CN117060839A

CN117060839A - Control method of photovoltaic robot

Info

Publication number: CN117060839A
Application number: CN202310811532.2A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 金璐丰; 李嘉旗; 张杭; 杨俊�; 唐成
Original assignee: Hangzhou Dazuo Robot Technology Co ltd
Current assignee: Hangzhou Dazuo Robot Technology Co ltd
Priority date: 2023-07-04
Filing date: 2023-07-04
Publication date: 2023-11-14

Abstract

The disclosure provides a control method of a photovoltaic robot, which is used for performing cleaning operation on the surface of a photovoltaic panel, and running the photovoltaic robot to enable the photovoltaic robot to perform cleaning action on the surface of the photovoltaic panel; acquiring operation information of the photovoltaic robot and weather information of the position of the photovoltaic panel; performing aggregate analysis on the operation information and the meteorological information; judging whether the photovoltaic robot accords with a maintenance action starting condition or not; if the maintenance action starting condition is met, stopping the cleaning action and starting the maintenance action; wherein the maintenance action includes: and starting the adsorption module to adsorb the main body part of the photovoltaic robot to the surface of the photovoltaic panel.

Description

Control method of photovoltaic robot

Technical Field

The present disclosure relates to a control method of a photovoltaic robot.

Background

New renewable energy sources have become an important component of energy for human use, and solar technology has been rapidly developed in countries around the world over the past period of time. A solar panel is a device that directly converts solar energy into electric energy using semiconductor materials that produce a photovoltaic effect in sunlight. Solar panels are suitable for a variety of applications, from large power stations to small portable chargers. The solar panel operates only in an outdoor environment, and the biggest problem affecting its operation is not light but accumulation of dust attached to its surface. Dust or other attachments attached to the solar panel can affect the light transmittance of the panel, limit the photoelectric efficiency, seriously affect the efficiency of the panel for directly acquiring sunlight, reduce the energy absorption and conversion efficiency of the panel, and reduce the power generation efficiency.

Currently, most of the solar panels in use only rely on manual work to periodically complete cleaning work. Because the solar cell panel of large-scale power station is bulky, and the panel quantity that uses simultaneously is many, and the environment that is located is abominable, arranges under the wide environment that does not shelter from generally, and the dust can accumulate repeatedly, needs the washing repeatedly. In many cases, in order to improve the space utilization, the solar panels are arranged at a high place through the mounting bracket, which makes cleaning more difficult and risks more. In order to reduce the cleaning costs, many users of solar panels have to choose not to clean or to clean passively by natural rainfall, and therefore have to withstand the power loss from dust.

Some solar panels have been introduced to the automatic photovoltaic robot PVR (Photovoltaic robot) for cleaning, but since the conventional photovoltaic robot PVR can be applied only to a horizontal plane, they need to be applied to an inclined plane of the solar panels, and thus have the following problems.

The photovoltaic robot PVR has insufficient mobility and poor free movement efficiency. Since the inclination angle of the solar panel is generally 10-50 degrees, and under certain demands, the solar panel can change a larger inclination angle as the solar angle changes. Because solar panels are relatively smooth, conventional photovoltaic robots PVRs need to be adapted to work outdoors throughout the year, even in severe weather conditions, so they are mostly composed of metal parts that can cause damage to the photovoltaic panels once they slip or roll over.

The cleaning systems currently available for use in conjunction with solar photovoltaic panels are either too complex or too expensive or both. Outdoor photovoltaic robot PVRs should be inexpensive, simple to design, reliable, not consume too much power, and must avoid certain accidents, and the operation of the robot should not pose a threat to the photovoltaic panel.

Disclosure of Invention

In order to solve one of the above technical problems, the present disclosure provides a processing method of a photovoltaic robot.

According to an aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a control method of a photovoltaic robot for performing a cleaning operation on a surface of a photovoltaic panel, the photovoltaic robot including:

a main body portion;

a plurality of driving modules provided on the main body portion, each driving module including a driving wheel; the annular belt is arranged at the outer side of the driving wheel and is used for driving the photovoltaic robot to pass through the terrain on the photovoltaic panel under the driving of the driving wheel;

a cleaning head module rotatably provided on the main body portion for peeling off surface dust of the photovoltaic panel when the photovoltaic robot performs a cleaning operation on the surface of the photovoltaic panel;

an adsorption module telescopically arranged on the main body part and used for selectively adsorbing the photovoltaic robot main body part to the surface of the photovoltaic panel through vacuum effect;

The method includes operating the photovoltaic robot such that the photovoltaic robot performs a cleaning action on a surface of the photovoltaic panel;

acquiring operation information of the photovoltaic robot and weather information of the position of the photovoltaic panel;

performing aggregate analysis on the operation information and the meteorological information;

judging whether the photovoltaic robot accords with a maintenance action starting condition or not;

if the maintenance action starting condition is met, stopping the cleaning action and starting the maintenance action;

wherein the maintenance action includes: and starting the adsorption module to adsorb the main body part of the photovoltaic robot to the surface of the photovoltaic panel.

A control method of a photovoltaic robot according to at least one embodiment of the present disclosure is characterized in that the operation information of the photovoltaic robot includes steering information.

According to the control method of the photovoltaic robot of at least one embodiment of the present disclosure, surface height detection actions are continuously performed in the operation process of the photovoltaic robot, and steering information is generated according to the surface height information; and generating a maintenance action starting instruction according to the steering information, starting the adsorption module, and adsorbing the main body of the photovoltaic robot to the surface of the photovoltaic panel.

According to the control method of the photovoltaic robot of at least one embodiment of the present disclosure, a steering action command is generated according to the steering information, and the plurality of driving modules are controlled to start steering actions after the main body of the photovoltaic robot is adsorbed to the surface of the photovoltaic panel.

According to a control method of a photovoltaic robot of at least one embodiment of the present disclosure, the operation information of the photovoltaic robot includes traveling plane inclination angle information.

According to the control method of the photovoltaic robot of at least one embodiment of the present disclosure, surface angle detection actions are continuously performed in the operation process of the photovoltaic robot, and traveling plane inclination angle information is generated according to the surface angle information; generating a maintenance action starting instruction according to the inclination angle information of the traveling plane; and starting the adsorption module to adsorb the main body of the photovoltaic robot to the surface of the photovoltaic panel. .

According to the control method of the photovoltaic robot of at least one embodiment of the present disclosure, when the plane inclination angle information exceeds a first threshold value, a maintenance action is started, and a plurality of driving modules and a cleaning head module are closed until the traveling plane inclination angle is smaller than the first threshold value.

The control method of the photovoltaic robot according to at least one embodiment of the present disclosure is characterized in that the weather information includes an average wind speed of the position of the photovoltaic panel, and the average wind speed is provided by an anemometer of the position of the photovoltaic panel.

According to the control method of the photovoltaic robot of at least one embodiment of the present disclosure, when the average wind speed exceeds a second threshold value, a maintenance action is started, and a plurality of driving modules and a cleaning head module are turned off.

According to the control method of the photovoltaic robot of at least one embodiment of the present disclosure, the weather information includes future weather information, and whether the photovoltaic robot is started is judged according to the future weather information.

According to a control method of a photovoltaic robot of at least one embodiment of the present disclosure, the future weather information includes a future average wind speed in a next operation cycle of the photovoltaic robot, and if the future average wind speed is greater than the second threshold value, the photovoltaic robot performs a maintenance action without performing a cleaning action.

According to a control method of the photovoltaic robot of at least one embodiment of the present disclosure, the future weather information is obtained through a weather forecast or a weather data model database.

Drawings

The accompanying drawings, which are included to provide a further understanding of the disclosure and are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification, illustrate exemplary embodiments of the disclosure and together with the description serve to explain the principles of the disclosure.

Fig. 1 is a schematic structural view of a photovoltaic robot according to one embodiment of the present disclosure.

Fig. 2 is a schematic top view of a structure of a photovoltaic robot according to one embodiment of the present disclosure.

Fig. 3 is a schematic side view of the structure of a photovoltaic robot according to one embodiment of the present disclosure.

Fig. 4 illustrates a schematic view of a cleaning assembly of a photovoltaic robot according to one embodiment of the present disclosure.

Fig. 5 illustrates a schematic diagram of a water spray structure according to one embodiment of the present disclosure.

Fig. 6 is a schematic view of a nozzle structure of a water spray structure according to one embodiment of the present disclosure.

Fig. 7 is a schematic bottom view of a photovoltaic robot according to one embodiment of the present disclosure.

Fig. 8 illustrates a force schematic of a photovoltaic robot traveling on a photovoltaic panel according to one embodiment of the present disclosure.

Figure 9 illustrates a schematic view of the position of a chuck assembly of a photovoltaic robot according to one embodiment of the present disclosure.

Figure 10 illustrates a schematic view of the position of a chuck assembly of a photovoltaic robot according to one embodiment of the present disclosure.

Figure 11 is a schematic structural view of a suction cup assembly according to one embodiment of the present disclosure.

Fig. 12 is a schematic structural view of a lift drive mechanism of a liftable assembly according to one embodiment of the present disclosure.

Fig. 13 is a schematic structural view of a reduction gearbox of a liftable assembly according to one embodiment of the present disclosure.

Fig. 14 is a schematic structural view of a suction cup device according to one embodiment of the present disclosure.

Fig. 15 is a schematic view of a rail structure according to one embodiment of the present disclosure.

Figure 16 is a schematic cross-sectional view illustrating a suction cup assembly according to one embodiment of the present disclosure, according to one embodiment of the present disclosure.

Fig. 17 and 18 are schematic top-down running views of a photovoltaic robot operating according to a method of one embodiment of the present disclosure, showing turning at the edges of the photovoltaic panel.

Fig. 19 is a schematic view of a photovoltaic robot control flow according to one embodiment of the present disclosure.

Detailed Description

The present disclosure is described in further detail below with reference to the drawings and the embodiments. It is to be understood that the specific embodiments described herein are merely illustrative of the relevant content and not limiting of the present disclosure. It should be further noted that, for convenience of description, only a portion relevant to the present disclosure is shown in the drawings.

In addition, embodiments of the present disclosure and features of the embodiments may be combined with each other without conflict. The technical aspects of the present disclosure will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings in conjunction with embodiments.

Unless otherwise indicated, the exemplary implementations/embodiments shown are to be understood as providing exemplary features of various details of some ways in which the technical concepts of the present disclosure may be practiced. Thus, unless otherwise indicated, features of the various implementations/embodiments may be additionally combined, separated, interchanged, and/or rearranged without departing from the technical concepts of the present disclosure.

The use of cross-hatching and/or shading in the drawings is typically used to clarify the boundaries between adjacent components. As such, the presence or absence of cross-hatching or shading does not convey or represent any preference or requirement for a particular material, material property, dimension, proportion, commonality between illustrated components, and/or any other characteristic, attribute, property, etc. of a component, unless indicated. In addition, in the drawings, the size and relative sizes of elements may be exaggerated for clarity and/or descriptive purposes. While the exemplary embodiments may be variously implemented, the specific process sequences may be performed in a different order than that described. For example, two consecutively described processes may be performed substantially simultaneously or in reverse order from that described. Moreover, like reference numerals designate like parts.

When an element is referred to as being "on" or "over", "connected to" or "coupled to" another element, it can be directly on, connected or coupled to the other element or intervening elements may be present. However, when an element is referred to as being "directly on," "directly connected to," or "directly coupled to" another element, there are no intervening elements present. For this reason, the term "connected" may refer to physical connections, electrical connections, and the like, with or without intermediate components.

For descriptive purposes, the present disclosure may use spatially relative terms such as "under … …," under … …, "" under … …, "" lower, "" above … …, "" upper, "" above … …, "" higher "and" side (e.g., as in "sidewall"), etc., to describe one component's relationship to another (other) component as illustrated in the figures. In addition to the orientations depicted in the drawings, the spatially relative terms are intended to encompass different orientations of the device in use, operation, and/or manufacture. For example, if the device in the figures is turned over, elements described as "under" or "beneath" other elements or features would then be oriented "over" the other elements or features. Thus, the exemplary term "below" … … can encompass both an orientation of "above" and "below". Furthermore, the device may be otherwise positioned (e.g., rotated 90 degrees or at other orientations) and the spatially relative descriptors used herein interpreted accordingly.

The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting. As used herein, the singular forms "a", "an" and "the" are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. Furthermore, when the terms "comprises" and/or "comprising," and variations thereof, are used in the present specification, the presence of stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components, and/or groups thereof is described, but the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components, and/or groups thereof is not precluded. It is also noted that, as used herein, the terms "substantially," "about," and other similar terms are used as approximation terms and not as degree terms, and as such, are used to explain the inherent deviations of measured, calculated, and/or provided values that would be recognized by one of ordinary skill in the art.

As shown in fig. 1-7, to ensure maximum cleaning area, the photovoltaic robotic PVR device is designed with a generally rectangular base profile that defines a maximum width structural envelope D (to facilitate movement over an inclined photovoltaic panel).

The photovoltaic robot PVR comprises a body support 100, and a chassis and a housing secured to the chassis, both constituting a photovoltaic robot PVR body 200, the body 200 being detachably connected to the body support 100. The main body support 100 is a main structural frame of the photovoltaic robot PVR, providing strong support and stability. It is made of firm and durable material, and can bear complex working environment and heavy load operation. The body support 100 has appropriate rigidity and flexibility to ensure accuracy of movement and operation of the photovoltaic robot PVR. The chassis is part of the main body stand 100, providing a smooth moving platform for the internal components and electronics of the photovoltaic robotic PVR. The chassis is made of high-strength materials, and has good bearing capacity and shock resistance. The shell is a protective cover of the PVR of the photovoltaic robot fixed on the chassis, and has the characteristics of compact structure, dust prevention, water prevention and weather resistance. The outer shell is made of durable materials, so that internal components and electronic equipment of the PVR can be effectively protected from the external environment. The body mount 100 can be easily detachably coupled. This design makes maintenance and repair of the photovoltaic robotic PVR more convenient and allows for easier access and replacement of internal components. At the same time, the detachable connection also provides flexibility for external components, allowing the user to customize and refine to specific needs and task requirements.

The power system provides a means to propel the robotic device and operate the cleaning mechanism during movement of the robotic device. The photovoltaic robot PVR includes a driving module 300 for pushing the photovoltaic robot PVR to freely move on the photovoltaic panel, and the driving module 300 may be coupled to the main body support 100 through a driving module bracket 330. In one embodiment according to the present disclosure, the driving modules 300 are detachably mounted on the driving module carriers 330, and each driving module 300 includes a driving wheel rotatably connected to the driving module carrier 330 and a driving motor 310 operable to drive the driving wheel; and an endless belt 320 disposed outside the driving wheel, for driving the photovoltaic robot PVR to traverse the terrain on the photovoltaic panel under the driving of the driving wheel, one of the cleaning difficulties of the photovoltaic panel is associated with the fact that the solar panel is generally inclined, and there is an adjustment direction in association with the fact that the direct solar angle remains adaptively constant. Therefore, the robot must be able to guarantee the stability of the photovoltaic robot PVR on a slope and vary with the slope angle. Accordingly, the main drive module 300 generally selects an endless belt, and may include an external running layer made of structural rubber or leather to ensure a large contact surface between the robot and the solar panel, so that the photovoltaic robot PVR can be relatively stably disposed on the target plane. In another example, the movement mechanism may include wheels.

The drive motors 310 are mechanically coupled to the drive module carriers 330, respectively, and operate independently by control signals generated by the control modules in response to executing the behavioral patterns. Separate independent operation of the drive motors 310 enables the endless belt 320 to: rotate at the same speed in the same direction to push the robot device to advance or retreat along a straight line; different rotational speeds (including the case where one of the endless belts 320 does not rotate) to achieve various right-and/or left-turn modes of the robotic device; and rotating at the same speed in opposite directions, respectively, to cause the robotic device to rotate in place, thereby providing the robotic device with a wide range of motion capabilities. The robot is provided with an autonomous traveling mechanism comprising left and right driving wheels constituting front driving wheels, left and right driving wheels constituting rear driving wheels provided at the rear end, and a plurality of freely rotatable driven wheels positioned between the front and rear driving wheels. The left and right driving wheels are coupled to the driving motor 310, respectively, and can be independently driven to rotate left and right. Thus, the robot can move forward, backward, rotate, and travel around a curve. The rotational speed and the rotational direction of each driving wheel are detected by a rotary encoder. Rotary encoders are mounted on the left and right drive wheels, respectively.

The rotational speed of the drive motor 310 is controlled by a controller provided in the robot body. When the controller controls the rotational speed of each driving motor, the photovoltaic robot PVR can move straight or cornering. The controller controls the rotational speed of each driving motor to control the movement of the photovoltaic robot PVR. The controller stores a moving path of the photovoltaic robot PVR, and the photovoltaic robot PVR can automatically move along the moving path on the target plane. The movement of the photovoltaic robot PVR may also be controlled by providing a signal from the outside to the controller. For example, the movement of the photovoltaic robot PVR may be remotely controlled using a remote controller.

The electrically operated hardware that provides power to drive the robotic device includes a rechargeable battery pack 400 that is integrated with the body 200, as shown in fig. 4. The rechargeable battery pack 400 has characteristics of being rechargeable and replaceable. It can be charged by an external power source and then provide the required power to the photovoltaic robotic PVR during operation to drive the operation of its various components and systems. The rechargeable battery pack 400 is also equipped with a battery management system for monitoring and controlling the charging and discharging processes of the battery pack. This system can ensure the safety and performance of the battery pack and provide monitoring and reporting of battery status and power consumption.

The cleaning module 500 may be coupled to a rack for cleaning solar panels. According to one embodiment of the present disclosure, the cleaning module 500 is detachably mounted on the driving assembly, and the cleaning module 500 includes: a cleaning module 500 frame; a cleaning head, i.e., a roller brush 510, rotatably coupled to the frame of the cleaning module 500. The roller brush 510 is detachably mounted on the cleaning member for sweeping the attachment on the photovoltaic panel. And a cleaning drive motor 520 carried by the cleaning module 500 frame and operable to drive the roller brush 510. The cleaning module 500 may also be configured to facilitate transport of the robot between the discrete and spaced apart solar panels.

As shown in fig. 5-6, in one embodiment, the photovoltaic robotic PVR of the present disclosure is further configured with a water spray assembly 600, the water spray assembly 600 being removably mounted on the cleaning member in front of the roller brush 510 to rinse the surface to be cleaned with a cleaning liquid, including clear water, before the roller brush 510 passes over the surface of the photovoltaic panel to be cleaned. The water spray assembly 600 may include a nozzle 610, wherein the nozzle 610 communicates with a supply tank in the main body, the nozzle 610 is detachably mounted on the cleaning member, and a pump device is installed between the supply tank and the nozzle 610 for supplying the cleaning liquid in the supply tank to the nozzle 610. Cleaning liquid is sprayed from the nozzle 610 so that the sprayed water has a large coverage area.

To improve water spraying efficiency, as shown in fig. 6, in one embodiment, the nozzle 610 is formed as a thin-walled hemispherical part such that the inside of the first body 611 of the nozzle 610 is formed as a hemispherical buffer cavity, i.e., the outer surface of the first body 611 is a hemispherical surface, and accordingly, the inner surface of the first body 611 is a hemispherical surface, thereby providing the first body 611 with a substantially uniform wall thickness as a whole. The nozzle 610 further includes a slit 612 through which a cleaning liquid is supplied to a surface to be cleaned through the slit 612; in a specific embodiment, the slit 612 is disposed transversely through the first body 611 and communicates with a hemispherical buffer cavity such that a fan-shaped radiation surface is formed after the cleaning liquid exits the slit 612. The nozzle 610 is perpendicular or substantially perpendicular to the surface to be cleaned (photovoltaic panel surface) when the photovoltaic robot PVR moves along the surface to be cleaned, in other words, the plane in which the cutout 612 is located is perpendicular or substantially perpendicular to the surface to be cleaned.

The photovoltaic robot PVR comprises a master controller. The main controller at least comprises a motion controller and a gesture controller. The motion controller controls and monitors the activation of each driving motor to drive to control the movement direction or movement speed of each of the driving motors to control the photovoltaic robot PVR. For example, the photovoltaic robot PVR may be activated in a linear movement with a driving motor such that the moving speeds of the endless belt 320 are equal to each other. On the other hand, the photovoltaic robot PVR may be moved so as to be activated in the case of rotation of the driving motor, such that a difference in moving speed is generated between the pair of transverse endless belts 320. The gesture controller includes a tilt sensor that detects a tilt of the photovoltaic robot PVR body. The inclination sensor detects how large an inclination angle of the robot body with respect to the horizontal direction is in the front-rear direction. The inclination sensor is electrically connected with an analyzer of the gesture controller, and the analyzer detects whether the rollover risk of the robot main body occurs or not.

The controller comprises a micro-processing unit comprising an I/O port connected to the sensor and controllable hardware of the robotic device, a microcontroller and ROM and RAM memory. The I/O port serves as an interface between the microcontroller and the sensor unit and the controllable hardware, transmitting signals generated by the sensor unit to the microcontroller and transmitting signals generated by the control (instruction) microcontroller to the controllable hardware to achieve a specific behavior pattern. The microcontroller is operable to execute a set of instructions for processing the sensor signals, to implement a specific behavior pattern based on the signals so processed, and to generate control (instruction) signals for the controllable hardware based on the implemented behavior pattern of the robotic device. The cleaning scope and the program controlling the micro-processing unit for the robot device are stored in a ROM which comprises a behavior pattern, a sensor processing algorithm, a control signal generating algorithm and a RAM of the priority algorithm micro-processing unit for determining which behavior pattern or patterns are to be given to the robot control, for storing the active state of the robot device, including the behavior pattern the robot device is currently operating in and the hardware commands associated therewith.

The sensor system also includes other various sensors that are operable to generate signals that control the behavior pattern operation of the robotic device according to actual needs. The memory has a route information memory, a walking pattern memory, and a cleaning pattern memory. A travel control unit is provided which drives and controls the driving module 300. In addition, a cleaning module control unit is provided for driving and controlling the cleaning module 500 and the water spray assembly 600.

During cleaning, the cleaning pattern memory stores a plurality of patterns to be used in cleaning. During the cleaning process, the cleaning mode is read out from the cleaning mode memory according to external information received by the wireless communication unit of the photovoltaic robot PVR, for example, weather information synchronized by the photovoltaic panel farm master, and the cleaner control unit controls the cleaning module 500 of the photovoltaic robot PVR to take a corresponding cleaning mode according to the read-out cleaning mode. For example, in a strong wind weather, the rotating speed of the roller brush 510 of the cleaning module 500 may be increased, the efficiency of peeling off dust from the surface of the photovoltaic panel by the roller brush 510, and the dust may be blown away by the blowing force of strong wind. For another example, in rainy weather, the controller stops the operation of the water spray assembly 600, and the surface of the photovoltaic panel is washed with water of natural rainfall, and the washing is performed in cooperation with the rolling brush 510 of the cleaning module 500.

The controller uses the output of the rotary encoder provided on the drive module 300 to identify the position and orientation. When the output of each rotary encoder changes by the same amount in the same time, the photovoltaic robot PVR proceeds straight, and the amount of movement can be calculated from the output amount, the number of pulses per revolution of the rotary encoder, and the diameter of the driving wheel. Since the origin and the initial movement direction have already been determined, the amount and direction of movement of the photovoltaic robot PVR can be determined from this origin.

The controller can also identify where on the map it is or whether there is soil coverage (e.g., bird feces) on the photovoltaic panel to be cleaned by matching the image acquired by the vision sensor 700 with an image representative of the photovoltaic panel to be cleaned. The position is determined by the output of each rotary encoder described above, and the output of the visual sensor 700 described above can be used for route calibration from the grid of the photovoltaic panel. The visual sensor 700 may also be used primarily for position confirmation, but in this case, it is preferable to use the outputs of the rotary encoder and the visual sensor at the same time to complement each other. In one embodiment of the present disclosure, the vision sensor 700 is located at the bottom of the photovoltaic robot PVR body, performs position confirmation and route correction in cooperation with the rotary encoder, and is used to identify defects of the photovoltaic panel surface and feed back the corresponding positions.

The controller may also calculate the inclination angle of the photovoltaic robot PVR to the horizontal plane from the output of an inclination sensor (not shown) and recognize from a previously known angle threshold whether the current posture belongs to a safe posture, such as when working on a photovoltaic panel of a large inclination angle. The tilt sensor comprises at least a 6-axis motion sensor, the 6-axis motion sensor comprising an electronic gyroscope and accelerometer.

In one embodiment of the present disclosure, as in fig. 7, a cliff sensor 800 is mounted in combination on the body 200 of the photovoltaic robotic PVR. Each cliff sensor 800 includes a pair of infrared emitting receivers configured and operative to establish a focal point such that radiation emitted downwardly by the emitter is reflected from the traversed surface and detected by the receivers. If the receiver does not detect reflected radiation, i.e., determines that a cliff is encountered, cliff sensor 800 transmits a signal to the control module, which sends a control signal to cleaning module 500 and the drive assembly to perform a back, turn, or turn around drive action to prevent the robot from dropping the cliff. As shown in fig. 8, the robot needs to turn or turn around near the edge of the photovoltaic panel, and in the above-mentioned turning or turning around actions, the robot itself receives the influence of its own weight, inclination, wind speed and friction coefficient between the endless belt and the surface of the photovoltaic panel, so that it is particularly easy for the robot to slip off during the turning or turning around process.

In addition, the owners of photovoltaic panels using robots are concerned with the safety and durability of photovoltaic robotic PVRs under different wind conditions. As described above, the photovoltaic robot PVR is mostly made of metal sheet metal, and the heavier robot is more likely to prevent the robot from being lifted off the surface of the photovoltaic panel in a high wind condition, but the increased weight may damage the anti-reflection coating for improving solar energy production efficiency.

Photovoltaic panels with sunlight tracking technology have found widespread use in recent years. Thus, the robot faces different angles of inclination of the photovoltaic panel during different periods of time for cleaning the photovoltaic panel. Although the endless belt 320 is used, it cannot be guaranteed that the robot will not slip off the panel, especially in the case of use with the cleaning liquid spray head described above, because the liquid will significantly reduce the friction between the robot endless belt 320 and the photovoltaic panel. The robot made of metal sheet metal slides down at the cost of being heavy, and the heavier robot is more likely to slide down under the condition of an inclined angle, so that the robot is damaged and the photovoltaic panel is damaged.

The photovoltaic robotic PVR of the present disclosure is equipped with an adsorption module 900. The photovoltaic robot PVR may activate the adsorption module 900 in a specific case, and adsorb a body of the photovoltaic robot PVR to the surface of the photovoltaic panel using negative pressure. Even when the inclination angle of the photovoltaic panel approaches to a threshold value, the photovoltaic robot PVR can be prevented from lifting up from the surface of the photovoltaic panel and turning over or slipping down from the photovoltaic panel under the condition of turning or turning around or under the condition of extreme wind power under the environment where the photovoltaic panel is located.

The adsorption module 900 is designed to be close to the bottom of the photovoltaic robot PVR and configured to selectively rotate the photovoltaic robot PVR body with respect to the adsorption module 900 when the adsorption module 900 is adsorbed to the surface of the photovoltaic panel. This is particularly advantageous. Because, in the process of turning or turning around the PVR, the driving structures at two sides generate differential speed, and the free rotation of the adsorption module 900 relative to the PVR main body of the pv makes the turning or turning around more convenient. Of course, in other cases, when the adsorption module 900 is adsorbed on the surface of the photovoltaic panel, the photovoltaic robot PVR body may be selectively prevented from rotating relative to the adsorption module 900, especially in the case of sudden arrival of extreme weather, for example, the average wind force exceeds the set value; or the self-adjusting angle of the photovoltaic panel starts to approach the set value during the robot cleaning process.

Photovoltaic panels are typically placed horizontally in the north-south direction. Each frame includes a plurality of solar panels and an electromechanical mechanism for changing the angle of inclination of the photovoltaic panels. In general, from a cost-effective point of view, the photovoltaic panel angle adjuster should not be adapted to the operation of the photovoltaic robotic PVR, but should pursue the economy of the light emission angle. Therefore, when the self-adjusting angle of the photovoltaic panel starts to approach the set value, the photovoltaic robot PVR should stop working and ensure not to be slipped off on the photovoltaic panel. When the person falls at night, the angle regulator of the photovoltaic panel is regulated to be within the range of the set value of the PVR inclination angle of the photovoltaic robot, and the PVR of the photovoltaic robot is desorbed, so that the cleaning work is continuously completed. The adsorption module 900 of the present disclosure includes a liftable device and a suction cup device connected to the liftable device.

One embodiment of the adsorption module 900 of the present disclosure is described below. As shown in fig. 9-16, the suction module 900 has a lifting device therein, which is arranged for the purpose of not interfering with the free movement of the photovoltaic robot PVR on the surface of the photovoltaic panel. When freely moving, the lifting device enables the adsorption module 900 to lift towards the PVR main body of the photovoltaic robot so that the adsorption module 900 is far away from the surface of the photovoltaic panel. When adsorption is needed, the lifting device enables the adsorption module 900 to descend towards the PVR main body of the photovoltaic robot, so that an executing piece of the adsorption module 900 is abutted against the surface of the photovoltaic panel to realize adsorption.

The lifting device comprises a lifting driving mechanism 930 which is positioned on the first side of the sucker device 920 and connected with the sucker device 920, and a lifting guide rail assembly 940 which is positioned on the second side of the sucker device 920 and connected with the sucker device 920, wherein the lifting driving mechanism 930 is sequentially arranged on the main body, and the lifting driving mechanism 930 drives the sucker device 920 to lift or descend relative to the main body along the lifting guide rail assembly 940. The above arrangement can effectively reduce the height of the adsorption module 900.

The lift driving mechanism 930 further includes: a lifting driving motor 931 fixed to the main body for providing lifting power;

a driving screw 932 to which the elevating driving motor 931 provides rotational power;

a slider 933 movable up and down along the drive screw 932 under rotation of the drive screw 932, the slider 933 being configured to be fixedly linked to a first end of the suction cup device 920;

the driving screw 932 is self-rotated by the elevating driving motor 931. The inner wall of the slider 933 is provided with a groove matched with the thread on the outer surface of the screw, so that when the driving screw 932 rotates, the slider 933 matched with the driving screw 932 is driven to move up and down on the main body of the driving screw 932.

A reduction gearbox 934 is connected between the lift drive motor 931 and the drive screw 932 for transmitting power.

The reduction gearbox 934 includes:

a first gear G1 coaxially connected to an output shaft of the elevation drive motor 931;

a second gear G2 coaxially connected with the screw;

and third and fourth gears G3 and G4 engaged with the first and second gears G1 and G2, respectively, transmitting power between the first and second gears G1 and G2;

The first gear G1, the second gear G2, the third gear G3, and the fourth gear G4 transmit the forward and reverse rotation force outputted from the output shaft of the elevation drive motor 931 to the drive screw 932.

The power of the forward and reverse rotation is transmitted to the drive screw 932 and the slider 933 through the reduction gearbox 934, and the drive screw 932 and the slider 933 convert the rotational force into the lifting force. The lift rail assembly 940 provides a compliant basis for a smooth lift motion. The elevation guide rail assembly 940 includes: a rail 941 secured to the body for providing a fixed path to the suction cup device 920 for fitting the rail 941 and a slider 942 freely slidable on the rail of the rail 941, the slider 942 being configured to be fixedly linked to the second end of the suction cup device 920.

In one embodiment of the present disclosure, in order to provide a stable sliding track, symmetrical tracks T1 and T2 are formed on opposite sides of the surface of the guide rail 941, and correspondingly, the slider 942 is disposed adjacent to the second end of the suction cup device 920 at a predetermined distance, so that when the slider 942 is mated with the guide rail 941, the slider 942 is mated in a "socket-and-socket" manner, so that even when a large vibration is encountered during operation of the pv robot PVR, the slider 942 is ensured not to derail, and stable lifting of the suction cup device 920 is achieved.

The slider 942 may be fixedly attached to the suction cup device 920, but in order to reduce the friction loss of the components, a rolling friction manner is generally used. Thus, in one embodiment, the slider 942 may be in the form of a guide wheel that is pivotally coupled to the suction cup device 920.

In one embodiment of the present disclosure, suction is achieved using suction cup device 920. The suction cup device 920 further includes:

a suction cup device bracket 921 connected between the lift drive mechanism 930 and the rail 941 assembly;

a suction cup body 922 configured to be connected within the suction cup device bracket 921 so as to be freely rotatable with respect to the suction cup device bracket 921;

a rotating member configured to provide the free rotation, coupled within the suction cup device housing 921.

The rotating member further includes: the rotary joint bracket 923 and the bearing 924 are positioned between the sucker device bracket 921 and the sucker main body 922, the first part of the rotary structural bracket is fixedly connected with the sucker main body 922, and the bearing 924 is arranged between the second part of the rotary joint bracket 923 and the sucker device bracket 921 so as to provide relative rotation between the sucker main body 922 and the sucker device bracket 921.

The rotating member further comprises a locking element (not shown) configured to receive a signal from the controller, locking the motion of the rotating member such that the suction cup body 922 and suction cup device holder 921 are relatively stationary fixed to cope with extreme situations.

The photovoltaic robotic PVR will perform maintenance actions on the solar inclined panel in the following manner. Fig. 19 is a flowchart of a control method of a photovoltaic robot according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in fig. 19, the control method of the photovoltaic robot disclosed by the disclosure can control the surface cleaning device, so that safety guarantee in the cleaning process of the surface of the photovoltaic panel can be realized.

Specifically, the control method of the photovoltaic robot of the present disclosure includes: running the photovoltaic robot PVR on the photovoltaic panel surface; acquiring operation information of the photovoltaic robot and weather information of the position of the photovoltaic panel; performing aggregate analysis on the operation information and the meteorological information; and judging whether the analysis result meets the maintenance action starting condition, if so, starting the maintenance action, and if not, keeping the photovoltaic robot to continue to operate.

One embodiment of the present disclosure is exemplified to specifically illustrate the logic described above. During the execution of the cleaning routine by the photovoltaic robot PVR, the robot may encounter the boundary of the photovoltaic panel. Before the robot reaches the boundary of the photovoltaic panel, continuously detecting cliff characteristic signals; and, receiving the real-time wind speed and the future average wind speed of the photovoltaic panel field; if the wind speed does not reach the threshold, the robot continues to operate and reaches the boundary of the photovoltaic panel and stops at a location as shown in FIG. 17. Wherein one of the surface sensors extends above the boundary and the drive wheel is retained within the photovoltaic panel. In this position, the surface sensor does not detect the reflected infrared signal or there is little reflection of the reflected infrared light. In this case, the classifier subsystem sends a signal to the controller indicating the presence of a "cliff" or a substantial drop in floor height. In response, the controller controls the robot to move to avoid the photovoltaic panel cliff edge and remain on the photovoltaic panel. In response to detecting the changed signal detection location by the sensor, the classifier subsystem sends a signal to the controller that is representative of a change in the floor surface, causing the controller to maneuver the robot to avoid turning or turning around the edge of the photovoltaic panel cliff.

Before the turning or turning action is executed, the controller controls the adsorption module 900 to start, and the main body of the photovoltaic robot PVR is adsorbed to the surface of the photovoltaic panel. Specifically, the controller controls the drive module 300 to stop when the edge of the photovoltaic panel cliff is reached and the roller brush 510 is maintained on the photovoltaic panel. A start signal is sent to the adsorption module 900, and the adsorption module 900 starts to operate. In connection with the above description, after the lifting driving motor 931 in the lifting driving module in the adsorption module 900 is started by the counter current, the driving gear and the driven gear are driven, so that the driving screw 932 is reversed, the lifting slider 933 is moved downwards, and finally the sucker device 920 is moved downwards.

After the sucker reaches the solar photovoltaic panel, the driving motor continues to apply reverse current, and air in the sucker is extruded to the outside, so that the plane of the photovoltaic panel is adsorbed. Then, the photovoltaic robot PVR is controlled in combination with the route planning such that the left and right driving modules 300 are respectively operated at a differential speed, thereby realizing the turning and turning of the photovoltaic robot PVR. The steering or turning action is performed at a differential run time of the left and right drive modules 300, which determines which action to take at the present time based on the location of the photovoltaic robot PVR, the cleaning route and the plan.

After the differential operation starts, the photovoltaic robot PVR takes the axis of the sucker body 922 as a rotation axis, and finally the photovoltaic robot PVR rotates around the sucker body 922 through the bearing 924, and the steering schematic on the photovoltaic panel is shown in fig. 18.

The angle of rotation is determined by the routine described above. Before the photovoltaic robot PVR is ready to travel in a direction away from the cliff, the drive module 300 is stationary, at which point the controller, by activating the pressure release valve, introduces external air into the suction cup, thereby releasing the suction to the photovoltaic panel. After the driving motor in the lifting driving module is started by the forward current, the driving screw 932 is rotated forward, so that the lifting slider 933 is moved upwards, and finally, the sucker device 920 is moved upwards to the end of the stroke. The photovoltaic robot PVR then proceeds to the next routine.

The photovoltaic panels are located in locations that may have different wind conditions. In using robotic cleaning, the user is concerned with the safety and durability of a photovoltaic robotic PVR under different wind conditions. One embodiment of the present disclosure protects the photovoltaic robot PVR and photovoltaic panel from high wind conditions. According to one embodiment of the present disclosure, a photovoltaic panel site is provided with a central control center, which may include a weather center that includes a system for measuring wind speed, barometric pressure, humidity, and receiving future weather indicators. The receiving device of the photovoltaic robot PVR receives the information sent by the control and communication system of the photovoltaic panel field. The control and communication system may also signal a stop of cleaning in severe weather conditions, such as gusts or storms. Since the photovoltaic robot PVR is relatively light, a strong enough wind may generate enough lift to lift the photovoltaic robot PVR off the surface of the photovoltaic panel. Thus, certain wind conditions may cause the photovoltaic robot PVR to flip or fall off the photovoltaic panel surface.

In addition, the control and communication system of the photovoltaic panel site can determine wind pressure applied to the photovoltaic robot PVR in the future according to weather information before the photovoltaic robot PVR works. Weather information may be provided through a network connection to a weather service or may be provided from an anemometer coupled to the master controller for locally determining the photovoltaic panel site weather.

The master controller may set a lower average wind speed (30 km/h) limit for commanding the photovoltaic robot PVR to clean the surface of the solar photovoltaic panel normally. And if the wind speed received by the main controller exceeds or exceeds a threshold value in a future working period, controlling the photovoltaic robot PVR to enter a maintenance action until the wind speed is determined to be reduced below the threshold value. As an example, according to one embodiment of the present disclosure, the cleaning mode may be used to improve the cleaning efficiency of a photovoltaic robotic PVR in different wind conditions. As described above, a master controller (not shown) of the solar photovoltaic panel may be linked with a weather service or may include weather information equipment and instrumentation for determining the weather of the location of the photovoltaic panel park. If wind is detected, the master controller may instruct the photovoltaic robot PVR to perform cleaning in a particular pattern such that the direction of the wind is used to assist in cleaning the surface of the photovoltaic panel.

According to one embodiment of the present disclosure, the master controller determines whether there is a strong enough wind (not exceeding a threshold) before issuing a command to the photovoltaic robot PVR to clean the photovoltaic panel. If so, the master controller can give the photovoltaic robot PVR a specific command to perform cleaning in a low speed travel mode. The main controller comprehensively judges according to the current and future weather conditions, calculates the weather conditions in one cleaning period of the PVR, and can give a specific command to the PVR to clean at a low speed if the wind speed in one period of the PVR is predicted to exceed a threshold value, and stops driving and enters a maintenance state when judging that the real-time wind speed is close to the threshold value; or directly giving a specific command to the photovoltaic robot PVR, wherein the photovoltaic robot PVR is not started, directly enters a maintenance state until the wind speed in the next time period is judged not to exceed the threshold value, and the photovoltaic robot PVR is restarted for cleaning.

The photovoltaic robot PVR is self-driven on the photovoltaic panel, so that the photovoltaic robot PVR can tilt together with the photovoltaic panel even under the operation of the photovoltaic panel field with a self-adjusting angle. In one embodiment, the photovoltaic panel is oriented in the morning until noon hours. In most of the morning, the inclination angle of the photovoltaic panel is gradually reduced from large, and the pressure of the gravity of the PVR of the photovoltaic robot on the photovoltaic panel is gradually increased from small. Before and after midnoon, the photovoltaic panel table is substantially horizontal, when the pressure of the photovoltaic robot PVR gravity to the photovoltaic panel is greatest. Entering afternoon, the inclination angle of the photovoltaic panel is gradually increased from small, and the pressure of the gravity of the PVR of the photovoltaic robot on the photovoltaic panel is gradually reduced from large. It can be seen that the photovoltaic robot PVR is most difficult to clean during the working hours from rising to falling of the sun, early morning and evening. Therefore, the optimal cleaning time should be performed at night. However, when the photovoltaic robot PVR is in the cleaning process, the self-adjustment of the photovoltaic panel may malfunction, and the inclination angle changes. Therefore, the surface angle detection action is required to be continuously carried out in the running process of the PVR, and the inclination angle information of the traveling plane is generated according to the surface angle information; when the traveling plane inclination angle information exceeds a first threshold value, the plurality of driving modules 300 are turned off, and maintenance actions are started. The risk of slipping is maximally reduced.

As described above, the methods of the present disclosure improve the operational safety of a photovoltaic robotic PVR on a photovoltaic panel by information aggregation analysis during photovoltaic panel operation and cleaning. In addition, the master controller of the photovoltaic robot PVR may be coupled with the master controllers of other photovoltaic robot PVRs and the operation and maintenance robots and/or the master controller of the entire photovoltaic panel field so that information may be exchanged between these components. Such information may include information of the self-operation of the photovoltaic robot PVR, weather information of the photovoltaic panel field, and information about the current state of each photovoltaic panel regulator. As described above, the information exchange between the master controllers is used for optimal and safe operation of the photovoltaic robotic PVR within the photovoltaic panel. This information exchange can be extended to other aspects of the operation of the photovoltaic panel, such as any breakage of the solar panel, etc.

Embodiments of the present disclosure provide a computer storage medium storing computer software instructions for a photovoltaic robotic PVR, which includes a program for executing the control method of the photovoltaic robotic PVR in the above-described method embodiments.

In a typical configuration, a photovoltaic robotic PVR may include one or more processors, input/output interfaces, network interfaces, and memory. The memory may include non-volatile memory in a computer readable medium, random access memory, and/or non-volatile memory, such as read-only memory or flash memory. Memory is an example of computer-readable media. Computer readable media, including both non-transitory and non-transitory, removable and non-removable media, may implement information storage by any method or technology. The information may be computer readable instructions, data structures, modules of a program, or other data.

Examples of storage media for a photovoltaic robotic PVR include, but are not limited to, phase change memory (PRAM), static Random Access Memory (SRAM), dynamic Random Access Memory (DRAM), other types of Random Access Memory (RAM), read Only Memory (ROM), electrically Erasable Programmable Read Only Memory (EEPROM), flash memory or other memory technology, compact disc read only memory (CD-ROM), digital Versatile Disc (DVD) or other optical storage, magnetic cassettes, magnetic tape magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage devices, or any other non-transmission medium, which can be used to store information that can be accessed by the photovoltaic robotic PVR.

In the description of the present specification, reference to the terms "one embodiment/manner," "some embodiments/manner," "example," "a particular example," "some examples," etc., means that a particular feature, structure, material, or characteristic described in connection with the embodiment/manner or example is included in at least one embodiment/manner or example of the application. In this specification, the schematic representations of the above terms are not necessarily for the same embodiment/manner or example. Furthermore, the particular features, structures, materials, or characteristics described may be combined in any suitable manner in any one or more embodiments/modes or examples. Furthermore, the various embodiments/modes or examples described in this specification and the features of the various embodiments/modes or examples can be combined and combined by persons skilled in the art without contradiction.

Furthermore, the terms "first," "second," and the like, are used for descriptive purposes only and are not to be construed as indicating or implying a relative importance or implicitly indicating the number of technical features indicated. Thus, a feature defining "a first" or "a second" may explicitly or implicitly include at least one such feature. In the description of the present application, the meaning of "plurality" means at least two, for example, two, three, etc., unless specifically defined otherwise.

It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the above-described embodiments are merely for clarity of illustration of the disclosure, and are not intended to limit the scope of the disclosure. Other variations or modifications will be apparent to persons skilled in the art from the foregoing disclosure, and such variations or modifications are intended to be within the scope of the present disclosure.

Claims

1. A control method of a photovoltaic robot for performing a cleaning operation on a surface of a photovoltaic panel, characterized by:

the photovoltaic robot includes:

a main body portion;

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the operation information of the photovoltaic robot includes steering information.

3. The method for controlling a photovoltaic robot according to claim 2, wherein the surface height detection operation is continuously performed during the operation of the photovoltaic robot, and steering information is generated according to the surface height information; and generating a maintenance action starting instruction according to the steering information, starting the adsorption module, and adsorbing the main body of the photovoltaic robot to the surface of the photovoltaic panel.

4. The method according to claim 3, wherein a steering operation command is generated based on the steering information, and the plurality of driving modules are controlled to start the steering operation after the main body of the photovoltaic robot is attached to the surface of the photovoltaic panel.

5. The method of claim 2, wherein the operation information of the photovoltaic robot includes traveling plane inclination angle information.

6. The method for controlling a photovoltaic robot according to claim 5, wherein the surface angle detection operation is continuously performed during the operation of the photovoltaic robot, and the traveling plane inclination angle information is generated according to the surface angle information; generating a maintenance action starting instruction according to the inclination angle information of the traveling plane; and starting the adsorption module to adsorb the main body of the photovoltaic robot to the surface of the photovoltaic panel. .

7. The method of claim 6, wherein when the plane tilt information exceeds a first threshold, initiating a maintenance action, shutting down a plurality of drive modules and cleaning head module actions until the travel plane tilt is less than the first threshold.

8. The method of controlling a photovoltaic robot of any of claims 1-7, wherein the weather information comprises an average wind speed at the location of the photovoltaic panel, the average wind speed being provided by an anemometer at the location of the photovoltaic panel.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein when the average wind speed exceeds a second threshold, a maintenance action is initiated, and a plurality of drive modules and cleaning head module actions are shut down.

10. The method for controlling a photovoltaic robot according to claim 1,

optionally, the weather information includes future weather information, and whether the photovoltaic robot is started or not is judged according to the future weather information;

optionally, the future weather information includes a future average wind speed in a next operation cycle of the photovoltaic robot, and if the future average wind speed is greater than the second threshold, the photovoltaic robot performs a maintenance action without performing a cleaning action;

Optionally, the future weather information is obtained through a weather forecast or a weather data model database.