Spiral-driven flexible body pipe robot and driving method

Abstract

The application discloses a spiral-driven flexible body pipeline robot and a driving method, and the pipeline robot comprises a robot body, a flexible spiral mechanism connected with the robot body, a power driving mechanism connected with the flexible spiral mechanism, and a power supply mechanism connected with the power driving mechanism; the power driving mechanism comprises an outer gear and an inner gear, the inner gear and the outer gear are in meshing connection, and the inner gear is connected with the flexible spiral mechanism so as to realize rotation of the flexible spiral mechanism driven by the inner gear and realize movement; the pipeline robot is moved by the outer gear and the inner gear driving the flexible spiral mechanism to rotate, the movement of the robot is realized without the driving wheel, the structure is simple, the adaptability is good, the flexible spiral mechanism can be adjusted, the length of the robot body can be changed according to actual conditions, and the power source of the robot can be ensured to be sufficient through the common action of the power driving mechanisms.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] The present application belongs to the technical field of pipeline robots, and particularly relates to a flexible pipeline robot driven by a spiral and a driving method. BACKGROUND

[0002] Pipeline transportation, as an irreplaceable transportation mode in modern industry, plays an important role in national economic development. Industrial pipelines have poor working environments, and in actual work, various bends and variable diameters often appear in the pipelines, and pipeline robots are often required to enter for detection and survey. Therefore, pipeline robots have become an important direction in the field of robots.

[0003] The pipeline robots in the prior art are mainly wheel type in the form of movement, and the static friction force is generated between the driving wheels and the inner wall of the pipeline to drive the robot to move forward. Due to the limited contact area of the driving wheels, the output power is limited.

[0004] The telescopic pipeline robot has good advantages in crossing the dark, however, in most small and medium-sized pipelines with bending structures and variable diameters, the rigid support structure and the rigid telescopic structure of the existing telescopic pipeline robot are easy to cause the collision between the robot and the inner wall of the pipeline, which not only damages the pipeline wall, but also reduces the operation efficiency, and therefore needs to be improved. SUMMARY

[0005] The present application aims to provide a flexible pipeline robot driven by a spiral and a driving method to solve the technical problems of the pipeline robots in the prior art, which are mainly wheel type, generate static friction force between the driving wheels and the inner wall of the pipeline to drive the robot to move forward, and have complex structure and poor adaptability.

[0006] To achieve the above-mentioned purpose, the present application provides the following technical scheme:

[0007] In a first aspect, the present application provides a flexible pipeline robot driven by a spiral, which comprises a robot body in a tubular structure, a flexible spiral mechanism connected with the robot body for driving, a power driving mechanism connected with the flexible spiral mechanism for power transmission, and a power supply mechanism connected with the power driving mechanism for providing power.

[0008] The power driving mechanism comprises an outer gear and an inner gear, the inner gear and the outer gear are meshed and connected, and the inner gear is connected with the flexible spiral mechanism to realize the rotation of the flexible spiral mechanism driven by the inner gear to realize movement.

[0009] The flexible spiral mechanism is connected and arranged at both ends of the inner gear connected by the power driving mechanism, the inner gear drives the flexible spiral mechanism to rotate, the robot body is attached to the inner wall of the pipeline inside the pipeline, and the friction force generated by the rotation of the plurality of flexible spiral mechanisms realizes the movement of the robot body.

[0010] Optionally, the power driving mechanism further comprises a hollow tubular structure of the power driving mechanism frame, and the inner wall of the power driving mechanism frame is movably connected with the external gear through the external gear bearing.

[0011] Optionally, the power driving mechanism frame is movably connected with the external gear through the external gear bearing.

[0012] Optionally, the robot body is movably connected with at least one power driving mechanism, and each power driving mechanism is movably connected with a pair of external gears.

[0013] In the above scheme, the robot body is in a hollow tubular structure, and the power driving mechanism is movably connected in the middle of the robot body.

[0014] Optionally, the robot body is movably connected with at least one power driving mechanism, and each power driving mechanism is movably connected with a pair of external gears.

[0015] Optionally, the robot body is movably connected with at least one power driving mechanism, and each power driving mechanism is movably connected with a pair of external gears.

[0016] Optionally, the robot body is movably connected with at least one power driving mechanism, and each power driving mechanism is movably connected with a pair of external gears.

[0017] In the above scheme, the robot body is in a hollow tubular structure, and the power driving mechanism is movably connected in the middle of the robot body.

[0018] Optionally, the robot body is movably connected with at least one power driving mechanism, and each power driving mechanism is movably connected with a pair of external gears.

[0019] Optionally, the robot body is movably connected with at least one power driving mechanism, and each power driving mechanism is movably connected with a pair of external gears.

[0020] Optionally, the robot body is movably connected with at least one power driving mechanism, and each power driving mechanism is movably connected with a pair of external gears.

[0021] Optionally, the power supply mechanism is started, the driving motor in the power supply mechanism drives the power soft shaft to rotate, the driving motor and the power soft shaft are arranged in correspondence with the number of the power driving mechanism, the outer gear connected with the power soft shaft rotates, drives the inner gear meshing with the outer gear to rotate, the inner gear is connected with the flexible screw mechanism in transmission and drives the flexible screw mechanism to rotate to generate axial force

[0022] Optionally, the robot body is placed to be attached to the inside of the pipeline, when running, the flexible screw mechanism continuously rotates, is regarded as the rotation movement of the screw rod, that is, the torque is converted into the axial repeated force, and the turning movement is realized through the attachment friction with the pipeline wall.

[0023] The beneficial effects and advantages of the present application are as follows:

[0024] The flexible body pipeline robot driven by the screw rotates the flexible screw mechanism to realize the movement of the robot body, the device does not realize the movement of the robot through the driving wheel, the structure is simple, the adaptability is good, the flexible screw mechanism can be adjusted, the length of the body can also be changed according to the actual situation, the power soft shaft can realize the non-linear transmission of energy in the pipeline, can adapt to a certain range of variable diameter pipeline, and a plurality of groups of power driving mechanisms jointly act, can ensure that the power source of the robot is sufficient, and the robot front end is continuously powered by combination, and the spindle-shaped structure of the pilot head is convenient for adapting to the variable path structure in the pipeline. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0025] Figure 1 It is a structural schematic diagram of the present application;

[0026] Figure 2 It is an unfolded schematic diagram of the pipeline robot of the present application;

[0027] Figure 3 It is a local schematic diagram of the present application;

[0028] Figure 4 It is a connection schematic diagram of the power driving mechanism and the flexible screw mechanism of the present application;

[0029] Figure 5 It is a sectional view of the power driving mechanism of the present application;

[0030] Figure 6 It is a structural schematic diagram of the power supply mechanism of the present application;

[0031] Figure 7 It is an irregular cross section schematic diagram of the flexible screw mechanism of the present application;

[0032] Figure 8 It is a triangular cross section schematic diagram of the flexible screw mechanism of the present application;

[0033] Figure 9A schematic diagram of a circular cross-section of the flexible screw mechanism of the present application;

[0034] Figure 10 A schematic diagram of a semi-circular cross-section of the flexible screw mechanism of the present application;

[0035] Figure 11 A schematic diagram of a square cross-section of the flexible screw mechanism of the present application;

[0036] Figure 12 A schematic diagram of a rectangular cross-section of the flexible screw mechanism of the present application;

[0037] Figure 13 A schematic diagram of an elliptical cross-section of the flexible screw mechanism of the present application;

[0038] In the figure: 1 - robot body; 2 - flexible screw mechanism; 3 - power driving mechanism; 4 - power supply mechanism; 5 - leading guide unit; 6 - external gear; 7 - power driving mechanism frame; 8 - power flexible shaft; 9 - external gear bearing; 10 - internal gear; 11 - fixed frame; 12 - internal gear bearing; 13 - coupling; 14 - driving motor. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0039] The application will be further described below with reference to the drawings. The following examples are only used to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions of the present application, and cannot be used to limit the protection scope of the present application.

[0040] In the description of the present application, it should be understood that the terms "center", "longitudinal", "transverse", "upper", "lower", "front", "rear", "left", "right", "vertical", "horizontal", "top", "bottom", "inner", "outer" and the like indicate the orientation or positional relationship based on the orientation or positional relationship shown in the drawings, and are only used to facilitate the description of the present application and simplify the description, and therefore cannot be understood as indicating or implying that the device or element referred to must have a particular orientation, be constructed and operated in a particular orientation, and therefore cannot be understood as limiting the present application. In addition, the terms "first", "second" and the like are only used for description purposes and cannot be understood as indicating or implying relative importance or implicitly indicating the number of technical features indicated. Therefore, the features defined with "first", "second" and the like can explicitly or implicitly include one or more of the features. In the description of the present application, unless otherwise specified, the meaning of "a plurality of" is two or more.

[0041] In the description of the present application, it should be noted that unless otherwise explicitly specified and limited, the terms "mounting", "connection", "connecting" should be understood in a broad sense, for example, it can be fixed connection, or detachable connection, or integrally connected; it can be mechanical connection, or electrical connection; it can be directly connected, or indirectly connected through intermediate medium, or the communication inside two elements. For those skilled in the art, the specific meaning of the above terms in the present application can be understood according to the specific circumstances.

[0042] Embodiment one:

[0043] As shown in Figures 1 to 13 , the present embodiment provides a spiral driven flexible body pipeline robot, the robot body 1, the robot body 1 is connected with the power driving mechanism 3, the power driving mechanism 3 is drivingly connected with the flexible spiral mechanism 2;

[0044] Referring to Figure 1 and Figure 2 , the robot body 1 is a hollow tubular mechanism, and is made of flexible material, the head of the robot body 1 is provided with a spindle-shaped leading unit 5, the tail of the robot body 1 is provided with a power supply mechanism 4, and at least one power driving mechanism 3 is connected in the robot body 1, and the front and rear ends of each power driving mechanism 3 are connected with the flexible spiral mechanism 2;

[0045] By setting the spindle-shaped leading unit 5, the variable path structure in the pipeline can be adapted, the direction can be actively adjusted according to the pipeline path change, the power supply mechanism 4 drives the power driving mechanism 3 to rotate the flexible spiral mechanism 2 through the transmission mechanism, so that the robot body 1 is frictionally moved in the pipeline with the pipe wall, thereby improving the stability and reliability of the pipeline operation.

[0046] Referring to Figure 1 , Figure 3 , Figure 4 and Figure 5 , in the present embodiment, the power driving mechanism 3 comprises a power driving mechanism rack 7, wherein the power driving mechanism rack 7 is preferably a hollow tubular structure, the inner wall of the power driving mechanism rack 7 is provided with an external gear bearing 9, the external gear bearing 9 is movably connected with an external gear 6, the external gear 6 is an internal gear, the external gear 6 is movably connected with an internal gear 10, the both ends of the power driving mechanism rack 7 are provided with a hollow tubular structure fixing frame 11, the inner wall of the fixing frame 11 is provided with an internal gear bearing 12, the internal gear bearing 12 is movably connected with the transmission end of the internal gear 10, the external gear 6 is further connected with the power soft shaft 8 in the power supply mechanism 4;

[0047] In use, the power flexible shaft 8 in the power supply mechanism 4 transmits power to the external gear 6. Under the action of the internal gear bearing 12 and the external gear bearing 9, the external gear 6 drives the internal gear 10 to rotate. The sleeve set on the outer end of each internal gear 10 is connected to a flexible spiral mechanism 2. The rotation of the internal gear 10 drives the corresponding flexible spiral mechanism 2 to rotate. The robot body 1 generates friction with the inner wall of the pipe to achieve movement.

[0048] refer to Figure 4 , Figure 5 and Figure 6 As shown, in this embodiment, the power supply mechanism 4 includes a drive motor 14, the drive motor 14 is connected to a power flexible shaft 8, the power flexible shaft 8 extends into the power drive mechanism frame 7 and is connected to the external gear 6, and both ends of the power flexible shaft 8 are connected to couplings 13, which are respectively connected to the external gear 6 and the drive motor 14. The power flexible shaft 8 connected to the drive motor 14 is a set of power supply mechanisms 4, and the number of power drive mechanisms 3 is set accordingly in production.

[0049] refer to Figures 7 to 13 As shown, in this embodiment, the flexible helical mechanism 2 is axially sleeved on the robot body 1. When the flexible helical mechanism 2 rotates on the body, it has the characteristics of bearing the load of a lead screw, which can be approximated as the rotational motion of a lead screw, that is, the torque is converted into axial repetitive force. At the same time, it also has the characteristics of reversibility. The radial force it bears is weak and the axial force is large. It can automatically adjust the force and direction when traveling in the pipeline. Moreover, the flexible helical mechanism 2 converges at a certain small angle, which can adapt to the complex and ever-changing pipeline environment, and the overall structure is more reliable.

[0050] In this embodiment, the flexible spiral mechanism 2 has a spring-spiral structure that fits against the inner wall of the pipe. The cross-sectional shape of the flexible spiral mechanism 2 is preferably irregular, and can be triangular, circular, semi-circular, square, rectangular, or elliptical.

[0051] Example 2:

[0052] like Figures 1 to 13 As shown, this embodiment also provides a driving method for a helically driven flexible pipe robot, including:

[0053] Power supply mechanism 4 is activated;

[0054] Drive the flexible helical mechanism 2 to rotate;

[0055] The robot body 1 moves in friction against the inner wall of the pipe.

[0056] In the embodiment, the power supply mechanism 4 is started, the driving motor 14 in the power supply mechanism 4 drives the power flexible shaft 8 to rotate, the driving motor 14 and the power flexible shaft 8 are arranged in correspondence with the number of the power driving mechanism 3, the outer gear 6 connected with the power flexible shaft 8 rotates, drives the inner gear 10 engaged with the outer gear 6 to rotate, the inner gear 10 is connected with the flexible screw mechanism 2 and drives the flexible screw mechanism 2 to rotate to generate the axial force.

[0057] In the embodiment, the robot body 1 is placed to be attached to the inside of the pipeline, when running, the flexible screw mechanism 2 continuously rotates, is regarded as the rotation movement of the screw rod, that is, the torque is converted into the axial repeated force, and the turning movement is realized through the attachment friction with the pipeline wall.

[0058] The embodiments of the application are described above with reference to the drawings, but the application is not limited to the specific embodiments described above, the specific embodiments described above are only illustrative but not restrictive, and those skilled in the art can make many forms under the inspiration of the application without departing from the purpose of the application and the scope protected by the claims, which all belong to the protection of the application.

Claims

1. A helically driven flexible pipe robot, characterized in that: The robot body (1) includes a tubular structure, a flexible helical mechanism (2) for driving, a power drive mechanism (3) connected to the flexible helical mechanism (2) for power transmission, and a power supply mechanism (4) connected to the power drive mechanism (3) for providing power. The power drive mechanism (3) includes an external gear (6) and an internal gear (10). The internal gear (10) and the external gear (6) are meshed together. The internal gear (10) is connected to a flexible helical mechanism (2) so that the internal gear (10) drives the flexible helical mechanism (2) to rotate and realize the movement of the robot body (1). The robot body (1) is connected to at least one power drive mechanism (3). Each power drive mechanism (3) is connected to a pair of internal gears (10) with a flexible helical mechanism (2) at the outer end. The sleeves provided at the outer end of each internal gear (10) are respectively connected to the corresponding flexible helical mechanism (2). The flexible helical mechanism (2) has a spring-like structure and fits against the inner wall of the pipe in a spring-like helical structure. The cross-sectional shape of the flexible helical mechanism (2) is one of the following: triangular, circular, semi-circular, square, rectangular and elliptical. The robot body (1) is provided with a pilot head (5) at one end. The pilot head (5) has a spindle-shaped structure to facilitate adaptation to the changing path structure inside the pipeline. The other end of the robot body (1) is provided with a power supply mechanism (4), and the power supply mechanism (4) is provided with a drive motor (14); The drive motor (14) is connected to a power flexible shaft (8), and the end of the power flexible shaft (8) is connected to an external gear (6) through a coupling (13) set through the robot body (1) of the hollow cylindrical flexible frame structure.

2. The spiral-driven flexible pipe robot according to claim 1, characterized in that: The power drive mechanism (3) also includes a hollow tubular power drive mechanism frame (7), the inner wall of which is movably connected to an external gear (6) via an external gear bearing (9).

3. The spiral-driven flexible pipe robot according to claim 2, characterized in that: Both ends of the power drive mechanism frame (7) are connected to a hollow tubular structure fixing frame (11). A pair of fixing frames (11) are movably connected to an internal gear (10) by setting an internal gear bearing (12), and the internal gear (10) extends into the power drive mechanism frame (7) and meshes with the external gear (6).

4. A driving method applicable to a helically driven flexible pipe robot as described in any one of claims 1-3, characterized in that: include: The power supply mechanism (4) is activated; Drive the flexible helical mechanism (2) to rotate; The robot body (1) moves in friction against the inner wall of the pipe.

5. The driving method for a helically driven flexible pipe robot according to claim 4, characterized in that: When the power supply mechanism (4) is activated, the drive motor (14) inside it drives the power flexible shaft (8) to rotate. The number of the drive motor (14) and the power flexible shaft (8) are set according to the number of the power drive mechanism (3). The external gear (6) connected to the power flexible shaft (8) rotates, which drives the internal gear (10) meshing with the external gear (6) to rotate. The internal gear (10) is connected to the flexible helical mechanism (2) and drives it to rotate to generate axial force.

6. The driving method for a helical-driven flexible pipe robot according to claim 5, characterized in that: The robot body (1) is placed inside the pipe. During operation, the flexible spiral mechanism (2) rotates continuously, which can be regarded as the rotational motion of the lead screw. That is, the torque is converted into axial repetitive force, and the turning motion is achieved by the friction of the pipe wall.

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