JP6667566B2 - Wall inspection equipment - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a wall surface inspection device that inspects a wall surface of a structure such as a building or a tunnel using an unmanned aerial vehicle such as a drone.

  Patent Literature 1 discloses a system for inspecting a state of a green plant planted on a wall of a building using an unmanned aerial vehicle such as a drone. This inspection system is to remotely control an unmanned aerial vehicle wirelessly and to fly along the wall surface of a building, and to image a green plant on the wall surface with a camera to observe the state of the plant.

  However, this conventional inspection system only inspects greening plants planted on the wall surface, and cannot inspect the state of the wall surface itself of the building. On the other hand, when inspecting the condition of the wall surface, it is necessary to keep a certain distance from the wall surface. Patent Documents 2 and 3 disclose techniques as conventional techniques for adjusting the distance between the unmanned aerial vehicle and the wall surface.

  The technology described in Patent Document 2 irradiates light to a wall surface from an unmanned aerial vehicle, obtains an image by an imaging device mounted on the unmanned aerial vehicle, measures a positional relationship with the wall surface based on the image, and sets an interval. It is to adjust. The technology described in Patent Literature 3 is to mount a distance measuring device on an unmanned aerial vehicle and automatically measure an interval with a wall surface to adjust the interval.

JP-A-2017-108656 JP 2017-224123 A JP 2014-227166 A

  However, the techniques described in Patent Literatures 2 and 3 require analysis of an optical image, analysis of data of a distance measuring device, and control based on this analysis, and require a high level of specialized technology. . Further, a device for analysis and an operating device that operates based on the analysis are required, and there is a problem that the structure is complicated and expensive. Further, the techniques of Patent Literatures 2 and 3 only adjust the distance from the wall, and cannot inspect the wall itself as in Patent Literature 1.

  The present invention has been made in consideration of the above-described problems of the related art, and can maintain the space between the unmanned aerial vehicle and the wall with a simple structure and perform the wall inspection with high accuracy. It is an object to provide a simple wall inspection device.

The wall surface inspection apparatus of the present invention is an unmanned aerial vehicle whose flight is remotely controlled by radio, and an inspection unit attached to the unmanned aerial vehicle and inspecting a state of a wall surface of a structure at a flight position of the unmanned aerial vehicle, It is attached to the unmanned aerial vehicle or the inspection means and rolls on the wall of the structure, and travels along with the flight of the unmanned aerial vehicle in the rolling contact state with the wall to keep the space between the unmanned aerial vehicle and the wall constant A traveling wheel that keeps running, wherein the inspection means extends in the direction of the wall surface and comes into contact with the wall surface, and a sound sensor that detects the state of the wall surface based on a sound or vibration based on a signal due to the contact of the percussion rod. Or a vibration sensor, and the traveling wheel includes a crank-shaped axle extending from a side surface of the unmanned aerial vehicle, and a rear end portion of the axle is inserted into a receiving mechanism of the unmanned aerial vehicle so that the center of the receiving mechanism is Rotatable The running wheels has become possible to change the vertical position relative to the unmanned air vehicle, the percussion rod can be changed vertical position in conjunction with the running wheels are connected to the receiving mechanism by which a characterized in that it has become.

The present invention is characterized in that a balance weight for maintaining a balance when the traveling wheels travel is attached to the unmanned aerial vehicle or the inspection means.
Further, the inspection means is a camera that captures an image of the wall surface.

  According to the present invention, the traveling of the traveling wheel is performed in a state of rolling contact with the wall surface, so that the space between the unmanned aerial vehicle and the wall surface can be reliably maintained with a simple structure. Since the distance between the unmanned aerial vehicle and the wall surface can be maintained in this way, the wall surface can be inspected with high accuracy by the inspection means attached to the unmanned aerial vehicle.

It is a perspective view showing the wall surface inspection state by one embodiment of the present invention. It is a top view showing a wall surface inspection device and a wall surface inspection state. It is a block diagram showing composition of operation of a wall surface inspection device. It is a side view which shows the inspection state of a tunnel wall surface.

  One embodiment of the present invention will be specifically described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an inspection state of a wall surface 8 of a building 7 by the wall inspection apparatus 1 of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a plan view showing details of the inspection state, FIG. 3 is a block diagram, and FIG. It is a side view of the state which inspects 8a.

  In the wall surface inspection device 1 of the present invention, the unmanned aerial vehicle 2 is used for inspection of the wall surface 8. As the unmanned aerial vehicle 2, a drone, a multicopter, a radio control helicopter, or the like can be selected. Hereinafter, the unmanned aerial vehicle 2 will be described as a drone 2.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the drone 2 includes a drone body 3 and a plurality (four) of propellers 4 attached to the drone body 3. The drone main body 3 stores a propeller motor for driving and controlling each propeller 4, a motor driver for driving the propeller motor, a communication device, and other devices necessary for flight (all are not shown).
The flight of the drone 2 is remotely controlled by wireless communication with a controller 5 such as a personal computer. The controller 5 controls the flight of the drone 2 and analyzes the state of the wall surface 8 by communicating with the inspection body 12 as described later.

  A traveling wheel 10, a balance weight 11, and an inspection body 12 are detachably attached to the drone body 3. The traveling wheels 10 and the balance weights 11 may be attached to the inspection body 12 without being attached to the drone body 3, and the inspection body 12 may be detachably attached to the drone body 3. By adopting a structure in which the traveling wheel 10 and the balance weight 11 are attached to the inspection main body 12 as described above, they can be attached to and detached from the drone main body 3 integrally with the inspection main body 12. Thus, there is an advantage that a commercially available drone can be used without modifying the drone 2.

The traveling wheel 10 is a wheel that rotates while rolling on the wall surface 8. The traveling wheel 10 has a crank-shaped axle 13 extending from the side surface of the drone body 3 toward the wall surface 8, and is attached to the tip of the axle 13 so as to be freely rotatable. The traveling wheel 10 travels while rotating in a state of rolling contact with the wall surface 8 as the drone 2 flies. When the traveling wheel 10 is in rolling contact with the wall surface 8, the distance between the drone 2 (that is, the inspection main body 12) and the wall surface 8 can be kept constant. This eliminates the need for an image pickup device or a distance measuring device for maintaining the distance from the wall surface 8, so that the distance from the wall surface 8 can be maintained with a simple structure. In addition, since the traveling wheel 10 is in contact with the wall surface 8 and the distance between the drone 2 (that is, the inspection main body 12) and the wall surface 8 can be reliably maintained, the inspection of the wall surface 8 by the inspection main body 12 can be performed with high accuracy. .
In the illustrated example, two traveling wheels 10 are provided so as to sandwich the drone 2, but the number thereof can be arbitrarily changed.

In this embodiment, the traveling wheel 10 can change the vertical position. For this reason, the rear end of the axle 13 inserted into the drone body 3 is attached to a receiving mechanism (not shown) such as a bearing or a gear, and the axle 13 can rotate around this receiving mechanism. . When the axle 13 rotates, the position of the traveling wheel 10 with respect to the drone body 3 can be changed in the up-down direction. Thus, not only the vertical wall 8 of the building 7 shown in FIG. 1 but also the arc-shaped wall 8a of the tunnel 9 as shown in FIG. You can run while running. Thus, the present invention can be applied not only to the wall surface 8 of a building but also to the wall surface 8a of a tunnel, the wall surface of another structure such as a bridge or a ceiling.
When the traveling wheel 10 is attached to the inspection main body 12 instead of the drone main body 3, the axle 13 is provided so as to extend from the inspection main body 12 in the direction of the wall surfaces 8 and 8 a, although not shown. By attaching the rear end to the receiving mechanism, the vertical position of the traveling wheel 10 can be changed.

The balance weight 11 is arranged on the opposite side of the traveling wheel 10. The balance weight 11 is attached to the drone body 3 by being attached to the rear end of a connecting rod 14 extending from the drone body 3 to the opposite side of the traveling wheel 10. The balance weight 11 functions so as to maintain a balance when the traveling wheel 10 travels at this position. As a result, the entire drone 2 can fly while maintaining a horizontal state, and the inspection of the wall surfaces 8 and 8a can be reliably performed.
The balance weight 11 can also be configured to be attached to the inspection body 12 without being attached to the drone body 3.

The inspection body 7 has various inspection means for inspecting the wall surface 8 of the building. The inspection means in this embodiment will be described.
A percussion rod 16 extending in the direction of the wall surfaces 8 and 8a is attached to the inspection main body 7. The tip of the percussion stick 16 is a spherical sensor ball 17, which contacts the wall surfaces 8, 8 a. A sound signal or a vibration signal is input to the percussion stick 16 by the contact of the sensor ball 17.

  A sound sensor 20 or a vibration sensor 21 (see FIG. 3) connected to the rear end of the percussion stick 16 is provided inside the inspection main body 7, based on the sound or vibration input to the percussion stick 16. The state of the wall surfaces 8 and 8a is detected. Thereby, for example, it is possible to know the voids generated in the wall surfaces 8, 8a and the floating state of the tiles or mortar attached to the wall surfaces 8, 8a. The sound sensor 20 and the vibration sensor 21 can be provided inside the sensor ball 17. At the time of detection, it is preferable to reduce the volume of the sound sensor 20 and the vibration sensor 21 in order to reduce wind noise and noise of the propeller 4.

  The percussion bar 16 can change its vertical position in conjunction with the traveling wheel 10. For this reason, the percussion bar 16 is connected to the above-described receiving mechanism to which the axle 13 of the traveling wheel 10 is attached, and the percussion bar 16 rotates around the receiving mechanism. By this rotation, the vertical position change of the percussion bar 16 can be linked with the vertical position change of the traveling wheel 10. By using such a percussion rod 16, for example, the arc-shaped wall 8a of the tunnel 9 shown in FIG.

  Here, the percussion rod 16 is preferably attached to the inspection main body 7 via a spring such as a coil spring. With the attachment via the spring, the impact due to the contact with the wall surfaces 8 and 8a of the sensor ball 17 can be reduced, so that a highly accurate inspection can be performed.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing the relationship between the inspection body 12 and the controller 5 for inspecting the wall surfaces 8 and 8a.
The inspection main body 12 has a communication unit 22, an illumination unit 23, a GPS unit 24, an altimeter 25, a marking unit 26, an inspection unit 27, and a control unit 28 for controlling them, and these are connected to be accessible by a bus 31. . The controller 5 has a communication unit 41, a monitor unit 42, a recording unit 43, an analysis unit 44, an operation unit 45, and a control unit 46 for controlling these, and these are connected to be accessible by a bus 47.

  The communication unit 22 of the inspection body 12 and the communication unit 41 of the controller 5 perform wireless signal access. The illumination unit 23 of the inspection main body 12 illuminates the wall surfaces 8 and 8a during the inspection. The GPS unit 24 detects the position of the inspection main body 12 (the position of the drone 2). Thereby, the flight position of the drone 2 at the time of inspection can be known, and the inspection position with respect to the wall surfaces 8 and 8a can be known. The altimeter 25 detects the altitude of the inspection body 12 (the altitude of the drone 2). Thereby, the height of the inspection position with respect to the wall surfaces 8 and 8a can be known. The marking unit 26 ejects ink to inspection positions on the wall surfaces 8 and 8a. As a result, the inspection position can be marked, and the defective portion can be easily recognized.

  The inspection means 27 of the inspection main body 12 includes a sound sensor 20, a vibration sensor 21, a camera 29, an infrared camera 30, and an X-ray camera 31. Each of the camera 29, the infrared camera 30, and the X-ray camera 31 captures an inspection position of the wall surface 8, 8a. Note that the inspection means 27 may not include all of them, but may include some of them depending on the purpose of inspection. It is also possible to provide other means.

  The monitor unit 42 of the controller 5 visually displays the images of the wall surfaces 8 and 8a. The recording unit 43 records the inspection result of the wall surfaces 8 and 8a in accordance with the inspection position. The analysis unit 44 analyzes the state of the wall surfaces 8 and 8a based on data and signals from the inspection unit 27. The operation unit 45 can control the flight of the drone 2. In addition, with respect to the flight of the drone 2, it is possible to automatically control the flight by programming an inspection map of the wall surfaces 8 and 8 a and inputting this to the operation unit 45.

  According to the wall surface inspection device 1 described above, the traveling of the traveling wheel 10 is performed in a state of rolling contact with the wall surfaces 8 and 8a, so that the space between the drone 2 and the wall surfaces 8 and 8a can be reliably maintained with a simple structure. it can. Since the space between the drone 2 and the wall surfaces 8 and 8a can be maintained in this way, the inspection of the wall surfaces 8 and 8a by the inspection means attached to the drone 2 can be performed with high accuracy. Further, it is not necessary to construct a scaffold for the inspection, so that the inspection of the wall surfaces 8 and 8a can be performed quickly, and the labor of the inspection can be saved.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Wall inspection apparatus 2 Drone 3 Drone main body 5 Controller 7 Building 8, 8a Wall 9 Tunnel 10 Running wheel 11 Balance weight 12 Inspection main body 13 Axle 16 Percussion stick 17 Sensor ball 20 Sound sensor 21 Vibration sensor 29 Camera

Claims (3)

An unmanned aerial vehicle whose flight is remotely controlled by radio,
Inspection means attached to the unmanned aerial vehicle, for inspecting the state of the wall surface of the structure at the flight position of the unmanned aerial vehicle,
The space between the unmanned aerial vehicle and the wall surface is constant by being attached to the unmanned aerial vehicle or the inspection means and rolling on the wall surface of the structure and traveling along with the flight of the unmanned aerial vehicle in the rolling contact state with the wall surface. Traveling wheels to keep the
The inspection means has a percussion stick extending in the direction of the wall surface and coming into contact with the wall surface, and a sound sensor or a vibration sensor for detecting a state of the wall surface based on a sound or vibration based on a signal due to the contact of the percussion stick,
The traveling wheel includes a crank-shaped axle extending from a side surface of the unmanned aerial vehicle, and a rear end of the axle is inserted into a receiving mechanism of the unmanned aerial vehicle and is rotatable around the receiving mechanism. The traveling wheel is capable of changing the vertical position with respect to the unmanned aerial vehicle,
The wall inspection device, wherein the percussion stick is connected to the receiving mechanism and can change its vertical position in conjunction with the traveling wheel . The wall surface inspection apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a balance weight for maintaining a balance when the traveling wheels travel is attached to the unmanned aerial vehicle or the inspection means. The wall inspection apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the inspection unit is a camera that captures an image of the wall.

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