JPS60259386A - Falling-off preventive type wall-surface travelling robot device - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Abstract] This bulletin contains application data before electronic filing, so abstract data is not recorded.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a robot that moves on a vertical wall using magnetic force, and particularly to a robot device that does not fall off even during power outages.

For example, boilers for thermal power plants are required to be inspected periodically based on the law (Electricity Business Law). Since it is necessary to stop the boiler operation when conducting periodic inspections, inspections other than the inspection items will be conducted at the same time as these inspections.

It is common for repairs to be done at the same time. Of this inspection,
When inspecting and repairing the inner surface of a boiler furnace, scaffolding is erected inside the boiler furnace and workers enter the furnace to perform the inspection and repair manually. However, the scaffold assembly members must be brought in from a limited space such as a boiler hopper, and it is difficult to bring machinery into the furnace, so everything must be carried out manually. In addition, due to the recent increase in the capacity of boilers and the conversion of fuel to coal, boiler furnaces have become larger, and the height of the furnace has increased to 40 mm.
It is extremely high at ~100 m. For this reason, it takes a long time to assemble and remove the scaffolding, and it usually takes 10-20 days to erect the scaffolding and 5-10 days to remove it, and in addition to this, a period of inspection and repair is required. The operation stoppage time is quite long. By the way, the electric energy that can be generated by a power plant boiler in one day is equivalent to about 100,000,000 yen per day in terms of electricity usage charges, and the loss due to boiler operation stoppage is a huge amount of money.

For this reason, the inventors separately proposed a device that can move the boiler furnace wall surface and automatically inspect and repair the furnace wall, thereby eliminating the need for manual monitoring and repair work. This eliminates the need for assembling and dismantling scaffolding, prevents accidents such as falling of workers, and significantly shortens the boiler operation stop time.

The present invention is a robot device that uses magnetic force to move along a vertical wall surface such as a boiler furnace wall, and an object of the present invention is to provide a robot device that can prevent the main body from falling, especially during power outages.

In short, this invention provides a permanent magnet as a member for adhering to a wall surface, temporarily demagnetizes the permanent magnet by forming an opposite magnetic field to the permanent magnet as necessary, and demagnetizes and excite the permanent magnet appropriately. The robot body is configured to perform 111 by combining the two.

First, prior to a detailed explanation of the present invention, an outline of a furnace wall inspection and repair device that the inventors have separately proposed as a device that can utilize the device of the present invention will be explained.

In FIG. 1, numerals 5a and 5b are working robots attached to the vertical wall 6 of the boiler 1.
It sticks closely to the vertical wall of the boiler, and moves in a straight shape by a combination of excitation and demagnetization. Reference numeral 7 denotes a control/power unit (hereinafter simply referred to as "power unit"), which is placed on a gondola 60 suspended by a wire 8 attached to the top of the boiler. These robots 5a, 5
b and the power unit 7 are connected by cable hoses 9a and 9b. A main cable hose 12 is connected to a service section and a dust collection section located outside the boiler. Basic operations of the work openings 5a and 5b are performed by signals from the power unit 7, and other operations depending on the situation are performed by command signals from the service section.
This is carried out using a signal transmission cable buried within 9b.

In the above device, if the power supply to the robot is stopped due to a power outage or a disconnection of the power supply cable in each cable hose, the electromagnet will be demagnetized and the robot will fall off the wall.

The present invention is a robot device configured to prevent it from falling off the wall even when power supply is stopped.

Next, embodiments of this invention will be described.

Figure 2 shows the entire working robot. In the figure, reference numeral 13 is a robot main body, 14 is a manipulator attached to this main body, and 15 is a tool held by a chuck 14a at the tip of the manipulator, and the tool 15 can be changed according to a predetermined work. . Reference numeral 16 denotes a rod that passes through the main body 13 in two ways, and the upper end of the prad 16 serves as a first attraction part 17 having a permanent magnet 18, and the lower end thereof is attached to a second attraction part 20 having an electromagnet 19.

Reference numeral 21 denotes a central attraction part rotatably attached to the main body 13, and a permanent magnet 22 is also attached to this central attraction part.

FIG. 3 shows the specific structure of this adsorption section.

Reference numeral 30 denotes a furnace wall, which is a membrane wall formed by connecting water pipes 31 and fins 32, and stands vertically.

Reference numeral 50 designates permanent magnets that serve as the above-mentioned permanent magnets 18, 19, and 22. For example, if each magnet is made of a flexible material, it can adhere well to a wall surface with many irregularities. The other end of the permanent magnet 50 is slidably supported by a support tube 36 attached to a magnet support plate 35 formed inside the robot body. Reference numeral 37 denotes a tension spring disposed within the support cylinder, which is attached so as to pull the permanent magnet 50 toward the support plate 35 side. 34 is a demagnetizing coil formed around the permanent magnet 50, and when energized, the permanent magnet 5
A magnetic field opposite to zero is formed, thereby demagnetizing the permanent magnet. A magnetic force sensor 38 is attached to the permanent magnet, and is a sensor that detects the state of the magnetic force of the permanent magnet.

In the device with this configuration, the permanent magnet 50 is attached to the wall surface 30 by its own magnetic force against the tension spring, and supports the robot body. In this case, if the illustrated magnet is 22 in FIG.
0 is constant, and in the end only the magnet 50 moves forward and attaches to the wall surface. Next, if you want to demagnetize the permanent magnet 50, energize the coil 34 to demagnetize the permanent magnet 50.
and form a reverse Ω magnetic field. At this time, the state of the magnetic force of the permanent magnet 50 is detected by a magnetic force sensor (for example, a 1-Hall element) 38, and the supply of electric power is adjusted. When the permanent magnet 50 is demagnetized, it loses its attractive force and is pulled back by the tension spring 37, allowing the robot body to move.

Next, the operating state of the robot apparatus having the above-mentioned structure on the furnace wall surface will be explained using FIG. 2.

First, an example will be explained in which the robot climbs up a wall.

During operation with the manipulator 14, each permanent magnet 1B,...
19 and 22 are in close contact with the furnace wall 6, which is a water tube wall. next,
By energizing the fills formed on the magnets 1B and 19, they are demagnetized, and at the same time, both magnets are slightly pulled back toward the attraction part by the spring 37 described above, and the load of the robot is transferred to the magnet 2.
Supported by only 2. Subsequently, the rod 16 is moved upward by a drive device (not shown) disposed inside the upper body 3, and at a predetermined position, the current supply is stopped and the permanent magnets 18 and 19 are energized and brought into close contact with the wall surface. Furthermore, while demagnetizing the magnet 22, the spring 37 is pulled back slightly toward the central adsorption portion 21 side.
The body itself is raised along the rod 16 using a drive within the body. By repeating this action, the robot climbs up the vertical wall like an inchworm.

Lowering is performed by performing the operation opposite to the above.

Further, the movement in the lateral direction is performed by rotating the robot main body 13 while keeping the central suction portion 21 in close contact with the wall surface.

If the power supply to the robot is stopped during the above operation, all of the permanent magnets will restore their original magnetic force and stick tightly to the wall surface, so no accidents will occur.

By implementing the present invention, it is possible to prevent an accident of the robot device falling off the wall surface, without any loss in the functions of the robot device, regardless of whether or not power is supplied.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

Fig. 1 is a front view of the furnace wall showing the working state of the robot device according to the present invention, Fig. 2 is a side view of the robot device, and Fig. 3 is a sectional view showing details of the permanent magnet attachment part of the robot device. be. 5a, 5b...Robot device 6...Boiler furnace wall 34...Demagnetizing filter 50...Permanent magnet Fig. 2 Fig. 3

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. In a device that attaches to a wall by magnetic force and moves on the wall by a combination of demagnetization and excitation, the magnet for attaching to the wall is a permanent magnet, and a demagnetizing coil is attached to the permanent magnet. After installation, this demagnetizing coil demagnetizes the permanent magnet. A fall-preventing wall-running robot device characterized by being configured to be able to adjust excitation. 2. The fall-preventing wall-running robot device according to claim 1, wherein the permanent magnet is made of a flexible material.