JPH0833140A - Traveling equipment in midair inspection apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To smoothly move a midair inspection apparatus even though a wire line way is bent. CONSTITUTION:In a midair inspection apparatus 1 capable of traveling while being suspended from a wire line way such as an overhead ground wire Ew, a bracket 31 supporting a drive wheel 41 in a freely rotatable manner is supported by a frame 3 in a freely rotatable manner around a vertical shaft line, and also a transmitting pin 47a and a spherical portion 47b of a rotating shaft 47 coupled to a drive motor 42 are respectively fitted to a boss 44b having a key groove 44a of a flange member 44 at the drive wheel 41.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a traveling device for an airborne inspection device.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, in order to meet the social demand for stable power supply, power distribution equipment such as high and low voltage insulators and equipment bushings are confirmed on site to prevent accidents that may disrupt power supply, and equipment that is caused by lightning strikes. On-site inspection work, such as checking the situation at the site and taking appropriate measures when an abnormality such as damage occurs, is emphasized. Since such on-site inspection work requires judgment by human sight and hearing, it has been performed manually by using a work platform for aerial work or by ascending pillar work.

However, the amount of power distribution facilities that are installed including demand points such as narrow alleys and mountainous areas is enormous, and uninterruptible work is carried out as the information-oriented society advances. In the above-described manual inspection work on the pole, a great deal of labor is required to find the cause of the abnormality, fatigue is large, and there is danger, so the workability is low and there is a problem in safety.

Therefore, the applicant runs an airborne inspection device suspended on an overhead ground wire by wireless remote control from the ground, and operates a sensor such as a video camera to detect a power distribution facility and detect it. We have previously proposed an inspection device for distribution equipment that displays the results on the ground inspection device and inspects distribution equipment.

First, the inspection device S will be described with reference to FIG. 4. The inspection device S is an overhead ground wire installed between the upper ends of the distribution poles H and H in order to prevent damage to the distribution equipment due to a lightning strike. The airborne inspection device 1 mounted with a sensor for inspecting power distribution equipment suspended on E _W and the airborne inspection device 1 are wirelessly remote-controlled, and the detection result by the sensor of the airborne inspection device 1 is displayed in real time. It is composed of a ground inspection device 2.

As shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, the airborne inspection device 1 includes a frame 3 formed in a gate shape when viewed from the front,
It comprises a traveling device 4 mounted on the frame 3, an imaging device 5 having a video camera 52 as a sensor, a traveling device 4 and a control device 6 for controlling the imaging device 5.

The traveling device 4 includes a pair of drive wheels 41 rotatably supported by the frame 3, a servomotor 42 for rotationally driving the drive wheels 41, and the servomotor 4
Although not shown in detail, a worm gear fixed to the rotary shaft of the drive wheel 41 and a worm fixed to the output shaft of the servo motor 42 are meshed with each other. Then, when the servo motor 42 is rotationally driven via the servo amplifier 43, the drive wheel 41 can be normally and reversely rotated via these worm gears and the worm, and the rotational speed thereof can be increased or decreased.

The image pickup device 5 is mounted on the pan head 51, which is rotatably supported on the frame 3 about a vertical axis and is also supported on a horizontal axis. Video camera 52 and this video camera 5
A lens controller 54 including a drive motor for zooming the second lens 53 and a platform controller 55 including a drive motor for selectively rotating the platform 51 and raising and lowering the platform 53. When the lens controller 54 is operated, The lens 53 can be zoomed, and when the camera platform controller 55 is operated, the camera platform 51,
That is, the video camera 52 is moved about the vertical axis about 350
You can turn over a range of degrees,
It is possible to lie down from the horizontal position around the horizontal axis over a range of about 90 degrees.

Further, the control device 6 includes a video camera 52.
After capturing the image pickup signal by, digitizing and compressing it,
While converting to image data and further modulating to wireless data for transmission, wireless data from a ground inspection device 2 which will be described later is received, demodulated into control data, and then converted to a command signal to travel device 4 and imaging. It is output to the device 5, and is driven by being supplied with power from a battery 7 mounted on the frame 3.

The aerial inspection device 1 has its drive wheels 41.
The above-mentioned various devices are evenly arranged on the left and right of the frame 3 in consideration of their weight balance so that when they are suspended on the aerial ground wire E _W , they are supported by the aerial ground wire E _W as if they were suspended. ing.

On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 6, the ground inspection device 2 includes a controller 8 such as a keyboard, a display 9 such as a CRT, and a ground side which operates the controller 8 and the display 9 as input / output devices. The ground inspection device 2 includes a control device 10 and is mounted on an inspection work vehicle or the like (not shown).

The ground-side control device 10 converts the command signal from the controller 8 into control data and then modulates the data into radio data for transmission, while the control device 6 of the above-mentioned aerial inspection device 1 transmits the control data. The wireless data is received, demodulated into image data, expanded, converted into an image pickup signal and output to the display unit 9, and is driven by a power supply 11.

Note that W is a distribution line installed between the distribution poles H and H, and T is a transformer attached to the distribution pole H.

By the way, the aerial ground wire E _W on which the above-mentioned aerial inspection device 1 travels is supported by a power distribution pole H, as shown in FIGS. 7 and 8. That is, the support structure of the overhead ground wire E _W linearly installed on the power distribution pole H will be described with reference to FIG. 7. A support pillar 12 is fixed to the upper end of the power distribution pole H, and the support pillar 12 is further fixed. A low pressure insulator G is attached to the upper end of 12 via a bolt 13. And
An overhead ground wire E _W is connected to the low voltage insulator G. On the other hand, a support plate 14 is fixed to the upper end of the low voltage insulator G, and a through wire 15 having the same diameter as the overhead ground wire E _W is sandwiched in the upper end of the support plate 14. The through wire 15 is extended in the front-rear direction with the set down slope, and then both ends thereof are connected to the overhead ground wire E _W via the C-type connector 16. Therefore, the through wire 15 is extended so as to form a bridge over the low voltage insulator G.

In the distribution pole H, the support structure in the case where the direction of the overhead ground wire E _W changes will be described with reference to FIG. 8. A plurality of sheath pipes 1 are attached to the support pillar 12 fixed to the distribution pole H.
7 is fixed to the sheath pipe 17, and a bolt 1 is attached to the upper end.
A support arm 18, which is fixed to the low-pressure insulator G and is bent into a substantially S-shape, is fitted and fixed via 3. Also, bolt 1
A support plate 14 is fixed to 3, and a through wire 15 having a radius of curvature set between the upper ends of a pair of adjacent support plates 14 is sandwiched. Both ends of the through wire 15 are connected to the vicinity of the tip of the overhead ground wire E _W via a C-type connector 16. The tip of the overhead ground wire E _W is connected to the low-pressure insulator G via the retaining grip 20. Therefore, the overhead ground wire E _W
The through wire 15 connected to is extended so as to form a curved overpass that straddles the low pressure insulator G. Furthermore, in order to prevent the through wire 15 from hanging down when the above-described airborne inspection device 1 travels, the support column 12 is positioned in the middle of the through wire 15 that is installed between the pair of support arms 18, An intermediate support member 19 having a support plate 14 is fixed.

Therefore, as will be described later, when the aerial inspection device 1 travels on the overhead ground wire E _W and reaches the connection portion with the through wire 15 near the distribution pole H, the drive wheel 41 thereof is provided.
Can be transferred from the overhead ground wire E _W to the through wire 15, and can be passed over without interfering with the low voltage insulator G provided on the distribution pole H, and the direction can be changed while overcoming.

Next, the operation of the inspection device S will be described. First, at the work start position of the inspection section on the day, the aerial inspection device 1 is driven by the drive wheels 41 of the aerial ground using an aerial work vehicle (not shown). Suspend so that it is located on the line E _W.
After that, when the forward operation unit of the controller 8 in the ground inspection device 2 is operated, the forward command signal output from the controller 8 is converted into forward control data in the control device 10 and then modulated into forward wireless data to be transmitted in the air. It is transmitted to the upper inspection device 1. The forward wireless data received by the airborne transmitter 1 is demodulated into forward control data by the controller 6 and then converted into a forward command signal to be transmitted to the servo amplifier 43.
Is further supplied to the servo motor 42 and amplified by the servo amplifier 43. Therefore, the drive wheels 41
As a result of normal rotation at the set speed, the airborne inspection device 1 can travel forward on the overhead ground wire E _W at the set speed.

At this time, assuming that the lens 53 of the video camera 52 mounted on the aerial inspection device 1 is oriented in a direction parallel to the overhead ground line E _W , the image pickup signal from the video camera 52 is a control device. Taken in 6 and digitized,
After being compressed, it is converted into image data, further modulated into image wireless data, and transmitted to the ground inspection device 2. Then, the image wireless data received by the ground inspection device 2 is demodulated into image data by the control device 10, expanded, converted into an image pickup signal and supplied to the display unit 9, and the image pickup is displayed. .

On the other hand, the airborne inspection device 1 moves forward to move to the distribution pole H.
When it reaches the position before, the pan / tilt head 51 is operated so as to turn the pan / tilt head 51 so that the lens 53 of the video camera 52 is directed to the distribution facility of the distribution pole H. That is, when the pan / tilt head operation unit of the controller 8 is operated while checking the image displayed on the display 9, the pan / pan head command signal is converted into pan / pan head control data by the control device 10 and then pan / pan head wireless data is transmitted. And is transmitted to the airborne inspection device 1. Then, the pan head radio data received by the airborne inspection device 1 is demodulated into pan head control data by the control device 6, converted into a pan head command signal, and supplied to the pan head controller 55, and its drive motor. Through the platform 51
Turn or lie down. During this time, the video camera 52
As described above, the image picked up from is displayed on the display 9 of the ground inspection device 2.

By operating the camera platform 51 in this way, the video camera 52 points the power distribution equipment, so that the power distribution equipment can be inspected based on the image displayed on the display 9. At this time, the image of the power distribution equipment displayed on the display 9 can be zoomed as necessary. That is, when the lens operation unit of the controller 8 is operated, the lens command signal is converted into lens control data in the control device 10, modulated into lens wireless data, and transmitted to the airborne inspection device 1. Then, the lens wireless data received by the airborne inspection device 1 is demodulated into lens control data by the control device 6, converted into a lens command signal, and supplied to the lens controller 54. Zoom 53.

In this way, when the inspection of the power distribution equipment viewed from the traveling direction of the airborne inspection device 1 is completed, the forward operation unit of the controller 8 is operated again to move the airborne inspection device 1 forward. At this time, as described above, by the through wire 15 is laid low pressure fixed to the power distribution pole H is across the equalizer G, perched on inspection apparatus 1 Noriutsuri to the through wire 15 from the ground wire E _W, It is possible to pass through the power distribution pole H without interfering with the low voltage insulator G, and then transfer to the overhead ground wire E _W to travel again. Then, when the airborne inspection device 1 is separated from the power distribution pole H by a predetermined distance, the platform operation part of the controller 8 in the ground inspection device 2 is operated again,
The platform 51 is turned about 180 degrees to direct the lens 53 of the video camera 52 to the power distribution equipment, and the display 9 displays an image of the power distribution equipment viewed from the rear with respect to the traveling direction of the airborne inspection device 1. At this time, the platform 51 is raised or the lens 53 is zoomed via the controller 8 as required. In this way, the image of the power distribution equipment viewed from the rear with respect to the traveling direction of the airborne inspection device 1 is displayed on the display 9 for inspection.

In this way, when the inspection of the power distribution equipment on one power distribution pole H from the front and back is completed, the controller 8
By operating the platform operation part and the forward operation part of the above, the video camera 52 is directed in the forward direction of the aerial inspection device 1, and the aerial inspection device 1 is moved to a position near the next distribution pole H where power distribution equipment can be inspected. Let it run. During this time, if there is no particular inspection location, the traveling speed of the airborne inspection device 1 may be increased to promptly reach the next inspection position.

On the other hand, when inspecting the distribution equipment of the distribution pole H in which the direction of the overhead ground wire E _W shown in FIG. 8 changes,
The aerial inspection device 1 can advance the overhead ground wire E _W , get over the low voltage insulator G of the distribution pole H via the through wire 15 and can change the direction without interfering with the insulator G. Also in this case, it is sufficient to operate the camera platform operation part and the lens operation part of the controller 8 to inspect the power distribution equipment from the front and back of the power distribution equipment by displaying the inspection points.

While repeating such operations, the image of the power distribution equipment is displayed on the display 9 of the ground inspection device 2 in real time to check the inspection points of the power distribution equipment.

[0025]

When the aerial inspection device 1 travels on the overhead ground wire E _W installed on the distribution pole H, the overhead ground wire E _W and the wire lines such as the through wires 15 are linear. If the drive wheels 41 cannot be steered when the vehicle is installed on the road, as shown in FIG. 8, when traveling on a wire track curved with a constant radius of curvature, the aerial inspection device 1 In order to run smoothly, it is necessary to set the radius of curvature large.

However, if the radius of curvature of the overhead ground wire E _W is increased above a certain level, the overhanging portion of the support arm 18 needs to be increased, and the structure as a whole becomes large, which is not economical and also in terms of scenery. Not preferable. Further, in practice, there is a case where a wire line having a considerably small radius of curvature has to be adopted, and the smaller radius of curvature at which the vehicle can travel is more desirable.

Therefore, it is conceivable that the drive wheels 41 can be steered, that is, a drive motor is provided on the drive wheel 41 side and directly connected, but as many drive motors as drive wheels 41 are required. However, not only the structure becomes complicated, but also the weight increases and the load on the overhead ground wire E _W becomes large, which makes traveling difficult.

The present invention has been made in view of such problems, and by adopting a simple steering mechanism, even when a wire line such as an overhead ground wire is curved with a small radius of curvature. The present invention provides a traveling device in an airborne inspection device that can travel smoothly.

[0029]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention is an aerial inspection device that is suspended by a wire line and travels, and that is equipped with a sensor such as a video camera to inspect various equipment. A bracket rotatably supported on the bracket, a drive wheel rotatably supported on the bracket about a horizontal axis, and a rotary shaft connected to a drive motor provided on the frame. While forming a boss having one key groove, a spherical portion having a transmission pin is provided on the rotary shaft, and the transmission pin and the spherical portion of the rotary shaft are fitted to the key groove and the boss of the drive wheel, respectively. It is characterized by.

[0030]

The transmission pin and the spherical portion of the rotary shaft connected to the drive motor are fitted to the key groove boss of the drive wheel suspended on the wire line such as an overhead ground wire.
In addition, a bracket that rotatably supports the drive wheels is pivotally supported about the vertical axis with respect to the frame.

Therefore, when the aerial inspection device travels along a curved wire line, the bracket supporting the drive wheels pivots with respect to the frame to enable steering, and at that time, rotation of the rotary shaft by the drive motor. The force is reliably transmitted to the drive wheel by fitting the transmission pin provided on the spherical portion into the key groove of the drive wheel, and as a result, the airborne inspection device can be smoothly operated even when the wire track is curved. Can be run.

[0032]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

For convenience of explanation, the same members as those of the airborne inspection device 1 shown in FIGS. 4 to 6 will be denoted by the same reference numerals, and detailed description thereof will be omitted.

As shown in FIG. 1, a bracket 31 is pivotally supported on a frame 3 of the airborne inspection device 1 via a shaft 32 so as to be rotatable about a vertical axis.
A drive wheel 41 is rotatably supported by a bearing 33. As shown in FIG. 2 in detail, the drive wheel 41 includes a flange member 44, a tire 45 connected to the flange member 44, and a collar 46 fixed on both surfaces of the tire 45 so as to hold the tire 45. The flange member 44 is formed with a boss 44b provided with two key grooves 44a facing each other by 180 degrees. And
The tire 45 has a semi-circular groove 45 having a width substantially matching the outer diameter of the wire line such as the overhead ground wire E _W and the through wire 15.
a and a guide slit 45b located at the bottom of the groove 45a and having a width smaller than the outer diameter of the wire line and formed of a material having a large frictional resistance such as rubber. Further, the collars 46 fixed to both sides of the tire 45 have an outer diameter larger than the outer diameter of the tire 45 and are made of a material having a smaller frictional resistance than the tire 45.

On the other hand, at one end of a rotary shaft 47 which is rotatably supported by a bearing 34 provided on the frame 3, there is provided a spherical portion 47b in which two transmission pins 47a are provided so as to face each other by 180 degrees. The transmission pin 47a and the spherical portion 47b.
Can be fitted into the key groove 44a and the boss 44b formed in the flange member 44 of the drive wheel 41 described above (see FIG. 3). When the rotary shaft 47 is fitted to the drive wheel 41, the axis of the transmission pin 47a, the axis of the rotary shaft 47, and the axis of the shaft 32 described above intersect. A worm gear 48 is fixed to the other end of the rotary shaft 47 and meshes with a worm 49 fixed to the output shaft of the servomotor 42.

[0036] It should be noted that, in frame 3, so that will not be described in detail, perched on the inspection apparatus 1, which is suspended from the overhead ground wire E _W does not fall to the ground be removed from the overhead ground wire E _W, falling A prevention device 35 is provided.

Therefore, when the servomotor 42 is rotationally driven through the servo amplifier 43 while the drive wheels 41 of the aerial inspection apparatus 1 are suspended on the overhead ground wire E _W , the worm 4
9 and the worm gear 48 mesh with each other
Rotates. The rotational force of the rotary shaft 47 is obtained by fitting the spherical portion 47b into the boss 44b of the flange member 44 of the drive wheel 41 and the transmission pin 47a into the key groove 44a of the flange member 44. , Are directly transmitted to the drive wheels 41. As a result, the aerial inspection device 1 can travel on the aerial ground wire E _W by rotating the drive wheels 41 thereof. In this case, the tire 45 on the drive wheel 41 that is suspended by the overhead ground wire E _W and travels has the groove 45a.
And the guide slit 45b located at the bottom of the groove 45a.
Therefore, it is possible to secure the frictional resistance with the overhead ground wire E _W and to improve the straight running performance of the drive wheels 41.

On the other hand, when the aerial inspection device 1 reaches the position where the direction of the overhead ground wire E _W changes, that is, the curved through wire 15, the bracket 31 of the drive wheel 41 causes the shaft 32 to move.
The spherical portion 47b of the rotary shaft 47 is fitted to the boss 44b formed on the flange member 44 of the drive wheel 41, so that the bracket 3 can be rotated.
1, that is, the drive wheel 41 can steer by directing in the tangential direction of the radius of curvature of the through wire 15. At this time, the rotation axis of the drive wheel 41 intersects with the rotation axis of the rotation shaft 47 pivotally supported by the frame 3, but even in this state, the transmission pin 47a of the rotation shaft 47 has the drive pin 4a.
Since it is fitted in the key groove 44a of the flange member 44 in No. 1, the rotational force of the rotary shaft 47 can be transmitted to the drive wheel 41 as it is and rotated. As a result,
The airborne inspection device 1 can smoothly travel through the curved through wire 15, and has a radius of curvature that is as small as possible within a range in which the drive wheel 41 does not interfere with the rotation shaft 47 by being steered. can do. By the way, when traveling through such a curved through wire 15, the tire 45 on the drive wheel 41 is caused by some cause.
The groove 45a may be disengaged from the through wire 15, and the through wire 15 may relatively shift toward the outer peripheral edge side along the inclination direction of the tire 45. In this case, the through wire 15 comes into contact with the inner surface of the flange 46 having a small frictional resistance, and the flange 46 slides down and is held again by the tire 45. As a result, the drive wheel 41 is removed from the through wire 15 by It is suppressed as much as possible.

In this embodiment, the airborne inspection device 1 for suspending and running on the overhead ground wire E _W supported by the power distribution pole H and inspecting the power distribution equipment has been exemplified, but the airborne inspection device 1 is installed around the factory. It can also be used in the case of inspecting and monitoring by laying a wire on an installed support to form a wire line, and running an aerial inspection device by suspending it on the wire line. In this case, instead of the video camera 52 or together with the video camera 52, various sensors such as an infrared sensor can be mounted according to the purpose.

Further, in the above-mentioned embodiment, in order to transmit the rotational force of the rotary shaft 47 to the drive wheel 41, the two transmission pins 47a which are opposed to each other by 180 degrees are projected. Is small, one transmission pin 47
It may be transmitted by a.

[0041]

As described above, according to the present invention, in an airborne inspection device that runs while being suspended on a wire line and inspects various equipment by mounting a sensor such as a video camera, it is possible to rotate around a vertical axis of a frame. A bracket rotatably supported, a drive wheel rotatably supported on the bracket about a horizontal axis, and a rotary shaft connected to a drive motor provided on the frame, and the drive wheel includes: A boss having at least one key groove is formed, while a spherical portion having a transmission pin is provided on the rotary shaft, and the transmission pin and the spherical portion of the rotary shaft are fitted to the key groove and the boss of the drive wheel, respectively. As a result, the rotating force of the drive motor can be reliably transmitted to the drive wheels via the rotating shaft while the drive wheels are steered even when the aerial inspection device travels on curved wire tracks. Now, it is possible to smoothly running.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a partially cutaway front view of an airborne inspection device of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view showing an enlarged drive wheel of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a relationship between a drive wheel and a rotation shaft in the airborne inspection device of FIG.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing an outline of an inspection device.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing a part of an airborne inspection device that constitutes the inspection device.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram of a control system constituting the inspection device.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing a state in which an overhead ground wire is installed on a distribution pole.

FIG. 8 is a perspective view showing another installation state of an overhead ground wire with respect to a distribution pole.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 Chu the checking device 3 frame 31 bracket 32 shaft 4 drives 41 drive wheel 44 flange member 44a keyway 44b boss 45 tire 45a grooves 45b guide slit 46 collar 47 rotating shaft 47a transmission pin 47b bulb E _W overhead ground wire ( (Wire track)

 ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (72) Inventor Hiroshi Okuda 3-3-22 Nakanoshima, Kita-ku, Osaka City Kansai Electric Power Co., Inc. (72) Satoshi Nakamura 3-22-2 Nakanoshima, Kita-ku, Osaka Kansai Electric Power Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Masao Fujii, 3-3-22 Nakanoshima, Kita-ku, Osaka City Kansai Electric Power Co., Ltd. (72) Makoto Ohashi, 2-3-4, Honjo Higashi, Kita-ku, Osaka City Stock Association Company Kindennai (72) Inventor Hidefumi Tanaka 18-21 Chayamachi, Kita-ku, Osaka Toyosaki Building Co., Ltd. Japan Arm (72) Inventor Shoei Tominaga 18-21 Chayamachi, Kita-ku, Osaka Toyosaki Building Co., Ltd. Company Japan Arm (72) Inventor Takeo Eshita 3-1-201 Fukusaki, Minato-ku, Osaka City Stock Company Osaka Shipyard

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. An aerial inspection device, which is suspended from a wire line and runs, and which is equipped with a sensor such as a video camera to inspect various equipment, includes a bracket pivotally supported around a vertical axis on a frame, The bracket includes a drive wheel rotatably supported about a horizontal axis and a rotary shaft connected to a drive motor provided on the frame. The drive wheel has a boss having at least one key groove. On the other hand, the rotating shaft is provided with a spherical portion having a transmission pin,
A traveling device in an aerial inspection device, wherein a transmission pin and a spherical portion of a rotary shaft are fitted in a key groove and a boss of a drive wheel, respectively. 2. The tire, wherein the drive wheel has a groove having a width substantially corresponding to the outer diameter of the wire line, a guide slit having a width smaller than the outer diameter of the wire line is formed at the bottom of the groove, and the outer side of the tire. 2. The traveling device for an aerial inspection device according to claim 1, further comprising a collar having an outer diameter larger than the diameter, fixed to both surfaces of the tire, and made of a material having a small frictional resistance.