A drone system and method suitable for surface contact cleaning and maintenance operations of a piston rod

Abstract

The application provides a unmanned aerial vehicle system and method suitable for piston rod surface contact cleaning and maintenance operation, relates to the technical field of piston rod surface maintenance and repair, and comprises a rotor unmanned aerial vehicle, a laser radar, an operation mechanism, an oil injection module and a visual identification module, wherein the rotor unmanned aerial vehicle adopts a multi-rotor configuration, the laser radar is arranged at the top of the unmanned aerial vehicle, the operation mechanism is arranged at the front of the unmanned aerial vehicle, the oil injection module is arranged at the bottom of the unmanned aerial vehicle, and the visual identification module is arranged at the front of the unmanned aerial vehicle. The application can realize laser radar positioning of the unmanned aerial vehicle in a satellite denial environment and piston rod surface damage detection, cleaning and maintenance operation.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention belongs to the field of piston rod surface cleaning and maintenance technology, specifically relating to an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) system and method suitable for contact cleaning and maintenance of piston rod surfaces. Background Technology

[0002] The hydraulic gate hoist in a hydropower station is a key piece of equipment for controlling the opening and closing of gates. After prolonged operation, defects such as white spots, bulges, and coating peeling may appear on the surface of its piston rod. If high-quality and efficient maintenance, inspection, and repair are not carried out, the gate hoist may be damaged, thereby affecting the safety of the unit. Therefore, it is of great significance to know how to clean the stains on the piston rod surface and perform oil spraying maintenance.

[0003] Currently, the maintenance of hydraulic gate hoists in hydropower stations is mainly done manually. However, hydraulic gate hoists are usually installed in complex environments such as high altitudes and narrow spaces, and manual operation has the following problems: First, the operation is high-risk, as workers need to work at heights, which increases the risk of falls; second, the operation efficiency is low, as manual cleaning and oil spraying are slow and cannot meet the maintenance needs of large-scale, long-stroke piston rods; third, the quality of the operation is inconsistent, as the effectiveness of manual cleaning is greatly affected by the experience and physical strength of the workers; and fourth, satellite signal obstruction exists in some areas, making it impossible for traditional GPS-guided drones to operate normally. Summary of the Invention

[0004] To address the aforementioned problems, the present invention aims to provide a drone system and method suitable for contact cleaning and maintenance of piston rod surfaces, enabling drones to identify piston rod surface damage, clean stains, and perform oil spraying maintenance in satellite-denied environments.

[0005] To achieve the above-mentioned objectives, the present invention provides an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) system suitable for contact cleaning and maintenance of piston rod surfaces, comprising: Rotary-wing drones; LiDAR, installed on rotary-wing UAVs, is used to enable autonomous positioning and navigation of UAVs in satellite-denied environments; The working mechanism, located at the front of the rotary-wing drone, is used to contact the piston rod surface and perform cleaning operations; The oil spraying module, installed on the rotary-wing UAV, is used to spray lubricating oil onto the piston rod surface; A visual recognition module, located at the front of the rotary-wing drone, is used to identify damage and stains on the piston rod surface; The control module is electrically connected to the rotary-wing UAV, lidar, operating mechanism, oil spraying module, and vision recognition module, respectively, and is used to control the coordinated operation of each module.

[0006] Preferably, the rotorcraft adopts a ducted multi-rotor unmanned aerial vehicle configuration, and the ducted rotor blade protective cover is made of 3D printed material.

[0007] Preferably, the rotary-wing UAV is a ducted quadcopter UAV or a ducted hexcopter UAV.

[0008] Preferably, the lidar is based on the SLAM algorithm to achieve UAV positioning and flight control in satellite-denied environments.

[0009] Preferably, the working mechanism includes a drive servo motor, a flexible working structure, a cleaning structure base, a cleaning structure, and an elastic telescopic mechanism; The drive servo motor is fixed to one side of the flexible working structure, the cleaning structure base is connected to the other side of the flexible working structure via a connecting rod, and the cleaning structure is connected to the cleaning structure base via an elastic telescopic mechanism.

[0010] Preferably, the operating angle of the drive servo motor is not less than 180 degrees.

[0011] Preferably, the flexible working structure adopts a compression spring structure and has an omnidirectional working angle of not less than 90 degrees.

[0012] Preferably, the cleaning structure is made of a soft rubber material.

[0013] Preferably, the elastic telescopic mechanism adopts a compression spring structure to adapt to piston rods of different diameters.

[0014] Preferably, the oil injection module includes an oil tank, a miniature high-pressure gear pump, and a nozzle. The miniature high-pressure gear pump is used to pressurize and deliver the lubricating oil in the oil tank to the nozzle, and the nozzle is used to spray the lubricating oil in the form of oil mist onto the piston rod surface.

[0015] Preferably, the visual recognition module includes a visual sensor and a supplementary light, the supplementary light being used to provide illumination in dark environments to achieve the recognition of surface damage on the piston rod.

[0016] Another aspect of the present invention provides a method for contact cleaning and maintenance of piston rod surfaces, comprising the following steps: S1: After takeoff, the rotary-wing UAV uses lidar to achieve autonomous positioning and navigation in a satellite-denied environment and flies to the vicinity of the piston rod to be operated; S2: The piston rod surface is scanned by the vision recognition module to identify areas of surface damage and stains, and the detection results are transmitted to the control module; S3: The control module plans the operation path based on the detection results, controls the rotor drone to move along the piston rod axis, and controls the working mechanism to contact the piston rod surface to clean the stained area; S4: After cleaning, control the oil injection module to spray lubricating oil onto the piston rod surface to complete the maintenance operation; S5: After completing the task, the rotary-wing UAV autonomously returns to the designated location.

[0017] Preferably, in step S1, the lidar constructs a map of the surrounding environment using the SLAM algorithm to achieve autonomous positioning and navigation of the rotary-wing UAV.

[0018] Preferably, in step S3, the working angle of the working mechanism is adjusted by driving the servo motor, the attitude deviation between the rotor drone and the piston rod is compensated by the flexible working structure, and the cleaning structure is brought into close contact with the surface of piston rods of different diameters by the elastic telescopic mechanism.

[0019] Preferably, in step S4, the lubricating oil is pressurized once by a micro high-pressure gear pump and then pressurized a second time by a nozzle, so that the lubricating oil is evenly sprayed onto the piston rod surface in the form of oil mist.

[0020] Preferably, in step S2, when the ambient light is insufficient, the supplementary light of the visual recognition module is turned on to realize the identification of piston rod surface damage in dark environments.

[0021] The present invention has the following beneficial effects: 1. This invention uses a ducted multi-rotor configuration to drive the entire operating mechanism and identification sensors of a rotary-wing UAV, which can protect the flight safety of the UAV and improve the aerodynamic efficiency of the propeller blades.

[0022] 2. This invention achieves UAV flight control in satellite-denied environments by employing the SLAM principle of lidar, which facilitates operations in environments such as piston rod installation space.

[0023] 3. This invention uses a drive servo motor to drive the linkage mechanism to adjust the contact angle between the working mechanism and the piston rod, which facilitates fully autonomous operation of the UAV throughout the entire process.

[0024] 4. This invention compensates for the posture deviation of the working mechanism and piston rod through a flexible working structure, and adapts to piston rods of different diameters through an elastic telescopic mechanism. Attached Figure Description

[0025] The present invention will be further described below with reference to the accompanying drawings and embodiments.

[0026] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of the UAV system for contact cleaning and maintenance of the piston rod surface according to the present invention.

[0027] Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of the cleaning mechanism that can compensate for the operational accuracy of unmanned aerial vehicles in this invention.

[0028] In the diagram: 1 is a rotary-wing UAV, 2 is a lidar, 3 is an operating mechanism, 301 is a drive servo motor, 302 is a flexible operating structure, 303 is a cleaning structure base, 304 is a cleaning structure, 305 is an elastic telescopic mechanism, 4 is a fuel injection module, 5 is a visual recognition module, and 6 is a second operating mechanism. Detailed Implementation

[0029] The embodiments of the present invention will be further described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0030] This application discloses an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) system suitable for contact cleaning and maintenance of piston rod surfaces.

[0031] Example 1: Reference Figure 1-2 This embodiment is applicable to the daily maintenance of the piston rod of the hydraulic gate hoist in small and medium-sized hydropower stations. The system adopts a modular integrated design and can achieve fully autonomous unmanned operation.

[0032] To address the issues of blade damage from collisions and low aerodynamic efficiency during operations in confined spaces, this embodiment employs a rotary-wing UAV 1 as a mobile operating platform. It utilizes a ducted quadcopter configuration, with the ducted blade protective cover integrally molded from 3D-printed material. This structure improves blade aerodynamic efficiency while effectively preventing crashes caused by collisions with obstacles within the gate shaft, and also reduces flight noise, making it suitable for indoor operating environments in hydropower stations.

[0033] To achieve autonomous positioning and navigation in satellite-denied environments and solve the problem of traditional GPS drones being unable to operate inside gate wells and factory buildings, this embodiment uses a lightweight solid-state lidar 2, mounted at the center of the top of the rotary-wing drone 1. During operation, it scans the surrounding environment in real time to generate 3D point cloud data. The control module constructs a local map based on the SLAM algorithm and calculates the drone's real-time pose, achieving stable autonomous navigation and enabling normal operation in low-light environments.

[0034] To achieve flexible contact cleaning of the piston rod surface, avoid damage to the surface coating, and compensate for drone flight attitude deviations, this embodiment includes a working mechanism 3, which is installed at the front of the rotary-wing drone 1 via a quick-release interface. This mechanism includes a drive servo motor 301, a flexible working structure 302, a cleaning structure base 303, a cleaning structure 304, and an elastic telescopic mechanism 305. This mechanism adopts a modular quick-release design, facilitating the replacement of cleaning structures of different specifications to adapt to various working conditions. The overall design is lightweight, without affecting the drone's payload and endurance.

[0035] To achieve precise adjustment of the cleaning structure's operating angle and cover different areas of the piston rod surface, this embodiment includes a drive servo motor 301, fixed to one side of the flexible working structure 302. The servo motor has an operating angle of no less than 180 degrees; during operation, it receives angle commands from the control module, causing the flexible working structure 302 and subsequent components to deflect, ensuring the cleaning structure 304 contacts the piston rod surface at an optimal angle, thus covering a large circumferential area of ​​the piston rod.

[0036] To compensate for position and attitude deviations during UAV flight and ensure continuous and stable contact between the cleaning structure and the piston rod surface, this embodiment features a flexible working structure 302. This structure employs a cross-spring design, connecting the output of the drive servo motor 301 to the cleaning structure base 303. This structure possesses omnidirectional, large-angle deflection capability, effectively compensating for UAV position and attitude deviations. During operation, it automatically generates elastic deformation in response to UAV flight fluctuations, absorbing vibrations and impacts and preventing hard contact damage to the piston rod surface caused by the cleaning structure.

[0037] To ensure a reliable connection between the cleaning structure and the flexible working structure, and to provide an installation base for the elastic telescopic mechanism, this embodiment includes a cleaning structure base 303, which is fixed to the other side of the flexible working structure 302 via a connecting rod. This base is high-strength, lightweight, and features standard mounting interfaces on its surface, facilitating quick disassembly and replacement of the elastic telescopic mechanism and the cleaning structure.

[0038] To accommodate piston rods of different diameters and ensure a tight fit between the cleaning structure and the surface of piston rods of different specifications, this embodiment includes an elastic telescopic mechanism 305, which employs a compression spring structure. Both ends are connected to the cleaning structure base 303 and the cleaning structure 304, respectively. During operation, it automatically compresses or extends according to the piston rod diameter, ensuring that the cleaning structure 304 maintains a constant pressure against the piston rod surface, thus adapting to piston rods of various diameters without manual adjustment.

[0039] To effectively clean surface stains while protecting the chrome plating on the piston rod from scratches, this embodiment features a cleaning structure 304 made of soft rubber material with spiral cleaning grooves on its surface. This rubber material has moderate hardness, preventing scratches on the piston rod's surface plating; the spiral grooves guide stains out along the grooves, preventing stain accumulation and ensuring effective cleaning; during operation, it moves along the piston rod axis with the drone, efficiently removing stubborn stains such as dust and oil through friction.

[0040] To achieve uniform atomization and spraying of lubricating oil, and improve lubricating oil utilization and protective effect, this embodiment includes an oil spraying module 4, installed at the bottom of the rotary-wing UAV 1, comprising a sealed oil tank, a miniature high-pressure gear pump, and a centrifugal atomizing nozzle. During operation, the miniature high-pressure gear pump draws lubricating oil from the oil tank and pressurizes it to the nozzle. After secondary pressurization by the nozzle, the oil is atomized into fine oil mist particles, which are uniformly adhered to the piston rod surface, forming a dense protective oil film.

[0041] To achieve automatic identification of surface damage and stains on the piston rod and provide accurate basis for operation path planning, this embodiment sets up a visual recognition module 5, installed at the front of the rotorcraft 1 and on the same side as the operating mechanism 3, including a visual sensor and an adjustable supplementary light. During operation, it continuously acquires images of the piston rod surface, identifies damage such as white spots, bulges, and coating peeling, as well as areas of stains such as oil and dust, through a built-in algorithm, generates a surface status map, and transmits it to the control module; when the light is insufficient, the supplementary light is automatically turned on to achieve normal recognition in dark environments.

[0042] To achieve coordinated control of all modules and complete a fully autonomous operation process from takeoff to return, this embodiment includes a control module. This module employs an embedded controller, integrating a flight control unit, an operation control unit, and a data processing unit. These are electrically connected to the rotary-wing UAV 1, LiDAR 2, the operation mechanism 3, the oil spraying module 4, and the vision recognition module 5, respectively. This module possesses real-time data processing and multi-task scheduling capabilities. During operation, it receives positioning data from LiDAR 2 and surface state data from the vision recognition module 5, plans the optimal operation path, controls the UAV's flight attitude and the operation mechanism's movements, and coordinates the timing of cleaning and oil spraying operations, achieving fully automated control without manual intervention.

[0043] The specific working principle of this invention: This invention uses a rotary-wing UAV 1 as a mobile operating platform, integrating a lidar 2, an operating mechanism 3, an oil spraying module 4, a vision recognition module 5, and a control module to construct a fully autonomous piston rod surface maintenance system. During system operation, the lidar 2 scans the surrounding environment in real time to generate 3D point cloud data. The control module constructs a local environment map based on the SLAM algorithm and calculates the real-time pose of the rotary-wing UAV 1, enabling autonomous navigation in satellite-denied environments. The vision recognition module 5 acquires images of the piston rod surface, identifies damaged and contaminated areas using deep learning algorithms, and generates a surface condition map. The control module plans the optimal spiral operating path based on the surface condition map, controlling the rotary-wing UAV 1 to move along the piston rod axis, while simultaneously driving the operating mechanism 3 to make flexible contact with the piston rod surface to clean the contaminants. After cleaning, the oil spraying module 4 atomizes and sprays lubricating oil onto the piston rod surface, forming a uniform protective oil film. Finally, the rotary-wing UAV 1 autonomously returns to the designated location, completing all maintenance operations.

[0044] Example 2: This embodiment provides a method for contact cleaning and maintenance of piston rod surfaces, including the following steps: S1: After the rotorcraft UAV 1 takes off, it achieves autonomous positioning and navigation in a satellite-denied environment through lidar 2 and flies to the vicinity of the piston rod to be operated; S2: The visual recognition module 5 scans the surface of the piston rod to identify areas of surface damage and stains, and transmits the detection results to the control module; S3: The control module plans the operation path according to the detection results, controls the rotor drone 1 to move along the piston rod axis, and controls the working mechanism 3 to contact the piston rod surface to clean the stained area; S4: After cleaning, control the oil injection module 4 to spray lubricating oil onto the piston rod surface to complete the maintenance operation; S5: After completing the operation, the rotary-wing UAV 1 autonomously returns to the designated location.

[0045] Furthermore, in step S1, the lidar 2 constructs a map of the surrounding environment using the SLAM algorithm to achieve autonomous positioning and navigation of the rotary-wing UAV 1.

[0046] Furthermore, in step S3, the operating angle of the operating mechanism 3 is adjusted by driving the servo motor 301, the attitude deviation between the rotor drone 1 and the piston rod is compensated by the flexible operating structure 302, and the cleaning structure 304 is brought into close contact with the piston rod surfaces of different diameters by the elastic telescopic mechanism 305.

[0047] Furthermore, in step S4, the lubricating oil is pressurized once by a micro high-pressure gear pump and then pressurized a second time by a nozzle, so that the lubricating oil is evenly sprayed onto the piston rod surface in the form of oil mist.

[0048] Furthermore, in step S2, when the ambient light is insufficient, the supplementary light of the visual recognition module 5 is turned on to realize the identification of piston rod surface damage in dark environments.

[0049] The above are all preferred embodiments of the present invention and are not intended to limit the scope of protection of the present invention. Therefore, all equivalent changes made in accordance with the structure, shape and principle of the present invention should be covered within the scope of protection of the present invention.

Claims

1. A drone system suitable for contact cleaning and maintenance of piston rod surfaces, characterized in that, include: Rotary-wing unmanned aerial vehicle (1); A lidar (2) is installed on a rotary-wing UAV (1) to enable autonomous positioning and navigation of the UAV in a satellite-denied environment; The working mechanism (3) is located at the front of the rotary-wing UAV (1) and is used to contact the piston rod surface and perform cleaning operations; The oil spraying module (4) is installed on the rotary-wing UAV (1) and is used to spray lubricating oil onto the piston rod surface; A visual recognition module (5) is located at the front of the rotary-wing UAV (1) and is used to identify damage and stains on the surface of the piston rod. The control module is electrically connected to the rotary-wing UAV (1), lidar (2), operating mechanism (3), oil spraying module (4) and vision recognition module (5) respectively, and is used to control the coordinated operation of each module.

2. The UAV system for contact cleaning and maintenance of piston rod surfaces according to claim 1, characterized in that, The rotorcraft (1) adopts a ducted multi-rotor unmanned structure, and the ducted blade protective cover is made of 3D printed material.

3. The UAV system for contact cleaning and maintenance of piston rod surfaces according to claim 2, characterized in that, The rotorcraft (1) is a ducted quadcopter or a ducted hexcopter.

4. The UAV system for contact cleaning and maintenance of piston rod surfaces according to claim 1, characterized in that, The lidar (2) is based on the SLAM algorithm to realize the positioning and flight control of UAVs in satellite denial environment.

5. The unmanned aerial vehicle system for contact cleaning and maintenance of piston rod surfaces according to claim 1, characterized in that, The working mechanism (3) includes a drive servo motor (301), a flexible working structure (302), a cleaning structure base (303), a cleaning structure (304), and an elastic telescopic mechanism (305). The drive servo motor (301) is fixed to one side of the flexible working structure (302), the cleaning structure base (303) is connected to the other side of the flexible working structure (302) through a connecting rod, and the cleaning structure (304) is connected to the cleaning structure base (303) through an elastic telescopic mechanism (305).

6. The UAV system for contact cleaning and maintenance of piston rod surfaces according to claim 5, characterized in that, The operating angle of the drive servo motor (301) is not less than 180 degrees.

7. The UAV system for contact cleaning and maintenance of piston rod surfaces according to claim 5, characterized in that, The flexible working structure (302) adopts a compression spring structure and has an omnidirectional working angle of not less than 90 degrees.

8. The unmanned aerial vehicle system for contact cleaning and maintenance of piston rod surfaces according to claim 5, characterized in that, The cleaning structure (304) is made of soft rubber material.

9. A drone system for contact cleaning and maintenance of piston rod surfaces according to claim 5, characterized in that, The elastic telescopic mechanism (305) adopts a compression spring structure to adapt to piston rods of different diameters.

10. The unmanned aerial vehicle system for contact cleaning and maintenance of piston rod surfaces according to claim 1, characterized in that, The oil spraying module (4) includes an oil tank, a micro high-pressure gear pump and a nozzle. The micro high-pressure gear pump is used to pressurize and deliver the lubricating oil in the oil tank to the nozzle. The nozzle is used to spray the lubricating oil in the form of oil mist onto the piston rod surface.

11. The unmanned aerial vehicle system for contact cleaning and maintenance of piston rod surfaces according to claim 1, characterized in that, The visual recognition module (5) includes a visual sensor and a supplementary light, which is used to provide illumination in dark environments to realize the identification of surface damage on the piston rod.

12. A method for contact cleaning and maintenance of piston rod surfaces, characterized in that, The method is implemented using the unmanned aerial vehicle system according to any one of claims 1-11, and includes the following steps: S1: After the rotorcraft (1) takes off, it uses lidar (2) to achieve autonomous positioning and navigation in a satellite-denied environment and flies to the vicinity of the piston rod to be operated; S2: The piston rod surface is scanned by the visual recognition module (5) to identify the surface damage and stain areas, and the detection results are transmitted to the control module; S3: The control module plans the operation path according to the detection results, controls the rotor drone (1) to move along the piston rod axis, and controls the operation mechanism (3) to contact the piston rod surface to clean the stained area; S4: After cleaning, control the oil injection module (4) to spray lubricating oil onto the piston rod surface to complete the maintenance operation; S5: After the operation is completed, the rotary-wing UAV (1) will return to the designated location autonomously.

13. The method according to claim 12, characterized in that, In step S1, the lidar (2) constructs a map of the surrounding environment using the SLAM algorithm to achieve autonomous positioning and navigation of the rotary-wing UAV (1).

14. The method according to claim 12, characterized in that, In step S3, the working angle of the working mechanism (3) is adjusted by driving the servo motor (301), the attitude deviation between the rotor drone (1) and the piston rod is compensated by the flexible working structure (302), and the cleaning structure (304) is brought into close contact with the piston rod surfaces of different diameters by the elastic telescopic mechanism (305).

15. The method according to claim 12, characterized in that, In step S4, the lubricating oil is pressurized once by a micro high-pressure gear pump and then pressurized a second time by a nozzle, so that the lubricating oil is evenly sprayed onto the piston rod surface in the form of oil mist.

16. The method according to claim 12, characterized in that, In step S2, when the ambient light is insufficient, the supplementary light of the visual recognition module (5) is turned on to realize the identification of piston rod surface damage in dark environment.

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