Underwater sediment recovery robot

Abstract

To provide a robot for recovering deposits in water which can efficiently recover contents as deposits even when the contents are housed in a sandbag so as to recover deposits quickly.SOLUTION: A robot 100 for recovering deposits in water comprises a robot body 110 capable of running in water, a container 150 mounted to the robot body 110, a built-in pump 120 which is mounted in the robot body 110 and which sucks deposits through the container 150, and a chip saw 160 which is pivotally supported vertically at the lower front position of the robot body 110 and which can rotate freely.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to an underwater sediment recovery robot for recovering sediments in water.

Background Art

[0002] Conventionally, in order to prevent water pollution or remove harmful substances deposited in water, sediments in water have been recovered. As a means of recovering sediments, for example, Patent Document 1 discloses a sludge recovery device and method. The sludge recovery device of Patent Document 1 includes a dredging device that can move in water and suck and recover sludge at the bottom of the water, a processing device that can move in water and store the recovered material from which moisture has been removed from the sludge recovered by the dredging device in a recovery material receiving tank, and an equipment vehicle that supplies power, high-pressure air, etc. to the processing device.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] For example, in a nuclear power plant building, in order to reduce the radiation dose in water, a sandbag containing an adsorbent (e.g., zeolite) that adsorbs radioactive substances may be placed in water. When recovering the contents of this sandbag, if the contents remain contained in the sandbag, the sludge recovery device of Patent Document 1 cannot recover the sediment. Therefore, with the technology of Patent Document 1, the recovery efficiency is low and there is room for further improvement.

[0005] In view of such problems, an object of the present invention is to provide an underwater sediment recovery robot that can efficiently recover the contents as sediments even when the contents are contained in a sandbag, and can quickly perform the sediment recovery work.

Means for Solving the Problem

[0006] Since the adsorbent will eventually lose its effectiveness, it needs to be replaced. The sandbags submerged in the water of the nuclear power plant building are under high radiation doses. As the installation period lengthens, the fibers of the sandbags will collapse and become prone to tearing, or they will break naturally. Simply considering recovering the sandbags, it is conceivable to use a device that lifts objects such as the forks of a forklift or a robot hand. However, it is expected that the sandbags will break when lifted, and the internal adsorbent will dissipate. Also, those that have broken and leaked naturally cannot be lifted. Then, it may be considered that both a lifting device and a suction device can be used, but the devices will become large-scale, and it will also be difficult for each device to move around the work site.

[0007] Therefore, the inventors considered simply breaking all the sandbags and sucking and recovering the leaked contents. However, when using claws such as forks, they would get stuck in the sandbags and neither break nor come out, and the work could not proceed. Therefore, further studies were conducted, leading to the completion of the present invention.

[0008] To solve the above problems, a typical configuration of the underwater sediment recovery robot according to the present invention includes a robot body capable of traveling underwater, a container attached to the robot body, a built-in pump mounted on the robot body for sucking sediment through the container, and a chip saw pivotally supported vertically in the front of the lower part of the robot body and capable of freely rotating. Note that the chip saw is a disk-shaped saw.

[0009] According to the above configuration, by pressing the chip saw against it and causing the robot body to rotate left and right, the bag of the sandbag is torn, and the contents flow out of the sandbag to the outside. The chip saw catches on the surface of the sandbag but does not penetrate it. Thereby, the contents flowing out of the sandbag can be sucked and collected by the built-in pump of the robot body. Therefore, even when the contents are contained in the sandbag, the contents can be efficiently collected, and the work of collecting the sediment can be carried out quickly.

[0010] In addition, since the chip saw is pivotally supported so as to be freely rotatable, it can also function as a guide when the robot attempts to cross obstacles such as sandbags and rubble and move forward.

Effect of the Invention

[0011] According to the present invention, an underwater sediment collection robot capable of efficiently collecting the contents as sediment even when the contents are contained in a sandbag and quickly performing the work of collecting the sediment can be obtained.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0012]

Figure 1

Figure 2

Figure 3

Figure 4

Mode for Carrying Out the Invention

[0013] Hereinafter, with reference to the accompanying drawings, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail. The dimensions, materials, and other specific numerical values shown in such embodiments are merely examples for facilitating the understanding of the invention, and do not limit the present invention unless otherwise specified. In the present specification and drawings, elements having substantially the same function and configuration are denoted by the same reference numerals to omit redundant description, and elements not directly related to the present invention are not shown.

[0014] FIG. 1 is an overall perspective view of the precipitate recovery robot according to the present embodiment. FIG. 2 is an overall perspective view of the robot body of FIG. 1. FIG. 3 is an overall perspective view of the container of FIG. 1. As shown in FIG. 1, the recovery robot 100 of the present embodiment mainly includes a robot body 110 and a container 150 attached to the robot body 110. In the following description, a robot having a detachable container 150 with respect to the robot body will be described as an example, but the present invention is also applicable to a robot having a container 150 fixed to the robot body 110.

[0015] As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the robot body 110 has crawlers 112 at the lower part and can travel underwater along the floor surface of the facility. On the side of the robot body 110 where the container 150 is detached, a support plate 116 for supporting the inclined container 150 is provided. On the other hand, on the side of the robot body 110 opposite to the side where the container 150 is detached, a built-in pump 120 for sucking water containing precipitate into the container 150 is mounted. A pump suction port 114 communicating with the built-in pump 120 is provided at the lower part of the robot body 110.

[0016] As shown in FIGS. 1 and 3, in the container 150, a hanger 154 is arranged at the upper part of the container body 152. An opening 156 for discharging the precipitate stored in the container 150 to the outside is provided at the lower part of the container 150 (container body 152). An opening for sucking the precipitate is provided at the center of the lower surface of the container 150 (not shown).

[0017] Also, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the robot main body 110 is provided with a hook 132 and an arm 134. The hook 132 is a member for hooking the hanger 154 of the container 150. The arm 134 moves so as to rotate in the vertical direction. Since the locus of the hook 132 forms an arc due to the rotation of the arm 134, the arm 134 obliquely raises the hook 132 with the hanger 154 of the container 150 hooked thereon in a direction to pull it toward the robot main body 110.

[0018] According to the above configuration, sediment is stored in a detachable container on the robot main body 110. Then, when the sediment is collected in the container 150, the robot main body 110 lowers the container 150 and attaches a new empty container 150. Thereby, the sediment collection work can be performed without returning the device (robot main body 110) to the ground midway, and the work efficiency can be significantly improved.

[0019] Here, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, 100 of the present embodiment has a chip saw 160 pivotally supported vertically and rotatable freely in front of the lower part of the robot main body. In 100 of the present embodiment, such a chip saw 160 is used to break the bag of the sandbag 10.

[0020] FIG. 4 is a usage mode diagram of the recovery robot 100 of the present embodiment. In the work site (underwater), sandbags 10 containing an adsorbent (for example, zeolite) that adsorbs radioactive substances are stacked. The contents of the sandbag 10 are referred to as contents 12.

[0021] First, as shown in FIG. 4(a), the robot main body 110 advances toward the sandbag 10 and makes the chip saw 160 bite into the sandbag 10. Since the chip saw 160 is a disk-shaped saw, it catches on the surface of the sandbag 10 but does not penetrate deeply.

[0022] As shown in Fig. 4(b), the robot body 110 sways from side to side to break the bag of the sandbag 10 and cause the contents 12 to flow out to the outside. Since the robot body 110 can perform local turning by rotating the left and right crawlers 112 in opposite directions, it can sway from side to side as a whole by alternately switching the rotation direction.

[0023] Then, the recovery robot 100 sucks the contents 12 that have flowed out to the outside into the container 150 as sediment by the built-in pump 120. That is, if the sandbag 10 has naturally collapsed, it is sucked as it is, and if it is still contained in the sandbag 10, it is broken and the contents 12 are sucked. As a result, all the contents can be recovered by suction without the need for a device to lift the bag as it is. Therefore, the contents 12 can be efficiently recovered as sediment, and the recovery work of the sediment can be carried out quickly.

[0024] Also, since the chip saw 160 is pivotally supported so as to be freely rotatable, it has a function similar to that of a wheel. That is, if it sways from side to side in the stabbed state, it can be broken, but if it simply moves forward further, rather than breaking, it will ride over. Therefore, if the recovery robot 100 simply moves forward, first the chip saw 160 rides over and guides obstacles such as sandbags and rubble, causing the robot body 110 to face upward, and the crawlers 112 can ride over the obstacles, and the recovery robot 100 can move forward over the obstacles.

[0025] As described above, the preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described with reference to the accompanying drawings. Needless to say, the present invention is not limited to such examples. It is obvious that those skilled in the art can conceive of various modification examples or correction examples within the scope described in the claims, and it is naturally understood that those also belong to the technical scope of the present invention.

[0026] The preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described above with reference to the accompanying drawings. Needless to say, the present invention is not limited to such examples. It is obvious that those skilled in the art can conceive of various modifications or alterations within the scope described in the claims, and it is naturally understood that they also belong to the technical scope of the present invention.

Industrial Applicability

[0027] The present invention can be used as an underwater sediment recovery robot for recovering sediments in water.

Explanation of Reference Numerals

[0028] 10... sandbag, 12... content, 100... recovery robot, 110... robot main body, 112... crawler, 114... pump suction port, 116... support plate, 120... built-in pump, 132... hook, 134... arm, 150... container, 152... container main body, 154... hanger, 156... opening, 160... chip saw

Claims

【Claim 1】In a sediment recovery robot for recovering sediments in water, a robot body capable of traveling in water, a container mounted on the robot body, a built-in pump mounted on the robot body for sucking sediments through the container, a chip saw pivotally supported vertically and rotatable freely forward of the lower part of the robot body, characterized in that when there is an obstacle in the path of the sediment recovery robot in water, the chip saw rides over the obstacle and functions as a guide.

Images