JP6804313B2 - Flying work body and work system using it - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a flying work body that performs operations such as inspection, investigation, and repair while contacting and moving on the ceiling surface of a structure such as a sewage pipe, and a work system using the same.

Patent Document 1 and Non-Patent Document 1 are known as conventional techniques for a flying work body that performs inspection work while contacting and moving on a ceiling surface.

For example, in the scope of the patent claim of Patent Document 1 and FIG. 12, "an axle mounted so as to be perpendicular to the main traveling direction of the vehicle body and one propulsion unit arranged at the center of the vehicle body or A surface traveling with the wheels in an air vehicle including a plurality of propulsion units arranged symmetrically with respect to the main traveling direction and wheels that can rotate around the axle and wrap the vehicle body in three dimensions. "A flying object characterized in that the frictional force between the wheel and the surface is increased by increasing the contact area with the wheel or increasing the pressing force of the wheel on the surface" is disclosed.

Further, in Non-Patent Document 1, a strong gust of wind blows by self-propelling on a ceiling surface or a vertical surface while directly sticking to an inspection object by utilizing the negative pressure generated in the air intake port of a ducted fan whose propeller is covered with a duct. A self-propelled stick-on drone that can perform stable wall surface inspection even in a unique environment such as is disclosed, and as specifications related to self-propelling, "self-propelled wheels for sticking inspection x 6", "maximum speed" : 5km / h (self-propelled speed at the time of inspection) ".

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2016-120809

Prodrone Co., Ltd., "Development of self-propelled sticky drone" PD6-CI-L "that can inspect both ceiling surface and vertical wall surface", [online], September 7, 2016, Prodrone Co., Ltd. , [Search on October 26, 2016], Internet <URL: https://www.prodrone.jp/archives/1400/>

However, when the flying object of Patent Document 1 is moved in contact with the ceiling surface, the posture in the front-rear direction becomes unstable because the flying object is in contact with the ceiling surface only at one point of each of the left and right wheels, and is curved like a tunnel. When going straight on the ceiling surface, if it deviates from the straight direction even a little, the force directed in the circumferential direction of the curved ceiling surface acts on the wheels, so the flying object tends to meander left and right, making it difficult to go straight. ..

Further, the self-propelled sticking drone of Non-Patent Document 1 has a configuration in which inspection is performed with four drive wheels in contact with the ceiling or the wall surface among the six drive wheels, so that the contact movement is stable and stable. Although inspection can be realized, there is a problem that the total weight increases and the maximum payload decreases because it is necessary to provide self-propelled actuators for all the self-propelled wheels. Further, since the self-propelled actuator is constantly driven during the self-propelled inspection, there is a problem that the power consumption is significantly increased and the driving time of the drone is shortened. Further, since it is difficult to miniaturize with six fans and six self-propelled wheels, there is a problem that it is difficult to use it in a narrow space such as a sewage pipe where a manhole of about φ600 mm serves as an entrance / exit.

An object of the present invention is to provide a flight work body having a structure that can be easily miniaturized, which can stably contact and move the ceiling surface, and realize stable inspection, investigation, repair, and other work with energy efficiency.

In order to solve the above problems, the flying work body of the present invention is a flying work body that performs work by contacting and moving the ceiling surface, and is a ceiling surface contact unit provided with a contact portion that contacts the ceiling surface, and the ceiling. A flight unit provided below the surface contact unit and provided with a propulsion unit for flight is connected to the ceiling surface contact unit above and the flight unit below, and at least one axial direction or more of rotational freedom is provided. The contact portion of the ceiling surface contact unit is provided with a connecting portion having the same, and has a trolley structure using three or more wheels without a self-propelled actuator, and controls the direction of the axle of the wheels. A steering means for controlling the traveling direction when the ceiling surface is contacted and moved is provided , and the connecting portion is a rotating shaft composed of a fixing pin for connecting both units so as to be orthogonal to the main traveling direction of the ceiling surface contact unit. It was assumed that.

According to the flight work body of the present invention, stable contact movement and movement direction control can be performed without using a self-propelled actuator, so that the weight and energy consumption of the flight work body can be suppressed while being stable with respect to the ceiling surface and the like. Work such as inspection, investigation, and repair can be realized. Issues, configurations and effects other than those mentioned above will be clarified by the description of the following examples.

The schematic diagram of the inspection operation in the sewage pipe by the flight work body of Example 1. FIG. The side view of the flight work body of Example 1. Top view of the ceiling surface contact unit of the flight work body of the first embodiment. FIG. 5 is a side view showing a state in which the flight work body of the first embodiment touches and moves on the ceiling surface. The top view of the modification 1 of the ceiling surface contact unit of the flight work body of Example 1. The top view of the modification 2 of the ceiling surface contact unit of the flight work body of Example 1. The front view of the flight work body of the modification 3 using the wheel which has the same curved surface as the ceiling surface curvature. The front view of the flight work body of the modified example 3 which attached the camber angle to the wheel. The side view of the flight work body of Example 2. The side view of the modification of the flight work body of Example 2.

Hereinafter, examples of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

First, the outline of the inspection system 1 using the flight work body 10 of the first embodiment will be described with reference to the schematic diagram of FIG. Although FIG. 1 illustrates the inspection work of the flat ceiling surface of the sewage pipeline, the flight of the present invention is used for inspecting the ceiling surface of other structures such as rainwater storage pipes, utility tunnels, tunnels, and under bridges. A working body may be used. Further, the ceiling surface in the present invention is an upper surface inside the structure, and is a surface on which the gravity vector faces out of the surface. For example, in the case of a circular pipe such as a sewage pipeline, the ceiling surface is the entire upper half surface of the circular pipe above the plane perpendicular to the direction of gravity. Further, the shape of the ceiling surface is not limited to flat, and may include an inclined surface, a curved surface, an uneven surface, and a discontinuous surface. Further, a repair device used for repairing the ceiling surface or the like may be added to the flight work body.

As shown in FIG. 1, the inspection system 1 of this embodiment mainly includes a flight work body 10 and a controller 5. The flight work body 10 is a small one capable of passing through a manhole having a diameter of about 600 mm. The details of the configuration for realizing miniaturization will be described later. Further, the controller 5 is a display unit (monitor) that displays a communication antenna 7 for transmitting and receiving signals to and from the flight work body 10, an in-pipe image and environmental data from the flight work body 10 received via the communication antenna 7. 6), and the inspection worker can operate the flight work body 10 while looking at the monitor 6.

In order to inspect the sewage pipe 2 using this inspection system 1, for example, as shown by the black arrow in FIG. 1, the flight work body 10 is allowed to enter the sewage pipe 2 from the first manhole 3. It is conceivable to monitor (investigate) the inner wall of the sewage pipe 2 and the environment inside the sewage pipe 2 while moving the ceiling surface in contact with each other, and return to the ground through the second manhole 4. In this way, monitoring while moving the ceiling surface in contact is not only to prevent the flight work body 10 from being submerged in sewage, but also to suppress the instability of flight due to the wind generated by itself and to move stably. This is to enable monitoring inside.

In addition, as another route, as shown by the dotted arrow, the manhole 3 invades the sewage pipe 2, monitors (investigates) the desired range in the sewage pipe 2, and then turns back and the first manhole 3 You may use a route that returns to the ground through. In the case of this route, it is not necessary to open the lid of the second manhole 4, and the traffic regulation work on the second manhole 4 is omitted. Therefore, not only the traffic regulation can be minimized, but also the workload of the inspection worker Is reduced.

Note that FIG. 1 shows a case where the inspection worker remotely controls the flight work body 10 by the controller 5 via the communication antenna 7 lowered from the first manhole 3 into the sewage pipeline 2. A sensor that recognizes the surrounding environment may be mounted on the 10 so that the inspection work can be performed automatically even when there is no operation by the inspection worker. Further, in FIG. 1, regarding the contact movement, an example is shown in which the aircraft continuously contacts the ceiling surface and moves in the horizontal direction, but as a matter of course, the flying work object must always keep in contact with the ceiling surface. It's not like that. For example, when there are cracks or breaks on the ceiling surface, discontinuous surfaces or protrusions, it is effective to move the flying workpiece by intermittently repeating contact and non-contact in order to avoid contact with them.

Next, the flight work body 10 of the first embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 2 to 4. First, the basic configuration of the flight work body shown in FIG. 2 will be described. As shown here, the flight work body 10 is provided with a ceiling surface contact unit 11 for moving while contacting the ceiling surface, and a flight provided below the ceiling surface contact unit 11 and provided with a propulsion unit for flight. It is composed of a unit 12, and both are connected by a connecting portion 13 having at least one axial degree of freedom of rotation. With this configuration, the flight unit 12, which is normally kept substantially parallel to the ceiling surface contact unit 11, can be tilted forward or backward by an appropriate operation, so that the ceiling surface contact unit 11 is brought into contact with the ceiling surface. The flight work body 10 can be moved forward or backward while remaining.

In addition to the above-mentioned basic configuration, the flight work body 10 includes an illuminator 21 that illuminates the inside of the sewage pipeline 2 and a camera capable of capturing moving images and / or still images as equipment for inspecting the inside of the sewage pipeline 2. 22, a video transmitter 23 that transmits the captured image in real time to a monitor 6 that is confirmed by a worker on the ground, and an environment sensor 24 that measures the temperature, humidity, gas concentration, etc. in the sewage pipe 2 are installed. There is. Note that FIG. 2 illustrates a configuration in which the illuminator 21, the camera 22, the video transmitter 23, and the environment sensor 24 are provided on the ceiling surface contact unit 11, but some or all of them are provided on the flight unit 12. It may be provided as a configuration.

Next, the details of the ceiling surface contact unit 11 will be described with reference to the top view of FIG. The ceiling surface contact unit 11 is for realizing stable contact movement when the flight work body 10 comes into contact with the ceiling surface, and is formed on the chassis formed by the ceiling surface contact unit frame 15 and has two axles 31. It is a two-axle four-wheel chassis structure with wheels 14 attached. Since each of the wheels 14 is not provided with a self-propelled actuator, it does not correspond to the traveling direction control by the rotation control of the self-propelled actuator, but one of them is provided by the steering device including the servomotor 52 and the steering mechanism 30. It is possible to control the direction of the axle 31 of the vehicle and control the traveling direction. It is assumed that the servo motor 52, which is lighter than the self-propelled actuator and has a weight of about 20 g, is used. Further, unlike the self-propelled actuator that needs to be constantly driven, the servomotor 52 only needs to be driven when the traveling direction is changed. For these reasons, by using the steering device of this embodiment, both the total weight and the power consumption can be significantly suppressed as compared with the configuration using the self-propelled actuator.

In the ceiling surface contact unit 11 of FIG. 3, the center pivot type steering mechanism 30 is shown, but an Ackerman type link mechanism as used in a conventional automobile may be used. Further, the steering mechanism 30 may be provided on one of the front wheels and the rear wheels, but may be provided on both.

Next, the details of the flight unit 12 will be described with reference to the side view of FIG. The flight unit 12 is composed of a flight unit frame 18, a thrust unit including a propeller 16 and a motor 17, a flight control unit 19, and a power source 20 such as a battery. In this embodiment, a control method using a conventional multicopter type propulsion unit including four sets of propellers 16 and a motor 17 is adopted. That is, by changing the rotation speed of each propeller 16, the flight unit 12 itself can be tilted and moved back and forth, left and right, and up and down, and the acceleration of the IMU (Inertial Measurement Unit) sensor mounted on the flight control unit 19 , Angular velocity, and directional information are fed back to control the attitude in the air. If a sufficient flight thrust can be generated and the thrust direction can be arbitrarily controlled, a thrust generating unit having another configuration may be used.

Next, the details of the connecting portion 13 will be described with reference to the side view of FIG. In this embodiment, as the connecting portion 13 for connecting the ceiling surface contact unit 11 and the flight unit 12, a columnar fixing pin perpendicular to the main traveling direction (tube axis direction, left direction in FIG. 2) of the ceiling surface contact unit 11 32 are arranged so that both units are rotatably connected. With this configuration, as shown in FIG. 4, the flight unit 12 can be tilted back and forth with respect to the ceiling surface contact unit 11 with the fixing pin 32 as the rotation axis, so that the wheels 14 of the ceiling surface contact unit 11 can be tilted to the ceiling wall surface. While pressing against 40, the flight work body 10 can be stably moved by contact.

As described above, according to the inspection system 1 using the flight work body 10 of the present embodiment, stable contact movement and travel direction control can be performed without using a self-propelled actuator for the ceiling surface contact unit 11. Therefore, it is possible to realize stable inspection, investigation, repair, and the like on the ceiling surface and the like while suppressing the weight and energy consumption of the flight work body. In addition, since the configuration is easy to miniaturize, stable monitoring can be performed even in a narrow space such as a sewer pipe.
(Modification example 1)
Next, a modified example 1 of the flight working body 10 of the first embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. In FIG. 3, the steering mechanism 30 is used to control the traveling direction of the flight work body 10 in contact with the ceiling, but in this modified example, as an alternative configuration of the steering mechanism, the wheels 14 as shown in FIG. 5 are used. The brake pad 50 was attached to the servomotor 52 via the link mechanism 51. That is, what is used in this modification is a method in which the brake pad 50 is pressed against the wheels 14 by driving the servomotor 52 to cause a rotation difference between the left and right wheels 14 to control the traveling direction. Since it is not necessary to move the front wheel axle 31 significantly to the left and right as in the steering method, in addition to the effect of the first embodiment, it is possible to solve the problem of interference between the wheel movable part and the ceiling surface contact unit frame 15. Become.
(Modification 2)
Next, a modified example 1 of the flight working body 10 of the first embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. In the ceiling surface contact unit 11 of FIG. 3, a bogie structure of two axes and four wheels is shown as the ceiling surface contact portion, but the present invention is not necessarily limited to this. That is, the ceiling surface contact unit 11 may be a ceiling surface contact portion capable of forming three or more contact points that are not on the same straight line as a contact method for achieving stable contact movement of the ceiling surface. Like the ceiling surface contact unit 11 shown in FIG. 6, a two-axis, three-wheel trolley structure may be used. The number and types of contact points are not limited as long as they are 3 wheels (3 points) or more, but they are lightweight in order to allow a margin in the payload of the flight unit 12, that is, the number of wheels 14. Is preferably small. Further, wheels having different types and outer diameters may be combined according to the condition of the wall surface. The arrangement of each wheel 14 (contact point) is such that when the ceiling surface contact unit 11 comes into contact with the ceiling surface and moves, the left and right front and rear wobbles are suppressed, and the contact force is evenly applied to each contact point. It is desirable to arrange the contact points symmetrically with respect to the main traveling direction (tube axis direction) of the flight work body 10.
(Modification 3)
Next, a modified example of the ceiling surface contact unit 11 suitable for contact movement with a curved ceiling surface such as a tunnel will be described with reference to FIGS. 7 and 8. In the case of contact movement on a curved ceiling surface, the ceiling surface contact unit 11 of FIG. 3, which is provided with wheels having a normal shape assuming a flat ceiling surface, meanders because the contact between the arc-shaped contact surface such as a tunnel and the wheels becomes unstable. Is likely to occur, and it may be difficult to go straight.

Therefore, in the ceiling surface contact unit 11 of FIG. 7, in order to improve the straight running stability of the curved ceiling surface 60 in the pipe axis direction, the curvature of the curved ceiling surface wheel 61 when the ground contact surface is viewed from the front is set to the curved ceiling. By approximating the curvature of the surface 60, the curved ceiling surface 60 and the wheel 61 for the curved ceiling surface can be stably contacted. By using this configuration, even if the ratio of the load applied to the left and right wheels of the ceiling surface contact unit 11 changes due to the movement of the center of gravity of the flight work body 10, the curved ceiling surface 60 is contact-moved in the pipe axis direction. It is possible to suppress the rolling and meandering that occur at the time of, and to stabilize the traveling direction.

In the modified example of FIG. 7, since it is necessary to use the curved ceiling surface wheel 61 according to the shape of the curved ceiling surface 60, when monitoring the curved ceiling surface 60 having a different curvature, another curvature corresponding to the curved ceiling surface 60 is used. It may be replaced with the ceiling wheel 61.

Further, in the ceiling surface contact unit 11 of FIG. 8, the positive camber (corner) 62 can be adjusted so that the wheel 14 opens outward. By tilting the wheel 14 in the normal direction of the curved ceiling surface 60 in this way, the steering mechanism 30 of the ceiling surface contact unit 11 can be easily turned to the left or right when the curved ceiling surface 60 is contacted and moved in the pipe axis direction. , It has the effect of facilitating the correction of the traveling direction when the vehicle wants to go straight in the pipe axis direction. Instead of providing the positive camber (corner) 62, a toe (toe-in) angle or a caster angle may be provided as needed.

The connection portion 13 in the flight work body 10 of the second embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 9 and 10. It should be noted that the common points with the first embodiment are omitted.

In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 9, a connecting portion 13 composed of elastic bodies 70 such as a plurality of springs is used. By using this configuration, the elastic body 70 is compressed and deformed according to the inclination of the flight unit 12, so that the wheels 14 of the ceiling surface contact unit 11 can be moved while being pressed against the ceiling surface.

In the first embodiment, since the connecting portion 13 composed of one fixing pin 32 is used, the degree of freedom of rotation of the connecting portion 13 is in the uniaxial direction, but the connecting portion 13 composed of a plurality of elastic bodies is used as in the present embodiment. By using it, a degree of freedom of rotation in one axial direction or more can be obtained. Therefore, even if the ceiling wall surface has complicated irregularities, the flight work body 10 can be moved by contact while the ceiling surface contact unit 11 is flexibly contacted with the wall surface. Can be done.
(Modification example)
When the connecting portion 13 of the present embodiment is used, as shown in FIG. 10, instead of the wheels 14, two or more low friction plates 71 arranged so as not to intersect each other are provided on the ceiling surface contact portion of the ceiling surface contact unit 11. It may be used as. If it is a low friction body, stable contact movement can be realized not only by using the ski plate-shaped low friction plate 71 shown in FIG. 10 but also by using a rod-shaped one.

Further, in addition to the low friction plate 71 of FIG. 10, by providing a low friction plate for steering whose direction is controlled by the servomotor 52 and a propulsion fan for steering, the traveling direction of the flight work body 10 of this modified example can be changed. It can be controlled appropriately.

In the above, the configuration of the first embodiment and the configuration of the second embodiment have been described separately, but a configuration including both of them may be used. That is, the connecting portion 13 may be configured by combining a fixing pin having unidirectional rotational degrees of freedom and an elastic body 70 having multiple directional rotational degrees of freedom.

1 Inspection system,
2 Sewage pipe,
3 1st manhole,
4 Second manhole,
5 controller,
6 monitor,
7 communication antenna,
10 flying work body,
11 Ceiling contact unit,
12 flight units,
13 Connection,
14 wheels,
15 Ceiling contact unit frame,
16 propellers,
17 motor,
18 flight unit frame,
19 Flight Control Department,
20 power source,
21 illuminator,
22 camera,
23 Video transmitter,
24 environment sensor,
30 Steering mechanism,
31 axles,
32 fixing pin,
40 Ceiling wall,
50 brake pads,
51 Link mechanism,
52 Servo motor,
60 curved ceiling surface,
61 Curved ceiling wheels,
62 Positive camber,
70 elastic body,
71 Low friction plate

Claims (5)

It is a flying work body that moves by contacting the ceiling surface
A ceiling surface contact unit with a contact part that contacts the ceiling surface,
A flight unit provided below the ceiling contact unit and provided with a propulsion unit for flight,
A connecting portion that connects the upper ceiling surface contact unit and the lower flight unit and has at least one axial degree of freedom of rotation.
Equipped with
The contact portion of the ceiling surface contact unit is
It is a bogie structure that uses three or more wheels without a self-propelled actuator.
A steering means for controlling the traveling direction when contacting and moving the ceiling surface by controlling the direction of the axle of the wheel is provided .
The connecting portion is a flying work body including a rotation axis including a fixing pin that connects both units so as to be orthogonal to the main traveling direction of the ceiling surface contact unit . In the flight work body according to claim 1,
The connecting portion is a flying work body characterized in that at least one or more elastic bodies are used. In the flight work body according to claim 1 or 2 .
A flight work body characterized in that the curvature of a wheel used for the contact portion when the ground contact surface is viewed from the front is approximated to the curvature of a curved ceiling surface. In the flight work body according to claim 1 or 2 .
A flight work body characterized in that the wheels used for the contact portion are tilted so as to face the normal direction with respect to the curved ceiling surface. A work system for operating the flight work body according to any one of claims 1 to 4 with a controller.
The flight work body is equipped with a camera.
A working system characterized in that an image taken by the camera is displayed on a monitor connected to the controller.

Images