Encircling crawling robot for inspection of underwater piers of highway bridges and method

Abstract

An encircling crawling robot for inspection of underwater piers of highway bridges and a method. Said robot comprises a machine body (1), underwater lighting systems (2), tool containers (3), depth metering modules (4), servo power systems (5), inclination angle measuring modules (6), underwater operation mechanical arms (7), array vision modules (8), synchronous stretching and fixing systems (9) and driven wheels (10). The robot and the inspection method enable stable operation in underwater environments.

Description

A crawling robot and method for underwater pier inspection of highway bridges Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to the technical field of underwater inspection and maintenance robots, and in particular to a robot and method suitable for cleaning and detecting underwater piers of highway bridges. Background Art

[0002] my country's highway bridges are numerous and widespread, with a growing proportion exceeding 20 years of service. This has led to a growing demand for large-scale bridge maintenance. However, as a crucial component of bridge structures, the service safety of underwater piers is crucial. Currently, there are no technical means to manage and maintain these piers. This lack of theoretical research, technical standards, and product equipment severely restricts the development of scientific bridge maintenance in my country. Therefore, research on key technologies for the management and maintenance of underwater piers has significant economic and social significance for promoting the sustainable transformation and upgrading of my country's transportation infrastructure and accelerating the development of a strong transportation nation.

[0003] Traditional underwater bridge pier inspection and assessment are mainly manual, which has the problems of high risk, low efficiency and poor accuracy: (2) Manual cleaning of underwater piers is difficult, costly and inefficient, and cannot meet the large-scale and wide-area cleaning needs; (1) Manual inspection of underwater piers is risky and time-consuming, and underwater inspection is difficult to implement in complex environments such as high speed and turbid water flow. The development of automated equipment for cleaning, inspection and assessment is a necessary way to overcome the difficulties of underwater manual inspection.

[0004] Underwater robots can work for long periods of time and long distances, but currently underwater robots for bridges are mainly used for inspection by unmanned remote-controlled submersibles, and are unable to perform bridge pier cleaning tasks. In addition, the underwater water flow speed can reach more than 2 knots. Under such high-speed and turbid water flow conditions, existing robots are difficult to meet the management and maintenance needs of highway bridges. Underwater column-type robots for bridges are more stable and reliable.

[0005] In summary, there is no mature precedent for integrated cleaning and inspection equipment for underwater highway bridge piers, both domestically and internationally, and intelligent inspection systems are still lacking. Therefore, there is a need for an intelligent underwater robot that can simultaneously clean and inspect.

[0006] Summary of the Invention

[0007] In view of the defects of the existing technology, the present invention proposes an embracing crawling robot and method suitable for underwater pier inspection of highway bridges.

[0008] The technical solution of the present invention is:

[0009] A crawling robot for underwater pier inspection of highway bridges, comprising a body, an underwater lighting system, a tool compartment, a depth metering module, a servo power system, an inclination measurement module, an underwater operation manipulator arm, an array vision module, a synchronous stretching and fixing system, and a driven wheel; the body adopts a double-combination octagonal hollow frame structure design, which is used to be fixed to the underwater pier of the highway bridge and reduce the resistance caused by high-speed water flow. At the same time, the body is composed of carbon fiber tubes, which are high in strength and light in weight; each actuator and sensor transmits power and communication through the body structure; the servo power system has four groups, which are evenly distributed on the upper end of the body along the circumferential direction, to provide crawling for the underwater pier of the highway bridge. The power of the column, the servo power system includes a wiring cover, a servo motor, a motor waterproof sleeve, a stopper, a static coupling, a tire and a dynamic coupling. There are four groups of driven wheels, which are evenly distributed at the lower end of the fuselage body along the circumferential direction, and each group of driven wheels corresponds to a group of servo power systems up and down, and are respectively connected to the fuselage body for rotation through a swing frame; the synchronous stretching and fixing system is composed of a waterproof pen-type electric pull rod and an underwater tension sensor, which connects the corresponding servo power systems and the inner side of the swing frame of the driven wheel up and down and provides synchronous tension. The synchronous tension provided will squeeze the tires and driven wheels of each group of servo power systems tightly on the underwater pier surface of the highway bridge, so as to achieve the purpose of the robot stably embracing the bridge and fixing it.

[0010] As a further improvement of the present invention, the array vision module, a total of two groups, are located on the lower side of the fuselage body, and are composed of an underwater camera array to provide full-view visual information for detecting underwater pier defects of highway bridges and visual transmission; the underwater lighting system, a total of four groups, are located on both sides of the array vision module to provide visual lighting conditions in turbid water environments; the depth metering module is installed at the center of the outer wall of the tool compartment to collect water level depth information; the inclination measurement module is installed on the upper wall of the tool compartment close to the underwater operation robot arm to provide robot posture information, which is used for anti-deflection control of the robot.

[0011] As a further improvement of the present invention, two groups of underwater working robotic arms are symmetrically distributed on the upper side of the fuselage body; the tool compartment is installed on the inner side of the same side of the underwater working robotic arm, the tool compartment includes a cylindrical cabin, a cover plate and a cover plate groove, and is equipped with cleaning operation tools. A clamp is installed at the end of the underwater working robotic arm, and the underwater working robotic arm grabs the operation tools in the tool compartment.

[0012] The detection method of an embracing crawling robot for detecting underwater piers of highway bridges comprises the following steps:

[0013] S1. The operator, on the surface platform, assembles the robot's two-sided structure into an octagonal shape. Using a cable, the operator remotely controls a waterproof, pen-shaped electric pull rod, causing the robot's four tires and four driven wheels to press against the underwater piers of the highway bridge until the robot slides downwards without being affected by gravity.

[0014] S2: The operator uses a cable remote control to turn on the servo power system, depth measurement module, inclination measurement module, array vision module, and underwater lighting system, set the parameters, and prepare to start the cleaning operation. During the robot's crawling process, the inclination measurement module continuously collects robot posture information. The robot controller uses this posture information to control the pitch angle and roll angle to keep the robot in a stable and balanced state.

[0015] S3. After the robot reaches the appropriate depth, the underwater operation manipulator arms on both sides are activated to perform the cleaning task; the cover of the tool compartment is opened, and the underwater operation manipulator arms on both sides clamp the high-pressure water gun operation tools from the tool compartment; after the underwater operation manipulator arms remove the high-pressure water guns, the cover is closed; after the cover is closed, the servo power system is enabled, and the robot crawls down along the underwater pier. During the crawling process, the two sets of high-pressure water guns completely wash the underwater piers of the highway bridge; when the robot reaches the bottom of the water, the highway bridge underwater pier washing task is completed, and the underwater operation manipulator arms return the high-pressure water guns to the tool compartment;

[0016] S4: After the robot puts back the high-pressure water gun, it grabs the steel brush tool from the tool compartment and starts cleaning. After the cover is closed, the servo power system is enabled, and the robot crawls upward along the underwater pier. During the crawling process, the two sets of steel brushes completely clean the underwater pier of the highway bridge. When the robot returns to the surface, the cleaning task of the underwater pier of the highway bridge is completed, and the underwater operation robot arm puts the steel brush back into the tool compartment.

[0017] S5. After the cleaning operation is completed, the robot returns to the surface and begins inspection. The array vision module approaches the underwater piers of the highway bridge for visual inspection and transmits the visual information back to the ground station. Simultaneously, the underwater lighting system adjusts its angle to provide suitable visual conditions. The robot slowly crawls from top to bottom. When a defect is detected on the underwater pier of the highway bridge, the array vision module automatically identifies the defect type, and the depth measurement module records the underwater depth of the defect and transmits the defect and depth information back to the ground station. After completing the inspection task, the robot returns to the surface.

[0018] Beneficial effects of the present invention:

[0019] The present invention's embracing crawling robot and method for underwater bridge pier inspection enable robotic underwater cleaning operations and automated detection of typical underwater bridge pier defects. It can maintain underwater bridge piers in high-speed, turbid water conditions, effectively improving the efficiency of treating underwater bridge defects. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0020] FIG1 is a schematic diagram of an underwater robot according to the present invention installed on an underwater pier;

[0021] FIG2 is a schematic diagram of the underwater robot of the present invention operating on a highway bridge pier;

[0022] FIG3 is a side view of the underwater robot of the present invention;

[0023] FIG4 is a top view of the underwater robot of the present invention;

[0024] FIG5 is a cross-sectional view of the servo power system of the underwater robot of the present invention;

[0025] FIG6 is a schematic diagram of a synchronous stretching and fixing system of an underwater robot according to the present invention;

[0026] FIG7 is a cross-sectional view of a tool compartment of the underwater robot of the present invention;

[0027] In the figure: 1. Fuselage body; 2. Underwater lighting system; 3. Tool compartment; 31. Cylindrical cabin; 32. Cover; 33. Cover slot; 4. Depth measurement module; 5. Servo power system; 51. Wiring cover; 52. Servo motor; 53. Motor waterproof sleeve; 54. Stopper; 55. Static coupling; 56. Tire; 57. Dynamic coupling; 6. Inclination measurement module; 7. Underwater operation manipulator arm; 8. Array vision module; 9. Synchronous stretching and fixing system; 91. Waterproof pen-type electric pull rod; 92. Underwater tension sensor; 10. Driven wheel; 11. Underwater pier. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0028] The present invention will be further described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0029] As shown in Figures 1 to 7, the present invention provides an embracing crawling robot for detecting underwater piers of highway bridges, including a body 1, an underwater lighting system 2, a tool compartment 3, a depth metering module 4, a servo power system 5, an inclination measurement module 6, an underwater operation manipulator 7, an array vision module 8, a synchronous stretching and fixing system 9 and a driven wheel 10; the body 1 adopts a double-combination octagonal hollow frame structure design, which is used to be fixed to the underwater piers of the highway bridge and reduce the resistance caused by high-speed water flow. At the same time, the body 1 is composed of carbon fiber tubes with high strength and light weight; each actuator and sensor transmits power and communication through the body structure; there are four groups of servo power systems 5, which are evenly distributed on the upper end of the body 1 along the circumferential direction to provide power for crawling underwater piers of highway bridges. The servo power system 5 includes a wiring cover 51, a servo motor 52, The motor waterproof sleeve 53, stop 54, static coupling 55, tire 56 and dynamic coupling 57, there are four groups of driven wheels 10, which are evenly distributed at the lower end of the fuselage body 1 along the circumferential direction, and each group of driven wheels 10 corresponds to a group of servo power systems 5 above and below, and are respectively connected to the fuselage body 1 for rotation through a swing frame; the synchronous stretching and fixing system 9 is composed of a waterproof pen-type electric pull rod 91 and an underwater tension sensor 92, which connects the corresponding servo power systems 5 and the inner side of the swing frame of the driven wheel 10 and provides synchronous tension. The provided synchronous tension squeezes the tire 56 and the driven wheel 10 of each group of servo power systems 5 tightly onto the underwater pier surface of the highway bridge, so as to achieve the purpose of the robot stably embracing the bridge and fixing it.

[0030] In this embodiment, two groups of array vision modules 8 are located on the lower side of the fuselage body 1, and are composed of an underwater camera array to provide full-view visual information for detecting underwater pier defects of highway bridges and visual transmission; four groups of underwater lighting systems 2 are located on both sides of the array vision modules 8 to provide visual lighting conditions in turbid water environments; the depth measurement module 4 is installed at the center of the outer wall of the tool compartment 3 to collect water level depth information; the inclination measurement module 6 is installed on the upper wall of the tool compartment 3 near the underwater operation robot arm 7 to provide robot posture information, which is used for anti-deflection control of the robot.

[0031] In this embodiment, two groups of underwater working robotic arms 7 are symmetrically distributed on the upper side of the fuselage body 1; the tool compartment 3 is installed on the inner side of the same side of the underwater working robotic arms 7, and the tool compartment 3 includes a cylindrical compartment 31, a cover plate 32 and a cover plate groove 33, which are equipped with cleaning working tools. A clamp is installed at the end of the underwater working robotic arm 7, and the underwater working robotic arm 7 grabs the working tools in the tool compartment 3.

[0032] The detection method of an embracing crawling robot for detecting underwater piers of highway bridges comprises the following steps:

[0033] S1. The operator assembles the robot's two-sided structures into an octagonal shape on the surface platform. Using a cable, the operator remotely controls the waterproof, pen-shaped electric pull rod 91 to move the robot's four tires 56 and four driven wheels 10 against the underwater piers of the highway bridge until the robot slides downward without being affected by gravity.

[0034] S2. The operator remotely controls the servo power system 5, the depth measurement module 4, the inclination measurement module 6, the array vision module 8, and the underwater lighting system 2 via a cable, sets the parameters, and prepares to begin the cleaning operation. During the robot's crawling process, the inclination measurement module 6 continuously collects the robot's posture information. The robot controller uses this posture information to control the pitch angle and roll angle to keep the robot in a stable and balanced state.

[0035] S3. After the robot reaches the appropriate depth, the underwater operation manipulator arms 7 on both sides are activated to perform the cleaning task; the cover 32 of the tool compartment 3 is opened, and the underwater operation manipulator arms 7 on both sides clamp the high-pressure water gun operation tools from the tool compartment 3; after the underwater operation manipulator arms 7 take out the high-pressure water guns, the cover 32 is closed; after the cover 32 is closed, the servo power system 5 is enabled, and the robot crawls down along the underwater pier. During the crawling process, the two sets of high-pressure water guns completely wash the underwater piers of the highway bridge; when the robot reaches the bottom of the water, the washing task of the underwater piers of the highway bridge is completed, and the underwater operation manipulator arms 7 return the high-pressure water guns to the tool compartment 3;

[0036] S4: After the robot puts back the high-pressure water gun, it grabs the steel brush tool from the tool compartment 3 and starts cleaning. After the cover 32 is closed, the servo power system 5 is enabled, and the robot crawls upward along the underwater pier. During the crawling process, the two sets of steel brushes completely clean the underwater pier of the highway bridge. When the robot returns to the water surface, the cleaning task of the underwater pier of the highway bridge is completed, and the underwater operation robot arm 7 puts the steel brush back into the tool compartment 3.

[0037] S5. After the cleaning operation is completed, the robot returns to the surface and begins inspection. Array vision module 8 approaches the underwater bridge pier for visual inspection and transmits the visual information back to the ground station. Simultaneously, underwater lighting system 2 adjusts its angle to provide suitable visual conditions. The robot slowly crawls downward from top to bottom. When a defect is detected on the underwater bridge pier, array vision module 8 automatically identifies the defect type. Depth measurement module 4 records the underwater depth of the defect and transmits the defect and depth information back to the ground station. After completing the inspection task, the robot returns to the surface.

[0038] The technical means disclosed in the solutions of the present invention are not limited to those disclosed in the above-mentioned embodiments, but also include technical solutions composed of any combination of the above-mentioned technical features. It should be noted that those skilled in the art may make various improvements and modifications without departing from the principles of the present invention, and such improvements and modifications are also considered to be within the scope of protection of the present invention.

Claims

1. An embracing crawling robot for underwater pier inspection of highway bridges, characterized in that: The invention comprises a body (1), an underwater lighting system (2), a tool compartment (3), a depth measurement module (4), a servo power system (5), an inclination measurement module (6), an underwater operation mechanical arm (7), an array vision module (8), a synchronous stretching and fixing system (9) and a driven wheel (10); the body (1) adopts a double-combination octagonal hollow frame structure design, which is used to be fixed to the underwater pier of the highway bridge and reduce the resistance caused by the high-speed water flow. At the same time, the body (1) is composed of carbon fiber tubes, which are high in strength and light in weight; each actuator and sensor transmits power and communication through the body structure; the servo power system (5) has four groups, which are evenly distributed on the upper end of the body (1) along the circumferential direction, and are used to provide power for crawling the underwater pier of the highway bridge. The servo power system (5) comprises a wiring cover (51), a servo motor (52), a motor waterproof sleeve (53), a stopper (54), a static coupling shaft (55), a tire (56) and a dynamic coupling shaft (57), wherein the driven wheels (10) have four groups in total and are evenly distributed at the lower end of the fuselage body (1) along the circumferential direction, and each group of driven wheels (10) corresponds to a group of servo power systems (5) in the upper and lower parts, and are respectively connected to the fuselage body (1) in rotation through a swing frame; the synchronous stretching and fixing system (9) is composed of a waterproof pen-type electric pull rod (91) and an underwater tension sensor (92), which connects the inner side of the swing frame of the corresponding servo power systems (5) and the driven wheels (10) in the upper and lower parts and provides synchronous tension, and the synchronous tension provided tightly squeezes the tires (56) and the driven wheels (10) of each group of servo power systems (5) on the underwater pier column surface of the highway bridge, so as to achieve the purpose of the robot stably embracing the bridge and fixing it.

2. The embracing crawling robot for underwater pier inspection of highway bridges according to claim 1 is characterized in that: The array vision modules 8, a total of two groups, are located on the lower side of the fuselage body (1), and are composed of an underwater camera array to provide full-view visual information for detecting underwater pier column defects of highway bridges and visual transmission; the underwater lighting system (2), a total of four groups, are located on both sides of the array vision module (8) to provide visual lighting conditions in a turbid water environment; the depth metering module (4) is installed at the center of the outer wall of the tool compartment (3) to collect water level depth information; the inclination measurement module (6) is installed on the upper wall of the tool compartment (3) close to the underwater operation robot arm (7) to provide robot posture information, and the posture information is used for robot anti-deflection control.

3. The embracing crawling robot for underwater pier inspection of highway bridges according to claim 1, characterized in that: Two groups of underwater operation mechanical arms (7) are symmetrically distributed on the upper side of the fuselage body (1); a tool compartment (3) is installed on the inner side of the same side of the underwater operation mechanical arms (7); the tool compartment (3) comprises a cylindrical chamber (31), a cover plate (32) and a cover plate groove (33), and is equipped with cleaning operation tools; a clamping claw is installed at the end of the underwater operation mechanical arm (7); the underwater operation mechanical arm (7) grabs the operation tool in the tool compartment (3).

4. The detection method of the embracing crawling robot for detecting underwater piers of highway bridges according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that: The following steps are involved: S1. The operator assembles the robot's double-sided structures into an octagonal shape on the surface platform, and remotely controls the waterproof pen-type electric pull rod (91) through a cable to make the robot's four tires (56) and four driven wheels (10) close to the underwater pier of the highway bridge until the robot slides downward without being affected by gravity; S2, the operator turns on the servo power system (5), the depth metering module (4), the inclination measurement module (6), the array vision module (8) and the underwater lighting system (2) through a cable remote control, sets the parameters, and prepares to start the cleaning operation; during the crawling process of the robot, the inclination measurement module (6) always collects the robot's posture information; the robot controller uses the posture information to control the pitch angle and the roll angle, so that the robot is always in a stable and balanced state; S3, after the robot reaches a suitable depth, the underwater operation mechanical arms (7) on both sides are used to perform the cleaning task; the cover plate (32) of the tool bin (3) is opened, and the underwater operation mechanical arms (7) on both sides clamp the high-pressure water gun operation tools from the tool bin (3); after the underwater operation mechanical arms (7) take out the high-pressure water gun, the cover plate (32) is closed; after the cover plate (32) is closed, the servo power system (5) is enabled, and the robot crawls downward along the underwater pier column. During the crawling process, the two sets of high-pressure water guns completely wash the underwater pier column of the highway bridge; when the robot reaches the bottom of the water, the task of washing the underwater pier column of the highway bridge is completed, and the underwater operation mechanical arms (7) put the high-pressure water gun back into the tool bin (3); S4, after the robot puts back the high-pressure water gun, it grabs the steel brush operating tool from the tool bin (3) and performs the brushing task; after the cover plate (32) is closed, the servo power system (5) is enabled, and the robot crawls upward along the underwater pier column. During the crawling process, the two sets of steel brushes completely brush the underwater pier column of the highway bridge; when the robot returns to the water surface, the cleaning task of the underwater pier column of the highway bridge is completed, and the underwater operation robot arm (7) puts the steel brush back into the tool bin (3); S5. After the cleaning operation is completed, the robot returns to the surface and starts the inspection operation; the array vision module (8) approaches the underwater pier of the highway bridge for visual inspection and transmits the visual information back to the ground station; at the same time, the underwater lighting system (2) adjusts the angle to provide suitable visual conditions; the robot crawls slowly from top to bottom, and when the underwater pier of the highway bridge is detected, the array vision module (8) automatically identifies the type of the disease, and the depth measurement module (4) records the underwater depth information of the disease, and transmits the disease information and depth information back to the ground station. After completing the inspection task, the robot returns to the surface.

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