JP6252029B2 - Remote control robot system - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a remote control robot system that performs work and investigation of a place where a human cannot enter.

  For example, in a nuclear power plant, there are places where radiation is high and there are narrow areas where humans cannot enter. Therefore, there is a device that is configured from the minimum necessary equipment that can safely and reliably perform inspection and handling operations in a narrow space in a narrow space (for example, see Patent Document 1). In addition, there is a device main body that can freely move in the branch pipe, and a transporter that can store the device main body in the branch pipe and can freely move in the trunk pipe. Even if the pipe is composed of a trunk pipe and a plurality of branch pipes, There is also a vehicle that is sure to travel on the road (for example, see Patent Document 2).

JP 2002-137180 A Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 9-254837

  However, it is difficult to reduce the size of an accident response robot at a nuclear power plant because it places importance on running performance such as stairs and is equipped with various investigation devices. Although the visual device is mounted as the minimum necessary device in Patent Document 1, a video server and an analog camera or an IP camera are required to place an image signal on Ethernet (registered trademark) even in that case. Both require a large space.

  Moreover, in the thing of patent document 2, since the transport body which stored the apparatus main body inside the trunk pipe moves, and the branch pipe moves the apparatus main body separated from the transport body, the branch pipe is narrow such as a dead end pipe. Even if it is a case where it is a site, the apparatus main body can be moved, but since the apparatus main body is connected by a cable and separated and recovered from the transporter, its control becomes complicated. In addition, it is difficult to reduce the size of the apparatus because monitoring means including a camera and illumination and working means such as an ultrasonic sensor are mounted on the apparatus main body.

  An object of the present invention is to provide a remote-controlled robot system that can safely and reliably perform a narrow-area work and survey that cannot be entered by humans.

The remote control robot system of the present invention includes a parent robot having an endless track that moves to the vicinity of a target location on the site where an accident that does not follow the initial arrangement occurs, and the proximity of the target location mounted on the parent robot. Wired communication between a parent robot and a child robot having an endless track that travels in a narrow area where the parent robot cannot enter by moving around a predetermined range of the destination and transported and lowered near the destination A remote operation unit for remotely operating the child robot by connecting the parent robot and the child robot by wireless communication means and connecting the child robot by a wireless communication means and remotely operating the child robot; Elevator for raising and lowering the child robot provided in the parent robot, and a multi-function for collecting information on a predetermined range of the target location attached to the child robot Characterized in that a strip terminal.

  According to the present invention, the robot has a parent robot and a child robot, and the child robot is mounted on the parent robot and transported to the vicinity of the target location, and is lowered near the target location to move within a predetermined range of the target location. Since the parent robot and the child robot are connected by wireless communication means, the child robot can move even in a narrow space. Further, since the child robot is equipped with a multifunctional mobile terminal having various sensor functions, it can be miniaturized.

The block diagram which shows an example of the remote control robot system which concerns on embodiment of this invention. Explanatory drawing of an example of the operation | work which lowers a child robot by the raising / lowering part of the parent robot in embodiment of this invention. The perspective view of the child robot in embodiment of this invention. Explanatory drawing in the case of moving the some child robot in the predetermined range of the target location in embodiment of this invention.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described below. FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram showing an example of a remote control robot system according to an embodiment of the present invention. The remote operation robot system includes a parent robot 11 and a child robot 12, and the parent robot 11 and the child robot 12 are remotely operated by a remote operation unit 13. In the following description, the parent robot 11 and the child robot 12 will be described by taking as an example a case where they enter a reactor building of a nuclear power plant where an accident has occurred as a place where humans cannot enter and perform work and investigation.

  The remote operation unit 13 includes a parent robot remote operation unit 14 and a child robot remote operation unit 15, and is installed, for example, in a seismic isolation important building of a nuclear power plant. The parent robot remote operation unit 14 and the child robot remote operation unit 15 are connected to the parent robot 11 by wired communication means. That is, the LAN cable 16 is connected to the modem 17 of the parent robot 11.

  On the other hand, the child robot 12 is connected to the parent robot 11 by wireless communication means. That is, a wireless LAN wireless master device 18 is connected to the modem 17 of the parent robot 11, and the child robot 12 is provided with a wireless LAN wireless slave device 19 that performs wireless communication with the wireless parent device 18. For example, WiFi is used as the wireless LAN.

  Thereby, the parent robot 11 is remotely operated by the parent robot remote control unit 14 connected by the wired communication means, and the child robot 12 is connected by the wired communication means and the wireless communication means via the modem 17 of the parent robot 11. Remote operation is performed by the child robot remote control unit 15.

  The parent robot 11 carries the child robot 12 and is remotely operated by the parent robot remote control unit 14 and moves to the vicinity of the target location on the site in the reactor building. The parent robot 11 is a tracked vehicle having an endless track 20 and can move on rough terrain. In the reactor building, a reactor pressure vessel is arranged in the center, the surroundings are partitioned by walls to form a plurality of rooms, and electrical equipment, piping equipment, mechanical equipment, etc. are installed. There is a narrow space between these facilities and walls. In the case of the reactor building where the accident occurred, it was not the same as the original layout, so there were more narrow parts in each place.

  Therefore, the parent robot 11 is equipped with the child robot 12 and moves to a location where it can move in the reactor building toward the target location. That is, it moves to the vicinity of the target location. Then, in the vicinity of the target location, the parent robot 11 lowers the child robot 12 with the elevating unit 21. The child robot 12 that has been lowered moves by itself within a predetermined range of the target location and travels toward a narrow part where the parent robot 11 cannot enter.

  Similar to the parent robot 11, the child robot 12 is a tracked vehicle having an endless track 22, and enables movement on rough terrain. The multi-function mobile terminal 23 is attached to the child robot 12. As the multifunctional portable terminal 23, for example, a smartphone or a tablet is used. The multifunctional portable terminal 23 such as a smartphone or a tablet is equipped with various sensors such as a camera, a microphone, an acceleration sensor, and a temperature sensor, and is also equipped with a light (illumination element), WiFi, and a speaker. Therefore, since the multi-function mobile terminal 23 is equipped with WiFi as wireless communication means and equipped with various sensors, the size is greatly reduced as compared with the case where the wireless communication means and various sensors are individually mounted on the child robot 12. Can be planned.

  Information is collected by the child robot 12 by turning on the light of the multi-function mobile terminal 23 and acquiring an image of a predetermined range of the target location by the camera of the multi-function mobile terminal 23. The acquired video is transmitted from the wireless slave unit 19 of the wireless communication unit to the wireless master unit 18 of the parent robot 11, and further from the wireless master unit 18 via the modem 17 and the LAN cable 16 of the wired communication unit. This is transmitted to the child robot remote control unit 15. As a result, the child robot remote control unit 15 can grasp the situation of the predetermined range of the target location.

  Further, the microphone of the multi-function portable terminal 23 collects, for example, sounds around the child robot 12 and similarly transmits sound information to the child robot remote operation unit 15. This is because, for example, when there is water leakage, there is a sound of flowing water, so that such information is obtained. Further, since the acceleration sensor of the multi-function portable terminal 23 detects the acceleration of the child robot 12 in the three-dimensional direction, the posture of the child robot 12 can be grasped by this. The temperature sensor of the multi-function mobile terminal 23 is provided to measure the temperature of the substrate of the multi-function mobile terminal 23. By obtaining information of this temperature sensor, the temperature around the child robot 12 can be grasped. . The multi-function mobile terminal 23 is equipped with a radiation dosimeter, but in the case of the multi-function mobile terminal 23 not equipped with a dosimeter, a dosimeter may be separately installed. .

  FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example of the operation of lowering the child robot 12 by the elevating unit 21 of the parent robot 11, and FIG. 2A is an explanatory diagram illustrating a state in which the child robot 12 is mounted on the parent robot 11. FIG. 2B is an explanatory diagram showing a state in which the child robot 12 is gripped by the lifting unit 21 of the parent robot 11, and FIG. 2C is a case in which the child robot 12 gripped by the lifting unit 21 is lowered to the upper part (high place). FIG. 2D is an explanatory diagram when the child robot 12 held by the elevating unit 21 is lowered to a narrow part. In FIG. 2, the raising / lowering part 21 has shown the arm-type thing which has the holding part at the front-end | tip.

  As shown in FIG. 2A, the arm type lifting unit 21 is folded in a state where the child robot 12 is mounted on the parent robot 11. In order to lower the child robot 12 from the state shown in FIG. 2A, as shown in FIG. 2B, the arm of the elevating unit 21 is extended and the child robot 12 is held by the holding portion at the tip. Then, while holding the child robot 12, the arm of the elevating unit 21 is driven to move to a position where the child robot 12 is lowered. When the collection of information by the child robot 12 in the predetermined range of the target location is completed, the child robot 12 returns to the vicinity of the place where it was lowered from the parent robot 11 and is mounted on the parent robot 11 by the elevating unit 21 of the parent robot 11. And recovered.

  When the child robot 12 gripped by the elevating part 21 is lowered to the upper part (high place) of the wall, the arm of the elevating part 21 is extended and the child robot 12 is lowered to the upper part of the wall 24 as shown in FIG. . As a result, the child robot 12 self-runs on the upper portion of the wall 24. When the child robot 12 gripped by the elevating part 21 is lowered to the entrance of the narrow part 25, the arm of the elevating part 21 is extended and the child robot 12 is introduced to the entrance of the narrow part 25 as shown in FIG. Take down. As a result, the child robot 12 self-travels in the narrow portion 25, moves to the other side of the wall 24, and travels on the other side of the wall 24. Then, when the collection of information by the child robot 12 within the predetermined range of the target location is completed, the child robot 12 returns to the vicinity of the place where it was lowered from the parent robot 11 and is moved up and down by the elevating unit 21 of the parent robot 11. It is mounted on the parent robot 11 and collected.

  In the above description, the lifting / lowering unit 21 is shown as an arm type. However, when the child robot 12 is mounted on a slope plate having a jack and a slope plate and kept horizontal, the child robot 12 is lowered to a high place. May be lifted with a jack and the slope plate tilted down. In addition, it is not necessary to lift with a jack when it is lowered to a place that is not high.

  3 is a perspective view of the child robot. FIG. 3A is a perspective view of the child robot when the multi-function mobile terminal 23 is fixedly mounted. FIG. 3B is a perspective view of the multi-function mobile terminal 23 using a pan / tilt mechanism. It is a perspective view of a child robot when attached.

  As shown in FIG. 3A, the child robot 12 is a tracked vehicle having endless tracks 22 on both sides of the child robot body 26, and enables movement on rough terrain. Inside the child robot main body 26, a driving mechanism (not shown) and a battery for driving the child robot based on a command from the child robot remote control unit 15 are mounted. Then, the multi-function mobile terminal 23 is fixedly and vertically mounted on the upper surface of the child robot body 26, and the multi-function mobile terminal 23 collects information of a predetermined range of the target location as described above. The reason why the multi-function mobile terminal 23 is mounted vertically is to allow the camera of the multi-function mobile terminal 23 to easily capture the surrounding area.

  Further, instead of mounting the multi-function mobile terminal 23 vertically on the upper surface of the child robot body 26, the multi-function mobile terminal 23 is mounted by the pan / tilt mechanism 27 as shown in FIG. It may be. The pan / tilt mechanism 27 has a function of swinging the multi-function mobile terminal 23 left and right as indicated by an arrow V and swinging the multi-function mobile terminal 23 up and down as indicated by an arrow W. Since the multifunctional portable terminal 23 can change the direction in the left-right direction by swinging the pan / tilt mechanism unit 27 left and right, it is possible to collect desired information in the left-right direction without changing the direction of the child robot body 26.

  Similarly, the multifunction portable terminal 23 can change the direction in the vertical direction by swinging the pan / tilt mechanism unit 27 up and down, so that information can be collected at a desired depression angle and elevation angle. When the child robot 12 travels, the multifunction mobile terminal 23 is folded by the pan / tilt mechanism unit 27 and stored in the storage unit 28 formed on the upper surface of the child robot body 26. Thereby, when the child robot 12 travels in the narrow part, it is possible to prevent the multifunctional portable terminal 23 from interfering and being unable to travel.

  In the above description, the case where one child robot 12 is mounted on the parent robot 11 has been described. However, a plurality of child robots 12 may be mounted and the plurality of child robots may be moved within a predetermined range of the target location. Good. FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram when moving a plurality of child robots within a predetermined range of the target location, FIG. 4A is an explanatory diagram showing an example of the case of two child robots, and FIG. It is explanatory drawing which shows another example in the case of a child robot of a stand.

  In FIG. 4 (a), the parent robot 11 carries two child robots 12a and 12b and carries them to the vicinity of the target location. The two child robots 12a and 12b are lowered at the target location and one robot is removed. It is assumed that the child robot 12b is located on the other side of the wall 24 and is moving in a position where wireless communication with the parent robot 11 is not possible. In this case, another child robot 12a is arranged on the upper surface of the wall 24, and the child robot 12a is a relay station between the parent robot 11 and the child robot 12b. As a result, the child robot 12b can move even at a position where wireless communication with the parent robot 11 is not possible.

  In FIG. 4 (b), the parent robot 11 carries two child robots 12a and 12b and carries them to the vicinity of the target location. At the target location, the two child robots 12a and 12b are lowered and the two robots 12a and 12b are lowered. It is assumed that the child robots 12a and 12b are moving in the narrow portion 25 of the wall 24. In this case, since the surrounding information is acquired by the two child robots 12a and 12b, the field of view is widened, and the multifunctional mobile terminal 23b of one child robot 12b displays an image including the other child robot 12a. Since it can be acquired, the other child robot 12a can be monitored.

  As described above, when a plurality of child robots 12 are mounted, another child robot 12 can be used as a relay station for a child robot that cannot wirelessly communicate with the parent robot 11, and a position where wireless communication with the parent robot 11 cannot be performed directly. Wireless communication is also possible for the child robot 12. Moreover, the visual field of the images acquired by the plurality of child robots 12 can be expanded, and the child robots 12 can monitor each other.

  Thus, according to the embodiment of the present invention, since the multi-function mobile terminal 23 having various sensors is mounted on the child robot 12, the child robot 12 can be reduced in size. If a sensor that the multi-function mobile terminal 23 is not equipped with, for example, a radiation dosimeter or a hygrometer is required, these sensors may be placed separately as necessary. The child robot 12 can be downsized as compared with the case of installation. Thereby, the information of the narrow part which the parent robot 11 cannot enter can be collected safely and reliably. Since the multifunctional portable terminal 23 is inexpensive and highly reliable, it can be an inexpensive and highly reliable remote control robot system.

  As mentioned above, although embodiment of this invention was described, this embodiment is shown as an example and is not intending limiting the range of invention. The novel embodiment can be implemented in various other forms, and various omissions, replacements, and changes can be made without departing from the scope of the invention. This embodiment and its modifications are included in the scope and gist of the invention, and are included in the invention described in the claims and the equivalents thereof.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 11 ... Parent robot, 12 ... Child robot, 13 ... Remote operation part, 14 ... Parent robot remote operation part, 15 ... Child robot remote operation part, 16 ... LAN cable, 17 ... Modem, 18 ... Wireless master machine, 19 ... Wireless Slave unit, 20 ... Endless track, 21 ... Lifting unit, 22 ... Endless track, 23 ... Multi-function mobile terminal, 24 ... Wall, 25 ... Narrow part, 26 ... Child robot body, 27 ... Pan tilt mechanism unit, 28 ... Storage unit

Claims (3)

A parent robot with an endless trajectory that moves to the vicinity of the target location at the site where the accident occurred ,
Provided with an endless track mounted on the parent robot, transported to the vicinity of the target location, lowered in the vicinity of the target location, moved within a predetermined range of the target location, and traveling in a narrow portion where the parent robot cannot enter With a child robot,
The parent robot is connected by wired communication means to remotely control the parent robot, while the parent robot and the child robot are connected by wireless communication means to relay the parent robot to connect the child robot. A remote control unit for remote control;
An elevating unit provided in the parent robot for elevating the child robot;
A remote operation robot system comprising a multi-function portable terminal attached to the child robot and collecting information of a predetermined range of the target location. The remote control robot system according to claim 1, wherein the multi-function mobile terminal is attached to the child robot by a pan / tilt mechanism, and the multi-function mobile terminal is folded when the child robot travels .   3. The parent robot includes a plurality of child robots, and the plurality of child robots are connected to each other by wireless communication means and moved to another location within a predetermined range of the target location. The remote control robot system described.

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