Small pipeline flexible carrying device driven by multiple hub motors and motion control method

Abstract

The invention relates to the field of nuclear power pipeline detection, in particular to a small pipeline flexible carrying device driven by multiple hub motors and a motion control method. The device comprises a front guide joint connected with a driving joint; the at least two driving joints are connected through a universal joint; the front end of the front guide joint is connected with a camera; the driving joint comprises two hub motors which are reversely connected, and a connecting frame is connected with stator parts of the two hub motors; the driving wheel trains are connected to rotors of the hub motors, and driving wheels of the two driving wheel trains are opposite in rotating direction and identical in deflection angle. The driving wheel train is a disc-mounted reducing mechanism; a pose sensor is mounted on the driving joint; and the control system is used for collecting information of the camera and the pose sensor to control the movement of the driving joint. The small-diameter pipeline inspection device is suitable for inspection operation of a small-diameter pipeline with the minimum diameter being 60 mm in a nuclear power plant, can advance in the pipeline for a long distance, is excellent in turning performance and can smoothly pass through a bent pipe with the bending radius R larger than or equal to 3D.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] The present application relates to the field of nuclear power pipeline detection, in particular to a small-pipeline flexible carrier device driven by a multi-wheel motor and a motion control method. BACKGROUND

[0002] At present, pipeline carrier devices are widely used in industrial and municipal fields for pipeline detection, cleaning and maintenance.

[0003] In 2010, a spiral-driven pipeline carrier device was developed by Kanagawa University in Japan. The pipeline carrier device can be connected for operation in multiple sections. The multi-section design allows the pipeline carrier device to carry more equipment and power, enriching the types of pipeline carrier device operations. The driving unit uses the rotation of the driving wheel set to provide driving force for the carrier device, which belongs to the typical spiral propulsion mode.

[0004] In 2008, a spiral wheel type pipeline carrier device with self-adaptive pipe diameter was developed by Shenyang Institute of Automation, Chinese Academy of Sciences. The pipeline carrier device is provided with three evenly distributed wheel sets from front to back. The front end is a spiral wheel set, and the other two sets are support wheel sets. The carrier device can adapt to 175-205mm pipes. The mounting frame of the spiral wheel set of the pipeline carrier device is a circular ring, and there is enough space in the ring to place the on-board devices.

[0005] There are some classic configurations in the field of tracked pipeline carrier devices. For example, a pipeline detection carrier device for ship pipelines was developed by Shenyang University of Technology. The carrier device adopts a typical 3-track driving scheme, which can realize clamping and self-adaptation to the inner wall of the pipeline through the mutual distancing of the three tracks. Compared with the traditional parallelogram variable diameter scheme, it proposes an innovative variable diameter method. Similarly, using a lead screw drive, the carrier device proposes a symmetrical variable diameter scheme. The head and tail of the pipeline carrier device track can independently change diameter. This improvement helps the pipeline carrier device to pass through the pipe joints, and also makes the pipeline carrier device can easily cope with the through test caused by the discontinuous change of the pipe diameter.

[0006] Small-diameter pipelines have narrow space, many bends and complex environment. The existing pipeline carrier devices have the following problems:

[0007] 1) Large volume, difficult to adapt to small-diameter environment: The existing pipeline carrier device design is usually large in size and cannot effectively adapt to the narrow space of small-diameter pipelines. The diameter of small-diameter pipelines (diameter less than 100mm) is small, and the structure of the existing carrier device is difficult to move and operate flexibly in such an environment, and there is no related technical product.

[0008] 2) Lack of flexibility, difficult to pass through complex bends: small-diameter pipelines usually have more bends and complex structures, and existing pipeline carrying devices show insufficient flexibility when passing through these bends. Due to the structural design limitations of the carrying device, it is difficult to turn and adjust direction freely in complex pipeline environments.

[0009] 3) Small range of adaptation, carrying device can only adapt to a single specific pipeline: existing pipeline carrying devices are usually designed to adapt to a specific diameter of pipeline, lacking self-adaptation ability. This means that the carrying device can only work in a specific size of pipeline and cannot adapt to different diameter pipelines, limiting its application range.

[0010] Therefore, there is an urgent need for a carrying device structure design suitable for small-diameter pipelines to solve the above problems. SUMMARY

[0011] The technical problem to be solved by the present application is to provide a multi-wheel hub motor driven small pipeline flexible carrying device and motion control method, which is suitable for nuclear power plant minimum 60mm small pipe diameter pipeline inspection operation, can travel long distance in the pipeline, and has superior bending performance, can smoothly pass through the elbow pipe with bending radius R≥3D, which is better than the conventional industrial pipeline bending radius (R=5D) requirement, and meets the on-site small pipeline diameter maintenance requirement.

[0012] The present application provides a multi-wheel hub motor driven small pipeline flexible carrying device, comprising:

[0013] a front guide joint connected with the driving joint; the front guide joint has a variable diameter function;

[0014] at least two driving joints connected by universal joints;

[0015] the front end of the front guide joint is connected with a camera;

[0016] the driving joint comprises: two wheel hub motors connected in opposite directions, a connecting frame connecting the stator parts of the two wheel hub motors; a driving wheel train connected to the rotor of the wheel hub motor, the driving wheels of the two groups of driving wheel trains rotate in opposite directions and have the same deflection angle;

[0017] the driving wheel train is a disc-mounted variable diameter mechanism;

[0018] a pose sensor is installed on the driving joint;

[0019] a control system for collecting information of the camera and the pose sensor to control the motion of the driving joint.

[0020] In one embodiment of the present application, the driving wheel train comprises: a mounting plate, a spring rod, a connecting rod and a driving wheel;

[0021] the mounting plate is uniformly provided with spring rods and connecting rods;

[0022] One end of the spring rod is fixed on the mounting plate, and the other end is connected with the middle part of the connecting rod through the spring;

[0023] One end of the connecting rod is fixed on the mounting plate, and the other end is connected with the driving wheel.

[0024] In a specific embodiment of the present application, the mounting plate is provided with two, and the spring rod, connecting rod and driving wheel are arranged between the two mounting plates, and the two mounting plates are clamped by screws;

[0025] The mounting plate is connected with the rotor of the hub motor.

[0026] In a specific embodiment of the present application, three spring rods and three connecting rods are uniformly arranged on the mounting plate.

[0027] In a specific embodiment of the present application, the hub motor is of a hollow structure, and the cable passes through the center hole of the hub motor.

[0028] In a specific embodiment of the present application, the control system comprises an electric control cabinet and a collection module; the collection module collects information of the camera and information of the pose sensor;

[0029] The electric cabinet controls the hub motor to achieve the effect of synchronous forward and reverse rotation according to the information collected by the collection module, and provides power for forward or backward movement.

[0030] In a specific embodiment of the present application, the front guide joint is composed of a middle support and three groups of variable-diameter connecting rod assemblies, the variable-diameter connecting rod assemblies are uniformly arranged around the middle support with the middle support axis as the center, the variable-diameter connecting rod assembly comprises a first connecting rod, a second connecting rod and a third connecting rod, one end of the connecting rod is provided with a guide wheel, the other end is connected with the middle support through a rotating pair, one end of the second connecting rod is connected with the connecting rod through a rotating pair, the other end is connected with the third connecting rod through a rotating pair and a moving pair, the third connecting rod is provided with a spring, under the action of the spring force, the second connecting rod moves to drive the first connecting rod to expand, the guide wheel contacts with the inner wall of the pipeline to realize the functions of variable diameter and guidance.

[0031] In a specific embodiment of the present application, the pose sensor is arranged between the two hub motors.

[0032] In a specific embodiment of the present application, the front guide joint is connected with the driving joint through a guide joint.

[0033] The present application provides a motion control method of a small-pipeline flexible carrying device driven by multiple hub motors, comprising the following steps:

[0034] Step 1: the multi-wheel motor driven small pipeline flexible carrier device in the above technical solution is placed in a pipeline with an inner diameter of at least 60 mm;

[0035] Step 2: the camera real-time collects the environment in the pipeline, and the pose sensor collects the position and posture of the multi-wheel motor driven small pipeline flexible carrier device;

[0036] Step 3: the electrical cabinet automatically controls and adjusts the wheel motor according to the collected pipeline conditions and position and posture, achieves the synchronous forward and reverse rotation effect, and provides the power for advancing or retreating.

[0037] Compared with the prior art, the multi-wheel motor driven small pipeline flexible carrier device and the motion control method have the following beneficial effects:

[0038] (1) The double helix driving structure and the disc-shaped variable diameter mechanism are adopted, the driving wheels of the two groups of driving wheel systems are designed to be opposite in rotation direction and the same in deflection angle, the axial length and the radial size of the carrier device are significantly reduced, and the carrier device can better adapt to a small pipe diameter of at least 60 mm. Compared with the pipeline carrier device with a large size in the prior art, the design of the present application is more compact, and the pipeline carrier device can move and operate flexibly in a narrow pipeline space;

[0039] (2) Through the design of the front guide joint and the universal joint, the carrier device can smoothly pass through a curved pipe with a bending radius R≥3D. Compared with the pipeline carrier device with insufficient flexibility in the prior art, the carrier device of the present application can turn and adjust the direction freely in a complex pipeline environment, avoiding jamming or loss of control;

[0040] (3) The disc-shaped variable diameter mechanism and the elastic support design can adapt to the inner diameter change of 60-75 mm of the pipeline. Compared with the carrier device in the prior art which can only adapt to a single specific pipe diameter, the carrier device of the present application can work in pipelines with different diameters, expanding its application range;

[0041] (4) The modular design is adopted, and the overall structure is composed of a front guide joint, a camera, two groups of driving joints and a universal joint. The double driving joints provide sufficient driving force, are interlocked and serve as backup for each other, have stronger load capacity, smoothly pass through bends, and can move by single driving joint in emergency. This design makes the carrier device flexible to adapt to different pipeline environments, and is convenient for expansion and maintenance. Compared with the complex structure of the carrier device in the prior art, the modular design of the present application is more simple and efficient;

[0042] (5) The camera and the pose sensor are combined to real-time detect and identify the target object in the pipeline, capture the image inside the pipeline and the posture of the device itself, and realize real-time adjustment of the device;

[0043] (6) The drive wheel train and universal joint design enables the carrier device to smoothly pass through complex curves, ensuring its passability in complex pipeline environments. Compared with the carrier device with poor passability in the prior art, the design of the present application significantly improves the stability and passability of the carrier device in curves. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0044] Figure 1 A structural schematic diagram of a small-pipeline flexible carrier device driven by a multi-wheel hub motor is shown.

[0045] Figure 2 A structural schematic diagram of a drive joint is shown.

[0046] Figure 3 A structural schematic diagram of a drive wheel train is shown.

[0047] Figure 4 A structural schematic diagram of a front guide joint is shown.

[0048] 1-camera, 2-front guide joint, 2-1-intermediate support, 2-2-first connecting rod, 2-3-second connecting rod, 2-4-third connecting rod, 2-5-spring, 2-6-guide wheel, 3-drive joint, 4-universal joint, 5-front drive wheel train, 6-wheel hub motor, 7-pose sensor, 8-connection frame, 9-rear drive wheel train, 10-connecting rod, 11-drive wheel, 12-mounting plate, 13-spring rod. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0049] In order to further understand the present application, the embodiments of the present application are described below in conjunction with examples, but it should be understood that these descriptions are only for further illustrating the features and advantages of the present application, and are not limitations of the present application.

[0050] The embodiments of the present application disclose a small-pipeline flexible carrier device driven by a multi-wheel hub motor, as shown in Figure 1 including:

[0051] The front guide joint 2 is connected with the drive joint 3; the front guide joint 1 has a variable-diameter function.

[0052] As shown in Figure 4As shown, the front guide joint is composed of an intermediate bracket 21 and three groups of variable diameter connecting rod assemblies. The variable diameter connecting rod assemblies are evenly arranged around the intermediate bracket 2-1 with the axis of the intermediate bracket 2-1 as the center. The variable diameter connecting rod assembly includes a first rod 2-2, a second rod 2-3 and a third rod 2-4. A guide wheel 2-6 is installed at one end of the first rod 2-2, and the other end is connected to the intermediate bracket 2-1 through a rotating pair. One end of the second connecting rod 2-3 is connected to the first connecting rod 2-2 through a rotating pair, and the other end is connected to the third connecting rod 2-4 through a rotating pair and a moving pair. A spring 2-5 is installed on the third connecting rod 2-4. Under the action of the spring force, the second connecting rod 2-3 moves to drive the first connecting rod 2-2 to expand, and the guide wheel 2-6 contacts the inner wall of the pipe to realize the variable diameter and guiding functions.

[0053] The front end of the front guide section 2 is connected to the camera 1;

[0054] At least two drive joints 3 connected by a universal joint 4;

[0055] The universal joint 4 is used to connect the front guide joint 2 and the driving joint 3, or to connect two driving joints 3, so as to ensure that the front guide joint 2 can flexibly turn when the flexible carrier enters a curve.

[0056] like Figure 2 As shown, the driving section 4 includes: two wheel hub motors 6 connected in opposite directions, a connecting frame 8 connecting the stator parts of the two wheel hub motors 6; a driving wheel system connected to the rotor of the wheel hub motor 6, and the driving wheels of the two sets of driving wheel systems rotate in opposite directions and have the same deflection angle;

[0057] The driving wheel system is a disc-mounted reducing mechanism;

[0058] Specifically, the driving wheel system includes: a mounting plate 12, a spring rod 13, a connecting rod 10 and a driving wheel 11;

[0059] The spring rods 13 and the connecting rods 10 are evenly arranged on the mounting plate 12;

[0060] One end of the spring rod 1 is fixed to the mounting plate 12, and the other end is connected to the middle of the connecting rod 10 through a spring;

[0061] One end of the connecting rod 10 is fixed to the mounting plate 12 , and the other end is connected to the driving wheel 11 .

[0062] Specifically, if Figure 3 As shown, there are two mounting plates 12, the spring rod 13, the connecting rod 10 and the driving wheel 11 are arranged between the two mounting plates 12, and the two mounting plates 12 are clamped by screws;

[0063] The mounting plate 12 is connected to the rotor of the hub motor 6 .

[0064] One end of the mounting plate 12 is fixedly connected with the rotor of the wheel hub motor 6, and the other end is fixedly connected with the universal joint 4.

[0065] The wheel hub motors 6 are of the same specification and have a hollow structure, cables pass through the center holes of the wheel hub motors 6, and the two wheel hub motors 6 are reversely connected by the connecting frame 8 which connects the stator parts of the two wheel hub motors 6.

[0066] Each driving joint 3 includes two groups of driving wheel trains, the driving wheels of the two groups of driving wheel trains are opposite in rotation direction but have the same deflection angle, and the remaining structures are completely the same and are respectively installed on the rotor parts of the two wheel hub motors.

[0067] Specifically, the driving wheel train is composed of two mounting plates 12, three spring rods 13, three connecting rods 10 and three driving wheels 11. The single spring rod 13 is supported by a spring in the middle of the single connecting rod 10, the single driving wheel 11 is installed on the single spring connecting rod 10, and the three pairs of driving wheels 11, spring rods 13 and connecting rods 10 are evenly arranged in the middle of the two mounting plates 12, and the two mounting plates 12 are clamped by three screws.

[0068] The unique disc-shaped variable-diameter mechanism of the driving wheel train greatly shortens the axial length of the carrying device compared with the traditional umbrella-shaped variable-diameter mechanism, facilitates the turning, and the mounting plate 12 supports the entire carrying device on the inner wall of the pipeline through the spring, and can also adapt to the change of the pipe diameter within a certain range.

[0069] The driving joint 3 is provided with a pose sensor 7; preferably, the pose sensor 7 is arranged between the two wheel hub motors 6.

[0070] A control system is used to collect the information of the camera 1 and the pose sensor 7 to control the movement of the driving joint 3.

[0071] The control system includes an electric control cabinet and a collection module.

[0072] The collection module collects the information of the camera and the information of the pose sensor.

[0073] The electric cabinet controls the wheel hub motor to achieve the synchronous forward and reverse rotation effect according to the information collected by the collection module, and provides the power for forward or backward movement.

[0074] The sizes of the key components are supplemented to match the device which can operate in a pipe with an inner diameter of 60 mm.

[0075] The minimum peripheral size of the driving wheel train is 50 mm, and the maximum peripheral size after expansion is 80 mm.

[0076] The minimum peripheral size of the front guide joint is 45 mm, and the maximum peripheral size after expansion is 80 mm.

[0077] The embodiment of the application also discloses a motion control method of the small-pipeline flexible carrier device driven by the multi-wheel hub motor.

[0078] Step 1: the multi-wheel hub motor driven small-pipeline flexible carrier device is placed into a pipeline with a minimum inner diameter of 60 mm;

[0079] Before use, the cable is connected with the control system, and the flexible carrier device is in an integral whole.

[0080] The maximum outer diameter of the front guide joint 2 is manually adjusted, and the front guide joint 2 is placed into the pipeline entrance, and the whole flexible carrier device is pushed into the pipeline, and after the front guide joint 2 completely enters the pipeline, the front drive train 5 and the rear drive train 9 of the drive joint 3 are manually adjusted, and the whole drive joint 2 is completely sent into the pipeline;

[0081] Step 2: the camera collects the environment in the pipeline in real time, and the pose sensor collects the position and posture of the multi-wheel hub motor driven small-pipeline flexible carrier device.

[0082] Step 3: the electrical cabinet automatically controls and adjusts the wheel hub motor according to the collected pipeline conditions and position and posture, achieves the synchronous forward and reverse rotation effect, and provides the power for advancing or retreating.

[0083] The multi-wheel hub motor driven small-pipeline flexible carrier device is suitable for monitoring in a pipeline with a minimum inner diameter of 60 mm, and the turning radius of the pipeline is not less than 3D, and D is the inner diameter of the pipeline.

[0084] The drive train and the wheel hub motor are formulated, and the axial length of the carrier device is significantly shortened. The design of the drive train enables the carrier device to adapt to pipelines with different diameters and has a certain self-adaptive ability, and can pass through a bend pipe with a bending radius R≥3D, and when passing through the bend, the unique driving disc can better adhere to the wall surface, the power of the double drive joints is complementary, and the passing property of the carrier device in the complex pipeline environment is ensured. This design enables the carrier device to flexibly turn when entering a bend, and avoids jamming or loss of control.

[0085] The application adopts a double helix driving structure, realizes the helical control of the carrier device through two drive joints, each drive joint contains two wheel hub motors and two drive trains, the design enables the carrier device to stably helically advance, retreat and pass through the inner wall of the pipeline. The two motors in the single drive joint drive the helical drive train to rotate in opposite directions, and drive the carrier device to stably advance. The motor forward and reverse rotation cooperates with the inclination angle of the helical drive train, and realizes the advance or retreat of the carrier device. The flexible carrier device is provided with a pose sensor, which can feedback the motion posture of the flexible carrier device in the pipeline in real time. The flexible carrier device is provided with a camera, which can identify the position of the internal defects of the pipeline.

[0086] The above description of the embodiments is only used to help understand the method of the present application and its core idea. It should be noted that for those skilled in the art, some improvements and modifications can be made to the present application without departing from the principles of the present application, and these improvements and modifications also fall within the protection scope of the claims of the present application.

[0087] The above description of the disclosed embodiments enables a person skilled in the art to implement or use the present application. Various modifications to these embodiments will be apparent to those skilled in the art, and the general principles defined herein can be implemented in other embodiments without departing from the spirit or scope of the present application. Therefore, the present application will not be limited to these embodiments shown herein, but will conform to the widest scope consistent with the principles and novel features disclosed herein.

Claims

1. A small pipeline flexible carrier driven by multiple hub motors, characterized in that: include: Front guide joint, connected to the drive joint; The front guide section has a diameter-changing function; At least two drive joints connected by a universal joint; The front end of the front guide section is connected to a camera; The driving section comprises: two hub motors connected in reverse, and a connecting frame connecting the stator parts of the two hub motors; The driving wheel system is connected to the rotor of the hub motor. The driving wheels of the two sets of driving wheel systems rotate in opposite directions and have the same deflection angle. The driving wheel system is a disc-mounted reducing mechanism; A posture sensor is installed on the driving joint; The control system is used to collect information from the camera and posture sensor to control the movement of the drive section.

2. The multi-hub motor driven small pipe flexible carrier according to claim 1, characterized in that: The driving wheel system includes: a mounting plate, a spring rod, a connecting rod and a driving wheel; Spring rods and connecting rods are evenly arranged on the mounting plate; One end of the spring rod is fixed to the mounting plate, and the other end is connected to the middle part of the connecting rod through a spring; One end of the connecting rod is fixed on the mounting plate, and the other end is connected to the driving wheel.

3. The multi-hub motor driven small pipe flexible carrier according to claim 2, characterized in that: There are two mounting plates, the spring rod, the connecting rod and the driving wheel are arranged between the two mounting plates, and the two mounting plates are clamped by screws; The mounting plate is connected to the rotor of the hub motor.

4. The multi-hub motor driven small pipe flexible carrier according to claim 2, characterized in that: Three spring rods and three connecting rods are evenly arranged on the mounting plate.

5. The multi-hub motor driven small pipe flexible carrier according to claim 1, characterized in that: The interior of the hub motor is a hollow structure, and the cable passes through the center hole of the hub motor.

6. The multi-hub motor driven small pipe flexible carrier according to claim 1, characterized in that: The control system includes: an electric control cabinet and a collection module; The acquisition module acquires information from the camera and the posture sensor; The electrical cabinet controls the hub motor to achieve synchronous forward and reverse rotation based on the information collected by the collection module, providing forward or reverse power.

7. The multi-hub motor driven small pipe flexible carrier according to claim 1, characterized in that: The front guide joint is composed of an intermediate bracket and three groups of variable diameter connecting rod assemblies. The variable diameter connecting rod assemblies are evenly arranged around the intermediate bracket with the axis of the intermediate bracket as the center. The variable diameter connecting rod assembly includes a first connecting rod, a second connecting rod and a third connecting rod. A guide wheel is installed at one end of the connecting rod, and the other end is connected to the intermediate bracket through a rotating pair. One end of the second connecting rod is connected to the connecting rod 1 through a rotating pair, and the other end is connected to the third connecting rod through a rotating pair and a moving pair. A spring is installed on the third connecting rod. Under the action of the spring force, the movement of the second connecting rod drives the connecting rod 1 to expand, and the guide wheel contacts the inner wall of the pipe to realize the variable diameter and guiding functions.

8. The multi-hub motor driven small pipe flexible carrier according to claim 1, characterized in that: The posture sensor is arranged between the two wheel hub motors.

9. The multi-hub motor driven small pipe flexible carrier according to claim 1, characterized in that: The front guide section and the driving section are connected via a guide section.

10. A motion control method for a small-pipe flexible carrier driven by multiple hub motors, characterized in that: The following steps are involved: Step 1: Place the small pipe flexible carrier device driven by a multi-hub motor according to any one of claims 1 to 9 into a pipe with an inner diameter of at least 60 mm; Step 2: The camera collects the environmental conditions in the pipeline in real time, and the posture sensor collects the position and posture of the small pipeline flexible carrier driven by the multi-hub motor; Step 3: The electrical cabinet automatically controls and adjusts the hub motor according to the situation and position of the collection pipeline to achieve synchronous forward and reverse rotation and provide forward or backward power.

Images