JP7025180B2 - Suspended drone - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a drone suitable for inspection of aging social equipment such as bridges.

In developed countries such as Japan, measures against aging of bridges and elevated tracks are required, and in particular, examination of inspection means for the lower surface is required.
As the inspection means, the lower surface is visually observed from below, visually approached by a move such as an aerial work platform, visually by a suspended scaffold, or photographed. When inspecting from a bridge or an elevated road with a bridge inspection vehicle, traffic restrictions were required, and a great deal of effort was required for preparation and cleaning up.
Recently, the adoption of drones equipped with shooting means is being considered.

For example, in Patent Document 1 (Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 3-260206), an elevating device is mounted on the roof of a vehicle so as to be movable in the front-rear direction, and is bent horizontally on a base provided at the upper end of the elevating device. The base end of the enabled link mechanism is rotatably connected in the horizontal direction, and a sensor base is provided on the tip of the link mechanism so as to be able to move up and down and rotate in the horizontal direction. It is characterized by supporting a laser measuring device consisting of a laser scanner that scans the laser light upward with a predetermined swing width and a light detection sensor that detects the amount of reflected light of the laser light scanned by this laser scanner. A high bridge inspection device has been proposed.
Patent Document 2 (Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2017-95959) discloses an inspection device in which an inspection device is attached to the lower surface side by turning a wire around the entire bridge or the like. And, in this document, it is pointed out that there is a problem in utilizing drones as follows.
When inspecting the appearance of a structure, it may be difficult to place a worker or a camera near the inspection target surface. In such a case, a scaffold for inspection may be constructed, but the construction of the scaffold requires time and labor. Also, like structures on the water, it can be difficult to build a scaffold in the first place. Therefore, in recent years, it has been studied to use a drone, which is a flying object that can fly by remote control or autonomous control, for inspection of structures.
It is thought that by flying an air vehicle equipped with a camera or the like, it is possible to inspect places that are not easily accessible by workers or the like without the need to construct scaffolding or the like.
However, it is difficult for the flying object to stabilize its attitude during flight due to the influence of weather such as rain and wind. Therefore, the accuracy of the inspection position in the structure tends to decrease. Further, in a place surrounded by structures, the position accuracy by a satellite ranging system such as GPS tends to decrease. Due to these circumstances, it is considered that there are various restrictions on the inspection of structures by flying objects. On the other hand, since the inspection robot disclosed in Patent Document 2 is physically attached to the structure, the posture stability is higher than that of the flying object, and the accuracy of the inspection position can be easily improved. The operation of the inspection robot does not require a high degree of skill like maneuvering an air vehicle, and since the main body is suspended by a plurality of wire arms, the main body 4 can be prevented from falling. Easy and safe.
Patent Document 3 (Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2017-95980) describes a sound acquisition unit that acquires a sound emitted from a component portion of a bridge on which a vehicle travels, and a sound acquisition unit that analyzes the sound acquired by the sound acquisition unit. The natural frequency detection unit that detects the natural frequency of the portion and the determination unit that compares the natural frequency detected by the natural frequency detection unit with the determination reference frequency and determines an abnormality related to the component portion. A sound-based bridge inspection device is disclosed.

Patent Document 4 (Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2017-138162) discloses a drone used for an inspection system that takes an image of a structure while flying.
Patent Document 5 (Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2017-54486) discloses an inspection drone provided with an infrared camera.
Patent Document 6 (Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2017-89211) discloses an inspection drone device including a magnet for adsorbing and fixing, a roller for moving, and a lever for releasing adsorption.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 3-260206 JP-A-2017-95959 Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2017-95980 Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2017-138162 Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2017-54486 Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2017-89211

An object of the present invention is to provide a drone suitable for inspection of existing facilities such as elevated tracks and bridges.

It is a suspended drone equipped with magnetic wheels that magnetically attract and travel to the iron part on the underside of elevated or bridges that can collect stable inspection data.

The gist of the present invention is as follows.
(1) A drone equipped with a main body, a rotor , and inspection equipment for inspection .
The main body is equipped with a laser rangefinder and camera for checking the flight status, legs at the bottom, multiple rotors around it, magnet wheels that magnetically attract to the iron part of the building at the top, and a camera for inspection. ,
The sensor mounting rod with the inspection camera mounted on the tip and the wheel mounting rod for mounting the magnet wheels intersect vertically and are mounted on the upper part of the main body, and the sensor mounting rod is located below the tip of the wheel.
There are two or more magnet wheels, arranged in a single column, equipped with a driving drive device, a maneuvering control device, a running camera, and a laser sensor, and maneuvering based on the distance between the image and surrounding objects. Suspended drone characterized by being controllable .
(2) The suspended drone according to (1) , wherein the inspection device is operable.
(3) The iron part of the building is one of a steel plate on the lower surface of the building, H-shaped steel, box-shaped steel, a steel girder, an iron part of a pier, and an iron part on the inner surface of a tunnel (1). Or the suspended drone described in (2).
(4) The magnet wheel is arranged with an axle, a rubber ring having magnet insertion holes from the center of the axle toward both sides, a magnet inserted in the rubber ring, a magnet fixing plate, a yoke, and an outer face plate. ,
The rubber ring has a structure in which thin rubber rings are laminated.
The suspended drone according to any one of (1) to (3), wherein the yoke has a structure in which thin yoke plates are laminated.
(5) The suspended type according to any one of (1) to (4) , wherein the drone is a wired control, and the cable is a control information line, a drive power line, and a measurement information line. Drone.
(6) The suspended drone according to any one of (1) to (5) , wherein the inspection device is at least one of a photographing device, a microphone, a distance measuring meter, and an infrared sensor.
(7) The suspended type drone according to any one of (1) to (6) , wherein the building is any of an elevated building, a bridge, a tunnel, a building eaves, a warehouse, an athletic facility, and a tower-shaped building. ..

1. 1. By attaching a magnet wheel to the upper surface of the main body of the suspended drone of the present invention, the existing facility can be inspected by magnetically adsorbing to the back surface of an elevated structure, a bridge, or the like. Since the magnet wheels are provided on the upper part of the main body, magnetic attraction can be performed while the drone is flying, and when the magnetic attraction force becomes weak or the magnetic attraction does not work, the thrust of the rotor is used to maintain contact. Alternatively, it can be prevented from falling.
In particular, it is possible to run by magnetically adsorbing to H-shaped steel on the back surface, which is difficult to access, so there is no need to use a gondola or aerial work platform.
2. 2. The present invention can obtain accurate measurement data. Since it is magnetically adsorbed, data can be collected by direct contact. The distance to the measurement point and the planar position can be specified, the accuracy of the obtained data is stable, and it is easy to connect with adjacent data. For example, on an elevated road where a girder such as H-shaped steel is passed between the piers and a deck is laid, the position of the drone can be specified with a laser rangefinder using the pier as the origin, and the H-shaped steel that is the girder can be used to reach the deck. Since the distance can also be specified, the position and accuracy of the obtained measurement data are constant.
A method of measuring while flying a drone is also being studied, but there is a problem that post-processing of data such as flight attitude, fluctuation of distance to a target, and connection with adjacent data is difficult.
The suspended drone of the present invention does not require aerial work by workers, does not require temporary scaffolding for aerial work, and even when a relatively strong wind blows, detailed cracks in the deck of the roadbed. Images etc. can be acquired.
3. 3. The inspection equipment for inspection can be operated while monitoring, and inspection data of the part to be obtained with priority can be collected. It is possible to control the running of the magnet wheels and guide them to the measurement location, control the posture of the inspection equipment, and collect data such as images of the inspection location.
With the flight-type data collection method, it is difficult to collect more pinpoint data after rough measurement.
4. The suspension type drone of the present invention is particularly applicable to steel plates on the lower surface of buildings, H-shaped steel, box-shaped steel, steel girders, iron parts of piers, iron parts on the inner surface of tunnels, etc. It is the iron part of. It is suitable for places where access from the ground is difficult, or places where it takes less time to temporarily install and remove scaffolding.
5. The magnet wheel is equipped with a traveling drive device and a maneuvering control device, and can be attracted and run and maneuvered by itself after magnetic attraction.
6. By installing two or more magnet wheels installed on the drone in one column, it is possible to travel even if the plane suitable for traveling is narrow. Maneuvering control can be done with only one wheel.
For example, in the case of four wheels, a mechanism for synchronizing two wheels arranged in parallel to control operation is required, which is complicated and heavy. If the driving control is not synchronized, it will tilt, so fine adjustment is required.
7. The magnet wheel is composed of a rubber ring having a magnet insertion hole laminated on the axle, a magnet inserted in the magnet insertion hole, a magnet fixing plate, a laminated yoke, and an outer face plate. With this configuration, the magnet wheel can adjust the magnetic force or the diameter of the magnet wheel. Make these adjustments according to the weight of the drone and the weight and size of the measuring device to be installed.
Since the outer surface of the rubber ring is usually the contact surface, the surface treatment of the painted iron member, which is the running surface, is not damaged. Further, if the diameter is made small so that the yoke does not come into direct contact with the traveling iron member, damage is similarly prevented and slipping at a step is prevented. If the outer side plate and the magnet fixing plate are made larger than the yoke and smaller than the rubber ring, the outer face plate and the magnet fixing plate will come into contact with the iron member to be adsorbed even if the rubber ring is dented, so that the yoke will come into contact with the iron member. It can be avoided. Stable running is possible without damaging the survey target, and accurate measurement is possible.
8. The drone can be controlled by wire or wirelessly. The height of structures such as elevated tracks and bridges that the drone of the present invention mainly accesses is several tens of meters or less, not so high, and there are many places where humans can enter directly underneath. Wired controls are suitable in such places.
Place the control device, operation device for inspection equipment, and battery on the ground, and connect the lines for these devices to the drone in one cable.
As a result, it is possible to operate while monitoring from the ground, and it is not necessary to load a heavy battery on the drone, and it is possible to reduce the magnetic attraction load on the magnet wheel. Also, there is no limit to the drone's activity time. If the battery runs out during magnetic adsorption, the drone will be in an adsorbed state and recovery will be difficult.
9. The inspection equipment mounted on the drone includes a photographing device such as a camera, a microphone for collecting sound, a rangefinder such as a laser rangefinder, and an infrared sensor.
10. The buildings mainly targeted for inspection by the suspended drone of the present invention are elevated buildings, bridges, tunnels, eaves, warehouses, athletic facilities, tower-shaped buildings and the like.

Diagram showing an example (planar) of a suspended drone The figure which shows the example (side) of the suspension type drone. Schematic diagram of magnet wheel Diagram showing an example of a magnetic wheel Example of a magnet wheel with a drive unit Schematic diagram showing the situation of concrete deck slab photography by girder (H-shaped steel) magnetic adsorption suspension type drone Diagram showing a tester for a suspended drone The figure which shows the magnet wheel for self-sustaining running attached to the prototype The figure which shows the example of the inspection part (the lower part of a bridge) Conventional example of inspecting an elevated structure using H-shaped steel as a girder and structural example of an elevated road

The present invention is a suspended drone that inspects the underside of aging social equipment such as bridges and overpasses. It is a suspended drone with magnet wheels that magnetically attract to the iron part of the building and run on the upper part of the drone body.
The drone can be used as long as the rotor is arranged so that it does not interfere with the magnetic wheels or inspection equipment for inspection. It is more suitable that the rotor is attached to the lower part of the main body.
The inspection equipment for inspection observes cracks on the back surface of the running deck at the top of the adsorbed drone, so it may be placed above the rotor and below the outer diameter of the magnet wheel. preferable.

Buildings to be inspected include elevated buildings, bridges, tunnels, eaves, warehouses, athletic facilities, and tower-shaped buildings. For places where visual inspection is difficult, such as steel plates on the underside of these buildings, H-shaped steel, box-shaped steel, steel girders, iron parts of bridge piers, iron parts inside tunnels, and iron parts on high ceilings of large buildings. Perform inspection work by magnetically attracting.
The drone is controlled wirelessly or by wire. In particular, with wired control, in addition to the control line, the drive power line and inspection equipment line can be bundled into a single cable, making it possible to reduce the weight of the drone without loading the battery on the drone.
Inspection equipment includes imaging devices, microphones, range meters, infrared sensors, and the like.

<Outline of suspended drone>
In the suspended drone of the present invention, by attaching a magnet wheel to the upper surface of the main body portion, the existing facility is inspected by magnetically adsorbing to the back surface of an elevated structure, a bridge, or the like. Since the magnet wheels are provided on the upper part of the main body, magnetic attraction can be performed while the drone is flying, and when the magnetic attraction force becomes weak or the magnetic attraction does not work, the thrust of the rotor is used to maintain contact. Alternatively, it can be prevented from falling. In particular, it is possible to run by magnetically adsorbing to H-shaped steel on the back surface, which is difficult to access, so there is no need to use a gondola or aerial work platform.
Since the data is collected by directly contacting the H-shaped steel material, the distance to the measurement point and the planar position can be specified, the accuracy of the obtained data is stable, and it is easy to connect with the adjacent data. .. For example, on an elevated road where a girder such as H-shaped steel is passed between the piers and a deck is laid, the position of the drone can be specified with a laser rangefinder using the pier as the origin, and the H-shaped steel that is the girder can be used to reach the deck. The distance is also specified, and the position and accuracy of the obtained measurement data are constant. The accuracy of the data obtained in the present invention is good measurement data with little variation.
In the test data, a crack of 0.2 mm was detected at 14.7 million pixels.
The quality of the data obtained by flying the drone varies due to changes in attitude, changes in distance to the target, etc., and post-processing of the obtained data is complicated and difficult.
The suspended drone of the present invention does not require aerial work by workers, does not require temporary scaffolding for aerial work, and even when a relatively strong wind blows, detailed cracks in the deck of the roadbed. Images etc. can be acquired.
By using a magnet wheel equipped with a traveling drive device and a maneuvering control device, it is possible to perform suction running and maneuvering by itself after magnetic attraction.
In addition, if a manual function is added, it is possible to operate while monitoring the inspection equipment, guide the magnet wheels to the measurement location, control the posture of the inspection equipment, and centrally collect image data of the inspection location.
In the running control of the magnet wheel, the movement accuracy within 1 mm was obtained.
With the flight-type data collection method, it is difficult to guide the data to a pinpoint after rough measurement and collect the data.

We have developed a suspended drone with two or more magnet wheels installed in one column. The flange of the H-shaped steel material used for bridge girders and the like has a narrow width, and at the end of the splicing plate that is passed over the joint, a step corresponding to the thickness of the splicing plate is formed. In addition, the splicing plate is bolted to the flange, and the head of the bolt protrudes and becomes uneven. This bolt is not provided on the web portion of the H-section steel, which is the central portion of the flange, and the central portion of the flange is flat. Magnet wheels are installed in a row and run on this narrow flat part.
Since the magnet wheels are arranged in one column, the posture is stable in the vertical direction. And even if it is shaken to the left or right under the influence of the wind, it can tilt and let the wind escape. Even if it is tilted, it is magnetically attracted to the girders that are flying to the back of the elevated or bridge, so accidents such as a rotor or inspection equipment getting into the recesses between the girders and colliding can be suppressed, and safety is high.
Further, by providing a plurality of magnet wheels, even if one adsorption is disengaged, the magnet wheels do not fall off at once, and there is a margin for backup by the rotor.
Further, in the case of four wheels arranged in parallel, a mechanism for synchronizing the two wheels arranged in parallel to control the operation is required, which is complicated and heavy. If the travel control does not rotate at a constant speed, the travel direction will tilt, so precise adjustment is required.
The drone will be equipped with a camera used during flight and a laser distance sensor to prevent collisions.
In addition, a camera, a laser sensor that is a range finder, etc. used for magnetic adsorption traveling will be attached.
In addition, shooting devices such as cameras, which are inspection equipment, microphones for sound collection, rangefinders such as laser rangefinders, infrared sensors, etc. will be installed according to the inspection items.

Wired control is suitable for suspended drones equipped with self-propelled magnet wheels equipped with inspection equipment. The parts to be inspected are elevated or bridges of several tens of meters or less, and the cables can be sufficiently extended. The lines for these devices can be combined into one and connected to the drone for the control device placed on the ground, the operation device for inspection equipment, and the cable connecting the battery to the drone.
This makes it possible to operate while monitoring from the ground, reduce the weight of the drone, and eliminate the activity restriction due to the battery.
Since the magnetic attraction load on the magnet wheel can be reduced, the weight of the magnet wheel can also be reduced. There is no worry that the battery will run out during magnetic adsorption, and there will be no risk that the drone will be adsorbed due to the battery exhaustion and it will be difficult to collect it.
As for the test drone, we have developed a 6800g suspended drone equipped with a camera for inspection. Sufficient flight performance was obtained at 1100 mm including the rotor length.

<Magnet wheel>
The magnet wheel used in the present invention will be described.
There is a need to develop efficient, safe and accurate inspection methods while avoiding dangerous inspection work such as dilapidated bridges, elevated railways and roads, and steel towers for power transmission lines. A method of flying a drone etc. to obtain inspection information is also being considered, but it is difficult to obtain stable and accurate data because the flight attitude is not constant in inclination and approach distance, and in addition, it was obtained. The data correction process is complicated.
We propose a magnet wheel that is magnetically attracted to the iron part and is suitable for running on the lower surface or vertical surface of an iron structure.
This magnet wheel has a rubber ring, a magnet fixing plate, a yoke, and an outer face plate arranged from the center of the axle to both sides. The rubber ring is provided with a plurality of magnet insertion holes, and an arbitrary number of magnets are inserted into the magnet insertion holes. Since the magnet can be fixed by inserting it into the hole provided in the rubber ring, a magnet fixing means such as adhesion is unnecessary. You can also change the number of magnets to insert. The magnet fixing plate is provided with a magnet insertion hole similar to that of a rubber ring. Magnet fixing plates are arranged on both the left and right sides to stabilize the magnet. Further, the rubber ring can overcome the step generated in the joint portion of H-shaped steel or the like as a cushion. As the rubber, resin rubber such as natural rubber and urethane is used. In this example, urethane rubber is used.
H-shaped steel is often used for girders of elevated tracks and bridges. As shown in FIG. 9C, the H-shaped steel is composed of a web W of a vertical member and a flange F of a flat material, and a plurality of H-shaped steels H1 and H2 are connected to form a girder material. There is a joint plate J at the connection portion, and it is joined to the flange portion with a screw. The girder material of the H-shaped steel has a step corresponding to the thickness of the joint plate (splicing plate) J. Further, since there is a web of H-shaped steel in the central portion of the joint plate J on the upper surface of the flange, a screw cannot be provided, and the flat portion through which the magnet wheel can pass is only the central portion d.
Since the magnet wheel used in the present invention has a rubber ring, it is easy to get over the step of the joint plate and run in the central portion.

In this magnet wheel, the width of the magnet wheel can be adjusted by further using a rubber ring and a yoke as a thin layer plate and making it possible to change the number of laminated layers. The magnetic force can also be adjusted. The weight of the magnet wheels can also be adjusted by adjusting the number of sheets.
Further, the diameter of the magnet wheel can be adjusted by providing thin layer plates having different diameters. Regarding the diameter change, a plurality of magnet fixing plates and outer face plates are provided according to the corresponding diameters. For the magnet fixing plate and the outer face plate, for example, a synthetic resin plate such as polycarbonate is used.
With this configuration, it is possible to easily adjust the size of the magnet wheel so as to be able to overcome the height of a stepped portion or an obstacle in the traveling path.
The diameter of the magnet wheel is also important for securing a space for mounting an inspection measuring device on a drone or the like.

Further, in the magnet wheel, the rubber ring has the maximum diameter, the yoke has the minimum diameter, and the magnet fixing plate and the outer face plate have an intermediate diameter, so that the yoke having the minimum diameter does not come into direct contact with the iron portion to be attracted.
As a magnetic member, since the yoke is close to the iron part of the surface to be adsorbed, it does not come into contact, but the diameter difference between the yoke and the magnet fixing plate or outer surface plate is made small so that it approaches the surface to be adsorbed. Design to.
Due to these diameter differences, the drone can run stably without damaging the iron member which is the surface to be adsorbed. Since the outer surface of the rubber ring is usually the contact surface, the surface treatment of the painted iron member, which is the running surface, is not damaged. Further, if the diameter is made small so that the yoke does not come into direct contact with the traveling iron member, damage is similarly prevented and slipping at a step is prevented. If the outer side plate and the magnet fixing plate are made larger than the yoke and smaller than the rubber ring, the outer face plate and the magnet fixing plate will come into contact with the iron member to be adsorbed even if the rubber ring is dented, so that the yoke will come into contact with the iron member. It can be avoided.
Further, by fixing each component attached to the axle with bolts from the outer face plate toward the axle, each can be integrated without being individually attached to the axle, and each member can be easily replaced or adjusted.
Further, if the drive device is provided on the magnet wheel, it is not necessary to change the drive system provided on the drone body side. In addition, a maneuvering control system is provided on the magnet wheels, and a camera and laser sensor are placed on the front side of the magnet wheels to grasp the surrounding conditions, obstacles, distance traveled, etc., and add an autonomous driving function. can do.

As the magnet, a permanent magnet is used. For example, it is a known permanent magnet material such as a rare earth magnet, a ferrite magnet, an alnico magnet, and an Mn—Al—C magnet. Rare earth magnets include R-Fe-B series, RC ₀₅ series, and R ₂ C ₀₁₇ series (R is one or more rare earth elements including Y).
For example, an R—Fe—B type permanent magnet (one or more rare earth elements such as R: Nd, Pr) can be used.
The yoke uses a known soft magnetic material. For example, known steel materials such as pure iron, mild iron, ordinary steel such as carbon steel and low alloy steel, special structural steel, tool steel, ferrite-based and martensite-based stainless steel, and the like can be mentioned. Further, known iron-based castings such as cast iron and cast steel can also be mentioned. Known soft ferrites such as Mn—Zn-based ferrites, Fe—Ni alloys such as permalloy, Fe—Ni—Co alloys such as Koval, and these known soft magnetic material powders are made of thermoplastic resins or thermosetting resins. Bonded soft magnetic materials can also be used.

When this magnet wheel is attached to the main body of a suspended drone and magnetically attracted to the back surface of an elevated bridge or bridge or an iron material such as a steel tower to run, the distance between the measurement sensor and the member to be inspected can be stabilized. Accurate data can be obtained.
In particular, when two or more magnet wheels are arranged in a column, it is suitable for traveling by magnetically adsorbing to an H-shaped steel to be traveled or a narrow steel material for a steel tower. The width of the magnet wheel can be adjusted by changing the number of layers of the rubber ring and the thin plate for the yoke according to the width of the traveling place. Further, since the diameter of the magnet wheel can be changed according to the protrusions and the sensor device existing in the traveling path, it is possible to flexibly respond to the investigation target. Since the rubber member of the magnet wheel comes into contact with the steel material for traveling, it is possible to easily get over the stepped portion of the joint plate at the joint portion of the steel material.

A traveling motor and a steering motor can be attached to the magnet wheels, and a traveling camera and a laser sensor can be attached to enable autonomous traveling.
A power battery for driving a motor can be mounted on the drone, but at present, the battery is heavy and the action time is limited. By supplying the power of these motors from the ground with a cable, the weight of the drone is reduced and there is a margin for mounting inspection equipment. Further, since the magnet is a permanent magnet, when the on-board battery runs out, the drone becomes magnetically attracted and recovery becomes difficult, but when power is supplied from the ground, such an accident can be suppressed.

(Example 1 of magnet wheel)
Examples of the magnet wheel 3 are shown in FIGS. 3 and 4. The outline of the magnet wheel is shown in FIG. 3, and an example of the magnet wheel is shown in FIG.
FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the magnet wheel 3 in which the outer face plate is removed for easy understanding.
A disc-shaped rubber ring 110, a magnet fixing plate 120, a yoke 130, and an outer face plate 140 are mounted on the axle 190. Magnet insertion holes 112, 112, ... Are formed radially in the rubber ring 110, and an arbitrary number of magnets 150 are inserted into the magnet insertion holes.
Since the magnet 150 is inserted into the magnet insertion hole 112 provided in the rubber ring 110 and is stabilized, a jig for fixing the magnet is not required, the magnet can be easily replaced, and the insertion hole to be used can be easily selected.
Since the contact surface of the magnet wheel 3 is the rubber surface 113, traction required for overcoming the step generated in the joint portion of H-shaped steel or the like is generated.

FIG. 4 shows a front view (a), a side view (b), and a cross-sectional view (c) of the magnet wheel 3.
The arrangement of each member is well shown in sectional view (c). Disc-shaped members are laminated on the axle 190 from the center to the outside. There are four thin rubber rings 111 in the center, and toward both sides, there is a magnet fixing plate 120 with a diameter smaller than the thin rubber ring 111, and a thin yoke with a diameter slightly smaller than the magnet fixing plate 120 on the outside. There are four plates 131, and an outer face plate 140 having the same diameter as the magnet fixing plate 120 is laminated on the outermost side, and a screw 193 for fixing these laminated bodies to the axle is located near the axle 190 of the outer face plate 140. It is attached.
The outer peripheral surface of the surface where the magnet wheel comes into contact with the surface to be attracted is the rubber surface 113 of the elastic rubber ring having the maximum diameter.
Due to these diameter differences, the drone can run stably without damaging the iron member which is the surface to be adsorbed. Since the outer surface of the rubber ring is usually the contact surface, the surface treatment of the painted iron member, which is the running surface, is not damaged. Further, if the diameter is made small so that the yoke does not come into direct contact with the traveling iron member, damage is similarly prevented and slipping at a step is prevented. If the outer side plate and the magnet fixing plate are made larger than the yoke and smaller than the rubber ring, the outer face plate and the magnet fixing plate will come into contact with the iron member to be adsorbed even if the rubber ring is dented, so that the yoke will come into contact with the iron member. It can be avoided.
In view of these, even when the rubber surface is compressed, the magnet fixing plate and the outer surface plate made of resin, which are softer than iron, come into contact with the surface of the iron member to be adsorbed, so that scratches and idling at the stepped portion can be avoided.
The magnet 150 is a permanent magnet and is inserted into a magnet insertion hole 112 provided in the thin rubber ring 111. The magnet fixing plate 120 is also provided with an insertion hole through which the magnet passes, and the magnet 150 comes into contact with the yoke 130, which is a magnetic material. The magnet fixing plate stabilizes the elastic thin rubber plate by narrowing the pressure. The magnets 150 may be integrated or laminated as a thin disk according to the thickness of the thin rubber ring 111.
The central portion of the axle 190 of the magnet wheel is a bulging portion 191 having a large diameter, and a female screw portion 192 is formed on the side surface of the bulging portion 191. A screw 193 is screwed from the outer face plate 140 to the female screw portion 192, and the whole is tightened and fixed. A through hole for the screw 193 is formed in the outer face plate 140, the yoke 130, and the magnet fixing plate 120.
The axle 190 has a cylindrical shape, and a notch 195 for key connection for connecting to the shaft is provided on the inner surface, and a bearing recess 196 is provided on the outer surface. The magnet wheel is attached to the frame body via a bearing, and is freely rotated or driven through a shaft on an axle.
Further, in this example, the number of thin rubber rings 111 is set to 4 as the minimum number of laminated rings and can be increased. Even if the number of thin rubber rings and the number of thin yokes are increased, the thin rubber rings are fixed by the magnet fixing plate, and the thin yoke plates are fastened and fixed by the outer face plate with screws 193. Become.

The magnet wheel 3 can adjust the width of the magnet wheel and the magnetic force of the magnet by adjusting the number of thin rubber rings and the number of thin yoke plates. Further, by preparing a plurality of combinations of the rubber ring 110, the magnet fixing plate 120, the yoke 130, and the outer face plate 140 having different diameters, it becomes easy to change the design of the magnet wheel diameter.

(Example 2 of magnet wheel)
An example of the magnet wheel 30 with a drive control device is shown in FIG.
A frame body 163 arranged in a U shape is attached to the side surface and the bottom surface side of the magnet wheel 3, and the frame body 163 to which the steering servomotor 162 is attached to the bottom frame 163a of the frame body 163 is rotationally controlled to control the rotation of the magnet wheel 3. Adjust the angle and steer.
The axle 190 of the magnet wheel 3 is freely rotatably attached to the side frame 163b via a bearing.
A gear head 165 is attached to one of the side frames 163b, and a traveling motor 161 is attached to the gear head 165. The output shaft of the traveling motor 161 penetrates the pipe-shaped axle 190 of the magnet wheel 3, is key-coupled to the axle, and is driven by the traveling motor 161.
The control frame body 163 is connected to the main body mounting portion 167 and attached to a moving body such as a drone. The steering servomotor 162 provided on the lower side of the bottom frame 163a of the frame body 163 controls the rotation of the frame body 163 with the central axis of the magnet wheel 3 as the steering center axis 166 for steering.
Further, FIG. 8 shows an example in which the traveling camera and the laser sensor are attached to the magnet wheels. The traveling camera 31 and the laser sensor 32 attached to the front of the magnet wheel 30. By attaching this, the distance to the pier in front or the distance to the pier in the rear can be known. You can see the side edges of the flanges of H-shaped steel and check the running path.

This embodiment is an example of a suspended drone 100 equipped with a magnet wheel 30.
This is an example of a suspended drone 100 in which a magnet wheel 30 which is a magnet wheel example 2 is attached to the upper surface of a drone main body and magnetically attracts to an iron portion on the lower surface of an elevated or bridge to travel. It is a drone that can be suspended and has a main body 1 and a rotor 2, and is a suspended drone 100 that runs by magnetically adsorbing to an iron portion of a building. This suspended drone 100 is suitable for mounting an inspection device 4 for inspection.
The objects to be attracted are steel plates, H-shaped steels, box-shaped steels, steel girders, iron parts of piers, iron parts on the inner surface of tunnels, etc. on the lower surface of the building. Buildings are suitable for inspection of parts that are out of reach and cannot be seen from above, such as elevated tracks, bridges, tunnels, eaves, warehouses, and athletic facilities.
Inspection equipment for inspection includes photographing devices such as cameras, microphones for picking up tapping sounds and traffic vibrations, infrared cameras, laser rangefinders, and the like.
The operation of the suspended drone 100 is performed wirelessly or by wire. In the suspended drone 100, a camera other than the one for inspection is attached to the main body in order to acquire ambient information during flight or during magnetic adsorption. When traveling on an H-shaped steel flange or the like, the flange can be detected by the magnetic attraction traveling camera 31 and the laser sensor 32 attached to the magnet wheel 30, and automatic traveling can be performed. In addition, the information from this camera can be copied to the monitor of the controller for operation.

In this embodiment, two magnet wheels 30 are arranged in a column. H-shaped steel is often used for viaducts and girders of bridges. Since it is hung by two wheels, the posture is stable in the vertical direction. Since the aircraft is stable, the attitude of the measuring equipment to be mounted is also stable, and high-quality data can be obtained.
Further, as shown in Patent Document 1, Patent Document 3, and FIGS. 9 (a) and 9 (c), the flange of the H-shaped steel has a narrow width, and the head of the bolt protrudes from the steel plate for joining, so that a place where magnetic adsorption can occur. Is located in the center, so it is suitable to use two wheels in series.
In this embodiment, if the rotor is rotated at a low speed, it is possible to prevent the rotor from separating even if the suction force is weakened due to a step with the steel plate for joining.
Since the rotor of the suspended drone has magnet wheels and measuring devices mounted on the upper surface side of the main body, it can be mounted on the lower side that does not interfere with these.
The drive source for the suspended drone is supplied by a battery or a wire cable from the ground.
The operation control of the suspended drone is controlled by radio control or wire.
Wired operation is suitable for inspections of elevated tracks and undersides of bridges, as the height is lower than several tens of meters. When wired, a cable that integrates the control line, power line, control of measuring equipment, and measurement data line can be connected to the main body of the suspended drone. This eliminates the need to load a suspended drone battery and reduces the weight of the suspended drone. Since the weight can be reduced, the adsorption by the magnet wheel can be stabilized. Alternatively, the weight limit of the mounted measuring device is relaxed.
In addition, there is no limit on the activity time of suspended drones. If the battery runs out during magnetic adsorption, the suspended drone will be in a magnetically attracted state, making recovery difficult.
You can operate the measuring device while checking the information obtained from the measurement data on the monitor, and you can focus on the operation of the measuring equipment at the points where you should be careful.

FIGS. 1 and 2 show an example of the suspended drone 100 equipped with the magnet wheel 3 (30) of this embodiment.
In the suspended drone 100, the rotor 2 is attached to a rotor rod 12 extending horizontally from the main body 1 in the same manner as a normal drone. In this example, there are six rotors. Legs 13 are attached to the rotor rod 12.
A cable 8 for maneuvering, power, information, and operation of an inspection device is attached to the main body so that maneuvering, operation, and power supply can be performed from the ground. In addition, four main body sensors 111 are attached to the main body of the drone, so that the surrounding conditions can be confirmed during flight and during adsorption, and automatic traveling is possible.
Two support members 17 and 17 are provided on the upper surface of the main body 1 of the drone 100, a wheel mounting rod 5 is attached to the support member, and a magnet wheel 3 (30) is attached to the wheel mounting rod. The magnet wheels 3 (30) are located above the rotor 2 and are arranged in a non-buffering positional relationship. Further, in this example, the wheel mounting rod 5 is a straight rod and is set longer than the main body, and the mounting position of the magnet wheel 3 (30) can be adjusted in the longitudinal direction of the wheel mounting rod.

Further, in this example, the inspection camera 41 is mounted as the sensor 4. A support column 61 is attached to the upper surface of the main body portion 1, a sensor mounting rod 6 is attached to this support column, and a sensor mounting portion 62 is formed at the tip of the sensor mounting rod. In this example, the camera 41 is mounted on the sensor mounting portion 62 as a sensor. Further, a laser range finder and a camera 11 are provided in front of and behind the main body, so that the flight status can be confirmed.
Further, as shown in FIG. 8, the traveling camera 31 and the laser sensor 32 are attached to the front magnet wheel and the rear magnet wheel. By attaching this, the distance to the pier in the front or the distance to the pier in the rear can be known, the side edge of the flange of the H-shaped steel can be known, and the running can be autonomously operated by measuring.
In this example, the camera 41 for inspection is set lower than the tip of the magnet wheel 30 so as not to interfere with the attraction of the magnet wheel. The sensor mounting rod 6 crosses above the wheel mounting rod 5. Alternatively, it may be divided into left and right parts, and the inspection device shall be devised so that the position is lower than the suction height of the magnet wheel. Depending on the type of inspection equipment, adjust the diameter of the magnet wheel to secure a margin for installing the inspection equipment.
In this example, the tip of the sensor mounting rod 6 is about the same as that of the rotor 2, but the length of the sensor mounting rod is not limited to this, and is appropriately determined according to the type of the sensor and the inspection location. Further, the mounting location of the sensor can be directly mounted on the drone body, and can be appropriately determined depending on the type of sensor.
The example shown assumes a device that runs and inspects H-shaped steel girders (see Fig. 6), and there is a space between the girders for the height of the H-shaped steel, which is slightly left and right. The length is set so that the camera does not touch even if it is tilted to, and the girder spacing can be within the shooting range.

FIG. 6 shows a state in which a concrete deck slab is photographed by a suspended drone magnetically adsorbed on a girder material which is an H-shaped steel material.
An H-shaped steel girder is placed below the concrete deck that forms the elevated road surface, and the suspended drone 100 is magnetically attracted to the lower flange F of the H-shaped steel, and left and right from the suspended drone 100. The underside of the floor slab is photographed with the inspection camera 41 attached to the tip of the extended rod.
The shooting ranges S1, S2, S3, S4 ... Are set to overlap each other from the adjacent girders, and the data of the entire back surface of the road surface is collected and the connection with the adjacent data is facilitated. ..

FIG. 7 shows a photograph of the test machine of the suspended drone of this embodiment.
This suspended drone testing machine employs a magnet wheel 30, and a camera 41 for inspection is attached to a long rod. The maneuvering is performed by wire, and it has a cable 8 that summarizes the maneuvering line and the power feeding line.
FIG. 8 shows an enlarged photograph of the magnet wheel portion of this testing machine.
A mounting member is provided on the side frame 163b to which the traveling motor 161 is attached so that the traveling camera 31 and the laser sensor 32 are located on the front surface of the magnet wheel.
In this example, the inspection camera 41 is installed outside the rotor. The rod for mounting the inspection camera is above the wheel mounting rod.
FIG. 9B shows a state in which a suspended drone tester is magnetically attracted to the lower surface of a flange of a model of a girder material formed by joining H-shaped steel materials. It was confirmed that the magnet wheels could be run to get over the steps of the joint plate. In this example, the thickness of the joint plate is 20 mm. This test machine is a wired control, and as shown in the photograph, the cable extends toward the ground, power can be supplied, the image of the shooting camera can be monitored, and it can be operated. The state of the back surface of the girder material to which the H-shaped steel material is joined is shown in FIGS. 9 (a) and 9 (c).
In addition, it was possible to run through the protective nets stretched on the underside of bridges and the like.
In this testing machine, the moving accuracy of the magnet wheel by running was within 1 mm, the girder height was 3000 mm, and when the floor slab was measured using a camera with 14.7 million pixels, the crack detection accuracy could be 0.2 mm or less. ..

100 ... Suspended drone 1 ... Main body 11 ... Main body sensor (camera, laser rangefinder)
12 ... Rotor rod 13 ... Leg 17 ... Support member 2 ... Rotor 22 ... Motor 3 ... Magnet wheel 31 ... Traveling camera 32 ... Laser sensor 4 ...・ ・ ・ Sensor (inspection equipment, inspection equipment)
41 ・ ・ ・ Inspection camera 5 ・ ・ ・ ・ Wheel mounting rod 6 ・ ・ ・ ・ Sensor mounting rod 61 ・ ・ ・ Support 62 ・ ・ ・ Sensor mounting part 7 ・ ・ ・ ・ Operation ・ Power control device 71 ・ ・ ・ Steering Device 72 ... Operation device 73 ... Battery 8 ... Cable 81 ... Control device line 82 ... Operation device line 83 ... Battery line 30 ... Drive control device With magnet wheel

110 ... Rubber ring 111 ... Thin rubber ring 112 ... Magnet insertion hole 113 ... Rubber surface 120 ... Magnet fixing plate 130 ... York 131 ... Thin yoke plate 140 ...・ Outer face plate 150 ・ ・ ・ Magnet 161 ・ ・ ・ Travel motor 162 ・ ・ ・ Steering servomotor 163 ・ ・ ・ Frame body 163a ・ ・ Bottom frame 163b ・ ・ Side frame 165 ・ ・ ・ Gear head 166 ・ ・ ・ Steering center axis 167 ... Main body mounting part 190 ... Axle 191 ... Inflated part 192 ... Female screw part 193 ... Screw 195 ... Key connection notch part 196 ... Bearing recess

d ... Central part F ... Flange H ... H-shaped steel W ... Web J ... Joint plate

Claims (7)

It is a drone equipped with a main body, a rotor , and inspection equipment for inspection .
The main body is equipped with a laser rangefinder and camera for checking the flight status, legs at the bottom, multiple rotors around it, magnet wheels that magnetically attract to the iron part of the building at the top, and a camera for inspection. ,
The sensor mounting rod with the inspection camera mounted on the tip and the wheel mounting rod for mounting the magnet wheels intersect vertically and are mounted on the upper part of the main body, and the sensor mounting rod is located below the tip of the wheel.
There are two or more magnet wheels, arranged in a single column, equipped with a driving drive device, a maneuvering control device, a running camera, and a laser sensor, and maneuvering based on the distance between the image and surrounding objects. Suspended drone characterized by being controllable . The suspended drone according to claim 1 , wherein the inspection device is operable. The first or second claim, wherein the iron part of the building is any one of a steel plate on the lower surface of the building, an H-shaped steel, a box-shaped steel, a steel girder, an iron part of a pier, and an iron part on the inner surface of a tunnel. Suspended drone. The magnet wheel has an axle, a rubber ring with magnet insertion holes from the center of the axle to both sides, a magnet inserted in the rubber ring, a magnet fixing plate, a yoke, and an outer face plate.
The rubber ring has a structure in which thin rubber rings are laminated.
The suspended drone according to any one of claims 1 to 3 , wherein the yoke has a structure in which thin yoke plates are laminated. The suspended drone according to any one of claims 1 to 4 , wherein the drone is a wired control, and the cable is a control information line, a drive power line, and a measurement information line. The suspended drone according to any one of claims 1 to 5 , wherein the inspection device is at least one of a photographing device, a microphone, a distance measuring meter, and an infrared sensor. The suspended drone according to any one of claims 1 to 6 , wherein the building is any of an elevated building, a bridge, a tunnel, a building eaves, a warehouse, an athletic facility, and a tower-shaped building.

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