KR101999901B1 - Module type pipe robot - Google Patents

Abstract

A modular plumbing robot according to an embodiment of the present invention includes an image capturing module; A traction module coupled to the image capture module for pitching and rolling rotation and providing traction for movement; A non-destructive flaw detection module connected to the traction module by a plurality of pitching and a plurality of rolling rotatable non-destructive flaw detection modules; A rotating joint configured to allow pitching and rolling rotation; And a dual joint in which a rotating joint is connected to allow a plurality of pitching and a plurality of rolling rotations. According to an embodiment of the present invention, it is possible to provide a modular piping robot that is modularly provided so that the refractive index can be adjusted according to the shape of the piping, thereby facilitating the separation and assembly.

Description

[0001] MODULE TYPE PIPE ROBOT [0002]

The present invention relates to a modular piping robot, and more particularly, to a modular piping robot capable of inspecting a piping while moving inside.

The piping provides an enclosed passage for fluid or powder movement. Such pipes may be buried underground and installed in a variety of plants or buildings and facilities for the production of plants, liquid and powder products.

The problems of piping installed in plants, factories, buildings and facilities can be mostly solved by inspection from the outside.

Most pipelines buried underground are power lines, gas or oil, or drinking water and sewage channels. These pipes are installed and managed automatically by sections. If there is a problem with the piping, the inspection is performed through the access point for each section connected to the ground to solve the problem.

Underground buried piping is not easy to inspect for each section, and there are cases where it is difficult to find the problem area by inspecting from the outside. In this case, the operator may go in and out according to the diameter of the pipe to find and solve the problem.

However, in the case of pipelines with an environment where workers are difficult to enter and pipelines where management control is not performed by sections, a piping robot must be inserted to perform inspection and find appropriate means to solve the problem.

Japanese Patent Registration No. 10-1486019 discloses an unvibrable piping robot equipped with an in-wheel motor. The above-mentioned piping robot has a simple structure in which the motor itself is provided in the wheel itself for traction driving, so that it is not necessary to construct the power transmission part inside the arm of the driving wheel.

The above-described pipe flaw inspection robot is configured to make the wheel and the motor for driving compact in size, but is configured to allow one rolling rotation and one pitch rotation in the joint part in the refraction structure for scanning the pipe.

Accordingly, there is a problem that the above-mentioned piping robot is not flexible in the joints between the modules and is difficult to move by being flexibly driven in various shapes of piping.

Most of the existing piping robots have the same joint structure as the above-mentioned piping robots, and thus have limitations in application to various shapes of piping.

An embodiment of the present invention is to provide a modular piping robot which is provided in a modular form and is easy to be separated and assembled so that the refractive index can be appropriately adjusted according to the shape of the piping.

An embodiment of the present invention is to provide a modular plumbing robot capable of imaging and examining a pipeline and inspecting it by non-destructive inspection.

A modular plumbing robot according to an embodiment of the present invention includes an image capturing module; A traction module connected to the image capturing module so as to be capable of pitching and rolling, and providing a traction force for movement; A non-destructive testing module connected to the traction module in a plurality of pitching and a plurality of rolling rotatably connected non-destructive testing; A rotating joint configured to allow said pitching and rolling rotations; And a dual joint in which the rotating joint is connected to allow the plurality of pitching and the plurality of rolling rotations.

The rotary joint includes: a joint member; A pitching portion connected to the joint member and configured to be driven to rotate in a pitching manner; And a rolling unit configured to be rotatably driven to rotate in the pitching unit.

In the dual joint, the joint members are disposed opposite to each other and integrally connected, and the pitching unit and the rolling unit may be located on both sides.

The traction module comprises a traction body in which the driving elements are disposed; And wheels that are paired before and after both sides of the pull body to be rotationally driven by the drive elements of the pull body.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a modular piping robot including: an image capturing module disposed at front and back positions, respectively; A plurality of traction modules connected to the image pickup module so as to be capable of pitching and rolling and providing traction for movement; A non-destructive testing module capable of performing a plurality of pitching and a plurality of rolling rotations and interconnecting a plurality of traction modules disposed in the center of the plurality of traction modules, ; A rotary joint connecting the image pickup module and the traction module and configured to perform the pitching and rolling rotations; And a dual joint configured by connecting the rotating joints to rotate the plurality of pitching and plural rolling rotations.

The plurality of traction modules and the non-destructive testing module may be detachably assembled and connected by the dual joint.

The above-described embodiment of the present invention can provide a modular piping robot that is provided in a modular form and is easy to be separated and assembled so that the refractive index can be appropriately adjusted according to the shape of the piping.

An embodiment of the present invention can provide a modular piping robot capable of imaging and examining a pipeline and inspecting and inspecting the pipeline non-destructively.

1 is a perspective view of a modular piping robot according to an embodiment of the present invention.
Fig. 2 is a conceptual diagram of a portion showing the degree of freedom of Fig. 1 of Fig. 2; Fig.
3 is a conceptual diagram of FIG.
Fig. 4 is a schematic view of another assembly of Fig. 1. Fig.
Fig. 5 is another assembled state diagram of Fig. 1. Fig.
Figure 6 is a perspective view of the dual joint of Figure 1;
Fig. 7 is a side view and a cross-sectional view of the joint member in the one rotating joint of Fig. 6; Fig.
8 is a side view and a cross-sectional view of both rotary joints in which the joint member is separated from the dual joint of FIG. 6;

Various embodiments of the present invention will now be described by way of specific embodiments illustrated in the accompanying drawings. The differences in the embodiments are to be understood as mutually exclusive matters, and the specific shapes, structures, and characteristics described in connection with one embodiment may be embodied in other embodiments without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention .

It is to be understood that the position or arrangement of the individual components in accordance with embodiments of the present invention may be varied and that like reference numerals may be used to indicate like or similar features throughout the various aspects, The form may be exaggerated for ease of explanation.

The direction and position of the drawing are described assuming an XYZ Cartesian coordinate system. The top, bottom, right and left coincide with the XY coordinate plane system, and the front, rear, left and right coincide with the YZ coordinate plane system. In the drawings of the embodiments, each of the elements for which the lower elements are not described are assumed to include typical lower elements for having respective assigned functions, and are not limited to the lower elements shown in the figures. It is to be understood that the components illustrated but not shown are included in the embodiments.

The terms used shall be understood to have the traditional meaning of Chinese characters, national language, or English, except those specifically defined, or to have attributes consistent with the terms used in the field. It is to be understood that "comprising, comprising, or having" means having more than one of the other components, "fixed and constrained" And can be moved by the user.

1 to 3, a modular piping robot according to an embodiment of the present invention includes an imaging module 100, a tow module 110, a non-destructive testing module 130, a rotary joint 140, And a dual joint 150 as main components.

The image capturing module 100 includes a camera for capturing an image for inspecting the inside of the pipe. The image capturing module 100 may be configured to capture and store an image, and to transmit the captured image to the outside.

The image capturing module 100 can transmit an image to the outside of the pipe through wired or wireless communication. A wired or wireless communication module is connected to the image capturing module 100.

The image capturing module 100 is configured to be capable of pitching and rolling rotation with respect to the connected tow module 110. The image capturing module 100 is configured to be watertight so as to prevent the penetration of liquid.

The tow module 110 is connected to the image pickup module 100 so as to be capable of pitching and rolling, and provides a pulling force for moving. These tow modules 110 may be connected to other modules and disposed more than one.

The traction module 110 includes a traction body 111 in which the driving elements are disposed and a pair of wheels 112 arranged in pairs on the front and rear sides of both sides of the traction body 111 to be rotationally driven by the driving elements of the traction body 111 ).

The pulling body 111 is a rectangular parallelepiped block shape in which the driving elements can be arranged, and lifting elements for moving the wheel 112 up and down are arranged inside and outside. The wheel 112 is configured to be movable up and down in the pulling main body 111 so as to be able to contact the inner wall of the pipe. These wheels 112 may be connected to motors and reduction gears for driving. The wheel 112 is disposed in a drive 115 connected to the lifting elements.

The lifting elements may be connected to a driving part 115 constituting a lifting part 120 and having a wheel 112 to move the wheel 112 toward the inner wall of the pipe and may be folded toward the pulling body 111 again.

The nondestructive inspection module 130 is primarily disposed between the tow modules 110 and is generally centrally located in the robot.

The non-destructive inspection module 130 is connected to the traction module 110 in a plurality of pitching and plural rolling rotatable manner, and is implemented so as to enable non-destructive inspection. The non-destructive exploration module 130 may include elements for ultrasound exploration as well as spatio-temporal exploration.

Referring to Figures 2, 3 and 6-8, the rotating joint 140 is configured to allow pitching and rolling rotation. The image capturing module 100 is connected to the draw module 110 by a rotary joint 140. Accordingly, the image capturing module 100 can be rotated and pitch with respect to the pull module 110. [

The pitching rotation is based on the axis intersecting the axis along the longitudinal direction of the robot. The rolling rotation is to rotate about an axis along the longitudinal direction.

This rotary joint 140 may include a rotating bearing structure for allowing pitching and rolling rotation with the driving elements and rotation. Pitching and rolling are driven by respective motors. A plurality of motors for pitching and rolling can be spaced apart from each other in the rotary joint 140.

The rotary joint 140 includes a pitching unit 135 configured to connect the joint member 131 and the joint member 131 and to be driven to rotate in a pitching manner and a rolling unit 140 configured to be driven to rotate in a rolling manner in the pitching unit 135 can do.

A pitching motor 151 for pitching and gear elements and a pitching shaft 152 and a pitching bearing 153 are incorporated in the pitching section 135. The rolling section 140 is provided with a rolling motor 161 for rolling, Elements, a rolling axis 161 and a rolling bearing 162 may be embedded.

The pitching unit 135 is connected to the image taking module 100 by the joint member 131 and is pitchably connected to the rolling unit 140. [ The pitching unit 135 is assembled to the imaging module 100, and the rolling unit 140 is assembled to the towing module 110. The pitching unit 135 can be simply detached from the imaging module 100 and the rolling unit 140 can also be simply detached from the towing module 110.

The rolling part 140 is provided with an assembling part 145 to be assembled to the image capturing module 100 and the assembling part 145 may be provided to the pitching part 135. [ The assembly portion 145 is configured as a structure capable of being detachably assembled to a corresponding portion.

In this way, the rotary joint 140 not only can easily connect the imaging module 100 and the traction module 110, but also can be easily separated. Accordingly, the modular piping robot according to an embodiment of the present invention is easy to assemble and disassemble, and provides flexibility to appropriately assemble and use the respective modules according to the situation.

Referring to FIGS. 6-8, the dual joint 150 connects the traction module 110 and the non-destructive testing module 130 or interconnects the traction modules 110. The dual joint 150 is constructed such that a pair of rotary joints 140 are connected to allow a plurality of pitching and a plurality of rolling rotations on both sides.

The dual joint 150 allows for pitching and rolling of the modules to which both pitching and rolling rotations are driven by themselves to be connected. The dual joint 150 has a structure in which the rolling joint 140 and the pitching part 135 are formed on both sides of the rotary joint 140, and the rolling joint 140 and the pitching part 135 are formed on both sides.

In the dual joint 150, the pair of joint members 131 are mutually oppositely disposed and integrally connected, and the pitching portion 135 and the rolling portion 140 can be positioned on both sides. The dual joint 150 is detachably assembled to the traction module 110 by the assembly 145.

One tow module 110 and another tow module 110 connected by a dual joint 150 are capable of pitching and rolling in opposite directions at both ends of the dual joint 150.

The dual joint 150 can also interconnect the traction module 110 and the non-destructive testing module 130. Accordingly, the traction module 110 disposed on both sides of the non-destructive testing module 130 is capable of relative pitching and rolling rotations while being connected to the dual joint 150 with respect to the non-destructive testing module 130. Likewise, the non-destructive testing module 130 is also capable of relative pitching and rolling rotations to the traction module 110.

The modular piping robot according to an embodiment of the present invention configured as described above is provided with a modular refractive index adjustable by a rotary joint 140 and a dual joint 150 according to the shape of a pipe, It is easy to separate and assemble, and the combination of the modules is advantageous in various aspects.

In addition, the modular piping robot according to an embodiment of the present invention can image and inspect piping by the imaging module 100 that is driven by rolling and pitching as described above, and the non-destructive inspection module 130 can detect non- It can be inspected and inspected.

In the above description, a plurality of traction robots are disposed on both sides of the nondestructive inspection module 130 at the center, and a simple piping robot structure in which both the image capturing modules 100 are disposed at both ends or only one is disposed. In this regard, the towing modules 110 provide increased traction as the number of towing modules 110 increases, and the driving distance can be extended with an increase in the number of available batteries.

Hereinafter, a modular piping robot according to another embodiment of the present invention, which assumes that tow modules 110 are connected to both sides of the non-destructive testing module 130, will be described.

Referring to FIGS. 4 and 6 to 8, the modular piping robot according to another embodiment of the present invention includes an image capturing module 100, an image capturing module 100, a pitching and rolling rotation And a non-destructive testing module 130 (not shown) disposed in the center of the traction modules 110 and capable of a plurality of pitching and a plurality of rolling rotatably connected non-destructive testing, A rotating joint 140 configured to couple the image capturing module 100 and the traction module 110 and to perform pitching and rolling rotations, a dual joint 140 configured to connect a plurality of pitching and rotating joints 140 for rotation 150).

The modular plumbing robot according to another embodiment of the present invention is configured such that the structure of the imaging module 100, the traction module 110, the non-destructive testing module 130, the rotating joint 140, and the dual joint 150 Is the same as described above.

In another embodiment of the present invention, the traction module 110 and the non-destructive testing module 130 are detachably assembled and connected by a dual joint 150.

The modular plumbing robot according to another embodiment includes a backward and forward imaging module 100 and a non-destructive testing module 130 disposed at the center of the traction modules 110. The dual joint 150 is connected to the traction module 110, So that a pipe having a relatively small refractive index can be smoothly passed through the pipe.

The modular piping robot according to another embodiment of the present invention is constructed by assembling modules relatively simply. The inside of the piping can be photographed and sent out by the front and rear image capturing module 100, So that it is easy to assemble and separate, and modules can be appropriately added or omitted according to the inspection environment.

As described above, the modular piping robot according to another embodiment easily assembles and separates the rotary joint 140 connecting the modules for inspection and the dual joint 150 connecting the modules together, The number of placement of the traction modules 110, the imaging module 100, and the non-destructive testing module 130 can be easily controlled.

Referring to FIG. 5, a modular plumbing robot is shown in which the image capturing module 100 is assembled on one side and the image capturing module 100 is omitted on the other side. The imaging module 100, the traction module 110, and the non-destructive inspection module 130 are the same.

While the present invention has been particularly shown and described with reference to exemplary embodiments thereof, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes and modifications may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims. Deletion, addition or the like of the present invention may be variously modified and changed within the scope of the present invention.

100: image capturing module 110: pull module
111: tow body 112: wheel
115: driving part 120: lifting part
130: Nondestructive testing module 140: Rotary joint
141: joint member 145: pitching part
146: Rolling part 147: Assembly part
150: Dual joint 151: Pitching motor
152: Pitching axis 153: Pitching bearing
161: Rolling motor 161: Rolling axis
162: Rolling bearing

Claims (6)

Image capture module;
A traction module connected to the image capturing module so as to be capable of pitching and rolling, and providing a traction force for movement;
A non-destructive testing module connected to the traction module in a plurality of pitching and a plurality of rolling rotatably connected non-destructive testing;
A rotating joint configured to allow said pitching and rolling rotations; And
And a dual joint in which the rotating joint is connected to allow the plurality of pitching and the plurality of rolling rotations,
The rotary joint includes:
Joint member;
A pitching portion connected to the joint member and configured to be driven to rotate in a pitching manner; And
And a rolling unit configured to be rolled and driven to rotate on the pitching unit,
Wherein the dual joint is integrally connected with the joint members disposed opposite to each other, wherein the pitching portion and the rolling portion are located on both sides,
The towing module comprises:
A traction body in which the driving elements are disposed; And
And wheels paired in front and rear of both sides of the pull body to be rotationally driven by the driving elements of the pull body,
Wherein the pitching portion and the rolling portion of the dual joint are rotatable within the pipe,
Wherein the pitching rotation of the pitching portion of the dual joint rotates about an axis intersecting the axis along the longitudinal direction,
Wherein the rolling rotation of the rolling part of the dual joint rotates about an axis along the longitudinal direction. delete delete delete A video image pickup module disposed at front and back positions, respectively;
A plurality of traction modules connected to the image pickup module so as to be capable of pitching and rolling and providing traction for movement;
A non-destructive testing module capable of performing a plurality of pitching and a plurality of rolling rotations and interconnecting a plurality of traction modules disposed in the center of the plurality of traction modules, ;
A rotary joint connecting the image pickup module and the traction module and configured to perform the pitching and rolling rotations; And
And a dual joint in which the rotating joint is connected to rotate the plurality of pitching and the plurality of rolling rotations,
The rotary joint includes:
Joint member;
A pitching portion connected to the joint member and configured to be driven to rotate in a pitching manner; And
And a rolling unit configured to be rolled and driven to rotate on the pitching unit,
Wherein the dual joint is integrally connected with the joint members disposed opposite to each other, wherein the pitching portion and the rolling portion are located on both sides,
The towing module comprises:
A traction body in which the driving elements are disposed; And
And wheels paired in front and rear of both sides of the pull body to be rotationally driven by the driving elements of the pull body,
Wherein the plurality of traction modules and the non-destructive testing module are detachably assembled and connected by the dual joint,
Wherein the pitching portion and the rolling portion of the dual joint are rotatable within the pipe,
Wherein the pitching rotation of the pitching portion of the dual joint rotates about an axis intersecting the axis along the longitudinal direction,
Wherein the rolling rotation of the rolling part of the dual joint rotates about an axis along the longitudinal direction.
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