DESIGN OF AN INNOVATIVE SOUTH-POINTING CHARIOT AND PROTOTYPE FUNCTIONS TESTING

The fixed-axle south-pointing chariot and the differential-type south-pointing chariot were compared and analyzed in this article. And it is found that although the fixed-axle south-pointing chariot is limited to plane straight and plane fixed-point turning, it has certain advantages in straight-driving over obstacle; the differential-type south-pointing chariot can drive or turn arbitrarily in the plane, it has obvious disadvantages in straight-driving over obstacle. Then combining the advantages of the two solutions of south-pointing chariot, based on the differential-type south-pointing chariot, supplemented by the concept on automatic clutch device from the fixed-axis south-pointing chariot, the design goal is to solve the inherent defect on straight-driving over obstacle from the differential-type south-pointing chariot. Afterwards a tooth-mounted clutch was designed for the control of the south-pointing mechanism under different working conditions in this article; and the design scheme of the external dimensions and internal mechanism parts of the innovative south-pointing chariot was completed based on the tooth-mounted clutch. Furthermore, the motion mechanism simulation of south-pointing chariot was completed through the three-dimensional modeling of the innovative south-pointing chariot. Finally, the preparation and functional testing of the prototype vehicle were completed; and the results show that the performance on south-pointing from the prototype vehicle satisfies the expectation under those working conditions.