JP2018180796A - Working device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a working device enabling various works by a working movable body over a long period of time by supplying electric power to the working movable body from a running moving body via a wiring portion.SOLUTION: A working device 10 comprises: a traveling moving body 20; a work moving body 30; and a flexible wiring portion 50 comprising a plurality of conductors which mechanically and controllably connects the traveling moving body 20 and the work moving body, wherein: the traveling moving body 20 includes a traveling unit 22 for traveling in or around a work area 11, a travel control unit 23 for driving and controlling the traveling unit, a processing unit 24 and a power source unit 27; the working moving body 30 includes a moving unit 32 that moves in or around the work area 11, a movement control unit 33 that controls the moving unit, a working unit 34 that performs work on the work area 11, a moving unit 32, a movement control unit 33 and a power supply unit 38 for supplying power to the working unit 34; the power supply unit 38 is fed from the power supply unit 27 of the traveling moving body 20 via the wiring unit 50; and the movement control unit 33 controls the moving unit 32 to autonomously move the working moving body 30 along a predetermined path and performs work on the work area 11 by the working unit 34.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

  TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a working apparatus for saving various tasks and performing various tasks easily over a wide range such as, for example, a solar power generation apparatus and farmland.

In general, a solar power generation apparatus is configured to arrange a large number of solar panels side by side with respect to a large site, take out electric power generated by each solar panel, and output it to the outside. In such a solar power generation device, the installation area of the solar panels per 1 MW of power generation is about 6000 m ² .
In such a solar power generation device, each solar panel is disposed upward as a whole, is easily influenced by natural conditions such as weather, and dust and the like are easily accumulated on the surface of the solar panel. In particular, when a solar power generation apparatus is installed adjacent to an area such as a desert, sand dust easily accumulates on the surface of the solar panel due to the influence of sand storms and the like.

  Here, for example, when checking the accumulation state of dust and the like including dust on the surface of the solar panel using a drone with a monitoring camera, since the area to be monitored is large, the drone inspection work This is time-consuming and costly, and the drone itself is powered by the onboard battery, which limits its flight time.

On the other hand, for example, Patent Document 1 includes a flying body, a storage device for storing the flying body, a cable for connecting the flying body and the storage device, and a vehicle computing device, and the flying body includes It flies by remote control and / or autonomy, the above-mentioned accommodation device is provided with a cable winding device, the above-mentioned cable is a feed and communication cable, and it travels by acquiring ambient environment information by the above-mentioned flight object Such a vehicle is disclosed.
According to this vehicle, by supplying power from the storage device of the vehicle to the flying body via the cable, the flying body can acquire the surrounding environment information of the vehicle and the flight time by the storage capacity of the flying body It is possible to eliminate the limitation of Therefore, if the vehicle according to Patent Document 1 is applied and power is supplied to the drone through the cable, the deposition state of dust and the like by the drone can be continuously achieved even in a solar power generation apparatus having a large area. It becomes possible to inspect.

Also, when dust and the like containing dust on the surface of the solar panel is accumulated, conventionally, the dust and the like are manually sucked from the solar panels and discarded or swept out by hand. Elimination of dust and the like by work takes a great deal of labor and time.
On the other hand, for example, when cleaning the surface of each solar panel with a so-called robot cleaner, the area that can be cleaned per hour is about 360 m ² , so a 30 MW solar power generation system .6 hours cleaning time is required. Here, since the robot cleaner has a movable time of about 3 hours in one charge, in order to clean the entire solar power generation device without charging on the way, for example, about 6 units of A robot cleaner is required. Furthermore, in the solar power generation apparatus, the inspection or cleaning operation needs to be performed at night when the sunlight does not reach, and the inspection operation or the cleaning operation is limited in time.

JP, 2017-013653, A

  However, when the drone is allowed to fly for a long time by feeding power to the drone with a monitoring camera via a cable and the accumulation situation such as dust of each solar panel is checked, the detected location of the detected dust etc. If it is found, this deposit needs to be cleaned. Therefore, a worker goes to the deposition site and manually cleans the deposition site. For this reason, even if the inspection work is automated, it is difficult to dramatically improve the overall work efficiency in the automation of only the inspection work because the subsequent cleaning work is manual work.

  When the robot cleaner cleans the surface of the solar panel, the operation time is similarly limited from the viewpoint of the charge capacity of the power source battery, and a maintenance space is provided between the solar panels. If so, it will be difficult for the robot cleaner to move to the adjacent solar panels.

  Moreover, in a solar power generation device, each solar panel is divided into several blocks and disposed, and a passage for maintenance or the like is provided between the blocks. In such a passage, for example, weeds may grow, and when weeds extend to the upper side of the solar panel, the surface of the solar panel becomes a shadow of the weeds, and power generation efficiency is reduced. Furthermore, it is known that when the power generation efficiency of one solar panel decreases, the power generation efficiency of the other solar panels in the same block decreases accordingly, and the power generation efficiency in the entire solar power generation device decreases. . Therefore, it is also necessary to remove such weeds or to control the growth of weeds, and it is highly expected to automate the weeding operation or the application of herbicides.

  Furthermore, it is expected from the viewpoints of labor saving, cost reduction, etc. to automate various operations such as spraying water, spraying pesticides such as herbicides or cutting grass not only in the above-described solar power generation apparatus but also in farmland, for example.

  In view of the above points, the present invention eliminates the limitation of the movable time of the single working mobile unit by supplying power from the running mobile unit to the autonomously running working mobile unit through the wiring part, and extends the operation for a long time. An object of the present invention is to provide a work apparatus which enables various work by a work moving body.

  According to the configuration of the present invention, the above object is a flexible wiring portion including a traveling mobile body, a work mobile body, and a plurality of conductors mechanically and controllably connecting the travel mobile body and the work mobile body. And, the traveling mobile body includes a traveling unit for traveling in the work area or the surrounding area, a traveling control unit for drivingly controlling the traveling unit, and a power supply unit. The mobile unit supplies power to the moving unit that moves in or around the work area, the movement control unit that controls the moving unit, the work unit that works on the work unit, the movement unit, the movement control unit, and the work unit Power supply unit, and the power supply unit is connected to the power supply unit of the traveling movable body via the wiring unit so that power is supplied from the power supply unit to secure a long working time, and the movement control unit Controls the moving unit to move the work moving body to a predetermined route While autonomously moving I, it is achieved by the working apparatus to perform the work to the working compartment by the work unit.

  According to the above configuration, while the traveling moving body travels in or around the work area where the work is to be performed, the work unit operates while the autonomous moving of the work moving body is in or around the work area where the work is to be performed Do the work for

  Here, the working mobile unit can be mounted on the working mobile unit itself by supplying power from the large capacity power source unit of the traveling mobile unit via the wiring unit, the moving unit, the movement control unit, and the working unit. Since it becomes possible to use a large-sized power supply section compared with, the operable time is significantly prolonged. Therefore, for example, various operations by the working unit in a large facility etc. are continuously performed for a long time without being interrupted by battery replacement or charging operation of the power supply unit on the way, and the working efficiency is greatly improved. At the same time, the working time is greatly reduced.

  The moving part of the working device preferably comprises a running part with wheels and a drive motor for running in or around the work area. In this way, the work moving body can travel in the work area or in the surrounding area to perform work.

  The work unit of the work apparatus preferably includes a cleaning unit that performs a cleaning operation on the work section. Thus, the cleaning unit can perform the cleaning operation on the work section.

  The work unit of the work apparatus preferably includes a cleaning unit that performs a cleaning operation on the work area, and the cleaning unit can perform the cleaning operation on the work area.

  When the work unit of the work apparatus has a spray unit that sprays liquid to the work section, the work moving body sprays a liquid such as water, cleaning liquid, or pesticide to the work section by the spray unit. be able to.

  In the working device according to the present invention, preferably, the traveling moving body includes a storage unit, and the liquid stored in the storage unit is supplied to the working unit through a piping unit juxtaposed to the wiring unit. As a result, the cleaning water, water supply, agrochemicals, and other liquids used in the working unit are supplied from the storage unit provided in the traveling mobile unit through the piping unit, so that the weight of the working mobile unit is reduced, and The load is reduced, and a large amount of liquid is supplied from the storage unit of the traveling moving body without being affected by the load weight restriction on the working moving body, and the work by the working unit can be performed for a long time.

  In the working device according to the present invention, preferably, the traveling moving body includes a winding device for winding the wiring portion and a tension sensor for detecting the tension of the wiring portion, and the winding device is a tension sensor The winding amount of the wiring portion is adjusted based on the detection signal. As a result, the distance between the traveling moving body and the working moving body is shortened, and when the wiring portion is slackened, the tension of the wiring portion is lowered, so that the winding device is based on the detection signal from the tension sensor. And winding the wiring portion to reduce the slack of the wiring portion. Therefore, there is no possibility that the wiring part may be entangled or the movement of the work moving body may be hindered. Further, when the work moving body separates from the traveling moving body and the tension of the wiring portion becomes high, the winding device pulls out the wiring portion based on the detection signal from the tension sensor to reduce the tension of the wiring portion. Therefore, the disconnection of the wiring portion due to high tension is prevented.

  In the working device according to the present invention, preferably, the traveling movable body includes a height adjustable support portion for supporting the end portion of the wiring portion on the traveling movable body side, and the slack portion of the wiring portion is the work section The height is adjusted so that it does not touch. Therefore, according to the state of the slack portion of the wiring portion due to the relative position of the traveling moving body and the working moving body, the height of the supporting portion is adjusted by bending or stretching, etc., and the slack portion of the wiring portion contacts the surface of the work section Can be prevented.

  The work apparatus according to the present invention preferably comprises transport means for causing the traveling mobile unit to hold and move the working mobile unit to the adjacent work section. As a result, when there is a gap between the individual work sections and the work moving body can not move to the adjacent work section by itself, the traveling moving body holds the work moving body by the transport means, and the adjacent work section The work mover can reliably move to the adjacent work section to continue work. In addition, after work is completed by the work moving body, the traveling moving body can also travel to the standby location while holding the work moving body.

  Preferably, the work device according to the present invention includes a drive unit configured to drive and rotate a rotor or the like as a movable body, and a flight control unit configured to control the drive unit as a movement control unit. If the work mover is a work mover, work can be performed on the work section from above by the work unit.

  Since the working unit has a spraying unit that performs the liquid spraying operation on the working unit, the working mobile unit as the working moving unit can spray the liquid from the upper side to the working unit by the spraying unit. .

  The working device according to the present invention preferably includes a separately configured working unit, and a traveling unit integrated with the working unit, a traveling control unit, and a working power supply unit. The traveling unit, the traveling control unit, and the working power supply unit are detachably held as a working unit with respect to the work moving body. The work unit is quickly transported to the work area by the work unit being separated from the work unit in the work area or the surrounding area after the work movement flies to the work area to be worked, and the work movement is performed. After being separated from the body, the travel control unit drives and controls the travel control unit by the integrated travel control unit to move in or around the work section, and the work section can perform work on the work section. After the work unit completes the work on the section, the work unit is again held by the work moving body, and can be transported to the next work area or a standby place as the work moving body moves.

  In the work device according to the present invention, preferably, the traveling moving body includes a driving device, and when the operator operates the driving device, the traveling route data is input from the driving device to the traveling control unit. When the operator operates the driving device, the traveling moving body appropriately travels in the work area or the peripheral area within which the work should be performed according to the work situation of the work moving body, and the work by the work moving body is made smooth. It can be done. At that time, since the operator can also visually check the work section to be operated, it is possible to confirm the work by the work moving body, and also to inspect and monitor the work section.

  Preferably, in the work device according to the present invention, the traveling moving body includes an automatic driving device, and the automatic driving device creates traveling route data according to the work section and outputs the traveling route data to the traveling control unit. In this case, the traveling movable body travels in or around the work section to be operated based on the traveling route data set in advance, in accordance with the progress of the work of the working movable body, and the work movable body performs the work The work unit performs work on the work area by moving the area in or around the area.

  The work apparatus according to the present invention is preferably provided separately from the traveling mobile body, and comprises a remote monitoring and operation unit for transmitting traveling route data input by the operation of the operator, the traveling mobile body being remote It has a receiver for receiving the traveling route data transmitted from the monitoring and operation unit and transmitting it to the traveling control unit. In the case of this configuration, when the operator operates the remote monitoring and operation unit, the traveling route data is transmitted from the remote monitoring and operation unit to the traveling control unit of the traveling mobile unit, whereby the traveling control unit of the traveling mobile unit By driving and controlling the traveling unit based on the traveling route data, the traveling mobile unit travels in or around the work area to be operated by the operation of the operator, and the work mobile unit is in or around the work area. And the work unit works on the work area.

  In the work apparatus according to the present invention, preferably, the traveling mobile body includes a tracking device for tracking the work mobile body, and the traveling control unit of the traveling mobile body receives the tracking signal from the tracking device. The relative position is detected, and drive control of the traveling unit is performed so that the work moving body is within a predetermined distance. Therefore, the traveling control unit of the traveling moving body moves in the work area or in the surrounding area so that the work moving body is within the predetermined distance based on the relative position to the work moving body by the tracking signal from the tracking device. The work unit works on the work section.

  In the working device according to the present invention, preferably, the work moving body or the traveling moving body includes a detection unit for monitoring, and the traveling movement body performs an operation in the work section based on a detection signal of the detection unit. It has a processing unit that determines the required work section or area, generates limited work path data for moving only the work section or area that requires work, and sends it to the work moving body via the wiring section. Based on the limited work path data, the movement control unit of the work moving body performs the predetermined work by the work unit only on the work section or the area where the work is necessary. In this configuration, the processing unit of the traveling moving body needs work based on the detection signal input from the detecting unit of the working moving body via the wiring unit or from the detecting unit of the traveling moving body. By determining the limited work path data to the work movable body via the wiring unit, the work movable body can perform the work by the work unit only on the work section requiring the work. Accordingly, since it is not necessary to work on the entire range of all the work sections, it is possible to perform the work more easily and in a short time and efficiently.

  In this manner, according to the present invention, by supplying power from the traveling mobile unit to the autonomously traveling working mobile unit through the line portion, the limitation of the movable time of the single working mobile unit is eliminated, and a long time can be obtained. Thus, it is possible to provide a working device capable of performing various tasks by the work moving body.

FIG. 1 is a schematic view showing an overall configuration of a first embodiment of a working device according to the present invention. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the traveling mobile body in the working apparatus of FIG. The traveling mobile body of FIG. 2 is shown, (A) is a side view, (B) is a bottom view. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the work moving body in the work apparatus of FIG. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the remote monitoring part in the working apparatus of FIG. It is the schematic which shows the whole structure of 2nd embodiment of the working apparatus by this invention. FIG. 7 is a schematic side view showing a work moving body in the work apparatus of FIG. 6; It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the work mobile body in the work apparatus of FIG.

Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail based on the embodiments shown in the drawings.
FIG. 1 shows the overall configuration of an embodiment of a working device according to the present invention. In FIG. 1, the working device 10 includes a traveling moving body 20, a working moving body 30 configured separately from the traveling moving body 20, and a wiring unit 50 connecting the traveling moving body 20 and the work moving body 30. , Is composed of.

  The traveling moving body 20, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, includes a box-shaped main body 21, a traveling unit 22 provided at the lower part of the main body 21, a traveling control unit 23 for drivingly controlling the traveling unit 22, and processing It comprises a unit 24, a transmission / reception unit 25, a storage unit 26, a power supply unit 27, a detection unit 28, and a wiring unit winding control device 29.

  The main body 21 is configured to have a flat upper surface as shown in FIG. 3A, and includes a wiring portion winding control device 29 and a transport portion 40 as needed as described later.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3B, the traveling unit 22 includes four wheels 22a and drive motors 22b attached to the wheels 22a. Driving control of each drive motor 22b by the traveling control unit 23 rotationally drives each wheel 22a, and the traveling moving body 20 travels in a predetermined direction by advancing, retreating or turning laterally.
The traveling unit 22 is not limited to the wheel 22a, and may be configured by another driving unit such as an endless track, for example. The drive of the wheels 22a is not limited to the drive motor 22b, and may be a drive device such as a gasoline engine or a diesel engine. These drive devices are also controlled by the travel control unit 23. Moreover, it is good also as not only four-wheeled vehicle 22a but tricycle 22a.

  The traveling control unit 23 drives and controls the respective drive motors 22b of the traveling unit 22 independently based on the traveling route data 23a to drive the corresponding wheels 22a independently, thereby advancing, retreating, turning leftward, etc. To drive the The traveling data 23 a is directly input or set in advance and stored in the storage unit 26, or is acquired by being received from the outside via the transmission / reception unit 25 and is input to the traveling control unit 23.

  Work monitor 30 receives work monitor data 37a, which will be described later, from work mover 30 through data line 52 of wiring unit 50, and also receives a detection signal from detection unit 28 as will be described later. The monitoring data 24 a is generated and registered in the storage unit 26 or transmitted to the outside through the transmission / reception unit 25.

  The transmission / reception unit 25 transmits the monitoring data 24a generated by the processing unit 24 by wireless communication with a remote monitoring and operation unit 60, which will be described later, which will be described later. The traveling route data 23a or the working route data 33a set in advance from 60 are received and registered in the storage unit 26, or the traveling route data 23a is stored in the traveling control unit 23, and the working route data 33a is stored in the wiring unit 50. The data is transmitted to the movement control unit 33 of the work mobile unit 30 via the data line 52.

  The storage unit 26 sequentially travel route data 23a and work route data 33a received from an external remote monitoring and operation unit 60, the work monitoring data 37a transmitted from the work mobile unit 30, and detection signals from the detection unit 28 sequentially. Remember. The work monitoring data 37a and the detection signal from the detection unit 28 are read by the processing unit 24 and processed.

The power supply unit 27 is composed of a power supply battery 27a and a transformer converter 27b.
As the power supply battery 27a, a storage battery or a rechargeable secondary battery such as a lithium battery is used, and a plurality of, for example, 100 pieces of the same power supply battery mounted on the normal work mobile unit 30 are connected in parallel. . The power supply unit 27 is a large capacity power supply unit with a handling power for supplying power to the work moving body 30 of 100 W to kW. In addition, as such a power supply battery, the lithium secondary battery of the standard of 10000mAH at 14.8V is used, for example.
Further, power supply to each part in the traveling mobile body 20 may be directly supplied from the power supply battery 27a without passing through the following transformer converter 27b.

  The transformer converter 27b has a known configuration for boosting the voltage of the power supply battery 27a, and boosts the voltage 14.8 V of the normally used power supply battery 27a to, for example, about 400 V to And the power supply line 51 of the wiring unit 50. By this boosting, it is possible to supply a large amount of power to the work moving body 30 even with a small current.

The detection unit 28 is a surveillance camera 28 a and a position detection unit 28 b in the illustrated case. As shown in FIG. 3A, the monitoring camera 28a is disposed in a relatively visible place of the main body 21, for example, near the upper end of the support portion 29c, and the work section 11 to be operated (see FIG. 1). Are captured, and the captured image signal is sent to the processing unit 24 as a detection signal S.
Thereby, the processing unit 24 determines the situation around the traveling mobile body 20 based on the detection signal S, generates an abnormality occurrence signal 24b when it is determined that it is abnormal, and by a warning unit (not shown) as necessary. An alarm occurrence is notified, or a detection signal S and / or an abnormality occurrence signal 24 b is transmitted to the remote monitoring and operation unit 60 via the transmission / reception unit 25.
The position detection unit 28 b detects, for example, the longitude and the latitude by the GPS sensor. Thus, the position detection unit 28 b detects, for example, the geodetic data 28 c at that time of the traveling mobile body 20 at predetermined time intervals, and sends the geodetic data 28 c to the processing unit 24.

The wiring portion winding control device 29 is configured as a so-called electric reel 29 a, and is provided at a portion where the wiring portion 50 is drawn into the main body 21 of the traveling moving body 20.
The wiring unit winding control device 29 is provided with a tension sensor 29b for detecting the tension of the wiring unit 50 in the electric reel 29a, and when the tension detected by the tension sensor 29b exceeds a predetermined upper limit, the electric motor 29 is electrically operated. The reel 29a is rotationally driven to draw out the wiring portion 50. When the tension is zero, the electric reel 29a is rotationally driven to wind the wiring portion 50.

Furthermore, the wiring portion winding control device 29 is supported above the main body 21 by the support portion 29c, and includes a slack sensor 29d that detects a slack state of the wiring portion 50. The support portion 29c is configured to be extendable (or bendable) like, for example, a support arm of a work vehicle for a high place, and the height of the support portion 29c is configured to be adjustable by bending or extension and contraction thereof. .
In addition, the slack sensor 29d detects a hanging angle θ of the wiring portion 50 extending from the electric reel 29a.
Then, when the sagging angle θ detected by the slack sensor 29 d becomes smaller than a predetermined value, the wiring portion winding control device 29 extends the support portion 29 c and the sagging angle θ becomes larger than the predetermined value. In this case, the height of the electric reel 29a is adjusted so that the slack portion of the wiring portion 50 does not touch the work section 11 by reducing the support portion 29c. Here, the wiring unit winding control device 29 is controlled by the control signal 24 g from the processing unit 24.

As shown in FIG. 4, the work moving body 30 is a moving unit 32 such as a drive motor for driving the four wheels 31 and the respective wheels 31 provided at the lower part of the main body 30a, and a movement control for driving and controlling the moving unit 32. It includes a unit 33 and a working unit 34 that performs work on the work section 11. In the illustrated case, the moving unit 32 and the movement control unit 33 have the same configuration as the traveling unit 22 and the traveling control unit 23 in the traveling movable body 20. The mover preferably comprises a runner with wheels and a drive motor for traveling in or around the work area. Here, in the work moving body 30, the moving unit 32, the movement control unit 33, and the working unit 34 are accommodated in the main body 30a.
As shown in FIG. 1, the movement control unit 33 drives and controls the moving unit 32 based on the work path data 33 a set in advance in a state where the work moving unit 30 is placed on the work section 11. Thus, the surface of the work section 11 is autonomously moved in a predetermined work path pattern. The work section 11 is, for example, a group of solar panels in a solar power generation system, the surface of which is continuous as a whole, and the work moving body 30 can move across the entire surface of one work section 11. It has become.

  The working unit 34 has a known configuration, and for example, dusts and the like deposited on the surface of the working section 11 are wiped with a rotating brush or the like, or suctioned by a suction nozzle to clean the surface of the working section 11.

  The above configuration is almost the same configuration as a so-called robot cleaner conventionally used, but the working mobile unit 30 in the embodiment of the present invention is not equipped with a power source battery, and the wiring unit 50 will be described later. Power is supplied to the moving unit 32, the movement control unit 33, and the working unit 34 from the power supply unit 27 of the traveling moving body 20 through the power supply line 51 of FIG. As a result, since it is not necessary to mount the power source battery having a considerable weight as compared with the weight of the work moving body 30, the work moving body 30 has a smaller total weight, improves the maneuverability, and The operational time of time can be obtained.

  Further, the work moving body 30 includes, within the main body 30a, an imaging unit 35 for imaging the work section 11 to be worked, a position detection unit 36, a processing unit 37, and a power feeding unit 38. Similarly, power is supplied to the imaging unit 35, the position detection unit 36, and the processing unit 37 from the power supply line 51 of the wiring unit 50 through the power supply unit 38, respectively.

  The imaging unit 35 captures an image of the work section 11 to be worked during the work of the work moving body 30. The imaging direction of the imaging unit 35 can be changed to an arbitrary direction by being changed to a predetermined direction by the direction changing unit provided in the imaging unit 35 itself. Then, the imaging unit 35 sends the captured imaging signal to the processing unit 37 as imaging data 35a.

  The position detection unit 36 detects, for example, the longitude and the latitude by the GPS sensor. Thereby, the position detection unit 36 detects the geodetic data 36 a at that time of the work movable body 30 at predetermined time intervals, for example, and sends it to the processing unit 37.

  The processing unit 37 compresses the imaging data 35a from the imaging unit 35 by image compression processing as necessary, and collectively connects the geodetic data 36a and the imaging data 35a from the position detection unit 36 as work monitoring data 37a. The data is sent to the processing unit 24 of the traveling mobile unit 20 via the data line 52 of the unit 50. The imaging data 35a will be described below as imaging data compressed.

  The wiring portion 50 is composed of a light and strong wire commercially available for robot control, for example, a wire composed of a plurality of resin-coated twisted wires, and has a length of several tens of meters. The wire has flexibility so as not to prevent the movement of the work moving body 30 in the slack state. The wiring unit 50 is composed of a plurality of pairs of wires, and one pair is used as the power supply line 51, and the other pair is used as the data line 52. The wiring unit 50 may be provided with a further pair of data lines, in which case it is also possible to transmit work route data from the traveling mobile unit 20 side to the working mobile unit 30.

  The remote monitoring unit 50 and the operation unit 60 are disposed in the facility of the solar power generation apparatus in which the work section 11 to be operated is installed, or adjacent to such facility, as shown in FIG. For example, the transmitter / receiver 61 performing wireless communication with the transmitter / receiver 25 of the traveling mobile unit 20 in a Wi-Fi system, the storage 62, the controller 63, the display 64, and the input unit 65, respectively. It contains. As a result, the control unit 63 of the remote monitoring and operation unit 60 stores the monitoring data 24a from the traveling mobile unit 20 received by the transmitting and receiving unit 61 in the storage unit 62, and the imaging data 35a included in the monitoring data 24a. It is displayed on the display screen of the display unit 64. As a result, it is possible to monitor the work on the work section 11 to be operated by the observer watching the imaging screen by the imaging data 35a displayed on the display screen of the display unit 64. Further, the control unit 63 of the remote monitoring and operation unit 60 displays the occurrence of an abnormality on the display screen of the display unit 64 based on the abnormality occurrence signal 24 b included in the monitoring data 24 a received by the transmission and reception unit 61. For example, a warning sound or the like is emitted from warning means (not shown) such as a speaker.

Further, the remote monitoring and operation unit 60 inputs the traveling route data 23 a for the traveling mobile unit 20 or the work route data 33 a for the working mobile unit 30 by the input unit 65, and stores the data in the storage unit 62. Thus, the control unit 63 of the remote monitoring and operation unit 60 can set the travel route data 23a or the work route data 33a in advance, and reads the travel route data 23a or the work route data 33a from the storage unit 62. The transmission / reception unit 61 transmits the transmission / reception unit 25 to the transmission / reception unit 25 of the traveling mobile unit 20 by wireless communication. Thereby, the transmission / reception unit 25 of the traveling mobile unit 20 receives the traveling route data 23a or the working route data 33a and stores the received traveling route data 23a or the working route data 33a in the storage unit 26 of the traveling mobile unit 20. It is sent to the movement control unit 33 of the work mobile unit 30 via the data line 52.
In response to this, the traveling control unit 23 of the traveling moving body 20 reads out the traveling route data 23 a from the storage unit 26 and controls driving of the traveling unit 22. Thus, the traveling mobile body 20 travels along the previously set traveling path.
In addition, the work control unit 33 of the work moving body 30 moves along the work path set in advance based on the work path data 33a.

The work device 10 according to the embodiment of the present invention is configured as described above, and operates as follows.
In the work mobile unit 30, the work route data 33a is received in advance from the remote monitoring and operation unit 60 via the transmission / reception unit 25 of the traveling mobile unit 20 and the processing unit 24 and through the data line 52 of the wiring unit 50. Alternatively, the work route data 33a is registered in advance in the movement control unit 33, and the movement control unit 33 controls the moving unit 32 based on the work route data 33a. As a result, the work movable body 30 autonomously moves the surface of the work area 11 in the work path pattern set in advance by the wheels 31 driven by the movement unit 32, and the work area 34 cleans the work area 11. Do the work. At this time, the geodetic data 36 a detected by the position detection unit 36 of the working mobile unit 30 is sent out to the processing unit 24 of the traveling mobile unit 20 through the data line 52 of the wiring unit 50.

  On the other hand, in the traveling mobile unit 20, the processing unit 24 compares the geodetic data 36a input from the working mobile unit 30 via the wiring unit 50 with the geodetic data 28c from the position detection unit 28b, The tracking travel route data 24h is generated so that the longitude and latitude (position of the traveling mobile object 20) based on the geodetic data 28c are located within a predetermined distance from the longitude and latitude (working mobile object 30) based on the geodetic data 36a , To the traveling control unit 23. Thereby, the traveling control unit 23 drives and controls the traveling unit 22 based on the tracking traveling route data 24h, and the traveling mobile body 20 travels so as to be located within a predetermined distance with respect to the work mobile body 30.

  Therefore, when the work movable body 30 moves along the work path pattern set in advance, the travel movable body 20 follows the movement of the work movable body 30 by performing the tracking operation described above. Run. Then, the monitoring data 24 a is transmitted from the traveling mobile unit 20 to the remote monitoring and operation unit 60, whereby the remote monitoring and operation unit 60 monitors the work in the work section 11.

  If the working mobile unit 30 tries to move away from the traveling mobile unit 20 largely due to a defect in the follow-up operation or a malfunction in the movement control of the working mobile unit 30, the working mobile unit 30 mechanically travels via the wiring unit 50. Since the moving range of the work moving body 30 is limited to the range of the length of the wiring portion 50 with the traveling moving body 20 as the center since it is connected to the moving body 20, the work moving body 30 is careless There is no possibility that the vehicle will run away somewhere and damage or destroy a part of the equipment in the work section 11 to be worked due to a collision or the like.

When work by the work unit 34 for one work area 11 is completed, the work moving body 30 moves to another work area 11 adjacent to work on the next work area 11, but between the work areas 11. There is a case where the work moving body 30 can not move to the adjacent work section 11 by itself due to the presence of a gap or the like. In such a case, as shown in FIG. 3, the traveling mobile unit 20 further includes a transport unit 40 that holds and transports the work mobile unit 30 on the main body 21.
The transport unit 40 has a configuration known per se, and comprises a crane-like support arm 41 which can be rotated and pivoted, and which is extendable or retractable, and a holding unit 42 provided at the tip of the support arm 41 There is. The support arm 41 is controlled by a control signal 41 a from the processing unit 24, and the holding unit 42 is controlled by a control signal 42 a from the processing unit 24.
Then, when the work in one work section 11 is completed, the transport unit 40 holds the work movable body 30 present on the work section 11 by holding by the holding unit 42, and the support arm 41 is extended or reduced. Then, the work moving body 30 is moved to the upper side of the other work section 11 by rotating and swinging, the holding by the holding unit 42 is released, and the work moving body 30 is placed on the other work section 11 Do. As a result, even if the work movable body 30 itself can not move to the work area 11 adjacent thereto, the work movable body 30 is conveyed onto the other work area 11 by the transport unit 40 provided in the traveling movable body 20. be able to.
Here, the transport unit 40 is controlled by the processing unit 24 based on the geodetic data 28c and 36a of the traveling mobile unit 20 and the work mobile unit 30, so that the transport unit 40 is moved from one work section 11 of the work mobile unit 30 described above to the other. Can be transported to the work section 11.

Here, the working unit 34 performs the same cleaning operation as a robot cleaner, but it is not limited to the solar panels, but also the cleaning operation and window of the dirt of the condensing lens used for solar thermal power generation and dust deposited on the condensing lens. You may do cleaning work, such as glass. Not limited to these, it is also possible to perform other tasks.
For example, the working unit 34 can also perform various operations by ejecting a liquid such as cleaning water or a chemical solution from a nozzle. In this way, it is possible to carry out washing work by spraying washing water, water supply work, or farming work such as spraying of agrochemicals and herbicides. It is also possible to spray the paint and carry out the painting operation.

At that time, in the work such as liquid dispersion, the work moving body 30 does not have to be located on the surface of the work section 11, and moves around a peripheral area such as a maintenance passage provided around the work section 11, for example. You may do so.
Further, the liquid to be dispersed is stored in a tank or the like provided in the work moving body 30. However, the present invention is not limited thereto, and may be stored in a tank or the like provided in the traveling moving body 20. In this case, the liquid is supplied from the tank of the traveling mobile unit 20 to the working mobile unit 30 through the piping unit provided in parallel to the wiring unit 50, and the weight of the working mobile unit 30 is further reduced. Become.

  FIG. 6 shows the configuration of the second embodiment of the working device according to the present invention. In FIG. 6, the working device 70 is different from the working device 10 shown in FIG. 1 in that the working device 70 includes a working moving body 71 instead of the working moving body 30.

  In FIG. 6, the working device 70 is configured of a traveling moving body 20, a working moving body 71, and a wiring unit 50 that connects the traveling moving body 20 and the work moving body 71.

As shown in FIG. 7, the working mobile unit 71 includes a flying mobile unit 80 and a working unit 90. The flight mobile body 80 is a flight robot having a known configuration, and as shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, a flight means 81 such as a rotor or propeller for flying, a drive motor for driving the flight means 81 to rotate, etc. A drive unit 82 as a moving unit and a flight control unit 83 as a movement control unit for controlling the drive unit 82 are included. In the illustrated case, four flight means 81 and four drive units 82 are provided.
Here, the flight mobile body 80 has, for example, a flat airframe 84 having a height of approximately 20 to 40 cm and a height of approximately 20 to 60 cm, and the flight means 81, the drive unit 82, and the flight control unit 83 , Is mounted in the airframe 84.
The flight control unit 83 has a function of performing so-called autonomous flight while stably flying by rotationally driving the corresponding flight means 81 by each drive unit 82 based on the flight path data 83a. It flies above or around the work area 11 specified by the flight path data 83a.

  The above configuration is substantially the same as the conventionally used so-called drone, but the flight mobile body 80 in the present embodiment is not equipped with a power supply battery, and travels through the power supply line 51 of the wiring portion 50 Power is supplied from the power supply unit 27 of the moving body 20 to the drive unit 82 and the flight control unit 83 via a power supply unit 88 described later. If it is not necessary to mount a power supply battery, the total weight of the flying vehicle 80 will be lighter, the maneuverability will be improved, and the flightable time will be longer.

  Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 8, the flight moving body 80 includes an imaging unit 85 for imaging the work section 11 to be operated, a position detection unit 86, a processing unit 87, and a power feeding unit 88 in the machine body 84. , And the holding portion 89. The image pickup unit 85, the position detection unit 86, and the processing unit 87 are similarly supplied with power from the power supply line 51 of the wiring unit 50 through the power supply unit 88, respectively.

  The imaging unit 85, the position detection unit 86, and the processing unit 87 have the same configuration as the imaging unit 35, the position detection unit 36, and the processing unit 87 in the work movable body 30 of the work apparatus 10 shown in FIG. Furthermore, the imaging direction of the imaging unit 85 can be any direction by changing the attitude of the flight mobile unit 80 itself by the flight control unit 83 while the imaging unit 85 is fixed to the fuselage 84 of the flight mobile unit 80. It can be changed to

  Further, in this case, the position detection unit 86 also detects height data by detecting the height from the ground by, for example, a pressure sensor, an ultrasonic sensor or the like, and detects the three-dimensional geodetic data 87a to process the processing unit 87. Send to

  The holding portion 89 is, for example, a known locking mechanism, and is provided below the airframe 84 of the flight moving body 80. For example, by mounting so as to cover the work unit 90 from above, the work unit 90 can be removed. Hold. The lock of the holding unit 89 is unlocked by a release command from the processing unit 87.

  The working unit 90 includes a working unit 91, a traveling unit 92, a traveling control unit 93, and a power supply unit 94. The working unit 91, the traveling unit 92, and the traveling control unit 93 have the same configuration as the working unit 34, the moving unit 32, and the movement control unit 33 in the working movable body 30 of the working device 10 shown in FIG. It operates by being fed from each. The power supply unit 94 uses a small power supply battery in consideration of the fact that the working unit 90 itself is transported by the flight mobile unit 80. When being held by the holding unit 89 of the flight mobile unit 80, the power supply unit 94 may be supplied with power from the power feeding unit 88 of the flight mobile unit 80 via the connection unit 94a and be charged.

According to the work device 70 having such a configuration, it operates as follows.
That is, in the working mobile unit 71, while the flight mobile unit 80 holds the working unit 90 by the holding unit 89, the flight path data 83a is transmitted from the remote monitoring and operation unit 60 in advance. The flight path data 83a is received in advance via the unit 24 and through the data line 52 of the wiring unit 50, or the flight path data 83a is registered in advance in the flight control unit 83, and the flight control unit 33 determines the flight path data 83a. The drive unit 82 is controlled based on As a result, the flight mobile body 80 autonomously flies in the flight path pattern set in advance by the respective flight means 81 driven by the drive unit 82 while holding the work unit 90, and After landing on the surface, the work unit 90 is released by unlocking the holding portion 89. Thereafter, by taking off from the surface of the work section 11, the flight mobile body 80 separates the work unit 90 and stands by at the sky or the waiting place.

  The work unit 90 separated on the work section 11 determines the work on the work section 11 by drivingly controlling the traveling section 92 based on the work route data 93a registered in advance by the travel control section 93. The work unit 91 moves in a route pattern, and the work section 11 performs work such as cleaning on the work section 11.

When work by the work unit 91 of the work unit 90 for one work area 11 is completed, the flight mobile body 80 flies above the work unit 90 on the work area 11 and lands on the surface of the work area 11. The holder 89 holds the work unit 90 by placing it on the work unit 90.
Then, the flight moving body 80 takes off from the surface of the work area 11 while holding the work unit 90, and autonomously flies to the work area 11 to be operated next based on the flight path data 83a and performs the work By landing on the surface of the section 11 and releasing the holding portion 89, the working unit 90 is separated. Thus, the work unit 90 moves to the work section 11 to be operated next and performs work.
Therefore, even if the space from one work area 11 to the work area 11 to be operated next is separated or there is an obstacle or the like between them, the flight mobile body 80 holds the work unit 90. By flying to the next work area 11, the work unit 90 can be reliably moved to the next work area 11.

  Here, the working mobile unit 71 is configured of the flying mobile unit 80 and the working unit 90, but the flying mobile unit 80 and the working unit 90 may be integrally configured. In this case, the traveling unit 92, the traveling control unit 93, and the power supply unit 94 of the work unit 90 may be omitted. As described above, when the work moving body 71 is configured as the flight moving body 80 as a whole, the working unit 91 performs the work in the flight state of the work moving body 71, and It is suitable to spray liquid such as chemical solution or water supply. Further, for example, a surveillance camera provided on the flight moving body 80 monitors and approaches a wild animal invading the working area such as a solar panel, and automatically performs an operation of emitting sound waves etc. to expel it from the working section It can also be done. As a result, it is possible to prevent damage such as breaking of a solar panel by wild animals such as crows and monkeys dropping stones etc. onto the solar panel.

The present invention can be practiced in various forms without departing from the scope of the invention.
For example, in the embodiment described above, the traveling mobile body 20 travels on the ground by the four wheels 22a, and travels by independently controlling the number of rotations of the left and right wheels 22a when turning left and right. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and it is apparent that the front or rear wheels may be steered left and right by providing a so-called steering function.

  In the embodiment described above, the traveling mobile body 20 is configured to travel on the ground by the wheels 22a, but may be provided with traveling means other than the wheels such as an endless track, for example, as in a hovercraft It may be made to rise from the ground and move.

In the embodiment described above, the traveling mobile unit 20 travels according to the traveling route data 23a received from the remote monitoring and operation unit 60. However, the present invention is not limited thereto. The travel route data 23a may be input by this input unit.
In the embodiment described above, the traveling moving body 20 travels according to the traveling route data 23a set in advance, but the invention is not limited thereto, and the operator can be provided with the driving device by the traveling moving body 20. The traveling moving body 20 may be caused to travel by operating the driving device. In this case, it is not necessary to generate the traveling route data 23a in advance, and the driver who has appeared on the traveling mobile unit 20 can also visually inspect the work section 11 to be operated.

In the embodiment described above, the work moving bodies 30, 71 and the work units 34, 91 of the work unit 90 move the entire work area 11 to be operated according to the determined work path pattern, thereby covering the entire work area 11. However, the present invention is not limited thereto. For example, the detection signal S captured by the monitoring camera 28a of the traveling mobile unit 20 or the imaging data 35a captured by the imaging unit 35 of the work mobile unit 30 Based on the above, the processing unit 24 of the traveling moving body 20 determines the work section 11 requiring work among the many work sections 11 or determines the area in the work section 11 requiring work and the work is necessary. An operation is required by generating limited work path data 33 b for moving only the proper work section 11 or area and sending it to the work moving body 30 via the wiring unit 50. Work compartment 11 or the working portion 34,91 to the region only may perform work. In this way, it is not necessary to work on the entire work area 11 or the entire range of the work area 11, and the time and cost required for the work are reduced.
In addition, the control unit 63 of the remote monitoring and operation unit 60 as well as the processing unit 24 of the traveling moving body 20 determines the determination of the work section 11 or the area where such work is necessary and the generation of the limited work path data 33b. You may do it. In this case, the generated limited work route data 33 b is wirelessly transmitted from the transmission / reception unit 61 of the remote monitoring and operation unit 60 to the transmission / reception unit 25 of the traveling mobile unit 20, and further the work movable unit 30 via the wiring unit 50. Sent to

  Furthermore, in the embodiment described above, the work unit 34 of the work moving body 30 or the work unit 91 of the work unit 90 is configured to perform the cleaning work on the work section 11, but not only the cleaning work but As described above, it is also possible to carry out cleaning work, water supply work, dispersion work of liquids such as pesticides and herbicides, and painting work, and furthermore, depending on the configuration of the work unit, to the farmland as the work section 11 It is also possible to carry out mowing and sowing work.

10, 70 Work Equipment 11 Work Section 20 Travel Moving Body 21 Main Body 22 Travel Part 22a Wheel 23 Travel Control Part 24 Processing Part 25 Transmitter / Receiver 26 Storage Part 27 Power Supply Part 28 Detection Part 28a Surveillance Camera 28b Position Detection Part 29 Wiring Part Winding Take-out control unit 30, 71 work moving body 30a main body 31 wheel 32 moving unit 33 movement control unit 34 working unit 35 imaging unit 36 imaging unit 36 position detection unit 37 processing unit 38 feeding unit 40 conveyance unit 50 wiring unit 51 power line 52 data line 60 remote Monitoring unit 61 Transmission / reception unit 62 Storage unit 63 Control unit 64 Display unit 65 Input unit 80 Flight moving body 81 Flight means 82 Drive unit 83 Flight control unit 84 Aircraft body 85 Imaging unit 86 Position detection unit 87 Processing unit 90 Work unit 91 Work unit 92 Drive unit 93 Drive control unit 94 Power supply unit

Claims (17)

A traveling moving body, a work moving body, and a flexible wiring portion composed of a plurality of conductors mechanically and controllably connecting the traveling moving body and the work moving body;
The traveling mobile body includes a traveling unit for traveling in or around a work area, a traveling control unit that drives and controls the traveling unit, and a power supply unit.
The moving unit moves the moving unit in or around the work area, the movement control unit controls the moving unit, the working unit performs work on the work unit, the moving unit, the movement control unit, And a power feeding unit for feeding power to the working unit, and the power feeding unit is connected to the power supply unit of the traveling moving body via the wiring unit to ensure a long workable time. Power is supplied from the power supply unit.
The movement control unit controls the movement unit to move the work movable body autonomously along a predetermined route, and the work unit performs work on the work section. Work equipment.   The work apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the moving unit includes a traveling unit including a wheel and a drive motor for traveling in the work area or in a surrounding area.   The work apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the work unit includes a cleaning unit that performs a cleaning operation on the work section.   The work apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the work unit includes a cleaning unit that performs a cleaning operation on the work section.   The working device according to claim 1, wherein the working unit includes a spraying unit that performs a liquid spraying operation on the working zone.   5. The vehicle according to claim 4, wherein the traveling vehicle includes a storage unit, and the liquid stored in the storage unit is supplied to the working unit through a piping unit provided to the wiring unit. The working device according to 5. The traveling moving body includes a winding device for winding the wiring portion, and a tension sensor that detects tension of the wiring portion,
The work apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the winding device adjusts the winding amount of the wiring portion based on a detection signal from the tension sensor. The traveling mobile body includes a height adjustable support portion for supporting an end of the wiring portion on the traveling mobile body side,
The work apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the height of the support portion is adjusted so that a slack portion of the wiring portion does not contact the work section.   The work apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein the traveling moving body includes transport means for holding the work moving body and moving it to an adjacent work section.   The work device according to claim 1, wherein the work movable body includes a drive unit that rotationally drives a rotor or the like as the movable body, and a flight control unit that controls the drive unit as a movement control unit. .   The working device according to claim 10, wherein the working unit includes a spraying unit that performs a liquid spraying operation on the working zone.   The work moving body includes a work unit separately configured, and a travel unit integrated with the work unit, a travel control unit, and a work power supply unit, and the work unit, the travel unit, 11. The work apparatus according to claim 10, wherein the traveling control unit and the work power supply unit are detachably held as a work unit with respect to the work mobile body.   The vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the traveling mobile body includes a driving device, and when the operator operates the driving device, traveling route data is input from the driving device to the traveling control unit. Working device as described.   The vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the traveling moving body includes an automatic driving device, and the automatic driving device generates traveling route data according to a work section and outputs the traveling route data to the traveling control unit. The working device according to 1. The remote monitoring and operation unit is configured separately from the traveling mobile body and transmits traveling route data input by an operation of the operator.
The work apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the traveling mobile body includes a receiving device that receives the traveling route data transmitted from the remote monitoring and operation unit and transmits the data to the traveling control unit. . The traveling mobile body is provided with a tracking device for tracking the work mobile body,
The traveling control unit of the traveling movable body detects a relative position with respect to the work movable body based on a tracking signal from the tracking device, and the traveling unit is configured such that the work movable body is within a predetermined distance. The work apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 15, wherein the drive control is performed. The work mobile unit or the traveling mobile unit includes a detection unit for monitoring,
The traveling moving body determines a work section or area in the work section requiring work based on a detection signal of the detection unit, and performs limited work for moving only the work section or area in which the work is necessary. And a processing unit that generates route data and sends it to the work moving body via the wiring unit,
The movement control unit of the work moving body is characterized in that the work unit performs a predetermined work only on the work section or the area requiring the work based on the limited work path data. The working device according to any of the above.

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