Rail inspection robot walking positioning device

Abstract

The utility model discloses a walking positioning device of a rail inspection robot. The walking positioning device is installed on a chassis of the inspection robot through an external installation assembly. The walking positioning device comprises a gear, a rack and an encoder. The rack is installed on a track where the inspection robot walks, the gear is meshed with the rack, and the gear is connected with the encoder through cooperation of a gear shaft and an encoder shaft; in the walking process of the inspection robot, the gear rotates to drive the encoder shaft to rotate; the walking positioning device further comprises a meshing pressure adjusting piece, and the meshing pressure adjusting piece acts on the gear so as to adjust the meshing pressure of the gear and the rack. According to the utility model, the detection precision of the inspection robot during walking is improved, the positioning is more accurate, the disassembly, assembly and debugging are convenient, the pressing force of the positioning device can be adjusted, the detection operation can be continued without returning to the original point under the conditions of power failure and restart, and the detection efficiency of the robot is improved.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This utility model relates to a walking and positioning device for a rail inspection robot in the field of rail transit industry. Background Technology

[0002] The rail transit industry has extremely high requirements for the safety and reliability of equipment. Traditional manual inspection methods suffer from low efficiency, high risk, and difficulty in covering complex areas. Therefore, intelligent inspection robots have emerged to address this issue, enabling automated and intelligent inspection tasks and significantly improving inspection efficiency and accuracy.

[0003] In the field of urban rail transit, the walking and localization of rail inspection robots is one of the key technologies for achieving efficient inspection. Currently, significant progress has been made in the walking and localization technology of rail transit inspection robots in areas such as laser SLAM, visual localization, and multi-sensor fusion.

[0004] An encoder is a sensor that converts mechanical motion into electrical signals, and it is widely used in position detection, speed measurement, and motion control. In rail transit inspection robots, encoders are mainly used for the following purposes:

[0005] Position detection: By measuring the number of rotations and angles of the robot's wheels, and combining this with the diameter and circumference of the wheels, the robot's travel distance on the track is calculated, thereby achieving relative positioning;

[0006] Speed ​​control: The encoder can provide real-time feedback on the rotational speed of the wheels, helping the control system to precisely adjust the robot's walking speed;

[0007] Motion control: The feedback signal from the encoder can be used in the closed-loop control system to ensure that the robot runs smoothly along the preset trajectory and speed.

[0008] In existing technologies, encoders are typically mounted on the wheel axles of inspection robots. By measuring the wheel's rotation angle and number of revolutions, combined with the wheel's diameter and circumference, the robot's travel distance on the track is calculated. In some designs, the encoder can also be mounted on the drive motor shaft, indirectly calculating the wheel's movement by measuring the motor's rotation angle, thereby achieving positioning. The advantage of this method is its ease of installation, but its accuracy is easily affected by errors in the transmission system.

[0009] The existing walking positioning technology has the following disadvantages: low positioning accuracy; inability to adjust the clamping force of the positioning device; inconvenient disassembly and maintenance; and the need to return to the origin after power failure and restarting the equipment. Utility Model Content

[0010] To address the aforementioned technical problems, the purpose of this utility model is to provide a walking and positioning device for a tracked inspection robot. This walking and positioning device improves the detection accuracy of the inspection robot during movement, resulting in more precise positioning. Installed on the outside of the robot body, it facilitates disassembly and adjustment, enhancing the convenience of inspection and maintenance. Furthermore, it allows adjustment of the clamping force of the positioning device, reducing installation precision, minimizing impact and wear, and lowering installation and maintenance costs. In the event of a power outage and restart, it can continue inspection operations without returning to the origin, thus improving the robot's inspection efficiency.

[0011] To achieve the above-mentioned technical objectives and effects, this utility model is implemented through the following technical solution:

[0012] A track-guided inspection robot's walking and positioning device is mounted on the robot's chassis via an external mounting assembly. The device includes a gear, a rack, and an encoder. The rack is mounted on the robot's track, and the gear meshes with it. The gear is connected to the encoder via a gear shaft that engages with the encoder shaft. During robot movement, the gear rotates, driving the encoder shaft to rotate and output pulse values. The robot's actual position is determined based on the pulse values ​​and the gear's pitch circle diameter. The device also includes a meshing pressure adjustment component that acts on the gear to adjust the meshing pressure between the gear and rack.

[0013] Furthermore, the gear shaft is directly connected to the encoder shaft via a coupling.

[0014] Furthermore, the external mounting assembly includes a mounting frame and a rotating plate. The mounting frame is fixedly mounted on the outside of the inspection robot chassis, the gear shaft is connected to the rotating plate via a bearing, and the rotating plate is connected to the mounting frame.

[0015] Furthermore, the rotating plate is connected to the mounting bracket via a rotating bushing.

[0016] Furthermore, the meshing pressure adjusting component includes an internal fixed shaft, an external adjusting shaft, and a spring. The internal fixed shaft is connected to the mounting bracket via a connector. One end of the external adjusting shaft is screwed into the internal fixed shaft, and the other end is connected to the rotating plate via a connector. The spring is fitted onto the external adjusting shaft. During the movement of the inspection robot, the external adjusting shaft, under the cooperation of the gear and the rotating plate, adjusts the compression of the spring by the depth of its screwing in, thereby adjusting the meshing pressure of the gear and rack.

[0017] Furthermore, the encoder is an absolute encoder.

[0018] The beneficial effects of this utility model are:

[0019] (1) This utility model adopts a gear and rack meshing motion mode, which drives the gear to rotate during the inspection robot's movement, thereby enabling the external encoder to count accurately. This avoids factors such as slippage from affecting the walking and positioning accuracy, resulting in higher walking accuracy and more accurate positioning of the inspection robot.

[0020] (2) This utility model adjusts the spring's clamping stroke by designing a specific meshing pressure adjustment component, thereby adjusting the meshing pressure between the gear and the rack, so that the meshing pressure is within a suitable range, effectively avoiding gear impact and tooth dislodgement, and reducing the rack's installation accuracy, reducing the impact and wear of the gear and rack, and reducing installation and maintenance costs.

[0021] (3) This utility model compensates for the horizontal installation error of the rack by adjusting the clamping force of the spring. Within a certain error range, the gear and rack can reliably mesh.

[0022] (4) The positioning device of this utility model is installed on the outside of the inspection robot and reduces the coupling with the inspection robot. It can be disassembled and assembled with common tools, which is convenient and quick.

[0023] (5) By using an external absolute encoder, this utility model can read the actual position of the inspection robot in real time. It will not lose the position after a power failure and restart, and can continue to work without returning to the origin. Attached Figure Description

[0024] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the walking and positioning device for the tracked inspection robot of this utility model.

[0025] Figure 2 This is a top view of the track-guided inspection robot's walking and positioning device of this utility model.

[0026] Figure 3 This is a side view of the track-guided inspection robot's walking and positioning device of this utility model.

[0027] Figure 4 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of the tracked inspection robot walking and positioning device of this utility model in conjunction with the inspection robot.

[0028] In the diagram, 100: walking positioning device, 101: mounting bracket, 102: gear, 103: rack, 104: rotating plate, 105: coupling, 106: encoder, 121: internal pressure fixed shaft, 122: external thread adjusting shaft, 123: spring, 124: fisheye joint, 125: rotating bushing; 200: track; 300: inspection robot. Detailed Implementation

[0029] The specific embodiments of this utility model will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings, so that the advantages and features of this utility model can be more easily understood by those skilled in the art, thereby making a clearer and more definite definition of the protection scope of this utility model.

[0030] like Figures 1 to 4 The above describes a tracked inspection robot walking and positioning device, which is installed on the chassis of the inspection robot 300 via an external mounting component.

[0031] The walking and positioning device 100 includes a gear 102, a rack 103, and an encoder 106. The rack 103 is mounted on the track 200 on which the inspection robot walks, and the gear 102 meshes with the rack 103. The gear 102 is connected to the encoder 106 through a gear shaft that engages with the encoder shaft. The gear shaft of the gear 102 is directly connected to the encoder shaft through a coupling 105. In this embodiment, the encoder 106 is an absolute encoder.

[0032] The external mounting assembly includes a mounting frame 101 and a rotating plate 104. The mounting frame 101 is fixedly mounted on the outside of the chassis of the inspection robot 300. The gear shaft of the gear 102 is connected to one end of the rotating plate 104 through a bearing. The other end of the rotating plate 104 is connected to the mounting frame 101 through a rotating bushing 125.

[0033] During the inspection robot's movement, gear 102 rotates, driving the encoder shaft to rotate and output pulse values. By combining the pulse values ​​and the pitch circle diameter of the gear, the robot's actual walking position can be calculated.

[0034] The meshing pressure adjusting component includes an internal thread fixed shaft 121, an external thread adjusting shaft 122, a spring 123, and two connectors. The internal thread fixed shaft 121 is connected to the mounting bracket 101 via the connectors. One end of the external thread adjusting shaft 122 is screwed into the internal thread fixed shaft 121, and the other end is connected to the rotating plate 104 via the connectors. The spring 123 is fitted onto the external thread adjusting shaft 122. The outer ends of both the internal thread fixed shaft 121 and the external thread adjusting shaft 122 are limited by nuts. In this embodiment, both connectors in the meshing pressure adjusting component are fisheye connectors 124.

[0035] During the movement of the inspection robot, while the gears rotate, the rotating plate 104 rotates around the rotating bushing 125 at the connection between the rotating plate and the mounting frame. The compression of the spring 123 is adjusted by the depth of the external thread adjusting shaft 122 screwed into the internal pressure fixing shaft 121, thereby adjusting the meshing pressure of the gear 102 and the rack 103.

[0036] This invention employs a gear and rack meshing motion method, which drives the gear 102 to rotate during the movement of the inspection robot, thereby enabling the external encoder 106 to count accurately. This avoids factors such as slippage from affecting the walking and positioning accuracy, resulting in higher walking accuracy and more accurate positioning of the inspection robot.

[0037] This utility model adjusts the clamping stroke of the spring 123 by designing a specific meshing pressure adjustment component, thereby adjusting the meshing pressure between the gear 102 and the rack 103, so that the meshing pressure is within a suitable range, effectively avoiding gear impact and tooth dislodgement, and reducing the installation accuracy of the rack, reducing the impact and wear of the gear and rack, and reducing installation and maintenance costs.

[0038] This utility model compensates for the horizontal installation error of the rack by adjusting the clamping force of the adjustable spring 123. Within a certain error range, the gear 102 and the rack 103 can reliably mesh.

[0039] The positioning device of this utility model is installed on the outside of the inspection robot and reduces the coupling with the inspection robot. It can be disassembled and assembled with only common tools, which is convenient and quick.

[0040] This invention uses an external absolute encoder to read the actual position of the inspection robot in real time. The position will not be lost after a power outage and restart, and the robot can continue to work without returning to the origin.

[0041] It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that this invention is not limited to the details of the exemplary embodiments described above, and that it can be implemented in other specific forms without departing from the spirit or essential characteristics of this invention. Therefore, the embodiments should be considered illustrative and non-limiting in all respects, and the scope of this invention is defined by the appended claims rather than the foregoing description. Thus, it is intended that all variations falling within the meaning and scope of equivalents of the claims be included within this invention. No reference numerals in the claims should be construed as limiting the scope of the claims.

[0042] Furthermore, it should be understood that although this specification describes embodiments, not every embodiment contains only one independent technical solution. This narrative style is merely for clarity. Those skilled in the art should consider the specification as a whole, and the technical solutions in each embodiment can also be appropriately combined to form other embodiments that can be understood by those skilled in the art.

Claims

1. A rail inspection robot walking positioning device, characterized in that, The walking positioning device is installed on the inspection robot chassis through an external mounting assembly; the walking positioning device comprises a gear, a rack and an encoder; the rack is installed on the track on which the inspection robot walks, the gear is engaged with the rack, and the gear is connected with the encoder through the cooperation of a gear shaft and an encoder shaft; during the walking of the inspection robot, the gear rotates to drive the rotation of the encoder shaft; the walking positioning device further comprises an engagement pressure adjusting member, which acts on the gear to adjust the engagement pressure of the gear and the rack; The external mounting assembly comprises a mounting frame and a rotating plate, the mounting frame is fixedly installed on the outer side of the inspection robot chassis, the gear shaft is connected with the rotating plate through a bearing, and the rotating plate is connected with the mounting frame; The rotating plate is connected with the mounting frame through a rotating shaft sleeve. The engagement pressure adjusting member comprises an inner tooth fixed shaft, an outer tooth adjusting shaft and a spring, the inner tooth fixed shaft is connected with the mounting frame through a joint, one end of the outer tooth adjusting shaft is screwed into the inner tooth fixed shaft, and the other end is connected with the rotating plate through a joint; the spring is sleeved on the outer tooth adjusting shaft.

2. The walking and positioning device of the rail inspection robot according to claim 1, wherein The gear shaft is directly connected with the encoder shaft through a shaft coupling.

3. The walking and positioning device of the track inspection robot according to claim 1, wherein The encoder is an absolute value type encoder.

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