Hard hoof web claw structure of pipeline robot

Abstract

The hard hoof web claw structure of the pipeline robot comprises an assembly frame, web claws rotationally arranged on the assembly frame and a driving part for driving the web claws to rotate, web lips are arranged at the heads of the web claws, pressure cavities are formed in the web lips, the outward sides of the pressure cavities are opened to form adsorption openings, and the adsorption openings are communicated with the assembly frame. The pressure cavity is further provided with an air release valve used for releasing air when the pressure of the pressure cavity is too large, the head of each webbed claw is of a webbed lip structure, the webbed claws are driven by the driving part to rotate, the webbed lips can be extruded and adsorbed into the pipeline, the product can grasp the inner wall of the pipeline, the inner wall of the pipeline cannot be damaged, and the applicability is higher.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to the technical field of pipeline robots, and particularly to a hard hoof webbed claw structure of a pipeline robot. Background Art

[0002] In the prior art, a pipeline robot walks inside a pipeline through walking wheels. However, with walking wheels, it is impossible to change the width in the radial direction, so it cannot walk on a vertical pipeline. Therefore, there is an urgent need for a webbed claw that can grasp the inner wall of the pipeline. Currently, the existing webbed claws have a steel tooth structure, and a driving device is used to push the webbed claw to rotate and abut against the inner wall of the pipeline. However, this structure is likely to damage the inside of the pipeline and is only suitable for pipelines made of materials that are not easily damaged, such as steel pipes. Therefore, its use has limitations. Summary of the Invention

[0003] Objective of the present invention: To overcome the defects of the prior art, the present invention provides a hard hoof webbed claw structure of a pipeline robot. The head of the webbed claw adopts the structure of a webbed lip, and the webbed claw is driven to rotate by a driving member, so that the webbed lip can be squeezed and adsorbed into the pipeline interior, enabling the product to grasp the inner wall of the pipeline without damaging the inner wall of the pipeline, and having stronger applicability.

[0004] The present invention discloses a hard hoof webbed claw structure of a pipeline robot, including an assembly frame, a webbed claw rotatably arranged on the assembly frame, and a driving member for driving the webbed claw to rotate. The characteristics are as follows: The head of the webbed claw is provided with a webbed lip, a pressure chamber is arranged inside the webbed lip, one side of the pressure chamber facing outwards is provided with an opening to form an adsorption port, and a pressure relief valve for releasing air when the pressure in the pressure chamber is too high is also arranged on the pressure chamber.

[0005] By adopting the above technical solution, the head of the webbed claw adopts the structure of a webbed lip, and the webbed claw is driven to rotate by a driving member, so that the webbed lip can be squeezed and adsorbed into the pipeline interior, enabling the product to grasp the inner wall of the pipeline without damaging the inner wall of the pipeline, and having stronger applicability.

[0006] Further setting of the present invention: The pressure chamber includes an outer chamber and an inner chamber. A deformable partition is arranged between the outer chamber and the inner chamber, and a ventilation hole is also arranged on the partition.

[0007] By adopting the above technical solution, the partition can divide it into two inner and outer chambers, and the ventilation hole can be used to squeeze the gas in the outer chamber into the inner chamber, so as to facilitate the discharge through the pressure relief valve.

[0008] Further setting of the present invention: An extrusion column for deforming the partition is also arranged on the outer chamber corresponding to the position of the partition.

[0009] With the above technical solution, when the positive pressure acting on the webbed claws causes the webbed lips to completely fit against the pipe wall, further increase in the positive pressure will compress the columnar body, deform the separating piece, and prompt the volume of its pressure chamber to increase, thereby generating and increasing the suction force.

[0010] A further setting of the present invention: The adsorption port is arranged in an arc shape.

[0011] With the above technical solution, when the positive pressure acting on the webbed claws is removed, under the action of the elastic reset of its body, gas can be quickly sucked, enabling the claw body to promptly disengage from the pipe wall.

[0012] A further setting of the present invention: A thimble is arranged on the webbed lip corresponding to the trigger end position of the air release valve. The thimble is located below the extrusion column, and the extrusion column can move to extrude the thimble so as to open the air release valve.

[0013] With the above technical solution, the air release valve can be conveniently driven to open through the thimble, and the structural layout is relatively reasonable.

[0014] A further setting of the present invention: A support column is arranged on the assembly frame. The webbed claws are rotatably arranged on the support column. An auxiliary support arm axially slidably arranged on the support column is also included. The auxiliary support arms are arranged on both opposite sides of the webbed claws. An elastic member for driving the auxiliary support arms to abut against the inner wall of the pipe is also included.

[0015] With the above technical solution, when the webbed claws withdraw from grasping the inner wall of the pipe, the auxiliary support arms can play a role in buffering and auxiliary support, which can not only protect the device but also prevent the pipe robot from deflecting.

[0016] A further setting of the present invention: The elastic member is a spring sleeved on the support column. A sliding seat is arranged on the support column. The auxiliary support arm is arranged on the sliding seat. One end of the spring abuts against the sliding seat, and the other end abuts against the assembly frame or the support column.

[0017] With the above technical solution, using spring reset, it can be sleeved on the support column, with relatively good stability and convenient installation.

[0018] A further setting of the present invention: A roller is rotatably arranged at the outer end of the auxiliary support arm, and the roller can abut against the inner wall of the pipe.

[0019] With the above technical solution, by abutting the roller against the inner wall of the pipe, the friction can be reduced during its movement, and the structural layout is relatively reasonable.

[0020] A further setting of the present invention: Two webbed claws are arranged one in front of the other. One end of the webbed claw is a hinged end, and the other end is a movable end provided with a webbed lip. The movable ends of the two webbed claws can rotate closer to or away from each other, and a plug-in structure that can be rotatably inserted is also arranged on the two webbed claws.

[0021] With the above technical solution, adsorption by two webbed claws can increase stability, and through the cooperation of the plug-in structure, the two webbed claws can avoid each other when rotating, and the structural layout is relatively reasonable.

[0022] Further setting of the present invention: A plurality of groups of the webbed claws are arranged at intervals along the circumferential direction of the mounting frame.

[0023] With the above technical solution, the adsorption force on the inner part of the pipeline can be increased, thereby increasing stability and making it more stable during use. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0024] Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of the overall structure of the present invention;

[0025] Figure 2 is a schematic diagram of the structure of two webbed claws of the present invention;

[0026] Figure 3 is a schematic diagram of the structure of a single webbed claw of the present invention;

[0027] Figure 4 is Figure 3 a sectional view;

[0028] Figure 5 is a force analysis diagram of the webbed claw of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS

[0029] The following further details the specific embodiments of the present invention with reference to the drawings:

[0030] In the description of the present invention, it should be understood that the orientation or positional relationship indicated by the terms "upper", "lower", "bottom", "top", "front", "rear", "inner", "outer", "left", "right", etc. is based on the orientation or positional relationship shown in the drawings, and is only for the convenience of describing the present invention and simplifying the description, rather than indicating or implying that the device or element referred to must have a specific orientation, be constructed and operated in a specific orientation, and therefore should not be construed as a limitation of the present invention.

[0031] The present invention discloses a hard hoof webbed claw structure of a pipeline robot, including a mounting frame 1, a webbed claw 2 rotatably arranged on the mounting frame 1, and a driving member 3 for driving the rotation of the webbed claw 2 (the driving member 3 is most preferably a cylinder or an oil cylinder, and the webbed claw 2 can be driven to rotate by means of telescoping). In the embodiment of the present invention, a webbed lip 4 is provided at the head of the webbed claw 2, a pressure chamber 41 is provided inside the webbed lip 4, an adsorption port 42 is formed by opening the side of the pressure chamber 41 facing outwards, and a pressure relief valve 5 for relieving pressure when the pressure in the pressure chamber 41 is too high is further provided on the pressure chamber 41 (the pressure relief valve 5 is most preferably a valve core, which can be directly purchased from the market and will not be described in detail herein).

[0032] With the above technical solution, the head of the webbed claw 2 adopts the structure of the webbed lip 4, and the webbed claw 2 is driven to rotate by the driving member 3, so that the webbed lip 4 can be extruded and adsorbed to the inner wall of the pipeline, enabling the product to grasp the inner wall of the pipeline without damaging the inner wall of the pipeline, with stronger applicability. Moreover, the air release valve 5 can also release air when the pressure is too high, thereby protecting the webbed lip.

[0033] The pressure chamber 41 includes an outer chamber 411 and an inner chamber 412. A deformable partition 6 is provided between the outer chamber 411 and the inner chamber 412, and a vent hole 61 is also provided on the partition 6. The partition 6 can divide it into two inner and outer chambers, and the vent hole 61 can be used to squeeze the gas in the outer chamber 411 into the inner chamber 412, so as to facilitate the discharge through the air release valve 5.

[0034] An extrusion post 7 for deforming the partition 6 is also provided on the outer chamber 411 corresponding to the position of the partition 6. When the positive pressure acting on the webbed claw 2 causes the webbed lip 4 to completely fit the pipeline wall, the further increase of the positive pressure will cause the extrusion post 7 to be compressed, deforming the partition 6 and promoting the increase of the volume of the pressure chamber 41, so that suction can be generated and increased.

[0035] The adsorption port 42 is arranged in an arc shape, which is conducive to the rapid absorption of gas under the action of the elastic reset of its body when the positive pressure acting on the webbed claw 2 is removed, so that the webbed claw can be quickly separated from the pipeline wall.

[0036] A thimble 8 is provided on the webbed lip 4 corresponding to the trigger end position of the air release valve 5. The thimble 8 is located below the extrusion post 7, and the extrusion post 7 can move to squeeze the thimble 8 to open the air release valve 5. The thimble 8 can facilitate the driving of the air release valve 5 to open, and the structural layout is relatively reasonable.

[0037] A support column 9 is provided on the mounting frame 1. The webbed claw 2 is rotatably arranged on the support column 9. An auxiliary support arm 10 axially slidably arranged on the support column 9 is also included. The auxiliary support arms 10 are arranged on both opposite sides of the webbed claw 2. An elastic member 20 for driving the auxiliary support arm 10 to abut against the inner wall of the pipeline is also included. When the webbed claw 2 withdraws from the inner wall of the pipeline, the auxiliary support arm 10 can play a role in buffering and auxiliary support, which can not only protect the device but also prevent the pipeline robot from skewing.

[0038] The elastic member 20 is a spring sleeved on the support column 9. A sliding seat 30 is provided on the support column 9. The auxiliary support arm 10 is arranged on the sliding seat 30. One end of the spring abuts against the sliding seat 30, and the other end abuts against the mounting frame 1 or the support column 9. Using spring reset, it can be sleeved on the support column 9, with good stability and convenient installation. Of course, the elastic member 20 can also be a spiral spring or a torsion spring.

[0039] A roller 40 is rotatably provided at the outer end of the auxiliary support arm 10 facing outward. The roller 40 can abut against the inner wall of the pipeline. By abutting the roller 40 against the inner wall of the pipeline, the friction can be reduced when it walks, and the structural layout is relatively reasonable.

[0040] There are two webbed claws 2 arranged one in front of the other. Along their front-back distribution, they are the front webbed claw and the rear webbed claw. One end of the webbed claw 2 is the hinged end 21, and the other end is the movable end 22 provided with a webbed lip 4. The movable ends 22 of the two webbed claws 2 can rotate closer to or away from each other, and a plug-in structure 50 that can rotate and be inserted is also provided on the two webbed claws 2 (it can be realized by the cooperation of a plug-in groove and a plug-in block for rotational avoidance. Of course, the two can also be avoided by being arranged in a staggered manner). By adsorbing with the two webbed claws 2, the stability can be increased, and through the cooperation of the plug-in structure, the two webbed claws 2 can avoid each other when rotating, and the structural layout is relatively reasonable.

[0041] A number of groups of the webbed claws 2 are arranged at intervals along the circumferential direction of the mounting frame 1, which can increase the adsorption force on the inner wall of the pipeline, thereby increasing the stability and making it more stable when in use.

[0042] The analysis of the force-bearing process of the webbed claw is as follows: First, define the material of the webbed lip as a rubber material. It is through the positive pressure N provided by a cylinder or a hydraulic cylinder that makes it compress and deform and discharge the gas in the pressure chamber, generating a "vacuum" adsorption force, thereby driving the robot and the negative carrier to walk. The magnitude of its suction force is: F N = s×ΔP / k where: S is the area of the adsorption port; ΔP is the air pressure difference; k is the safety factor.

[0043] The pressure difference calculation is as follows: From the ideal gas state equation, we can get: In the formula, P is the pressure; V is the volume; T is the absolute temperature; n is the number of moles; R is the universal gas constant. Then the pressure difference generated due to the gas discharge is:

[0044]

[0045] Here, P1 is the atmospheric pressure; P2 is the pressure inside the webbed lip after the webbed claw is compressed. It can be seen from the formula that the role of the extrusion column is to force the outer cavity to increase. Of course, in addition to the extrusion column enabling the suction force to be generated and increased, and when under load, the rubber extends due to the force, which will inevitably further increase the volume of the outer cavity, and this will cause the pressure difference to increase again; so the webbed claw suction cup structure has the characteristic that the greater the tangential load applied to it, and under the constraint condition that it does not exceed the instability range of the front webbed claw, its suction force also increases with the increase of its load.

[0046]

[0047] It can be seen from the simultaneous equations above: The distance l0 between the two webbed claws and the cylinder thrust Fd The larger it is, the higher its load capacity, that is, the higher the ability to resist F s is. In addition, when the webbed claw causes the webbed lip to be flattened and deformed due to suction, the exhaust valve is triggered by the extrusion column and the ejector pin to exhaust air, and then, based on the judgment of the robot's central processor on whether to continue walking, and according to the order of each leg and the posture of that leg, the process from vacuum adsorption to short-term exhaust is carried out again.

Claims

1. The hard hoof flipper claw structure of a pipeline robot, comprising an assembly frame (1), a flipper claw (2) rotatably arranged on the assembly frame (1), and a driving member (3) for driving the rotation of the flipper claw (2), characterized in that: The head of the webbed claw (2) is provided with a webbed lip (4). A pressure chamber (41) is built inside the webbed lip (4). One side of the pressure chamber (41) facing outward is open to form a suction port (42). A pressure relief valve (5) for relieving pressure when the pressure in the pressure chamber (41) is too high is also provided on the pressure chamber (41).

2. The hard hoof webbed claw structure of a pipeline robot according to claim 1, characterized in that: The pressure chamber (41) includes an outer chamber (411) and an inner chamber (412). A deformable partition sheet (6) is arranged between the outer chamber (411) and the inner chamber (412). An air vent hole (61) is also provided on the partition sheet (6).

3. The hard hoof webbed claw structure of a pipeline robot according to claim 2, characterized in that: An extrusion column (7) for deforming the partition sheet (6) by extrusion is also provided on the outer chamber (411) at the position corresponding to the partition sheet (6).

4. The hard hoof webbed claw structure of a pipeline robot according to claim 2 or 3, characterized in that: The suction port (42) is arranged in an arc shape.

5. The hard hoof web claw structure of a pipeline robot according to claim 3, characterized in that: A thimble (8) is arranged on the webbed lip (4) at the position corresponding to the trigger end of the pressure relief valve (5). The thimble (8) is located below the extrusion column (7), and the extrusion column (7) can move to extrude the thimble (8) so as to open the pressure relief valve (5).

6. The hard hoof flipper claw structure of a pipeline robot according to claim 5, characterized in that: A support column (9) is arranged on the mounting rack (1). The webbed claw (2) is rotatably arranged on the support column (9). An auxiliary support arm (10) axially slidably arranged on the support column (9) is also included. The auxiliary support arms (10) are arranged on two opposite sides of the webbed claw (2). An elastic member (20) for driving the auxiliary support arm (10) to abut against the inner wall of the pipeline is also included.

7. The hard hoof web claw structure of a pipeline robot according to claim 6, characterized in that: The elastic member (20) is a spring sleeved on the support column (9). A sliding seat (30) is arranged on the support column (9). The auxiliary support arm (10) is arranged on the sliding seat (30). One end of the spring abuts against the sliding seat (30), and the other end abuts against the mounting rack (1) or the support column (9).

8. The hard hoof flipper claw structure of a pipeline robot according to claim 6 or 7, characterized in that: A roller (40) is rotatably arranged at the outer end of the auxiliary support arm (10). The roller (40) can abut against the inner wall of the pipeline.

9. The hard hoof flipper claw structure of a pipeline robot according to claim 1 or 2 or 3, characterized in that: Two webbed claws (2) are arranged one in front of the other. One end of the webbed claw (2) is a hinged end (21), and the other end is a movable end (22) provided with a webbed lip (4). The movable ends (22) of the two webbed claws (2) can rotate closer to or away from each other. An insertion structure (50) that can be rotatably inserted is also provided on the two webbed claws (2).

10. The hard hoof webbed claw structure of a pipeline robot according to claim 9, characterized in that: A plurality of groups of the webbed claws (2) are arranged at intervals along the circumferential direction of the mounting rack (1).

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