KR20150022540A - Underwater robot for cleaning hull surface using water depth information - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a robot to clean a hull (10) underwater, comprising: a main body (20) having a plurality of brushes (25); an actuator (30) to vertically or horizontally move the main body (20); and a detection unit (40) to generate a signal corresponding to the changes in positions of the main body (20). Therefore, the present invention enables the robot to smoothly clean the hull by three-dimensionally correcting the position based on a pressure sensor, and to carry out perfect cleaning by grasping the moving distance using information on the water level.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention [0001] The present invention relates to a water-

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a robot for cleaning a hull, and more particularly, to a robot for cleaning a hull using water depth information for removing water moss, barn, etc. while traveling right and left.

If a creature such as a barnacle attached to the bottom of the ship is not removed, the speed of the ship is lowered and the fuel consumption is increased. Therefore, conventionally, the diver is put into the water to perform the cleaning work. In this case, due to the difficulty of the diving operation, a large number of personnel must be input, so efforts are being made to reduce time and cost by utilizing an underwater robot.

As related prior art patents, Korean Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 2008-0093536 and Korean Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 2011-0062248 are known.

The former patent includes an underwater video camera, a joystick and control panel for remote control, a water jet injector with a plurality of injection nozzles, a hydraulic pump for supplying water, horizontal and vertical propellers installed in the frame structure, Altimeter and depth sensor to understand the depth, and DGPS to grasp the exact position of underwater robot in the water. As a result, not only the hull is cleaned quickly, but also the effect of grasping the damaged area of the bottom shell is expected.

The latter patent includes a traveling wheel, a vertical propeller maintaining vertical, a power housing, a control housing, a transponder that automatically responds to the received signal, an inertial measurement unit (IMU) for measuring the inertia of the underwater cleaning robot, A horizontal propeller positioned at the rear of the robot to keep the underwater cleaning robot horizontal, and a camera and a light for capturing an object. Accordingly, it is expected that the effect of reducing the working time without being restricted by the cable is not restricted by the request area.

However, according to the above-mentioned prior patent, it is difficult to accurately determine the posture of the cleaning robot moving in water, so that it has a disadvantage of substantially halving the advantage of the labor saving due to interference with the power cable.

1. Korean Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 2008-0093536 entitled " Submerged Underwater Robot for Cleaning and Inspection "(Published on October 22, 2008) 2. Korean Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 2011-0062248 "Ship Underwater Cleaning Robot Using Radio Control" (Published on June 10, 2011)

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to solve the above-mentioned problems of the related art, and it is an object of the present invention to provide a method and apparatus for performing three-dimensional posture correction on the basis of a pressure sensor to perform smooth cleaning, And an object of the present invention is to provide an underwater robot for hull cleaning using depth information.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a robot for cleaning a hull in water, comprising: a main body having a plurality of brushes; A driver installed to move the body horizontally and vertically; And detection means provided to generate a signal corresponding to the attitude change of the main body.

According to the present invention, the driver is provided with left and right thrusters provided on both sides of the main body, and upper and lower thrusters provided on the upper and lower surfaces of the main body.

As a modification of the present invention, the actuator may further include a plurality of electromagnets on the bottom surface of the main body.

According to the present invention, the detecting means is provided at four corners of the main body and includes a pressure sensor for detecting the water pressure.

As a modification of the present invention, the detecting means further includes an inclination sensor for detecting the inclination of the main body.

As described above, according to the present invention, the three-dimensional attitude correction is performed on the basis of the pressure sensor to perform smooth cleaning, and the travel distance can be grasped by using the depth information, so that the cleaning can be performed indefinitely.

1 is a configuration diagram showing an operating state of a robot according to the present invention;
2 is a top perspective view of a robot according to the present invention.
3 is a bottom perspective view of the robot according to the present invention.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

The present invention proposes a robot for cleaning the hull 10 in water. The marine underwater robot is used to remove creatures such as barnacles attached to the bottom of the hull 10. Although the present invention is described as an underwater robot for cleaning the hull 10, the present invention is not limited thereto.

The body (20) of the present invention has a plurality of brushes (25). The main body 20 has a frame of a rectangular structure. The brush 25 sucks water and rotates while discharging the water to remove the barn, etc. It is safe to dispose the plurality of brushes 25 in the main body 20 in a row or in a row.

In addition, according to the present invention, a driver 30 is installed to move the main body 20 horizontally and vertically. The driver 30 mainly functions to move the main body 20, but also performs a function of attaching the main body 20 to the hull 10 as described later. The main body 20 maintains its initial attitude while moving in a zigzag path of horizontal and vertical directions in the hull 10. Thus, it is possible to prevent interference with the cable 48 guided to the deck in the cleaning process of the underwater robot. The cable 48 is connected to a controller (not shown) carried by an operator of the deck to provide electricity or the like, and also supports the load of the main body 20. [

The driver 30 includes left and right thrusters 32 provided on both sides of the main body 20 and upper and lower thrusters 34 provided on the upper and lower surfaces of the main body 20 . Since the ratio of the horizontal path is high in the moving path of the main body 20, two left and right thrusters 32 are installed on both sides. On the other hand, one upper and lower thrusters 34 for moving the vertical path are provided on the upper and lower surfaces, respectively.

Of course, the attitude of the main body 20 can be corrected by the driving force change with respect to the upper and lower left and right thrusters 32 arranged vertically.

As a modification of the present invention, the actuator 30 may further include a plurality of electromagnets 36 on the bottom surface of the main body 20. The main body 20 approaches the hull 10 with the vacuum pressure of water flowing through the brush 25 to perform a cleaning operation. However, when the barnacle is densely attached or fixed to the bottom of the ship, it is difficult to maintain the adhesion with only vacuum pressure. The electromagnet 36 is installed at the four corners of the bottom surface of the main body 20, and an operator applies power through the controller to increase the adhesion to the hull 10.

According to the present invention, the detecting means 40 is provided so as to generate a signal corresponding to the attitude change of the main body 20. It is important to maintain the posture so that the main body 20 does not interfere with the cable 48 and become twisted during the cleaning operation of the underwater robot. To this end, the detecting means 40 is mounted on the main body 20 and a signal is input in real time in a set period.

According to the detailed configuration of the present invention, the detecting means (40) is provided with four pressure sensors (42) installed at four corners of the main body (20) for detecting the water pressure. The pressure sensor 42 senses minute water pressure fluctuations at the upper and lower ends of the main body 20 to generate an electrical signal. The controller compares the signals of the pressure sensors 42 provided at four places to judge the current attitude and operates the above-described actuator 30 to maintain the initial attitude.

As a modification of the present invention, the detection means 40 may further include an inclination sensor 44 for detecting the inclination of the main body 20. [ The pressure sensor 42 of the detecting means 40 generates a measurement error when the main body 20 is located at a lower depth of water or has a blue color on the sea surface. The tilt sensor 44 detects an angle at which the main body 20 is tilted with respect to the center of gravity to generate an electrical signal.

At this time, a 3D position sensor (not shown) may be further provided in place of the inclination sensor 44 or in addition to the inclination sensor 44. The 3D position sensor basically calculates the coordinate axis conversion and tilt of the main body 20 by using an accelerometer and a gyroscope.

In the meantime, the underwater robot of the present invention is preferably provided with a camera 46 in at least two places of the main body 20. When the image of the camera 46 is displayed on a monitor (not shown) of the controller, it is easy to check the cleaning state of the bottom and the posture of the robot.

In operation, an operator drops the main body 20 of the robot into the water by using the cable 48 and operates the left and right thrusters 32 by the controller to move the main body 20 horizontally while moving the brush 25 Operate and clean. In this process, the controller inputs the signal of the pressure sensor 42 to determine the attitude information of the main body 20, and inputs the signal of the inclination sensor 44 when the signal of the pressure sensor 42 is weak or fluctuates severely . When the posture of the main body 20 is inclined, the initial posture is maintained through the individual operation of the four left and right thrusters 32. [

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and variations can be made in the present invention without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims. It is therefore intended that such variations and modifications fall within the scope of the appended claims.

10: Hull 20: Body
25: Brush 30: Actuator
32: left and right thrusters 34: upper and lower thrusters
36: electromagnet 40: detecting means
42: pressure sensor 44: inclination sensor
46: camera 48: cable

Claims (5)

1. A robot for cleaning a hull (10) in water, comprising:
A body (20) having a plurality of brushes (25);
A driver (30) installed to move the main body (20) horizontally up and down; And
And a detection unit (40) installed to generate a signal corresponding to the attitude change of the main body (20). The method according to claim 1,
The driver 30 includes left and right thrusters 32 installed on both sides of the main body 20 and upper and lower thrusters 34 installed on the upper and lower surfaces of the main body 20. [ Cleaning underwater robot. The method of claim 2,
Wherein the actuator (30) further comprises a plurality of electromagnets (36) on the bottom surface of the main body (20). The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the detecting means (40) is provided at four corners of the main body (20) and has a pressure sensor (42) for detecting the water pressure. The method of claim 4,
Wherein the detecting means (40) further comprises a tilt sensor (44) for detecting the tilt of the main body (20).

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