Climbing Robot Vehicle
20170313369 · 2017-11-02
Assignee
Inventors
Cpc classification
B62D57/04
PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
B25J15/06
PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
International classification
B62D57/024
PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
B25J15/06
PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
Abstract
A climbing robot vehicle comprises a vehicle (2) and the front and rear ends of the vehicle body are provided with wheels (3). The end of the vehicle body facing towards the wall is fixedly connected to a sucking mechanism. The sucking mechanism comprises a body, the body being a hollow cylinder (4). A cover plate (5) is provided above the hollow cylinder. The upper end face of the cover plate is fixedly connected with the vehicle body and the lower end face of the cover plate is fixedly connected with the outer edge of the upper end face of the hollow cylinder by means of the first blocks (43) spaced from each other. The inner wall of the hollow cylinder is provided with tangential nozzles (41). The space between the first blocks (43) forms a first exhaust duct (44) between the outer edge of the upper end face of the hollow cylinder and the lower end face of the cover. A gap is formed between the lower end face of the hollow cylinder and the wall, and the gap forms a second exhaust duct (42) between the outer edge of the lower end face of the hollow cylinder and the wall. The climbing robot vehicle can be sucked on various kinds of walls and has a strong sucking ability and a wide application range.
Claims
1. A climbing robot vehicle comprises a vehicle and the front and rear ends of the vehicle are provided with wheels; the end of the vehicle facing towards the wall is fixedly connected to a sucking mechanism, which comprises a body, wherein the body is a hollow cylinder; a cover plate is provided above the hollow cylinder; the upper end face of said cover plate is fixedly connected with the vehicle and the lower end face of the cover plate is fixedly connected with the outer edge of the upper end face of the hollow cylinder by means of the first blocks spaced from each other; the inner wall of the hollow cylinder is provided with tangential nozzles; the space between said first blocks forms a first exhaust duct between the outer edge of the upper end face of the hollow cylinder and the lower end face of the cover plate; a gap is formed between the lower end face of the hollow cylinder and the wall, and the gap forms a second exhaust duct between the out edge of the lower end face of the hollow cylinder and the wall; the first exhaust duct and the second exhaust duct connects the interior of the hollow cylinder with the outer peripheral environment respectively.
2. A climbing robot vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the upper end face of the vehicle is provided with an electric motor which is connected to the cover plate by means of the screw it drives; the screw is connected to the screw thread of the cover plate; the hollow cylinder and the cover plate are provided with pressure measuring holes; the pressure measuring holes are connected with pressure sensors.
3. A climbing robot vehicle according to claim 2, wherein the vehicle body is connected with said hollow cylinder by means of connecting rods; the connecting rods are provided on the outer edge of the upper end face of said hollow cylinder; both ends of said connecting rods are processed with a screw; the intermediate section of said connecting rod is a cylinder; and stairs are provided between the cylinder and the screws; the screws on the two ends are fixedly connected with the screw thread of the vehicle and that of the hollow cylinder respectively; the position of said cover plate corresponding to the connecting rod is provided with a through hole which is slidably matched with the cylinder located in the intermediate section of said connecting rod; the space between the cover plate and the hollow cylinder forms the first exhaust duct.
4. A climbing robot vehicle according to claim 2, wherein the vehicle is provided with guide holes; the inside of each of guide holes is provided with a guide column; one end of said guide column is fixedly connected to the upper end face of said cover plate through the guide hole; the guide column can slide in the guide hole.
5. A climbing robot vehicle according to claim 3, wherein the outer edge of the lower end face of the hollow cylinder is provided with a soft pad.
6. A climbing robot vehicle according to claim 5, wherein the soft pad is a bristle strip.
7. A climbing robot vehicle according to claim 3, wherein the lower part of the hollow cylinder is provided with an annular baffle, the upper end surface of said annular baffle is fixedly connected with the outer edge of the lower end face of the hollow cylinder by means of the second blocks; the second blocks cover part of the area of the annular baffle; the space between the second blocks forms a third exhaust duct between the outer edge of the lower end face of the hollow cylinder and the annular baffle; the third exhaust duct connects the interior of the hollow cylinder with the outer peripheral environment; the lower end face of the annular baffle is provided with a soft pad.
8. A climbing robot vehicle according to claim 7, wherein the first blocks are equally spaced between the lower end face of said cover plate and the outer edge of the upper end face of the hollow cylinder, and the second blocks are equally spaced between the upper end face of said annular baffle and the lower end face of said hollow cylinder.
9. A climbing robot vehicle according to claim 1, wherein said tangential nozzles are connected with a high pressure fluid source by means of a tube.
10. A climbing robot vehicle according to claim 4, wherein the outer edge of the lower end face of the hollow cylinder is provided with a soft pad.
11. A climbing robot vehicle according to claim 4, wherein the lower part of the hollow cylinder is provided with an annular baffle, the upper end surface of said annular baffle is fixedly connected with the outer edge of the lower end face of the hollow cylinder by means of the second blocks; the second blocks cover part of the area of the annular baffle; the space between the second blocks forms a third exhaust duct between the outer edge of the lower end face of the hollow cylinder and the annular baffle; the third exhaust duct connects the interior of the hollow cylinder with the outer peripheral environment; the lower end face of the annular baffle is provided with a soft pad.
12. A climbing robot vehicle according to claim 10, wherein the outer edge of the lower end face of the hollow cylinder is provided with a soft pad.
13. A climbing robot vehicle according to claim 11, wherein the first blocks are equally spaced between the lower end face of said cover plate and the outer edge of the upper end face of the hollow cylinder, and the second blocks are equally spaced between the upper end face of said annular baffle and the lower end face of said hollow cylinder.
Description
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
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DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0035] Herebelow, embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.
Embodiment 1
[0036] Climbing robot vehicle according to
[0037] After the upstream of the tangential nozzles supply pressurized air, the air is ejected from the nozzles at high speed and rotating along the circular wall of the hollow cylinder. After rotating, a part of the air is discharged through the first exhaust duct, and the other part is discharged through the second exhaust duct. The first exhaust duct and the second exhaust duct both play very important roles. The following description details the role of the two exhaust ducts.
[0038] In order to facilitate the following description, some of the key points of the vehicle are marked (see
[0039] The role of the first exhaust duct:
[0040] The first exhaust duct mainly affects the pressure distribution of C-D surface. Air rotates in the hollow cylinder, then the air of the central part of the hollow cylinder will be thrown to the outer periphery by a centrifugal force, which makes the air of the central part become thin, while the air near the inner wall of the hollow cylinder becomes dense, i.e., the pressure distribution will be in a concave shape in the hollow cylinder, where the center pressure is low and the outer pressure is high (as shown in
[0041] The role of the second exhaust duct:
[0042] The second exhaust duct is provided to avoid contact between the lower end face of the hollow cylinder and the wall, so the vehicle can travel smoothly on the wall. If there is no second exhaust duct, then friction will be formed between the lower end face of the hollow cylinder and the wall, hindering the vehicle travelling on the wall; if there are obstacles such as a convexity on the wall, collision will happen between the hollow cylinder and the obstacles, making the vehicle stuck. Another role of the second exhaust duct is to make the A-B surface and E-F surface produce a weak low pressure distribution. A part of the airflow has a velocity component in the direction of the circumference when entering the second exhaust duct. As the air flows through the second exhaust duct, the flow velocity component is gradually reduced to zero under the effect of viscous friction. By analyzing the equation of fluid motion (i.e., the Navier-Stokes equation), the velocity component of the circumferential direction can affect the pressure distribution in the radial direction. When the second exhaust duct is at an appropriate height, the velocity component of the circumferential direction will form a weak low pressure distribution in the second exhaust duct (i.e., the A-B and E-F segments). The low pressure distribution can exert a pressure on the vehicle, thereby increasing the total pressure which the vehicle bears.
Embodiment 2
[0043] According to
[0044] In this embodiment, after rotating in the hollow cylinder, a part of the air is discharged through the first exhaust duct, and the other part is discharged through the second exhaust duct. This embodiment is a further improvement scheme of the embodiment 1, which can automatically adjust the height of the first exhaust duct.
[0045] In this embodiment, the hollow cylinder is connected with the vehicle by means of a plurality of connecting rods. Both ends of the connecting rod is processed with a screw, the intermediate section of the connecting rod is a cylinder, and stairs are provided between the cylindrical and the screw. The position of the cover plate corresponding to the connecting rod is provided with a through hole, the through hole is slidably matched with the cylinder located in the intermediate section of the connecting rod. Therefore, the cover plate is limited by the connecting rod so that it will not tilt when moving. The hollow cylinder and the cover plate is provided with one or a plurality of pressure measuring holes, while the pressure measuring holes are connected with pressure sensors. The electric motor will adjust the height of the first exhaust duct according to pressure signals measured by the pressure sensors. The purpose is to make the pressure which the vehicle bears always at or near the maximum value. The necessity of this design is illustrated in the following example.
[0046] Consider the case that the wheels of the vehicle have a leakage. When leakage occurs, the radius of the wheels will be smaller, which leads to the reduction of the space between the vehicle and the wall, and thus the height of the second exhaust duct which is formed between the hollow cylinder and the wall. This will lead to an increase of the viscosity friction of the air flow through the second exhaust duct. Then, the pressure distribution of the second exhaust duct (i.e., the A-B and E-F surface) will move in the direction of the high pressure. In addition, because the viscous friction of the second exhaust duct increases, part of the air will instead go to the first exhaust duct between the cover plate and the hollow cylinder. More airflow through the first exhaust duct will lead to the pressure distribution of the first exhaust duct (that is, the C-G and D-H surface) moving towards the direction of the high pressure, and thus lead to the pressure distribution of the C-D surface moving towards the direction of high pressure. The above-mentioned factors will weaken the pressure which the vehicle bears. In order to solve this problem, the implementation scheme is adopted to adjust the height of the first exhaust duct. We use the pressure sensors to detect the pressure changes in the hollow cylinder and the exhaust duct in real-time, and adjust the height of the first exhaust duct according to the pressure change.
[0047] Three pressure sensors are used to detect the pressure of three positions respectively as shown in
Embodiment 3
[0048] According to
[0049] In this embodiment, after rotating in the hollow cylinder, a part of the air is discharged through the first exhaust duct, and the other part is discharged through the second exhaust duct. This embodiment is a further improvement scheme of the embodiment 1, which can automatically adjust the height of the second exhaust duct. The cover plate is fixedly connected with the hollow cylinder with pads. An electric motor is fixed on the vehicle, the motor shaft is processed with a screw, and the center of the cover plate is processed with a matching screw hole. The electric motor drives the cover plate and the hollow cylinder to move with the screw. The guide column is fixedly installed on the upper surface of the cover plate. The guide column extends into the guide hole processed on the vehicle and slides in the guide hole. The hollow cylinder is limited by the guide column and guide hole so that it will not tilt when moving. The hollow cylinder and the cover plate is provided with one or a plurality of pressure measuring holes, the pressure measuring holes are connected with pressure sensors. The electric motor will adjust the height of the first exhaust duct according to pressure signals measured by the pressure sensors. The purpose is to make the pressure which the vehicle bears always at or near the maximum value. The necessity of this design is illustrated in the following example.
[0050] Consider the case that the wheels of the vehicle have a leakage. When leakage occurs, the radius of the wheels will be smaller, which leads to the reduction of the space between the vehicle and the wall, and thus the height of the second exhaust duct which is formed between the hollow cylinder and the wall. This will lead to an increase of the viscosity friction of the air flow through the second exhaust duct. Then, the pressure distribution of the second exhaust duct (i.e., the A-B and E-F surface) will move in the direction of high pressure. In addition, because the viscous friction of the second exhaust duct increases, part of the air will instead go to the first exhaust duct between the cover plate and the hollow cylinder. More airflow through the first exhaust duct will lead to the pressure distribution of the first exhaust duct (that is, the C-G and D-H surface) moving towards the direction of the high pressure, and thus lead to the pressure distribution of the C-D surface moving towards the direction of high pressure. The above-mentioned factors will weaken the pressure which the vehicle bears. In order to solve this problem, the implementation scheme is adopted to adjust the height of the second exhaust duct. We use the pressure sensors to detect the pressure changes in the hollow cylinder and the exhaust duct in real-time, and adjust the height of the second exhaust duct according to the pressure change.
[0051] Three pressure sensors are used to detect the pressure of three positions respectively as shown in
Embodiment 4
[0052] According to
[0053] In this embodiment, the lower end face of the hollow cylinder facing the wall is provided with a soft pad. The soft pad is made of a soft material, with one end of the soft material fixed on the hollow cylinder, and the other end in contact with the wall. For example, the soft pad may be a bristle strip, with one end of the bristle strip stuck on the hollow cylinder, and the other end in contact with the wall. Even if the wall is not flat, the bristle strip can stay close to the wall, so that no gap exists between the wall and the bristle strip. On the one hand, because the bristle strip is soft, it will not affect the movement of the vehicle on the wall. On the other hand, a very large flow resistance is formed between the bristle strip and the hollow cylinder. Although the bristle strip itself also has gaps, it is enough to block the air inside the hollow cylinder from being exhausted from the second exhaust duct. The reason is that when the height of the exhaust duct is set to the appropriate value, the pressure is very close to the atmospheric pressure, i.e., there is no great difference between the pressure inside the exhaust duct and the external environment pressure. Thus, the flow resistance caused by the bristle strip is enough to block the air inside the hollow cylinder from being exhausted from the second exhaust duct, so almost all the air will be exhausted from the flat first exhaust duct.
[0054] When the wall which the robot vehicle climbs is not flat, if there is no said soft pad, air will be exhausted from the second exhaust duct between the hollow cylinder and the wall, and the uneven wall will make the flow of air in the exhaust duct disordered. The disorder flow can produce a high pressure distribution in the second exhaust duct and the high pressure distribution may be asymmetric in the circumferential direction. This high pressure distribution in the second exhaust duct not only exerts a repulsive force on the hollow cylinder, but also makes the pressure distribution in the hollow cylinder moving towards the direction of the high pressure. These will weaken the pressure which the vehicle bears and is not conducive for the vehicle to be attached to the wall. After setting up a soft pad (such as a bristle strip), the soft pad is always attached to the wall, so it can form a very large flow resistance between the hollow cylinder and the wall; the flow resistance can prevent the air from being exhausted through the second exhaust duct. A soft pad can bring the following benefits:
[0055] (1) because of the blockage of the airflow in the second exhaust duct, the disorder flow of the second exhaust duct is eliminated, and the influence of the uneven wall on the rotation of the hollow cylinder is inhibited maximally;
[0056] (2) the space between the chassis of a robot vehicle (i.e., the lower end face of the adsorption mechanism) and the wall should be as great as possible. The greater the space, the bigger barrier the robot vehicle will be able to cross. For example, as shown in
[0057] The soft pad blocks the air inside the hollow cylinder from being exhausted from the second exhaust duct, so almost all the air will be exhausted from the flat first exhaust port. We need to adjust the height of the first exhaust duct to ensure that the pressure of the C-D surface is at the lowest level, and thus ensure that the pressure which the vehicle bears is at or near the maximum value.
Embodiment 5
[0058] According to
[0059] In this embodiment, the purpose of setting the third exhaust duct is to reduce the pressure on the A-B surface and the E-F surface (the B-B′ and E-E′ surface as shown in figure) where the soft pad does not cover. Here is a detailed explanation.
[0060] In order to achieve a good sealing effect, the soft pad is usually arranged in the periphery of the lower end face of the annular baffle. A gap will exist between the annular baffle and the wall where the soft pad doesn't cover (the BB′ and EE′ surface as shown in figures). This gap will lead to the formation of a high pressure distribution for the reason that the air will be thrown to the outer periphery by the centrifugal force of the rotating flow; if there is no exhaust duct in the periphery, high pressure will be formed. According to this theory and experimental verification, after the soft pad is used to block the flow of air in the second exhaust duct between the lower end face of the annular baffle and the wall, the pressure distribution of the B-B′ and E-E′ surface is moved towards the direction of the high pressure, as shown in
[0061] Further, according to the pressure of each surface, the height of the third exhaust duct is designed to be automatically adjusted to ensure that the pressure which the vehicle bears is at or near the maximum value.
[0062] According to
[0063] In order to solve the above problems, we use a fuel engine to solve the problem of high pressure gas supply. The fuel engine produces a high pressure air flow by means of the explosion of fuel (e.g., gasoline, diesel, etc.). A small turbojet engine 411 is used to replace the high pressure gas source in
[0064] The embodiments described in this specification are cases of work under atmospheric conditions. The climbing robot vehicle can also work in a liquid environment, for example, the climbing robot vehicle of the invention can work in deep sea. When working in the liquid environment, we can use a pump to supply high pressure water flow to the tangential nozzle, and the water flows from the nozzle and rotates in the hollow cylinder. The principle of generating the pressure is the same as that of embodiments 1-5. Here, high pressure gas source and high pressure liquid source are collectively referred to as high pressure fluid source.
[0065] In order to increase the pressure, the number of the adsorption mechanism(s) is not limited to one, but also may be plural.
[0066] The contents which the embodiments of this specification represent are merely a list of the realization forms of the invention. The protecting scope of the invention should not be seen as being limited to specific forms which the embodiments represent, and the protecting scope of the invention are also involved in equivalent technical means which those skilled in the art can conceive according to the concepts of the invention.