An anisotropic composite track and track-type sealed wall-climbing robot

Abstract

The application discloses an anisotropic composite material track and a track type sealed wall-climbing robot, and relates to the field of wall-climbing robots.The track type sealed wall-climbing robot comprises a composite material track and a track type sealed wall-climbing robot, wherein the composite material track has a multilayer composite structure, the innermost layer is a synchronous belt, the middle layer is an elastic layer, the outermost layer is a wear-resistant layer, and the two sides are sealing layers, and the layers are combined by using an adhesive process.The track type sealed wall-climbing robot further comprises a frame system, an adsorption system, a driving system, a transmission system and a sealing system.The application solves the problems of air leakage caused by track deformation during turning of a conventional track type sealed wall-climbing robot, poor wear resistance of the track and large friction between the tracks, and effectively improves the wall surface activity and adaptability of the wall-climbing robot.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This application relates to the field of special robots, and in particular to an anisotropic composite material track and a tracked sealed wall-climbing robot. Background Technology

[0002] Currently, high-altitude wall work is primarily done manually, which presents problems such as high operational risks, low efficiency, high costs, and personnel shortages. Using wall-climbing robots to replace manual labor for high-altitude operations is an effective solution. Compared to other types of negative pressure wall-climbing robots, tracked sealed wall-climbing robots, because their negative pressure chamber is integrated with the walking mechanism, maintain the good wall adaptability of negative pressure adsorption wall-climbing robots while also possessing excellent load-bearing capacity and obstacle-crossing ability, and are gradually gaining widespread application. Because the tracks of tracked sealed wall-climbing robots need to constantly enclose a sealed cavity, they often use sponge as the track material to ensure complete contact with the wall surface. However, during the robot's turning or diagonal movement, the soft sponge can create gaps between the two tracks due to lateral forces, causing air leakage, reducing the robot's adsorption force, or even causing it to fall off. Therefore, an ideal track for a tracked sealed wall-climbing robot is one that maintains good elasticity in the direction perpendicular to the wall, allowing for complete contact with the wall surface, while maintaining a certain rigidity in the direction parallel to the wall surface to prevent deformation.

[0003] In the prior art, Chinese Patent No. CN209600666U discloses a negative pressure adsorption tracked wall-climbing robot based on rolling seal. It includes a negative pressure adsorption system for generating negative pressure, which cooperates with a rolling seal mechanism to create negative pressure and adsorb onto the sidewall of the flow channel. The rolling seal mechanism is connected to a drive system via a transmission system, and the drive system is fixedly mounted on the negative pressure adsorption system. Its drive track adopts a double-layer structure: the outer layer is made of foam material and seals the left and right sides of the negative pressure chamber; the inner layer has a synchronous belt that meshes with the drive track wheel, transmitting power from the drive track wheel to the drive track, enabling the robot to move on the wall.

[0004] Although tracked sealed wall-climbing robots are emerging in large numbers, they still have many shortcomings in terms of structural performance:

[0005] 1) In the existing transmission system of tracked sealed wall-climbing robots, the motor is placed inside the frame cavity, and the two ends of the track synchronous pulley are connected to external transmission synchronous pulleys or sprockets. The motor power is transmitted to the track by synchronous belt or chain. This structure occupies the space inside the frame cavity for the installation of the fan, which has to be raised to expose the fan inside the cavity, raising the center of gravity of the wall-climbing robot and also having a certain impact on noise. On the other hand, the internal space of the track is not utilized well, and the external transmission synchronous pulleys or sprockets increase the width and weight of the wall-climbing robot.

[0006] 2) Existing tracked sealed wall-climbing robots generally use a double-layer structure for their tracks. One layer is a synchronous belt, which mainly serves the transmission function, and the other layer is foam or other porous elastic material, where the porous material is the key to sealing. However, in order to ensure the adhesion between the track and the wall surface, the material selection process often only considers the material's compressibility and resilience, while neglecting the material's rigidity. This type of track is only suitable for the wall-climbing robot to move in a straight line. During the turning process, the tracks are prone to deformation and buckling, resulting in air leakage and affecting the robot's adhesion performance.

[0007] 3) Existing tracked sealed wall-climbing robots have only two layers of tracks. The outermost layer of foam or other porous elastic material is relatively soft and not wear-resistant, resulting in a limited track life. Summary of the Invention

[0008] This invention patent proposes an anisotropic composite material track and a tracked sealed wall-climbing robot. By integrating the transmission system of the wall-climbing robot into the track position, the internal space of the frame cavity is freed up, facilitating the operation of the fan and other electrical components, lowering the center of gravity of the wall-climbing robot, and making the overall structure of the wall-climbing robot more compact. The anisotropic composite material track is designed with a synchronous belt as the innermost layer, a mesh-like elastic layer in the middle, a friction-enhancing and wear-resistant layer as the outermost layer, and sealing layers on both sides. It aims to solve the problems of air leakage caused by track deformation during turning in existing wall-climbing robots, poor track wear resistance, and high friction between tracks, effectively improving the wall-climbing robot's wall mobility and adaptability.

[0009] To achieve the above objectives, the technical solution adopted by the present invention is as follows:

[0010] On the one hand, the present invention provides an anisotropic composite material track for use in a tracked sealed wall-climbing robot. The track has a multi-layer composite structure, wherein the innermost layer is a timing belt, the middle layer is an elastic layer, the outermost layer is a friction-enhancing and wear-resistant layer, and the two sides are sealing layers. The layers are bonded together using an adhesive process.

[0011] Preferably, the intermediate elastic layer adopts a porous mesh structure design, and the shape of the holes can be a regular polygon, a circle, or an irregular hole.

[0012] Preferably, the intermediate elastic layer is made of sponge material, with staggered transverse reinforcing ribs added in the middle of the sponge material.

[0013] Preferably, the friction-enhancing and wear-resistant layer is made of wear-resistant neoprene rubber with a slightly raised surface and is adhered to the outer layer of the elastic layer.

[0014] Preferably, the sealing layer is adhered to both sides of the intermediate elastic layer.

[0015] On the other hand, the present invention provides a tracked sealed wall-climbing robot, including a frame system, an adsorption system, a drive system, a transmission system and a sealing system, wherein the sealing system comprises multiple tracks as described in the first aspect.

[0016] Preferably, the frame system includes a curved frame and support plates on both sides.

[0017] Preferably, the track and the curved frame in the frame system enclose a sealed cavity. Preferably, the adsorption system includes a negative pressure fan, which is mounted on the base plate of the curved frame.

[0018] Preferably, the drive system includes a motor, which is mounted on the support plates on both sides.

[0019] Preferably, the transmission system includes a gear, a drive synchronous pulley, and a driven synchronous pulley, wherein the motor is connected to the gear, and the gear meshes with the gear at the root of the drive synchronous pulley, thereby driving the drive synchronous pulley and the track to rotate.

[0020] The present invention provides an anisotropic composite material track and a tracked sealed wall-climbing robot, which have the following advantages compared with the prior art:

[0021] 1) This invention uses a mesh-like elastic layer and reinforcing ribs to improve the lateral stiffness of the track while ensuring elasticity in the compression direction. This prevents the track from deforming and flipping due to friction and twisting during the turning process, thus avoiding air leakage and improving the adsorption stability of the wall-climbing robot. In contrast, commonly used foam-type track elastic layers have consistent performance in all directions and can only ensure elasticity in the compression direction of the wall. Therefore, the track has good compressibility, but it is easy to deform in the lateral direction, causing air leakage.

[0022] 2) The multi-layer composite material track of this invention can effectively meet the performance requirements of the track in all directions. Compared with the common double-layer track structure of foam plus timing belt, which only has a single compression sealing performance, the multi-layer composite material track can make the track have different performance in different directions. The outermost layer has friction-enhancing and wear-resistant properties, which can improve the friction between the track and the wall and the wear resistance, and improve the service life. The middle layer has good adhesion and lateral stiffness, and the two sides have good sealing performance, so that the track has the best comprehensive performance.

[0023] 3) This invention adopts a motor with a right-angle reducer to improve the space utilization of the wall-climbing robot. The motor is mounted on the mounting plates on both sides of the frame. The power is transmitted to the track and roller of the wall-climbing robot through gear transmission or synchronous belt transmission, so as to realize the overall movement of the wall-climbing robot. Compared with the common motor installation position and transmission method, the entire transmission structure is more compact and has a greater space utilization.

[0024] Other features and advantages of this application will become clear from the following detailed description of exemplary embodiments with reference to the accompanying drawings. Attached Figure Description

[0025] The accompanying drawings, which are provided to further illustrate this application and form part of this application, illustrate exemplary embodiments of this application and are used to explain this application, but do not constitute an undue limitation of this application.

[0026] In the attached diagram:

[0027] Figure 1 This is a side view of the tracked sealed wall-climbing robot of Embodiment 1 of the present invention;

[0028] Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of the tracked sealed wall-climbing robot structure according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention;

[0029] Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram of the mesh track structure of Embodiment 1 of the present invention;

[0030] Figure 4 This is a schematic diagram of the mesh shape and stress of the mesh track in Embodiment 1 of the present invention;

[0031] Figure 5 This is a schematic diagram of the tracked sealed wall-climbing robot structure according to Embodiment 2 of the present invention;

[0032] Figure 6 This is a schematic diagram of the track structure with reinforcing ribs according to Embodiment 2 of the present invention;

[0033] Figure 7 This is a schematic diagram of the arrangement of the intermediate elastic layer and reinforcing ribs in Embodiment 2 of the present invention.

[0034] Explanation of reference numerals in the attached drawings: 1. Frame system; 2. Adsorption system; 3. Drive system; 4. Transmission system; 5. Sealing system; 11. Curved frame; 12. Support plate 1; 13. Support plate 2; 21. Negative pressure fan; 31. Motor 1; 32. Motor 2; 41. Gear 1; 42. Drive synchronous pulley 1; 43. Driven synchronous pulley 1; 44. Gear 2; 45. Driven synchronous pulley 2; 46. Driven synchronous pulley 2; 47. Synchronous pulley 1; 48. Synchronous pulley 2; 49. Synchronous belt 1; 410. Synchronous belt 2; 51. Track 1; 52. Track 2; 53. Roller 3; 54. Roller 4; 55. Roller 2; 56. Roller 1; 511. Synchronous belt; 512. Elastic layer; 513. Friction-enhancing and wear-resistant layer; 514. Sealing layer; 515. Reinforcing rib. Detailed Implementation

[0035] The technical solutions of the embodiments of this application will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. Obviously, the described embodiments are only some embodiments of this application, and not all embodiments. The following description of at least one exemplary embodiment is merely illustrative and is in no way intended to limit this application or its application or use.

[0036] Example 1

[0037] like Figures 1-2 As shown, an anisotropic composite material track and a tracked sealed wall-climbing robot are disclosed. The tracked sealed wall-climbing robot comprises a frame system (1), an adsorption system (2), a drive system (3), a transmission system (4), and a sealing system (5). Wherein:

[0038] The curved frame (11) in the tracked sealed wall-climbing robot frame system (1) and the track 1 (51) and track 2 (52) in the sealing system (5) and the rollers 1 (56), 2 (55), 3 (53) and 4 (54) in the sealing system form a cavity. The cavity is located below the curved frame. When the wall-climbing robot comes into contact with the wall, the cavity is completely sealed. The air in the cavity can be extracted by the negative pressure fan (21) of the adsorption system (2), so that the wall-climbing robot can be adsorbed on the wall under the action of the pressure difference between the inside and outside atmosphere.

[0039] The motors 1 (31) and 2 (32) in the drive system (3) are respectively mounted on the support plate 1 (12) and support plate 2 (13) of the frame system (1). The motor 1 (31) drives the gear 1 (41) in the transmission system (4) to rotate. The gear 1 (41) meshes with the gear at the root of the drive synchronous wheel 1 (42), causing the drive synchronous wheel 1 (42) and the roller 1 (56) to rotate. The drive synchronous wheel 1 (42) transmits power to the driven synchronous wheel 1 (43) through the track 1 (51), causing the roller 2 (55) to rotate. Similarly, the motor 2 (32) drives the gear 2 (44), transmitting power to the drive synchronous wheel 2 (45) and the roller 3 (53). The track 2 (52) then drives the driven synchronous wheel 2 (46), causing the roller 4 (54) to rotate, thus enabling the wall-climbing robot to move straight or turn on the wall.

[0040] The tracked sealing wall-climbing robot sealing system (5) includes track 1 (51) and track 2 (52), and rollers 1 (56), 2 (55), 3 (53), and 4 (54). The innermost layer of track 1 (51) is a synchronous belt (511), which mainly functions as a transmission layer. The middle layer is an elastic layer (512), the outermost layer is a friction-enhancing and wear-resistant layer (513), and the two sides are sealing layers (514). The layers are bonded together using an adhesive process. The track and rollers have the same structure, the difference being the length of the synchronous belt and the thickness of the elastic layer.

[0041] like Figures 3-4 As shown, the elastic layer (512) in the track 1 (51) adopts a porous mesh structure design. The shape of the holes can be a regular square, a circle, or an irregular hole. Preferably, the upper and lower hole walls are staggered. It has been verified that a honeycomb mesh has the best effect. In addition, the mesh density of the elastic layer (512) can be adjusted according to the size of the wall-climbing robot, the suction force of the fan, and the height of the obstacle. When the elastic layer (512) is subjected to a force in the Z direction, the holes are easily compressed, which can ensure that the track can maintain good contact with the wall surface without air leakage under negative pressure. When subjected to a force in the X direction, due to the support of the hole wall, the elastic layer has good rigidity and does not easily deform or curl. Thus, the track and roller are tightly fitted during the turning and lateral movement of the wall-climbing robot, without air leakage, and with stable adsorption.

[0042] The friction-enhancing and wear-resistant layer (513) in the track 1 (51) is pasted on the outer layer of the elastic layer (512). On the one hand, together with the sealing layer (514) pasted on both sides, it seals the holes in the elastic layer (512) to prevent air leakage. On the other hand, the friction-enhancing and wear-resistant layer (513) is made of wear-resistant neoprene rubber with a slightly raised surface, which can increase the friction between the track and the wall and protect the elastic layer.

[0043] Example 2

[0044] like Figure 5 As shown, an anisotropic composite material track and a tracked sealed wall-climbing robot are disclosed. The tracked sealed wall-climbing robot comprises a frame system (1), an adsorption system (2), a drive system (3), a transmission system (4), and a sealing system (5). Wherein:

[0045] The motors 1 (31) and 2 (32) in the drive system (3) are respectively mounted on the support plate 1 (12) and support plate 2 (13) of the frame system (1). The motor 1 (31) drives the synchronous wheel 1 (47) and drives the drive synchronous wheel 1 (42) to rotate through the synchronous belt 1 (49), thereby causing the roller 1 (55) to rotate. At the same time, the drive synchronous wheel 1 (42) transmits power to the driven synchronous wheel (43) through the track 1 (51), causing the roller 2 (56) to rotate. Similarly, the motor 2 (32) drives the synchronous wheel 2 (48) to drive the drive synchronous wheel 2 (45) and the roller 3 (54) through the synchronous belt 2 (410). The track 2 (52) then transmits power to the driven synchronous wheel (46), causing the roller 4 (53) to rotate, thereby enabling the wall-climbing robot to move straight or turn on the wall.

[0046] The tracked sealing wall-climbing robot sealing system (5) includes track 1 (51) and track 2 (52), and rollers 1 (56), 2 (55), 3 (53), and 4 (54). The innermost layer of track 1 (51) is a synchronous belt (511), which mainly functions as a transmission layer. The middle layer is an elastic layer (512), with reinforcing ribs (515) inserted in the middle of the elastic layer (512). The outermost layer is a friction-enhancing and wear-resistant layer (513), and the two sides are sealing layers (514). The layers are bonded together using an adhesive process. The track and rollers have the same structure, the difference being the length of the synchronous belt and the thickness of the elastic layer.

[0047] like Figures 6-7 As shown, the elastic layer (512) of the track 1 (51) is made of sponge material, with staggered transverse reinforcing ribs (515) added in the middle of the sponge material. Similarly, these reinforcing ribs can also ensure that the track has good rigidity in the X direction and good elasticity in the Z direction. This ensures that the track can maintain good contact with the wall surface without air leakage under negative pressure. When subjected to X-direction force, the elastic layer has good rigidity due to the support of the hole wall and does not easily deform or curl. This allows the track and roller to fit tightly without air leakage and stably adsorb during the turning and lateral movement of the wall-climbing robot. In addition, the middle elastic layer can also be a regular porous mesh structure, with reinforcing ribs (512) inserted into the mesh nodes to further improve the X-direction rigidity.

[0048] The friction-enhancing and wear-resistant layer (513) in the track 1 (51) is pasted on the outer layer of the elastic layer (512). On the one hand, together with the sealing layer (514) pasted on both sides, it seals the holes in the elastic layer (512) to prevent air leakage. On the other hand, the friction-enhancing and wear-resistant layer (513) is made of wear-resistant neoprene rubber with a slightly raised surface, which can increase the friction between the track and the wall and protect the elastic layer.

[0049] The above embodiments are only used to illustrate the technical solutions of this application and are not intended to limit it. Although this application has been described in detail with reference to preferred embodiments, those skilled in the art should understand that modifications can still be made to the specific implementation methods of this application or equivalent substitutions can be made to some technical features without departing from the spirit of the technical solutions of this application, and all such modifications and substitutions should be covered within the scope of the technical solutions claimed in this application.

Claims

1. An anisotropic composite track applied to a sealable wall-climbing robot, characterized in that, The track has a multi-layer composite structure, wherein the innermost layer is a synchronous belt, the middle layer is an elastic layer, the outermost layer is a wear-resistant layer, and the two sides are sealing layers, and the layers are combined by using an adhesive process; The elastic layer adopts a porous mesh structure design, and the shape of the holes can be regular polygons, circles, or irregular holes; The elastic layer adopts a sponge material, and the sponge material is added with transverse reinforcing ribs staggered with each other; The wear-resistant layer adopts a micro-convex wear-resistant neoprene material and is pasted on the outer layer of the elastic layer; The wear-resistant layer and the sealing layers pasted on the two sides together seal the holes of the elastic layer.

2. The track of claim 1, wherein, The sealing layers are pasted on the two sides of the elastic layer.

3. A tracked, seal-climbing robot comprising a frame system, a suction system, a drive system, a transmission system, and a seal system, characterized in that, The sealing system comprises a plurality of tracks as claimed in claim 1 or 2.

4. The sealable wall-climbing robot according to claim 3, wherein, The frame system comprises a curved frame and support plates on both sides.

5. The sealable wall-climbing robot according to claim 4, wherein, The track and the curved frame in the frame system form a closed cavity.

6. The sealable wall-climbing robot according to claim 4, wherein, The adsorption system comprises a negative pressure fan installed on the bottom plate of the curved frame.

7. The sealable wall-climbing robot according to claim 4, wherein, The drive system comprises a motor installed on the support plates on both sides.

8. The seal wall-climbing robot according to claim 7, wherein, The transmission system comprises a gear, a driving synchronous wheel, and a driven synchronous wheel, wherein the motor is connected with the gear, the gear is meshed with the gear at the root of the driving synchronous wheel, driving the driving synchronous wheel and the track to rotate.

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