VEHICLE

THIS INVENTION relates to a vehicle.

The Applicant is of opinion that a vehicle in accordance with this invention will be particularly suitable for travel in areas which are not easily accessible, for example because of hazardous conditions in such areas, because the areas are confined, or the like. In particular, the vehicle is expected to be suitable for travel in mines, more especially in underground mines, which application will specifically be borne in mind for purposes of this specification.

The Applicant wishes to define and describe a vehicle in accordance with the invention and its orientation without reference to the direction of gravity, i.e. without reference to top, bottom, upper/upward, lower/down and the like. Thus, for purposes of this invention, orientation will generally be referred to in relation to a support surface along which a vehicle is to travel, or the direction of travel. Thus, terms like "front/rear" indicate facing toward/away from the direction of travel; "side" indicates transverse to the direction of travel, "underside/upper side" indicate respectively facing toward and away from a support surface or main support surface, and the like.

In accordance with a first aspect of this invention, there is provided a method of propelling a vehicle selectively in decumbent mode along a route over a decumbent support surface; and in braced mode along a route intermediate opposed inclined surfaces; the method including

in decumbent mode, supporting a body of the vehicle on drive rollers proud of the vehicle at an underside of the body on a decumbent support surface and rotating the drive rollers under power to propel the vehicle; in braced mode, supporting the body of the vehicle on the drive rollers against a first of the inclined surfaces, and bracing the vehicle against the second, opposed inclined surface by means of one or more bracing rollers mounted on the body for forced extension and contraction relative to the body, and rotating the drive rollers under power to propel the vehicle.

The method may include, in decumbent mode, displacing said one or more bracing rollers to a side of the body corresponding to a position of the drive rollers, said one or more bracing rollers assisting in supporting the vehicle on the decumbent surface.

The method may include selectively driving also the bracing rollers to assist in propelling the vehicle.

Advantageously, at least one of the drive rollers and the or at least one of the bracing rollers may be steerable, the method including selectively steering the steerable drive roller(s) and bracing roller(s) to steer the vehicle.

Further, advantageously, the drive rollers and the one or more bracing rollers may be mounted at free or distal ends of limbs which are mounted at proximal ends thereof on the body, the limbs being pivotal at their proximal ends to the body, the method then including pivoting the limbs to position the drive rollers and the bracing rollers appropriately against respective surfaces respectively for decumbent mode travel and for bracing mode travel.

Pivoting of the limbs to the body may be about lateral axes.

The method may include transmitting electrical power to the body via a feed cable from an external source, and distributing electrical

power from a distributing device under control to respective electrical motors to drive the drive rollers.

Instead, the method may include deriving power to drive drive motors of the drive rollers from an internal combustion engine mounted in the body. One method may include driving a generator or alternator from the internal combustion engine and transmitting power in the form of electrical power via a controlled distribution device to respective drive motors of the drive rollers. Instead, or in addition, the method may include driving a hydraulic pump from the internal combustion engine to generate high pressure in hydraulic fluid and transmitting the hydraulic fluid under pressure via a controlled distribution device to respective drive motors of the drive rollers.

In accordance with a second aspect of the invention, there is provided a vehicle having a body, and including a plurality of drive rollers standing proud of an underside of the body; one or more bracing rollers standing proud of a side of the body opposite to said underside; a rotary drive motor drivingly connected to said drive rollers for rotating the rollers to propel the vehicle; an extensible mounting for mounting the or each bracing roller to extend and contract the or each bracing roller relative to the body; and a control for controlling the rotary drive motor and the or each extensible mounting.

The vehicle is preferably an unmanned vehicle, typically being a robot which may carry tools for performing specific operations, for instance in a mining environment. The vehicle may thus be a mining robot.

One or more of the bracing rollers may be driven to assist in propelling the vehicle.

The or each extensible mounting for the bracing rollers may be provided by a bracing limb mounted on the body. Also, the drive rollers may

95 bθ mounted on drive limbs mounted on the body, the limbs being extensible and contractible.

The brace and drive limbs may be pivoted to the body, the vehicle including a pivot motor for pivoting the limbs relative to the body. 100

The limbs may be telescopic. The limbs may thus be telescopically retractable and extendible to vary the length of the limbs. The limbs may be hydraulically or mechanically telescopically actuated. Instead, or in addition, the limbs may include a scissor-like arrangement and/or an

105 elbow-like arrangement to vary the length of the limbs.

It is thus to be understood that the spacing of the body from the respective walls or support surfaces can be controlled by controlling the length of the limbs. The vehicle may therefore include an electronic control system 1 10 for dynamically controlling the length of the respective limbs, to restrict sideways movement of the body due to irregularities in the tunnel walls which are engaged by the respective rollers.

By way of development, the drive rollers may be in the form of

1 15 carriages, each having a base, head and tail rollers rotatably mounted on the base, and an endless track extending around the head and tail rollers, in which one of the head and tail rollers is drivingly connected to the rotary drive motor.

120 Further, by way of development, each carriage may be steerable, by having the base steerably connected to a mounting member, and by means of a steering mechanism operative between the base and the mounting member.

125 Instead, the respective rollers may be in the form of wheels rotatably mounted to rotate about rotational axes.

Preferably, the vehicle may include a tool mounting substrate having mounting means for mounting a tool appropriate to perform a selected 130 task.

In instances where the vehicle is a mining robot, the body will be dimensioned to permit travel of the vehicle along mine tunnels. For this reason, movability of the limbs relative to the body is preferably such that the

135 distance from the body of the respective drive rollers and bracing rollers is variable, so that the drive rollers and bracing rollers can be forcibly pushed against opposing walls in a mine tunnel, to brace the vehicle in position in the tunnel and permit travelling along inclined tunnels. The body may optionally be elongated-capsule shaped.

140

The vehicle may be manned, remotely controlled, or autonomous.

145 The invention will now be further described by way of examples, with reference to the accompanying diagrammatic drawings, in which:

Figure 1 shows a three-dimensional view of a vehicle in the form of a mining robot in accordance with the invention, the robot being in decumbent mode;

150 Figure 2 shows a three-dimensional view of the vehicle of Figure 1 in a mining tunnel, the vehicle preparing for braced mode;

Figure 3 shows a three-dimensional view of the vehicle of Figure 1 , with one of the vehicle's bracing rollers engaging a hanging wall of the mine tunnel;

155 Figure 4 shows a three-dimensional view of the vehicle of Figure 1 in braced mode;

Figure 5 shows a three-dimensional view of another embodiment of a robot in accordance with the invention;

Figure 6 shows, in a view corresponding to Figure 1 , a variation of the 160 vehicle of Figure 1 ;

Figure 7 shows, to a larger scale, in fragmentary, three-dimensional side view, attachment of a limb to a body of the vehicle;

Figure 8 shows, also to a larger scale, in fragmentary, three- dimensional side view, pivotal driving connection of a limb to a body of the 165 vehicle;

Figures 9 and 10 show, respectively in fragmentary, three-dimensional side view, two embodiments of a limb mounting a roller of a vehicle in accordance with the invention; and

Figure 1 1 shows, schematically, in perspective view, a vehicle in 170 accordance with the invention in the form of a mining robot, having an internal power generating unit.

Referring now to Figure 1 , reference numeral 10 generally indicates a vehicle, particularly a mining robot, in accordance with the 175 invention. The robot 10 includes a body 12 which is elongated-capsule shaped. Although not shown in Figure 1 of the drawings, the body 12 carries tools for performing specific mining operations. The robot, in this embodiment, is connected to an electrical power supply by an electric cable 14.

180 Four limbs 20, 22, 24, 26 are pivotally connected to the body 12, two limbs on each side of the body 12, by means of composite pivot connections 52, at respective sides of the body. The limbs 20 to 26 are pivotally displaceable about a pivot axis 28 which is orientated transversely to the fore-and-aft direction of the body 12. Furthermore, each limb 20 to 26 is

185 individually pivotable relative to the other limbs 20 to 26. Such pivotal displacement of the limbs 20 to 26 are actuated by respective servo motors mounted on the body 12.

The limbs 20 to 26 are variable in length in that they are

190 telescopically retractable and extendible, each limb 20 to 26 having (in this embodiment) three telescopic segments. To this end, each limb 20 to 26 houses therein a servo-motor (not shown) to extend and retract the limb 20 to

26. In other embodiments, instead of, or addition to, the telescopic segments,

the limbs may include scissor-like arrangements and/or elbow-like 195 arrangements which are retractable and extendable (not shown).

A roller or support surface engaging member in the form of an endless track 30 forming part of a carriage 29, is mounted at a free end or distal end of each limb 20 to 26. Each endless track 30 is pivotally mounted

200 on the associated limb 20 to 26, and each endless track 30 is mounted to run on spaced driven rollers 32 having a rolling axis substantially parallel to the pivot axis 28. The rollers 32 are driven by a motor (not shown) within the carriage 29. A power cable (not shown) extends within the limbs 20 to 26 to each respective endless carriage 29, to power the servo-motor which drives

205 the rollers 32. In another embodiment (not shown), the rollers 32 may be driven via a drive shaft extending between a motor in the body 12 and the rollers 32.

Figure 1 shows the robot 10 in decumbent mode. All four legs

210 or limbs 20 to 26 project operatively toward and engage a decumbent support surface. The robot 10 can thus travel as a four-wheeled land vehicle. The limbs 20 to 26 can be retracted and extended as necessary to counteract uneven terrain, such as debris and ditches, telescopic extension or retraction

(or other type of extension and retraction) of the limbs 20 to 26 being

215 controlled by an electronic control system carried by the body 12.

It may often be impractical or impossible for a four-wheeled ground vehicle to travel along a mine tunnel (such as mine shaft). Figures 2 to 4 show the steps for adjusting the robot 10 to braced mode. It is

220 convenient to raise one limb 20 to 26 at a time so that at least three limbs are always in engagement with a support surface.

Referring now to Figures 2 and 3, the robot 10 is shown in a mine tunnel. A front left limb 20 of the robot 10 is displaced first. The limb 20

225 is telescopically retracted, as shown by arrow 40, so that it is free to pivot upwardly. During this process, the robot 10 is supported tripod-fashion by the three remaining limbs 22 to 26. Once sufficiently retracted, the limb 20 is

pivoted forwardly and upwardly, as shown by arrow 42, up to roughly half a revolution about pivot axis 28 so that the limb 20 is diametrically opposed to

230 its original position. Next, the limb 20 is telescopically extended, as shown by arrow 44, until it engages the hanging wall of the mine tunnel. The robot 10 is now braced between the floor and hanging wall as one limb 20 extends upwardly to engage to hanging wall, and three limbs 22 to 26 extend downwardly to engage the foot wall. It is not necessary for the foot and

235 hanging wall to be a pre-defined distance apart, because the limbs 20 to 26 can extend or retract as necessary to compensate for varying distances between the walls.

Figure 3 shows the front right limb 22 of the robot 10 being

240 displaced. During the displacement of this limb 22, the robot 10 remains braced between the walls because limb 20 remains in engagement with the hanging wall, and limbs 24, 26 remain in engagement with the foot wall. The limb 22 is displaced in a fashion similar to that of the front left limb 20. As before, the front right limb 22 is retracted (arrow 46), pivoted through about

245 half a revolution (arrow 48), and extended (arrow 50) to engage the hanging wall. The robot 10 is now fully braced between the opposed walls, by two limbs 20, 22 extending upwardly, and the other two limbs 24, 26 extending downwardly. It will be appreciated that, in the condition shown in Figure 3 and Figure 4, torque is applied to all of the limbs 20 to 26 by the associated servo

250 motors, to achieve stability of the robot 10 and to propel the robot as desired. In the braced mode shown in Figure 3, the limbs 24, 26 are drive limbs, and the carriages 29 of the limbs 24, 26 at their free ends, provide drive rollers in accordance with the invention. Correspondingly, the limbs 20, 22 provide bracing limbs, and the carriages 29 of the bracing limbs 20, 22, at their free

255 ends, provide bracing rollers in accordance with the invention.

Figure 4 shows the robot 10 with the limbs 20 to 26 fully deployed in braced mode. Because the robot 10 braces or supports itself against opposed walls, the robot 10 is not dependent on gravity to engage

260 travelling surfaces. The robot 10 could therefore engage opposed side walls

in an inclined or vertically extending tunnel, the limbs 20 to 26 in such a case projecting laterally, e.g. horizontally or near horizontally.

Figure 5 shows another embodiment of a robot 100 in

265 accordance with the invention. The robot 100 includes an articulated limb 102 with an elbow-like joint, and a scissor-action extendible limb 104. The limbs

102, 104 function in similar fashion to limbs 20 to 26 for bracing the robot 100 against opposed walls and for propelling the robot in decumbent mode. It is to be understood that any one or more of the limbs as seen in Figures 1 to 4

270 may be telescopic, elbow-like, and/or scissor-like.

It is believed that the invention as exemplified has the advantage that the robot 10 can engage opposed, inclined surfaces, such as in tunnels, of varying orientation and dimensions, and in addition may travel on the 275 ground (or other relatively level surfaces), rendering the robot 10 highly mobile. Furthermore, the robot 10 can be deployed in hostile environments, which might not be suitable for humans.

With reference to Figure 6, a variant of the mining robot of

280 Figures 1 to 4 is shown in a view corresponding to Figure 1 . The same reference numerals are used for the same or corresponding parts, and the vehicle is not described in detail again, but emphasis is merely placed on a single difference. Instead of having a common transverse axis 28 as shown in

Figure 1 , in the embodiment of Figure 6, the front limbs 20, 22 are pivoted

285 about a first transverse axis 28.1 displaced slightly forwardly relative to the pivot axis 28 of Figure 1 . Correspondingly, rear limbs 24, 26 are provided about a rear transverse axis 28.2 spaced rearwardly of the axis 28.1 . If desired, diagonally opposed limbs and rollers, for example the limbs 20 and

26, can operate in conjunction for supporting the robot 10 on a decumbent

290 surface, and the other, diagonally opposed, limbs 22, 24 can operate in conjunction to brace the robot against a surface opposed to the decumbent surface. It is an advantage of the embodiment of Figure 6, that pivot connections 52.1 , 52.2 of the respective limbs to the body 12 are simplified

and are not composite pivot connections as in the embodiment of Figures 1 to 295 4.

With reference to Figure 7, a pivot connection 52.2 of the embodiment of Figure 6 is shown to a larger scale in a fragmentary illustration of the robot 10 of Figure 6. The pivot connection comprises a drive shaft 53.1

300 extending from a pivot motor within the body 12, and which is described diagrammatically with reference to Figure 8 below. A circumferential sleeve

53.3 is concentrically secured to the shaft 53.1 via an annular resilient member 53.2, which may, for example, be in the form of a moulding. A base

53.4 of the limb 24 is integrally fast with the sleeve 53.3. Thus, in use, when 305 the shaft 53.1 is pivoted to pivot the limb 24, resilience is built into the system to allow resilient pivoting of the limb 24 relative to the orientation of the drive spindle 53.1 .

Further, with reference to Figure 8, a bracket 12.1 is shown

310 which will be mounted within the body 12 of the robot 10. The pivot connection 52.2 is shown outwardly of a flange 12.3 of the bracket 12.1 which includes also a base 12.2. A pivot motor 53.5 is mounted on the base 12.2 and is electrically driven via electrical conductors shown in a cable 53.7. The electric motor 53.5 drives the drive shaft 53.1 via a right angled gearbox 53.6

315 having a high ratio, such that a relatively large number of revolutions of the motor 53.5 will be transmitted as less than one revolution of the drive shaft

53.1 , but at correspondingly higher torque. It is thus to be appreciated that a relatively small motor 53.5 can exert high pivot torque to the limb 24.

320 With reference to Figure 9, a limb 20 is shown connected to a carriage generally indicated by reference numeral 129 comprising a casing 129.1 encasing a drive motor and gearing having a drive shaft 129.3 to which a drive wheel 129.2 is drivingly connected. The casing 129.1 is connected via a steering shaft 129.6 to a steering motor encased in a steering casing 129.5.

325 The casing 129.5 is mounted on a mounting member 129.4, secured, as shown at 20.1 to an end of the limb 20. Thus, in use, the steering motor, which is controlled via a central control of the robot to steer the wheel 129.2 is

adjusted in an appropriate orientation corresponding to a desired orientation of the drive wheel 129.2. The drive wheel 129.2 is driven by the motor via the gearing encased in the casing 129.1 . This embodiment illustrates that a roller in accordance with the invention can be in the form of a (simple) wheel, rather than the carriages having endless tracks as are shown elsewhere.

With reference to Figure 10, an arrangement similar to that of Figure 9 is shown, except that the wheel 129.2 is replaced by a carriage 29. The carriage 29 comprises a pair of heads and tail rollers 32.1 and 32.2 of which one, or both are driven from the drive motor within the casing 129.1 . Steering is effected as was described for Figure 9. In addition, the orientation of the steering motor casing 129.5, and the steering shaft 129.6 and thus also of the casing 129.1 and the carriage 29, is controlled by means of an auxiliary extensible and contractible arm 21 comprising a link 21 .1 connected to the pivot connection 52, a ram 21 .2 for extending and contracting an arm 21 .3, which is pivoted as shown at 21 .4 to the casing 129.5 housing the steering motor. In addition, the connection of the limb 20 to the connecting member 129.4 is pivotal as shown at 20.1 . The pivot connections 20.1 and 21 .4 are about parallel axes. Thus, in use, the limb 20 and the arm 21 are extended and contracted correspondingly and equally and an adjustment contraction or extension is superimposed by the arm 21 to adjust the orientation as described above.

Two or more of the variants of the drive mechanisms 29 or 129.2 can be used mounted on the body in relatively fixed configuration, i.e. not via extensible and contractible limbs, but bearing min mind that the bracing rollers at least will be moveable relative to the body to perform the bracing function.

With reference to Figure 1 1 , a vehicle in accordance with the invention in the form of a mining robot is generally indicated by reference numeral 10. It has a body 12 supported on drive rollers and bracing rollers via extensible and contractible limbs as was described generally for the embodiments shown in Figures 1 to 10. For clarity of drawing, these

components are shown in dotted outlines only. A further aspect of a robot in accordance with the invention is now described with reference to Figure 1 1 .

The robot 10 includes a prime mover, more specifically in the

365 form of an internal combustion engine 70 mounted within the body 12. The internal combustion engine 70 can, in other embodiments, be replaced by an electric motor powered by an umbilical cord or power cable shown, for example, in the embodiment of Figures 1 to 4. The motor or engine 70 has a drive shaft extending toward both ends and driving respectively an alternator

370 or generator 72 for generating electrical power, and a hydraulic pump 82 for generating pressure in a closed hydraulic system which can easily be visualized by a person skilled in the art and which is not specifically illustrated.

The alternator 72 provides electrical power via an electrical

375 conductor cable 76 to a distribution board 74 including switches from which individual electrical cables 78 lead to the respective electrical motors forming part of the robot 10 and as was illustrated and described with reference to the other Figures. Similarly, the hydraulic pump 82 pumps hydraulic fluid under pressure via a hydraulic duct 86 to a distribution unit 84 comprising a

380 hydraulic accumulator and valves adapted to direct hydraulic fluid to various hydraulic motors or hydraulic rams as described with reference to the other drawings.

The body 12 further comprises a computer generally indicated 385 by reference numeral 90 by means of which operation of the distribution board 74 and the hydraulic 84 (more specifically, respectively the electrical switches and valves) are regulated in desired fashion.

At one end of the body 12, in this embodiment a fore end, there 390 is provided a mounting platform 96 for mounting tools or other equipment by means of which the robot 10 can perform a preselected task.