Unmanned dredging device

Abstract

Using an unmanned vehicle with caterpillars, high-pressure fluid is injected into the sediment to pulverize it, and then the suction port of the pipe is guided planar and suctioned. 【Solution means】An unmanned vehicle with caterpillars 4 is provided with a pulverized material suction pipe 5 that extends from the rear of the vehicle and is supported on the upper surface of the vehicle body 3, further overhangs in front of the vehicle, and has a tip as a suction port, and a high-pressure fluid supply pipe 6 that extends to one side of the pulverized material suction pipe 5 and has a tip as an injection nozzle. The base end is pivotally supported by a movable bracket 8 that can rotate in a horizontal plane and extends in front of the vehicle body 3. The boom 10 is made swingable up, down, left, and right by extending and retracting the first hydraulic cylinder device 11 and the second hydraulic cylinder device 12. The suction port of the pulverized material suction pipe 5 supported by the boom 10 and the injection port 6a of the high-pressure fluid supply pipe 6 are made swingable up, down, left, and right. The sediment D is injected, pulverized, suctioned from the suction port 5a of the pulverized material suction pipe 5, and discharged rearward.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to, for example, a dredging device, and particularly to an unmanned self-propelled dredging device.

Background Art

[0002] The dredging device and the dredging method using the same in Patent Document 1 disclose a device and a method for introducing a hydraulic backhoe by manual operation into water and dredging the sediment on the bottom surface of the water. On the other hand, there is no proposal for the unmanned removal of sediment in a nuclear reactor contaminated with radioactivity, sediment in an area where toxic gas can accumulate, sediment in other restricted areas, and harmful sediment.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] The inventors of the present invention have considered that for the unmanned removal of sediment in a restricted area or harmful sediment, the sediment can be pulverized by spraying high-pressure water or high-pressure air onto the sediment and then sucked and removed by a pipe. Therefore, they have come up with the idea of mounting this dredging device on an unmanned vehicle having caterpillars. In addition, regarding the removal of sediment near a dangerous device, if the operation of the dangerous device is stopped and the sediment is removed by manual work, the workers will be exposed to danger and the operation rate of the device will decrease. Therefore, even in this case, they have come up with the idea of mounting a dredging device that pulverizes the sediment by spraying high-pressure water or high-pressure air onto the sediment and sucks and removes the sediment by a pipe on an unmanned vehicle having caterpillars.

[0005] The present invention has been made to solve such problems, and an object thereof is to provide an unmanned self-propelled dredging device capable of remotely operating to suck and remove pulverized matter.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0006] In solving the above problems, as a fundamental technical idea of the present invention, the inventor conceived of spraying high-pressure water or high-pressure air onto a massive sediment to pulverize it and then removing the pulverized sediment by negative pressure suction with a pipe. More specifically, it was developed into a technical idea of equipping a vehicle having a caterpillar that can move the dredging area by remote operation with a pulverized material suction pipe and a high-pressure fluid supply pipe supported by a boom, guiding it planarly by remote operation, injecting high-pressure fluid from an injection nozzle to pulverize the sediment, and sucking and removing the pulverized material from the suction port of the pulverized material suction pipe.

[0007] Therefore, in order to achieve the above object, the unmanned self-propelled dredging device according to the first aspect of the present application is an unmanned self-propelled vehicle having a pair of caterpillars on both sides of the vehicle body, and is extended so as to be supported on the upper surface of the vehicle body from the rear of the vehicle and further overhangs in front of the vehicle. A pulverized material suction pipe having a suction port at its tip, and a high-pressure fluid supply pipe extending along one side of the pulverized material suction pipe and having an injection nozzle at its tip are provided so as to be supported from below by a boom whose base end is pivotally supported by a movable bracket linked to the front end of the vehicle body and swingable in a horizontal plane. A first hydraulic cylinder device that links the lower part of the front end of the vehicle body and the lower part of the tip of the boom and swings the boom up and down by telescopic operation, and a second hydraulic cylinder device that links the upper part of the rear end of the vehicle body and the lateral overhang part of the base end of the boom and swings the boom left and right by telescopic operation are provided. It is characterized in that high-pressure fluid is injected from the injection nozzle at the tip of the high-pressure fluid supply pipe onto the sediment in front of the vehicle to pulverize the sediment, and the sediment is sucked from the suction port at the tip of the pulverized material suction pipe and discharged to the rear of the vehicle.

[0008] As the unmanned dredging device according to the second aspect of the present application, in the above first aspect, the movable bracket has a first hinge portion, a second hinge portion provided on the back surface of the first hinge portion, and a third hinge portion provided on the lower side of the second hinge portion. The first hinge portion is connected by a first connecting shaft, which is a vertical axis, sandwiching the upper and lower surfaces of the front frame of the vehicle body, so that it can swing in the horizontal plane. The second hinge portion is connected to the base end of the boom by a second connecting shaft, which is a horizontal axis, and the tip side of the boom can swing up and down. The third hinge portion may be connected to the base of the cylinder of the first hydraulic cylinder device by a third connecting shaft, which is a horizontal axis, and the tip side of the piston rod can swing up and down.

[0009] As the unmanned dredging device according to the third aspect of the present application, in the above first aspect, a camera for photographing the periphery of the sediment where high-pressure fluid is injected from the injection nozzle and the periphery of the suction port at the tip of the pulverized material suction pipe for sucking the pulverized sediment may be attached at a lateral position substantially corresponding to the injection nozzle of the pulverized material suction pipe.

[0010] As the unmanned dredging device according to the third aspect of the present application, in the above first aspect, when only moisture relatively flows after the sediment sucked from the tip opening of the pulverized material suction pipe is taken into the pulverized material suction pipe and the sediment becomes difficult to flow in the pulverized material suction pipe, a water supply pipe for supplying water to enhance fluidity from the outside to the inside may be provided along the pulverized material suction pipe at an intermediate portion of the pulverized material suction pipe.

Effects of the Invention

[0011] According to the present invention, a vehicle having a caterpillar that can move the dredging area by remote control is equipped with a pulverized material suction pipe and a high-pressure fluid supply pipe supported by a boom, and is induced planarly by remote control to inject high-pressure fluid from an injection nozzle to pulverize sediment, and the pulverized material can be sucked and removed from the suction port of the pulverized material suction pipe.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0012]

Figure 1

Figure 2

Figure 3

Figure 4A

Figure 4B

Figure 5A

Figure 5B

Embodiments for Carrying out the Invention

[0013] Hereinafter, embodiments of an unmanned dredging device according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

[0014] [First Embodiment] Hereinafter, an unmanned dredging device according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

[0015] As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the unmanned dredging device 1 includes an unmanned vehicle 2 having a pair of caterpillars 4 on both sides of a vehicle body 3. A crushed material suction pipe 5 extends from the rear of the vehicle and is supported on the upper surface of the vehicle body 3 and further overhangs the front of the vehicle, with its tip being a suction port 5a. A high-pressure fluid supply pipe 6 extends along one side of the crushed material suction pipe 5 and has a tip that is an injection nozzle 6a. The base ends of these pipes are supported from below by a boom 10 whose base end is linked to the upper front end of the vehicle body 3. A first hydraulic cylinder device 11 is linked to connect the lower front end of the vehicle body 3 and the lower tip of the boom 10, and swings the boom 10 up and down by telescopic operation. A second hydraulic cylinder device 12 is linked to connect the upper rear end of the vehicle body 3 and the laterally protruding portion 13 (the protruding end of the arm 13 described later) at the base end of the boom 10, and swings the boom 10 left and right by telescopic operation. High-pressure fluid is injected from the injection nozzle 6a at the tip of the high-pressure fluid supply pipe 6 against the sediment D in front of the vehicle, and the crushed sediment D is sucked from the suction port 5a at the tip of the crushed material suction pipe 5 and discharged to the rear of the vehicle. Note that the high-pressure fluid flowing through the high-pressure fluid supply pipe 6 is high-pressure water or high-pressure air.

[0016] The following will be described in detail. The unmanned dredging device 1 includes an unmanned vehicle 2 having a pair of caterpillars 4. The unmanned vehicle 2 has a vehicle body 3 and a pair of caterpillars 4 provided on both the left and right sides of the vehicle body 3 and driven by servo motors 4e, and is configured such that each caterpillar 4 automatically travels by remotely driving each servo motor 4e simultaneously or only one at a time.

[0017] As shown in FIG. 3, the vehicle body 3 is composed of, for example, a pair of side frames 3a, a rear frame 3b, a front frame 3c, and caterpillar support brackets 3d protruding from the lower surfaces of the side frames 3a.

[0018] As shown in FIGS. 1, 2, 5A, and 5B, the caterpillar 4 includes a drive wheel 4a, a running wheel 4b, a plurality of idler wheels (not shown) between the drive wheel and the running wheel, a support frame 4c that supports these, a servo motor 4e that drives and rotates the drive wheel, and a track shoe ring 4d that is connected in a band so as to surround the drive wheel, the running wheel, and the idler wheels. The support frame 4c of the caterpillar 4 is overlapped with the caterpillar support bracket 3d and connected by bolts. The unmanned vehicle 2 can move forward, backward, turn right, and turn left by remotely controlling the forward and reverse rotation of a pair of left and right servo motors 4e.

[0019] The unmanned dredging device 1 is equipped with dredging equipment for the unmanned vehicle 2. The dredging equipment includes a pulverized material suction pipe 5, a high-pressure fluid supply pipe 6, and a swinging means that supports both pipes and swings left and right, up and down. High-pressure fluid is jetted from the injection nozzle 6a at the tip of the high-pressure fluid supply pipe 6 against the sediment D in front of the vehicle, and the pulverized sediment D is sucked from the suction port 5a at the tip of the pulverized material suction pipe 5 and discharged to the rear of the vehicle.

[0020] The pulverized material suction pipe 5 is connected to a vacuum device (not shown) and a sediment recovery tank (not shown) installed at the rear of the vehicle, extends from there to the upper surface of the vehicle body 3, is placed thereon, and further extends in an overhanging state in front of the vehicle. The pulverized material suction pipe 5 is made of a material that does not collapse under the action of the suction negative pressure and the external atmospheric pressure when the inside becomes vacuum, and the connection part between straight pipes is configured to be bendable. The connection part of the pulverized material suction pipe 5 is configured such that there is no step in the inner diameter, similar to sewage pipe connection.

[0021] The high-pressure fluid supply pipe 6 is connected to a high-pressure fluid supply source (not shown) installed at the rear of the vehicle, extends while being held along one side of the crushed material suction pipe 5, and is fixed with bands at required intervals. The suction port 5a at the tip of the crushed material suction pipe 5 is preferably configured to be insertable and replaceable, so that it can be replaced with a suction port that is wide in the lateral direction or a rake-shaped suction port capable of squeezing sediment. The high-pressure fluid supply source (not shown) may be a facility (including a vehicle) equipped with a high-pressure water supply pump and a water tank for generating high-pressure water when the high-pressure fluid is high-pressure water, or may be a facility (including a vehicle) equipped with an air compressor when the high-pressure fluid is high-pressure air.

[0022] A makeup water pipe 7 connected to a water supply source is attached to the crushed material suction pipe 5. An electromagnetic shut-off valve is attached between the water supply source and the makeup water pipe 7, and makeup water is automatically performed remotely. The makeup water pipe 7 is made of, for example, a rubber hose, is fastened and fixed by a plurality of bands along the outer surface of the crushed material suction pipe 5, and the pipe tip is connected to an injection port provided in the middle of the crushed material suction pipe 5, and makeup water is performed into the pipe from the injection port as needed. The timing of performing makeup water by the makeup water pipe 7 is when only moisture relatively flows after the sediment D sucked from the tip opening of the crushed material suction pipe 5 is taken into the crushed material suction pipe 5 and the sediment D becomes difficult to flow in the crushed material suction pipe 5, in order to impart fluidity to the sediment D in the pipe.

[0023] The swinging means includes a movable bracket 8 shown in FIGS. 4A and 4B that is linked in a state of sandwiching the front frame 3c of the vehicle body 3, a boom 10 supported by the movable bracket 8 as shown in FIGS. 1 and 3, a first hydraulic cylinder device 11, and a second hydraulic cylinder device 12. The boom 10 supports the overhang portion of the crushed material suction pipe 5 from below, the boom 10 swings up and down by the telescopic operation of the first hydraulic cylinder device 11, and the boom 10 swings left and right by the telescopic operation of the second hydraulic cylinder device 12.

[0024] Figs. 4A and 4B show detailed perspective views of the movable bracket 8. The movable bracket 8 has a first hinge portion 8a, a second hinge portion 8b provided on the back surface of the first hinge portion 8a, and a third hinge portion 8c provided on the lower side of the second hinge portion 8b.

[0025] As shown in Fig. 3, the first hinge portion 8a is clamped to the front frame 3c of the vehicle body 3 from the front side of the vehicle, so that it is in a state of being in close contact with and sandwiching the upper and lower surfaces of the front frame 3c and being spaced apart from the front surface of the front frame 3c by a required dimension. In this way, the movable bracket 8 is connected to the front frame 3c of the vehicle body 3 by a first connecting shaft 8d which is the vertical axis and can swing in the horizontal plane.

[0026] The second hinge portion 8b is connected by a second connecting shaft 8e which is the horizontal axis while sandwiching both side surfaces of the base end of the boom 10, and the tip side of the boom 10 can swing up and down.

[0027] The third hinge portion 8c is connected by a third connecting shaft 8f which is the horizontal axis while sandwiching both side surfaces of the base of the cylinder of the first hydraulic cylinder device 11, and the tip side of the piston rod can swing up and down. And a connecting portion 9b having a shaft hole which is the tip of the piston rod of the first hydraulic cylinder device 11 is sandwiched by a fork-shaped fourth hinge portion 9a having a shaft hole provided on the lower surface of the tip of the boom 10 and is connected by a fourth connecting shaft 8g which is the horizontal axis. When the first hydraulic cylinder device 11 extends, the boom 10 swings up and down. Thus, the overhanging portions of the crushed material suction pipe 5 and the high-pressure fluid supply pipe 6 supported by the boom 10 can swing up and down when the first hydraulic cylinder device 11 extends.

[0028] The second hydraulic cylinder device 12 has a cylinder base connected to a vertical pivot shaft 9c provided on the upper surface of the rear frame 3b of the vehicle body 3, and a tip of a piston rod connected to a vertical pivot shaft 9d provided on the upper surface of the overhanging end of an arm 13. The arm 13 is extended and connected to one side end of the upper surface portion constituting the first hinge portion 8a of the movable bracket 8, and serves as an arm for increasing a moment force around the vertical pivot shaft 9c for the movable bracket 8. Thus, the movable bracket 8 can swing in a horizontal plane about the first connecting shaft 8d as the rotation center by the telescopic movement of the piston rod of the second hydraulic cylinder device 12, and the tip side of the boom 10 can swing in the left-right direction, and the overhanging portions of the crushed material suction pipe 5 and the high-pressure fluid supply pipe 6 supported by the boom 10 can swing freely left and right with respect to the center line in the front-rear direction of the vehicle.

[0029] As shown in FIG. 5A, the swing angle of the boom 10 in plan view is, for example, 15° to the left and 15° to the right with respect to the center line of the vehicle. When the suction port 5a of the boom 10 swings left and right in a horizontal plane while the driverless vehicle 2 moves forward, backward, left, and right, it can suck objects with a planar area. deposition It can suck objects.

[0030] As shown in FIG. 5B, the swing angle of the boom 10 in side view of the vehicle is, for example, a depression angle of 20° downward and an elevation angle of 65° upward with respect to the horizontal line. When the boom 10 is at a depression angle of 20°, it is in a state close to the ground by, for example, 20 - 30 mm. Thereby, it can suck deposits accumulated at a height of several cm to several tens of cm. to Also, when the boom 10 is at an elevation angle of 65°, the opening surface of the suction port 5a is substantially parallel to the vertical plane, and thereby, it can suck deposits adhering to the wall or deposits accumulated high.

[0031] The camera 14 is attached to a lateral position of the crushed material suction pipe 5 that substantially corresponds to the injection nozzle 6a. By means of the camera 14, it is possible to remotely monitor and confirm by a monitor the area around the sediment D from which the high-pressure fluid is injected from the injection nozzle 6a and the area around the suction port 5a at the tip of the crushed material suction pipe 5 that sucks the crushed sediment D, and to determine the necessary moving direction of the driverless vehicle 2.

[0032] According to the invention of the present application and the driverless dredging device of the present embodiment configured as described above, by remotely operating the vehicle having caterpillars, the dredging area can be freely moved, and the extension of the piston rod of the first hydraulic cylinder device 11 is fixed to an appropriate length so that the injection nozzle 6a at the tip of the high-pressure fluid supply pipe 6 is at an appropriate height with respect to the sediment D, and then the boom 10 is swung left and right by expanding and contracting the second hydraulic cylinder device 12, thereby swinging the high-pressure fluid supply pipe 6 left and right. In addition to this, by adding the movement of the driverless vehicle 2, the swing of the injection nozzle 6a is expanded planarly, and high-pressure fluid is injected and crushed against the sediment over a wide range. Next, the extension of the piston rod of the first hydraulic cylinder device 11 is fixed to an appropriate length again so that the suction port 5a at the tip of the crushed material suction pipe 5 penetrates into the sediment D by a required dimension, and the boom 10 is swung left and right by expanding and contracting the second hydraulic cylinder device 12, thereby swinging the crushed material suction pipe 5 left and right. In addition to this, by adding the movement of the driverless vehicle 2, the swing of the suction port 5a is guided planarly to suck the sediment D. It should be noted that the injection of the high-pressure fluid from the injection nozzle 6a and the suction of the sediment D from the suction port 5a may proceed simultaneously.

[0033] Regarding the crushing of the sediment, when it is necessary to knead the sediment in addition to injecting the high-pressure fluid into the sediment, the extension of the piston rod of the first hydraulic cylinder device 11 is appropriately changed and fixed so that the suction port 5a of the crushed material suction pipe 5 penetrates into the sediment by a required dimension, and the crushed material suction pipe 5 and the high-pressure fluid supply pipe 6 are swung left and right by expanding and contracting the second hydraulic cylinder device 12 so that the sediment is kneaded at the suction port 5a of the crushed material suction pipe 5.

[0034] When sediment clogs the pulverized material suction pipe 5 and water replenishment into the pulverized material suction pipe 5 becomes necessary, extend the piston rod of the first hydraulic cylinder device 11 to its maximum length to lift the overhanging portion of the pulverized material suction pipe 5, and perform water replenishment through the water replenishment pipe 7 from the injection port provided in the middle of the pulverized material suction pipe 5. Thereby, the water replenishment does not flow out to the outside of the suction port 5a of the pulverized material suction pipe 5 and participates in fluidizing the sediment D inside the pipe, and the clogging of the sediment in the pulverized material suction pipe 5 is eliminated.

Explanation of Signs

[0035] 1…Unmanned traveling dredging device 2…Unmanned traveling vehicle 3…Vehicle body 3a…Side frame 3b…Rear frame 3c…Front frame 3d…Caterpillar support bracket 4…Caterpillar 4a…Drive wheel 4b…Idler wheel 4c…Support frame 4d…Link of tread plate 4e…Servo motor 5…Pulverized material suction pipe 5a…Suction port 6…High-pressure fluid supply pipe 6a…Injection nozzle 7…Water replenishment pipe 8…Movable bracket 8a…First hinge part 8b…Second hinge part 8c…Third hinge part 8d…First connecting shaft 8e…Second connecting shaft 8f…Third connecting shaft 9a…Fourth hinge part 9b…Fourth connecting shaft 9c…Vertical pivot shaft 9d…Vertical pivot shaft 10…Boom 11…First hydraulic cylinder device 12…Second hydraulic cylinder device 13…Lateral extension part (arm) 14… Camera D… Deposit

Claims

1. An unmanned vehicle having a pair of caterpillar tracks on both sides of a vehicle body, The vehicle is provided with a pulverized material suction pipe extending from the rear of the vehicle so as to be supported on the top surface of the vehicle body and overhanging towards the front of the vehicle, with a suction port at its tip, and a high-pressure fluid supply pipe extending along one side of the pulverized material suction pipe and with a spray nozzle at its tip, the base end of which is supported by a boom linked to the front end of the vehicle body and pivoted at its base end to a movable bracket that can swing in a horizontal plane, the injection nozzle of the high-pressure fluid supply pipe is disposed adjacent to the outside of the suction port of the pulverized material suction pipe, and the injection nozzle of the high-pressure fluid supply pipe and the suction port of the pulverized material suction pipe are disposed close enough to each other that high-pressure fluid can be injected from the injection nozzle at the tip of the high-pressure fluid supply pipe toward the deposits in front of the vehicle in an unmanned manner, and the pulverized deposits can be unmannedly sucked up through the suction port at the tip of the pulverized material suction pipe, a first hydraulic cylinder device that is linked to connect a front lower portion of the vehicle body and a tip lower portion of the boom and that swings the boom up and down by an extension and contraction operation; a second hydraulic cylinder device that is linked to connect the upper rear end of the vehicle body and the side overhanging portion at the base end of the boom and swings the boom left and right by extending and contracting; Equipped with An unmanned mobile dredging device characterized in that high-pressure fluid is sprayed from the spray nozzle at the end of the high-pressure fluid supply pipe against the deposits in front of the vehicle to break up the deposits, and then the debris is sucked up through the suction port at the end of the crushed material suction pipe and discharged to the rear of the vehicle.

2. The movable bracket has a first hinge portion, a second hinge portion provided on a back surface of the first hinge portion, and a third hinge portion provided below the second hinge portion; The first hinge portion is connected to the upper and lower surfaces of the front frame of the vehicle body by a first connecting shaft which is a vertical shaft, and is thereby capable of swinging in a horizontal plane, The second hinge portion is connected to the base end of the boom by a second connecting shaft which is a horizontal shaft, so that the tip side of the boom can swing up and down, The third hinge portion is connected to a base portion of the cylinder of the first hydraulic cylinder device by a third connecting shaft which is a horizontal shaft, and a tip side of the piston rod can swing up and down.

2. An unmanned mobile dredging device as claimed in claim 1.

3. An unmanned mobile dredging device as described in claim 1, characterized in that a camera for photographing the surroundings of the deposits from which high-pressure fluid is sprayed from the injection nozzle and the surroundings of the suction port at the tip of the crushed material suction pipe which sucks up the crushed deposits is attached at a lateral position so as to be able to photograph the surroundings of the deposits from which high-pressure fluid is sprayed from the injection nozzle of the crushed material suction pipe and the surroundings of the suction port at the tip of the crushed material suction pipe which sucks up the crushed deposits.

4. An unmanned mobile dredging device as described in claim 1, characterized in that when the sediments sucked from the tip opening of the crushed material suction pipe are taken into the crushed material suction pipe and only the water flows relatively, making it difficult for the sediments to flow within the crushed material suction pipe, a water supply pipe is provided along the middle of the crushed material suction pipe to supply water from the outside to the inside to increase fluidity.

Images