Anisotropic composite material track and track sealing type wall-climbing robot

Abstract

The utility model discloses an anisotropic composite material track and a track sealing type wall-climbing robot, which comprise the composite material track and the track sealing type wall-climbing robot, the composite material track is provided with a multi-layer composite structure, the innermost layer is a synchronous belt, the middle layer is an elastic layer, the outermost layer is a friction-increasing wear-resisting layer, and the two sides are sealing layers. And the layers are combined by using a bonding process. The crawler belt sealing type wall-climbing robot further comprises a frame system, an adsorption system, a driving system, a transmission system and a sealing system. The crawler belt sealing type wall-climbing robot solves the problems that air leakage is caused by crawler belt deformation in the turning process when a traditional crawler belt sealing type wall-climbing robot moves, the crawler belts are not resistant to abrasion, and friction force between the crawler belts is large, and effectively improves the wall surface moving capacity and adaptability of the wall-climbing robot.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present application relates to the field of special robots, and in particular to an anisotropic composite material track and a track-sealed wall-climbing robot. Background Art

[0002] Existing high-altitude wall-climbing operations are primarily manual labor, which presents challenges such as high operational risks, low efficiency, high costs, and a shortage of personnel. Using wall-climbing robots to replace manual labor for these tasks is an effective solution. Compared to other types of negative pressure wall-climbing robots, tracked sealed wall-climbing robots are increasingly popular because their negative pressure chamber is integrated with their walking mechanism. This allows them to maintain the good wall-surface adaptability of negative pressure adsorption wall-climbing robots while also offering excellent load capacity and obstacle-crossing capabilities. Because the tracks of tracked sealed wall-climbing robots must always form a sealed chamber, sponge is often used to ensure a perfect fit with the wall. However, when the robot turns or moves diagonally, the soft sponge can be subjected to lateral forces, creating gaps between the two tracks. This can cause air leaks, resulting in a loss of adhesion and even the robot's fall. Therefore, an ideal track design for a tracked sealed wall-climbing robot is one that maintains good elasticity in directions perpendicular to the wall, ensuring perfect contact with the wall, while maintaining a certain degree of rigidity in directions parallel to the wall to prevent deformation.

[0003] In the prior art, Chinese patent application CN209600666U discloses a negative pressure adsorption crawler wall-climbing robot based on rolling seals. The robot includes a negative pressure adsorption system for generating negative pressure. The system cooperates with a rolling seal mechanism, which generates negative pressure adsorption on the sidewalls of the flow channel. The rolling seal mechanism is connected to a drive system via a transmission system, which is fixedly mounted on the negative pressure adsorption system. The drive track has a double-layer structure. The outer layer is made of foam material and seals the negative pressure chamber on both sides. The inner layer is adhered to a synchronous belt that meshes with the drive track wheels, transmitting power from the drive track wheels to the drive track, enabling the robot to move along the wall.

[0004] Although tracked sealed wall-climbing robots are emerging in large numbers, they still have many defects in terms of structural performance:

[0005] 1) The motor in the transmission system of the existing crawler sealed wall-climbing robot is placed in the frame cavity, and the two ends of the crawler synchronous wheel are externally connected to the transmission synchronous wheel or sprocket, and the motor power is transmitted to the crawler by the synchronous belt or chain. On the one hand, this structure occupies the installation position of the fan in the internal space of the frame cavity, and the fan has to be raised to expose the cavity, which increases the center of gravity of the wall-climbing robot and has a certain impact on the noise; on the other hand, the internal space utilization rate of the crawler is insufficient, and the external transmission synchronous wheel or sprocket increases the width and weight of the wall-climbing robot.

[0006] 2) Existing sealed track-type wall-climbing robots typically use a two-layer structure: one layer is a synchronous belt, which primarily provides transmission, and the other layer is foam or other porous elastic material, with the porous material being the key to sealing. However, to ensure proper adhesion between the track and the wall, the material selection process often only considers the material's compression and rebound properties, while ignoring its stiffness. This makes such tracks only suitable for straight-ahead movement. During cornering, the tracks are prone to deformation and flanging, resulting in air leaks and affecting the robot's adhesion performance.

[0007] 3) The existing crawler sealed wall climbing robot has only two layers of tracks. The outermost layer of foam or other porous elastic material is soft and not wear-resistant, and the track life is limited. Utility Model Content

[0008] This utility model patent proposes an anisotropic composite track and a track-sealed wall-climbing robot. By integrating the wall-climbing robot's transmission system into the track position, the internal space of the frame cavity is vacated to facilitate the fan and other electrical components, thereby lowering the center of gravity of the wall-climbing robot and making the overall structure of the wall-climbing robot more compact. A designed anisotropic composite track is used, the innermost layer of which is a synchronous belt, the middle layer is a grid-shaped elastic layer, the outermost layer is a friction-increasing and wear-resistant layer, and both sides are sealing layers. The purpose is to solve the problems of existing solutions such as track deformation causing air leakage during turning, track wear resistance, and high friction between tracks in wall-climbing robots, and effectively improve the wall-surface activity and adaptability of the wall-climbing robot.

[0009] In order to achieve the above purpose, the technical solution adopted by the utility model is:

[0010] On the one hand, the utility model provides an anisotropic composite track, which is applied to a tracked sealed wall-climbing robot. The track has a multi-layer composite structure, in which the innermost layer is a synchronous belt, the middle layer is an elastic layer, the outermost layer is a friction-increasing and wear-resistant layer, and the two sides are sealing layers. The layers are bonded together using a bonding process.

[0011] Preferably, the elastic layer adopts a porous mesh structure design, and the shape of the holes can be regular polygons, circles or holes of other shapes.

[0012] Preferably, the middle elastic layer is made of sponge material, and transverse reinforcing ribs staggered from each other are added in the middle of the sponge material.

[0013] Preferably, the friction-increasing and wear-resistant layer is made of wear-resistant neoprene with a slightly convex surface and is adhered to the outer layer of the elastic layer.

[0014] Preferably, the sealing layer is adhered to both sides of the middle elastic layer.

[0015] On the other hand, the present invention provides a track-sealed wall-climbing robot, comprising a frame system, an adsorption system, a drive system, a transmission system and a sealing system, wherein the sealing system comprises a plurality of tracks as described in the first aspect.

[0016] Preferably, the frame system includes a curved frame and support plates on both sides.

[0017] Preferably, the crawler and the curved frame in the frame system enclose a closed cavity.

[0018] Preferably, the adsorption system includes a negative pressure fan, and the negative pressure fan is installed on the bottom plate of the curved frame.

[0019] Preferably, the driving system includes motors, and the motors are respectively mounted on the support plates on both sides.

[0020] Preferably, the transmission system includes a gear, a driving synchronous wheel and a driven synchronous wheel, wherein the motor is connected to the gear, and the gear is engaged with the gear at the root of the driving synchronous wheel to drive the driving synchronous wheel and the crawler belt to rotate.

[0021] The utility model provides an anisotropic composite material crawler and crawler sealed wall-climbing robot, which has the following beneficial effects compared with the prior art:

[0022] 1) The utility model adopts a grid-shaped elastic layer and a method of using reinforcing ribs to improve the lateral stiffness of the track while ensuring the elasticity of the track in the compression direction, thereby avoiding deformation and flanging of the tracks due to friction and torsion during the turning process of the wall-climbing robot, thereby causing air leakage, and improving the adsorption stability of the wall-climbing robot. The commonly used foam track elastic layer has consistent performance in all directions and can only ensure elasticity in the wall compression direction. Therefore, the track has good compressibility, but it is easy to deform in the lateral direction and cause air leakage.

[0023] 2) The utility model adopts a multi-layer composite material track to effectively meet the performance requirements of the track in all directions. Compared with the common double-layer track structure of foam and synchronous belt, which only has a single compression sealing performance, the multi-layer composite material track can make the track have different performance in different directions. The outermost layer has friction-increasing and wear-resistant properties, which can increase the friction and wear resistance between the track and the wall, and increase the service life. The middle layer has good fitting performance and lateral stiffness, and both sides have good sealing performance, so that the track has the best comprehensive performance.

[0024] 3) From the perspective of improving the space utilization of the wall-climbing robot, the utility model adopts a motor with a right-angle reducer. The motor is installed on the mounting plates on both sides of the frame. The power is transmitted to the crawler and roller of the wall-climbing robot through gear transmission or synchronous belt transmission to realize the overall movement of the wall-climbing robot. Compared with the common motor installation position and transmission method, this structure has a more compact transmission structure and a higher space utilization rate.

[0025] Other features and advantages of the present application will become apparent from the following detailed description of exemplary embodiments of the present application with reference to the accompanying drawings. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0026] The drawings described herein are used to provide further understanding of the present application and constitute a part of the present application. The illustrative embodiments of the present application and their descriptions are used to explain the present application and do not constitute improper limitations on the present application.

[0027] In the attached figure:

[0028] Figure 1 This is a side view of the crawler sealed wall-climbing robot according to Example 1 of the present utility model;

[0029] Figure 2 This is a structural diagram of a crawler-sealed wall-climbing robot according to Example 1 of the present utility model;

[0030] Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram of the mesh crawler structure of Example 1 of the present utility model;

[0031] Figure 4 This is a schematic diagram of the mesh shape and force of the mesh track of Example 1 of the present utility model;

[0032] Figure 5 This is a structural diagram of a crawler-sealed wall-climbing robot according to Example 2 of the present utility model;

[0033] Figure 6 This is a schematic diagram of a track structure with reinforcing ribs according to Example 2 of the present utility model;

[0034] Figure 7 This is a schematic diagram of the arrangement of the middle elastic layer and reinforcing ribs in Example 2 of the present utility model.

[0035] Explanation of the accompanying drawings: 1. Frame system; 2. Adsorption system; 3. Drive system; 4. Transmission system; 5. Sealing system; 11. Curved frame; 12. Support plate 1; 13. Support plate 2; 21. Negative pressure fan; 31. Motor 1; 32. Motor 2; 41. Gear 1; 42. Driving synchronous wheel 1; 43. Driven synchronous wheel 1; 44. Gear 2; 45. Driving synchronous wheel 2; 46. Driven synchronous wheel 2; 47. Synchronous wheel 1; 48. Synchronous wheel 2; 49. Synchronous belt 1; 410. Synchronous belt 2; 51. Track 1; 52. Track 2; 53. Drum 3; 54. Drum 4; 55. Drum 2; 56. Drum 1; 511. Synchronous belt; 512. Elastic layer; 513. Friction-increasing and wear-resistant layer; 514. Sealing layer; 515. Reinforcing ribs. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0036] The following will be combined with the accompanying drawings in the embodiments of the present application to clearly and completely describe the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application. Obviously, the described embodiments are only some of the embodiments of the present application, and not all of the embodiments. The following description of at least one exemplary embodiment is actually only illustrative and is in no way intended to limit the present application, its application, or use.

[0037] Example 1

[0038] like Figures 1 and 2 As shown, an anisotropic composite material crawler and crawler sealed wall-climbing robot, the crawler sealed wall-climbing robot comprises a frame system (1), an adsorption system (2), a drive system (3), a transmission system (4), and a sealing system (5). Wherein:

[0039] The curved frame (11) in the crawler sealed wall-climbing robot frame system (1) and the crawler 1 (51) and crawler 2 (52) in the sealing system (5) as well as roller 1 (56), roller 2 (55), roller 3 (53) and roller 4 (54) enclose a cavity, which is located below the curved frame. When the wall-climbing robot contacts the wall, the cavity is completely sealed. The air in the cavity can be extracted by the negative pressure fan (21) of the adsorption system (2), so that the wall-climbing robot is adsorbed on the wall under the action of the pressure difference between the inside and outside atmospheres.

[0040] The motor 1 (31) and the motor 2 (32) in the driving system (3) are respectively installed on the support plate 1 (12) and the support plate 2 (13) of the frame system (1), wherein the motor 1 (31) drives the gear 1 (41) in the transmission system (4) to rotate, and the gear 1 (41) is engaged with the gear at the root of the driving synchronous wheel 1 (42), driving the driving synchronous wheel 1 (42) and the roller 1 (56) to rotate, and the driving synchronous wheel 1 (42) transmits power to the driven synchronous wheel 1 (43) through the track 1 (51), so that the roller 2 (55) rotates; similarly, the motor 2 (32) drives the gear 2 (44), transmits power to the driving synchronous wheel 2 (45) and the roller 3 (53), and the track 2 (52) drives the driven synchronous wheel 2 (46) to rotate the roller 4 (54), so that the wall-climbing robot obtains the ability to go straight or turn on the wall.

[0041] The crawler sealed wall climbing robot sealing system (5) includes a crawler 1 (51) and a crawler 2 (52) and a roller 1 (56), a roller 2 (55), a roller 3 (53), and a roller 4 (54), wherein the innermost layer of the crawler 1 (51) is a synchronous belt (511), which mainly functions as a transmission, the middle layer is an elastic layer (512), the outermost layer is a friction-increasing and wear-resistant layer (513), and both sides are sealing layers (514), and the layers are bonded together using a bonding process. The crawler and the roller have the same structure, and the difference lies in the length of the synchronous belt and the thickness of the elastic layer.

[0042] like Figures 3 and 4 As shown, the elastic layer (512) in the crawler 1 (51) adopts a porous mesh structure design. The shape of the hole can be a regular square, circle or other shape of hole. As a preference, the upper and lower hole walls are preferably staggered with each other. It has been verified that the honeycomb grid has the best effect. In addition, the grid density of the elastic layer (512) can be adjusted according to the size of the wall-climbing robot, the size of the fan adsorption force, and the height of the obstacle. When the elastic layer (512) is subjected to the Z-direction force, the hole is easily compressed by the force, which can ensure that the crawler can maintain a good fit with the wall surface without leakage under the action of negative pressure. When subjected to the X-direction force, due to the support of the hole wall, the elastic layer has good rigidity and is not easily deformed or curled, so that the crawler and the roller are tightly fitted, without leakage, and stable adsorption during the turning and lateral movement of the wall-climbing robot.

[0043] The friction-increasing and wear-resistant layer (513) in the crawler 1 (51) is attached to the outer layer of the elastic layer (512). On the one hand, together with the sealing layer (514) attached to both sides, it seals the holes of the elastic layer (512) to prevent air leakage. On the other hand, the friction-increasing and wear-resistant layer (513) is made of wear-resistant neoprene with a slightly convex surface, which can increase the friction between the crawler and the wall and protect the elastic layer.

[0044] Example 2

[0045] like Figure 5 As shown, an anisotropic composite material crawler and crawler sealed wall-climbing robot, the crawler sealed wall-climbing robot comprises a frame system (1), an adsorption system (2), a drive system (3), a transmission system (4), and a sealing system (5). Wherein:

[0046] The motor 1 (31) and the motor 2 (32) in the driving system (3) are respectively installed on the support plate 1 (12) and the support plate 2 (13) of the frame system (1), wherein the motor 1 (31) drives the synchronous wheel 1 (47) and drives the driving synchronous wheel 1 (42) to rotate through the synchronous belt 1 (49), thereby rotating the roller 1 (55), and at the same time, the driving synchronous wheel 1 (42) transmits power to the driven synchronous wheel (43) through the track 1 (51), thereby rotating the roller 2 (56); similarly, the motor 2 (32) drives the synchronous wheel 2 (48) through the synchronous belt 2 (410) to drive the driving synchronous wheel 2 (45) and the roller 3 (54), and the track 2 (52) transmits power to the driven synchronous wheel (46) to rotate the roller 4 (53), thereby enabling the wall-climbing robot to obtain the ability to move straight or turn on the wall.

[0047] The crawler sealed wall climbing robot sealing system (5) includes a crawler 1 (51) and a crawler 2 (52) and a roller 1 (56), a roller 2 (55), a roller 3 (53), and a roller 4 (54), wherein the innermost layer of the crawler 1 (51) is a synchronous belt (511), which mainly functions as a transmission, the middle layer is an elastic layer (512), a reinforcing rib (515) is inserted in the middle of the elastic layer (512), the outermost layer is a friction-increasing and wear-resistant layer (513), and both sides are sealing layers (514), and the layers are bonded together using a bonding process. The crawler and the roller have the same structure, and the difference lies in the length of the synchronous belt and the thickness of the elastic layer.

[0048] like Figures 6 and 7 As shown, the elastic layer (512) in the crawler 1 (51) is made of sponge material, and staggered transverse reinforcing ribs (515) are added in the middle of the sponge material. The reinforcing ribs can also ensure that the crawler has good rigidity in the X direction and good elasticity in the Z direction, which can ensure that the crawler can maintain good contact with the wall surface without leakage under the action of negative pressure. When subjected to the action of X-direction force, due to the support of the hole wall, the elastic layer has good rigidity and does not easily deform or curl, so that the crawler and the roller are tightly contacted during turning and lateral movement of the wall-climbing robot, without leakage, and stable adsorption. In addition, the middle elastic layer can also be a regular porous mesh structure, and the reinforcing ribs (512) are inserted on the mesh nodes to further improve the X-direction rigidity.

[0049] The friction-increasing and wear-resistant layer (513) in the crawler 1 (51) is attached to the outer layer of the elastic layer (512). On the one hand, together with the sealing layer (514) attached to both sides, it seals the holes of the elastic layer (512) to prevent air leakage. On the other hand, the friction-increasing and wear-resistant layer (513) is made of wear-resistant neoprene with a slightly convex surface, which can increase the friction between the crawler and the wall and protect the elastic layer.

[0050] The above embodiments are only used to illustrate the technical solutions of the present application and are not intended to limit them. Although the present application has been described in detail with reference to the preferred embodiments, ordinary technicians in the relevant field should understand that the specific implementation methods of the present application can still be modified or some technical features can be replaced by equivalents; without departing from the spirit of the technical solutions of the present application, they should all be included in the scope of the technical solutions requested for protection in this application.

Claims

1. An anisotropic composite track, applied to a track-sealed wall-climbing robot, characterized in that: The crawler track has a multi-layer composite structure, wherein the innermost layer is a synchronous belt, the middle layer is an elastic layer, the outermost layer is a friction-increasing and wear-resistant layer, and both sides are sealing layers. The layers are bonded together using a bonding process.

2. The crawler belt according to claim 1, characterized in that: The elastic layer adopts a porous mesh structure design, and the shape of the holes can be regular polygons or circles.

3. The crawler belt according to claim 2, characterized in that: The elastic layer is made of sponge material, and mutually staggered transverse reinforcing ribs are added in the middle of the sponge material.

4. The crawler belt according to claim 1, characterized in that: The friction-increasing and wear-resistant layer is made of wear-resistant neoprene with a slightly convex surface and is adhered to the outer layer of the elastic layer.

5. The crawler belt according to claim 1, characterized in that: The sealing layer is adhered to both sides of the middle elastic layer.

6. A crawler sealed wall-climbing robot, comprising a frame system, an adsorption system, a drive system, a transmission system and a sealing system, characterized in that: The sealing system comprises a plurality of crawlers according to any one of claims 1 to 4.

7. The crawler sealed wall-climbing robot according to claim 6, characterized in that: The frame system includes a curved frame and support plates on both sides.

8. The crawler sealed wall-climbing robot according to claim 7, characterized in that: The crawler and the curved frame in the frame system enclose a closed cavity.

9. The crawler sealed wall-climbing robot according to claim 7, characterized in that: The adsorption system includes a negative pressure fan, which is installed on the bottom plate of the curved frame.

10. The crawler sealed wall-climbing robot according to claim 7, characterized in that: The driving system includes motors, which are respectively mounted on the support plates on both sides.

11. The crawler sealed wall-climbing robot according to claim 10, characterized in that: The transmission system includes gears, a driving synchronous wheel and a driven synchronous wheel, wherein the motor is connected to the gears, and the gears are engaged with the gears at the root of the driving synchronous wheel to drive the driving synchronous wheel and the crawler belt to rotate.

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