JPH071359Y2 - Unmanned underwater cleaning machine - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Industrial field of application] The present invention relates to an unmanned underwater cleaning machine for underwater structural members and the like.

[Conventional technology]

For example, a steel pipe pedestal of a huge offshore structure that stands up on the seabed has its thickness reduced due to corrosion, so it is necessary to regularly check this for safety. As shown in the perspective view, a diver dives or an underwater uncentered cleaner as described below is attached to the pedestal and remotely controlled via an umbilical cable, but the former is inefficient and the work Is accompanied by danger.

As the latter device, as shown in the plan view of FIG. 10, the unmanned aerial vehicle body 01 is provided with a pair of left and right gripping arms 08, 08 in a protruding manner, and hydraulic cylinders 09 attached to the ends of the gripping arms 08 and facing each other are provided.
The unmanned aerial vehicle body 01 is attached to the pedestal 07 to be cleaned via the abutting member 010, and the brush rotator 04 for rotating the press 06 is pressed against the pedestal 07 via the hydraulic cylinder 05 for cleaning. Here, in order to change the cleaning position, the hydraulic cylinder 09 is loosened and the front and rear thrusters 02 and / or the vertical thrusters 03 are operated to appropriately move the unmanned aerial vehicle body.

[Problems to be solved by the device]

However, in such a means, the cleaning position of the object to be cleaned is changed one after another, and the releasing and fixing of the grip is repeatedly performed each time, but the thickness of the pedestal is large and small, and Due to the large number of irregularly attached marine organisms such as Fujitsubo, Serupura, and seaweed on the surface, the drones are large and uneven, so the drone can be securely and firmly positioned in the correct position relative to the pedestal. It's difficult to fix them along.

The present invention has been proposed in view of the above circumstances, and can securely and firmly fix pedestals of various outer diameters having large unevenness on the surface. The purpose is to provide a labor-saving unmanned underwater cleaning machine.

[Means for Solving the Problems]

To this end, the present invention supports an underwater television camera, a pair of left and right thrusters, a left and right thruster, and a vertical thruster supported by the object by holding the object through a pair of left and right gripping arms protruding at the front end. In the unmanned aerial vehicle which has a rotary scraper and which controls the driving through an umbilical cable, the unmanned aerial body is provided with the gripping arms protruding in parallel to the front end of the unmanned aerial body and left and right in synchronization with each other. A pair of left and right parallel gripping arms that expands and contracts the space by symmetrically moving in parallel, rubber bags that are respectively attached to the facing surfaces of the gripping arms and expand and contract by the supply and discharge of fluid pressure, and the rotary scraper. At the front end of the unmanned aerial vehicle body, the rotary scraper provided so as to be capable of advancing and retracting at the midpoint position of the base ends of the both gripping arms is provided. And butterflies.

[Action]

According to such a configuration, the gripping arm is expanded and contracted in parallel by the driving of the motor via the bevel gear mechanism to sandwich the pedestal.

By inflating the rubber bag attached to the facing surface of the gripping arm, the contact area of the gripping arm with the pedestal increases greatly, and drone regardless of the size of the pedestal outer diameter and the size of the irregularities due to adherents. The main body can firmly hold the pedestal.

Since the scraper is arranged at the front end of the drone body and at the midpoint position of the base ends of both gripping arms so that it can move forward and backward, the legs of the drone body can be grasped with both gripping arms gently holding the pedestal. It becomes possible to highly efficiently clean the surface of the pedestal over the entire circumference and the entire length by turning around the pillar and moving up and down along the pedestal.

〔Example〕

An embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 2 is a plan view of an embodiment in which the present invention is applied to cleaning and inspection of steel pipe pedestal of an offshore structure. FIG. 1 shows a state immediately before cleaning work, and FIG. 2 shows a state during cleaning work. Are shown respectively. FIG. 3 is a side view of FIG. 2, and FIG. 4 is IV-I of FIG.
View from the direction of arrow V, FIG. 5 is a partial front view of FIG. 3, and FIG.
VI-VI sectional view, FIG. 7, and FIG. 8 are plan views showing a state in which the large-diameter pedestal and the small-diameter pedestal are gripped in FIG. 2, respectively.

First, in FIGS. 1 to 4, 1 is a horizontally long rectangular cubical unmanned aerial vehicle body, 2a and 2b are bottom plates of the unmanned aerial vehicle body 1, front and rear thrusters attached to side plates, left and right thrusters, and 3 drives a bevel gear 4a. Motors, 5 and 7 are attached to the body of the drone, inner brackets for supporting the bevel gears 4b, 4c and bevel gear shafts 6, 6, outer brackets, 8 and 8 are screw rod-shaped bevel gear shafts 6 and 6 A pair of left and right parallel gripping arms, each having a female thread to be screwed on its inner end and projecting forward in parallel with each other. A rubber bag that expands when internal pressure is applied to the facing surfaces of the parallel gripping arms 8, 8. 10 are attached respectively, and guide rollers 8a for facilitating the insertion into the pedestals 9 are pivotally attached to the tips of the gripping arms 8.
11a and 11b are an air supply pipe and an exhaust pipe of the rubber bag 10, respectively.

Next, in FIGS. 5 and 6, 12 is an output shaft of the bevel gear 4c, and 13 is a rotary scraper, which is fixed to the front end of the hollow shaft of the hollow piston externally fitted to the output shaft 12. 14a, 14
b is a pair of left and right keys that are axially symmetrically projectingly provided on the outer periphery of the output shaft 12, and keys 14a and 14b are a pair of left and right axially long holes that are axially symmetrically formed in the hollow shaft of the hollow piston. It fits loosely in the keyway hole. 15 is a fluid pressure cylinder attached to the front plate of the bracket 5 and formed by incorporating the output shaft 12. Ports 18a and 18b are provided at the front and rear ends of the cylinder.
When fluid pressure is introduced to 8a, the hollow piston retracts from the chain line position to the solid line position, and the scraper 13
Moves backward by a set stroke, and when fluid pressure is introduced into the port 18b, the scraper 13 moves forward by the same stroke.

17a and 17b are bearing members at the front and rear ends of the fluid pressure cylinder, and O-rings 16a and 16b are provided on the bearing members 17a and 17b, respectively.
Is fitted. 26 is a plate thickness measuring instrument.

In such a structure, in order to grip the pedestal, as shown in FIG. 1, first use the drone to position the drone at a position where the pedestal 9 is inserted between the pair of left and right gripping arms 8,8. When the motor 3 is driven in the forward direction after being brought, the bevel gear shafts 6, 6 rotate in mutually opposite directions, and the gripping arms 8, 8 move in parallel to approach the pedestal 9.

When the gripping arms 8 and 8 approach each other, the scraper 13
Since it is driven by the bevel gear 4c, advancing the scraper 13 by urging the fluid pressure cylinder 15 can scrape off the deposits on the surface of the pedestal.

Here, when the gripping arms 8 and 8 pinch the pedestal 9, the motor 3 is stopped due to an overload, and accordingly, the rotation of the scraper 13 is also stopped. As will be described later, it is possible to detect an excessive current when the motor 3 is stopped due to overload and cut off the current to the motor 3 via a relay, or to automatically reverse the motor 3 if necessary. .

When air is supplied from the air supply pipe 11a to the rubber bags 10 and 10 after the motor is stopped, the rubber bags 10 and 10 are inflated as shown in FIG. 2, so that the gripping arms 8 and 8 firmly grip the pedestal. by doing,
Since the main body of the unmanned aerial vehicle is reliably supported by the pedestal, the thickness of the pedestal can be measured by using the thickness measuring device 26 in this state.

When the plate thickness measurement work is completed, the air in the rubber bags 10 and 10 is exhausted through the exhaust pipe 11b, the motor 3 is reversed, and the gripping arms 8 and 8 are slightly opened via the bevel gears 4a and 4b.
Since the gripping force of the gripping arm is lost, the drone is free, so it is possible to swing around the pedestal and move up and down along the pedestal using thrusters, as described below.
By repeating the forward and reverse rotation of the motor, the outer surface of the pedestal can be completely cleaned with a scraper. The forward and reverse operation of the motor during the cleaning work can be controlled not only by overcurrent but also by the stroke of the scraper.

According to such a gripping arm and scraper, the following effects can be obtained.

(1) Since the gripping arm expands and contracts in parallel movement, in the case of a large diameter pedestal, as shown in FIG.
As shown in the figure, this can be gripped regardless of the size of the outer diameter.

(2) Since the contact area with the pedestal becomes large due to the cooperative action of the gripping arm and the rubber bag, there is no influence of unevenness due to the adhered substances on the surface of the pedestal, and the pedestal is quickly and firmly gripped and released. You can

(3) When the pedestal is gripped by the gripping arms, the scraper cooperates with both gripping arms to grip the pedestal in a stable state in three-point support.

(4) The rotation of the scraper is performed in conjunction with the expansion and contraction of the gripping arm, so except when the gripping arm grips the pedestal, that is, while the drone has the degree of freedom of turning and lifting with respect to the pedestal. Since the scraper rotates, the scraper can be freely moved forward and backward by the bias of the fluid pressure cylinder, which enables quick cleaning of the entire length of the pedestal.

One embodiment of the cleaning and plate thickness measuring work by such an unmanned machine is performed as follows.

(1) First, using the front and rear thrusters 2a, the left and right thrusters 2b, and the vertical thrusters, hold the drone body 1 at a position where the pedestal 9 is inserted between the parallel gripping arms 8 and 8 as shown in FIG. cause. This state is monitored by a television via an umbilical cable at the offshore control center, and it is confirmed that the centerline of the drone body overlaps with that of the pedestal.

(2) In this state, the pressure fluid is supplied to the fluid pressure cylinder 15 to advance the scraper 13.

(3) If the motor 3 is driven here, the bevel gears 4a, 4a
b and 4c rotate, and the gripping arms 8 and 8 approach each other to sandwich the pedestal 9, while the bevel gear 4c rotates, and the scraper 13
Rotates and scrapes off the deposits on the surface of the pedestal.

Since the scraper and the gripping arm are interlocked, when the gripping arm goes across the pedestal, the motor stops, and therefore the scraper also stops, but the motor reverses immediately, so the scraper also reverses and the gripping arm begins to open, When it reaches the fully open position,
The motor stops and reverses due to the action of a limit switch (not shown), so the gripping arm repeats the action of starting to close again, during which the drone body turns and ascends and descends, and the scraper repeats forward and reverse. Return and clean.

(4) When the cleaning work is completed, the drone moves to the next cleaning surface by the thruster.

(5) After the movement, the drone does not always come to the position where it overlaps with the center line of the pedestal, but since the rotating force of the gripping arm is larger than the force by the thruster, it does not contact the pedestal. Since the drone rotates about its gripping arm, the drone eventually comes to a position where it overlaps with the center of the pedestal.

(6) When air is supplied to the rubber bag of the gripping arm after stopping, the air expands and the gripping area increases, so the drone firmly and reliably holds the pedestal and performs the plate thickness measurement work in a stable state. .

(7) After the measurement work is completed, the air in the rubber bag is discharged.

(8) Reverse the motor to open the gripping arm and use the thruster to move to the next thickness measurement point.

[Effect of device]

In short, according to the present invention, by holding an object through a pair of left and right gripping arms protruding at the front end, the object is supported by the same object, and an underwater television camera, a pair of left and right thrusters, a left and right thruster and a vertical thruster are supported. In an unmanned aerial vehicle that has a thruster and a rotary scraper and cleans an object by driving and controlling it through an umbilical cable, the gripping arms project in parallel with the front end of the unmanned aerial body and are synchronized with each other. A pair of left and right parallel gripping arms for expanding and contracting the space by symmetrically moving in parallel, a rubber bag attached to each of the facing surfaces of the gripping arms and expanding and contracting by supplying and discharging a fluid pressure, and the rotary scraper. As a front end of the unmanned aerial vehicle and a rotary scraper projecting forwardly and backwardly at the midpoint position of the base ends of both gripping arms. With this, it is possible to securely and firmly fix even the pedestal of various outer diameters with large unevenness on the surface, and to obtain a labor-saving and labor-saving unmanned underwater cleaning machine that cleans the pedestal over the entire surface. The device is extremely useful in industry.

[Brief description of drawings]

1 and 2 are plan views of an embodiment in which the present invention is applied to the cleaning and inspection of steel pipe stanchions of marine structures. FIG. 1 is a state immediately before cleaning work, and FIG. 2 is a cleaning work. The inside states are shown. 3 is a side view of FIG. 2, FIG. 4 is a view of FIG. 3 taken along the line IV-IV, FIG. 5 is a partial front view of FIG. 3, and FIG. 6 is a cross section taken along line VI-VI of FIG. FIG. 7, FIG. 8 and FIG. 8 are plan views showing a state in which the large diameter pedestal and the small diameter pedestal are gripped in FIG. 2, respectively. FIG. 9 is an explanatory view showing a conventional cleaning procedure for a pillar of a marine structure, and FIG. 10 is a plan view showing a known unmanned cleaning machine. 1 …… Unmanned aerial vehicle, 2a …… Front and rear thrusters, 2b …… Left and right thrusters, 3 …… Motor, 4a, 4b, 4c …… Bevel gear, 5 …… Bracket, 6 …… Bevel gear shaft, 7 …… Bracket, 8 , 8 …… Parallel gripping arm, 9 …… Pedicle, 9c …… Large diameter pedestal, 9a …… Small diameter pedestal, 10 …… Rubber bag, 11a …… Air supply pipe, 11b …… Exhaust pipe, 12 …… Output shaft, 13 …… Rotary scraper, 14a, 14b …… Key, 15 …… Fluid pressure cylinder, 16a, 16b …… O ring, 17a, 17b …… Bearing member, 18a,
18b ... Port, 26 ... Plate thickness measuring instrument.

 ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of front page (72) Masanori Tajima 1-11-25 Higashiooi, Shinagawa-ku, Tokyo Goyo Construction Co., Ltd. Technical Research Laboratory (56) Reference JP-A-48-74002 (JP, A) JP 62-299492 (JP, A)

Claims (1)

[Scope of utility model registration request] 1. An underwater television camera, a pair of left and right thrusters, a left and right thruster, and a vertical thruster which are supported by the object by holding the object through a pair of right and left gripping arms protruding at the front end. In addition to having a rotary scraper, in an unmanned aerial vehicle that cleans an object by controlling the drive through an umbilical cable,
The pair of left and right parallel gripping arms, which are projected parallel to the front end of the unmanned aerial vehicle as the gripping arms, are moved in parallel symmetrically in parallel with each other so as to expand or contract the interval, and the facing surfaces of the gripping arms. Rubber bags that are respectively attached and inflated and contracted by the supply and discharge of fluid pressure, and as the rotary scraper, projecting forward and backward at the front end of the unmanned aerial vehicle main body and at the midpoint position of the proximal ends of both gripping arms. An unmanned underwater cleaner equipped with a rotating scraper.