Autonomous driving, high-precision positioning drilling robot

Abstract

This invention relates to the technical field of drilling equipment, and more particularly to an automated, high-precision positioning drilling robot. It includes an unmanned ground transport system, the top of which is equipped with a laser radar for map drawing and navigation, and the front and rear of the unmanned ground transport system are equipped with front ultrasonic sensors and rear ultrasonic sensors for collision avoidance recognition, respectively. The laser radar, front ultrasonic sensors and rear ultrasonic sensors are electrically connected to a control computer of the unmanned ground transport system, and the unmanned ground transport system is equipped with a manipulator, which is equipped with an impact drill. During drilling, the laser radar assists with map drawing and navigation, the ultrasonic sensors assist with navigation, the robot drills holes in the ground with an adjustable impact drill using a combination of the robot and a horizontal sensor, and the manipulator and 3D camera can be used to locate the drilling position in a wall and adjust the drilling angle. This robot is suitable for automatically drilling holes inside and outside a house based on drawings placed at a low position, reducing drilling costs, increasing drilling efficiency, and preventing drilling dust from harming workers' health.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to the technical field of drilling equipment, and particularly to an automatically operated, high-precision positioning drilling robot.

Background Art

[0002] In construction work, it is necessary to drill holes in floors and walls. For example, when installing stand-type floor tiles indoors, it is necessary to drill holes in the floor. Also, for example, when installing drywall tiles on a wall, it is necessary to drill holes in the wall.

[0003] Currently, most of the drilling work still requires manual drilling, which is inefficient and costly, and the dust generated by drilling harms the health of workers.

[0004] In the prior art, the applicant of the present application proposed an automatic positioning drilling and anchor bolt fixing robot (refer to the Chinese patent with publication number CN212706791U), which includes a moving lifting platform equipped with a laser radar, a working platform is provided on the moving lifting platform, a mechanical arm, a drilling tool and an expansion bolt mounting tool are provided on the working platform, a first connecting device is provided at the tip of the mechanical arm, and second connecting devices are provided on the drilling tool and the expansion bolt mounting tool respectively. The working platform is provided with an expansion bolt supply device including an arc-shaped expansion bolt clip and a guide tube provided at one end of the expansion bolt clip. A push rod is provided at the lower end of the guide tube, and an expansion bolt driver is also provided on the expansion bolt clip. This robot can automatically position the drilling hole and install the expansion bolt, does not require highly skilled work by construction workers, can guarantee the safety and health of construction workers, and can also improve work efficiency.

[0005] However, this robot is mainly suitable for automatic positioning drilling and anchor bolt fixing at high positions, and is not suitable for drilling work at low positions indoors and outdoors.

Summary of the Invention

[0006] This invention aims to provide an autonomous, high-precision positioning drilling robot, solving the problems of conventional drilling work in construction, which relies on manual labor, resulting in low efficiency, high costs, and harm to human health.

[0007] To achieve the above objective, this invention proposes the following technical means: The invention provides an autonomous driving, high-precision positioning drilling robot, which includes an unmanned ground transport means, the top of which is equipped with a laser radar for drawing maps and navigation, the front and rear of which are equipped with a front ultrasonic sensor and a rear ultrasonic sensor for collision avoidance recognition, respectively, the laser radar, front ultrasonic sensor and rear ultrasonic sensor are electrically connected to a control computer of the unmanned ground transport means, the unmanned ground transport means is equipped with a manipulator, and the manipulator is equipped with an impact drill.

[0008] Preferably, the unmanned ground transport means is a crawler-type electric carrier, a low-position mounting platform is provided on the front side of the unmanned ground transport means, a high-position navigation platform is provided on the rear side, the manipulator is provided on the mounting platform, and the laser radar is provided on the navigation platform.

[0009] Preferably, a removable battery box is provided on the rear side of the unmanned ground transport means, and the battery box is provided with replaceable batteries.

[0010] Preferably, the impact drill is equipped with a three-dimensional camera for finding the drilling position and angle, and the three-dimensional camera is electrically connected to the control computer of the unmanned ground transport means.

[0011] Preferably, a force sensor is provided on the rear side of the impact drill to recognize whether or not it will collide with reinforcing bars during drilling, and the force sensor is electrically connected to the control computer of the unmanned ground transport means.

[0012] Preferably, the impact drill is provided with a horizontal sensor for feedback on the absolute perpendicularity of the impact drill to the Earth, and the horizontal sensor is electrically connected to the control computer of the unmanned ground transport means.

[0013] Preferably, the unmanned ground transport means is equipped with a WiFi communication module, a 4G / 5G communication module, and an internet connection module, and all of the WiFi communication module, 4G / 5G communication module, and internet connection module are electrically connected to the control computer of the unmanned ground transport means.

[0014] Preferably, the system further includes a human-computer interaction terminal, the human-computer interaction terminal is provided with a screen, and the human-computer interaction terminal communicates with the control computer of the unmanned ground transport means via WiFi communication, 4G / 5G communication, or Internet communication.

[0015] Preferably, the front ultrasonic sensors are provided on both the front sides of the unmanned ground transport means, and the rear ultrasonic sensors are provided on both the rear sides of the unmanned ground transport means.

[0016] Preferably, the manipulator is a 6-axis manipulator. [Effects of the Invention]

[0017] Compared to conventional technology, the beneficial effects of this invention are as follows: This autonomous, high-precision positioning drilling robot includes an unmanned ground transport system, the top of which is equipped with a laser radar for drawing maps and navigation, the front and rear of which are equipped with front ultrasonic sensors and rear ultrasonic sensors for collision avoidance recognition, respectively, the unmanned ground transport system is equipped with a manipulator, and the manipulator is equipped with an impact drill. During drilling, the laser radar assists with map drawing and navigation, the ultrasonic sensors assist with navigation, the robot drills holes in the ground with an adjustable impact drill using a combination of the robot and a horizontal sensor, and the manipulator and 3D camera can be used to find the position to drill holes in walls and adjust the drilling angle. A force sensor can detect whether a collision with rebar has occurred during drilling, and the unmanned ground transport system is equipped with a replaceable battery, allowing for extended operation by replacing the battery. This robot is suitable for automatically drilling holes based on drawings placed at low positions inside and outside the house, reducing drilling costs, increasing drilling efficiency, and preventing drilling dust from harming workers' health. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0018] The drawings are intended to provide a further understanding of the present invention, constitute part of the specification, and illustrate the present invention together with embodiments, and do not constitute limitations on the present invention. In the drawings, [Figure 1] This invention is a perspective view of one embodiment of an automated, high-precision positioning drilling robot. [Figure 2] This invention is a perspective view of one embodiment of an automated, high-precision positioning drilling robot. [Figure 3] This invention is a schematic diagram of an embodiment of an autonomous, high-precision positioning drilling robot with the battery box lid open. [Figure 4] This invention is a schematic diagram of the structure of a battery box in one embodiment of an automated, high-precision positioning drilling robot. [Figure 5]This invention is a structural schematic diagram of an impact drill of an embodiment of an automatic driving and high-precision positioning drilling robot. [Figure 6] This invention is a structural schematic diagram of a human-computer interaction terminal of an embodiment of an automatic driving and high-precision positioning drilling robot. [Figure 7] This invention is a schematic diagram of the front and rear induction areas of a laser radar and ultrasonic sensors on the front and rear sides of an embodiment of an automatic driving and high-precision positioning drilling robot. [Figure 8] This invention is a schematic diagram of the left and right induction areas of a laser radar of an embodiment of an automatic driving and high-precision positioning drilling robot. [Figure 9] This invention is a layout diagram of a drilling path at a construction site of an embodiment of an automatic driving and high-precision positioning drilling robot. [Figure 10] This invention is a schematic diagram of the induction area of a 3D camera of an embodiment of an automatic driving and high-precision positioning drilling robot. [Figure 11] This invention is a schematic diagram of drilling a hole in a wall of an embodiment of an automatic driving and high-precision positioning drilling robot. [Figure 12] This invention is a schematic diagram after adjusting the error of wall drilling of an embodiment of an automatic driving and high-precision positioning drilling robot.

Embodiments for Carrying Out the Invention

[0019] In order to make the purpose, technical solution and advantages of this invention clearer, the following will describe this invention in detail. Obviously, the described embodiments are only some embodiments of this invention, not all embodiments. All other embodiments obtained by those skilled in the art based on the embodiments in this invention without creative labor belong to the scope protected by this invention.

[0020] In one embodiment, as shown in FIGS. 1 to 12, an automatic driving and high-precision positioning drilling robot is provided.

[0021] As shown in Figures 1 and 2, the autonomous, high-precision positioning drilling robot includes an unmanned ground transport means 1, which is a crawler-type electric carrier, and the unmanned ground transport means 1 includes a battery unit, a drive motor, and a control computer, the battery unit supplies power to the drive motor and the control computer, the control computer controls the operation of the drive motor, the drive motor includes a forward / backward drive motor and a left / right swivel motor, and drives the forward / backward movement and swivel of the crawler through the drive motor.

[0022] A laser radar 11 for drawing maps and navigation is provided at the top of the unmanned ground transport system 1, and a front ultrasonic sensor 12 and a rear ultrasonic sensor 13 for collision avoidance recognition are provided on the front and rear sides of the unmanned ground transport system 1, respectively. The laser radar 11, front ultrasonic sensor 12 and rear ultrasonic sensor 13 are electrically connected to the control computer of the unmanned ground transport system, and as shown in Figures 1 and 2, the front ultrasonic sensors 12 are provided on both sides of the front of the unmanned ground transport system 1, and the rear ultrasonic sensors 13 are provided on both sides of the rear of the unmanned ground transport system 1. The four ultrasonic sensors are used to compensate for the guidance dead zone of the laser radar 11 during navigation and to prevent the front and rear sides of the unmanned ground transport system 1 from colliding with obstacles.

[0023] As shown in Figures 1 and 2, the unmanned ground transport system 1 is equipped with a manipulator 2, and the manipulator 2 is equipped with an impact drill 3. The manipulator 2 here is a 6-axis robot, having 6 degrees of freedom, and can rotate in any direction in space, making flexible drilling easy. A low-position mounting platform 14 is provided on the front side of the unmanned ground transport system 1, and a high-position navigation platform 15 is provided on the rear side. The manipulator 2 is mounted on the mounting platform 14, and the laser radar 11 is mounted on the navigation platform 15. By installing the mounting platform 14, the robot 2 can easily touch the drilling location on the ground or the lower part of the wall, and by installing the navigation platform 15, the laser radar 11 is given a wider guidance field of view.

[0024] As shown in Figures 2, 3, and 4, a removable battery box 16 is provided on the rear side of the unmanned ground transport means 1. The battery box 16 is formed by two battery box covers 161 that are hinged to the unmanned ground transport means 1. The battery box 16 is equipped with a replaceable battery 162, and the replaceable battery 162 is equipped with a handle 163 to facilitate removal of the replaceable battery 162.

[0025] As shown in Figures 1 and 5, the impact drill 3 is equipped with a 3D camera 31 for finding the drilling position and angle. The 3D camera 31 is electrically connected to the control computer of the unmanned ground transport means 1 and transmits the captured 3D information to the control computer.

[0026] A force sensor 32 is provided on the rear side of the impact drill 3 to recognize whether or not it will collide with reinforcing bars during drilling, and the force sensor 32 is electrically connected to the control computer of the unmanned ground transport means 1.

[0027] The impact drill 3 is equipped with a horizontal sensor 33 for feedback on the absolute perpendicularity of the impact drill to the Earth, and the horizontal sensor 33 is electrically connected to the control computer of the unmanned ground transport means 1.

[0028] The unmanned ground transport system 1 is equipped with a WiFi communication module, a 4G / 5G communication module, and an internet connection module. All three modules are electrically connected to the control computer of the unmanned ground transport system. Therefore, the unmanned ground transport system 1 can communicate with the outside world via WiFi communication, the 4G / 5G communication module, and the internet. This communication is performed to receive control signals and transmit measurement data from related sensors to the outside world.

[0029] As shown in Figure 6, the automated, high-precision positioning drilling robot further includes a human-computer interaction terminal 4, which is equipped with a screen 41 and several operation buttons 42. The screen 41 can display a map of the drilling area of ​​the robot 100, and the map includes the drilling path 43 planned by the robot 100. The human-computer interaction terminal 4 communicates with the control computer of the unmanned ground transport system 1 via WiFi communication, 4G / 5G communication, or internet communication.

[0030] The operation buttons 42 include, but are not limited to, buttons for controlling the driving direction, controlling the manipulator direction, starting the drilling, an emergency stop button, and a shutdown button. The screen 41 is provided with dummy buttons for adjusting drilling parameters, such as drilling depth, drilling size, and drilling perpendicularity.

[0031] The operating principle of this automated, high-precision positioning drilling robot is as follows: (1) Navigation of unmanned ground transport system: As shown in Figures 7 and 8, the laser radar and ultrasonic sensors on the unmanned ground transport system 1 have a sufficient sensing range, and the laser radar 11 on the unmanned ground transport system 1 is a laser radar with centimeter or millimeter precision resolution, and the laser radar 11 can meet the requirements for automatic navigation and collision avoidance scanning. The motion control of the unmanned ground transport system 1 is driven by the control computer and stored algorithms within the robot, which drive the chassis motor motion based on the real-time feedback signal of the laser radar 11.

[0032] The ultrasonic sensors on the front and rear sides of the unmanned ground transport system 1 can effectively compensate for the space that the laser radar 11 cannot scan at close range, thus meeting the need for collision avoidance. To avoid unforeseen incidents due to collisions, the control computer controls the robot to come to a complete automatic stop if any object enters the guidance range of the ultrasonic sensors.

[0033] (2) Map Construction: Based on laser radar guidance data, SLAM (Simultaneous Localization and Mapping) is constructed by controlling a computer. For this robot to be deployed to a new location for the first time, it is necessary to manually or automatically scan and construct a local real-time SLAM map. The SLAM map is an immediate reference for planning the robot's drilling path and enabling the robot's indoor positioning. Here, the accuracy of the SLAM map depends on the selected laser radar and the SLAM map construction algorithm.

[0034] When a person first controls the entry of an unmanned ground transport vehicle using a remote control system, as the robot moves around the location, a laser radar on the robot constantly scans the location and builds a map for the location in real time according to a SLAM mapping algorithm.

[0035] The drilling locations in the design drawings (CAD / BIM drawings) are entered into the robot's control computer. Then, on the touchscreen of the human-computer interaction terminal, the map and the entered map are drawn in pairs using methods such as translation, rotation, and scaling. When necessary, the entered map is artificially divided, and locations are paired using parts of the map to create optimal pairings for each hole.

[0036] Drilling Path Planning: The robot's control computer is equipped with SLAM mapping and design drawing fitting software. It can pinpoint drilling locations within drawings designed using BIM or CAD software onto the SLAM map. Based on the fitted drilling location coordinates and the design coverage area of ​​the arm and laser radar vision, it automatically plans the drilling path and parking work location. The robot's dwelling points, dwelling angles, and drilling paths consisting of a series of dwelling points can also be defined via the robot's control computer software interface.

[0037] (3) Drilling Drilling Method 1: After the robot automatically reaches the work point, the robot's internal control system automatically calculates and adjusts the drilling position of the robot arm based on pre-programmed drilling coordinates, and then performs the drilling operation.

[0038] As shown in Figure 9, the drilling locations on the drilling path are matched based on the robot's single-cycle range of motion. These locations are combined into multiple drilling location sets. The direction of the wall is determined based on laser radar scanning and architectural drawings, and a stopping position at a certain distance from the wall is calculated from the drilling location sets and the wall direction. Furthermore, the shortest travel distance for the robot is found from the stopping position, generating a planned drilling path and parking position. The robot's drilling path can also be modified by the user via a human interaction terminal for adjustment. If necessary, the user can also manually set the drilling path and stopping position on the human-machine interactive terminal. Simultaneously, algorithms in the control computer sense obstacles in real time based on information from the laser radar and near-field ultrasonic sensors, and perform path adjustments and obstacle avoidance in real time. During drilling, the entire process of this robot's drilling operation is limited to a default good drilling diameter. If there is a demand for multiple drilling diameters in one location, the drilling needs to be changed.

[0039] Drilling Method 2: As shown in Figure 10, the robot is automatically or manually controlled until it reaches the work point, after which a 3D camera mounted on the robot arm detects the drilling position within the ground work area. If a default drilling positioning diagram is available, the 3D camera feeds back relative coordinates within its field of view, and the robot performs the drilling. The 3D camera mounted on the robot's manipulator can stream normal video or take photographs. Unlike a normal camera, the 3D camera simultaneously outputs the 3D coordinates of each pixel in the photograph, forming a point cloud that can be used to sense position in 3D space.

[0040] (4) Adjustment for hole drilling position error: As shown in Figure 11, in the example of drilling a hole in a wall, if the robot walks to the dwelling work point according to the instructions of the control computer, the 3D map including the location and walls is stored in the robot's data via the SLAM map, so the robot can properly adjust its arm so that the direction of the 3D camera and impact drill is nearly perpendicular to the ground or wall where the hole needs to be drilled.

[0041] However, because there are errors in both the laser radar and the SLAM mapping algorithm, the orientation of the 3D camera and the impact drill may not be perfectly perpendicular to the wall. Therefore, as shown in Figure 12, before the impact drill drills a hole, the 3D camera scans the ground and wall for the drill position coordinates in the robot data, calculates the orientation difference between the wall and the impact drill, and then the robot hand adjusts the orientation of the impact drill so that the orientation error between the impact drill and the wall falls within a certain range.

[0042] When adjusting the positional error of the impact drill, the robot can drill holes in walls at any angle, not limited to the wall angles and positions shown in Figures 11 and 12, as long as the location where drilling is required is within the robot's reachable range and the robot can actually reach that location when drilling is performed. Here, the manipulator can actually reach this location if it does not collide with anything while moving to that location. For example, if the drilling location is below ground level, the manipulator cannot physically reach the ground. This location is one that cannot actually be reached.

[0043] (5) Make a hole in the ground: Horizontal sensors are suitable for use when drilling holes underground, eliminating the need to adjust the drill direction using a 3D camera. The horizontal sensor on the robot hand can provide feedback on the absolute perpendicularity of the impact drill relative to the earth.

[0044] If the impact drill is not perpendicular to the ground (because there may be pebbles stuck under the caterpillar tracks), the robot can use feedback from the horizontal sensor to control the robot's fine-tuning angle and return the impact drill to a vertical position.

[0045] The robot controls the speed of the impact drill based on the drilling settings (depth and size). Using the drilling depth as a reference, the robot automatically calculates the appropriate speed and drills the hole to the appropriate depth.

[0046] (6) Role of the force sensor: When drilling a hole, the force sensor monitors the drilling force in real time to determine whether or not it is hitting a rebar. The method of determination includes, but is not limited to, the following: a) Sudden increase in drilling force: If the drilling force suddenly increases and the impact drill is still open, and the force has not decreased after a certain period of time during which the drill continues to move into the hole at a stop / slow speed, it indicates that it has hit a rebar.

[0047] (7) Battery replacement: The battery is located at the rear of the robot. After opening the cover of the removable battery box, simply unplug the main cable, pull out the battery by hand, and replace it with a different type of battery to power the robot.

[0048] Although embodiments of the present invention have been shown and described, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various modifications, alterations, substitutions, and variations can be made to these embodiments without departing from the principles and spirit of the present invention, and the scope of the present invention is defined by the appended claims and their equivalents.

Claims

1. The system includes an unmanned ground transport means, the top of which is equipped with a laser radar for map drawing and navigation, the front and rear of which are equipped with a front ultrasonic sensor and a rear ultrasonic sensor for collision avoidance recognition, respectively, the laser radar, the front ultrasonic sensor and the rear ultrasonic sensor are electrically connected to a control computer of the unmanned ground transport means, the unmanned ground transport means is equipped with a manipulator, and the manipulator is equipped with an impact drill. The unmanned ground transport means is a crawler-type electric carrier, with a low-position mounting platform provided on the front side of the unmanned ground transport means and a high-position navigation platform provided on the rear side, the manipulator is provided on the mounting platform and the laser radar is provided on the navigation platform. The impact drill is equipped with a three-dimensional camera for finding the drilling position and angle, and the three-dimensional camera is electrically connected to the control computer of the unmanned ground transport means, characterized in that it is an automated, high-precision positioning drilling robot.

2. The automated, high-precision positioning drilling robot according to claim 1, characterized in that a removable battery box is provided on the rear side of the unmanned ground transport means, and a replaceable battery is provided in the battery box.

3. The automatic operation, high-precision positioning drilling robot according to claim 1, characterized in that a force sensor is provided on the rear side of the impact drill for recognizing whether or not it will collide with reinforcing bars when drilling, and the force sensor is electrically connected to the control computer of the unmanned ground transport means.

4. The automatic driving, high-precision positioning drilling robot according to claim 1, characterized in that the impact drill is provided with a horizontal sensor for feedback on the absolute perpendicularity of the impact drill with respect to the Earth, and the horizontal sensor is electrically connected to the control computer of the unmanned ground transport means.

5. The unmanned ground transport means is provided with a Wi-Fi communication module, a 4G / 5G communication module, and an internet connection module, and the Wi-Fi communication module, 4G / 5G communication module, and internet connection module are all electrically connected to the control computer of the unmanned ground transport means, characterized in that the automated driving, high-precision positioning drilling robot according to claim 1.

6. The automated driving, high-precision positioning drilling robot according to claim 5, further comprising a human-computer interaction terminal, wherein the human-computer interaction terminal is provided with a screen, and the human-computer interaction terminal communicates with the control computer of the unmanned ground transport means via Wi-Fi communication, 4G / 5G communication, or Internet communication.

7. The automated driving, high-precision positioning drilling robot according to claim 1, characterized in that the front ultrasonic sensors are provided on both the front sides of the unmanned ground transport means, and the rear ultrasonic sensors are provided on both the rear sides of the unmanned ground transport means.

8. The automatic operation, high-precision positioning drilling robot according to claim 1, characterized in that the manipulator is a 6-axis manipulator.

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