A robot for inspecting steel wire ropes embedded in pipelines and its control method.

Abstract

This invention discloses a robot for detecting steel wire ropes embedded in pipelines and its control method, belonging to the field of pipeline robot technology. It includes a body mechanism, a walking mechanism, and a controller. The body mechanism comprises a rotation and obstacle avoidance mechanism and two axially symmetrical ring mechanisms. The ring mechanisms are regular polygonal structures formed by telescopic rods, with a protective shell, a camera mount with a sliding groove, and a vision sensor. The walking mechanism consists of symmetrically arranged walking wheel sets, including drive linkages and drive wheel assemblies. The rotation and obstacle avoidance mechanism includes a drive unit and a driven unit. This invention uses the controller as its core, combined with multi-sensor closed-loop feedback control, to achieve pipe entry positioning, synchronous visual detection of the pipeline and steel wire rope, and designs a wheel slippage adjustment scheme and a precise obstacle avoidance process. This invention can achieve synchronous visual and non-invasive detection of the inner wall of the pipeline and the embedded steel wire rope, and is adaptable to different pipe diameters. It can move stably and accurately avoid obstacles in complex pipeline environments, improving the efficiency and accuracy of detection operations.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to the field of pipeline robot technology, and in particular to a detection robot for steel wire ropes embedded in pipelines and its control method. Background Technology

[0002] In engineering fields such as oil and gas transportation, bridge cables, and mine hoisting, pipelines and built-in steel wire ropes together constitute a critical load-bearing and transmission system. During long-term service, the inner wall of the pipeline is susceptible to cracks, pitting, and scaling defects caused by media corrosion and erosion. Meanwhile, the built-in steel wire ropes are prone to damage such as wire breakage, rust, and stress concentration due to fatigue stress and environmental corrosion. The health status of both directly determines the operational safety and service life of the entire system. Therefore, conducting efficient, visual, and non-invasive inspection of pipeline-built-in steel wire rope composite systems has become an important research direction in the industrial field. As a core piece of equipment for improving inspection efficiency, reducing manual labor intensity, and ensuring operational safety, the technological development and application promotion of inspection-assisted robots are particularly crucial.

[0003] Current testing methods for pipeline-embedded steel wire rope composite systems have significant limitations and are insufficient to meet the testing needs of industrial intelligent development. Manual inspection methods are limited by objective factors such as the narrow internal space of pipelines and harsh working environments. They not only cannot achieve full-length, full-circumference visual inspection of pipelines and wire ropes, but also pose high operational safety hazards, making it difficult to guarantee inspection efficiency and effectiveness. Conventional non-destructive testing equipment, such as ultrasonic and eddy current testing equipment, can only perform inspections on single objects such as pipelines or wire ropes, making it difficult to achieve simultaneous monitoring of the inner wall of the pipeline and the built-in wire ropes, and failing to meet the overall health inspection needs of complex systems. In addition, existing pipeline robots are mostly designed for pipeline cleaning and foreign object removal, lacking dedicated visual acquisition solutions for built-in wire ropes in pipelines. They cannot achieve clear imaging and identification of surface defects without interfering with the normal operation of the wire ropes. When the traditional pipeline robot's walking structure encounters soft deposits of varying shapes adhering to the inner wall of the pipeline, it is prone to wheel slippage and loose contact with the inner wall of the pipeline, resulting in poor walking posture stability. Furthermore, it lacks dedicated obstacle avoidance structures and control strategies adapted to complex deposit environments, making it difficult to complete obstacle avoidance and inspection operations in complex pipeline environments.

[0004] Therefore, there is an urgent need to develop a dedicated inspection robot and control method that can simultaneously detect the health status of the inner wall of the pipeline and the wire rope, and can walk stably and avoid obstacles accurately in complex pipeline environments, in order to improve the shortcomings of existing technologies. Summary of the Invention

[0005] To address the aforementioned technical problems, this invention provides a detection robot and its control method for steel wire ropes embedded in pipelines. This robot enables synchronous, non-invasive detection of the pipeline inner wall and the embedded steel wire rope, and is adaptable to different pipe diameters. It can move stably and accurately avoid obstacles in complex pipeline environments, thereby improving the efficiency and accuracy of detection operations.

[0006] The technical solution adopted by the present invention to solve its technical problem is: a detection robot for steel wire ropes inside pipelines, including a body mechanism, a walking mechanism and a controller; The body structure includes a displacement obstacle avoidance mechanism and two ring mechanisms; the two ring mechanisms have the same structure and are symmetrically arranged in the axial direction of the body structure. The displacement obstacle avoidance mechanism is connected between the two ring mechanisms. The displacement obstacle avoidance mechanism drives either ring mechanism to rotate independently to achieve obstacle avoidance. The ring mechanism includes end ring rod assemblies, a middle ring rod assembly, and a shell plate. Both the end and middle ring rod assemblies are formed by connecting several telescopic rods end-to-end to create a regular polygonal structure. The end and middle ring rod assemblies are connected and fixed by a shell plate located between them. The shell plate is equipped with a battery pack and a vision sensor. The battery pack powers the controller, vision sensor, walking mechanism, and obstacle avoidance mechanism. The controller is electrically connected to the vision sensor, walking mechanism, and obstacle avoidance mechanism to receive detection signals and output control commands. The walking mechanism includes several sets of walking wheels, which are arranged between two telescopic rods that are axially opposite each other in the ring mechanism; the body mechanism cooperates with the walking mechanism to realize movement and obstacle avoidance within the pipeline.

[0007] Furthermore, the telescopic rod includes a central cylinder body and movable telescopic sections connected to both ends of the central cylinder body, and the movable telescopic sections of two adjacent telescopic rods are hinged by a pin; the shell plate includes a protective shell for installing the battery pack and a camera bracket for installing the vision sensor, the protective shell and the camera bracket are one-to-one corresponding, and both are fixed between two movable telescopic sections that are axially opposite to each other in the ring mechanism.

[0008] Furthermore, the traveling wheel assembly is disposed between the middle cylinders of two telescopic rods that are axially opposite each other in the ring mechanism; the traveling wheel assembly includes a drive linkage assembly and a drive wheel assembly; The drive linkage assembly includes two slide rods, a slide seat, an electric push rod, connecting rod I, and connecting rod II. The two ends of each slide rod are fixedly connected to the middle cylinder of the corresponding telescopic rod, and the slide rod passes through the slide seat. The slide seat and slide rod are slidably connected. The electric push rod is mounted on the telescopic rod of the middle ring rod assembly, and its output end is connected to the slide seat to drive the slide seat to move along the slide rod. One end of connecting rod I is hinged to the telescopic rod of the end ring rod assembly, and the other end is connected to the drive wheel assembly. One end of connecting rod II is hinged to the slide seat, and the other end is hinged to the middle of connecting rod I.

[0009] Furthermore, the drive wheel assembly includes a wheel body, a drive motor, a wheel speed encoder, and a speed sensor; the drive motor is installed at the end of the connecting rod I away from the end ring rod assembly, and the output end of the drive motor is coaxially connected to the wheel body, rotating with the drive wheel body to achieve crawling within the pipe; the speed sensor is installed at the top of the drive motor, the wheel speed encoder is connected to the output shaft of the drive motor, and both the speed sensor and the wheel speed encoder are electrically connected to the controller and transmit speed detection signals to it.

[0010] Furthermore, the displacement obstacle avoidance mechanism includes several driving parts and driven parts; the several driving parts and driven parts correspond one-to-one and are consistent with the number of telescopic rods of the central ring rod assembly; The driving part is mounted on the middle ring rod assembly of one of the ring mechanisms; the driven part is correspondingly mounted on the middle ring rod assembly of the other ring mechanism. The drive unit includes a drive gear and a rotary motor. The drive gear is rotatably connected to the top wall of the cylinder in the middle of the corresponding telescopic rod. The output end of the rotary motor is connected to the drive gear to drive it to rotate. The driven part includes a driven toothed plate; the driven toothed plate is fixed to the middle cylinder body of the corresponding telescopic rod; and the outer peripheral surface of the driven toothed plate is formed with a toothed portion adapted to the drive gear, the toothed portions of a plurality of the driven toothed plates are concentric, and the drive gear meshes with the toothed portion of the driven toothed plate.

[0011] Furthermore, limit blocks are fixed at both ends of the driven gear plate in the circumferential direction; a limit plate I is coaxially fixed at the top of the drive gear, and a limit plate II is fixed at the bottom of the driven gear plate. The drive gear and the driven gear plate are located between the limit plate I and the limit plate II. A plurality of balls are rotatably embedded on both the limit plate I and the limit plate II. The limit plate I abuts against the outer wall of the driven gear plate through the balls; the limit plate II abuts against the outer wall of the drive gear through the balls.

[0012] This invention also provides a control method for an inspection robot for steel wire ropes embedded in pipelines, which includes the following steps: S1. Open the inspection robot and send it into the pipe with built-in steel wire rope to be inspected. Adjust the telescopic rod of the ring mechanism to make the extension and retraction action, so that the wheels of the walking mechanism's walking wheel set are in close contact with the inner wall of the pipe, and complete the pipe entry positioning of the inspection robot. S2. The battery pack on the ring mechanism shell plate powers the various electrical components of the detection robot. The vision sensor simultaneously collects environmental information inside the pipeline, as well as surface condition information of the inner wall of the pipeline and the built-in steel wire rope, to realize the health status detection of the pipeline and steel wire rope. S3. The controller receives real-time signal commands from the integrated vision sensor, wheel speed encoder, and speed sensor. Based on the actual working conditions inside the pipeline, it controls the walking wheel assembly to complete the crawling movement of the inspection robot inside the pipeline. At the same time, it drives the ring mechanism to rotate independently through the rotation obstacle avoidance mechanism, so as to realize the inspection robot's obstacle avoidance inside the pipeline and complete the entire inspection operation of the steel wire rope inside the pipeline.

[0013] Furthermore, the steps by which the controller controls the walking wheel assembly to complete the crawling movement of the inspection robot inside the pipe are as follows: Step A1: Start the drive motor of the walking wheel assembly. The drive motor outputs power to drive the wheels to rotate, enabling the inspection robot to move forward or backward along the pipeline axis. Step A2: The wheel speed encoder and speed sensor detect the rotation speed of the wheel in real time and feed the speed signal back to the controller. If the controller detects that the wheel slips or the speed changes suddenly due to soft deposits on the inner wall of the pipe, it controls the electric push rod of the walking wheel set to move, driving the slide to move in a straight line along the slide rod. Step A3: The sliding block moves and drives the connecting rod II to rotate around the hinge point. The connecting rod II pushes the middle part of the connecting rod I to adjust the angle of the connecting rod I, thereby driving the wheel to press against the inner wall of the pipe, and realizing the tight fit between the wheel and the inner wall of the pipe again. Step A4: Repeat steps A1-A3 to ensure the inspection robot moves stably inside the pipe.

[0014] Furthermore, the controller achieves obstacle avoidance by driving the ring mechanism to rotate independently through the rotation obstacle avoidance mechanism as follows: Step B1: The visual sensor detects the presence of deposits on the inner wall of the pipe and feeds the signal back to the controller. The controller immediately issues a stop command, causing all drive motors of the walking wheel sets to stop working, detecting that the robot has stopped crawling, and all wheels remain in contact with the inner wall of the pipe. To distinguish the description, the ring mechanism located at the bottom of the two ring mechanisms is designated as ring mechanism I, and the ring mechanism located at the top is designated as ring mechanism II. Step B2: The controller controls the movement of the walking wheel group of the ring mechanism I, so that the wheels of the ring mechanism I loosen their contact with the inner wall of the pipe, and release the radial fixation of the ring mechanism I; Step B3: The controller starts the indexing motor of the indexing obstacle avoidance mechanism. The indexing motor outputs power to drive the drive gear to rotate. The drive gear meshes with the toothed part of the driven gear plate, driving the ring mechanism I to rotate independently around the pipeline axis. During the indexing process, the circumferential limit block of the driven gear plate limits the rotation stroke of the drive gear. Limit plate I and limit plate II abut against the outer wall of the driven gear plate and the drive gear respectively through ball bearings, realizing the guidance of the meshing transmission between the drive gear and the driven gear plate and axial anti-dislodgement. Until the traveling wheel set of the ring mechanism I is misaligned with the sediment, the indexing motor stops working, completing the indexing and obstacle avoidance of the ring mechanism I. Step B4: The controller controls the walking wheel assembly of the ring mechanism II to keep it in contact with the inner wall of the pipe and starts its drive motor, which drives the wheel to rotate and drives the ring mechanism II to move along the pipe axis, thereby pulling the ring mechanism I through the sediment obstacle section. Step B5: After the annular mechanism I has completely passed through the sediment obstacle section, the controller controls the movement of the walking wheel group located in the annular mechanism I, so that the wheels are pressed against the inner wall of the pipe again, thereby achieving radial fixation of the annular mechanism I; Step B6: The controller then controls the movement of the walking wheel group of the ring mechanism II, so that the wheels of the ring mechanism II loosen their contact with the inner wall of the pipe, and release the radial fixation of the ring mechanism II. Step B7: The controller restarts the indexing motor of the indexing obstacle avoidance mechanism, which drives the drive gear to mesh with the driven gear plate and drives the ring mechanism II to rotate independently around the pipeline axis until the walking wheel group of the ring mechanism II is completely displaced from the sediment. The indexing motor stops working, and the indexing obstacle avoidance of the ring mechanism II is completed. During the indexing process, the ball bearings of the limit block, limit plate I and limit plate II maintain the functions of limiting, guiding and preventing falling off. Step B8: The controller controls the walking wheel group of the ring mechanism I to keep it in a pressed state and starts its drive motor, which drives the wheel to rotate, drives the ring mechanism I to move along the pipeline axis, and then pulls the ring mechanism II through the sediment obstacle section. Step B9: After the ring mechanism II has completely passed through the sediment obstacle section, the controller controls the movement of the walking wheel group of the ring mechanism II, so that the wheels are pressed against the inner wall of the pipe again, completing the radial fixation of the two ring mechanisms. The controller then controls the walking wheel group of the two ring mechanisms to start synchronously again, and the detection robot resumes normal crawling detection, completing the overall obstacle avoidance operation.

[0015] The beneficial effects of this invention are: 1. The pipeline built-in steel wire rope inspection robot and control method designed in this invention are precisely adapted to the inspection conditions in fields such as oil and gas transportation and bridge cables. The solution breaks through the limitations of traditional single inspection methods. By deploying visual sensors on the inside and outside of the camera frame and using the camera frame slide groove to achieve adjustable sensor positions, synchronous visualization and non-invasive inspection of the pipeline inner wall and built-in steel wire rope can be realized, effectively eliminating blind spots and improving the comprehensiveness and accuracy of inspection.

[0016] 2. The ring-shaped rod assembly of the robot of this invention consists of telescopic rods hinged end-to-end into a regular polygonal structure. The telescopic rods are extendable and retractable, and adjacent rods are hinged via pins, allowing for flexible adjustment of the outer diameter of the ring mechanism to adapt to the detection requirements of different pipe diameters. The two ring mechanisms are axially symmetrically arranged, resulting in more even force distribution on the robot. The walking wheel set is symmetrically arranged, and the drive linkage assembly can dynamically adjust the wheel's contact with the pipe wall through electric push rods and linkage linkage. Combined with closed-loop feedback control of sensors and controllers, the problem of wheel slippage can be quickly solved.

[0017] 3. This invention employs an obstacle avoidance method that uses a single ring mechanism for independent rotation and two ring mechanisms for alternating traction, differing from the traditional robot's overall rotation mode. This results in more precise and flexible rotation movements. The obstacle avoidance mechanism is equipped with limiting blocks, double limiting plates, and ball bearings, which not only limit the rotation stroke but also reduce transmission resistance, provide meshing guidance, and prevent axial slippage. Furthermore, during obstacle avoidance, one ring mechanism remains firmly against the pipe wall, preventing the robot from getting stuck or detaching from the pipe wall, thus enhancing continuous operation capabilities in complex sediment environments.

[0018] 4. The robot of this invention is based on a controller and integrates real-time signal feedback from multiple sensors to achieve intelligent control of the entire process of pipe entry positioning, crawling, detection, and obstacle avoidance. It does not require on-site human intervention, improves the efficiency of detection operations, and reduces the labor intensity and operational risks of manual labor in harsh environments such as high altitudes and narrow spaces. It provides a reliable detection solution for the operational safety of pipeline built-in steel wire rope composite systems. Attached Figure Description

[0019] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the overall structure of the present invention; Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram illustrating the structure of the ring mechanism of the present invention.

[0020] Figure 3 for Figure 2 Enlarged view of part A in the middle; Figure 4 This is a schematic diagram illustrating the structure of the obstacle avoidance mechanism of the present invention; Figure 5 for Figure 4 A magnified view of part B in the middle; Figure 6This is a schematic structural diagram of the detection robot of the present invention when it is loaded into the internal steel wire rope of the pipeline; Figure 7 This is a schematic structural diagram of the present invention during actual application testing.

[0021] In the figure: 1. Ring body mechanism I; 2. Ring body mechanism II; 3. End ring rod assembly; 4. Middle ring rod assembly; 5. Telescopic rod; 51. Middle cylinder body; 52. Movable telescopic section; 6. Protective shell; 7. Camera mount; 71. Slide groove; 72. Visual sensor; 8. Rotary obstacle avoidance mechanism; 81. Driving gear; 82. Driven tooth plate; 83. Limit block; 84. Limit plate I; 85. Limit plate II; 86. Ball; 9. Travel wheel set; 91. Driving link assembly; 911. Slide rod; 912. Slide seat; 913. Electric push rod; 914. Link I; 915. Link II; 916. Spring; 92. Driving wheel assembly; 921. Wheel body; 922. Driving motor; 923. Wheel speed encoder. Specific embodiments

[0022] The present invention will be further described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0023] The present invention discloses a detection robot for the internal steel wire rope of a pipeline.

[0024] Refer to Figure 1 and Figure 2 A detection robot for the internal steel wire rope of a pipeline includes a body mechanism, a traveling mechanism, and a controller. Each mechanism cooperates to achieve climbing, detection, and obstacle avoidance actions inside the pipeline. Among them, the controller serves as the control core of the entire robot to achieve the action linkage and signal interaction of each component. The body mechanism includes a rotary obstacle avoidance mechanism 8 and two ring body mechanisms; the two ring body mechanisms have the same structure and are symmetrically arranged along the axial direction of the body mechanism. The rotary obstacle avoidance mechanism 8 is connected between the two ring body mechanisms, and its core function is to drive any single ring body mechanism to rotate independently around the pipeline axis, and to achieve obstacle avoidance actions inside the pipeline by changing the contact position of the traveling mechanism. This structural design breaks the traditional obstacle avoidance mode of the overall rotation of the pipeline robot, effectively improving the flexibility and accuracy of obstacle avoidance.

[0025] Refer to Figure 1 and Figure 2The ring mechanism includes an end ring rod assembly 3, a middle ring rod assembly 4, and a shell plate. Both the end ring rod assembly 3 and the middle ring rod assembly 4 are formed by connecting several telescopic rods 5 end to end to form a regular polygonal structure. In this embodiment, it is a regular hexagonal structure, that is, there are six telescopic rods 5. The regular polygonal structure can adapt to the inner diameter of the circular pipe through the extension and retraction of the telescopic rods 5. The end ring rod assembly 3 and the middle ring rod assembly 4 are fixedly connected by the shell plate located between them. The shell plate is also equipped with a battery pack and a vision sensor 72. The battery pack provides power support for the controller, vision sensor 72, walking mechanism, and rotation and obstacle avoidance mechanism 8. The vision sensor 72 is used to collect environmental information inside the pipe, the defect status of the inner wall of the pipe, and the surface damage information of the built-in steel wire rope, so as to realize synchronous visual detection of the pipe and the steel wire rope. The controller is electrically connected to the vision sensor 72, the walking mechanism, and the rotation and obstacle avoidance mechanism 8. It can receive signal commands from each detection component in real time and output corresponding control commands to each execution component according to the detection results, so as to ensure the coordination of the actions of each mechanism of the robot.

[0026] Reference Figure 1 and Figure 2 The walking mechanism consists of several walking wheel sets 9, which are set between two telescopic rods 5 that are opposite each other on the axial direction of the ring mechanism. This installation position makes the support points of the walking wheel sets 9 symmetrically distributed, which can effectively improve the walking stability of the robot in the pipeline. The body mechanism cooperates with the crawling movement of the walking mechanism through the rotation action of the rotation obstacle avoidance mechanism 8 to realize the integrated operation of the robot's movement and obstacle avoidance in the pipeline.

[0027] Reference Figure 1 and Figure 2 The telescopic rod 5 of the ring mechanism is a telescopic and adjustable structure, including a central cylinder 51 and movable telescopic sections 52 connected to both ends of the central cylinder 51. The movable telescopic sections 52 of two adjacent telescopic rods 5 are hinged by a pin. This structure realizes the axial extension and retraction of a single telescopic rod 5, thereby realizing the adaptability adjustment of the overall outer diameter of the end ring rod assembly 3 and the central ring rod assembly 4, so that the robot can adapt to the pipe inspection needs of different pipe diameters. The shell plate includes a protective shell 6 for installing the battery pack and a camera mount 7 for installing the vision sensor 72. The protective shell 6 and the camera mount 7 are arranged in a one-to-one correspondence, and both are fixed between two movable telescopic sections 52 that are opposite each other in the axial direction of the ring mechanism. Several protective shells 6 and camera mounts 7 are evenly distributed along the circumference of the ring mechanism and are arranged in pairs at intervals. In addition, the camera mount 7 has a groove 71 along the height direction for mounting the vision sensor 72, which facilitates the adjustment of the position of the vision sensor 72. The vision sensor 72 is arranged on the inner and outer sides of the camera mount 7, so that it can collect environmental information inside the pipe, the defect status of the inner wall of the pipe, and the surface damage information of the built-in steel wire rope, so that the vision sensor 72 can obtain a more comprehensive acquisition perspective and avoid blind spots in detection.

[0028] Reference Figure 2 and Figure 3 The traveling wheel assembly 9 is positioned between the middle cylinders 51 of the two telescopic rods 5 that are axially opposite each other in the ring mechanism. This position is the core force-bearing area of ​​the telescopic rods 5, which can effectively disperse the supporting force of the traveling wheel assembly 9 and prevent the telescopic rods 5 from deforming due to excessive local force. The traveling wheel assembly 9 includes a drive linkage assembly 91 and a drive wheel assembly 92. The drive linkage assembly 91 provides structural support for the position adjustment of the wheel body 921. It includes two slide rods 911, a slide seat 912, an electric push rod 913, a connecting rod I 914, and a connecting rod II 915. The two ends of the slide rods 911 are fixedly connected to the middle cylinders 51 of the corresponding telescopic rods 5. The slide rods 911 pass through the slide seats 912, and the slide seats 912 and the slide rods 911 are in sliding engagement. The electric push rod 913... The telescopic rod 5, installed on the middle ring rod assembly 4, has its output end connected to the slide block 912. It can drive the slide block 912 to move linearly back and forth along the slide rod 911. Each slide rod 911 is fitted with a spring 916, and the two ends of the spring 916 abut against the slide block 912 and the telescopic rod 5 of the middle ring rod assembly 4, respectively. One end of the connecting rod I 914 is hinged to the telescopic rod 5 of the end ring rod assembly 3, and the other end is fixedly connected to the drive wheel assembly 92. One end of the connecting rod II 915 is hinged to the slide block 912, and the other end is hinged to the middle of the connecting rod I 914. By sliding the slide block 912, the connecting rod II 915 can be driven to rotate around the hinge point, thereby pushing the connecting rod I 914 to adjust the hinge angle, so as to realize the position and angle adjustment of the drive wheel assembly 92.

[0029] The drive wheel assembly 92 provides power for the robot's crawling movement. It includes a wheel body 921, a drive motor 922, a wheel speed encoder 923, and a speed sensor. The drive motor 922 is installed at the end of the connecting rod I 914 away from the end ring rod assembly 3. Its output end is coaxially connected to the wheel body 921, which can directly drive the wheel body 921 to rotate, thereby realizing the axial crawling movement of the robot in the pipe. The speed sensor is installed at the top of the drive motor 922. The wheel speed encoder 923 is connected to the output shaft of the drive motor 922, and both are electrically connected to the controller. They can detect the rotation speed of the wheel body 921 in real time and transmit the speed detection signal to the controller, providing accurate data support for judging the robot's walking status.

[0030] Reference Figure 4 and Figure 5 The obstacle avoidance mechanism 8 includes several driving parts and driven parts, which are arranged in a one-to-one correspondence, and the number of the two is consistent with the number of telescopic rods 5 of the central ring rod assembly 4. This design makes the rotational force of the obstacle avoidance mechanism 8 evenly distributed on the ring mechanism, ensuring the stability of the ring mechanism during rotation.

[0031] The drive unit is mounted on the central ring rod assembly 4 of one of the ring mechanisms, while the driven unit is mounted on the central ring rod assembly 4 of the other ring mechanism. Power is transmitted through the meshing of the drive unit and the driven unit, driving the ring mechanism to rotate. The drive unit includes a drive gear 81 and a rotary motor. The drive gear 81 is rotatably connected to the top wall of the central cylinder 51 of the corresponding telescopic rod 5. The output end of the rotary motor is connected to the drive gear 81, which can directly drive the drive gear 81 to rotate around its own axis, providing power for the rotary action. The driven unit includes a driven tooth plate 82, which is fixed to the central cylinder 51 of the corresponding telescopic rod 5. Its outer circumferential surface has toothed portions that are adapted to the drive gear 81, and the toothed portions of several driven tooth plates 82 are concentric. When the drive gear 81 rotates, it can transmit power to the driven unit through meshing with the toothed portions, thereby driving the corresponding ring mechanism to rotate around the pipe axis.

[0032] To ensure the stability and accuracy of the transmission process of the rotation obstacle avoidance mechanism 8, limit blocks 83 are fixed at both ends of the driven gear plate 82 in the circumferential direction. These limit blocks mechanically restrict the rotation stroke of the drive gear 81, preventing excessive rotation of the drive gear 81 and resulting in deviation of the rotation angle of the ring mechanism. A limit plate I 84 is coaxially fixed to the top of the drive gear 81, and a limit plate II 85 is fixed to the bottom of the driven gear plate 82. Both the drive gear 81 and the driven gear plate 82 are located between limit plates I 84 and II 85, and the limit plates I 84 and II 85 are... Each limiting plate II 85 is rotatably embedded with a ball bearing 86. The limiting plate I 84 abuts against the outer wall of the driven gear plate 82 through the ball bearing 86, and the limiting plate II 85 abuts against the outer wall of the drive gear 81 through the ball bearing 86. The setting of the ball bearing 86 effectively reduces the resistance in the transmission process. At the same time, the cooperation of the limiting plate I 84 and the limiting plate II 85 realizes the axial limitation of the drive gear 81 and the driven gear plate 82, which plays a guiding role in meshing transmission and axial anti-dislodgement role, avoiding the problems of component loosening and transmission jamming during meshing.

[0033] The present invention also discloses a control method for a detection robot for steel wire ropes embedded in pipelines.

[0034] Reference Figure 6 and Figure 7 A control method for a detection robot for steel wire ropes embedded in pipelines, based on the aforementioned detection robot for steel wire ropes embedded in pipelines, includes the following steps: S1. Initially, remove all the pins on any coaxial line connecting the two telescopic rods 5 in the ring mechanism, so that the robot is in the open state. Send the inspection robot into the pipe with the steel wire rope inside the pipe to be inspected and install and tighten the pins between the telescopic rods 5. Then adjust the telescopic rods 5 of the ring mechanism to make the extension and retraction movements, so that the wheel 921 of the walking wheel group 9 of the walking mechanism fits tightly with the inner wall of the pipe, and complete the pipe entry positioning of the inspection robot.

[0035] S2. The battery pack on the ring mechanism shell plate powers the various electrical components of the detection robot. The vision sensor 72 simultaneously collects environmental information inside the pipeline, as well as surface condition information of the pipeline inner wall and the built-in steel wire rope, to realize the health status detection of the pipeline and steel wire rope.

[0036] S3. The controller receives real-time signal commands from the integrated vision sensor 72, wheel speed encoder 923, and speed sensor. Based on the actual working conditions inside the pipeline, it controls the walking wheel set 9 to complete the crawling movement of the inspection robot inside the pipeline. At the same time, it drives the ring mechanism to rotate independently through the rotation obstacle avoidance mechanism 8, so as to realize the obstacle avoidance of the inspection robot inside the pipeline and complete the full inspection operation of the steel wire rope inside the pipeline.

[0037] The steps by which the controller controls the walking wheel assembly 9 to complete the crawling movement of the inspection robot inside the pipe are as follows: Step A1: Start the drive motor 922 of the walking wheel set 9. The drive motor 922 outputs power to drive the wheel 921 to rotate, so that the inspection robot can move forward or backward along the pipeline axis.

[0038] Step A2: The wheel speed encoder 923 and speed sensor detect the rotation speed of the wheel 921 in real time and feed the speed signal back to the controller. If the controller detects that the wheel 921 slips or the speed changes suddenly due to soft deposits on the inner wall of the pipe, it controls the electric push rod 913 of the walking wheel set 9 to move, driving the slide 912 to move linearly along the slide rod 911.

[0039] In step A3, the slide block 912 moves, causing the connecting rod II 915 to rotate around the hinge point. The connecting rod II 915 pushes the middle part of the connecting rod I 914 to adjust the angle of the connecting rod I 914, thereby driving the wheel 921 to press against the inner wall of the pipe, and re-realizing the tight fit between the wheel 921 and the inner wall of the pipe.

[0040] Step A4: Repeat steps A1-A3 to ensure the inspection robot moves stably inside the pipe.

[0041] The steps by which the controller drives the ring mechanism to rotate independently via the rotation obstacle avoidance mechanism 8 to achieve obstacle avoidance are as follows: Step B1: The vision sensor 72 detects the presence of deposits on the inner wall of the pipe and feeds the signal back to the controller. The controller immediately issues a stop command, causing the drive motors 922 of all walking wheel sets 9 to stop working, detecting that the robot has stopped crawling, and all wheels 921 remain in contact with the inner wall of the pipe. For ease of distinction, the ring mechanism located at the bottom of the two ring mechanisms is designated as ring mechanism I1, and the ring mechanism located at the top is designated as ring mechanism II2.

[0042] Step B2: The controller controls the movement of the walking wheel group 9 of the ring mechanism I1, so that the wheel 921 of the ring mechanism I1 is released from its contact with the inner wall of the pipe, and the radial fixation of the ring mechanism I1 is released.

[0043] Step B3: The controller starts the indexing motor of the indexing obstacle avoidance mechanism 8. The indexing motor outputs power to drive the drive gear 81 to rotate. The drive gear 81 meshes with the toothed part of the driven gear plate 82, driving the ring mechanism I1 to rotate independently around the pipeline axis. During the indexing process, the circumferential limiting block 83 of the driven gear plate 82 limits the rotation stroke of the drive gear 81. The limiting plate I 84 and the limiting plate II 85 abut against the outer wall of the driven gear plate 82 and the drive gear 81 respectively through the ball bearings 86, realizing the guidance of the meshing transmission between the drive gear 81 and the driven gear plate 82 and axial anti-dislodgement. Until the traveling wheel set 9 of the ring mechanism I1 is misaligned with the sediment, the indexing motor stops working, completing the indexing and obstacle avoidance of the ring mechanism I1.

[0044] Step B4: The controller controls the walking wheel group 9 of the ring mechanism II2 to keep it in contact with the inner wall of the pipe and starts its drive motor 922, which drives the wheel 921 to rotate, drives the ring mechanism II2 to move along the pipe axis, and then pulls the ring mechanism I1 through the sediment obstacle section.

[0045] Step B5: After the annular mechanism I1 has completely passed through the sediment obstacle section, the controller controls the movement of the walking wheel group 9 located in the annular mechanism I1, so that the wheel 921 is pressed against the inner wall of the pipe again, thereby achieving radial fixation of the annular mechanism I1.

[0046] Step B6: The controller then controls the movement of the walking wheel group 9 of the ring mechanism II2, so that the wheel 921 of the ring mechanism II2 is released from its contact with the inner wall of the pipe, and the radial fixation of the ring mechanism II2 is released.

[0047] Step B7: The controller restarts the rotation motor of the rotation obstacle avoidance mechanism 8, which drives the drive gear 81 to mesh with the driven gear plate 82, driving the ring mechanism II2 to rotate independently around the pipeline axis until the walking wheel group 9 of the ring mechanism II2 is completely separated from the sediment. The rotation motor stops working, completing the rotation obstacle avoidance of the ring mechanism II2. During the rotation process, the ball bearings 86 of the limit block 83, limit plate I 84 and limit plate II 85 maintain the functions of limiting, guiding and preventing falling off.

[0048] Step B8: The controller controls the walking wheel group 9 of the ring mechanism I1 to keep it in a pressed state and starts its drive motor 922, which drives the wheel 921 to rotate, drives the ring mechanism I1 to move along the pipeline axis, and then pulls the ring mechanism II2 through the sediment obstacle section.

[0049] Step B9: After the ring mechanism II2 has completely passed through the sediment obstacle section, the controller controls the movement of the walking wheel group 9 of the ring mechanism II2, so that the wheel 921 is pressed against the inner wall of the pipe again, completing the radial fixation of the two ring mechanisms. The controller then controls the walking wheel group 9 of the two ring mechanisms to start synchronously again, and the detection robot resumes normal crawling detection, completing the overall obstacle avoidance operation.

[0050] This invention, through the combination of the aforementioned robot structural design and control methods, achieves synchronous and visual inspection of the inner wall of the pipeline and the built-in steel wire rope. It also solves the technical problems of traditional pipeline robots slipping and having difficulty avoiding obstacles in complex environments. The structural design of each mechanism is adapted to the inspection environment of the built-in steel wire rope in the pipeline, and the closed-loop control of the controller realizes the linkage of each component, effectively improving the environmental adaptability, walking stability and inspection accuracy of the inspection robot, greatly improving the inspection efficiency of the pipeline built-in steel wire rope composite system, and reducing the labor intensity and operational risks of manual inspection.

Claims

1. A robot for inspecting steel wire ropes embedded in pipelines, characterized in that: Includes body structure, locomotion mechanism, and controller; The body structure includes a displacement obstacle avoidance mechanism (8) and two ring mechanisms; the two ring mechanisms have the same structure and are symmetrically arranged in the axial direction of the body structure. The displacement obstacle avoidance mechanism (8) is connected between the two ring mechanisms. The displacement obstacle avoidance mechanism (8) drives either ring mechanism to rotate independently to achieve obstacle avoidance. The ring mechanism includes an end ring rod assembly (3), a middle ring rod assembly (4), and a shell plate; the end ring rod assembly (3) and the middle ring rod assembly (4) are both formed by connecting several telescopic rods (5) end to end to form a regular polygon structure; the end ring rod assembly (3) and the middle ring rod assembly (4) are connected and fixed by a shell plate located between them, and the shell plate is provided with a battery pack and a vision sensor (72). The battery pack supplies power to the controller, the vision sensor (72), the walking mechanism, and the rotation obstacle avoidance mechanism (8); the controller is electrically connected to the vision sensor (72), the walking mechanism, and the rotation obstacle avoidance mechanism (8) to receive detection signals and output control commands; The walking mechanism includes several sets of walking wheels (9), which are arranged between two telescopic rods (5) that are axially opposite to each other in the ring mechanism; the body mechanism and the walking mechanism cooperate to realize movement and obstacle avoidance within the pipeline; The telescopic rod (5) includes a central cylinder body (51) and movable telescopic sections (52) connected to both ends of the central cylinder body (51). The movable telescopic sections (52) of two adjacent telescopic rods (5) are hinged by a pin. The walking wheel assembly (9) is located between the middle cylinders (51) of two telescopic rods (5) that are axially opposite to each other in the ring mechanism; the walking wheel assembly (9) includes a drive linkage assembly (91) and a drive wheel assembly (92); The drive linkage assembly (91) includes two slide rods (911), a slide block (912), an electric push rod (913), a connecting rod I (914), and a connecting rod II (915); the two ends of the slide rod (911) are fixedly connected to the middle cylinder body (51) of the corresponding telescopic rod (5), and the slide rod (911) passes through the slide block (912). The slide block (912) is slidably connected to the slide rod (911), and the electric push rod (913) is installed in the middle. On the telescopic rod (5) of the ring rod assembly (4), the output end of the electric push rod (913) is connected to the slide (912) to drive the slide (912) to move along the slide rod (911); one end of the connecting rod I (914) is hinged to the telescopic rod (5) of the end ring rod assembly (3), and the other end is connected to the drive wheel assembly (92); one end of the connecting rod II (915) is hinged to the slide (912), and the other end is hinged to the middle of the connecting rod I (914); The displacement obstacle avoidance mechanism (8) includes several driving parts and driven parts; the several driving parts and driven parts correspond one-to-one and are consistent with the number of telescopic rods (5) of the central ring rod assembly (4); The driving part is mounted on the middle ring rod assembly (4) of one of the ring mechanisms; the driven part is correspondingly mounted on the middle ring rod assembly (4) of the other ring mechanism; The drive unit includes a drive gear (81) and a rotary motor. The drive gear (81) is rotatably connected to the top wall of the middle cylinder (51) of the corresponding telescopic rod (5). The output end of the rotary motor is connected to the drive gear (81) to drive it to rotate. The driven part includes a driven toothed plate (82); the driven toothed plate (82) is fixed on the middle cylinder body (51) of the corresponding telescopic rod (5); and the outer peripheral surface of the driven toothed plate (82) is formed with toothed portions adapted to the drive gear (81), and the toothed portions of a plurality of driven toothed plates (82) are concentric, and the drive gear (81) meshes with the toothed portions of the driven toothed plate (82).

2. The inspection robot for steel wire ropes embedded in pipelines according to claim 1, characterized in that: The shell includes a protective shell (6) for mounting the battery pack and a camera mount (7) for mounting the vision sensor (72). The protective shell (6) and the camera mount (7) correspond one-to-one and are both fixed between two axially opposite movable telescopic sections (52) of the ring mechanism.

3. The inspection robot for steel wire ropes embedded in pipelines according to claim 2, characterized in that: The drive wheel assembly (92) includes a wheel body (921), a drive motor (922), a wheel speed encoder (923), and a speed sensor. The drive motor (922) is installed at the end of the connecting rod I (914) away from the end ring rod assembly (3). The output end of the drive motor (922) is coaxially connected to the wheel body (921) and rotates with the drive wheel body (921) to achieve crawling in the pipe. The speed sensor is installed at the top of the drive motor (922). The wheel speed encoder (923) is connected to the output shaft of the drive motor (922). The speed sensor and the wheel speed encoder (923) are both electrically connected to the controller and transmit speed detection signals to it.

4. The inspection robot for steel wire ropes embedded in pipelines according to claim 3, characterized in that: The driven gear plate (82) is fixed with limit blocks (83) at both ends of its circumference; the top of the drive gear (81) is fixed with limit plate I (84) coaxially, and the bottom of the driven gear plate (82) is fixed with limit plate II (85). The drive gear (81) and the driven gear plate (82) are located between limit plate I (84) and limit plate II (85). Both limit plate I (84) and limit plate II (85) are rotatably embedded with a plurality of balls (86). The limit plate I (84) abuts against the outer wall of the driven gear plate (82) through the balls (86); the limit plate II (85) abuts against the outer wall of the drive gear (81) through the balls (86).

5. A control method for an inspection robot for steel wire ropes embedded in pipelines, characterized in that: The inspection robot for pipe-embedded steel wire ropes as described in claim 4 includes the following steps: S1. Open the inspection robot and send it into the pipe with built-in steel wire rope to be inspected. Adjust the telescopic rod (5) of the ring mechanism to make the telescopic action so that the wheel (921) of the walking wheel group (9) of the walking mechanism fits tightly with the inner wall of the pipe, and complete the pipe entry positioning of the inspection robot. S2. Start the battery pack on the ring mechanism shell to power the various electrical components of the detection robot. The vision sensor (72) synchronously collects the environmental information inside the pipeline, as well as the surface condition information of the inner wall of the pipeline and the built-in steel wire rope, so as to realize the health status detection of the pipeline and the steel wire rope. S3. The controller receives real-time signal commands from the integrated vision sensor (72), wheel speed encoder (923) and speed sensor. Based on the actual working conditions inside the pipeline, it controls the walking wheel group (9) to complete the crawling operation of the inspection robot inside the pipeline. At the same time, it drives the ring mechanism to rotate independently through the rotation obstacle avoidance mechanism (8) to realize the obstacle avoidance of the inspection robot inside the pipeline and complete the full inspection operation of the steel wire rope inside the pipeline.

6. The control method for a detection robot for steel wire ropes embedded in pipelines according to claim 5, characterized in that: The controller controls the walking wheel assembly (9) to complete the crawling motion of the inspection robot inside the pipeline in the following steps: Step A1: Start the drive motor (922) of the walking wheel set (9). The drive motor (922) outputs power to drive the wheel body (921) to rotate, so as to realize the forward or backward crawling of the detection robot along the pipeline axis. Step A2: The wheel speed encoder (923) and speed sensor detect the rotation speed of the wheel (921) in real time and feed the speed signal back to the controller. If the controller detects that the wheel (921) slips or the speed changes suddenly due to soft deposits on the inner wall of the pipe, it controls the electric push rod (913) of the walking wheel set (9) to move and drive the slide (912) to move in a straight line along the slide rod (911). Step A3: The slide (912) moves and drives the connecting rod II (915) to rotate around the hinge point. The connecting rod II (915) pushes the middle of the connecting rod I (914) to make the angle of the connecting rod I (914), which in turn drives the wheel (921) to press against the inner wall of the pipe, so as to realize the tight fit between the wheel (921) and the inner wall of the pipe again. Step A4: Repeat steps A1-A3 to ensure the inspection robot moves stably inside the pipe.

7. The control method for a detection robot for steel wire ropes embedded in pipelines according to claim 6, characterized in that: The controller achieves obstacle avoidance by driving the ring mechanism to rotate independently through the rotation obstacle avoidance mechanism (8) in the following steps: Step B1: The visual sensor (72) detects the presence of deposits on the inner wall of the pipe and feeds the signal back to the controller. The controller immediately issues a stop command, causing the drive motors (922) of all walking wheel sets (9) to stop working, detecting that the robot has stopped crawling, and all wheels (921) remain in contact with the inner wall of the pipe. To distinguish the description, the ring mechanism located at the bottom of the two ring mechanisms is designated as ring mechanism I (1), and the ring mechanism located at the top is designated as ring mechanism II (2). Step B2: The controller controls the movement of the walking wheel group (9) of the ring mechanism I (1) to loosen the contact state between the wheel (921) of the ring mechanism I (1) and the inner wall of the pipe, thereby releasing the radial fixation of the ring mechanism I (1). Step B3: The controller starts the rotation motor of the rotation obstacle avoidance mechanism (8). The rotation motor outputs power to drive the drive gear (81) to rotate. The drive gear (81) meshes with the toothed part of the driven gear plate (82) to drive the ring mechanism I (1) to rotate independently around the pipeline axis. During the rotation process, the circumferential limit block (83) of the driven gear plate (82) limits the rotation stroke of the drive gear (81). The limit plate I (84) and the limit plate II (85) abut against the outer wall of the driven gear plate (82) and the drive gear (81) respectively through the ball (86) to realize the guidance and axial anti-drop of the meshing transmission between the drive gear (81) and the driven gear plate (82). Until the walking wheel group (9) of the ring mechanism I (1) is separated from the sediment, the rotation motor stops working and the rotation avoidance of the ring mechanism I (1) is completed. Step B4: The controller controls the walking wheel group (9) of the ring mechanism II (2) to keep it in contact with the inner wall of the pipe and starts its drive motor (922), which drives the wheel (921) to rotate, drives the ring mechanism II (2) to move along the pipe axis, and then pulls the ring mechanism I (1) through the sediment obstacle section. Step B5: After the ring mechanism I (1) has completely passed through the sediment obstacle section, the controller controls the movement of the walking wheel group (9) located in the ring mechanism I (1) so that the wheel (921) presses against the inner wall of the pipe again, thereby achieving radial fixation of the ring mechanism I (1); Step B6: The controller then controls the movement of the walking wheel group (9) of the ring mechanism II (2) to loosen the contact state between the wheel (921) of the ring mechanism II (2) and the inner wall of the pipe, thereby releasing the radial fixation of the ring mechanism II (2). Step B7: The controller restarts the rotation motor of the rotation obstacle avoidance mechanism (8), which drives the drive gear (81) to mesh with the driven gear plate (82) and drive the ring mechanism II (2) to rotate independently around the pipeline axis until the walking wheel group (9) of the ring mechanism II (2) is completely separated from the sediment. The rotation motor stops working and the rotation avoidance of the ring mechanism II (2) is completed. During the rotation process, the ball bearings (86) of the limit block (83), limit plate I (84) and limit plate II (85) maintain the functions of limiting, guiding and preventing falling off. Step B8: The controller controls the walking wheel group (9) of the ring mechanism I (1) to keep it in a tight state and starts its drive motor (922), which drives the wheel (921) to rotate, drives the ring mechanism I (1) to move along the pipeline axis, and then pulls the ring mechanism II (2) through the sediment obstacle section. Step B9: After the ring mechanism II (2) has completely passed through the sediment obstacle section, the controller controls the movement of the walking wheel group (9) of the ring mechanism II (2) so that the wheel (921) presses against the inner wall of the pipe again, completing the radial fixation of the two ring mechanisms. The controller then controls the walking wheel group (9) of the two ring mechanisms to start synchronously, and the detection robot resumes normal crawling detection, completing the overall obstacle avoidance operation.

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