Single freedom holder structure of underwater remote control robot

Abstract

The application discloses a single-degree-of-freedom holder structure of an underwater remote control robot, a motor driving system is arranged on a holder body, and an illuminating lamp, a camera and a video camera rotatably connected to the holder are dragged through a chain wheel transmission system, and an output end of the chain wheel transmission system is connected with a torque protection system in series; an angle sensor for controlling and displaying the position of the holder is arranged on the holder body. The improved holder is specially used for the degree of freedom holder of an underwater remote control robot (ROV) for operation, and the function of the holder is more perfect; a disc spring and a pair of friction disc structures are additionally arranged in the motor driving system to limit the maximum torque transmission and avoid the holder from moving with too large amplitude, so that the video camera, the underwater illuminating lamp and other key parts are protected in time; the holder angle sensor is arranged to be used for controlling and displaying the position of the holder, and the display is more intuitive and accurate; and the underwater motor of the holder can timely adjust the pressure difference between the inside and outside of the motor according to the operation condition, and the function is more reliable.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] The application belongs to the technical field of underwater robots, and particularly relates to an improved single-degree-of-freedom holder structure of an underwater remote control robot and a protection device thereof. BACKGROUND

[0002] With the outbreak of the industrial revolution, land resources have gradually become scarce, and people have begun to turn their attention to the ocean which is rich in resources. More and more underwater vehicles begin to be applied to the exploration of the seabed world, such as remote control robots (ROV), unmanned underwater vehicles (UUV) and intelligent underwater robots (AUV), which can replace humans to dive into the seabed to explore seabed resources. Most of the underwater robots in the prior art are equipped with different types of cameras, but the positions of most underwater cameras cannot be moved. When the observed object is in a moving state, the camera cannot accurately track and record its image, resulting in blurred images. Even if the object moves too fast, the camera cannot focus on its position, causing the loss of object image information. Some underwater robots are equipped with underwater holders, which can carry underwater cameras, underwater lights and sonar observation equipment, and can adjust the instrument posture in multiple degrees of freedom when the underwater robot performs engineering operations.

[0003] However, due to the complex and changeable underwater environment, there are not only solid objects such as reefs, but also movable objects such as seabed organisms. The holder may be hit by external objects during the travel of the vehicle, causing the camera or light to be damaged and unable to obtain seabed information. Therefore, the protection of underwater holder cameras and lights is becoming increasingly important.

[0004] Therefore, it is necessary to design a single-degree-of-freedom holder structure specially used on an underwater remote control robot, which can automatically protect the light and camera when the holder is impacted or subjected to excessive external torque. It is also required to have holder position control and display functions. SUMMARY

[0005] The purpose of the present application is to overcome the defects of the prior art underwater robots, such as the lack of mechanical structure torque protection function, the easy damage of underwater cameras and underwater lights, the lack of holder angle sensor to obtain accurate information of the holder rotation angle, and the lack of motor pressure compensator to adjust the pressure difference inside and outside the motor in time according to the operation condition. The present application provides a single-degree-of-freedom holder structure of an underwater remote control robot with more complete functions, more perfect protection facilities and more sufficient information acquisition.

[0006] The purpose of the present application is achieved by the following technical solutions.

[0007] The single freedom holder structure of the underwater remote control robot is characterized in that a motor driving system is arranged on the holder body, and a lighting lamp, a camera and a video camera rotatably connected to the holder are pulled by a chain wheel transmission system, and an output end of the chain wheel transmission system is connected with a torque protection system in series; an angle sensor for controlling and displaying the position of the holder is arranged on the holder body, and the holder is fixed in a recess at the front end of the frame of the robot through left and right fixed plates.

[0008] Preferably, the motor driving system comprises an underwater direct current brushless motor sealedly arranged in a driver cabin and connected to the left fixed plate through a reducer module, an output shaft of the reducer module is fixedly connected with a driving small chain wheel, a driven large chain wheel arranged on the other side of the left fixed plate is connected with the driving small chain wheel through a chain, and a torque protection system is connected with an output shaft end of the large chain wheel in series.

[0009] Preferably, the torque protection system comprises a first friction disc, a second friction disc, a butterfly spring and a double nut locking structure matched in series on a clutch connecting shaft, an end surface of the first friction disc is abutted against an end surface of the large chain wheel, the double nut locking structure composed of a first nut and a second nut is locked with the clutch connecting shaft through a bolt, the butterfly spring is pressed by the second nut, and a pressing force is provided between the second friction disc, the first friction disc and the large chain wheel; the large chain wheel of the chain wheel driving system is coaxially rotatable connected with the clutch connecting shaft of the torque protection system through a shaft hole.

[0010] When the holder body is subjected to an excessive acting torque, the butterfly spring releases part of potential energy, and the first friction disc and the second friction disc slip, so that the limitation of the torque is realized, the maximum torque between the holder body system connected with the clutch connecting shaft is limited, and the lighting lamp, the camera and the video camera are protected.

[0011] Preferably, the holder body system comprises a tray, the tray is fixed with a support for placing the video camera, the camera and a plurality of lighting lamps, the video camera, the camera and the plurality of lighting lamps are fixed to the support by using stainless steel clamps, and a water-tight connector is arranged at the tail of each of the video camera, the camera and the plurality of lighting lamps; the tray is fixed with a sensor cabin shaft through a first hoop and a second hoop at one end close to the right fixed plate, an end surface of the sensor cabin shaft is fixed with the tray, passes through a sliding bearing on the right fixed plate, is connected with a hole of the sliding bearing on the right fixed plate in a matched mode, a pagoda-shaped output connector for connecting a tail line of an output shaft of the angle sensor is arranged on one side of the sensor cabin, the angle sensor is built in the sensor cabin shaft, the sensor output shaft is connected with the shaft end cover through a sensor adapter plate, the angle sensor is fixed on the sensor cabin shaft through a screw, and the angle sensor, the sensor cabin shaft and the tray can be rotatable and gap-connected with each other, and the holder is fixed on the underwater robot body through the right fixed plate.

[0012] The mechanism is used for detecting and providing the output angle value of the holder.

[0013] The tail end cover is provided with a pressure compensator at the rear end, which is used for balancing the pressure inside and outside the motor and is in the form of a cup, and a cap-shaped rubber diaphragm is arranged inside the pressure compensator for sensing the pressure change inside the motor and the sea water and for sealing.

[0014] The screw functions as a liquid level indicator, and in order to ensure that the pressure inside the motor is greater than the sea water pressure when the gimbal is used underwater, the hexagonal cylindrical screw is forced to recess into the motor when the sea water pressure is large, and at this time, oil can be filled into the motor to ensure that the pressure inside the motor is greater than the sea water pressure, and the pressure spring functions as a pressure buffer device.

[0015] The gimbal has the following advantages:

[0016] 1. The gimbal is specially used for the freedom degree gimbal of a remote-operated vehicle (ROV) and makes the gimbal function more perfect.

[0017] 2. The disc spring and the pair of friction discs are arranged in the motor transmission system to limit the maximum torque, so that the gimbal movement is effectively prevented from being too large, and the camera and the underwater illuminating lamp and other key parts are timely protected.

[0018] 3. The gimbal angle sensor is arranged to be used for gimbal position control and display, and is more intuitive and accurate.

[0019] 4. The gimbal motor can timely adjust the pressure difference between the inside and outside of the motor according to the operation condition, and the function is more reliable. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0020] Figure 1 is a top view of the gimbal structure of the embodiment of the application;

[0021] Figure 2 is a left view of the motor transmission structure;

[0022] Figure 3 is a front view of the gimbal structure;

[0023] Figure 4 is an A-A sectional view of Figure 2 ;

[0024] Figure 5 is a B-B sectional view of Figure 3 ;

[0025] Figure 6 is a rear view of the motor transmission structure;

[0026] Figure 7 is a three-dimensional schematic view of the overall structure of the underwater robot;

[0027] Figure 8 is a three-dimensional schematic view of the overall structure of the gimbal.

[0028] In the figure: robot 1; gimbal 2; illuminating lamp 3; camera 4; video camera 5; illuminating lamp 6; tray 7; support 8; left fixed plate 9; right fixed plate 10; watertight connector 11; stainless steel clamp 12; first nut 13; second nut 14; butterfly spring 15; large chain wheel 16; first clamp 17; first friction disc 18; second friction disc 19; clutch connecting shaft 20; bolt one 21; L-shaped adapter plate 22; pagoda-shaped output connector 23; sensor cabin shaft 24; angle sensor 25; screw one 26; sensor adapter plate 27; pressure compensator 28; tail end cover 29; driver cabin 30; reducer module 31; hub cap 32; small chain wheel 33; chain 34; second clamp 35; screw two 36; watertight connector 37; watertight connector 38; watertight connector 39; watertight connector 40; bolt two 41; pressure spring 42; connecting block 43; rubber diaphragm 44; driving plate 45; inner hexagonal cylindrical screw 46; bolt three 47; trapezoidal keyway 48. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0029] The embodiments of the present application will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. The embodiments are implemented on the premise of the technical solutions of the present application, and detailed implementation manners and specific operation processes are given, but the protection scope of the present application is not limited to the following embodiments.

[0030] Embodiment: a single-degree-of-freedom gimbal structure of an underwater remote control robot 1, a motor driving system is arranged on the gimbal 2 body, and an illuminating lamp 3, a camera 4, a video camera 5 and an illuminating lamp 6 rotatably connected to the gimbal 2 are pulled by a chain wheel transmission system, and the output end of the chain wheel transmission system is connected in series with a torque protection system; an angle sensor 25 for position control and display of the gimbal 2 is also arranged on the gimbal 2 body, and the gimbal 2 is fixed in the front end recess of the robot 1 frame through the left fixed plate 9 and the right fixed plate 10. Referring to Figure 1 .

[0031] The motor driving system includes a sealed underwater DC brushless motor installed in the driver cabin 30, and is connected to the left fixed plate 9 through the reducer module 31. The output shaft of the reducer module 31 is fixedly connected to the driving small sprocket 33. The driving small sprocket 33 is connected to the driven large sprocket 16 on the other side of the left fixed plate 9 through the chain 34. The output shaft end of the large sprocket 16 is connected to the torque protection system. The motor is fixed on the left fixed plate 9 through four bolts 41. The driving small sprocket 33 is connected to the trapezoidal key groove 48 on the output shaft of the motor through the trapezoidal key. A screw hole is formed at the top end of the shaft for installing the hub cap 32 to position the small sprocket 33. The motor provides power for the driving small sprocket 33 to drive the large sprocket 16 to rotate. The motor drives the gear through the reducer module 31 to reduce the speed, thereby increasing the available output torque without increasing the power of the motor. Figure 2 、 Figure 3 、 Figure 4 .

[0032] The motor is independent of the camera 5 rear end, perpendicular to the left fixed plate 9, and the front end of the motor is sequentially connected to the motor output shaft, the reducer module 31. The tail end is sequentially connected to the driver cabin 30, the tail end cover 29 and the pressure compensator 28. The shell material of the driver cabin 30 is made of 304 stainless steel, and the inside is provided with a driving plate 45. The tail end cover 29 is fixed on the motor body through four screws 36, one end of which is fixed to the watertight connector 11, and the other end is connected to the pressure compensator 28 through four bolts 47. The pressure compensator 28 is used to balance the pressure between the inside and outside of the motor. The pressure compensator 28 has a cup-shaped structure. The inside of the pressure compensator 28 has a cap-shaped rubber diaphragm 44 for sensing the pressure change between the inside of the motor and the sea water. The bottom of the rubber diaphragm 44 is in a lip-shaped structure, which is located at the connection between the pressure compensator 28 and the tail end cover 29, and plays a sealing role. The upper end of the rubber diaphragm 44 is connected to the pressure compensator 28 through a connecting block 43, a pressure spring 42 and an internal hexagonal cylindrical screw 46. The connecting block 43 is attached to the rubber diaphragm 44. The internal hexagonal cylindrical screw 46 serves as a liquid level indicator. In order to ensure that the internal pressure of the motor is greater than the external sea water pressure when the gimbal 2 is working underwater, when the external sea water pressure is large, the internal hexagonal cylindrical screw 46 will be forced to recess into the motor. At this time, oil can be filled into the motor to ensure that the internal pressure of the motor is greater than the external sea water pressure. The pressure spring 42 acts as a pressure buffer device. The watertight connector is made of epoxy resin and metal for power distribution and signal transmission between equipment and system. Referring to Figure 5 、 Figure 6 .

[0033] The torque protection system comprises the first friction disc 18, the second friction disc 19, the butterfly spring 15 and the locking nut which are sequentially matched on the clutch connecting shaft 20, the end surface of the first friction disc 18 is abutted against the end surface of the large sprocket 16, the double-nut locking structure composed of the first nut 13 and the second nut 14 is locked with the bolt to lock the clutch connecting shaft 20, the butterfly spring 15 is compressed by the second nut 14 to provide the compression force between the second friction disc 19 and the first friction disc 18 and the large sprocket 16, so that the limitation of the torque is realized, the maximum torque limitation between the pan-tilt head 2 body system connected with the clutch connecting shaft 20 is ensured, when the pan-tilt head 2 body system bears an excessive acting torque, the butterfly spring 15 will release part of potential energy, the first friction disc 18 and the second friction disc 19 will slip, so that the lighting lamp 3, the lighting lamp 6 and the camera 5 are protected. The large sprocket 16 of the sprocket drive system is connected with the clutch connecting shaft 20 of the torque protection system through the shaft hole matching, the two can rotate coaxially and the movements do not interfere with each other.

[0034] The pan-tilt head 2 body system comprises the tray 7, the tray 7 is fixed with the support 8 for placing the camera 5, the camera 4 and the lighting lamp 3 and the lighting lamp 6, the camera 5, the camera 4 and the lighting lamp 3 and the lighting lamp 6 are fixed to the support 8 by using the stainless steel clamp 12, and a watertight connector is mounted at the tail of each. The tray 7 is fixed with the sensor cabin shaft 24 through the first hoop 17 and the second hoop 35 at one end close to the right fixed plate 10, the end surface of the sensor cabin shaft 24 is fixed with the tray 7, passes through the sliding bearing on the right fixed plate 10 and is connected with the hole of the sliding bearing on the right fixed plate 10, a pagoda-shaped output connector 23 for connecting the tail line of the output shaft of the angle sensor 25 is mounted on one side of the sensor cabin, the angle sensor 25 is built in the sensor cabin shaft 24, the sensor output shaft 24 is connected with the shaft end cover by using the sensor adapter plate 27, the angle sensor 25 is fixed on the sensor cabin shaft 24 by using the screw 26, the angle sensor 25, the sensor cabin shaft 24 and the tray 7 can be gap matched and rotatable relative to each other, and are used for detecting the output angle of the pan-tilt head 2. The right fixed plate 10 is integrally formed in a U-shaped structure and is used for fixing the pan-tilt head 2 on the underwater robot 1 body. The left fixed plate 9 and the right fixed plate 10 are made of polypropylene material and can effectively prevent the corrosion of organic solvents such as acid and alkali in seawater, and the two sides of the U-shaped fixed plate are used for fixedly connecting with the underwater remote control robot 1.

[0035] The tray 7 is fixed to the clutch shaft 20 through the L-shaped adapter plate 22 near one end of the left fixed plate 9, the end face of the L-shaped adapter plate 22 is fixed to the clutch shaft 20 through the bolt 21, the other end face is in direct contact with the tray 7, and the tray 7 drives the clutch shaft 20 to rotate through the L-shaped adapter plate 22. The end face of the angle sensor 25 is fixed to the tray 7, when disturbed by external force, the tray 7 rotates and drives the angle sensor shaft 24 and the clutch shaft 20 to rotate, in this process, the angle sensor 25 detects the output angle of the holder 2, and through the water-proof connector 2, the information is fed back to the terminal display, at the same time, the double nut and double friction disc of the torque protection system limit the torque, the rotation of the tray 7 is limited through the clutch shaft 20, and then the holder 2 body system is protected.

[0036] The overall structure of the underwater robot is shown in Figure 7 .

[0037] The overall structure of the holder is shown in Figure 8 .

[0038] Before use, the operator first fixes the holder 2 to the front end of the underwater remote control robot (ROV) through a plurality of connecting devices, when in use, the holder 2 is dived to the work site with the ROV, the holder 2 detects the output angle of the holder through the angle sensor, the result is transmitted to the external terminal through the cable, the direction of the ROV is controlled through the external terminal to realize the deviation and pitch movement, and the illumination angle and the shooting angle are adjusted in time.

[0039] The above shows and describes the basic principles and main features of the present application and the advantages of the present application. It should be understood by those skilled in the art that the present application is not limited to the above-mentioned embodiments, the above-mentioned embodiments and descriptions in the specification are only to illustrate the principles of the present application, and various changes and improvements can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the present application, and these changes and improvements all fall within the scope of the present application. The scope of protection of the present application is defined by the appended claims and their equivalents.

Claims

1. A single degree of freedom gimbal structure for an underwater remotely operated robot, characterized by, The motor driving system is arranged on the holder body, and the lighting lamp, the camera and the video camera rotatably connected to the holder are pulled by the chain wheel transmission system, and the output end of the chain wheel transmission system is connected with the torque protection system in series; The holder body is provided with an angle sensor for position control and display of the holder; the holder is fixed in the front end groove of the frame of the underwater robot through the left and right fixed plates; the motor driving system comprises an underwater direct-current brushless motor sealedly arranged in the driver cabin and connected to the left fixed plate through a speed reducer module, the output shaft of the speed reducer module is fixedly connected with a driving small chain wheel, a driven large chain wheel arranged on the other side of the left fixed plate is connected by a chain, and the output shaft of the large chain wheel is connected with the torque protection system in series; the torque protection system comprises a first friction disc, a second friction disc, a butterfly spring and a double nut locking structure matched in sequence on the clutch connecting shaft, the end surface of the first friction disc is abutted against the end surface of the large chain wheel, the double nut locking structure composed of the first nut and the second nut is locked with the clutch connecting shaft through a bolt, the butterfly spring is pressed by the second nut to provide pressing force between the second friction disc, the first friction disc and the large chain wheel; the clutch connecting shaft of the torque protection system is coaxially rotatable and connected with the large chain wheel of the chain wheel driving system through the shaft hole.

2. The single degree of freedom holder structure of the underwater remote control robot according to claim 1, characterized in that, The holder body system comprises a tray, the tray is fixed with a support for placing the video camera, the camera and the plurality of lighting lamps, the video camera, the camera and the plurality of lighting lamps are fixed to the support by using the stainless steel clamps, and a watertight connector is mounted at the tail of each of the video camera, the camera and the plurality of lighting lamps; The tray is fixed with the sensor cabin shaft through the first and second hoops at one end close to the right fixed plate, the end surface of the sensor cabin shaft is fixed with the tray, passes through the sliding bearing on the right fixed plate and is connected with the hole of the sliding bearing on the right fixed plate, a pagoda-shaped output connector for connecting the tail line of the output shaft of the angle sensor is mounted on one side of the sensor cabin, the angle sensor is built in the sensor cabin shaft, the sensor output shaft is connected with the shaft end cover by using a sensor adapter plate, the angle sensor is fixed on the sensor cabin shaft by using a screw, the angle sensor, the sensor cabin shaft and the tray can be rotatably and gap-connected, and the holder is fixed on the underwater robot body through the right fixed plate.

3. The single degree of freedom holder structure of the underwater remote control robot according to claim 2, characterized in that, The tail end cover of the underwater motor is provided with a pressure compensator mounted at the rear end of the tail end cover by using a bolt, the pressure compensator is used for balancing the pressure balance between the inside and outside of the motor, the pressure compensator has a cup-shaped structure, the pressure compensator is internally provided with a cap-shaped rubber diaphragm for sensing the pressure change of the inside of the motor and the sea water and playing a sealing role, the bottom of the diaphragm has a lip-shaped structure, the bottom is located at the connection position of the compensator and the tail end cover, and a connecting block, a pressure spring and an internal hexagonal cylindrical screw are respectively arranged between the upper end of the diaphragm and the compensator, and the connecting block is pasted on the diaphragm.

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