A multi-functional inspection robot for chemical industrial parks

Abstract

This invention discloses a multifunctional inspection robot for chemical industrial parks, relating to the field of robotics technology. It includes a drive base and a camera. Drive wheels are mounted on both sides of the drive base, and these wheels are connected to a motor inside the drive base. A control panel is located on one end of the drive base for controlling the entire device. During use, a high-pressure gas is injected into the telescopic tube via a first connecting pipe using an air pump. This increases the internal air pressure of the telescopic tube, driving it upwards. The increased air pressure inside the telescopic tube is simultaneously transmitted to the slide rail via a second connecting pipe, pushing the telescopic arms at both ends of the slide rail to extend outwards from the front and rear sides of the drive base to expand the support surface. This effectively compensates for the shift in the center of gravity after the lifting seat is raised, preventing forward tilting or overturning due to insufficient support surface when the drive base stops suddenly. During the raising of the telescopic tube, the installation height of the camera is adjusted to expand the field of view and enhance the inspection functionality.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to the field of robotics, specifically to a multi-functional inspection robot for use in chemical industrial parks. Background Technology

[0002] Chemical industrial parks, as sites for the centralized production, storage, and use of hazardous chemicals, present complex hazards such as flammability, explosiveness, toxicity, and high temperatures and pressures. Therefore, employing inspection robots to replace manual labor for on-site inspections has become a crucial means of ensuring safe production. Existing inspection robots typically carry cameras and other sensing devices, enabling real-time acquisition and transmission of on-site images through remote control, thus reducing the risk of personnel being directly exposed to hazardous environments to some extent. However, existing technologies have the following prominent problems in practical applications: The cameras of existing inspection robots are mostly installed at a fixed height, which cannot be adjusted according to inspection needs. This results in a limited field of view in complex chemical industrial park environments, making it difficult to effectively observe equipment, pipelines and instruments at different heights, and the functionality is relatively limited. At the same time, some inspection robots with lifting functions have a fixed support base area after the camera is raised, which causes the overall center of gravity to rise without a corresponding expansion of the support surface. When the robot stops suddenly or turns during movement, it is prone to tilting forward or overturning due to instability of the center of gravity, which seriously affects the safe operation of the equipment.

[0003] In addition, chemical industrial parks have a lot of dust, water vapor and corrosive gases. The cameras of existing inspection robots are mostly exposed to the external environment. Dust and water vapor can easily adhere to the lens surface, resulting in blurry images and unclear vision, which seriously affects the inspection effect and the quality of remote monitoring. Moreover, it is difficult to clean the pollutants on the lens surface, requiring frequent manual maintenance, which increases the operational risks and maintenance costs. Summary of the Invention

[0004] To address the shortcomings of existing technologies, this invention provides a multi-functional inspection robot for chemical industrial parks, solving the problems mentioned in the background section.

[0005] To achieve the above objectives, the present invention provides the following technical solution: a multi-functional inspection robot for chemical industrial parks, comprising a drive base and a camera. Drive wheels are mounted on both sides of the drive base, and the drive wheels are connected to a motor inside the drive base. A control panel is provided on one end of the drive base for controlling the entire device. A telescopic tube is installed inside the drive base, with one bottom end fixed inside the drive base and one top end connected to a lifting seat. A glass cover is fixedly mounted on the surface of the lifting seat, and a camera is installed inside the glass cover. The camera is connected to a remote... The control terminal is connected to the camera for transmitting real-time images. An air pump is installed at one end of the drive base and is connected to a first connecting pipe. The first connecting pipe is connected to the bottom of a telescopic pipe. The other end of the bottom of the telescopic pipe is connected to a second connecting pipe and the other end of the second connecting pipe is connected to the inside of a slide groove. A connecting hole is provided inside the slide groove, and telescopic arms are inserted at both ends of the slide groove. A connecting block is fixed to one end of the telescopic arm by bolts. The bottom of the connecting block is fixedly connected to the guardrail, and a support wheel is fixed to the bottom of one end of the telescopic arm. There are four support wheels, and the four support wheels are distributed at the four ends of the drive base.

[0006] Preferably, two sliding grooves are provided, and both grooves have a hollow internal structure. The two ends of each groove are open and slidably connected to a telescopic arm. The telescopic arm also has a hollow internal structure, with an opening at one end that connects to the interior of the groove. By making the telescopic arm hollow and connecting it to the interior of the groove, high-pressure gas generated by the air pump can enter the groove through the second connecting pipe and be directly injected into the telescopic arm. The air pressure then pushes the telescopic arm to extend synchronously from both ends of the groove, achieving rapid expansion of the support surface. Simultaneously, the telescopic arm and the groove form a complete air circuit system. During retraction, the air pump draws air to create negative pressure inside the telescopic arm, enabling automatic retraction without the need for an additional drive device, simplifying the structure and improving response speed.

[0007] Preferably, the telescopic arm has protruding structures on both sides of one end, and these protruding structures slide in contact with the inner wall of the slide groove. The inner walls at both ends of the slide groove also have protruding structures to limit the telescopic arm's movement. This sliding contact between the protruding structures on both sides of the telescopic arm and the inner wall of the slide groove ensures smooth sliding of the telescopic arm within the groove, while the protruding structures on the inner walls at both ends of the slide groove mechanically limit the telescopic arm, preventing it from overextending under air pressure and detaching from the slide groove. This effectively avoids support failure caused by the telescopic arm detaching, improving the reliability and safety of the equipment operation.

[0008] Preferably, the telescopic tube has a hollow internal structure and is composed of four tubular sections joined together. An annular protrusion is located on the outer side of the bottom end of each tubular section, and an annular protrusion is located on the inner side of the top end of each tubular section. The telescopic tube, composed of four tubular sections, forms a progressively limiting telescopic structure through the interaction of the outer bottom annular protrusion and the inner top annular protrusion. This allows the telescopic tube to rise stably under air pressure and retract nestably. This structure ensures that the telescopic tube has sufficient lifting stroke to expand the camera's field of view, while the limiting effect of the annular protrusions prevents the sections from detaching, ensuring the smoothness of the lifting process and the structural reliability.

[0009] Preferably, a drive motor is installed inside the lifting base, and a gear is externally fitted at the output end of the drive motor. The gear meshes with a gear ring, which is fixedly installed at the bottom of the turntable. The turntable is installed inside the lifting base, and a scraper is fixedly connected to the top of the turntable. The surface of the scraper is in contact with the outer wall of the glass cover. The drive motor drives the gear and gear ring to mesh and transmit power, causing the turntable to rotate smoothly inside the lifting base, thereby driving the glass cover and the internal camera to rotate synchronously, realizing flexible adjustment of the camera inspection angle. At the same time, the scraper on the top of the turntable is in contact with the outer wall of the glass cover, directly transmitting the rotational motion of the turntable to the scraper, so that the scraper can rotate synchronously with the camera angle adjustment, providing a structural basis for subsequent automatic cleaning of the outer wall of the glass cover, and realizing the linkage between angle adjustment and cleaning functions.

[0010] Preferably, the scraper has a U-shaped structure, and its shape matches the cross-section of the outer wall of the glass cover. The contact surface between the scraper and the glass cover is made of rubber. The bottom ends of both ends of the scraper are slidably connected to limiting grooves. The limiting grooves are located on the top surface of the lifting base, and there are two limiting grooves, both of which have an arc-shaped structure. The scraper adopts a U-shaped structure that matches the cross-section of the outer wall of the glass cover, and uses rubber as the contact surface. This ensures a tight fit between the scraper and the outer wall of the glass cover, improving the scraping effect of dust and moisture removal, while avoiding hard damage to the surface of the glass cover. The bottom ends of the scraper are slidably connected to the arc-shaped limiting grooves, providing a stable arc-shaped movement trajectory for the scraper. This allows the scraper to scrape evenly along the outer wall of the glass cover as the turntable rotates, ensuring full coverage of the cleaning range. Thus, the cleaning of the outer wall of the glass cover is automatically completed while the camera angle is adjusted, maintaining a clear field of view.

[0011] Preferably, a sealing ring is provided at the connection between the bottom of the lifting seat and the top of the telescopic tube. The sealing ring is made of fluororubber, and the sealing ring, the lifting seat, and the telescopic tube are all interference-fitted. The fluororubber sealing ring at the connection between the lifting seat and the telescopic tube, and the interference fit to achieve a tight connection, effectively prevents leakage of high-pressure gas inside the telescopic tube, ensuring the sealing performance and pressure stability of the gas circuit system. Fluororubber has excellent chemical corrosion resistance and aging resistance, enabling it to adapt to the harsh environment of chemical industrial parks, ensuring long-term reliable sealing performance, thereby guaranteeing the precise execution of the telescopic tube's lifting and telescopic arm's extension and retraction movements.

[0012] This invention provides a multi-functional inspection robot for chemical industrial parks. It has the following advantages: (1) The multi-functional inspection robot for chemical industrial parks, when in use, drives the drive wheel to rotate through the motor inside the drive base to achieve overall movement. The camera above the drive base collects the scene in real time and transmits it to the remote control terminal to complete the inspection operation. At the same time, the air pump injects high-pressure gas into the telescopic tube through the first connecting pipe, which increases the air pressure inside the telescopic tube and drives it to rise. The increased air pressure inside the telescopic tube is transmitted to the slide through the second connecting pipe, which pushes the telescopic arms at both ends of the slide to extend outward from the front and rear sides of the drive base to expand the support surface, thereby effectively compensating for the center of gravity shift after the lifting seat is raised, and preventing the drive base from tilting forward or overturning due to insufficient support surface when it stops suddenly. During the raising of the telescopic tube, the installation height of the camera is adjusted to expand the field of view and improve the inspection functionality. When retracting, the air pump draws gas from the inside of the telescopic tube to form a negative pressure, and simultaneously draws gas from the inside of the slide to make the telescopic arms retract to the initial position, thereby reducing the overall outline size of the drive base, enhancing its turning and passing ability in narrow passages and equipment gap areas, and improving environmental adaptability.

[0013] (2) This multi-functional inspection robot for chemical industrial parks encapsulates the camera inside a glass cover. The physical isolation of the glass cover prevents external dust, water vapor, and corrosive media from entering the camera lens, thus avoiding direct adhesion of pollutants to the lens surface and resulting in decreased image quality. At the same time, by controlling the drive motor to drive the gear and the gear ring at the bottom of the turntable to achieve fixed-axis rotation of the turntable inside the lifting seat, the camera can be driven to complete the horizontal circumferential angle adjustment to expand the inspection coverage. During the rotation of the turntable, the scraper on the outer wall of the glass cover is driven to move along the limit groove in an arc trajectory, so that the scraper and the outer wall of the glass cover generate relative friction. While the camera angle is adjusted, the dust and water vapor condensate attached to the outer wall of the glass cover are automatically removed, realizing the linkage mechanism between the inspection angle adjustment and the cleaning of the optical protective surface, ensuring that the camera continuously obtains clear and stable image signals. Attached Figure Description

[0014] Figure 1This is a schematic diagram of the overall structure of the present invention; Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of the bottom structure of the present invention; Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram of the telescopic tube in the extended state of the present invention; Figure 4 This is a schematic diagram of the cross-sectional structure of the present invention; Figure 5 This is a schematic diagram of the telescopic arm structure of the present invention.

[0015] In the diagram, 1. Drive base; 2. Drive wheel; 3. Control panel; 4. Telescopic tube; 5. Lifting seat; 6. Glass cover; 7. Camera; 8. Air pump; 9. First connecting pipe; 10. Second connecting pipe; 11. Slide groove; 12. Connecting hole; 13. Telescopic arm; 14. Connecting block; 15. Guardrail; 16. Support wheel; 17. Drive motor; 18. Gear; 19. Gear ring; 20. Turntable; 21. Limiting groove; 22. Scraper. Detailed Implementation

[0016] The technical solutions of the embodiments of the present invention will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. Obviously, the described embodiments are only some embodiments of the present invention, and not all embodiments. Based on the embodiments of the present invention, all other embodiments obtained by those of ordinary skill in the art without creative effort are within the scope of protection of the present invention.

[0017] Example 1: Please see Figure 1-5This invention provides a technical solution: a multi-functional inspection robot for chemical industrial parks, comprising a drive base 1 and a camera 7. Drive wheels 2 are mounted on both sides of the drive base 1, and the drive wheels 2 are connected to a motor inside the drive base 1. A control panel 3 is provided on one end of the drive base 1 for controlling the entire device. A telescopic tube 4 is provided inside the drive base 1, with one bottom end fixed inside the drive base 1 and one top end connected to a lifting seat 5. A glass cover 6 is fixedly mounted on the surface of the lifting seat 5, and a camera 7 is installed inside the glass cover 6. The camera 7 is connected to a remote control terminal for transmitting real-time images. An air pump 8 is installed at one end inside the drive base 1 and is connected to a first connecting pipe 9, which is connected to the bottom of the telescopic tube 4. The bottom end of the telescopic tube 4 is connected to the second connecting tube 10, and the other end of the second connecting tube 10 is connected to the inside of the slide groove 11. The slide groove 11 is provided with a connecting hole 12, and telescopic arms 13 are inserted through both ends of the slide groove 11. One end of the telescopic arm 13 is fixed with a connecting block 14 by bolts. The bottom of the connecting block 14 is fixedly connected to the guardrail 15, and a support wheel 16 is fixed to the bottom of one end of the telescopic arm 13. There are four support wheels 16, and the four support wheels 16 are distributed at the four ends of the drive base 1. There are two slide grooves 11, and the two slide grooves 11 are hollow inside. The two ends of the slide groove 11 are open, and the two ends of the slide groove 11 are slidably connected to the telescopic arm 13. The telescopic arm 13 is hollow inside, and one end of the telescopic arm 13 is provided with an opening, and one end of the telescopic arm 13 is connected to the inside of the slide groove 11 through the opening. The telescopic arm 13 has protruding structures on both sides of one end, and the protruding structures on both sides of the telescopic arm 13 slide in contact with the inner wall of the slide groove 11. The inner walls at both ends of the slide groove 11 are provided with protruding structures to limit the telescopic arm 13. In this implementation scheme, the device rotates the drive wheel 2 via a motor inside the drive base 1, thereby moving the drive base 1. A camera 7 above the drive base 1 captures real-time footage and transmits it to a remote control terminal for inspection. Simultaneously, an air pump 8 injects air into the first connecting pipe 9, allowing high-pressure air to enter the telescopic pipe 4, increasing the internal air pressure and causing the telescopic pipe 4 to rise. This increased pressure is transmitted through the second connecting pipe 10 to the slide chute 11, further increasing the internal pressure. When the pressure inside the slide chute 11 increases, the telescopic arms 1 at both ends... 3 will be pushed out, so that the telescopic arm 13 can extend from both ends of the drive base 1, thereby extending the support surface of the drive base 1. This helps to prevent the drive base 1 from becoming unstable and tilting forward when it stops suddenly after the lifting seat 5 is raised. The upward movement of the telescopic tube 4 can adjust the field of view of the camera 7, thereby improving functionality. When the telescopic tube 4 is retracted, the air pump 8 extracts the air from the inside of the telescopic tube 4, thereby creating a negative pressure inside the telescopic tube 4. At the same time, the telescopic tube 4 can extract the air from the inside of the slide groove 11, so that the telescopic arm 13 can retract synchronously. This helps to reduce the volume of the drive base 1, allowing the drive base 1 to turn in narrow areas, thereby adjusting flexibility.

[0018] Please see Figure 1-5 This invention provides a technical solution: the telescopic tube 4 has a hollow internal structure and is composed of four tubular sections joined together. A ring-shaped protrusion is provided on the outer side of the bottom end of the tubular structure of the telescopic tube 4, and a ring-shaped protrusion is provided on the inner side of the top end of the tubular structure of the telescopic tube 4. A drive motor 17 is installed inside the lifting seat 5, and a gear 18 is fitted onto the outer side of the output end of the drive motor 17. The gear 18 meshes with a gear ring 19, and the gear ring 19 is fixedly installed at the bottom of the turntable 20. The turntable 20 is installed inside the lifting seat 5, and a scraper is fixedly connected to the top of the turntable 20. The surface of the scraper is in contact with the outer wall of the glass cover 6. The scraper 22 is U-shaped. The shape and structure of the scraper 22 are consistent with the cross-section of the outer wall of the glass cover 6, and the contact surface between the scraper 22 and the glass cover 6 is made of rubber. The bottom ends of the scraper 22 are slidably connected to the limiting groove 21. The limiting groove 21 is opened on the top surface of the lifting seat 5, and there are two limiting grooves 21, which are arc-shaped. A sealing ring is provided at the connection between the bottom of the lifting seat 5 and the top of the telescopic tube 4. The sealing ring is made of fluororubber, and the sealing ring, the lifting seat 5, and the telescopic tube 4 are all interference fit. This implementation scheme, by installing the camera 7 inside the glass cover 6, effectively isolates external dust and moisture from the outside of the glass cover 6, preventing dust and moisture from adhering to the lens surface of the camera 7. Simultaneously, by controlling the drive motor 17 to rotate the gear 18, the gear 18 drives the gear ring 19 at the bottom of the turntable 20 to rotate synchronously, thereby enabling the turntable 20 to rotate. In turn, the turntable 20 can drive the camera 7 to rotate and adjust its angle. At the same time, the turntable 20 can synchronously drive the scraper 22 on the outer wall of the glass cover 6 to rotate synchronously. Thus, while the camera 7 rotates to adjust its angle, the scraper 22 can automatically clean the dust and moisture on the outer wall of the glass cover 6, thereby maintaining a clear field of view.

[0019] The foregoing has shown and described the basic principles, main features, and advantages of the present invention. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the invention is not limited to the details of the exemplary embodiments described above, and that the invention can be implemented in other specific forms without departing from its spirit or essential characteristics. Therefore, the embodiments should be considered illustrative and non-limiting in all respects, and the scope of the invention is defined by the appended claims rather than the foregoing description. Thus, all variations falling within the meaning and scope of equivalents of the claims are intended to be included within the scope of the invention. No reference numerals in the claims should be construed as limiting the scope of the claims. Furthermore, it should be understood that although this specification describes embodiments, not every embodiment contains only one independent technical solution. This narrative style is merely for clarity. Those skilled in the art should consider the specification as a whole, and the technical solutions in each embodiment can also be appropriately combined to form other embodiments that can be understood by those skilled in the art.

Claims

1. A multi-functional inspection robot for chemical industrial parks, characterized in that: The device includes a drive base (1) and a camera (7). Drive wheels (2) are installed on both sides of the drive base (1). The drive wheels (2) are connected to the motor inside the drive base (1). A control panel (3) is provided on one end of the drive base (1). The control panel (3) is used to control the entire device. A telescopic tube (4) is provided inside the drive base (1). One end of the telescopic tube (4) is fixed inside the drive base (1). A lifting seat (5) is connected to the top end of the telescopic tube (4). A glass cover (6) is fixedly installed on the surface of the lifting seat (5). A camera (7) is provided inside the glass cover (6). The camera (7) is connected to a remote control terminal. The camera (7) is used to transmit real-time images. An air pump (8) is installed at one end of the drive base (1), and the air pump (8) is connected to the first connecting pipe (9). The first connecting pipe (9) is connected to the bottom of the telescopic pipe (4). The other end of the bottom of the telescopic pipe (4) is connected to the second connecting pipe (10), and the other end of the second connecting pipe (10) is connected to the inside of the slide groove (11). A connecting hole (12) is provided inside the slide groove (11), and telescopic arms (13) are inserted at both ends inside the slide groove (11). A connecting block (14) is fixed at one end of the telescopic arm (13). The bottom of the connecting block (14) is fixedly connected to the guardrail (15), and a support wheel (16) is fixed at the bottom of one end of the telescopic arm (13).

2. The multi-functional inspection robot for chemical industrial parks according to claim 1, characterized in that: Two slide grooves (11) are provided, and the interior of the two slide grooves (11) is hollow. Both ends of the slide grooves (11) are open, and both ends of the slide grooves (11) are slidably connected to the telescopic arm (13). The interior of the telescopic arm (13) is hollow, and one end of the telescopic arm (13) is provided with an opening, and one end of the telescopic arm (13) is connected to the interior of the slide grooves (11) through the opening.

3. The multi-functional inspection robot for chemical industrial parks according to claim 2, characterized in that: The telescopic arm (13) has protruding structures on both sides at one end, and the protruding structures on both sides of the telescopic arm (13) slide in contact with the inner wall of the slide groove (11). The inner walls at both ends of the slide groove (11) are provided with protruding structures to limit the telescopic arm (13).

4. The multi-functional inspection robot for chemical industrial parks according to claim 3, characterized in that: The telescopic tube (4) has a hollow structure inside and is made up of four sections of tubular structure spliced ​​together. A ring-shaped protrusion is provided on the outer side of the bottom end of the tubular structure of the telescopic tube (4), and a ring-shaped protrusion is provided on the inner side of the top end of the tubular structure of the telescopic tube (4).

5. The multi-functional inspection robot for chemical industrial parks according to claim 4, characterized in that: The lifting seat (5) is equipped with a drive motor (17), and a gear (18) is fitted on the outside of the output end of the drive motor (17). The gear (18) meshes with a gear ring (19), and the gear ring (19) is fixedly installed at the bottom of the turntable (20). The turntable (20) is installed inside the lifting seat (5), and a scraper (22) is fixedly connected to the top of the turntable (20). The surface of the scraper (22) is in contact with the outer wall of the glass cover (6).

6. The multi-functional inspection robot for chemical industrial parks according to claim 5, characterized in that: The scraper (22) has a U-shaped structure, and the shape of the scraper (22) matches the cross-section of the outer wall of the glass cover (6). The contact surface between the scraper (22) and the glass cover (6) is made of rubber. The bottom ends of the scraper (22) are slidably connected to the limiting groove (21). The limiting groove (21) is opened on the top surface of the lifting seat (5), and there are two limiting grooves (21). The two limiting grooves (21) have an arc-shaped structure.

7. The multi-functional inspection robot for chemical industrial parks according to claim 6, characterized in that: A sealing ring is provided at the connection between the bottom of the lifting seat (5) and the top of the telescopic tube (4). The sealing ring is made of fluororubber and is an interference fit with the lifting seat (5) and the telescopic tube (4).

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