162, a drive motor control device 163, a first balancer motor control device 165, a second balancer motor control device 166, and a storage unit 164.
The control unit 16 includes a control device 15 that constitutes peripheral devices, an input unit 171, a display unit 172, a balancer detection unit 173, a tire angle detection unit 174, a drive motor inverter 31, a drive motor 12, and a first balancer motor. The inverter 32, the first balancer motor 22, the second balancer motor inverter 33, the second balancer motor 23, and a battery (not shown) are connected.

The main control device 161 includes a main CPU, and is configured by a computer system including a ROM storing various programs and data (not shown), a RAM used as a work area, an external storage device, an interface unit, and the like.
The ROM stores various programs such as a posture control program for maintaining the posture of the inverted pendulum vehicle using the balancers 20 and 21 and a traveling control program for controlling traveling based on various traveling commands from the control device 15. The main controller 161 performs corresponding processing by executing these various programs. These programs may be stored in the storage unit 164 and read out by the main CPU.
The attitude control program detects the tilt angle and tilt angular velocity of the vehicle from sensors described later, and uses the detected values to calculate the balancer torques τ1 and τ2 so that the vehicle travels according to the travel command instructed by the driver. It calculates and controls the drive motor 12, the 1st balancer motor 22, and the 2nd balancer motor 23.

The gyro sensor 162 functions as an attitude detection sensor that detects the attitude of the riding section 13.
The gyro sensor 162 detects the inclination angle θ1 and the angular acceleration α1 of the riding part 13 as physical quantities based on the inclination of the riding part 13.
The main controller 161 recognizes the tilt direction from the tilt angle θ1 detected by the gyro sensor 162.

In the gyro sensor 162 of the present embodiment, the angular acceleration α1 and the inclination angle θ1 are detected and supplied to the main controller 161, but only the angular velocity may be detected.
In this case, the main control device 161 accumulates the angular velocity supplied from the gyro sensor 162, thereby calculating the angular acceleration α1 and the angle θ1 to obtain the tilt angle.

In addition to the gyro sensor 162, various sensors that output signals according to the angular acceleration when the riding section 13 tilts, such as a liquid rotor type angular accelerometer and an eddy current type angular accelerometer, are used as the attitude detection sensor. can do.
The liquid rotor type angular accelerometer detects the movement of the liquid instead of the pendulum of the servo type accelerometer, and measures the angular acceleration from a feedback current when the movement of the liquid is balanced by the servo mechanism. On the other hand, an angular accelerometer that uses eddy currents generates a magnetic circuit using a permanent magnet, a cylindrical aluminum rotor is arranged in the circuit, and is generated in accordance with changes in the rotational speed of the rotor. The angular acceleration is detected based on the magnetic electromotive force.

The drive motor control device 163 controls the drive motor inverter 31 and thereby controls the drive motor 12.
The drive motor control device 163 includes a torque-current map for the drive motor 12, and outputs a current corresponding to the drive torque commanded from the main control device 161 to the drive motor 12 according to the torque-current map. Thus, the drive motor inverter 31 is controlled.

The drive motor inverter 31 is connected to a battery (not shown), converts a direct current supplied by the battery into an alternating current in accordance with an instruction from the drive motor control device 163, and supplies the alternating current to the drive motor 12.
As described above, the main control device 161, the drive motor control device 163, the drive motor inverter 31, and the drive motor 12 operate in cooperation in this way to constitute drive wheel drive means.

The first balancer motor control device 165 controls the first balancer motor inverter 32 and thereby controls the first balancer motor 22.
The first balancer motor control device 165 includes a torque-current map for the first balancer motor 22, and according to this torque-current map, the current corresponding to the balancer torque τ1 commanded from the main control device 161 is the first. The first balancer motor inverter 32 is controlled so as to output to the balancer motor 22.

The first balancer motor inverter 32 is connected to the battery together with the drive motor inverter 31. The first balancer motor 22 converts the direct current supplied by the battery into alternating current according to an instruction from the first balancer motor control device 165. Supply.
As a result, the first balancer motor 22 rotates in the rotation direction instructed by the first balancer motor control device 165 at the instructed angular acceleration.

The second balancer motor control device 166 controls the second balancer motor inverter 33, thereby controlling the second balancer motor 23.
The second balancer motor control device 166 includes a torque-current map for the second balancer motor 23. According to this torque-current map, the current corresponding to the balancer torque τ2 commanded from the main control device 161 is second. The second balancer motor inverter 33 is controlled so as to output to the balancer motor 23.

  As described above, the currents corresponding to the balancer torques τ1 and τ2 are supplied to the balancer motors 22 and 23, so that the balancers 20 and 21 are driven with the angular accelerations α2 and α3. The direction acceleration aG is 0, and the position of the riding section 13 can be controlled without moving the entire center of gravity in the circumferential direction of the axle.

The second balancer motor inverter 33 is connected to the battery together with the drive motor inverter 31 and the first balancer motor inverter 32, and converts the direct current supplied by the battery into alternating current according to the instruction of the second balancer motor control device 166. Then, it is supplied to the second balancer motor 23.
As a result, the second balancer motor 23 rotates in the rotation direction instructed by the second balancer motor control device 166 at the instructed angular acceleration.
Thus, the main controller 161, the first balancer motor controller 165, the first balancer motor inverter 32, the first balancer motor 22, the first balancer 20, the second balancer motor controller 166, the second balancer motor inverter. 33, the 2nd balancer motor 23, and the 2nd balancer 21 operate | move in cooperation, and comprise the attitude | position control means which controls the attitude | position (attitude of a driving operation part) of a vehicle to a predetermined position.

In addition to storing programs, the storage unit 164 stores a navigation program, map data for performing navigation, and the like when performing navigation.
The input unit 171 is disposed in the display / operation unit 17 (see FIG. 1) and functions as an input unit for performing various data, instructions, and selection.

The input unit 171 includes a touch panel arranged on the display unit 172 and a dedicated selection button. In the touch panel portion, a position pressed (touched) by the driver corresponding to various selection buttons displayed on the display unit 172 is detected, and the selection content is acquired from the pressed position and the display content.
The display unit 172 is disposed on the display / operation unit 17. The display unit 172 displays buttons, descriptions, and the like that are selected from the input unit 171 and input targets.

The tire angle detection unit 174 is also composed of, for example, a resolver, and detects the angle of the drive wheels 11 and supplies it to the main controller 161.
The main control device 161 can obtain the angular velocity of the drive wheel by differentiating the angle supplied from the tire angle detection unit 174 with time, and further obtain angular acceleration by differentiating this with time.
The main control device 161 can perform feedback control of the drive motor control device 163 by comparing the angular acceleration of the driving wheel thus obtained with the target angular acceleration.

The balancer detection unit 173 detects the inclination angles of the first balancer 20 and the second balancer 21 and supplies them to the main controller 161.
Since the strokes of the first balancer 20 and the second balancer 21 are finite, the first balancer 20 and the second balancer 21 cannot be rotated beyond this angle.
Therefore, after driving the first balancer 20 and the second balancer 21, the main control device 161 refers to the detection value of the balancer detection unit 173 and performs the first rotation at a low rotational speed that does not affect the vehicle attitude control. The balancer 20 and the second balancer 21 are rotated in a direction opposite to the direction in which the balancer 20 and the second balancer 21 are driven to return to a predetermined fixed position. As a result, the first balancer 20 and the second balancer 21 can ensure a stroke for the next posture control.

Next, the traveling control process performed by the control unit 16 will be described using the flowchart of FIG.
The control unit 16 measures the vehicle speed from the detection value of the tire angle detection unit 174 (step 15).
Next, the control unit 16 reads an input (travel command) made by the driver from the control device 15 (step 20). In the travel command, the vehicle speed designated by the driver is commanded.

Next, the control unit 16 calculates the position of the center of gravity of the vehicle for traveling the vehicle in accordance with the travel command (step 25).
The position of the center of gravity may be realized by moving the first balancer 20 and the second balancer 21 while the riding section 13 is kept vertical, or may be realized by tilting the vehicle in the traveling direction. Or you may combine both.
Next, the control unit 16 calculates a target value of the travel drive torque generated by the drive motor 12 to travel at the vehicle speed specified by the travel command (step 30).

  Then, the control unit 16 rotates the first balancer 20 and the second balancer 21 to set the center of gravity of the entire vehicle at the predetermined center of gravity calculated in step 25, and with the travel driving torque calculated in step 30. The drive motor 12 is driven to run the vehicle (step 35).

  The control unit 16 determines whether or not to continue traveling (step 40). When the traveling is continued (step 40; Y), the control unit 16 returns to step 15 and when the traveling is not continued (step 40; N). The vehicle is stopped and the process is terminated.

Next, posture control processing performed by the control unit 16 will be described using the flowchart of FIG.
The control unit 16 acquires the inclination angle θ1 and the inclination angle acceleration α1 of the riding section 13 from the gyro sensor 162 (step 60), and determines whether or not the inclination angle is reversed (step 65).
Here, the inclination angle θ1 is detected with respect to a predetermined reference line passing through the axles of the drive wheels 11a and 11b, and the inversion of the inclination angle is between the state where the inclination angle θ1> 0 and the state where the inclination angle θ1 <0. This is the case. In addition, a state change from the tilt angle θ1 = 0 (stable state) to the tilt angle θ1> 0 or θ1 <0 is also included in the inversion of the tilt angle.
The reference line in the present embodiment is set to a vertical line passing through the axle, but the reference line may be inclined from the vertical line by a predetermined angle Θ. In this case, a state in which the riding section 13 is inclined by a predetermined angle Θ with respect to the vertical line is θ1 = 0. For example, when the vehicle is traveling (including forward and reverse), the unnatural feeling can be eliminated by inclining by a predetermined angle Θ in the traveling direction. In this case, Θ (V) may be defined as a function of the vehicle speed V by increasing the predetermined angle as the vehicle speed increases.

  If there is no reversal of the tilt angle (step 65; N), the control unit 16 returns to step 60 and continues to monitor the posture.

  On the other hand, when the inversion of the tilt angle is detected (step 65; Y), the control unit 16 calculates the angular acceleration α1 of the riding section 13 acquired in step 60 and θ2 and θ3 detected by the balancer detection section 173. The balancer torques τ2 and τ3 to be output to the first balancer motor 22 and the second balancer motor 23 by substituting in (1) and (2) are calculated (step 70).

More specifically, the balancer torques τ2 and τ3 are functions of the angular accelerations α2 and α3 of the first balancer 20 and the second balancer 21, respectively. Therefore, the control unit 16 calculates these angular accelerations using the equations (1) and ( The balancer torques τ2 and τ3 are calculated using 2). Thus, the control unit 16 functions as angular acceleration calculation means.
Parameters such as mi, Ii, and ri are stored in advance in the storage unit 164.
Further, when m1, I1, and r1 of the riding section 13 are corrected by the weight of the driver, the riding section 13 is equipped with a measuring device such as a scale, and the control unit 16 uses output values from these measuring devices. To correct these parameters.

Next, the control unit 16 commands the first balancer motor control device 165 and the second balancer motor control device 166 to output the calculated balancer torques τ1 and τ2.
Then, the first balancer motor control device 165 and the second balancer motor control device 166 control the first balancer motor inverter 32 and the second balancer motor inverter 33, respectively, to the first balancer motor 22 and the second balancer motor 23. The balancer torques τ1 and τ2 are output (step 75).

As a result, the posture of the riding section 13 is controlled while the center of gravity of the entire vehicle is maintained at the predetermined value calculated in step 25.
That is, when the riding section 13 is inclined by θ1 in the vehicle traveling direction with respect to the reference line due to external force, for example, the first balancer 20 and the second balancer 21 are rotated without moving the center of gravity position of the entire vehicle. The riding section 13 is returned to the reference line direction (in the direction opposite to the tilted downward direction by an external force).

  Next, the control unit 16 determines whether or not the power is turned off (step 80). If it is turned off (; Y), the process is terminated. If it is not turned off (; N), the control unit 16 returns to step 60 to perform posture control. continue.

In this way, the riding section 13 returned to the reference line direction is tilted in the direction opposite to the initial direction as it is beyond the reference line, but by returning to step 60, the riding section 13 is inclined when the reference line is exceeded. It is determined that there is an inversion of the corner (step 65; Y), and posture control in the reference line direction is performed again.
Thereafter, similarly, the balancers 20 and 21 are rotated by the balancer torques τ1 and τ2 corresponding to the angular acceleration α1 when the inversion of the inclination angle with respect to the reference line of the riding section 13 is detected, and the boarding is performed by the reaction force due to the movement of the balancer 21. The operation of returning the unit 13 to the reference line direction is repeated. Through such a pendulum movement of the riding section 13, the maximum inclination angle θ1 centered on the reference line gradually converges to 0 and can be returned to the normal posture.

The following effects can be obtained by the present embodiment described above.
(1) By combining the reaction force torques of a plurality of balancers, it is possible to perform reaction force torque type attitude control without moving the center of gravity of the entire vehicle.
(2) Since reaction force torque can be generated without moving the center of gravity, posture control becomes easy.
(3) The stability of the driver is improved, and the comfort level of the driver can be improved.
(4) It is possible to reduce the inclination of the driver in the traveling direction at the time of traveling and when stopped, and to improve the driver's comfort level.

Although the embodiment of the present invention has been described above, the following modifications are possible.
For example, any one of the first balancer 20 and the second balancer 21 can be configured by a flywheel. By configuring one of the balancers with a flywheel, the movement of the balancer due to the stroke is eliminated.
If both the first balancer 20 and the second balancer 21 are flywheels, the center of gravity position of the entire vehicle cannot be controlled even if the first balancer 20 and the second balancer 21 are driven. Needs to have an asymmetric shape around the axis of rotation.

In the described embodiment, the first balancer 20 and the second balancer 21 are not particularly distinguished, but one is a center of gravity balancer for reaction torque generation and the other is a counter balancer for maintaining the center of gravity position. It is also possible.
In this case, it is possible to set parameters that are effective for performing the respective roles, such as making the moment of inertia of the center of gravity balancer larger than the moment of inertia of the counter balancer.
Furthermore, in the embodiment, the rotating shafts of the first balancer 20 and the second balancer 21 are coaxial with the axle 25, but they are not necessarily on the same axis.

In the embodiment described above, α2 and α3 are calculated using the equation (2) in the posture control, but may be approximated by the following equation (3).
That is, when the vehicle is almost upright on the vertical axis, θ1, θ2, θ3, ω1, ω2, and ω3 are all about 0, and therefore equation (2) is approximated by the following equation (3): be able to.
By using this approximate expression (3), α2 and α3 can be easily calculated.

  aG = m1r1α1 / M + m2r2α2 / M + m3r3α3 / M (3)

1 is an external configuration diagram of a vehicle in an embodiment of the present invention. It is explanatory drawing about the principle of attitude | position control by a balancer. It is explanatory drawing about the principle of attitude | position control by a balancer. It is explanatory drawing about the hardware-like structure of a vehicle. It is a flowchart showing the process of the traveling control by a control unit. It is a flowchart showing the process of attitude | position control by a control unit. It is explanatory drawing of the attitude | position control using the conventional balancer.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 11 Drive wheel 12 Drive motor 13 Riding part 15 Control apparatus 16 Control unit 17 Display and operation part 20 1st balancer 21 2nd balancer 22 1st balancer motor 23 2nd balancer motor 25 Axle 31 Inverter for drive motor 32 1st balancer motor Inverter 33 second balancer motor inverter 161 main controller 162 gyro sensor 163 drive motor controller 164 storage unit 165 first balancer motor controller 166 second balancer motor controller 171 input unit 172 display unit 173 balancer detector 174 tire Angle detector

Claims (3)

Driving wheel driving means for driving driving wheels arranged on a single axle;
A driving operation unit that is disposed above the driving wheel and performs a driving operation of the driving wheel;
A plurality of balancers arranged to be movable with respect to the driving operation unit;
Attitude control means for individually moving the balancers so as to keep the position of the center of gravity of the vehicle at a predetermined position, and controlling the attitude of the driving operation unit to a predetermined position by a reaction force generated at that time;
A vehicle characterized by comprising:
The plurality of balancers are arranged so as to be movable around the axle, and the posture control means moves the plurality of balancers by individually rotating around the axle. The vehicle according to 1.
Angular acceleration calculation means for calculating individual angular accelerations of the plurality of balancers so as to keep the position of the center of gravity of the vehicle at a predetermined position;
The vehicle according to claim 2, wherein the attitude control unit rotates the individual balancers around the axle at the calculated angular acceleration.

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