A silo inner wall cleaning device and cleaning method thereof

Abstract

A silo inner wall (11) cleaning device and its cleaning method are disclosed. The device consists of a traction robot (10), a universal joint connector (1), a cleaner (5), and a ground wheel (8). The traction robot (10) controls the cleaning operation and the cleaning path. The universal joint connector (1) can adapt to the changing structure of the silo inner wall (11), such as when it changes from a vertical surface to a conical surface, by changing the angle of the cleaner (5) to better fit the silo inner wall (11) and ensure effective cleaning of grain accumulated in any position and corner of the silo inner wall (11). The ground wheel (8) calculates its own synchronous speed based on the traction speed of the traction robot (10) and provides driving force to the lower part of the cleaner (5) according to the synchronous speed, so as to keep the cleaner (5) moving synchronously.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention belongs to the field of automated grain storage management technology, specifically, it relates to a silo inner wall cleaning device and its cleaning method. Background Technology

[0002] In the field of grain storage at ports, grain accumulates on the inner walls of silos, and cleaning this accumulation is a necessary task. The current common method of cleaning is to have a number of workers enter through viewing windows or top windows of the silos using ropes to clean the grain accumulation. However, this method of operation carries significant risks. Invention Overview

[0004] Technical issues

[0005] With the development of automated control, silo cleaning is becoming increasingly technical, mechanized, automated, and intelligent. High-efficiency mechanical cleaning equipment can clean grain accumulation on the inner walls of silos, saving labor, ensuring labor safety, and improving the efficiency of cleaning grain accumulation on the inner walls of silos. However, although current silo cleaning technology has achieved a certain degree of mechanization, automation, and intelligence, it has also created problems such as incomplete cleaning of the inner walls of silos. For example, grain accumulation on the inner walls of silos is difficult to clean during the cleaning process, and corners of the inner walls of silos are difficult to clean.

[0006] Technical solutions

[0007] The purpose of this invention is to provide a silo inner wall cleaning device and its cleaning method. Based on the universal joint connector, the cleaner can arbitrarily change the cleaning angle according to the silo inner wall structure. Combined with the ground wheel, it ensures that the upper and lower ends of the cleaner move synchronously, so that the grain accumulated on the vertical surface, inclined surface, or corner of the silo inner wall can be thoroughly cleaned. This realizes the mechanization, automation, and intelligence of silo inner wall cleaning, improves the cleaning quality, efficiency, and accuracy of cleaning grain accumulation on the silo inner wall, saves time and labor costs, ensures the safety of the workforce, and makes cleaning grain accumulation on the silo inner wall more time-saving, labor-saving, convenient, fast, and clean.

[0008] The present invention is implemented using the following technical solutions:

[0009] A silo inner wall cleaning device is proposed, including a cleaner for cleaning the inner wall of the silo, and also including a traction robot, a universal joint connector and ground wheels;

[0010] The traction robot is used to control the cleaning operation, plan the cleaning path, and pull the sweeper to move along the inner wall of the silo along the cleaning path.

[0011] The universal joint connector is connected between the sweeper and the traction robot, and is controlled by the traction robot to pull the sweeper to move along the inner wall of the silo; when the structure of the inner wall of the silo changes, the universal joint connector is used to change the working angle of the sweeper so that the sweeper fits against the inner wall of the silo.

[0012] The ground wheel, with its central shaft connected to the lower end of the sweeper, rotates under the drive of a ground wheel motor, providing a lower driving force to the sweeper to keep the upper and lower ends of the sweeper moving synchronously.

[0013] In some embodiments of the present invention, the apparatus further includes:

[0014] A connecting plate is used to connect the universal joint connector and the sweeper.

[0015] A cleaning motor, fixed to the connecting plate, is controlled by the traction robot to drive the cleaner to rotate.

[0016] In some embodiments of the present invention, the apparatus further includes:

[0017] The reinforcing rod is fixed at one end to the connecting plate and at the other end to the central shaft of the ground wheel via a bracket.

[0018] In some embodiments of the present invention, the sweeper further includes:

[0019] The support wheel is fixed to the reinforcing rod by a support bracket and is installed inside the sweeper.

[0020] In some embodiments of the present invention, the ground wheel adopts a Mecanum wheel structure.

[0021] The present invention also proposes a method for cleaning the inner wall of a silo, applied in the silo inner wall cleaning device described above, comprising:

[0022] After receiving the cleaning task start command, obtain the traction speed of the traction robot;

[0023] The synchronous speed of the ground wheel is calculated based on the traction speed;

[0024] The ground wheel motor is controlled to drive the ground wheel at the synchronous speed so that the sweeper moves synchronously at both ends during the sweeping operation.

[0025] In some embodiments of the present invention, the method further includes:

[0026] The cleaning task start command is issued to the traction robot through a cloud platform or cloud server; the cleaning task start command includes the traction speed, silo inner wall structure data and cleaning path planning data.

[0027] In some embodiments of the present invention, when calculating the synchronous speed of the ground wheel based on the traction speed, the method includes:

[0028] Obtain the silo inner wall parameters; the silo inner wall parameters include silo structural data and conical surface tilt angle;

[0029] The cleaning device is determined to operate on the conical surface of the silo's inner wall based on the parameters of the silo's inner wall.

[0030] When the sweeper is operating on the conical surface, the synchronous speed of the ground wheel is calculated based on the sweeper length, the conical surface tilt angle, and the traction speed.

[0031] In some embodiments of the present invention, the method further includes:

[0032] Acquire images of the inner wall of the silo;

[0033] Grain cleaning volume is identified based on images of the silo's inner wall.

[0034] The traction speed is determined based on the amount of grain swept.

[0035] In some embodiments of the present invention, after acquiring images of the inner wall of the silo, the method includes:

[0036] The image of the inner wall of the silo is partitioned according to the set partitioning rules;

[0037] Identify the area cleaning volume for each partition's image;

[0038] For each zone, the zone traction speed is determined based on the zone sweeping volume;

[0039] The regional synchronous speed of the ground wheel is calculated based on the zoned traction speed.

[0040] The ground wheel motor is controlled to drive the ground wheel at the synchronous speed of the area, so that the sweeper moves synchronously at both ends during the sweeping operation in the corresponding zone.

[0041] Beneficial effects

[0042] Compared with the prior art, the advantages and positive effects of the present invention are as follows: In the technical solution proposed in this invention, the silo inner wall cleaning device consists of a traction robot, a universal joint connector, a cleaner, and a ground wheel. The traction robot controls the cleaning operation and plans its cleaning path, and pulls the cleaner along the silo inner wall along the planned path. The universal joint connector, with its universal structure, allows the cleaner to change its angle to better fit the silo inner wall when the structure of the silo inner wall changes, such as from a vertical surface to a conical surface, ensuring effective cleaning of grain accumulated in any position and corner of the silo inner wall. The ground wheel calculates its own synchronous speed based on the traction speed of the traction robot and provides driving force to the lower part of the cleaner according to the synchronous speed, which can keep the cleaner moving synchronously. Based on the silo inner wall cleaning device provided by this invention, the quality and efficiency of cleaning grain accumulated on the silo inner wall can be improved, the labor cost can be reduced, and the automation and intelligence level of silo inner wall cleaning can be improved.

[0043] Furthermore, the structural frame composed of the connecting plate, reinforcing rod, and sweeper ensures that the sweeper maintains a stable mechanical structure during cleaning operations, preventing deformation and guaranteeing that the cleaning intensity is not affected by structural deformation. Control data from the traction robot is transmitted to the ground wheel motor via a data cable. This data cable can be guided through the reinforcing rod to the lower end of the sweeper, or it can be fixed to the outside of the reinforcing rod to prevent it from falling out and affecting the cleaning operation.

[0044] Furthermore, the support wheel set in the middle of the sweeper provides support for the sweeper and prevents it from bending and deforming. This is especially suitable for sweepers with long structures. The support wheel is a passive wheel that rotates synchronously with the speed of the traction robot and the ground wheel.

[0045] Furthermore, the Mecanum wheel has two driving force components, one upward and one forward, during operation, which can increase the driving force of the sweeper, prevent the lower part of the sweeper from being pulled off course, and reduce the friction between the sweeper and the inner wall of the silo when it descends.

[0046] In the silo inner wall cleaning method proposed in this invention, the synchronous speed of the ground wheel is calculated based on the traction speed of the traction robot, so that the ground wheel and the traction robot are synchronized, and the cleaner advances synchronously. During the synchronous advance, the grain accumulated on the inner wall of the silo is cleaned, ensuring that there are no dead corners in the cleaning of the inner wall of the silo.

[0047] Furthermore, the port's control platform can be used as a cloud platform or cloud server. When cleaning of a designated silo is required, a cleaning task start command is issued to the traction robot. This command includes silo inner wall structure data, cleaning path planning data, and a traction speed set based on the silo inner wall structure. The silo inner wall structure data includes, but is not limited to, silo vertical surface data, silo conical surface data, and silo irregular corner data. The cleaning path planning data includes, but is not limited to, reciprocating cleaning paths along the silo vertical surface, silo conical surface cleaning paths, and silo irregular corner cleaning paths. The traction speed can be specified or calculated based on the actual silo inner wall structure.

[0048] Of course, in practical applications, you can also input data such as the silo inner wall structure, cleaning path planning data, and traction speed set in combination with the silo inner wall structure through the configuration interface or intelligent control terminal of the traction robot, and then start the cleaning task.

[0049] Furthermore, the silo inner wall cleaning device of the present invention, based on this cleaning method, can be adapted to any grain storage silo in a port. When the silo inner wall is vertical, the synchronous speed and the traction speed are usually the same. When the silo inner wall is conical and inclined, the synchronous speed of the ground wheel can be calculated by combining the length of the cleaner, the inclination angle of the conical surface, and the traction speed. This synchronous speed is less than the traction speed, thereby ensuring that the cleaner advances synchronously even when operating on a conical inclined surface. For irregular corners of the silo inner wall, the irregular corner can be divided into several inclined surfaces, and the synchronous speed of the ground wheel can be calculated for each inclined surface.

[0050] Furthermore, an image acquisition module can be installed above the silo. Before the cleaning operation is carried out, the image acquisition module can acquire images of the inner wall of the silo. Based on the image recognition method, the degree of grain accumulation on the inner wall of the silo, that is, the amount of grain to be cleaned, can be determined. When the amount of grain to be cleaned is small, the cleaner can be controlled to advance quickly. When the amount of grain to be cleaned is large, the advancing speed can be appropriately slowed down to ensure that the grain can be thoroughly cleaned.

[0051] In reality, the grain accumulation on the inner wall of the silo is not uniform. After acquiring an image of the inner wall of the silo, the inner wall can be divided into zones based on the image. Different cleaning operations are carried out for each zone. The cleaning volume of each zone is obtained by identifying the image separately. The traction speed of the zone is determined based on the cleaning volume, and the synchronization speed of the ground wheel is calculated based on the traction speed of the zone. When the traction robot drives the cleaner to the corresponding zone to carry out the cleaning operation, the cleaner is propelled synchronously using the zone traction speed and synchronization speed calculated for the current zone. The cleaner is cleaned quickly in areas with less grain accumulation to improve cleaning efficiency, and relatively slowly in areas with more grain accumulation to ensure cleaning quality. Attached Figure Description

[0052] The accompanying drawings, as part of this invention, are provided to further illustrate the invention. The illustrative embodiments and descriptions are used to explain the invention but do not constitute an undue limitation thereof. Clearly, the drawings described below are merely some embodiments; those skilled in the art can obtain other drawings based on these drawings without creative effort.

[0053] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the silo inner wall cleaning device proposed in this invention;

[0054] Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of the operation of the silo inner wall cleaning device proposed in this invention on the vertical inner wall.

[0055] Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram of the operation of the silo inner wall cleaning device proposed in this invention on the inner wall of a conical surface;

[0056] Figure 4 This is a schematic diagram of the steps of the silo inner wall cleaning method proposed in this invention;

[0057] Figure 5 This is a schematic diagram of the image partitioning of the inner wall of the silo in an embodiment of the present invention;

[0058] Figure 6 for Figure 5 The image shows the partitions of the silo's inner wall, corresponding to the partitions on the silo's inner wall.

[0059] Reference numerals: 1-Universal joint connector, 2-Connecting plate, 3-Sweeping motor, 4-Reinforcing rod, 5-Sweeper, 6-Support wheel, 7-Ground wheel motor, 8-Ground wheel, 9-Controller, 10-Traction robot, 11-Inner wall of silo, 12-Silo conical connection, 13-Bottom of silo.

[0060] It should be noted that these accompanying drawings and textual descriptions are not intended to limit the scope of the invention in any way, but rather to illustrate the concept of the invention to those skilled in the art by referring to specific embodiments.

[0061] The best embodiment of the present invention

[0062] To make the objectives, technical solutions, and advantages of the embodiments of the present invention clearer, the technical solutions in the embodiments will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. The following embodiments are used to illustrate the present invention, but are not intended to limit the scope of the present invention.

[0063] In the description of this invention, it should be noted that the terms "upper", "lower", "front", "rear", "left", "right", "vertical", "inner", "outer", etc., indicate the orientation or positional relationship based on the orientation or positional relationship shown in the accompanying drawings. They are only for the convenience of describing this invention and simplifying the description, and do not indicate or imply that the device or element referred to must have a specific orientation, or be constructed and operated in a specific orientation. Therefore, they should not be construed as limiting this invention.

[0064] In the description of this invention, it should be noted that, unless otherwise explicitly specified and limited, the terms "installation," "connection," and "linking" should be interpreted broadly. For example, they can refer to a fixed connection, a detachable connection, or an integral connection; they can refer to a mechanical connection or an electrical connection; they can refer to a direct connection or a connection indirectly through an intermediate medium. Those skilled in the art can understand the specific meaning of the above terms in this invention based on the specific circumstances.

[0065] like Figures 1 to 3 As shown, the silo inner wall cleaning device in this embodiment of the invention consists of a universal joint connector 1, a connecting plate 2, a cleaning motor 3, a reinforcing rod 4, a cleaner 5, a support wheel 6, a ground wheel motor 7, a ground wheel 8, and a controller 9.

[0066] The traction robot 10 is attached to the connecting plate 2 and is used for controlling the sweeping operation, controlling the sweeping path, and traction of the sweeper 5.

[0067] The connecting plate 2, reinforcing rod 4, ground wheel 7, and corresponding brackets form a structural frame. One end of the sweeper 5 is fixed to the connecting plate 2 by a bearing and connected to the sweeping motor 3 through a reducer. The other end is connected to the reinforcing rod 4 by a bearing. The sweeper 5 can rotate forward and backward under the action of the sweeping motor 3 to complete the sweeping of grain residue.

[0068] The support wheel 6 is connected to the reinforcing rod 4 via a support bracket, and is connected to the sweeper 5 via a bearing. It serves a supporting function without affecting the rotation of the sweeper. The support wheel 6 has no power and can rotate along with the translation of the sweeper 5.

[0069] The ground wheel 8 is driven to rotate by the ground wheel motor 7, adding a propulsive force to the lower part of the sweeper 5, enabling the sweeper 5 to move in a uniform direction. The ground wheel 8 adopts a Mecanum wheel structure, which has two driving force components, upward and forward, during operation. This reduces the friction force when the sweeper 5 slides down the bin wall, and provides a lower driving force to the sweeper 5 during operation, keeping the lower end of the sweeper 5 and the upper end of the traction robot moving synchronously.

[0070] The controller 9 is mounted on the frame structure of the sweeper 5. It can collect the running speed of the traction robot 10 through the data interface and control the ground wheels 8 to run synchronously. The controller 9 adopts a standardized interface, bus control, with 2 power cables and 2 data cables, making the interface simple and unified.

[0071] The lower end of the universal joint connector 1 is fixed to the connecting plate 2, and the upper end can be fixed to the traction robot 10. The traction robot 10 drives the robot to run and clean along the inner wall 11 of the silo.

[0072] like Figure 4 As shown, the cleaning operation steps implemented by the silo inner wall cleaning device in this embodiment include:

[0073] S1: Start the cleaning task.

[0074] The control center (which could be a cloud platform or cloud server at a port or grain depot) issues a cleaning task start command to the traction robot 10.

[0075] Before starting the cleaning task, the control console can first acquire an image of the inner wall of the silo from the image acquisition module, identify the amount of grain to be cleaned based on the image of the inner wall of the silo, that is, the degree of grain accumulation, and then calculate the traction speed that is appropriate for the amount of grain to be cleaned, that is, the travel speed of the traction robot 10. When issuing the cleaning task start command to the traction robot, the traction speed is included in the cleaning task start command.

[0076] Furthermore, images of the silo's inner wall can be processed according to, for example... Figure 5 and Figure 6 The zoning rules shown are implemented by dividing the area into zones. Each zone's image Ai corresponds to a working area Ii on the inner wall of the silo. Then, the cleaning volume of each zone is identified for each zone's image, and the corresponding zone traction speed is calculated for each zone based on its corresponding cleaning volume. The traction robot 10 switches to different zone traction speeds when running into different zones.

[0077] S2: Obtain the traction speed of the traction robot and calculate the synchronous speed of the ground wheel based on the traction speed.

[0078] The controller 9 acquires the traction speed (or regional traction speed) and silo inner wall structure data (including silo vertical surface data and silo conical surface data, etc.) from the traction robot 10, and calculates the synchronous speed of the ground wheel based on the silo inner wall structure and the traction speed (or regional traction speed). When the silo inner wall is vertical, the synchronous speed is the same as the traction speed; when the silo inner wall is conical, the synchronous speed of the ground wheel 8 is calculated based on the sweeper length, the conical surface tilt angle, and the traction speed (regional traction speed). Specifically, the actual walking path of the ground wheel 8 can be calculated using trigonometric formulas based on the sweeper length and the conical surface tilt angle, and the synchronous speed of the ground wheel 8 is calculated based on the difference between the actual walking path of the ground wheel 8 and the walking path of the traction robot 10.

[0079] S3: Controls the ground wheel motor to drive the ground wheel at a synchronous speed so that the sweeper moves synchronously at both ends during the sweeping operation.

[0080] The controller 10 controls the ground wheel motor 7, which drives the ground wheel 8 to move synchronously with the traction robot 10. During the synchronous movement, the accumulated grain on the inner wall of the silo is cleaned.

[0081] The part of the present invention that plans the cleaning path can be planned manually or by algorithm in combination with the structure and size of the silo's inner wall. For the parts not limited by the present invention, those skilled in the art can implement them according to the means in the field. There is no cleaning track on the inner wall 11 of the silo. The traction robot 10 is arranged on the cleaning track using a structure such as a slot, and performs the operation along the cleaning track according to the planned cleaning path.

[0082] It should be noted that, in the specific implementation process, the above-mentioned control part can be implemented by a hardware processor executing computer-executable instructions in software form stored in memory, which will not be elaborated here. The programs corresponding to the actions performed by the above control circuit can all be stored in the computer-readable storage medium of the system in software form, so that the processor can call and execute the operations corresponding to the above modules.

[0083] The computer-readable storage media mentioned above may include volatile memory, such as random access memory; may also include non-volatile memory, such as read-only memory, flash memory, hard disk or solid-state drive; and may also include combinations of the above types of memory.

[0084] The term "processor" as mentioned above can also refer to a collective of multiple processing elements. For example, a processor can be a central processing unit (CPU), or other general-purpose processors, digital signal processors, application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs), field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs) or other programmable logic devices, discrete gate or transistor logic devices, discrete hardware components, etc. A general-purpose processor can be a microprocessor or any conventional processor, and it can also be a special-purpose processor.

[0085] It should be noted that the above description is not intended to limit the present invention, and the present invention is not limited to the examples given above. Any changes, modifications, additions or substitutions made by those skilled in the art within the scope of the present invention should also fall within the protection scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. A method for cleaning the inner wall of a silo, applied to a silo inner wall cleaning device, the silo inner wall cleaning device comprising a cleaner for cleaning the inner wall of the silo, a traction robot, a universal joint connector and a ground wheel; the traction robot is configured to control the cleaning operation, plan a cleaning path and drive the cleaner to move along the cleaning path along the inner wall of the silo; the universal joint connector is connected between the cleaner and the traction robot and is controlled by the traction robot to drive the cleaner to move along the inner wall of the silo; when the structure of the inner wall of the silo changes, the universal joint connector is used to change the working angle of the cleaner to make the cleaner fit the inner wall of the silo; the ground wheel, wherein the shaft is connected to the lower end of the cleaner and rotates by the driving of the ground wheel motor to provide the lower driving force for the cleaner to keep the upper and lower ends of the cleaner synchronized to advance; characterized in that the cleaning method comprises: after receiving a cleaning task start instruction, obtaining the traction speed of the traction robot; calculating the synchronization speed of the ground wheel based on the traction speed; controlling the ground wheel motor to drive the ground wheel at the synchronization speed so that the upper and lower ends of the cleaner are synchronized to advance during the cleaning operation; the method further comprises: issuing the cleaning task start instruction to the traction robot through a cloud platform or a cloud server; the cleaning task start instruction contains the traction speed, the structure data of the inner wall of the silo and the cleaning path planning data; when calculating the synchronization speed of the ground wheel based on the traction speed, the method comprises: obtaining the parameters of the inner wall of the silo; the parameters of the inner wall of the silo include the structure data of the silo and the inclination angle of the conical surface; judging whether the cleaner is working on the conical surface of the inner wall of the silo based on the parameters of the inner wall of the silo; when the cleaner is working on the conical surface, calculating the synchronization speed of the ground wheel based on the length of the cleaner, the inclination angle of the conical surface and the traction speed.

2. The silo interior wall cleaning method according to claim 1, characterized by, the method further comprises: collecting the image of the inner wall of the silo; identifying the amount of grain to be cleaned based on the image of the inner wall of the silo; determining the traction speed according to the amount of grain to be cleaned.

3. The silo interior wall cleaning method according to claim 2, characterized by, after collecting the image of the inner wall of the silo, the method comprises: dividing the image of the inner wall of the silo according to the set zoning rules; identifying the area cleaning amount of the image of each zone respectively; for each zone, determining the area traction speed based on the area cleaning amount; calculating the area synchronization speed of the ground wheel based on the area traction speed; controlling the ground wheel motor to drive the ground wheel at the area synchronization speed so that the upper and lower ends of the cleaner are synchronized to advance during the cleaning operation in the corresponding zone.

4. The silo interior wall cleaning method according to claim 1, characterized by, the device further comprises: a connecting plate connected between the universal joint connector and the cleaner; a cleaning motor fixed on the connecting plate and configured to be controlled by the traction robot to drive the cleaner to rotate.

5. The silo interior wall cleaning method according to claim 4, characterized by, the device further comprises: a reinforcing rod, one end of which is fixed on the connecting plate and the other end of which is connected to the central shaft of the ground wheel through a support.

6. The silo interior wall cleaning method according to claim 5, characterized by, the cleaner further comprises: a support wheel fixed to the reinforcing rod through a support support and arranged inside the cleaner.

7. The silo interior wall cleaning method according to claim 1, characterized by, the ground wheel adopts a Mecanum wheel structure.

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