Rail-guided tensioning complex curved surface wall-climbing robot

Abstract

This invention discloses a complex curved surface wall-climbing robot based on guide rail tensioning, used for climbing on working walls. It consists of a vehicle body, a tensioning device, a drive device, and a control system. The control system comprises a microcontroller, a hub motor driver, a stepper motor driver, and a power supply. The tensioning device, drive device, microcontroller, hub motor driver, stepper motor driver, and power supply are connected to the vehicle body; the microcontroller, hub motor driver, and stepper motor driver are electrically connected to the power supply. This invention's complex curved surface wall-climbing robot achieves mechanical attachment through two tensioning slides and a steel wire rope, offering high reliability, high load capacity, and the ability to carry various operating equipment. By processing corresponding curved guide rails, it can perform wall-climbing operations on complex curved surfaces of various shapes.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to the field of robotics, and in particular to a wall-climbing robot for complex curved surface applications. Background Technology

[0002] Currently, common wall-climbing robots are mainly classified into tracked, wheeled, legged, and hybrid types based on their locomotion. They primarily form contact with the wall surface through methods such as vacuum adsorption, magnetic adsorption, and thrust adsorption. These adsorption methods place high demands on the wall surface, such as smoothness and magnetism. Wall-climbing robots based on mechanical gripping adsorption methods add barbs or other structures to their legs for adhesion, resulting in high load capacity but slow movement. New wall-climbing robots should ideally simultaneously meet the requirements of high load capacity and rapid movement, while also exhibiting high adaptability to complex curved surfaces and angles. Summary of the Invention

[0003] The purpose of this invention is to overcome the shortcomings of existing technologies and provide a complex curved surface climbing robot based on guide rail tensioning. This invention, through the design of a tensioning structure, enables the robot to obtain greater adhesion and load-bearing capacity via the track, while achieving higher movement speed through a wheel-driven mechanism, avoiding complex control schemes. The use of intersecting guide rails arranged on the curved surface solves the problem of single movement paths in track-based robots and avoids strict requirements on the wall surface. This invention provides a new design approach for climbing robots on complex curved surfaces, improves the load-bearing capacity of the structure, avoids complex control schemes, and enhances mobility, which is of great significance to the field of climbing robots.

[0004] The objective of this invention is achieved through the following technical solution:

[0005] A complex curved surface wall-climbing robot based on guide rail tensioning is used to crawl on a working wall. It consists of a body, tensioning device, drive device, and control system. The control system consists of a microcontroller, a hub motor driver, a stepper motor driver, and a power supply. The tensioning device, drive device, microcontroller, hub motor driver, stepper motor driver, and power supply are connected to the body.

[0006] The microcontroller, hub motor driver, and stepper motor driver are electrically connected to the power supply.

[0007] Furthermore, the tensioning device consists of an angle bracket, a first pulley, a second pulley, a third pulley, a bushing, a shoulder screw, a front guide rod, a rear guide rod, a tension spring support, a tension spring, and a wire rope;

[0008] The vehicle body is equipped with a set of first pulleys with a vertical axis, a set of second pulleys with a horizontal axis, and a tension spring support. The second pulleys are connected to the upper surface of the vehicle body through angle brackets, shoulder screws, washers, and nuts. The first pulleys are connected to the upper surface of the vehicle body through bushings, shoulder screws, and nuts. The tension spring support is fixed to the upper surface of the vehicle body by a pair of nuts.

[0009] The front guide rod and the rear guide rod are respectively located on the front and rear sides of the vehicle body. The front guide rod consists of a front guide rod connecting block, a front guide rod, and a stainless steel ball. The front guide rod connecting block is fixed to the lower surface of the vehicle body by fasteners. The two ends of the front guide rod are threadedly connected to the front guide rod connecting block and the stainless steel ball, respectively.

[0010] The rear guide rod consists of a movable hinge, a rear guide rod connecting block, a rear guide rod, and a stainless steel ball. One end of the movable hinge is connected to the lower surface of the vehicle body via a fastener, and the other end of the movable hinge is fixed to the rear guide rod connecting block. Both ends of the rear guide rod are threadedly connected to the guide rod connecting block and the stainless steel ball, respectively.

[0011] A third pulley is movably connected to the pivot of the movable hinge;

[0012] The front guide rod connecting block, the front guide rod, the stainless steel ball, the movable hinge, the rear guide rod connecting block, and the rear guide rod are all provided with through holes for the wire rope. The vehicle body connected to the front guide rod connecting block and the movable hinge is also provided with corresponding through holes.

[0013] The wire rope passes through the through holes of the vehicle body, the front guide rod section, and the rear guide rod section, and changes the direction of force through various pulleys; the tensioning slides are respectively arranged at both ends of the wire rope; one end of the tension spring is connected to the tension spring support, and the other end is movably connected to the wire rope, so that the wire rope is in a tensioned state.

[0014] Furthermore, the drive device comprises the same two parts: a stepper motor, a stepper motor bracket, a horizontal bearing housing, a thrust bearing, a steering support, a tire bracket, and a hub motor. The stepper motor bracket is fixed to the upper surface of the vehicle body with fasteners, and the stepper motor is fixed to the stepper motor bracket with fasteners. The horizontal bearing housing is fixed to the upper surface of the vehicle body with fasteners. The rotating shaft of the steering support mates with the hole in the horizontal bearing housing, and the rotating shaft of the steering support is connected to the output shaft of the stepper motor through a D-shaped shaft hole. A thrust bearing is arranged between the upper surface of the platform of the steering support and the lower surface of the vehicle body to bear pressure. The hub motor is connected to the lower surface of the platform of the steering support through the tire bracket.

[0015] The hub motor driver is electrically connected to the hub motor, and the stepper motor driver is electrically connected to the stepper motor.

[0016] Furthermore, the working wall surface is composed of a curved guide rail with an inverted T-shaped groove and a complex curved surface, with the curved guide rail fitting into the complex curved surface; during the movement, the tensioning slide slides through the groove of the curved guide rail under the traction of the wire rope, and the tire part of the hub motor rolls in contact with the complex curved surface.

[0017] Furthermore, the wall-climbing robot moves using hub motors and turns using stepper motors; the power supply provides power to the hub motors, stepper motors, microcontroller, hub motor driver, and stepper motor driver; the microcontroller controls the hub motors through the hub motor driver and the stepper motor driver.

[0018] Compared with the prior art, the beneficial effects of the technical solution of the present invention are:

[0019] 1. The complex curved surface wall-climbing robot based on guide rail tensioning of the present invention achieves mechanical attachment through two tensioning slides and steel wire ropes, which has high reliability, large load capacity, and can be equipped with various operating equipment. By processing the corresponding curved guide rails, it can achieve wall-climbing operations on complex curved surfaces of various shapes.

[0020] 2. The complex curved surface wall-climbing robot based on guide rail tensioning of the present invention uses dual-wheel drive and uses a tension spring structure to provide tension force while increasing the adaptive ability of the structure, ensuring the smoothness and coordination of movement, and improving the movement speed of the wall-climbing robot.

[0021] 3. The complex curved surface climbing robot based on guide rail tension of the present invention can walk on a working wall surface at any angle by adjusting parameters such as the stiffness and preload of the tension spring, thereby adjusting the friction between the hub motor and the complex curved surface.

[0022] 4. The complex curved surface wall-climbing robot based on guide rail tension of the present invention can passively and adaptively adjust the robot's posture by rotating the movable hinge of the rear guide rod, ensuring that the two wheels are in contact with the complex curved surface, and the two sliders are in the groove of the curved guide rail, avoiding complex posture active adjustment.

[0023] 5. The complex curved surface wall-climbing robot based on guide rail tensioning of the present invention can change tracks by having the tensioning slide enter the track in a new direction at the track intersection through the combined action of hub motor and stepper motor, thus ensuring good steering characteristics of the wall-climbing robot; by arranging the track network, the working range of the robot can cover the entire complex curved surface.

[0024] 6. The complex curved surface wall-climbing robot based on guide rail tensioning of the present invention does not require complex sensing equipment. The movement process of the wall-climbing robot can be realized by controlling two sets of stepper motors and hub motors through kinematic analysis. Attached Figure Description

[0025] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the upper structure of the wall-climbing robot of the present invention.

[0026] Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of the lower structure of the wall-climbing robot of the present invention.

[0027] Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram of the tensioning device of the present invention.

[0028] Figure 4 This is a schematic diagram of the rear guide rod portion of the tensioning device of the present invention.

[0029] Figure 5 This is a schematic diagram of the drive device of the present invention.

[0030] Figure 6 This is a schematic diagram showing the interaction between the present invention and the working wall surface.

[0031] Figure 7-1 and Figure 7-2 This is a schematic diagram illustrating the fit between the tensioning slide and the curved guide rail of the present invention.

[0032] Reference numerals: 1-Body body, 2-Tensioning device, 3-Drive device, 4-Microcontroller, 5-Hub motor driver, 6-Stepper motor driver, 7-Power supply, 8-Curved guide rail, 9-Complex curved surface, 21-Angle bracket, 22A-Pulley, 22B-Pulley, 22C-Pulley, 23-Busset, 24-Shoulder screw, 25-Front guide rod connecting block, 26-Front guide rod, 27-Stainless steel ball, 28-Moving hinge, 29-Rear guide rod connecting block, 210-Rear guide rod, 211-Tensioning slide, 212-Tension spring support, 213-Tension spring, 214-Wire rope, 31-Stepper motor, 32-Stepper motor bracket, 33-Horizontal bearing seat, 34-Thrust bearing, 35-Steering support, 36-Tire bracket, 37-Hub motor. Detailed Implementation

[0033] The present invention will be further described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings and specific embodiments. It should be understood that the specific embodiments described herein are only for explaining the present invention and are not intended to limit the present invention.

[0034] See Figure 1 and Figure 2 As shown, the complex curved surface climbing robot based on guide rail tensioning of the present invention consists of a vehicle body 1, a tensioning device 2, a drive device 3, and a control system. The control system consists of a microcontroller 4, a hub motor driver 5, a stepper motor driver 6, and a power supply 7. The tensioning device 2, drive device 3, microcontroller 4, hub motor driver 5, stepper motor driver 6, and power supply 7 are connected to the vehicle body 1. The microcontroller 4, hub motor driver 5, and stepper motor driver 6 are electrically connected to the power supply 7.

[0035] See Figure 3 and Figure 4 As shown, the tensioning device of the complex curved surface wall-climbing robot based on guide rail tensioning of the present invention consists of corner bracket 21, pulley 22, bushing 23, shoulder screw 24, front guide rod connecting block 25, front guide rod 26, stainless steel ball 27, movable hinge 28, rear guide rod connecting block 29, rear guide rod 210, tensioning slide 211, tension spring support 212, tension spring 213, and steel wire rope 214; a set of horizontally oriented pulleys 22A, a set of vertically oriented pulleys 22B, and tension spring support 212 are arranged on the upper side of the vehicle body 1. The pulleys 22B are connected to the upper surface of the vehicle body 1 through corner bracket 21, shoulder screw 24, washer, and nut. The pulleys 22A are connected to the upper surface of the vehicle body 1 through bushing 23, shoulder screw 24, and nut. The tension spring support 212 is fixed to the upper surface of the vehicle body 1 by a pair of nuts.

[0036] The lower side of the vehicle body 1 is provided with a front guide rod section and a rear guide rod section. The front guide rod section consists of a front guide rod connecting block 25, a front guide rod 26, and a stainless steel ball 27. The front guide rod connecting block 25 is fixed to the lower surface of the vehicle body 1 by fasteners. The front guide rod 26 connects the front guide rod connecting block 25 and the stainless steel ball 27 through external threads at both ends. The rear guide rod section consists of a movable hinge 28, a rear guide rod connecting block 29, a rear guide rod 210, and a stainless steel ball 27. One end of the movable hinge 28 is connected to the lower surface of the vehicle body 1 by fasteners. The other end of the movable hinge 28 is fixed to the rear guide rod connecting block 29. The rear guide rod 210 connects the rear guide rod connecting block 29 and the stainless steel ball 27 through external threads at both ends. The pivot of the movable hinge 28 passes through a pulley 22C.

[0037] The front guide rod connecting block 25, the front guide rod 26, the stainless steel ball 27, the movable hinge 28, the rear guide rod connecting block 29, and the rear guide rod 210 are all provided with through holes for the wire rope 214. The vehicle body 1 connected to the front guide rod connecting block 25 and the movable hinge 28 is also provided with corresponding through holes. The wire rope 214 passes through the through holes of the front guide rod part, the rear guide rod part, and the vehicle body, and changes the direction of force through various pulleys. The tensioning slides 211 are respectively arranged at both ends of the wire rope 214. The tension spring 213 connects the tension spring support 212 to the wire rope 214, so that the wire rope 214 is in a tensioned state.

[0038] See Figure 5As shown, the drive device 3 of the wall-climbing robot in this embodiment includes two identical parts: a stepper motor 31, a stepper motor bracket 32, a horizontal bearing seat 33, a thrust bearing 34, a steering support 35, a tire bracket 36, and a hub motor 37. The stepper motor bracket 32 ​​is fixed to the upper surface of the vehicle body 1 by fasteners, and the stepper motor 31 is fixed to the stepper motor bracket 32 ​​by fasteners. The horizontal bearing seat 33 is fixed to the upper surface of the vehicle body 1 by fasteners. The rotating shaft of the steering support 35 mates with the hole of the horizontal bearing seat 33. The rotating shaft of the steering support 35 is connected to the output shaft of the stepper motor 31 through a D-shaped shaft hole. A thrust bearing 34 is arranged between the upper surface of the platform of the steering support 35 and the lower surface of the vehicle body 1 to bear pressure. The hub motor 37 is connected to the lower surface of the platform of the steering support 35 through the tire bracket 36.

[0039] See Figure 6 and Figure 7-1 As shown, the working wall is composed of a curved guide rail 8 with an inverted T-shaped groove and a complex curved surface 9, with the curved guide rail 8 and the complex curved surface 9 in contact. During movement, the tensioning slide 211 slides through the groove of the curved guide rail 8 under the traction of the steel wire rope 214, preventing the stainless steel ball 27 from falling into the groove of the curved guide rail 8. The tire part of the hub motor 37 rolls in contact with the complex curved surface 9. The wall-climbing robot moves via the hub motor 37 and turns via the stepper motor 31. The power supply 7 supplies power to the hub motor 37, the stepper motor 31, the microcontroller 4, the hub motor driver 5, and the stepper motor driver 6. The microcontroller 4 controls the hub motor 37 through the hub motor driver 5. Stepper motor 31 is controlled by stepper motor driver 6. During the movement, when the tension of tension spring 213 increases, the wire rope tightens. The curved guide rail 8 provides increased tension to the front and rear ends of the vehicle body 1 facing the working wall through two tensioning slides 211, thereby increasing the pressure between hub motor 37 and complex curved surface 9. According to the friction calculation formula, the friction increases. When the friction overcomes the gravity of the robot and the load, wall climbing operation can be realized on the working wall at different angles. The curved guide rail 8 is presented as a grid of multiple curved surfaces. The wall climbing robot can complete the track changing work at the track intersection point through the steering control of stepper motor 31 and move forward to any position of curved guide rail 8.

[0040] See Figure 7-2 As shown, when the complex curved surface 9 is uneven or the hub motor 37 needs to cross the curved guide rail 8, the stainless steel ball 27 will deviate from the center of the track. At this time, the tension spring 213 will be stretched, and the steel wire rope 214 will extend a portion from the center hole of the stainless steel ball 27 to achieve coordinated movement. At the same time, the tension on the steel wire rope 214 increases, and the wall-climbing robot as a whole shows a trend of returning to normal driving state. After crossing the track or passing through the uneven section, the robot automatically returns to normal working state.

[0041] This invention is not limited to the embodiments described above. The above description of specific embodiments is intended to illustrate and explain the technical solutions of this invention. The specific embodiments described above are merely illustrative and not restrictive. Without departing from the spirit and scope of the claims, those skilled in the art can make many specific modifications based on the teachings of this invention, and these modifications all fall within the scope of protection of this invention.

Claims

1. A complex curved surface wall-climbing robot based on guide rail tension, used for crawling on a working wall, characterized in that, It consists of a body (1), a tensioning device (2), a drive device (3), and a control system; the control system consists of a microcontroller (4), a hub motor driver (5), a stepper motor driver (6), and a power supply (7); the tensioning device (2), the drive device (3), the microcontroller (4), the hub motor driver (5), the stepper motor driver (6), and the power supply (7) are connected to the body (1); The single-chip microcomputer (4), hub motor driver (5), and stepper motor driver (6) are electrically connected to the power supply (7); the tensioning device (2) consists of a corner bracket (21), a first pulley (22A), a second pulley (22B), a third pulley (22C), a bushing (23), a shoulder screw (24), a front guide rod, a rear guide rod, a tension spring support (212), a tension spring (213), and a steel wire rope (214); The vehicle body (1) is provided with a set of first pulleys (22A) with vertical axis, a set of second pulleys (22B) with horizontal axis, and a tension spring support (212). The second pulleys (22B) are connected to the upper surface of the vehicle body (1) through angle brackets (21), shoulder screws (24), washers, and nuts. The first pulleys (22A) are connected to the upper surface of the vehicle body (1) through bushings (23), shoulder screws (24), and nuts. The tension spring support (212) is fixed to the upper surface of the vehicle body (1) by a pair of nuts. The front guide rod and the rear guide rod are respectively located on the front and rear sides below the vehicle body (1). The front guide rod consists of a front guide rod connecting block (25), a front guide rod (26), and a stainless steel ball (27). The front guide rod connecting block (25) is fixed to the lower surface of the vehicle body (1) by fasteners. The two ends of the front guide rod (26) are threadedly connected to the front guide rod connecting block (25) and the stainless steel ball (27) respectively. The rear guide rod consists of a movable hinge (28), a rear guide rod connecting block (29), a rear guide rod (210), and a stainless steel ball (27). One end of the movable hinge (28) is connected to the lower surface of the vehicle body (1) by a fastener, and the other end of the movable hinge (28) is fixed to the rear guide rod connecting block (29). Both ends of the rear guide rod (210) are threadedly connected to the guide rod connecting block (29) and the stainless steel ball (27), respectively. A third pulley (22C) is movably connected to the pivot of the movable hinge (28); The front guide rod connecting block (25), front guide rod (26), stainless steel ball (27), movable hinge (28), rear guide rod connecting block (29), and rear guide rod (210) are all provided with through holes for steel wire rope (214), and the vehicle body (1) connected by the front guide rod connecting block (25) and movable hinge (28) is also provided with corresponding through holes; The wire rope (214) passes through the through holes of the vehicle body (1), the front guide rod section and the rear guide rod section, and changes the direction of force through each pulley; tensioning slides (211) are respectively provided at both ends of the wire rope (214); one end of the tension spring (213) is connected to the tension spring support (212), and the other end is movably connected to the wire rope (214), so that the wire rope (214) is in a tensioned state.

2. The complex curved surface climbing robot based on guide rail tension according to claim 1, characterized in that, The drive unit (3) consists of two identical parts: a stepper motor (31), a stepper motor bracket (32), a horizontal bearing housing (33), a thrust bearing (34), a steering support (35), a tire bracket (36), and a hub motor (37). The stepper motor bracket (32) is fixed to the upper surface of the vehicle body (1) by fasteners, the stepper motor (31) is fixed to the stepper motor bracket (32) by fasteners, and the horizontal bearing housing (33) is fixed to the upper surface of the vehicle body (1) by fasteners. The rotating shaft of the steering support (35) is engaged with the hole of the horizontal bearing housing (33), and the rotating shaft of the steering support (35) is connected to the output shaft of the stepper motor (31) through a D-shaped shaft hole. A thrust bearing (34) is arranged between the upper surface of the platform of the steering support (35) and the lower surface of the vehicle body (1) to bear pressure. The hub motor (37) is connected to the lower surface of the platform of the steering support (35) through the tire bracket (36). The hub motor driver (5) is electrically connected to the hub motor (37), and the stepper motor driver (6) is electrically connected to the stepper motor (31).

3. A complex curved surface climbing robot based on guide rail tension according to claim 1, characterized in that, The working wall is composed of a curved guide rail (8) with an inverted T-shaped groove and a complex curved surface (9), with the curved guide rail (8) and the complex curved surface (9) in contact. During the movement, the tensioning slide (211) slides through the groove of the curved guide rail (8) under the traction of the wire rope (214), and the tire part of the hub motor (37) rolls in contact with the complex curved surface (9).

4. A complex curved surface climbing robot based on guide rail tension according to claim 1, characterized in that, The wall-climbing robot moves using a hub motor (37) and turns using a stepper motor (31). The power supply (7) provides power to the hub motor (37), stepper motor (31), microcontroller (4), hub motor driver (5), and stepper motor driver (6). The microcontroller (4) controls the hub motor (37) through the hub motor driver (5) and controls the stepper motor (31) through the stepper motor driver (6).

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