An auxiliary device for a wall-climbing robot to enter and exit a tank

Abstract

This utility model provides an auxiliary device for a wall-climbing robot to enter and exit a tank, relating to the field of wall-climbing robot auxiliary devices. It includes a transport vehicle, a height adjustment mechanism, and a telescopic fork mechanism. The lower part of the height adjustment mechanism is fixedly mounted on the transport vehicle, and the upper part is fixedly connected to the base of the telescopic fork mechanism. The movable part of the telescopic fork mechanism is equipped with a support seat to support and limit the wall-climbing robot. The transport vehicle of this utility model is used to transport the wall-climbing robot to the tank opening. Then, the height adjustment mechanism drives the telescopic fork mechanism and the wall-climbing robot to adjust upwards until the height of the wall-climbing robot is level with the tank opening. The telescopic fork mechanism then drives the wall-climbing robot to horizontally enter the tank opening. This effectively replaces existing manual handling of wall-climbing robots, achieving efficient and safe transportation, tank entry, and tank exit for wall-climbing robots, and has significant promotional value.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This utility model relates to the field of auxiliary equipment for wall-climbing robots, and in particular to an auxiliary device for wall-climbing robots to enter and exit tanks. Background Technology

[0002] For storage tanks such as oil tanks and grain silos, it is necessary to clean the internal walls to remove residual oil stains or grain debris, ensuring a clean and environmentally friendly interior. Currently, remote-controlled wall-climbing robots are used for cleaning. When not in use, these robots are stored in offices or factories. Weighing around 100 kilograms, these robots require two people to manually move them to the storage location and manually feed them into the tank. However, the manhole size is quite limited, generally around 600mm in diameter, posing safety hazards during handling and being time-consuming and labor-intensive.

[0003] Because wall-climbing robots use a magnetic structure, and most storage tanks are made of metal materials that attract magnets, when a wall-climbing robot is placed horizontally on a metal surface, it will automatically attach to the metal surface. The suction force is very strong, requiring two people to pull it up. Furthermore, it needs to be lifted to the side wall and flipped into a vertical position to attach to the side wall. This operation is inconvenient, cumbersome, and poses safety hazards. Therefore, how to efficiently and safely transport wall-climbing robots into the tank has become a problem that urgently needs to be solved by those skilled in the art. Utility Model Content

[0004] The technical problem to be solved by this utility model is to overcome the shortcomings of the existing technology and provide an auxiliary device for wall-climbing robots to enter and exit tanks. It can effectively replace the existing manual handling of wall-climbing robots, realize the efficient and safe transportation, tank entry and exit of wall-climbing robots, and has great promotional value.

[0005] This utility model is achieved through the following technical solution:

[0006] An auxiliary device for a wall-climbing robot to enter and exit a tank includes a transport vehicle, a height adjustment mechanism, and a telescopic fork mechanism. The lower part of the height adjustment mechanism is fixedly mounted on the transport vehicle, and the upper part of the height adjustment mechanism is fixedly connected to the base of the telescopic fork mechanism. The height adjustment mechanism drives the telescopic fork mechanism and the wall-climbing robot to adjust up and down. The movable part of the telescopic fork mechanism is provided with a support seat to support and limit the wall-climbing robot. The telescopic fork mechanism drives the wall-climbing robot to enter and exit the tank opening horizontally.

[0007] As can be seen, in the above technical solution, the transport vehicle of this utility model is used to transfer the wall-climbing robot to the tank opening. Then, the height adjustment mechanism drives the telescopic fork mechanism and the wall-climbing robot to adjust upwards until the height of the wall-climbing robot is level with the tank opening. The telescopic fork mechanism then drives the wall-climbing robot to horizontally penetrate into the tank opening. Thus, it can effectively replace the existing manual handling of the wall-climbing robot, realizing efficient and safe transportation and tank entry of the wall-climbing robot. This utility model can enable the wall-climbing robot to achieve a wide range of height and penetration depth adjustment, thus enabling it to adapt to tank openings of different heights and depths, and has a wide range of applications.

[0008] According to the above technical solution, preferably, the transport vehicle includes a movable chassis, a roof panel, and multiple sets of vertical guide columns, with the upper and lower ends of the vertical guide columns fixedly connected to the roof panel and the movable chassis, respectively.

[0009] According to the above technical solution, preferably, the height adjustment mechanism includes a lifting platform, at least one set of worm gear assemblies and a first hand crank. The lifting platform is slidably connected to the vertical guide column through multiple sets of sliding bearings. The first hand crank drives the lifting platform to slide up and down through the worm gear assembly. The base of the telescopic fork mechanism is fixedly connected to the lifting platform.

[0010] According to the above technical solution, preferably, the worm gear assembly includes a drive shaft, a worm gear transmission seat, multiple sets of drive screws and multiple sets of screw nuts. The drive shaft is coaxially and fixedly connected to the first hand crank. The drive shaft drives the drive screws to rotate through the worm gear transmission seat. The upper and lower ends of the drive screws are rotatably connected to the roof panel and the movable chassis respectively through bearings. The drive screws and screw nuts are threadedly engaged. The screw nuts are fixedly connected to the lifting platform.

[0011] According to the above technical solution, preferably, the telescopic fork mechanism further includes a second hand crank, a sprocket unit, a middle telescopic plate and a top telescopic plate. The lower part of the middle telescopic plate is slidably connected to the base, and the lower part of the top telescopic plate is slidably connected to the upper part of the middle telescopic plate. The second hand crank drives the sprocket unit through a rotating shaft, and the sprocket unit drives the top telescopic plate and the middle telescopic plate to extend and slide in the same direction.

[0012] According to the above technical solution, preferably, the support base is rotatably connected to the top telescopic plate, and the support base drives the wall-climbing robot to rotate horizontally.

[0013] According to the above technical solution, preferably, it also includes a flipping mechanism, which includes a movable support and a hand chain hoist. The hand chain hoist is fixedly mounted on the movable support and is used to lift and flip the wall-climbing robot that is sent into the tank.

[0014] According to the above technical solution, preferably, the movable support includes two sets of base frames, height-adjustable support arms, and multiple sets of swivel casters. The swivel casters are fixedly connected to the lower side of the base frames, the support arms are fixedly connected to the base frames, and the hand-operated hoist is fixedly connected to the middle of the support arms.

[0015] The beneficial effects of this utility model are: the transport vehicle of this utility model is used to transfer the wall-climbing robot to the tank opening. Then, the height adjustment mechanism drives the telescopic fork mechanism and the wall-climbing robot to adjust upward until the height of the wall-climbing robot is level with the tank opening. The telescopic fork mechanism then drives the wall-climbing robot to horizontally enter the tank opening. Thus, it can effectively replace the existing manual handling of wall-climbing robots and realize the efficient and safe transportation, tank entry and exit of the wall-climbing robot. Attached Figure Description

[0016] Figure 1 A schematic diagram of the isometric structure of this utility model and the wall-climbing robot is shown;

[0017] Figure 2 A schematic diagram of the isometric structure of the transport vehicle and the height adjustment mechanism in this utility model is shown.

[0018] Figure 3 A schematic diagram of the equiaxed side structure of the telescopic fork mechanism in this utility model is shown;

[0019] Figure 4 A schematic diagram of the equiaxed side structure of the worm gear assembly in this utility model is shown;

[0020] Figure 5 A schematic diagram of the equiaxed side structure of the flipping mechanism in this utility model is shown;

[0021] Explanation of reference numerals in the attached figures:

[0022] 1. Transport vehicle; 2. Height adjustment mechanism; 3. Telescopic fork mechanism; 4. Movable chassis; 5. Roof panel; 6. Vertical guide column; 7. Wall-climbing robot; 8. Lifting platform; 9. Worm gear assembly; 10. First hand crank; 11. Drive shaft; 12. Worm gear drive seat; 13. Drive screw; 14. Screw nut; 15. Support seat; 16. Second hand crank; 17. Sprocket unit; 18. Middle telescopic plate; 19. Top telescopic plate; 20. Movable bracket; 21. Hand chain hoist; 22. Base frame; 23. Support arm; 24. Universal casters; 25. Safety fall arrestor; 26. Spool. Detailed Implementation

[0023] To enable those skilled in the art to better understand the technical solution of this utility model, the present utility model will be further described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings and preferred embodiments. All other embodiments obtained by those skilled in the art based on the embodiments of this utility model without creative effort are within the scope of protection of this utility model.

[0024] In the description of the utility model, it should be noted that the terms "center", "upper", "lower", "left", "right", "vertical", "horizontal", "inner", "outer", etc., indicate the orientation or positional relationship based on the orientation or positional relationship shown in the accompanying drawings. They are only for the convenience of describing the utility model and simplifying the description, and do not indicate or imply that the device or element referred to must have a specific orientation, or be constructed and operated in a specific orientation. Therefore, they should not be construed as limitations on the utility model.

[0025] This embodiment discloses an auxiliary device for a wall-climbing robot to enter and exit a tank, including a transport vehicle 1, a height adjustment mechanism 2, and a telescopic fork mechanism 3. The transport vehicle 1 includes a movable chassis 4, a roof 5, and multiple sets of vertical guide columns 6. The upper and lower ends of the vertical guide columns 6 are fixedly connected to the roof 5 and the movable chassis 4, respectively. The lower part of the height adjustment mechanism 2 is fixedly mounted on the transport vehicle 1, and the upper part of the height adjustment mechanism 2 is fixedly connected to the base of the telescopic fork mechanism 3. The height adjustment mechanism 2 drives the telescopic fork mechanism 3 and the wall-climbing robot 7 to adjust up and down. The height adjustment mechanism 2 includes a lifting platform 8, at least one set of worm gear assemblies 9, and a first hand crank 10. The lifting platform 8 is slidably connected to the vertical guide columns 6 through multiple sets of sliding bearings. The first hand crank 10 drives the lifting platform 8 to slide up and down through the worm gear assembly 9. The base of the telescopic fork mechanism 3 is connected to the lifting platform 8. The worm gear assembly 9 is fixedly connected, including a drive shaft 11, a worm gear drive seat 12, multiple sets of drive screws 13, and multiple sets of screw nuts 14. The drive shaft 11 is coaxially and fixedly connected to the first hand crank 10. The drive shaft 11 drives the drive screws 13 to rotate through the worm gear drive seat 12. The upper and lower ends of the drive screws 13 are rotatably connected to the roof plate 5 and the movable chassis 4 respectively through bearings. The drive screws 13 and screw nuts 14 are threadedly engaged. The screw nuts 14 are fixedly connected to the lifting platform 8. The movable part of the telescopic fork mechanism 3 is provided with a support seat 15 to support and limit the wall-climbing robot 7. The telescopic fork mechanism 3 drives the wall-climbing robot 7 to enter and exit the tank opening horizontally. The telescopic fork mechanism 3 also includes a middle telescopic plate 18 and a top telescopic plate 19. The lower part of the middle telescopic plate 18 is slidably connected to the base, and the lower part of the top telescopic plate 19 is slidably connected to the upper part of the middle telescopic plate 18.

[0026] The transport vehicle 1 of this utility model is used to transfer the wall-climbing robot 7 to the opening of the tank. Then, the height adjustment mechanism 2 drives the telescopic fork mechanism 3 and the wall-climbing robot 7 to adjust upward until the height of the wall-climbing robot 7 is level with the opening of the tank. The telescopic fork mechanism 3 then drives the wall-climbing robot 7 to horizontally enter the opening of the tank. Thus, it can effectively replace the existing manual handling of the wall-climbing robot 7, and realize the efficient and safe transportation, tank entry and exit of the wall-climbing robot.

[0027] Optionally, in one possible implementation, the telescopic fork mechanism 3 further includes a second hand crank 16, a sprocket unit 17, a middle telescopic plate 18, and a top telescopic plate 19. The lower part of the middle telescopic plate 18 is slidably connected to the base, and the lower part of the top telescopic plate 19 is slidably connected to the upper part of the middle telescopic plate 18. The second hand crank 16 drives the sprocket unit 17 through a rotating shaft, and the sprocket unit 17 drives the top telescopic plate 19 and the middle telescopic plate 18 to extend and slide in the same direction.

[0028] Optionally, in one possible implementation, the support base 15 is rotatably connected to the top telescopic plate 19. The wall-climbing robot 7 is initially placed horizontally. To facilitate the wall-climbing robot 7 entering the tank, the operator can manually rotate the support base 15, thereby causing the support base 15 to drive the wall-climbing robot 7 to rotate horizontally by 90 degrees, so that the wall-climbing robot 7 is aligned longitudinally with the tank opening, avoiding problems such as scraping and interference when entering the tank opening. After the wall-climbing robot 7 enters the tank, the support base 15 drives the wall-climbing robot 7 to rotate in the opposite direction by 90 degrees, making it easier for the wall-climbing robot 7 to climb the wall.

[0029] Optionally, in one possible implementation, a flipping mechanism is also included. The flipping mechanism includes a movable support 20 and a hand chain hoist 21. The hand chain hoist 21 is fixedly mounted on the movable support 20 and is used to lift and flip the wall-climbing robot 7 that is sent into the tank. The movable support 20 includes two sets of base frames 22, a height-adjustable support arm 23, and multiple sets of omnidirectional casters 24. The omnidirectional casters 24 are fixedly connected to the lower side of the base frame 22, the support arm 23 is fixedly connected to the base frame 22, and the hand chain hoist 21 is fixedly connected to the middle part of the support arm 23.

[0030] Optionally, in one possible implementation, a safety fall arrestor 25 and a spool 26 are also included, which are fixedly mounted on the lifting platform 8. The safety fall arrestor 25 prevents the wall-climbing robot from falling accidentally by pulling a rope, and the spool 26 is used for winding and unwinding the rope.

[0031] Obviously, the above embodiments are merely illustrative examples for clear explanation and are not intended to limit the implementation. Those skilled in the art will recognize that other variations or modifications can be made based on the above description. It is neither necessary nor possible to exhaustively list all possible implementations here. However, obvious variations or modifications derived therefrom are still within the protection scope of this invention.

Claims

1. An auxiliary device for a wall-climbing robot to enter and exit a tank, characterized by, The device includes a transport vehicle, a height adjustment mechanism, and a telescopic fork mechanism. The lower part of the height adjustment mechanism is fixedly mounted on the transport vehicle, and the upper part of the height adjustment mechanism is fixedly connected to the base of the telescopic fork mechanism. The height adjustment mechanism drives the telescopic fork mechanism and the wall-climbing robot to adjust up and down. The movable part of the telescopic fork mechanism is provided with a support seat to support and limit the wall-climbing robot. The telescopic fork mechanism drives the wall-climbing robot to enter and exit the tank opening horizontally.

2. The auxiliary device for a wall-climbing robot to enter and exit a tank according to claim 1, characterized in that, The transport vehicle includes a movable chassis, a roof panel, and multiple sets of vertical guide columns. The upper and lower ends of the vertical guide columns are fixedly connected to the roof panel and the movable chassis, respectively.

3. The auxiliary device for a wall-climbing robot to enter and exit a tank according to claim 2, characterized in that, The height adjustment mechanism includes a lifting platform, at least one set of worm gear assemblies, and a first hand crank. The lifting platform is slidably connected to the vertical guide column through multiple sets of sliding bearings. The first hand crank drives the lifting platform to slide up and down through the worm gear assembly. The base of the telescopic fork mechanism is fixedly connected to the lifting platform.

4. An auxiliary device for a wall-climbing robot to enter and exit a tank according to claim 3, characterized in that, The worm gear assembly includes a drive shaft, a worm gear transmission seat, multiple sets of drive screws, and multiple sets of screw nuts. The drive shaft is coaxially and fixedly connected to the first hand crank. The drive shaft drives the drive screws to rotate through the worm gear transmission seat. The upper and lower ends of the drive screws are rotatably connected to the roof panel and the movable chassis respectively through bearings. The drive screws and screw nuts are threadedly engaged, and the screw nuts are fixedly connected to the lifting platform.

5. An auxiliary device for a wall-climbing robot to enter and exit a tank according to claim 4, characterized in that, The telescopic fork mechanism also includes a second hand crank, a sprocket unit, a middle telescopic plate, and a top telescopic plate. The lower part of the middle telescopic plate is slidably connected to the base, and the lower part of the top telescopic plate is slidably connected to the upper part of the middle telescopic plate. The second hand crank drives the sprocket unit through a rotating shaft, and the sprocket unit drives the top telescopic plate and the middle telescopic plate to extend and slide in the same direction.

6. An auxiliary device for a wall-climbing robot to enter and exit a tank according to claim 5, characterized in that, The support base is rotatably connected to the top telescopic plate, and the support base drives the wall-climbing robot to rotate horizontally.

7. An auxiliary device for a wall-climbing robot to enter and exit a tank according to claim 1, characterized in that, It also includes a flipping mechanism, which comprises a movable support and a hand-operated hoist. The hand-operated hoist is fixedly mounted on the movable support and is used to lift and flip the wall-climbing robot that is fed into the tank.

8. An auxiliary device for a wall-climbing robot to enter and exit a tank according to claim 7, characterized in that, The movable support includes two sets of base frames, height-adjustable support arms, and multiple sets of swivel casters. The swivel casters are fixedly connected to the lower side of the base frames, the support arms are fixedly connected to the base frames, and the hand chain hoist is fixedly connected to the middle of the support arms.

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