KR20120018103A - Method for underwater sediment cleaning - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: An underwater cleaning method is provided to prevent operators from exposing toxic materials and reduce time for supply and drain water of a storage tank. CONSTITUTION: An underwater cleaning method is as follows. A cleaning robot puts into a storage tank to prepare cleaning of the storage tank(S100). The cleaning robot drives in the storage tank and sucks polluted water including sludge piled on the bottom of the storage tank(S200). The polluted water is discharged to a tank located outside of the storage tank(S300). The sludge in the polluted water is discharged to the outside of the tank and clean water flows into the storage tank(S400).

Description

Method for underwater sediment cleaning}

The present invention relates to an underwater cleaning method, and more particularly, to an underwater cleaning method for cleaning deposits accumulated in a reservoir.

Water is used in various industrial facilities or production facilities, and a reservoir for storing such water and facilities for managing the reservoir are installed.

Sediment builds up in the reservoir, and the reservoir must be cleaned periodically to avoid damage to water quality control and equipment using the water.

Common methods for cleaning a reservoir include drainage to drain the water stored in the reservoir, removal to remove deposits accumulated in the reservoir, and water supply to store the water in the reservoir.

In general, the removal work during the cleaning of the reservoir is made by a worker by hand. In other words, the removal is carried out in a manner that a number of workers are put in the drainage reservoir, collecting the sediment in one place by using a push rod, bulldozer, etc., and the sediment collected in one place is discharged to the outside of the reservoir.

The cleaning method of the water tank made by hand is not only consumed a lot of time for cleaning, but also has a problem of stopping the operation of the facilities using the water of the water tank while cleaning the water tank. This problem leads to a problem that the overall production efficiency of the industrial facilities, or production facilities using the water tank is reduced.

In addition, since the sediment accumulated in the reservoir used in an industrial facility or a production facility often contains toxic substances, the conventional cleaning method may cause workers to be exposed to the toxic substance and cause a safety accident. There is a problem.

In addition, the conventional cleaning method has a problem that the waste water is often increased without recycling the drained water.

A first object of the present invention is to provide an underwater cleaning method capable of unattended cleaning of a reservoir.

A second object of the present invention is to provide an underwater cleaning method capable of shortening the time spent in drainage and water supply of a reservoir.

A third object of the present invention is to provide an underwater cleaning method capable of saving water resources by reducing the amount of water used.

In the underwater cleaning method according to the present invention, a cleaning robot is put into a tank to prepare for cleaning of the water tank, and the cleaning robot runs in the water tank, and the contamination includes deposits accumulated on the bottom of the water tank by the cleaning robot. A suction step in which water is sucked in, a discharge step in which the contaminated water is discharged to a tank disposed outside the reservoir, and the sediment contained in the contaminated water is discharged to the outside of the tank, and the purified water filtered out of the contaminated water. And a filtering step flowing into the reservoir.

The preparation step is a region setting step in which the whole area of the reservoir is set, a path setting step in which a path in which the cleaning robot is moved in the whole area of the reservoir is set, and the interval between the paths of the cleaning robots adjacent to each other is adjusted to the It may include a precision setting step of setting the precision of the reservoir cleaning, and a mode selection step of selecting the automatic cleaning mode, or manual cleaning mode of the cleaning robot.

In the underwater cleaning method, the position information is received from the cleaning robot, a control step of controlling the position of the cleaning robot, a moving step of moving the cleaning robot along the path, and a target point determining whether the cleaning robot reaches the target point. It may include whether or not the determination of whether or not the completion of the cleaning step to determine whether the reaching the final target point of the cleaning robot.

In the control step, the first position information is received from the GPS sensor installed in the cleaning robot, and the position information acquisition step of obtaining the second position information from the traveling system installed in the cleaning robot, the first position information and the second position. Information is applied to an extended Kalman filter to correct a current position of the cleaning robot, a target point calculation step of calculating a tracking target to be followed by the cleaning robot from the current position of the cleaning robot, and a current position of the cleaning robot. And a control input calculation step of calculating speed values of the left and right wheels of the cleaning robot according to a position error calculation step of calculating a position error with the following target point and a difference value calculated in the position error calculation step. .

When the cleaning robot does not reach the target point in the determining whether the target point has been reached, the automatic cleaning method according to the selection of the automatic cleaning mode includes a load calculation step of calculating the current load of the cleaning robot and an appropriate load amount of the cleaning robot. And a load determination step of determining a load by comparing a current load of the cleaning robot with the load.

The appropriate load amount of the cleaning robot may be calculated by the current consumption amount of the cleaning robot, the rotation speed of the wheel rotated according to the driving of the cleaning robot, and the amount of change of position information of the cleaning robot.

When the current load of the cleaning robot exceeds the appropriate load amount, the underwater cleaning method may generate a bypass path of the cleaning robot.

The detour path generation method of the cleaning robot is an unreachable target point search step in which an unreachable target point is searched from the current position of the cleaning robot, and the target point searched in the unreachable target point search step is not reachable from the path of the cleaning robot. A target point removal step, a new target point candidate generation step of generating new target point candidates reachable from the current position of the cleaning robot, and a new target point selection step of selecting a new target point from among the new target point candidates generated in the new target point candidate generation step; can do.

When the current load of the cleaning robot is less than the appropriate load amount, the movement path of the cleaning robot can be secured.

The method for securing a movement path of the cleaning robot includes a forward step of moving the cleaning robot forward and an in-situ step of cleaning the robot forwarded in the forward step so that the cleaning robot is returned to a position before the forward step. The advance step and the home position step may be repeated for a preset working time.

When the cleaning robot does not move forward in the advance step, the underwater cleaning method is the cleaning robot is rotated left or right, and the right forward advance step and the left or right rotated cleaning robot is reversed and the cleaning robot is the It includes a home position step to the original position to the position before the advance step, the advance step to the home position step may be repeated for a predetermined working time.

When the cleaning robot does not turn left, turn right, or moves forward in the right rotation step, the underwater cleaning method includes a backward step in which the cleaning robot moves backward from a position before the forward step, and the forward step to the reverse step The step may be repeated for the preset working time.

Underwater cleaning method according to the present invention, when the precipitate is made of toxic substances, there is an effect that can prevent the accident to prevent workers from being exposed to toxic substances in advance.

In addition, the underwater cleaning method according to the present invention can be used even during the cleaning of the reservoir, there is an effect that can increase the use efficiency of the reservoir.

In addition, the underwater cleaning method according to the present invention has the effect of saving water resources by filtering the contaminated water to recycle to clean water.

1 is a perspective view showing a cleaning robot according to the present embodiment.
2 is a perspective view showing a part of the cleaning robot according to the present embodiment.
3 is a bottom view showing a part of the suction part of the cleaning robot according to the present embodiment.
4 is a perspective view showing a state in which a bumper unit is installed in the cleaning robot according to the present embodiment.
5 is a side view schematically showing a rotation angle detection unit of the cleaning robot according to the present embodiment.
6 is a perspective view illustrating a state in which a location information detector, a buoy and an extension support are installed in the cleaning robot according to the present embodiment.
7 is a block diagram schematically showing the underwater cleaning apparatus according to the present embodiment.
8 is a perspective view showing a sediment separator of the underwater cleaning apparatus according to the present embodiment.
9 is a block diagram showing the connection between the cleaning robot, the control unit and the operation console of the underwater cleaning apparatus according to the present embodiment.
10 is a front view showing the appearance of a control unit of the underwater cleaning apparatus according to the present embodiment.
11 is a front view showing the appearance of the operation console of the underwater cleaning apparatus according to the present embodiment.
12 is a flowchart showing the underwater cleaning method according to the present embodiment.
13A is a flowchart illustrating a preparation step of the underwater cleaning method according to the present embodiment.
13B, 13C, 13D, and 13E are plan views illustrating coordinates, paths, and intervals between neighboring paths set according to the bottom shape of the reservoir in the underwater cleaning method according to the present embodiment.
14 is a flowchart illustrating a cleaning method by an automatic cleaning mode according to the present embodiment.
15 is a flowchart illustrating a control step of the cleaning method by the automatic cleaning mode according to the present embodiment.
16 is a flowchart illustrating a method of generating a bypass path of a cleaning robot among cleaning methods by an automatic cleaning mode according to the present embodiment.
17 is a view for explaining an algorithm for generating a bypass path of a cleaning robot in the cleaning method using the automatic cleaning mode according to the present embodiment.
18 is a flowchart illustrating a method of securing a moving path of the cleaning robot during the movement of the cleaning robot by the automatic cleaning mode in the underwater cleaning method according to the present embodiment.

Hereinafter, the cleaning robot according to the present embodiment will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

1 is a perspective view showing a cleaning robot according to the present embodiment.

Referring to FIG. 1, the cleaning robot 100 includes a main body 110, a driving driving part 120, a suction part 130, and a tilt part 140.

The driving driver 120 supports the main body 110 to drive the main body 110, and includes a crawler track 121 and a plurality of wheels 122.

Endless track 121 is made of the bottom surface of the reservoir tank is made of unevenness, mud, mudflat, etc., so that even in an environment in which the running environment of the main body 110 is poor, the main body 110 can exhibit excellent running performance. The material of the trackless 121 shoe may be any one of reinforced plastic, urethane, and stainet, and additionally attaches a component such as a spike to the crawler 121.

The crawler 121 generally uses a shoe made of a reinforced plastic material. When the bottom surface of the reservoir is made of synthetic resin, such as a tarpaulin, or rubber, in order to minimize the damage of the bottom surface of the reservoir, the shoe material of the crawler 121 may use a urethane material. When the bottom surface of the reservoir is made of mud or mud flats, the shoe material of the crawler track 121 may be made of stainless steel to secure driving performance, and additional spikes may be attached to the shoe of the crawler track 121. have.

In addition, the plurality of wheels 122 support the crawler 121. The plurality of wheels 122 maintain the traction force of the crawler 121 even in the unevenness of the reservoir. The plurality of wheels 122 are configured to buffer against the impact transmitted from the unevenness of the reservoir and the load of the main body. That is, a suspension (not shown) is installed on each of the rotational shafts of the plurality of wheels 122, and each of the rotational shafts may be molded by using urethane.

The suction unit 130 is disposed in front of the main body 110 to allow the contaminated water containing the deposit accumulated in the reservoir to be sucked.

Figure 2 is a perspective view showing a part of the cleaning robot according to the present embodiment, Figure 3 is a bottom view showing a part of the suction part of the cleaning robot according to this embodiment.

2 and 3, the suction unit 130 includes a suction pipe 131, a screw 132, and a rotation motor 133.

The suction pipe 131 is installed so that one end thereof opens toward the front of the main body 110. One end of the suction pipe 131 is in close contact with the bottom surface of the reservoir and crosses the traveling direction of the main body 110 so that the sediment accumulated on the bottom surface of the reservoir as the main body 110 is driven and sucks contaminated water in a plan view. It may be molded in a form extending in the direction. In another embodiment, one end of the suction pipe 131 may be used by combining a separate scraper (scraper) that is open in the longitudinal direction of the direction crossing the traveling direction of the main body 110.

The screw 132 is disposed in a direction crossing the suction pipe 131 and is installed in front of the main body 110. The screw 132 has a thread 132a having both sides inclined toward the suction tube 131 with respect to the suction tube 131. The thread 132a breaks up the sediment accumulated on the bottom surface of the reservoir to allow the sediment to be sucked smoothly.

The screw 132 may be made of stainless steel when the sediment is not easily separated from the bottom of the reservoir due to the high viscosity of the sediment, and may be a nylon or urethane brush when the sediment is easily separated from the bottom of the reservoir. have.

The rotary motor 133 is connected to the screw 132 by a power transmission means such as a chain and a timing belt. The rotary motor 133 rotates the screw 132 in a forward direction so that the precipitates dispersed on both sides of the suction pipe 131 can be collected in front of the suction pipe 131. On the contrary, the rotary motor 133 is located in front of the suction pipe 131 and rotates in the opposite direction of the screw 132 so that foreign matters that hinder the suction of sediment can be released to the outside of the screw 132.

The tilt unit 140 supports the suction unit 130 to the main body, and rotates the suction unit 130 based on a direction crossing the direction in which the main body 110 travels. And a first link section 142, a second link section 143, and a tilt cylinder 144.

The support 141 supports the suction part 130 at the front end, and is rotatable from the main body 110 with the first support pin 141a disposed in a direction crossing the direction in which the main body 110 travels. Is coupled to the body.

One end of the first link section 142 is connected to the support 141 by a first link pin 142a. One end of the second link section 143 is connected to the other end of the first link section 142 by the second link pin 142b. The second link section 143 has the other end connected to the main body 110 by the second support pin 143a, and the second link section 143 has the main body 110 with the second support pin 143a as the axis. Is rotatably coupled to the main body 110. The tilt cylinder 144 has an output terminal connected to the second link pin 142b. The tilt cylinder 144 moves the second link pin 142b forward and backward so that the suction unit 130 supported by the support 141 can be rotated about the first support pin 141a.

This tilt portion 140 allows to adjust the suction amount of the precipitate. That is, the suction distance of the sediment can be increased by narrowing the separation distance between the bottom surface of the reservoir and the suction part 130, and the suction amount of the precipitate can be reduced by increasing the distance between the bottom surface of the reservoir and the suction part 130.

At this time, the tilt limit detector 150 for detecting the upper limit and the lower limit of the support is disposed behind the support to prevent excessive tilt of the suction unit 130. Tilt limit detection unit 150 is coupled to the rear end of the support 141 and tilted with the support 141, the tilt loader 151, the lower limit sensor 152 disposed on the upper side of the tilt loader 151, and the tilt And an upper limit sensor 153 disposed below the loader 151.

The tilt limit detection unit 150 detects the lower limit and the upper limit of the support 141 to prevent excessive tilt of the suction unit 130 in advance.

Meanwhile, the cleaning robot 100 includes a suction pump 161, a pump hanger 162, a contaminated water discharge pipe 163, and a swivel joint 164.

The suction pump 161 is installed on the upper portion of the main body 110 and connected to the other end of the suction pipe 131. The suction pump 161 sucks the precipitate collected in front of the suction pipe 131 through the suction pipe 131.

The pump hanger 162 allows the suction pump 161 to be supported by the main body 110 by suspending the suction pump 161 to the main body 110. An elastic member such as rubber or a coil spring may be installed at a connection portion of the pump hanger 162 and the main body 110. The elastic member prevents the shock generated by the vibration of the suction pump, the body running, etc. from being transmitted to the main body 110 and the suction pump 161.

One end of the contaminated water discharge pipe 163 communicates with the suction pipe 131, and the other end thereof extends to the outside of the reservoir. The contaminated water discharge pipe 163 forms a discharge path of the contaminated water so that the contaminated water sucked through the suction pipe 131 can be discharged to the outside of the reservoir.

The swivel joint 164 is installed between the suction pipe 131 and the polluted water discharge pipe 163. The swivel joint 164 prevents the polluted water discharge pipe 163 from being twisted along the suction pipe 131 while the main body 110 travels, especially when the main body 110 rotates. prevent.

In the above description, the suction pump 161 is described as being installed on the main body 110 hanging on the pump hanger 162. Although not shown, in another embodiment, the suction pump 161 may be disposed outside the reservoir and connected to the polluted water discharge pipe 163.

On the other hand, the cleaning robot 100 is a means for causing the main body 110, which is put into the water tank to rise above the water surface, and includes a balloon 165 and the supply pipe 165a.

Referring back to FIG. 1, the balloon 165 is installed in the main body 110. The supply pipe 165a has one end connected to the balloon 165, and the other end connected to the compressor 501 (see FIG. 7), which will be described later, when the other end is disposed outside the reservoir, and supplies the gas supplied to the balloon 165. Form a path. The balloon 165 may cause the cleaning robot 100 to float above the surface of the water when the cleaning robot 100 is difficult to run in the water or when a malfunction occurs.

Here, the balloon 165 may be installed by adjusting the number, volume, etc. of the balloon 165 according to the weight of the cleaning robot 100. In addition, when the cleaning robot 100 may not be injured, a neutral buoyancy agent 166 may be additionally installed in the main body 110 to maintain the neutral buoyancy in the cleaning robot 100.

In addition, the supply pipe 165a may be installed in one cable together with a power cable and a communication cable to be described later, connected to the cleaning robot 100, branched from the main body 110, and connected to the balloon 165.

On the other hand, the cleaning robot 100 may include a bumper unit 170 installed in front of the main body 110.

4 is a perspective view showing a state in which a bumper unit is installed in the cleaning robot according to the present embodiment.

Referring to FIG. 4, the bumper unit 170 includes a support frame 171 and a bumper wheel 172. The support frame 171 supports the bumper wheel 172 and the lifting wheel 181 to be described later in the front end portion. The support frame 171 is rotatably installed with the axis intersecting the direction in which the main body 110 travels.

The bumper wheel 172 is supported by the support frame 171 is installed so as to contact the obstacle appearing in front of the main body 110 to roll. The bumper wheels 172 are provided in plural and arranged in a direction crossing the direction in which the main body 110 travels. The bumper wheels 172 disposed at the outermost side of the plurality of bumper wheels 172 are respectively installed to be located outside the front edge of the main body 110.

The bumper wheel 172 is to mitigate the impact generated by the cleaning robot 100 running inside the reservoir tank collides with obstacles, such as the inner wall of the reservoir, the structure installed in the reservoir, the inner wall of the reservoir, the structure installed in the reservoir or Cleaning robot 100 to prevent damage. In order to compensate for the buffering force of the bumper wheel 172, an elastic member such as a coil spring or rubber may be installed on the rotation shaft of the bumper wheel 172.

 On the other hand, the cleaning robot 100 may estimate the amount of the precipitate by detecting the height of the precipitate according to the rotation angle of the support frame 171. That is, the smaller the rotational angle of the support frame 171, the lower the height of the sediment can be estimated to have a smaller amount of sediment. The larger the rotational angle of the support frame 171, the larger the height of the sediment, the greater the amount of sediment. It can be estimated. Therefore, the cleaning robot 100 may include a rotation angle detector 180 that detects the rotation angle of the support frame.

5 is a side view schematically showing a rotation angle detection unit of the cleaning robot according to the present embodiment.

Referring to FIG. 5, the rotation angle detection unit 180 includes a lifting wheel 181, a rotation loader 182, and a plurality of rotation angle detection sensors 183.

The lifting wheel 181 is supported by the support frame 171 is in contact with the bottom surface of the reservoir tank. As described above, since the support frame 171 is rotatably installed with the axis intersecting the direction in which the main body 110 travels, the lifting wheel 181 is rolled along the bottom surface of the water tank, It is elevated according to the height of the sediment. Rotating loader 182 is coupled to the rear end of the support frame 171 is rotated in accordance with the rotation of the support frame 171. The rotation angle detection sensors 183 are disposed at the rear of the rotation loader 182 to detect the rotation angle of the support frame 171.

The rotation angle detection unit 180 detects the rotation angle of the support frame 171, so that the amount of the deposit can be estimated based on the height of the deposit. The estimated amount of the precipitate controls the tilt angle of the suction unit 130 by the tilt unit 140, the output of the suction pump 161, the driving direction of the cleaning robot 100, and whether or not the cleaning operation of the storage tank is continued. Used to.

Referring back to FIG. 1, the cleaning robot 100 includes a camera 167 and an illumination 168 installed in front of the main body 110.

The camera 167 photographs a cleaning operation of the cleaning robot 100, a driving environment of the cleaning robot 100, an overall operating state of the cleaning robot 100, and the like. The camera 167 may have a structure in which a pan tilt camera is installed in a spherical waterproof case.

The lighting 168 may use any one of High Intensity Discharge (HID), tungsten halogen lighting, and LED (light emitting diode) lighting.

On the other hand, the cleaning robot 100 is configured to grasp its position information underwater.

6 is a perspective view illustrating a state in which a location information detector, a buoy and an extension support are installed in the cleaning robot according to the present embodiment.

Referring to FIG. 6, the cleaning robot 100 includes a location information detector 190, a buoy 193, and an elastic support 194.

The location information detection unit 190 may grasp the location information of the main body 110 introduced into the reservoir, and includes a GPS (GPS) sensor 191 and a GPS antenna 192. The GPS sensor 191 is supported by the elastic support 194, the GPS antenna 192 is drawn out from the GPS sensor 191 is installed on the top of the GPS sensor 191. Here, the GPS sensor 191 may use a general GPS sensor having an error range of about several meters, but may use a Digi GPS sensor (DGPS) known as an error range of several tens of cm.

The buoy 193 is disposed below the GPS sensor 191 and is coupled to the elastic support 194. The buoy 193 allows the GPS sensor 191 to always be located above the water surface of the reservoir.

The elastic support 194 includes a coupling rod 194a, a lifting rod 194b, and a roller 194c. The coupling rod 194a is coupled to the main body 110. The lifting rod 194b is connected to the coupling rod 194a and the buoy 193 and the GPS sensor 191 are coupled to and lifted from the coupling rod 194a according to the level of the reservoir. The lifting rod 194b may be provided in plural according to the water height of the reservoir, and the number thereof may be increased or decreased. The roller 194c is provided between the coupling rod 194a and the lifting rod 194b and between the plurality of lifting rods 194b to support the lifting rod 194b.

Meanwhile, the cleaning robot 100 may estimate the traveling distance of the cleaning robot 100 based on the rotation speed transmitted from the encoder mounted on the wheel motor 122a (see FIG. 6) for driving the wheel 122. have.

Hereinafter, the underwater cleaning apparatus according to the present embodiment using the above-described cleaning robot will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

7 is a block diagram schematically showing the underwater cleaning apparatus according to the present embodiment, and FIG. 8 is a perspective view showing a sediment separator of the underwater cleaning apparatus according to the present embodiment.

7 and 8, the underwater cleaning apparatus 500 includes a cleaning robot 100, a sediment separator 200, a controller 300, and an operation console 400.

The contaminated water discharge pipe 163 connected to the cleaning robot 100 extends to the sediment separator 200.

The sediment separator 200 is for separating the sediment from the contaminated water suctioned from the cleaning robot 100, and includes a tank 210, a sediment discharge pipe 220, an inlet pipe 230, and a filter 240.

Tank 210 is disposed outside the reservoir 10 is connected to the contaminated water discharge pipe 163 on the upper side. Sediment discharge pipe 220 is connected to the lower side of the tank 210. The sediment discharge pipe 220 is connected to the bucket car (V) disposed on the outside of the tank 210 is filtered by the filter 240 to form a discharge path of the sediment remaining in the tank 210. Inlet pipe 230 is connected to the other side of the tank 210 and extends to the reservoir (10). The inlet pipe 230 is provided with a valve 231 for controlling the flow rate of the fresh water caught in the filter 240 in the sediment.

The filter 240 is disposed between one side and the other side of the tank 210 to filter the precipitate from the contaminated water.

On the other hand, the cab 20 is disposed outside the reservoir 10. The cab 20 is provided with a control unit 300 for controlling the cleaning robot 100 and may be configured to be movable using a container box. The cab 20 provides a compressor for supplying gas to the control unit 300 and the self-generator 201 for supplying power to the cleaning robot 100 and the balloon 165 installed in the cleaning robot 100 to be described below. 502 may be installed.

9 is a block diagram showing the connection between the cleaning robot, the control unit and the operation console of the underwater cleaning apparatus according to the present embodiment.

Referring to FIG. 9, the controller 300 includes a power supply unit 310, a communication unit 320, and a central processing unit 330.

The power supply unit 310 and the communication unit 320 are connected to the cleaning robot 100 and the central processing unit 330 by a power cable and a communication cable, respectively. The power may supply power generated from the self-generator 201, and may use power supplied from a separate power source external to the underwater cleaning device 500.

In addition, the controller 300 includes a wheel driver 341, a screw driver 342, a pump driver 343, and a tilt driver 344.

The wheel driver 341 is connected to the driving driver 120 of the cleaning robot 100 through the central processing unit 330. The wheel driver 341 controls the running of the cleaning robot 100. The screw driver 342 is connected to the rotary motor 133 of the cleaning robot 100 through the central processing unit 330. The screw driver 342 controls the rotation speed of the screw 132 and the rotation direction of the screw 132. The tilt driver 344 is connected to the tilt cylinder 144 of the cleaning robot 100 through the central processing unit 330. The tilt driver 344 controls the tilt angle of the suction unit 130. The pump driver 343 is connected to the suction pump 161 of the cleaning robot 100 through the central processing unit 330. The pump driver 343 controls the driving of the suction pump 161 through the central processing unit 330.

In addition, the control unit 300 includes a camera unit 351, an illumination unit 352, a sensor unit 353, and an automatic cleaning unit 354.

The camera unit 351 is connected to the camera 167 of the cleaning robot 100 through the central processing unit 330. The camera unit 351 processes the image acquired by the camera 167 and causes the processed image to be displayed. The lighting unit 352 is connected to the lighting 168 of the cleaning robot 100 through the central processing unit 330. The lighting unit 352 controls the brightness of the lighting 168. The sensor unit 353 is connected to the tilt limit detection unit 150 and the rotation angle detection unit 180 of the cleaning robot 100 through the central processing unit 330. The sensor unit 353 processes the detection signals generated from the sensors included in the tilt limit detector 150 and the rotation angle detector 180.

The automatic cleaning unit 354 is connected to the cleaning robot 100 through the central processing unit 330, analyzes the position of the cleaning robot 100, and controls the cleaning robot 100 to move along a preset path. The automatic cleaning unit 354 can use an industrial computer. The automatic cleaning unit 354 is provided with a touch screen, and indicates the position of the cleaning robot 100 together with the cleaning area.

The central processing unit 330 is connected to each of the drivers 341, 342, 343, and 344 and the units 351, 352, 353, and 354, and the cleaning robot 100 through the power supply unit 310 and the communication unit 320. ). The central processing unit 330 controls the power supplied to the cleaning robot 100 and processes data transmitted and received with the cleaning robot 100. In addition, the central processing unit 330 processes control commands of the drivers 341, 342, 343, and 344 and the units 351, 352, 353, and 354.

10 is a front view showing the appearance of a control unit of the underwater cleaning apparatus according to the present embodiment.

Referring to FIG. 10, the controller 300 includes an input connector 361, an output connector 362, a control connector 363, and a pneumatic connector 364.

The input connector 361 is connected to the self-generator 201 or an input cable extending to receive power supplied from an external power supply. The output connector 362 is connected to an output cable connected to the cleaning robot 100. The control connector 363 is connected to the cleaning robot 100 is connected to the communication cable to transmit and receive data with the cleaning robot 100. The pneumatic connector 364 is connected to the balloon 165 of the cleaning robot 100 is connected to the supply pipe 165a for supplying gas to the balloon 165.

In addition, the controller 300 includes an operation console connector 400a, a plurality of output plugs 365, a LAN port 366, and an image output port 367.

The operation console connector 400a connects the operation console 400 and the control unit 300. The operation console connector 400a allows the power supplied to the control unit 300 to be supplied to the operation console 400, and transmits and receives data between the control unit 300 and the operation console 400. The operation console connector 400a may be provided in plural so as to connect the plurality of operation consoles 400a to the control unit 300.

The plurality of output plugs 365 may supply power to terminals, portable devices, and the like other than the operation console 400a by using the power supplied to the controller 300. The LAN port 365 may transmit / receive data between the control unit 300 and a terminal, a portable device, and the like other than the operation console 400a. The image output port 367 transmits an image signal captured by the camera 167 to the operation console 400 so that the image output port 367 may be displayed on the display unit 414 provided in the operation console 400.

In addition, the controller 300 may include an input power switch 368, an input power state lamp 369, an output power state lamp 370, an operation ready state lamp 371, a warning buzzer 372, and a first emergency stop switch ( 373, a reset button 374, an automatic cleaning unit power switch 375, and a first brightness control switch 376.

The input power switch 368 allows the input power input to the power connector to be supplied to the control unit 300 and the cleaning robot 100. The input power state lamp 369 displays whether there is an abnormality in the input power supplied to the controller 300. In the case of performing the water cleaning operation outdoors, the input power may be weaker than the input current input to the controller 300. Alternatively, on the contrary, the input power may have excessive input current compared to the usage amount. When an abnormality occurs in the input power in this way, the input power state lamp 369 blinks to warn of an abnormality in the input power state. The output power state lamp 370 indicates the presence or absence of power supplied to the cleaning robot 100. If an abnormality occurs in the power cable connected to the cleaning robot 100 and the wire is disconnected, a short circuit may occur, or a dangerous situation such as excessive current flow due to overload may occur. As described above, when an abnormality occurs in the output power, the output power state lamp 370 blinks to warn of an abnormality in the output power state. The operation ready state lamp 371 indicates a state in which power is supplied to the control unit 300 and all the devices are in a good state so that the cleaning robot 100 can be operated. The warning buzzer 372 generates a warning sound when a malfunction occurs in the absence of an operator, so that the warning buzzer 372 can know the malfunction from a distance. The first emergency stop switch 373 stops all operations of the control unit 300 and then cuts off all power supplied from the control unit 300. The reset button 374 serves as a reset button along with a function of flashing a warning light when normal operation is difficult due to an overload of the control unit 300 or the cleaning robot 100 or an unknown cause. The automatic cleaning unit power switch 375 makes it possible to select the automatic cleaning mode or the manual cleaning mode. The operator can select the manual cleaning mode by turning the automatic cleaning unit power switch 375 to the side indicating manual, and can select the automatic cleaning mode by turning the automatic cleaning unit power switch 375 to the side indicating automatic. When the automatic cleaning mode is selected, the operation of the automatic cleaning unit 354 (eg, activation of the GPS device, activation of related software, etc.) is started.

The first brightness control switch 376 is provided as a rotary type switch to adjust the brightness of the light 168 mounted on the cleaning robot 100.

Referring back to FIG. 7, the operation console 400 is connected to the control unit 300 to allow the user to manually operate the cleaning robot 100, and may be provided in the form of a bag for easy carrying of the user. .

11 is a front view showing the appearance of the operation console of the underwater cleaning apparatus according to the present embodiment.

9 and 11, the operation console 400 includes a camera switch 411, a second brightness control switch 412, a status lamp 413, and a display unit 414.

The camera switch 411 is connected to the camera unit 351. The camera switch 411 is used to turn on and off the power of the camera 167 installed in the cleaning robot 100. The second brightness control switch 412 is connected to the lighting unit 352. The second brightness control switch 412 allows to adjust the brightness of the underwater lighting. The status lamp 413 is connected to the sensor unit 353. The status lamp 413 indicates the states of the sensors included in the tilt limit detection unit 150 and the rotation angle detection unit 180 of the cleaning robot 100. The display unit 414 is connected to the camera unit 351, the sensor unit 353, and the automatic cleaning unit 354 to capture an image captured by the camera 167, the tilt limit detector 150, and the rotation angle detector 180. The detection signals detected by the sensors included in the display, the path of the cleaning robot 100, and displays the current position of the cleaning robot 100 and the like.

In addition, the operation console 400 may include a mode selection switch 415, a screw switch 416, a pump switch 417, a driving joystick 419, a screw tilt joystick 418, a speed control switch 420, and a second emergency. A stop switch 421. The mode selector switch 415, the screw switch 416, the pump switch 417, the driving joystick 419, the screw tilt joystick 418, the speed control switch 420, and the second emergency stop switch 421 are respectively centered. It is connected to the processor 330.

The mode selection switch 415 may select one of the manual cleaning mode and the automatic cleaning mode of the cleaning robot 100. The screw switch 416 allows to adjust the rotational direction and the rotational speed of the screw 132. The pump switch 417 allows the suction pump 161 to be turned on and off. The driving joystick 419 allows steering of the cleaning robot 100. Speed control switch 420 to adjust the moving speed of the cleaning robot (100). The second emergency stop switch 421 may stop the operation of the cleaning robot 100 when the cleaning robot 100 malfunctions.

Hereinafter, the underwater cleaning method according to the present embodiment will be described.

12 is a flowchart showing the underwater cleaning method according to the present embodiment.

Referring to FIG. 12, the underwater cleaning method includes a preparation step S100, a suction step S200, a discharge step S300, and a filtering step S400.

In the preparation step (S100) the cleaning robot 100 is put into the reservoir 10 is prepared for underwater cleaning. In the suction step (S200), the cleaning robot 100 is driven in the reservoir 10, the contaminated water containing the precipitate is sucked. In the discharge step (S300), the contaminated water sucked by the cleaning robot 100 is discharged to the outside of the reservoir 10. In the filtering step (S400), the sediment is filtered out of the contaminated water, and the filtered fresh water is introduced into the reservoir 10.

13A is a flowchart illustrating a preparation step of the underwater cleaning method according to the present embodiment, and FIGS. 13B, 13C, 13D, and 13E are coordinates set according to the bottom shape of the water tank in the underwater cleaning method according to the present embodiment; It is a top view which shows the space | interval of a path | route and the path | route adjacent to each other.

13A to 13E, the preparation step S100 includes an area setting step S110, a path setting step S120, a precision setting step S130, and a mode selection step S140.

In the area setting step (S110), the entire area to be cleaned by the cleaning robot 100 is set. In the region setting step S110, coordinates P1, P2, P3,..., Pn according to the bottom shape of the reservoir 10 may be set. For example, when the bottom shape of the reservoir 10 is polygonal, the coordinates (P1, P2, P3, ..., Pn) of the portion corresponding to each corner of the bottom of the reservoir 10 may be set, the reservoir If the bottom shape of (10) is circular, the coordinates (P1, P2, P3, ..., Pn) of the portion corresponding to the edge of the bottom of the reservoir (10) can be set.

In the path setting step (S120), a path through which the cleaning robot 100 moves is set. In the path setting step (S120), the path of the cleaning robot 100 according to the bottom shape of the reservoir 10 may be set. For example, when the bottom shape of the reservoir 10 is a polygon, the entire path of the cleaning robot 100 may be set in a zigzag shape, when the bottom shape of the reservoir 10 is circular, the cleaning robot 100 The entire path of can be set helically.

In the precision setting step (S130), the distance between adjacent paths is adjusted. The closer the spacing of the paths adjacent to each other, the higher the accuracy of cleaning, and the farther the spacing of the adjacent paths from each other, the lower the accuracy of cleaning. When the distance between adjacent paths is set to be close to each other, it is easy to clean the reservoir 10 in which the pollution is serious or to intensively clean some paths in which the pollution is serious. When the distance between adjacent paths is set to be far from each other, it is easy to clean the reservoir which is not seriously polluted, or rough cleaning before precise cleaning.

In the mode selection step (S140), either a manual cleaning mode or an automatic cleaning mode may be selected according to the degree of contamination of the water stored in the reservoir 10. That is, when the contamination of the water is low and the state of the inside of the reservoir 10 can be read by the camera 167 installed in the cleaning robot 100, the manual cleaning mode S150 may be selected. On the contrary, when the pollution degree of water is high and it is difficult to read the state inside the reservoir by the camera installed in the cleaning robot 100, the automatic cleaning mode S160 may be selected.

Although not shown, in the preparation step (S100) it can be set so that the number of cleaning cycles, the area where the cleaning robot 100 has finished cleaning, the area not cleaned.

Hereinafter, the cleaning method by the automatic cleaning mode will be described in detail.

14 is a flowchart illustrating a cleaning method by an automatic cleaning mode according to the present embodiment.

Referring to FIG. 14, the underwater cleaning method using the automatic cleaning mode includes a control step (S161), a moving step (S162), a determination of whether a target point is reached (S163), and a determination of whether or not cleaning is completed (S168).

In the control step (S161), the location information is received from the cleaning robot 100, and the position of the cleaning robot 100 is controlled based on the received location information.

15 is a flowchart illustrating a control step of the cleaning method by the automatic cleaning mode according to the present embodiment.

Referring to FIG. 15, the control step S161 includes a position information acquisition step S1611, a correction step S1612, a target point calculation step S1613, a position error calculation step S1614, and a control input calculation step S1615. do.

The automatic cleaning unit 354 may acquire the first position information and the second position information from the cleaning robot 100. The first position information is position information detected by the GPS sensor 191 installed in the cleaning robot 100, and the second position information is wheel 122 transmitted from an encoder installed in the wheel motor 122a of the cleaning robot 100. The location information is estimated based on the number of revolutions.

In the positional information acquiring step (S1611), first positional information and second positional information are acquired. In the correcting step (S1612), the current position of the cleaning robot 100 is precisely calculated using an extended kalman filter based on the first position information and the second position information. The target point calculation step S1613 calculates and finds a tracking target point to be followed at the current position among the paths generated in the job preparation step S100 based on the current position of the cleaning robot 100 calculated in the correction step S1612. Positional error calculation step (S1614) calculates the difference value between the tracking target point and the current position. In the control input calculation step S1615, speed values of the left and right wheels 122 of the cleaning robot 100 are calculated based on the difference between the tracking target point and the current position calculated in the location error calculation step S1614.

Referring back to FIG. 14, in the moving step S162, the cleaning robot according to the rotation speed value of the encoder of the wheel motor 122a according to the speed values of the left and right wheels 122 calculated in the control input calculation step S1615. 100) is moved toward the following target point.

In the determination of whether the target point is reached (S163), it is determined whether the cleaning robot 100 has reached the following target point.

At this time, the cleaning robot 100 moving toward the tracking target point may not reach the tracking target point. That is, when an obstacle appears in the path where the cleaning robot 100 moves, the cleaning robot 100 cannot move, and the moving speed of the cleaning robot 100 decreases due to a large amount of work in the path that the cleaning robot 100 moves. May occur.

When the cleaning robot 100 does not reach the tracking target as described above, the predetermined load of the cleaning robot 100 and the current load of the cleaning robot 100 are compared (S165) to load the cleaning robot 100. Determine (S165). The load of the cleaning robot 100 may be calculated by the current consumption of the cleaning robot, the rotational speed of the wheel, and the like.

When the cleaning robot 100 does not reach the tracking target point because the load of the cleaning robot 100 exceeds an appropriate load amount, it may be determined that an obstacle appears in the progress path of the cleaning robot 100.

16 is a flowchart illustrating a method of generating a bypass path of the cleaning robot in the cleaning method by the automatic cleaning mode according to the present embodiment, and FIG. 17 is a bypass of the cleaning robot in the cleaning method by the automatic cleaning mode according to the present embodiment. A diagram for explaining an algorithm for generating a path.

16 and 17, when the load amount of the cleaning robot 100 exceeds an appropriate load amount, a bypass path of the cleaning robot 100 is generated (S166). The detour path generation method includes an unreachable target point search step S1661, an unreachable target point removal step S1662, a new target point candidate generation step S1663, and a new target point selection step S1664.

에서 추종목표점

으로 이동이 불가능한 상태이다. 이에 따라 청소로봇(100)의 새로운 목표점을 생성해야 한다. That is, the cleaning robot 100 is the current position

Tracking target

It is impossible to move to. Accordingly, a new target point of the cleaning robot 100 should be generated.

를 기준으로 청소로봇(100)이 경유한 목표점

과 추종목표점

이후의 목표점

을 바탕으로 생성한다.New target point candidate is current

The target point passed by the cleaning robot 100 on the basis of

And following target

Future goals

Create based on

을 직경으로 하는 원을 생성하면 반지름이

인 원을 얻을 수 있다. 이 원의 중심점으로부터 두 목표점

을 연결하는 경로에 수직인 법선경로를 생성하고, 원과 법선경로의 교점 두 개를 새로운 목표점 후보

,

를 생성한다. In this case, two target points

If you create a circle with diameter as

You can get people. Two target points from the center of this circle

Create a normal path perpendicular to the path that connects the two points, and create two new intersection points between the circle and the normal path candidates.

,

.

,

중에서 작업 환경과의 충돌 여부, 이후의 경로 목표점

와의 거리를 종합적으로 판단하여 최종 목표점을 선택하게 되고, 이는 최초의 이동 불가능 목표점을 우회하는 새로운 목표점과 경로가 된다.Two new target point candidates

,

Conflicts with your work environment, and subsequent path targets

The final target point is selected by comprehensively determining the distance from the target, and this becomes a new target point and a path that bypasses the first non-movable target point.

On the other hand, even if the load of the cleaning robot 100 is less than the appropriate load amount, when the cleaning robot 100 does not reach the target point may be determined to be a large amount of work.

18 is a flowchart illustrating a method of securing a moving path of the cleaning robot during the movement of the cleaning robot by the automatic cleaning mode in the underwater cleaning method according to the present embodiment.

Referring to FIG. 18, when the load amount of the cleaning robot 100 is less than the appropriate load amount, the movement path securing operation of the cleaning robot 100 is performed (S167).

That is, if the load amount of the cleaning robot 100 is detected to be less than the proper load amount, and the moving speed of the cleaning robot 100 is reduced, a forward command is input to the cleaning robot 100 (S1671).

When the cleaning robot 100 is movable (S1672) by the forward command, the cleaning robot 100 is advanced according to the forward command. At this time, since the cleaning robot 100 is moving in a path with a large amount of work, it moves toward the target point at a speed slower than the input speed value, but does not reach the following target point. In this way, the cleaning robot 100 heading toward the tracking target point according to the forward command is input to the home position command in the direction of the target point, and the cleaning robot 100 is reversed to the original position (S1676) before the forward command.

In this forward command and in the direction of the target point, the home position command is repeated continuously for a preset working time. Therefore, the cleaning robot 100 can extinguish a large amount of work while continuously moving forward and backward in the direction of the target point in the path of heavy work (S1677).

On the other hand, despite the forward command is input to the cleaning robot 100, when the cleaning robot 100 is impossible to move (S1672), the left turn command or the right turn command is input based on the direction toward the tracking target point. According to the left turn command or the right turn command, the cleaning robot 100 proceeds in a 30 degree direction to the left or a 30 degree direction to the right based on the direction toward the following target point (S1673).

If the cleaning robot 100 is moved according to the left turn or right turn command (S1674), the cleaning robot 100 is left turn or left turn or right turn according to the right turn command. The cleaning robot 100, which is turned left or right, is inputted with a home position command in the direction of the target point, and the cleaning robot 100 is reversed to its original position S1676 before the advance command.

In this way, the cleaning robot 100 that cannot proceed toward the target point receives a left turn or a right turn command and a home position command in the direction of the target point, thereby gradually reducing a large amount of work in the vicinity of the path set toward the following target point, and following the amount of work being digested to some extent. It becomes the state which can advance toward a target point.

On the other hand, despite the left turn or right turn command movement of the cleaning robot 100 is not possible (S1674) when the cleaning robot 100 at the current position of the cleaning robot 100 is reversed. Then, the cleaning robot 100 moves to a position backward (S1675) than the position before the forward command. Thus, the left cleaning robot 100 is inputted a left turn or right turn command. The cleaning robot 100 rotates left or right according to a left turn or right turn command (S1673).

In this way, the cleaning robot 100, which cannot proceed toward the target point and cannot rotate left or backward, is inputted with a backward command, thereby gradually reducing a large amount of work in the vicinity of the path set toward the tracking target point. It becomes the state which can proceed toward.

The forward command S1671 and the home position command S1676 in the target point direction are repeated repeatedly for a preset working time (S1677). Therefore, the cleaning robot 100 can extinguish a large amount of work while repeatedly moving forward and backward in the direction of the target point in the path with a large amount of work.

As such, the cleaning robot 100 in which the load amount of the cleaning robot 100 is detected to be less than the proper load amount can be repeatedly digested with a movement path for a predetermined working time to digest a large amount of work.

Then, when the preset working time is exceeded (S1766), the cleaning robot 100 returns to the control step (S161), it can move to find the tracking target point.

Referring back to FIG. 14, when the cleaning robot 100 reaches the tracking target point in step S163, the speed values of the left and right wheels toward the next tracking target point are input to the cleaning robot 100. do. The cleaning robot 100 proceeds toward the next following target point according to the speed values of the left and right wheels.

When the control step S161 and the movement step S162 are repeated as described above, the cleaning robot 100 may reach the final tracking target point in the entire area (S163). When the cleaning robot 100 reaches the final tracking target, the operation of discharging the contaminated water from the reservoir 10 is completed.

Referring back to FIG. 13, when the manual cleaning mode is selected in the mode selection step S140 (S150), the operator observes the image acquired by the camera 167 and operates the operation console 400 to clean the robot ( 100) can be controlled.

As such, the contaminated water sucked by the cleaning robot 100 is discharged to the tank 210 of the sediment separator 200. The contaminated water discharged to the tank 210 passes through the filter 240. At this time, the sediment contained in the contaminated water remains on one side inside the tank 210, the clean water filtered out the sediment flows to the other side of the tank.

Sediment remaining in the tank is discharged to the outside of the tank through the sediment discharge pipe, clean water is introduced into the reservoir along the inlet pipe.

100: cleaning robot 200: sediment separator
300: control unit 400: operation console

Claims (12)

A preparation step in which a cleaning robot is put into a reservoir to prepare for cleaning of the reservoir;
A suction step in which the cleaning robot is driven in the reservoir, and the contaminated water including the precipitate accumulated on the bottom of the reservoir is sucked by the cleaning robot;
A discharge step of discharging the contaminated water into a tank disposed outside the reservoir; and
And a filtering step in which the sediment contained in the contaminated water is discharged to the outside of the tank, and the clean water filtered out of the contaminated water flows into the reservoir. The method of claim 1, wherein the preparing step
An area setting step of setting a whole area of the reservoir;
A path setting step of setting a path in which the cleaning robot is moved in the entire area of the reservoir;
A precision setting step of adjusting the interval between the paths of the cleaning robots adjacent to each other to set the precision of the water tank cleaning; and
Underwater cleaning method comprising a; mode selection step of selecting the automatic cleaning mode, or manual cleaning mode of the cleaning robot. The method of claim 2,
The automatic cleaning method according to the selection of the automatic cleaning mode
A control step of receiving position information from the cleaning robot and controlling the position of the cleaning robot;
A moving step in which the cleaning robot is moved along a path set in the precision setting step;
Determining whether or not to reach a target point of the cleaning robot;
Underwater cleaning method comprising a; cleaning step of determining whether or not to reach the final target point of the cleaning robot. The method of claim 3, wherein the controlling step
A position information acquisition step of receiving first position information from a GPS sensor installed in the cleaning robot, and obtaining second position information from a traveling system installed in the cleaning robot;
A correction step of applying the first position information and the second position information to an extended Kalman filter to correct a current position of the cleaning robot;
A target point calculating step of calculating a tracking target point to be followed by the cleaning robot from a current position of the cleaning robot;
A position error calculation step of calculating a position error between the current position of the cleaning robot and the tracking target point;
And a control input calculation step of calculating speed values of the left and right wheels of the cleaning robot according to the difference value calculated in the position error calculation step. The method of claim 3, wherein when the cleaning robot does not reach the target point in the determining whether the target point is reached,
A load calculation step of calculating a current load of the cleaning robot;
Underwater cleaning method comprising a; load determination step of determining the load by comparing the appropriate load amount of the cleaning robot and the current load amount of the cleaning robot. 6. The underwater load according to claim 5, wherein the proper load of the cleaning robot is calculated by the current consumption of the cleaning robot, the rotational speed of the wheel which rotates according to the driving of the cleaning robot, and the amount of change in the position information of the cleaning robot. How to clean. The underwater cleaning method according to claim 5, wherein a bypass path of the cleaning robot is generated when the current load of the cleaning robot exceeds the appropriate load amount. The method of claim 7, wherein the detour path generation method of the cleaning robot
An unreachable target point search step of searching for an unreachable target point from the current position of the cleaning robot;
An unreachable target point removing step in which the target point found in the unreachable target point searching step is removed from the path of the cleaning robot;
A new target point candidate generation step of generating new target point candidates reachable from the current position of the cleaning robot; and
And a new target point selection step of selecting a new target point among the new target point candidates generated in the new target point candidate generation step. The underwater cleaning method according to claim 5, wherein when the current load of the cleaning robot is less than the appropriate load, the movement path of the cleaning robot is secured. 10. The method of claim 9, wherein the movement path of the cleaning robot is secured.
Advancing step of the cleaning robot is advanced; And
And a home position step in which the cleaning robot advanced in the forward step is reversed and the cleaning robot is returned to a position before the advance step.
Underwater cleaning method characterized in that the advance step and the home position step is repeated for a predetermined working time. The method of claim 10, wherein when the cleaning robot does not advance in the advance step,
The cleaning robot is rotated to the left or right to move forward to the right;
And a home position step in which the cleaning robot rotated left or right is reversed and the cleaning robot is returned to a position before the advance step.
Underwater cleaning method characterized in that the advance step to the home position step is repeated for a predetermined working time. 12. The method of claim 11, wherein when the cleaning robot is turned left, turned right, or does not advance in the right turn step,
The cleaning robot includes a reverse step that is backward than the position before the forward step,
Underwater cleaning method characterized in that the forward step to the reverse step is repeated for the predetermined working time.

Images