Bridge cable inspection robot capable of crossing obstacles

Abstract

A bridge cable inspection robot capable of crossing obstacles includes: a structure, a moving unit, a control unit, a monitoring unit, a battery unit, and a measuring unit. The structure is formed as a separable, circumferentially enclosed frame surrounding the cable. The moving unit includes a first driving wheel and a first driven wheel arranged at equal angles along the circumference of a first end of the structure, and a second driving wheel and a second driven wheel arranged at equal angles along the circumference of a second end of the structure. The driven wheels are provided with elastic force by an elastic mechanism to properly clamp the cable in conjunction with the driving wheels. The driving wheels are driven by a motor to move the structure along the cable to a predetermined position, and can cross obstacles on the cable without slipping during movement. The measuring unit measures the vibration frequency of the cable, and the monitoring unit photographs the surface of the cable, thereby reducing the high risk of manual cable inspection and minimizing disruption to surrounding traffic.

Claims

1. A bridge cable inspection robot capable of crossing obstacles, comprising: The structure is formed as a separable, circumferentially closed frame, the inner perimeter of which is used to enclose a steel cable. The frame includes: an upper frame, composed of two upper half-frames forming an axially hexagonal shape, the two upper half-frames connected or not connected by an upper fastening device; a lower frame, composed of two lower half-frames forming an axially hexagonal shape, the two lower half-frames connected or not connected by a lower fastening device, the lower frame connected to the upper frame by a plurality of rods; and a moving unit, including: a first driving wheel and two first driven wheels, disposed at a first end of the structure, the first driving wheel and the two first driven wheels being equally spaced at angular intervals along three sides of the hexagon of the upper frame; and a first motor disposed in the structure and connected to the first driving wheel, the first motor having a first rotational damper mounted on its drive shaft connected to the first driving wheel. A second driving wheel and two second driven wheels are disposed at the second end of the structure, and the driving wheel and the driven wheels are equally spaced at three sides of the hexagon of the lower frame; a second motor is disposed in the structure and connected to the second driving wheel, and a second rotational damper is provided on the drive shaft of the second motor connected to the driving wheel; and a plurality of elastic mechanisms are respectively connected to the structure and the first driven wheel, and to the structure and the second driven wheel, for providing elastic force to the first driven wheel and the second driven wheel so that their wheel surfaces contact the steel cable; a measuring unit is disposed in the structure for measuring the vibration frequency of the steel cable; a monitoring unit is disposed in the structure for photographing the surface of the steel cable; a control unit is disposed in the structure and electrically connected to the measuring unit and the monitoring unit for controlling the operation of the measuring unit and the monitoring unit; and a battery unit is electrically connected to the control unit to provide power; In the direction of the central axis of the structure, the first driven wheel is arranged in a first position, the first driving wheel is arranged in a second position, the second driving wheel is arranged in a third position, and the second driven wheels are arranged in a fourth position, wherein the first position to the fourth position are arranged sequentially from the first end to the second end of the structure.

2. The bridge cable inspection robot capable of crossing obstacles as described in claim 1, wherein, The elastic mechanism includes: a base disposed on the structure; a swing arm, one end of which is rotatably connected to the axle of the first driven wheel and the second driven wheel respectively; a force-applying link, one end of which is connected to the other end of the swing arm; and an elastic element disposed on the base for applying elastic force to the force-applying link, so that the wheel surfaces of the first driven wheel and the second driven wheel contact the steel cable.

3. The bridge cable inspection robot capable of crossing obstacles as described in claim 2, wherein the opposite side walls of the base are respectively formed with grooves, and a fixed plate and a movable plate are provided between the two side walls, the two sides of the movable plate are slidably engaged with the grooves by protrusions, and an elastic element is provided between the fixed plate and the movable plate; and the axles of the first driven wheel and the second driven wheel are respectively rotatably connected to the swing arm, and a rotating shaft is connected between the other ends of the two swing arms, and one end of the force-applying link is connected to the rotating shaft.

4. The bridge cable inspection robot capable of crossing obstacles as described in claim 1, wherein, The measuring unit includes an actuating element and a sensor. When the actuating element is powered on, it moves the sensor back to avoid contact with the steel cable. When the actuating element is powered off, it moves the sensor forward to contact the steel cable and applies pressure to the steel cable to measure the acceleration value and calculate the vibration frequency of the steel cable.

5. A bridge cable inspection robot capable of crossing obstacles as described in claim 1, wherein, It has two control units, one of which controls the operation of the moving unit, the monitoring unit, and the measuring unit, and the other as a backup to replace the function of the first control unit when it fails.

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