Pipeline inspection robot

Abstract

A pipeline inspection robot, comprising an inspection module (1), a height adjustment mechanism (2), and a vehicle body (3). The height adjustment mechanism (2) is arranged on the vehicle body (3). The inspection module (1) comprises an electric control box (4), a rotary drum (5), and a laser sensor (6); the electric control box (4) is connected to the height adjustment mechanism (2); the rotary drum (5) is connected to the electric control box (4); the laser sensor (6) is arranged on the rotary drum (5); an encoder (51) and a rotating motor (52) are arranged in the rotary drum (5); a control circuit unit (41) is arranged in the electric control box (4); the control circuit unit (41) is separately connected to the rotating motor (52), the encoder (51), and the laser sensor (6); the rotating motor (52) drives the rotary drum (5) to rotate; the laser sensor (6) collects laser distance data of a pipeline and sends same to the control circuit unit (41); and the encoder (51) collects rotation angle data of the laser sensor (6) and sends same to the control circuit unit (41). The present invention is used to solve the defect in the prior art of low measurement precision and achieve high-precision measurement in pipeline inspection.

Description

Pipeline inspection robot

[0001] CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0002] This application claims priority to Chinese patent application No. 2023112614874, filed on September 27, 2023, entitled “Pipeline Inspection Robot,” which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. Technical Field

[0003] The present application relates to the technical field of pipeline detection and surveying, and in particular to a pipeline detection robot. Background Art

[0004] In order to dredge and repair underground pipelines such as municipal drainage underground drainage pipes, agricultural water underground drainage pipes, industrial water underground drainage pipes, and tap water underground drainage pipes, it is necessary to understand the internal conditions of the drainage pipes, such as drainage pipe line misalignment, buried wellheads, leakage, etc.

[0005] Current pipeline inspection methods primarily utilize video inspection or laser radar scanning. Video inspection can only detect defects, but cannot measure pipe diameter and defect size (crack width, crack length, corrosion location depth, etc.), layout direction, and other aspects, limiting the scope of inspection. Laser sensor scanning can measure pipe diameter and defect size. Existing robotic pipeline inspection systems for underground pipelines typically utilize laser sensors with a fixed light source and rotating reflectors to achieve full-circle distance measurement. Existing laser sensors utilize rotating reflectors for distance measurement, resulting in low accuracy, generally around 20mm, and inability to determine the direction and direction of the pipeline, leading to large errors in the measurement results.

[0006] Summary of the Invention

[0007] The present application provides a pipeline inspection robot to solve the defect of low measurement accuracy in the prior art and achieve high-precision measurement of pipeline inspection.

[0008] The present application provides a pipeline inspection robot, comprising: a detection module, a lifting mechanism and a vehicle body, wherein the lifting mechanism is arranged on the vehicle body, the detection module comprises: an electric control box, a rotating drum and a laser sensor, the electric control box is connected to the lifting mechanism, the rotating drum is connected to the electric control box, the laser sensor is arranged on the rotating drum, the rotating drum has a built-in encoder and a rotating motor, the electric control box has a built-in control circuit unit, the control circuit unit is respectively connected to the rotating motor, the encoder and the laser sensor, the rotating motor drives the rotating drum to rotate, the laser sensor collects laser distance data of the pipeline and sends it to the control circuit unit, and the encoder collects rotation angle data of the laser sensor and sends it to the control circuit unit.

[0009] According to a pipeline inspection robot provided in the present application, the inspection module also includes: a panoramic lens, which is arranged at the end of the rotating drum, and the control circuit unit is connected to the panoramic lens. The panoramic lens collects pipeline image data and sends it to the control circuit unit.

[0010] According to a pipeline inspection robot provided by the present application, weight compensation is performed at the connection between the rotating drum and the laser sensor, and the structural center of gravity of the rotating drum is located on the central axis of rotation.

[0011] According to a pipeline inspection robot provided by the present application, the laser sensor is detachably mounted on the rotating drum and is connected to the rotating drum via an aviation plug.

[0012] According to a pipeline inspection robot provided by the present application, the vehicle body has a built-in speed sensor, a level sensor, and an angle offset sensor, and the speed sensor, the level sensor, and the angle offset sensor are respectively connected to a control circuit unit.

[0013] According to a pipeline inspection robot provided in the present application, the lifting mechanism includes: a lifting frame and a support rod, the electric control box is connected to the lifting frame, the lifting frame is installed on the vehicle body, and the support rod is hinged to the vehicle body and the lifting frame respectively.

[0014] According to a pipeline inspection robot provided by the present application, the support rod is a gas spring, and there are at least two gas springs, which are respectively arranged on both sides of the lifting frame and are hinged to the vehicle body and the lifting frame.

[0015] According to a pipeline inspection robot provided in the present application, the vehicle body is a wheeled vehicle chassis or a crawler vehicle chassis.

[0016] According to a pipeline inspection robot provided by the present application, the vehicle body is a wheeled vehicle chassis, and the hardness of the tire of the wheeled vehicle chassis is 30-90HD.

[0017] According to a pipeline inspection robot provided by the present application, the forward speed of the vehicle body is proportional to the rotation speed of the drum, wherein the forward speed of the vehicle body is 0.06 m / s, and the rotation speed of the drum is 3 r / s.

[0018] According to a pipeline inspection robot provided by the present application, the detachable installation includes vertical installation or horizontal installation.

[0019] The pipeline inspection robot provided in this application comprises an inspection module, a lifting mechanism, and a vehicle body. The lifting mechanism is located on the vehicle body and is used to adjust the height of the inspection module. The inspection module includes an electronic control box, a rotating drum, and a laser sensor. The electronic control box is connected to the lifting mechanism, and the rotating drum is connected to the electronic control box. The laser sensor is located on the rotating drum. The rotating drum has a built-in encoder and a rotary motor. The electronic control box also has a built-in control circuit unit. The control circuit unit is connected to the rotary motor, the encoder, and the laser sensor, respectively. The rotary motor drives the rotating drum to rotate. The laser sensor collects laser distance data from the pipeline and sends it to the control circuit unit. The encoder collects rotation angle data from the laser sensor and sends it to the control circuit unit. During the pipeline inspection process, the vehicle body gradually moves forward, and the rotary motor inside the rotating drum drives the rotating drum to rotate, thereby driving the laser sensor to rotate, achieving data measurement of the current pipeline position. The laser sensor collects laser distance data from the pipeline and sends it to the control circuit unit. Simultaneously, the encoder collects rotation angle data from the laser sensor and sends it to the control circuit unit. The control circuit unit combines the laser distance data and rotation angle data at the same time to form planar data. That is, the motor rotates one circle, the laser sensor measures the distance value of one circle, and the encoder measures the angle value at each moment. After knowing the angle value and distance value at a certain moment, a point is formed on the plane. When enough points appear on a circle, the vehicle moves forward to form a spatial spiral line, thus forming a complete pipeline measurement data. Compared with existing measurement methods, this application uses a single laser sensor to directly obtain laser distance data within the pipeline and analyzes the collected rotation angle data. When the rotation speed is large enough, the denser the data points, the more accurate the spatial pipeline formed, making it have higher measurement accuracy. This solves the problem of low measurement accuracy in the existing technology and achieves high-precision measurement of pipeline detection. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0020] In order to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the present application or the prior art, a brief introduction will be given below to the drawings required for use in the embodiments or the description of the prior art. Obviously, the drawings described below are some embodiments of the present application. For ordinary technicians in this field, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without any creative work.

[0021] FIG1 is a schematic structural diagram of a pipeline inspection robot provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0022] FIG2 is a schematic structural diagram of a detection module of a pipeline detection robot provided in an embodiment of the present application.

[0023] Figure numerals: detection module 1, lifting mechanism 2, vehicle body 3, electric control box 4, rotating drum 5, laser sensor 6, panoramic lens 7, lifting frame 21, support rod 22, control circuit unit 41, encoder 51, rotating motor 52, aviation plug 61. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0024] To make the objectives, technical solutions, and advantages of this application more clear, the technical solutions of this application will be clearly and completely described below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. Obviously, the embodiments described are only part of the embodiments of this application, not all of them. Based on the embodiments of this application, all other embodiments obtained by ordinary technicians in this field without making any creative efforts are within the scope of protection of this application.

[0025] The pipeline inspection robot of the present application is described below with reference to FIG1 and FIG2 .

[0026] An embodiment of the present application provides a pipeline inspection robot, comprising: a detection module 1, a lifting mechanism 2 and a vehicle body 3, wherein the lifting mechanism 2 is arranged on the vehicle body 3, and the detection module 1 comprises: an electric control box 4, a rotating drum 5 and a laser sensor 6, wherein the electric control box 4 is connected to the lifting mechanism 2, and the rotating drum 5 is connected to the electric control box 4, and the laser sensor 6 is arranged on the rotating drum 5, and the rotating drum 5 has a built-in encoder 51 and a rotating motor 52, and the electric control box 4 has a built-in control circuit unit 41, and the control circuit unit 41 is respectively connected to the rotating motor 52, the encoder 51 and the laser sensor 6, and the rotating motor 52 drives the rotating drum 5 to rotate, and the laser sensor 6 collects laser distance data of the pipeline and sends it to the control circuit unit 41, and the encoder 51 collects rotation angle data of the laser sensor 6 and sends it to the control circuit unit 41.

[0027] As shown in Figures 1 and 2, the pipeline inspection robot of the present application comprises an inspection module 1, a lifting mechanism 2, and a vehicle body 3. The vehicle body 3 is a wheeled chassis. The lifting mechanism 2 is mounted on the vehicle body 3 and connected to the vehicle body 3 and the inspection module 1, respectively, for adjusting the height of the inspection module 1. The inspection module 1 comprises an electrical control box 4, a rotating drum 5, and a laser sensor 6. The electrical control box 4 is connected to the lifting mechanism 2, and the rotating drum 5 is connected to the electrical control box 4. The laser sensor 6 is mounted on the rotating drum 5, which has a built-in encoder 51 and a rotary motor 52. The electrical control box 4 houses a control circuit unit 41, which is responsible for module control and data processing. The control circuit unit 41 is connected to the rotary motor 52, the encoder 51, and the laser sensor 6. The rotary motor 52 drives the rotating drum 5 to rotate. The laser sensor 6 collects laser distance data from the pipeline and transmits it to the control circuit unit 41. The encoder 51 collects rotation angle data from the laser sensor 6 and transmits it to the control circuit unit 41, which analyzes and processes the collected data.

[0028] The pipeline inspection robot provided in the embodiment of the present application is provided with an inspection module 1, a lifting mechanism 2, and a vehicle body 3. The lifting mechanism 2 is provided on the vehicle body 3 and is used to adjust the height of the inspection module 1. The inspection module 1 includes: an electric control box 4, a rotating drum 5, and a laser sensor 6. The electric control box 4 is connected to the lifting mechanism 2, and the rotating drum 5 is connected to the electric control box 4. The laser sensor 6 is provided on the rotating drum 5. The rotating drum 5 has a built-in encoder 51 and a rotary motor 52. The electric control box 4 has a built-in control circuit unit 41. The control circuit unit 41 is respectively connected to the rotary motor 52, the encoder 51, and the laser sensor 6. The rotary motor 52 drives the rotating drum 5 to rotate. The laser sensor 6 collects laser distance data of the pipeline and sends it to the control circuit unit 41. The encoder 51 collects rotation angle data of the laser sensor 6 and sends it to the control circuit unit 41. During pipeline inspection, the vehicle body 3 gradually moves forward. Simultaneously, the rotary motor 52 inside the drum 5 rotates the drum 5, which in turn rotates the laser sensor 6, achieving data measurement for the current pipeline position. The laser sensor 6 collects laser distance data from the pipeline and transmits it to the control circuit unit 41. Simultaneously, the encoder 51 collects rotation angle data from the laser sensor 6 and transmits it to the control circuit unit 41. The control circuit unit 41 combines the laser distance data and rotation angle data at the same moment to form plane data. Specifically, as the rotary motor 52 rotates one circle, the laser sensor 6 measures the distance value for the entire circle, and the encoder 51 measures the angle value at each moment. Knowing the angle and distance values ​​at a given moment, a point is formed on the plane. When a sufficient number of points appear in a circle, the vehicle body advances to form a spatial spiral, thereby generating complete pipeline measurement data. Compared to existing measurement methods, the present application uses a single laser sensor 6 to directly acquire laser distance data within the pipeline and combines the rotation angle data for analysis. When the rotation speed is sufficiently high, the denser the data points, the more accurate the spatial pipeline formed, resulting in higher measurement accuracy. The invention solves the defect of low measurement accuracy in the prior art and realizes high-precision measurement of pipeline detection.

[0029] In this embodiment, the detection module 1 further includes: a panoramic lens 7, which is disposed at the end of the rotating drum 5. The control circuit unit 41 is connected to the panoramic lens 7, and the panoramic lens 7 collects pipeline image data and sends it to the control circuit unit 41.

[0030] A panoramic lens 7 is provided at the end of the rotating drum 5. This provides panoramic image acquisition in addition to the scanning by the laser sensor 6. This allows the pipeline inspection robot of the present application to obtain laser profile data and panoramic video data of the pipeline during the inspection process. Combined with data such as travel distance, it can generate a panoramic expansion image and laser profile color spectrum of the pipeline in real time, thus improving pipeline inspection effectiveness.

[0031] In this embodiment, weight compensation is performed at the connection between the rotating drum 5 and the laser sensor 6, and the structural center of gravity of the rotating drum 5 is located on the central axis of rotation.

[0032] As shown in Figure 2, the connection between the rotating drum 5 and the laser sensor 6 is flattened to provide additional weight. This flattened connection represents the weight of the laser sensor 6, offsetting the weight imbalance caused by the installation of the laser sensor 6 on the rotating drum 5. This structural arrangement ensures that the center of gravity of the rotating drum 5 is located on the central axis of rotation during rotation, allowing the rotary motor 52 to drive the rotating drum 5 at a uniform speed, ensuring the measurement accuracy of the laser sensor 6.

[0033] In this embodiment, the laser sensor 6 can be detachably mounted on the drum 5 , and the mounting method includes but is not limited to vertical / horizontal mounting (vertical mounting method in FIG. 2 ), and is connected to the drum 5 via an aviation plug 61 .

[0034] The laser sensor 6 is detachably mounted on the drum 5 and connected to the drum 5 via an aviation plug 61. The connection method of the aviation plug 61 facilitates replacement of laser sensors 6 of different models according to pipeline data conditions.

[0035] In this embodiment, the vehicle body 3 has a built-in speed sensor, a level sensor, and an angle offset sensor, and the speed sensor, the level sensor, and the angle offset sensor are connected to the control circuit unit 41 respectively.

[0036] The vehicle body 3 is equipped with a speed sensor, a level sensor and an angle offset sensor. The three sensors can be used to determine the inclination angle of the pipeline, thereby determining the direction and length of the pipeline. After measuring the angle and size of the pipeline, it is convenient to construct a three-dimensional image on the urban space pipeline network.

[0037] In this embodiment, the lifting mechanism 2 includes: a lifting frame 21 and a support rod 22, the electric control box 4 is connected to the lifting frame 21, the lifting frame 21 is arranged on the vehicle body 3, and the support rod 22 is hinged to the vehicle body 3 and the lifting frame 21 respectively.

[0038] The electrical control box 4 is connected to a lifting frame 21, which is mounted on the vehicle body 3. Support rods 22 are hinged to the vehicle body 3 and the lifting frame 21, respectively. The lifting frame 21 is used to raise and lower the detection module 1 and is supported by support rods 22, forming a stable triangular structure to ensure the stability and reliability of the detection module 1 during pipeline inspection.

[0039] In this embodiment, the support rods 22 are gas springs. There are at least two gas springs, which are respectively provided on both sides of the lifting frame 21 and are hinged to the vehicle body 3 and the lifting frame 21 .

[0040] The support rods 22 are gas springs. There are at least two gas springs, one on each side of the lifting frame 21, and articulated to the vehicle body 3 and the lifting frame 21. Using gas springs as support rods 22 further improves the stability of the detection module 1 during the movement of the pipeline inspection robot, ensuring measurement results.

[0041] In this embodiment, the vehicle body 3 is a wheeled vehicle body 3 chassis or a tracked vehicle body 3 chassis.

[0042] Depending on the internal conditions of the pipeline, the vehicle body 3 can be equipped with a wheeled chassis or a tracked chassis to cope with different situations. The wheeled chassis has strong adaptability, but is unstable when encountering extreme road conditions. The tracked chassis is more stable, but the cost is relatively higher.

[0043] In this embodiment, the vehicle body 3 is a wheeled vehicle body 3 chassis, and the hardness of the tire of the wheeled vehicle body 3 chassis is 30-90HD.

[0044] The hardness of the tire of the wheeled vehicle body 3 chassis is 30-90HD, which meets the running conditions of the inner wall of most pipelines. The vehicle body 3 moves more stably, ensuring the measurement effect.

[0045] In this embodiment, the forward speed of the vehicle body 3 is proportional to the rotation speed of the drum 5, wherein the forward speed of the vehicle body 3 is 0.06 m / s, and the rotation speed of the drum 5 is 3 r / s.

[0046] During the actual measurement process, the forward speed of the vehicle body 3 is proportional to the rotation speed of the drum 5. Setting the forward speed of the vehicle body 3 to 0.06 m / s and the rotation speed of the drum 5 to 3 r / s can improve the measurement efficiency while ensuring the measurement accuracy.

[0047] The working principle of this embodiment is as follows:

[0048] In this embodiment, a DN800 pipeline is selected for actual measurement. When using the pipeline inspection robot of the present application to perform pipeline inspection, the pipeline inspection robot is first placed in the pipeline to be inspected. The operating parameters of the pipeline inspection robot are set, namely, the forward speed of the vehicle body 3 is 0.06m / s, and the rotation speed of the drum 5 is 3r / s. The pipeline inspection robot slowly moves in the pipeline to be inspected and begins measurement. During the pipeline inspection process, the vehicle body 3 gradually moves forward, and at the same time, the rotary motor 52 in the drum 5 drives the drum 5 to rotate, thereby driving the laser sensor 6 to rotate, realizing data measurement of the current pipeline position. The laser sensor 6 collects the laser distance data of the pipeline and sends it to the control circuit unit 41. At the same time, the encoder 51 collects the rotation angle data of the laser sensor 6 and sends it to the control circuit unit 41. The control circuit unit 41 combines the laser distance data and the rotation angle data at the same time to form plane data. That is, the rotating motor 52 rotates one circle, the laser sensor 6 measures the distance value of one circle, and the encoder 51 measures the angle value at each moment. After knowing the angle value and distance value at a certain moment, a point is formed on the plane. When there are enough points on a circle, a complete pipeline measurement data can be formed. The actual measurement results obtained through the above process show that when the detection module 1 is raised to different heights at the same position, the detection dimensional error is within 2mm; when the vehicle body 3 is moving, the detection dimensional error of the detection module 1 at different positions at the same height is within ±1mm. The final actual measurement results show that the minimum inner diameter error range is within 2mm, and the average inner diameter error range is within 1mm, which significantly improves the pipeline detection accuracy under current technical conditions.

[0049] Finally, it should be noted that the above embodiments are only used to illustrate the technical solutions of the present application, rather than to limit them. Although the present application has been described in detail with reference to the aforementioned embodiments, those skilled in the art should understand that they can still modify the technical solutions described in the aforementioned embodiments, or make equivalent replacements for some of the technical features therein. These modifications or replacements do not deviate the essence of the corresponding technical solutions from the scope of the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application.

Claims

1. A pipeline inspection robot, comprising: A detection module, a lifting mechanism and a vehicle body, wherein the lifting mechanism is arranged on the vehicle body, the detection module comprises: an electric control box, a rotating drum and a laser sensor, the electric control box is connected to the lifting mechanism, the rotating drum is connected to the electric control box, the laser sensor is arranged on the rotating drum, the rotating drum has a built-in encoder and a rotating motor, the electric control box has a built-in control circuit unit, the control circuit unit is respectively connected to the rotating motor, the encoder and the laser sensor, the rotating motor drives the rotating drum to rotate, the laser sensor collects laser distance data of the pipeline and sends it to the control circuit unit, and the encoder collects rotation angle data of the laser sensor and sends it to the control circuit unit.

2. The pipeline inspection robot according to claim 1, wherein: The detection module further includes: a panoramic lens, which is arranged at the end of the drum, the control circuit unit is connected to the panoramic lens, and the panoramic lens collects pipeline image data and sends it to the control circuit unit.

3. The pipeline inspection robot according to claim 1, wherein: Weight compensation is performed at the connection between the rotating drum and the laser sensor, and the structural center of gravity of the rotating drum is located on the central axis of rotation.

4. The pipeline inspection robot according to claim 1, wherein: The laser sensor is detachably mounted on the rotating drum and connected to the rotating drum via an aviation plug.

5. The pipeline inspection robot according to claim 1, wherein: The vehicle body has a built-in speed sensor, a level sensor and an angle offset sensor, and the speed sensor, the level sensor and the angle offset sensor are connected to the control circuit unit respectively.

6. The pipeline inspection robot according to claim 1, wherein: The lifting mechanism comprises: a lifting frame and a support rod, the electric control box is connected to the lifting frame, the lifting frame is arranged on the vehicle body, and the support rod is hinged to the vehicle body and the lifting frame respectively.

7. The pipeline inspection robot according to claim 6, wherein: The support rod is a gas pressure spring. There are at least two gas pressure springs, which are respectively arranged on both sides of the lifting frame and are hinged to the vehicle body and the lifting frame.

8. The pipeline inspection robot according to claim 1, wherein: The vehicle body is a wheeled vehicle body chassis or a tracked vehicle body chassis.

9. The pipeline inspection robot according to claim 8, wherein: The vehicle body is a wheeled vehicle chassis, and the tire hardness of the wheeled vehicle chassis is 30-90HD.

10. The pipeline inspection robot according to any one of claims 1 to 9, wherein: The forward speed of the vehicle body is proportional to the rotation speed of the drum, wherein the forward speed of the vehicle body is 0.06 m / s, and the rotation speed of the drum is 3 r / s.

11. The pipeline inspection robot according to claim 4, wherein: The detachable installation includes vertical installation or horizontal installation.

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