JPH05329455A - Underwater cleaning robot - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To save energy on moving and on cleaning by providing a robot body, moving fins and cleaning brushes for cleaning the wall surface of a channel and providing a cable for regulating the position of the robot body in the flow direction. CONSTITUTION:When a robot body 1 is made to flow together with fluid from the upstream side to the downstream side and reaches a fixed position, it is given position regulation by a cable 7 to stop at the fixed position. And, moving fins 2A-2D, 3A-3D are inclined in fluid, causing a swirling flow to be generated around the fins, permitting the robot body 1 to be moved sideways and vertically by the lift caused by the swirling flow. Therefore, the robot body 1 is moved to the desired position to be cleaned of the wall surface of the channel, and simultaneously, a cleaning brushes 4A-4H are surely pressed against the position to be cleaned by the lift caused by the moving fins 2A-2D, 3A-3D to perform cleaning.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an underwater cleaning robot for cleaning marine organisms adhering to the wall surface of an intake channel of a power plant or the like in running water.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as this type of underwater cleaning robot, there are those shown in FIGS. 11 and 12, for example. That is, propeller-like propulsion thrusters 71 for moving the robot body 70 back and forth and turning are provided at the left and right ends of the rear portion of the robot body 70, respectively. At the center of the upper part of the robot body 70, a suction thruster for moving the robot body 70 up and down is provided.
A pair of left and right 72 are provided. And the robot body 70
A side thruster 73 for laterally moving the robot main body 70 is provided in the rear central portion. These thrusters 71,
Each of 72 and 73 is rotationally driven separately by a hydraulic motor (not shown). The robot main body 70 is provided with a rotating brush 75 facing downward through a pair of left and right swing arms 74. A control panel 76 for remotely controlling the underwater cleaning robot is installed on the ground side, and the control panel 76 and the robot body 70 are provided with a control cable 78 for controlling the hydraulic motor and the like.
Connected by.

According to this, by driving the hydraulic motor to rotate the thrusters 71, 72, 73 separately, the robot body 70 is propelled in the front-rear direction 79, the left-right direction 80 and the up-down direction 81. You can swim up to the cleaning point. Then, the rotating brush 75 is operated to clean the wall surface 77 of the water channel. At this time, the pressing force F of the rotary brush 75 against the wall surface 77 is obtained by the downward thrust of the suction thruster 72.

[0004]

However, according to the above-mentioned conventional type, the robot main body 70 is moved back and forth, left and right and up and down by driving each hydraulic motor to rotate each thruster 71, 72, 73 separately. Therefore, it consumes a considerable amount of power when moving. Also, since the rotating brush 75 must be pressed against the wall surface 77 during cleaning,
The adsorption thruster 72 had to be rotated, which further increased power consumption. From the above, there is a problem that it is difficult to save energy when moving and cleaning the underwater cleaning robot.

The present invention solves the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide an underwater cleaning robot which can save energy during movement and cleaning.

[0006]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In order to solve the above problems, the present invention is an underwater cleaning robot used in a fluid in a water channel, wherein the robot body has a movement capable of tilting with respect to the flow direction of the fluid. Fins, a cleaning brush capable of cleaning the wall surface of the water channel, and a cable for restricting the position of the robot body in the fluid flow direction.

[0007]

According to the above construction, when the robot main body flows from the upstream side to the downstream side together with the fluid and the robot main body reaches the predetermined position, the position of the robot main body is regulated by the cable and stops at the predetermined position. Then, by tilting the moving fin in the fluid, a swirling flow is generated around the moving fin, and the lift force generated by the swirling flow moves the robot body laterally or vertically. Therefore, the robot body can be moved to the intended cleaning location on the wall surface of the water channel, and the cleaning brush can be reliably pressed against the cleaning location by the lifting force of the moving fins to clean the cleaning location.

[0008]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the underwater cleaning robot of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS.

As shown in FIG. 1, this underwater cleaning robot is for cleaning marine organisms adhering to the wall surface of an intake channel or drainage channel of a power plant in running water. Front fins 2A to 2D and rear fins 3A to 3D for moving the main body, and rotating brush 4A to for cleaning.
4H, front wheels 5A to 5D and rear wheels 6A to 6D for supporting the robot body, and a cable 7 for restricting the position of the robot body 1 are provided.

The robot body 1 has a pressure-resistant container 10 for holding buoyancy, which has hemispherical front and rear ends and a cylindrical middle portion.
And a front frame 11 provided forward from the front end of the pressure resistant container 10 and a rear frame 12 provided rearward from the rear end of the pressure resistant container 10. The front and rear frames 11, 12 are
Each is formed by intersecting two U-shaped rods in a plan view in a cross shape in a front view (or a rear view). Also, as shown in FIG. 3, the front and rear frames 11, 12
A horizontal frame 13 in the left-right direction and a vertical frame 14 in the up-and-down direction, which are respectively connected between the bar members facing each other, are attached to cross each other in a cross shape, and an annular frame connected between the bar members. 25 is installed.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the front fins 2A to 2D are provided in the front end portion of the front frame 11, and are formed in a fan shape that divides a disk into four equal parts in a front view. Of these, the first fin 2A is provided on the upper and left and right ends, the second fin 2B is provided on the lower and left and right ends, the third fin 2C is provided on the lower and left and right other ends, and the fourth fin 2D is provided. Is provided on the upper part and the other left and right ends. The first fin 2A and the third fin 2C at the symmetrical positions
Are provided so as to be tiltable in the vertical direction about the horizontal axis 16 by actuators 15 provided at both ends of the vertical frame 14, respectively. The second fin 2B and the fourth fin 2D are the horizontal frames, respectively.
Actuators 15 provided at both ends of the shaft 13 are tiltable in the left-right direction about a vertical axis 17. Further, the rear first fins 3A to the fourth fins 3D are similarly arranged in the front end portion of the rear frame 12.

As shown in FIG. 4, a plurality of rotary brushes 4A to 4H for cleaning are arranged on the outer peripheral surface of the pressure vessel 10 (eight in the embodiment), and these rotary brushes 4A to 4H are arranged over the entire circumference. It is distributed. Each rotating brush 4A-4
The H is separately rotated by a hydraulic motor 18 provided in the pressure vessel 10.

Front wheels 5A to support the robot body
As shown in FIG. 4, a plurality of 5Ds (4Ds in the embodiment) are arranged between the pressure resistant container 10 and the front fins 2A to 2D. Of these, the first and second wheels 5A and 5B arranged in the upper and lower portions are respectively freely rotatable around a horizontal axis 19 and are hydraulic pressures that can freely move in the vertical direction via a bracket 20. It is attached to the tip of the cylinder 22. Further, the third and fourth wheels 5C and 5D arranged on the left and right parts are
Each of them is attached to the tip of a hydraulic cylinder 22 which is freely rotatable around a vertical axis 21 and is capable of moving in the left-right direction via a bracket 20. These hydraulic cylinders 22 are installed on the front surface of the pressure resistant container 10. The wheels 5A to 5D are provided so as to be displaced in the circumferential direction so as not to come into contact with the front frame 11. Further, between the pressure-resistant container 10 and the rear fins 3A to 3D, the rear first to fourth wheels 6A to 6D are arranged in the same manner as above.

As shown in FIG. 5, each of the wheels 5A-5
Reference numerals D and 6A to 6D denote wheel bodies 39 each of which is composed of three arms distributed at 120 degrees, and rotation axes provided between the arms of the wheel bodies 39 and orthogonal to the axes 19 and 21. It is formed by a plurality of rollers (three in the embodiment) which are freely rotatable around 40. As a result, the wheels 5A to 5D and 6A to 6D can freely rotate in the idling direction 23 around the respective shaft centers 19 and 21, and the rollers 24 can also be rotated.
By free rotation, can move in a direction perpendicular to the free rotation direction 23.

A TV camera 27 with an underwater light (see FIG. 1) is attached to the front and rear of the robot body 1 for monitoring the underwater condition with a ground monitor (not shown). Further, at various places of the robot body 1, postures,
Various measuring devices (not shown) are provided to measure the azimuth and distance to the cleaning surface and display them on the ground side monitor in real time.

As shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, the cable 7 for regulating the position of the robot body 1 has one end connected to the rear end of the rear frame 12 and the other end connected to the ground side. It is connected to the installed reel device 28. The reel device 28 automatically unwinds and winds the cable 7. In the cable 7, a tension wire 29 for pulling the robot body 1 against the pressure of running water, a drive control signal for the actuators 15, the hydraulic motor 18, the hydraulic cylinder 22 and the like, a video signal and a detection signal are transmitted. The electric-optical composite cable 30 is inserted.

The connecting portion between the cable 7 and the rear frame 12 has the following structure. That is, as shown in FIG. 7, a cylindrical case 31 is formed at the rear end of the rear frame 12, and the case 31 is covered with a bolt and a nut.
32 is detachably attached. A through hole 33 penetrating from the tip side into the case 31 is formed in the cover 32, and one end portion of the cable 7 is inserted into the through hole 33 to be inserted into the case 31.
Has been inserted inside. The inside of the case 31 is composed of an O-ring 34 provided on the flange portion, a seal rubber 35 fitted on the cable 7 and provided inside the through hole 33, and a presser foot 36 for pressing the seal rubber 35. It is sealed from the outside. One end of the tension wire 29 projects from one end of the cable 7, is inserted into the connector 37, and is fixed by the trapezoidal nut 37a. The connector 37 is screwed into the case 31 to be fixedly connected. Further, one end of each electric-optical composite cable 30 for control is led out from one end of the cable 7 and extended to the outside of the case 31 via an underwater connector 38 attached to the side surface of the case 31. It is connected to the actuator 15, the hydraulic motor 18, the hydraulic cylinder 22, the TV camera 27, and the like.

As shown in FIG. 6, the other end of each electric-optical composite cable 30 is connected to a control panel 41 installed on the ground side. The control panel 41 is provided with an operation panel 42 for remotely operating the robot body 1.

On the ground side, an underwater cleaning robot is installed in the waterway.
A loading and unloading device (not shown) for loading and unloading is installed in the 43. This loading and unloading device mounts an underwater cleaning robot and moves up and down between the ground side and the waterway 43. It has a stand 45. A remote lock device (not shown) that locks the mounted underwater cleaning robot is attached to the lift table 45.

Further, as shown in FIG. 8, the cross section of the water channel 43 is formed in a quadrangular shape, and inclined surfaces 44A to 44D are formed at the four corners. For example, seawater used as cooling water flows in the water channel 43.

The operation of the above structure will be described below.
As shown by the phantom line in FIG. 6, the underwater cleaning robot is placed on the elevating table 45 of the loading / unloading device and locked by the remote lock device, and the elevating table 45 is lowered. As a result, the underwater cleaning robot is thrown into the water channel 43 on the upstream side. Then, after setting the underwater cleaning robot in the control operating state, the remote lock device is released. As a result, as shown by the solid line in FIG.
The underwater cleaning robot moves downstream due to the pressure of flowing water, and the cable 7 is paid out from the reel device 28 at a predetermined speed according to the flow velocity. For example, when the flow velocity of the flowing water is 0.5 to 3 m / sec, the feeding speed of the cable 7 is controlled to 0 to 50 m / min. Then, when the submersible cleaning robot moves downstream by the length of the extended cable 7, the submersible cleaning robot is pulled by the cable, its position is regulated, and the submerged cleaning robot is fixed at a predetermined position.

Then, by tilting the first to fourth fins 2A to 2D and 3A to 3D provided in front and rear, a swirling flow is generated around the first to fourth fins 2A to 2D and 3A to 3D. The lift generated by this swirling flow causes the robot body 1 to move in a direction orthogonal to the flow direction. For example, as shown in FIGS. 6 and 8, the flow direction is the front-back direction 46, and the wall surfaces in the water channel 43 are the upper surface 47, the lower surface 48, and the right surface, respectively.
49 and the left surface 50, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the front and rear first fins 2A, 3A and the third fins 2C, 3 respectively.
When C and C are horizontally oriented in the front-rear direction 46 and the second fins 2B and 3B and the fourth fins 2D and 3D are tilted to the left or right, the submersible cleaning robot moves to the left direction 56 by the lift force, and becomes constant. It is pressed against the left surface 50 of the water channel 43 by the pressing force F. Similarly, the second fins 2B and 3B and the fourth fin 2
When D and 3D are tilted to the left and right, the underwater cleaning robot moves in the right direction 55 and is pressed against the right surface 49 of the water channel 43. In addition, the second fins 2B, 3B and the fourth fins 2D, 3
When D is horizontally oriented in the front-rear direction 46 and the first fins 2A, 3A and the third fins 2C, 3C are tilted up or down, the submersible cleaning robot moves in the upward direction 53 and presses against the upper surface 47 of the water channel 43. When the first fins 2A, 3A and the third fins 2C, 3C are tilted to the other upper and lower sides, the submersible cleaning robot moves in the downward direction 54 and is pressed against the lower surface 48 of the water channel 43. Furthermore, the first and third fins 2A, 2C, 3A, 3
By tilting both sets of C and the second and fourth fins 2B, 2D, 3B, 3D at the same time, the submersible cleaning robot moves in any direction on the plane formed by the vertical and horizontal directions 53 to 56.

Next, the cleaning procedure will be described. That is, as described above, the first to fourth fins 2A to 2D, 3A to 3D
Is tilted to move the underwater cleaning robot to the upper left corner 57A as shown by the solid line in FIG. Then, by driving the hydraulic motor 18, the rotary brushes 4A, 4A
While rotating G and 4H, the upper surface 47 of the water channel 43,
The underwater cleaning robot is pressed against the left surface 50 and the inclined surface 44A with a constant pressing force F to remove attached marine life and the like. At this time, the upper and left wheels 5A, 5D, 6
Since A and 6D are in contact with the upper surface 47 and the left surface 50, respectively, the underwater cleaning robot can perform the cleaning work in a stable posture.

Next, as shown in FIG. 9, a hydraulic cylinder
22 is driven and the left wheels 5D and 6D are projected from the main body 1 side. As a result, the submersible cleaning robot moves from the left end to the intermediate portion 58 along the upper surface 47, so that the upper rotary brush 4A moves forward from the left end of the upper surface 47 to the intermediate portion 58 for cleaning. At this time, since the rollers 24 of the upper wheels 5A and 6A are in contact with the upper surface 47 and idle around from the left end to the intermediate portion 58, the submersible cleaning robot always operates the upper and left wheels 5A and 5A.
The posture is stably held by A, 5D, 6A, and 6D.
Then, as shown by the phantom line in FIG. 9, the left wheel 5D,
6D is retracted to the main body 1 side, and the underwater cleaning robot is returned to the upper left corner 57A. As a result, the upper rotary brush 4
A moves back from the middle portion 58 of the upper surface 47 to the left end for cleaning. At this time, the moving speeds of the left wheels 5D and 6D are automatically adjusted according to the load applied to the upper rotating brush 4A.

Next, as shown in FIG. 10, the upper wheel 5
A and 6A are projected from the main body 1 side. As a result, the submersible cleaning robot moves along the left surface 50 from the upper end to the intermediate portion 59, so that the left rotary brush 4G moves forward between the upper end of the left surface 50 and the intermediate portion 59 for cleaning. At this time, since the rollers 24 of the left wheels 5D and 6D are in contact with the left surface 50 and rotate freely from the upper end to the intermediate portion 59, the submersible cleaning robot always operates the upper and left wheels 5A, 5D, 6A, The posture is held stable by 6D. Then, as shown by the phantom line in FIG. 10, the upper wheels 5A and 6A are retracted toward the main body 1 side,
Return the underwater cleaning robot to the upper left corner 57A. As a result, the rotary brush 4G on the left side is moved back and cleaned between the middle portion 59 and the upper end of the left surface 50.

Then, by feeding the cable 7 by a certain length, the underwater cleaning robot can move the wheels 5 on the upper and left sides.
The upper left corner portion 57A is moved to the downstream side while being guided by the upper surface 47 and the left surface 50 via A, 5D, 6A, and 6D, and the same procedure as above is repeated to clean the upper left area of the water channel 43.

Further, the lower left range, the upper right range and the lower right range of the water channel 43 are similarly cleaned by moving the wheels 5A to 5D and 6A to 6D, so that the cleaning width can be expanded. At this time, the underwater cleaning robot is equipped with 57 corners.
Since A to 57D are moved to the downstream side, the posture is easy to stabilize.

The movement of the underwater cleaning robot and the cleaning state are monitored by the TV camera 27 by a monitor on the ground side. After the cleaning, the reel device 28 winds the cable 7 to move the underwater cleaning robot from the downstream side to the upstream side, and mounts it on the elevating table 45 of the loading / unloading device and locks it. afterwards,
By raising the lift table 45, the underwater cleaning robot is lifted from the water channel 43 to the ground side.

In the above embodiment, as shown in FIG. 3, the first to fourth fins 2A to 2D and 3A to 3D are provided on the front and rear portions, respectively.
Four of them are provided, but this is one in which two fins that can be tilted about the horizontal axis 16 and fins that can be tilted about the vertical axis 17 are provided in the front and rear portions, respectively. But it's okay.

[0030]

As described above, according to the present invention, the robot body is provided with the moving fins that can tilt with respect to the flow direction of the fluid and the cleaning brush that can clean the wall surface of the water channel. By providing a cable that regulates the position of the robot in the direction of fluid flow, the robot body is flown from the upstream side to the downstream side, the position of the robot is regulated by the cable, and after stopping at a predetermined position, the moving fin is tilted. ,
The lift of the swirling flow generated around the moving fin causes the fluid to move in a direction orthogonal to the flow direction of the fluid. For this reason,
The robot body moves to the cleaning location on the wall surface of the waterway, and the cleaning brush is reliably pressed against the cleaning location to clean the cleaning location.

As described above, since the movement of the robot body is performed by tilting the moving fins and utilizing the pressure of the fluid,
At the time of movement, it is only necessary to tilt the movement fin, and it is possible to reduce power consumption required for movement. Further, by tilting the moving fin and utilizing the pressure of the fluid, the cleaning brush can be reliably pressed against the cleaning location, so that the power consumption can be further reduced. As a result, it is possible to save energy when the submersible cleaning robot is moved and during cleaning.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a plan view of a robot body according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged plan view of the front part of the robot body.

FIG. 3 is a view on arrow AA in FIG.

FIG. 4 is a view on arrow BB in FIG.

FIG. 5 is a detailed view of wheels provided on the robot body.

FIG. 6 is a schematic side view showing a reel device installed on the ground side and a robot main body put into a waterway.

FIG. 7 is a vertical cross-sectional side view showing a connecting portion between a robot body and a cable.

FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view of the water channel viewed from the downstream side for explaining the cleaning procedure.

FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view of the water channel viewed from the downstream side for explaining the cleaning procedure.

FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view of the water channel viewed from the downstream side for explaining the cleaning procedure.

FIG. 11 is a plan view of a robot body in a conventional example.

FIG. 12 is a view on arrow C-C in FIG. 11.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Robot body 2A to 2D Fins 3A to 3D Fins 4A to 4H Brush 7 Cable 43 Water channel 46 Front-back direction (flow direction) 47-50 Wall surface

 ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── --- Continuation of the front page (72) Inventor Akio Takahashi 5-3-8 Nishikujo, Konohana-ku, Osaka City, Osaka Prefecture Hitachi Shipbuilding Co., Ltd. (72) Kenzo Takase Nishikujo 5-chome, Konohana-ku, Osaka City, Osaka Hitachi Shipbuilding Co., Ltd. No. 3-28 (72) Inventor Manabu Miura 5-3-8 Nishikujo, Konohana-ku, Osaka City, Osaka Prefecture (72) Minor Minoru Hyuga (72) Minoru Hyuga Nishikujo, Konohana-ku, Osaka City, Osaka Prefecture 5th-328th Hitachi Shipbuilding Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Yasunobu Otani 5th-328th Nishikujo, Nishikujo, Konohana-ku, Osaka City, Osaka Prefecture Hitachi Shipbuilding Co., Ltd.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. An underwater cleaning robot used in a fluid in a water channel, wherein a robot body has a moving fin capable of tilting with respect to the flow direction of the fluid, and a cleaning brush capable of cleaning the wall surface of the water channel. And a cable for restricting the position of the robot body in the direction of fluid flow.