KR102297166B1 - A parallel cable robot system for a solar panel cleaning and a solar panel maintenance - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a parallel cable robot system for cleaning and managing a solar panel, and more particularly, by enabling an end-effector to easily access a solar panel using a parallel cable robot, it relates to a solar panel installation environment It relates to a parallel cable robot system for solar panel cleaning and management that can increase workability for solar panel cleaning and management tasks without the need for it.
To this end, a plurality of frames installed on the edge of the solar panel installation complex; a cable length adjusting device installed in each frame and installed to adjust the cable length while unwinding or winding the cable; a hanger shaft connected to the cable of the cable length adjusting device and disposed vertically with respect to the ground; and an end effector installed at the lower end of the hanger shaft, wherein a plurality of guide pulleys are installed in each frame in the height direction of the frame to guide a plurality of cables for each frame, and the plurality of cables guided through the guide pulley is a hanger. A plurality of pneumatic grippers are installed at the upper end of the shaft in the height direction of the hanger shaft, and a plurality of pneumatic grippers are installed at the edge of the end effector so that the end effector can be adsorbed to the solar panel. , a rotary brush installed rotatably is installed, and is installed between the hanger shaft and the end effector, and includes a tilting means provided so that the end effector can be rotated based on the hanger shaft, wherein the pneumatic gripper generates a negative pressure to generate a negative pressure. It provides a parallel cable robot system for cleaning and managing a photovoltaic panel, characterized in that the end effector can be adsorbed to the light panel.

Description

A parallel cable robot system for a solar panel cleaning and a solar panel maintenance

The present invention relates to a parallel cable robot system for washing and managing a solar panel, and more particularly, to a parallel cable robot system for washing and managing a solar panel that can increase the efficiency of washing and managing a solar panel.

In general, a method of using solar energy is largely divided into a method using solar heat and a method using sunlight. The method of using solar heat is to heat and generate electricity using water heated by the sun, etc., and the method using sunlight is to generate electricity using the light of the sun and operate various machines or appliances with the generated electricity. Therefore, the latter is commonly referred to as solar power generation.

Unlike conventional energy sources such as fossil raw materials, solar power generation is a clean energy source that does not cause global warming, such as greenhouse gas emissions, noise, and environmental destruction, and there is no concern about exhaustion. In addition, unlike other wind power or sea water power, solar power generation facilities have the advantage of being free to install and low maintenance costs.

As a device configuration for photovoltaic power generation, a solar cell for concentrating sunlight, a photovoltaic module that is an assembly of solar cells, and a solar array in which solar cells are uniformly arranged Including, the components are collectively referred to as a solar panel.

Solar power generation is to obtain electricity by condensing solar light through a solar panel and converting solar energy into electrical energy. For effective solar power generation, a solar panel is installed outdoors with high light collection efficiency. Solar power installation areas include, for example, hills, oceans, and water without surrounding interferences such as reservoirs.

On the other hand, as described above, since the solar panel is installed outdoors and is directly exposed to natural phenomena, impurities are adsorbed to the solar panel, thereby reducing the light collecting efficiency of the solar panel. Accordingly, the photovoltaic panel is cleaned through a photovoltaic panel cleaning tool (refer to non-patent literature), and is managed so that the light collecting efficiency of the photovoltaic panel does not fall.

In the solar panel cleaning operation, the operator cleans the solar panel using the cleaning tool while spraying high-pressure washing water onto the solar panel. A separate high-pressure hose may be used to spray high-pressure washing water, or a high-pressure spray device provided with the cleaning tool may be used.

Recently, in order to improve the inefficiency of the solar panel cleaning operation according to the manual operation, a portable type automatic cleaning robot is installed for each panel to automatically perform cleaning. However, this also has a problem in that a plurality of automatic cleaning robots must be provided, which increases the cost and is not easy to manage.

In particular, when the solar panel is installed on an inclined terrain, there is a problem in that it is difficult to easily clean the solar panel because it is not easy to access the operator or the cleaning robot.

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The present invention has been devised to solve the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to utilize the position and force control according to the 6 degrees of freedom of the parallel cable robot regardless of the solar panel installation environment using the parallel cable robot to generate solar power. It is intended to provide a parallel cable robot system for solar panel cleaning and management that increases the efficiency of solar panel cleaning and solar panel management tasks by making end-effector access to the panel easy.

Another object of the present invention is to install a hanger shaft between the end effector and the cable to minimize cable sagging even when the end effector moves low to prevent the cable from interfering with the structure, so that the solar panel cleaning and management work can be done smoothly It is intended to provide a parallel cable robot system for cleaning and managing a solar panel.

The present invention, in order to achieve the above object, a plurality of frames installed on the edge of the solar panel installation complex; a cable length adjusting device installed in each frame and installed to adjust the cable length while unwinding or winding the cable; a hanger shaft connected to the cable of the cable length adjusting device and disposed vertically with respect to the ground; and an end effector installed at the lower end of the hanger shaft, wherein a plurality of guide pulleys are installed in each frame in the height direction of the frame to guide a plurality of cables for each frame, and the plurality of cables guided through the guide pulley is a hanger. A plurality of pneumatic grippers are installed at the upper end of the shaft in the height direction of the hanger shaft, and a plurality of pneumatic grippers are installed at the edge of the end effector so that the end effector can be adsorbed to the solar panel. , a rotary brush installed rotatably is installed, and is installed between the hanger shaft and the end effector, and includes a tilting means provided so that the end effector can be rotated based on the hanger shaft, wherein the pneumatic gripper generates a negative pressure to generate a negative pressure. It provides a parallel cable robot system for cleaning and managing a photovoltaic panel, characterized in that the end effector can be adsorbed to the light panel.

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It is preferable that a plurality of guide pulleys are installed in the height direction of the frame, and the cables are connected to the hanger shaft through the guide pulleys.

It is preferable that a flexible connecting means is connected between the hanger shaft and the end effector.

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The parallel cable robot system for cleaning and managing solar panels according to the present invention has the following effects.

First, parallel cable robotic systems for solar panel cleaning and maintenance can facilitate end-effector access to solar panels using parallel cable robots. Accordingly, there is an effect that the solar panel cleaning and management work can be performed by using the end effector without restrictions on the solar panel installation environment. In particular, even if the surrounding environment where the solar panel is installed is a sloping terrain, the parallel cable robot system for cleaning and managing the solar panel approaches the end-effector to the solar panel by controlling the position and force according to the 6 degrees of freedom of the parallel cable robot. Since this can be done easily and easily, the solar panel cleaning operation can be done effectively.

Second, the parallel cable robot system for solar panel cleaning and management can control the entire solar panel installed over a wide area using one parallel cable robot system, thereby increasing the convenience of system management.

Third, the parallel cable robot system for solar panel cleaning and management constitutes a hanger shaft on the end effector, and the cable of the cable robot system is connected to the hanger shaft, so even if the end effector moves at a lower place than the highest point of the cable, the lowest point of the cable is always positioned higher than the end effector. Accordingly, even if the end effector moves in low air, it is possible to prevent the cable from interfering with the solar panel and other structures, thereby increasing the efficiency of cleaning and managing the solar panel.

Fourth, the parallel cable robot system for solar panel cleaning and management uses various end-effectors to provide not only cleaning work for solar panels but also workability for transporting and transporting solar panels during installation and maintenance of solar panels. has the effect of increasing

1 is a perspective view showing a parallel cable robot system for cleaning and managing a solar panel according to a first embodiment of the present invention.
2 is a front view showing the hanger shaft and the end effector of the parallel cable robot system for cleaning and managing solar panels according to the first embodiment of the present invention.
3 is a bottom view showing the bottom surface of the end effector of the parallel cable robot system for cleaning and managing solar panels according to the first embodiment of the present invention.
4 shows a working process using an end effector of a parallel cable robot system for cleaning and managing solar panels according to a first embodiment of the present invention. It is a drawing.
5A and 5B are views showing a parallel cable robot system for cleaning and managing a solar panel according to a first embodiment of the present invention from the front and one side.
6 is a bottom view showing a modified example of the end effector of the parallel cable robot system for cleaning and managing solar panels according to the first embodiment of the present invention.
7 is a side view showing a parallel cable robot system for cleaning and managing a solar panel according to a second embodiment of the present invention from one side.
8 is a cross-sectional view showing a steam generator of a parallel cable robot system for cleaning and managing a solar panel according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

The terms or words used in the present specification and claims are not to be construed as limited in their ordinary or dictionary meanings, and on the principle that the inventor can appropriately define the concept of the term in order to best describe his invention. It should be interpreted as meaning and concept consistent with the technical idea of the present invention.

Hereinafter, a parallel cable robot system for cleaning and managing a solar panel according to a first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying FIGS. 1 to 6 .

The parallel cable robot system for solar panel cleaning and management allows the position of the end effector on the solar panel to be freely changed by adjusting the cable length using the parallel cable robot. Accordingly, since the movement of the end effector can be made without restriction in the solar panel installation environment, the efficiency of the solar panel cleaning and solar panel maintenance work can be improved through various uses of the end effector.

As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, the parallel cable robot system for solar panel cleaning and management is a frame 100, a cable length adjusting device 200, a hanger shaft 300, and an end effector 400. includes

The frame 100 serves as a post for the installation of the cable length adjustment device 200, and is preferably installed in plurality at the edge of the solar panel installation complex. The frame 100 is not limited in the number of installations, but is preferably installed in each corner of the solar panel installation complex. The frame 100 includes a guide pulley 110 for guiding the cable C when the cable C is unwound or wound. A plurality of guide pulleys 110 are preferably installed in the height direction of the frame 100 . Preferably, two guide pulleys 110 are installed for each frame 100 . Accordingly, the cable C includes a first cable C1 for moving the end effector 400 in the X and Y axis directions for each frame 100, and a first cable C1 for moving the end effector 400 in the Z axis direction. Two are provided as the second cable (C2), and two guide pulleys 110 are preferably installed to guide the two cables (C), respectively. Although not shown, the frame 100 may be installed to be adjustable in height.

The cable length adjusting device 200 serves to adjust the length of the cable (C) toward the solar panel while winding or unwinding the cable (C). The cable length adjusting device 200 includes a driving unit 210 and a drum 220 . The driving unit 210 generates forward and reverse rotational power. The drum 220 is a configuration in which the cable C is wound, and is shaft-coupled to the driving unit 210 . The cable length adjusting device 200 is installed for each frame 100 , and since two cables C are installed in each frame 100 , the cable length adjusting device 200 is also installed two for each frame 100 . do.

The hanger shaft 300 is installed between the cable (C) and the end effector 400 to transfer the positional movement according to the cable length adjustment to the end effector 400 . Precisely, the hanger shaft 300 is installed in the end effector 400 and connected to the cable C. As the cable C is not connected to the end effector 400 but is connected to the hanger shaft 300, the end effector ( Even if 400) moves in the low air, the lowest point of the cable (C) is provided as a hanger shaft (300) higher than the end effector (400). can The hanger shaft 300 is installed vertically with respect to the ground, and is provided in the form of a bar. At this time, the cable C connected to the hanger shaft 300 is installed at the upper end of the hanger shaft 300 and is installed in the height direction of the hanger shaft 300 as shown in FIGS. 5A and 5B . As described above, as the cable C is installed in the height direction of the hanger shaft 300, the cable length adjusting device 200 pulls the cable C installed at the lower end of the hanger shaft 300, as shown in FIG. 5b. Likewise, the end effector 400 can be controlled to be inclined.

The end effector 400 is used as equipment for cleaning or maintenance of a solar panel, and is installed at the lower end of the hanger shaft 300 . The end effector 400 is interlocked with the movement of the hanger shaft 300, and the end effector 400 is suspended from the cable C through the hanger shaft 30) rather than being connected to the cable C. A pneumatic gripper 410 is installed at the edge of the end effector 400 as shown in FIG. 3 . The pneumatic gripper 410 is a means for adsorption to the photovoltaic panel, and may generate negative pressure through pneumatic pressure to adsorb the end effector 400 to the photovoltaic panel. The pneumatic gripper 410 may adsorb and fix the solar panel unit when the end effector 400 transports the solar panel unit for solar panel maintenance work. A water jet 420 for high-pressure water jetting may be installed on the bottom surface of the end effector 400 , and a rotary brush 430 may be rotatably installed. After the end effector 400 is in close contact with the solar panel, the end effector 400 may perform the solar panel cleaning by spraying the water jet 420 and cleaning the rotary brush 430 . A camera 440 may be further installed in the end effector 400 , and the surface state and cleaning state of the solar panel may be easily checked through the camera 440 .

Hereinafter, a solar panel management and cleaning operation using the parallel cable robot system for cleaning and managing a solar panel according to the first embodiment having the above configuration will be described with reference to FIGS. 4 to 5B .

The operator first sets the work mode. The operator sets one of the cleaning mode using the rotary brush 430 and the water jet 420 , the maintenance mode using the pneumatic gripper 410 , and the inspection mode using the camera 440 . When the work mode is set, the operator sets one of a work mode for automatically performing the work mode or a remote mode that can be performed remotely. When the operation is started after the setting is completed, the end effector 400 is positioned on the solar panel at a desired position while the cable length adjusting device 200 is operated. As the first cable C1 is wound or unwound on the drum 220 by the power of the driving unit 210 , the X and Y-axis positions of the hanger shaft 300 are controlled on the solar panel, and the X of the hanger shaft 300 is , When the Y-axis position is determined, the hanger shaft 300 is lowered as shown in FIG. 5A while the second cable C2 is wound or unwound on the drum 220 . At this time, since the cable C is connected to the hanger shaft 300 , even if the end effector 400 is positioned on the solar panel, the lowest point of the cable C is the hanger shaft 300 rather than the end effector 400 side. Because it is the upper end of the cable (C), excessive downward sagging does not occur. Accordingly, even if the operator increases or decreases the length of the cable C to move the position of the end effector 400 , the cable C does not interfere with structures around the cable C. That is, the movement of the end effector 400 can be smoothly performed on the solar panel.

If the cable (C) is directly connected to the end effector 400 instead of the hanger shaft 300, when the end effector 400 is positioned on the solar panel, the cable (C) is connected to the solar panel. When the end effector 400 is moved in a sagging state, it may be difficult for the end effector 400 to move smoothly while the cable C, which has been stretched on the solar panel, interferes with or gets entangled in the surrounding structures.

In particular, as shown in FIG. 5B , even if the solar panel provides an inclined surface, the parallel cable robot system can smoothly access the end-effector to every corner of the solar panel through 6 degrees of freedom and force control. Accordingly, the parallel cable robot system can increase the efficiency of solar panel cleaning and maintenance work according to the utilization of the end effector.

As described above, when the end effector 400 is positioned on the solar panel, the pneumatic gripper 410 is operated or the waterjet 420 and the rotary brush 430 are operated depending on the set operation mode to perform the desired operation. do.

Meanwhile, in using the end-effector 400 as a cleaning device, the end-effector 400 may be designed to be cleaned while being spaced apart from the solar panel. The end effector 400 may be designed to clean the solar panel using high-pressure water spray and air spray. As shown in FIG. 6 , the end effector 400 for this purpose includes a water spray unit 450 , an air spray unit 460 , and a distance sensor 470 .

It is preferable that the water spray unit 450 and the air injection unit 460 are alternately arranged as shown in FIG. 6 , and the distance sensor 470 is preferably installed on both sides of the end effector 400 . With such a configuration, the end effector 400 can clean the solar panel while performing high-pressure watering and air spraying while being spaced apart from the solar panel by the distance sensor 470 .

Hereinafter, a parallel cable robot system for cleaning and managing a solar panel according to a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. 7 . Prior to the description, the same components as those of the first embodiment are denoted by reference numerals, and detailed descriptions thereof will be omitted.

In the parallel cable robot system for cleaning and managing solar panels according to the second embodiment of the present invention, a flexible connecting means 500 is connected between the hanger shaft 300 and the end effector 400 . As described above, as the connecting means 500 is installed between the hanger shaft 300 and the end effector 400, the configuration of the cable C can be simplified. Even if the configuration of the second cable (C2) for the Z-axis movement of the hanger shaft 300 is omitted, the end effector 400 through the flexible connection means 500 regardless of the distance between the end effector 400 and the solar panel. It can be positioned on the solar panel and can be moved freely on the solar panel. That is, the parallel cable robot system for cleaning and managing a solar panel according to the second embodiment allows the cleaning of the solar panel through only the X and Y-axis movement of the hanger shaft 300 .

To this end, the end effector 400 is provided as a cleaning device, but is preferably provided as a robot cleaner. The robot cleaner may be provided as a robot cleaner of a conventionally known technology. In this way, in the parallel cable robot system for solar panel washing and management, the hanger axis 300 can clean the solar panel while freely moving in the state where only the positions of the X and Y axes on the solar panel are determined. By omitting the configuration of the second cable C2 for elevating the effector 400, the overall system configuration may be simplified.

Meanwhile, in the parallel cable robot system for solar panel cleaning and management, a steam generator 600 may be further provided on one side of the end effector 400 to increase the efficiency of the solar panel cleaning operation. This will be presented as a third embodiment of the present invention and will be described with reference to FIG. 8 attached thereto. Before the description, a detailed description of the same configuration as that of the first embodiment will be omitted.

FIG. 8 shows only the steam generating device 600 , and includes a water tank 610 and a steam generating module 620 .

The water tank 610 is configured to receive water for generating steam, and supply the received water to the steam generating module 620 . An injection unit 611 through which water is injected into the water tank 610 is provided at one side of the water tank 610 , and a discharge unit through which water is discharged to the steam generating module 620 at the other side of the water tank 610 . (612) is provided.

The discharge unit 612 is installed to communicate with the inside of the steam generating module 620 as shown in FIG. 8 , and the discharge unit 612 includes a backflow prevention means 630 . The backflow prevention means 630 is configured to prevent the steam generated from the steam generating module 620 from flowing back into the water tank 610 . As high-temperature steam is continuously generated from the steam generating module 620 , the pressure inside the steam generating module 620 is also increased along with the temperature rise, so that a back pressure may be generated toward the water tank 610 . When back pressure occurs, the discharged steam flows back into the steam generating module 620, and the reversed steam flows into the water tank (612) through the discharge unit 612 together with the existing steam in the steam generating module 620. 610), a phenomenon of regurgitation occurs.

The backflow prevention means 630 is configured to prevent the steam backflow, and is installed in the discharge unit 612 to prevent backflow of steam into the water tank 610 . The backflow prevention means 630 includes a guide pipe 631 , an inclined surface 632 , a ball member 633 , and a spring 634 as shown in FIG. 8 .

The guide pipe 631 is coupled to the discharge unit 612 , and serves to guide the water in the water tank 610 to the discharge unit 612 . The inclined surface 632 is formed inside the guide tube 631 and is configured to support the ball member 633 . A through hole 632a for allowing water to flow out to the discharge part 612 is formed in the inclined surface 632 . The ball member 633 serves to open and close the through hole 632a of the inclined surface 632 and is elastically supported inside the inclined surface 632 by a spring 634 . Normally, the ball member 633 is in a state in which the through hole 632a is always blocked by the elastic force of the spring 634 . The spring 634 provides an elastic force so that the ball member 633 can always be supported on the inclined surface 632 as described above. While the elastic force of the spring 634 supports the ball member 633 inside the inclined surface 632 , when water from the water tank 610 is supplied to the discharge unit 612 through the guide pipe 631 , the It is preferable that it is provided with a force that can be pushed. With this configuration, the water in the water tank 610 is supplied to the steam generating module 620 by a pump (not shown), and the water pressure generated at this time can push the ball member 633 out of the inclined surface 632 . The through hole 632a may be opened. When the pump operation is stopped, water pressure is not generated, so the ball member 633 is returned to the inside of the inclined surface 632 by the elastic force of the spring 634 to close the through hole 632a.

The steam generating module 620 generates steam and is installed on one side of the water tank 610 . One side of the steam generating module 620 is formed to communicate with the discharge part 612 of the water tank 610 , and a steam supply pipe 640 is installed at the other side of the steam generating module 620 . The steam generating module 620 includes a water level sensor 650 and a heater 660 . With this configuration, water flowing into the steam generating module 620 from the water tank 610 through the discharge unit 612 is heated through the heater 660 to generate steam, and the steam is the steam supply pipe 640 . is emitted through

Since the steam discharged through the steam supply pipe 640 can clean the solar panel together with the cleaning member such as the rotary brush 430, an excellent effect can be expected for cleaning when bird droppings and stinging.

Meanwhile, the end effector may be installed to be tiltable on the hanger shaft. This will be presented as a fourth embodiment of the present invention and will be described with reference to FIG. 9 attached thereto. Before the description, a detailed description of the same configuration as that of the first embodiment will be omitted.

As shown in FIG. 9 , a tilting means 700 is installed between the hanger shaft 300 and the end effector 400 . The tilting means 700 controls the angle of the end effector 400 with respect to the hanger shaft 300 while rotating the end effector 400 on the hanger shaft 300 . By installing the tilting means 700 as described above, cleaning and maintenance of the end effector 400 for the inclined solar panel can be performed more precisely. The tilting means 700 is not limited to a specific one, and any device capable of controlling the angle of the end effector 400 on the hanger shaft 300 may be used. Although not shown in detail, the tilting means 700 is preferably composed of a motor and a rotating shaft, and the rotation range of the rotating shaft according to driving the motor can be made through the control of the operator.

As described so far, the parallel cable robot system for cleaning and managing solar panels according to the present invention facilitates end-effector access to the solar panel with only one system using a parallel cable robot. Accordingly, it is possible to increase the workability of the solar panel cleaning and solar panel management work without being significantly constrained by the solar panel installation environment.

Although the present invention has been described in detail with respect to the described embodiments, it is apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and variations are possible within the scope of the technical spirit of the present invention, and it is natural that such variations and modifications belong to the appended claims.

100: frame 110: guide pulley
200: cable length adjusting device 210: driving unit
220: drum 300: hanger shaft
400: end effector 410: pneumatic gripper
420: water jet 430: rotary brush
440: camera 450: sprinkler
460: air injection unit 470: distance sensor
500: connection means 600: steam generator
610: water tank 611: injection part
612: discharge unit 620: steam generating module
630: backflow prevention means 631: guide pipe
632: slope 632a: through hole
633: ball member 634: spring
640: steam supply pipe 650: water level sensor
660: heater

Claims (7)

A plurality of frames installed at the edge of the solar panel installation complex;
a cable length adjusting device installed in each frame and installed to adjust the cable length while unwinding or winding the cable;
a hanger shaft connected to the cable of the cable length adjusting device and disposed vertically with respect to the ground; and
It includes an end effector installed at the lower end of the hanger shaft,
A plurality of guide pulleys are installed in each frame in the height direction of the frame to guide a plurality of cables for each frame,
A plurality of cables guided through the guide pulley are connected to the upper end of the hanger shaft in the height direction of the hanger shaft,
A plurality of pneumatic grippers are installed at the edge of the end effector so that the end effector can be adsorbed to the solar panel,
A water jet for high-pressure injection of water and a rotatably installed rotary brush are installed on the bottom surface of the end effector,
a tilting means installed between the hanger shaft and the end effector and provided so that the end effector can be rotated based on the hanger shaft;
The pneumatic gripper generates negative pressure so that the end-effector can be adsorbed to the solar panel. A parallel cable robot system for cleaning and managing a solar panel. delete According to claim 1,
A parallel cable robot system for washing and managing a solar panel, characterized in that a plurality of guide pulleys are installed in the height direction of the frame, and the cables are connected to the hanger shaft through the guide pulleys. 4. The method of claim 1 or 3,
A parallel cable robot system for washing and managing a solar panel, characterized in that a flexible connection means is connected between the hanger shaft and the end effector.

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