Reconfigurable high-adaptability pipeline robot

Abstract

The utility model discloses a reconfigurable high-adaptability pipeline robot, and relates to the technical field of pipeline robots. The robot comprises a main body, a wheel type driving wheel, a crawler type driving wheel, a middle telescopic module, a wheel type reducing unit and a crawler type reducing unit. The robot connects all the units together through the middle telescopic unit and the wheel type reducing unit. The wheel type diameter changing unit controls the wheel type driving wheel to change the diameter, and the diameter is changed through a driven telescopic rod of the middle telescopic module and a sliding block in the main body. The crawler-type diameter-changing unit controls the crawler-type driving wheel to change the diameter, and the diameter is changed through a telescopic rod piece of the middle telescopic unit and a sliding block outside the main body. Due to the fact that the diameter changing function of the robot is composed of a passive diameter changing part and an active diameter changing part, when the robot encounters obstacles and turns, the robot is higher in flexibility, higher in obstacle avoiding performance and capable of adapting to more pipelines which are complex in shape and severe in environment, and the working efficiency of the robot in the pipelines is improved.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] The utility model relates to pipeline robot technical field, specifically designs a kind of reconfigurable high adaptability pipeline robot. BACKGROUND

[0002] As a kind of efficient and economic material transport mode, pipeline is widely used in petroleum, natural gas, military and many other industries.As an important cornerstone to promote industrial and urban development, the safe and stable operation of pipeline system is crucial.However, due to the aging of pipeline and the deterioration of environmental factors, problems such as foreign matter deposition, corrosion, perforation and cracking gradually emerge, which threaten the safety of pipeline.Therefore, it is crucial to carry out regular detection, cleaning and repair and other maintenance work for pipeline.Timely and effective inspection and repair measures can ensure the long-term stable operation of pipeline and provide solid support for the development of industry and city.

[0003] Pipeline robot is a mechanical, electrical and instrument integrated system that can automatically walk inside or outside small pipeline.It carries one or more sensors and operating machinery, and performs a series of pipeline operations under the remote control of staff or automatic control of computer.This robot has become a model in the field of intelligent technology with its outstanding performance and unlimited possibilities, and is widely used in pipeline detection and repair in industries such as petroleum, chemical industry, power and municipal administration.

[0004] The key technologies of pipeline robot include drive system design, control system design, mechanical structure design and sensor system design.The drive system is the basis of its movement, and factors such as the movement performance of the robot, working environment and working load need to be considered.The control system is the control center of its movement, and factors such as movement control accuracy, stability and real-time need to be considered.Mechanical structure design needs to consider factors such as the size, weight, strength and stiffness of the robot, as well as the flexibility and adaptability of the robot.Sensor system is an important tool for the robot to perceive the environment, and factors such as the type, number, installation position and data processing of the sensor need to be considered.

[0005] With the continuous progress of technology, some advanced pipeline robots have been able to realize automatic operation and decision-making, such as automatically selecting the best repair scheme according to the detection results and performing the corresponding operation.This not only improves the efficiency of pipeline detection and repair, but also greatly reduces the labor intensity and risk of workers.

[0006] Therefore, in view of the deficiencies of the current pipeline robot, a reconfigurable high adaptability pipeline robot is designed and invented, which has important significance for realizing the autonomous deformation of pipeline robot in the pipeline. UTILITY MODEL CONTENT

[0007] (I) Technical problem solved

[0008] The utility model discloses a kind of reconfigurable high adaptability pipeline robots, which can realize autonomous steering, active obstacle avoidance, active and passive cooperation variable diameter and autonomous deformation, to meet the detection and repair of various complex branched pipe networks existing currently.

[0009] (Two) technical solutions

[0010] The utility model discloses a kind of reconfigurable high adaptability pipeline robots, which can realize autonomous steering, active obstacle avoidance, active and passive cooperation variable diameter and autonomous deformation, to meet the detection and repair of various complex branched pipe networks existing currently.

[0011] The body includes shell, slider 1, slider 2, spring 1;The slider 1, slider 2 and spring 1 are fixed on the shell, and the slider 1 and slider 2 are connected with the rod by pin link;When the track-type drive wheel is subjected to pressure, slider 1 moves to both sides, while compressing spring 1, to realize the passive variable diameter function of the track-type drive wheel;When the action force of the wheel drive wheel increases, the passive telescopic rod of the middle telescopic unit contracts inward, driving slider 2 to move to both sides, while compressing spring 1, to realize the active variable diameter function of the wheel drive wheel.

[0012] Further, the wheel drive wheel includes wheels, support units, connection units, springs 3, rotating units, the wheels are equipped with hub motors, and can be individually driven to rotate;The support units serve as the support of two wheels, and the lower parts are equipped with rotating units to realize the autonomous steering function of the robot;The support units of the wheel drive wheel are connected with the lower connection unit springs 3, and the connection of the springs 3 enables the robot to have the passive variable diameter purpose, while slowing down the vibration of the robot during movement to realize the damping function of the robot body.

[0013] Further, the track-type drive wheel includes motor 1, motor 2, driving wheel 1, driving wheel 2, driven wheel 1, driven wheel 2, track 1, track 2, partition, the motor 1 and motor 2 are respectively placed symmetrically on both sides of the partition, and drive the driving wheel 1 and driving wheel 2 of the track-type drive wheel respectively, to realize the independent autonomous movement of the track 1 and track 2, and can realize the steering function of the robot walking in horizontal pipeline to vertical pipeline;The motor 1 and motor 2 are fixed on the baffle on both sides of the track-type drive wheel by fixed plate.

[0014] Further, the middle telescopic module comprises four telescopic unit rods, passive telescopic rods, the telescopic unit rods are assembled and connected by two rods with different diameters, the thick rod is hollow, the rods can move forward and backward through a telescopic motor, the middle part is a power supply module for supplying power to each unit; the passive telescopic rods are two rods connected to the center of the middle telescopic module, used for supporting the wheel type driving wheel, and a pressure sensor is installed on the passive telescopic rods, the pressure sensor has two thresholds, when the upper threshold is reached, the passive telescopic rods start to shorten, when the lower threshold is reached, the supporting rod starts to lengthen, and when the pressure value is between the upper and lower thresholds, the passive telescopic rods stop telescoping.

[0015] Further, the wheel type variable diameter unit is composed of four rods, both ends of the rods are processed into rotating pairs, one end of the rods is connected to the connecting unit in the wheel type driving wheel through a pin link, and the other end of the rods is also connected to the slider 2 on the main body through a pin link, when the position of the slider 2 changes, the position and posture of the rods also change, so that the rotating pairs can rotate in the pin link, meet the variable diameter requirement of the wheel type driving wheel of the robot, and the obstacle avoidance function of the robot in the pipeline can be realized.

[0016] Further, the track type variable diameter unit comprises a slider 1 and a plurality of connecting rods, the slider 1 controls the rotation of the connecting rods, when the track type driving wheel is subjected to pressure, the slider 1 moves to both sides, compresses the spring 1, and finally meets the variable diameter requirement of the track type driving wheel of the robot.

[0017] (Three) beneficial effects

[0018] The beneficial effects of the utility model lie in:

[0019] 1. Multi-module design is adopted, the body is changed (in a deformation mode), so that the robot can change longitudinally and horizontally at the "T" type pipe. At the horizontal pipeline, the robot can complete vertical direction motion change by combining with the steering wheel design, and then reach the purpose of passing through the "T" type pipe; at the vertical branch pipeline, the robot can change the direction to the vertical direction by adopting the reverse mode through the double motors of the track type driving wheel, and finally achieve the steering effect, so that the robot can meet the operation requirements of various complex branch pipe networks.

[0020] 2. The robot is driven forward by adopting double driving modules, when obstacles are encountered, the robot is supported in the pipe by switching different driving wheels, and after passing through the obstacles, the robot is restored to normal. The robot can pass through any form of obstacles, and the obstacle avoidance function of the robot in the pipeline is realized.

[0021] 3、Adopt intermediate telescopic unit to connect each main body, through the telescopic rod, the main body can realize arbitrary movement, so that the robot realizes the function of deformation, and more postures can be realized in the pipeline to detect the pipeline.

[0022] 4、The obstacle avoidance and variable diameter unit of the utility model combines the power system and the variable diameter unit into one, allows the robot to rotate when encountering obstacles, and can adjust its diameter size in time. This design makes the robot can flexibly adjust its diameter under various motion states. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0023] Figure 1 It is the overall structure shaft side view of the pipeline robot;

[0024] Figure 2 It is the shaft side view after the pipeline robot shortens the shaft diameter;

[0025] Figure 3 It is the overall structure front view of the pipeline robot;

[0026] Figure 4 It is the top view of the overall structure of the pipeline robot;

[0027] Figure 5 It is the model view of the pipeline robot main body inside;

[0028] Figure 6 It is the model view of the pipeline robot middle telescopic module;

[0029] Figure 7 It is the model view of the pipeline robot wheel type variable diameter unit;

[0030] Figure 8 It is the side view of the pipeline robot track type drive wheel;

[0031] Figure 9 It is the model view of the pipeline robot track type drive wheel. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0032] The utility model will be combined with the drawings, the technical scheme in the utility model embodiment of the present utility model will be described clearly and completely, obviously, the described embodiment is only a part of the embodiment of the utility model, rather than all the embodiments. Based on the embodiment in the utility model, all other embodiments obtained by the ordinary skill in the art without making creative labor but the protection scope of the utility model is not limited to the following.

[0033] Please refer to Figures 1-9The application discloses a reconfigurable high-adaptability pipeline robot, which comprises a main body (3), a wheeled driving wheel (4), a tracked driving wheel (1), a middle telescopic module (6), a wheeled variable-diameter unit (5) and a tracked variable-diameter unit (2), four main bodies (3) are connected into a whole by a rod (602) of the middle telescopic module (6) through welding; the wheeled driving wheel (4) is connected into a whole with the main body through the wheeled variable-diameter unit (5) and connected into a whole with a power supply module (604) through a passive telescopic rod (603), and the passive telescopic rod (603) has a supporting effect on the wheeled driving wheel (4); the tracked driving wheel (1) is connected into a whole with the main body (3) through the tracked variable-diameter unit (2), and the connecting rods are cross-distributed.

[0034] The main body (3) comprises a shell (304), a sliding block 1 (301), a sliding block 2 (303), a spring 1 (302) and a spring 2 (306); the sliding block 1 (301) and the sliding block 2 (303) are fixed outside the shell (304), the sliding block 1 (301) moves on a spring 1 (302) track, is part of the tracked variable-diameter unit and passively controls the tracked driving wheel to change the diameter; the sliding block 2 (303) and the spring 2 (306) are fixed inside the shell (304), the sliding block 2 (303) moves on a spring 2 (306) track, is part of the wheeled variable-diameter unit and passively controls the wheeled driving wheel to change the diameter.

[0035] The wheeled driving wheel (4) comprises two wheels (401), a supporting unit, a connecting unit, a spring 3 (501), a rotating unit (502) and a supporting rod, the wheels (401) are provided with hub motors; the supporting unit serves as a support for the two wheels (401) and is provided with the rotating unit (502) at a lower portion, so as to realize the self-turning function of the robot; the supporting rod (402) is a telescopic supporting rod, which supports the central part of the wheeled driving wheel (4) and the wheeled variable-diameter unit (5) and fixes the wheeled driving wheel (4) to prevent the wheeled driving wheel (4) from being deflected; the supporting unit of the wheeled driving wheel (4) is connected with the spring 3 (501) in the connecting unit at a lower portion, the connection through the spring 3 (501) not only has the passive diameter-changing function, but also can slow down the vibration of the robot during movement, so as to realize the damping function of the main body of the robot; according to the turning requirement, the rotating unit (502) can drive the wheeled driving wheel (4) to turn to a turning angle that can pass the bend according to the corresponding requirement, so as to realize the self-bend-passing function; in the aspect of obstacle avoidance, according to the size of the obstacle, since the robot can be supported by the tracked driving wheel (1), when the wheeled driving wheel (4) encounters an obstacle, the height of the wheeled driving wheel (4) can be reduced, after passing the obstacle, the height of the wheeled driving wheel (4) is restored to the original position, and the robot continues to move forward.

[0036] The caterpillar drive wheel (1) comprises a motor 1 (103), a motor 2 (110), a driving wheel 1 (104), a driving wheel 2 (109), a driven wheel 1 (105), a driven wheel 2 (108), a caterpillar 1 (102), a caterpillar 2 (111), and a partition plate (107), the motor 1 (103) and the motor 2 (110) are symmetrically arranged on the two sides of the partition plate (107) respectively, and drive the driving wheel 1 (104) and the driving wheel 2 (109) of the caterpillar drive wheel (1) respectively, so as to realize the independent movement of the caterpillar 1 (102) and the caterpillar 2 (111), and the steering function of the robot walking on the horizontal pipeline to the vertical pipeline can be realized; when the robot encounters a curved pipe which needs to move upward or a vertical "T" type pipe, the caterpillar 1 (102) and the caterpillar 2 (111) in the caterpillar drive wheel (1) can produce different direction movements when the motor 1 (103) and the motor 2 (110) rotate in different directions, and such movement can make the robot rotate by 90°, so that the movement direction of the robot is upward.

[0037] The middle telescopic module (6) comprises a telescopic unit rod (602) and a passive telescopic rod (603), the telescopic unit rod (602) is assembled and connected by two rods with different diameters, the thick rod is hollow, the rod can move forward and backward through a telescopic motor, the middle part is a power supply module (604) for supplying power to each unit, the passive telescopic rod (603) is an upper and lower passive telescopic rod for connecting the center of the middle telescopic module, for supporting the wheel type drive wheel, and a pressure sensor (601) is installed on the passive telescopic rod (603), the pressure sensor has two threshold values, when the pressure value reaches the upper threshold value, the passive telescopic rod (603) starts to shorten, when the pressure value reaches the lower threshold value, the supporting rod starts to lengthen, and when the pressure value is between the upper and lower threshold values, the passive telescopic rod (603) stops telescoping; when the wheel type drive wheel (4) reaches a certain height, and the radius of the axis of the caterpillar drive wheel (1) needs to be reduced, the telescopic unit rod (602) can cooperate with the movement of the passive telescopic rod (603) and the sliding block 2 (303) to reduce the radius of the axis of the caterpillar drive wheel (1) while keeping the height of the wheel type drive wheel (4) unchanged.

[0038] The wheel type variable diameter unit (5) is composed of four rods, both ends of the rod (503) are processed into rotating pairs, one end of the rod (503) is connected to the connecting unit in the wheel type drive wheel (4) through a pin link, the other end of the rod (503) is also connected to the sliding block 2 (303) on the main body through a pin link, the position change of the sliding block 2 (303) causes the position and posture of the rod to change, so that the rotating pair can rotate in the pin link, meet the variable diameter requirement of the wheel type drive wheel (4) of the robot, and realize the obstacle avoidance function of the robot in the pipeline.

[0039] The caterpillar variable diameter unit (2) comprises a slider 1 (301), a spring 1 (302), and several connecting rods, when the caterpillar drive wheel is subjected to pressure, the slider 1 (301) moves outward, at the same time, the spring 1 (302) is compressed, and finally, the variable diameter requirement of the caterpillar drive wheel of the robot is achieved.

[0040] In use, the pipe robot is placed in the pipe, in the initial state, the overall size of the robot is adapted to the pipe diameter, at this time, the wheeled drive wheel (4) and the spring 3 (501) and the spring 3 (503) on the caterpillar variable diameter unit (2) should be in a slightly compressed state. Under the drive of all drive motors, the robot is smoothly moved forward. When the wheeled drive wheel (4) of the robot encounters an obstacle in front, the wheeled drive wheel (4) will be subjected to a certain pressure, at this time, the pressure value received by the pressure sensor (601) on the passive telescopic rod (603) increases, the passive telescopic rod (603) is controlled to shrink inward, when the pressure value on the pressure sensor (601) returns to the normal value, it stops, when the wheeled drive wheel (4) passes over the obstacle, the height of the wheeled drive wheel (4) returns to the original position.

[0041] When the pipe diameter decreases, the track drive wheel (1) of the pipe robot is pressed by the pipe wall, which makes the slider 1 (301) move outward, compresses the spring 2 (302), and the telescopic rod (602) is still in close contact with the pipe wall after the spring is compressed to the maximum, at this time the telescopic rod (602) will shrink, the main body (3) will move inward, so that it is in close contact with the inner wall of the pipe to generate appropriate pressure, so as to reduce the shaft diameter of the track drive wheel (1). During the forward movement of the wheeled drive wheel (4), the spring 3 (501) in the wheeled drive wheel (4) will shrink inward due to the decrease of the pipe diameter, and when the pressure reaches the upper threshold value of the pressure sensor (601), the passive telescopic rod (603) will shrink inward, and when the height of the wheeled drive wheel (4) is appropriate to the pipe diameter, the pressure received by the pressure sensor (601) returns to the normal value, and the passive telescopic rod (603) stops shrinking. When the pipe diameter increases, the spring 1 (302) in the track variable diameter unit (2) of the robot will be stretched, so that the shaft diameter of the track drive wheel (1) slowly increases, and the telescopic rod (602) is still not in close contact with the pipe wall after the spring is stretched to the maximum, at this time the telescopic rod (602) will be stretched, the main body (3) will move outward, so as to be in close contact with the inner wall of the pipe to generate appropriate pressure, at this time when the pressure received by the pressure sensor (601) reaches the lower threshold value, the passive telescopic rod (603) starts to stretch, and after the pressure received by the pressure sensor (601) returns to the normal value, the passive telescopic rod (603) stops stretching. After the shaft diameter of the wheeled drive wheel (4) reaches the appropriate value, the robot can return to the normal forward state.

[0042] When the pipe robot moves to the "T" type elbow pipe part at the same level, the robot first moves to the position where the robot shaft is coincident with the axis of the pipe after the turn and stops moving, then the rotation module (502) of the wheeled drive wheel (4) of the robot drives the wheeled drive wheel (4) to rotate to the position coincident with the direction of the pipe axis, and finally realizes the steering function of the pipe robot at the elbow. When encountering a 90° elbow, similarly, the rotation module (502) of the pipe robot will drive the wheeled drive wheel (4) to rotate continuously, and the pipe robot will also move forward to pass through the 90° elbow.

[0043] When the pipe robot moves to the vertical "T" type bend pipe in the same plane, and needs to move upward, the pipe robot first moves its axis to the position coinciding with the axis of the target pipe, and the tracked drive wheel (1) will be close to the pipe wall. At this time, the motor 1 (103) drives the tracked wheel (106) to rotate clockwise, drives the track (102) to rotate clockwise, the motor 2 (110) drives the tracked wheel (112) to rotate counterclockwise, drives the track (111) to rotate counterclockwise, and further drives the advancing direction of the whole pipe robot to turn to the direction of the upward climbing pipe. At this time, the wheeled drive wheel (4) will change the height of the pipe robot when climbing upward, and the size of the upward pipe diameter is appropriate. Finally, the function of the pipe robot turning upward and climbing is realized.

Claims

1. A reconfigurable, highly adaptable pipe robot, characterized in that, It includes: The main body (3), the wheeled drive wheel (4), the tracked drive wheel (1), the middle telescopic module (6), the wheeled variable diameter unit (5), the tracked variable diameter unit (2), four main bodies (3) are connected into a whole by the telescopic unit rod (602) of the middle telescopic module (6) through welding; The wheeled drive wheel (4) is connected into a whole with the four main bodies (3) through the wheeled variable diameter unit (5), and is connected into a whole with the energy supply module (604) through the passive telescopic rod (603), the passive telescopic rod (603) has a supporting effect on the wheeled drive wheel (4); The tracked drive wheel (1) is connected into a whole with the main body (3) through the tracked variable diameter unit (2), and the connecting rods are cross-distributed.

2. The reconfigurable high-adaptability pipe robot according to claim 1, characterized in that, It includes: The main body includes a slider 1 (301), a slider 2 (303), a spring 1 (302), a spring 2 (306), and a shell (304); The slider 2 (303) is part of the wheeled variable diameter unit (5), and controls the variable diameter of the wheeled drive wheel (4); The slider 1 (301) is part of the tracked variable diameter unit (2), and controls the variable diameter of the tracked drive wheel (1); The slider 1 (301) and the spring 1 (302) are fixed outside the shell (304) and are part of the tracked variable diameter unit (2); The slider 2 (303) and the spring 2 (306) are fixed inside the shell (304) and are part of the wheeled variable diameter unit (5); The cooperation of the slider and the spring can realize the passive variable diameter of the wheeled drive wheel (4) and the tracked drive wheel (1).

3. The reconfigurable high-adaptability pipe robot according to claim 1, wherein, It includes: The wheeled drive wheel includes a wheel (401), a support unit, a connecting unit, a spring 3 (501), a rotating unit (502), and a support rod; The wheel (401) is provided with a hub motor; The support unit mainly supports the two wheels (401), and the lower part is provided with a rotating unit (502) to realize the autonomous steering function of the robot; The support rod (402) is an extendable support rod, which supports the center part of the wheeled drive wheel (4) and the wheeled variable diameter unit (5), and fixes the wheeled drive wheel (4) to prevent deflection; The support unit of the wheeled drive wheel (4) is connected with the lower connecting unit spring 3 (501), and the spring 3 (501) connection enables the robot to have a passive variable diameter purpose, while reducing the vibration of the robot during movement, realizing the damping function of the main body of the pipeline robot.

4. The reconfigurable high-adaptability pipe robot according to claim 1, wherein, It includes: The caterpillar drive wheel (1) comprises a motor 1 (103), a motor 2 (110), a driving wheel 1 (104), a driving wheel 2 (109), a driven wheel 1 (105), a driven wheel 2 (108), a caterpillar 1 (102), a caterpillar 2 (111), a partition (107), the motor 1 (103) and the motor 2 (110) are symmetrically placed on the two sides of the partition (107) respectively, and drive the driving wheel 1 (104) and the driving wheel 2 (109) of the caterpillar drive wheel (1) respectively, realize the independent movement of the caterpillar 1 (102) and the caterpillar 2 (111), and can realize the steering function of the robot walking on the horizontal pipeline to the vertical pipeline.

5. The reconfigurable high-adaptability pipe robot according to claim 1, wherein, It comprises: The middle telescopic module (6) comprises a telescopic unit rod (602) and a passive telescopic rod (603), the telescopic unit rod (602) is assembled and connected by two rods with different thicknesses, the thick rod is hollow, and the rod can move forward and backward through a telescopic motor, the middle part is a power supply module (604) for supplying power to each unit, and the passive telescopic rod (603) is a passive telescopic rod for connecting the center of the middle telescopic module, which is used for supporting the wheel drive wheel, the passive telescopic rod (603) is provided with a pressure sensor (601), the pressure sensor (601) has two threshold values, when the pressure value reaches the upper threshold value, the passive telescopic rod starts to shorten, when the pressure value reaches the lower threshold value, the supporting rod starts to lengthen, and when the pressure value is between the upper and lower threshold values, the rod stops telescoping.

6. The reconfigurable high-adaptability pipe robot according to claim 1, wherein, It comprises: The wheel type variable diameter unit (5) is composed of four rods, both ends of the rod (503) are processed into rotating pairs, one end of the rod (503) is connected through a pin link connecting unit in the wheel drive wheel (4), and the other end of the rod (503) is also connected through a pin link and a slider 2 (303) on the main body, when the wheel drive wheel (4) is subjected to excessive force, the spring 1 (302) is compressed, the rotating pair is rotated, and the variable diameter requirement of the robot wheel drive wheel (4) is met.

7. The reconfigurable high-adaptability pipe robot according to claim 1, wherein, It comprises: The caterpillar type variable diameter unit (2) comprises a slider 1 (301) and a plurality of connecting rods, wherein the slider 1 (301) moves in its track, when the caterpillar wheel is subjected to increased force, the spring 1 (302) is compressed, the slider 1 (301) moves to both sides, and the rotation of the connecting rod is controlled, and finally the variable diameter requirement of the caterpillar drive wheel of the robot is met.

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