JP3137460B2 - Suction type mobile manipulator - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a suction-type moving manipulator, which is capable of moving while adsorbing on a wall made of a magnetic material such as an oil tank.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Inspections and repairs are indispensable for large structures such as oil tanks, spherical gas holders, flue gas desulfurization units, and ships. Conventionally, in order to perform such inspections and repairs, a scaffold is set along the wall surface of the large-sized structure, and a human is inspected on the scaffold.

[0003]

However, in the above-mentioned prior art, it takes time and effort to assemble and remove the scaffold, and it is dangerous because a person works on the scaffold.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In view of the above prior art, an object of the present invention is to provide a suction-type moving manipulator that moves while adsorbing on a wall surface of a structure and automatically performs a required operation.

[0005]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention, which solves the above-mentioned problems, comprises a movable trolley running with wheels on a trolley body, a manipulator mounted on the trolley body, and a trolley provided on the trolley body. A driving mechanism having an advancing / retracting rod for moving back and forth from the bottom surface of the bogie body to the running surface, a magnet fixed to the tip of the advancing / retracting rod, a force sensor for detecting an attraction force by the magnet, and an attraction force detected by the force sensor And a suspension mechanism that supports a wheel so that the wheel is always in contact with a running surface. And

[0006]

According to the present invention, the position of the magnet is adjusted so that the distance between the magnet and the running surface is constant, the movable carriage is attracted to the wall surface of the magnetic body, and the work can be performed by the manipulator. In addition, the suspension mechanism keeps the wheels in contact with the running surface even if the running surface has irregularities.

[0007]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a front view showing a suction-type moving manipulator 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG.
FIG. 3 is a plan view of the suspension mechanism 40 extracted.

As shown in FIG. 1, a movable carriage 10 of a suction-type movable manipulator 1 has a pair of front wheels 1 on a carriage main body 11.
Two and a pair of rear wheels 13 are provided, and the front wheels and the rear wheels 13 rotate and travel by driving of a motor (not shown).

The articulated manipulator 20 has a base fixed to the bogie main body 11 and mounted thereon, and a tool 21 provided at a tip end thereof. This manipulator 20 is operated remotely or by a built-in program,
Perform the required work. Other tools and working equipment provided at the tip of the manipulator are provided in the movable trolley 10, and the tip tool (equipment) is replaced as needed.

Next, the suction mechanism 30 will be described with reference to FIG. The drive mechanism 31 of the suction mechanism 30 is provided on the bogie main body 11 and has an advance / retreat rod 32. The reciprocating rod 32 is moved by the operation of the drive mechanism 31 to move the movable carriage 1.
The vehicle moves from the bottom surface toward the running surface 2 from the bottom surface. A magnet 34 is fixed to the tip of the advance / retreat rod 32 via a force sensor 33. When the traveling surface 2 is a magnetic material such as a steel material, the movable carriage 10 is attracted to the traveling surface 2 by the magnetic force of the magnet 34. For this reason, even if the traveling surface 2 is in a vertical plane, the movable trolley 10 can travel while being attracted to the traveling surface.

The force sensor 33 detects the attraction force of the magnet 34, and a detection signal is output from the attraction force control unit 35.
Sent to The suction force control unit 35 controls the movement of the advance / retreat rod 32 by the driving mechanism 31 so that the detected suction force is constant.
Is controlled so as to adjust the amount of advance and retreat. Therefore, even if the traveling path 2 has irregularities due to unevenness or the like, the magnet 3
4 makes the attraction force constant. In other words, magnet 3
The gap between the wheel 4 and the running surface 2 is constant, and the suction is reliably performed.

Next, referring to FIG.
0 will be described. The axle 12 a of the front wheel 12 is rotatably supported by the bogie main body 11. On the other hand, rear wheel 1
Reference numeral 3 denotes an axle 13a that is once rotatably supported by a wheel bearing 41. The support shaft 41a extending from the wheel bearing portion 41 is rotated around the shaft (in the direction of arrow A in the figure).
It is swingably supported by the carriage body 11. For this reason, the rear wheel 13, the axle 13a, and the wheel bearing portion 41 can swing around the direction A, and the front wheel 12 and the rear wheel 13 are always in contact with the running surface even if the running surface is uneven. You can run reliably.

The front wheel may have the same suspension mechanism as the rear wheel. Further, each wheel may be independently provided with a suspension mechanism. The point is that a suspension mechanism may be provided so that all wheels are in contact with the running surface even on uneven ground.

Next, actual use states are shown in FIGS.
FIG. 4 shows a state in which the suction-type moving manipulator 1 is working while adsorbing on the steel wall surface 100 having the rib 101. In this example, the work of a narrow portion can be performed by the tip of the manipulator 1. FIG. 5 shows the rear wall 10 of the ship.
2 shows a state where the work is being performed.

[0016]

According to the present invention, as described above in detail with the embodiment, various operations can be performed automatically while traveling while reliably adsorbing to the wall surface of the magnetic body.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a front view showing a suction-type moving manipulator of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram extracting and showing a suction mechanism of a suction-type mobile manipulator.

FIG. 3 is a plan view extracting and showing a suspension mechanism of the suction-type moving manipulator.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory view showing a usage mode of a suction-type moving manipulator.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory view showing a usage mode of a suction-type moving manipulator.

[Explanation of symbols]

 REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 1 suction-type moving manipulator 2 running surface 10 moving trolley 11 trolley body 12 front wheel 13 rear wheel 20 manipulator 21 tool 30 suction mechanism 31 drive mechanism 32 advance / retreat rod 33 force sensor 34 magnet 35 suction force control unit 40 suspension mechanism 41 car bearing unit

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuation of the front page (56) References JP-A-61-20070 (JP, A) JP-B-49-40518 (JP, B1) (58) Fields investigated (Int. Cl. ⁷ , DB name) B25J 5/00 B62D 57/024

Claims (1)

(57) [Claims] 1. A mobile trolley that runs with wheels on a trolley body, a manipulator mounted on the trolley body, and an advance / retreat rod that is provided on the trolley body and moves back and forth from a bottom surface of the trolley body toward a running surface. A drive mechanism, a magnet fixed to the tip of the advance / retreat rod,
A force sensor configured to detect an attraction force by a magnet, an attraction mechanism including an attraction force control unit configured to control the advancing and retreating of the advancing / retreating rod by the driving mechanism such that the attraction force detected by the force sensor is constant; A suction type movable manipulator, comprising: a suspension mechanism for supporting wheels so as to be in contact with a running surface;