JP2023047684A - Controller, cleaning apparatus, control method of cleaning apparatus, and control program - Google Patents

Abstract

To achieve general-purpose moving control of a cleaning apparatus for pipes.SOLUTION: A controller (1) includes: a pipe detection unit (101) that detects a pipe in an image taken by an imaging device (271) attached to a cleaning apparatus (2) which cleans a surface of the pipe; an angle identification unit (102) that identifies an inclination angle of the pipe detected by the pipe detection unit (101); and a moving control unit (104) that performs moving control of the cleaning apparatus (2) on the basis of the inclination angle.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

The present invention relates to a control device that controls the movement of a cleaning device that cleans pipes.

A boiler used for power generation using waste heat from an incinerator has a large number of pipes. These pipes are arranged in the discharge path of the exhaust gas generated in the incinerator, and fluids such as water and steam flow through the inside thereof. For this reason, the above pipes are also called boiler water pipes. Thermal energy generated by incineration is recovered by heat exchange between the exhaust gas and the fluid flowing through the boiler water tubes.

As described above, since the boiler water tubes are exposed to the exhaust gas, the fly ash generated in the incinerator adheres and accumulates on the surfaces of the boiler water tubes, and the heat exchange efficiency decreases. Therefore, it is necessary to periodically clean the surfaces of the boiler water tubes. However, manual cleaning of boiler water tubes is not easy, and automatic cleaning using a cleaning device has been conventionally studied.

For example, Patent Literature 1 below discloses a cleaning device equipped with a water tube group traveling cleaning device that mounts a cleaning jig and moves in the tube axis direction of a boiler water tube group. This water tube group traveling cleaning device cleans while moving along the side surface of the boiler water tubes while being lowered between the boiler water tubes to be cleaned. Since the water tube bank traveling cleaning device cannot move in the tube row direction, it is moved while being accommodated in the tube row direction moving device that moves in the tube row direction of the boiler water tube bank, and then the boiler water tube to be cleaned next. dropped in between.

JP 2006-138572 A

The cleaning device of Patent Document 1 can only move along the boiler water tubes in a state in which the water tube group traveling cleaning device is lowered between the boiler water tubes. Therefore, at the start of cleaning, it is necessary to first stop the water tube group traveling cleaning device at a position where it can be lowered between the boiler water tubes.

However, it is difficult to always stop the water tube group traveling cleaning device at the correct position. For this reason, the cleaning device of Patent Document 1 includes a stop position correcting arm for correcting the stop position of the water tube group traveling cleaning device.

Thus, the cleaning device of Patent Document 1 lacks versatility in that it requires a special mechanism such as an arm for correcting the stop position in order to automatically move the cleaning device. An object of one aspect of the present invention is to realize general-purpose movement control of a cleaning device that cleans a pipe.

In order to solve the above problems, a control device according to an aspect of the present invention includes a pipe detection unit that detects the pipe from an image captured by an imaging device attached to a cleaning device that cleans the surface of the pipe; An angle identification unit that identifies the inclination angle of the pipe detected by the pipe detection unit, and a movement control unit that controls movement of the cleaning device based on the inclination angle.

In order to solve the above problems, a control device according to an aspect of the present invention provides a cleaning device for cleaning a plurality of pipes arranged in parallel. a displacement amount calculation unit that calculates an amount of displacement of the cleaning device from a predetermined reference position based on the detection value of the proximity sensor; a movement control unit that performs movement control of the cleaning device based on the displacement amount; wherein the pair of proximity sensors are positioned such that when one proximity sensor is positioned directly above the pipe, the other proximity sensor is positioned at the detection limit of the pipe adjacent to the pipe. The deviation amount calculator calculates the deviation amount using an approximation formula that approximates the relationship between the difference between the detection values of the pair of proximity sensors and the deviation amount.

In order to solve the above-described problems, a cleaning device control method according to an aspect of the present invention is a cleaning device control method executed by a control device, wherein a pipe detection step of detecting the pipe from an image captured by an imaging device; an angle identification step of identifying an inclination angle of the pipe detected in the pipe detection step; and movement control of the cleaning device based on the inclination angle. and a movement control step for performing

In order to solve the above problems, a cleaning device control method according to an aspect of the present invention is a cleaning device control method executed by a control device, the cleaning device cleaning a plurality of pipes arranged in parallel. a displacement amount calculating step of calculating an amount of displacement of the cleaning device from a predetermined reference position based on the detection values of a pair of proximity sensors for detecting the pipe, which are attached at symmetrical positions of the device; and a movement control step of controlling the movement of the cleaning device based on the amount of displacement, wherein the pair of proximity sensors are positioned so that the other proximity sensor is positioned directly above the pipe. is arranged to be the position of the detection limit of the pipe adjacent to the pipe, and in the deviation amount calculation step, the relationship between the difference between the detection values of the pair of proximity sensors and the deviation amount is approximated An approximation formula is used to calculate the amount of deviation.

ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to one aspect of the present invention, general-purpose movement control of a tube cleaning device can be realized.

It is a block diagram showing an example of the important section composition of the control device concerning Embodiment 1 of the present invention. It is a figure which shows the outline|summary of the cleaning system containing the said control apparatus. It is a figure which shows the outline|summary of pipe|tube detection and inclination-angle specification by the said control apparatus. It is a figure which shows the specific example of the pipe|tube detection by the said control apparatus. It is a figure which shows the outline|summary of the calculation method of the deviation|shift amount by the deviation|shift amount calculation part with which the said control apparatus is provided. It is a figure explaining the relationship between the positional relationship of a proximity sensor and a pipe|tube, and the detection value of a proximity sensor. It is a figure explaining the relationship between the positional relationship of a proximity sensor and a pipe|tube, and the approximate expression of the detection value of a proximity sensor. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a function for obtaining a deviation amount from a difference in detection values of proximity sensors; FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an operation example of the cleaning device during centering; FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating a method of calculating the running time of the cleaning device during centering; 5 is a flow chart showing an example of a cleaning device control method based on an inclination angle. 6 is a flow chart showing an example of a cleaning device control method based on a deviation amount. It is a figure which shows the calculation example of the deviation|shift amount in Embodiment 2 of this invention.

[Embodiment 1]
(Overview of cleaning system)
An overview of the cleaning system 5 according to this embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an outline of the cleaning system 5. As shown in FIG. The cleaning system 5 is a system for cleaning the surface of the pipe PI and includes a control device 1 and a cleaning device 2 . The control device 1 is a device that controls the operation of the cleaning device 2 . The cleaning device 2 is a cleaning device for the pipe PI that operates under the control of the control device 1 . A perspective view of the cleaning device 2 is shown on the upper side of FIG. 2, and a side view of the cleaning device 2 is shown on the lower side of FIG.

The pipes PI are straight pipes and are arranged in multiple rows at equal intervals in the horizontal direction. In addition, the pipes PI are arranged in multiple stages in the vertical direction. In this embodiment, an example will be described in which the pipes PI are pipes of a boiler (not shown) used for power generation using waste heat from an incinerator, that is, boiler water pipes described above. Of course, the cleaning system 5 can be used for cleaning tubes other than the boiler water tubes as long as the cleaning system 5 is strong enough to allow the cleaning device 2 to run thereon and at least a portion of it is linear. can.

As illustrated, the cleaning device 2 includes a body portion 21 , a crawler 22 , a hose reel 23 and a hose 24 , and a pantograph 25 is housed inside the body portion 21 . Further, as shown in the side view of FIG. 2, a water outlet 26 is provided at the tip of the pantograph 25. A housing portion 27 is provided at the front end portion of the body portion 21 .

Although only the left crawler 22 is shown in FIG. 2 , a set of crawlers 22 are provided at symmetrical positions with respect to the main body 21 . The crawler 22 functions as a traveling device that moves the cleaning device 2 forward, backward, and rotates in a horizontal plane. Other types of traveling devices such as wheels may be applied instead of the crawler 22 .

A hose 24 is wound around the hose reel 23 , and the hose 24 is a pipe for feeding a liquid (for example, water) for cleaning the pipe PI to the water outlet 26 . The pantograph 25 is adapted to be extended and contracted by a link mechanism, and can be extended downward of the main body 21 during cleaning and contracted during movement. The water discharge port 26 is connected to the hose 24 and discharges the cleaning liquid sent from the hose 24 sideways.

That is, the cleaning device 2 extends the pantograph 25 to position the water outlet 26 on the side of the pipe PI to be cleaned, and in this state, the cleaning liquid sent from the hose 24 is sent to the water outlet 26. Therefore, it is configured to wash the pipe PI with water pressure. Any method may be used to clean the pipe PI. For example, the pipe PI may be cleaned by pressing a cleaning tool such as a brush against the pipe PI.

Since the cleaning device 2 performs cleaning by lowering the pantograph 25 between the pipes PI to be cleaned, it is necessary to move between the pipes PI to be cleaned as a pre-cleaning step. In order to automatically perform this movement, a photographing device and a proximity sensor are provided inside the housing portion 27 of the cleaning device 2 (both of which are not shown in FIG. 2).

Then, the control device 1 acquires the image captured by the imaging device and the detection value of the proximity sensor, and controls the cleaning device 2 based on these. As a result, the cleaning device 2 can be automatically moved between the pipes PI to be cleaned, and the cleaning device 2 can clean the pipes PI.

(Configuration of control device)
The configuration of the control device 1 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an example of the main configuration of the control device 1. As shown in FIG. As shown in the figure, the control device 1 includes a control section 10 that controls each section of the control device 1 and a storage section 11 that stores various data used by the control device 1 . The control device 1 also includes a communication unit 12 for communicating with other devices, an input unit 13 for receiving input of various data to the control device 1, and a device for outputting various data from the control device 1. and an output unit 14 . The control unit 10 includes a tube detection unit 101 , an angle identification unit 102 , a deviation amount calculation unit 103 and a movement control unit 104 .

The pipe detection unit 101 detects the pipe PI from an image captured by an imaging device attached to the cleaning device 2 . Images may be obtained via the communication unit 12 or the input unit 13 . The angle identification unit 102 identifies the inclination angle of the pipe PI detected by the pipe detection unit 101 .

The displacement calculation unit 103 calculates the amount of displacement of the cleaning device 2 from a predetermined reference position based on the detection values of a pair of proximity sensors that detect the pipe PI and are attached to the cleaning device 2 at symmetrical positions. calculate. In the present embodiment, the reference position is the center position of two pipes PI arranged adjacently in parallel (a position equidistant from the two pipes PI), and the deviation amount calculation unit 103 is the cleaning device 2 and an example of calculating the amount of deviation between the center position in the horizontal direction and the center position.

Of course, the reference position may be determined as appropriate, and is not limited to this example. For example, the center position of the pipe PI may be used as a reference position, and the amount of deviation between the center position of the cleaning device 2 in the horizontal direction and the center position of the pipe PI may be calculated.

The movement control unit 104 performs movement control of the cleaning device 2 based on one or both of the tilt angle specified by the angle specifying unit 102 and the deviation amount calculated by the deviation amount calculation unit 103 . Although the details will be described later, the movement control unit 104 performs, for example, turning control for changing the direction of the cleaning device 2 and control for moving the cleaning device 2 to the central position of the adjacent pipes PI. Here, it is assumed that turning control in which the position of the control device 2 does not change is also included in the category of movement control.

As described above, the control device 1 includes the tube detection unit 101 that detects the pipe PI from the image captured by the imaging device attached to the cleaning device 2 that cleans the surface of the pipe PI, and the It includes an angle specifying unit 102 that specifies the inclination angle of the pipe PI, and a movement control unit 104 that controls the movement of the cleaning device 2 based on the specified inclination angle.

The tilt angle of the pipe PI in the image captured by the imaging device attached to the cleaning device 2 reflects the orientation of the cleaning device 2 with respect to the pipe PI. If the orientation of the cleaning device 2 with respect to the pipe PI can be specified, the direction of the cleaning device 2 can be changed so as to have a predetermined orientation with respect to the pipe PI, or the direction of the cleaning device 2 can be changed to the direction of the pipe PI. or move the cleaning device 2 in a direction perpendicular to the pipe PI.

Therefore, according to the above configuration, movement control of the cleaning device 2 can be realized based on the image captured by the imaging device. In addition, the above configuration does not require a special configuration such as an arm for correcting the stop position, so it is more versatile than the technique of Patent Document 1. Therefore, according to the above configuration, there is an effect that general-purpose movement control of the cleaning device 2 can be realized.

(Overview of pipe detection and tilt angle identification)
FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an outline of tube detection and inclination angle specification by the control device 1. As shown in FIG. FIG. 2 shows a top view of the cleaning device 2 positioned on the pipe PI and an image IMG taken by the imaging device 271 provided by the cleaning device 2 . Note that the appearance of the cleaning device 2 is simplified from that of FIG. This also applies to the drawings after FIG. 3 .

In the cleaning device 2 shown in FIG. 3, the front side of the cleaning device 2 is tilted to the left with respect to the extending direction of the pipe PI. A photographing device 271 is provided at the front portion of the cleaning device 2 . This photographing device 271 is housed in the housing portion 27 of FIG. 2 and arranged so as to photograph the lower side of the cleaning device 2 . The photographing device 271 may be any device capable of photographing an image in which the outline of the pipe PI can be recognized, and may be, for example, a depth camera.

In the image IMG captured by the imaging device 271 included in the cleaning device 2 in such a state, the pipe PI is shown tilted upward to the right as shown. Although the details will be described later, the tube detection unit 101 detects a line segment L1 forming the outer edge of the tube PI from the image IMG. Then, the angle specifying unit 102 specifies the inclination angle of the line segment L1 detected by the pipe detection unit 101 with respect to the line segment L2 as the inclination angle of the pipe PI. Line segment L2 is a line segment perpendicular to the upper and lower sides of image IMG.

When the front-rear direction of the cleaning device 2 is parallel to the extending direction of the pipe PI, that is, when the detected line segment forming the outer edge of the pipe is parallel to the line segment L2, Δθ becomes zero. With respect to the direction in which Δθ is zero, for example, the tilt angle of the pipe can be expressed by making the tilt on the right side positive and the tilt on the left side negative. In this case, as shown in FIG. 3, Δθ becomes a positive value when the front side of the cleaning device 2 is tilted to the left, and Δθ becomes a negative value when the front side of the cleaning device 2 is tilted to the right.

(Specific example of tube detection)
FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a specific example of pipe detection by the control device 1. As shown in FIG. IMG 1 shown in FIG. 4 is an image captured by the imaging device 271 . In this image IMG1, in regions A1 and A2, etc., the outer edge of the tube, which should be straight, is distorted and curved. Such distortion occurs when the lens of the photographing device 271 is a wide-angle lens. Proximity sensors are reflected in the lower left and lower right corners of image IMG1.

Since distortion interferes with tube detection, in the example of FIG. 4, prior to tube detection, tube detection unit 101 performs distortion correction on image IMG1 to generate distortion-corrected image IMG2. . In image IMG2, the outer edges of the tube are straightened in areas A1' and A2' corresponding to areas A1 and A2. Since the pattern of distortion that occurs depends on the photographing device 271, for example, a check pattern may be photographed in advance by the photographing device 271, and a correction parameter may be created so as to eliminate the distortion of the photographed check pattern. Distortion can be corrected by using such correction parameters.

IMG3 shown in FIG. 4 is also an image captured by the imaging device 271, and interference fringes are generated in the area A3 and the like of this image IMG3. Such noise can also interfere with tube detection. Therefore, the tube detection unit 101 may perform noise removal prior to tube detection. An image IMG4 shown in FIG. 4 is obtained by performing noise removal processing on the image IMG3. The image IMG4 is a clear image without interference fringes.

Any noise removal method can be applied. For example, noise may be removed by a bilateral filter. Since the bilateral filter is a filter that removes noise and leaves sharp edge portions in an image, it is suitable as a noise removal filter used for preprocessing for tube detection.

The tube detection unit 101 detects line segments forming the outer edge of the tube from the image subjected to the above distortion correction and noise removal. Various edge detection methods can be applied to detect this line segment. For example, the tube detection unit 101 may perform edge detection using the Canny method. In the Canny method, after converting a target image into a grayscale, a portion of the converted image where the luminance change is equal to or greater than a threshold value is detected as an edge.

FIG. 4 shows an edge image IMG5 representing the result of edge detection by the Canny method from the image IMG4. The edge image IMG5 is a binarized image in which various edges including the outer edge of the pipe are represented by white line segments, and portions other than the edges are black background portions.

Thereafter, the tube detection unit 101 detects straight lines from the edge image IMG5. Since the detected straight line includes the edge of the outer edge of the pipe, the process of detecting the straight line can be said to be the process of detecting the pipe.

Any method can be used to detect straight lines from the edge image IMG5. For example, the tube detection unit 101 may detect a straight line by Hough transform. In this case, the tube detection unit 101 expresses the equation of the straight line to be detected as ρ=xcos θ+ysin θ, and sets (ρ, θ) of straight lines on which a predetermined number or more of edge pixels (white pixels in the edge image IMG5) are present. , that is, to obtain the polar coordinates.

As a result, each straight line having a predetermined length or more (each straight line made up of a predetermined number or more of white pixels) included in edge image IMG5 is represented by polar coordinates (ρ, θ). In order to avoid detection of straight lines other than the outer edge of the tube to be detected as much as possible, it is preferable to perform straight line detection while avoiding the edge of the edge image IMG5 in which things other than the outer edge of the tube appear. The straight line detection target area may be determined in advance.

Next, the angle identification unit 102 identifies the inclination angle of the pipe from the straight line detected by the pipe detection unit 101 . More specifically, the angle identification unit 102 identifies the inclination of the straight line represented by the polar coordinates (ρ, θ) in the xy coordinate system, that is, in the orthogonal coordinate system. Specifically, the angle specifying unit 102 obtains two points on a straight line represented by polar coordinates (ρ, θ), and obtains a distance x1 in the x-axis direction and a distance y1 in the y-axis direction between the two points. Assuming that the inclination to be specified is φ, tanφ=y1/x1 holds, so the angle specifying unit 102 can specify the slope φ from the obtained values of x1 and y1. However, 0<φ<180° is set.

The angle identification unit 102 performs the above processing on all straight lines detected by the tube detection unit 101, and identifies the inclination of each detected straight line. Here, the angle identification unit 102 excludes the identified angles that exceed the threshold. Then, the angle identification unit 102 identifies the average value of the remaining angles as the inclination angle of the pipe.

The detection of the pipe and the identification of the inclination angle may be performed a plurality of times in time series, and the moving average of each identification result may be identified as the inclination angle of the pipe. In this case, for example, photographing by the photographing device 271, detection of the tube from the photographed image, and identification of the inclination angle are performed at a predetermined cycle (for example, several Hz to several tens of Hz), and a moving average of the identification results of a plurality of cycles is calculated. , the inclination angle of the tube in the plurality of cycles.

(Example of control: turning)
The movement control unit 104 can rotate the cleaning device 2 based on the tilt angle specified by the angle specifying unit 102 as described above, and direct the cleaning device 2 in a desired direction. Specifically, the movement control unit 104 should set the target tilt angle Δθ _T and turn the cleaning device 2 so that the tilt angle Δθ=Δθ _T specified by the angle specifying unit 102. . For example, when the cleaning device 2 is rotated so that the front-rear direction is parallel to the extending direction of the pipe, the movement control unit 104 may set Δθ _T =0. Then, the movement control unit 104 may rotate the cleaning device 2 until the tilt angle Δθ=Δθ _T =0 specified by the angle specifying unit 102 is satisfied.

However, there is a time lag between the transmission of the control signal from the control device 1 to the cleaning device 2 and the operation of the cleaning device 2 according to the control signal. Therefore, it is preferable that the movement control unit 104 performs turning control in consideration of this time lag.

For example, the movement control unit 104 may perform turning control using the inclination angle Δθ _S represented by the following formula as a threshold. _td is the dead time from the transmission of the control signal to the operation of the cleaning device 2, γ is the angular velocity of the cleaning device 2 during turning, and V is the running speed of the cleaning device 2 (running at the rotational speed of the motor during turning). and a is the travel acceleration of the cleaning device 2 (acceleration in travel at the rotation speed of the motor during turning). In addition, the coefficient (1/2) of γ in the following formula is set on the assumption that the angular velocity linearly decreases during the period from turning to stopping of turning. The coefficient of γ is not limited to 1/2 as long as it corresponds to the variation pattern of the angular velocity during the period until turning stop.
Δθ _S =t _d *γ+V/a*γ/2
Specifically, the movement control unit 104 outputs right turn, left turn, and stop (turn end) control signals according to the following conditions. The sign of Δθ in the following conditional expression and the sign of _ΔθS on the right side change depending on how the reference axis is set.
Δθ>Δθ _T −Δθ _S : Turn right Δθ<Δθ _T +Δθ _S : Turn left |Δθ|=Δθ _T +Δθ _S : Stop (end turning)
For example, the flow of processing during turning is as follows. In the following, the turning control when the cleaning device 2 is parallel to the pipe, that is, the turning control when Δθ _T =0 will be described.

First, the movement control unit 104 calculates the angular velocity γ of the cleaning device 2, then the movement control unit 104 multiplies the angular velocity γ by a predetermined dead time _td to obtain the angle that changes during the time lag, that is, the above Δθ _S Calculate the value of the first term on the right side of the formula. Further, the movement control unit 104 calculates the value of the second term on the right side of the calculation formula for Δθ _S from the traveling speed V and the acceleration a of the cleaning device 2, and obtains the value of Δθ _S from this.

Next, the movement control unit 104 determines whether the magnitude of the tilt angle Δθ (|Δθ|) specified by the angle specifying unit 102 is greater than _ΔθS . Here, if |Δθ| _≤ΔθS , the movement control unit 104 outputs a turning stop signal. This is because the required accuracy is satisfied if |Δθ| _≤ΔθS .

On the other hand, the movement control unit 104 rotates the cleaning device 2 if |Δθ|> _ΔθS . The conditions for determining the turning direction are as described above. That is, the movement control unit 104 outputs a control signal for turning right if Δθ> _ΔθS , and a control signal for turning left if Δθ< _−ΔθS . After that, the movement control unit 104 returns to the determination of whether |Δθ|> _ΔθS again. By repeating _such processing until | _{Δθ |} A turn that satisfies the required accuracy is realized by considering the change in the tilt angle (V/a*γ/2).

(Outline of calculation method of deviation amount)
FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an outline of a method of calculating the amount of deviation by the amount-of-deviation calculating unit 103. As shown in FIG. FIG. 5 shows a plan view of the cleaning device 2 located on the pipes PIL and PIR and a cross-sectional view taken along line AA' in the plan view. In the cross-sectional view, illustration of elements other than the proximity sensors 272L and 272R and the pipes PIL and PIR provided in the cleaning device 2 is omitted.

As described above, the detection values of a pair of proximity sensors that detect the pipe PI and are attached to the cleaning device 2 at symmetrical positions are used to calculate the amount of deviation. In the example of FIG. 5, proximity sensors 272L and 272R are provided in the front portion of the cleaning device 2 . The proximity sensor 272L is provided on the left side of the center line L3 that bisects the cleaning device 2 in the horizontal direction, and the proximity sensor 272R is provided on the right side of the center line L3. is. These sensors are housed in housing 27 (see FIG. 2).

As shown in the plan view, the center line L3 is parallel to the tubes PIL and PIR, but is shifted to the left by .DELTA.y with respect to the median line L4 indicating the center position of the tubes PIL and PIR. The shift amount calculator 103 calculates this shift amount Δy based on the detection values of the proximity sensors 272L and 272R.

More specifically, when Δy is zero, the difference between the detection value of the proximity sensor 272L and the detection value of the proximity sensor 272R becomes zero, and when Δy is other than zero, the difference does not become zero. Δy is calculated using the fact.

For example, in the example of FIG. 5, the distance from the proximity sensor 272L to the pipe PIL is shorter than the distance from the proximity sensor 272R to the pipe PIR, as shown in the sectional view of FIG. Therefore, the difference between the detection value of the proximity sensor 272L and the detection value of the proximity sensor 272R does not become zero. For example, if the proximity sensors 272L and 272R, which detect smaller values as the distance to the object decreases, the difference between the detected values will be a negative value.

Therefore, since the difference between the detection values of the proximity sensors 272L and 272R becomes a negative value, the straight line L5 indicating the central position of the proximity sensors 272L and 272R is shifted from the straight line L6 indicating the central position of the pipes PIL and PIR. It can be seen that it is shifted to the left. Also, since the magnitude of the difference between the detected values reflects the magnitude of the amount of deviation, Δy can be calculated from the magnitude of the difference between the detected values.

(Arrangement of proximity sensor)
A pair of proximity sensors 272L and 272R are preferably positioned so that when one is directly above the tube, the other is at the detection limit of the adjacent tube. The reason for such arrangement will be described with reference to FIGS. 6 and 7. FIG.

FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating the relationship between the positional relationship between the proximity sensor 272 and the pipe PI and the detected value of the proximity sensor 272. As shown in FIG. The proximity sensor 272 is the same sensor as the proximity sensors 272L and 272R.

FIG. 6 shows the relationship between the amount of deviation of the proximity sensor 272 from the initial position (unit: mm) and the measurement value of the proximity sensor 272 (detection value of the proximity sensor 272, unit: volt). The initial position is about 5 mm to the left of the position directly above the pipe PI.

As illustrated, when the proximity sensor 272 is moved rightward from the initial position, when the proximity sensor 272 is positioned directly above the pipe PI, that is, when the proximity sensor 272 comes closest to the pipe PI, , the detected value is about 1.2V. This value is the minimum output value of the proximity sensor 272 .

After that, when the proximity sensor 272 is further moved to the right, the detection value of the proximity sensor 272 increases, and when the pipe PI is out of the detection range, the detection value (voltage value) is about 5.5. 0V. This value is the maximum value of the output value of the proximity sensor 272 and is the boundary of the detection range of the proximity sensor 272 . That is, if the detected value (voltage value) is smaller than 5.0V, it can be said that the proximity sensor 272 has detected the pipe PI, and if it is 5.0V, it can be said that the pipe PI has not been detected.

The relationship between the position of the proximity sensor 272 and the detected value has different patterns when the distance to the pipe PI is relatively short and when it is close to the detection range boundary. Of these cases, when the distance to the pipe PI is relatively short, the relationship between the position of the proximity sensor 272 and the detected value can be formulated as a function by approximation. This function is shown in FIG. 6 as an "approximate curve".

In FIG. 6, the approximate curve shows the amount of deviation when the voltage value (approximately 5.0 V) is outside the detection range, and when the proximity sensor 272 is closest to the pipe PI (the proximity sensor 272 D represents the difference from the deviation amount when the position is positioned at ). When the proximity sensor 272 moves to the right by a distance D from the state in which the proximity sensor 272 is located right above the pipe PI, the detection value of the proximity sensor 272 does not reach the maximum value, but it is close to the maximum value. value.

For this reason, D is regarded as the detection limit distance, and when the proximity sensor 272 exists in the section from the position directly above the pipe PI to the position separated by D in the right direction, the detected value of the proximity sensor 272 deviates. The relationship with the amount can be approximated by an approximate curve as shown in FIG. When the pipe PI exists at a position farther than the detection limit of the proximity sensor 272, the detection value of the proximity sensor 272 can approximate a constant value (approximately 5.0 V).

The experiment was conducted by changing the distance between the proximity sensor 272 and the pipe PI when the proximity sensor 272 was closest to the pipe PI. , the position of the detection limit did not change. From this experimental result, it is reasonable to approximate the proximity portion with an approximate curve as shown in FIG. The maximum value of the proximity sensor 272) is also appropriate.

FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating the relationship between the positional relationship between the proximity sensors 272L and 272R and the tubes PIL and PIR, and the relationship between the approximate expressions of the detection values of the proximity sensors 272L and 272R. In FIG. 7, the deviation amount is zero when the left proximity sensor 272L is positioned directly above the left side pipe PIL of the two adjacent pipes. Then, an approximation representing the relationship between the amount of deviation x from the position when the proximity sensors 272L and 272R are horizontally moved to the right from that position and the detection values V ₁ and V ₂ of the proximity sensors 272L and 272R. shows the formula.

As shown,
V ₁ =a(x−p) ² +q
V ₂ =a(x−p−D) ² +q
is. Note that a, p, and q are constants determined from the distance between the proximity sensors 272, the diameter of the pipes PI, the pitch of the pipes PI, and the distance between the proximity sensors 272 and the pipes PI. D is the difference between the amount of deviation when V ₁ =V _1MAX (approximately 5.0 V) and the amount of deviation when V ₁ =V _1MIN (approximately 1.2 V) in the approximation curve of V ₁ . difference.

Proximity sensors 272L and 272R are arranged using D obtained in this way. Specifically, the distance in the horizontal direction from the proximity sensor 272R to the position directly above the pipe PIR is set to D when the proximity sensor 272L is positioned directly above the pipe PIL. Also, when the proximity sensor 272R is positioned directly above the pipe PIR, the horizontal distance from the proximity sensor 272L to the position directly above the pipe PIL is set to be D as well. To achieve such a positional relationship, the distance d between the proximity sensors 272L and 272R should be set to (P−D). P is the distance between the tubes PIL and PIR.

With such an arrangement, the detected value V ₁ becomes the minimum value V _1MIN (approximately 1.2 V) when the proximity sensor 272L is positioned right above the pipe PIL. At this time, since the proximity sensor 272R is at the detection limit position of the tube PIR, _V2 becomes the maximum value _V2MAX (approximately 5.0V). On the other hand, when the proximity sensor 272R is positioned right above the pipe PIR, the detected value _V2 becomes the minimum value _V2MIN (approximately 1.2V). At this time, since the proximity sensor 272L is at the detection limit position of the tube PIL, _V1 becomes the maximum value _V1MAX (approximately 5.0V).

In addition, the proximity sensor 272L detects the pipe PIL in the section from the state where the proximity sensor 272L is positioned right above the pipe PIL to the state where the proximity sensor 272R is positioned right above the pipe PIR. and the proximity sensor 272R is detecting the pipe PIR. The difference between the detection values of the proximity sensors 272L and 272R in this section can be expressed as follows.
V ₁ −V ₂ ={a(x−p) ² +q}−{a(x−p−D) ² +q}
=2aDx−a(2pD+D ² ) ²
Here, as described with reference to FIG. 5, when the detection values of the proximity sensors 272L and 272R are equal, that is, when V ₁ −V ₂ =0, the amount of deviation is zero. Therefore, the function representing the amount of deviation is represented by the following linear function with the second term on the right side of the above equation set to zero.

x=(V ₁ -V ₂ )/2aD
Here, it is assumed that the proximity sensors 272L and 272R move to the right from the state in which the proximity sensor 272R is located directly above the tube PIR. In this state, the proximity sensor 272L is out of the sensing range of the pipe PIL, so the constant V ₁ =V _1MAX (approximately 5.0 V). Proximity sensor 272R, on the other hand, is within the sensing range of tube PIR and is expressed as V ₂ =a(x−p−D) ² +q. Therefore, the difference between the detection values of the proximity sensors 272L and 272R in this state can be expressed as follows.
V ₁ −V ₂ =V _1MAX −a(x−p−D) ² −q
As described above, the deviation amount is set to zero when V ₁ −V ₂ =0. That is, −a(2pD+D ² ) ² =0. Since a≠0 and D≠0, 2p+D=0. Therefore, when the proximity sensor 272L is outside the detection range of the pipe PIL and the proximity sensor 272R is within the detection range of the pipe PIR, the function representing the deviation amount is expressed as follows.
x={−(V ₁ −V ₂ +q−V _1MAX )/a} ^1/2 +D/2
As described above, the difference between the detected values of the proximity sensors 272L and 272R when only one of the proximity sensors 272L and 272R detects the pipe and when both of them detect the pipe is simply It can be expressed by an approximate expression. By using these approximation formulas, it is possible to derive a function for obtaining the amount of deviation from the difference between the detection values of the proximity sensors 272L and 272R.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a function for obtaining the amount of deviation from the difference (V ₁ -V ₂ ) between the detection values of the proximity sensors 272L and 272R. The vertical axis of the graph in FIG. 8 is the amount of deviation of the proximity sensor 272L from the position directly above the tube PIL (unit: mm), and the horizontal axis is the difference between the detected values of the proximity sensors 272L and 272R (voltage difference, unit: V). is.

The function shown in FIG. 8 is a straight line (linear function) in the section from 0 to about 15 mm of the deviation amount. Specifically, the function in this section is a linear function in which the amount of deviation increases in proportion to the voltage difference (V ₁ -V ₂ ), as shown in Equation (1) in FIG.

Also, the function shown in FIG. 8 is a curve in the section where the amount of deviation is from 15 to around 45 mm. Specifically, the function in this section is a function in which the amount of deviation decreases according to the value of (V ₁ -V ₂ ) ^1/2 , as shown in Equation (2) in FIG. In addition, in FIG. 8, V _1MAX =5. That is, "5" in (V ₁ -V ₂ +q-5) of Equation (2) is V _1MAX .

That is, when both the proximity sensors 272L and 272R detect the pipe (when V ₁ ≠ V _1MAX and V ₂ ≠ V _2MAX ), the deviation amount calculation unit 103 calculates the deviation amount Calculate x. Further, when only one of the proximity sensors 272L and 272R is detecting the pipe, the deviation amount calculation unit 103 calculates the deviation amount x by the above formula (2). Here, when only one of the proximity sensors 272L and 272R is detecting the pipe is ( _V1 = _V1MAX and _V2 ≠ _V2MAX ) or ( _V2 = _V2MAX and _V1 ≠ _V1MAX ). is.

In this way, when the proximity sensor 272L is positioned directly above the pipe PIL, the proximity sensor 272R is positioned at the detection limit of the pipe PIR, and when the proximity sensor 272R is positioned directly above the pipe PIR, the proximity By arranging the sensor 272L at the position of the detection limit of the pipe PIL, it is possible to calculate the amount of deviation using the simple functions of equations (1) and (2).

Depending on the distance between the proximity sensors 272L and 272R and the pipes PIL and PIR, the radical in Equation (2) may become negative. In this case, the shift amount calculation unit 103 sets the first term on the right side of Equation (2) to zero. In addition, depending on whether the value of (V ₁ −V ₂ ) is positive or negative, in other words, the magnitude relationship between V ₁ and V ₂ , the center position of the adjacent pipes and the center position of the proximity sensors 272L and 272R may be in either the left or right direction. It is also possible to determine whether there is a deviation. Specifically, if V ₁ >V ₂ , it can be determined that there is a shift to the right, and if V ₂ >V ₁ , it can be determined that there is a shift to the left.

As described above, the control device 1 determines the amount of deviation of the cleaning device 2 from the predetermined reference position based on the detection values of the pair of proximity sensors 272L and 272R attached to the cleaning device 2 for detecting the pipe. A deviation amount calculation unit 103 is provided to calculate the amount of deviation. Then, the movement control unit 104 performs movement control of the cleaning device 2 based on the tilt angle specified by the angle specifying unit 102 and the deviation amount calculated by the deviation amount calculation unit 103 .

More specifically, a pair of proximity sensors 272L and 272R are arranged so that when one is directly above the tube, the other is at the detection limit of the tube adjacent to it. Then, the shift amount calculation unit 103 calculates the shift amount by using Equation (2), which is an approximation formula approximating the relationship between the difference between the detection values of the pair of proximity sensors 272L and 272R and the shift amount.

As described above, when the proximity sensors 272L and 272R are attached to the cleaning device 2 at symmetrical positions to detect two pipes arranged in parallel, the cleaning device 2 is positioned at the center of the two pipes. At some point, the distance from proximity sensor 272L to tube PIL is equal to the distance from proximity sensor 272R to tube PIR. In this case, the output values of proximity sensors 272L and 272R are the same or substantially the same.

On the other hand, when the cleaning device 2 is at a position shifted from the central position of the two pipes, the output values of the proximity sensors 272L and 272R are different. In this case, the difference between the output values of the proximity sensors 272L and 272R corresponds to the amount of deviation between the center position of the cleaning device 2 in the horizontal direction and the center position between the pipes PIL and PIR.

Therefore, based on the detection values of the proximity sensors 272L and 272R attached to the cleaning device 2 at symmetrical positions, the deviation amount of the cleaning device 2 from the reference position can be calculated. For example, it is possible to calculate the amount of deviation between the central position of the cleaning device 2 in the left-right direction and the central position between the plurality of pipes arranged in parallel.

By performing movement control using this deviation amount, the cleaning device 2 can be positioned at a predetermined position with respect to the pipe. For example, by controlling the movement of the cleaning device 2 so that the amount of deviation is zero, the cleaning device 2 can be positioned at the center position between the pipes.

Here, as shown in FIG. 6, the output characteristics of the proximity sensor 272 are as follows: when the detection target is near the proximity sensor 272, and when the detection target is at a position away from the proximity sensor 272, i. different from case to case. Therefore, when approximating the output characteristics when the object to be detected is near the proximity sensor 272 by a quadratic expression, strictly speaking, the output characteristics when the object is near the detection limit must be approximated by another expression. be.

However, in this case, the output characteristics of the proximity sensor 272 are divided into three: the quadratic formula, the above-mentioned another formula, and the constant. When the two proximity sensors 272L and 272R are used, the formula for expressing the difference between the detection values becomes complicated, and the number of cases is increased, which complicates the calculation.

Therefore, the proximity sensors 272L and 272R of the cleaning device 2 are arranged so that when one is positioned directly above the pipe, the other is positioned at the detection limit of the pipe adjacent to the pipe. Then, the detected value at the position of the detection limit is approximated to be the maximum detected value. As a result, when both the proximity sensors 272L and 272R are detecting the pipe, the above formula (1) is used, and when only one of the proximity sensors 272L and 272R is detecting the pipe, the above formula (2) is used. The amount of deviation can be calculated by a simple calculation.

In this embodiment, an example in which the proximity sensors 272L and 272R are attached to the cleaning device 2 at symmetrical positions is described, but the present invention is not limited to this example. The proximity sensors 272L and 272R may be arranged in a predetermined direction and at a predetermined distance with respect to the reference position (for example, center position) of the cleaning device 2 . For example, one proximity sensor may be arranged a predetermined distance forward of the central position of the cleaning device 2 and the other proximity sensor may be arranged a predetermined distance rearward.

Also, the detector for detecting the pipe is not limited to the proximity sensor 272 . For example, any detector that can detect a pipe without contact, such as a distance measurement sensor (for example, a laser distance measurement sensor) or an ultrasonic sensor, can be applied. Also, the number of installed detectors is not limited to two, but may be three or more, and a plurality of types of detectors may be used together.

Further, the approximation formula that approximates the relationship between the difference between the detection values of the proximity sensors and the amount of deviation is not limited to the examples of formulas (1) and (2). For example, it can be approximated by a higher-order function (including quadratic and cubic functions), an exponential function, a logarithmic function, or a combination thereof, depending on the type and arrangement of detectors for detecting tubes. . However, the configuration using the formulas (1) and (2) described above is preferable because it has the advantage that the deviation amount can be calculated by a simple calculation.

(Example of control: Centering)
Centering control of the cleaning device 2 will be described here as an example of control of the cleaning device 2 based on the amount of deviation and the tilt angle described above. Centering refers to moving the cleaning device 2 to the center position between the pipes, and by centering, the pantograph 25 can be lowered between the pipes for cleaning (see FIG. 2). ).

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing an operation example of the cleaning device 2 during centering. Note that FIG. 9 shows a view from above of the cleaning device 2 on the pipes PI1 to PI3 which are arranged parallel to each other at regular intervals. Further, in FIG. 9, the center position between the pipes PI1 and PI2 is indicated by a dashed line L7. When the dashed line L8 that bisects the cleaning device 2 in the horizontal direction coincides with the dashed line L7, the centering is completed.

For centering, the movement control unit 104 first places the cleaning device 2 parallel to the pipes PI1 to PI3. Specifically, the movement control unit 104 acquires the latest tilt angle Δθ specified by the angle specifying unit 102, sets the target tilt angle Δθ _T to zero, obtains the threshold Δθ _S , and |Δθ|= It is determined whether Δθ _S (ST1). In the example of FIG. 9, |Δθ|> _ΔθS . In this case, the movement control unit 104 turns the cleaning device 2 to the left until |Δθ|= _ΔθS (ST2).

When |Δθ|=Δθ _S , movement control section 104 acquires the latest deviation amount Δy calculated by deviation amount calculation section 103, and determines whether |Δy|=y _S (ST3). _yS may be a value obtained by adding a predetermined margin to 0, for example. The margin is determined according to tube pitch, tube diameter, pandograph width, and the like. It is considered that the margin is often several millimeters. In the example of FIG. 9, |Δy|> _ΔyS . In this case, the movement control unit 104 performs control to bring Δy closer to zero.

Specifically, the movement control unit 104 orients the cleaning device 2 in a direction inclined with respect to the extending direction of the pipes PI1 to PI3 and moves it forward or backward, thereby bringing Δy closer to zero. At this time, it is conceivable that the vehicle may move away from the start position of straight running by centering only forward or backward. For this reason, it is preferable to perform centering in a multi-step process of alternately repeating forward movement and backward movement.

When repeating forward and backward movements alternately, the movement control unit 104 determines whether the previous movement was forward movement or reverse movement. Also, it is determined from the value of Δy whether to move leftward or rightward. For example, if the value of Δy at the position to the right of Δy=0 is output as a positive value, and the value of Δy at the position to the left of Δy=0 is output as a negative value, if the value of Δy is positive, If it is negative, it may be determined to move to the right.

Then, the movement control unit 104 determines the turning direction based on these determination results. Specifically, the movement control unit 104 determines to turn right when moving leftward and when the previous movement was forward movement. Further, the movement control unit 104 determines to turn left when moving leftward and when the previous movement was backward. The same is true when moving rightward, and the movement control unit 104 determines to turn left when the previous movement was forward, and to turn right when the previous movement was backward. do. In the example of FIG. 9, it is assumed that it is necessary to move to the right and that the previous movement was forward, so the movement control unit 104 determines to turn left ( ST4).

After determining the turning direction, the movement control unit 104 transmits to the cleaning device 2 an instruction to turn in the determined direction. The target angle _ΔθT for turning may be determined in advance. That is, after transmitting the turning instruction, the movement control unit 104 instructs the cleaning device 2 to stop turning at the timing when the angle Δθ= _ΔθT specified by the angle specifying unit 102 (ST5).

After the end of the turning, the movement control unit 104 moves the cleaning device 2 forward or backward. Specifically, if the previous movement was forward movement, a backward movement instruction is transmitted to the cleaning device 2, and if the previous movement was backward movement, a forward movement instruction is transmitted to the cleaning device 2 (ST6). A method of determining the forward or backward travel time at this time, that is, the running time of the cleaning device 2 will be described later with reference to FIG. 10 .

(Calculation method of running time)
FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating a method of calculating the travel time of the cleaning device 2 during centering. FIG. 10 shows a state in which the cleaning device 2 is viewed from above. It should be noted that the cleaning device 2 is depicted in a smaller size. In FIG. 10, the center position of the pipes PIL and PIR parallel to each other is indicated by a dashed line L9, and the line bisecting the cleaning device 2 in the horizontal direction is indicated by a dashed line L10.

As shown, the angle between dashed lines L9 and L10 is _{.DELTA..theta.T} , and the amount of deviation of the cleaning device 2 from the dashed line L9 is .DELTA.y. Also, the moving distance from the center position of the cleaning device 2 to the position on the broken line L9 when moving forward along the broken line L10 is _LP .

At this time, the movement control unit 104 may calculate the running time of the cleaning device 2 using Equation (3) shown in FIG. 10 . Note that V in Expression (3) is the running speed of the cleaning device 2 . Also, Δy/sin(Δθ _T )=L _P in Equation (3). That is, the formula (3 ₎ is obtained _by multiplying L _P by (1+k _b ) instead of L _P as the _travel distance of the cleaning device 2 _. This formula is used to find the running time. Since it is generally slippery on the pipe, it is possible to run a distance closer to the _LP by calculating the running time after increasing the running distance in this way.

The above _kb is a bias value. As shown in FIG. 10, _kb =( _kp + _kn )/2, that is, the arithmetic mean value of the bias value _kp at the time of the previous movement and the bias value _kn at the time of the current movement may be _kb . . As shown in FIG. 10, the current bias value _kn is the ratio (Δy _n / _{Δy p )} between the positional deviation amount Δy _n after the most recent movement and the positional deviation amount Δyp before the movement.

For example, EX1 in FIG. 10 shows an example in which centering is performed by three steps of movement from a state in which the amount of positional deviation is Δy1. In EX1, a point P1 indicates the center position of the cleaning device 2 when the positional deviation amount is Δy1. Further, the positional deviation amount after the first stage movement is Δy2, the center position of the cleaning device 2 at this time is indicated by a point P2, the positional deviation amount after the second stage movement is Δy3, and the cleaning device 2 positional deviation amount at this time is Δy3. The center position is indicated by point P3.

In the movement of the first step, the movement control unit 104 calculates the running time by Equation (3) using the default bias value _kd . Here, Δy1 may be substituted for Δy in Equation (3). As _kd , for example, the last used bias value _kb may be applied, or a predetermined value may be applied. Note that a predetermined constant smaller than .DELTA.y1 may be substituted for .DELTA.y in order to ensure that centering is always performed in a plurality of stages. This constant indicates the upper limit of the shift width in one stage of movement, and may be set in advance according to the space on the pipe. This constant is used to calculate the running time until the amount of deviation calculated by the deviation amount calculation unit 103 becomes equal to or less than this constant.

In the movement of the second stage, the movement control unit 104 sets the ratio (Δy2/Δy1) of the amount of positional deviation Δy2 after the movement of the first stage to the amount of positional deviation Δy1 before the movement as the current bias value _kn . calculate. Then, the movement control unit 104 sets the arithmetic mean value of the calculated _kn and the previously applied bias value _kd as the bias value for the second stage movement. As a result, in the movement of the second stage, control of the movement distance is realized according to the deviation amount before and after the movement of the first stage.

In the movement of the third stage, the movement control unit 104 sets the ratio (Δy3/Δy2) of the amount of positional deviation Δy3 after the movement of the second stage to the amount of positional deviation Δy2 before the movement as the current bias value _kn . calculate. Then, the movement control unit 104 sets the arithmetic average value of the calculated _kn and the previously applied bias value _kb as the bias value for the third stage movement. As a result, in the movement of the third stage, control of the movement distance is realized according to the deviation amount before and after the movement of the second stage.

EX1 has reached the broken line L9, i.e., the central position between the tubes PIL and PIR, by moving three steps. move for the 4th step.

In this way, the movement control unit 104 may perform centering while repeating forward and backward movement and updating the bias value. It should be noted that, depending on the state of the pipe, etc., it is possible that the dashed line L9 is passed. In such a case, the sign of the shift amount Δy is reversed before and after the movement, and k _n =(Δy _n /Δy _p ) becomes a negative value. In this case, the movement control unit 104 may perform movement control with k _n =0.

As described above, when moving the cleaning device 2 by a predetermined distance, the movement control unit 104 may move the predetermined distance in multiple steps. In this case, the movement control unit 104 preferably adjusts the movement distance in the movement in the later stage according to the amount of deviation before and after the movement in the earlier stage.

When moving the cleaning device 2 on the pipe, even if it is controlled to move forward at the same set speed for the same amount of time, the movement distance may vary due to the slipperiness of the pipe surface. be. Therefore, according to the above configuration, when moving the cleaning device 2 by a predetermined distance, the predetermined distance is moved in a plurality of steps, and according to the deviation amount before and after the movement in the previous step, Adjust travel distance. This makes it possible to stably move the cleaning device 2 by a predetermined distance regardless of the surface condition of the pipe on which the cleaning device 2 moves.

In the example of FIG. 10, the adjustment is performed according to the amount of deviation before and after the movement immediately before, but the adjustment may be performed in consideration of the amount of deviation before that as well. For example, in the third stage movement in EX1, _the bias value _bb may be used as Also, a weighted average value or the like may be used instead of the arithmetic average value.

(Example of control: Straight running)
After performing centering and cleaning at the central position of the pipe, the movement control unit 104 causes the cleaning device 2 to travel straight while maintaining the central position of the pipe. This allows different locations of the same tube to be cleaned.

For example, the tilt angle specified by the angle specifying unit 102 can be used to control the cleaning device 2 to travel straight while maintaining the central position between the pipes. This is because if the state of zero inclination angle can be maintained, the state of maintaining the central position between the pipes can also be maintained.

Further, when the amount of deviation between the cleaning device 2 and the center position before traveling straight ahead is zero or a value close to it, it is not difficult to keep the final amount of deviation within the allowable range. On the other hand, if the amount of deviation between the cleaning device 2 and the center position before traveling straight is within the allowable range but is somewhat large, it is highly difficult to keep the final amount of deviation within the allowable range. Become.

For this reason, the movement control unit 104 determines whether or not the amount of deviation calculated by the amount of deviation calculating unit 103 is equal to or less than a threshold value before traveling straight ahead. and may be controlled differently. For example, the movement control unit 104 may apply a high-speed straight mode in which the cleaning device 2 is moved at high speed in the former case, and may apply a low-speed straight mode in which the moving speed is slower than the high-speed straight mode in the latter case. good.

(High-speed straight mode)
When applying the high-speed straight mode, the movement control unit 104 may calculate L/V, which is obtained by dividing the distance L to be moved by the running speed V, as the running time. be. After the cleaning device 2 starts traveling, the movement control unit 104 determines whether the tilt angle specified by the angle specifying unit 102 exceeds the allowable value. When the movement control unit 104 determines that the allowable value is exceeded, the movement control unit 104 adjusts the traveling direction of the cleaning device 2 .

For example, when the cleaning device 2 is provided with crawlers 22 as shown in FIG. The direction of travel of the cleaning device 2 can be adjusted.

Here, it is assumed that the inclination angle Δθ specified by the angle specifying unit 102 exceeds the allowable value after the vehicle starts running straight. In this case, the movement control unit 104 increases the speed of the left crawler 22 by α times (α=1+ |Δθ|). If the tilt angle is negative (that is, the cleaning device 2 tilts to the right, contrary to the example of FIG. 3), the movement control unit 104 may multiply the speed of the right crawler 22 by α. .

When the cleaning device 2 is moved backward, the control is reversed to the above. For example, the speed of the left crawler 22 is multiplied by α. By repeating such processing until the movement of the distance L is completed, it becomes possible to maintain the central position between the pipes while moving at a relatively high speed.

(low speed straight mode)
When the low-speed straight mode is applied, the movement control unit 104 sets the travel time to L/V and checks the inclination angle until the travel of the distance L is completed, as in the high-speed straight travel mode. Control may be performed to increase the speed of one crawler 22 by α times when the value exceeds the value. However, when the low-speed straight mode is applied, it is preferable that the movement control unit 104 also confirms the amount of deviation, and adjusts the direction of movement of the cleaning device 2 when the amount of deviation exceeds the allowable value.

For example, the movement control unit 104 performs the above control when the tilt angle specified by the angle specifying unit 102 exceeds the allowable value, and when the tilt angle specified by the angle specifying unit 102 is below the allowable value Also, the deviation amount calculated by the deviation amount calculation unit 103 may be checked. Then, the movement control unit 104 may perform an operation to shift to the central position when the amount of deviation exceeds the allowable value. Note that the movement control unit 104 may return to the tilt angle confirmation process when the amount of deviation is equal to or less than the allowable value.

In the shifting operation, if the deviation amount is a value indicating that the cleaning device 2 is shifted to the left with respect to the center position, the movement control unit 104 increases the speed of the left crawler 22 by β times ( β>α). After running the cleaning apparatus 2 for a predetermined time with the speed of the left crawler 22 multiplied by β, the movement control unit 104 also multiplies the speed of the right crawler 22 by β to return the vehicle body angle. good. Further, when the deviation amount is a value indicating that the cleaning device 2 is shifted to the right side of the central position, the movement control unit 104 increases the speed of the right crawler 22 by β times. good. After running the cleaning device 2 for a predetermined time with the speed of the right crawler 22 multiplied by β, the movement control unit 104 also multiplies the speed of the left crawler 22 by β to return the vehicle body angle. good. When the cleaning device 2 moves backward, the control is reversed, and the movement control unit 104 causes the cleaning device 2 to run for a predetermined time while the speed of the left crawler 22 is multiplied by β if the cleaning device 2 is shifted to the left. If it is on the right side, the sweeping device 2 is run for a predetermined time while the speed of the crawler 22 on the right side is multiplied by β.

By running the left and right crawlers 22 at different speeds for a predetermined period of time as described above, the deviation of the cleaning device 2 can be reduced or made zero. After running the cleaning device 2 for a predetermined time with the left and right crawlers 22 running at different speeds, the movement control unit 104 restores the speeds of the left and right crawlers 22 to the same speed, and starts the inclination angle confirmation process. Go back.

(Example of control: column movement)
After cleaning the entire two adjacent pipes, the movement control unit 104 causes the cleaning device 2 to perform row movement. Note that a row in row movement refers to the portion between a tube and its adjacent tube.

In row movement, the movement control unit 104 first turns the cleaning device 2 to the target angle Δθ _T based on the tilt angle specified by the angle specifying unit 102, and moves it forward after completing the rotation. The travel time in this forward travel may be calculated, for example, by the following formula (4). note that. P is the distance between adjacent pipes and V is the traveling speed of the cleaning device 2 .

(running time)=P*sin(Δθ _T )/V (4)
Next, the movement control unit 104 resets the tilt angle of the cleaning device 2 to zero based on the tilt angle specified by the angle specifying unit 102 . Here, it is assumed that the cleaning device 2 is positioned at the center of the row before the row movement, and that the cleaning device 2 is advanced by P*sin(Δθ _T ) due to the above travel control. In this case, the amount of deviation of the cleaning device 2 from the center position of the row after movement at the time when the tilt angle is returned to zero is P*{cos(Δθ _T )} ² .

Next, the movement control unit 104 turns the cleaning device 2 by (90−Δθ _T ) based on the tilt angle specified by the angle specifying unit 102 . In this manner, the movement control unit 104 may turn the cleaning device 2 so that the first and second turning angles are different from each other by 90°. Then, the movement control unit 104 causes the cleaning device 2 to move backward after the completion of the turning.

Here, assuming that the cleaning device 2 is positioned in the center of the row before the row movement, and that the cleaning device 2 has moved forward by P*sin(Δθ _T ) due to the initial forward movement, the cleaning device 2 is moved to P If the cleaning device 2 is moved backward by *cos(Δθ _T ), the position of the cleaning device 2 after the backward movement is a position that is moved by P from the position of the cleaning device 2 before the row movement. Therefore, the running time in backward running is calculated by the following formula (5).

(running time)=P*cos(Δθ _T )/V (5)
Row movement is realized by a combination of turning, forward movement, turning, and backward movement as described above. The cleaning device 2 may be moved backward after the first turn, and in this case, the cleaning device 2 may be moved forward after the second turn. Also, the turning direction may be determined according to which row the cleaning device 2 is to be moved to and the traveling direction of the cleaning device 2 . For example, to move to the left row, and to move the cleaning device 2 forward after the first turn, turn left.

Even if the cleaning device 2 is moved forward or backward for the running time, the cleaning device 2 may not move to the desired position due to the slipperiness of the pipe surface or the like. For this reason, the shift amount calculation unit 103 may calculate the shift amount Δy from the center position of the row after movement after the first run. Then, the movement control unit 104 may adjust the second running time according to the deviation amount Δy calculated by the deviation amount calculation unit 103 . In other words, the movement control unit 104 may calculate the second running time using the shift amount Δy calculated after the end of the first running.

Further, when the above-described processing is completed, the shift amount calculation unit 103 calculates the shift amount Δy from the center position of the column after movement. Here, if the amount of deviation Δy exceeds the allowable range, the centering described above is performed.

(Processing before starting control of cleaning device)
For example, when the photographing device 271 is not normally photographing, the angle specifying unit 102 cannot specify a proper value of the tilt angle, and the movement control unit 104 cannot perform proper control. Can not.

Therefore, the movement control unit 104 acquires the tilt angle specified by the angle specifying unit 102 prior to various controls as described above, and determines whether or not the tilt angle is within a preset invalid range. You can judge. Then, if the tilt angle acquired in time series from the angle specifying unit 102 is within the invalid range for a predetermined number of times, the movement control unit 104 transmits an abnormal signal and ends the control of the cleaning device 2. good too. This can prevent unintended control from being performed.

(Regarding the determination of the operation to be executed by the cleaning device)
As mentioned above, the control device 1 can cause operations such as centering, row movement, and straight ahead. Which of these operations should be performed may be determined by the control device 1, or may be determined by another control device provided upstream of the control device 1. FIG. In the latter case, the control device on the upstream side determines the operation to be performed by the cleaning device 2, for example, according to the operator's operation, and notifies the control device 1 of the determined operation. The control device 1 operates the cleaning device 2 according to this notification, and notifies the upstream control device of the completion notification when the operation is completed. After receiving the completion notification, the control device on the upstream side determines the operation to be performed next, and notifies the control device 1 of the determined operation. By repeating such processing, cleaning of the pipe by the cleaning device 2 can be achieved. Control of expansion and contraction of the pantograph 25, control of water discharge, and the like, which do not use the amount of deviation or the angle of inclination, may be performed by the control device 1 or may be performed by a control device on the upstream side. .

(Processing flow: control based on tilt angle)
Among the processes executed by the control device 1, the control based on the tilt angle specified by the angle specifying unit 102 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 11 is a flow chart showing an example of a control method for the cleaning device 2 based on the tilt angle. Here, it is assumed that the cleaning device 2 is arranged on a plurality of water pipes arranged in parallel, and the water pipes are photographed by the imaging device 271 attached to the cleaning device 2.

In S<b>11 , the tube detection unit 101 acquires an image captured by the imaging device 271 attached to the cleaning device 2 . Then, in S12, the tube detection unit 101 detects water tubes from the image acquired in S11. Since the water tube detection method has already been explained, the explanation will not be repeated here.

In S13, the angle specifying unit 102 specifies the inclination angle of the pipe detected in S12. Since the method of identifying the tilt angle of the tube detected in the image has already been described, the description will not be repeated here.

In S14, the movement control unit 104 determines whether or not to control the cleaning device 2 based on the tilt angle specified in S13. If it is determined not to perform control here (NO in S14), the process of FIG. 11 ends. On the other hand, if it is determined that control should be performed (YES in S14), the process proceeds to S15, and the movement control unit 104 controls the cleaning device 2 based on the tilt angle specified in S13. 11 processing ends.

Various things can be applied as the control content of S15, and the criterion of S14 may be appropriately set according to the control content of S15. For example, when the movement control unit 104 performs turning control for setting the tilt angle of the cleaning device 2 to _ΔθT in S15, in S14, if the tilt angle specified in S13 is within the allowable range from _ΔθT , Control is not required, and if _ΔθT is not within the allowable range, it is determined that control is required.

Further, for example, when the movement control unit 104 causes the cleaning device 2 to travel straight, in S14, if the tilt angle specified in S13 is within the allowable value, no control is required; It is determined that control is required. Then, in S15, the movement control unit 104 adjusts the speed of the crawler 22 so that the tilt angle specified in S13 becomes zero or approaches zero.

As described above, the control method for the cleaning device 2 executed by the control device 1 includes the tube detection step (S12 ), an angle identification step (S13) for identifying the pipe inclination angle detected in the pipe detection step, and a movement control step (S15) for controlling the movement of the cleaning device 2 based on this inclination angle. According to this control method, general-purpose movement control of the cleaning device 2 based on the image photographed by the photographing device 271 can be realized.

(Processing flow: control based on deviation amount)
Among the processes executed by the control device 1, the control based on the deviation amount specified by the deviation amount calculation unit 103 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 12 is a flow chart showing an example of a control method for the cleaning device 2 based on the deviation amount. Here, it is assumed that the cleaning device 2 is positioned between a pair of adjacent water pipes among a plurality of water pipes arranged in parallel.

In S<b>21 , the deviation amount calculator 103 acquires detection values of a pair of proximity sensors 272</b>L and 272</b>R attached to the cleaning device 2 at symmetrical positions. Then, in S22, the displacement amount calculator 103 calculates the amount of displacement of the cleaning device 2 from the predetermined reference position based on the detection value acquired in S21. For example, the deviation amount calculator 103 calculates the amount of deviation between the central position of the cleaning device 2 in the horizontal direction and the central position between the plurality of pipes arranged in parallel.

In calculating the amount of deviation, as described above, when both the proximity sensors 272L and 272R detect water pipes (both detection values are less than the maximum value), and when only one detects the water pipe. The approximation formula used by the deviation amount calculation unit 103 to calculate the deviation amount differs depending on whether one of the detected values is the maximum value or not.

Specifically, when the detection values of both proximity sensors 272L and 272R are less than the maximum values, deviation amount calculation section 103 substitutes the difference between the detection values into the above-described formula (1) to calculate the deviation amount. Calculate On the other hand, when the detection value of one of the proximity sensors 272L and 272R is the maximum value and the detection value of the other is less than the maximum value, the deviation amount calculation unit 103 calculates Substitute the difference to calculate the amount of deviation.

In S23, the movement control unit 104 determines whether or not to control the cleaning device 2 based on the amount of deviation calculated in S22. If it is determined not to perform control here (NO in S23), the process of FIG. 12 ends. On the other hand, if it is determined that control should be performed (YES in S23), the process proceeds to S24, and the movement control unit 104 controls the cleaning device 2 based on the deviation amount calculated in S22. 12 processing ends.

Various things can be applied as the control contents of S24, and the judgment criteria of S23 may be appropriately set according to the control contents of S24. For example, when performing centering or the like, in S23, the movement control unit 104 determines that control is not required if the amount of deviation calculated in S22 is within the allowable value, and that control is required if it exceeds the allowable value. Then, in S24, the movement control unit 104 performs control to reduce the deviation amount. For example, the movement control unit 104 performs control to move the cleaning device 2 forward or backward after turning it to a predetermined inclination angle, or control to increase or decrease the speed of one of the left and right crawlers 22 .

As described above, the control method of the cleaning device 2 executed by the control device 1 is based on a set of pipe detection devices mounted at symmetrical positions of the cleaning device 2 for cleaning a plurality of pipes arranged in parallel. A displacement calculation step (S22) for calculating the amount of displacement of the cleaning device 2 from a predetermined reference position based on the detection values of the proximity sensors 272L and 272R, and performing movement control of the cleaning device 2 based on the displacement. and a movement control step (S24). Also, a pair of proximity sensors 272L and 272R are positioned so that when one is directly above the tube, the other is at the detection limit of the tube adjacent to that tube. Then, in the deviation amount calculation step, the difference between the detection values of the pair of proximity sensors 272L and 272R and the approximate expression (2) that approximates the relationship between the deviation amount, or the detection value of the proximity sensors 272L and 272R. The amount of deviation is calculated using Equation (1), which is an approximation formula in which the relationship between the difference and the amount of deviation is approximated by a linear function. As a result, general-purpose movement control of the cleaning device 2 can be realized. In addition, the deviation amount can be calculated by simple calculation using a simple approximation formula.

[Embodiment 2]
Other embodiments of the invention are described below. For convenience of description, members having the same functions as those of the members described in the above embodiments are denoted by the same reference numerals, and description thereof will not be repeated.

In the present embodiment, an example in which the deviation amount calculation unit 103 calculates the amount of deviation of the cleaning device 2 from a predetermined reference position based on the detection result of the tube detection unit 101 instead of the detection value of the proximity sensor 272 is shown. 13. FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of calculation of the amount of deviation based on the detection result of the tube detection unit 101. As shown in FIG.

Note that the configuration of the control device according to the present embodiment is the same as the configuration of the control device 1 according to the first embodiment (see FIG. 1), except that the content of the processing executed by the shift amount calculation unit 103 is changed. The control device of the form is also called the control device 1 . Further, since the cleaning device of this embodiment is similar to the cleaning device 2 of Embodiment 1, the cleaning device of this embodiment will also be referred to as the cleaning device 2 . However, the cleaning device 2 of this embodiment differs from the cleaning device 2 of Embodiment 1 in that the proximity sensor 272 does not need to be provided.

As described in the first embodiment, the pipe detection unit 101 detects pipes from images captured by the imaging device 271 attached to the cleaning device 2 . In the example of FIG. 13 , four contour lines of the tube are detected from the image IMG6 captured by the imaging device 271 .

More specifically, the image IMG6 shows the pipes PI11 to PI14, of which the pipes PI11 and PI14 are located on the contact surface (uppermost) with the cleaning device 2, and the pipes PI12 and PI13 are on the far side ( second stage). The right edge contour of the pipe PI11 and its upper endpoint p1, the right edge contour of the pipe PI12 and its upper endpoint p2, the left edge contour of the pipe PI13 and its upper endpoint p3, the left edge contour of the pipe PI14 and its upper endpoint p3. A top end point p4 has been detected.

When the photographing device 271 is arranged at the center position in the left-right direction of the cleaning device 2, the center position in the left-right direction of the region sandwiched between the pipes PI and PI 14 positioned at the top (hereinafter referred to as the inter-pipe region); The amount of deviation of image IMG6 from the central position in the horizontal direction represents the amount of deviation of cleaning device 2 . Therefore, the deviation amount calculation unit 103 may specify the inter-tube region from the image IMG6 when calculating the deviation amount.

In order to identify the inter-pipe region, the shift amount calculation unit 103 uses the tilt angle identified by the angle identification unit 102 and the coordinate values of the upper endpoints p1 to p4 to determine the lower endpoints corresponding to the upper endpoints p1 to p4. Identify and identify a rectangular area defined by the upper and lower endpoints. Then, the shift amount calculation unit 103 determines whether or not the specified rectangular area is the inter-tube area.

For example, in IMG7 of FIG. 13, the deviation amount calculation unit 103 specifies the lower end point p6 corresponding to the upper end point p4, and then specifies the lower end point p5 corresponding to the upper end point p3 adjacent to the upper end point p4. A rectangular area defined by four points p3, p4, p6, and p5 is specified.

Next, as shown in IMG8, the shift amount calculation unit 103 masks the outside of the specified rectangular area with black, and then converts it to gray scale. Then, the shift amount calculation unit 103 calculates a histogram of pixel values in the rectangular area, and determines that it is an inter-tube area if the median value is smaller than a threshold value (for example, 100). Normally, the area in which the uppermost tubes PI11 and PI14 are photographed has a higher pixel value than the inter-pipe area. Therefore, by the above determination, the area in which the uppermost tubes PI11 and PI14 are photographed is distinguished from the inter-tube area. be able to. In this example, a rectangular area defined by four points p3, p4, p6, and p5 is determined as an inter-tube area.

Similarly, in IMG9 of FIG. 13, the deviation amount calculation unit 103 specifies the lower end point p7 corresponding to the upper end point p1. Here, after specifying the lower end point p7, the shift amount calculation unit 103 specifies the lower end point p8 corresponding to the upper end point p3 next to the upper end point p2 without specifying the lower end point corresponding to the upper end point p2. , thereby specifying a rectangular area defined by four points p1, p3, p8, and p7.

In this way, when the distance between a certain top end point and its adjacent top end point is equal to or less than a threshold, the shift amount calculation unit 103 does not specify the bottom end point for the adjacent top end point, and You may make it specify a point. This is because it is unlikely that any two endpoints in close proximity will be tube ends.

After identifying the rectangular area defined by the four points p1, p3, p8, and p7, the shift amount calculation unit 103 masks the outside of the identified rectangular area with black and converts it to gray scale, similarly to IMG8. (IMG10). Then, the shift amount calculation unit 103 calculates a histogram of pixel values in the rectangular area, and determines that the area is an inter-tube area if the median value is smaller than the threshold value. In this example, a rectangular area defined by four points p1, p3, p8, and p7 is determined as an inter-tube area. Such processing is performed for all rectangular areas formed based on the detected upper end points.

After specifying the rectangular area based on the detected upper end point and determining whether or not the rectangular area is the tube-to-tube area as described above, the deviation amount calculation unit 103 calculates the specified tube-to-tube area. integrate. Specifically, of the coordinates of the vertices of the specified inter-tubular region, the deviation amount calculation unit 103 calculates the coordinates located on the upper leftmost, the coordinates located on the lower left, and the coordinates located on the lower right. , and the coordinates located in the upper rightmost position are specified, and the area defined by those coordinates is defined as the final inter-tubular area.

For example, in the example of FIG. 13, the deviation amount calculation unit 103 calculates Among the vertices, four p1, p7, p6 and p4 are specified as shown in IMG11. As a result, the final inter-tube area is identified as a rectangular area defined by four points p1, p7, p6, and p4.

Finally, as shown in the image IMG12 in FIG. 13, the deviation amount calculation unit 103 obtains the midpoints of the points p1 and p4 and the midpoints of the points p7 and p6, and calculates the line segment L11 connecting the midpoints. and a line segment L12 that bisects the image IMG12 in the horizontal direction.

As described above, the control device 1 includes the displacement amount calculation unit 103 that calculates the amount of displacement of the cleaning device 2 from the reference position based on the detection result of the tube detection unit 101. The movement control of the cleaning device 2 may be performed based on the tilt angle specified by the unit 102 and the deviation amount calculated by the deviation amount calculation unit 103 .

The position of the pipe in the image taken by the imaging device 271 attached to the cleaning device 2 reflects the positional relationship between the cleaning device 2 and the pipe. Therefore, the deviation amount of the cleaning device 2 can be calculated by detecting the pipe from this image. By performing movement control using this deviation amount, the cleaning device 2 can be positioned at a predetermined position with respect to the pipe.

[Modification]
The execution subject of each process described in each of the above embodiments is arbitrary, and is not limited to the above examples. In other words, as long as each processing described in each of the above embodiments can be executed, the device configuration is arbitrary. For example, among the processes executed by the control device 1, the processing of specifying the tilt angle, the processing of calculating the amount of deviation, and the processing of controlling the operation of the cleaning device 2 are performed by separate information processing devices. You may let Further, for example, the first control device 1 performs a process of specifying the tilt angle and a process of controlling the operation of the cleaning device 2 based on the specified tilt angle, and the second control device 1 determines the amount of deviation. A configuration may be adopted in which the calculation process and the operation control process of the cleaning device 2 are performed based on the calculated deviation amount.

Also, the control device 1 may be mounted on the cleaning device 2 . In other words, the cleaning device 2 provided with the control device 1 and moving according to the control of the control device 1 is also included in the scope of the present invention. The cleaning device 2 equipped with the control device 1 can move alone to a predetermined position on the pipe.

[Example of realization by software]
The function of the control device 1 (hereinafter referred to as "device") is a program for causing a computer to function as the device, and the computer functions as each control block (especially each part included in the control unit 10) of the device. It can be realized by a program (control program) for causing the

In this case, the apparatus comprises a computer having at least one control device (eg processor) and at least one storage device (eg memory) as hardware for executing the program. Each function described in each of the above embodiments is realized by executing the above program using the control device and the storage device.

The program may be recorded on one or more computer-readable recording media, not temporary. The recording medium may or may not be included in the device. In the latter case, the program may be supplied to the device via any transmission medium, wired or wireless.

Also, part or all of the functions of the above control blocks can be realized by logic circuits. For example, integrated circuits in which logic circuits functioning as the control blocks described above are formed are also included in the scope of the present invention. In addition, it is also possible to implement the functions of the control blocks described above by, for example, a quantum computer.

The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, but can be modified in various ways within the scope of the claims, and can be obtained by appropriately combining technical means disclosed in different embodiments. is also included in the technical scope of the present invention.

1 control device 101 tube detection unit 102 angle identification unit 103 deviation amount calculation unit 104 movement control unit 2 cleaning device 271 imaging device 272 (272R, 272L) proximity sensor

Claims (10)

a tube detection unit that detects the tube from an image captured by an imaging device attached to a cleaning device that cleans the surface of the tube;
an angle identification unit that identifies the inclination angle of the pipe detected by the pipe detection unit;
and a movement control unit that controls movement of the cleaning device based on the tilt angle. a displacement amount calculation unit that calculates an amount of displacement of the cleaning device from a predetermined reference position based on the detection result of the pipe detection unit;
2. The control device according to claim 1, wherein said movement control section performs movement control of said cleaning device based on said tilt angle and said deviation amount. a deviation amount calculation unit configured to calculate an amount of deviation of the cleaning device from a predetermined reference position based on detection values of a set of detectors attached to the cleaning device for detecting the pipe;
2. The control device according to claim 1, wherein said movement control section performs movement control of said cleaning device based on said tilt angle and said deviation amount. When moving the cleaning device by a predetermined distance, the movement control unit moves the predetermined distance in a plurality of steps, and according to the deviation amount before and after the movement in the previous step, the movement distance in the movement in the later step. 4. The controller of claim 3, which regulates the . Based on the detected values of a set of proximity sensors for detecting the pipes, the distance from a predetermined reference position of the cleaning device is determined based on the detection values of a set of proximity sensors attached at symmetrical positions of the cleaning device that cleans a plurality of pipes arranged in parallel. a shift amount calculation unit that calculates the shift amount;
a movement control unit that controls movement of the cleaning device based on the amount of deviation;
The pair of proximity sensors are arranged so that when one proximity sensor is positioned directly above the pipe, the other proximity sensor is positioned at the detection limit of a pipe adjacent to the pipe,
The control device, wherein the deviation amount calculation unit calculates the deviation amount using an approximation formula that approximates a relationship between the difference between the detection values of the pair of proximity sensors and the deviation amount. A cleaning device comprising the control device according to any one of claims 1 to 5, and moving under the control of the control device. A cleaning device control method executed by a control device, comprising:
a tube detection step of detecting the tube from an image captured by an imaging device attached to the cleaning device that cleans the surface of the tube;
an angle identification step of identifying the inclination angle of the pipe detected in the pipe detection step;
and a movement control step of controlling movement of the cleaning device based on the tilt angle. A cleaning device control method executed by a control device, comprising:
Based on the detected values of a pair of proximity sensors for detecting the pipes, which are mounted at symmetrical positions on the cleaning device for cleaning a plurality of pipes arranged in parallel, the cleaning device is moved from a predetermined reference position. a deviation amount calculation step for calculating the deviation amount of
a movement control step of controlling the movement of the cleaning device based on the amount of deviation;
The pair of proximity sensors are arranged so that when one proximity sensor is positioned directly above the pipe, the other proximity sensor is positioned at the detection limit of a pipe adjacent to the pipe,
The method of controlling a cleaning device, wherein in the deviation amount calculating step, the deviation amount is calculated using an approximation formula approximating a relationship between a difference between detection values of the pair of proximity sensors and the deviation amount. A control program for causing a computer to function as the control device according to claim 1, the control program for causing the computer to function as the tube detection section, the angle identification section, and the movement control section. A control program for causing a computer to function as the control device according to claim 5, the control program for causing the computer to function as the shift amount calculating unit and the movement control unit.

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