Inspection robot and autonomous wireless charging butt joint structure thereof

Abstract

The autonomous wireless charging butt joint structure comprises a controller, a remote butt joint assembly, a short-range butt joint assembly and an accurate butt joint assembly, the controller is installed on a machine body of the inspection robot, the remote butt joint assembly is in electric control signal connection with the controller, and the short-range butt joint assembly is in electric control signal connection with the controller. The short-range butt joint assembly is in electric control signal connection with the controller, the precise butt joint assembly comprises a wireless charging transmitting coil fixing seat and a wireless charging receiving coil fixing seat, the wireless charging transmitting coil fixing seat is arranged on the charging pile, the wireless charging transmitting coil fixing seat is provided with a butt joint groove, the wireless charging receiving coil fixing seat is connected to the machine body, and the wireless charging receiving coil fixing seat is connected to the machine body. The wireless charging receiving coil fixing seat is provided with a butt joint end, and the butt joint end is used for being inserted into the butt joint groove. Environmental mapping is completed remotely through SLAM, precise navigation is performed in combination with infrared and ultrasonic sensors in a short range, and precise butt joint is completed through mechanical structure engagement of the inspection robot and the charging pile.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The utility model relates to the technical field of robot charging, and in particular to an autonomous wireless charging docking structure of an inspection robot and the inspection robot. Background Art

[0002] A patrol robot is a device that can conduct autonomous or remote inspections in various environments. By being equipped with different sensors and detection equipment, it can detect, identify, locate and perform data analysis on various targets such as equipment, facilities and environment, thereby improving patrol efficiency, reducing labor costs and improving safety.

[0003] In order to solve the problem of low efficiency and high cost of manual inspection in broiler farms, inspection robots are used in this field for inspection. Compared with foreign countries, my country started later in this field, but it has developed very rapidly. Zhou Fengyu et al. studied the autonomous charging method based on ROS to meet the endurance requirements of home care robots. The operating system divides the charging process into two stages: long-range docking and short-range docking. The two-dimensional map of the environment is constructed through SLAM technology, and the navigation to the charging pile is achieved to achieve stable docking, which has good application and reference value. The vision-based automatic docking and charging system proposed by Fan et al. can be carried out in a weak light environment, with a docking success rate of up to 97.3% and high docking accuracy, which has further promoted the development of this field. The existing robot charging technology mainly relies on the cooperation of detectors and algorithms to control the robot to move autonomously to the charging device. Due to the blind spots of the detectors or the detection accuracy problems, there may still be problems of inaccurate docking or even docking failure. Utility Model Content

[0004] The embodiments of the present application provide an autonomous wireless charging docking structure of an inspection robot and an inspection robot, so as to improve the docking accuracy during the charging process of the robot.

[0005] The first aspect of the present application provides an autonomous wireless charging docking structure of an inspection robot, comprising:

[0006] A controller, mounted on the body of the inspection robot, and used to control the movement of the robot;

[0007] A remote docking component is connected to the controller with an electronic control signal, and includes: an image acquisition device, an odometer, a laser radar, and a depth camera. The image acquisition device and the odometer are used for visual SLAM, and the laser radar and the depth camera are used for laser SLAM;

[0008] A short-range docking component is connected to the controller via an electronic control signal, and includes: an infrared transmitter, an infrared receiver, and an ultrasonic radar. The infrared transmitter is installed on the charging pile of the inspection robot, and the infrared receiver is arranged on the fuselage. The infrared receiver is used to receive the signal sent by the infrared transmitter, and the ultrasonic radar is used to detect the distance from the charging pile.

[0009] The precise docking assembly includes: a wireless charging transmitting coil fixing seat and a wireless charging receiving coil fixing seat, wherein the wireless charging transmitting coil fixing seat is arranged on the charging pile, the wireless charging transmitting coil fixing seat has a docking groove, the wireless charging receiving coil fixing seat is connected to the fuselage, and the wireless charging receiving coil fixing seat has a docking end, and the docking end is used to be inserted into the docking groove.

[0010] The beneficial effects of the above embodiments are: remote environmental mapping through SLAM (simultaneous localization and mapping), precise navigation through infrared and ultrasonic sensors for preliminary docking, and precise docking through the mechanical engagement of the inspection robot and the charging pile, thereby improving the docking accuracy of the inspection robot during charging.

[0011] Based on the above embodiments, the embodiments of the present application may also be improved as follows:

[0012] In one of the embodiments of the present application: the controller is a Raspberry Pi.

[0013] In one embodiment of the present application: there are four infrared receivers, two of which are located on the front side of the fuselage, and two of which are located on both sides of the fuselage. The beneficial effect of this step: through four reasonably arranged infrared receivers, the inspection robot can have a better movement strategy during the backwash process.

[0014] In one embodiment of the present application: the docking groove is a semicircular groove, and the docking end is a circular block. Beneficial effect of this step: the arc-shaped groove has a better guiding effect, so that the inspection robot can better dock through mechanical engagement.

[0015] In one embodiment of the present application: the sum of the thickness of the lower base plate of the wireless charging receiving coil fixing seat and the upper base plate of the wireless charging transmitting coil fixing seat is designed to be 10 mm. The beneficial effect of this step: it can ensure that the distance between the transmitting coil and the receiving coil remains stable, thereby controlling the output current of the receiving coil to be constant.

[0016] The second aspect of the present application provides an inspection robot, including the autonomous wireless charging docking structure. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0017] In order to more clearly illustrate the specific implementation of the utility model or the technical solution in the prior art, the following is a brief introduction to the drawings required for the specific implementation or the prior art description. In all the drawings, similar elements or parts are generally identified by similar reference numerals. In the drawings, each element or part is not necessarily drawn according to the actual scale.

[0018] Figure 1 This is a partial structural diagram of the autonomous wireless charging docking structure of the inspection robot;

[0019] Figure 2 The structural diagram of the docking process between the docking end and the docking groove Figure 1 ;

[0020] Figure 3 The structural diagram of the docking process between the docking end and the docking groove Figure 2 ;

[0021] Figure 4 This is a schematic diagram of the installation position of the infrared transmitter and infrared receiver.

[0022] Among them, 1 is a controller, 2 is a body, 3 is an image acquisition device, 4 is an odometer, 5 is an infrared transmitter, 6 is an infrared receiver, 7 is a charging pile, 8 is a wireless charging transmitting coil fixing seat, 801 is a docking slot, 9 is a wireless charging receiving coil fixing seat, 901 is a docking end, and 10 is a lifting rod. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0023] In this application, unless otherwise clearly specified and limited, the terms in this application should be understood in a broad sense, such as connection can be fixed connection, detachable connection or integration, direct connection, or indirect connection through an intermediate medium; if it involves the electrical field, it can also be electrical connection or communication signal connection, etc. For ordinary technicians in this field, the specific meanings of different terms in this utility model can be understood according to specific circumstances, and the scope of the specific meaning should be limited to realizing the functions of this application.

[0024] Embodiment 1

[0025] like Figure 1-4As shown, an autonomous wireless charging docking structure of an inspection robot includes: a controller 1, a remote docking component, a short-range docking component, and a precise docking component. The controller 1 is installed on the body 2 of the inspection robot. The controller 1 is used to control the movement of the robot. The remote docking component is connected to the controller 1 by an electrical control signal. The remote docking component includes: an image acquisition device 3, an odometer 4, a laser radar, and a depth camera. The image acquisition device 3 and the odometer 4 are used for visual SLAM. The laser radar and the depth camera are used for laser SLAM. The short-range docking component is connected to the controller 1 by an electrical control signal. The short-range docking component includes: an infrared transmitter 5 and an infrared receiver 6 , ultrasonic radar, the infrared transmitter 5 is installed on the charging pile 7 of the inspection robot, the infrared receiver 6 is arranged on the body 2, the infrared receiver 6 is used to receive the signal sent by the infrared transmitter 5, the ultrasonic radar is used to detect the distance between the charging pile 7, and the precise docking component includes: a wireless charging transmitting coil fixing seat 8, a wireless charging receiving coil fixing seat 9, the wireless charging transmitting coil fixing seat 8 is arranged on the charging pile 7, the wireless charging transmitting coil fixing seat 8 has a docking groove 801, the wireless charging receiving coil fixing seat 9 is connected to the body 2, the wireless charging receiving coil fixing seat 9 has a docking end 901, and the docking end 901 is used to be inserted into the docking groove 801.

[0026] Specifically, Figure 1 As shown, controller 1 is a Raspberry Pi, which is installed on the body 2. The Raspberry Pi is connected to the remote control computer through wireless communication. The Raspberry Pi is also connected to the STM32F103RCT6 development board of the inspection robot through electronic communication. The control signal is sent by the Raspberry Pi, and the STM32F103RCT6 development board controls the motor driver to work, thereby controlling the tire movement of the inspection robot, thereby realizing the straight and turning motion control of the robot.

[0027] Specifically, Figure 1 As shown, the image acquisition device 3 is installed on the lifting rod 10 configured on the fuselage 2 through a pan-tilt platform, and the DC motor that controls the lifting of the lifting rod 10 is electrically connected to the DC motor driver, and the DC motor driver is electrically connected to the STM32F103RCT6 development board.

[0028] Specifically, Figure 4 As shown, the infrared transmitter 5 installed on the charging pile 7 divides the area in front of it into two areas with and without infrared signals. The emission angle of the infrared transmitter 5 used is about 40°, the infrared center wavelength is 940nm, and the emission distance is 2m.

[0029] Specifically, Figure 4As shown, there are four infrared receivers 6, two of which are located on the front side of the fuselage 2, and two are located on both sides of the fuselage 2. The carrier frequency of the infrared receiver 6 is 38kHz, the receiving angle is 35°, the receiving distance is up to 10m, and it is small in size and has good performance.

[0030] Specifically, Figure 3 As shown, the docking groove 801 is a semicircular groove, and the docking end 901 is a circular block.

[0031] Specifically, Figure 2 As shown, the charging transmitting coil is installed on the charging pile 7 through the wireless charging transmitting coil fixing seat 8, and the charging receiving coil is installed on the fuselage 2 through the wireless charging receiving coil fixing seat 9. The sum of the thickness of the lower bottom plate of the wireless charging receiving coil fixing seat 9 and the upper bottom plate of the wireless charging transmitting coil fixing seat 8 is designed to be 10 mm, which can ensure that the distance between the transmitting coil and the receiving coil remains stable, thereby controlling the output current of the receiving coil to be constant.

[0032] During the charging and docking process of the autonomous wireless charging and docking structure of this inspection robot, there are two processes: long-range docking and short-range docking.

[0033] During the remote docking process, the inspection robot must first build a two-dimensional map of the environment it is in and analyze the surrounding environmental information. The remote docking component is used to perform visual SLAM, obtain rich semantic information in the environment through the image acquisition device 3, and determine the position of the inspection robot in the environment. However, in a low-light environment, the feature extraction and calculation of key points are very time-consuming. Therefore, a laser radar is added to assist in the real-time navigation and obstacle avoidance functions of the inspection robot, and the depth camera assists in the tracking and mapping functions of the inspection robot, so that the inspection robot can build accurate environmental map information in an unknown or known environment, realize autonomous positioning of the inspection robot, and have good real-time and robustness. By combining the advantages of laser SLAM as the main and visual SLAM as the auxiliary, the path planning and stable navigation of the inspection robot to the charging pile 7 can be realized. Since SLAM technology is an existing conventional technology, it will not be elaborated here.

[0034] When the inspection robot travels to the infrared signal area near the charging pile 7 through long-range docking, the system switches to short-range docking mode.

[0035] During the short-range docking process, the position is first determined based on whether different infrared receivers 6 receive infrared signals, thereby determining the spatial range of the inspection robot. Then, different motion strategies are adopted according to different positions to keep the inspection robot in front of the charging pile 7 as much as possible and keep moving towards the charging pile 7. Among them, the four infrared receivers 6 are defined as IR1, IR2, IR3, and IR4 as shown in the figure. When IR1 or IR2 detects an infrared signal, the signal detection of IR3 and IR4 is shielded. The motion strategy is described as follows:

[0036] ① If no infrared signal is received in the initial states IR1 to IR4, that is, the inspection robot as a whole faces away from the charging pile 7, the inspection robot rotates in place until an infrared signal is detected;

[0037] ② If the starting state is that IR3 receives an infrared signal, the inspection robot is heading to the right side of the charging pile 7, and it turns left at a large angle until IR1 detects an infrared signal;

[0038] ③ If the starting state is that IR4 receives an infrared signal, the inspection robot is heading to the left side of charging pile 7. At this time, it turns right at a large angle until IR2 detects an infrared signal.

[0039] ④ If IR1 detects an infrared signal but IR2 does not, the inspection robot will slightly turn right and turn left to move forward;

[0040] ⑤ If IR2 detects an infrared signal but IR1 does not, the inspection robot will turn slightly to the right and turn right to move forward;

[0041] ⑥ If IR1 and IR2 detect infrared signals at the same time, it means that the inspection robot is facing the charging pile 7 as a whole and is executing a forward motion.

[0042] During the short-range docking process, since the infrared receiving area formed by IR1 and IR2 has a blind spot as shown in the figure, when the inspection robot is very close to the charging pile and enters the infrared detection blind spot, the movement of the inspection robot is monitored by the ultrasonic radar. When the ultrasonic radar detects that the distance to the charging pile is 90mm, the inspection robot has basically docked with the charging pile 7. In order to enable the two to achieve accurate and error-free docking, the inspection robot is controlled to continue to move forward 15mm, and the docking end 901 is fully inserted into the docking groove 801, so that the inspection robot and the charging pile 7 complete the mechanical structure engagement, thereby ensuring the docking accuracy.

[0043] Embodiment 2

[0044] A patrol robot includes the autonomous wireless charging docking structure disclosed in the first embodiment.

[0045] The above are only embodiments of the utility model. The common sense such as the known specific structures and characteristics in the scheme is not described in detail here. The ordinary technicians in the relevant field are aware of all the common technical knowledge in the technical field to which the utility model belongs before the application date or priority date, can obtain all the existing technologies in the field, and have the ability to apply the conventional experimental means before that date. The ordinary technicians in the relevant field can improve and implement the scheme in combination with their own abilities under the enlightenment given by this application. Some typical known structures or known methods should not become obstacles for the ordinary technicians in the relevant field to implement this application. It should be pointed out that for the technicians in this field, without departing from the structure of the utility model, several deformations and improvements can be made, which should also be regarded as the protection scope of the utility model, and these will not affect the effect of the implementation of the utility model and the practicality of the patent.

Claims

1. An autonomous wireless charging docking structure for an inspection robot, characterized in that: include: A controller, mounted on the body of the inspection robot, and used to control the movement of the robot; A remote docking component is connected to the controller with an electronic control signal, and includes: an image acquisition device, an odometer, a laser radar, and a depth camera. The image acquisition device and the odometer are used for visual SLAM, and the laser radar and the depth camera are used for laser SLAM; A short-range docking component is connected to the controller via an electronic control signal, and includes: an infrared transmitter, an infrared receiver, and an ultrasonic radar. The infrared transmitter is installed on the charging pile of the inspection robot, and the infrared receiver is arranged on the fuselage. The infrared receiver is used to receive the signal sent by the infrared transmitter, and the ultrasonic radar is used to detect the distance from the charging pile. The precise docking assembly includes: a wireless charging transmitting coil fixing seat and a wireless charging receiving coil fixing seat, wherein the wireless charging transmitting coil fixing seat is arranged on the charging pile, the wireless charging transmitting coil fixing seat has a docking groove, the wireless charging receiving coil fixing seat is connected to the fuselage, and the wireless charging receiving coil fixing seat has a docking end, and the docking end is used to be inserted into the docking groove.

2. The autonomous wireless charging docking structure according to claim 1, characterized in that: The controller is a Raspberry Pi.

3. The autonomous wireless charging docking structure according to claim 1, characterized in that: There are four infrared receivers, two of which are located on the front side of the fuselage, and two are located on both sides of the fuselage.

4. The autonomous wireless charging docking structure according to claim 1, characterized in that: The butt joint groove is a semicircular groove, and the butt joint end is a circular block.

5. The autonomous wireless charging docking structure according to claim 1, characterized in that: The sum of the thickness of the lower base plate of the wireless charging receiving coil fixing seat and the upper base plate of the wireless charging transmitting coil fixing seat is designed to be 10 mm.

6. A patrol robot, characterized in that: It comprises the autonomous wireless charging docking structure as described in any one of claims 1-5.

Images