Pipeline robot based on bionic self-adaptive reducing and using method

Abstract

The invention discloses a pipeline robot based on bionic self-adaptive reducing and a using method, and belongs to the technical field of intelligent pipeline cleaning.The pipeline robot comprises a flexible spine structure, the flexible spine structure comprises a double-shaft steering engine, and the output end of one side of the double-shaft steering engine is rotationally connected with a steering engine rear arm; the output end of the other side of the double-shaft steering engine is rotationally connected with a steering engine front arm, the rear surface of the steering engine rear arm is fixedly connected with a triangular rear block, the front surface of the steering engine front arm is fixedly connected with a triangular front block, and the outer side wall of the triangular rear block and the outer side wall of the triangular front block are each provided with a grooved block. The problems that a traditional pipeline robot is poor in trafficability in small and medium-sized pipelines and difficult to adapt to complex pipe diameter changes can be solved. Damage such as pipe wall cracks and corrosion spots can be synchronously and accurately detected in the cleaning process; the problems that a traditional robot is single in function, low in working efficiency and insufficient in operation and maintenance data support are solved, and the requirement for integration of pipeline cleaning and safe operation and maintenance is met.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] The present application belongs to the technical field of intelligent pipeline cleaning, and particularly relates to a pipeline robot based on bionic self-adaptive variable diameter and a use method. BACKGROUND

[0002] The statements in this section merely provide background information related to the present application and do not necessarily constitute prior art.

[0003] Pipeline transportation is the core mode of long-distance transportation of energy such as oil and natural gas, and occupies a key position in the energy transportation system due to its high safety, stability and economy. However, in the long-term transportation process, silicates, carbonates, silt and other impurities in oil and natural gas are easy to deposit on the inner wall of the pipeline to form dirt, which not only hinders the flow of medium and reduces the transportation efficiency, but also accelerates the corrosion of the inner wall of the pipeline, shortens the service life of the pipeline, and reduces the secondary utilization rate after disassembly, bringing significant economic losses and safety hazards to the energy transportation industry.

[0004] In view of the pipeline dirt cleaning and maintenance needs, the existing technology mainly adopts two ways of manual cleaning and traditional pipeline robots. Among them, manual cleaning is limited by the pipe diameter, and in small and medium-sized pipelines (especially in the range of 200-600mm pipe diameter), it is difficult for cleaning personnel to enter the work, and there are problems of incomplete cleaning, low efficiency and high safety risk; while the traditional pipeline robot breaks through the limitations of manual operation to a certain extent, but still has many technical bottlenecks: on the one hand, most of the existing spiral drive robots are single structure, and the adaptive pipe diameter is less than 200mm, such as the multi-section spiral pipeline robot and the multi-section spiral double-drive variable-diameter pipeline robot in the prior art, which can move in small pipe diameter, but have poor passability in 350-600mm large pipe diameter pipeline, and are difficult to adapt to the dynamic change of pipe diameter; on the other hand, the traditional robot structure is complex and the function is single, some only have cleaning function but use rigid blade which is easy to damage the pipe wall, and some only focus on detection function but the detection accuracy is limited by the sensor integration, which cannot realize the integrated operation of cleaning and detection, and the driving wheel has poor adhesion to the pipe wall, which is easy to jam or slip in the bend and variable diameter section, and has insufficient stability. SUMMARY

[0005] In view of the above problems, the present application provides a pipeline robot based on bionic self-adaptive variable diameter and a use method, which can solve the problems of poor passability of traditional pipeline robots in small and medium-sized pipelines and difficulty in adapting to complex pipe diameter changes; also can realize synchronous and accurate detection of pipe wall cracks, corrosion spots and other damages during cleaning process, and feedback the cleaning effect and detection data to the control terminal through cloud backup to generate a visual report, solve the problems of single function, low operation efficiency and insufficient operation and maintenance data support of traditional robots, and meet the integrated needs of pipeline cleaning and safe operation.

[0006] To achieve the above object, the present application adopts the following technical solutions: A pipeline robot based on bionic adaptive variable diameter, comprising a flexible spine structure, the flexible spine structure comprises a double-shaft steering wheel, the output end of one side of the double-shaft steering wheel is rotatably connected with a steering wheel rear arm, the output end of the other side of the double-shaft steering wheel is rotatably connected with a steering wheel front arm, the rear surface of the steering wheel rear arm is fixedly connected with a triangular rear block, the front surface of the steering wheel front arm is fixedly connected with a triangular front block, the outer side wall of the triangular rear block and the triangular front block is provided with a grooved block; One end of the grooved block is provided with a variable diameter plate, one end of the variable diameter plate is rotatably connected with the grooved block, and the outer side wall of the other end of the variable diameter plate is rotatably connected with a driving wheel; the front end of the triangular front block is fixedly connected with a front cavity, the front surface of the front cavity is fixedly connected with a motor, and the output end of the motor is fixedly connected with a cleaning disc.

[0007] As a further technical solution, a plurality of grooved blocks are arranged at intervals around the outer wall surface of the triangular front block and the triangular rear block, and the grooved blocks are fixedly connected with the triangular front block and the triangular rear block.

[0008] As a further technical solution, the rear surface of the triangular rear block is fixedly connected with a rear cavity, the inside of the rear cavity is fixedly connected with a main control board, the left side of the main control board is fixedly connected with a sub-board, the sub-board is inside the rear cavity, and the inside of the rear cavity is inlaid with a lithium battery.

[0009] As a further technical solution, the outer side wall of the cleaning disc is fixedly connected with an inclined cavity, a plurality of inclined cavities are arranged at intervals around the outer side wall of the cleaning disc, the outer side wall of the inclined cavity is clampedly connected with an elastic blade, and the front end of the cleaning disc is fixedly connected with a front camera.

[0010] As a further technical solution, a plurality of lower spring clamps are fixedly connected to the outer side wall of the rear cavity and the front cavity, and a plurality of upper spring clamps are fixedly connected to the outer side wall of the variable diameter plate.

[0011] As a further technical solution, a variable diameter spring is clampedly connected between the outer side wall of the lower spring clamp and the adjacent upper spring clamp.

[0012] As a further technical solution, the outer diameter size of the elastic blade is greater than the pipe diameter.

[0013] As a further technical solution, the outer side wall of the driving wheel is clampedly connected with an anti-skid wheel sleeve, and a driving wiring port extends out of the inside of the driving wheel.

[0014] A use method of a pipeline robot based on bionic adaptive variable diameter, comprising the following steps: By controlling the terminal to start the main control panel, the lithium battery is powered on for system self-checking, communication, image acquisition and power module function verification are completed and the standby state is entered; according to the estimated pipe diameter of the pipeline, the driving wheel rotating speed, the cleaning disc rotating speed and other basic parameters are preset in the control terminal; The front camera captures the pipeline entrance image, and the main control panel identifies the actual pipe diameter in combination with the sub-panel algorithm; the main control panel controls the double-shaft rudder to drive the rudder arm to rotate, drives the triangular block and the grooved block linkage, expands or shrinks the variable diameter plate to adjust the distance between the driving wheel and the pipe wall; During the variable diameter adjustment, the variable diameter spring provides support by synchronous extension and contraction, the "cat" type bone structure is automatically adjusted in length according to the pipe diameter, and the driving wheel is attached to the pipe wall, and the main control panel receives the pressure feedback to confirm that the adjustment is completed; The main control panel drives the bionic three-wheel structure to drive the machine to move along the pipeline, and the double-shaft rudder adjusts the flexible spine to assist in steering; the front cavity motor is started to drive the cleaning disc to rotate, the elastic blade is attached to the pipe wall to remove dirt, and the main control panel adjusts the motor speed according to the camera feedback; the front camera synchronously captures the pipe wall picture, and the main control panel identifies the pipe wall damage in combination with the sub-panel algorithm and records the related information.

[0015] As a further technical solution, the main control panel collects operation data, which is stored locally and backed up in the cloud after processing, and the system generates an operation and maintenance report containing cleaning and equipment status to feed back to the control terminal; the camera triggers the machine to stop when it reaches the end of the pipeline; the main control panel controls each module to stop, and the double-shaft rudder and the variable diameter spring drive the structure to reset.

[0016] Compared with the prior art, the application has the advantages and positive effects that: The application realizes dynamic self-adaptive adjustment of the pipe diameter change through the cat-shaped bone structure (the cat-shaped bone structure includes a variable diameter spring assembly and a flexible spine structure). The cat-shaped bone structure can realize three-stage expansion, which is the core unit of pressure regulation. It can flexibly expand and contract with the real-time change of the pipe diameter, dynamically adjust the pressure of the driving wheel on the pipe wall, and the variable diameter spring assembly connecting the lower spring clamp and the upper spring clamp provides stable elastic support for the adjustment process to avoid adhesion failure caused by sudden pressure change. The flexible spine structure driven by the double-shaft steering engine serves as the power transmission center, which can drive the variable diameter plate to expand or contract flexibly, and the driving wheel connected with the variable diameter plate adjusts the position synchronously. Under the synergistic effect of the three, the driving wheel always maintains close adhesion with the pipe wall through the outer anti-skid wheel cover, effectively avoiding the problem of slipping or disengaging during operation. Even in complex sections such as pipe bends, local protrusions or depressions, it can still maintain a stable driving posture, greatly reducing the operation interruption caused by mechanical jamming. The self-adaptive adjustment process does not require manual intervention, can accurately respond to the dynamic fluctuations of the actual pipe diameter, and is suitable for a wide range of scenarios, covering industrial oil and gas pipelines, urban drainage pipelines and other small and medium-sized pipelines. This active adaptation capability not only significantly broadens the application range of the pipeline robot, but also reduces the equipment replacement cost during the operation and maintenance of different pipe diameters, and improves the continuous operation capability and operation reliability of the machine.

[0017] The application integrates structure and intelligent control to build a cleaning, detection and data feedback integrated operation system, which improves operation efficiency and provides full-process data support for pipeline safety operation, with significant economic and safety benefits. In the cleaning process, the cleaning disc driven by the motor in the front cavity is engaged with the elastic blade made of elastic rubber material, which has an outer diameter slightly larger than the pipe diameter, can closely adhere to the pipe wall at high speed, and can efficiently remove silicate, carbonate, silt and other stains by utilizing the flexible material characteristics without any risk of pipe wall damage, thus improving cleaning efficiency and protecting the pipe wall. In the detection and data feedback process, the front camera captures the pipe wall image after cleaning in real time, and the main control board can identify cracks, corrosion spots and other damages in synchronization with the algorithm processing capacity of the sub-board. At the same time, the main control board can collect data such as cleaning effect, damage position and moving speed, encrypt the storage through the cloud backup module and generate a visual operation report, so that the operator can remotely master the pipeline state without entering the pipeline, greatly reducing the safety risk and time cost of manual inspection. The pipeline cleaning operation efficiency is improved, the comprehensive cost of cleaning and detection is reduced, and the safety accidents caused by pipeline leakage and rupture are effectively avoided by timely discovering pipeline damage hazards, thus providing a strong guarantee for the long-term safe operation of the pipeline. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0018] The accompanying drawings, which form part of this invention, are used to provide a further understanding of the invention. The illustrative embodiments of the invention and their descriptions are used to explain the invention and do not constitute an improper limitation of the invention.

[0019] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the overall structure of the biomimetic adaptive variable diameter pipe robot of the present invention; Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of the flexible spinal structure of the present invention; Figure 3 This is a left view of the biomimetic adaptive variable diameter pipe robot of the present invention; In the diagram: 1. Flexible spine structure; 2. Dual-axis servo motor; 3. Servo motor rear arm; 4. Servo motor front arm; 5. Triangular rear block; 6. Triangular front block; 7. Grooved block; 8. Variable diameter plate; 9. Drive wheel; 10. Drive wiring port; 11. Rear cavity; 12. Main control board; 13. Sub-board; 14. Lithium battery; 15. Motor; 16. Cleaning disc; 17. Inclined cavity; 18. Elastic blade; 19. Front camera; 20. Front cavity; 21. Lower spring clip; 22. Upper spring clip; 23. Anti-slip wheel sleeve; 24. Variable diameter spring. Detailed Implementation

[0020] It should be noted that the following detailed description is illustrative and intended to provide further explanation of the invention. Unless otherwise specified, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this invention pertains.

[0021] Example 1: The present invention will now be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. This embodiment discloses a biomimetic adaptive variable-diameter pipe robot, such as... Figure 1 , Figure 2 as well as Figure 3 As shown, it includes a flexible spine structure 1, which includes a dual-axis servo motor 2. The output end of one side of the dual-axis servo motor 2 is rotatably connected to a servo motor rear arm 3, and the output end of the other side of the dual-axis servo motor 2 is rotatably connected to a servo motor front arm 4. A triangular rear block 5 is fixedly connected to the rear surface of the servo motor rear arm 3, and a triangular front block 6 is fixedly connected to the front surface of the servo motor front arm 4. The outer side walls of both the triangular rear block 5 and the triangular front block 6 are provided with grooved blocks 7. A variable diameter plate 8 is provided at one end of the grooved block 7. One end of the variable diameter plate 8 is rotatably connected to the grooved block 7, and the outer side wall of the other end of the variable diameter plate 8 is rotatably connected to the drive wheel 9. The front end of the triangular front block 6 is fixedly connected to the front cavity 20. The front surface of the front cavity 20 is fixedly connected to the motor 15, and the output end of the motor 15 is fixedly connected to the cleaning disc 16.

[0022] The dynamic adaptive adjustment of the pipe diameter is achieved through a cat-like shrinking structure (which includes a variable-diameter spring assembly and a flexible spine structure 1). This cat-like shrinking structure, capable of three-stage expansion and contraction, is the core unit for pressure regulation. It flexibly expands and contracts with real-time changes in the pipe diameter, dynamically adjusting the pressure of the drive wheel 9 on the pipe wall. The variable-diameter spring assembly connecting the lower spring clip 21 and the upper spring clip 22 provides stable elastic support for this adjustment process, preventing contact failure caused by sudden pressure changes. The flexible spine structure 1, driven by the dual-axis servo motor 2, serves as the power transmission center, enabling the variable-diameter plate 8 to flexibly expand or contract, allowing the drive wheel 9, linked to the variable-diameter plate 8, to adjust its position synchronously. Through the synergistic effect of these three components, the drive wheel 9 maintains a tight contact with the pipe wall via the outer anti-slip wheel sleeve 23, effectively avoiding slippage or detachment during operation. Even in complex sections such as pipe bends, local protrusions, or depressions, it maintains a stable traveling posture, significantly reducing operational interruptions caused by mechanical jamming. It achieves adaptive adjustment without human intervention throughout the entire process, accurately responding to dynamic fluctuations in pipe diameter in actual pipelines. Its adaptability covers a wide range of scenarios, including industrial oil and gas pipelines, urban drainage pipelines, and various other small and medium-sized pipelines. This proactive adaptability not only significantly expands the application scope of pipeline robots but also reduces equipment replacement costs during the maintenance of pipelines with different diameters, and improves the continuous operation capability and operational reliability of the machinery.

[0023] Specifically, the variable diameter spring assembly includes a variable diameter spring 24, a lower spring clip 21 and an upper spring clip 22, and the variable diameter spring 24 connecting the lower spring clip 21 and the upper spring clip 22 adapts to expansion and contraction.

[0024] Through structural integration and intelligent control, an integrated operation system for cleaning, inspection, and data feedback has been constructed. This system improves operational efficiency while providing full-process data support for pipeline safety maintenance, resulting in significant economic and safety benefits. In the cleaning phase, the cleaning discs 16 driven by motors 15 at 20 locations in the front cavity engage with elastic rubber blades 18 via inclined cavities 17. The blades 18, with an outer diameter slightly larger than the pipe diameter, can tightly adhere to the pipe wall during high-speed rotation. Utilizing the flexible material properties, they efficiently remove stains such as silicates, carbonates, and silt without any risk of pipe wall damage, thus improving both cleaning efficiency and pipe wall protection. In the inspection and data feedback phase, the front camera 19 captures real-time images of the pipe wall after cleaning. The main control board 12, combined with the algorithm processing capabilities of the sub-board 13, can simultaneously identify damage such as cracks and corrosion spots.

[0025] Meanwhile, the main control board 12 can aggregate data such as cleaning effect, damage location, and movement speed, and store it encrypted through a cloud backup module to generate a visual maintenance report. Operators can remotely monitor the pipeline status without entering the pipeline, significantly reducing the safety risks and time costs of manual inspections. This improves the efficiency of pipeline cleaning operations, reduces the overall cost of cleaning and inspection, and effectively prevents safety accidents caused by pipeline leaks and ruptures by timely detection of potential pipeline damage, providing strong protection for the long-term safe operation of pipelines.

[0026] Several slotted blocks 7 are spaced around the outer wall of the triangular front block 6 and the triangular rear block 5, and the slotted blocks 7 are fixedly connected to the triangular front block 6 and the triangular rear block 5.

[0027] Specifically, several grooved blocks 7 are evenly spaced along the circumference on the outer walls of the front triangular block 6 and the rear triangular block 5. The grooved blocks 7 are securely connected to the front triangular block 6 and the rear triangular block 5 through a fixed structure, ensuring that no relative displacement occurs during diameter adjustment and robot movement, and providing a reliable support point for the rotation of the diameter-changing plate 8.

[0028] The rear surface of the triangular rear block 5 is fixedly connected to the rear cavity 11, the main control board 12 is fixedly connected inside the rear cavity 11, the left side of the main control board 12 is fixedly connected to the sub-board 13, the sub-board 13 is located inside the rear cavity 11, and the rear cavity 11 is embedded with a lithium battery 14.

[0029] Specifically, the rear surface of the triangular rear block 5 is fixedly connected to the rear cavity 11, forming a stable whole between the rear cavity 11 and the triangular rear block 5. A corresponding mounting position is reserved inside the rear cavity 11, where the main control board 12 is fixedly mounted. The left side of the main control board 12 is fixedly connected to the sub-board 13, and the sub-board 13 is entirely within the interior space of the rear cavity 11. A specially designed embedding structure is incorporated inside the rear cavity 11, through which the lithium battery 14 is tightly embedded, ensuring stable power supply.

[0030] An inclined cavity 17 is fixedly connected to the outer wall of the cleaning disc 16. Several inclined cavities 17 are arranged at intervals around the outer wall of the cleaning disc 16. An elastic blade 18 is engaged with the outer wall of each inclined cavity 17. A front camera 19 is fixedly connected to the front end of the cleaning disc 16.

[0031] Specifically, the outer wall of the cleaning disc 16 is provided with several inclined cavities 17 spaced circumferentially, and the inclined cavities 17 are fixed to the cleaning disc 16 as a whole. The outer wall of each inclined cavity 17 is provided with a matching engaging structure, through which the elastic blade 18 is tightly connected to the inclined cavity 17. A front camera 19 is fixedly installed at the center of the front end of the cleaning disc 16, and the camera's shooting direction is consistent with the rotation axis of the cleaning disc 16 to ensure clear capture of the pipe wall image.

[0032] Several lower spring clips 21 are fixedly connected to the outer walls of the rear cavity 11 and the front cavity 20, and upper spring clips 22 are fixedly connected to the outer walls of the variable diameter plate 8.

[0033] Specifically, several lower spring clips 21 are evenly arranged circumferentially on the outer walls of both the rear cavity 11 and the front cavity 20. The lower spring clips 21 are fixedly connected to the cavity walls and their positions correspond. Each variable diameter plate 8 has an upper spring clip 22 on its outer wall. The upper spring clip 22 is fixedly connected to the variable diameter plate 8, and its position corresponds to the position of the lower spring clips 21 on the adjacent rear cavity 11 or front cavity 20, providing a corresponding interface for the installation of the variable diameter spring 24.

[0034] A variable diameter spring 24 is engaged between the outer wall of the lower spring clip 21 and the adjacent upper spring clip 22.

[0035] Specifically, the variable diameter spring 24 has engagement structures at both ends that are adapted to the lower spring clip 21 and the upper spring clip 22, respectively. During assembly, one end of the variable diameter spring 24 engages with the outer wall of the lower spring clip 21 of the rear cavity 11 or the front cavity 20, and the other end engages with the outer wall of the upper spring clip 22 of the adjacent variable diameter plate 8, so that the variable diameter spring 24 can extend and retract synchronously with the rotation of the variable diameter plate 8, providing stable elastic support.

[0036] The outer diameter of the flexible blade 18 is larger than the pipe diameter.

[0037] Specifically, the flexible blade 18 is made of rubber, and its outer diameter is designed according to the pipe diameter range of the compatible pipe to ensure that the outer diameter of the flexible blade 18 is always larger than the pipe diameter. This size setting allows the flexible blade 18 to form a tight fit with the pipe wall when the cleaning disc 16 rotates, ensuring the dirt removal effect, while avoiding damage to the pipe wall through its own characteristics.

[0038] The outer wall of the drive wheel 9 is engaged with the anti-slip wheel sleeve 23; the drive wiring port 10 extends from the inside of the drive wheel 9.

[0039] Specifically, the outer wall of the drive wheel 9 is provided with a suitable mounting structure, through which the anti-slip wheel sleeve 23 is engaged with the drive wheel 9 to ensure that the anti-slip wheel sleeve 23 does not fall off or slip during robot movement. The drive wheel 9 has a pre-set wiring channel inside, from which the drive wiring port 10 extends to provide an interface for the circuit connection between the drive wheel 9 and the control module, ensuring stable power transmission.

[0040] Example 2: Application of a biomimetic adaptive diameter-changing pipe robot After the main control board 12 is started by the control terminal and powered by the lithium battery 14, the system performs a self-test, completes communication, image acquisition and power module function verification and enters standby mode; based on the estimated pipe diameter, the control terminal presets basic parameters such as the speed of the drive wheel 9 and the speed of the cleaning disc 16. The front camera 19 captures the image of the pipe inlet, and the main control board 12, combined with the algorithm of the sub-board 13, identifies the actual pipe diameter. The main control board 12 controls the dual-axis servo motor 2 to drive the servo motor rear arm 3 and servo motor front arm 4 to rotate, thereby driving the triangular rear block 5, triangular front block 6 and grooved block 7 to move together, so that the variable diameter plate 8 can be expanded or contracted to adjust the distance between the drive wheel 9 and the pipe wall. During the diameter adjustment, the diameter spring 24 synchronously extends and retracts to provide support, and the cat-like shrinking structure automatically adjusts its length according to the pipe diameter. Once the drive wheel 9 is in contact with the pipe wall and the main control board 12 receives pressure feedback, the adaptation is confirmed to be complete. The main control board 12 drives the bionic three-wheel structure to move the machinery along the pipeline, and the dual-axis servo motor 2 adjusts the flexible spine structure 1 to assist in steering; the motor 15 at the front cavity 20 drives the cleaning disc 16 to rotate, and the elastic blade 18 adheres to the pipe wall to remove dirt. The main control board 12 fine-tunes the speed of the motor 15 based on the feedback from the front camera 19; the front camera 19 simultaneously captures the image of the pipe wall, and the main control board 12, in conjunction with the algorithm of the sub-board 13, identifies pipe wall damage and records relevant information. The main control board 12 collects the operation data, processes it, stores it locally and backs it up in the cloud. The system generates an operation and maintenance report containing cleaning and equipment status and feeds it back to the control terminal. When the machinery reaches the end of the pipeline, the front camera 19 triggers the shutdown. The main control board 12 controls the shutdown of each module, and the dual-axis servo motor 2 and the variable diameter spring 24 drive the structure to reset.

[0041] Specifically, the workflow begins in the startup preparation stage. The lithium battery 14 powers the system, the main control board 12 and the sub-board 13 are powered on for self-testing, the front camera 19 is started and transmits real-time images to confirm the initial position, the motor 15 and the dual-axis servo motor 2 enter the standby state, and the drive wheel 9 initially adheres to the inner wall of the pipe through the anti-slip wheel sleeve 23.

[0042] Then, the pipe diameter adaptive adaptation stage begins. The main control board 12 first controls the dual-axis servo motor 2 to drive the servo motor front arm 4 and servo motor rear arm 3 to rotate based on the pipe diameter information captured by the front camera 19. This drives the triangular front block 6, triangular rear block 5 and grooved block 7 to move together, causing the variable diameter plate 8 to expand or contract. At the same time, the variable diameter spring 24 connecting the lower spring clip 21 and the upper spring clip 22 adaptively extends and retracts. The "cat"-shaped shrinking structure can automatically adjust the pressure of the drive wheel according to the change of pipe diameter, further ensuring that the drive wheel 9 is always in close contact with the pipe wall. Ultimately, flexible adaptation within the pipe diameter range of 350-600mm is achieved, solving the problem of poor passability of traditional robots. With its high flexibility and stability, it lays the foundation for subsequent operations.

[0043] After adaptation, the movement and posture adjustment stage begins. The bionic multi-legged radial three-wheel drive structure provides stable power. The main control board 12 controls the drive wheel 9 to rotate through the drive wiring port 10 to achieve axial movement. When encountering a curve, the dual-axis servo motor 2 drives the flexible spine structure 1 to bend and adjust the steering angle. The anti-slip wheel sleeve 23 enhances friction, ensuring that the movement speed fluctuates stably within ±5% and the minimum turning radius is reduced. Cleaning operations are carried out simultaneously during the movement. The main control board 12 starts the motor 15, which drives the elastic blades 18 on the cleaning disc 16 and the inclined cavity 17 to rotate at high speed. The elastic rubber blades, with an outer diameter slightly larger than the pipe diameter, can closely contact the pipe wall to remove stains such as silicates and carbonates. At the same time, the motor speed is finely adjusted according to the stain thickness fed back by the front camera 19. Inspection and detection are carried out simultaneously. The front camera 19 captures the pipe wall image in real time. The main control board 12 uses image algorithms to identify damage such as cracks and corrosion spots, records the location and characteristics of the damage, and associates it with the robot's current position. Then, the data processing and feedback stage begins. The main control board 12 summarizes the cleaning, inspection, and operation data, processes it after it is processed by the sub-board 13, stores it locally, and backs it up through the cloud. At the same time, it feeds back to the control terminal to generate a visual report, which the operator can use to adjust the subsequent operation parameters.

[0044] When the operation is completed, after the robot reaches the end of the pipe, the main control board 12 controls the motor 15 and drive wheel 9 to stop, the dual-axis servo motor 2 drives the variable diameter plate 8 to retract and reset, making it easy to remove. Finally, a complete operation report is generated and the power to unnecessary components is turned off to save energy, completing a single inspection and cleaning task.

[0045] Online estimation algorithm for pipe diameter and attitude of pipeline robot (RU-EPD-Lite) 1. Algorithm Overview This algorithm, named "Robust Unbiased Pose and Diameter Estimation - Lite" (RU-EPD-Lite), is based on a single frame of point cloud data acquired using only a 3D Time-of-Flight (ToF) sensor mounted on the robot's front end with its axis aligned with the robot's centerline. This data is used to calculate in real-time the precise inner diameter of the pipe in which the robot is positioned, as well as the robot's attitude tilt angles (pitch and roll) relative to the pipe's axis. This algorithm forms the perceptual foundation for the robot's adaptive diameter change and attitude stabilization.

[0046] 2. Algorithm Input and Output Input: An ordered cloud of points P = {p_i | i=1...N} from a 3D ToF sensor (such as PMD Flexx2), where each point p_i = (x_i, y_i, z_i)^T is its three-dimensional coordinate in the sensor coordinate system.

[0047] Output: estimated pipe diameter D (in millimeters), and robot attitude angles θ_pitch and θ_roll.

[0048] 3. Core Algorithm Steps and Mathematical Model Step 1: Data Preprocessing and Noise Filtering First, the original point cloud is preprocessed, including removing invalid points with a depth value of 0 or exceeding the range, and applying statistical filtering to remove outlier noise points (such as calculating the average distance and standard deviation of each point to its k nearest neighbors and removing points that deviate too much).

[0049] All subsequent calculations are performed in the sensor coordinate system, whose origin is located at the sensor's optical center and whose Z-axis points directly in front of the robot.

[0050] Step 2: Initial estimation based on the cylindrical model RANSAC Since the initial orientation is unknown, the pipe appears as a skewed cylindrical surface in the point cloud. This step uses the RANSAC algorithm to robustly fit a general cylindrical model to obtain an initial solution. Three points are randomly sampled to calculate a cylindrical model (containing the central axis direction vector v_init and the radius R_init), iteratively searching for the model with the most interior points. This yields the initial pipe diameter value D_init = 2 * R_init. Furthermore, by calculating the relationship between the central axis direction v_init and the sensor's Z-axis (0,0,1), the robot's roll and pitch angles are preliminarily estimated.

[0051] Step 3: Nonlinear optimization (precise estimation) based on the elliptic cylinder model This is the core innovation of the algorithm, aiming to jointly and accurately solve for the attitude and pipe diameter. The initial RANSAC estimation treats the oblique section as a perfect circle, which introduces model errors. This step optimizes the model by fitting a more accurate elliptical cylindrical model. The model parameters include the semi-major axis a and semi-minor axis b of the elliptical pipe section, and the 3-DOF rotation matrix R_sp (denoted by axis angle ω) from the sensor coordinate system to the pipe coordinate system. The optimization problem is defined as minimizing the sum of squared algebraic distances of all points after transformation to the pipe coordinate system. Using the output of step two as the initial value, the Gauss-Newton method or the Levenberg-Marquardt algorithm is used for efficient iterative optimization in this 5-dimensional parameter space (3 rotations + 2 geometry).

[0052] Step 4: Result Calculation and Output The final result is calculated from the optimized parameters. The pipe diameter is the average of the major and minor axes of the ellipse: D = 2 * ((a +b) / 2). From the optimized rotation matrix R_sp, the vector v_robot_in_pipe = R_sp * [0, 0, 1]^T of the robot's forward direction (sensor Z-axis) in the pipe coordinate system is extracted, and then the pitch angle θ_pitch = arcsin(-v_robot_in_pipe[1]) and the roll angle θ_roll = arctan2(v_robot_in_pipe[0], v_robot_in_pipe[2]) are calculated.

[0053] Control board (main control board) configuration: Main control MCU: STM32H743VIT6 (based on Arm® Cortex®-M7 core, 480 MHz) On-chip storage: 2MB Flash, 1MB RAM; Motor driver chip: 2 TMC2209 chips; Positioning sensor: Incremental photoelectric encoder, resolution 2000 pulses / revolution (P / R); Wireless communication module: NRF24L01+ 2.4GHz wireless transceiver module; Power management chip: MP2315 DC-DC step-down chip (input 12V, output 5V / 3.3V).

[0054] Perception daughterboard (daughterboard) configuration: Coprocessor: ESP32-S3-WROOM-1-N16R8 (based on Xtensa® 32-bit LX7 dual-core, 240 MHz), integrating 8MB PSRAM and 16MB Flash; Vision sensor: OV2640 camera module, maximum resolution 1600x1200 pixels; Auxiliary ranging sensor: VL53L1X Time-of-Flight (ToF) laser ranging sensor, communication interface is I2C; Communication interface: UART (transmit pin GPIO17, receive pin GPIO18).

[0055] Method for recording damage location: Principle: The encoder on drive wheel 9 measures the number of pulses of wheel rotation in real time. Combined with the calibrated wheel diameter (D_wheel), the distance traveled by the robot from the entrance is calculated by integrating the formula: distance = π × D_wheel × (number of pulses / number of pulses per revolution).

[0056] Record: When the sub-board detects damage, the main control board immediately latches the current mileage value and binds it with the damage image and type as the location coordinates of the damage.

[0057] While the specific embodiments of the present invention have been described above in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, this is not intended to limit the scope of protection of the present invention. Those skilled in the art should understand that various modifications or variations that can be made by those skilled in the art without creative effort based on the technical solutions of the present invention are still within the scope of protection of the present invention.

Claims

1. A biomimetic adaptive variable diameter pipe robot, characterized in that, The system includes a flexible spine structure, which includes a dual-axis servo motor. The output end of one side of the dual-axis servo motor is rotatably connected to a servo motor rear arm, and the output end of the other side of the dual-axis servo motor is rotatably connected to a servo motor front arm. A triangular rear block is fixedly connected to the rear surface of the servo motor rear arm, and a triangular front block is fixedly connected to the front surface of the servo motor front arm. The outer side walls of both the triangular rear block and the triangular front block are provided with grooved blocks. A variable diameter plate is provided at one end of the groove block, and one end of the variable diameter plate is rotatably connected to the groove block. The outer side wall of the other end of the variable diameter plate is rotatably connected to the drive wheel. The front end of the triangular front block is fixedly connected to the front cavity. The front surface of the front cavity is fixedly connected to the motor. The output end of the motor is fixedly connected to the cleaning disc.

2. The biomimetic adaptive variable diameter pipe robot as described in claim 1, characterized in that, The grooved blocks are arranged at intervals around the outer wall surfaces of the front and rear triangular blocks, and the grooved blocks are fixedly connected to the front and rear triangular blocks.

3. The biomimetic adaptive variable diameter pipe robot as described in claim 1, characterized in that, A rear cavity is fixedly connected to the rear surface of the triangular rear block. A main control board is fixedly connected inside the rear cavity. A sub-board is fixedly connected to the left side of the main control board. The sub-board is located inside the rear cavity. A lithium battery is embedded inside the rear cavity.

4. A biomimetic adaptive variable diameter pipe robot as described in claim 3, characterized in that, An inclined cavity is fixedly connected to the outer wall of the cleaning disc, and several inclined cavities are arranged at intervals around the outer wall of the cleaning disc. An elastic blade is engaged with the outer wall of each inclined cavity. A front camera is fixedly connected to the front end of the cleaning disc.

5. A biomimetic adaptive variable diameter pipe robot as described in claim 4, characterized in that, The outer walls of both the rear cavity and the front cavity are fixedly connected with several lower spring clips, and the outer walls of the variable diameter plate are fixedly connected with upper spring clips.

6. A biomimetic adaptive variable diameter pipe robot as described in claim 5, characterized in that, A variable-diameter spring is engaged between the lower spring clip and the outer wall of the adjacent upper spring clip.

7. A biomimetic adaptive variable diameter pipe robot as described in claim 5, characterized in that, The outer diameter of the elastic blade is larger than the pipe diameter.

8. A biomimetic adaptive variable diameter pipe robot as described in claim 1, characterized in that, The outer wall of the drive wheel is engaged with an anti-slip wheel sleeve; a drive wiring port extends from the inside of the drive wheel.

9. A method for using a biomimetic adaptive variable diameter pipe robot as described in any one of claims 1-8, characterized in that, Includes the following steps: The main control board is started via the control terminal. After the lithium battery powers the system, it performs a self-test, completes communication, image acquisition and power module function verification, and then enters standby mode. Based on the estimated pipe diameter, preset basic parameters such as drive wheel speed and cleaning disc speed on the control terminal; The front camera captures images of the pipe inlet, and the main control board, in conjunction with the sub-board algorithm, identifies the actual pipe diameter. The main control board controls the dual-axis servo motor to drive the servo arm to rotate, which in turn drives the triangular block and the grooved block to move together, so that the variable diameter plate can be expanded or contracted to adjust the distance between the drive wheel and the pipe wall. During the diameter adjustment, the diameter spring synchronously extends and retracts to provide support, and the cat-like shrinking structure automatically adjusts its length according to the pipe diameter. Once the drive wheel is in contact with the pipe wall and the main control board receives pressure feedback, the adaptation is confirmed to be complete. The main control board drives the bionic three-wheel structure to move the machinery along the pipeline, and the dual-axis servo motor adjusts the flexible spine to assist steering. The front cavity motor drives the cleaning disc to rotate, using flexible blades to adhere to the pipe wall and remove dirt. The main control board fine-tunes the motor speed based on camera feedback. The front camera simultaneously captures images of the pipe wall, and the main control board, in conjunction with the sub-board algorithm, identifies pipe wall damage and records relevant information.

10. The method of use as described in claim 9, characterized in that, The system aggregates operational data through the main control board, processes it, stores it locally, and backs it up in the cloud. The system generates an operation and maintenance report containing cleaning and equipment status and feeds it back to the control terminal. When the machinery reaches the end of the pipeline, the camera triggers a shutdown. The main control board controls the shutdown of each module, and the dual-axis servo motor and variable diameter spring drive the structure to reset.

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