System and method for projecting solution onto facade of structure

Abstract

A system and method for projecting a solution onto a facade of a structure is disclosed. The system comprises: a pump for pumping a solution; the tool is used for projecting the pumped solution onto a vertical surface; a hose for connecting the pump to a tool; the unmanned aerial vehicle is used for moving the tool relative to the vertical face; and a lifting system for mounting on the top of the structure and vertically moving a portion of the hose in front of the facade, the lifting system having a winch and at least one cable. The at least one cable is connectable to the hose portion such that the hose portion and the drone define a hose segment having a fixed length.

Description

[0001] The present invention relates to a system for projecting a solution onto the facade of a structure. The present invention also relates to a method for projecting a solution onto the facade of a structure. Background Art

[0002] Today, there are various known methods for cleaning the facade of a structure, such as the facade of a building. Well-known methods include using suspended scaffolding, rope access techniques, or other devices to suspend and position a person near the surface to be cleaned. Once positioned, the suspended person operates the cleaning tool and further moves / climbs along the facade. However, the scaffolding / climbing methods have drawbacks as these generally require suspending a person at a great height, increasing the risk of accidents. These conditions require the personnel involved in the cleaning operation to be fully trained and usually use a large amount of equipment, which generally involves high costs.

[0003] A known alternative to the scaffolding / climbing methods is to use a drone to move and direct a cleaning tool to the facade surface to be cleaned. For example, WO2015150529A1 discloses a cleaning drone for transporting a glass cleaning device. The drone method has several advantages over the climbing methods. First, the human operator is not at risk of injury due to a fall. Second, less effort is required to perform the cleaning operation as the operator does not need to set up scaffolding, climbing equipment, or related materials. Third, the drone method creates the necessary conditions for establishing an automated cleaning system. This is advantageous in several aspects, such as reliability, minimizing human error, and performing efficient water use.

[0004] However, the known methods of using drones still pose challenges. Drones may consume a large amount of power due to the flight operation of transporting the cleaning tool and the corresponding device for supplying the cleaning solution (such as a hose), and the above-mentioned cleaning tool and corresponding device may be quite heavy. In addition, the drone may fall during the facade cleaning operation. This type of accident may occur due to the drone hitting some part of the building, losing power due to battery depletion, or some other reason that causes the drone to lose its flight ability. This is highly undesirable as a large amount of effort is required to fix the problem. For example, the drone or the building may be damaged due to the fall of the drone, which may require high costs to repair. In addition, a dedicated person may need to travel to the site to get the drone back in operation, which may be expensive and require a large amount of time before the drone can be put back into operation. Furthermore, a fallen drone may cause serious injury to anyone hit by the drone. Summary of the Invention

[0005] The present invention will now be disclosed, and the object of the present invention is to remedy or reduce at least one drawback of the known prior art, or at least to provide a useful alternative to the known prior art. This object is achieved by the features specified in the following description and the appended claims. The present invention is defined by the independent claims, and the dependent claims define advantageous embodiments of the present invention.

[0006] According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a system for projecting a solution onto the facade of a structure. The system comprises:

[0007] - a pump for pumping the solution;

[0008] - a tool for projecting the pumped solution onto the facade;

[0009] - a hose for connecting the pump to the tool; and

[0010] - a drone for moving the tool relative to the facade.

[0011] The system further comprises: a lifting system for vertically moving a portion of the hose in front of the facade, the lifting system comprising a winch and at least one cable. Additionally, the at least one cable may be connected to the hose portion such that the hose portion and the drone define a hose segment of a fixed length.

[0012] The system realizes a combination of the functions of the lifting system and the hose segment. First, the hose supplies the pumped solution to be projected to the tool moved by the drone. Second, due to the controllability of the lifting system and the fixed length of the hose segment, the combination of the lifting system and the hose segment can be used as a safety rope / tether. This is useful in the case where the drone loses its flying ability and falls. Third, the lifting system reduces the load imposed on the drone by the weight of the hose. In fact, the weight of the hose can be quite substantial. Thus, the beneficial effect of the lifting system is that the drone will require less power to operate, which in turn results in a smaller battery being needed, a smaller drone being needed, and / or a longer operating time.

[0013] Optionally, the lifting system may be configured with a maximum lifting length such that the maximum lifting length and the hose segment together amount to the total length for suspending the drone in the air. In one embodiment, the total length for suspending the drone in the air is less than the height of the facade. The maximum lifting length can ensure that the range of vertical movement of the drone is safely restricted. Thus, if the drone drops, the drone can be captured by the lifting system and the hose segment and remain suspended without reaching the bottom boundary layer of the facade.

[0014] Optionally, the system further includes a tank for supplying the solution to the pump. Thus, the system can be used even when there is no available solution supply on site. For example, the tank can be transported on a trailer and used to supply the solution to the pump. After the operation is completed, the system with the tank can be moved to another location.

[0015] Optionally, the drone can be configured to execute a flight program when deployed, and the flight program causes the drone to travel along a predefined path relative to the facade. Thus, the system allows for personalized operations on the structure. For example, a flight program can be configured on the drone such that the solution is projected onto any one of the following: only windows and / or glass surfaces; only surfaces that are neither windows nor glass surfaces; all surfaces of all facades; or all surfaces of only one facade.

[0016] Optionally, the hose section is at most 15 meters long.

[0017] According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method for projecting a solution onto the facade of a structure, wherein the method includes the following steps:

[0018] - Provide a system as described in the first aspect of the present invention;

[0019] - Install the lifting system on top of the structure;

[0020] - Connect the lifting system to the hose section;

[0021] - Vertically move the hose section in front of the facade;

[0022] - Actuate the pump so that the pumped solution is projected from the tool onto the facade; and

[0023] - Deploy the drone to fly relative to the facade and within a radius of the hose section, the radius being formed by the hose section.

[0024] Optionally, the step of deployment includes deploying the drone to fly up to the height of the hose section at most. Thus, the height of the hose section will be mainly maintained by the lifting system, which is beneficial for improving the maneuverability of the drone.

[0025] Optionally, the method includes the step of installing the pump on top of the structure. Thus, the method can be performed with an alternative pump positioning. This embodiment is useful when a less powerful lifting system is required. Moreover, the total length of the hose can be made shorter. Description of the Drawings

[0026] Embodiments of the present invention will now be described by way of example only with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

[0027] Figure 1 An embodiment of a system used on a building is shown; and

[0028] Figure 2 Another embodiment of a system used on another building is shown. Detailed Description

[0029] The accompanying drawings are shown in a schematic and simplified manner, and features that are not necessary for explaining the present invention may be omitted. The same reference numerals denote the same or similar features in the drawings. The various features shown in the drawings may not necessarily be drawn to scale.

[0030] Now turning to Figure 1 , which shows an embodiment of a system according to the present invention. The facade 910 of a structure 900 (a building 900 in this example) is cleaned with a cleaning solution projected onto the facade 910 from a tool 130, and the tool 130 is operably connected to a drone 150. For illustrative purposes, the facade 910 is shown as having a rectangular shape, and the building 900 is shown as standing on the ground 800.

[0031] The method embodiment according to the present invention is carried out as follows.

[0032] A system for projecting a solution onto the facade 910 is provided in-situ. The system includes a pump 120 for pumping the solution, a tool 130 for projecting the pumped solution onto the facade 910, a hose 140 for connecting the pump 120 to the tool 130, and a drone 150 for moving the tool 130 relative to the facade 910.

[0033] For Figure 1 the system embodiment shown, the following steps are also performed: providing a tank 110 for supplying the solution to the pump 120; and fluidly connecting the tank 110 to the pump 120. In Figure 1 the case shown, it is not possible to obtain a solution supply available on-site, so it is necessary to carry the tank 110 to supply the necessary solution. However, those skilled in the art will find that many structures may already include an on-site supply of the solution, which will obviate the need to provide the step of the storage tank 110 in those cases.

[0034] In addition, the system includes a lifting system for vertically moving a portion of the hose 140 in front of the facade 910. In Figure 1In [the context], the lifting system is implemented as a cable 162 and a winch 161 for winding the cable, where the winch 161 controls the length of the cable 162 extending out of the winch 161. The following method steps are also performed: installing the winch 161 of the lifting system on the top of a building 900; and connecting the lifting system to a hose section via the cable 162 such that the hose section and the drone 150 define a hose segment 141 of a fixed length. In Figure 1 In [the context], the hose section is shown as a black dot at the end of the cable 162 that connects the hose 140 to the cable 162.

[0035] Those skilled in the art will find that in other cases, it may be advantageous to arrange the winch 161 in a different way. For example, the winch 162 can be arranged on an intermediate floor of the building 900.

[0036] The method also performs the following steps: vertically moving the hose section in front of the facade 910; actuating the pump 120 such that the pumped solution is projected from the tool 130 onto the facade 910; and deploying the drone 150 to fly relative to the facade 910 and within a radius from the hose section, the radius being formed by the hose segment 141. In Figure 1 In [the context], the drone 150 has been configured with a flight program to fly substantially parallel to the facade 910 at a substantially constant distance from the facade 910. For example, the configured constant distance can be between 30 cm and 3 meters.

[0037] In Figure 1 In the illustrated embodiment, the winch 162 is configured with a maximum lifting length, i.e., the maximum length of the cable 162 that can be pulled out from the winch 162. In particular, the maximum lifting length is configured such that when combined with the hose segment 141, it is the total length that can effectively suspend the drone 150 in the air in the event that the drone 150 loses its flight ability and falls. In Figure 1 In the illustrated embodiment, this total length is less than the height of the facade 910.

[0038] Figure 2 An embodiment of a structure 900 is shown. For illustrative purposes, Figure 2 the structure 900 shown in [the context] can be considered to be any one of a building, a house, a monument, or an offshore structure. The structure 900 has a facade 910 that has previously been subjected to a detergent solution and is now shown in Figure 2 [the context] as being rinsed with a solution mainly consisting of water to remove the foam generated by the detergent solution.

[0039] The facade 910 is bounded at its base by an external element 800 that creates a vertical barrier through which the drone 150 cannot fly. For example, if the structure 900 is considered to be a building, house or monument, the facade 910 can be considered to be bounded at its base by the ground 800. If the structure 900 is considered to be an offshore structure, such as an offshore rig, the facade 910 can be considered to be bounded at its base by sea water 800.

[0040] The structure 900 includes a system for projecting a solution onto the facade 910 of the structure 900. The system is mounted on the top surface of the structure 900, such as a roof or deck. In addition, the system includes a pump 120 for pumping the solution, a tool 130 for spraying the pumped solution onto the facade 910, a hose 140 for connecting the pump 120 to the tool 130, a drone 150 for moving the tool 130 relative to the facade 910, and a lifting system Figure 1 implemented as a winch 161 for vertically moving a portion of the hose in front of the facade 910.

[0041] In Figure 2 , the structure 900 includes a system 930 for supplying a solution for rinsing off foam from a previously applied detergent solution. For example, the solution supply system 930 can be available on the structure 900 as a connection from a public water supply or as an internal tank.

[0042] In the foregoing specification, those skilled in the art will find many options for the solution projected onto the facade. For example, when performing a cleaning operation on the facade, typical solutions include solvents added with detergent products, such as water. In other cases, other types of solutions can be used. In some steps, the solution can consist of water with no additional components dissolved therein.

[0043] It should be noted that the above embodiments illustrate rather than limit the invention, and those skilled in the art will be able to design many alternative embodiments without departing from the scope of the appended claims. In the claims, any reference signs placed between parentheses shall not be construed as limiting the claim. The use of the verb "comprise" and its conjugations does not exclude the presence of elements or steps other than those recited in the claim. The article "a" or "an" preceding an element does not exclude the presence of a plurality of such elements.

Claims

1. A system for projecting a solution onto the facade of a structure, wherein, the system comprises: - a pump for pumping the solution; - a tool for projecting the pumped solution onto the facade; - a hose for connecting the pump to the tool; - a drone for moving the tool relative to the facade, - a lifting system for vertically moving a portion of the hose in front of the facade, the lifting system comprising a winch and at least one cable, and wherein the at least one cable is connectable to the hose portion such that the hose portion and the drone define a hose section of fixed length.

2. The system according to claim 1, wherein the lifting system is configurable with a maximum lifting length such that the maximum lifting length and the hose section together constitute the total length for suspending the drone in the air.

3. The system according to claim 2, wherein the facade has a height, and wherein the total length for suspending the drone in the air is less than the height of the facade.

4. The system according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the system further comprises a tank for supplying the solution to the pump.

5. The system according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the drone is configurable to execute a flight program when deployed, the flight program causing the drone to travel along a predefined path relative to the facade.

6. The system according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the hose section is at most 15 meters long.

7. A method for projecting a solution onto the facade of a structure, wherein the method comprises the following steps: - providing a system according to any one of claims 1 - 6; - mounting the lifting system on top of the structure; - connecting the lifting system to the hose portion; - vertically moving the hose portion in front of the facade; - actuating the pump such that the pumped solution is projected from the tool onto the facade; and - deploying the drone to fly relative to the facade and within a radius from the hose portion, the radius being formed by the hose section.

8. The method according to claim 7, wherein the step of deploying comprises deploying the drone to fly up to the height of the hose portion at most.

9. The method according to any one of claims 7 to 8, wherein the method comprises the following steps: - mounting the pump on top of the structure.

Images