JPH0346359B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Technical Field The present invention relates to an underwater working robot suitable for working underwater, particularly in environments such as deep seabeds where working with manned diving equipment is difficult.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION In recent years, offshore oil development has gradually extended to deeper sea areas, and there is an increasing need to develop new submarine mineral resources such as manganese nodules and hydrothermal deposits. It is impossible or extremely difficult to carry out investigations and operations in such dangerous environments such as deep under the sea, on the seabed, or in a dangerous environment such as a blowout in an offshore oil field using conventional manned diving equipment.

The development of unmanned underwater vehicles has been remarkable in recent years, with the purpose of carrying out investigations and operations under the sea and on the seabed under high water pressure or where it is difficult for manned diving equipment to approach.
In offshore oil development work, simple tasks such as monitoring and maintenance are being replaced by unmanned underwater vehicles, which are equipped with a sensing function for underwater objects that are the target of underwater work, a computer to process the sensed information, and their signals. Various so-called underwater working robots equipped with manipulators operated by

However, underwater working robots that have been realized or proposed in the past usually have a main propulsion propeller similar to that of a normal ship for forward and backward movement, a vertical thruster propeller for up and down movement, and a vertical thruster propeller for left and right movement. Each is equipped with a horizontal thruster propeller, and has a sled fixed to the main body for landing on the seabed, moving, or seating on the mothership deck, and is equipped with one or two manipulators as a working device. In order to stably hold the position of the robot body, a manipulator is used to grasp underwater structures, etc. In addition to this manipulator, the movable parts of the robot are attached to observation equipment such as underwater television cameras and underwater lights. It is only for the department.

Problems to be Solved by the Invention For this reason, underwater working robots that have been realized and proposed in the past have large propulsion devices and other equipment that require large weights and space requirements. be restricted.
Furthermore, it is difficult to stabilize the main body when working in a location where there are underwater structures, etc., and therefore workability is poor. Particularly when working in a narrow space, robots are often unable to approach the work area, making it difficult to provide lighting and observation, and in some cases making the work itself impossible, leading to various practical problems. exists.

The present invention solves the above problems; the space occupied by the propulsion device is small, and as a result, the observation device,
The work equipment is not restricted, it is small and lightweight, and easy to operate, it can be easily seated on the seabed or on the deck of the mother ship, it can reliably maintain its position relative to the underwater structure, and it is difficult for the main body to enter. An object of the present invention is to provide an underwater working robot that can work in confined spaces where it is impossible to do work.

Means for Solving the Problems As a means for solving the above-mentioned problems, the present invention provides an underwater working robot that is attached to the front and rear of the main body, has joints at the base and middle part, and has a suction part at one end. a plurality of legs that can be displaced between an operating state in which the main body is held in a fixed position by adsorbing the suction part to an underwater fixed object, and a storage state in which the suction part is folded to the bottom of the main body and held by adsorbing the suction part to the main body; Variable vector propellers are installed on both sides and can output the required propulsive force in each three-dimensional direction, and variable vector propellers are installed at the front of the main body and are attached to the tip of the neck that can extend and contract in the front-back direction of the main body. It is characterized by being capable of rotation around and swinging in all directions about the attachment point, and having a head equipped with underwater object sensing means and a manipulator.

Function As described above, the underwater working robot of the present invention has legs that have joints at the base and the middle part at the front and back of the main body, and have a suction part at one end. By adsorbing to underwater fixed objects with the adsorption part, the main body and protruding from it,
The head equipped with a manipulator can be reliably held in a position suitable for underwater work, and when cruising underwater or sitting on the deck of a mother ship or on the seabed, the legs can be folded and held by suction at the bottom of the main body using the suction part. This allows the robot to sit more stably, and together with the retractable neck, the space occupied by the work robot can be reduced, making storage easier.

In addition, as the propulsion device, variable vector propellers are installed on both sides of the main body, so it is possible to output propulsive force in each three-dimensional direction with only this, compared to the case where propulsion devices for each direction are installed separately. As a result, the space and weight occupied by the propulsion device can be reduced, and restrictions on underwater work by the manipulator and observation work by the underwater object sensing means can be reduced.

In addition, the sensing means and the manipulator for underwater objects, which are the objects of underwater work, are attached to the tip of the neck, which is provided on the main body so as to be extendable and retractable in the front and rear directions, and rotate around the axis of the neck and around the attachment point. Since it is attached to a head that can swing in all directions, it is possible to perform underwater work and observation work by inserting only the neck and head into narrow and complicated spaces where the underwater robot itself cannot fit. be able to.

Embodiments Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an embodiment of the underwater working robot of the present invention, which is fixed to an underwater structure and ready for work. Roughly speaking, the robot of this embodiment includes a main body 1, a head 2 attached to the front part of the robot, and a main body 1.
It consists of a variable vector propeller 3 as a propulsion device provided on both sides of the vehicle, two front legs 4, one rear leg 7, and two manipulators 9 provided on the head 2. .

The main body 1 includes a variable vector propeller 3 for propulsion and batteries for supplying power to various devices.
In addition to storing computers, communication equipment with the mother ship, and other equipment, the empty spaces are filled with pressure-resistant buoyancy material.
The specific gravity of the entire robot is adjusted to be approximately equal to the specific gravity of seawater. At the rear of the main body 1, an underwater television camera 14 for rear monitoring is provided so as to be movable between a state where it is housed in the main body 1 and a state where it projects. Further, an ultrasonic communication device 16 is fixed to the top of the main body 1.

The variable vector propeller 3 provided on both sides of the main body 1 has a plurality of blades (four in the example shown) provided on a rotating shaft extending in the left-right direction of the main body 1, and each blade rotates around its own central axis. It is capable of rotating through a certain angle, and each blade is controlled so that it rotates at the same angle at the same position during one revolution of the propeller. By appropriately controlling the rotational angle of the blades themselves around their axis with respect to the rotational position of the blades, the direction of the thrust of the entire propeller can be set in a desired three-dimensional direction. Therefore, if one propeller of this type is installed on each side and controlled independently of the other, the robot can move forward and backward, left and right, up and down, horizontally tilted, vertically tilted, and rotated in the horizontal plane. It becomes possible to control six degrees of freedom of motion. If this were to be achieved using a regular fixed-wing propeller, seven to eight propellers would be required. Therefore,
The use of variable pitch propellers not only reduces the number of propellers, but also enables delicate control of the robot's motion.

The three legs 4 and 7 have suction parts 5 and 8 at their lower ends, and have joints at the attachment parts of the suction parts, the bases of the legs, and the middle parts, respectively, so that they can be bent like the legs of humans or animals. I'm starting to be able to do it. The suction part is made of an elastic material such as rubber, and its lower surface is shaped like a suction cup. By suctioning water with a pump through the inside of the legs, it can reliably suction onto the surface of a structure, etc. A sled 6 is fixed to a portion of the lower leg of the front leg 4 corresponding to the "shin".

The neck 18 supporting the head 2 is telescopically expandable and retractable in its axial direction. Also, main body 1
and a head drive device 1 as a link mechanism attached to the head 2 slightly below the attachment part of the neck 18.
9 is formed, and by changing the angle of the main body side link independently on the left and right sides, the head 2 can be rotated within a certain range around the axis of the neck 18, and the head 2 can be rotated to the neck 18. It is possible to swing the head in all directions around the mounting part.

Furthermore, a pair of highly capable and intelligent manipulators 9 are attached to the lower front end of the head 2, just like the antennae of an insect. As shown in the figure, the manipulator 9 is equipped with jointed fingers and has a pressure sensor at each fingertip to detect the pressure when grasping an object and control the movement of the fingers so as not to drop the grasped object. Moreover, it is possible to grip with an appropriate pressing force without crushing the grip.

In addition, the head 2 is equipped with a forward monitoring television camera 11 that can appear as a means for detecting underwater objects as objects for underwater work and observation, a fixed ultrasonic medium-long and short-range visual sensor 12, and a forward obstacle detection sonar. 21, devices 14 such as an underwater still camera, an underwater strobe light, and an underwater microphone are provided between the pair of underwater illumination lights 13 and the attachment portions of the pair of manipulators 9 described above. In addition, transponder 1 is installed to detect the position of the diving robot itself.
7 is provided, and the underwater position is detected via the underwater relay station 20.

Since this underwater working robot is constructed as described above, when cruising underwater or storing it on a mother ship or a launcher lowered to the seabed, the three legs 4 and 7 can be bent as shown in Fig. 2. The suction parts 5 and 8 are stored in a state in which they are brought into contact with the lower surface of the main body 1. In this state, the sled 6 is held horizontally under the folded legs 4, which is convenient for landing on the seabed, sitting on the mother ship, and moving by sliding on the seabed. .

Also, as shown in FIG. 2, the neck 18 is shortened to make the head 2
close to the main body 1, and the underwater television camera 11,1
5. By housing the manipulator 9 in the main body 1 and the neck 2, the space occupied by the entire robot is reduced, making it convenient to store, reducing underwater resistance during underwater navigation, and reducing the power required for the propulsion device. can do.

During work, the legs 4 and 7 are stretched out appropriately, and the suction parts 5 and 8 at their lower ends are used to adsorb to underwater structures, etc. to securely fix them, and the position of the manipulator 9 is adjusted by appropriately adjusting the way the legs are bent. It can be brought to a convenient position for work.

In addition, the neck 18 is expandable and retractable, and the head can rotate and swing, so even when working in a narrow and complicated space where the robot itself cannot fit, it is possible to monitor and work by inserting only the head into it. I can do it.

The embodiment shown in the figure shows a case where communication commands from the mother ship are received by sound etc., and the power for the propulsion device and various equipment is provided by the battery installed in the main body. Not limited to, electric wires connected between the mother ship or the launcher that has been lowered to the seabed,
Power is supplied by an umbilical cable containing communication lines.
It can also be applied when supplying communication commands, or when transmitting and receiving only communication commands through electrical communication lines or umbilical cables using optical fibers.

Effects As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to perform work using an underwater robot in a narrow space, and
The number of propulsors and the space they occupy can be reduced, and the necessary equipment can be mounted on the tower, which not only enhances functionality, but also makes it easier to control delicate movements. can be obtained.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an underwater working robot according to an embodiment of the present invention in a working state, and FIG. 2 is a side view showing its storage and cruising states. 1... Main body, 2... Head, 3... Variable vector propeller, 4, 7... Legs, 5, 8... Adsorption part, 6... Sled, 9... Manipulator, 11, 1
2, 13, 14, 21...Target detection means, 18
……neck.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. It is attached to the front and rear of the main body, has joints at the base and middle part, and a suction part at one end, and has an operating state in which the suction part is attached to an underwater fixed object to hold the main body in place, and a lower part of the main body. a plurality of legs that can be folded into a stored state in which the suction part is attracted to the main body and held; and variable vector propellers that are provided on both sides of the main body and can output the required propulsive force in each three-dimensional direction; It is attached to the tip of the neck, which is provided at the front of the main body and can be expanded and contracted in the front-back direction of the main body, and can rotate around the axis of the neck and swing in all directions around the attachment point, and can detect underwater objects. An underwater working robot characterized by having a head equipped with means and a manipulator.