Pipe-Crawling Robot Sensing and Wheel Control for Bends
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing pipe crawling apparatuses are ineffective in navigating horizontal and vertical pipes, particularly around obstacles such as flanges, valves, and bends, and lack the ability to operate without magnets, vacuum, or aerodynamic forces, while also failing to perform tasks like corrosion detection and imaging independently of the pipe surface.
Innovation Solution
A system equipped with distance sensors and a processor to detect radial movement and diameter changes in pipes, allowing the robotic apparatus to adjust its movement and maintain contact, combined with mecanum wheels for navigating bends and curves, and a clamping mechanism for secure attachment to pipes of varying diameters.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If existing pipe crawling apparatuses are used, then they can travel inside pipes, but they cannot navigate around obstacles on the outside of pipes such as flanges, valves, and bends
Solution Approach 1:
The robotic apparatus employs dynamically adjustable wheel assemblies that can change their orientation and position to adapt to different pipe configurations and obstacles. The wheels are mounted on articulated arms that allow the robot to maintain contact with the pipe surface while navigating around flanges, valves, and bends, resolving the contradiction between adaptability and reliability.
Solution Approach 2:
The robotic apparatus is divided into modular segments including multiple independent wheel assemblies, articulated arms, and a clamping mechanism. This segmentation allows each component to independently adapt to obstacles while maintaining overall system stability, enabling the robot to navigate complex pipe environments reliably.
2Adaptability or versatility
If pipe crawling apparatuses rely on magnets, vacuum, or aerodynamic forces, then they can attach to pipes, but they cannot perform tasks independently of the pipe surface
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces magnetic, vacuum, or aerodynamic attachment mechanisms with a purely mechanical clamping system. The clamping mechanism uses mechanical force applied through articulated arms to secure the robot to the pipe surface, enabling task independence while maintaining simple operation through direct mechanical engagement.
Solution Approach 2:
The robotic apparatus incorporates self-adjusting mechanical clamping mechanisms that automatically adapt to different pipe diameters and surface conditions. The system uses its own mechanical force to maintain attachment without relying on external fields or vacuum, allowing it to perform tasks independently of the pipe surface properties.
3Measurement precision
If distance sensors are used to detect radial movement, then accurate navigation can be achieved, but the system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The distance sensors serve multiple functions: detecting radial movement, measuring pipe diameter, and providing feedback for navigation control. This multi-functionality reduces the need for separate specialized sensors and simplifies the overall control system architecture, resolving the contradiction between measurement precision and device complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The system implements feedback control using distance sensor measurements to continuously monitor and adjust the robot's position and orientation. The processor uses real-time distance data to detect radial movement and diameter changes, automatically correcting navigation errors without requiring complex manual intervention, thus maintaining simplicity while achieving high precision.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
Enables efficient traversal of complex piping systems, including horizontal and vertical pipes, and allows for tasks like corrosion detection and imaging without magnets or vacuum forces, ensuring stable operation and accurate navigation around obstacles.
Implementation Method 1
at least one of the first distance sensor and the second distance sensor may be a laser or ultrasonic time-of-flight sensor
Implementation Method 2
at least one of the first distance sensor and the second distance sensor may be a contact sensor comprising a contact member biased to maintain contact with the surface of the pipe and a sensor configured to measure a position of the contact member
Data Source
AI summary
A system for detecting radial movement of a robotic apparatus on a pipe, comprising distance sensors configured to measure a distance between their respective fixed positions and a surface of the pipe, and a processor configured to detect a change and determine whether the change is indicative of radial movement. A system for tracking a position of a robotic apparatus on a pipe, comprising mirrored, freely-rotating mecanum wheels, a sensor(s) configured to measure rotation of the mecanum wheels, and a processor configured to calculate a linear displacement of each mecanum wheel and resulting axial and circumferential positions of the robotic apparatus. A method for navigating a bend or curve of a pipe, comprising generating computer models of the robotic apparatus and the pipe, performing a computer simulation to identify a combination of wheel speeds that keeps the wheels in constant contact with the pipe, and operating the wheels accordingly.