Magnetic pile leg cleaning detection underwater robot and control method

Abstract

The present disclosure relates to a kind of magnetic pile leg cleaning detection underwater robot and control method.The device includes underwater robot body, magnetic adsorption track, operation chassis, reciprocating mobile spray gun cleaning unit and wall thickness detection mechanism;Underwater robot body is the underwater power source of entire robot;Reciprocating mobile spray gun cleaning unit includes reciprocating screw mechanism, high-pressure spray gun, chain wheel and support frame;Magnetic adsorption track is set to left and right sides, including driving wheel, magnetic adsorption unit, track telescopic rod and track telescopic rod connecting piece, can be self-adapting pile leg pipe diameter, so that robot is stably adsorbed to pile leg, to facilitate reciprocating mobile spray gun cleaning unit and wall thickness detection mechanism to successfully complete cleaning and detection work.The technical scheme given in the present disclosure can realize the robot to climb on pile leg, reciprocating cleaning and wall thickness detection are carried out to pile leg surface, so as to realize the cleaning and detection integration of different pipe diameter pile legs of offshore operation platform.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This disclosure relates to an apparatus for cleaning and inspecting the legs of offshore operating platforms, specifically, to an underwater robot capable of integrating the cleaning and inspection of offshore platform legs. Background Technology

[0002] Since modern times, people have been eager to extract resources from the ocean. Utilizing technological advancements, an increasing number of offshore platforms have been built above sea level for resource extraction. These platforms require deep-sea legs for construction. Offshore oil platform legs are constantly below sea level, making them particularly susceptible to the adhesion of marine organisms such as barnacles, oysters, and bryozoans. These organisms secrete substances that corrode the steel structure of the platform legs, continuously weakening their load-bearing capacity and creating significant safety hazards. Furthermore, to ensure the safety of offshore operations, it is necessary to regularly inspect the thickness and surface corrosion of the platform legs during their service life. These inspections can only be conducted after the platform legs have been cleaned.

[0003] In recent years, several underwater cleaning robot technologies have been developed for cleaning offshore platforms.

[0004] For example, CN114750907A discloses an underwater robot for cleaning offshore oil pipeline platform with a scanning swing arm, including an electronics compartment chassis, a crawling drive system, a swing arm scanning cleaning system, a pressure compensation system, and an optical communication system. The crawling drive system includes two front magnetic drive wheels and two rear magnetic drive wheels located below the electronics compartment chassis. The swing arm scanning cleaning system includes an L-shaped swing arm and a high-pressure water nozzle. One end of the L-shaped swing arm is connected to a worm gear reducer, and an underwater motor drives the worm gear reducer, thereby driving the L-shaped swing arm to perform a left-right reciprocating swing motion. The other end of the L-shaped swing arm is equipped with a high-pressure water nozzle. The pressure compensation system includes a compensator, which provides pressure compensation oil to the magnetic drive wheels and the electronics compartment through an oil supply hose. The optical communication system includes a forward-looking camera, a forward-looking light, a rear-looking camera, and a rear-looking light. This robot can adhere to the legs of an offshore oil pipeline platform made of magnetic material and perform crawling motion and reciprocating cleaning.

[0005] CN108466662A discloses a semi-circular inner wall crawling robot for offshore platform legs. The robot consists of an upper leg assembly, a torso, and a lower leg assembly. The upper leg assembly and torso are connected as one unit via a leg base plate and a main slider seat, with the leg base plate fixed to the top plane of the main slider seat by bolts. The lower leg assembly and torso are connected as one unit via a leg base plate and a leg-torso connecting seat, with the leg base plate fixed to the top plane of the leg-torso connecting seat by bolts. The invented robot can carry detection or operation equipment to perform defect detection or specific operations on the inner wall of the leg.

[0006] However, these robots each perform a single function, such as cleaning or inspection. Cleaning and inspection operations cannot be completed in a single descent, which increases operating costs and reduces the efficiency of robotic operations at sea. Summary of the Invention

[0007] To address the technical problems existing in the background art, this disclosure proposes a magnetically attached underwater robot for cleaning and inspecting pile legs and a control method thereon. The solution provided in this disclosure can adhere to the surface of the pile legs and crawl on the pile legs to perform reciprocating cleaning of the pile leg surface and wall thickness detection. The cleaning and inspection operations can be completed in a single underwater operation, thereby improving the efficiency of the robot's offshore operations.

[0008] This disclosure first provides a robotic assembly, including a reciprocating mobile spray gun cleaning unit, which is unique in that:

[0009] The reciprocating mobile spray gun cleaning unit 4 includes a reciprocating screw mechanism 41, a high-pressure spray gun 42, a high-pressure spray gun holder 43, a sprocket drive motor 44, a motor mounting base 45, a chain 46, a sprocket 47, and a support frame 48.

[0010] The sprocket drive motor 44 is fixed on the support frame 48 by the motor mounting base 45, the sprocket 47 is fixed on the rotor of the sprocket drive motor 44 by the concentric shaft, and the high pressure spray gun 42 is fixed on the reciprocating screw mechanism 41 by the high pressure spray gun holder 43.

[0011] The high-pressure spray gun 42 is used to connect to a high-pressure water pump;

[0012] The reciprocating screw mechanism 41 includes a screw retainer 411, a screw 412, and a screw slider 413. The screw 412 is fixedly connected to the screw retainer 411. The screw retainer 411 is fixed to the support frame 48 by screws. The screw slider 413 is connected to the high-pressure spray gun retainer 43 by screws.

[0013] Furthermore, the nozzle of the high-pressure spray gun 42 is divided into a front nozzle, an oscillating chamber, and a rear nozzle. The water flow enters the oscillating chamber through the front nozzle to form a pseudo-sequential structure, and then develops into a high-pressure pulse water jet through the acceleration effect of the rear nozzle.

[0014] Furthermore, the robot assembly also includes a work chassis 3;

[0015] The working chassis 3 includes a detection device fixing plate 31, a working chassis connecting piece 32, and a working chassis hinge 33; the connecting plate of the support frame 48 is fixed to the inner side of the side plate of the working chassis 3.

[0016] Furthermore, the robot assembly also includes magnetically attached tracks 2, which are configured on both the left and right sides;

[0017] The magnetically adsorbed track 2 includes a drive wheel, an inner side plate, a track chain 21, a track drive wheel 22, a magnetic adsorption unit 23, a track telescopic rod 24, a track drive motor 25, and a track telescopic rod connector 26.

[0018] The track drive motor 25 is fixed to the inner side plate by screws. The rotating shaft of the track drive motor 25 is coaxially connected to the drive wheel. The magnetically adsorbed track 2 is connected to the working chassis hinge 33 to realize the connection with the underwater robot frame 14.

[0019] The track telescopic rod 24 is connected to the inner side plate through the track telescopic rod connector 26. When crawling, the magnetic adsorption track can be adsorbed onto the legs of the offshore oil pipeline platform, while providing the driving force required for the robot's movement. The magnetic adsorption tracks 2 on the left and right sides achieve the robot's turning by performing differential motion.

[0020] Furthermore, the magnetic adsorption unit 23 includes a connecting support 231, a yoke 232, a permanent magnet 233, a nylon shell 234, and a rubber shell 235;

[0021] The yoke 232 is installed on the upper end of the permanent magnet 233 to increase the magnetism of the permanent magnet 233; the nylon shell 234 is used to fix and protect the permanent magnet 233 and to realize the connection with the track chain 21; the rubber shell 235 can hold the nylon shell 234 to increase the friction with the contact surface of the pile leg and to buffer and protect the magnetic adsorption unit.

[0022] The track telescopic rod 24 includes a connecting rod 241, a connecting sleeve 242, and a telescopic spring 243;

[0023] Both the connecting rod 241 and the connecting sleeve 242 have limiting bosses at their ends, which are used to prevent the connecting rod 241 from detaching from the connecting sleeve 242. The connecting rod 241 can be in an extended state under the action of the telescopic spring 243.

[0024] Furthermore, the robot assembly also includes a wall thickness detection mechanism 5;

[0025] The wall thickness detection mechanism 5 includes a guide rail motor 51, a coupling 52, a guide rail 53, a guide rail slider 54, a spring 55, a ball screw 56, a wall thickness detection sensor 57, and a sensor holder 58.

[0026] The ball screw 56 is connected to the guide rail motor 51 via the coupling 52, and the sensor holder 58 is connected to the guide rail slider 54. After connection, the guide rail slider 54 can move under the drive of the guide rail motor, so that the wall thickness detection sensor 57 can be closely attached to the detection area. After detection, the guide rail motor drives the guide rail slider 54 to retract the wall thickness detection sensor 57.

[0027] The sensor holder 58 includes a wall thickness detection slider 581, a wall thickness detection housing 582, a limiting post 583, and a top post 584.

[0028] The wall thickness detection housing 582 is fixed to the guide rail slider 54 by screws. One end of the spring 55 is connected to the wall thickness detection housing 582 by screws, and the other end is connected to the wall thickness detection slider 581 by bolts. The wall thickness detection sensor 57 is fixedly connected to the wall thickness detection slider 581 by set screws. The wall thickness detection sensor 57 is embedded in the inner hole of the wall thickness detection slider 581 and the wall thickness detection housing 582. The wall thickness detection slider 581 is embedded in the inner hole of the wall thickness detection housing 582. The wall thickness detection housing 582 is connected to the top post 584 by welding. The limiting post 583 is connected to the wall thickness detection housing 582 by welding. In the initial state, the spring 55 pushes against the wall thickness detection slider 581 and drives the wall thickness detection sensor 57 to stretch forward. When the wall thickness detection sensor 57 touches the detection surface, the spring 55 is compressed, thereby driving the wall thickness detection sensor 57 and the wall thickness detection slider 581 to retract. Then the top post 584 contacts the detection surface to protect the wall thickness detection sensor 57. When it is removed from the detection surface, the spring 55 returns to the initial state.

[0029] The wall thickness detection mechanism 5 is connected to the working chassis via the detection device fixing plate 31. After connection, the probe of the wall thickness detection sensor 57 points vertically downward to the robot.

[0030] In another aspect of this disclosure, a magnetically attached pile leg cleaning and inspection robot is provided, which uses the aforementioned robot components. In addition, the robot also includes an underwater robot body 1.

[0031] The underwater robot body 1 includes a release device 11, a binocular vision camera 12, a buoyancy material 13, an underwater robot frame 14, a thruster 15, a high-brightness light 16, a gimbal 17, an electronic compartment 18, and a crash beam 19.

[0032] The underwater robot frame 14 provides mounting positions for various components of the underwater robot body 1. The buoyancy material 13 is installed on the top of the underwater robot frame 14 through the cooperation of studs, nuts and washers. The electronic cabin 18 is installed at the bottom of the underwater robot frame 14. The high-brightness light 16 is installed on the underwater robot frame 14 through the high-brightness light bracket. The binocular vision camera 12 is connected to the upper part of the underwater robot frame 14. The thruster 15 is fixed on the thruster seat and the thruster seat is connected to the underwater robot frame 14.

[0033] The underwater robot frame 14 includes a bottom support frame 141, side plates 142, diagonal braces 143, a bottom plate 144, and an upper plate 145; the upper plate 145 and the side plates 142 are connected by angle iron, and the bottom plate 144 and the side plates 142 are connected by the bottom support frame 141.

[0034] The underwater robot body 1 is located directly above the working chassis 3, and the two are connected by the working chassis connector 32. The reciprocating mobile spray gun cleaning unit 4 is located at the front of the robot and is connected to the working chassis 3 by the support frame 48. The magnetic adsorption track 2 is located on both sides of the working chassis 3 and is connected by the working chassis hinge 33. The wall thickness detection mechanism 5 is located inside the working chassis 3 and is connected by the detection device fixing plate 31.

[0035] Furthermore, the thrusters 15 are arranged in the horizontal and vertical directions respectively. The horizontally arranged thrusters 15 adopt a vector arrangement to control the horizontal movement and yaw degree of freedom of the underwater robot. The vertically arranged thrusters 15 are used to control the vertical movement and roll degree of freedom of the underwater robot, and at the same time help the underwater robot detach from the legs to provide power.

[0036] The vector arrangement refers to the horizontally positioned thrusters 15 being arranged in a ring at a 45-degree angle to the forward axis.

[0037] A third aspect of this disclosure provides a method for controlling any of the aforementioned magnetically attached pile leg cleaning and inspection robots, comprising the following steps:

[0038] After the robot enters the water, it is activated and swims to the work area using thrusters 15.

[0039] The vertical thrusters 15 at the front are increased in power to make the robot flip into an upright position. Then, the power of all vertical thrusters 15 is adjusted to be consistent, keeping the robot in an upright position close to the legs of the jacket platform.

[0040] After the robot's magnetically attached track 2 comes into contact with the pile leg, the magnetically attached track 2 can automatically adapt to the diameter of the pile leg and adjust the opening and closing degree of the tracks on both sides so that the magnetically attached track 2 can perfectly fit onto the pile leg of the jacket platform.

[0041] Once the robot is attached to the legs, all thrusters 15 stop working to prevent marine debris from being rolled into the thrusters 15 and damaged during the removal of marine life. After the thrusters 15 stop working, the power source for all robot movement comes from the track drive motor 25.

[0042] The reciprocating mobile spray gun cleaning unit 4 starts working and works in conjunction with the gimbal 17; the gimbal 17 detects the cleaning status of the high-pressure spray gun and transmits the image back to the electronic compartment 18, and controls the cleaning operation of the reciprocating mobile spray gun cleaning unit 4 under the control program of the electronic compartment 18.

[0043] After cleaning, the wall thickness detection mechanism 5 performs wall thickness detection in the cleaned area. Under the control program of the electronic compartment 18, the guide rail slider 54 driven by the guide rail motor 51 makes the wall thickness detection sensor 57 fit tightly against the area to be detected. After the detection is completed, the guide rail motor 51 drives the guide rail slider 54 to retract the wall thickness detection sensor 57.

[0044] After the inspection is completed, the track drive motor 25 stops working, and all vertical thrusters 15 are activated, causing the robot to face away from the pile legs. After the robot is separated from the pile legs, the front and rear vertical thrusters 15 work together to make the robot flip back to a horizontal state.

[0045] The above-described at least one technical solution adopted in one or more embodiments of this specification can achieve the following beneficial effects:

[0046] The underwater robot body disclosed herein is equipped with eight thrusters, including four horizontal thrusters and four vertical thrusters. The horizontal thrusters mainly control the underwater robot to move forward, backward, and turn, while the four vertical thrusters control the underwater robot to move up and down and to flip the underwater robot so as to facilitate its attachment to the legs. All eight thrusters are watertightly connected to the electronic compartment.

[0047] The underwater robot is equipped with a two-degree-of-freedom gimbal, which has two cameras and two lights. The two-degree-of-freedom gimbal can achieve two degrees of freedom of movement: horizontal sweeping and vertical pitching, which can provide necessary visual assistance for the underwater robot's operation.

[0048] The underwater robot is equipped with a binocular vision camera system, which enables precise visual positioning and determines the actual distance between obstacles in front of it and the underwater robot, thus preventing unnecessary collisions.

[0049] The magnetically attached track is driven by a track drive motor. Utilizing chassis hinges and track telescopic rods, the track angle can be automatically adjusted to adapt to the curved surface of the pile legs. The magnetically attached unit is encased in a rubber shell. This shell not only protects the unit but also deforms when the magnetically attached unit is pressed against the pile leg, causing it to conform more closely to the leg surface. This increases friction and enhances the magnetic attraction force.

[0050] After being cleaned by a high-pressure spray gun, the wall thickness detection mechanism is lowered onto the surface of the pile leg via a slide rail to perform wall thickness detection. The wall thickness of the pile leg is detected using the principle of ultrasonic waves.

[0051] The wall thickness detection sensor holder has a top post with an internal spring. When the wall thickness detection unit comes into contact with the object being detected, the internal spring contracts, and the top post of the holder contacts the object. This ensures that the wall thickness detection unit is in close contact with the object being detected, while preventing the wall thickness detection unit from being damaged.

[0052] In addition to the above-mentioned technical effects, the technical solution disclosed herein also has the following advantages compared with the prior art:

[0053] (1) The technical solution disclosed herein is specifically designed for the removal of attached marine organisms and the detection of the wall thickness of the legs of the jacket structure on offshore platforms. It can simultaneously remove marine organisms and detect the wall thickness of the legs in a single launching operation.

[0054] (2) The technical solution given in this disclosure uses a reciprocating screw driven by a motor to repeatedly move the high-pressure spray gun laterally. Compared with a cleaning robot with a fixed nozzle, it has a larger cleaning range and higher efficiency.

[0055] (3) The technical solution given in this disclosure adopts a modular design, including magnetic adsorption track and its associated working chassis and autonomous underwater robot. The magnetic adsorption track can be disassembled, and the underwater robot body can also work independently.

[0056] (4) The technical solution presented in this disclosure adopts an automatically adjustable magnetic adsorption track design. The track device automatically adapts to the outer wall of the pile leg through the cooperation of the working chassis hinge and the track telescopic rod. It is applicable to pile legs of most pipe diameters. At the same time, a rubber shell is used to wrap the yoke and permanent magnet to increase the adsorption force on the pile leg.

[0057] It should be understood that the above general description and the following detailed description are exemplary and explanatory only, and are not intended to limit this disclosure.

[0058] Other features and aspects of this disclosure will become clear from the following detailed description of exemplary embodiments with reference to the accompanying drawings. Attached Figure Description

[0059] The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and form part of this specification, illustrate embodiments consistent with this disclosure and, together with the specification, serve to illustrate the technical solutions of this disclosure.

[0060] Figure 1 This is an isometric view of a modular underwater robot for cleaning and testing magnetically attached pile legs according to the present invention.

[0061] Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of the underwater robot body of the present invention;

[0062] Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram of the working chassis structure with magnetically adsorbed tracks of the present invention;

[0063] Figure 4 This is a schematic diagram of the reciprocating mobile spray gun cleaning device of the present invention;

[0064] Figure 5 This is a schematic diagram of the wall thickness detection mechanism of the present invention;

[0065] Figure 6 This is a schematic diagram of the wall thickness detection device fixture structure of the present invention;

[0066] Figure 7 This is a schematic diagram of the magnetic adsorption unit structure of the present invention;

[0067] Figure 8 This is a schematic diagram of the track telescopic rod structure of the present invention;

[0068] Figure 9 This is a side view of the magnetic suction-type pile leg cleaning and inspection modular underwater robot of the present invention adsorbing the pile leg status;

[0069] Figure 10 This is a front view of the magnetic suction-type pile leg cleaning and inspection modular underwater robot of the present invention adsorbing the pile leg status;

[0070] Figure 11 This is a schematic diagram of the high-pressure water gun nozzle.

[0071] The components include: 1-Underwater robot body, 11-Lock release device, 12-Dual-lens vision camera, 13-Buoyancy material, 14-Underwater robot frame, 15-Thruster, 16-High-brightness light, 17-Gimbal, 18-Electronics compartment, 19-Collision beam, 2-Magnetic adsorption track, 21-Track chain, 22-Track drive wheel, 23-Magnetic adsorption unit, 24-Track telescopic rod, 25-Track drive motor, 26-Track telescopic rod connector, 3-Working chassis, 31-Detection device mounting plate, 32-Working chassis connector, 33-Working chassis hinge, 4-Reciprocating mobile spray gun cleaning device, 41-Reciprocating screw mechanism, 42-High-pressure spray gun, 43-High-pressure spray gun holder, 44-Sprocket drive motor, 45-Motor holder, 46-Chain, 47- 48-Sprocket, 5-Support frame, 5-Wall thickness detection mechanism, 51-Guide rail motor, 52-Coupling, 53-Guide rail, 54-Guide rail slider, 55-Spring, 56-Ball screw, 57-Wall thickness detection sensor, 58-Sensor holder, 141-Bottom support frame, 142-Side plate, 143-Diagonal tie rod, 144-Bottom plate, 145-Top plate, 231-Connecting support, 232-Yoke, 233-Permanent magnet, 234-Nylon shell, 235-Rubber shell, 241-Connecting rod, 242-Connecting sleeve, 243-Telescopic spring, 411-Screw holder, 412-Screw, 413-Screw slider, 581-Wall thickness detection unit slider, 582-Wall thickness detection unit housing, 583-Device limiting post, 584-Device top post. Detailed Implementation

[0072] Various exemplary embodiments, features, and aspects of this disclosure will now be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. The same reference numerals in the drawings denote elements that have the same or similar functions. Although various aspects of the embodiments are shown in the drawings, they are not necessarily drawn to scale unless specifically indicated otherwise.

[0073] Furthermore, to better illustrate this disclosure, numerous specific details are set forth in the following detailed description. Those skilled in the art will understand that this disclosure can be practiced without certain specific details. In some instances, methods and means well-known to those skilled in the art have not been described in detail in order to highlight the main points of this disclosure.

[0074] like Figure 1 As shown, the modular underwater robot for cleaning and inspecting magnetic pile legs in this embodiment includes an underwater robot body 1, magnetically attached tracks 2, a working chassis 3, a reciprocating mobile spray gun cleaning device 4, a wall thickness detection mechanism 5, etc.

[0075] like Figure 3 , Figure 7 , Figure 8 , Figure 10As shown, the magnetically attached track 2 is installed on the side of the working chassis 3, with a drive wheel driven by the track drive motor 25 in front of it, providing the driving force required for the robot's movement and enabling the robot to move in a straight line and turn on the legs of the offshore oil pipeline platform. Chain drive is used on the outer side, with a magnetically attached unit 23 fixed to the outer side of the chain for the robot to attach magnetic materials to the legs of the offshore oil pipeline platform. To adapt to different leg diameters, the magnetically attached track 2 uses a working chassis hinge 33 and a track telescopic rod 24. By rotating the working chassis hinge 33, the magnetically attached track 2 can automatically adapt to the outer wall of the pipe, allowing it to fit snugly against the outer side of the leg, thus achieving automatic adjustment to accommodate most pipe diameters.

[0076] like Figure 7 , Figure 9 As shown, each magnetic adsorption unit 23 employs a permanent magnet adsorption method, comprising a connecting support 231, a yoke 232, a permanent magnet 233, a nylon shell 234, and a rubber shell 235. The yoke 232 is installed on the inside to increase the magnetism of the permanent magnet 233, which is the main source of the adsorption force. The nylon shell 234 is used to fix the permanent magnet 233 and provide a connection to the track chain 21, while also protecting the permanent magnet 233. Finally, the rubber shell 235 primarily increases the friction with the contact surface and also provides cushioning and protection for the entire magnetic adsorption unit 23. The combined action of all the magnetic adsorption units 23 in contact with the pile leg surface enables the magnetically attached pile leg cleaning and inspection modular underwater robot to stably adhere to the pile leg.

[0077] like Figure 2 As shown, the underwater robot body 1 includes a release device 11 for easy connection and disconnection from the shore, a binocular vision camera 12 for detecting the environment, an underwater robot frame 14 for robot component installation, an electronic cabin 18 for core control components, a collision protection beam 19 for impact protection, a propulsion unit 15, a buoyancy unit 13, a gimbal 17 providing multi-directional viewing angles, and a high-brightness light 16 providing a bright environment. The propulsion unit 15 mainly controls the robot's movement and flipping underwater. The buoyancy unit 13 provides buoyancy for the robot in the water, resulting in a weak buoyancy state. The binocular vision camera 12 is used to determine the distance between the robot and obstacles in front. The gimbal 17 is used to observe the working environment around the robot and works in conjunction with the reciprocating mobile spray gun cleaning device 4 to achieve better cleaning. The high-brightness light 16 is mainly used to provide illumination for easy observation.

[0078] like Figure 4 , Figure 11As shown, the reciprocating mobile spray gun cleaning device 4 mainly includes a reciprocating screw mechanism 41, a high-pressure spray gun 42, a high-pressure spray gun holder 43, a sprocket drive motor 44, a motor mounting base 45, a chain 46, a sprocket 47, and a support frame 48. The sprocket drive motor 44 is mainly used to drive the reciprocating screw mechanism 41 to perform lateral reciprocating motion, thereby driving the high-pressure spray gun 42 to perform area cleaning in front of the robot. The cleaning range of the high-pressure spray gun 42 includes the track's forward movement range, so the high-pressure spray gun 42 can remove attached marine organisms in front of the track, avoiding weakening of magnetic adsorption due to attached marine organisms, and further preventing the robot from detaching from the legs of the offshore oil pipeline platform.

[0079] like Figure 5 , Figure 6 As shown, the wall thickness detection mechanism 5 mainly includes a wall thickness detection sensor 57, which is mainly used to detect the wall thickness of the pile leg after cleaning by the reciprocating mobile spray gun cleaning device 4. The probe of the wall thickness detection sensor 57 is a water immersion probe, which measures thickness based on the principle of ultrasonic pulse reflection. When the ultrasonic pulse emitted by the probe passes through the object being measured and reaches the material interface, the pulse is reflected back to the probe. The thickness of the material being measured is determined by accurately measuring the propagation time of the ultrasonic wave in the material.

[0080] like Figure 3 As shown, the operating chassis 3 is installed below the underwater robot body 1, and its main function is to provide an installation environment for various required devices. The operating chassis 3 is connected to the underwater robot body 1 through an operating chassis connector 32, which is detachable, thus allowing the entire operating chassis 3 to be easily disassembled. This constitutes a modular design, enabling the underwater robot body 1 to not only work independently but also to perform various tasks using different operating tools.

[0081] Based on the above introduction, taking the operation of a modular underwater robot for cleaning and inspecting magnetically attached legs on a jacket platform legs as an example, the workflow of controlling the modular underwater robot for cleaning and inspecting magnetically attached legs is described in detail:

[0082] The modular underwater robot for cleaning and inspecting magnetically attached pile legs is lowered into the water by a crane. Then, the release mechanism 11 releases the robot, which, due to the buoyancy material 13, will remain submerged. The robot is then activated and, controlled by shore personnel, swims to the work area using its thrusters 15. After adjusting its position, the front vertical thrusters 15 increase their power, causing the robot to flip and tilt upwards. All vertical thrusters 15 are then adjusted to the same power, maintaining the robot's tilted position as it slowly approaches the pile legs of the jacket platform. Once the robot's magnetically attached tracks 2 contact the pile legs, the robot will adhere to them. Because the magnetically attached tracks 2 are designed to automatically adapt to the pile leg diameter, they automatically adjust the opening and closing of the tracks on both sides to ensure a perfect fit. It is important to note that the area where the robot initially attaches should be free of marine life to prevent the magnetically attached tracks 2 from failing to attach successfully or falling off. After the robot successfully attaches to the legs, all thrusters 15 cease operation to prevent marine debris from being caught in the thrusters 15 and damaged during the removal process. With the thrusters 15 no longer in operation, the robot's movement is powered entirely by the track drive motors 25. Then, the reciprocating mobile spray gun cleaning device 4 begins operation. The high-pressure spray gun of the reciprocating mobile spray gun cleaning device 4 is powered by a high-power water pump on shore. A water pump outlet pressure of 20 MPa is sufficient to complete the cleaning work. Close coordination with the gimbal 17 is required for successful cleaning. The gimbal 17 needs to monitor the cleaning progress of the high-pressure spray gun, ensuring that all attached marine organisms are removed before starting the cleaning of the preceding areas. This ensures the accuracy of subsequent wall thickness detection and the adhesion force of the magnetically attached tracks 2. The wall thickness detection mechanism 5 performs wall thickness detection in the cleaned area. The guide rail slider 54, driven by the guide rail motor 51, keeps the wall thickness detection device 57 in close contact with the area being detected. After successful detection, the guide rail slider 54 is retracted by the guide rail motor 51 for the next detection. After cleaning, the track drive motor 25 stops working, and then all vertical thrusters 15 begin to move away from the pile legs, causing the robot to detach from them. The front and rear vertical thrusters 15 then work together to flip the robot back to a horizontal position. Finally, the robot is controlled to return to the guide frame platform, completing the operation.

[0083] This invention adopts a modular design, allowing the working chassis to be disassembled at will. It can also be equipped with different cleaning or testing tools to perform various cleaning and testing tasks. It can adaptively and stably adsorb onto the wall surface of the jacket platform pile legs, and can perform integrated underwater cleaning and testing, avoiding manual underwater work, simplifying the cleaning and testing process, improving work efficiency, and increasing economic benefits.

Claims

1. A robot component, including a reciprocating mobile spray gun cleaning unit (4); the reciprocating mobile spray gun cleaning unit (4) includes a reciprocating screw mechanism (41), a high-pressure spray gun (42), a high-pressure spray gun holder (43), a sprocket drive motor (44), a motor mounting base (45), a chain (46), a sprocket (47), and a support frame (48). The sprocket drive motor (44) is fixed on the support frame (48) by the motor mounting base (45), the sprocket (47) is fixed on the rotor of the sprocket drive motor (44) by the concentric shaft, and the high pressure spray gun (42) is fixed on the reciprocating screw mechanism (41) by the high pressure spray gun holder (43). The high-pressure spray gun (42) is used to connect to the high-pressure water pump; The reciprocating screw mechanism (41) includes a screw retainer (411), a screw (412), and a screw slider (413). The screw (412) is fixedly connected to the screw retainer (411). The screw retainer (411) is fixed to the support frame (48) by screws. The screw slider (413) is connected to the high-pressure spray gun retainer (43) by screws. The robot component also includes a work chassis (3); The working chassis (3) includes a detection device fixing plate (31), a working chassis connector (32), and a working chassis hinge (33); the connecting plate of the support frame (48) is fixed to the inside of the side plate of the working chassis (3); Its features are: The robot component also includes a wall thickness detection mechanism (5); The wall thickness detection mechanism (5) includes a guide rail motor (51), a coupling (52), a guide rail (53), a guide rail slider (54), a spring (55), a ball screw (56), a wall thickness detection sensor (57), and a sensor holder (58). The ball screw (56) is connected to the guide rail motor (51) via a coupling (52), and the sensor holder (58) is connected to the guide rail slider (54). After connection, the guide rail slider (54) can move under the drive of the guide rail motor, so that the wall thickness detection sensor (57) can be closely attached to the detection area. After detection, the guide rail motor drives the guide rail slider (54) to retract the wall thickness detection sensor (57). The sensor holder (58) includes a wall thickness detection slider (581), a wall thickness detection housing (582), a limiting post (583), and a top post (584). The wall thickness detection housing (582) is fixed to the guide rail slider (54) by screws. One end of the spring (55) is connected to the wall thickness detection housing (582) by screws, and the other end is connected to the wall thickness detection slider (581) by bolts. The wall thickness detection sensor (57) is fixedly connected to the wall thickness detection slider (581) by set screws. The wall thickness detection sensor (57) is embedded in the inner hole of the wall thickness detection slider (581) and the wall thickness detection housing (582). The wall thickness detection slider (581) is embedded in the inner hole of the wall thickness detection housing (582). The wall thickness detection housing (582) is welded to... The top post (584) is connected, and the limiting post (583) is connected to the wall thickness detection housing (582) by welding. In the initial state, the spring (55) pushes against the wall thickness detection slider (581) and drives the wall thickness detection sensor (57) to stretch forward. When the wall thickness detection sensor (57) touches the detection surface, the spring (55) is compressed, thereby driving the wall thickness detection sensor (57) and the wall thickness detection slider (581) to contract. Then the top post (584) contacts the detection surface to protect the wall thickness detection sensor (57). When it leaves the detection surface, the spring (55) returns to the initial state. The wall thickness detection mechanism (5) is connected to the working chassis through the detection device fixing plate (31). After connection, the probe of the wall thickness detection sensor (57) points vertically downward to the robot.

2. A robot component according to claim 1, characterized in that: The nozzle of the high-pressure spray gun (42) is divided into a front nozzle, an oscillating chamber and a rear nozzle. The water flows steadily through the front nozzle into the oscillating chamber to form a pseudo-sequential structure, and then develops into a high-pressure pulse water jet through the acceleration effect of the rear nozzle.

3. A robot component according to claim 2, characterized in that: The robot assembly also includes magnetically attached tracks (2), which are configured on the left and right sides; The magnetically adsorbed track (2) includes a drive wheel, an inner side plate, a track chain (21), a track drive wheel (22), a magnetic adsorption unit (23), a track telescopic rod (24), a track drive motor (25), and a track telescopic rod connector (26). The track drive motor (25) is fixed to the inner side plate by screws. The shaft of the track drive motor (25) is coaxially connected to the drive wheel. The magnetic track (2) is connected to the working chassis hinge (33) to achieve connection with the underwater robot frame (14). The track telescopic rod (24) is connected to the inner side plate through the track telescopic rod connector (26). When crawling, the magnetic adsorption track can be adsorbed onto the pile legs of the offshore oil pipeline platform, while providing the driving force required for the robot's movement. The magnetic adsorption tracks (2) on the left and right sides achieve the robot's turning by making differential motion.

4. A robot component according to claim 3, characterized in that: The magnetic adsorption unit (23) includes a connecting support (231), a yoke (232), a permanent magnet (233), a nylon shell (234), and a rubber shell (235). A yoke (232) is installed on the upper end of a permanent magnet (233) to increase the magnetism of the permanent magnet (233); a nylon shell (234) is used to fix and protect the permanent magnet (233) and to connect it to the track chain (21); a rubber shell (235) can hold the nylon shell (234) to increase the friction with the contact surface of the pile leg and to provide buffer protection for the magnetic adsorption unit.

5. A robot component according to claim 4, characterized in that: The track telescopic rod (24) includes a connecting rod (241), a connecting sleeve (242), and a telescopic spring (243). Both the connecting rod (241) and the connecting sleeve (242) have limiting bosses at their ends, which are used to prevent the connecting rod (241) from detaching from the connecting sleeve (242). The connecting rod (241) can be in an extended state under the action of the telescopic spring (243).

6. A magnetically attached pile leg cleaning and inspection robot, using the robot components described in claim 5, characterized in that: The robot also includes an underwater robot body (1); The underwater robot body (1) includes a release device (11), a binocular vision camera (12), a buoyancy material (13), an underwater robot frame (14), a thruster (15), a high-brightness light (16), a gimbal (17), an electronic cabin (18), and a crash beam (19). The underwater robot frame (14) provides installation positions for various components of the underwater robot body (1). The buoyancy material (13) is installed on the top of the underwater robot frame (14) by means of studs, nuts and washers. The electronic cabin (18) is installed at the bottom of the underwater robot frame (14). The high-brightness light (16) is installed on the underwater robot frame (14) by means of a high-brightness light bracket. The binocular vision camera (12) is connected to the upper part of the underwater robot frame (14). The thruster (15) is fixed on the thruster seat and the thruster seat is connected to the underwater robot frame (14). The underwater robot frame (14) includes a bottom support frame (141), side plates (142), diagonal braces (143), a bottom plate (144), and an upper plate (145); the upper plate (145) and the side plates (142) are connected by angle iron, and the bottom plate (144) and the side plates (142) are connected by the bottom support frame (141); The underwater robot body (1) is located directly above the working chassis (3) and the two are connected by the working chassis connector (32). The reciprocating mobile spray gun cleaning unit (4) is located at the front of the robot and is connected to the working chassis (3) through the support frame (48). The magnetic adsorption track (2) is located on both sides of the working chassis (3) and the two are connected by the working chassis hinge (33). The wall thickness detection mechanism (5) is located inside the working chassis (3) and the two are connected by the detection device fixing plate (31).

7. The magnetic suction type pile leg cleaning and inspection robot according to claim 6, characterized in that: The thrusters (15) are arranged in the horizontal and vertical directions respectively. The horizontally arranged thrusters (15) are arranged in a vector manner to control the horizontal movement and yaw degree of freedom of the underwater robot. The vertically arranged thrusters (15) are used to control the vertical movement and roll degree of freedom of the underwater robot, and at the same time help the underwater robot to detach from the legs and provide power. The vector arrangement refers to the horizontally positioned thrusters (15) arranged in a ring at a 45-degree angle to the forward axis.

8. A method for controlling the magnetically suction-type pile leg cleaning and inspection robot according to any one of claims 6 to 7, comprising the following steps: After the robot enters the water, it is activated and swims to the work area using the thrusters (15). The vertical thrusters (15) at the front increase their power to make the robot flip into an upright position. Then, the power of all vertical thrusters (15) is adjusted to be consistent, keeping the robot in an upright position close to the legs of the jacket platform. After the robot's magnetic adsorption track (2) comes into contact with the pile leg, the magnetic adsorption track (2) can automatically adapt to the diameter of the pile leg. After adjusting the opening and closing degree of the tracks on both sides, the magnetic adsorption track (2) fits perfectly onto the pile leg of the jacket platform. After the robot is attached to the legs, all thrusters (15) stop working to prevent marine debris from being rolled into the thrusters (15) during the process of removing marine organisms and causing damage to the thrusters (15). After the thrusters (15) stop working, the power source for all the robot's movement comes from the track drive motor (25). The reciprocating mobile spray gun cleaning unit (4) starts working and works in conjunction with the gimbal (17); the gimbal (17) detects the cleaning status of the high-pressure spray gun and transmits the image back to the electronic cabin (18), and controls the cleaning operation of the reciprocating mobile spray gun cleaning unit (4) under the control program of the electronic cabin (18). After cleaning, the wall thickness detection mechanism (5) performs wall thickness detection in the cleaned area. Under the control program of the electronic cabin (18), the wall thickness detection sensor (57) is pressed against the area to be detected by the guide rail slider (54) driven by the guide rail motor (51). After the detection is completed, the wall thickness detection sensor (57) is retracted by the guide rail slider (54) driven by the guide rail motor (51). After the test is completed, the track drive motor (25) stops working, and all vertical thrusters (15) are activated, causing the robot to face away from the pile legs. After the robot leaves the pile legs, the front and rear vertical thrusters (15) work together to make the robot flip back to the horizontal state.

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