Wire feeding robot for long-distance work of pipeline robot

Abstract

The invention belongs to the technical field of robots, and particularly relates to a wire feeding robot for long-distance work of a pipeline robot. Comprising a first wire feeding module, a second wire feeding module and a tensioning module, the first wire feeding module and the second wire feeding module are arranged in front of and behind the tensioning module respectively, a center trunk penetrates through a middle hole of the tensioning module, and a first deformation motor and a second deformation motor are installed at the positions, located on the two sides of the tensioning module, of the center trunk respectively. A first wire feeding module is connected to the center trunk located on the outer side of the first deformation motor, and a second wire feeding module is connected to the center trunk located on the outer side of the second deformation motor. The robot has the beneficial effects that an innovative stay wire torsion spring structure is adopted to achieve opening and closing of the robot shell, the tail end of the opened claw-shaped shell and the inner wall of a pipeline can form a self-locking structure, and the shell of the trailer has the movement trend of further opening under the counter-acting force of a cable; and therefore, the trailer is further tensioned in the pipeline.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The invention belongs to the technical field of robots, and in particular relates to a wire feeding robot for long-distance work of pipeline robots. Background Art

[0002] As nuclear power, thermal power and other plants gradually increase the requirements for the maintenance efficiency and maintenance costs of large equipment, flexible and complex pipeline detection robots have emerged, which can carry a variety of sensors and operating devices to perform a series of pipeline inspection and maintenance operations. In the long and narrow pipeline space, pipeline robots can complete many maintenance tasks without disassembling the machine, greatly reducing the cost of each disassembly and maintenance, and also eliminating the time of disassembly. At present, pipeline robots have appeared in traditional industrial fields such as oil, natural gas, chemicals, nuclear facilities, as well as urban water pipelines, oil fume pipelines and biomedicine.

[0003] Pipeline robots can be divided into cabled pipeline robots and cableless pipeline robots based on the energy supply method. The two types of pipeline robots have their own advantages and disadvantages. Cableless pipeline robots carry batteries as energy supply and transmit signals directly to the upper host wirelessly, which is more convenient. However, this type of pipeline robot is insufficient in system stability, and the robot's battery life is limited. The robot may run out of energy during work and cannot return. Cabled pipeline robots are mostly powered by power cords, and signals are transmitted using signal lines. This structure ensures smooth communication and enhances the robot's battery life. However, the wired method limits the robot's range of activities, and its flexibility is not as good as that of cableless pipeline robots. It also requires additional devices to assist the movement of cables.

[0004] In certain working environments, the use of cabled pipeline robots is the only option. For example, the robot works inside the steam pipes of thermal power plants and nuclear power plants, and can pass through complex valves and be adsorbed on the vertical inner wall for detection. Inside complex metal pipes, wireless communication signals are difficult to transmit due to electromagnetic shielding; the need to be adsorbed vertically inside the pipe determines that the mass of the robot cannot be too large, resulting in no space for large-capacity batteries. Therefore, in this case, the pipeline robot can only use a cabled method. However, the flexibility of the pipeline robot is inversely proportional to its load. The more flexible the robot, the smaller the size of the drive components it carries, which makes it difficult to cope with the huge drag force brought by the cables when working over long distances, which seriously limits the working range of the pipeline robot.

[0005] The wire feeding robot can adopt a rope climbing motion mode with active wheels and passive wheels. It only needs to solve the tension problem when the inner diameter of the pipeline changes, and the ability to cross obstacles in the pipeline. At present, the common pipeline inspection robots, pipeline cleaning robots and other pipeline robots commonly use wheeled, crawler, airbag, mechanical and other methods to change the diameter. Among them, the wheel type has a small contact area and lacks tension. The crawler type requires a larger actuator, which is not suitable for micro pipeline robots in size. The airbag type requires an additional air path, and the wear resistance of the airbag is poor. The edge of the airbag will reduce the robot's ability to cross obstacles. Mechanical tensioning does not have passive adaptability and requires a driving element to maintain driving force, which reduces the reliability of the robot.

[0006] As nuclear power, thermal power and other plants gradually increase the maintenance efficiency and maintenance cost of large equipment, flexible and complex pipeline detection robots have emerged. In the long and narrow pipeline space, pipeline robots can complete many maintenance tasks without disassembling the machine, greatly reducing the cost of each disassembly and maintenance, and also eliminating the time of disassembly. However, the flexibility of pipeline robots is inversely proportional to their load. The more flexible the robot, the smaller the size of the drive components it carries, which is difficult to cope with the huge drag force brought by the cable when working over long distances, which seriously limits the working range of pipeline robots. Summary of the invention

[0007] The purpose of the present invention is to provide a wire feeding robot for long-distance work of pipeline robots, mainly to solve the cable dragging problem of pipeline robots under long-distance and complex lines.

[0008] The technical solution of the present invention is as follows: A wire feeding robot for long-distance work of a pipeline robot comprises a first wire feeding module, a second wire feeding module and a tensioning module, wherein the first wire feeding module and the second wire feeding module are respectively arranged in front of and behind the tensioning module, and the central trunk passes through the middle hole of the tensioning module. The first deformation motor and the second deformation motor are respectively installed at positions on both sides of the tensioning module on the central trunk, the first wire feeding module is connected to the central trunk located on the outside of the first deformation motor, and the second wire feeding module is connected to the central trunk located on the outside of the second deformation motor.

[0009] The first wire feeding module and the second wire feeding module have the same structure.

[0010] The first wire feeding module and the second wire feeding module both include a frame, a driving active wheel, an active wheel, a passive wheel, a first wire feeding motor and a second wire feeding motor. The first wire feeding motor and the second wire feeding motor are installed on the outside of the frame, and the first active wheel, the second active wheel and the passive wheel are installed on the inside of the frame.

[0011] The first driving wheel, the second driving wheel and the passive wheel are evenly distributed on the inner side of the frame, the first wire feeding motor drives the first driving wheel and the second wire feeding motor drives the second driving wheel, and the wire to be fed passes through the first driving wheel, the second driving wheel and the passive wheel.

[0012] The tensioning module includes a shell, a binding line, a tensioning module bracket, and a torsion spring. The tensioning module bracket has a through hole in the middle, and 6 claws are installed on the tensioning module bracket. Each claw is connected to a torsion spring. The ends of the torsion springs are connected to the shell, and the shells are connected through the binding line.

[0013] The binding wire is connected to the deformation motor after being wound around the tip of the shell, and the opening and closing of the shell are controlled by the rotation of the motor.

[0014] The beneficial effects of the present invention are: the robot housing is opened and closed by adopting an innovative wire torsion spring structure, the claw-shaped housing end after opening can form a self-locking structure with the inner wall of the pipeline, and the trailer housing has a tendency to open further under the reaction force of the cable, thereby further tightening the trailer inside the pipeline, thereby improving the reliability of the trailer's wire delivery. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0015] Figure 1 Schematic diagram of a wire feeding robot for long-distance work of pipeline robots provided by the present invention

[0016] Figure 2 This is a front view of the wire feeding module;

[0017] Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram of the wire feeding module;

[0018] Figure 4 A schematic diagram of a wire feeding robot provided by the present invention for long-distance work of a pipeline robot moving on a cable;

[0019] Figure 5 is a schematic diagram of the tensioning module;

[0020] Figure 6 A schematic diagram of a wire feeding robot provided by the present invention for long-distance work in a pipeline, during tensioning in a pipeline;

[0021] Figure 7 A schematic diagram of a wire feeding robot provided by the present invention that is used for long-distance work in a pipeline robot and is feeding a cable to the right;

[0022] Figure 8 A schematic diagram of a cable delivery robot provided by the present invention for long-distance work in a pipeline robot delivering cables to the left;

[0023] Fig. 9 Schematic diagram of the tensioning module binding wire.

[0024] In the figure: 1 first wire feeding module, 2 second wire feeding module, 3 tensioning module, 4 central trunk, 101 first driving wheel, 102 second driving wheel, 103 passive wheel, 104 wire to be fed, 105 first wire feeding motor, 106 second wire feeding motor, 301 housing, 302 binding wire, 303 tensioning module bracket, 304 torsion spring, 10 pipeline, 5 first deformation motor, 6 second deformation motor. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0025] The present invention is further described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings and specific embodiments.

[0026] The wire feeding robot provided by the present invention is for long-distance work of pipeline robots and adopts a torsion spring self-locking mechanism, which has both passive adaptability and self-locking reliability. The motor power, motor reduction ratio and motor speed are determined according to the technical indicators of the wire feeding robot. The overall size of the wire feeding robot is determined according to the internal space of the pipeline-valve-container. According to the internal space of the pipeline-valve-container and the size of the trailer, the tip shape of the trailer tensioning mechanism is designed, that is, the minimum angle required for self-locking. The various parts of the wire feeding robot are reasonably assembled, and the minimum size required for strength is determined through simulation. The robot is assembled using three-dimensional modeling software to ensure structural rationality and facilitate assembly, disassembly and debugging. Finally, the wire feeding robot is modularized to facilitate the rapid replacement of damaged parts and improve work efficiency.

[0027] like Figure 1 As shown, a wire feeding robot for long-distance work of a pipeline robot includes a first wire feeding module 1, a second wire feeding module 2 and a tensioning module 3, wherein the first wire feeding module 1 and the second wire feeding module 2 are respectively arranged in front of and behind the tensioning module 3, and a tubular central trunk 4 passes through the middle hole of the tensioning module 3, and a first deformation motor 5 and a second deformation motor 6 are respectively installed at positions on both sides of the tensioning module 3 on the central trunk 4, the first wire feeding module 1 is connected to the central trunk 4 located on the outside of the first deformation motor 5, and the second wire feeding module 2 is connected to the central trunk 4 located on the outside of the second deformation motor 6.

[0028] like Figure 2 and 3As shown, the first wire feeding module 1 and the second wire feeding module 2 have the same structure and both include a frame, a driving active wheel 101, a driving wheel 102, a passive wheel 103, a first wire feeding motor 105 and a second wire feeding motor 106. The frame is a tubular structure. The first wire feeding motor 105 and the second wire feeding motor 106 are installed on the outer side of the frame, and the first driving wheel 101, the second driving wheel 102 and the passive wheel 103 are installed on the inner side of the frame, wherein the first driving wheel 101, the second driving wheel 102 and the passive wheel 103 are evenly distributed on the inner side of the frame, the first wire feeding motor 105 drives the first driving wheel 101 and the second wire feeding motor 106 drives the second driving wheel 102, and the wire 104 to be fed passes through the first driving wheel 101, the second driving wheel 102 and the passive wheel 103.

[0029] like Figure 5 As shown, the tensioning module 3 includes a shell 301, a binding line 302, a tensioning module bracket 303, and a torsion spring 304. The tensioning module bracket 303 has a through hole in the middle, and 6 claws are symmetrically installed on the tensioning module bracket 303. Each claw is connected to a torsion spring 304, and the end of the torsion spring 304 is connected to the shell 301. The shell 301 is connected through the binding line 302. The torsion spring 304 can ensure that the shell 301 will tighten the binding line 302 at any time to ensure that the binding line 302 will not get tangled or interfere with the movement of the mechanism.

[0030] like Fig. 9 As shown, the restraining wire 302 is connected to the deformation motor after being wrapped around the tip of the shell 301, and the opening and closing of the shell are controlled by the rotation of the motor.

[0031] The working principle of the present invention is as follows Figure 1 As shown, a wire feeding robot for long-distance work of pipeline robots includes a wire feeding module 1, a wire feeding module 2, a tensioning module 3 and a central trunk 4. Figure 3 The wire feeding motor 105 and the wire feeding motor 106 drive the driving wheel 101 and the driving wheel 102 and a driven wheel 103 to Figure 2 The wire 104 to be delivered is squeezed firmly, and the first wire feeding motor 105 and the second wire feeding motor 106 drive the driving wheel 101 and the driving wheel 102 to rotate to realize the delivery of the wire.

[0032] like Figure 5 As shown, the overall structure and working principle of the tensioning module 3 are as follows Figure 4 The streamlined shell 301 of the middle trailer can be deformed and unfolded. When the cable does not need to be transported, the trailer can climb on the cable to be transported 104 by rotating the first and second wire feeding motors 105 and 106 in the wire feeding module. Figure 6The middle deformation motor 5 rotates to release the restraining line 302 of the shell, and the streamlined shell 301 of the trailer is deformed and expanded, and the tension in the pipeline 10 is achieved by the torsion spring 304 at the rotating joint of the shell. At the same time, when the trailer transports the cable 104 to be delivered, the trailer is subjected to a reaction force in a single direction, and a friction cone is formed between the tip of the shell and the inner wall 10 of the pipeline 10, the pulling force increases, the trailer is fixed more firmly in the pipeline, and the reliability of the wire delivery is improved.

[0033] Introduction to the robot's working status:

[0034] When there is no need to feed the cable, the robot can climb back and forth on the cable at will, such as Figure 4 shown.

[0035] When the wire needs to be fed to the right, Figure 7 As shown, the left shell 302 can be opened, and the trailer is firmly fixed in the pipeline 10 under the combined action of the torsion spring and the tip of the shell, and the wire feeding module works to transport the cable to the right.

[0036] When the wire needs to be fed to the left, Figure 8 As shown, the housing 302 on the right side can be opened, and the trailer is firmly fixed in the pipeline 10 under the combined action of the torsion spring and the tip of the housing, and the wire feeding module works to realize the delivery of the cable to the left side.

Claims

1. A wire feeding robot for long-distance work of pipeline robots, characterized by: It includes a first wire feeding module, a second wire feeding module and a tensioning module. The first wire feeding module and the second wire feeding module are respectively arranged in front of and behind the tensioning module. The central trunk passes through the middle hole of the tensioning module. The first deformation motor and the second deformation motor are respectively installed on the positions of the central trunk on both sides of the tensioning module. The first wire feeding module is connected to the central trunk located on the outside of the first deformation motor, and the second wire feeding module is connected to the central trunk located on the outside of the second deformation motor.

2. A wire feeding robot for long-distance work of pipeline robots as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that: The first wire feeding module and the second wire feeding module have the same structure.

3. A wire feeding robot for long-distance operation of pipeline robots as claimed in claim 2, characterized in that: The first wire feeding module and the second wire feeding module both include a frame, a driving active wheel, an active wheel, a passive wheel, a first wire feeding motor and a second wire feeding motor. The first wire feeding motor and the second wire feeding motor are installed on the outside of the frame, and the first active wheel, the second active wheel and the passive wheel are installed on the inside of the frame.

4. A wire feeding robot for long-distance operation of pipeline robots as claimed in claim 3, characterized in that: The first driving wheel, the second driving wheel and the passive wheel are evenly distributed on the inner side of the frame, the first wire feeding motor drives the first driving wheel and the second wire feeding motor drives the second driving wheel, and the wire to be fed passes through the first driving wheel, the second driving wheel and the passive wheel.

5. The wire feeding robot for long-distance operation of pipeline robots according to claim 1, characterized in that: The tensioning module comprises a shell, a binding line, a tensioning module bracket, and a torsion spring. A through hole is provided in the middle of the tensioning module bracket, and six supporting claws are installed on the tensioning module bracket.

6. A wire feeding robot for long-distance operation of pipeline robots as claimed in claim 5, characterized in that: Each of the supporting claws is connected with a torsion spring, the end of the torsion spring is connected with a shell, and the shell is connected through a binding line.

7. The wire feeding robot for long-distance operation of pipeline robots according to claim 1, characterized in that: The binding wire is connected to the deformation motor after being wound around the tip of the shell, and the opening and closing of the shell are controlled by the rotation of the motor.

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