Standard transformer substation environment-based automatic inspection four-foot robot dog

Abstract

The invention relates to an automatic inspection four-legged robot dog based on a standard substation environment, which is applied to the field of robot dogs for inspection, and comprises a robot dog main body, the output end of a driving motor is connected with a thigh arm, the side surface of the robot dog main body is provided with a hydraulic push rod, and the tail end of the thigh arm is connected with a shank arm through a shaft; the surface of the shank arm is movably connected with the power end of the hydraulic push rod; distance sensors are installed at the positions, corresponding to the thigh arms and the shank arms, of the bottom of the robot dog body, a deformation supporting unit used for assisting the shank arms to conduct motion state switching is installed on the surface of the position, close to the foot end, of each shank arm, and the deformation supporting units and the hydraulic push rods are matched, and the inspection auxiliary system is used for recognizing road conditions; the robot dog performs targeted inspection state switching on the flat ground and the gravel ground, the robot body is kept horizontal through difference adjustment of the front hydraulic push rod and the rear hydraulic push rod when the robot dog climbs stairs, and V-shaped supporting is formed in combination with rotation of the rollers, so that stability is enhanced.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to an automatic inspection quadruped robot dog, and more particularly to an automatic inspection quadruped robot dog based on a standard substation environment for use in the field of inspection robot dogs. Background Technology

[0002] The inspection quadruped robot dog, through autonomous navigation, real-time obstacle avoidance, and all-weather operation, combined with AI algorithms and IoT technology, enables real-time analysis of equipment status and automatic defect identification, providing a technical paradigm for building a new smart grid. In addition, it can replace human workers in dangerous environments such as high temperature, high humidity, and high pressure, reducing the risk of personal safety accidents. It has important applications in substation inspection work and will be referred to as robot dog below.

[0003] Chinese invention patent CN119929018A discloses a patrol robot dog. The storage box contains multiple fire extinguishing bombs, which can be launched to the location of the fire via a launcher. Personnel can remotely operate the robot to extinguish the fire without having to approach the flames, and it can move to the location of the fire in the first instance, thus improving the efficiency of fire extinguishing.

[0004] Chinese invention patent CN116062057A discloses a quadruped robot dog for railway inspection. It uses a drive motor and gearbox to output power through a transmission shaft, and causes the first prism to drive the second prism, which is fixed to the drive shaft, to rotate. This causes the walking wheels to rotate outside the limiting collar. It can replace the thigh arm and the lower leg arm to work, and improve its movement speed when inspecting smooth and flat railway surfaces.

[0005] Existing inspection quadruped robot dogs typically carry radar, cameras, and other equipment on their surfaces during operation, making them under load. Furthermore, during inspections, they inevitably have to climb slopes and stairs. While counterweights are used to adjust the center of gravity and prevent tipping, the robot's body remains parallel to the slope surface during these activities, offering limited tipping prevention. If a tipping does occur, it can easily damage the instruments mounted on the robot dog's surface and interrupt the inspection process. Summary of the Invention

[0006] In view of the above-mentioned prior art, the technical problem to be solved by the present invention is how to reduce the risk of tipping over caused by the tilting of the body during the climbing of stairs in a substation, and to improve the energy consumption and stability of the robot dog in various terrains of the substation.

[0007] To address the aforementioned issues, this invention provides an automatic inspection quadruped robot dog based on a standard substation environment. The robot dog body includes a main body with a radar and camera mounted on its top. A drive motor is mounted on the inner wall of the main body, and the output end of the drive motor is connected to a thigh arm. A hydraulic push rod is mounted on the side surface of the main body, and a lower leg arm is connected to the tail end of the thigh arm via a shaft. The surface of the lower leg arm is movably connected to the power end of the hydraulic push rod. Distance sensors are installed at the bottom of the robot dog's main body, corresponding to the positions of the thigh and lower leg arms. Each lower leg arm has a deformable support unit installed on its surface near the foot to assist in switching the lower leg arm's movement state. The deformable support unit includes a first motor installed on the surface of the lower leg arm. The output end of the first motor is connected to a support frame. The bottom of the support frame is connected to a hub frame with built-in rollers. A second motor is installed on the outer surface of the hub frame.

[0008] In the aforementioned quadruped robot dog for automatic inspection in a standard substation environment, the robot dog switches between different inspection states on flat ground and gravel ground by using the cooperation of deformable support units and hydraulic push rods, and by using an inspection auxiliary system to identify road conditions. When climbing stairs, the robot dog keeps its body level by adjusting the difference between the front and rear hydraulic push rods, and the V-shaped support formed by the rotation of the rollers enhances stability.

[0009] As a further improvement of this application, in the initial state, the bottom of the roller is located above the lower leg arm foot portion, and the vertical distance between the two does not exceed 2cm. After the roller is rotated, its bottom is located below the lower leg arm foot portion.

[0010] As a further improvement of this application, the support frame includes a first bracket and a second bracket. The first bracket has a cross-shaped groove inside, and a slider is slidably connected inside the groove. A small hydraulic rod is installed on the top of the first bracket, and the power end of the small hydraulic rod is connected to the top surface of the slider. The surface of the second bracket is fixedly connected to the surface of the slider.

[0011] As a further improvement of this application, the number of hub brackets is two, and the second motor is mounted on the surface of the hub bracket at the bottom of the second bracket.

[0012] As a further improvement of this application, it also includes an inspection assistance system, which includes an information collection module, an information recognition module, an information input module, and a drive execution module. The information collection module is connected to radar and camera signals to photograph the inspection targets during the inspection process and obtain inspection information. The information input module is used to input the building path information of the substation inspection route. The information recognition module is connected to the information collection module and the information input module to assist in identifying road condition information during the inspection process. The drive execution module is connected to the deformable support unit and the information recognition module to adjust the inspection status of the robot dog during the inspection process.

[0013] As another improvement of this application, a third motor is installed inside the second bracket, and the output end of the third motor is connected to the surface of the hub frame at the bottom of the second bracket. Both the second bracket and the first bracket are rotatably connected to the hub frame at their bottom.

[0014] As a further supplement to this application, the top of both the second bracket and the first bracket is provided with a limiting unit. The limiting unit includes a plug groove on the surface of the two hub brackets. The first bracket and the second bracket are designed with recessed grooves at the corresponding positions of the plug grooves. An electromagnetic block is installed inside the recessed groove. The bottom of the electromagnetic block is connected to a magnetic plug-in through a spring, and the magnetic plug-in and the electromagnetic block attract each other.

[0015] As a further supplement to this application, the four No. 3 motors are divided into two groups, with the two No. 3 motors on each diagonal forming one group. When each group of No. 3 motors starts, the electromagnetic block in that group starts, while the deformable support units on the other two lower legs are in their initial state.

[0016] In summary, the support frame is driven by a primary motor, allowing the rollers to switch between a retracted and operational state. This, combined with an inspection assistance system that identifies road conditions, enables wheeled inspection on flat surfaces for energy efficiency, while reverting to stepped inspection on gravel surfaces for vibration reduction. When climbing stairs, differential adjustment using front and rear hydraulic push rods keeps the machine level, and the roller rotation creates a V-shaped support for enhanced stability. For spiral staircases, diagonal rollers, a third motor, and a limit unit work together, utilizing differential steering adjustment to allow the machine to tilt inwards, facilitating a spiral alignment along the climbing path. Finally, the support frame is designed as a telescopic structure to adjust the angle of the V-shaped support, and a distance sensor monitors the machine's ground clearance in real time, mitigating the risk of a raised center of gravity caused by a horizontal orientation. Attached Figure Description

[0017] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the overall structure of the first embodiment of this application; Figure 2 This is a structural diagram of the deformable support unit according to the first embodiment of this application; Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram of the robot dog in a wheeled inspection state according to the first embodiment of this application; Figure 4 This is a diagram showing the robot dog of the first embodiment of this application raising its hind legs to make the body horizontal when climbing stairs. Figure 5 This is a diagram showing the state of the roller component assisting the front leg under pressure in the first embodiment of this application; Figure 6 This is an installation diagram of the small hydraulic rod and strip groove according to the second embodiment of this application; Figure 7 This is a diagram showing the state of the V-shaped support angle after the second embodiment of this application has been expanded. Figure 8 This is a schematic diagram of the installation of motor No. 3 according to the third embodiment of this application; Figure 9 This is a schematic diagram of the limiting unit according to the third embodiment of this application; Figure 10 This is a state diagram of the robot dog climbing a spiral staircase according to the third embodiment of this application; Figure 11 This is a schematic diagram showing the rotation of the diagonal rollers when the robot dog climbs a spiral staircase according to the third embodiment of this application.

[0018] Explanation of the labels in the diagram: 1. Robot dog body; 2. Thigh arm; 3. Hydraulic push rod; 4. Lower leg arm; 5. Deformable support unit; 51. Motor No. 1; 52. Support frame; 53. Roller component; 54. Motor No. 2; 521. Strip groove; 522. Small hydraulic rod; 6. Motor No. 3; 7. Electromagnetic block; 8. Spring component; 9. Magnetic plug. Detailed Implementation

[0019] The three embodiments of this application will now be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0020] First implementation method: Figure 1 This invention illustrates an automatic inspection quadruped robot dog based on a standard substation environment, comprising a robot dog body 1 with a radar and camera mounted on the top, a drive motor mounted on the inner wall of the robot dog body 1, a thigh arm 2 connected to the output end of the drive motor, a hydraulic push rod 3 mounted on the side surface of the robot dog body 1, and a lower leg arm 4 connected to the tail end of the thigh arm 2 via a shaft, with the surface of the lower leg arm 4 movably connected to the power end of the hydraulic push rod 3. Figure 2The robot dog body 1 has distance sensors installed at the bottom of the thigh arm 2 and the lower leg arm 4. Each lower leg arm 4 has a deformable support unit 5 installed on its surface near the foot to assist the lower leg arm 4 in switching its movement state. The deformable support unit 5 includes a first motor 51 installed on the surface of the lower leg arm 4. The output end of the first motor 51 is connected to a support frame 52. The bottom of the support frame 52 is connected to a hub frame with built-in rollers 53. A second motor 54 is installed on the outer surface of the hub frame.

[0021] In the initial state, the bottom of the roller 53 is located above the foot end of the lower leg arm 4, and the vertical distance between the two is no more than 2cm. After the roller 53 is rotated, its bottom is located below the foot end of the lower leg arm 4.

[0022] It also includes an inspection assistance system, which comprises an information collection module, an information recognition module, an information input module, and a drive execution module. The information collection module is connected to radar and camera signals to photograph the inspection targets during the inspection process and obtain inspection information. The information input module is used to input the building path information of the substation inspection route. The information recognition module is connected to the information collection module and the information input module to assist in identifying road condition information during the inspection process. The drive execution module is connected to the deformable support unit 5 and the information recognition module to adjust the inspection status of the robot dog during the inspection process.

[0023] Specifically, when carrying out the corresponding inspection operation, it is necessary to first judge and identify the current road condition. The current road condition can be determined by the information entry module based on the distribution of the substation inspection path in advance and whether the surface of the current path has changed as captured by the information collection module during the real-time inspection. The information recognition module will then make a final judgment on the current road condition and identify whether the current road condition is a flat road surface, stairs, or gravel road surface.

[0024] Figure 3 As shown, if the road surface is flat (outdoor surfaces may be mostly gravel or grass, but indoor surfaces are generally flat, and inspection work includes both indoor and outdoor areas), to reduce the robot dog's inspection energy consumption and reduce the number of charging cycles, it can be switched to wheeled inspection mode. In this case, the first motor 51 is used to drive the support frame 52 to rotate, changing it from its original position that is almost parallel to the lower leg arm 4 (at this time, the bottom of the roller 53 is located above the foot of the lower leg arm 4, so when the lower leg arm 4 is used for movement, the bottom of the roller 53 will not touch the ground and will not cause interference) to the bottom of the roller 53 being located below the foot of the lower leg arm 4, thus slightly lifting the lower leg arm 4 and grounding the roller 53. At this time, there is a small gap between the foot of the lower leg arm 4 and the ground. By starting the second motor 54, the robot dog can be driven to perform wheeled inspection, which can achieve energy saving compared to the stepping movement using four lower leg arms 4.

[0025] If the road surface is gravel, the vibration of the robot dog body 1 and related components on its surface will be more obvious when the roller 53 rolls over it, which will interfere with the reliability of the image information collected by the camera. Therefore, step-by-step inspection is required. At this time, the No. 1 motor 51 can be used to drive the roller 53 and the support frame 52 back to the storage state (that is, the bottom of the roller 53 is located above the foot of the lower leg arm 4. At this time, the support frame 52 is constrained by the No. 1 motor 51 and will not easily deflect, thus maintaining the stability of the storage state).

[0026] When climbing stairs, the robot dog's front legs are on the upper step and its hind legs are on the lower step. In the prior art, the front and hind legs are usually bent at the same degree or with little difference, so that the robot dog's body tilts almost parallel to the slope of the stairs. However, when the robot dog's body is heavily loaded or the slope is steep, it is easy to tip over. In this invention, the robot dog's front and hind legs are bent at different degrees when climbing stairs.

[0027] With the front legs positioned on the upper step, the front hydraulic push rod 3 extends while the rear hydraulic push rod 3 shortens. This results in a smaller angle between the thigh arm 2 and lower leg arm 4 of the front legs, and a larger angle between the thigh arm 2 and lower leg arm 4 of the hind legs. The lifting effect of the hind legs then keeps the robot dog's body in a horizontal position (not parallel to the slope of the stairs, e.g.) Figure 4 As shown), the robot dog's center of gravity is always close to the geometric center of the stairs in its vertical projection. This horizontal posture effectively reduces the inertial torque in the roll and pitch directions and improves its resistance to disturbances. Furthermore, in this state, the pressure on the front leg area increases, allowing the support frame 52 to rotate clockwise using motor 51 (this avoids the rollers 53 contacting the step surface first and then lifting the foot of the lower leg arm 4, a process similar to switching between wheeled inspection states, hence the clockwise rotation) until the two rollers 53 contact the step surface, providing a V-shaped support (as shown). Figure 5 As shown in the figure, this ensures the stability of the robot dog during the climbing process.

[0028] In this invention, the roller component 53 and the foot end of the lower leg arm 4 are both treated with anti-slip treatment to enhance the stability of the roller component 53 when it is used as a support component. The distance sensor and the corresponding motor are both treated with anti-electromagnetic interference to cope with the electromagnetic interference that may exist in the electromagnetic environment of the substation.

[0029] Second implementation method: Figure 6As shown, the support frame 52 includes a first support and a second support. The first support has a cross-shaped groove 521 inside, and a slider is slidably connected inside the groove 521. A small hydraulic rod 522 is installed on the top of the first support, and the power end of the small hydraulic rod 522 is connected to the top surface of the slider. The surface of the second support is fixedly connected to the surface of the slider.

[0030] There are two hub brackets, and motor 54 is mounted on the surface of the hub bracket at the bottom of bracket 2.

[0031] Unlike the first embodiment, this embodiment mainly improves upon the defect of the fixed angle of the V-shaped support in the first embodiment.

[0032] Specifically, when providing V-shaped support, the limited length of the support frame 52 restricts the V-shaped angle. Increasing the angle fails to provide adequate support (as it would cause the roller 53 to detach from the ground). In this case, motor 51 drives the support frame 52 clockwise until the roller 53 faces upwards. Then, a small hydraulic rod 522 pushes the slider, causing relative displacement between the second and first supports. This lengthens the overall length of the support frame 52. Since the first and second supports are connected by a slider, the second support rotates synchronously as the first support (driven by motor 51) rotates. After rotating to a certain angle, the roller 53 (the roller 53 at the bottom of the second support) contacts the surface of the step, stopping the rotation and providing auxiliary support (e.g., ...). Figure 7 (As shown).

[0033] When climbing stairs, the robot dog's center of gravity rises to a certain extent due to the lifting of its hind legs, which may pose a safety hazard. To reduce this risk, the distance between the bottom of the robot dog's main body 1 and the top surface of the step can be controlled within a reasonable range (the reasonable range is determined by the height of the step and the activity space required by the lower leg arm 4 during climbing, and is not fixed, but a distance sensor needs to be used to detect the vertical distance between the horizontal robot dog body and the two steps), so that the adverse effects of the robot dog's center of gravity rising due to the lifting of its hind legs are minimized.

[0034] The third implementation method: Figure 8 The diagram shows that motor 6 is installed inside bracket 2, and the output end of motor 6 is connected to the surface of the hub frame at the bottom of bracket 2. Both bracket 2 and bracket 1 are rotatably connected to the hub frame at their bottom.

[0035] Figure 9The top of both bracket 2 and bracket 1 is provided with a limiting unit. The limiting unit includes a slot on the surface of the two hub brackets. Bracket 1 and bracket 2 are designed with recessed grooves at the corresponding slots. An electromagnetic block 7 is installed inside the recessed groove. The bottom of the electromagnetic block 7 is connected to a magnetic plug 9 through a spring 8, and the magnetic plug 9 and the electromagnetic block 7 attract each other.

[0036] The four No. 3 motors 6 are divided into two groups. The two No. 3 motors 6 on each diagonal line form a group. When each group of No. 3 motors 6 starts, the electromagnetic block 7 in that group starts, and the deformable support unit 5 on the other two small leg arms 4 is in the initial state.

[0037] Unlike the second implementation, this implementation mainly addresses the shortcoming of the first implementation, which is that the robot dog has difficulty adjusting its body when climbing.

[0038] Specifically, in the case of the robot dog climbing a spiral staircase (such as...) Figure 10 When the robot dog is climbing the spiral staircase (as shown), due to the special layout of the staircase, a straight-line operation is difficult to achieve an effective forward movement. Therefore, it is necessary to adjust the deformable support unit 5 so that when the robot dog is climbing the spiral staircase, the deformable support units 5 on the front right and rear left small legs 4 need to be adjusted to a wheel-type inspection state (used to cooperate with the No. 3 motor 6 to adjust the robot dog's direction), and the other two small legs 4 need to be adjusted to a step-type inspection state. Then, the No. 3 motor 6 on the front right and rear left (for illustration) small legs 4 needs to be in the start state. Therefore, at this time, the magnetic plug 9 in the corresponding two limit units is moved upward by magnetic attraction. After the constraint is released, the No. 3 motor 6 is started, which can drive the roller 53 to deflect. The rotation angles of the front right and rear left No. 3 motors 6 are different (the rotation angle of the front right is smaller than that of the rear left. The specific rotation angle needs to be adjusted according to the robot dog's own size and the curvature parameters of the spiral staircase. The relevant parameters of the spiral staircase can be obtained from the information input module). This causes the robot dog to adjust its body inward (towards the inside of the spiral staircase, such as when the other two small legs 4 are climbing) while climbing. Figure 11 As shown in the figure, it achieves an effective climbing effect.

[0039] In light of current practical needs, the above-described embodiments adopted in this application are not limited to these. Any changes made within the scope of knowledge possessed by those skilled in the art without departing from the concept of this application still fall within the protection scope of this invention.

Claims

1. A quadruped robot dog for automatic inspection in a standard substation environment, comprising a robot dog body (1) with radar and camera mounted on top, characterized in that: The inner wall of the robot dog body (1) is equipped with a drive motor, the output end of the drive motor is connected to a thigh arm (2), the side surface of the robot dog body (1) is equipped with a hydraulic push rod (3), the tail end of the thigh arm (2) is connected to a lower leg arm (4) through a shaft, and the surface of the lower leg arm (4) is movably connected to the power end of the hydraulic push rod (3). Distance sensors are installed at the bottom of the robot dog body (1) at the positions corresponding to the thigh arm (2) and the lower leg arm (4). Each lower leg arm (4) is equipped with a deformable support unit (5) near the foot to assist the lower leg arm (4) in switching motion states. The deformable support unit (5) includes a first motor (51) installed on the surface of the lower leg arm (4). The output end of the first motor (51) is connected to a support frame (52). The bottom of the support frame (52) is connected to a hub frame with built-in rollers (53). A second motor (54) is installed on the outer surface of the hub frame.

2. The quadruped robot dog for automatic inspection based on a standard substation environment as described in claim 1, characterized in that: In the initial state, the bottom of the roller (53) is located above the foot end of the lower leg arm (4), and the vertical distance between the two is no more than 2cm. After the roller (53) is rotated, its bottom is located below the foot end of the lower leg arm (4).

3. The quadruped robot dog for automatic inspection based on a standard substation environment according to claim 1, characterized in that: The support frame (52) includes a first support and a second support. The first support has a cross-shaped groove (521) inside. A slider is slidably connected inside the groove (521). A small hydraulic rod (522) is installed on the top of the first support, and the power end of the small hydraulic rod (522) is connected to the top surface of the slider. The surface of the second support is fixedly connected to the surface of the slider.

4. The quadruped robot dog for automatic inspection based on a standard substation environment according to claim 3, characterized in that: The number of hub brackets is two, and the second motor (54) is mounted on the surface of the hub bracket at the bottom of the second bracket.

5. The quadruped robot dog for automatic inspection based on a standard substation environment according to claim 1, characterized in that: It also includes an inspection assistance system, which includes an information collection module, an information identification module, an information input module and a drive execution module. The information collection module is connected to radar and camera signals and is used to take pictures of the inspection targets during the inspection process to obtain inspection information. The information input module is used to input the building path information of the substation inspection path. The information identification module is connected to the information collection module and the information input module and is used to assist in identifying the road condition information during the inspection process. The drive execution module is connected to the deformable support unit (5) and the information identification module and is used to adjust the inspection status of the robot dog during the inspection process.

6. The quadruped robot dog for automatic inspection based on a standard substation environment according to claim 3, characterized in that: The No. 3 motor (6) is installed inside the No. 2 bracket, and the output end of the No. 3 motor (6) is connected to the surface of the wheel hub frame at the bottom of the No. 2 bracket. The No. 2 bracket and the No. 1 bracket are rotatably connected to the wheel hub frame at their bottom.

7. The quadruped robot dog for automatic inspection based on a standard substation environment according to claim 6, characterized in that: The top of both the second bracket and the first bracket is provided with a limiting unit. The limiting unit includes a slot on the surface of the two hub brackets. The first bracket and the second bracket are designed with recessed grooves at the corresponding slots. An electromagnetic block (7) is installed inside the recessed groove. The bottom of the electromagnetic block (7) is connected to a magnetic plug (9) through a spring (8), and the magnetic plug (9) and the electromagnetic block (7) attract each other.

8. The quadruped robot dog for automatic inspection based on a standard substation environment according to claim 7, characterized in that: The four No. 3 motors (6) are divided into two groups. The two No. 3 motors (6) on each diagonal are in one group. When each group of No. 3 motors (6) starts, the electromagnetic block (7) in that group starts, and the deformable support unit (5) on the other two small leg arms (4) is in the initial state.

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