Overhead line electric power inspection unmanned aerial vehicle

Abstract

The invention relates to the field of inspection unmanned aerial vehicles, in particular to an overhead line power inspection unmanned aerial vehicle. An overhead line electric power inspection unmanned aerial vehicle comprises an unmanned aerial vehicle body, a camera and the like. And four cameras are mounted on the unmanned aerial vehicle body. According to the unmanned aerial vehicle, by controlling the releasing length of the mooring rope, the strength of the deicing bar for impacting the cable body is controlled, so that deicing work of overhead cables of different thicknesses is achieved, damage to the cable body is reduced, and after the folded deicing bar is limited through the guide column and the limiting sleeve, the situation that the deicing bar and the unmanned aerial vehicle body move asynchronously is effectively avoided, and the deicing efficiency is improved. And the heater melts ice and snow attached to the surfaces of the ice removing bars after impacting the cable body, and the situation that the ice and snow attached to the surfaces of the ice removing bars are increased, the overall load of the unmanned aerial vehicle body is increased, energy consumption of the unmanned aerial vehicle body is increased, and the endurance time of the unmanned aerial vehicle body is shortened is avoided.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to the field of inspection drones, and in particular to an overhead line power inspection drone. Background Art

[0002] A drone is an aircraft that is controlled by a radio remote control device and a self-contained program control device. With the continuous advancement of drone technology, drones have been widely used in many industries.

[0003] Because overhead lines are far from the ground and carry high voltage, manual inspections are typically time-consuming and labor-intensive, resulting in low inspection efficiency. However, using drones for inspections effectively improves inspection efficiency and avoids the dangers of manual inspections. In cold regions, ice and snow often condense on overhead lines, placing heavy loads on transmission towers and even damaging them, impacting power supply. Prior art methods use drones with deicing rods attached to flexible cords to strike overhead lines for rapid de-icing. However, because the drone and the deicing rod are connected by a flexible cord, the rod and the drone's flight become out of sync when the drone lifts it, affecting the drone's flight posture and making it prone to loss of control. Summary of the Invention

[0004] In order to overcome the disadvantage of the soft connection between the drone and the deicing rod in the prior art, which makes it easy for the drone to lose control when inspecting and deicing overhead lines, the present invention provides an overhead line power inspection drone.

[0005] Technical solution: An overhead power line inspection drone, including a drone body; its characteristics are that it also includes a mounting box, a winch, a cable, a de-icing stick and a guide column; the drone body is installed with a mounting box, and the winch is installed in the mounting box, and the winch consists of a drive motor and a pulley; a cable is wound around the winch; the free end of the cable passes through the mounting box and is fixed to the upper part of the de-icing stick; a guide column is fixed to the lower part of the mounting box, and the cable passes through the guide column; a vertical groove is opened on the upper part of the de-icing stick, and the cable is fixed to the bottom of the vertical groove; the guide column is plugged into the vertical groove of the de-icing stick.

[0006] As an improvement to the above solution, a camera is installed on the drone body, which also has a laser radar and infrared vision sensor.

[0007] As an improvement to the above solution, the lower portion of the deicing stick is filled with a heavy filler so that the center of gravity of the deicing stick is positioned lower.

[0008] As an improvement to the above solution, it also includes a support rod fixedly connected to the lower part of the installation box; a T-shaped frame fixedly connected to the support rod; a limiting sleeve fixedly connected to one side of the T-shaped frame; and the limiting sleeve is plugged into and matched with the deicing stick.

[0009] As an improvement to the above solution, the lower opening of the limiting sleeve is provided with a chamfer.

[0010] As an improvement to the above solution, it also includes a first electric actuator installed on the mounting box; the first electric actuator is located on one side of the de-icing stick; the telescopic end of the first electric actuator is fixedly connected to a heater; the heater moves up and down along the outer surface of the de-icing stick under the push of the first electric actuator.

[0011] As an improvement to the above solution, the inner annular surface of the heater is coated with a waterproof coating.

[0012] As an improvement to the above scheme, it also includes a load-bearing wheel rotatably connected between the T-shaped frames; a connecting rod is hinged on the side wall of the limiting sleeve; a powered walking wheel is installed at the movable end of the connecting rod; a second electric actuator is installed on the T-shaped frame; the telescopic end of the second electric actuator is connected to the middle part of the connecting rod; and the powered walking wheel swings along with the connecting rod under the push of the second electric actuator.

[0013] As an improvement to the above solution, the wheel surface of the load-bearing wheel is provided with a groove, and anti-slip strips are distributed in the groove at intervals along the circumferential direction.

[0014] As an improvement to the above scheme, it also includes an arc guide rail installed at the end of the T-shaped frame, a notch ring is slidably connected to the arc guide rail, and the openings of the arc guide rail and the notch ring are facing downward; the outer surface of the notch ring is fixedly connected to a notch tooth ring along the circumferential direction; a servo motor is also fixedly installed on the arc guide rail; the output shaft of the servo motor is fixedly connected to a gear; the notch tooth ring and the gear are engaged with each other; a nail plate is hinged on the notch ring; the nail plate rotates alternately forward and reverse around the center of the arc guide rail under the drive of the servo motor.

[0015] Beneficial effects: 1. The present invention controls the length of the cable released, and then controls the force of the de-icing stick hitting the cable body, thereby achieving de-icing of overhead cables of different thicknesses and reducing damage to the cable body. After the retracted de-icing stick is limited by the guide column and the limiting sleeve, it is effectively avoided that the de-icing stick and the drone body are not in sync with each other, which causes the flight posture of the drone body to be affected and the drone body to lose control. The heater melts the ice and snow adhered to the surface of the de-icing stick after hitting the cable body, avoiding the adhered ice and snow from increasing the weight of the de-icing stick, increasing the overall load of the drone body, increasing its energy consumption, and reducing the flight time of the drone body.

[0016] 2. The four powered wheels clamp the side of the cable body and move together, so that the nail plate will squeeze the ice and snow remaining on the cable body, and control the nail plate to rotate, thereby fully removing the ice and snow on the cable body without causing damage to the cable body. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0017] Figure 1This is a schematic diagram of the three-dimensional structure of the overhead line power inspection drone of the present invention from a first viewing angle;

[0018] Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of the third perspective structure of the overhead power line inspection drone of the present invention;

[0019] Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram of the installation position of the deicing stick of the present invention;

[0020] Figure 4 Schematic diagram of the cooperation between the deicing rod and the guide column of the present invention;

[0021] Figure 5 Schematic diagram of the internal structure of the heater of the present invention;

[0022] Figure 6 This is a schematic diagram of the installation positions of the load-bearing wheels and the powered travel wheels of the present invention;

[0023] Figure 7 This is a schematic diagram of the installation position of the nail plate of the present invention.

[0024] : The reference numbers in the figure are: 111-cable body, 1-UAV body, 2-camera, 3-installation box, 4-winch, 5-cable, 6-deicing stick, 7-guide column, 8-support rod, 9-T-shaped frame, 10-limiting sleeve, 11-first electric actuator, 12-heater, 13-load-bearing wheel, 14-connecting rod, 15-powered walking wheel, 16-second electric actuator, 17-arc guide rail, 18-notched ring, 19-notched gear ring, 20-servo motor, 21-gear, 22-nail plate, 23-elastic part. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0025] The following will clearly and completely describe the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. Obviously, the described embodiments are only part of the embodiments of the present invention, not all of the embodiments. Based on the embodiments of the present invention, all other embodiments obtained by ordinary technicians in this field without making creative efforts are within the scope of protection of the present invention.

[0026] The first embodiment

[0027] An overhead power line inspection drone, based on Figure 1-Figure 7 As shown, it includes a drone body 1;

[0028] It also includes an installation box 3, a winch 4, a cable 5, a de-icing stick 6 and a guide column 7; an installation box 3 is installed at the lower part of the drone body 1, a battery is provided in the installation box 3, and the installation box 3 is provided with a heat insulation layer; two winches 4 distributed on the left and right are installed in the installation box 3, and the winch 4 consists of a drive motor and a pulley; each winch 4 is wound with a cable 5; the free ends of the two cables 5 pass through the installation box 3, and a de-icing stick 6 is fixed to the lower part; two guide columns 7 distributed on the left and right are fixed to the lower part of the installation box 3, and the cable 5 passes through the guide columns 7; each de-icing stick 6 has a vertical groove on the upper part, and the lower end of the cable 5 is fixed to the bottom of the vertical groove; each guide column 7 is plugged into the vertical groove of a de-icing stick 6.

[0029] Four rectangularly distributed cameras 2 are installed on the drone body 1, and the cameras 2 are also equipped with a laser radar and an infrared vision sensor.

[0030] The lower part of the deicing stick 6 is filled with heavy filler so that the center of gravity of the deicing stick 6 is lower.

[0031] It also includes a support rod 8, a T-shaped frame 9 and a limiting sleeve 10; two support rods 8 distributed on the left and right are fixed to the lower part of the installation box 3; each support rod 8 is fixed with a T-shaped frame 9; each T-shaped frame 9 has a limiting sleeve 10 welded on the back side; each limiting sleeve 10 is plugged into and matched with a de-icing stick 6.

[0032] The lower opening of the limiting sleeve 10 is provided with a chamfer for guiding the upper portion of the deicing stick 6 , so as to facilitate the insertion of the deicing stick 6 into the limiting sleeve 10 .

[0033] The deicing rod 6 also includes a first electric actuator 11 and a heater 12. The mounting box 3 is equipped with two first electric actuators 11, one on each side. The first electric actuators 11 are electric push rods and are located outside the limiting sleeve 10. Each of the retractable ends of the first electric actuators 11 is secured with an annular heater 12. Driven by the first electric actuators 11, the heaters 12 can move up and down along the outer surface of the deicing rod 6. When the first electric actuators 11 are retracted, the heaters 12 are positioned on the lower step of the limiting sleeve 10.

[0034] The inner ring surface of the heater 12 is coated with a waterproof coating to prevent the heater 12 from moving downward along the de-icing rod 6 and scraping the ice and snow on the de-icing rod 6. After the ice and snow melt, they will penetrate into the heater 12 and cause the heater 12 to short-circuit.

[0035] The working steps of the above embodiment are:

[0036] First, the operator controls and starts the drone body 1, which takes off and drives the corresponding components on it to the height of the predetermined inspection route. Then the drone body 1 flies along the inspection route and uses the various cameras 2 on it to take high-definition photos of the overhead lines and their surroundings. The overhead cables are positioned using a laser radar, so that the camera 2 can accurately photograph the curved overhead cables. The infrared visual sensor can monitor the heating conditions of the overhead cables, thereby achieving safe inspections of the overhead cables.

[0037] During rainy and snowy weather, rain and snow will condense on overhead cables, increasing their weight and placing additional load on transmission towers, which can easily damage them. Therefore, manual de-icing of overhead cables is generally required. Upon discovering ice on a cable, the inspection drone first controls the drone body 1 to reach the location of the iced cable in that section of the overhead line. It then controls and activates the two winches 4, which unwind the cable 5. Under the action of gravity, the de-icing rod 6 gradually pulls the cable 5 downward and sequentially detaches from the guide column 7 and the limiting sleeve 10. Once all the cables 5 on the winches 4 are released, the de-icing rod 6 hangs freely in the air. Then adjust the flight altitude of the drone body 1 so that the center of gravity of the de-icing stick 6 at one-third of its lower end is flush with the overhead cable, and then control the drone body 1 to accelerate and move horizontally toward the cable body 111, so that the de-icing stick 6 below swings, and then the de-icing stick 6 hits the cable body 111. The impact energy causes the cable body 111 to vibrate, and then the ice and snow on the cable body 111 are shaken off, realizing the de-icing of the overhead cable. The swing radius of the de-icing stick 6 can be adjusted by controlling the length of the cable 5 released, thereby changing the momentum of the impact point of the de-icing stick 6. , and then control the force of the de-icing stick 6 hitting the cable body 111, thereby achieving de-icing of overhead cables of different thicknesses and reducing damage to the cable body 111. Compared with the prior art, the drone lifts the de-icing stick 6 through a soft rope to hit the cable body 111 for de-icing. The de-icing stick 6 is easily out of sync with the movement of the drone, and the de-icing stick 6 is easy to affect the flight posture of the drone, thereby causing the drone to lose control. After completing the de-icing of the cable body 111, the inspection drone controls and starts the two winches 4 to reel in their respective cables 5, so that The de-icing stick 6 moves upward. Since the lower end of the cable 5 is fixed to the bottom of the vertical groove opened on the upper part of the de-icing stick 6, when the de-icing stick 6 is pulled upward, the shaking energy of the de-icing stick 6 will be offset when the vertical groove contacts the cable 5, so that the de-icing stick 6 can rise smoothly. The chamfered corner of the lower part of the limiting sleeve 10 guides the de-icing stick 6 moving upward, so that the de-icing stick 6 can be quickly inserted into the limiting sleeve 10. Finally, the vertical groove of the de-icing stick 6 is sleeved on the guide column 7. The upper part of the de-icing stick 6 is limited by the guide column 7, and the middle part of the de-icing stick 6 is limited by the limiting sleeve 10, thereby preventing the de-icing stick 6 from being moved during the inspection flight of the drone body 1. When the cable body 111 is in a state of shaking, the drone body 1 loses control of its flight. At this time, the two first electric actuators 11 are controlled to extend, and each of the heaters 12 is driven to move downward synchronously. The heater 12 is controlled to start, and the temperature of the heater 12 begins to rise. As the heater 12 moves downward, the heater 12 heats the de-icing stick 6 to melt the ice and snow on the de-icing stick 6, avoiding continuous impact on the cable body 111, causing the ice and snow to adhere to the de-icing stick 6, thereby increasing the weight of the de-icing stick 6 and the overall load of the drone body 1, thereby increasing its energy consumption and reducing the flight time of the drone body 1.

[0038] Second embodiment

[0039] On the basis of the first embodiment, according to Figure 1 、 Figure 2 、 Figure 6 and Figure 7 As shown, it also includes a load-bearing wheel 13, a connecting rod 14, a powered walking wheel 15 and a second electric actuator 16; two load-bearing wheels 13 distributed front and back are rotatably connected between the two T-shaped frames 9; each limiting sleeve 10 is hinged with two connecting rods 14 distributed front and back; each connecting rod 14 is equipped with a powered walking wheel 15; each T-shaped frame 9 is equipped with two second electric actuators 16 distributed front and back; the second electric actuator 16 is an electric push rod; the telescopic end of each second electric actuator 16 is connected to a connecting rod 14.

[0040] The wheel surface of the load-bearing wheel 13 is provided with a groove, and anti-slip strips are distributed at intervals along the circumferential direction in the groove to facilitate the movement of the load-bearing wheel 13 on the cable body 111.

[0041] It also includes an arc guide rail 17, a notch ring 18, a notch tooth ring 19, a servo motor 20, a gear 21, a nail plate 22 and an elastic member 23; an arc guide rail 17 is installed on the same end of the two T-shaped frames 9, and the arc guide rail 17 is semicircular; each arc guide rail 17 is slidably connected to a notch ring 18, and the arc guide rail 17 and the notch ring 18 are three-quarter rings; each notch ring 18 is fixed with a notch tooth ring 19, and the notch tooth ring 19 is a three-quarter ring; each arc guide rail 17 is installed with two servo motors 20 distributed on the left and right; each servo motor 20 output shaft is fixed with a gear 21; each gear 21 is respectively engaged with the notch tooth ring 19; each notch ring 18 is hinged to two nail plates 22; each nail plate 22 is connected to an elastic member 23; the elastic member 23 is a spring; each notch ring 18 is connected to the corresponding elastic member 23.

[0042] The working steps of the above embodiment are:

[0043] When the drone body 1 descends, the cable body 111 enters from the lower part of the two notched rings 18, so that the cable body 111 is located between the two de-icing rods 6 until the two load-bearing wheels 13 contact the cable body 111. At this time, the nail plate 22 does not contact the cable body 111. Then all the second electric actuators 16 are controlled to contract, so that the movable ends of the corresponding connecting rods 14 deflect toward the direction of the cable body 111, and the power walking wheels 15 are driven to move synchronously until the four power walking wheels 15 clamp the cable body 111. At this time, the power walking wheels 15 are controlled to start, so that the inspection drone can move forward or backward along the cable body 111. Due to the impact of the de-icing rod 6 on the cable body 111, most of the ice and snow on the cable body 111 are removed, and it is difficult for ice and snow to remain on the side of the cable body 111. It can reliably clamp the side of the cable body 111 for walking. At this time, the two de-icing sticks 6 act as the balancer of the inspection drone to ensure the stability of the inspection drone walking on the cable body 111. At the same time, during the walking process, all the servo motors 20 are controlled to start. The output shafts of the servo motors 20 each drive a gear 21 to rotate. The two gears 21 on the same arc guide rail 17 are engaged with a notched tooth ring 19 for transmission, driving the notched ring 18 to rotate alternately on the arc guide rail 17. If there is ice and snow remaining on the cable body 111, the ice and snow will squeeze the nail plate 22, and the elastic part 23 will be compressed. Through the reaction of the elastic part 23, the nail plate 22 is close to the ice and snow. As the notched ring 18 rotates, the nail plate 22 will remove the ice and snow remaining on the cable body 111, thereby achieving full removal of ice and snow on the cable body 111.

[0044] After completing the cleaning of this part of the overhead line, control all the winches 4 to reel in the cables 5 so that the de-icing sticks 6 are put back into the guide columns 7. Then control all the servo motors 20 to shut down and control all the second electric actuators 16 to extend so that all the power wheels 15 are separated from the cable body 111. At this time, the drone body 1 can be controlled to start, and the drone body 1 drives the corresponding parts on it to fly until it leaves the cable body 111, and then returns to the predetermined inspection route to perform the inspection work.

[0045] The above embodiments are only preferred embodiments of the present invention and are not intended to limit the scope of implementation of the present invention. Therefore, any equivalent changes made to the contents described in the claims of the present invention should be included in the scope of the claims of the present invention.

Claims

1. An overhead power line inspection drone, comprising a drone body (1); characterized in that: The invention also includes an installation box (3), a winch (4), a cable (5), an ice-removing rod (6) and a guide column (7); the installation box (3) is installed on the drone body (1), the winch (4) is installed in the installation box (3), and the winch (4) is composed of a driving motor and a wire wheel; a cable (5) is wound around the winch (4); the free end of the cable (5) passes through the installation box (3) and is fixed to the upper part of the ice-removing rod (6); the guide column (7) is fixed to the lower part of the installation box (3), and the cable (5) passes through the guide column (7); the upper part of the ice-removing rod (6) is provided with a vertical groove, and the cable (5) is fixed to the bottom of the vertical groove; the guide column (7) is plugged into the vertical groove of the ice-removing rod (6).

2. The overhead line power inspection drone according to claim 1, characterized in that: A camera (2) is installed on the drone body (1), and a laser radar and an infrared vision sensor are also arranged in the camera (2).

3. The overhead line power inspection drone according to claim 1, characterized in that: The lower part of the deicing stick (6) is filled with heavy filler, so that the center of gravity of the deicing stick (6) is located at a lower position.

4. The overhead line power inspection drone according to claim 1, characterized in that: It also includes a support rod (8) fixedly connected to the lower part of the installation box (3); a T-shaped frame (9) fixedly connected to the support rod (8); a limiting sleeve (10) fixedly connected to one side of the T-shaped frame (9); and the limiting sleeve (10) is plugged into and matched with the deicing stick (6).

5. The overhead line power inspection drone according to claim 4, characterized in that: The lower opening of the limiting sleeve (10) is provided with a chamfer.

6. The overhead line power inspection drone according to claim 1, characterized in that: The invention also includes a first electric actuator (11) installed on the installation box (3); the first electric actuator (11) is located on one side of the deicing stick (6); a heater (12) is fixedly connected to the telescopic end of the first electric actuator (11); and the heater (12) moves up and down along the outer surface of the deicing stick (6) under the push of the first electric actuator (11).

7. The overhead line power inspection drone according to claim 6, characterized in that: The inner annular surface of the heater (12) is coated with a waterproof coating.

8. The overhead line power inspection drone according to claim 4, characterized in that: The invention also includes a load-bearing wheel (13) rotatably connected between the T-shaped frames (9); a connecting rod (14) is hingedly connected to the side wall of the limiting sleeve (10); a power running wheel (15) is installed at the movable end of the connecting rod (14); a second electric actuator (16) is installed on the T-shaped frame (9); the telescopic end of the second electric actuator (16) is connected to the middle part of the connecting rod (14); and the power running wheel (15) swings along with the connecting rod (14) under the push of the second electric actuator (16).

9. The overhead line power inspection drone according to claim 8, characterized in that: The wheel surface of the load-bearing wheel (13) is provided with a groove, and anti-slip strips are distributed in the groove at intervals along the circumferential direction.

10. The overhead power line inspection drone according to claim 4, characterized in that: The invention also comprises an arc guide rail (17) mounted on the end of the T-shaped frame (9), a notch ring (18) being slidably connected to the arc guide rail (17), and the openings of the arc guide rail (17) and the notch ring (18) facing downward; a notch tooth ring (19) being fixedly connected to the outer surface of the notch ring (18) along the circumferential direction; a servo motor (20) being fixedly mounted on the arc guide rail (17); a gear (21) being fixedly connected to the output shaft of the servo motor (20); the notch tooth ring (19) and the gear (21) being meshed with each other; a nail plate (22) being hinged to the notch ring (18); and the nail plate (22) being driven by the servo motor (20) to rotate alternately forward and reverse around the center of the arc guide rail (17).

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