A solar photovoltaic panel cleaning robot

Abstract

The present invention discloses a solar photovoltaic panel cleaning robot, comprising a chassis, a water tank installed inside the chassis, a nozzle installed on the top of the water tank, an inner horizontal walking unit for driving the robot to walk horizontally is provided on the outside of the chassis, a longitudinal walking unit for driving the robot to walk longitudinally is installed on the outside of the inner horizontal walking unit through four guide mechanisms, and an outer roller brush driving unit is installed on the outside of the longitudinal walking unit through four guide mechanisms and two linked lifting and locking structures. The overall structure of the cleaning robot of the present invention is divided into three major motion units, namely the inner horizontal walking unit, the longitudinal walking unit and the outer roller brush driving unit. The three major units are linked and coordinated with clear division of labor. Different from the traditional unidirectional robots in the industry that can only move within a single degree of freedom, the designed inner horizontal walking can complete large-scale and full-area cleaning.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to the technical field of photovoltaic panel cleaning, in particular to a solar photovoltaic panel cleaning robot. Background Art

[0002] Photovoltaic power generation is a technology that uses thin solid photovoltaic cells made almost entirely of semiconductor materials (such as silicon) to generate electromotive force when exposed to light, thereby converting light energy directly into electrical energy. The long-term static storage of photovoltaic cell components leads to the accumulation of suspended particles, which blocks the light. This not only causes the photovoltaic panel to have low power generation efficiency and loss of power generation, but also seriously causes hot spot effects, resulting in a shortened component life or even damage. Therefore, cleaning according to requirements to ensure the cleanliness of the photovoltaic panel surface is particularly important to ensure power generation efficiency. As the number of solar photovoltaic applications in Taizhou increases, the pressure to clean solar photovoltaic panels is also gradually increasing. Traditional cleaning methods mainly include the following:

[0003] Cleaning method 1: Manual cleaning / manual cleaning with tools. Arrange personnel to use a photovoltaic cleaning water spray brush to manually scrub and scrape to remove dust and restore high photovoltaic power generation efficiency. Advantages: Clean thoroughly. Disadvantages: Long cleaning time, difficult to manage personnel, waste of water resources, low safety factor, people stepping on the panels can easily cause hidden cracks, and accidental falls can cause serious casualties.

[0004] Cleaning method 2: Mechanized cleaning vehicles. Large cleaning vehicles are used to clean and flush between rows of photovoltaic panels. Advantages: labor savings. Disadvantages: requirements for on-site installation spacing and uneven cleaning.

[0005] Cleaning method three: Intelligent photovoltaic panel cleaning robots. The robots perform cleaning and cleaning, eliminating manual labor. They can be controlled remotely or through a background control system, with customizable cleaning schedules. Compared to traditional cleaning methods, intelligent cleaning robots offer the following six advantages: 1. Self-powered and equipped with energy storage, eliminating the need for an external power source; 2. Intelligent control and unattended operation, saving labor costs; 3. Waterless cleaning, energy-saving and environmentally friendly, conserving water; 4. The operating frequency can be freely set, allowing for regular cleaning based on the site environment; 5. The robot applies even cleaning force, preventing hidden cracks in the cells; and 6. The robot can operate at night. Disadvantages: The robot can sometimes become stuck on unevenly installed photovoltaic panel frames, preventing it from returning to its original position. On-site maintenance personnel can also struggle to locate the robot. Therefore, traditional methods for cleaning solar photovoltaic panels still have many shortcomings. Summary of the Invention

[0006] The purpose of the present invention is to provide a solar photovoltaic panel cleaning robot to solve the problems of many shortcomings of the existing photovoltaic panel cleaning methods proposed in the above background technology.

[0007] To achieve the above-mentioned objectives, the present invention provides the following technical solutions: a solar photovoltaic panel cleaning robot, comprising a chassis, a water tank installed inside the chassis, a nozzle installed on the top of the water tank, the nozzle being connected to a micro pump inside the water tank through a pipe, a control module and a battery fixedly installed inside the chassis being provided on the outside of the water tank, an inner horizontal walking unit for driving the robot to walk horizontally being provided on the outside of the chassis, a longitudinal walking unit for driving the robot to walk longitudinally being installed on the outside of the inner horizontal walking unit through four guide mechanisms, and an outer roller brush driving unit being installed on the outside of the longitudinal walking unit through four guide mechanisms and two linked lifting and locking structures.

[0008] In order to achieve stability when the inner and outer layers of the machine are lifted and lowered, as a preferred solution of the present invention: the guide mechanism includes a linear slider, and the linear slider is slidably connected to a linear slide rail.

[0009] In order to enable the robot to walk horizontally on the photovoltaic panel, as a preferred solution of the present invention: the inner horizontal walking unit includes a first mounting frame mounted on the outside of the chassis, and horizontal walking wheels are rotatably installed at both ends of the outer side of the first mounting frame. The axle of the horizontal walking wheel passes through the bearing embedded in the first mounting frame and is connected to the first driven tooth. The two first driven teeth located on the same side are connected to the first stepper motor with the first driving tooth through a chain drive, and the first stepper motor is installed on the outside of the first mounting frame.

[0010] In order to enable the robot to walk longitudinally on the photovoltaic panel, as a preferred solution of the present invention: the longitudinal walking unit includes a fourth mounting frame fixedly connected to the top strap of the chassis, two linear slide rails are installed inside both sides of the fourth mounting frame, the two linear slide rails are slidably connected to the linear slider installed on the outside of the first mounting frame, two partitions are installed at both ends of the fourth mounting frame, and longitudinal walking wheels are installed inside the two partitions at the same end through two wheel axles, a fourth stepper motor is installed in the middle of one side of the partition, and the fourth stepper motor is connected to the second driven tooth installed on the longitudinal walking wheel through the installed second driving tooth matching chain.

[0011] In order to realize the linkage between the inner and outer layers of the robot, as a preferred solution of the present invention: the linkage lifting and locking structure includes a third mounting frame located on both sides of the two partitions on the same side and fixedly connected to the fourth mounting frame, and the four columns of the third mounting frame are installed with a screw mounting seat on the outer side, and each of the screw mounting seats is provided with a connecting seat on one side, and the connecting seat is threadedly connected to the ball screw inside the screw mounting seat through a screw nut, and a driven pulley is installed on the top of each ball screw, and the four driven pulleys are connected to the active pulley installed on the third stepper motor through a belt 57, and the third stepper motor is installed at one end of the third mounting frame.

[0012] In order to clean the surface of the photovoltaic panel, as a preferred solution of the present invention: the outer roller brush drive unit includes a second mounting frame that is sleeved on the outside of the fourth mounting frame, two roller brushes are installed on the inner side of the second mounting frame, and third driven teeth are installed at both ends of the two roller brushes. Second stepper motors are installed on the inner sides of both ends of the second mounting frame, and the second stepper motor is connected to the corresponding two third driven teeth through the installed third driving teeth and chain.

[0013] In order to guide the outer roller brush drive unit and the longitudinal walking unit during lifting and lowering, as a preferred solution of the present invention: two linear sliders are installed on the inner sides of both ends of the second mounting frame, and the linear sliders are slidably connected to the linear slide rails installed at both ends of the fourth mounting frame.

[0014] In order to drive the outer roller brush drive unit to move up and down through the linked lifting and locking structure, as a preferred solution of the present invention: the connecting seat is fixedly connected to the second mounting bracket through screws.

[0015] In order to realize intelligent control of the robot, as a preferred solution of the present invention: the control module is composed of a single-chip microcomputer control unit of the stm32f7 series and an NVIDIA jetson tx2 for visual recognition and a GPS for position positioning; the micropump, the first stepper motor, the second stepper motor, the third stepper motor and the fourth stepper motor are all electrically connected to the single-chip microcomputer in the control module, and the single-chip microcomputer is electrically connected to the battery.

[0016] Compared with the prior art, the present invention has the following beneficial effects:

[0017] 1) The overall structure of the cleaning robot is divided into three major motion units: the inner horizontal walking unit, the longitudinal walking unit, and the outer roller brush drive unit. The three units work together in a coordinated manner with clear division of labor. Unlike traditional unidirectional robots in the industry that can only move within a single degree of freedom, the designed inner horizontal walking unit can complete large-scale, full-area cleaning with multiple runways, greatly reducing time and economic costs;

[0018] 2) The inner lateral walking unit is driven by two DC stepping motors through a chain to drive the lateral walking wheels to rotate, which is used for the lateral movement control of the robot. After cleaning one plane, it can move horizontally to the next plane to clean the subsequent plane;

[0019] 3) The outer roller brush drive unit is driven by two DC stepping motors through a chain, which drives the roller brush to rotate for efficient cleaning.

[0020] 4) The control module is processed by an STM32F7 series microcontroller. The control logic uses NVIDIA Jetson TX2 for visual recognition and GPS for positioning. A series of intelligent algorithms ensure that its motion accuracy in the working plane is 0.01m, and the safety of movement is guaranteed at the software level.

[0021] 5) Through the micro pump installed in the water tank in the chassis and the nozzle, the detergent in the water tank can be sprayed toward the photovoltaic panels, further ensuring the cleanliness of the photovoltaic panels. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0022] Figure 1 It is a schematic diagram of the structure of the present invention;

[0023] Figure 2 A top view of the present invention;

[0024] Figure 3 A bottom view of the present invention;

[0025] Figure 4 is a side view of the present invention;

[0026] Figure 5 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of the inner layer transverse walking unit of the present invention

[0027] Figure 6 Schematic diagram of the outer roller brush drive unit structure of the present invention

[0028] Figure 7 Schematic diagram of the linkage lifting and locking structure of the present invention

[0029] Figure 8 It is a schematic diagram of the connection structure between the linkage lifting and locking structure and the longitudinal travel unit of the present invention.

[0030] In the figure: 1. chassis; 11. water tank; 12. nozzle; 13. control module; 14. battery; 2. inner horizontal walking unit; 21. first mounting frame; 22. first driven gear; 23. first stepper motor; 25. horizontal walking wheel; 3. guide mechanism; 31. linear slider; 32. linear slide rail; 4. outer roller brush drive unit; 41. second mounting frame; 42. roller brush; 43. second stepper motor; 5. linked lifting and locking structure; 51. third mounting frame; 52. screw mounting seat; 53. connecting seat; 54. ball screw; 55. driven pulley; 56. third stepper motor; 57. belt; 6. longitudinal walking unit; 61. fourth mounting frame; 62. fourth stepper motor; 63. longitudinal walking wheel. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0031] 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.

[0032] See also Figures 1-8 The present invention provides a technical solution: a solar photovoltaic panel cleaning robot, comprising a chassis 1, a water tank 11 installed inside the chassis 1, a nozzle 12 installed on the top of the water tank 11, the nozzle 12 is connected to the micro pump inside the water tank 11 through a pipeline, and a control module 13 and a battery 14 fixedly installed inside the chassis 1 are provided on the outside of the water tank 11. An inner lateral walking unit 2 for driving the robot to walk horizontally is provided on the outside of the chassis 1, a longitudinal walking unit 6 for driving the robot to walk longitudinally is installed on the outside of the inner lateral walking unit 2 through four guide mechanisms 3, and an outer roller brush driving unit 4 is installed on the outside of the longitudinal walking unit 6 through four guide mechanisms 3 and two linked lifting and locking structures 5.

[0033] In this embodiment, the guide mechanism 3 includes a linear slider 31 , and the linear slider 31 is slidably connected to a linear guide rail 32 .

[0034] Specifically, through the sliding cooperation between the linear slider 31 and the linear slide rail 32, the stability and smoothness of the lifting between the inner horizontal walking unit 2 and the longitudinal walking unit 6 and the lifting between the longitudinal walking unit 6 and the outer roller brush driving unit 4 can be increased.

[0035] In this embodiment: the inner lateral walking unit 2 includes a first mounting frame 21 that is sleeved on the outside of the chassis 1, and lateral walking wheels 25 are rotatably installed at both ends of the outer side of the first mounting frame 21. The axle of the lateral walking wheel 25 passes through the bearing embedded in the first mounting frame 21 and is connected to the first driven gear 22. The two first driven gears 22 on the same side are connected to the first stepper motor 23 with the first driving gear through a chain drive. The first stepper motor 23 is installed on the outer side of the first mounting frame 21.

[0036] Specifically, the two first stepper motors 23 are controlled by the single-chip computer to drive the first driving tooth to rotate, and the first driven tooth 22 of the horizontal walking wheel 25 is driven to rotate by the chain, so as to realize the lateral motion control of the cleaning robot on the photovoltaic panel. After cleaning one plane, the outer roller brush drive unit 4 can be used to move horizontally to the next plane to clean the subsequent plane.

[0037] In this embodiment: the longitudinal walking unit 6 includes a fourth mounting frame 61 fixedly connected to the top strap of the chassis 1, two linear slide rails 32 are installed inside both sides of the fourth mounting frame 61, the two linear slide rails 32 are slidably connected to the linear slider 31 installed on the outside of the first mounting frame 21, two partitions are installed at both ends of the fourth mounting frame 61, and longitudinal walking wheels 63 are installed inside the two partitions at the same end through two wheel axles, and a fourth stepper motor 62 is installed in the middle of one side of the partition, and the fourth stepper motor 62 is connected to the second driven tooth installed on the longitudinal walking wheel 63 through the installed second driving tooth matching chain.

[0038] Specifically, the single-chip microcomputer controls the linkage lifting and locking structure 5 to drive the longitudinal walking unit 6 and the outer roller brush drive unit 4 to rise and fall quickly, and lift the transverse walking wheel 25 away from the photovoltaic panel. At this time, the single-chip microcomputer controls the two fourth stepper motors 62 to drive the second driving teeth to rotate, and drives the second driven teeth of the longitudinal walking wheel 63 to rotate through the chain, thereby realizing the horizontal and vertical movement control of the cleaning robot on the photovoltaic panel, and then the roller brush 42 is used to clean the surface of the photovoltaic panel.

[0039] In this embodiment: the linked lifting and locking structure 5 includes a third mounting frame 51 located on both sides of the two partitions on the same side and fixedly connected to the fourth mounting frame 61, and the four columns of the third mounting frame 51 are each installed with a screw mounting seat 52 on the outer side, and each screw mounting seat 52 is provided with a connecting seat 53 on one side. The connecting seat 53 is threadedly connected to the ball screw 54 inside the screw mounting seat 52 through a screw nut, and a driven pulley 55 is installed on the top of each ball screw 54. The four driven pulleys 55 are connected to the driving pulley installed on the third stepper motor 56 through a belt 57. The third stepper motor 56 is installed at one end of the third mounting frame 51.

[0040] Specifically, four ball screws 54 with self-locking functions are used, of which the ball screws 54 on both sides of the partition rotate in opposite directions. A third stepper motor 56 with an encoder drives the active pulley to rotate. The active pulley cooperates with the belt 57 to drive the four ball screws 54 to rotate. Because the inner and outer ball screws 54 rotate in opposite directions, the screw nuts on the inner and outer ball screws 54 cooperate with the connecting seat 53 to drive the inner layer transverse walking unit 2 and the outer layer roller brush drive unit 4 to move up and down, realizing the function of the inner and outer layers to be linked. Because the inner and outer layers of the three-layer motion unit will not be in the same plane when moving, the beneficial function of this linkage can realize the movement of the inner and outer layers by the same stepper motor, and the screw has a self-locking function, which can well fix the inner and outer layers in the working plane. At this time, the motor does not produce force, avoiding the heat generated by the motor working for a long time and improving the working life of the motor. An encoder can also be installed on the screw nut to perform a position closed loop to ensure that the speed of the third stepper motor 56 on both sides is the same, reducing distortion.

[0041] In this embodiment: the outer roller brush drive unit 4 includes a second mounting frame 41 that is mounted on the outside of the fourth mounting frame 61, and two roller brushes 42 are installed on the inner side of the second mounting frame 41. Third driven teeth are installed at both ends of the two roller brushes 42, and second stepper motors 43 are installed on the inner sides of both ends of the second mounting frame 41. The second stepper motor 43 is connected to the corresponding two third driven teeth through the installed third driving teeth and chain.

[0042] Specifically, the single-chip microcomputer controls the linkage lifting and locking structure 5 to drive the longitudinal walking unit 6 and the outer roller brush driving unit 4 to rise and fall quickly, and then uses the single-chip microcomputer to control the second stepper motor 43 to drive the third driving tooth, and uses the third driving tooth to cooperate with the chain to drive the third driven tooth of the roller brush 42 to rotate, and then the photovoltaic panel is cleaned by contacting the rotating roller brush 42 of the photovoltaic panel.

[0043] In this embodiment, two linear sliders 31 are installed on the inner sides of both ends of the second mounting frame 41 , and the linear sliders 31 are slidably connected to the linear guide rails 32 installed on both ends of the fourth mounting frame 61 .

[0044] Specifically, the second mounting bracket 41 is slidably matched with the fourth mounting bracket 61 through the guide mechanism 3, thereby increasing the smoothness and stability of the outer roller brush driving unit 4 and the longitudinal walking unit 6 during lifting and sliding.

[0045] Furthermore, the connecting seat 53 is fixedly connected to the second mounting bracket 41 by screws, thereby realizing the connection between the linkage lifting and locking structure 5 and the outer roller brush driving unit 4.

[0046] Furthermore, the control module 13 is composed of a single-chip microcomputer control unit of the stm32f7 series and an NVIDIA jetson tx2 for visual recognition and a GPS for position positioning. The micropump, the first stepper motor 23, the second stepper motor 43, the third stepper motor 56 and the fourth stepper motor 62 are all electrically connected to the single-chip microcomputer in the control module 13, and the single-chip microcomputer is electrically connected to the battery 14. A series of intelligent algorithms are used to ensure that its movement accuracy in the working plane is 0.01m, and the safety of movement is guaranteed based on the software level.

[0047] The contents not described in detail in this specification belong to the prior art known to professional and technical personnel in this field. Although the present invention has been described in detail with reference to the aforementioned embodiments, it is still possible for those skilled in the art to modify the technical solutions described in the aforementioned embodiments or to replace some of the technical features therein with equivalents. Any modifications, equivalent replacements, improvements, etc. made within the spirit and principles of the present invention should be included in the scope of protection of the present invention.

Claims

1. A solar photovoltaic panel cleaning robot, comprising a chassis (1), characterized in that: A water tank (11) is installed inside the chassis (1), a nozzle (12) is installed on the top of the water tank (11), and the nozzle (12) is connected to a micro pump inside the water tank (11) through a pipeline. A control module (13) and a battery (14) fixedly installed inside the chassis (1) are provided on the outside of the water tank (11). An inner transverse walking unit (2) for driving the robot to walk transversely is provided on the outside of the chassis (1). A longitudinal walking unit (6) for driving the robot to walk longitudinally is installed on the outside of the inner transverse walking unit (2) through four guide mechanisms (3). An outer roller brush driving unit (4) is installed on the outside of the longitudinal walking unit (6) through four guide mechanisms (3) and two linked lifting and locking structures (5). The guide mechanism (3) comprises a linear slider (31), and the linear slider (31) is slidably connected to a linear slide rail (32); The longitudinal walking unit (6) comprises a fourth mounting frame (61) fixedly connected to the top strap of the chassis (1); The linkage lifting and locking structure (5) includes a third mounting frame (51) located on both sides of two partitions on the same side and fixedly connected to the fourth mounting frame (61), the outer sides of the four columns of the third mounting frame (51) are all installed with screw mounting seats (52), and each side of the screw mounting seat (52) is provided with a connecting seat (53), the connecting seat (53) is threadedly connected to the ball screw (54) inside the screw mounting seat (52) through a screw nut, and a driven pulley (55) is installed on the top of each ball screw (54), and the four driven pulleys (55) are connected to the driving pulley installed by the third stepping motor (56) through a belt (57), and the third stepping motor (56) is installed at one end of the third mounting frame (51); The control module is processed by the STM32F7 series microcontroller. The control logic uses NVIDIA Jetson TX2 for visual recognition and GPS for positioning. A series of intelligent algorithms ensure that its movement accuracy in the working plane is 0.01m, ensuring the safety of movement at the software level.

2. The solar photovoltaic panel cleaning robot according to claim 1, characterized in that: The inner transverse walking unit (2) comprises a first mounting frame (21) sleeved on the outside of the chassis (1), and transverse walking wheels (25) are rotatably mounted on both ends of the outer side of the first mounting frame (21), and the wheel axles of the transverse walking wheels (25) pass through bearings embedded in the first mounting frame (21) and are connected to first driven teeth (22), and the two first driven teeth (22) located on the same side are connected to a first stepper motor (23) equipped with first driving teeth through a chain transmission, and the first stepper motor (23) is mounted on the outer side of the first mounting frame (21).

3. The solar photovoltaic panel cleaning robot according to claim 1, characterized in that: Two linear slide rails (32) are installed inside both sides of the fourth mounting frame (61), and the two linear slide rails (32) are slidably connected to the linear slider (31) installed outside the first mounting frame (21). Two partitions are installed at both ends of the fourth mounting frame (61), and longitudinal travel wheels (63) are installed inside the two partitions at the same end through two wheel shafts. A fourth stepper motor (62) is installed in the middle of one side of the partition, and the fourth stepper motor (62) is connected to the second driven tooth installed on the longitudinal travel wheel (63) through the second driving tooth installed in conjunction with the chain.

4. The solar photovoltaic panel cleaning robot according to claim 1, characterized in that: The outer roller brush drive unit (4) comprises a second mounting frame (41) sleeved on the outside of the fourth mounting frame (61); two roller brushes (42) are mounted on the inner side of the second mounting frame (41); third driven teeth are mounted on both ends of the two roller brushes (42); second stepping motors (43) are mounted on the inner sides of both ends of the second mounting frame (41); the second stepping motors (43) are connected to the corresponding two third driven teeth through a chain of mounted third driving teeth.

5. The solar photovoltaic panel cleaning robot according to claim 4, characterized in that: Two linear slide blocks (31) are installed on the inner sides of both ends of the second mounting frame (41), and the linear slide blocks (31) are slidably connected to the linear slide rails (32) installed on both ends of the fourth mounting frame (61).

6. The solar photovoltaic panel cleaning robot according to claim 1, characterized in that: The connecting seat (53) is fixedly connected to the second mounting frame (41) via screws.

7. The solar photovoltaic panel cleaning robot according to claim 1, characterized in that: The control module (13) is composed of a single-chip microcomputer control unit of the stm32f7 series and an Nvidia Jetson TX2 for visual recognition and a GPS for position positioning. The micro pump, the first stepper motor (23), the second stepper motor (43), the third stepper motor (56) and the fourth stepper motor (62) are all electrically connected to the single-chip microcomputer in the control module (13), and the single-chip microcomputer is electrically connected to the battery (14).

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