A quadrupedal crawling robot for photovoltaic panel cleaning

Abstract

The application provides a four-legged crawling robot for cleaning photovoltaic panels, comprising: a body in the shape of a square plate with a protrusion extending from one side; a dust removal assembly on the protrusion of the body for removing dust on the photovoltaic panel at the front end of the robot by using a shovel; a movement assembly for driving the robot to move on the photovoltaic panel, the movement assembly being adsorbed on the photovoltaic panel by using a suction cup to prevent the robot from falling; a dust suction assembly for temporarily storing the dust raised when the dust removal assembly removes dust; a power supply assembly for providing power supply for each assembly; and a control system for controlling the movement assembly, the dust removal assembly and the dust suction assembly to move coordinately to complete the dust removal work of the photovoltaic panel. The application has the advantages that: no solvent is used to remove dust including stubborn dust, and the application is particularly suitable for removing dust on photovoltaic panels in arid areas; the robot can autonomously walk on the photovoltaic panel without laying tracks, and the application provides conditions 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 particularly relates to a four-legged crawling robot for cleaning photovoltaic panels. BACKGROUND

[0002] Compared with traditional fossil energy, solar energy has the advantages of inexhaustibility, cleanliness and no pollution, and has become one of the main forms of new energy. The two main forms of solar power generation are photovoltaic power generation and heat collection 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 absorption of solar radiation by dust causes 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 that can corrode the photovoltaic panel to some extent. The main solution at present is to clean the dust on the photovoltaic panel regularly. The problems encountered are as follows: ① When is the most economical time to clean? ② What is the most economical way to clean? ③ Cleaning problems in arid and water-scarce areas; ④ Other technical problems.

[0003] Generally, dust can be divided into two types: floating dust (non-adhesive dust) and stubborn stains (adhesive dust). Floating dust can be easily removed by methods such as broom, vacuum cleaner or electrostatic dust removal, while stubborn stains currently have no good way to remove them except by water cleaning. Individual documents propose to use a grinding method to handle them, but it is obvious that without proper control, it is easy to scratch the glass surface of the photovoltaic panel. Some documents also propose to spray a special cleaning agent on the stubborn stains and then use a roller brush or disc brush to remove them, but how to remove the stains stuck on the roller brush or disc brush is also a problem. Perhaps a roller brush or disc brush self-cleaning system can be added, which requires a solvent for self-cleaning.

[0004] The main cleaning methods at present are as follows: ① natural dust removal method, which uses natural rainfall, snowfall and wind to realize self-cleaning of photovoltaic panels. The disadvantage is that it is random and needs natural wind and rain conditions, and the cleaning effect is not good for some specific types of dust. ② manual dust removal method, which is one of the most traditional ways of cleaning photovoltaic panels. The methods used include direct cleaning with a brush, cleaning with a wet mop, manual spraying with a spray head, and spraying cleaning with a water spraying vehicle. The advantage of manual cleaning is that it is simple to operate and has good effect, but the disadvantage is that it consumes a lot of water and the labor cost is relatively high. ③ robot dust removal method, which has high automation and can improve efficiency and reduce labor. In the working process, most types of robots can use solar charging and use brushes, soft fibers or air flow to remove dust. There are many types of cleaning robots, some of which use waterless brush cleaning method, which has the disadvantage of not being able to effectively remove sticky dust. The disadvantage of robot dust removal is high initial investment, complex maintenance and certain failure rate, and it is not suitable for irregular and large fluctuation photovoltaic fields. ④ other dust removal methods, in addition to the above cleaning methods, there are other dust removal technologies, such as automatic spray head installed on photovoltaic panels, dust removal equipment based on electromagnetic or ultrasonic technology, and self-cleaning technology of photovoltaic surface coating. These technologies have their own limitations and are not mature enough, so they have not been widely used.

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

[0006] Currently, most cleaning robots use a track walking method, that is, a track is laid along and under the photovoltaic panel, the robot straddles the upper and lower tracks, similar to a train running on a track, except that the track is high at one end and low at the other end. The simplest cleaning method is to install a long roller brush on the trolley chassis straddling the upper and lower tracks, and to spray water while rolling the brush. If you are worried that the brush cannot clean, arrange another long roller brush in parallel, but this method needs to solve the water supply problem and waste water recovery problem and the robot carrying (automatic) technical details. Another way is to use a short roller brush or a disc brush to brush from top to bottom, and to brush a short brush distance to brush another one. These two walking methods can be combined with a scraper to remove residual water stains. The biggest problem of this installation method is that it requires high flatness of the photovoltaic panel installation.

[0007] A fixed or oscillating spray head can also be considered on the above track walking trolley chassis to replace the roller brush or disc brush with high-pressure water washing to further reduce operation and maintenance costs, but the cost of water will be correspondingly increased. SUMMARY

[0008] The purpose of the present application is to overcome the defects of the prior art that consumes a large amount of water or cannot remove stubborn dust.

[0009] In order to achieve the above purpose, the present application provides a four-legged crawling robot for cleaning photovoltaic panels, which comprises:

[0010] The body is an approximately square plate structure with four missing corners, one side of which extends outwardly to form a boss;

[0011] The dust removal assembly is located on the boss of the body and is used to remove dust on the photovoltaic panel at the front end of the robot with a shovel;

[0012] The movement assembly is used to drive the robot to move on the photovoltaic panel, and the movement assembly is adsorbed on the photovoltaic panel by a suction cup to prevent the robot from falling;

[0013] The dust collection assembly is used to temporarily store the dust raised when the dust removal assembly removes dust, and can discharge the stored dust when the robot moves to the bottom end of the photovoltaic panel;

[0014] The power supply assembly is used to provide power supply for each assembly; and

[0015] The control system is used to control the movement assembly, dust removal assembly and dust collection assembly to work in coordination to complete the dust removal work of the photovoltaic panel.

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

[0017] A first gear plate is riveted at the center of the body and can rotate around its center;

[0018] A second gear plate is riveted on the body and can rotate around its center, with its teeth engaging the teeth of the first gear plate;

[0019] A first motor is fixed above the second gear plate and is used to drive the second gear plate to rotate;

[0020] Two mounting seats are fixed on the edge of the first gear plate with a certain interval between them; the end of the mounting seat away from the first gear plate has a pin hole;

[0021] A telescopic rod 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 shovel is fixed at the end of the telescopic rod away from the body;

[0023] A spring is arranged around the pin shaft, with one side of the spring below the part of the telescopic rod above the body and the other side above the first gear plate;

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

[0025] A camera is fixed at the end of the support rod away from the telescopic rod; the lens of the camera faces the shovel.

[0026] As an improvement of the above-mentioned robot, the dust removal assembly further comprises:

[0027] A sliding plate is arranged on the first gear plate between the two mounting seats and can move forward and backward under the drive of the motor, used to push the telescopic rod to rotate.

[0028] As an improvement of the above-mentioned robot, the dust removal assembly further comprises:

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

[0030] A second motor is used to drive the sliding block to move horizontally away from and close to the spring.

[0031] As an improvement of the above-mentioned robot, the movement assembly comprises:

[0032] Four feet are arranged at the four missing corners of the square plate structure of the body;

[0033] Each of said feet is driven by two electrically powered pull rods;

[0034] A driving motor is mounted below said body for driving said electrically powered pull rods to move.

[0035] As an improvement of the above robot, said four feet are of the same structure;

[0036] Each of said feet comprises:

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

[0038] A horn-shaped hollow suction cup is fixed below said foot support; the larger side of said suction cup faces downward;

[0039] A thin film with elasticity seals the downward side of said suction cup;

[0040] Two collars are sleeved in the middle part of said foot support and are fixedly connected with one of said electrically powered pull rods respectively;

[0041] A worm mechanism is sleeved in the middle part of said foot support for cooperating with the external thread of said foot support to drive said foot support to move up and down; and

[0042] A tensioning rudder is fixed at the top end of said foot support for pulling up or putting down said thin film. As an improvement of the above robot, said dust collection assembly comprises:

[0043] A dust containing bin is fixed above said body;

[0044] A first suction pipe is connected at one end above said dust containing bin and laid along above said telescopic rod with its other end opening above said shovel;

[0045] A flat suction pipe mouth is fixed above said shovel and communicates with said first suction pipe;

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

[0047] A spiral conveyor is located at the bottom of said dust containing bin and extends into said tail pipe;

[0048] A third motor is used to drive said spiral conveyor to rotate;

[0049] A fan is located at the opening of the top of said dust containing bin on the side opposite to said first suction pipe; and

[0050] A filter paper is located on the side of said fan in said dust containing bin for preventing dust from being sucked out by the fan.

[0051] As an improvement of the above robot, said dust collection assembly further comprises:

[0052] a suction pipe branch in communication with the first suction pipe at one end and open at one end below the camera.

[0053] As an improvement of the above-mentioned robot, the dust removal assembly further comprises:

[0054] a rolling brush located at a side of the filter paper close to the inside of the dust storage bin; and

[0055] a fourth motor for driving the rolling brush to rotate and remove dust from the filter paper.

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

[0057] Compared with the prior art, the application has the following advantages:

[0058] 1. The quadruped robot provided by the application can remove dust on the photovoltaic panel by using a shovel, and can adjust the force of the shovel according to the type of the dust, thereby facilitating the removal of stubborn dust.

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

[0060] 3. The quadruped robot provided by the application uses a foot with a suction cup, and can freely walk on an inclined photovoltaic panel without being affected by the installation angle of the photovoltaic panel. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

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

[0062] Figure 2 Fig. 3 is a side view of the dust removal assembly;

[0063] Figure 3 Fig. 4 is a schematic view of the telescopic rod being extended when the sliding plate of the dust removal assembly lifts up the telescopic rod; wherein the spring, the sliding block and the second motor are not shown;

[0064] Figure 4 Fig. 5 is a schematic view of the telescopic rod being retracted when the sliding plate of the dust removal assembly lifts up the telescopic rod; wherein the spring, the sliding block and the second motor are not shown;

[0065] Figure 5 Fig. 6 is a schematic view of the telescopic rod being retracted when the sliding plate of the dust removal assembly does not lift up the telescopic rod; wherein the spring, the sliding block and the second motor are not shown;

[0066] Figure 6 Fig. 7 is a schematic view of the telescopic rod being rotated to 90 degrees counterclockwise;

[0067] Figure 7 Fig. 14 shows a schematic diagram of the telescopic rod rotating to 90 degrees in the dust removal assembly;

[0068] Figure 8 Fig. 15 shows a schematic diagram of the motion assembly;

[0069] Figure 9 Fig. 16 shows a schematic diagram of the foot and photovoltaic panel in the motion assembly in a non-adsorbed state;

[0070] Figure 10 Fig. 17 shows a schematic diagram of the foot and photovoltaic panel in the motion assembly in an adsorbed state;

[0071] Figure 11 Fig. 18 shows a schematic diagram of the self-contained robot advancing;

[0072] Figure 12 Fig. 19 shows a schematic diagram of the quadruped robot rotating in place;

[0073] Figure 13 Fig. 20 shows a schematic diagram of the dust removal assembly and A-A and B-B cross-sectional views. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0074] The technical solutions of the present application will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0075] The purpose of the present application is to provide a quadruped crawling robot (hereinafter referred to as quadruped robot) for cleaning photovoltaic panels, which can walk freely on inclined photovoltaic panel surfaces (0-60 degrees), free from the shackles of guide rails, reduce installation costs and complexity, and reduce operation and maintenance costs; can use a spade to remove dust, including the removal of bonded dust, without using any solvent, completely solving the cleaning problem in drought-stricken areas; when the collected dust accumulates to a certain extent, it automatically discharges at the lower edge of the photovoltaic panel. The quadruped robot is light in weight and small in size, creating conditions for further use of small aircraft for delivery.

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

[0077] A semicircular plate structure can extend from one side of the body 1, and a dust removal assembly 2 can be provided thereon. For the sake of convenience, in the present application, the direction in which the dust removal assembly 2 is located on the body 1 is referred to as the front end, and the opposite direction is referred to as the rear end. In other embodiments, the plate structure extending from the body 1 can not be semicircular, as long as the edge has a certain curvature and does not affect the movement of the dust removal assembly 2.

[0078] As Figures 2-7As shown, the soot cleaning assembly 2 can include a first gear plate 201, the center of which can be riveted with the center of the semicircular plate structure extending from the body 1, so that the first gear plate 201 can be fixed on the body 1 and can rotate freely. The rear end of the first gear plate 201 on the body 1 can be riveted and fixed with a second gear plate 202 smaller in diameter than the first gear plate 201. The teeth of the second gear plate 202 can be engaged with the teeth of the first gear plate 201, which can drive the first gear plate 201 to rotate in the opposite direction when the second gear plate 202 rotates. A first motor 203 can be fixedly installed above the second gear plate 202. The first motor 203 can drive the second gear plate 202 to rotate clockwise or counterclockwise. With the front end of the body 1 as 0 degrees, the first motor 203 can drive the second gear plate 202 and the first gear plate 201 to rotate clockwise or counterclockwise by 90 degrees (as shown in Figure 6 and Figure 7 As shown, the soot cleaning assembly 2 can include a first gear plate 201, the center of which can be riveted with the center of the semicircular plate structure extending from the body 1, so that the first gear plate 201 can be fixed on the body 1 and can rotate freely. The rear end of the first gear plate 201 on the body 1 can be riveted and fixed with a second gear plate 202 smaller in diameter than the first gear plate 201. The teeth of the second gear plate 202 can be engaged with the teeth of the first gear plate 201, which can drive the first gear plate 201 to rotate in the opposite direction when the second gear plate 202 rotates. A first motor 203 can be fixedly installed above the second gear plate 202. The first motor 203 can drive the second gear plate 202 to rotate clockwise or counterclockwise. With the front end of the body 1 as 0 degrees, the first motor 203 can drive the second gear plate 202 and the first gear plate 201 to rotate clockwise or counterclockwise by 90 degrees (as shown in Figure 3 、 Figure 4 and Figure 5The spring 206 of the < type can have its bending part around the pin shaft, one side close to the lower part of the telescopic rod 209, and the other side above the first gear plate 201. A slide 205 with a smooth inclined surface can be arranged above the first gear plate 201. The inclined surface of the slide 205 can be towards one side of the spring 206, and when the slide 205 moves horizontally towards the spring 206, the top end of one side of the spring 206 can move along the inclined surface and be lifted, thereby increasing the elastic force of the spring 206 and the pressure between the telescopic rod 209 and the photovoltaic panel. The side of the slide 205 away from the spring can have a second motor 212, which can control the forward and backward movement of the slide 205 in the horizontal plane, thereby controlling the elastic force of the spring 206 and the pressure of the telescopic rod 209 on the photovoltaic panel. The spring 206 and the slide 204 can jointly control the rotation angle of the telescopic rod 209 in the vertical plane and the pressure on the photovoltaic panel. The telescopic rod 209 can have a support rod 208 perpendicular to its length direction, and the top end of the support rod 208 can be installed with a camera 211, and the lens of the camera 211 can be fixed towards the direction of the shovel 210. The first motor 203 can be a miniature stepping motor.

[0079] In the initial state, the telescopic rod 209 is in the contracted state, the slide 204 lifts the telescopic rod 209, the telescopic rod 209 is in the 0-degree position in front of the body 1, and the shovel 210 does not contact the photovoltaic panel. In use, the first step is to rotate the telescopic rod 209 to the clockwise 90-degree direction by driving the second gear plate 202 and the first gear plate 201 to rotate by the first motor 203. The second step is to contract the slide 204 and rotate the telescopic rod 209 downward so that the shovel 210 contacts the photovoltaic panel. The third step is to extend the slide 204 and start to lengthen the telescopic rod 209 until it is the longest, so that the shovel 210 moves forward on the photovoltaic panel to remove the dust on the photovoltaic panel. The fourth step is to contract the telescopic rod 209 to separate the shovel 210 from the photovoltaic panel, and the slide 204 and the telescopic rod 209 are contracted to the initial state at the same time. The fifth step is to rotate the first gear plate 201 counterclockwise by a certain angle, and repeat the second to fourth steps until the telescopic rod 209 is rotated to the counterclockwise 90-degree position. At this time, the four-legged robot can clean out a semi-annular area in front of the end by using the shovel 210.

[0080] As Figure 8 shown, the four-legged robot further includes a movement assembly 3. The movement assembly can include four feet located at the missing four corners of the square plate structure of the body 1, the upper left corner being the first foot 301, the upper right corner being the second foot 302, the lower right corner being the third foot 303, and the lower left corner being the fourth foot 304.

[0081] The four feet have the same structure, as Figure 9 and Figure 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 downward-facing side of the suction cup 307 has a larger diameter. The downward-facing side of the suction cup 307 can be sealed by a thin elastic film 310. The top end of the foot support 306 can have a tension rudder wheel 308. The middle part of the foot support 306 can be sleeved with a pull rod 309. The tension rudder wheel 308 can pull up or lower the film 310. The middle part of the foot support 306 can have external threads, and a turbine mechanism 311 can be sleeved on the external threads. The turbine mechanism 311 can have a turbine that can engage with the external threads on the foot support 306 and drive the foot support 306 to move up and down when rotated, thereby lifting and lowering the suction cup 307. When the film 310 is pulled up, a vacuum state is formed between the film 310 and the photovoltaic panel, causing the suction cup 307 to be adsorbed on the photovoltaic panel; when the film 310 is lowered, the vacuum state is released, causing the suction cup 307 to be lifted from the photovoltaic panel. When each foot moves, the film 310 is first lowered by the tension rudder wheel 308, causing the suction cup 307 to no longer be adsorbed on the photovoltaic panel, and the suction cup 307 is lifted by the turbine mechanism 311; after the foot is moved to a set position, the suction cup 307 is lowered by the turbine mechanism 311, and the film 310 is pulled up by the tension rudder wheel 308, causing the suction cup 307 to be adsorbed on the photovoltaic panel. The middle part of the foot support 306 is also sleeved with two collars 309 for fixed connection with the first electric pull rod 305a and the second electric pull rod 305b (see Figure 8 ).

[0082] As shown in Figure 8 , each foot can be driven by two orthogonally arranged first electric pull rods 305a and second electric pull rods 305b. The first electric pull rods 305a and the second electric pull rods 305b are fixedly connected with one collar 309 on the foot support 306. When the first electric pull rods 305a and the second electric pull rods 305b are linked to make the footprints straight in the forward direction, the quadruped robot moves forward; when the first electric pull rods 305a and the second electric pull rods 305b are linked to make the footprints in the tangential direction, the quadruped robot rotates in place. The drive 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] As shown in Figure 11 , the first foot 301, the third foot 303, the second foot 304, and the fourth foot 304 are sequentially moved forward, and the quadruped robot can move forward.

[0084] As shown in Figure 12As shown, taking the clockwise rotation as an example: taking the geometric center of the quadruped as the center of a circle, and taking the middle position of the electric pull rod stroke as the initial position to determine the distance from the foot center to the center of the circle as the radius, a circle is drawn. A segment of arc is selected from the foot center as the starting point, and the moving foot is moved to the end point of the arc. The four feet are moved in the order of the first foot 301, the fourth foot 304, the third foot 303, and the second foot 304. Finally, the pull rod is reset, completing the rotation of a segment of arc, and repeating the above movement to complete the steering of the quadruped robot.

[0085] As shown in Figure 13 , the quadruped robot can also include a dust collection assembly 4. The dust collection bin 401 of the dust collection assembly 4 can be fixed above the main body 1. One end of the first suction pipe 409 can be accessed from above the dust collection bin 401, and the other end can be laid along the upper part of the telescopic rod 209, extending above the shovel 210. The end of the first suction pipe 409 above the shovel 210 can be fixedly connected with the flat suction pipe mouth 410. The first suction pipe 409 can also have a thinner suction pipe branch 412 in the middle, and the opening of the suction pipe branch 412 can be located below the camera 211 (see Figure 2 ). The bottom of the dust collection bin 401 can have a tail pipe 403, and part of the spiral conveyor 404 can be accommodated in the tail pipe 403. One end of the spiral conveyor 404 can be located at the bottom of the dust collection bin 401, and the other end can be located in the tail pipe 403. The end of the spiral conveyor 404 at the bottom of the dust collection bin 401 can be connected to the third motor 402. The wall of the dust collection bin 401 can have a sensor, which can monitor when the dust in the dust collection bin 401 reaches a certain amount. When the quadruped robot moves to the bottom end of the photovoltaic panel, the third motor 402 can be started to drive the spiral conveyor 404 to rotate and discharge the dust in the dust collection bin 401. The top of the dust collection bin 401 opposite the first suction pipe 409 can have a fan 405, and the bottom end of the fan 405 can have a filter paper 406. When the fan rotates, the filter paper 406 can prevent dust in the dust collection bin 401 from being sucked out by the fan 405. The side of the filter paper 406 close to the inside of the dust collection bin can have a roller brush 407, which can clean the filter paper 406 under the drive of the fourth motor 408.

[0086] When the dust removal assembly 2 is working, the dust collection assembly 4 also starts to work, and the dust scraped up by the shovel 210 is sucked into the dust collection 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 collection bin 401, preventing the camera 211 from being contaminated by dust.

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

[0088] The quadruped robot can also include a control system (not shown in the figure) that can control the movement assembly 3, the dust removal assembly 2 and the dust collection assembly 4 to work together according to the position of the quadruped robot to complete the dust removal work of the photovoltaic panel. The image of the camera 211 can be transmitted to the control system, which can identify the type, position and cleanliness of the dust on the surface of the photovoltaic panel. According to the type of dust, the control system can control the impact force when the telescopic rod 209 is extended, and adjust the position of the sliding block 205 through the second motor 212, and then adjust the spring 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. Bird droppings that are not completely dry can block the suction pipe port 410 of the dust collection assembly 4, causing the quadruped robot to stop working normally, at which time the control system can call for manual processing.

[0089] The suction force of the suction cup 307 is positively related to the cleanliness of the surface of the photovoltaic panel, and the suction cup 307 of the quadruped robot needs to step on the surface of the photovoltaic panel that has been cleaned, so a small clean panel surface needs to be manually cleaned before placing the quadruped robot. First, clean the lower left corner of the leftmost photovoltaic panel of a row of continuous photovoltaic panels. The quadruped robot can first climb up, clean the dust along the way, and then turn back and climb down after clearing a clean place to the right when it reaches the top, until the entire photovoltaic panel is cleaned.

[0090] When the quadruped robot travels in a straight line, it needs to stop and wait for the dust removal assembly 2 to remove stains every distance traveled. The running track of the shovel 210 is a semi-circular surface with a fixed width, and 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 is just connected to the area. The corner of the frame can be specially processed in combination with image information.

[0091] Whenever the quadruped robot turns back from the lower edge of the photovoltaic panel to prepare to climb up, check whether the dust container 401 of the dust collection assembly 4 needs to be cleaned, and if necessary, the dust can be discharged to the ground outside the lower 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 deepened into the discharge station before discharging to avoid secondary pollution.

[0092] Each photovoltaic panel has a frame, the size of which is usually matched with the size of the photovoltaic panel, the width is generally between 35mm to 60mm, which plays a role of protection and fixation of photovoltaic cell assembly. When the quadruped robot crosses from one photovoltaic panel to another, before crossing, if the advancing direction of the quadruped robot is not perpendicular to the frame as an obstacle, the quadruped robot is rotated to be in a perpendicular posture. After removing the dirt in the area to be crossed of the adjacent photovoltaic panel, the quadruped robot advances to make the two front legs close to the frame and keep a certain distance, lifts the front legs, moves forward a certain distance to cross the obstacle, and after the two front legs cross the obstacle, the quadruped robot advances to make the two rear legs close to the frame and keep a certain distance, lifts the rear legs, moves forward a certain distance to cross the obstacle. After the two rear legs cross the obstacle, the 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, and the distance of crossing the obstacle is an important factor to determine the size of the robot.

[0093] Generally, a photovoltaic panel is composed of many solar cell pieces arranged horizontally and vertically, and there are gaps between the pieces, so the cell pieces are counted and compared with the information stored in the quadruped robot in advance, so as to obtain the position of the quadruped robot on the photovoltaic panel. If the photovoltaic panel traveled through is counted, the position on the continuous photovoltaic panel in the row can be known. The counting of the cell pieces and the counting of the photovoltaic panel traveled through can be performed by the camera 211, at this time the control system can form a map by splicing the images obtained by the camera 211, and then calculate the positions of the cell pieces and the frame in the map. An electronic compass can also be added to the quadruped robot, so that the direction information can be added when counting, and the up, down, left and right are more intuitive.

[0094] The cleaning period of the photovoltaic panel is closely related to the weather, and is generally once or twice a month, avoiding rainy and windy weather, and being put in turn in different areas. Because it is dry cleaning, the time of cleaning is not limited, and it can be performed after sunrise (when water washing is concerned that the panel exposed to the sun will burst when it encounters water, it is often cleaned before normal power generation in the morning). The cleaning efficiency is not pursued, and one quadruped robot can clean the photovoltaic panel in a continuous area in one day.

[0095] As an embodiment of the present application, if the work object is an array of photovoltaic panels of about 300 watts, each photovoltaic panel is about 2 meters long and 1 meter wide, the frame width is 35 mm, the panel spacing is 10 mm, the vertical installation is inclined at 40 degrees, and the quadruped robot sweeps one photovoltaic panel back and forth, the sweeping width is about 0.5 meters. In order to ensure that the quadruped does not step into the unswept area, the maximum transverse and longitudinal foot spacing should not be greater than 0.5 meters, that is, the maximum transverse distance or longitudinal distance after the quadruped is stretched. The maximum length of the telescopic rod 209 after being stretched 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 solutions of the present application and are not limiting. Although the technical solutions of the present application are described in detail with reference to the embodiments, those skilled in the art should understand that modifications or equivalent replacements of the technical solutions of the present application do not deviate from the spirit and scope of the technical solutions of the present application, and they should be covered in the scope of the claims of the present application.

Claims

1. A four-legged crawling robot for photovoltaic panel cleaning, characterized by, The robot comprises: a body, which is a square plate structure with four corners missing, and a protrusion extending outward from one side of the body; a dust removal assembly on the protrusion of the body, which is used to remove dust on the photovoltaic panel in front of the robot by a shovel; a movement assembly, which is used to drive the robot to move on the photovoltaic panel, and the movement assembly is adsorbed on the photovoltaic panel by a suction cup to prevent the robot from falling; a dust suction assembly, which is used to temporarily store dust when the dust removal assembly removes dust, and the stored dust can be discharged when the robot moves to the bottom end of the photovoltaic panel; a power supply assembly, which is used to provide power supply for each assembly; and a control system, which is used to control the movement assembly, the dust removal assembly and the dust suction assembly to work coordinately to complete the dust removal work of the photovoltaic panel; the dust removal assembly comprises: a first gear plate, which is riveted at the center of the protrusion of the body and can rotate around its center; a second gear plate, which is riveted on the body and can rotate around its center, and the teeth of the second gear plate are engaged with the teeth of the first gear plate; a first motor, which is fixed above the second gear plate and is used to drive the second gear plate to rotate; two mounting seats, which are fixed on the edges of the first gear plate and have a set interval in the middle, and the ends of the mounting seats away from the first gear plate have pin holes; a telescopic rod, which is connected with the two mounting seats by a pin shaft in the middle, and the telescopic rod can be extended and retracted by a motor drive; a shovel, which is fixed at the end of the telescopic rod away from the body; a spring, which is bent around the pin shaft, and one side of the spring is close to the lower part of the telescopic rod above the body, and the other side of the spring is above the first gear plate; a support rod, which is fixed on the telescopic rod; and a camera, which is fixed at the end of the support rod away from the telescopic rod, and the lens of the camera faces the shovel; the dust removal assembly further comprises: a sliding plate, which is located between the two mounting seats on the first gear plate and can move forward and backward under the drive of the motor, and is used to push the telescopic rod to rotate.

2. The four-legged crawling robot for photovoltaic panel cleaning according to claim 1, characterized in that, the dust removal assembly further comprises: a sliding block, which is located on the side of the first gear plate opposite to the mounting seat and has a smooth inclined surface, and the end of one side of the spring on the first gear plate is located on the inclined surface of the sliding block; a second motor, which is used to drive the sliding block to move horizontally away from and close to the spring.

3. The four-legged crawling robot for photovoltaic panel cleaning according to claim 1, characterized in that, the movement assembly comprises: four feet, which are located at the positions of the four corners missing in the square plate structure of the body; each foot is driven by two electric pull rods; a drive motor, which is installed below the body and is used to drive the electric pull rods to move.

4. The four-legged crawling robot for photovoltaic panel cleaning according to claim 3, characterized in that, the four feet are of the same structure; each foot comprises: a columnar foot support, which has an external thread in the middle; a horn-shaped hollow suction cup, which is fixed below the foot support, and the larger side of the suction cup faces downward; a thin film, which seals the downward side of the suction cup; two collars, which are sleeved on the middle part of the foot support and are fixedly connected with the two electric pull rods respectively. A turbine mechanism is sleeved in the middle of the foot support part, which is used to cooperate with the outer thread of the foot support to drive the foot support to move up and down. A tensioning steering wheel is fixed at the top end of the foot support, which is used to pull up or put down the film.

5. The four-legged crawling robot for photovoltaic panel cleaning according to claim 1, characterized in that, The dust suction assembly comprises: A dust containing bin is fixed above the main body; A first suction pipe is connected to the dust containing bin and laid along the top of the telescopic rod, with an opening above the shovel; A flat suction pipe opening is fixed above the shovel and connected to the first suction pipe; A tail pipe is connected to the bottom of the dust containing bin and the back end of the main body; A spiral conveyor is located at the bottom of the dust containing bin and extends into the tail pipe; A third motor is used to drive the spiral conveyor to rotate; A fan is located at the opening of the top of the dust containing bin and on the side opposite to the first suction pipe; and A filter paper is located on the side of the fan in the dust containing bin to prevent dust from being sucked out by the fan.

6. The four-legged crawling robot for photovoltaic panel cleaning according to claim 5, characterized in that, The dust suction assembly further comprises: A suction pipe branch is connected to the first suction pipe and has an opening below the camera.

7. Four-legged crawling robot for photovoltaic panel cleaning according to claim 5 or 6, characterized by the fact that, The dust suction assembly further comprises: A rolling brush is located on the side of the filter paper close to the inside of the dust containing bin; and A fourth motor is used to drive the rolling brush to rotate and clean the dust on the filter paper.

8. The four-legged crawling robot for photovoltaic panel cleaning according to claim 1, characterized in that, The power supply assembly is a solar panel and / or a storage battery.

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