Underwater modular robot facing ship wall surface

Abstract

The invention discloses an underwater modular robot facing a ship wall surface. The robot comprises a body frame and a motion module. A control module and a visual module are arranged on the body frame; the movement modules are arranged on the two sides of the body frame and used for providing adsorption and movement functions for the robot. The visual module comprises a visual module bottom plate, a spherical shell sleeve connected to the visual module bottom plate and a spherical shell installed in the spherical shell sleeve. A connecting hole is formed in the visual module bottom plate, a connecting plate is arranged on the body frame, and a connecting rod sequentially penetrates through a compression spring, the connecting hole and a limiting sleeve and then is connected to the connecting plate; a camera shooting assembly is installed in the spherical shell. The ship maintenance platform has the advantages that the whole ship maintenance platform adopts modular design, each module can be disassembled, assembled and replaced, installation and maintenance are convenient, expansibility is high, various work requirements can be met, and ship maintenance cost is greatly reduced; and the visual module performs self-adaptive height adjustment by using a compression spring, so that an obstacle crossing function is realized, and a protection effect is provided for the spherical shell.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The invention relates to an underwater robot, in particular to an underwater modular robot facing the wall of a ship. Background Art

[0002] A large amount of attachments will be present on the outer surface of a ship that sails for a long time, which greatly increases the sailing resistance, reduces the ship speed, increases fuel consumption, and causes serious corrosion, which affects navigation safety, causes pollution, increases maintenance costs, and shortens the life of the ship. At present, cleaning the attachments on the hull surface is one of the important means to achieve energy conservation and emission reduction for ships. The annual ship cleaning cost of the global shipping industry is close to 10 billion US dollars, and there is a huge market demand. Therefore, monitoring and cleaning of ship attachments is extremely important. Since the generation of attachments is affected by many factors, premature treatment of attachments will increase the removal cost, and late treatment will increase the operating cost of the ship. At the same time, the underwater environment is harsh and full of dangers, and the diving depth of people is limited. Therefore, it is an ideal choice to use underwater inspection robots to detect ship attachments and rust status.

[0003] The currently common propulsion-type underwater inspection robot system has poor stability and is easily affected by undercurrents, waves, etc. At the same time, the underwater field of view is limited when observing closely, and it is unable to complete the inspection work well in muddy water conditions. In addition, the functionality is relatively simple and the operating equipment cannot be replaced. Summary of the invention

[0004] The technical problem to be solved by the present invention is to provide an underwater modular robot facing the ship wall which has a simple structure, light weight, low cost, wide applicability and is easy to install and maintain.

[0005] In order to solve the above technical problems, the underwater modular robot facing the ship wall of the present invention comprises a main body frame and a motion module. The main body frame is a rectangular frame composed of two opposite horizontal beams and two longitudinal beams, on which a control module and a visual module are arranged; the motion module is arranged on both sides of the main body frame, and is used to provide the robot with adsorption and motion functions.

[0006] The visual module includes a visual module base plate, a spherical shell sleeve connected to the visual module base plate, and a spherical shell installed in the spherical shell sleeve; a connecting hole is provided on the visual module base plate, and a connecting plate is provided on the main body frame. A connecting rod is used to pass through a compression spring, the connecting hole and the limiting sleeve in sequence and then be connected to the connecting plate; a camera assembly is installed in the spherical shell.

[0007] An auxiliary arm is also provided on the bottom plate of the visual module, and a searchlight is installed on the auxiliary arm.

[0008] The motion module includes a track assembly and a drive module. The track assembly includes a driving sprocket, a driven sprocket, an idler assembly, and a chain connecting the driving sprocket and the driven sprocket. The drive module is connected to the driving sprocket.

[0009] An active side plate and a driven side plate are arranged on both sides of the main body frame, the active sprocket is installed on the active side plate, and the driven sprocket is installed on the driven side plate; a connecting seat is arranged in the front of the main body frame, and the driving module is installed in the connecting seat.

[0010] A magnet back plate is arranged on the wing plate of the chain, a permanent magnet is arranged on the magnet back plate, and rubber blocks are arranged on both sides of the permanent magnet.

[0011] The driving sprocket and the driven sprocket are double-row sprockets, and the chain is a double-row chain.

[0012] A semi-circular base matching the shape of the control module is installed on the main body frame, and the control module is installed in the semi-circular base.

[0013] An L-shaped plate is arranged on the connecting plate, and a mud scraper is arranged on the L-shaped plate.

[0014] The ball shell is made of acrylic material, and the main body frame is made of aluminum alloy profile.

[0015] The advantages of the present invention are: the overall modular design is adopted, each module can be disassembled and replaced, which is convenient for installation and maintenance, and has strong expandability, can adapt to various work requirements, and greatly reduces the maintenance cost of the ship; the visual module uses a compression spring to perform adaptive height adjustment to achieve an obstacle crossing function and provide protection for the spherical shell; the motion module adopts a double sprocket drive to make the movement more stable; the rubber block protects the permanent magnet, and by cooperating with the rubber block, the robot's adsorption force can be adjusted. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0016] Figure 1 A perspective view of the present invention; Figure 2 It is a rear view of the present invention; Figure 3 It is a front view of the present invention; Figure 4 It is a right side view of the present invention; Figure 5 It is a left side cross-sectional view of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0017] The following is a further detailed description of the underwater modular robot facing the ship wall of the present invention in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and specific embodiments.

[0018] like Figure 1 , 5 As shown, the underwater modular robot facing the wall of the ship of the present invention includes a main body frame 1 and a motion module 2. The main body frame 1 is a rectangular aluminum alloy profile frame composed of two opposite cross beams and two longitudinal beams. As the basic component of the robot, a control module 3 and a visual module 4 are arranged on it. The control module 3 is installed in a semi-circular base 27 that matches its appearance. It is a sealed cabin with watertight characteristics, which is used to provide control functions for each module of the robot. In addition to the control panel, a variety of functional modules can be arranged inside it, such as a depth sensor module, a temperature and humidity module, etc. The visual module 4 is used to provide observation and inspection functions for the robot. The motion module 2 is arranged on both sides of the main body frame 1 to provide adsorption and movement functions for the robot.

[0019] like Figure 2 As shown, the visual module 4 includes a visual module base plate 5, a spherical shell sleeve 6 connected to the visual module base plate 5, and a spherical shell 7 installed in the spherical shell sleeve 6, all of which are sealed. The wiring harness on the visual base plate 5 is connected using a watertight connector to ensure the sealing of the chamber. The spherical shell 7 is made of acrylic material, in which a camera component is installed. When the robot is working, the muddy water near the working surface is pushed away by the transparent acrylic spherical shell 7, thereby realizing local clear water inspection.

[0020] A connecting hole 8 is provided on the visual module base plate 5, and a connecting plate 9 is provided on the main body frame 1. A connecting rod 10 is used to pass through the compression spring 11, the connecting hole 8 and the limiting sleeve 12 in sequence and then connected to the connecting plate 9. The compression spring 11 is used to enable the visual module 4 to adaptively adjust its own height by increasing the compression amount of the compression spring 11 when the spherical shell 7 encounters an obstacle, thereby realizing the obstacle crossing function and protecting the spherical shell 7. The limiting sleeve 12 is used to ensure that there is a minimum basic distance between the visual module 4 and the working surface. An auxiliary arm 13 is also provided on the visual module base plate 5, and a searchlight 14 is installed on the auxiliary arm 13, and other cameras or auxiliary components can also be installed.

[0021] like Figure 3 , 4 As shown, the motion module 2 includes a track assembly 15 and a drive module 16, and the track assembly 15 includes a driving sprocket 17, a driven sprocket 18, an idler assembly 19, and a chain 20 connecting the driving sprocket 17 and the driven sprocket 18. The driving sprocket 17 and the driven sprocket 18 are double-row sprockets, and the chain 20 is a double-row chain. A driving side plate 21 and a driven side plate 22 are provided on both sides of the body frame 1, the driving sprocket 17 is mounted on the driving side plate 21, and the driven sprocket 18 is mounted on the driven side plate 22. The idler assembly 19 is used to tension the chain 20.

[0022] A magnet back plate 24 is provided on the wing plate of the chain 20, and a permanent magnet 25 is provided on the magnet back plate 24. The permanent magnet 25 is used to provide adsorption capacity for the robot, and rubber blocks 26 are provided on both sides thereof. The rubber blocks 26 are used to increase the friction force when the robot moves, and at the same time protect the permanent magnet 25 from impact and collision with the working surface, and can also adjust the overall adsorption force by adjusting the height difference between the rubber blocks 26 and the permanent magnet 25. An L-shaped plate 28 is provided on the connecting plate 9, and a scraper 29 is provided on the L-shaped plate 28. The scraper 29 is used to reduce the thickness of the sludge layer when the crawler assembly 15 is walking to prevent it from affecting the adsorption force of the permanent magnet 25.

[0023] The driving module 16 is a sealed cabin with watertight characteristics, in which a DC motor and a reducer are arranged. It adopts a dual-motor drive form and is installed in two connecting seats 23 arranged in front of the main body frame 1 and connected to the driving sprocket 17.

[0024] Based on the modular design concept, each module installed on the underwater robot body frame 1 can be replaced. It not only has a simple structure and is easy to install, but also can be equipped with various expansion modules such as cleaning modules and maintenance modules according to work requirements, so as to achieve multiple uses of one machine, which greatly reduces the maintenance cost of the ship.

[0025] Of course, the above description is not a limitation of the present invention, and the present invention is not limited to the above examples. Changes, modifications, additions or substitutions made by technicians in this technical field within the essential scope of the present invention should also fall within the protection scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. An underwater modular robot facing the wall of a ship, comprising a main body frame (1) and a motion module (2), characterized in that: The main body frame (1) is a rectangular frame consisting of two opposite horizontal beams and two longitudinal beams, on which a control module (3) and a vision module (4) are arranged; the motion module (2) is arranged on both sides of the main body frame (1) and is used to provide the robot with adsorption and motion functions.

2. The underwater modular robot facing the ship wall according to claim 1, characterized in that: The visual module (4) comprises a visual module base plate (5), a spherical shell sleeve (6) connected to the visual module base plate (5), and a spherical shell (7) installed in the spherical shell sleeve (6); a connecting hole (8) is provided on the visual module base plate (5), a connecting plate (9) is provided on the main body frame (1), and a connecting rod (10) is used to pass through a compression spring (11), the connecting hole (8) and the limiting sleeve (12) in sequence and then connected to the connecting plate (9); a camera assembly is installed in the spherical shell (7).

3. The underwater modular robot facing the ship wall according to claim 2, characterized in that: An auxiliary arm (13) is also provided on the visual module base plate (5), and a searchlight (14) is mounted on the auxiliary arm (13).

4. The underwater modular robot facing the ship wall according to claim 1, 2 or 3, characterized in that: The motion module (2) comprises a track assembly (15) and a drive module (16); the track assembly (15) comprises a driving sprocket (17), a driven sprocket (18), an idler assembly (19), and a chain (20) connecting the driving sprocket (17) and the driven sprocket (18); the drive module (16) is connected to the driving sprocket (17).

5. The underwater modular robot facing the ship wall according to claim 4, characterized in that: An active side plate (21) and a driven side plate (22) are provided on both sides of the main body frame (1); the active sprocket (17) is mounted on the active side plate (21), and the driven sprocket (18) is mounted on the driven side plate (22); a connecting seat (23) is provided in front of the main body frame (1), and the drive module (16) is mounted in the connecting seat (23).

6. The underwater modular robot facing the ship wall according to claim 5, characterized in that: A magnet back plate (24) is arranged on the wing plate of the chain (20), a permanent magnet (25) is arranged on the magnet back plate (24), and rubber blocks (26) are arranged on both sides of the permanent magnet (25).

7. The underwater modular robot facing the ship wall according to claim 5 or 6, characterized in that: The driving sprocket (17) and the driven sprocket (18) are double-row sprockets, and the chain (20) is a double-row chain.

8. The underwater modular robot facing the ship wall according to claim 2, 5 or 6, characterized in that: A semi-annular base (27) matching the shape of the control module (3) is installed on the main body frame (1), and the control module (3) is installed in the semi-annular base (27).

9. The underwater modular robot facing the ship wall according to claim 8, characterized in that: An L-shaped plate (28) is provided on the connecting plate (9), and a mud scraper (29) is provided on the L-shaped plate (28).

10. The underwater modular robot facing the ship wall according to claim 9, characterized in that: The spherical shell (7) is made of acrylic material, and the main body frame (1) is made of aluminum alloy profile.

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