Pipeline crawling robot

Abstract

The invention provides a pipeline crawling robot. The pipeline crawling robot comprises a front vehicle body assembly, a rear vehicle body assembly and a plurality of driving wheel assemblies. The front vehicle body assembly is located on the front portion of the pipeline crawling robot, and part of or all electrical elements of a lower computer of the pipeline crawling robot are installed in the front vehicle body assembly. The rear vehicle body assembly is located on the rear portion of the pipeline crawling robot and rotates relative to the central axis of the front vehicle body assembly. The multiple driving wheel assemblies are used for driving the pipeline crawling robot to move and turn, and the pipeline crawling robot is attracted to the pipeline wall in a magnetic attraction mode. By arranging the magnetic adsorption type driving wheel assembly, the problems that an existing pipeline robot can only be used for a horizontal pipeline and cannot turn and is prone to tipping when used on the pipeline are solved.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present application belongs to the technical field of pipeline robots, and specifically relates to a pipeline crawling robot. Background Art

[0002] The seawater system of a nuclear power plant is an important part of the nuclear power plant. It is composed of various pipes, valves, instruments, etc., and plays an important role in the safe operation of the nuclear power plant. The pipe is the largest component of the entire seawater system. As the operation time of the nuclear power plant increases, various corrosions will appear on the surface of these pipes. If they are not treated, they may cause damage to the pipes, affecting the safe operation of the nuclear power plant. According to relevant regulations, they need to be inspected and maintained regularly.

[0003] At present, corrosion inspection and maintenance of seawater system pipelines are mainly carried out manually. Some nuclear power plants have also used pipeline robots for operations, but most of these robots are used for municipal sewer pipes. The driving wheels of such robots are generally fixed rubber wheels. When in use, they can only crawl along the bottom of horizontal pipes and are completely unusable for curved pipes, vertical pipes, etc. At the same time, they cannot turn when used on pipes, and there is also a risk of tipping over during movement. Summary of the invention

[0004] In view of this, an embodiment of the present application is dedicated to providing a pipeline crawling robot, which solves the problem that the existing pipeline robot can only be used in horizontal pipelines and cannot turn and is easy to overturn when used on the pipeline by setting a magnetic adsorption drive wheel assembly.

[0005] The present application provides a pipeline crawling robot, which includes a front body assembly, a rear body assembly and a plurality of driving wheel assemblies. The front body assembly is located at the front of the pipeline crawling robot, and some or all of the electrical components of the lower computer of the pipeline crawling robot are installed in the front body assembly. The rear body assembly is located at the rear of the pipeline crawling robot and rotates with the front body assembly relative to the central axis. The plurality of driving wheel assemblies are used to drive the pipeline crawling robot to move and turn, and to magnetically adsorb the pipeline crawling robot on the pipeline wall.

[0006] In a specific embodiment of the present application, the driving wheel assembly includes a driving motor, a motor mounting seat and a driving magnetic wheel. The stator of the driving motor is fixedly mounted on one side of the motor mounting seat, and the driving motor is used to drive the driving magnetic wheel to rotate. The main body of the driving magnetic wheel is made of a material with strong magnetic force, which is used to stably adsorb on the inner wall of the pipe during operation. The driving magnetic wheel is supported on one side of the motor mounting seat by a bearing, and is rotatable relative to the motor mounting seat, and is fixedly connected to the rotor of the driving motor.

[0007] In a specific embodiment of the present application, the outer ring of the driving magnetic wheel adopts a curved surface.

[0008] In a specific embodiment of the present application, the pipeline crawling robot further includes a rear-view camera and a front-view camera. The rear-view camera is used for video observation of the rear of the pipeline crawling robot and is fixedly installed behind the rear body assembly. The front-view camera is fixedly installed at the front of the front body assembly and is used for video inspection of the front of the pipeline crawling robot.

[0009] In a specific embodiment of the present application, the front-view camera is equipped with a 2-axis gimbal.

[0010] In a specific embodiment of the present application, the number of the multiple drive wheel assemblies is 4, 2 drive wheel assemblies are installed on both sides of the front body assembly, and the other 2 drive wheel assemblies are installed on both sides of the rear body assembly.

[0011] The beneficial effect of the technical solution of the present application is that when the pipeline crawling robot crawls and turns on the pipeline, no matter what posture the pipeline crawling robot is in, multiple driving wheel assemblies can drive the front body assembly and the rear body assembly to flexibly rotate through the waist rotating mechanism, so that the pipeline crawling robot can move forward, backward, and turn when crawling in the pipeline, and can pass through horizontal pipelines, vertical pipelines, elbows, and special-shaped structures, and can adapt to different pipeline inner walls, ensuring that multiple driving wheel assemblies can be reliably adsorbed on the pipeline wall to provide reliable adsorption force. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0012] Figure 1 Shown is a schematic structural diagram of a pipeline crawling robot provided in one embodiment of the present application.

[0013] Figure 2 Shown is a schematic structural diagram of a driving wheel assembly in a pipeline crawling robot provided in one embodiment of the present application.

[0014] Figure 3 Shown Figure 1 The schematic diagram of the pipeline crawling robot when working. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0015] The following will be combined with the drawings in the embodiments of the present application to clearly and completely describe the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application. Obviously, the described embodiments are only part of the embodiments of the present application, not all of the embodiments. Based on the embodiments in the present application, all other embodiments obtained by ordinary technicians in this field without creative work are within the scope of protection of this application.

[0016] At least one embodiment of the present application provides a pipeline crawling robot, referring to Figure 1The pipeline crawling robot comprises a front body assembly 1, a rear body assembly 2 and a plurality of driving wheel assemblies 4. The front body assembly 1 is located at the front of the pipeline crawling robot, and part or all of the electrical components of the lower computer of the pipeline crawling robot are installed in the front body assembly 1. The rear body assembly 2 is located at the rear of the pipeline crawling robot and rotates with the front body assembly 1 relative to the central axis. The plurality of driving wheel assemblies 4 are used to drive the pipeline crawling robot to move and turn, and to magnetically adsorb the pipeline crawling robot on the pipeline wall.

[0017] It should be noted that the front body assembly 1 can be used as the installation base of the pipeline crawling robot. The motor mounting seat 7 is the installation base of the driving wheel assembly 4. The front body assembly 1 and the rear body assembly 2 can rotate relative to the central axis of the pipeline crawling robot.

[0018] The pipeline crawling robot can be used for video inspection of the inner wall of the seawater system pipeline of a nuclear power plant. The pipeline body is required to be made of ferromagnetic material and the coating thickness is less than 1 mm. The pipeline crawling robot can also be used as a carrying platform to perform maintenance operations on the pipeline by loading different maintenance tools. The pipeline crawling robot can also be used for inspection and maintenance operations on the surface of other ferromagnetic equipment with thinner coatings.

[0019] According to the technical solution provided in the embodiment of the present application, when the pipe crawling robot crawls and turns on the pipe, no matter what posture the pipe crawling robot is in, multiple driving wheel assemblies 4 can drive the front body assembly 1 and the rear body assembly 2 to flexibly rotate through the waist swivel mechanism, so that the pipe crawling robot can move forward, backward, and turn when crawling in the pipe, and can pass through horizontal pipes, vertical pipes, elbows, and special-shaped structures, and can adapt to different pipe inner walls, ensuring that multiple driving wheel assemblies 4 can be reliably adsorbed on the pipe wall to provide reliable adsorption force.

[0020] In at least one embodiment of the present application, the driving wheel assembly 4 includes a driving motor 6, a motor mounting seat 7 and a driving magnetic wheel 8. The stator of the driving motor 6 is fixedly mounted on one side of the motor mounting seat 7, and the driving motor 6 is used to drive the driving magnetic wheel 8 to rotate. The main body of the driving magnetic wheel 8 is made of a material with strong magnetic force, which is used to stably adsorb on the inner wall of the pipe during operation. The driving magnetic wheel 8 is supported on one side of the motor mounting seat 7 by a bearing, and is rotatable relative to the motor mounting seat 7, and is fixedly connected to the rotor of the driving motor 6. In this way, the driving motor 6 is used to provide driving force for the driving magnetic wheel 8, ensuring that multiple driving magnetic wheels 8 can be reliably adsorbed on the pipe wall to provide reliable adsorption force.

[0021] In at least one embodiment of the present application, reference Figure 2The outer ring of the driving magnetic wheel 8 adopts an arc surface. In this way, when the pipeline crawling robot turns, it can ensure good fit to ensure greater adsorption force.

[0022] In at least one embodiment of the present application, reference Figure 1 The pipeline crawling robot further includes a rear-view camera 3 and a front-view camera 5. The rear-view camera 3 is used for video observation of the rear of the pipeline crawling robot and is fixedly mounted behind the rear body assembly 2. The front-view camera 5 is fixedly mounted at the front of the front body assembly 1 and is used for video inspection of the front of the pipeline crawling robot. In this way, the rear-view camera 3 and the front-view camera 5 are used to realize video inspection of the front and rear of the pipeline crawling robot, which is conducive to remote control and observation of the pipeline crawling robot.

[0023] In at least one embodiment of the present application, the front view camera 5 is provided with a 2-axis gimbal. Thus, by providing the front view camera 5 with a 2-axis gimbal, the front view camera 5 is more stable during operation, and the captured images or videos are clearer.

[0024] The number of the multiple driving wheel assemblies 4 can be 2, 3 or more, as long as they can drive the pipeline crawling robot to move and have magnetic adsorption performance. On this basis, the embodiment of the present application does not specifically limit the number of the multiple driving wheel assemblies 4. For example, in some embodiments, the number of the multiple driving wheel assemblies 4 is 4, 2 driving wheel assemblies 4 are installed on both sides of the front body assembly 1, and the other 2 driving wheel assemblies 4 are installed on both sides of the rear body assembly 2. In this way, when the pipeline crawling robot is working, the 4 driving wheel assemblies 4 can be reliably adsorbed on the pipeline, can be flexibly turned, and can crawl freely at various positions of the pipeline.

[0025] It should be noted that, during operation, the four driving wheel assemblies 4 can be fixed to the sides of the front vehicle body assembly 1 and the rear vehicle body assembly 2 respectively by screws.

[0026] Below, reference Figure 3 , the working principle of the pipeline crawling robot is illustrated with examples in combination with specific embodiments.

[0027] When working, the pipeline crawling robot is placed into the opening of the pipeline and controlled to move forward. When encountering obstacles, elbows, steering structures, etc. during the movement, the pipeline crawling robot is controlled to turn. When turning, the front body component 1 and the rear body component 2 will rotate naturally. During the transportation process, multiple driving magnetic wheels 8 can be reliably adsorbed on the pipeline wall. During the movement process, the inner wall of the pipeline is inspected by video through the pan / tilt, zoom and light of the front camera 5. After the inspection, the robot is controlled to retreat to the entrance of the pipeline, and the retreat process is observed by the rear camera 3.

[0028] It should be noted that the combination of the various technical features in the embodiments of the present application is not limited to the combination described in the embodiments of the present application or the combination described in the specific embodiments, and all technical features described in the present application can be freely combined or combined in any way unless there is a contradiction between them.

[0029] As shown in this application and claims, unless the context clearly indicates an exception, the words "a", "an" and / or "the" do not refer to the singular and may also include the plural. Generally speaking, the term "comprising" only indicates that the steps and elements that have been clearly identified are included, and these steps and elements do not constitute an exclusive list. The method or device may also include other steps or elements.

[0030] The above description is only a preferred embodiment of the present application and is not intended to limit the present application. Any modifications, equivalent substitutions, etc. made within the spirit and principles of the present application shall be included in the protection scope of the present application.

Claims

1. A pipeline crawling robot, characterized in that: It includes a front vehicle body assembly, a rear vehicle body assembly and a plurality of driving wheel assemblies. The front body assembly is located at the front of the pipeline crawling robot, and some or all of the electrical components of the lower computer of the pipeline crawling robot are installed inside the front body assembly; the rear body assembly is located at the rear of the pipeline crawling robot, and rotates with the front body assembly relative to the central axis; multiple driving wheel assemblies are used to drive the pipeline crawling robot to move and turn, and to magnetically adsorb the pipeline crawling robot to the pipeline wall.

2. The pipeline crawling robot according to claim 1, characterized in that: The driving wheel assembly includes a driving motor, a motor mounting seat and a driving magnetic wheel. The stator of the driving motor is fixedly mounted on one side of the motor mounting seat, and the driving motor is used to drive the driving magnetic wheel to rotate. The main body of the driving magnetic wheel is made of a material with strong magnetic force, so that it can be stably adsorbed on the inner wall of the pipeline during operation. The driving magnetic wheel is supported on one side of the motor mounting seat by a bearing, is rotatable relative to the motor mounting seat, and is fixedly connected to the rotor of the driving motor.

3. The pipeline crawling robot according to claim 1, characterized in that: The outer ring of the driving magnetic wheel adopts a curved surface.

4. The pipeline crawling robot according to claim 1, characterized in that: Also includes rear view camera and front view camera, Among them, the rear-view camera is used for video observation of the rear of the pipeline crawling robot and is fixedly installed behind the rear body assembly; the front-view camera is fixedly installed at the front of the front body assembly and is used for video inspection of the front of the pipeline crawling robot.

5. The pipeline crawling robot according to claim 4, characterized in that: Front camera with 2-axis gimbal.

6. The pipeline crawling robot according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that: The number of the plurality of driving wheel assemblies is 4, 2 driving wheel assemblies are installed on both sides of the front vehicle body assembly, and the other 2 driving wheel assemblies are installed on both sides of the rear vehicle body assembly.

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