Self-generating underwater inspection robot

Abstract

The utility model relates to the technical field of underwater robots, in particular to a self-generating underwater inspection robot. The self-power-generation underwater inspection robot comprises a robot body, and a driving assembly, an adsorption assembly, a power generation assembly, an energy assembly, an emergency assembly and an underwater camera are arranged on the robot body; the driving assembly is used for driving the underwater inspection robot to move front and back, left and right and float and sink; the adsorption assembly is used for enabling the underwater inspection robot to be in adsorption connection with external marine equipment; the power generation assembly is a telescopic adjusting type vertical shaft blade set power generation mechanism. The energy assembly is used for driving the telescopic adjusting type vertical shaft blade set power generation mechanism to act for power generation and storing power generation electric energy. The emergency assembly is of an air bag emergency structure. Electric energy stored by the energy assembly supplies power to the driving assembly and the air bag emergency structure. The self-generating underwater inspection robot can prolong endurance, is more beneficial to inspection of large ocean engineering equipment, improves inspection efficiency and tidal current energy utilization rate, has an emergency function, and reduces loss.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The utility model relates to the technical field of underwater robots, in particular to a self-generating underwater inspection robot. Background Art

[0002] With the continuous growth of my country's economy and the vigorous development of the underwater robot industry, the development of marine science and technology and the construction of marine equipment have become important choices for maintaining the security of national territorial waters. Underwater inspection robots play a key role in exploring unknown areas of the ocean and performing underwater operations. Underwater inspection robots are widely used in marine engineering, underwater structure detection, underwater archaeology and detection, marine scientific research, marine resource exploration and underwater safety monitoring.

[0003] There are two main ways to power underwater inspection robots. Cabled underwater inspection robots use cables for power supply, which have sufficient power supply, but their range of activity is limited by the length of the cable. Cableless underwater inspection robots use batteries for power supply, which have a large and free range of activity, but short battery life. Existing underwater robots sometimes lose power or cannot communicate unexpectedly, and cannot save themselves.

[0004] To this end, we propose a self-generating underwater inspection robot. Utility Model Content

[0005] The utility model provides a self-generating underwater inspection robot, which can extend the endurance, is more conducive to the inspection of large-scale marine engineering equipment, improves the inspection efficiency and the utilization rate of tidal energy, has an emergency function, reduces losses, and solves the problems existing in the prior art.

[0006] In order to achieve the above purpose, the technical solution adopted by the utility model is:

[0007] A self-generating underwater inspection robot comprises a robot body, on which a driving component, an adsorption component, a power generation component, an energy component, an emergency component and an underwater camera are arranged;

[0008] The driving component is used to drive the underwater inspection robot to move forward and backward, left and right, and to float and sink; the adsorption component is used to make the underwater inspection robot adsorb and connect with external marine equipment; the power generation component is a telescopic adjustable vertical axis blade group power generation mechanism; the energy component is used to drive the telescopic adjustable vertical axis blade group power generation mechanism to generate electricity and store the generated electricity; the emergency component is an airbag emergency structure; the electric energy stored in the energy component is used to power the driving component, the power generation component and the airbag emergency structure.

[0009] Furthermore, the robot body includes an upper cabin, a lower cabin, an air chamber, a small air chamber and a foot pad; the air chamber is arranged at the top of the lower cabin, and the small air chamber is arranged in the middle of the upper cabin; the foot pad is arranged at the bottom of the lower cabin.

[0010] Furthermore, the driving assembly includes a first thruster and a second thruster arranged on the top of the robot body. The first thruster is horizontally placed on two opposite sides of the robot body to control the movement of the underwater inspection robot in the front and back and left and right directions. The second thruster is vertically placed on the top of the robot body to control the sinking and floating of the underwater inspection robot.

[0011] Furthermore, the first and second thrusters include eight thrusters, four of which are arranged on the top of the upper cabin of the robot body, and four of which are arranged on the bottom of the upper cabin. The first thrusters and the second thrusters are arranged in a circular shape in the horizontal plane.

[0012] Furthermore, the first thruster and the second thruster are both propeller thrusters. Each first and second thruster respectively realizes the front-to-back, left-to-right, and up-and-down floating adjustment of the underwater inspection robot through the cooperation of the adjacent thrusters in forward rotation, reverse rotation / reverse rotation, forward rotation, or simultaneous forward rotation / reverse rotation. The controller controls and adjusts the propeller thrusters to realize the forward-to-back, left-to-right, and up-and-down movement of the object, which belongs to the existing adjustment control method, thereby ensuring that the underwater inspection robot can move more flexibly to the vicinity of the target position.

[0013] Furthermore, the second propeller is placed horizontally and tilted at the bottom of the upper cabin, so that the underwater inspection robot can be better moved in the front-back and left-right directions during operation.

[0014] Furthermore, the adsorption assembly includes an adsorption base, a permanent magnet, and a first hydraulic cylinder. The adsorption base and the first hydraulic cylinder are both fixed to the side of the robot body, and the permanent magnet is fixed to the end of the adsorption base; the first hydraulic cylinder includes a first hydraulic cylinder barrel, a first piston rod and a first piston rod sleeve.

[0015] Furthermore, the first piston rod is mounted on the first hydraulic cylinder, and the first piston rod sleeve is fixed to the end of the first piston rod.

[0016] Furthermore, the first hydraulic cylinder may also be an electric cylinder, which is independently controlled by a controller.

[0017] Furthermore, the telescopically adjustable vertical-axis blade group power generation mechanism comprises a power generation device base, a blade group base, a vertical-axis blade group, a coupling, a generator, a secondary piston rod, a primary piston rod and a second hydraulic cylinder; the second hydraulic cylinder is arranged in the lower part of the robot body, and the primary piston rod and the secondary piston rod are sequentially connected to the second hydraulic cylinder; the top end of the secondary piston rod is connected to the power generation device base, the blade group base is fixedly connected to the bottom end of the power generation device base, the generator is arranged on the blade group base, and the generator is connected to the vertical-axis blade group via a coupling.

[0018] Furthermore, the cylinder barrel of the second hydraulic cylinder is arranged on the bottom plate of the lower cabin.

[0019] Furthermore, an opening is provided on the bottom plate of the lower cabin corresponding to the vertical-axis blade group to facilitate the vertical-axis blade group to enter and exit the lower cabin.

[0020] Furthermore, the energy component includes a battery, a hydraulic pump, and a hydraulic oil tank. The battery and the hydraulic oil tank are fixed in the lower part of the robot body, and the hydraulic pump is installed on the hydraulic oil tank; the output end of the battery is connected to the hydraulic pump.

[0021] Furthermore, the battery and the hydraulic oil tank are both fixed on the bottom plate of the lower cabin.

[0022] Furthermore, the hydraulic pump supplies energy to the first hydraulic cylinder and the second hydraulic cylinder respectively.

[0023] Furthermore, the airbag emergency structure includes a gas cylinder, an airbag frame, an airbag, and an air pipe. The gas cylinder is fixedly installed in the upper part of the robot body, the airbag frame is fixed on the side of the robot body, the airbag is installed on the airbag frame, and the airbag and the gas cylinder are connected by an air pipe; a normally open solenoid valve is set at the outlet of the gas cylinder.

[0024] Furthermore, the gas cylinder is fixedly mounted on the upper cabin bottom plate.

[0025] Furthermore, the underwater camera is arranged on the front side of the robot body.

[0026] Furthermore, the self-generating underwater inspection robot also includes a controller and a display. The controller is arranged on the display. The controller is electrically connected to the driving component, energy component, power generation component, emergency component and underwater camera respectively. The display is used to receive images taken by the underwater camera.

[0027] Furthermore, the controller is electrically connected to the first thruster, the second thruster, the battery, the generator, the high-pressure gas cylinder, and the underwater camera respectively.

[0028] Furthermore, the controller is a PI C / STM controller. The controller controls the second hydraulic cylinder of the energy component to work, so as to drive the vertical axis blade group of the power generation component to generate electricity below the power generation mechanism, the power output end of the generator is connected to the power input end of the battery, and the power output end of the battery is connected to the hydraulic pump, the propeller of the drive component, the emergency component and the underwater camera.

[0029] Beneficial effects of the utility model:

[0030] In addition to utilizing the robot body, drive components, energy components, and underwater cameras to complete basic inspection work, the utility model is also provided with a power generation component. The vertical axis blade group rotates under the drive of tidal energy to drive the generator to generate electricity, and the retractable secondary hydraulic cylinder can be retracted to drive the vertical axis blade group to the lower part of the robot body, thereby improving the power generation efficiency. When the underwater robot is working normally, the secondary hydraulic cylinder is extended, and the power generation component is in the lower cabin, thereby ensuring that the underwater robot will not be affected when it needs to navigate. By arranging an adsorption component, the underwater robot can be adsorbed on large-scale marine engineering equipment, thereby improving the inspection efficiency and the utilization rate of tidal energy. By arranging an emergency component, when the robot loses power or is damaged, such as in the event of an emergency such as inability to communicate or power failure, the normally open solenoid valve is opened in a power-off state to achieve gas flow, and the airbag is inflated by a high-pressure gas cylinder, thereby increasing the buoyancy to allow the robot to float to the surface and reducing losses. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0031] Figure 1 It is a schematic diagram of the structure of the utility model;

[0032] Figure 2 for Figure 1 Front view structural diagram;

[0033] Figure 3 for Figure 2 Right view structural diagram;

[0034] Figure 4 for Figure 3 Schematic diagram of the cross-sectional structure in the middle BB direction;

[0035] Figure 5 for Figure 3 Schematic diagram of the structure from top view;

[0036] Figure 6 It is a structural schematic diagram of the utility model when the first hydraulic cylinder is retracted, the second hydraulic cylinder is extended, and the airbag of the emergency assembly is in a contracted state;

[0037] Figure 7 It is a schematic diagram of the robot of the utility model when the first hydraulic cylinder is extended, the second hydraulic cylinder is retracted, and the airbag of the emergency component is deployed;

[0038] Figure 8 for Figure 7 Front view structural diagram.

[0039] Among them, 1. Robot body; 2. Driving component; 3. Adsorption component; 4. Power generation component; 5. Energy component; 6. Emergency component; 7. Underwater camera; 11. Upper cabin; 12. Lower cabin; 13. Large air chamber; 14. Small air chamber; 15. Foot pad; 21. Thruster; 210 first thruster; 211 second thruster; 31. Adsorption base; 32. Permanent magnet; 33. First hydraulic cylinder; 34. First piston rod; 35. First piston rod sleeve; 41. Power generation device base; 42. Blade group base; 43. Vertical axis blade group; 44. Coupling; 45. Generator; 46. Secondary piston rod; 47. Primary piston rod; 48. Second hydraulic cylinder; 51. Battery; 52. Hydraulic pump; 53. Hydraulic oil tank; 61. Gas cylinder; 62. Airbag rack; 63. Airbag; 64 Air pipe. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0040] In order to clearly illustrate the technical features of this solution, the present invention is described in detail below through specific implementation methods in combination with the accompanying drawings.

[0041] In the description of the present invention, it should be understood that the terms "upper", "lower", "front", "back", "left", "right", "top", "bottom", "inside", "outside", etc., indicating directions or positional relationships, are based on the directions or positional relationships shown in the accompanying drawings, and are only for the convenience of describing the present invention and simplifying the description, rather than indicating or implying that the device or element referred to must have a specific direction, be constructed and operated in a specific direction, and therefore should not be understood as a limitation on the present invention.

[0042] like Figure 1-8 As shown, the self-powered underwater inspection robot can generate electricity by itself based on tidal energy. Its structure includes a robot body 1, a driving component 2, an adsorption component 3, a power generation component 4, an energy component 5, an emergency component 6, an underwater camera 7, and a controller for controlling the operation of the underwater inspection robot. The controller is placed or set on the marine equipment that the underwater inspection robot inspects.

[0043] The internal space of the robot body 1 is divided into an upper cabin 11 and a lower cabin 12 by a partition. Two small air chambers 14 are arranged in the middle of the upper cabin, and a large air chamber 13 is arranged at the top of the lower cabin. The air chambers serve to increase the displacement volume, thereby increasing the buoyancy of the device; four foot pads 15 are arranged at the bottom of the lower cabin for fixing the underwater inspection robot underwater on land. The underwater camera 7 is arranged in the upper part of the upper cabin on the front of the robot body. The aforementioned drive component 2 is arranged at the top and bottom of the upper cabin, and the adsorption component 3 is respectively arranged on the upper side wall of the upper cabin and the upper side wall of the lower cabin on one side of the robot body. The aforementioned emergency component 6 is arranged on the middle side wall on the other side of the robot body, and the aforementioned energy component 5 and power generation component 4 are arranged in the lower cabin.

[0044] Specifically, the driving assembly 2 is composed of 8 propellers 21 arranged at the bottom and top of the upper cabin, wherein the 4 first propellers 210 arranged at the top are placed vertically to make the underwater inspection robot float and sink, and the 4 second propellers 211 placed horizontally at the bottom are placed to make the underwater inspection robot move forward and backward and left and right. The second propellers 211 are placed horizontally and tilted at the bottom of the upper cabin. In this way, the movement of the underwater inspection robot in the forward and backward and left and right directions during operation can be better guaranteed.

[0045] The above-mentioned adsorption assembly 3 is composed of an adsorption base 31, a permanent magnet 32, a first hydraulic cylinder 33, a first piston rod 34, and a first piston rod sleeve 35. The adsorption base 31 and the first hydraulic cylinder barrel 33 are both fixed to the side of the robot body 1, the permanent magnet 32 ​​is fixed to the end of the adsorption base 31, the first piston rod is installed on the first hydraulic cylinder barrel 33, and the first piston rod sleeve 35 is fixed to the end of the first piston rod.

[0046] The power generation assembly 4 consists of a power generation device base 41, a blade group base 42, a vertical axis blade group 43, a coupling 44, a generator 45, a secondary piston rod 46, a primary piston rod 47, and a second hydraulic cylinder 48, wherein the second hydraulic cylinder is fixedly connected to the bottom plate of the lower cabin 12, the primary piston rod is installed on the second hydraulic cylinder, the secondary piston rod is installed on the primary piston rod, and the power generation device base 41 is fixed on the secondary piston rod; the blade group base 42 is fixed on the power generation device base 41, the generator 45 is fixed on the blade group base, and the coupling 44 is installed at the end of the generator 45 and connected to the vertical axis blade group 43.

[0047] The energy component 5 is composed of a battery 51 , a hydraulic pump 52 , and a hydraulic oil tank 53 . The battery and the hydraulic oil tank are both fixed on the bottom plate of the lower cabin, and the hydraulic pump is installed on the hydraulic oil tank 53 .

[0048] The above-mentioned emergency component 6 is composed of a gas cylinder 61, an airbag frame 62, an airbag 63, and an air pipe 64. The gas cylinder is fixedly mounted on the upper cabin bottom plate, the airbag frame is fixed on the side of the robot body, the airbag 63 is mounted on the airbag frame 62, and the airbag and the gas cylinder 61 are connected by an air pipe 64; a normally open solenoid valve (not shown in the figure) is set at the outlet of the gas cylinder 61.

[0049] The above-mentioned controller is electrically connected to the first thruster 210 of the driving component 2, the second thruster 211, the first hydraulic cylinder 33 of the adsorption component 3, the second hydraulic cylinder 48 of the power generation component 4, the generator 45, the battery 51 of the energy component 5, the high-pressure gas cylinder of the emergency component 6, and the underwater camera 7, respectively, so as to facilitate the control of the start and stop of the work of the above structures.

[0050] The working principle of this utility model:

[0051] After the self-powered underwater inspection robot enters the water, it can understand its movement and position in real time based on the image signal transmitted by the underwater camera 7, and inspect the large-scale marine equipment and its external underwater environment. When the underwater inspection robot is required to return the corresponding impact signal in a static state, or when the underwater inspection robot is required to generate electricity by itself, the underwater inspection robot needs to complete the action process of being fixed for a certain period of time and then moving again, which are described as follows:

[0052] 1. If a static inspection is required, the driving component 2 is started by the controller to drive the second propeller 211 and the first propeller 210 to work separately or simultaneously, so as to adjust the underwater inspection robot's front and back, left and right directions, and up and down movement distance underwater, so as to facilitate its rapid approach to large-scale marine engineering equipment; after the underwater inspection robot contacts and adsorbs the outer wall of the large-scale marine engineering equipment through the permanent magnet 32 ​​of the adsorption component 3, the propeller is turned off, and the inspection image of the inspection robot at the fixed position outside the large-scale marine engineering equipment is recorded and transmitted in real time.

[0053] When it is necessary to leave the adsorption position and enter the next position for adsorption again, the hydraulic pump 52 of the energy component 5 is controlled by the controller to control and start the movement of the first piston rod 34 of the first hydraulic cylinder 38. The first piston rod sleeve 35 is pressed against the outer wall of the large marine equipment as the first piston rod 34 extends. At the same time, the second thruster of the control thruster is started. Under the action of the second thruster, the permanent magnet 32 ​​is separated from the large marine equipment, and the underwater inspection robot is moved for underwater inspection.

[0054] Second, when it is necessary to use tidal energy to generate electricity, the same adjustment process as the above-mentioned underwater inspection robot is used to absorb the large marine equipment through the permanent magnet. After the absorption is stable, the hydraulic pump 52 of the energy component is controlled by the controller to control and start the second hydraulic cylinder 48. The secondary and primary piston rods are gradually retracted into the cylinder of the second hydraulic cylinder, and the blade group base 42 is lowered. The vertical blade group 43 extends to the outside of the lower cabin 12. The vertical blade group starts to rotate under the action of the tidal current, thereby driving the generator to rotate and generate electricity. The battery 51 stores electrical energy for the power supply of other devices.

[0055] When there is no need to use tidal energy to generate electricity, the controller controls the hydraulic pump of the underwater inspection robot to act in reverse, the first-stage piston rod 47 and the second-stage piston rod 46 are extended, the blade group base rises accordingly, and the power generation component is retracted into the lower cabin 12, which can reduce the resistance encountered during the movement and facilitate the work of the underwater inspection robot. At the same time, this action causes the first piston rod of the first hydraulic cylinder to extend, and the first piston rod sleeve 35 is against the adsorption surface of the large marine equipment. Under the simultaneous start-up action of the thruster, the underwater inspection robot stops adsorption and starts to work normally.

[0056] During the above process, the hydraulic pump's control action on the first and second hydraulic cylinders is synchronous. The simultaneous retraction of the piston rods ensures the normal adsorption of the permanent magnet at the position of the first hydraulic cylinder and the lowering of the power generation assembly at the position of the second hydraulic cylinder. The simultaneous extension of the piston rods ensures the separation of the permanent magnet at the position of the first hydraulic cylinder from the large marine equipment and the lifting and retraction of the power generation assembly at the position of the second hydraulic cylinder to the lower cabin.

[0057] In case of emergency such as the underwater inspection robot losing power or being damaged, unable to communicate, etc., the normally open solenoid valve on the gas cylinder 61 opens in a power-off (de-energized) state to enable gas flow, and the high-pressure gas cylinder inflates the airbag, which increases the buoyancy of the underwater inspection robot, causing it to float up and surface, thereby reducing losses.

[0058] It should be noted that the terms "first", "second", etc. in the specification and claims of the present application and the above-mentioned drawings are used to distinguish similar objects, and are not necessarily used to describe a specific order or sequence. It should be understood that the numbers used in this way can be interchanged where appropriate, so that the embodiments of the present application described herein can be implemented in an order other than those illustrated or described herein.

[0059] The above-mentioned specific implementation manner cannot be used as a limitation on the protection scope of the present utility model. For those skilled in the art, any replacement, improvement or change made to the implementation manner of the present utility model falls within the protection scope of the present utility model.

[0060] The matters not described in detail in the present invention are all known technologies to those skilled in the art.

Claims

1. A self-generating underwater inspection robot, characterized in that: It includes a robot body, on which a driving component, an adsorption component, a power generation component, an energy component, an emergency component and an underwater camera are arranged; The driving component is used to drive the underwater inspection robot to move forward and backward, left and right, and to float and sink; the adsorption component enables the underwater inspection robot to be adsorbed and connected to external marine equipment; the power generation component is a telescopic adjustable vertical axis blade group power generation mechanism; the energy component is used to drive the telescopic adjustable vertical axis blade group power generation mechanism to generate electricity and store the generated electricity; the emergency component is an airbag emergency structure; the electric energy stored in the energy component is used to power the driving component, the power generation component, the airbag emergency structure, and the underwater camera.

2. The self-generating underwater inspection robot according to claim 1, characterized in that: The robot body comprises an upper cabin, a lower cabin, an air chamber, a small air chamber and a foot pad; the air chamber is arranged at the top of the lower cabin, the small air chamber is arranged at the middle of the upper cabin; the foot pad is arranged at the bottom of the lower cabin.

3. The self-generating underwater inspection robot according to claim 1, characterized in that: The driving assembly includes a first thruster and a second thruster arranged on the top of the robot body. The first thruster is placed horizontally on two opposite sides of the robot body to control the movement of the underwater inspection robot in the front and back and left and right directions. The second thruster is placed vertically on the top of the robot body to control the sinking and floating of the underwater inspection robot.

4. The self-generating underwater inspection robot according to claim 1, characterized in that: The adsorption assembly includes an adsorption base, a permanent magnet, and a first hydraulic cylinder; the adsorption base and the first hydraulic cylinder are both fixed to the side of the robot body, and the permanent magnet is fixed to the end of the adsorption base; the first hydraulic cylinder includes a first hydraulic cylinder barrel, a first piston rod and a first piston rod sleeve.

5. The self-generating underwater inspection robot according to claim 1, characterized in that: The telescopically adjustable vertical-axis blade group power generation mechanism comprises a power generation device base, a blade group base, a vertical-axis blade group, a coupling, a generator, a secondary piston rod, a primary piston rod and a second hydraulic cylinder; the second hydraulic cylinder is arranged in the lower part of the robot body, and the primary piston rod and the secondary piston rod are sequentially connected to the second hydraulic cylinder; the top end of the secondary piston rod is connected to the power generation device base, the blade group base is fixedly connected to the bottom end of the power generation device base, the generator is arranged on the blade group base, and the generator is connected to the vertical-axis blade group via a coupling.

6. The self-generating underwater inspection robot according to claim 1, characterized in that: The energy component includes a battery, a hydraulic pump, and a hydraulic oil tank. The battery and the hydraulic oil tank are fixed in the lower part of the robot body, and the hydraulic pump is installed on the hydraulic oil tank; the output end of the battery is connected to the hydraulic pump.

7. The self-generating underwater inspection robot according to claim 1, characterized in that: The airbag emergency structure includes a gas cylinder, an airbag frame, an airbag, and an air pipe. The gas cylinder is fixedly installed in the upper part of the robot body, the airbag frame is fixed on the side of the robot body, the airbag is installed on the airbag frame, and the airbag and the gas cylinder are connected by an air pipe; a normally open solenoid valve is set at the outlet of the gas cylinder.

8. The self-generating underwater inspection robot according to claim 1, characterized in that: The underwater camera is arranged on the front side of the robot body.

9. The self-generating underwater inspection robot according to any one of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that: It also includes a controller and a display. The controller is arranged on the display. The controller is electrically connected with the driving component, the energy component, the power generation component, the emergency component and the underwater camera respectively. The display is used to receive the images taken by the underwater camera.

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