An external pipe crawling robot

Abstract

The present invention discloses a robot for crawling along an outer pipe, comprising three layers of annular bases arranged longitudinally in sequence, with adjacent layers of the annular bases connected by longitudinally arranged lifting and telescopic cylinders. Each annular base is centrally provided with a through hole for longitudinal passage of a pipe, and a plurality of climbing foot assemblies are arranged in an array around the circumference of the through hole. Each climbing foot assembly comprises a foot rod, a friction foot pad, an elastic member, and a foot lifting and telescopic cylinder. The foot rod is laterally pivoted to the annular base and formed with a first arm extending downwardly from the pivot point toward the through hole. The friction foot pad is fixed to the end of the first arm. The elastic member is disposed between the foot rod and the annular base, and utilizes elastic force to drive the foot rod to swing, so that the first arm swings upward and presses the friction foot pad against the outer wall of the pipe. One end of the foot lifting and telescopic cylinder is fixed to the annular base, and the other end is used to push the foot rod to swing, so that the first arm swings downward and removes the friction foot pad from the outer wall of the pipe. The present invention achieves climbing along the outer wall of the pipe using a more concise, efficient, and stable structure.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to the technical field of pipeline construction equipment, and in particular to an external pipeline crawling robot. Background Art

[0002] During the inspection, flaw detection, spraying, and polishing of vertical pipelines, it is usually necessary to set up scaffolding or use a ladder truck. Operators stand on the scaffolding or ladder truck to perform construction. The operation process is difficult and has a high risk level. If a robot that can climb along the outer wall of the pipeline can be used and corresponding construction equipment can be installed on the robot to replace manual operations, the construction difficulty will be effectively reduced and it will be safer.

[0003] There are existing external pipe crawling robots that can climb along the outer wall of the pipe, but current external pipe crawling robots of this type usually need to be driven by a high-power drive mechanism in order to hold or adsorb on the outer wall of the pipe, which makes the equipment too bulky. In addition, when the drive mechanism fails, the climbing device falls from the outside of the pipe, causing damage to the equipment and posing a major safety hazard. Summary of the Invention

[0004] The purpose of the present invention is to provide an external pipe crawling robot that overcomes the above-mentioned defects and uses a simpler, more efficient and stable structure to achieve climbing along the outer wall of the pipe.

[0005] To achieve the above objectives, the present invention provides a solution: an outer pipe crawling robot comprising three layers of annular bases arranged longitudinally in sequence, with adjacent layers of annular bases connected by longitudinally arranged lifting and telescopic cylinders. Each annular base has a central through-hole for longitudinal passage of a pipe, and a plurality of climbing foot assemblies are arranged in an array around the circumference of the through-holes.

[0006] Each climbing foot assembly includes a foot rod, a friction foot pad, an elastic member and a foot-lifting telescopic cylinder. The foot rod is laterally pivoted on the annular base and forms a first arm extending downward from the pivot point toward the through hole. The friction foot pad is fixed to the end of the first arm. The elastic member is arranged between the foot rod and the annular base, and utilizes elastic force to drive the foot rod to swing, so that the first arm swings up to press the friction foot pad against the outer wall of the pipe. One end of the foot-lifting telescopic cylinder is fixed to the annular base, and the other end is used to push the foot rod to swing, so that the first arm swings down to move the friction foot pad away from the outer wall of the pipe.

[0007] Furthermore, when the friction pad is pressed against the outer wall of the pipe, the angle between the corresponding first arm and the horizontal direction is smaller than the friction angle between the friction pad and the outer wall of the pipe, so as to produce self-locking.

[0008] Furthermore, it also includes a controller, which is communicatively connected to each of the lifting and telescopic cylinders and each of the foot-lifting and telescopic cylinders to control each layer of the annular base one by one, so that each friction foot pad on the corresponding layer of the annular base is simultaneously moved away and then pressed against the outer wall of the pipe, and when the outer wall of the pipe is moved away, the lifting and telescopic cylinder connected to the annular base of this layer is used to drive the annular base of this layer to move along the pipe.

[0009] Furthermore, each foot rod is formed with a second arm extending from the pivot point toward the side away from the through hole, and each foot lifting and telescopic cylinder pushes against the second arm to cause the second arm to swing upward, thereby driving the first arm to swing downward.

[0010] Furthermore, the friction pad forms an arc surface that fits the outer wall of the pipeline.

[0011] Furthermore, the elastic member is a torsion spring arranged around the pivot axis between the foot rod and the annular base.

[0012] Furthermore, two adjacent layers of annular bases are connected by a plurality of lifting and telescopic cylinders evenly distributed in an annular shape.

[0013] Furthermore, two adjacent layers of annular bases are connected via three lifting and telescopic cylinders.

[0014] Furthermore, three climbing foot assemblies are provided on each annular base.

[0015] After adopting the above scheme, the beneficial effect of the present invention is that: each layer of the annular base is sleeved outside the pipeline through the through hole set in the center, and a plurality of climbing foot assemblies are arranged in an array around the circumference of the through hole, each climbing foot assembly includes a foot rod, a friction foot pad, an elastic member and a foot lifting telescopic cylinder, the foot rod is laterally pivoted on the corresponding layer of the annular base, and a first arm is formed that extends downwardly from the pivot point toward the through hole, the elastic member drives the foot rod to swing by elastic force, so that the first arm swings up to press the friction foot pad against the outer wall of the pipeline, when the friction foot pads on the corresponding annular base press against the outer wall of the pipeline When the annular base is fixed to the outer wall of the pipe by means of the friction self-locking effect, only the small elastic force of the elastic part is relied upon, without the need for external power. The telescopic cylinder for lifting the foot is used to drive the first arm to swing down to move the friction foot pad away from the outer wall of the pipe, so that the annular base of the corresponding layer can be loosened on the outer wall of the pipe. At this time, the telescopic cylinder is used to drive it to rise and fall relative to the adjacent annular base. After the lifting is completed, it is self-locked on the pipe through the climbing foot assembly. The position of the annular base fixed on the pipe can be moved layer by layer to achieve creeping climbing along the pipe, which is simple, efficient and stable. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0016] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of the present invention when it is sleeved on a pipeline;

[0017] Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of the top view of the structure of the present invention when it is sleeved on a pipeline;

[0018] Figure 3 This is a schematic structural diagram of a climbing foot assembly according to the present invention;

[0019] Figure 4 It is a schematic diagram of the connection structure between the elastic member, the foot rod and the shaft seat of the present invention.

[0020] Explanation of numbers: 1-annular base, 2-lifting telescopic cylinder, 3-pipe, 4-through hole, 5-climbing foot assembly, 6-foot rod, 7-friction foot pad, 8-elastic part, 9-lifting telescopic cylinder, 10-first support arm, 11-second support arm, 12-lifting cylinder, 13-lifting piston rod, 14-axle seat, 15-fixing bracket, 16-lifting cylinder, 17-lifting piston rod. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0021] The present invention is described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings and specific embodiments.

[0022] The present invention provides an external pipeline crawling robot, such as Figure 1-4 As shown, it includes three layers of annular bases 1 arranged longitudinally in sequence. A through hole 4 for a pipe 3 to pass longitudinally is provided in the center of each layer of the annular base 1. Each layer of the annular base 1 is sequentially sleeved on the outside of the pipe 3 through the through hole 4, and a plurality of climbing foot assemblies 5 are arranged in an array around the circumference of the through hole 4.

[0023] Specifically in this embodiment, three climbing foot assemblies 5 are provided on each annular base 1, and each climbing foot assembly 5 includes a foot rod 6, a friction foot pad 7, an elastic member 8 and a foot lifting telescopic cylinder 9; each annular base 1 is provided with an axle seat 14 corresponding to each foot rod 6 provided on the annular base 1, and the middle part of the foot rod 6 is laterally pivoted to an axle seat 14 of the annular base 1, and the foot rod 6 is formed with a first arm 10 extending downwardly from the pivot point toward the through hole 4, and a second arm 11 extending from the pivot point toward the side away from the through hole 4. The friction pad 7 is fixed to the end of the first arm 10, and the friction pad 7 faces the pipe 3 and forms an arc surface for fitting with the outer wall of the pipe 3. The elastic member 8 is arranged between the foot rod 6 and the corresponding shaft seat 14, specifically a torsion spring arranged around the pivot axis between the foot rod 6 and the shaft seat 14. One end of the torsion spring is fixed to the foot rod 6, and the other end is fixed to the shaft seat 14. The foot rod 6 is driven to swing by elastic force, so that the first arm 10 swings up to press the friction pad 7 against the outer wall of the pipe 3. Preferably, when the friction pad 7 is pressed against the outer wall of the pipe 3, the corresponding first arm 10 The angle with the horizontal direction is smaller than the friction angle between the friction foot pad 7 and the outer wall of the pipe 3 to produce self-locking, so that each layer of the annular base 1 can be self-locked and fixed to the outside of the pipe 3 without power by means of the climbing foot components 5 thereon. After being fixed, it is stable, reliable and energy-free, and will not fall due to loss of power. A fixing frame 15 is provided on the annular base 1 corresponding to each foot-lifting telescopic cylinder 9. The foot-lifting telescopic cylinder 9 can be any existing telescopic cylinder such as a cylinder, a hydraulic cylinder, etc. In this embodiment, it is preferably a cylinder. The foot-lifting telescopic cylinder 9 is longitudinally arranged and includes a foot-lifting cylinder barrel 16 and a foot-lifting cylinder barrel 17. The piston rod 17 is fixed on the fixing frame 15 with the foot lifting cylinder 16 at the bottom. The foot lifting piston rod 17 is at the top, and the top end is directly opposite to the bottom of the second arm 11. Then, when the foot lifting piston rod 17 is extended upward from the foot lifting cylinder 16, the foot lifting telescopic cylinder 9 is extended, which pushes upward against the second arm 11, causing the second arm 11 to swing upward, thereby driving the first arm 10 to swing downward, and moving the friction foot pad 7 away from the outer wall of the pipe 3. By utilizing the principle of leverage, the low-power foot lifting telescopic cylinder 9 can provide sufficient power to overcome the elastic force of the elastic member 8, so that the foot rod 6 swings;

[0024] The two adjacent layers of annular bases 1 are connected by a longitudinally arranged lifting and telescopic cylinder 2. The lifting and telescopic cylinder 2 can be any existing telescopic cylinder such as a pneumatic cylinder or a hydraulic cylinder. In this embodiment, it is preferably a pneumatic cylinder, including a lifting cylinder barrel 12 and a lifting piston rod 13. The lifting cylinder barrel 12 is fixed on the annular base 1 at the bottom, and the lifting piston rod 13 is fixed on the annular base 1 at the top. The lifting piston rod 13 extends outward from the lifting cylinder barrel 12, so that when the lifting piston rod 13 is extended, the two adjacent layers of annular bases 1 are driven away, or when the lifting piston rod 13 is retracted into the lifting cylinder barrel 12, the two adjacent layers of annular bases 1 are driven closer. In order to make the movement of each annular base 1 more balanced and stable, specifically in this embodiment, the two adjacent layers of annular bases 1 are connected by a plurality of lifting and telescopic cylinders 2 evenly distributed in a ring. Specifically, in this embodiment, they are connected by three lifting and telescopic cylinders 2.

[0025] In order to automatically control the actions of each lifting and telescopic cylinder 2 and each of the foot-lifting and telescopic cylinders to achieve automatic climbing along the outer wall of the pipe 3, a controller is also included. The controller can be a PC, a single-chip microcomputer, a PLC or an existing industrial computer, etc. The controller is communicatively connected to each of the lifting and telescopic cylinders 2 and each of the foot-lifting and telescopic cylinders 9 to control each layer of the annular base 1 one by one, so that each friction foot pad 7 on the corresponding layer of the annular base 1 is simultaneously moved away and then pressed against the outer wall of the pipe 3. When the outer wall of the pipe 3 is moved away, the lifting and telescopic cylinder 2 connected to the annular base 1 of this layer drives the annular base 1 of this layer to move along the pipe 3;

[0026] Specifically, in the initial state, each lifting telescopic cylinder 2 and each foot lifting telescopic cylinder 9 are inactive, so that each layer of the annular base 1 moves through the climbing foot assembly 5 thereon and is self-lockingly fixed to the outer wall of the pipe 3;

[0027] When climbing upward, the foot lifting and telescopic cylinders 9 on the uppermost annular base 1 are extended at the same time, pushing the corresponding second arm 11 to swing upward, thereby driving the corresponding first arm 10 to swing downward, so that the corresponding friction pad 7 leaves the outer wall of the pipe 3, and the uppermost annular base 1 is loosened from the pipe 3, and then the lifting piston rods 13 between the uppermost annular base 1 and the middle layer annular base 1 are extended, so that the uppermost annular base 1 moves up to a predetermined height, and then the foot lifting and telescopic cylinders 9 on the uppermost annular base 1 are shortened, and the elastic member 8 is pressed against the bottom of the pipe 3. Under the elastic force of the second arm 11, the first arm 10 is swung up, and the corresponding friction pad 7 is pressed against the outer wall of the pipe 3 again to restore the self-locking. Then the lifting and telescopic cylinder 9 on the annular base 1 of the middle layer is extended at the same time, pushing the corresponding second arm 11 to swing up, thereby driving the corresponding first arm 10 to swing down, so that the corresponding friction pad 7 leaves the outer wall of the pipe 3, and the annular base 1 of the middle layer is loosened on the pipe 3. Then, the lifting piston rods 13 between the uppermost annular base 1 and the middle layer annular base 1 are shortened, and the lifting piston rods 13 on the uppermost annular base 1 are shortened synchronously. The lifting piston rods 13 between the lower annular base 1 and the middle annular base 1 are extended to move the middlemost annular base 1 up to a predetermined height, and then the lifting and telescopic cylinders 9 on the middle annular base 1 are shortened. Under the elastic force of the elastic member 8, the second arm 11 swings down and the first arm 10 swings up, pressing the corresponding friction pad 7 against the outer wall of the pipe 3 again to restore self-locking. Then, the lifting and telescopic cylinders 9 on the lowest annular base 1 are extended at the same time, pushing the corresponding second arm 11 to swing up, thereby driving the corresponding first arm 10 to swing down. , so that the corresponding friction pad 7 leaves the outer wall of the pipe 3, and the lowest annular base 1 is loosened on the pipe 3, and then the lifting piston rods 13 between the lowest annular base 1 and the middle annular base 1 are shortened, so that the lowest annular base 1 rises to a predetermined height, and then the lifting telescopic cylinders 9 on the lowest annular base 1 are shortened. Under the elastic force of the elastic member 8, the second arm 11 swings down and the first arm 10 swings up, pressing the corresponding friction pad 7 against the outer wall of the pipe 3 again, restoring self-locking, and repeating this process to achieve continuous upward climbing;

[0028] When climbing downward, the foot-lifting telescopic cylinder 9 on the lowest annular base 1 is extended at the same time, pushing the corresponding second support arm 11 to swing upward, thereby driving the corresponding first support arm 10 to swing downward, so that the corresponding friction foot pad 7 leaves the outer wall of the pipe 3, and the lowest annular base 1 is loosened on the pipe 3, and then the lifting piston rods 13 between the lowest annular base 1 and the middle annular base 1 are extended to make the lowest annular base 1 descend to a predetermined height, and then the foot-lifting telescopic cylinders 9 on the lowest annular base 1 are shortened, and the elastic member 8 is pressed against the bottom surface of the annular base 1. Under the action of elastic force, the second arm 11 swings down and the first arm 10 swings up, pressing the corresponding friction pad 7 against the outer wall of the pipe 3 again to restore self-locking, and then the lifting and telescopic cylinder 9 on the annular base 1 of the middle layer stretches at the same time, pushing the corresponding second arm 11 to swing up, thereby driving the corresponding first arm 10 to swing down, so that the corresponding friction pad 7 leaves the outer wall of the pipe 3, loosening the annular base 1 of the middle layer on the pipe 3, and then extending the lifting piston rods 13 between the uppermost annular base 1 and the middle layer annular base 1, and synchronously stretching the lifting piston rods 13 on the lowermost annular base 1. The lifting piston rods 13 between the first annular base 1 and the middle annular base 1 shorten, causing the middlemost annular base 1 to descend to a predetermined height, and then shortening the foot-lifting and telescopic cylinders 9 on the middle annular base 1. Under the elastic force of the elastic member 8, the second arm 11 swings downward, and the first arm 10 swings upward, pressing the corresponding friction pad 7 against the outer wall of the pipe 3 again to restore self-locking. Then, the foot-lifting and telescopic cylinders 9 on the uppermost annular base 1 extend at the same time, pushing the corresponding second arm 11 upward, thereby driving the corresponding first arm 10 downward. The corresponding friction foot pad 7 is moved away from the outer wall of the pipe 3, and the uppermost annular base 1 is loosened on the pipe 3. Then, the lifting piston rods 13 between the uppermost annular base 1 and the middle annular base 1 are shortened to make the uppermost annular base 1 descend to a predetermined height. Then, the lifting foot telescopic cylinders 9 on the uppermost annular base 1 are shortened. Under the elastic force of the elastic member 8, the second arm 11 is swung downward and the first arm 10 is swung upward to press the corresponding friction foot pad 7 against the outer wall of the pipe 3 again, and the self-locking function is restored. This process is repeated to achieve continuous downward climbing.

[0029] The above description is only a preferred embodiment of the present invention and is not intended to limit the design of this case. Any equivalent changes made based on the key design of this case shall fall within the scope of protection of this case.

Claims

1. An external pipe crawling robot, characterized by: It comprises three layers of annular bases (1) arranged longitudinally in sequence, wherein two adjacent layers of annular bases (1) are connected via a lifting and telescopic cylinder (2) arranged longitudinally, a through hole (4) for a pipeline (3) to pass longitudinally is provided at the center of each annular base (1), and a plurality of climbing foot assemblies (5) are arranged in a circular array around the through hole (4); Each climbing foot assembly (5) includes a foot rod (6), a friction foot pad (7), an elastic member (8) and a foot lifting telescopic cylinder (9). The foot rod (6) is laterally pivoted on the annular base (1) and is formed with a first arm (10) extending downwardly from the pivot point toward the through hole (4). The friction foot pad (7) is fixed to the end of the first arm (10). The elastic member (8) is arranged between the foot rod (6) and the annular base (1). The foot rod (6) is driven to swing by elastic force so that the first arm (10) swings upward to press the friction foot pad (7) against the outer wall of the pipe (3). One end of the foot lifting telescopic cylinder (9) is fixed to the annular base (1), and the other end is used to push the foot rod (6) to swing so that the first arm (10) swings downward to remove the friction foot pad (7) from the outer wall of the pipe (3). When the friction pad (7) is pressed against the outer wall of the pipe (3), the angle between the corresponding first arm (10) and the horizontal direction is smaller than the friction angle between the friction pad (7) and the outer wall of the pipe (3), so as to generate self-locking; The controller further includes a controller that is communicatively connected to each of the lifting and telescopic cylinders (2) and each of the foot-lifting and telescopic cylinders (9) to control each layer of the annular base (1) one by one, so that each of the friction foot pads (7) on the corresponding layer of the annular base (1) is simultaneously moved away and then pressed against the outer wall of the pipe (3), and when the outer wall of the pipe (3) is moved away, the lifting and telescopic cylinder (2) connected to the annular base (1) of this layer is driven to move along the pipe (3).

2. The outer pipe crawling robot according to claim 1, characterized in that: Each of the foot rods (6) is formed with a second arm (11) extending from the pivot point toward the side away from the through hole (4), and each of the foot lifting and telescopic cylinders (9) pushes against the second arm (11) to swing up, thereby driving the first arm (10) to swing down.

3. The outer pipe crawling robot according to claim 1, characterized in that: The friction pad (7) forms an arc surface that fits the outer wall of the pipe (3).

4. The outer pipe crawling robot according to claim 1, characterized in that: The elastic member (8) is a torsion spring arranged around the pivot axis between the foot rod (6) and the annular base (1).

5. The outer pipe crawling robot according to claim 1, characterized in that: Two adjacent layers of annular bases (1) are connected via a plurality of lifting and telescopic cylinders (2) evenly distributed in an annular shape.

6. The outer pipe crawling robot according to claim 5, characterized in that: Two adjacent layers of annular bases (1) are connected via three lifting and telescopic cylinders (2).

7. The outer pipe crawling robot according to claim 1, characterized in that: Three climbing foot assemblies (5) are provided on each layer of the annular base (1).

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