Base material adjustment device on structure surface using unmanned aircraft

Abstract

To provide a device capable of safely and reliably performing base material adjustment on a structure surface in a short preparation period.SOLUTION: A base material adjustment device D is a device that performs base material adjustment on a structure surface using an unmanned aircraft 1, and comprises the unmanned aircraft 1, a laser oscillator 2 mounted on the unmanned aircraft 1, and a galvano scanner 3 that scans a laser light emitted from the laser oscillator 2. The laser light emitted from the laser oscillator 2 is irradiated onto a desired position on a structure surface by the galvano scanner 3, thereby adjusting the base material on the structure surface.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a substrate conditioning device for the surface of a structure.

Background Art

[0002] The surfaces of structures such as the blades and towers of wind power generation devices are inevitably subject to aging deterioration due to continuous exposure to wind and rain, damage due to collisions with birds, lightning strikes, etc. Therefore, the surfaces of the structures are regularly inspected. If peeling of the protective film or rust on the metal part is found during the inspection, after completely removing the peeled part of the protective film and the part where rust has occurred, repair with a new protective film is performed. The girders, piers of elevated bridges, and various concrete structures are also cracked, lifted, peeled off, and the steel bars are corroded due to carbonation, salt damage, freezing damage, fatigue, weathering, etc. One of the repair methods is the cross-section repair method. Surface treatment is performed to expose the sound layer during repair, and impregnating agents, rust prevention treatment, cross-section repair materials, and coating repairs are performed.

[0003] The substrate conditioning for removing the peeled part of the protective film, rust, etc., which is performed before repair, or the surface treatment performed before cross-section repair, is usually carried out by workers, so it is particularly dangerous and the workability is poor in the case of high places. In addition, the work period including preparation work such as the assembly of scaffolding or the installation of a suspended gondola has been long and costly.

[0004] Therefore, for example, in Patent Document 1, an outer wall surface repair device is proposed that includes a moving device between a pair of left and right suspension wires and a repair device is provided on this moving device. Also, in Patent Document 2, a technique for cleaning the wall surface of a structure with a brush using a drone is proposed.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0005]

Patent Document 1

Patent Document 2

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0006] In the technology proposed in Patent Document 1, there is a lot of auxiliary equipment required for outer wall repair, and there is a risk that a lot of time will be required for preparation work. Also, in the cleaning using the drone proposed in Patent Document 2, although brush cleaning is considered possible, it seems difficult to apply the brush while flying the drone stably with a force sufficient to perform the base adjustment by a contact method because the reaction force will also become large.

[0007] Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide an apparatus that can safely and surely perform base adjustment and surface treatment (hereinafter, collectively referred to as "base adjustment" including surface treatment) on the surface of a structure in a short preparation work period.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0008] One aspect of the apparatus for base adjustment of the surface of a structure according to the present invention for achieving the above object is an apparatus for performing base adjustment of the surface of a structure using an unmanned aircraft, comprising: an unmanned aircraft; a laser oscillator mounted on the unmanned aircraft; and a galvanometer scanner for scanning the laser light emitted from the laser oscillator, wherein the laser light emitted from the laser oscillator is irradiated to a desired position on the surface of the structure by the galvanometer scanner, and the base of the surface of the structure is adjusted.

[0009] In the base adjustment apparatus having the above configuration, it is preferable that the galvanometer scanner scans the irradiation direction of the laser light in three axial directions (X-axis direction, Y-axis direction, Z-axis direction) perpendicular to each other.

[0010] Also, in the base adjustment apparatus having the above configuration, it is preferable that a camera is further mounted on the unmanned aircraft.

[0011] In the substrate adjustment device configured as described above, the unmanned aircraft may further be equipped with a gas injection means, and the gas injection means may inject an inert gas toward the surface of the structure irradiated with the laser light to clean the surface of the substrate-adjusted structure.

Effect of the Invention

[0012] According to the substrate adjustment device of the present invention, the substrate adjustment of the surface of the structure can be performed safely and reliably with a short preparation work period.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0013]

Figure 1

Figure 2

Figure 3

Figure 4

Figure 5

Embodiments for Carrying Out the Invention

[0014] Hereinafter, embodiments of the substrate adjustment device according to the present invention will be described in more detail with reference to the drawings, but the present invention is not limited to these embodiments at all.

[0015] FIGS. 1 and 2 show a front view and a side view showing an embodiment of the substrate adjustment device according to the present invention. The substrate adjustment device D shown in these figures includes an unmanned aircraft 1, a laser oscillator 2 mounted on the unmanned aircraft 1, a galvanometer scanner 3 that scans the laser light emitted from the laser oscillator 2, a camera 4, and a gas injection means 5. Hereinafter, each component of the substrate adjustment device D will be described. (Unmanned Aircraft) One of the major features of the present invention is the use of the unmanned aircraft 1 as a moving means for surface preparation of the structure. This eliminates the need for preparatory work such as scaffolding assembly and installation of suspended gondolas, and can significantly shorten the working time compared to the prior art. The unmanned aircraft 1 that can be used in the present invention is not particularly limited as long as it can carry the laser oscillator 2 and the galvanometer scanner 3 described later, and commercially available ones can be used. The unmanned aircraft 1 shown in FIG. 1 includes a main body 10, four rod-shaped support parts 9a to 9d extending outward from the outer peripheral part of the main body 10 at substantially equal angular intervals in plan view, and at the tip of each of the four support parts 9a to 9d, four rotary motors 13a to 13d (hereinafter, may be collectively referred to as "rotary motor 13") provided so that the rotation axis is in the vertical direction, and four rotary wings 14a to 14d (hereinafter, may be collectively referred to as "rotary wing 14") attached to the rotation axis of each of the four rotary motors 13, a control unit 15 for controlling the rotation etc. of the four rotary motors 13, a communication unit 16, and a power source. The main body 10 houses the control unit 15, the communication unit 16, and the power source 17. In addition, in the present embodiment, the unmanned aircraft 1 is a so-called quadcopter, but it is not limited thereto, and it may be a helicopter or another multicopter having 1, 3, 6, or 8 rotary wings 14. When the power of the rotary wings of the unmanned aircraft cannot fully satisfy the required power of the laser with the storage battery, the unmanned aircraft can also suspend a power cable and receive power supply from the ground. When the power of the rotary wings is obtained from an engine, a generator may be mounted on the unmanned aircraft to receive power supply from the generator.

[0016] The rotation of the rotary wings 14 generates the buoyancy of the unmanned aircraft 1. The rotation speed of each rotary wing 14 is individually controlled by each rotary motor 13 according to a control signal from the control unit 15. This enables the forward, backward, left, right, up, down, turning, and hovering operations of the unmanned aircraft 1.

[0017] The unmanned aircraft 1 flies under the remote instruction operation by the operator. The communication unit 16 receives an instruction signal, and the driving of a plurality of rotary motors 13 is controlled by the control unit 15. Alternatively, the unmanned aircraft 1 may grasp its current position based on signals from the GPS (Global Positioning System) and further signals from a ground station and fly accordingly. In addition, in order to realize stable flight, the unmanned aircraft 1 may be equipped with sensors such as an acceleration sensor, an angular velocity sensor, a barometric pressure sensor, an altitude sensor, a wind direction and wind speed sensor, and a gyro sensor (not shown). Furthermore, pitch control of the rotor blades may be provided to improve the stability and accuracy of position control.

[0018] As shown in FIG. 1, a camera 4 is rotatably provided on the lower surface of the main body 10. Four rod-shaped legs 9a to 9d are attached to the main body 10 downward. A pedestal 8 is fixed to the middle part in the vertical direction of the four legs 9a to 9d. A laser oscillator 2 and a galvanometer scanner 3, which will be described later, are attached to the upper surface of the pedestal 8, and a gas injection means 5 is attached to the lower surface of the pedestal 8.

[0019] The shooting direction of the camera 4 is controlled based on a command from the control unit 15, and the state of the structure surface before and / or after substrate adjustment is photographed. From the state of the structure surface before and / or after substrate adjustment photographed by the camera 4, the laser oscillator 2 optimizes the irradiation conditions of the laser light, and the gas injection means 5 blows gas onto the irradiated portion of the laser light as necessary to remove dust and the like from the surface.

[0020] (Laser oscillator) As the laser oscillator 2 mounted on the unmanned aircraft 1, for example, a nanosecond pulse laser oscillator 2 or a continuous wave (CW) laser oscillator 2 can be preferably used. The nanosecond pulse laser oscillator 2 emits laser light with a pulse width of several tens of nm to several hundreds of nm and a repetition rate of several hundreds of kHz, and can be used for removing various coating films, resins, metals, concrete, etc. on the surface of a structure. Also, when the material of the laser irradiation object has a low melting point, non-thermal substrate conditioning is possible. The CW laser oscillator 2 can continuously irradiate laser light or form laser light in pulses in the range of several kHz, and it is easy to increase the output power, but the thermal influence becomes large, and it may be difficult to use when the material of the laser irradiation object has a low melting point. The materials for using the CW laser oscillator 2 are metals, concrete, etc.

[0021] (Galvanometer scanner) The galvanometer scanner 3 used in the present invention may be any one that can scan and control the irradiation direction of laser light in two-axis or three-axis directions. Considering the case where there are irregularities (Z-axis direction) on the surface (X-Y plane) of the structure or the sway of the unmanned aircraft 1, etc., a scanner that scans and controls the irradiation direction of laser light in the three-axis direction with a wide (long) depth of focus is preferably used.

[0022] Fig. 3 shows a configuration diagram showing an example of a galvanometer scanner 3 that can scan and control laser light in three-axis directions. The galvanometer scanner 3 shown in Fig. 3 includes a focus lens 31 capable of adjusting the focus of the laser light emitted from the laser oscillator 2, an X-axis mirror 32a and a Y-axis mirror 32b that sequentially reflect the laser light that has passed through the focus lens 31, motors 33a, 33b that rotate the X-axis mirror 32a and the Y-axis mirror 32b around the X-axis and Y-axis, and a condenser lens 34 that condenses and emits the laser light.

[0023] The focusing lens 31 is attached to an electric slider 31a that is movable in the Z direction, and is provided between the laser oscillator 2 and the X-axis mirror 32a. By moving the focusing lens 31 together with the electric slider 31a in the Z direction, the focal length of the irradiation spot of the laser light changes. That is, the irradiation spot of the laser light changes in the Z-axis direction.

[0024] The X-axis mirror 32a and the Y-axis mirror 32b rotate around the X-axis and the Y-axis that are perpendicular to each other. As a result, the laser light reflected by the X-axis mirror 32a and the Y-axis mirror 32b scans the surface of the structure (XY plane).

[0025] The condenser lens 34 condenses the laser light reflected by the Y-axis mirror 32b at a desired irradiation position.

[0026] The laser light emitted from the laser oscillator 2 passes through the focusing lens 31 and is sequentially reflected by the X-axis mirror 32a and the Y-axis mirror 32b. The laser light is condensed by the condenser lens 34 and irradiated toward the surface of the structure. At this time, as the X-axis mirror 32a and the Y-axis mirror 32b rotate respectively, the incident angles of the laser light incident on these mirrors change continuously. As a result, the laser light that is sequentially reflected by the X-axis mirror 32a and the Y-axis mirror 32b and reaches the surface of the structure scans along a predetermined scanning path on the surface of the structure (X-Y plane). Thereby, the substrate adjustment of the surface of the structure is performed. When there are irregularities on the surface of the structure, etc., the focusing lens 31 moves to change the irradiation spot of the laser light in the Z-axis direction corresponding to the irregularities on the surface of the structure.

[0027] When the surface of the structure is irradiated with laser light, for example, a powerful energy of 16 MW (energy density MW / mm 2 ) is applied in an ultra-short time of nanoseconds, and the coating film and rust are instantaneously turned into plasma. The coating film and rust are removed by the plasma explosion at that time and the shock wave caused by it.

[0028] (Gas injection means) The gas injection means 5 removes debris and gas such as coating films, rust, etc. that have been peeled off or evaporated by the irradiation of laser light from the surface of the structure. The gas injection means 5 includes an injection nozzle 52 and a gas supply unit 51. The injection nozzle 51 and the gas supply unit 52 are connected by a flexible tube. The injection nozzle 51 is rotatable in the Y direction about a horizontal axis. Of course, it may also be rotatable in the X direction. The gas injected from the injection nozzle 51 may be an inert gas, and examples include clean dry air, nitrogen gas, argon gas, etc.

[0029] FIG. 4 shows a block diagram of a substrate adjustment device D according to an embodiment of the present invention. The substrate adjustment device D includes a communication unit 16 that receives remote instructions from the operator of the unmanned aircraft 1 and transmits images and the like by the camera 4 to a remote controller (not shown), and based on the received instruction information from the operator, controls the driving of the rotation motor 13, laser irradiation, the operation of the galvanoscanner 3, and gas injection.

[0030] FIG. 5 shows a flowchart of a control example of the substrate adjustment device D according to the present invention. The unmanned aircraft 1 flies to a defective portion that requires substrate adjustment on the surface of the structure according to a remote instruction from the operator (step S101). Specifically, the operator checks whether there is peeling of the coating film on the surface of the structure or rust on the metal part while viewing the video sent from the camera 4 mounted on the unmanned aircraft 1. Alternatively, when the defective portion is specified and the position information is input in a prior inspection, the unmanned aircraft 1 flies to the specified location using a GPS system or the like.

[0031] When the unmanned aircraft 1 reaches a defective portion on the surface of the structure, the unmanned aircraft 1 performs a hovering operation so that the focal position of the laser light coincides with the defective portion (step S102). Then, laser light is emitted from the laser oscillator 2 (step S103). The laser light emitted from the laser oscillator 2 is scanned by the galvanometer scanner 3 (step S104) and irradiated onto the defective portion on the surface of the structure. And the laser light is irradiated onto the defective portion until the substrate adjustment is completed ("N" in step S105). When the substrate adjustment of the defective portion is completed ("Y" in step S105), the unmanned aircraft 1 flies to the next defective portion (step S101), and the substrate adjustment of the defective portion is performed in the same manner as described above (steps S102 to S105). And when the substrate adjustment of all the defective portions is completed ("Y" in step S106), the control of the substrate adjustment device D is terminated.

[0032] In addition, within the scope not departing from the gist of the present invention, it is possible to appropriately replace the components in the above-described embodiments with well-known components, and the above-described various modified examples may be appropriately combined.

Industrial Applicability

[0033] According to the substrate adjustment device according to the present invention, the substrate adjustment of the surface of the structure can be performed safely and reliably with a short preparation work period.

Explanation of Reference Numerals

[0034] 1 Unmanned aircraft 2 Laser oscillator 3 Galvanometer scanner 4 Camera 5 Gas ejection means D Substrate adjustment device

Claims

1. An apparatus for performing substrate adjustment on the surface of a structure using an unmanned aircraft, comprising: an unmanned aircraft; a laser oscillator mounted on the unmanned aircraft; a galvanometer scanner for scanning the laser light emitted from the laser oscillator; and the laser light emitted from the laser oscillator is irradiated by the galvanometer scanner to a desired position on the surface of the structure, and the substrate on the surface of the structure is adjusted. A substrate adjustment device for the surface of a structure, characterized in that.

2. The substrate adjustment device for the surface of a structure according to Claim 1, wherein the galvanometer scanner scans the irradiation direction of the laser light in three axial directions (X-axis direction, Y-axis direction, Z-axis direction) perpendicular to each other.

3. The substrate adjustment device for the surface of a structure according to Claim 1 or 2, wherein a camera is further mounted on the unmanned aircraft.

4. The unmanned aircraft is further equipped with gas injection means, and the gas injection means injects an inert gas toward the surface of the structure irradiated with the laser light to clean the surface of the structure whose substrate has been adjusted. The substrate adjustment device for the surface of a structure according to Claim 1 or 2.

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