An underwater robot system with recovery function

Abstract

The present invention discloses an underwater robot system with a recovery function, comprising a motion mechanism and a locking and mating component. The motion mechanism comprises: several steel cables connected to a vessel's reeling device; a main body housing provided with a cable through-hole for accommodating the cables to pass through; a locking member mounted on the main body housing, the steel cables being pulled and connected to the locking member; and several drive units mounted in the main body housing, each of which includes a guide motor and a guide wheel, the guide wheel rolling along the cable under the drive of the guide motor. When the main body housing engages with the locking and mating component, the locking member locks and mated with the locking and mating component, so that the motion mechanism and the robot body are fixedly coupled together as a whole. By adopting the solution of the present invention, the motion mechanism of the recovery device can smoothly dock with the underwater robot underwater along the cable of the underwater robot, so as to recover the underwater robot.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to the technical field of underwater robots, in particular to an underwater robot system with a recovery function. Background Art

[0002] At present, the existing technology has the problem of low recovery efficiency in that the recovery of underwater robots is carried out by manually hanging cables by boat operators or using cable guns to connect the recovery cables to the underwater robots.

[0003] The prior art discloses an invention patent application with publication number CN111232162A, entitled "Docking Device and Underwater Robot Recovery Equipment," which discloses a docking device and underwater robot recovery equipment. The docking device includes a passive joint assembly for connecting to the robot to be recovered; an active joint assembly, which includes a docking area for inserting the passive joint assembly and can positionally fix the passive joint assembly within the docking area; and a driver connected to the active joint assembly to drive the active joint assembly toward the passive joint assembly to insert the passive joint assembly into the docking area.

[0004] Taking the above-mentioned prior art documents as an example, during the underwater positioning process, the active unit of the recovery device must actively dock with the upper side of the robot body, but there is often a problem of positioning difficulty when the active unit moves in the water, and the active unit cannot be accurately guided to the docking position on the upper side of the robot body. Summary of the Invention

[0005] The purpose of the present invention is to provide an underwater robot system with a recovery function to solve the problems existing in the prior art.

[0006] The object of the present invention is achieved as follows: an underwater robot system with a recovery function includes a motion mechanism and a locking mating component fixedly connected to the upper side of the robot body;

[0007] The motion mechanism comprises:

[0008] several steel cables connected to the vessel's reeling equipment;

[0009] A main body shell is provided with a cable through hole for accommodating cables of the robot body to pass through;

[0010] A locking member mounted on the main body shell, wherein the steel cable is pulled and connected to the locking member;

[0011] Several drive units are mounted in the main housing and surround the cable. Each drive unit includes a guide motor mounted in the main housing and a guide wheel. The guide wheel is mounted on the output end of the guide motor and is driven by the guide motor to roll along the length of the cable and engage with the surface of the cable.

[0012] Wherein, when the main body shell is engaged with the locking and matching component, the locking piece is locked and matched with the locking and matching component, so that the motion mechanism and the robot body are fixedly fitted together as a whole.

[0013] Furthermore, the outer side wall of the main shell is connected to a positioning rod, and the positioning rod is configured as a rolling body;

[0014] The locking and matching component includes a connecting lock seat, which is box-shaped as a whole and has an open structure on its upper side. The cable moves upward and out of the connecting lock seat. When the main body shell is engaged with the locking and matching component, the main body shell is located within the connecting lock seat.

[0015] The side wall of the connection lock seat is provided with a plurality of strip-shaped connection lock positioning grooves with open upper ends surrounding the cable. When the main body shell is engaged with the locking matching component, the positioning rod is inserted into one of the connection lock positioning grooves.

[0016] Furthermore, each connecting lock positioning slot is correspondingly configured with two guide edges that are relatively located on the upper edge of the connecting lock seat, and the guide edges are set to be concave arc shapes, and the lowest ends of the guide edges are connected to the upper ends of the connecting lock positioning slots. The guide edges are used to roll in contact with the positioning rod to guide the positioning rod to move to the upper end of the connecting lock positioning slot.

[0017] Furthermore, the main housing is provided with a plurality of locking members, all of which are arranged around the cable and are located on the outer side wall of the main housing;

[0018] Each locking member is configured as a locking rod, the locking rod partially extending downwardly beyond the bottom side of the main body housing, and the lower end of the locking rod is provided with a laterally protruding locking hook;

[0019] The locking mating component includes a lock disk and an electric driver that drives the lock disk to rotate. A through lock hole is provided on the lock disk, and the lock hole has a lock entry hole and an arc-shaped hole. When the locking piece is locked with the locking mating component, the lock hook of the lock rod moves through the lock entry hole and moves into the arc-shaped hole as the lock disk rotates, so that the lock hook hooks the lock disk.

[0020] The beneficial effects of the present invention are:

[0021] The motion mechanism of the recovery device can search for the underwater robot underwater along the cable of the underwater robot. By using the special structure of the positioning rod and the connecting lock seat, the locking part can be guided accurately into the lock hole of the lock disk; the steel cable is pulled to connect the locking part to better recover the underwater cleaning robot. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0022] Figure 1 It is a three-dimensional schematic diagram of the present invention.

[0023] Figure 2 It is a three-dimensional schematic diagram of the motion mechanism of the present invention.

[0024] Figure 3 It is a three-dimensional schematic diagram of the connection lock seat.

[0025] Figure 4 It is a projection diagram of the connection lock seat.

[0026] Figure 5 It is a schematic diagram of the side view of the present invention.

[0027] Figure 6 yes Figure 5 AA section view in.

[0028] Figure 7 yes Figure 5 CC section view in.

[0029] Figure 8 This is a schematic diagram of the layout of the fish observation cabin and camera. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0030] The following is combined with Figure 1-8 The present invention is further described with reference to the accompanying drawings and specific examples.

[0031] like Figure 1 、 2 As shown, an underwater robot system with a recovery function is shown. The recovery device is used to recover the underwater cleaning robot and is generally divided into a motion mechanism and a locking mating component fixedly connected to the upper side of the robot body 1.

[0032] The above-mentioned movement mechanism includes:

[0033] Several steel cables 201 connected to the vessel's reeling equipment (e.g., a winch);

[0034] The main housing 203 is a rectangular box-shaped body. The upper side of the main housing 203 is an open structure. The main housing 203 is provided with a cable through hole 203a for accommodating the cable 3 of the robot body 1 to move through.

[0035] A locking member is mounted on the main housing 203, and the steel cable 201 is pulled to connect the locking member;

[0036] Several drive units surrounding the cable 3 and mounted in the main housing 203, such as Figure 7 As shown, each driving unit includes a guide motor 205 installed in the main shell 203, and a guide wheel 204. The guide wheel 204 is mounted on the output end of the guide motor 205. The guide wheel 204 rolls with the surface of the cable 3 along the length direction of the cable 3 under the drive of the guide motor 205. The guide motor 205 is equipped with a basic base 206, which is fixedly installed on the inner wall of the main shell 203, and the guide motor 205 is installed on the basic base 206.

[0037] Therefore, the motion mechanism of the recovery device in this embodiment uses the cable 3 of the robot body 1 as a guide reference for underwater movement to move to the position of the robot body 1 so as to complete the docking and locking operations; when the main body shell 203 engages with the locking mating component, the locking part locks with the locking mating component to fix the motion mechanism and the robot body 1 as a whole. As long as the reel on the ship is started to reel up the steel cable 201, the robot body 1 can be pulled upward to achieve the purpose of recovery.

[0038] As a preferred solution for positioning the main housing 203 and the locking mating component, Figure 2 As shown, the outer wall of the main shell 203 is connected to a positioning rod 207, and the positioning rod 207 is set as a circular rolling body; the positioning rod 207 can be rotatably connected to the outer wall of the main shell 203; or the positioning rod 207 is set as a roller, and its fixed axis is fixed on the outer wall of the main shell 203, and the circular rotating part of the positioning rod 207 rotates relative to the fixed axis; the structural form of the positioning rod 207 is not limited here, and any changes are within the scope of protection of this patent.

[0039] like Figure 1 、 3 As shown, the above-mentioned locking mating component includes a connecting lock seat 208. The connecting lock seat 208 is generally in the shape of a rectangular box, and its upper side is an open structure. The cable 3 moves upward and out from the connecting lock seat 208. When the main shell 203 is engaged with the locking mating component, the main shell 203 is inside the connecting lock seat 208.

[0040] The side wall of the connection lock seat 208 is provided with several strip-shaped connection lock positioning grooves 208b with open upper ends surrounding the cable 3. When the main shell 203 is engaged with the locking mating component, the positioning rod 207 is inserted into one of the connection lock positioning grooves 208b.

[0041] Each connecting lock positioning slot 208b is correspondingly configured with two guide edges 208a that are relatively located on the upper edge of the connecting lock seat 208. The guide edge 208a is set to a concave arc shape. The lowest end of the guide edge 208a is connected to the upper end of the connecting lock positioning slot 208b, and the highest end of the guide edge 208a is close to a vertical side of the rectangular connecting lock seat 208 (equivalent to four sharper protrusions formed on the upper side of the rectangular connecting lock seat 208, so that the positioning rod 207 can roll to the guide edge 208a after touching the above-mentioned protrusions). The guide edge 208a is used to roll in contact with the positioning rod 207 to guide the positioning rod 207 to move to the upper end of the connecting lock positioning slot 208b, so that the positioning rod 207 is inserted into the connecting lock positioning slot 208b.

[0042] The main housing 203 is provided with several locking members, all of which are arranged around the cable 3 and are located on the outer side wall of the main housing 203. Figure 2 As shown, each locking member is configured as a locking rod 202 , which partially extends downward beyond the bottom side of the main housing 203 , and a laterally protruding locking hook 202 a is provided at the lower end of the locking rod 202 .

[0043] like Figure 6 As shown, the above-mentioned locking matching component includes a locking disk 213 and an electric driver that drives the locking disk 213 to rotate. A through locking hole is provided on the locking disk 213, and the locking hole has a locking entry hole 213a and an arc-shaped hole 213b. When the locking member is locked with the locking matching component, the locking hook 202a of the locking rod 202 moves through the locking entry hole 213a, and as the locking disk 213 rotates, the locking rod 202 moves into the arc-shaped hole 213b, so that the locking hook 202a hooks the locking disk 213.

[0044] The above-mentioned electric drive is set as a gear motor 211, and the lock disk 213 is provided with an inner circular hole coaxial with its rotation center axis, and an arc-shaped tooth edge 214 is provided in the inner circular hole. The output end of the gear motor 211 is sleeved with a gear 212. The gear motor 211 and the gear 212 are both in the inner circular hole of the lock disk 213. The gear 212 is engaged with the arc-shaped tooth edge 214 of the inner circular hole of the lock disk 213, and is used to drive the locking rod 202 to move from the lock entry hole 213a to the arc-shaped hole 213b.

[0045] The recovery device further includes an upper locking seat 209 , which is fixedly mounted on the upper side of the robot body 1 .

[0046] The above-mentioned upper locking seat 209 has an installation cavity, and the lock disk 213 and the electric drive that drives the lock disk 213 to rotate are located in the installation cavity of the upper locking seat 209. The connecting lock seat 208 is fixedly connected to the top of the upper locking seat 209, and the cable 3 passes through the upper locking seat 209 upward.

[0047] Combine Figure 1、 6 As shown, the top of the above-mentioned upper locking seat 209 is provided with several upper positioning holes 209a corresponding to the locking rod 202 one by one. The upper positioning holes 209a are located inside the connecting lock seat 208. When the main shell 203 is engaged with the locking matching component, the locking rod 202 and its locking hook 202a move through the upper positioning hole 209a. In the initial state, the locking entry hole 213a of the lock disk 213 is directly below the upper positioning hole 209a.

[0048] The top of the upper locking seat 209 is connected to a plurality of nitrogen springs 210 located inside the connecting lock seat 208 . When the main housing 203 is engaged with the locking mating component, the bottom of the main housing 203 abuts against the nitrogen springs 210 .

[0049] Combine Figure 2 、 3 As shown in Figures 4, 5, and 6, when the main shell 203 is engaged with the locking mating component, the positioning rod 207 contacts the guide edge 208a and rolls along the guide edge 208a. Under the guidance of the guide edge 208a, the positioning rod 207 drives the main shell 203 to rotate and adjust. When the positioning rod 207 is inserted into the connecting locking groove 208b, the main shell 203 rotates into place so that the four locking rods 202 can face the four upper positioning holes 209a one by one. After the locking rod 202 and its locking hook 202a pass through the upper positioning hole 209a of the upper locking seat 209, the locking rod 202 and its locking hook 202a pass through the locking entry hole 213a of the lock disk 213, so that the locking hook 202a is under the lock disk 213 and hooks the lock disk 213.

[0050] Then, the gear motor 211 is used to drive the gear 212 to rotate, and the gear 212 is engaged with the arc-shaped tooth edge 214 of the lock disk 213 to drive the lock disk 213 to rotate, so that the lock rod 202 enters the arc hole 213b from the lock entry hole 213a, and the end of the arc hole 213b can be abutted against the lock rod 202, thereby locking the main shell 203 with the locking matching component.

[0051] By utilizing the elastic force of the nitrogen spring 210 , the lock hook 202 a can more tightly hook the lock disk 213 , thereby enhancing the locking force of the main body housing 203 and the locking mating component.

[0052] The corresponding principles of this embodiment are explained as follows:

[0053] like Figure 1 、 2As shown, when the underwater cleaning robot to be recovered receives a command, the recovery device's motion mechanism 2 moves along the robot's cable 3, continuously moving and diving toward the robot's main body 1. When the recovery device's motion mechanism 2 reaches the connection lock seat 208, the locking disk 213 locks the motion mechanism 2. At this point, the steel cable 201 is connected to the underwater cleaning robot via the motion mechanism 2. Once the connection is stable, the winch above the steel cable 201 activates, pulling the underwater cleaning robot out of the water, thereby achieving the goal of recovering the underwater robot.

[0054] like Figure 2 、 7 As shown, in the above process, since the base 206 is configured as an electric telescopic rod, it can perform a telescopic movement perpendicular to the cable 3, so that the guide wheel 204 is driven by the base 206 to move closer to or away from the cable 3, thereby controlling the gap between the guide wheel 204 and the cable 3 and the pressure applied by the guide wheel 204 to the cable 3 to generate sufficient rolling friction, so that the guide wheel 204 can roll better along the cable 3. Once the guide wheel 204 reaches the predetermined position, the guide motor 205 starts to operate, driving the guide wheel 204 to move along the cable 3, thereby driving the main housing 203 and the locking rod 202 connected to the main housing 203. The steel cable 201 fixed to the locking rod 202 will move along the cable 3 toward the underwater robot.

[0055] After a period of operation, the positioning rod 207 contacts the raised portion of the connecting lock seat 208. Subsequently, under the further push of the guide wheel 204, the positioning rod 207 rolls along the curved guide edge 208a of the connecting lock seat 208 and eventually reaches the position of the connecting lock positioning groove 208b. The positioning rod 207 engages the connecting lock positioning groove 208b, which in turn drives the main housing 203 to rotate around the cable 3 a certain angle, so that the locking rod 202 can directly face the locking entry hole 213a that passes through the positioning hole 209a and the locking disk 213. Subsequently, the locking hook 202a of the locking rod 202 passes through the locking entry hole 213a of the locking disk 213. At the same time, the connecting lock seat 208 is equipped with a nitrogen spring 210 to reduce the impact of the main housing 203 on it. After the lock hook 202a of the lock rod 202 passes through the lock entry hole 213a of the lock disk 213, the lock hook 202a is on the lower surface of the lock disk 213, and the gear motor 211 drives the lock disk 213 to rotate, so that the lock rod 202 enters the arc hole 213b, so that the lock hook 202a hooks the lock disk 213, thereby achieving the purpose of locking the robot body 1 with the locking motion mechanism 2. At this point, the steel cable 201 has established a connection with the underwater cleaning robot through the lock rod 202, and the underwater robot can be pulled up using the winch on the ship.

[0056] A small underwater ranging sensor is provided at the top of the nitrogen spring 210 to measure the distance between the bottom of the main housing 203 and the top of the nitrogen spring 210, and to determine whether the main housing 203 is completely against the underwater robot. If the main housing 203 enters the inner cavity of the connecting lock seat 208 and is against the inner bottom wall of the connecting lock seat 208, the underwater ranging sensor at the top of the nitrogen spring 210 transmits a signal back to the electronic control unit of the underwater robot, and then sends a signal feedback to the control unit of the motion mechanism 2 through communication, causing the guide motor 205 of the motion mechanism 2 to stop rotating, the guide wheel 204 to stop rotating, and the motion mechanism 2 also stops moving.

[0057] In this embodiment, Figure 8 As shown, the robot body 1 is equipped with a through-hole fish observation cabin 11, which is equipped with a camera 12, housed in a transparent protective cover. If a fish swims into the cabin 11, the camera 12 below captures the corresponding image information. Through algorithmic processing, relevant appearance data of the fish can be obtained. Furthermore, because the upper portion of the cabin 11 is painted black, fish swimming outside the cabin 11 will not be captured. By strictly controlling the distance between the fish being photographed and the camera 12, measurement accuracy can be greatly improved.

[0058] This embodiment has the following advantages:

[0059] 1. The underwater robot can be accurately found and recovered without performing other positioning operations on the underwater robot;

[0060] 2. Adopt mechanical positioning structure to save a lot of costs;

[0061] 3. Since the position between the guide wheel 204 of the motion mechanism 2 and the cable 3 is adjustable, it has high adaptability to various working conditions;

[0062] 4. Other functional equipment can be integrated on the main housing 203 of the motion mechanism 2 to build a small platform for multiple uses;

[0063] 5. It is more adaptable to cable underwater cleaning robots;

[0064] 6. After the platform is built, a lot of manpower can be reduced and the degree of automation is higher;

[0065] 7. While the underwater cleaning robot is performing cleaning work, it can observe underwater fish to a certain extent.

[0066] The above are preferred embodiments of the present invention. Those skilled in the art may make various changes or improvements based on the above. Without departing from the overall concept of the present invention, these changes or improvements should fall within the scope of protection required by the present invention.

Claims

1. An underwater robot system with a recovery function, characterized in that: It comprises a motion mechanism and a locking fitting component fixedly connected to the upper side of the robot body (1); The motion mechanism comprises: Several steel cables (201) connected to the vessel's reeling equipment; A main body shell (203) is provided with a cable through hole (203a) for accommodating a cable (3) of the robot body (1) to movably pass through; A locking member installed on the main body shell (203), wherein the steel cable (201) is pulled to connect the locking member; A plurality of drive units surrounding the cable (3) and installed in the main housing (203), each drive unit comprising a guide motor (205) installed in the main housing (203), and a guide wheel (204), wherein the guide wheel (204) is mounted on the output end of the guide motor (205), and the guide wheel (204) rolls along the cable (3) under the drive of the guide motor (205); When the main body shell (203) is engaged with the locking fitting component, the locking member is locked and fitted with the locking fitting component, so that the motion mechanism and the robot main body (1) are fixedly fitted together as a whole.

2. The underwater robot system with recovery function according to claim 1, characterized in that: The outer side wall of the main body shell (203) is connected to a positioning rod (207), and the positioning rod (207) is configured as a rolling body; The locking and matching component includes a connecting lock seat (208), the connecting lock seat (208) is box-shaped as a whole, and its upper side is an open structure, the cable (3) moves upward and passes through the connecting lock seat (208), and when the main body shell (203) is engaged with the locking and matching component, the main body shell (203) is inside the connecting lock seat (208); The side wall of the connection lock seat (208) is provided with a plurality of strip-shaped connection lock positioning grooves (208b) with an open upper end, which surround the cable (3); when the main housing (203) is engaged with the locking matching component, the positioning rod (207) is inserted into one of the connection lock positioning grooves (208b).

3. The underwater robot system with recovery function according to claim 2, characterized in that: Each connecting lock positioning slot (208b) is correspondingly configured with two guide edges (208a) located relatively on the upper edge of the connecting lock seat (208), and the guide edges (208a) are set to be concave arc-shaped, and the lowest end of the guide edge (208a) is connected to the upper end of the connecting lock positioning slot (208b). The guide edge (208a) is used to roll with the positioning rod (207) to guide the positioning rod (207) to move to the upper end of the connecting lock positioning slot (208b).

4. The underwater robot system with recovery function according to claim 3, characterized in that: The main housing (203) is provided with a plurality of locking members, all of which are arranged around the cable (3) and are located on the outer side wall of the main housing (203); Each locking member is configured as a locking rod (202), wherein the locking rod (202) partially extends downward beyond the bottom side of the main body shell (203), and a locking hook (202a) protruding laterally is provided at the lower end of the locking rod (202); The locking and matching component comprises a locking disk (213) and an electric driver for driving the locking disk (213) to rotate. A through locking hole is provided on the locking disk (213), and the locking hole has a locking entry hole (213a) and an arc-shaped hole (213b). When the locking member is locked and matched with the locking and matching component, the locking hook (202a) of the locking rod (202) moves through the locking entry hole (213a) and, as the locking disk (213) rotates, the locking rod (202) moves into the arc-shaped hole (213b) so that the locking hook (202a) hooks the locking disk (213).

5. The underwater robot system with recovery function according to claim 4, characterized in that: The electric driver is configured as a gear motor (211); the lock disk (213) is provided with an inner circular hole coaxial with its rotation center axis, and an arc-shaped tooth edge (214) is provided in the inner circular hole; the output end of the gear motor (211) is sleeved with a gear (212); the gear motor (211) and the gear (212) are both located in the inner circular hole of the lock disk (213); the gear (212) is engaged with the arc-shaped tooth edge (214) of the inner circular hole of the lock disk (213) to drive the lock rod (202) to move from the lock fitting entry hole (213a) to the arc-shaped hole (213b).

6. The underwater robot system with recovery function according to claim 4, characterized in that: It also includes an upper locking seat (209), which is fixedly mounted on the upper side of the robot body (1); The upper locking seat (209) has an installation cavity, the locking disc (213) and the electric driver for driving the locking disc (213) to rotate are located in the installation cavity of the upper locking seat (209), the connecting lock seat (208) is fixedly connected to the top of the upper locking seat (209), and the cable (3) passes through the upper locking seat (209) upwards; The top of the upper locking seat (209) is provided with a plurality of upper positioning holes (209a) corresponding to the locking rods (202) one by one. The upper positioning holes (209a) are located inside the connecting lock seat (208). When the main body shell (203) is engaged with the locking matching component, the locking rod (202) and its locking hook (202a) moveably pass through the upper positioning holes (209a). In the initial state, the locking entry hole (213a) of the lock disk (213) is located directly below the upper positioning hole (209a).

7. The underwater robot system with recovery function according to claim 6, characterized in that: The top of the upper locking seat (209) is connected to a plurality of nitrogen springs (210) located within the connecting lock seat (208), and when the main housing (203) is engaged with the locking mating component, the bottom of the main housing (203) abuts against the nitrogen springs (210).

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