Four-footed crawling robot for cleaning photovoltaic panel

Abstract

The invention provides a four-foot crawling robot for cleaning a photovoltaic panel, comprising: a body which is of an approximately square plate-shaped structure, and one side of which extends to form a boss; the accumulated dust removing assembly is located on the boss of the body, and accumulated dust on the photovoltaic panel at the front end of the robot is removed through a scraper knife; the movement assembly is used for driving the robot to move on the photovoltaic panel, and the movement assembly is adsorbed on the photovoltaic panel through a suction cup to prevent the robot from falling off; the dust collection assembly is used for temporarily storing the raised dust when the accumulated dust removal assembly shovels the accumulated dust; the power supply assembly is used for supplying power to each assembly; and the control system is used for controlling the motion assembly, the accumulated dust removal assembly and the dust collection assembly to act in a coordinated manner so as to complete the dust removal work of the photovoltaic panel. The method has the advantages that no solvent is used for removing accumulated dust including intractable accumulated dust, and the method is particularly suitable for removing accumulated dust on photovoltaic panels in arid regions; the unmanned aerial vehicle can walk autonomously on the photovoltaic panel without laying a track, and conditions are provided for unmanned aerial vehicle launching.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present application belongs to the field of dust removal methods and cleaning equipment for photovoltaic power stations, and specifically relates to a four-legged crawling robot for cleaning photovoltaic panels. Background Art

[0002] Compared with traditional petrochemical energy, solar energy has the advantages of being inexhaustible, clean and pollution-free, and has become one of the main forms of new energy. The two main forms of solar power generation are photovoltaic power generation and thermal power generation. In photovoltaic power generation, the dust on the photovoltaic panel reflects, scatters and absorbs solar radiation, reducing the transmittance of solar radiation, resulting in a decrease in the amount of solar radiation received by the photovoltaic cell and a decrease in output power. In addition, the dust absorbs solar radiation, causing the silicon photovoltaic cell to heat up, further reducing its photoelectric conversion efficiency, and may even cause damage to the photovoltaic panel. Some dust also has corrosive chemical components, which cause a certain degree of corrosion to the photovoltaic panel. The main solution at present is to regularly clean the dust on the photovoltaic panel. The problems that have been encountered are as follows: ① When is the most economical time to clean; ② What method is the most economical to clean; ③ Cleaning problems in arid and water-scarce areas; ④ Other technical problems.

[0003] Generally, dust accumulation can be divided into two types: floating dust (non-adhesive dust accumulation) and stubborn stains (adhesive dust accumulation). Floating dust can be easily removed by methods such as brooms, vacuum cleaners or electrostatic dust removal. There is currently no good way to remove stubborn stains except washing with water. Some documents suggest using grinding methods, but it is obvious that if it is not well controlled, it is easy to wear the glass surface of the photovoltaic panel. There are also documents that suggest using special detergents to spray on stubborn stains and then use roller brushes or disc brushes to remove them, but how to remove stains that stick to roller brushes or disc brushes is also a problem. Perhaps a roller brush or disc brush self-cleaning system can be added, so solvents need to be provided for self-cleaning.

[0004] At present, the main cleaning methods are as follows: ① Natural dust removal method, which uses natural rainfall, snowfall, wind power, etc. to achieve self-cleaning of photovoltaic panels. Its disadvantage is that it is highly random and requires natural wind and rain conditions. It is not effective for certain types of dust accumulation and cleaning; ② Manual dust removal method, which is one of the most traditional ways to clean photovoltaic panels. The methods used include direct cleaning with a brush, cleaning with a wet mop, manual spraying with a nozzle, and spraying with a sprinkler truck. The advantages of manual cleaning are simple operation and good results, but its disadvantages are high water consumption and relatively high labor costs; ③ Robot dust removal method, which has a high degree of automation in robot dust removal, can improve efficiency and reduce manpower. During the working process, most types of robots can be charged by solar energy and use brushes, soft fibers or airflow to remove dust. There are many types of cleaning robots, and some robots use waterless brushing to work. The disadvantage is that there is no good way to remove adhesive dust. The disadvantages of robot dust removal are high initial investment costs, complex maintenance, and a certain failure rate. It is not suitable for photovoltaic sites with irregular sites and large fluctuations. ④ Other dust removal methods: In addition to the above cleaning methods, there are other dust removal technologies, such as automatic sprinkler heads installed on photovoltaic panels; dust removal equipment developed based on electromagnetic or ultrasonic technology; self-cleaning technology for photovoltaic surface coating, etc. These technologies have their own limitations and are not mature enough, and have not yet been widely used.

[0005] Robotic dust removal is the most popular of the above dust removal methods. The main technical keys are the walking method, the dust removal method, the power supply method, the water supply method, and the obstacle crossing method (including the crossing between photovoltaic panels and the crossing from one row of photovoltaic panels to another row of photovoltaic panels). The surface of the photovoltaic panel is usually tempered glass and may have a 60-degree inclination. The higher the latitude, the greater the angle, about 40 degrees in the north. Therefore, ordinary walking methods (including crawler type) are easy to slip on the surface of the photovoltaic panel. For example, the maximum climbing angle of an off-road vehicle is 16.5 degrees, so the wheeled walking mechanism is not suitable for the surface of the photovoltaic panel. If the crawler walking mechanism uses a high-friction composite crawler, it may cause damage to the photovoltaic panel.

[0006] At present, most cleaning robots use the track-based walking method, that is, tracks are laid on the upper and lower edges of the photovoltaic panel, and the robot straddles the upper and lower edges, similar to a train running on a track, except that one end of the track is higher than the other. The simplest cleaning method is to install a long roller brush on the chassis straddling the upper and lower rails, spraying water while rolling the brush. If you are worried that the brush is not clean enough, arrange another long roller brush in parallel, but this method needs to solve the water supply problem and wastewater recycling problem as well as the technical details of robot handling (automatic). Another way is to use a short roller brush or disc brush from top to bottom, and brush one line after brushing a short brush distance and then brush another line. Both walking methods can be combined with a scraper to remove residual water stains. The biggest problem with this installation method is that it requires a high degree of flatness for the installation of photovoltaic panels.

[0007] It is also possible to consider installing fixed or swinging nozzles on the above-mentioned rail-type walking trolley chassis, and use high-pressure water washing instead of roller brushes or disc brushes to further reduce operation and maintenance costs, but the cost of water will increase accordingly. Summary of the invention

[0008] The purpose of the present application is to overcome the defects of the prior art that the water consumption is large or the stubborn dust cannot be removed.

[0009] In order to achieve the above objectives, the present application proposes a quadruped crawling robot for cleaning photovoltaic panels, the robot comprising:

[0010] The main body is a nearly square plate-like structure with four corners missing, and a boss extends outward on one side;

[0011] A dust removal component, located on the boss of the body, is used to remove dust on the photovoltaic panel at the front end of the robot using a scraper;

[0012] A motion component, used for driving the robot to move on the photovoltaic panel, wherein the motion component is attached to the photovoltaic panel by a suction cup to prevent the robot from falling;

[0013] A dust collecting component is used to temporarily store the dust raised when the dust removal component removes the accumulated dust; when the robot moves to the bottom of the photovoltaic panel, the stored dust can be discharged;

[0014] A power supply component for providing power to each component; and

[0015] The control system is used to control the coordinated actions of the motion component, the dust removal component and the dust collection component to complete the dust cleaning work of the photovoltaic panel.

[0016] As an improvement of the above robot, the dust removal component comprises:

[0017] A first gear plate, the center of which is riveted to the boss of the body and can rotate around its own center;

[0018] A second gear plate, whose teeth mesh with the teeth of the first gear plate, is riveted to the body and can rotate around its own center of circle;

[0019] A first motor, fixed above the second gear plate, for driving the second gear plate to rotate;

[0020] Two mounting seats are fixed to the edge of the first gear plate with a set interval in between; the ends of the mounting seats away from the first gear plate are provided with pin holes;

[0021] A telescopic rod, the middle of which is connected to the two mounting seats by a pin shaft; the telescopic rod can be extended and retracted by a motor drive;

[0022] A blade is fixed to an end of the telescopic rod away from the body;

[0023] <-shaped spring, the bend of which bypasses the pin, one side of which is close to the telescopic rod and is located below the upper part of the body, and the other side is located above the first gear plate;

[0024] A support rod fixed on the telescopic rod; and

[0025] A camera is fixed on one end of the support rod away from the telescopic rod; the lens of the camera faces the scraper.

[0026] As an improvement of the above robot, the dust removal component further includes:

[0027] The slide plate is located on the first gear plate and between the two mounting seats, and can move forward and backward under the drive of the motor to drive the telescopic rod to rotate.

[0028] As an improvement of the above robot, the dust removal component further includes:

[0029] A slider with a smooth inclined upper surface is located on a side of the first gear plate opposite to the mounting seat; an end of one side of the spring on the first gear plate is located on the inclined surface of the slider;

[0030] The second motor is used to drive the slider to move horizontally in a direction away from and close to the spring.

[0031] As an improvement of the above robot, the motion component includes:

[0032] Four feet located at the four missing corners of the square plate-like structure of the main body;

[0033] Each of the said feet is driven by two electric pull rods;

[0034] The driving motor installed below the body is used to drive the electric pull rod to move.

[0035] As an improvement of the above robot, the four legs have the same structure;

[0036] Each of said feet comprises:

[0037] A columnar foot support with external threads in the middle;

[0038] A trumpet-shaped hollow suction cup is fixed below the foot support; the larger side between the suction cups faces downward;

[0039] An elastic film seals the downward side of the suction cup;

[0040] Two collars, sleeved on the middle of the foot support and fixedly connected to one of the electric pull rods respectively;

[0041] A turbine mechanism, sleeved on the middle of the foot support, used to cooperate with the external thread of the foot support to drive the foot support to move up and down; and

[0042] A tensioning steering wheel is fixed to the top of the foot support and is used to pull up or put down the film. As an improvement of the above robot, the dust collection component includes:

[0043] A dust storage bin is fixed above the main body;

[0044] A first suction pipe, one end of which is connected from the top of the dust storage bin, and the other end of which is laid along the top of the telescopic rod and opened above the scraper;

[0045] A flat suction pipe opening is fixed above the scraper and communicated with the first suction pipe;

[0046] A tail pipe is connected from the bottom of the dust storage bin to the rear end of the body;

[0047] A screw conveyor, located at the bottom of the dust holding layer and extending into the tail pipe;

[0048] A third motor is used to drive the screw conveyor to rotate;

[0049] a fan located at an opening at the top of the dust storage bin, on a side opposite to the first suction pipe; and

[0050] The filter paper is located at one side of the fan on the dust containing bin and is used to prevent dust from being sucked out by the fan.

[0051] As an improvement of the above robot, the dust collection component further includes:

[0052] A straw branch has one end connected to the first straw and one end opened below the camera.

[0053] As an improvement of the above robot, the dust collection component further includes:

[0054] a roller brush, located on a side of the filter paper close to the interior of the dust storage bin; and

[0055] The fourth motor is used to drive the roller brush to rotate and remove dust from the filter paper.

[0056] As an improvement of the above robot, the power supply component is a solar panel and / or a battery.

[0057] Compared with the prior art, the advantages of this application are:

[0058] 1. The quadruped robot provided in this application uses a shovel to remove dust on the photovoltaic panel. The strength of the shovel can be adjusted according to the type of dust, making it convenient to remove stubborn dust.

[0059] 2. The quadruped robot provided in this application can remove dust without using water, and is particularly suitable for removing dust from photovoltaic panels in arid areas;

[0060] 3. This application uses a foot with a suction cup, which allows walking freely on an inclined photovoltaic panel without being affected by the installation angle of the photovoltaic panel. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0061] Figure 1 Shown is a top view of the quadruped robot;

[0062] Figure 2 Shown is a side view of the dust removal assembly;

[0063] Figure 3 The figure shows a schematic diagram of a state in which a slide plate in a dust removal assembly lifts up a telescopic rod and the telescopic rod is extended; wherein the spring, the slider and the second motor are not shown;

[0064] Figure 4 The figure shows a schematic diagram of a state in which a slide plate in a dust removal assembly lifts up a telescopic rod and the telescopic rod is retracted; wherein the spring, the slider and the second motor are not shown;

[0065] Figure 5 The figure shows a schematic diagram of a state in which the slide plate in the dust removal assembly does not lift up the telescopic rod and the telescopic rod is retracted; wherein the spring, the slider and the second motor are not shown;

[0066] Figure 6 The figure is a schematic diagram of the state when the telescopic rod in the dust removal assembly is rotated to 90 degrees counterclockwise;

[0067] Figure 7 The figure shows a schematic diagram of the state when the telescopic rod in the dust removal assembly is rotated to 90 degrees clockwise;

[0068] Figure 8 Shown is a schematic diagram of the motion components;

[0069] Fig. 9 The figure shows a schematic diagram of the non-adsorption state of the midfoot of the sports component and the photovoltaic panel;

[0070] Fig.10 The figure shows a schematic diagram of the midfoot of the sports component and the photovoltaic panel being in an adsorption state;

[0071] Fig.11 The figure shows a schematic diagram of the self-sufficient robot's forward progress;

[0072] Fig.12 The figure shows a schematic diagram of the process of the quadruped robot rotating in situ;

[0073] Fig.13 Shown are the schematic diagram of the dust collection assembly and the AA and BB cross-sectional views. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0074] The technical solution of the present application is described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0075] The purpose of the present invention is to propose a quadruped crawling robot (hereinafter referred to as a quadruped robot) for cleaning photovoltaic panels. The quadruped robot can walk freely on the inclined photovoltaic panel surface (0-60 degrees), get rid of the shackles of the guide rail, reduce the installation cost and complexity, and reduce the operation and maintenance cost; it can use a shovel to remove dust, including the removal of adhesive dust, without using any solvent, and completely solve the cleaning problem in arid and water-deficient areas; when the collected dust accumulates to a certain extent, it will automatically go to the lower edge of the photovoltaic panel for excretion. The quadruped robot is light in weight and small in size, creating conditions for further use of small aircraft for delivery.

[0076] like Figure 1 As shown, the quadruped robot provided in the present application is similar in shape to a turtle and may include a main body 1, which may be an approximately square plate-like structure with four corners missing.

[0077] A semicircular plate-like structure may extend from one side of the body 1, on which a dust removal assembly 2 may be disposed. For ease of description, in this application, the direction where the dust removal assembly 2 on the body 1 is located is the front end, and the opposite direction is the rear end. In other embodiments, the plate-like structure extending from the body 1 may not be semicircular, as long as the edge has a certain curvature and does not affect the action of the dust removal assembly 2.

[0078] like Figure 2-Figure 7As shown, the dust removal component 2 may include a first gear plate 201, the center of which may be riveted to the center of a semicircular plate-like structure extending from the main body 1, so that the first gear plate 201 may be fixed to the main body 1 and may rotate freely. On the main body 1, the rear end of the first gear plate 201 may be riveted to the main body 1 to fix a second gear plate 202 having a smaller diameter than the first gear plate 201. The teeth of the second gear plate 202 may mesh with the teeth of the first gear plate 201, and when the second gear plate 202 rotates, the first gear plate 201 may be driven to rotate in the opposite direction. A first motor 203 may be fixedly mounted above the second gear plate 202. The first motor 203 may drive the second gear plate 202 to rotate clockwise or counterclockwise. With the front end of the main body 1 as 0 degrees, the first motor 203 may drive the second gear plate 202 and the first gear plate 201 to rotate, reaching 90 degrees clockwise or counterclockwise (such as Figure 6 and Figure 7 As shown). The end of the first gear plate 201 near the edge can be fixedly connected to the two mounting seats 207. There can be a certain gap between the two mounting seats 207. The mounting seat 207 can have a pin hole at the end away from the first gear plate 201, and the middle part of the telescopic rod 209 can be pin-connected to the two mounting seats 207 through a pin shaft. The telescopic rod 209 can rotate in a vertical plane with the pin shaft as the center. The front end of the telescopic rod 209 can be fixedly connected to the blade 210. When the telescopic rod 209 is retracted, the blade 210 can be moved away from the photovoltaic panel, and when the telescopic rod 209 is extended, the blade 210 can be moved close to the photovoltaic panel. The power for the telescopic rod 209 to retract can be provided by a brushless servo motor in the telescopic rod 209 (not shown in the figure). A strip-shaped slide plate 204 can be set between the two mounting seats 207 on the first gear plate 201. The slide plate 204 can be driven by a motor to move back and forth between the two mounting seats 207 (the motor is not shown in the figure). When the slide plate 204 moves forward, one end of the telescopic rod 209 can be lifted up, so that the telescopic rod 209 rotates around the pin, driving the blade 210 to lift up (such as Figure 3 , Figure 4 and Figure 5As shown). A <-shaped spring 206, whose bend can bypass the pin, one side can be close to the bottom of the telescopic rod 209, and the other side can be located above the first gear plate 201. A slider 205 with a smooth inclined surface on the upper surface can be set above the first gear plate 201. The inclined surface of the slider 205 can face one side of the spring 206. When the slider 205 moves horizontally in the direction of the spring 206, the top of one side of the spring 206 can be moved along the inclined surface and raised, thereby increasing the elastic force of the spring 206 and increasing the pressure between the telescopic rod 209 and the photovoltaic panel. The side of the slider 205 away from the spring can have a second motor 212, and the second motor 212 can control the slider 205 to move back and forth on the horizontal plane, so as to control the elastic force of the spring 206, and then control the pressure of the telescopic rod 209 on the photovoltaic panel. The spring 206 and the slide plate 204 can work together to control the rotation angle of the telescopic rod 209 in the vertical plane, as well as the pressure on the photovoltaic panel. The telescopic rod 209 may have a support rod 208 perpendicular to its length direction, and a camera 211 may be installed on the top of the support rod 208, and the lens of the camera 211 may be fixedly facing the direction of the scraper 210. The first motor 203 may be a micro stepping motor.

[0079] In the initial state, the telescopic rod 209 is in a retracted state, the slide plate 204 lifts the telescopic rod 209, the telescopic rod 209 is at a 0 degree position directly in front of the body 1, and the blade 210 does not contact the photovoltaic panel. When in use, in the first step, the first motor 203 drives the second gear plate 202 and the first gear plate 201 to rotate, so that the telescopic rod 209 rotates to a 90 degree clockwise direction. In the second step, the slide plate 204 retracts, and the telescopic rod 209 rotates downward, so that the blade 210 contacts the photovoltaic panel. In the third step, the slide plate 204 extends, and the telescopic rod 209 begins to extend until it is the longest, so that the blade 210 moves forward horizontally on the photovoltaic panel to remove the dust on the photovoltaic panel it contacts. In the fourth step, the telescopic rod 209 retracts, so that the blade 210 leaves the photovoltaic panel, and the slide plate 204 and the telescopic rod 209 retract to the initial state at the same time. In the fifth step, the first gear plate 201 rotates counterclockwise by a certain angle, and the second step to the fourth step are repeated until the telescopic rod 209 rotates to a 90 degree counterclockwise position. At this time, the quadruped robot can use the scraper 210 to clean out a semi-circular area at the front end.

[0080] like Figure 8 As shown, the quadruped robot also includes a motion component 3. The motion component may include: four legs located at the four corners of the missing square plate structure of the body 1, the upper left corner is the first leg 301, the upper right corner is the second leg 302, the lower right corner is the third leg 303, and the lower left corner is the fourth leg 304.

[0081] The four legs have the same structure, such as Fig. 9 and Fig.10As shown, each foot has a cylindrical or approximately cylindrical foot support 306. A trumpet-shaped hollow suction cup 307 can be fixedly connected below the foot support 306. The side of the suction cup 307 with a larger diameter faces downward. The side of the suction cup 307 facing downward can be sealed by an elastic film 310. A tensioning steering wheel 308 can be provided at the top of the foot support 306. A pull rod 309 can be sleeved on the middle part of the foot support 306. The tensioning steering wheel 308 can pull up or put down the film 310. The middle part of the foot support 306 can have an external thread, and a turbine mechanism 311 can be sleeved on the external thread. The turbine mechanism 311 can have a turbine, which can mesh with the external thread on the foot support 306, and can drive the foot support 306 to move up and down when rotating, thereby driving the suction cup 307 to be lifted and lowered. When the film 310 is pulled up, a vacuum state is formed between the film 310 and the photovoltaic panel, so that the suction cup 307 is adsorbed on the photovoltaic panel; when the film 310 is lowered, the vacuum state is released, so that the suction cup 307 can be lifted from the photovoltaic panel. When each foot moves, the tensioning steering wheel 308 first lowers the film 310 so that the suction cup 307 no longer adsorbs the photovoltaic panel, and the suction cup 307 is lifted by the turbine mechanism 311; after the foot is moved to the set position, the suction cup 307 is lowered by the turbine mechanism 31, and the film 310 is pulled up by the tensioning steering wheel 308, so that the suction cup 307 is adsorbed on the photovoltaic panel. Two rings 309 are also provided in the middle of the foot bracket 306, which are used to be fixedly connected to the first electric pull rod 305a and the second electric pull rod 305b (see Figure 8 ).

[0082] like Figure 8 As shown, each foot can be driven by two orthogonally arranged first electric pull rods 305a and second electric pull rods 305b. The first electric pull rod 305a and the second electric pull rod 305b are respectively fixedly connected to a collar 309 on the foot bracket 306. When the first electric pull rod 305a and the second electric pull rod 305b are linked to make the footprint a straight line forward, the quadruped robot moves forward; when the first electric pull rod 305a and the second electric pull rod 305b are linked to make the footprint in the tangential direction, the quadruped robot rotates on the spot. The driving motor of the electric pull rod can be a micro stepping motor, which is located below the main body 1 and is not shown in the figure.

[0083] like Fig.11 As shown, in the order of the first leg 301, the third leg 303, the second leg 304, and the fourth leg 304, each leg is moved forward in turn, so that the quadruped robot can move forward.

[0084] like Fig.12As shown, take clockwise rotation as an example: take the geometric center of the quadruped as the center of the circle, take the middle position of the electric pull rod stroke as the initial position, and the distance from the center of the foot to the center of the circle as the radius to draw a circle. Select an arc with the center of the foot as the starting point, move the moving foot to the end of the arc, move the four feet in the order of the first foot 301, the fourth foot 304, the third foot 303, and the second foot 304, and finally reset the pull rod to complete the rotation of an arc, and repeat the above movement to complete the steering of the quadruped robot.

[0085] like Fig.13 As shown, the quadruped robot may further include a dust collection component 4. The dust collection bin 401 of the dust collection component 4 may be fixed above the main body 1. One end of the first suction pipe 409 may be connected from above the dust collection bin 401, and the other end may be laid along the top of the telescopic rod 209 and extend to above the scraper 210. Above the scraper 210, the end of the first suction pipe 409 may be fixedly connected to the flat suction pipe opening 410. A thinner suction pipe branch 412 may also be provided in the middle of the first suction pipe 409, and the opening of the suction pipe branch 412 may be located below the camera 211 (see FIG. 2 ). Figure 2 ). The bottom of the dust storage bin 401 may have a tail pipe 403, and part of the screw conveyor 404 may be accommodated in the tail pipe 403. One end of the screw conveyor 404 may be located at the bottom of the dust storage bin 401, and the other end may be located in the tail pipe 403. The end of the screw conveyor 404 located at the bottom of the dust storage bin 401 may be connected to the third motor 402. A sensor may be provided on the bin wall of the dust storage bin 401. When the sensor detects that the dust in the dust storage bin 401 reaches a certain amount, when the quadruped robot moves to the bottom of the photovoltaic panel, the third motor 402 may be started to drive the screw conveyor 404 to rotate and discharge the dust in the dust storage bin 401. A fan 405 may be provided at the top of the dust storage bin 401 opposite to the first suction pipe 409, and a filter paper 406 may be provided at the bottom of the fan 405. When the fan rotates, the filter paper 406 can prevent the dust in the dust storage bin 401 from being sucked out by the fan 405. A rolling brush 407 may be provided on one side of the filter paper 406 close to the inside of the dust storage bin, and the filter paper 406 may be cleaned under the drive of the fourth motor 408 .

[0086] When the dust removal component 2 is working, the dust collection component 4 starts working at the same time. The dust scooped up by the scraper 210 is sucked into the dust storage bin 401 through the suction pipe mouth 410. The suction pipe branch 412 can also suck the dust near the camera 211 into the dust storage bin 401 to prevent the camera 211 from being contaminated by dust.

[0087] The quadruped robot may further include a power supply assembly (not shown in the figure). The power supply assembly may be a solar panel and / or a battery, and the solar panel may be located above the main body 1 to provide power for other components.

[0088] The quadruped robot may also include a control system (not shown in the figure), which can control the motion component 3, the dust removal component 2 and the dust collection component 4 to coordinate actions according to the position of the quadruped robot to complete the dust cleaning work of the photovoltaic panel. The image of the camera 211 can be transmitted to the control system, and the control system can identify the type, position and cleanliness of the dust accumulation in the image. According to the type of dust accumulation, the control system can control the impact force of the telescopic rod 209 when it is extended, and adjust the position of the slider 205 through the second motor 212, and then adjust the elastic force of the spring 206 to control the pressure of the telescopic rod 209 on the photovoltaic panel. The more stubborn the stain, the greater the impact force and pressure. Special types of stains, such as bird droppings, should be avoided by the quadruped robot after identification. The bird droppings that are not completely dried may block the suction pipe port 410 of the dust collection component 4, causing the quadruped robot to not work properly and shut down. At this time, the control system can call for manual processing.

[0089] The adsorption force of the suction cup 307 is positively correlated with the cleanliness of the photovoltaic panel surface. The suction cup 307 of the quadruped robot needs to step on the cleaned photovoltaic panel surface, so it is necessary to manually clean a small piece of clean panel surface before placing the quadruped robot. First, clean the lower left corner of the leftmost photovoltaic panel in a row of continuous photovoltaic panels. The quadruped robot can climb up first, clean the dust along the way, and when it reaches the top, clean a clean area to the right, then turn back and climb down again until the entire photovoltaic panel is cleaned.

[0090] When the quadruped robot moves in a straight line, it needs to stop and wait for the dust removal component 2 to remove the stains after each distance. The running track of the scraper 210 is a semi-circular surface with a fixed width. If the travel distance of the main body 1 is the same as the width of the semi-circular surface, the area to be cleaned again will be connected to the area. The corners of the frame, the obstacles that cross the frame, etc. can be specially processed in combination with the image information.

[0091] Whenever you turn back from the bottom edge of the photovoltaic panel and prepare to climb up, check whether the dust collection bin 401 of the dust collection assembly 4 needs to be cleaned. If necessary, the dust can be gently discharged to the ground outside the bottom edge of the photovoltaic panel through the tail pipe 403. If necessary, a discharge station can be set up, and the tail pipe 403 can be inserted into the discharge station for discharge to avoid secondary pollution.

[0092] Each photovoltaic panel has a frame, the size of which usually matches the size of the photovoltaic panel, and the width is generally between 35mm and 60mm, which plays a role in protecting and fixing the photovoltaic cell assembly. When the quadruped robot crosses from one photovoltaic panel to another, if the forward direction of the quadruped robot is not perpendicular to the frame as an obstacle before crossing, the quadruped robot is turned to be in a vertical posture. After cleaning the stains in the adjacent photovoltaic panel to be crossed area, the quadruped robot moves forward so that its two front feet are close enough to the frame and maintain a certain distance, lifts the front feet, and moves forward a certain distance sufficient to cross the obstacle. After the two front feet cross the obstacle, the quadruped robot moves forward until the two hind feet are close enough to the frame and maintain a certain distance, lifts the hind feet, and moves forward a certain distance sufficient to cross the obstacle. After both hind feet cross the obstacle, the obstacle crossing movement ends. Generally, the larger the size of the photovoltaic panel, the larger the size of the frame, and the corresponding size of the quadruped robot should also be increased accordingly. The distance to cross the obstacle is an important factor in determining the size of the robot.

[0093] Usually, a photovoltaic panel is composed of many solar cells arranged horizontally and vertically, with gaps between the cells. Therefore, by counting the cells and comparing them with the information stored in the quadruped robot in advance, the position of the quadruped robot on the photovoltaic panel can be obtained. If the photovoltaic panels that have been traveled are counted, the position on the row of photovoltaic panels arranged continuously can be known. The counting of cells and the counting of photovoltaic panels that have been traveled can both be performed using the camera 211. At this time, the control system can splice the images obtained by the camera 211 to form a map, and then calculate the position of the cells and the frame position in the map. An electronic compass can also be added to the quadruped robot, so that direction information can be added when counting, and up, down, left and right are more intuitive.

[0094] The cleaning cycle of photovoltaic panels is closely related to the weather, which is about once or twice a month. Avoid windy and rainy weather and place them in different areas in sequence. Because it is dry cleaning, the cleaning time is not restricted and can be done after sunrise (when washing with water, there is a concern that the exposed panels will burst when exposed to water, so they are often cleaned in the early morning before normal power generation). We do not pursue cleaning efficiency. A four-legged robot can clean a continuous area of ​​photovoltaic panels in one day.

[0095] As an embodiment of the present application, if the operation object is composed of photovoltaic panels of about 300 watts, each photovoltaic panel is about 2 meters long and 1 meter wide, the frame is 35 mm wide, the panel spacing is 10 mm, and it is installed vertically at an angle of 40 degrees. The quadruped robot cleans a photovoltaic panel back and forth, and the cleaning width is about 0.5 meters. In order to ensure that the four legs do not step into the uncleaned area, the maximum horizontal and longitudinal foot spacing should not be greater than 0.5 meters, that is, the maximum horizontal distance or longitudinal distance after the four legs are stretched arbitrarily. The maximum length of the telescopic rod 209 after the maximum extension is 0.25 meters. The maximum length of the tail pipe 403 is 0.1 meters. The diameter of the suction cup 307 is 55 mm. The blade width of the shovel 210 can be 100 mm.

[0096] Finally, it should be noted that the above embodiments are only used to illustrate the technical solution of the present application and are not intended to limit it. Although the present application is described in detail with reference to the embodiments, a person skilled in the art should understand that any modification or equivalent replacement of the technical solution of the present application does not depart from the spirit and scope of the technical solution of the present application and should be included in the scope of the claims of the present application.

Claims

1. A quadruped crawling robot for cleaning photovoltaic panels, characterized in that: The robot comprises: The main body is a nearly square plate-like structure with four corners missing, and a boss extends outward on one side; A dust removal component, located on the boss of the body, is used to remove dust on the photovoltaic panel at the front end of the robot using a scraper; A motion component, used for driving the robot to move on the photovoltaic panel, wherein the motion component is attached to the photovoltaic panel by a suction cup to prevent the robot from falling; A dust collecting component is used to temporarily store the dust raised when the dust removal component removes the accumulated dust; when the robot moves to the bottom of the photovoltaic panel, the stored dust can be discharged; A power supply component for providing power to each component; and The control system is used to control the coordinated actions of the motion component, the dust removal component and the dust collection component to complete the dust cleaning work of the photovoltaic panel.

2. The quadruped crawling robot for cleaning photovoltaic panels according to claim 1, characterized in that: The dust removal component comprises: A first gear plate, the center of which is riveted to the boss of the body and can rotate around its own center; A second gear plate, whose teeth mesh with the teeth of the first gear plate, is riveted to the body and can rotate around its own center of circle; A first motor, fixed above the second gear plate, for driving the second gear plate to rotate; Two mounting seats are fixed to the edge of the first gear plate with a set interval in between; the ends of the mounting seats away from the first gear plate are provided with pin holes; A telescopic rod, the middle of which is connected to the two mounting seats by a pin shaft; the telescopic rod can be extended and retracted by a motor drive; A blade is fixed to an end of the telescopic rod away from the body; <-shaped spring, the bend of which bypasses the pin, one side of which is close to the telescopic rod and is located below the upper part of the body, and the other side is located above the first gear plate; A support rod fixed on the telescopic rod; and A camera is fixed on one end of the support rod away from the telescopic rod; the lens of the camera faces the scraper.

3. The quadruped crawling robot for cleaning photovoltaic panels according to claim 2, characterized in that: The dust removal component also includes: The slide plate is located on the first gear plate and between the two mounting seats, and can move forward and backward under the drive of the motor to drive the telescopic rod to rotate.

4. The quadruped crawling robot for cleaning photovoltaic panels according to claim 2 or 3, characterized in that: The dust removal component also includes: A slider with a smooth inclined upper surface is located on a side of the first gear plate opposite to the mounting seat; an end of one side of the spring on the first gear plate is located on the inclined surface of the slider; The second motor is used to drive the slider to move horizontally in a direction away from and close to the spring.

5. The quadruped crawling robot for cleaning photovoltaic panels according to claim 1, characterized in that: The motion components include: Four feet located at the four missing corners of the square plate-like structure of the main body; Each of the said feet is driven by two electric pull rods; The driving motor installed below the body is used to drive the electric pull rod to move.

6. The quadruped crawling robot for cleaning photovoltaic panels according to claim 5, characterized in that: The four legs are of the same structure; Each of said feet comprises: A columnar foot support with external threads in the middle; A trumpet-shaped hollow suction cup is fixed below the foot support; the larger side between the suction cups faces downward; An elastic film seals the downward side of the suction cup; Two collars, sleeved on the middle of the foot support and fixedly connected to one of the electric pull rods respectively; A turbine mechanism, sleeved on the middle of the foot support, used to cooperate with the external thread of the foot support to drive the foot support to move up and down; and A tensioning steering wheel is fixed to the top of the foot support and is used to pull up or put down the film.

7. The quadruped crawling robot for cleaning photovoltaic panels according to claim 2, characterized in that: The dust collection component comprises: A dust storage bin is fixed above the main body; A first suction pipe, one end of which is connected from the top of the dust storage bin, and the other end is laid along the top of the telescopic rod and opened above the scraper; A flat suction pipe opening is fixed above the scraper and communicated with the first suction pipe; A tail pipe is connected from the bottom of the dust storage bin to the rear end of the body; A screw conveyor, located at the bottom of the dust holding layer and extending into the tail pipe; A third motor is used to drive the screw conveyor to rotate; a fan located at an opening at the top of the dust storage bin, on a side opposite to the first suction pipe; and The filter paper is located at one side of the fan on the dust containing bin and is used to prevent dust from being sucked out by the fan.

8. The quadruped crawling robot for cleaning photovoltaic panels according to claim 7, characterized in that: The dust collection assembly also includes: A straw branch has one end connected to the first straw and one end opened below the camera.

9. The quadruped crawling robot for cleaning photovoltaic panels according to claim 7 or 8, characterized in that: The dust collection assembly also includes: a roller brush, located on a side of the filter paper close to the interior of the dust storage bin; and The fourth motor is used to drive the roller brush to rotate and remove dust from the filter paper.

10. The quadruped crawling robot for cleaning photovoltaic panels according to claim 1, characterized in that: The power supply component is a solar panel and / or a battery.

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