JP2004358451A - Spray type washing robot which recognizes profile automatically - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To solve a problem of a conventional gate-form car washing machine wherein the surface of an washed object is not clean uniformly, firstly because the water pressure fluctuates for the distance between a nozzle and the object remarkably varies due to the uneven profile of the object though the water pressure from the nozzle fixed on the gate-form frame is kept constant, and secondly because the nozzle is fixed on the frame unmovably right and left. <P>SOLUTION: A steel rail 1 fixed on a canopy of a firm steel structure, a suspended robot body 15 having a travelling dolly 2 which moves sliding back and forth on the rail and an arm 3 freely stretchable and rotatable horizontally and vertically, and an ultrasonic sensor 17 fixed on the top of the arm 3 automatically recognize the profile of the object and freely move the nozzle tracing the object profile keeping a distance therefrom and a water pressure constant, thereby washing the object uniformly without a dead angle. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

[0001]
TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0002]
TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a robot that cleans an object with the force of a spray.
[0003]
[Prior art]
In a conventional portal type car washer (for example, see Patent Document 1), a nozzle fixed to a portal type machine frame measures a target object, mainly a rough shape and dimensions of an automobile, and applies the measured shape to the shape. It has a mechanism for moving the machine frame back and forth along with it and, depending on the height, moving the machine frame up and down so as not to hit the target. In the cleaning, a series of operations is completed in the order of water, detergent, and water.
[0004]
[Patent Document 1]
JP 2000-168511 [Problems to be solved by the invention]
[0005]
Although the above proposal is effective, the water pressure from the nozzle fixed to the machine frame is constant, the shape of the object has irregularities, and the pressure received changes when the distance from the nozzle changes significantly. The nozzle is fixed to the machine frame and does not move left and right. This causes unevenness in the cleaning surface.
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to achieve the above object, the invention of claim 1 dispenses with a machine frame and suspends a robot provided with a mechanical arm that can freely rotate or expand and contract horizontally and vertically on a rigid steel structure canopy. Equipped with a trolley that hangs and slides back and forth with respect to the object, moving the arm freely and tracing the surface while maintaining a constant distance and constant water pressure against the object eliminates blind spots and eliminates unevenness It can be washed.
[0006]
BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
[0007]
Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of a spray-type cleaning robot according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.
[0008]
It operates according to the flow of the flowchart shown in FIG. When the main power supply is turned on by the power supply panel 6, the size of the object in the flowchart 2 is automatically measured by the ultrasonic sensor 17 to determine the height of the nozzle and the cleaning start point for the object. After the measurement is completed, the robot body 15 is moved to the starting point to start cleaning. The nozzle is calculated by the control device so as to always keep a fixed distance and a fixed angle with respect to the object. After washing with water up to the end point, turn around and apply detergent. After the detergent is applied to the entire object, the system is stopped for a time T during which the dirt attached to the object floats up. Meanwhile, the robot returns to the first starting position. Next, the water cleaning by the high-pressure water is started after T time by the control device. When it is confirmed that the water washing has been completed from the start point to the end point, the operation of the high-pressure washing device 7 is stopped, and the hose is separated from the water washing, the nozzle 4 for air blowing, and the air blowing by the air compressor 8 to the end point. Then, the nozzle 4 is moved toward the starting point to remove water droplets on the surface of the object, and the cleaning operation is completed.
[0009]
In FIG. 1, the steel structure 9 is not always necessary, and it is sufficient if there is a building having a rigid structure capable of firmly fixing the rail 1 to the ceiling surface.
[0010]
As shown in FIGS. 2A and 2B, the robot body 15 is provided with a robot arm composed of a traveling carriage 2, axes A, B, C, D, and E joints. The driving force is transmitted by a main motor 20 incorporated in the control device 16 via gears or metal wires via pulleys and gears corresponding to the respective joints.
[0011]
The control device 16 is located on the opposite side of the arm 3 with respect to the axis A, and also has a function of a weight for maintaining a balance with the arm 3, and has a size measured by the ultrasonic sensor 17 regardless of the size of the object. The operation is performed so that the nozzle 4 does not come into contact with the object along the nozzle.
[0012]
In FIG. 1, the main power supply of the robot is a power supply panel 6, which is supplied from a cable and a hose 5. The traveling trolley 2 moves back and forth, and the cable and the hose 5 smoothly expand and contract along the rail 1. is there. The cable and the hose 5 are made of a material that can withstand repeated expansion and contraction, and the hose has high pressure resistance.
[0013]
When a small animal or a person enters the cleaning area, the ultrasonic sensor 17 detects intrusion and stops the cleaning operation urgently to avoid danger.
[0014]
In FIG. 2, a traveling carriage 2 is suspended on a rail 1 by eight tires 22, and the traveling motor 21 moves the rail back and forth.
[0015]
In FIG. 2, the robot main body 15 is supported by the traveling carriage 2 on an axis A, and can rotate 360 degrees in the horizontal direction. The wrist 18 connects the traveling trolley 2 and the hand 3 and rotates left and right by an axis B and up and down by an axis C. The hand 3 freely expands and contracts back and forth, and a finger 19 , And up and down by an axis E.
[0016]
The nozzle 4 is provided with a nozzle for injecting high-pressure water supplied from the high-pressure washing device 7 through the water pipe 12 and the hose 5, and the air compressor 11 separates the water from the air pipe 11 from the water. The nozzle which injects the high compressed air supplied through the hose 5 of this type is attached.
[0017]
The ultrasonic sensor 17 is adhered to the tip of the finger 19, and measures the distance based on the arrival time of the sound wave reflected by applying the sound wave to the object surface. Therefore, at the time of measurement, the robot arm is moved so that the object and the sensor are kept vertical. The measured distance and the position of the sensor are arithmetically processed by the control device, and the coordinates are specified. These coordinates are necessary for determining the start point and the end point, and are also necessary for keeping the nozzle position constant. In addition to measuring the distance, during the cleaning of the target object, the measurement is continuously performed for the purpose of monitoring an intruder from outside the cleaning area, and when an object different from the first measured shape is detected, a series of operations are urgently performed. To stop.
[0018]
The material of the robot body 15 is made of lightweight steel, but an aluminum alloy that is less expensive than stainless steel is used to withstand use in places where water is applied.
[0019]
When not in use, the robot body 15, the nozzle 4, and the hand 3 can be kept at the rear end of the rail 1, and the space can be secured by extending the rail 1 to provide a shelter outside the washing range. It becomes possible.
【The invention's effect】
As described above, compared to the portal type, it is possible to evaluate that it is possible to maintain the cleaning performance with a small size, light weight, low cost, simple operation, and no residual washing even for an object having a complicated shape. In addition, because of its small size, maintenance and inspection can be easily performed in a state of being attached to the rail 1.
[Brief description of the drawings]
1 is an overall external view of the present invention; FIG. 2 is a detailed view of the entire robot of the present invention; FIG. 1A is a plan view of the robot; FIG. ]
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Rail 2 Traveling trolley 3 Arm 4 Nozzle 5 Cable and hose 6 Power board 7 High pressure washing device 8 Air compressor 9 Steel structure 10 Electrical piping 11 Air piping 12 Water piping 13 Detergent tank 14 Water supply 15 Robot body 16 Control device 17 Super Sound wave sensor 18 Wrist 19 Finger 20 Main motor 21 Running motor 22 Tire

Claims (4)

In an automatic cleaning device for cleaning objects,
A robot arm equipped with an ultrasonic sensor for measuring the position, height, length, width, protrusion, and dent dimension of an object to be washed, and a spray-type car wash robot equipped with a nozzle on the arm. The washing robot is provided with a steel structure rail on a steel structure or a rigid building ceiling surface, a bogie that slides back and forth in a suspended state, and suspends the cleaning robot body under the bogie. The spray-type cleaning robot according to claim 1, further comprising: a robot main body that rotates 360 degrees in a horizontal direction around a center of the bogie, and a robot arm that freely rotates up and down and left and right or expands and contracts freely back and forth. The spray cleaning according to claim 1, wherein the cleaning robot includes an air blow device that removes water droplets attached to the surface of the cleaning target, and the nozzle includes a mechanism attached to a tip of the arm of the robot together with a cleaning nozzle. robot. The cleaning robot detects the coordinates of one end of the object to be cleaned by ultrasonic waves, recognizes the coordinates as a height, and repeatedly measures with an ultrasonic sensor while moving the robot arm horizontally to specifically determine the size of the object. 2. The cleaning method according to claim 1, wherein spraying is performed only within the range while maintaining a constant distance between the target object and the nozzle after the recognition.

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