A control system and control method of a mine inspection robot

Abstract

The application relates to a control system and a control method of a mine inspection robot, which comprises at least one first sub robot movably attached to a mine transportation track and configured to perform a first inspection task of acquiring first operation process parameters related to the mine transportation track; at least one second sub robot moving outside the mine transportation track and configured to perform a second inspection task of acquiring second operation process parameters related to the mine transportation track; a mother robot operably attached to the mine transportation track and used for receiving and processing the first operation process parameters and / or the second operation process parameters; wherein the mother robot can selectively generate modulation instructions for driving the at least one second sub robot to perform the second inspection task in response to a processing result of the first operation process parameters.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to the field of mine inspection system technology, and in particular to a control system and control method for a mine inspection robot. Background Technology

[0002] Mine safety inspection is one of the key tasks in ensuring safe mining operations. Its main inspection contents include drainage systems, mining systems, power supply, and the internal and external environment of the mine. Safety inspection work not only requires daily, scheduled inspections by safety inspectors but also demands a significant investment of time and resources to ensure a comprehensive understanding of the entire mine's operation. Manual inspection methods suffer from problems such as high workload, low efficiency, over-reliance on inspectors' experience, and waste of human resources. With technological advancements and increasing demands in high-risk industries like mining, replacing manual inspections with intelligent inspection robots provides intuitive and visual management. This is of great significance for reducing labor intensity, improving coal mine management, promoting the digitalization and modernization of mine management, and ensuring safe production in mines.

[0003] Generally, coal mining often uses belt conveyors to transport the mined coal. The operating conditions of the conveyors are very harsh, and problems such as coal falling off the conveyor belt and belt derailment are very likely to occur during transportation. Therefore, daily inspection of belt conveyors is crucial, and track-type (belt) inspection robots have emerged to meet this need.

[0004] CN111152236A discloses an inspection robot for safety monitoring of mining belt conveyors, including a track, a walking mechanism, a battery compartment, a binocular camera, a control compartment, a charging plug, a charging socket, and a charging pile. The walking mechanism is equipped with a DC motor, and the DC motor is equipped with walking wheels and an encoder. The battery compartment is equipped with an intrinsically safe battery, and a wireless bridge is located outside the compartment. The control compartment is equipped with a programmable controller, a motor driver, a noise sensor, a temperature and humidity sensor, a dust concentration sensor, a CO concentration sensor, a gas concentration sensor, a digital signal integration module, and a battery monitoring system. A smoke alarm is located outside the compartment. The noise sensor, temperature and humidity sensor, dust concentration sensor, CO concentration sensor, gas concentration sensor, and smoke alarm are connected to the digital signal integration module, and the integrated signals are transmitted back to the host computer in the remote control room via the wireless bridge.

[0005] In mine inspections, besides fault analysis and safety monitoring of conveyor belts, environmental monitoring of transport roadways is also crucial. This is because transport roadways have complex environments, high humidity, and are home to explosive and corrosive gases that threaten coal mine safety. Therefore, track-mounted (belt-mounted) inspection robots also need to be equipped with sensors to collect real-time concentrations of harmful gases such as methane, carbon monoxide, and carbon dioxide, and to detect environmental temperature and humidity. When environmental data values ​​exceed standards, warnings are issued to promptly eliminate safety hazards.

[0006] To achieve simultaneous safety monitoring of conveyor operation and environmental parameters in transport tunnels, track-mounted (belt-mounted) inspection robots are typically expected to include image acquisition, temperature / humidity monitoring, gas concentration monitoring, and wireless data communication. This means that, in addition to the robot's own locomotion mechanism, a considerable number of sensors, data acquisition devices, communicators, and processors must be mounted on the track-mounted (belt-mounted) inspection robot. Adding an image acquisition module to a track-mounted (belt-mounted) inspection robot is particularly unsuitable, as it would make the robot too large, contradicting the confined working environment of transport tunnels. Furthermore, track-mounted (belt-mounted) inspection robots are usually positioned on the side and / or below, making it inconvenient to mount image acquisition equipment and creating significant blind spots, hindering comprehensive and clear observation of the conveyor track's operating conditions. The usual alternative is to add image acquisition equipment above the track. However, this greatly limits the flexibility and clarity of image acquisition and poses certain safety risks. For example, maintenance personnel need to regularly go down into the mine to inspect and maintain the image acquisition equipment above the track. Since adding a new track and image acquisition equipment above the mine, especially in the complex and variable environment of the mine where stability is difficult to predict accurately, the addition of the image acquisition track can disturb the strata and affect the stability of the geological structure, thus creating significant safety hazards for maintenance personnel and other workers in the mine. In addition, due to the large number of objects to be inspected in the mine, the large and complex inspection system and monitoring data place a huge burden on the data interaction, communication, processing, and machine control processes. At the same time, the large and complex data volume also increases the power load of the robotic inspection system, making it a pressing problem to ensure that the inspection system can maintain stable detection over a long period of time.

[0007] In addition to these limitations, track-mounted robots also face numerous constraints. Because they must traverse various challenging environments, and coal mines are characterized by high temperatures, dust, and humidity, these robots are susceptible to contamination and malfunctions, posing operational risks. Due to track laying limitations, track-mounted robots cannot patrol more treacherous or steep areas. Furthermore, in some curved transport tunnels with a certain angle of inclination, the track mechanisms or rack and pinion systems required for track-mounted robots increase the difficulty of installation and laying. Moreover, the fixed tracks create blind spots in their detection capabilities, particularly in image acquisition. Compared to track-mounted robots, tracked robots, with their tracked locomotives, possess stronger terrain adaptability, meeting the obstacle-crossing requirements of underground coal mine movement. However, under long-distance inspection conditions, the numerous obstacles on the transport tunnel surface make path planning difficult for tracked robots, increasing the complexity of positioning and navigation.

[0008] Therefore, the key to reducing the difficulty of mine area detection and control and improving detection accuracy lies in how to balance the configuration of detection tasks while selecting or modifying suitable inspection entities.

[0009] Furthermore, on the one hand, there are differences in understanding among those skilled in the art; on the other hand, the applicant studied a large number of documents and patents when making this invention, but due to space limitations, not all details and contents were listed in detail. However, this does not mean that the present invention does not possess the features of these prior art. On the contrary, the present invention already possesses all the features of the prior art, and the applicant reserves the right to add relevant prior art to the background art. Summary of the Invention

[0010] In view of the shortcomings of the prior art, the present invention provides a control system and control method for a mine inspection robot, aiming to solve at least one or more technical problems existing in the prior art.

[0011] To achieve the above objectives, the present invention provides a control system for a mine inspection robot, comprising:

[0012] At least one first sub-robot is movably attached to a mining transport track and configured to perform a first inspection task to acquire first operating process parameters related to the mining transport track.

[0013] At least one second sub-robot moving outside the mining transport track is configured to perform a second inspection task to acquire second operating process parameters related to the mining transport track;

[0014] The mother robot is operably attached to the mining transport track and is used to receive and process first and / or second operating process parameters;

[0015] The mother robot can selectively generate scheduling instructions to drive at least one second sub-robot to perform a second inspection task in response to the processing results of the first operating process parameters.

[0016] This invention provides a control system for a mine inspection robot, comprising a mother robot for scheduling and a first and second sub-robots for performing different inspection tasks. The first and second sub-robots establish a data communication line between the underground environment and a ground-based base station through the mother robot, reducing accuracy loss and result distortion caused by signal attenuation during cross-surface transmission. Furthermore, the mother robot undertakes some simple but critical signal analysis tasks, avoiding the congestion of communication channels caused by simultaneously sending large amounts of real-time detection data to the ground for processing, thus reducing the workload of communication equipment. Simultaneously, timely response and processing of simple yet intuitive information such as temperature and gas concentration facilitates rapid early warning of potential mine accidents, reducing losses that may result from delayed accident identification. Additionally, the inconvenience of power supply in mines makes it a major challenge for inspection robots to maintain continuous inspection work; this invention addresses this challenge by addressing the issue of... The inspection robot's settings selectively categorize detection tasks and plan the robot's startup nodes, reducing data interaction volume within the same time period, lowering power consumption, and minimizing energy waste. Furthermore, the second sub-robot activates when the first sub-robot acquires abnormal operating parameters, alleviating system detection pressure and allowing some inspection robots to remain in standby mode, thus reducing power consumption. Additionally, categorizing detection tasks and activating them at different stages avoids signal interference and communication pressure caused by simultaneously activating too many inspection robots. Moreover, the invention utilizes a second sub-robot for fixed-point detection, employing image recognition to perform secondary fault identification in potential risk control areas, avoiding the inconvenience of adding an additional image acquisition track at the mine roof. Simultaneously, cross-calibration of different types of data collected from various inspection robots improves the accuracy of fault identification in mine conveyor belts.

[0017] Preferably, the mother robot transmits the second operating process parameters obtained by the second sub-robot based on the second inspection task to the control terminal, so that the control terminal can perform processing on the second operating process parameters related to the mining transport track.

[0018] Preferably, the control terminal is configured to receive first operating process parameters related to the mining transport track obtained by the first sub-robot and / or second operating process parameters related to the mining transport track obtained by the second sub-robot, and output the processing results for the first operating process parameters and / or the second operating process parameters.

[0019] Preferably, the mother robot can selectively generate scheduling instructions to drive at least one second sub-robot to perform a second inspection task in response to the processing result of the first operating process parameters, including:

[0020] In response to an anomaly in the first operating process parameter acquired by the first sub-robot, the mother robot determines at least one risk control area related to the mining transport track corresponding to the first sub-robot;

[0021] Based on the determination of the risk control area, the mother robot generates scheduling instructions to drive at least one second sub-robot to perform a second inspection task targeting the risk control area.

[0022] Preferably, the first sub-robot is equipped with at least one environmental sensor and an acceleration sensor for acquiring first operational parameters related to the mining transport track, wherein,

[0023] Environmental sensors are used to collect environmental information related to the operating environment of mining transport tracks;

[0024] Accelerometers are used to collect vibration information related to the motion state of mining transport tracks.

[0025] Preferably, the second sub-robot is equipped with an image acquisition module and an audio acquisition module for acquiring second operating process parameters related to the mining transport track, wherein,

[0026] The image acquisition module is used to acquire image information related to the mining transport track;

[0027] The audio acquisition module is used to collect sound information related to the mining transport track.

[0028] Preferably, the control terminal is further configured to issue a scheduling instruction to the mother robot to drive the first sub-robot to perform the first inspection task.

[0029] Preferably, the present invention also relates to a control method for a mine inspection robot, comprising:

[0030] Drive at least one first sub-robot that is movably attached to the mining transport track to perform a first inspection task to acquire first operating process parameters related to the mining transport track;

[0031] The mother robot receives and processes the first operating process parameters, and can selectively generate scheduling instructions to drive at least one second sub-robot based on the processing results of the first operating process parameters.

[0032] At least one second sub-robot responds to a scheduling instruction to perform a second inspection task to acquire second operational parameters related to the mining transport track.

[0033] Preferably, the control method for the mine inspection robot provided by the present invention further includes:

[0034] The control terminal sends scheduling instructions to the mother robot to perform inspection tasks;

[0035] The mother robot responds to the scheduling command from the control terminal by issuing a first control command to drive the first sub-robot to perform the first inspection task on the mining transport track.

[0036] Preferably, the control method for the mine inspection robot provided by the present invention further includes:

[0037] The control terminal dynamically updates the distribution position of at least one second sub-robot outside the mining transport track based on the processing results of the second inspection task performed by the second sub-robot. Attached Figure Description

[0038] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the control system of a mine inspection robot according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

[0039] List of reference numerals

[0040] 100: Mining transport track; 200: Control terminal; 300: Mother robot; 400: First sub-robot; 500: Second sub-robot. Detailed Implementation

[0041] The preferred embodiments of the present invention will now be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings, so that the advantages and features of the present invention can be more easily understood by those skilled in the art, thereby providing a clearer and more explicit definition of the scope of protection of the present invention.

[0042] Example 1

[0043] See Figure 1 This invention provides a control system for a mine inspection robot, or a mine inspection system based on a mine robot, or a mine inspection system based on a distributed robot cluster. The system may include:

[0044] At least one first sub-robot 400 is configured to be movably attached to a mining transport track 100 for material transport and to perform a first inspection task for acquiring first operating process parameters related to the mining transport track 100.

[0045] At least one second sub-robot 500 is configured to move freely outside the mining transport track 100 and to perform a second inspection task to acquire second operating process parameters related to the mining transport track 100.

[0046] The mother robot 300 is configured to be operatively attached to the mining transport track 100 for receiving and processing first operating process parameters from at least one first sub-robot 400 and / or second operating process parameters from at least one second sub-robot 500.

[0047] The control terminal 200 is configured to receive and store at least one first operating process parameter from at least one first sub-robot 400 and at least one second operating process parameter from at least one second sub-robot 500. Further, the control terminal 200 is capable of outputting the processing results of at least one first operating process parameter of at least one first sub-robot 400 and / or at least one second operating process parameter of at least one second sub-robot 500 in one or more forms of visualization, audibility, and vibration.

[0048] Specifically, the control terminal 200 analyzes and processes the collected first and second operating process parameters to issue alarms for abnormal information in the roadway. More specifically, the control terminal 200 uses image processing and acoustic diagnostic technologies to determine if there are risks in the inspection area and issues alarms for belt conveyor malfunctions, so that ground monitoring objects can be promptly informed of the mine's operating conditions.

[0049] According to a preferred embodiment, the present invention uses a PC as the host computer (control terminal 200), an STM32F103ZET6 microcontroller system and an HQL010P wireless data transmission board as the slave computer (mother robot 300). Wireless transmission is used to realize communication between the host and slave computers. Based on the RS485 bus, the slave computer (mother robot 300) controls the acceleration and deceleration of the integrated drive and control inspection sub-robot that supports the Modbus communication protocol. The host computer serial communication software is written in Python language, and the data transmission, reception and display functions are successfully realized.

[0050] According to a preferred embodiment, the system sends control commands to the HQL010P wireless image and data transmission board's transmitter via host computer software. The transmitter then transmits the commands to the HQL010P wireless image and data transmission board's receiver (mounted on a lower-level computer) via network transmission. Upon receiving the data, the receiver transmits data to the STM32F103ZET6 microcontroller system via a UART interface. The development board sends received request messages to the drive motor of the inspection sub-robot via an RS485 interface. After receiving the request message, the motor first checks and analyzes the data packet, then executes the request, and sends a response message back to the host computer (control terminal 200) in the same manner. Alternatively, the wireless communication module can also be a Bluetooth communication module, a ZigBee communication module, a WiFi communication module, an IrDA communication module, or a UWB communication module. In particular, when the wireless communication module uses WiFi communication, each inspection robot can simultaneously act as a signal receiver and a signal transmitter. The inspection robot located at any position can transmit the inspection data it acquires to the mother robot 300 multiple times through adjacent inspection robots, and then upload it to the ground control terminal or base station through the mother robot 300.

[0051] According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the mother robot 300 is configured to selectively generate a scheduling instruction to drive at least one second sub-robot 500 to perform a second inspection task in response to the processing result of a first operating process parameter. In other words, the operation of at least one second sub-robot 500 is determined based on the inspection task result of the first sub-robot 400 or the processing result of the first operating process parameter obtained by the mother robot 300 from the first sub-robot 400.

[0052] According to a preferred embodiment, in this invention, the first sub-robot 400 can specifically be a track-type (belt-type) inspection robot, which is movably connected to the mining transport track 100 and used to move on the path defined by the mining transport track 100 to obtain the operating status information (such as first operating process parameters) of the mining transport track 100 at at least one target position or range corresponding to the mining transport track 100. Further, there can be multiple first sub-robots 400, and multiple first sub-robots 400 can be attached to the mining transport track 100 with the same or different gaps, and each first sub-robot 400 is configured to move within a preset interval or track segment to obtain the first operating process parameters within a corresponding range.

[0053] According to a preferred embodiment, a track-mounted (belt-mounted) first sub-robot 400 is configured to perform environmental safety monitoring and track safety monitoring of the inspection area in the form of track cyclic detection. Further, the first sub-robot 400 may be configured with one or more data acquisition devices (such as sensors) for monitoring the operating status information of the mining transport track 100. Specifically, the first sub-robot 400 is configured to perform a first inspection task, which includes at least collecting operating status information of the mining transport track 100 and surrounding environmental information. More specifically, the surrounding environmental information may include temperature, humidity, and / or target gas concentration (such as methane, carbon dioxide, and carbon monoxide). In particular, the data acquisition devices for acquiring the surrounding environmental information of the mining transport track 100 may include at least one of the following: a temperature sensor, a humidity sensor, a dust concentration sensor, a target gas (such as methane, carbon dioxide, and carbon monoxide) concentration sensor, and an infrared thermal imager.

[0054] According to a preferred embodiment, the operating status information of the mining transport track 100 includes at least vibration information generated by the movement of the mining transport track 100, the frame, and / or idlers. Specifically, to obtain the operating status information of the mining transport track 100, the first sub-robot is also equipped with an accelerometer for detecting the degree of track vibration and the robot's operating speed. More specifically, the acquisition device for obtaining vibration information related to the motion state of the mining transport track 100 may include one or more of a three-axis accelerometer, a six-axis accelerometer, and a nine-axis accelerometer.

[0055] According to a preferred embodiment, in this invention, the second sub-robot 500 can specifically be a trackless inspection robot, such as a tracked inspection robot or a composite inspection robot, which can move freely independently of the mining transport track 100, and can acquire the operating status information (such as second operating process parameters) of the mining transport track 100 in a manner corresponding to the monitoring position / range of at least one first sub-robot 400 attached to the mining transport track 100.

[0056] Furthermore, in this invention, there can be multiple second sub-robots 500, and these multiple second sub-robots 500 can be freely distributed in the standby area outside the mining transport track 100. Alternatively, multiple second sub-robots 500 can be distributed in the standby area in a manner corresponding to at least one first sub-robot 400. That is, one second sub-robot 500 can form a robot cluster with one or more first sub-robots 400 within a predetermined range. Specifically, when the first operating process parameters acquired by the first sub-robot 400, especially vibration information related to the surrounding environment and / or motion state of the mining transport track 100, show abnormalities, at least one second sub-robot 500 is driven to the area inspected by the corresponding at least one first sub-robot 400 to perform a second inspection task to confirm the operating status of the inspection area.

[0057] According to a preferred embodiment, the second inspection task performed by the second sub-robot 500 includes collecting image / video information and sound information related to the operating status of the mining transport track 100. Specifically, to obtain the above information, the second sub-robot 500 may be configured with an image acquisition module (such as a camera) for acquiring image / video information related to the operating status of the mining transport track 100 and an audio acquisition module (such as a sound sensor) for acquiring sound information related to the operating status of the mining transport track 100.

[0058] According to a preferred embodiment, the first sub-robot 400 and the second sub-robot 500 are typically further equipped with a power supply module and a positioning module. Specifically, the power supply module is used to supply power to the first sub-robot 400 and / or the second sub-robot 500 and the detection equipment attached thereto. In particular, to solve the many inconveniences of traditional wired charging methods (such as difficult wiring and easy wear and aging of lines), the power supply module can adopt a wireless charging method.

[0059] According to a preferred embodiment, the positioning module is used to determine the geographical location information of the first sub-robot 400 and / or the second sub-robot 500 within the mine. The positioning module can mark several positional information points along the running direction of the belt conveyor, thereby establishing a correspondence between the fault location and the identified location.

[0060] Specifically, when the mother robot 300 determines a potential fault point on the idler roller or conveyor belt based on the first operating process parameters acquired by the first sub-robot 400, particularly vibration information related to the operating status of the mining transport track 100, the first sub-robot 400 and the conveyor belt move in real time. When the second sub-robot 500 proceeds to the previous fault point, that fault point may have moved to another location downstream. Therefore, during inspection, it is necessary to simultaneously determine the positions of the inspection robot and the conveyor belt.

[0061] According to a preferred embodiment, the relative position of the inspection robot and the conveyor belt can be determined using radio frequency identification (RFID) technology. Specifically, multiple passive electronic tags can be placed at the gaps between each carrying idler roller and the edge of the conveyor belt. Each inspection robot (first sub-robot 400 and second sub-robot 500) has a built-in card reader. The inspection robot can determine its current position based on the identified electronic tags, thus solving the problem of identifying the corresponding positions of the idler rollers and the conveyor belt during the inspection of the belt conveyor. In particular, each electronic tag placed on the idler rollers and the conveyor belt can be numbered, and the number information containing coordinates can be written into the electronic tag. More specifically, during the inspection robot's mobile inspection, it can receive position information fed back from the electronic tags on the conveyor belt and the idler rollers that are close to it. The position information on the idler roller frame serves as the primary positioning reference, and the position information on the conveyor belt serves as the secondary positioning reference. When a possible fault occurs in the conveyor belt, the moving position of the fault point is determined based on the primary position information of the idler roller frame and the secondary position information of the conveyor belt, thereby facilitating the inspection robot to quickly locate the fault point and perform image and sound information detection.

[0062] According to a preferred embodiment, the inspection tasks performed by the first sub-robot 400 and the second sub-robot 500 further include determining the inspection start time, inspection cycle, and inspection points. The mother robot 300 matches information with the first sub-robot 400 and the second sub-robot 500 based on the inspection points.

[0063] According to a preferred embodiment, common faults in mining belt conveyors include conveyor belt faults, drive unit faults, idler roller and frame faults, and fire accidents caused by one or more of the above faults. Specifically, conveyor belt faults may include: ① conveyor belt slippage, i.e., relative sliding between the conveyor belt and the rollers; ② conveyor belt misalignment, i.e., misalignment between the conveyor belt's running centerline and the frame's centerline; ③ longitudinal and transverse tearing of the conveyor belt, i.e., cracks appearing in the conveyor belt due to long-term high-load operation. In particular, since the belt inspection robot (i.e., the first sub-robot 400) cannot directly collect the conveyor belt speed when the conveyor belt slips, and since conveyor belt slippage is usually accompanied by temperature rise and smoke, conveyor belt slippage can be determined by temperature and smoke detection. Conveyor belt misalignment (deviation) can be monitored using a deviation sensor, and the coincidence degree between the conveyor belt's centerline and the frame's centerline can be determined by extracting feature points on the side of the conveyor belt through video image monitoring. Longitudinal and transverse tearing of the conveyor belt can be detected by measuring the tension force using a tensioning device, or by non-contact methods such as ultrasound or electromagnetic methods. Alternatively, conveyor belt tears can be determined using machine vision-based image recognition processing.

[0064] According to a preferred embodiment, drive unit failures mainly include drive motor failures and reducer failures. Specifically, drive motor failures may include abnormal phenomena such as motor overheating, overcurrent, and vibration. In particular, motor overheating can be determined using temperature testing paper or a sensing resistor. Motor vibration can be tested using a vibration sensor. On the other hand, reducer failures are mainly due to wear of the reducer gear bearings, and are usually accompanied by abnormal noise and vibration. Reducer failures can be determined through vibration testing.

[0065] According to a preferred embodiment, idler roller and frame failures include idler roller malfunction or structural damage. Specifically, abnormal noise, vibration, and temperature rise are the main manifestations of idler roller failure; therefore, idler roller failure can be determined by temperature acquisition supplemented by sound feature extraction. Frame failure mainly manifests as frame structural deformation, which can typically be determined using mechanical testing combined with image / graphical acquisition.

[0066] Specifically, in the field of coal mine safety, accelerometers are among the most commonly used sensors, capable of real-time monitoring of vibrations in equipment, machinery, or components within the mine. Accelerometers can measure the amplitude, frequency, and phase of vibration signals, and can also monitor the vibration levels of robots during coal mine inspections in real time. This invention places an accelerometer on a track-mounted robot (first sub-robot 400). By analyzing its acceleration changes, the working status of the inspection robot and the transport vehicle can be determined. When the first sub-robot 400 experiences abnormal vibrations of varying magnitudes during its movement, the accelerometer readings will show an irregular, large increase or decrease trend (refer to the acceleration calculation formula for simple harmonic motion, a = -ω). 2 Acos(ωt), where ω represents the angular frequency of the vibration, t represents the period, A represents the amplitude, a represents the acceleration of the vibration, and Acos(ωt) represents the displacement of the vibration. From the above equation, it can be seen that the acceleration of the vibration is directly proportional to the amplitude; when the amplitude increases, the acceleration will also increase accordingly.

[0067] Specifically, when the first sub-robot 400 experiences abnormal vibration, it may indicate the following situations: material or foreign objects falling onto the conveyor belt, causing a momentary impact force that intensifies the vibration of the mining transport track 100; conveyor belt slippage or deviation causing an imbalance in track forces, leading to intensified track vibration; or conveyor belt speed regulation malfunction causing the transport vehicle to stall and derail, resulting in a momentary decrease in track vibration. Regardless of the situation, these are all dangerous factors that seriously affect safe production. Relying solely on data collected by environmental sensors is insufficient to accurately determine the occurrence of an accident, or the data collected by environmental sensors may have a lag in responding to accident occurrences. Therefore, it is necessary to detect abnormal vibrations of the conveyor using an accelerometer.

[0068] According to a preferred embodiment, when the motion state of the mining transport track 100 is abnormal (acceleration exceeds a threshold), at least one second sub-robot 500 is driven to the risk control area confirmed by the first sub-robot 400 to perform a second inspection task, that is, to acquire image and sound information of the risk control area confirmed by the first sub-robot 400. Further, the parent robot 300 uploads the image and sound information acquired by the second sub-robot 500 based on the second inspection task to the control terminal 200. The control terminal 200 can confirm the risk level of the risk control area based on the image and sound information acquired by the second sub-robot 500 through deep learning-based image recognition processing and combined with manual calibration, and divide each inspection section into risk control areas of different priorities or importance according to the risk level determination.

[0069] According to a preferred embodiment, the unit time used to measure acceleration changes can be set by on-site personnel based on the laying conditions of the mine transport track 100 (such as its length) and the roadway environment. Specifically, if the area where the mine transport track 100 is laid is relatively flat and short, the unit time can be appropriately increased to reduce the computational burden; if the area where the mine transport track 100 is laid is steep and winding, and the terrain is too complex, the unit time can be appropriately reduced to increase the monitoring density and prevent missing key monitoring points.

[0070] According to a preferred embodiment, changes in acceleration can represent changes in amplitude. Under stable operating conditions, the track will exhibit a normal, gentle vibration pattern. However, if terrain changes or malfunctions occur, the track's vibration will change abruptly. The impact or trend of terrain changes and malfunction vibrations on acceleration differs. Therefore, the mother robot 300 can be configured to continuously compare the acceleration changes within the current unit of time with those within the previous unit of time. If the acceleration data of any first sub-robot 400 changes compared to the vibration of the previous unit of time, the area corresponding to that first sub-robot 400 can be determined as a risk control area. The advantage of this configuration is that it eliminates the need to consider that mine cars with different loads or different loads may exhibit different amplitudes; the vibration of the previous unit can be used as a benchmark for different mine cars.

[0071] Specifically, this method cannot distinguish between terrain factors and fault factors in determining the risk control area. Therefore, the mother robot 300 will drive the second sub-robot 500 to the risk control area based on the acceleration change information of each first sub-robot 400, and have it perform the task of detecting and collecting sound and image information related to the risk control area. The sound and image information related to the risk control area acquired by the second sub-robot 500 is transmitted back to the ground base station via the mother robot 300. The ground control terminal, based on deep learning and machine vision, uses a neural network recognition model to determine the fault and, with the assistance of personnel, selects appropriate measures.

[0072] According to a preferred embodiment, in this invention, the mother robot 300 should be oriented as close as possible to the ground area to reduce signal loss due to excessive transmission distance, and also to minimize signal loss due to the unstructured environmental characteristics of the transport roadway. Furthermore, the first sub-robot 400 is configured on a track between the upper and lower idlers, continuously performing inspection tasks cyclically on the mine transport track 100. If the inspection robot track is set at the top of the transport roadway, a flexible (e.g., steel wire) or rigid (e.g., I-beam) robot track would be required, and it might also restrict the height of materials on the conveyor belt, reducing transport efficiency and increasing monitoring costs.

[0073] According to a preferred embodiment, the present invention places the first sub-robot 400 under the conveyor belt, making full use of the available space of the existing structure, reducing installation steps and thus reducing installation difficulty and maintenance costs. The first sub-robot 400 only carries sensors related to the environmental safety parameters of the transport tunnel and its own vibration. When the environmental safety parameters and vibration information acquired by the first sub-robot 400 are abnormal, the mother robot 300 initially sets the area where the abnormal information is generated as a risk control area. The mother robot 300 drives at least one second sub-robot 500 to the risk control area to perform the task of collecting sound and image information. The mother robot 300 transmits the sound and image information related to the risk control area acquired by the second sub-robot 500 to the ground terminal (control terminal 200) to confirm the status of the risk control area.

[0074] Therefore, the mother robot 300 does not undertake inspection tasks, but is responsible for command transmission and data processing. The first sub-robot 400 and the second sub-robot 500 can perform different detection tasks based on their different mobile platforms, distinguishing the redundant detection tasks that should originally be undertaken independently by the track-type inspection robot (first sub-robot 400), thus rationally allocating detection resources. At the same time, the functional advantages of different types of inspection robots improve the coverage and accuracy of data collection. In particular, in this invention, the second sub-robot 500 only starts when the first operating parameters acquired by the first sub-robot 400 are abnormal. Therefore, it can reduce the detection pressure on the system and avoid signal interference caused by the activation of too many inspection robots. In addition, the accuracy of fault identification of mining conveyor belts is improved by using different types of data collected from different inspection robots for mutual calibration.

[0075] According to a preferred embodiment, in this invention, the first sub-robot 400 and the second sub-robot 500 establish a data communication line between the underground environment and the ground base station through the mother robot 300, reducing the accuracy loss and result distortion caused by signal loss during cross-ground transmission. Furthermore, the mother robot 300 undertakes some signal analysis tasks, which avoids the simultaneous transmission of large amounts of real-time detection data to the ground for processing, thus preventing congestion of the communication channel and increasing the workload of the communication equipment.

[0076] Specifically, the mine inspection robot control system provided by this invention features a mother robot 300 with independent processing capabilities to flexibly schedule the first sub-robot 400 and the second sub-robot 500 to achieve two different inspection modes: track-based cyclical detection focused on environmental exploration and fixed-point directional detection focused on equipment exploration. Inspection tasks are issued via the ground-based main control terminal and distributed layer by layer from the underground mother robot 300. While granting the second sub-robot 500 a certain degree of freedom in its exploration, this system also integrates all levels of sub-robots into a unified whole. This avoids the repetitive and ineffective work of managers issuing inspection tasks independently to each robot, facilitates inspection data management, standardizes multi-robot operation procedures, and improves the timeliness and accuracy of fault identification.

[0077] According to a preferred embodiment, in this invention, the distribution area and quantity of at least one second sub-robot 500 outside the mine transport track 100 are dynamically updated based on the processing results of the second inspection task by the control terminal 200. Specifically, for potentially high-risk areas, an appropriate number of second sub-robots 500 are added to the corresponding area, while in relatively low-risk areas, the number of standby second sub-robots 500 is dynamically reduced to promptly respond to the need for fault inspection confirmation in high-risk areas, enabling at least one corresponding second sub-robot 500 to quickly proceed to the risk control area for risk confirmation through audio and video information collection. Furthermore, based on the processing results of the first and second operating process parameters, potentially high-risk areas are periodically updated, and the standby areas of the second sub-robots 500 are dynamically adjusted based on the hazard ranking of high-risk areas, or the number of second sub-robots 500 in each standby area is adjusted based on the hazard level of each high-risk area, so that the second sub-robots 500 can promptly respond to accident confirmation requests and proceed to the designated area to perform the second inspection task.

[0078] Specifically, as a non-limiting example, a control flow for a mine inspection robot control system according to a preferred embodiment is provided, as follows:

[0079] The control terminal 200 sends a remote adjustment command to the mother robot 300 to perform the inspection task.

[0080] In response to a remote control command issued by the control terminal 200 indicating the start of an inspection task, the mother robot 300 sends a first control command to the first daughter robot 400, which is movably attached to the mining transport track 100, to drive it to perform the first inspection task.

[0081] At least one first sub-robot 400 performs a first inspection task related to environmental safety and track safety in response to a first control command from the mother robot 300, in order to obtain at least one environmental parameter and track motion parameter of the inspection area.

[0082] At least one first sub-robot 400 transmits the first inspection results, including at least one environmental parameter related to the mining transport track 100 and vibration or acceleration data of the first sub-robot 400 caused by the movement of the mining transport track, to the mother robot 300 in real time.

[0083] The mother robot 300 records the environmental parameters and / or acceleration data collected by each first sub-robot 400 based on time and space sequences. When any environmental parameter and / or acceleration data collected by any first sub-robot 400 shows an abnormal trend (such as environmental parameters such as temperature and gas concentration exceeding standard values, or acceleration values ​​and their rate of change showing different changes from previous periods or exceeding the allowable threshold range within a unit time), the travel area of ​​at least one first sub-robot 400 corresponding to the current time is identified as a risk control area, and a second control command indicating the location of the risk control area is issued to the second sub-robot 500.

[0084] The second sub-robot 500 responds to the second control command of the mother robot 300 and goes to the risk control area in the form of directional and fixed-point detection to perform the task of collecting image and sound information, and sends the second inspection results, including the image and sound information of the risk control area, to the mother robot 300.

[0085] The mother robot 300 compresses and packages the second inspection results and sends them to the control terminal 200. The control terminal 200, based on deep learning and machine vision, uses a neural network recognition model to judge the fault and assists the staff in determining the fault, and then takes corresponding response measures.

[0086] Specifically, the mother robot 300 is configured to process and analyze environmental parameters and / or acceleration data detected by the first daughter robot 400. When the environmental parameters and / or acceleration data exceed standard values, the mother robot 300 instructs the control terminal 200 to issue a warning signal. Alternatively, the control terminal 200 can generate and output a warning signal in response to the processing results of the environmental parameters and / or acceleration data acquired by the first daughter robot 400 by the mother robot 300.

[0087] Example 2

[0088] This embodiment provides a control method for a mine inspection robot, which may include the following steps:

[0089] At least one first sub-robot 400, which is movably attached to the mining transport track 100, is driven to perform a first inspection task to acquire first operating process parameters related to the mining transport track 100.

[0090] The mother robot 300 receives and processes the first operating process parameters, and can selectively generate scheduling instructions to drive at least one second sub-robot 500 based on the processing result of the first operating process parameters.

[0091] At least one second sub-robot 500 performs a second inspection task in response to a scheduling instruction to acquire second operating process parameters related to the mining transport track 100.

[0092] Alternatively, the control method for the mine inspection robot provided by the present invention may include:

[0093] The control terminal 200 sends a scheduling instruction to the mother robot 300 to perform the inspection task;

[0094] The mother robot 300 responds to the scheduling command of the control terminal 200 by issuing a first control command to drive the first daughter robot 400 to perform the first inspection task;

[0095] At least one first sub-robot 400 executes a first inspection task to acquire first operating process parameters related to the mining transport track 100 in response to a first control command from the mother robot 300.

[0096] The mother robot 300 receives and processes the first operating process parameters, and can selectively generate a second control command to drive at least one second sub-robot 500 based on the processing result of the first operating process parameters.

[0097] At least one second sub-robot 500 performs a second inspection task in response to a second control command from the mother robot 300, which acquires second operating process parameters related to the mining transport track 100.

[0098] Furthermore, the control method for the mine inspection robot provided by the present invention also includes:

[0099] The control terminal 200 receives and stores the processing results of the mother robot 300 for the first operating process parameters, and can optionally output fault alarm information. In particular, as a non-limiting example, the fault alarm information can be implemented in one or more forms, such as visualization, audibility, and perceptible vibration.

[0100] Optionally, the control method for the mine inspection robot provided by the present invention may further include: the control terminal 200 receiving and storing the second operating process parameters acquired by the second sub-robot 500, and selectively outputting fault alarm information based on the processing results of the second operating process parameters. Specifically, the mother robot 300 uploads the second operating process parameters acquired by the second sub-robot 500 to the ground control terminal 200, whereby the control terminal 200 analyzes and processes the second operating process parameters. In particular, since image recognition processing consumes a lot of computer computing power and occupies a large amount of system memory, and the underground mine environment is complex and signal acquisition is easily interfered with, performing image processing in the underground environment not only results in low accuracy and noise, but also slow feedback response, leading to low timeliness of the system's output warning information. Therefore, sending image and sound information back to the ground for centralized processing can, on the one hand, reduce the computational burden of the mother robot 300 and improve the response rate (because the mother robot 300 usually needs to process several detection data from the first sub-robot 400 alternately or simultaneously); on the other hand, it can improve the accuracy of the system's fault identification in risk control areas, so as to ensure the accuracy and effectiveness of subsequent rescue measures.

[0101] Optionally, the control method for the mine inspection robot provided by the present invention may further include:

[0102] The control terminal 200 dynamically updates the distribution position of at least one second sub-robot 500 outside the mining transport track 100 based at least on the processing results of the second inspection task performed by the second sub-robot 500.

[0103] Those skilled in the art will understand that, as long as the objectives of the present invention can be achieved, other steps or operations may be included before, after, or between the steps described above, for example, to further optimize and / or improve the method described in the present invention. Furthermore, although the method described in the present invention is shown and described as a series of actions performed sequentially, it should be understood that the method is not limited by the order of these actions. For example, some actions may occur in a different order than that described herein. Alternatively, one action may occur simultaneously with another action.

[0104] Those skilled in the art will understand that the various exemplary embodiments described in this invention can be implemented by software or by combining software with necessary hardware. Therefore, specific embodiments of the invention can be embodied in the form of a software product, which can be stored on a non-volatile storage medium or a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium (such as a CD-ROM, USB flash drive, portable hard drive, etc.) or on a network, including several instructions to cause a computing device (such as a personal computer, server, mobile terminal, or network device, etc.) to execute the method according to the invention.

[0105] It should be noted that the specific embodiments described above are exemplary. Those skilled in the art can devise various solutions inspired by the disclosure of this invention, and these solutions all fall within the scope of this invention and its protection. Those skilled in the art should understand that this specification and its accompanying drawings are illustrative and not intended to limit the scope of the claims. The scope of protection of this invention is defined by the claims and their equivalents. This specification contains multiple inventive concepts; terms such as "preferredly," "according to a preferred embodiment," or "optionally" indicate that the corresponding paragraph discloses an independent concept. The applicant reserves the right to file divisional applications based on each inventive concept.

Claims

1. A control system for a mine inspection robot, characterized in that, include: At least one first sub-robot (400) is movably attached to the mining transport rail (100) and configured to perform a first inspection task to acquire first operating process parameters related to the mining transport rail (100); At least one second sub-robot (500) moving outside the mining transport track (100) is configured to perform a second inspection task to acquire second operating process parameters related to the mining transport track (100); The mother robot (300) is operably attached to the mining transport track (100) and is used to receive and process the first operating process parameters and / or the second operating process parameters; The mother robot (300) can selectively generate a scheduling instruction to drive at least one second sub-robot (500) to perform the second inspection task in response to the processing result of the first operating process parameters. The mother robot (300) transmits the second operating process parameters obtained by the second sub-robot (500) based on the second inspection task to the control terminal (200), so that the control terminal (200) can perform processing of the second operating process parameters related to the mining transport track (100); The control terminal (200) is configured to receive first operating process parameters related to the mining transport track (100) obtained by the first sub-robot (400) and / or second operating process parameters related to the mining transport track (100) obtained by the second sub-robot (500), and output the processing results for the first operating process parameters and / or the second operating process parameters. The control terminal (200) dynamically updates the distribution position of at least one of the second sub-robots (500) outside the mining transport track (100) based at least on the processing result of the second operation process parameters of the second inspection task performed by the second sub-robot (500). The mother robot (300) can selectively generate scheduling instructions to drive the at least one second sub-robot (500) to perform a second inspection task in response to the processing result of the first operating process parameters, including: In response to an anomaly in the first operating process parameter acquired by the first sub-robot (400), the mother robot (300) determines at least one risk control area related to the mining transport track (100) corresponding to the first sub-robot (400). The mother robot continuously compares the acceleration change in the current unit time with the acceleration change in the previous unit time. If the acceleration data of any first sub-robot changes compared to the vibration in the previous unit time, the area corresponding to the first sub-robot is determined to be a risk control area. Based on the determination of the risk control area, the mother robot (300) generates a scheduling instruction to drive the at least one second sub-robot (500) to perform a second inspection task for the risk control area; Multiple passive electronic tags are placed at the gaps between each carrying idler roller and the edge of the conveyor belt. Each inspection robot has a built-in card reader. During the inspection, the inspection robot receives position information from the electronic tags on the conveyor belt and idler rollers that are close to it. The position information on the idler roller frame is used as the main positioning reference, and the position information on the conveyor belt is used as the auxiliary positioning reference. When a possible fault occurs in the conveyor belt, the movement position of the fault point is determined based on the main position information of the idler roller frame and the auxiliary position information of the conveyor belt. This makes it easier for the inspection robot to locate the fault point and perform image and sound information detection.

2. The control system according to claim 1, characterized in that, The first sub-robot (400) is equipped with at least one environmental sensor and an acceleration sensor for acquiring first operational parameters related to the mining transport track (100), wherein, The environmental sensor is used to collect environmental information related to the operating environment of the mining transport track (100); The accelerometer is used to collect vibration information related to the motion state of the mining transport track (100).

3. The control system according to claim 1, characterized in that, The second sub-robot (500) is equipped with an image acquisition module and an audio acquisition module for acquiring second operating process parameters related to the mining transport track (100), wherein, The image acquisition module is used to acquire image information related to the mining transport track (100); The audio acquisition module is used to acquire sound information related to the mining transport track (100).

4. The control system according to claim 1, characterized in that, The control terminal (200) is also configured to issue a scheduling instruction to the mother robot (300) to drive the first sub-robot (400) to perform the first inspection task.

5. A method for controlling a mine inspection robot according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that, include: At least one first sub-robot (400) movably attached to the mining transport rail (100) is driven to perform a first inspection task to acquire first operating process parameters related to the mining transport rail (100); The mother robot (300) receives and processes the first operating process parameters, and can selectively generate scheduling instructions to drive at least one second sub-robot (500) based on the processing result of the first operating process parameters. The at least one second sub-robot (500) responds to the scheduling instruction to perform a second inspection task to acquire second operating process parameters related to the mining transport track (100); The control terminal (200) issues a scheduling instruction to the mother robot (300) for performing the inspection task; The mother robot (300) responds to the scheduling command of the control terminal (200) by issuing a first control command to drive the first sub-robot (400) to perform a first inspection task for the mining transport track (100); The control terminal (200) dynamically updates the distribution position of at least one of the second sub-robots (500) outside the mining transport track (100) based at least on the processing results of the second operation process parameters of the second inspection task performed by the second sub-robot (500).

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