JP4030282B2 - Underwater cleaning robot - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to an underwater cleaning robot for cleaning and removing marine organisms (attachments) such as shellfish and seaweed attached to a curved surface or a culvert plane in a water intake pipe or a discharge pipe of a power plant or the like.
[0002]
[Prior art]
For example, marine organisms such as barnacles, mussels, oysters, seaweeds, etc. adhere to the intake channels established at power plants, etc., and breed, but when such marine organisms are propagated, water pressure loss occurs. At the same time, if the water is killed or inflows, the water intake facility will be damaged. Therefore, an underwater cleaning robot that automatically cleans the wall surface of the water channel has been proposed. An example of this type of underwater work robot is disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2001-63644. As shown in FIGS. 14 and 15, this underwater robot is provided with a cleaning unit 52 having a pair of left and right rotating brushes 52 a and 52 b at the center of the bottom of the robot body 51, and an electric motor incorporating a steering mechanism at substantially four corner positions. Wheels 53 are provided. Further, suction thrusters 54 are provided at the four corner positions on the upper surface of the robot body 51, and swimming thrusters 55 are disposed on the left and right sides of the robot body 51, respectively.
[0003]
In the above configuration, the robot main body 51 is pressed against the inner wall surface of the pipe by the suction thruster 54, and the electric wheels 53 are driven to rotate in an arbitrary direction while the inner wall surface of the pipe is cleaned by the rotating brushes 52a and 52b. And the entire inner wall surface is cleaned.
[0004]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
However, according to the above configuration, when the electric wheel 53 is grounded to the uncleaned wall surface during cleaning traveling, slipping occurs due to a small frictional force. A large pressing force by a thruster is required. Further, all of the four electric wheels 53 may be grounded to the same uncleaned wall surface or cleaned wall surface, but some of the electric wheels 53 are grounded to the uncleaned surface, and the remaining electric wheel 53 is cleaned. When grounded on the ground surface, there is a problem that a difference in frictional force with the ground surface occurs, making steering control and traveling control extremely difficult.
[0005]
An object of the present invention is to solve the above-described problems and provide an underwater cleaning robot that can accurately run while landing.
[0006]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to achieve the above object, a first aspect of the present invention is directed to a robot main body having a plurality of traveling wheels that are driven to travel and a cleaning tool that is rotationally driven on the outer periphery of the traveling wheels to clean the ground plane. A travel cleaning device is provided, and the travel cleaning device is provided with a rotation support that covers the travel wheels, and a cleaning tool is provided at an opening of the rotation support, and the cleaning tool is attached to a lower end opening of the rotation support. A cleaning brush that is attached in a circumferential direction via a support plate and slidably contacts the landing surface, and a scraper that is attached to a notch portion where the cleaning brush is cut out at a predetermined angle and scrapes off the surface of the landing surface. The centrifugal force generated by the rotation of the cleaning tool causes the water to flow out from the notch to the outer peripheral side to create a negative pressure in the rotating support body, so that the robot body is adsorbed to the landing surface. With things That.
[0007]
According to the above configuration, since the cleaning tool is arranged on the outer peripheral portion of the traveling wheel to clean the grounding surface, the landing surface of the traveling wheel after moving slightly from the landing position is completely cleaned. Therefore, the slippage due to the attached matter is reduced, and a sufficient frictional force can be secured, so that the traveling movement by the traveling wheel can be performed with high accuracy. Further , since the rotating support is rotated at the outer peripheral portion of the traveling wheel, the cleaning tool is caused by the centrifugal force of the cleaning tool to cause seawater in the vicinity of the cleaning tool to flow out to the outer peripheral side, and the peeled deposits travel. The cleaning tool and traveling wheel are brought into contact with the ground surface by the suction force generated by flowing into the wheel side without impeding traveling , and further by causing seawater to flow out of the rotating support and making the rotating support negative. Since it can be strongly pressed, a good cleaning state and reliable running can be ensured. Furthermore, since the cleaning tool is composed of a cleaning brush and a scraper, marine organisms with strong adhesion can be removed with certainty.
[0010]
According to a second aspect of the invention, in the configuration of claim 1, wherein at least a pair of running cleaning apparatus, as well as arranged on either side of an axis parallel to the landing surface, the traveling cleaning device with the axis parallel to the axis around A rotatable ground contact surface adjusting device is provided, and the ground contact surface adjusting device is configured to be able to run and clean a curved ground contact surface.
[0011]
According to the above configuration, the curved ground contact surface can be traveled and cleaned by inclining the left and right traveling cleaning devices to correspond to the curved ground surface by the ground surface adjusting device.
[0012]
According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the configuration according to the first or second aspect , the traveling cleaning device is provided with a steering mechanism that steers the traveling wheel via the steering shaft, and the steering shaft is rotatably supported via the turning cylinder. It is a body .
[0013]
According to the said structure, the precision of steering control can be improved with the cleaned grounding surface .
[0014]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Here, an embodiment of an underwater cleaning robot according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.
[0015]
As shown in FIGS. 1 to 4, the underwater cleaning robot 1 includes a front traveling cleaning device 3CF disposed at the center of the front and a rear left / right traveling cleaning disposed on both sides of the rear at the bottom of the robot body 2. Apparatuses 3RR and 3RL are provided, respectively, and propulsion thrusters 4R and 4L disposed on the left and right sides at the front, a front vertical thruster 5CF disposed at the center upper portion at the front, and a left and right sides disposed at the rear. Left and right rear vertical thrusters 5RR and 5RL are provided. Each of these thrusters 4R, 4L, 5CF, 5RR, and 5RL is constituted by a propulsion blade that is rotationally driven by a thruster rotational drive device via a rotational shaft.
[0016]
Also, a pair of left and right buoyancy tanks 7 are provided in the cover 6 of the robot body 2 so that the entire robot is balanced with buoyancy and mass, and further includes a hydraulic unit 8, a water depth sensor (not shown), a pressure resistance. A control panel (not shown) equipped in the unit 36 is equipped, and underwater cameras 9F and 9R, underwater lights 10F and 10R, and a detection sonar are respectively arranged at the front and rear of the robot body 2, and the rear Are provided with a wall surface distance sensor (not shown).
[0017]
The front traveling cleaning device 3CF and the left and right rear traveling cleaning devices 3RR, 3RL have the same structure in which a traveling mechanism with a steering mechanism and a cleaning mechanism are integrally formed, and as shown in FIG. The steering shaft 14 is rotatably supported via the shaft, and an output shaft of a steering drive device 19 (such as an electric motor or a hydraulic motor) is connected to the upper end portion of the steering shaft 14. A yoke member 15 is attached to the lower end portion of the steering shaft 14, and a traveling wheel 18 is supported on the yoke member 15 via a traveling axle 17 incorporating a traveling drive device (such as an electric motor or a hydraulic motor) 16. The mechanism is configured.
[0018]
A rotating cylinder 21 is rotatably supported by the boss portion 13 through a bearing, and is driven to rotate by a cleaning gear (electric motor or hydraulic motor) 23 on a passive gear 22 attached to the upper portion of the rotating cylinder 21. The brush drive gear 24 is engaged. Further, a cylindrical container-shaped rotary support 25 attached to the lower part of the swivel cylinder 21 and covering the yoke member 15 and the traveling wheel 18 is provided with a cleaning tool 27 at its lower end opening end (front end) via a ring support plate 26. A cleaning mechanism is configured.
[0019]
The cleaning tool 27 is configured by alternately arranging a cleaning brush 28 that slides on the ground surface to remove marine organisms, and a scraper 29 that scrapes the ground surface to peel off marine organisms.
[0020]
A first example of the scraper 29 is shown in FIGS. In the scraper 29, brackets 31 are vertically suspended from the lower portion of the rotary support 25 by cutout portions 30 in which the cleaning brush 28 is cut out at a predetermined angle, and vertical surfaces of the brackets 31 via tangential support pins 32. A scraping plate 33 is supported at the inner end so as to be rotatable up and down. Then, a coil spring 34 for biasing rotation is interposed between the pressure receiving piece 33a protruding from the upper portion of the scraping plate 33 and the cylindrical portion 26a of the ring support plate 26, so that the scraping plate 33 is It is configured to be urged downward and pressed against the ground surface.
[0021]
As shown in FIGS. 12 and 13, a second example of the scraper 29 includes a rotation support portion 33b having a scraping plate 33 having a pressure receiving piece 33a and rotatably supported by a support pin 32. is composed of a scraper 33d along a vertical plane which is attached via a leaf spring 33c along the vertical plane to the rotation support portion 33b, and swing the scraper 33d in the rotational direction by the spring force of the leaf spring 33c, Obstacles can be avoided.
[0022]
As shown in FIGS. 8 and 9, the rear left and right traveling cleaning devices 3RR and 3RL are arranged at symmetrical positions of the center axis CL in the front-rear direction parallel to the landing surface F, and the rear left and right traveling cleaning devices 3RR and 3RR are arranged. A grounding surface adjusting device 35 that can rotate 3RL around an axis parallel to the central axis CL is provided. In the ground surface adjustment device 35, a swing link 37 connected to a boss portion 13 of the traveling cleaning devices 3RR and 3RL is connected to a bracket 36a of a pressure-resistant container unit 36 disposed on an axis CL of the robot body 2. Output of a tilt actuator (hydraulic cylinder, electric jack, etc.) 39, which is a linear drive mechanism that is supported so as to be able to swing up and down via a support pin 38 that is parallel to the pressure vessel and that is connected to the pressure vessel unit 36 via an attachment member. The rod is connected to the boss portion 13 via a pin.
[0023]
Therefore, by making the steering shafts 14 of the rear left and right traveling cleaning devices 3RR and 3RL parallel (perpendicular) to each other, it is possible to travel and clean the planar ground contact surface, and the inclination adjusting device 39 is advanced to rear left and right traveling. By swinging the travel cleaning devices 3RR and 3RL around the support pin 38 and tilting the steering shaft 14 from the upper side to the lower side on the axis line side, the curved concave contact surface can be traveled and cleaned. Although not shown here, of course, the tilt adjusting device 39 is contracted to swing the rear left and right traveling cleaning devices 3RR and 3RL around the support pin 38, and the steering shaft 14 is tilted from the upper outside to the lower axial side. This makes it possible to travel and clean the curved convex ground contact surface.
[0024]
As the support equipment for the underwater cleaning robot 1, as shown in FIG. 10, the underwater cleaning robot 1 and the operation unit 43 are composed of an operation unit 43 having an operation panel 41 and a distribution board 42, a power supply cable, and an optical fiber cable for signal transmission and reception. A composite operation cable 44, a cable winding and unwinding device 47 for winding and unwinding the operation cable 44 from the water intake pipe 45 through the manhole 46 according to the movement of the submersible cleaning robot 1, and the operation cable 44. A cable reel device 48 is provided, and driving power is supplied from the switchboard 42 to the underwater cleaning robot 1 via the operation cable 44.
[0025]
In the above-described configuration, the underwater cleaning robot introduced into the intake pipe 45 via the manhole 46 is in a state where the mass and buoyancy are substantially balanced, and the thrusters 4R, 4L are remotely operated from the control panel 42 of the operation unit 43. And vertical thrusters 5CF, 5RR, and 5RL are operated and arbitrarily steered to operate the forward / reverse speed. Further, by controlling the left and right rotational speeds of the vertical thrusters, 5RR and 5RL, the posture of the robot body 2 around the vertical axis can also be controlled.
[0026]
As an example of the cleaning pattern, as shown in FIG. 11, for example, when a pair of left and right anticorrosive electrodes 45 a are grounded with a predetermined interval in the lower part of a water intake pipe 45 having a circular cross section, By adding a reciprocating movement in the direction and a circumferential movement between the forward path and the backward path, an angular pulse-shaped traveling cleaning locus T is drawn, and this is repeated a plurality of times in the length direction to clean the intake pipe 45. be able to.
[0027]
During the cleaning traveling, the robot main body 2 is pressed against the grounding surface (inner surface) by the three vertical thrusters 5CF, 5RR, 5RL, and all the traveling wheels 18 are landed on the grounding surface of the intake pipe 45. 23, the cleaning tool 27 is rotated via the rotary support 25, and the grounding surface is cleaned by the cleaning brush 28 and the scraping plate 33 which are the cleaning tools 27. Then, the traveling wheel 18 is steered in a predetermined direction by the steering drive device 19, and the traveling wheel 18 is rotated by the traveling drive device 16, so that the robot body 2 travels along the traveling cleaning locus T while cleaning the ground contact surface. Moved.
[0028]
At this time, since the robot body 2 is slightly moved from the initial grounding position, the grounding surface on which the traveling wheel 18 is grounded becomes a cleaned grounding surface from which deposits such as marine organisms have been removed. Therefore, the traveling control and the steering control are performed with high accuracy without reducing the frictional force.
[0029]
Further, seawater in the vicinity of the cleaning tool 27 that is rotationally driven flows out to the outer peripheral side, and the internal space of the rotary support 25 that is sealed except for the opening surface becomes negative pressure. In addition to the pressing force by 5CF, 5RR, and 5RL, the suction force by the rotary support 25 acts on the robot body 1, and the cleaning tool 27 and the traveling wheel 18 are further strongly pressed against the ground surface to perform cleaning, traveling control, and steering control. Done well.
[0030]
According to the above embodiment, the cleaning tool 27 is arranged on the outer periphery of the traveling wheel 18 so as to clean the ground contact surface, so that the landing of the traveling wheel 18 after moving slightly from the landing position is completely removed. Since the surface can be a cleaned surface, slippage due to the attached matter is reduced, and sufficient frictional force can be secured, so that the movement by the traveling wheel 18 and the steering control can be performed with high accuracy. Moreover, since the cleaning tool 27 rotates the outer peripheral part of the traveling wheel 18, seawater does not flow out to the outer peripheral side by the centrifugal force of the cleaning tool, and the peeled deposit does not flow into the traveling wheel 18 side. Therefore, the removed deposits do not hinder travel.
[0031]
In addition, since the cleaning tool 27 is provided via the rotary support body 25 that covers the traveling wheel, seawater flows out to the outer peripheral side due to the centrifugal force of the cleaning tool 27, and the inside of the rotary support body 25 is set to a negative pressure. Due to the suction force generated by the above, the cleaning tool and the traveling wheel can be strongly pressed against the ground surface, and a good cleaning state and reliable traveling can be ensured.
[0032]
Further, by rotating the traveling cleaning devices 3RR and 3RL about the axis parallel to the central axis CL by the ground surface adjusting device 35, the curved ground surface can be traveled and cleaned.
[0033]
Further, since the cleaning tool 28 is provided with the cleaning brush 28 that is in sliding contact with the landing surface and the scraper 29 that scrapes off the surface of the landing surface, marine organisms having strong adhesion can be removed with certainty.
[0034]
As described above, according to the first aspect of the present invention, the cleaning tool is disposed on the outer peripheral portion of the traveling wheel to clean the ground contact surface. Therefore, the traveling wheel after slightly moving from the landing position is arranged. Since all the landing surfaces can be cleaned surfaces, slippage due to attached matter can be reduced, and sufficient frictional force can be secured, so that traveling movement by the traveling wheels can be performed with high accuracy. In addition, since the rotating support is rotated on the outer peripheral portion of the traveling wheel, the cleaning tool is caused by the centrifugal force of the cleaning tool to cause seawater in the vicinity of the cleaning tool to flow to the outer peripheral side, and the peeled deposits are removed. The cleaning tool and the traveling wheel are brought into contact with the ground surface by the suction force generated by flowing into the traveling wheel side without obstructing the traveling , and further by causing seawater to flow out of the rotating support body and making the rotating support body have a negative pressure. Therefore, it is possible to ensure a good cleaning state and reliable running. Furthermore, since the cleaning tool is composed of a cleaning brush and a scraper, marine organisms with strong adhesion can be removed with certainty.
[0036]
According to the second aspect of the present invention, the traveling cleaning device on both the left and right sides is inclined by the grounding surface adjusting device to correspond to the curved grounding surface, so that the curved grounding surface can be traveled and cleaned. .
[0037]
According to invention of Claim 3 , the precision of steering control can be improved with the cleaned grounding surface .
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a plan view showing an embodiment of an underwater cleaning robot according to the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a side view of the underwater cleaning robot.
FIG. 3 is a front view of the underwater cleaning robot.
FIG. 4 is a rear view of the underwater cleaning robot.
FIG. 5 is a side sectional view showing a traveling cleaning device of the underwater cleaning robot.
FIG. 6 is a side sectional view showing a scraper of the cleaning tool of the underwater cleaning robot.
FIG. 7 is a plan sectional view showing a scraper of the cleaning tool of the underwater cleaning robot.
FIG. 8 is a rear view showing the ground contact surface adjusting device of the underwater cleaning robot.
FIG. 9 is a rear view showing a cleaning state of the curved ground contact surface of the underwater cleaning robot.
FIG. 10 is a side sectional view showing a usage state of the underwater cleaning robot.
FIG. 11 is an explanatory diagram showing a cleaning procedure of the underwater cleaning robot.
FIG. 12 is a side sectional view showing another scraper of the cleaning tool of the underwater cleaning robot.
FIG. 13 is a plan sectional view showing another scraper of the cleaning tool of the underwater cleaning robot.
FIG. 14 is a plan view showing a conventional underwater work robot.
FIG. 15 is a side view showing a conventional underwater work robot.
[Explanation of symbols]
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Underwater cleaning robot 2 Robot body 3CF, 3RR, 3RL Travel cleaning device 4R, 4L Propulsion thruster 5CF, 5RR, 5RL Vertical thruster 7 Buoyancy tank 8 Hydraulic unit 14 Steering shaft 18 Traveling wheel 19 Steering drive device 23 Cleaning drive device 25 Rotation support Body 27 Cleaning tool 28 Cleaning brush 29 Scraper 35 Grounding surface adjustment device 39 Tilt actuator CL Center axis

Claims (3)

The robot body is provided with a plurality of travel cleaning devices having travel wheels that are travel-driven, and cleaning tools that are rotationally driven on the outer periphery of the travel wheels to clean the ground plane.
The travel cleaning device is provided with a rotation support that covers the travel wheels, and a cleaning tool is provided at the opening of the rotation support,
The cleaning tool includes a cleaning brush that is attached to a lower end opening of the rotation support body in a circumferential direction via a ring support plate and that is in sliding contact with the landing surface, and a notch portion in which the cleaning brush is notched at every predetermined angle. And a scraper that is attached to and scrapes off the surface of the landing surface,
The robot body is made to adsorb to the landing surface by causing the centrifugal force generated by the rotation of the cleaning tool to cause water to flow out from the notch to the outer peripheral side to create a negative pressure in the rotating support body. Underwater cleaning robot characterized by. At least a pair of travel cleaning devices are arranged on both sides of an axis parallel to the landing surface, and a ground surface adjustment device is provided that can rotate the travel cleaning device around an axis parallel to the axis.
The underwater cleaning robot according to claim 1, wherein the ground surface adjustment device is configured to be able to travel and clean a curved ground surface. The traveling cleaning device is provided with a steering mechanism for steering the traveling wheels via the steering shaft ,
The underwater cleaning robot according to claim 1, wherein a rotation support body is provided on the steering shaft via a swivel cylinder .

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