Coal bunker inspection robot system and inspection method thereof

Abstract

The invention relates to the technical field of coal bunker inspection, in particular to a coal bunker inspection robot system and an inspection method thereof. The coal bunker inspection robot system comprises an inspection robot, a base station and a centralized control operation table, the inspection robot operates in a multi-stage telescopic rod mode and is driven by a mining servo motor to go in and out of a coal bunker in a lifting mode, and a spherical camera is arranged at the end of the inspection robot and can shoot images in the coal bunker; the base station is arranged at the top of a roadway and can carry out data transmission with the spherical camera through WIFI, the base station is connected with the centralized control operation table through a network cable, and the centralized control operation table is arranged in a centralized control room of an upper opening of a coal bunker and can control the inspection robot to enter a designated position of the coal bunker and control the spherical camera to shoot a needed monitoring picture. According to the coal bunker inspection robot system, cables do not need to enter and exit the coal bunker, the structure is simple, stable and clear picture shooting monitoring can be conducted on the interior of the coal bunker, and unmanned inspection of the coal bunker is achieved instead of manual work.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to the technical field of coal bunker inspection, and in particular to a coal bunker inspection robot system and its inspection method. Background Art

[0002] In recent years, strengthening the construction management and daily maintenance of coal bunkers can promote the optimization of coal bunker design and mechanization upgrading; promoting the automation and intelligent development of links such as daily inspection, cleaning, and blockage dredging of coal bunkers, especially promoting the research and application of related robot technologies, aiming to achieve mechanized, robotic, and even unmanned operation of coal bunker operations. This series of measures aims to comprehensively improve the safety production level of coal mines and ensure the safety and efficiency of coal bunker management. To ensure the stable operation of coal bunkers, regular maintenance work is particularly important. The contents of the maintenance include the looseness of the fixed anchor bolts on both sides of the chute, the wear of the spiral chute, and the damage of the bunker wall, etc.

[0003] Currently, there are mainly two methods for inspecting coal bunkers: 1. Manually entering the coal bunker for observation, which has a relatively high safety risk; 2. A monitoring scheme of hanging a camera into the bunker with a gourd chain, which has problems such as unclear shooting caused by the chain shaking and inability to turn. Summary of the Invention

[0004] The technical problem to be solved by the present invention is: to provide a coal bunker inspection robot system in order to solve the problems existing in the prior art in the above-mentioned background art.

[0005] The technical solution adopted by the present invention to solve its technical problems is: a coal bunker inspection robot system, including an inspection robot, a base station, and a centralized control console. The inspection robot includes a mounting base, a telescopic rod, a spherical camera, and a track. The track is installed on the top of the roadway. The mounting base is slidably arranged on the track. The telescopic rod is installed on the mounting base. The spherical camera is installed at the end of the telescopic rod. The base station is arranged on the top of the roadway and transmits data with the spherical camera through WIFI. The base station is connected to the centralized control console through a network cable. The centralized control console is arranged in the centralized control room at the upper opening of the coal bunker, and controls the inspection robot to enter the designated position of the coal bunker and controls the spherical camera to capture the required monitoring images.

[0006] Further, the telescopic rod includes at least two mutually nested hollow sleeve rods. The outermost sleeve rod is fixed, and the rest of the sleeve rods are telescopic. The lower end of the outermost sleeve rod is connected with a head slider. The two ends of the rest of the sleeve rods are respectively connected with a head slider and a tail slider. And a limit slider is also arranged outside the rest of the sleeve rods. The limit slider cooperates with the head slider of the outer sleeve rod adjacent to the rest of the sleeve rods.

[0007] Further, a long strip-shaped boss is provided on the inner wall of each sleeve rod, and a groove cooperating with the boss is formed on the tail slider of the inner layer sleeve rod adjacent thereto.

[0008] Further, the upper end of the outermost layer sleeve rod is connected to the mounting base through a cylindrical mounting seat. Pulley pairs cooperating with the track are provided at both the front and rear ends of the mounting base. A first servo motor for driving one of the pulleys to rotate is provided on the mounting base, and the first servo motor is connected to the controller of the centralized control operation console through a CAN bus.

[0009] Further, the inspection robot further includes a hoist driven by a servo motor. The hoist is fixed on the mounting base. A guide pulley for guiding the hoist wire rope is provided on the mounting base between the hoist and the telescopic rod. A fixed pulley is mounted on the mounting base at a position corresponding to the telescopic rod. The hoist wire rope sequentially passes through the guide pulley, the fixed pulley and extends into the telescopic rod and is connected to the end of the telescopic rod.

[0010] Further, a wire rope fixing shaft is penetrated and provided at the end of the telescopic rod, and the end of the hoist wire rope is connected to the wire rope fixing shaft.

[0011] Further, the servo motor is connected to the controller of the centralized control operation console through a CAN bus.

[0012] Further, it further includes a host computer, and the host computer communicates with the controller in the centralized control operation console through the ModbusTCP protocol.

[0013] Further, a mounting plate is connected to the end face of the telescopic rod. The inspection robot further includes a potted and intrinsically safe power supply for supplying power to the spherical camera. The potted and intrinsically safe power supply and the spherical camera are both fixed on the mounting plate.

[0014] An inspection method for a coal bunker inspection robot system described in the above solution is also mentioned, including the following steps: S1. The host computer and the centralized control operation console develop app software. The software performs data communication with the controller of the centralized control operation console through the ModbusTCP protocol and issues control commands. Among them, the app software has a manual real-time control mode and a one-key automatic inspection mode; S2. Control the first servo motor on the inspection robot to start, move along the track through the pulley, drive the inspection robot to move towards the designated coal bunker until it moves above the upper opening of the coal bunker; S3. When the manual real-time control mode is selected, the operator controls the start of the servo motor through the control interface of the app software, drives the winch to release the hoisting wire rope, and the sleeve rods of the telescopic rod are sequentially unfolded downward from the inner layer to the outer layer. At the same time, according to the need, the operator controls the rotation and pitching of the spherical camera to monitor the surrounding situation. When the telescopic rod extends to the specified position, the spherical camera is controlled to take the required monitoring pictures. When the one-key automatic inspection mode is selected, according to the on-site situation, the shooting positions and shooting times are preset in advance to generate the movement path of the spherical camera. The operator can realize the monitoring of all specified positions in the coal bunker through one-key operation. S4. Process the collected monitoring pictures, analyze the detection situation in the coal bunker, and transmit the detection results to the upper computer.

[0015] Advantages of the present invention: The coal bunker inspection robot system of the present invention uses a multi-stage telescopic rod to carry the spherical camera into the coal bunker. The telescopic rod is extended and retracted by an electric winch to wind and unwind the wire rope. The spherical camera exchanges data with the base station through wireless communication. The base station is connected to the operation console through a network cable. The operator controls the spherical camera to enter the coal bunker to take pictures through the operation console, realizing the inspection of the coal bunker. Long strip-shaped convex platforms are arranged on the inner wall of each layer of the sleeve rod of the telescopic rod, and grooves are arranged on the tail sliders of the adjacent inner layer sleeve rods. The cooperation of the convex platforms and the grooves can ensure that there is no relative rotation between the adjacent sleeve rods. Driving the telescopic rod to extend and retract by the winch enables the spherical camera to enter the coal bunker to take pictures, which can ensure the stable operation of the spherical camera and the clear picture shooting quality. The spherical camera is powered by a potted and intrinsically safe power supply and is connected to the base station through Wifi for data transmission and control. There is no cable entering or leaving the coal bunker, ensuring the simplicity of the structure. The inspection robot can slide freely and lock on the track through the drive of the first servo motor, so as to monitor multiple positions of the coal bunker and ensure that the telescopic rod is reliably locked on the track during the inspection work. Description of the drawings

[0016] The present invention will be further described below in conjunction with the drawings and embodiments.

[0017] Figure 1 is the structural schematic diagram of the coal bunker inspection robot system in Embodiment 1 of the present invention.

[0018] Figure 2 is the structural schematic diagram of the inspection robot in the coal bunker inspection robot system in Embodiment 1 of the present invention.

[0019] Figure 3 is Figure 2 the cross-sectional view of

[0020] Figure 4 It is a schematic structural diagram of two adjacent sets of rods of the telescopic rod in the coal bunker inspection robot system according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

[0021] Figure 5 is Figure 4 a side view of two adjacent sets of rods in

[0022] Figure 6 It is a control block diagram of the coal bunker inspection robot system according to the second embodiment of the present invention.

[0023] In the figure: 1, inspection robot; 11, installation base; 12, telescopic rod; 121, wire rope fixed shaft; 122, sleeve rod; 1221, head slider; 1222, tail slider; 1223, limit slider; 1224, boss; 1225, groove; 123, mounting plate; 124, cylindrical mounting seat; 13, spherical camera; 14, track; 15, second servo motor; 16, winch; 17, winch wire rope; 18, guide wheel; 19, fixed pulley; 111, encapsulation and intrinsically safe power supply; 112, pulley; 113, first servo motor; 2, base station; 3, centralized control console; 4, roadway; 5, coal bunker; 51, spiral chute; 6, upper computer. Detailed implementation manners

[0024] Now, the present invention will be further described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. These drawings are all simplified schematic diagrams, only illustrating the basic structure of the present invention in a schematic manner, so they only show the components related to the present invention.

[0025] Embodiment 1 As Figure 1 shown, a coal bunker inspection robot system includes an inspection robot 1, a base station 2 and a centralized control console 3. The inspection robot 1 includes an installation base 11, a telescopic rod 12, a spherical camera 13 and a track 14. The track 14 is installed on the top of the roadway 4. The installation base 11 is slidably arranged on the track 14. The telescopic rod 12 is installed on the installation base 11. The spherical camera 13 is installed at the end of the telescopic rod 12. The base station 2 is arranged on the top of the roadway 4 and performs data transmission with the spherical camera 13 through WIFI. The base station 2 is connected to the centralized control console 3 through a network cable. The centralized control console 3 is arranged in the centralized control room at the upper opening of the coal bunker 5, and controls the inspection robot 1 to enter the specified position of the coal bunker 5 and controls the spherical camera 13 to capture the required monitoring images.

[0026] Among them, the base station 2 is fixed to the top of the roadway 4 through anchor bolts. The track 14 is installed on the top of the roadway 4 through a hanger and anchor bolts. The track 14 is made of channel steel. A spiral chute 51 is provided in the coal bunker 5.

[0027] As Figure 2 andFigure 3 As shown, the inspection robot 1 further includes a winch 16 driven by a second servo motor 15 and an encapsulated and intrinsically safe power supply 111 that supplies power to the spherical camera 13. The winch 16 is connected to one end of the mounting base 11 away from the telescopic rod 12. A guide wheel 18 for guiding the winch steel wire rope 17 is provided on the mounting base 11 between the winch 16 and the telescopic rod 12. A fixed pulley 19 is installed on the mounting base 11 at a position corresponding to the telescopic rod 12. The winch steel wire rope 17 passes through the guide wheel 18 and the fixed pulley 19 in sequence and extends into the telescopic rod 12 to be connected to the end of the telescopic rod 12. Specifically, a steel wire rope fixing shaft 121 is penetrated through the end of the telescopic rod 12, and the end of the winch steel wire rope 17 is connected to the steel wire rope fixing shaft 121.

[0028] Wherein, a pair of pulleys 112 for cooperating with the track 14 are provided at both the front and rear ends of the mounting base 11. A first servo motor 113 for driving one of the pulleys 112 to rotate is provided on the mounting base 11. The other pair of pulleys 112 is located within the track 14. The first servo motor 113 is connected to the controller of the centralized control console 3 through the CAN bus. The second servo motor 15 is also connected to the controller of the centralized control console 3 through the CAN bus. Stopping the second servo motor 15 can prevent the winch steel wire rope 17 from falling, so as to realize the locking function of the inspection robot 1.

[0029] An installation plate 123 is connected to the end face of the telescopic rod 12. The encapsulated and intrinsically safe power supply 111 and the spherical camera 13 are both fixed on the installation plate 123. The encapsulated and intrinsically safe power supply 111 supplies power to the spherical camera 13, which can ensure that there is no cable entering or leaving the coal bunker 5, making the structure more concise.

[0030] As Figure 4As shown in the figure, the telescopic rod 12 includes at least two mutually nested hollow sleeve rods 122. The outermost sleeve rod 122 is fixed, and the rest of the sleeve rods 122 are telescopic. The upper end of the outermost sleeve rod 122 is connected to the mounting base 11 through a cylindrical mounting seat 124. The lower end of the outermost sleeve rod 122 is connected with a head slider 1221. The two ends of the rest of the sleeve rods 122 are respectively connected with a head slider 1221 and a tail slider 1222. And a limit slider 1223 is arranged outside the rest of the sleeve rods 122. The limit slider 1223 cooperates with the head slider 1221 of the outer sleeve rod 122 adjacent to the rest of the sleeve rods 122. Among them, both the head slider 1221 and the tail slider 1222 are fixed to both ends of the sleeve rod 122 by bolts, and the limit slider 1223 is fixed to the sleeve rod 122 at a position close to the tail slider 1222 by bolts. When any inner sleeve rod 122 fully extends out of the adjacent outer sleeve rod 122, the limit of the inner sleeve rod 122 is realized through the cooperation of the limit slider 1223 on the inner sleeve rod 122 and the head slider 1221 on the adjacent outer sleeve rod 122, so as to ensure that there is enough overlapping length between the two sleeve rods 122.

[0031] As Figure 5 shown in the figure, a long strip-shaped boss 1224 is arranged on the inner wall of each layer of sleeve rod 122, and a groove 1225 matching the boss 1224 is opened on the tail slider 1222 of the inner sleeve rod 122 adjacent to it. The cooperation between the boss 1224 on the inner wall of the outer sleeve rod 122 and the groove 1225 of the tail slider 1222 on the adjacent inner sleeve rod 122 can realize the anti-rotation function of the inner sleeve rod 122.

[0032] In actual use, the telescopic rod 12 will determine the number of sleeve rods 122 according to the depth of the coal bunker 5. In order to reduce the weight of the device and the power of the second servo motor 15, the material of the sleeve rod 122 is preferably carbon fiber.

[0033] As Figure 6 shown in the figure, the coal bunker inspection robot system of this embodiment further includes a host computer 6. The host computer 6 communicates with the controller in the centralized control console 3 through the ModbusTCP protocol. The second servo motor 15 is connected to the controller of the centralized control console 3 through the CAN bus. The spherical camera 13 is connected to the base station 2 through WIFI, and the base station 2 is connected to the centralized control console 3 through Ethernet. In this way, the operator can control the second servo motor 15 and the spherical camera 13 through both the centralized control console 3 and the host computer 6.

[0034] Embodiment 2 The inspection method of the coal bunker inspection robot system includes the following steps: S1. The host computer 6 and the centralized control operation console 3 develop an app software. The software communicates with the controller of the centralized control operation console 3 through the ModbusTCP protocol to send control commands. Among them, the app software has a manual real-time control mode and a one-key automatic inspection mode. S2. Start the first servo motor 113 on the inspection robot 1, move along the track 14 through the pulley 112, and drive the inspection robot 1 to move towards the specified coal bunker 5 until it moves above the upper opening of the coal bunker 5. S3. When the manual real-time control mode is selected, the operator controls the second servo motor 15 to start through the control interface of the app software, drives the winch 16 to release the winch steel wire rope 17, and the sleeve rod 122 of the telescopic rod 12 unfolds downward from the inner layer to the outer layer in sequence. At the same time, control the spherical camera 13 to rotate and pitch according to needs to monitor the surrounding situation. When the telescopic rod 12 extends to the specified position, control the spherical camera 13 to capture the required monitoring picture. When the one-key automatic inspection mode is selected, according to the on-site situation, preset the shooting position and shooting time in advance to generate the movement path of the spherical camera 13. The operator can realize the monitoring of all specified positions of the coal bunker 5 through one-key operation. S4. Process the collected monitoring pictures, analyze the detection situation in the coal bunker 5, and transmit the detection results to the host computer 6.

[0035] Compared with the existing automatic coal bunker inspection, the coal bunker inspection robot system in the first embodiment has more advantages: (a) Safety: It adopts unmanned operation. The robot carries a camera into the coal bunker 5, avoiding the risk of personnel directly entering the coal bunker 5; (b) Shooting quality: The telescopic robot carries a spherical camera, runs smoothly, and the shooting pictures are clear; (c) Flexibility and efficiency: It supports manual real-time control and one-key automatic inspection modes, with flexible operation and high efficiency; (d) Structural simplicity: It uses wireless communication and a casting and intrinsically safe power supply 111 for power supply, without cables, and the structure is simple.

[0036] The telescopic coal bunker inspection robot and its inspection method in the first embodiment have significant advantages in coal mine safety. It not only improves the safety of personnel, but also enhances the inspection quality, improves the inspection efficiency, increases the equipment reliability, reduces the maintenance cost, improves the management level, and meets the requirements of national policies. These advantages make the application of this robot in the coal mine industry have broad prospects and can effectively improve the level of coal mine safety production.

[0037] Inspired by the above-described ideal embodiments of the present invention, through the above description, relevant staff can make various changes and modifications completely within the scope without departing from the technical idea of this invention. The technical scope of this invention is not limited to the content in the specification, and its technical scope must be determined according to the scope of the claims.

Claims

1. A coal bunker inspection robot system, characterized in that: The invention comprises an inspection robot (1), a base station (2) and a centralized control console (3). The inspection robot (1) comprises a mounting base (11), a telescopic rod (12), a spherical camera (13) and a track (14). The track (14) is mounted on the top of a tunnel (4). The mounting base (11) is slidably mounted on the track (14). The telescopic rod (12) is mounted on the mounting base (11). The spherical camera (13) is mounted on the end of the telescopic rod (12). The base station (2) is arranged on the top of the tunnel (4) and performs data transmission with the spherical camera (13) via WIFI. The base station (2) is connected to the centralized control console (3) via a network cable. The centralized control console (3) is arranged in a centralized control room at the top of a coal bunker (5). The centralized control console (3) controls the inspection robot (1) to enter a specified position of the coal bunker (5) and controls the spherical camera (13) to shoot required monitoring images.

2. The coal bunker inspection robot system according to claim 1 is characterized in that: The telescopic rod (12) comprises at least two hollow sleeve rods (122) nested with each other, wherein the outermost sleeve rod (122) is fixed, and the remaining sleeve rods (122) are telescopic, the lower end of the outermost sleeve rod (122) is connected to a head slider (1221), and the two ends of the remaining sleeve rods (122) are respectively connected to a head slider (1221) and a tail slider (1222), and the remaining sleeve rods (122) are further provided with a limit slider (1223) outside. The limit slider (1223) cooperates with the head slider (1221) of the outer sleeve rod (122) adjacent to the remaining sleeve rods (122).

3. The coal bunker inspection robot system according to claim 2 is characterized in that: The inner wall of each layer of the sleeve rod (122) is provided with a long strip-shaped boss (1224), and the tail slider (1222) of the adjacent inner layer sleeve rod (122) is provided with a groove (1225) that matches the boss (1224).

4. The coal bunker inspection robot system according to claim 2 is characterized in that: The upper end of the outermost sleeve rod (122) is connected to the mounting base (11) via a cylindrical mounting seat (124); a pair of pulleys (112) cooperating with the track (14) are provided at both the front and rear ends of the mounting base (11); a first servo motor (113) for driving one of the pulleys (112) to rotate is provided on the mounting base (11); the first servo motor (113) is connected to a controller of the centralized control console (3) via a CAN bus.

5. The coal bunker inspection robot system according to claim 1 is characterized in that: The inspection robot (1) further comprises a winch (16) driven by a second servo motor (15), wherein the winch (16) is fixed on the mounting base (11), and a guide wheel (18) for guiding a winch wire rope (17) is provided on the mounting base (11) between the winch (16) and the telescopic rod (12), and a fixed pulley (19) is installed at a position on the mounting base (11) corresponding to the telescopic rod (12), wherein the winch wire rope (17) passes through the guide wheel (18) and the fixed pulley (19) in sequence and extends into the telescopic rod (12) to be connected to the end of the telescopic rod (12).

6. The coal bunker inspection robot system according to claim 5, characterized in that: A wire rope fixing shaft (121) is provided through the end of the telescopic rod (12), and the end of the hoisting wire rope (17) is connected to the wire rope fixing shaft (121).

7. The coal bunker inspection robot system according to claim 5, characterized in that: The second servo motor (15) is connected to a controller of the centralized control console (3) via a CAN bus.

8. The coal bunker inspection robot system according to claim 7, characterized in that: It also includes a host computer (6), which communicates with the controller in the centralized control console (3) via the ModbusTCP protocol.

9. The coal bunker inspection robot system according to claim 1, characterized in that: A mounting plate (123) is connected to the end surface of the telescopic rod (12). The inspection robot (1) further comprises a cast-in-place and intrinsically safe power supply (111) for providing power to the spherical camera (13). Both the cast-in-place and intrinsically safe power supply (111) and the spherical camera (13) are fixed to the mounting plate (123).

10. An inspection method for a coal bunker inspection robot system according to any one of claims 1 to 9, characterized in that: The steps include: S1, the host computer (6) and the centralized control console (3) develop an app software, the software communicates with the controller of the centralized control console (3) through the ModbusTCP protocol and issues control commands; wherein the app software has a manual real-time control mode and a one-button automatic inspection mode; S2, controlling the first servo motor (113) on the inspection robot (1) to start, and moving the inspection robot (1) along the track (14) via the pulley (112), thereby driving the inspection robot (1) to move toward the designated coal bin (5), until the inspection robot (1) moves above the upper opening of the coal bin (5); S3. When the manual real-time control mode is selected, the operator controls the second servo motor (15) to start through the control interface of the app software, driving the winch (16) to release the winch wire rope (17), and the sleeve rod (122) of the telescopic rod (12) is sequentially unfolded downward from the inner layer to the outer layer. At the same time, the spherical camera (13) is controlled to rotate and pitch as required to monitor the surrounding situation; when the telescopic rod (12) is extended to a specified position, the spherical camera (13) is controlled to capture the required monitoring picture; When the one-key automatic inspection mode is selected, the shooting position and shooting time are pre-set according to the on-site situation, and the movement path of the spherical camera (13) is generated. The operator can monitor all designated positions of the coal bunker (5) through one-key operation; S4. Process the collected monitoring images, analyze the detection conditions in the coal bunker (5), and transmit the detection results to the host computer (6).

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