Inspection vehicle and inspection method thereof

Abstract

The invention relates to the technical field of inspection vehicles, in particular to an inspection vehicle and an inspection method thereof. The main body module comprises a mechanical arm unit arranged on the vehicle body and an inspection tour unit arranged on the mechanical arm unit, a laser radar is arranged on the vehicle body, and an infrared transceiver is arranged on the vehicle body; the inspection device can automatically inspect the outer ring bolt / inner ring bolt without manual on-site inspection, so that time and labor are saved, and the effect of improving safety is achieved.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to the technical field of patrol vehicles, in particular to a patrol vehicle and a patrol method thereof. Background Art

[0002] Fasteners (bolts) that are normally in operation at industrial sites should be monitored to ensure that they are in normal condition. However, due to the high temperature environment and real-time operation environment, manual on-site inspections are very difficult and pose safety risks. In related technologies, the status monitoring of mechanical fasteners in operation needs to be automated. Summary of the invention

[0003] In view of the problem that the above-mentioned prior art requires manual on-site inspection of bolts, which poses a great safety hazard, the present invention is proposed.

[0004] Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide an inspection vehicle and an inspection method thereof.

[0005] In order to solve the above technical problems, the present invention provides the following technical solutions: comprising a vehicle body; a main body module, comprising a mechanical arm unit arranged on the vehicle body, and an inspection unit arranged on the mechanical arm unit.

[0006] As a preferred solution of the inspection vehicle and the inspection method thereof of the present invention, a laser radar is arranged on the vehicle body, and an infrared transceiver is arranged on the vehicle body.

[0007] As a preferred embodiment of the inspection vehicle and the inspection method thereof of the present invention, the robotic arm unit includes a base arranged on the vehicle body, the base is fixedly connected to a support base, the support base is rotatably connected to a first robotic arm, the first robotic arm is rotatably connected to a second robotic arm, the second robotic arm is rotatably connected to the upper side thereof, and the third robotic arm is rotatably connected to a fourth robotic arm.

[0008] As a preferred solution of the inspection vehicle and the inspection method thereof of the present invention, wherein: the inspection unit includes a pan-tilt platform arranged on the upper side of the third mechanical arm, and an image acquisition device is rotatably connected to the pan-tilt platform.

[0009] As a preferred solution of the inspection vehicle and the inspection method thereof of the present invention, it includes: installing a routing module in the vehicle body; installing an industrial computer module in the vehicle body; installing a navigation module in the vehicle body; connecting the industrial computer module with the navigation module; installing a drive module in the vehicle body; connecting the industrial computer module with the drive module; connecting a remote computer with the routing module; driving the mechanical arm unit and the pan-tilt head to adjust the posture through the drive module, so that the image acquisition device is aligned with the outer ring bolts / inner ring bolts; acquiring the bolt image through the image acquisition device; driving the vehicle body to move through the navigation module, so that the image acquisition device moves to inspect the outer ring bolts / inner ring bolts; the bolt image acquired by the image acquisition device is sent to the remote computer through the routing module.

[0010] As a preferred solution of the inspection vehicle and the inspection method thereof of the present invention, the remote computer is connected to the routing module in the vehicle body in a wireless manner to achieve the purpose of receiving parameters given by the remote computer to drive the industrial computer module.

[0011] As a preferred solution of the inspection vehicle and the inspection method thereof of the present invention, the industrial computer module controls the navigation module to navigate the vehicle body and drive the vehicle body under the driving parameters given by the remote computer.

[0012] As a preferred embodiment of the inspection vehicle and the inspection method thereof of the present invention, the given driving parameters include an outer ring trajectory for inspecting the outer ring bolts above the rotor near the inner wall of the stator, an inner ring trajectory for inspecting the inner ring bolts distributed on the central rotating axis, and a switching trajectory for switching the outer ring trajectory to the inner ring trajectory.

[0013] As a preferred solution of the inspection vehicle and the inspection method thereof of the present invention, wherein: the industrial computer module controls the driving module in the multi-axis robotic arm of the driving module to adjust the posture of the multi-axis robotic arm under given robotic arm parameters.

[0014] As a preferred solution of the inspection vehicle and the inspection method thereof of the present invention, wherein: the industrial computer module controls the driving module to drive the pan-tilt to adjust the posture under the pan-tilt posture parameters given by the remote computer.

[0015] The inspection vehicle and the inspection method thereof of the present invention have the beneficial effect that, through the cooperation between the vehicle body and the main module, the outer ring bolts / inner ring bolts can be automatically inspected without manual on-site inspection, thus solving the problem in the prior art of requiring manual on-site inspection of bolts and causing great safety risks, thereby achieving the effect of improving safety. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0016] In order to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present invention, the following briefly introduces the drawings required for use in the description of the embodiments. Obviously, the drawings described below are only some embodiments of the present invention. For ordinary technicians in this field, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without creative work.

[0017] Figure 1 It is an overall schematic diagram of the inspection vehicle and its inspection method.

[0018] Figure 2 The figure is a schematic diagram of the rotor structure of the inspection vehicle and the inspection method thereof.

[0019] In the figure: 100, vehicle body; 101, laser radar; 102, infrared transceiver; 200, main body module; 201, mechanical arm unit; 201a, base; 201b, support base; 201c, first mechanical arm; 201d, second mechanical arm; 201e, third mechanical arm; 202, inspection unit; 202a, pan / tilt; 202b, image acquisition device; 300, rotor; 300a, outer ring bolts; 300b, inner ring bolts; 300c, outer ring track; 300d, inner ring track; 300e, switching track; 300f, central rotation axis; DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0020] In order to make the above-mentioned objects, features and advantages of the present invention more obvious and easy to understand, the specific embodiments of the present invention are described in detail below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

[0021] In the following description, many specific details are set forth to facilitate a full understanding of the present invention, but the present invention may also be implemented in other ways different from those described herein, and those skilled in the art may make similar generalizations without violating the connotation of the present invention. Therefore, the present invention is not limited to the specific embodiments disclosed below.

[0022] Secondly, the term "one embodiment" or "embodiment" as used herein refers to a specific feature, structure, or characteristic that may be included in at least one implementation of the present invention. The term "in one embodiment" that appears in different places in this specification does not necessarily refer to the same embodiment, nor is it a separate or selective embodiment that is mutually exclusive with other embodiments.

[0023] Example 1

[0024] Reference Figure 1-2, which is the first embodiment of the present invention, and this embodiment provides a patrol vehicle, which includes a vehicle body 100; a main body module 200, including a mechanical arm unit 201 arranged on the vehicle body 100, and an inspection unit 202 arranged on the mechanical arm unit 201; a laser radar 101 is arranged on the vehicle body 100, and an infrared transceiver 102 is arranged on the vehicle body 100.

[0025] Specifically, two laser radars 101 are provided, and the two laser radars 101 are symmetrically distributed. Figure 2 As shown, there are 18 cylinders distributed in the outermost circular array (not shown in the figure), 9 of which are affixed with positioning labels. These 9 positioning labels need to be affixed at different angles so that the scanning results of each positioning label are different, causing the outer circle, which originally had a consistent visual effect, to have different states in different places.

[0026] When in use, before the vehicle body 100 moves in the rotor 300, the laser radar 101 scans which positioning tag, that is, confirms that its own position corresponds to the positioning tag, thereby determining its own position, and then confirms whether it deviates from the established trajectory, and adjusts the wheel angle to return to the established trajectory if it deviates from the established trajectory, such as Figure 2 As shown, a reflector with a size of about 5 to 10 cm can be installed on the central rotating shaft 300f. The infrared transceiver 102 on the vehicle body 100 can emit infrared rays. The infrared rays are projected onto the reflector and reflected onto the infrared transceiver 102. The infrared transceiver 102 receives the reflected infrared rays. By adjusting the recognition threshold of the reflected infrared rays, the infrared rays reflected by the reflector and the infrared rays reflected by the surface of the central rotating shaft 300f can be distinguished, thereby realizing the recognition of the reflector. When the inspection vehicle reaches the inner circle and recognizes the reflector for the first time, it is confirmed to start shooting the bolts of the inner circle. When the inspection vehicle recognizes the reflector for the second time, it is confirmed to start shooting the bolts of the inner circle. When the reflector is used, it is confirmed that the central rotating shaft 300f has rotated one circle. The purpose of the above method is to take photos of the central rotating shaft 300f in the rotating state that meet the requirements described in this embodiment after the inspection vehicle reaches the inner circle. If the inspection vehicle changes the wheel angle or the position of the vehicle body due to a small external force (friction, uneven ground) during operation, then continuing to operate according to the above parameters will gradually deviate from the established track. For this reason, the positioning label and reflector are used to determine the vehicle's own position, and then confirm whether it has deviated from the established track, and adjust the wheel angle to return to the established track in the case of deviating from the established track;

[0027] In summary, through the cooperation of the laser radar 101, the positioning tag, the infrared transceiver 102 and the reflective plate, the vehicle body 100 can determine its own position and prevent deviation from the established trajectory.

[0028] Example 2

[0029] Reference Figure 1-2 , which is the second embodiment of the present invention. Different from the previous embodiment, this embodiment provides an inspection vehicle, which includes a robotic arm unit 201 including a base 201a arranged on the vehicle body 100, the base 201a is fixedly connected to a support base 201b, the support base 201b is rotatably connected to a first robotic arm 201c, the first robotic arm 201c is rotatably connected to a second robotic arm 201d, the second robotic arm 201d is rotatably connected to a third robotic arm 201e on the upper side, and the third robotic arm 201e is rotatably connected to a fourth robotic arm; the inspection unit 202 includes a pan-tilt head 202a arranged on the upper side of the third robotic arm 201e, and the pan-tilt head 202a is rotatably connected to an image acquisition device 202b.

[0030] Among them, the base 201a is fixedly installed on the vehicle body 100, the first robotic arm 201c is rotatably connected with the second robotic arm 201d through a rotating axis, the second robotic arm 201d and the third robotic arm 201e are rotatably connected through a rotating axis, the third robotic arm 201e and the fourth robotic arm are rotatably connected through a rotating axis, the pan-tilt head 202a is rotatably connected with the fourth robotic arm through a rotating axis, the rotating axis is a prior art and is not described in detail here. The first robotic arm 201c can rotate in a horizontal plane parallel to the vehicle body 100, the second robotic arm 201d can rotate in a vertical plane based on the first robotic arm 201c; the third robotic arm 201e can rotate in a vertical plane based on the second robotic arm; the fourth robotic arm rotates in a vertical plane based on the third robotic arm 201e, and the pan-tilt head 202a can rotate horizontally or pitch based on the fourth robotic arm. It should be noted that the robotic arm unit 201 can be designed according to actual conditions.

[0031] When using, Figure 1 As shown, if the outer ring bolt 300a / inner ring bolt 300b is far away and the outer ring bolt 300a / inner ring bolt 300b is in a state of multiple circles distributed up and down, image acquisition can be achieved by pitching the pan / tilt 202a. When the outer ring bolt 300a / inner ring bolt 300b that is close is photographed by the pan / tilt 202a, the pitch angle is too large, and the captured fastener image is not easy to judge the bolt state. Therefore, the outer ring bolt 300a / inner ring bolt 300b in the upper and lower positions can be photographed by the up and down movement of the mechanical arm, so that the image acquisition device 202b can capture the image of the outer ring bolt 300a / inner ring bolt 300b, as shown in FIG. Figure 2As shown, there may be multiple circles of bolts (outer circle bolts 300a / inner circle bolts 300b) above the rotor 300 and near the inner wall of the stator. Because the pan-tilt head 202a is far away from the outer circle bolts 300a when shooting on the outer circle track 300c, the pan-tilt head 202a can be used to drive the image acquisition device 202b to shoot all the outer circle bolts 300a at the upper and lower positions of the position at each parking position. Multiple layers of inner circle bolts 300b can be distributed up and down along the central rotation axis 300f. When shooting the inner circle bolts 300b on the rotating shaft on the inner circle track 300d, the rotating shaft that is always in a rotating state is shot. Because the inner circle is close to the rotating shaft, the pitch angle is too large when shooting with the pan-tilt head 202a, and it is difficult to judge the state of the inner circle bolts 300b from the photos taken. The shooting of the inner circle bolts 300b at the upper and lower positions can only be achieved by moving the robot arm up and down. In order to avoid the robot arm moving up and down at each parking point, the upper circle can be shot first, and then the lower circle can be shot, such as Figure 1 As shown, when the vehicle body 100 travels along the outer circle track 300c, the pan-tilt platform 202a on the inspection vehicle collects images of the outer circle bolts 300a distributed in multiple circles above the stator and rotor 300 of the large hydroelectric generator near the inner wall of the stator based on given shooting parameters in a pitch or elevation manner; when the inspection vehicle travels along the inner circle track 300d, the mechanical unit drives the pan-tilt platform 202a to move up or down to collect images of the inner circle bolts 300b distributed in multiple circles on the central rotating shaft 300f of the large hydroelectric generator based on given shooting parameters.

[0032] In summary, through the cooperation of the robot arm unit 201 and the inspection unit 202, the purpose of forming a multi-degree-of-freedom inspection vehicle is achieved. The inspection vehicle can be applicable to inspection scenarios of various operating machines, laying the foundation for inspection automation.

[0033] Example 3

[0034] Reference Figure 1-2, which is the third embodiment of the present invention. Different from the previous embodiment, this embodiment provides an inspection method, which includes: installing a routing module in the vehicle body 100; installing an industrial computer module in the vehicle body 100; installing a navigation module in the vehicle body 100; connecting the industrial computer module with the navigation module; installing a driving module in the vehicle body 100; connecting the industrial computer module with the driving module; connecting a remote computer with the routing module; driving the mechanical arm unit 201 and the pan / tilt 202a to adjust the posture through the driving module, so that the image acquisition device 202b is aligned with the outer ring bolt 300a / inner ring bolt 300b; acquiring the bolt image through the image acquisition device 202b; driving the vehicle body 100 to move through the navigation module, so that the image acquisition device 202b moves to inspect the outer ring bolt 300a / inner ring bolt 300b; the bolt image acquired by the image acquisition device 202b is sent to the remote computer through the routing module;

[0035] Specifically, the industrial computer module is connected to the image acquisition device 202b, and the industrial computer module controls the image acquisition device 202b to photograph the bolts under given shooting parameters.

[0036] Furthermore, the remote computer is wirelessly connected to the routing module in the vehicle body 100 to achieve the purpose of receiving the parameters given by the remote computer to drive the industrial computer module; the industrial computer module controls the navigation module to navigate the vehicle body 100 and make the vehicle body 100 drive under the driving parameters given by the remote computer; the given driving parameters include an outer circle trajectory 300c for inspecting the outer circle bolts 300a above the rotor 300 near the inner wall of the stator, an inner circle trajectory 300d for inspecting the inner circle bolts 300b distributed on the central rotation axis 300f, and a switching trajectory 300e for switching the outer circle trajectory 300c to the inner circle trajectory 300d; the industrial computer module controls the driving module in the multi-axis robot arm to adjust the posture of the multi-axis robot arm under the given robot arm parameters; the industrial computer module controls the driving module to drive the gimbal 202a to adjust the posture under the gimbal 202a posture parameters given by the remote computer.

[0037] When in use, when the image acquisition device 202b takes photos of the outer ring bolts 300a / inner ring bolts 300b, the content of the photos is predetermined. For example, for the inner ring bolts 300b on the stator, the shooting direction and the stator radius form a predetermined fixed angle to prevent the inner ring bolts 300b on the inside from covering the inner ring bolts 300b on the outside. In addition, in each photo, the position of the outer ring bolts 300a / inner ring bolts 300b is relatively fixed, and the software can identify the position of the photo, which reduces the calculation workload. The content of the photos of the outer ring bolts 300a / inner ring bolts 300b is also predetermined. Pre-regulations, for example, pre-regulations that each photo has only one bolt in the center, or pre-regulations that each photo has only two bolts in the center, are also for the purpose of performing image recognition according to a unified pattern during software processing. In advance, tangential lines perpendicular to the rotation direction of the nut are manually drawn on the nut of each outer ring bolt 300a / inner ring bolt 300b and the attachment contacted by the nut. After the marking is completed and the rotating machine has been running for a period of time, if the nut is still tightened, the lines on the nut are aligned with the lines on the attachment; if the nut is loose and rotates, the lines are not aligned. It should be understood that there are many ways to determine whether something is loose based on the collected images. The above methods are merely exemplary and are not limited here. The inspection vehicle inspects the outer ring bolts 300a at different inspection points according to the planned outer ring trajectory 300c, and the inspection vehicle inspects the inner ring bolts 300b at different inspection points of the central rotating axis 300f according to the inner ring trajectory 300d. When the outer ring trajectory 300c switches to the inner ring trajectory 300d, it switches through the planned switching trajectory 300e, and drives out the above trajectory with given driving parameters to realize the inspection of the outer ring bolts 300a / inner ring bolts 300b.

[0038] Importantly, it should be noted that the construction and arrangement of the present application shown in a plurality of different exemplary embodiments are only exemplary. Although only a few embodiments are described in detail in this disclosure, it should be readily understood by those who refer to this disclosure that many modifications are possible (e.g., the size, scale, structure, shape and proportion of various elements, as well as parameter values ​​(e.g., temperature, pressure, etc.), mounting arrangements, use of materials, color, directional changes, etc.) without substantially departing from the novel teachings and advantages of the subject matter described in the application. For example, the element shown as integrally formed can be composed of multiple parts or elements, the position of the element can be inverted or otherwise changed, and the nature or number or position of the discrete element can be changed or changed. Therefore, all such modifications are intended to be included in the scope of the present invention. The order or sequence of any process or method steps can be changed or reordered according to alternative embodiments. In the claims, any "device plus function" clause is intended to cover the structure described herein that performs the function, and is not only structurally equivalent but also equivalent structure. Without departing from the scope of the present invention, other replacements, modifications, changes and omissions can be made in the design, operating conditions and arrangement of the exemplary embodiments. Therefore, the invention is not limited to a specific embodiment, but extends to numerous modifications still falling within the scope of the appended claims.

[0039] Additionally, in order to provide a concise description of exemplary embodiments, all features of an actual embodiment (ie, those features that are not relevant to the best mode presently contemplated for carrying out the invention or those that are not relevant to implementing the invention) may not be described.

[0040] It will be appreciated that in the development of any actual implementation, as in any engineering or design project, numerous implementation-specific decisions may be made. Such a development effort may be complex and time-consuming, but will be a routine task of design, fabrication, and production for those of ordinary skill having the benefit of this disclosure without undue experimentation.

[0041] It should be noted that the above embodiments are only used to illustrate the technical solutions of the present invention rather than to limit it. Although the present invention has been described in detail with reference to the preferred embodiments, those skilled in the art should understand that the technical solutions of the present invention may be modified or replaced by equivalents without departing from the spirit and scope of the technical solutions of the present invention, which should all be included in the scope of the claims of the present invention.

Claims

1. A patrol vehicle, characterized in that: include, Body(100); The main body module (200) comprises a mechanical arm unit (201) arranged on the vehicle body (100) and an inspection unit (202) arranged on the mechanical arm unit (201).

2. The inspection vehicle according to claim 1, characterized in that: The vehicle body (100) is provided with a laser radar (101), and the vehicle body (100) is provided with an infrared transceiver (102).

3. The inspection vehicle according to claim 2, characterized in that: The mechanical arm unit (201) comprises a base (201a) arranged on the vehicle body (100), the base (201a) is fixedly connected to a support base (201b), the support base (201b) is rotatably connected to a first mechanical arm (201c), the first mechanical arm (201c) is rotatably connected to a second mechanical arm (201d), the second mechanical arm (201d) is rotatably connected to a third mechanical arm (201e) on its upper side, and the third mechanical arm (201e) is rotatably connected to a fourth mechanical arm.

4. The inspection vehicle and the inspection method thereof according to claim 3, characterized in that: The inspection unit (202) comprises a pan-tilt platform (202a) arranged on the upper side of the third mechanical arm (201e), and an image acquisition device (202b) is rotatably connected to the pan-tilt platform (202a).

5. A patrol inspection method, comprising the patrol inspection vehicle according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that: include, Installing the routing module in the vehicle body (100); Installing the industrial computer module in the vehicle body (100); Installing the navigation module in the vehicle body (100); Connect the industrial computer module to the navigation module; Installing the drive module in the vehicle body (100); Connect the industrial computer module to the drive module; Connect the remote computer to the routing module; The driving module drives the mechanical arm unit (201) and the pan / tilt platform (202a) to adjust the posture so that the image acquisition device (202b) is aligned with the outer ring bolt (300a) / the inner ring bolt (300b); Capturing the bolt image by an image acquisition device (202b); The vehicle body (100) is driven to move by the navigation module, so that the image acquisition device (202b) moves to inspect the outer ring bolts (300a) / inner ring bolts (300b); The bolt image captured by the image capture device (202b) is sent to a remote computer via a routing module.

6. The inspection method according to claim 5, characterized in that: The remote computer is wirelessly connected to the routing module in the vehicle body (100) to achieve the purpose of receiving parameters given by the remote computer to drive the industrial computer module.

7. The inspection method according to claim 6, characterized in that: The industrial computer module controls the navigation module to navigate the vehicle body (100) and make the vehicle body (100) travel under the driving parameters given by the remote computer.

8. The inspection method according to claim 7, characterized in that: The given driving parameters include an outer ring track (300c) for inspecting outer ring bolts (300a) above the rotor (300) near the inner wall of the stator, an inner ring track (300d) for inspecting inner ring bolts (300b) distributed around the central rotating shaft (300f), and a switching track (300e) for switching the outer ring track (300c) to the inner ring track (300d).

9. The inspection method according to claim 8, characterized in that: The industrial computer module controls the driving module to drive the robotic arm unit to adjust the posture under the robotic arm parameters given by the remote computer.

10. The inspection method according to claim 9, characterized in that: The industrial computer module controls the driving module to drive the pan-tilt platform (202a) to adjust the position and posture under the pan-tilt platform (202a) position and posture parameters given by the remote computer.

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