A deformable electromagnetic crawler wall-climbing robot

Through the design of deformable electromagnetic tracks, combined with electromagnetic tracks and drive wheels, the flexibility and safety issues of the wall-climbing robot moving and turning on metal walls are solved, achieving the effects of rapid movement and flexible turning.

CN116552669BActive Publication Date: 2025-09-19JIANGSU UNIV OF SCI & TECH
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Patent Information

Application Number
CN202310563006.9
Authority / Receiving Office
CN · China
Patent Type
Patents(China)
Current Assignee / Owner
Filing Date
2023-05-18
Publication Date
2025-09-19
Estimated Expiration
2043-05-18

AI Technical Summary

Technical Problem

Existing wall-climbing robots lack flexibility and safety when moving and turning on metal walls. In particular, tracked robots lack stable adsorption during differential steering, posing a safety hazard.

Method used

It adopts a deformable electromagnetic track design, uses the conductive magnetization and demagnetization properties of the electromagnet track, and combines the drive wheel and steering link to achieve rapid movement and flexible steering of the track.

Benefits of technology

The power and safety of the electromagnetic crawler wall-climbing robot are improved, rapid movement and flexible steering on metal walls are achieved, and the overall performance of the robot is improved.

✦ Generated by Eureka AI based on patent content.

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Abstract

The present invention discloses a deformable electromagnetic crawler wall-climbing robot. It belongs to the field of robotics and includes components such as a body, a deformable crawler device, a steering link, guide wheels, and a crawler bracket. The robot utilizes the conductive magnetization and demagnetization properties of the crawler electromagnet block, in conjunction with the rotation of the robot's drive wheel tracks, to suppress the downward magnetic force generated by the front crawler device not contacting the wall, while simultaneously eliminating the magnetic force at the rear of the robot, thereby achieving forward movement of the crawler device. This function significantly improves both power and safety compared to the movement of traditional permanent magnet crawler robots. Furthermore, the robot utilizes a deformable crawler, which deforms the crawler device through the steering link. This, in conjunction with the cyclical motion of the crawler device during forward movement, pulls the deformed crawler device to the adsorption area at the bottom of the device, completing the device's steering.
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Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention belongs to the technical field of robots and relates to a robot; in particular, to a deformable electromagnetic crawler wall-climbing robot. Background Art

[0002] A wall-climbing robot is an automated electronic device that can replace manual labor to perform wall operations. Existing wall-climbing robots have several climbing methods, including bionic adsorption, viscous adsorption, vacuum adsorption, and electromagnetic adsorption.

[0003] In practical applications, although wall-climbing robots that use bionic principles of adsorption and viscous adsorption have convenient steering and high flexibility, their adsorption is generally not high, and their load and self-weight also need to be further reduced; vacuum adsorption wall-climbing robots have high requirements on the state level of the wall, and due to their negative pressure adsorption principle, they often move slowly; electromagnetic adsorption wall-climbing robots use the adsorption principle of electromagnets to achieve the movement of robots on iron walls. They are generally divided into two types. One is a multi-legged robot that uses variable magnetic force and achieves movement by the coordinated movement of each leg. It has strong adsorption and certain flexibility, but moves slowly; the other uses tracks instead of feet to achieve movement, but because the tracks are all permanent magnet mechanisms, they contact the iron wall, making movement and steering difficult, and when using differential steering, it is easy to have excessive or insufficient adsorption. The tracks are not conducive to steering, and the differential adsorption is not safe enough, so the robot has poor flexibility.

[0004] In view of this, and in response to the problems of existing wall-climbing robots, the present invention proposes a deformable electromagnetic crawler wall-climbing robot. Summary of the Invention

[0005] Purpose of the invention: The purpose of the present invention is to provide a deformable electromagnetic track wall-climbing robot, which realizes the movement and steering function of the electromagnetic track wall-climbing robot on the metal wall; its characteristics are: first, it uses a deformable track to drive the steering through the deformation of the track; second, it uses an electromagnet track, utilizes the conductive magnetization and demagnetization properties of the electromagnet when it is electrically conductive and cooperates with the robot's driving wheels to realize the rapid movement of the track.

[0006] Technical solution: The deformable electromagnetic crawler wall-climbing robot described in the present invention includes a body and crawler devices arranged on both sides of the body;

[0007] A power supply module, an MCU control module, a steering gear and a motor are arranged inside the machine body and are connected to each other through wired lines;

[0008] The crawler device comprises a crawler electromagnet block composed of an electromagnet block, a crawler chain, a guide wheel, a crawler bracket, a conductive column and a driving wheel.

[0009] Furthermore, the crawler electromagnet block is composed of electromagnets.

[0010] The crawler electromagnet block is embedded in the crawler chain;

[0011] A corresponding conductive column is movably mounted on the inner wall of the bottom of the crawler chain.

[0012] The terminal portion on the crawler electromagnet block penetrates the crawler chain and is connected to the conductive column.

[0013] Furthermore, a crawler bracket for supporting the entire crawler device is arranged inside the crawler device, so that the crawler device is arranged on both sides of the machine body.

[0014] Furthermore, the conductive column is fixed on the crawler bracket.

[0015] The interconnected conductive column and crawler bracket are arranged at the bottom of the wall-climbing robot, above the crawler chain, and close to the crawler chain, and are connected to the upper terminal of the crawler electromagnet block.

[0016] Furthermore, a driving wheel is placed between each end of the conductive column and the crawler bracket.

[0017] The driving wheel is connected to a motor arranged inside the machine body.

[0018] Furthermore, guide wheels adapted to the crawler chain are arranged at both ends of the crawler chain.

[0019] Steering links are connected at both ends of the wall-climbing robot. The steering links are fixed to the head and tail parts of the wall-climbing robot, one end of the steering link is connected to the steering gear inside the robot body, and the other end is connected to the guide wheel.

[0020] Furthermore, the conductive column has a design with a flat middle and raised ends, including a head raised portion and a tail raised portion, and a conductive column bottom connecting the head raised portion and the tail raised portion;

[0021] The bottom of the conductive column includes a front bottom connected to the head raised portion and a rear bottom connected to the tail raised portion.

[0022] Furthermore, the crawler chain is made of a flexible material, and the flexible material is a rubber material.

[0023] Furthermore, the terminal portion at the upper end of the track electromagnet block adopts a raised needle-shaped design.

[0024] Furthermore, the track electromagnet block is composed of an electromagnet.

[0025] Beneficial effect: Compared with the prior art, the present invention is characterized in that: the device utilizes the conductive magnetization and demagnetization properties of the track electromagnet block, and cooperates with the rotation of the track of the robot drive wheel to generate the downward magnetic force generated by the head track not contacting the wall, and at the same time eliminates the magnetic force of the tail of the robot, thereby realizing the forward movement of the track. Compared with the movement of traditional permanent magnet track robots, this function has greatly improved the power and safety. In addition, the robot uses a deformable track, which is pulled by the steering link device to deform the track. In conjunction with the cyclic movement of the track when moving forward, the deformed track is pulled to the adsorption part at the bottom of the device to complete the steering work of the device. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0026] Figure 1 It is a schematic diagram of the overall structure of the present invention;

[0027] Figure 2 1 is a side view of the deformable electromagnetic crawler wall-climbing robot of the present invention;

[0028] Figure 3 This is the adsorption force diagram of the crawler device in the deformable electromagnetic crawler wall-climbing robot of the present invention;

[0029] Figure 4 This is a schematic diagram of the connection of the steering link in the deformable electromagnetic crawler wall-climbing robot of the present invention;

[0030] Figure 5 This is a schematic structural diagram of the guide wheel in the deformable electromagnetic crawler wall-climbing robot of the present invention;

[0031] Figure 6 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of the track electromagnet block in the deformable electromagnetic track wall-climbing robot of the present invention;

[0032] Figure 7 This is a schematic structural diagram of the conductive column in the deformable electromagnetic crawler wall-climbing robot of the present invention;

[0033] Figure 8 is a turning motion transformation diagram of the deformable electromagnetic crawler wall-climbing robot in an embodiment of the present invention;

[0034] In the figure, 301 is a crawler device, 302 is a machine body, 303 is a guide wheel, 304 is a crawler bracket, 305 is a conductive column, 306 is a driving wheel,

[0035] 501 is the steering link, 502 is the servo, 701 is the track electromagnet block, 702 is the track chain, 801 is the head tilting part, 802 is the front bottom, 803 is the bottom of the conductive column, 804 is the rear bottom, and 805 is the tail tilting part. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0036] In order to more clearly illustrate the technical solution of the present invention, the technical solution of the present invention is further described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings:

[0037] Specifically, the deformable electromagnetic crawler wall-climbing robot described in the present invention includes three parts: a body, a crawler device 301 and a steering link 501;

[0038] Among them, the body includes the power module, MCU control module, servo 502 and motor required by the robot, and the track device 301 includes a track electromagnet block 701 composed of an electromagnet block, a track chain 702 made of flexible material, a guide wheel 303, a driving wheel 306, a track bracket 304 and a conductive column 305, etc.

[0039] Specifically, the crawler device 301 is composed of a crawler electromagnet block 701 made of electromagnets and a crawler chain 702. The crawler electromagnet block 701 and the crawler chain 702 are evenly distributed.

[0040] The upper terminal of the track electromagnet block 701 adopts a protruding needle-shaped design, so that the track electromagnet block 701 can be connected to the conductive column 305 through the track chain 702.

[0041] In the robot body, the power module is connected to the electrical devices of each part to supply power to the MCU control module, the conductive column 305, the motor, and the servo 502;

[0042] The MCU control module is connected to the power module and the motor and the steering gear 502. It analyzes the control instructions of the robot and outputs them into control instructions for the motor and the steering gear 502.

[0043] Specifically, the body 302 is provided with an MCU control module, a steering gear 502, a motor, and a power supply module. The MCU control module is used to control the switching power of the conductive column 305, the angle of the steering gear 502 during steering, the control of the motor, etc. The power supply module satisfies the power supply of various parts.

[0044] In this design, two guide wheels 303 are used on the left and right crawler devices 301. The guide wheels 303 are designed with arc edges and holes in the middle. This allows the guide wheels 303 to be embedded in the crawler device 301 while still having a certain degree of flexibility. When the steering is driven by the steering link 501, the deformation requirements of the crawler device 301 can be met.

[0045] The driving wheel 306 is connected to the motor inside the body 302 to drive the rotation of the crawler chain 702.

[0046] The crawler support 304 of this design adopts a spring structure, so that the conductive column 305 can resist the crawler electromagnet block 701 on the crawler device 301 and at the same time reduce the shock of the machine body.

[0047] The conductive column 305 used in this design is made of non-ferrous conductive material and is sled-shaped. The conductive column 305 is designed to be divided into four parts, namely the front raised part 801, the front bottom 802, the rear bottom 804 and the tail raised part 805, and each part is independently powered.

[0048] The conductive column 305 is designed to be hollow inside, which facilitates the insertion of power supply and control lines. When the robot is stationary, the front bottom 802 and the rear bottom 804 are powered, so that the bottom track electromagnet block 701 of the crawler device 301 generates the magnetic force required for the robot to adhere to the wall.

[0049] At the same time, it is stipulated that the head tilting part 801 and the tail tilting part 804 cannot be powered at the same time. When the robot moves forward, the head tilting part 801 and the front bottom 802 are powered, and the tail tilting part 805 and the rear bottom 804 are powered, and vice versa.

[0050] The raised needle-shaped terminal at the upper end of the track electromagnet block 701 penetrates the flexible track chain and is connected to the conductive column 305, so that the conductive column 305 can dock with the track electromagnet block 701 and supply power to the track electromagnet block 701. The contact surface area of ​​the conductive column 305 is large, so that there is a certain margin for contact, ensuring that the track electromagnet block 701 can still be powered when the track device 301 deforms and changes direction.

[0051] This design has two sets of steering links 501 fixed to the head and tail of the robot. The steering links 501 connect the servo 502 and the guide wheel 303, and the steering angle and direction are controlled by the servo 502.

[0052] The servo 502 is a 180-degree servo, and the MCU controls the angle of the servo 502 to achieve steering.

[0053] The steering gear 502 is connected to the steering link 501 to provide a steering angle for the robot; the motor drives the driving wheel 306 of the robot.

[0054] In the crawler device 301, the crawler electromagnet block 701 is composed of an electromagnet, which generates magnetism when powered on and loses magnetism when powered off. The crawler electromagnet block 701 is embedded in the crawler chain 702. The terminal portion on the crawler electromagnet block 701 penetrates the crawler chain 702 and is connected to the conductive column 305. The conductive column 305 supplies power to the crawler electromagnet block 701.

[0055] The crawler bracket 304 supports the entire crawler device 301 so that it can be installed on both sides of the machine body;

[0056] The guide wheel 303 is connected to the steering link 501, driving the crawler device 301 to deform and turn;

[0057] The driving wheel 306 is connected to the motor inside the body 302 to provide power for the movement of the crawler device 301;

[0058] The conductive column 305 is fixed on the track bracket 304 and is placed at the bottom of the robot, above the track chain 702 , and is close to the track chain 702 and connected to the upper terminal of the track electromagnet block 701 .

[0059] The steering link 501 is fixed to the front and rear parts of the robot, one end of which is connected to the steering gear 502 inside the robot body, and the other end of which is connected to the guide wheel 303.

[0060] Furthermore, the connection details of the conductive post 305 and the crawler electromagnet block 701 formed by the electromagnet are as follows: the conductive post 305 has a flat middle and raised ends, which fits tightly with the crawler chain 702 and can be divided into a head raised portion 801, a conductive post bottom 803 and a tail raised portion 805;

[0061] The bottom 803 of the conductive column is further divided into two parts: the front bottom 802 and the rear bottom 804, for a total of four parts. Each part is independent of each other. The division between the front and rear, and the front side and the rear side is determined by the movement direction of the robot.

[0062] The conductive column 305 supplies power to the track electromagnet block 701, making the track electromagnet block 701 conductive and magnetic. When the robot is stationary, the bottom of the conductive column 305 supplies power to make the bottom track electromagnet block 701 close to the wall. When the robot is moving, only the head tilting part 801 and the front bottom 802 of the conductive column 305 are powered. The power supply of the front bottom 802 ensures that the robot can stick to the wall. The power supply of the head tilting part 801 causes the track electromagnet block 701 on the track device 301 where the front bottom does not touch the wall to generate a downward suction force, while the rear bottom 804 does not generate a magnetic force, so that the bottom of the track device 301 has room for movement. The track electromagnet block 701 generates magnetic force only when it moves into the range of action of the conductive column 305.

[0063] Therefore, the driving wheel 306 drives the crawler chain 702 to rotate without having to overcome the effect of the magnetic force on the bottom adsorption;

[0064] The head and tail of the invention are designed to be consistent, and the backward movement method is the same as the forward movement method.

[0065] Furthermore, the force analysis of the electromagnetic track adsorption of the deformable electromagnetic track wall-climbing robot shows that the force accelerates the downward movement of the robot's head track electromagnet block 701, causing the rotation of the track device 301. When the robot's wall-adhering part is not equipped with magnetic force, the interference of the magnetic force of the bottom part of the driving wheel 306 on the driving track device 301 is reduced, thereby enabling the body to move quickly.

[0066] In addition, the crawler chain 702 is designed with flexible materials to achieve left and right deformation, and the rubber material can achieve;

[0067] The steering link 501 connects the servo 502 with the guide wheel 303, controlling the guide wheel 303 to turn left and right, causing the track device 301 of the robot's head that does not touch the wall to deform. Due to the adsorption of the electromagnet, the wall-contacting part of the bottom track electromagnet block 701 cannot be deformed. The conductive column 305 inside the track device 301 of the robot's head that does not touch the wall energizes the track electromagnet block 701 to generate magnetism, so that the deformed electromagnetic track device 301 has a magnetic force that attracts downward. At the same time, as the driving wheel 30 rotates, the deformed track electromagnet block 701 is continuously attracted downward and moves to the bottom of the robot, so that the robot realizes the steering of movement by the deformation of the track device 301. This design can cooperate with the differential operation of the left and right track devices 301 to achieve rapid steering of the robot.

[0068] When the robot turns, such as to the left, the track device 301 is deformed, and the motor movement of the right drive wheel 306 of the robot speeds up, while the movement of the left motor side slows down, making the movement speeds of the track devices 301 on both sides of the robot different, realizing differential steering. When the robot turns right, the motors on both sides move in opposite directions.

[0069] The above are merely preferred embodiments of the present invention. The scope of protection of the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments. All technical solutions based on the principles of the present invention are within the scope of protection of the present invention. It should be noted that for those skilled in the art, various improvements and modifications that do not depart from the principles of the present invention should be considered within the scope of protection of the present invention.

Claims

1. A deformable electromagnetic crawler wall-climbing robot, characterized in that: It comprises a machine body (302) and crawler devices (301) arranged on both sides of the machine body (302); A power supply module, an MCU control module, a steering gear (502), and a motor are arranged inside the machine body (302), which are interconnected via wired lines. The crawler device (301) comprises a crawler electromagnet block (701) composed of an electromagnet block, a crawler chain (702), a guide wheel (303), a crawler bracket (304), a conductive column (305) and a driving wheel (306); The crawler electromagnet block (701) is embedded in the crawler chain (702); A corresponding conductive column (305) is movably mounted on the inner wall of the bottom of the crawler chain (702). The terminal portion on the crawler electromagnet block (701) penetrates the crawler chain (702) and is connected to the conductive column (305); A crawler bracket (304) for supporting the entire crawler device (301) is arranged inside the crawler device (301), so that the crawler device (301) is arranged on both sides of the machine body (302); The conductive column (305) is fixed on the crawler support (304). The interconnected conductive column (305) and the crawler bracket (304) are placed at the bottom of the wall-climbing robot, above the crawler chain (702), and closely attached to the crawler chain (702), and connected to the upper terminal of the crawler electromagnet block (701); The conductive column (305) has a design of being flat in the middle and raised at both ends, including a head raised portion (801) and a tail raised portion (805), and a conductive column bottom (803) connecting the head raised portion (801) and the tail raised portion (805); The bottom of the conductive column (803) comprises a front bottom (802) connected to the head raised portion (801) and a rear bottom (804) connected to the tail raised portion (805); each portion is independently powered. When the robot is stationary, the front bottom (802) and the rear bottom (804) are powered; When the robot moves forward, the front tilting portion (801) and the front bottom portion (802) are powered, while the tail tilting portion (805) and the rear bottom portion (804) are powered off.

2. The deformable electromagnetic crawler wall-climbing robot according to claim 1, characterized in that: A driving wheel (306) is respectively arranged between the two ends of the conductive column (305) and the crawler support (304). The driving wheel (306) is connected to a motor arranged inside the machine body (302).

3. The deformable electromagnetic crawler wall-climbing robot according to claim 1, characterized in that: Guide wheels (303) adapted thereto are arranged at both ends of the crawler chain (702). Steering links (501) are connected to both ends of the wall-climbing robot. The steering links (501) are fixed to the head and tail parts of the wall-climbing robot, one end of which is connected to the steering gear (502) inside the body (302), and the other end of which is connected to the guide wheel (303).

4. The deformable electromagnetic crawler wall-climbing robot according to claim 1, characterized in that: The crawler chain (702) is made of a flexible material, and the flexible material is a rubber material.

5. The deformable electromagnetic crawler wall-climbing robot according to claim 1, characterized in that: The terminal portion at the upper end of the crawler electromagnet block (701) adopts a raised needle-shaped design.

6. The deformable electromagnetic crawler wall-climbing robot according to claim 2, characterized in that: The crawler electromagnet block (701) is composed of an electromagnet.

Citation Information

Patent Citations

  • Tracked chassis and travel device

    CN107215400A

  • Crawler-type excitation adsorption wall-climbing operation robot

    CN111776098A