BRIDGE INSPECTION ROBOT CAPABLE OF CLIMBING OBSTACLE

• US 20110106313A1
• Filed: 04/20/2009
• Published: 05/05/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 04/23/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Expressway & Transportation Research Institute
• Original Assignee: Expressay & Transportation Research Institute Korea Expressway Corporation
• Inventors: Park, Young-Ho, Nam, Moon-Seok, Shin, Jae-In, Lee, Byeong-Ju, Park, Chang-Ho
• Granted Patent: US 8,924,018 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 700/259
• CPC Class Codes: B25J 19/021 Optical sensing devices
• CPC Class Codes: B25J 5/007 mounted on wheels
• CPC Class Codes: E01D 19/106 Movable inspection or maintenance platforms, e.g. travelling scaffolding or vehicles specially designed to provide access to the undersides of bridges lifting devices for movable platforms on vehicles in general B66F11/04
• CPC Class Codes: E01D 19/16 Suspension cables; Cable clamps for suspension cables ; Pre- or post-stressed cables
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 27/648 for automatically maintaining a reference alignment, e.g. in self-levelling surveying instruments surveying instruments per se G01C
• CPC Class Codes: G03B 2205/00 Adjustment of optical system relative to image or object surface other than for focusing
• CPC Class Codes: G03B 2205/0007 Movement of one or more optical elements for control of motion blur imaging systems in general using optical elements for stabilisation of the position of the image G02B27/64

Abstract

Provided is a bridge inspection robot which is capable of climbing over an obstacle, the bridge inspection robot including: a climbing-over portion (110) which is extended to correspond to a gap distance between a flange (1 Ia) of a first girder (11) and a flange (12a) of a first girder (12) which are provided at the upper side of a pier (L) of a bridge (10) in which a robot main body (101) climbs up/down or avoids and climbs over an obstacle, when the robot main body (101) moves on the flange, for example, along a bridge inspection path; an obstacle detection portion (120) which detects the obstacle which exists on the flanges; a photographing altitude control portion (150) which detects an altitude change of an image photographing portion (130) according to height of the obstacle when the robot main body (101) climbs up/down or avoids and climbs over the obstacle, and adjusts a photographing height of the image photographing portion (130) so as to correspond to the altitude change, to thus have a z-axis coordinate of an identical height all the time; a position calculation portion (160) which measures a mobile position of the robot main body (101) which corresponds to a consecutive image

Claims

1. A bridge inspection robot which is capable of climbing over an obstacle, the bridge inspection robot comprising:

a climbing-over portion (110) which is extended to correspond to a gap distance between a flange (11a) of a first girder (11) and a flange (12a) of a first girder (12) which are provided at the upper side of a pier (L) of a bridge (10) in which a robot main body (101) climbs up/down or avoids and climbs over an obstacle, when the robot main body (101) moves on the flange, for example, along a bridge inspection path;

an obstacle detection portion (120) which detects the obstacle which exists on the flanges;

a photographing altitude control portion (150) which detects an altitude change of an image photographing portion (130) according to height of the obstacle when the robot main body (101) climbs up/down or avoids and climbs over the obstacle, and adjusts a photographing height of the image photographing portion (130) so as to correspond to the altitude change, to thus have a z-axis coordinate of an identical height all the time;

a position calculation portion (160) which measures a mobile position of the robot main body (101) which corresponds to a consecutive image photographed by the image photographing portion (130), to thus calculate x/y-axis coordinates; and

an image processing portion (170) which receives the consecutively photographed images and x/y/z-axis coordinates corresponding to the consecutively photographed images, to thus continuously confirms the actual crack elements corresponding to the images and to thus produce a recognizable image of an actual position coordinate of the corresponding image.

2. The bridge inspection robot according to claim 1, further comprising a slope adjustment portion (140) which detects a slope of the robot main body (101) when the robot main body (101) climbs up/down an obstacle, and adjusts the slope of the image photographing portion (130) so as to correspond to the detected slope, to thus have an identical slope all the time.

3. The bridge inspection robot according to claim 2, wherein the slope adjustment portion (140) comprises a slope detection sensor (not shown) which detects a slope of the robot main body (101) when the climbing-over portion (110) climbs up/down an obstacle, and a camera angle adjustment portion (143) which adjusts a photographing angle of the CCD camera (131) so as to correspond to the slope detected by the slope detection sensor (not shown) and which makes the CCD camera (131) photograph while maintaining a predetermined angle with respect to the bridge lower surface on the bridge inspection path, for example, the state where the bridge lower surface is perpendicular with the CCD camera (131).

4. The bridge inspection robot according to claim 3, wherein the slope detection sensor (not shown) is provided in the inside of the robot main body (101) and comprises a plurality of electrode rods covered with a glass tube which is filled with an electrolyte therein, in which the electrolyte in the inside of the glass tube is slant and the slope is measured through a changed resistance value of the electrode rods according to a change rate of the electrolyte which is filled between the electrode rods, when the slope detection sensor (not shown) is slant.

5. The bridge inspection robot according to claim 3, wherein the camera angle adjustment portion (143) comprises a rotational frame (143a) which supports the CCD camera (131), a bass plate (143c) which enables the rotational frame (143a) to be rotatably combined through a hinge portion (143b), and a bimetal wire (143e) which is guided by a guide portion (143d) and contracted and extended by an electric signal to thus make the rotational frame (143a) rotate.

6. The bridge inspection robot according to claim 5, wherein the photographing altitude control portion (150) comprises an altitude detection sensor (151) which detects whether or not a photographing height of the image photographing portion (130) is changed when the climbing-over portion (110) climbs up/down an obstacle which exists on the bridge inspection path and calculates a z-axis position coordinate, and a camera height adjustment portion (153) which adjusts the photographing height of the CCD camera (131) so as to correspond to the z-axis position coordinate detected by the altitude detection sensor (151), and makes the CCD camera (131) photograph while having a z-axis position coordinate of a constant height with respect to the bridge lower surface on the bridge inspection path.

7. The bridge inspection robot according to claim 1, wherein the climbing-over portion (110) comprises:

a plurality of up/down links (111) which are provided at the lower side of the robot main body (101) and performs up/down operations;

rotational blocks (112) which are rotatably connected to the up/down links (111);

a pair of extension and contraction booms (113) which are provided at both sides of the rotational blocks (112), respectively, and which are extended up to the flanges (11a, 12a) of the first girder (11) and the second girder (12) between the first girder (11) and the second girder (12), so that the robot main body (101) are stably positioned between the first girder (11) and the second girder (12); and

moving wheels (114) which are rotated by driving forces of driving shafts (not shown) which are provided at the pair of the extension and contraction booms (113), respectively, to thereby make the robot main body (101) move along the flanges (11a, 12a).

8. The bridge inspection robot according to claim 7, wherein the climbing-over portion (110) makes the moving wheels (114) climb up/down an obstacle which connects between the girders or joint members which are provided at the upper portions of the flanges, through up/down or seesaw rotations of the up/down links (111) and the rotational blocks (112), and makes the moving wheels (114) avoid and climb over the obstacle which connects between the girders or vertical stiffeners which are vertical to the flanges, through extension and contraction of the pair of the extension and contraction booms (113), without having position changes of the robot main body (101).

9. The bridge inspection robot according to claim 1, wherein the obstacle detection portion (120) detects whether or not the flanges of the girder are curved when the climbing-over portion (110) moves, and comprises a contact switch (not shown) or an ultrasonic sensor (not shown) which control a traveling direction of the climbing-over portion (110).