Underwater robot for steering and driving pipeline

Abstract

The invention relates to the technical field of underwater robots, in particular to a pipeline steering and driving underwater robot which comprises two frames, a control module is fixedly arranged between the two frames, driving mechanisms are arranged in the frames, steering mechanisms are arranged on the four sides of the side faces of the driving mechanisms, and auxiliary mechanisms are arranged on the lower sides of the driving mechanisms. The driving mechanism comprises a shell, a rotating frame, an electromagnetic coil and a fan blade block, and connecting pipes are arranged on the two sides of the shell in a mirror image mode. Driving, steering and buoyancy adjusting functions are highly integrated in an innovative pipeline system, the overall performance is remarkably improved, the core is that a hollow propeller is combined with a universal adjusting pipeline nozzle to serve as a power and course adjusting mechanism, the winding risk of underwater sundries is fundamentally avoided, and the overall performance is improved. And through cooperative operation of all the mechanisms, the robot is endowed with unprecedented omnidirectional maneuvering capability, rapid submerging and surfacing response and stable wall attachment detection performance, the structure is compact, and control is efficient.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] The application relates to the technical field of underwater robots, in particular to a pipeline turning and driving underwater robot. BACKGROUND

[0002] An underwater robot is an important tool in the fields of water conservancy projects and water pipeline detection. For the concrete water conveying pipeline of large projects such as the South-to-North Water Diversion Project, the detection of internal cavities and other damages needs to be carried out by an underwater robot carrying a precision device (such as a neutron radiation source) close to the pipe wall. However, when the existing underwater robot works in a complex pipeline environment, it often faces several technical bottlenecks: 1. The traditional propeller propulsion method is easy to be entangled by flexible debris in water, has poor reliability, and the power and turning mechanism are separated, resulting in complex whole machine structure, awkward turning, and difficulty in realizing arbitrary direction movement along the pipe wall and fine attitude adjustment; 2. The conventional buoyancy adjustment system has slow response speed, and cannot realize the rapid floating and diving of the robot, affecting the detection efficiency; 3. The robot is difficult to stably adsorb on the vertical or inclined pipe wall to be detected in flowing water, resulting in a gap or water flow between the detection head and the pipe wall, which seriously affects the accuracy of the detection data. Therefore, an underwater robot with high mobility, fast response capability and anti-winding characteristics is needed to meet the fine detection requirements in a complex pipeline environment, and the application provides a pipeline turning and driving underwater robot. SUMMARY

[0003] In order to overcome the technical problems existing in the prior art, the application provides a pipeline turning and driving underwater robot.

[0004] To solve the above technical problems, the application provides the following technical scheme: two groups of frames are fixedly provided with a control module between the two groups of frames, a driving mechanism is arranged in the frame, a turning mechanism is arranged on the four sides of the side surface of the driving mechanism, and an auxiliary mechanism is arranged on the lower side of the driving mechanism; The driving mechanism comprises a shell, a rotating frame, an electromagnetic coil and a fan blade block, two sides of the shell are mirror image arranged with connecting pipes, and the side surface of the connecting pipe is provided with an electric control valve; The turning mechanism comprises a fixed pipe, the side surface of the fixed pipe is provided with a first matching pipe, a second matching pipe and a corrugated pipe, the side surface of the first matching pipe is provided with a gear ring, a main gear and a first motor, the side surface of the second matching pipe is provided with a fixed frame and a connecting rod, and the side surface of the first matching pipe is further provided with a power supply module, a second motor and a fixed rod; The auxiliary mechanism comprises a matching box body, a water pump module and a gas tank module.

[0005] Further, the shell, the rotating frame, the electromagnetic coil and the fan block form a hollow propeller, the rotating frame is arranged in the shell, the electromagnetic coil is fixedly sleeved on the side of the rotating frame, the fan block is fixedly arranged on the inner side of the rotating frame in a circumferential array, and the rotating frame can rotate in the shell under the cooperation of the electromagnetic coil when the shell is electrified.

[0006] Further, the connecting pipe is threadedly sleeved with the shell, the two groups of connecting pipes and the shell form a H-shaped pipeline path, the connecting pipe at the front end of the shell can suck water, the connecting pipe at the rear end of the shell can drain water, and the electric control valves are symmetrically arranged on the inner sides of the connecting pipes.

[0007] Further, the fixed pipe is fixedly installed on the inner side of the connecting pipe, the first matching pipe is rotatably sleeved on the side of the fixed pipe, the gear ring is fixedly sleeved on the outer side of the first matching pipe, the main gear is arranged on the side of the gear ring, and the first motor is fixedly connected to the side of the main gear and fixedly installed on the side of the frame.

[0008] Further, the second matching pipe is arranged on the side, away from the fixed pipe, of the first matching pipe, the fixed frame is fixedly installed on the inner side of the second matching pipe, the fixed frame is a cross-shaped frame and one side thereof is tapered, the connecting rod is fixedly installed on the side of the fixed frame and extends to the inner side of the first matching pipe.

[0009] Further, the power supply module is fixedly sleeved on the side of the first matching pipe, the second motor is fixedly arranged on the side of the first matching pipe in a mirror image and the output end of the second motor extends to the inner side of the first matching pipe, the fixed rod is fixedly connected between the output ends of the second motor and the connecting rod is fixedly sleeved on the side of the fixed rod, the corrugated pipe is fixedly connected between the first matching pipe and the second matching pipe and covers the outer side of the first matching pipe and the second matching pipe.

[0010] Further, the matching box body is fixedly installed between the two groups of frames and arranged on the lower side of the shell, the water pump modules are fixedly arranged on the two sides of the matching box body, the water pump modules are communicated with the air tank modules in the bottom side of the matching box body through pipelines, the air tank modules are fixedly arranged on the sides of the two groups of frames and communicated with the matching box body through pipelines.

[0011] Compared with the prior art, the present application has the following beneficial effects: 1、The application realizes the significant improvement of overall performance by highly integrating driving, steering and buoyancy adjustment functions in the innovative pipeline system, and the core is to use the hollow propeller combined with the universal adjustment pipeline nozzle as the power and heading adjustment mechanism, which not only fundamentally avoids the risk of entanglement of underwater debris, but also through the collaborative operation between the mechanisms, gives the robot unprecedented omnidirectional maneuvering capability, fast diving and floating response and stable wall detection performance, compact structure and efficient control.

[0012] 2、The application sets the fixed pipe, the first matching pipe and the second matching pipe and the peripheral components, realizes 360-degree horizontal rotation through the direction adjusting mechanism composed of the fixed pipe, the first matching pipe and the second matching pipe, and cooperates with the first motor driven gear ring, and the second motor drives the fixed rod to drive the second matching pipe to pitch and swing, the two-degree-of-freedom compound motion makes the nozzle of each propelling pipeline can realize vector propulsion at any angle in the hemispherical surface, four such direction adjusting mechanisms are distributed around the robot, and the direction of each nozzle and the output thrust of the driving mechanism are controlled through the electromagnetic valve, so as to synthesize the propelling force in any direction, so that the robot can complete the forward movement, backward movement, lateral translation, rotation in place and even movement along any trajectory and other complex actions, and the maneuverability is extremely high.

[0013] 3、The application sets the auxiliary mechanism, and through the collaborative work of the water pump module and the gas tank module, the injection and drainage process of the matching box body is optimized, when injecting water, the water pump module can first pump air from the box body to form negative pressure and accelerate water inflow, when draining water, the gas tank module injects gas into the box body, and the gas pressure rapidly drains the water, the linkage design of gas and liquid compared with single water pump drainage speeds up the speed of buoyancy change, so that the robot can quickly float or dive, and the response speed and operation efficiency in the vertical direction are significantly improved.

[0014] 4、Based on the omnidirectional maneuvering capability, the robot can easily move to any position on the inner wall of the pipeline, by controlling the direction adjusting mechanism in a specific direction, the nozzle is aligned with the pipe wall and the driving mechanism is started, the adsorption force generated by the nozzle can stably press the robot on the pipe wall to be detected, at the same time, the precise attitude adjustment capability ensures that the detection components carried can closely adhere to the detected surface at the best angle, and effectively eliminates the gap water flow interference, so as to ensure the accuracy and reliability of the detection data.

[0015] 5、The application sets driving mechanism, which adopts hollow propeller design of built-in electromagnetic coil driving rotating frame and fan blade block, water flow axial in and out, consistent force line, avoids entanglement problem of exposed propeller, runs more safely and reliably, at the same time, all power and heading adjustment functions are integrated in pipeline system, compact structure, reduces external moving parts, reduces failure rate, centralized layout of frame and control module, and independent setting of power supply module also make the whole machine structure simple, easy to maintain, especially suitable for long-term operation in space limited, complex environment underwater pipeline. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0016] Figure 1 It is overall structure schematic diagram of the application; Figure 2 It is cross section structure schematic diagram of the application; Figure 3 It is partial structure schematic diagram of the application; Figure 4 It is partial structure cross section schematic diagram of the application; Figure 5 It is local structure schematic diagram of driving mechanism of the application; Figure 6 It is partial structure schematic diagram of direction adjusting mechanism of the application; Figure 7 It is local structure explosion cross section schematic diagram of direction adjusting mechanism of the application; Figure 8 It is local structure schematic diagram of auxiliary mechanism of the application; Figure 9 It is use state schematic diagram of the application.

[0017] Wherein: 1, frame; 11, control module; 2, driving mechanism; 21, shell; 22, rotating frame; 23, electromagnetic coil; 24, fan blade block; 25, connecting pipe; 26, electric control valve; 3, direction adjusting mechanism; 31, fixed pipe; 32, first matching pipe; 321, gear ring; 322, main gear; 323, first motor; 33, second matching pipe; 331, fixed frame; 332, connecting rod; 34, power supply module; 341, second motor; 342, fixed rod; 35, corrugated pipe; 4, auxiliary mechanism; 41, matching box body; 42, water pump module; 43, gas tank module. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0018] To make the technical means, creative features, and achieved objectives and effects of this invention easier to understand, the invention is further described below with reference to specific embodiments. However, the following embodiments are merely preferred embodiments of this invention and not all of them. Other embodiments obtained by those skilled in the art based on the embodiments described herein without creative effort are all within the protection scope of this invention. Unless otherwise specified, the experimental methods in the following embodiments are conventional methods, and the materials and reagents used in the following embodiments are commercially available unless otherwise specified.

[0019] Example: Figures 1 to 3 As shown, an underwater robot for pipe steering and actuation includes two sets of frames 1, each a hollow rectangular frame. A control module 11 is fixedly installed between the two sets of frames 1. The control module 11 integrates control components, power supply components, and a three-axis inclinometer. A drive mechanism 2 is installed inside the frame 1. Orientation mechanisms 3 are installed on the four sides of the drive mechanism 2. An auxiliary mechanism 4 is installed on the lower side of the drive mechanism 2. The drive mechanism 2 can be supplied with an independent and centralized power source. The orientation mechanisms 3 can be adjusted in multiple directions at various angles, allowing the robot to change its course at will. The auxiliary mechanism 4 can assist in ascending or descending operations by changing its buoyancy.

[0020] like Figures 2 to 5 As shown, the drive mechanism 2 includes a housing 21, a rotating frame 22, an electromagnetic coil 23, and fan blade blocks 24. These components form a hollow propeller. The rotating frame 22 is rotatably mounted inside the housing 21. The electromagnetic coil 23 is fixedly sleeved on the side of the rotating frame 22. The fan blade blocks 24 are equidistantly fixed in a circumferential array inside the rotating frame 22. When the internal electrons of the housing 21 are energized, the electromagnetic coil 23 rotates, causing the rotating frame 22 to rotate inside the housing 21 along with the electromagnetic coil 23. The rotating frame 22 drives the fan blade blocks 24 to rotate and stir, thus performing the pumping operation. This structure can effectively prevent underwater flexible debris from getting entangled, and the direction of the force is consistent with the axis of the inlet and outlet. In addition, the power mechanism of the combined structure of the rotating frame 22 and fan blade blocks 24 can also be driven by a geared motor with a shaft end gear that meshes with the external gear of the hollow propeller. The two sides of the shell 21 are mirror image provided with connecting pipe 25 and connecting pipe 25 with shell 21 port threaded sleeve, connecting pipe 25 is hollow "T" shaped pipe, two groups of connecting pipe 25 and shell 21 constitute H-shaped pipe path, shell 21 front end connecting pipe 25 can be water absorption, shell 21 rear end connecting pipe 25 can be drainage operation, in the inner side of connecting pipe 25 are respectively provided with electric control valve 26, electric control valve 26 can adopt electric control ball valve or solenoid valve, etc., can adjust the opening and closing pipe inside water flow type can be; Specifically, the combined hollow propeller works, one end connecting pipe 25 water absorption, the other end connecting pipe 25 drainage, so as to generate thrust for the machine, in addition, through the electric control valve 26 can select control any end water flow closure and water flow size, so as to the machine left and right steering.

[0021] As Figures 2 to 4 And Figure 6 、 Figure 7 As shown, steering mechanism 3 includes fixed pipe 31, fixed pipe 31 is fixedly installed in the inner side of connecting pipe 25, fixed pipe 31 is "T" shaped pipe, the side of fixed pipe 31 rotating sleeve has first matching pipe 32, fixed pipe 31 and first matching pipe 32 are provided with sealing ring cooperation, first matching pipe 32 is "T" shaped pipe, the outer side of first matching pipe 32 fixed sleeve has gear ring 321, gear ring 321 is circular ring like main gear 322 ring, the side of gear ring 321 is provided with main gear 322 meshing, main gear 322 is circular gear, the side of main gear 322 is fixedly connected with first motor 323 and first motor 323 is fixedly installed in the side of frame 1 position; Specifically, the first motor 323 can drive main gear 322 rotation, main gear 322 and gear ring 321 meshing, gear ring 321 drive first matching pipe 32 in the side of fixed pipe 31 can be rotating movement; The second matching pipe 33 is a circular pipe, a fixed frame 331 is fixedly installed on the inner side of the second matching pipe 33, the fixed frame 331 is a cross-shaped frame and one side thereof is tapered, a connecting rod 332 is fixedly installed on the side of the fixed frame 331 and extends to the inner position of the first matching pipe 32, the connecting rod 332 is a rectangular rod, a power supply module 34 is fixedly sleeved on the side of the first matching pipe 32, the power supply module 34 is a circular ring-shaped waterproof battery and can be charged alone, a second motor 341 is fixedly arranged on the side of the first matching pipe 32 in a mirror image mode and the output end of the second motor 341 penetrates to the inner position of the first matching pipe 32, the second motor 341 is directly powered and connected with the power supply module 34 through a line, a fixed rod 342 is fixedly connected between the output ends of the second motor 341 and the connecting rod 332 is fixedly sleeved on the side position of the fixed rod 342, the connecting rod 332 and the fixed rod 342 can be strengthened and stabilized through a reinforcing sleeve, a corrugated pipe 35 is fixedly connected between the first matching pipe 32 and the second matching pipe 33 and covers the outer side position of the first matching pipe 32 and the second matching pipe 33; specifically, the power supply module 34 directly supplies power to the second motor 341. Two groups of second motors 341 work cooperatively to drive the fixed rod 342 to rotate, thereby driving the connecting rod 332 sleeved with the fixed rod 342 to swing, the swing of the connecting rod 332 is transmitted through the fixed frame 331, and finally the second matching pipe 33 can be adjusted in pitch within a certain angle relative to the first matching pipe 32, in this process, the corrugated pipe 35 deforms along with it, and the sealing of the two connecting pipe interfaces is always ensured; the above second matching pipe 33 as a whole can rotate 360 degrees with the first matching pipe 32, and the second matching pipe 33 swings left and right on the side of the first matching pipe 32, so that the omnibearing pushing operation of the machine can be realized, the power and the heading adjustment mechanism are integrated in the pipeline system, the structure is simple, and the adjustment freedom is high.

[0022] As Figure 2 , Figure 3 and Figure 8As shown, the auxiliary mechanism 4 includes a mating housing 41, which is fixedly installed between the two sets of frames 1 and located on the lower side of the housing 21. The mating housing 41 is a hollow, U-shaped box, and the detection components can be installed inside the mating housing 41. Water pump modules 42 are fixedly installed on both sides of the mating housing 41, and the water pump modules 42 are connected to the bottom inside the mating housing 41 through pipes, allowing for free drainage. Gas tank modules 43 are fixedly installed on the sides of the two sets of frames 1, and the gas tank modules 43 are connected to the inside of the mating housing 41 through pipes. Composed of an air tank and an air pump, it can directly perform air extraction or gas injection operations. Specifically, the water pump module 42 can control the robot's diving depth by injecting or draining water into the mating housing 41. In addition, when injecting water, the water pump module 42 can assist in venting the air inside the mating housing 41 first, so that the inside of the mating housing 41 is at low pressure. At this time, when the water pump module 42 injects water, it can accelerate the suction, so that the water quickly fills the mating housing 41. When draining water, the air tank module 43 injects gas into the mating housing 41, and uses the air pressure to quickly discharge the water through the water pump module 42, thereby significantly improving the robot's floating response speed.

[0023] Working principle: like Figure 9 As shown, when using it: The first step is lifting and lowering control. The water pump module 42 performs water injection and drainage operations inside the cooperating housing 41, which can change the overall diving depth of the machine. The water pump module 42 performs air extraction and air injection inside the cooperating housing 41, which can help speed up the water injection speed and ensure the response speed of lifting and lowering. The second step is power output. The internal components of the housing 21 are energized and work with the electromagnetic coil 23 to drive the rotating frame 22 to rotate inside the housing 21. The fan blade block 24 can then rotate concentrically with the housing 21, so that the direction of the water flow force of the fan blade block 24 is consistent with the axis of the inlet and outlet. Only a single set of hollow propellers is needed to supply the overall power. The third step is universal control. The second motor 341 drives the fixed rod 342 to rotate, which in turn causes the connecting rod 332 to swing at an angle. Through the fixed frame 331, the second mating tube 33 swings left and right on the side of the first mating tube 32. The bellows 35 deforms and fits in sync, completing the first direction adjustment, that is, any angle of orientation within the outward-facing hemisphere. Then, the first motor 323 drives the main gear 322 to rotate and mesh with the gear ring 321, causing the first mating tube 32 to rotate on the side of the fixed tube 31, completing the second direction adjustment, that is, the whole body rotates along the rotation center line parallel to the horizontal transverse axis. In this way, the two degrees of freedom can ensure universal adjustment of the water inlet and drainage ends. In addition, the water inlet end and the water outlet end of the connecting pipe 25 can be controlled to open or close by the electric control valve 26, and the water flow rate can be controlled, so that a simple pipeline structure is achieved, and the robot can freely move in the water pipeline. The driving mechanism 2 and the direction adjusting mechanism 3 can drive the robot to ascend and descend, and the auxiliary mechanism 4 can ensure that the robot can be used at various depths, and the robot can be attached to a surface to be detected, and the detection component can be directly used for detection.

[0024] The embodiments of the application are described in detail above with reference to the drawings, but the application is not limited to this, and various changes can be made within the knowledge of those skilled in the art without departing from the purpose of the application.

Claims

1. A pipeline steering and driving underwater robot, comprising two groups of frames (1), a control module (11) fixedly arranged between the two groups of frames (1), a driving mechanism (2) arranged inside the frame (1), a steering mechanism (3) arranged on four sides of the driving mechanism (2), and an auxiliary mechanism (4) arranged on the lower side of the driving mechanism (2). characterized in that The driving mechanism (2) comprises a shell (21), a rotating frame (22), an electromagnetic coil (23) and a fan block (24), two sides of the shell (21) are mirror-symmetrically provided with connecting pipes (25), and the side of the connecting pipe (25) is provided with an electric control valve (26). The steering mechanism (3) comprises a fixed pipe (31), the side of the fixed pipe (31) is provided with a first matching pipe (32), a second matching pipe (33) and a corrugated pipe (35), the side of the first matching pipe (32) is provided with a gear ring (321), a main gear (322) and a first motor (323), the side of the second matching pipe (33) is provided with a fixing frame (331) and a connecting rod (332), and the side of the first matching pipe (32) is further provided with a power supply module (34), a second motor (341) and a fixing rod (342). The auxiliary mechanism (4) comprises a matching box body (41), a water pump module (42) and a gas tank module (43).

2. An underwater vehicle for pipe inspection and intervention according to claim 1, characterized in that: The shell (21), the rotating frame (22), the electromagnetic coil (23) and the fan block (24) constitute a hollow propeller, the rotating frame (22) is rotationally arranged inside the shell (21), the electromagnetic coil (23) is fixedly sleeved on the side of the rotating frame (22), and the fan block (24) is fixedly arranged on the inner side of the rotating frame (22) in a circumferential array, when the shell (21) is electrified, the electromagnetic coil (23) is rotated, the rotating frame (22) is rotated in the shell (21) along with the electromagnetic coil (23), and the rotating frame (22) drives the fan block (24) to rotate and stir to perform water pumping.

3. An underwater vehicle for pipe inspection and intervention according to claim 2, characterized in that: The connecting pipe (25) is threadedly sleeved with the shell (21) port, two groups of connecting pipes (25) and the shell (21) constitute an H-shaped pipe path, the front end connecting pipe (25) of the shell (21) can perform water pumping, the rear end connecting pipe (25) of the shell (21) can perform water discharging operation, and the electric control valves (26) are symmetrically arranged on the inner side of the connecting pipe (25).

4. The pipe-turning and pipe-driving ROV of claim 3, wherein: The fixed pipe (31) is fixedly installed on the inner side of the connecting pipe (25), the first matching pipe (32) is rotationally sleeved on the side of the fixed pipe (31), the gear ring (321) is fixedly sleeved on the outer side of the first matching pipe (32), the main gear (322) is meshingly arranged on the side of the gear ring (321), the first motor (323) is fixedly connected on the side of the main gear (322), and the first motor (323) is fixedly installed on the side of the frame (1).

5. The pipe-turning and pipe-driving ROV of claim 4, wherein: The second matching pipe (33) is arranged on the side of the first matching pipe (32) away from the fixed pipe (31), the fixed frame (331) is fixedly installed on the inner side of the second matching pipe (33), the fixed frame (331) is a cross-shaped frame and one side thereof is tapered, the connecting rod (332) is fixedly installed on the side of the fixed frame (331) and extends to the inner position of the first matching pipe (32).

6. An underwater vehicle for pipe inspection and intervention according to claim 5, characterized in that: The power supply module (34) is fixedly sleeved on the side of the first matching pipe (32), the second motor (341) is fixedly arranged on the side of the first matching pipe (32) in a mirror image and the output end of the second motor (341) penetrates to the inner part of the first matching pipe (32), the fixed rod (342) is fixedly connected between the output ends of the second motor (341) and the connecting rod (332) is fixedly sleeved on the side of the fixed rod (342), and the bellows (35) is fixedly connected between the first matching pipe (32) and the second matching pipe (33) and covers the outer side of the first matching pipe (32) and the second matching pipe (33).

7. The pipe-carrying, pipe-turning and pipe-driving ROV according to claim 6, characterized in that: The matching box body (41) is fixedly installed between the two groups of frames (1) and is arranged on the lower side of the shell (21), the water pump module (42) is fixedly arranged on the two sides of the matching box body (41), the water pump module (42) is communicated to the inner bottom side of the matching box body (41) through a pipeline, the gas tank module (43) is fixedly arranged on the side of the two groups of frames (1) and is communicated to the inner part of the matching box body (41) through a pipeline.

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