A power connection mechanism based on a tunnel inspection robot

Abstract

The present invention relates to the technical field of tunnel inspection robots, and discloses a power connection mechanism for a tunnel inspection robot, comprising two sets of power connection components mounted on the inspection robot and distributed on both sides of a track. A live wire and a neutral wire are provided on each side of the track, respectively. The power connection components receive alternating current between the live wire and the neutral wire to power the inspection robot. The power connection components include a connecting seat, a slide bar slidably connected to the upper end of the connecting seat, and a conductive sheet fixed to the inner end of the slide bar. The slide bar is perpendicular to the wire. The slide bar is provided with a first elastic member that drives the conductive sheet to elastically contact the wire. The conductive sheet is provided with a wire that supplies power to the inspection robot. The present invention directly receives power from the live wire and the neutral wire and supplies power to the inspection robot, making the inspection robot more lightweight and capable of maintaining continuous inspection operations for a long time.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to the technical field of tunnel inspection robots, and in particular to a power connection mechanism based on the tunnel inspection robot. Background Art

[0002] At present, tunnel inspection operations have always been the basis and important guarantee for tunnel safety; based on the above situation, tunnel inspection robots came into being.

[0003] Tracks are laid inside the tunnel, and inspection robots move along them to conduct inspections. The robots carry numerous detection modules, such as cameras, radars, warning lights, and wireless signal receivers. These modules all rely on electricity to operate, and the robot's motors also require power. Currently, batteries are typically installed inside the robots to power these modules and their movement. This increases the robot's overall weight and consumes more energy to move along the tracks. When the batteries are depleted, they need to be recharged, resulting in a short operating time and making it difficult to conduct long-term inspections. Summary of the Invention

[0004] In order to solve the above-mentioned problems existing in the prior art, the present invention provides a power connection mechanism based on a tunnel inspection robot, which directly transfers electricity between the positive wires and the negative wires to the inspection robot for use, thereby making the inspection robot lighter and capable of performing inspection operations for a long time.

[0005] In order to achieve the above object, the present invention adopts the following technical solutions:

[0006] A power connection mechanism for a tunnel inspection robot includes two power connection assemblies mounted on the inspection robot and located on both sides of a track. A positive wire and a negative wire are provided on each side of the track. The power connection assemblies receive direct current between the positive and negative wires to power the inspection robot.

[0007] The power connection assembly includes a connecting seat, a sliding rod slidably connected to the upper end of the connecting seat, and a conductive sheet fixed at the inner end of the sliding rod. The sliding rod is perpendicular to the electric wire. The sliding rod is provided with a first elastic member that drives the conductive sheet to elastically contact the electric wire. The conductive sheet is provided with a wire for powering the inspection robot.

[0008] Preferably, wiring troughs are provided on both sides of the track and distributed along the track, wherein one wiring trough is used to install the positive wire and the other wiring trough is used to install the negative wire, and the exposed side of the wire core faces the opening of the wiring trough, and the rest of the wire is insulated from the track.

[0009] Preferably, the conductive sheet is a long strip of graphite brush, which is vertically arranged and in vertical contact with the wire.

[0010] Preferably, a limit plate is provided at the rear end of the sliding rod, a sensing plate is provided on the connecting seat, and a distance sensor for accurately detecting changes in the distance of the limit plate is provided at the corresponding position of the limit plate and the sensing plate; as the graphite brush wears, the detection value of the distance sensor gradually becomes smaller, and when the detection value of the distance sensor reaches a preset value, the inspection robot sends an alarm message to the monitoring center.

[0011] Preferably, a wheel seat is provided at the lower end of the connecting seat, and the connecting seat is fixedly connected to the inspection robot through the wheel seat, and a support wheel is provided on the wheel seat, and the support wheel is rotatably connected to the wheel seat through a wheel axle; the two sides of the bottom surface of the track extend outward to form a support rail, and the support wheel passively moves along the top surface of the support rail, and the top surface of the support rail is a slope that is low on the outside and high on the inside, and the surface of the support wheel is a conical surface that matches the slope, and when the support wheel moves along the support rail, the axis of the wheel axle is perpendicular to the track and parallel to the bottom surface of the track.

[0012] Preferably, limiting wheels are provided on both sides of the wheel seat, and the circumferential surfaces of the limiting wheels move along the sides of the support rail.

[0013] Preferably, the connecting seat includes a connecting bracket and a slider, the upper end of the connecting bracket is provided with a vertically distributed slide rail, the slider is slidably connected to the slide rail, the upper end of the slide rail is provided with a limit baffle, the lower end of the slider is fixed with a push rod, the axis of the push rod is coplanar with the axis of the wheel axle and is vertically distributed, the wheel axle is provided with a cam, and a second elastic member is provided between the upper end of the slider and the limit baffle, under the action of the second elastic member, the lower end of the push rod maintains elastic abutment with the cam; when the slider moves up and down along the slide rail under the action of the cam, the conductive sheet always maintains electrical contact with the wire.

[0014] Preferably, a guide rod is fixed to the upper end of the slider, and the upper end of the guide rod slides through the limit baffle. The second elastic member is a compression spring, and the compression spring is sleeved on the guide rod; the lower end of the push rod is provided with a bearing and maintains elastic contact with the cam through the bearing.

[0015] Therefore, the present invention has the following beneficial effects: (1) it directly receives electricity from the positive and negative wires and supplies power to the inspection robot, making the inspection robot lighter and capable of maintaining long-term continuous inspection operations; (2) it can accurately detect the amount of wear on the conductive sheet (graphite brush), and when the amount of wear reaches a preset value, it can send out an alarm signal to remind maintenance personnel to replace it; (3) when the inspection robot is walking, the conductive sheet moves along the direction of the wire on the one hand and perpendicular to the direction of the wire on the other hand, and the position where the guide sheet contacts and wears the wire is constantly changing, thereby greatly improving the service life of the conductive sheet. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0016] Figure 1 It is a structural schematic diagram of the present invention.

[0017] Figure 2 for Figure 1 Right view of .

[0018] Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram of the power connection status of the power connection component and the positive wire and negative wire.

[0019] Figure 4 It is a structural diagram of the power connection component.

[0020] Figure 5 This is an exploded view of the electrical components.

[0021] Figure 6 for Figure 2 A partial enlarged schematic diagram of point A in the middle.

[0022] In the figure: inspection robot 1, track 2, wiring trough 20, support rail 21, power connection component 3, connecting seat 30, connecting bracket 300, slider 301, slide rail 302, second elastic member 303, guide rod 304, slide rod 31, conductive sheet 32, first elastic member 33, wire 34, limiting sheet 35, induction sheet 36, distance sensor 37, limiting baffle 38, push rod 39, bearing 390, wire 4, positive wire 40, negative wire 41, wheel seat 5, support wheel 50, wheel axle 51, limiting wheel 52, cam 53. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0023] In order to make the technical problems, technical solutions and beneficial technical effects to be solved by the present invention more clearly understood, the present invention will be further described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings and multiple exemplary embodiments. It should be understood that the specific embodiments described herein are only used to explain the present invention and are not used to limit the scope of protection of the present invention.

[0024] It should be understood that, in this document, the terms "first," "second," etc., are used for descriptive purposes only and should not be construed as indicating or implying relative importance, nor as implicitly specifying the quantity of the technical features being referenced. A feature specified as "first" or "second" may explicitly or implicitly indicate that at least one of the features is included.

[0025] like Figure 1-Figure 5 The power connection mechanism for a tunnel inspection robot shown in the figure includes two power connection assemblies 3 mounted on the inspection robot 1 and distributed on both sides of a track 2. A wire 4 with exposed cores is provided on each side of the track, namely a positive wire 40 and a negative wire 41. The power connection assemblies 3 receive direct current between the positive and negative wires to power the inspection robot.

[0026] The power connection assembly 3 comprises a connector 30, a slide rod 31 slidably connected to the upper end of the connector, and a conductive sheet 32 fixed to the inner end of the slide rod. The slide rod 31 is arranged perpendicular to the electrical wires. A first elastic member 33 is mounted on the slide rod, forcing the conductive sheet 32 into elastic electrical contact with the electrical wires 4. The conductive sheet is also provided with a wire 34 that powers the inspection robot. In this embodiment, the conductive sheet is a long, vertically arranged graphite brush that makes perpendicular contact with the electrical wires. The first elastic member 33 is a compression spring.

[0027] Both sides of the track 2 are equipped with wiring troughs 20 running along the track. One trough is used to accommodate the positive wire 40, and the other trough is used to accommodate the negative wire 41. The exposed ends of the wires face the openings of the troughs 20, while the remaining wires are insulated from the track. A rectifier, which converts AC power into DC power, is located at one end of the track. The positive and negative wires are connected to the rectifier.

[0028] A limit plate 35 is provided at the rear end of the slide rod 31, and a sensing plate 36 is provided on the connecting seat. A distance sensor 37 is provided at the corresponding position of the limit plate and the sensing plate for accurately detecting the change in the distance of the limit plate. As the graphite brush wears, the detection value of the distance sensor gradually decreases. When the detection value of the distance sensor reaches a preset value, the inspection robot sends an alarm message to the monitoring center.

[0029] The lower end of the connecting seat 30 is provided with a wheel seat 5, and the connecting seat 30 is fixedly connected to the inspection robot 1 through the wheel seat 5. A supporting wheel 50 is provided on the wheel seat 5, and the supporting wheel is rotatably connected to the wheel seat 5 through a wheel shaft 51; Figure 6As shown, the bottom surface of the track 2 extends outward on both sides to form support rails 21. The support wheels passively move along the top surface of the support rails. The top surface of the support rails is an inclined surface with a lower outer surface and a higher inner surface. The surface of the support wheels is a conical surface that matches the inclined surface. When the support wheels move along the support rails, the axis of the wheel axle is perpendicular to the track and parallel to the bottom surface of the track. Limiting wheels 52 are provided on both sides of the wheel seat 5. The circumferential surface of the limiting wheels 52 moves along the side of the support rails. The conical surface of the support wheels cooperates with the inclined surface of the support rails, allowing the inspection robot to automatically align during movement. At the same time, the limiting wheels limit the two sides, further maintaining the alignment of the inspection robot and the track, thereby ensuring stable electrical contact between the conductive sheet and the wires.

[0030] like Figure 5 As shown, the connecting seat 30 includes a connecting bracket 300 and a slider 301. The upper end of the connecting bracket is provided with a vertically distributed slide rail 302. The slider is slidably connected to the slide rail. The upper end of the slide rail is provided with a limit baffle 38. A push rod 39 is fixed to the lower end of the slider. The axis of the push rod is coplanar with the axis of the wheel axle and is vertically distributed. A cam 53 is provided on the wheel axle 51. A second elastic member 303 is provided between the upper end of the slider and the limit baffle. A guide rod 304 is fixed to the upper end of the slider. The upper end of the guide rod slides through the limit baffle. The second elastic member is a compression spring sleeved on the guide rod. The lower end of the push rod 39 is provided with a bearing 390. Under the action of the second elastic member, the lower end of the push rod maintains elastic contact with the cam through the bearing; when the slider moves up and down along the slide rail under the action of the cam, the conductive sheet always maintains electrical contact with the wire.

[0031] In conjunction with the accompanying drawings, the principles of the present invention are as follows: Figure 1 As shown, the inspection robot walks along the track, and the two conductive plates on the two power connection components are in electrical contact with the positive wire and the negative wire respectively, thereby directly drawing power from the positive wire and the negative wire and supplying power to the inspection robot;

[0032] As the inspection robot moves along the track, the graphite brush moves horizontally along the wire on the one hand, and on the other hand, under the action of the support wheel and cam, the graphite brush moves in a direction perpendicular to the wire at the same time, so that the contact point between the graphite brush and the wire is constantly changing, preventing the two from contacting the same part and causing severe wear. This method greatly extends the service life of the graphite brush;

[0033] Over time, the contact surface between the graphite brush and the wire wears evenly, and the distance between the distance sensor and the sensor plate slowly decreases. When the distance is less than a preset value, the graphite brush is determined to have reached its service life and needs to be replaced. At this time, the inspection robot sends an alarm message to the monitoring center through the built-in wireless receiver, prompting maintenance personnel to replace the graphite brush. Since the position of the graphite brush will change slightly during the inspection robot's movement, in order to ensure the detection accuracy of the distance sensor, the values of the two distance sensors can be summed. When the summed value is less than the set value, an alarm message is issued.

[0034] In the description of the present invention, it should be understood that the directions or positional relationships indicated by up, down, left, right, inner end, outer end, one end, the other end, etc. are based on the orientations or positional relationships shown in the accompanying drawings, and are only for the purpose of more clearly describing the technical solution of the present invention, rather than indicating or implying that the device or element referred to must have a specific direction, be constructed and operated in a specific orientation, and cannot be understood as a limitation of the present invention.

[0035] Although specific embodiments of the present invention are described in detail herein, they are provided for illustrative purposes only and should not be considered to limit the scope of the present invention. Various substitutions, changes, and modifications may be conceived without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. A power connection mechanism based on a tunnel inspection robot, characterized in that: It includes two sets of power connection components installed on the inspection robot and distributed on both sides of the track. Each side of the track is provided with a wire with exposed core, which is a positive wire and a negative wire respectively. The power connection components receive direct current between the positive wire and the negative wire to power the inspection robot; The power connection assembly includes a connecting seat, a sliding rod slidably connected to the upper end of the connecting seat, and a conductive sheet fixed to the inner end of the sliding rod, wherein the sliding rod is perpendicular to the electric wire, and a first elastic member is provided on the sliding rod to drive the conductive sheet to elastically contact the electric wire, and a wire for supplying power to the inspection robot is provided on the conductive sheet; A wheel seat is provided at the lower end of the connecting seat, and the connecting seat is fixedly connected to the inspection robot through the wheel seat, and a support wheel is provided on the wheel seat, and the support wheel is rotatably connected to the wheel seat through a wheel axle; both sides of the bottom surface of the track extend outward to form a support rail, and the support wheel passively moves along the top surface of the support rail, and the top surface of the support rail is an inclined surface with a lower outside and a higher inside, and the surface of the support wheel is a conical surface adapted to the inclined surface, and when the support wheel moves along the support rail, the axis of the wheel axle is perpendicular to the track and parallel to the bottom surface of the track; The connecting seat includes a connecting bracket and a slider. The upper end of the connecting bracket is provided with a vertically distributed slide rail, the slider is slidably connected to the slide rail, the upper end of the slide rail is provided with a limit baffle, and a push rod is fixed to the lower end of the slider. The axis of the push rod is coplanar with the axis of the wheel axle and is vertically distributed. A cam is provided on the wheel axle, and a second elastic member is provided between the upper end of the slider and the limit baffle. Under the action of the second elastic member, the lower end of the push rod maintains elastic abutment with the cam; when the slider moves up and down along the slide rail under the action of the cam, the conductive sheet always maintains electrical contact with the wire; the slide rod is slidably connected to the slider.

2. The power connection mechanism based on the tunnel inspection robot according to claim 1 is characterized in that: Both sides of the track are provided with wiring troughs distributed along the track, one of which is used to install the positive wire, and the other is used to install the negative wire. The exposed side of the wire core faces the opening of the wiring trough, and the rest of the wire is insulated from the track.

3. The power connection mechanism based on the tunnel inspection robot according to claim 1 is characterized in that: The conductive sheet is a long strip of graphite brush, which is vertically arranged and in vertical contact with the electric wire.

4. The power connection mechanism based on the tunnel inspection robot according to claim 3 is characterized in that: A limit plate is provided at the rear end of the sliding rod, a sensing plate is provided on the connecting seat, and a distance sensor is provided at the corresponding position of the limit plate and the sensing plate for accurately detecting the distance change between the limit plate and the sensing plate; as the graphite brush wears, the detection value of the distance sensor gradually decreases. When the detection value of the distance sensor reaches a preset value, the inspection robot sends an alarm message to the monitoring center.

5. The power connection mechanism based on the tunnel inspection robot according to claim 1 is characterized in that: Limiting wheels are provided on both sides of the wheel seat, and the circumferential surfaces of the limiting wheels move along the sides of the supporting rails.

6. The power connection mechanism based on the tunnel inspection robot according to claim 1 is characterized in that: A guide rod is fixed to the upper end of the slider, and the upper end of the guide rod slides through the limit baffle. The second elastic member is a compression spring, and the compression spring is sleeved on the guide rod; the lower end of the push rod is provided with a bearing and maintains elastic contact with the cam through the bearing.

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