Airborne cleaning and painting robot

• US 6,419,190 B1
• Filed: 10/10/2000
• Issued: 07/16/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 10/10/2000
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Gino Francis Nguegang
• Original Assignee: Gino Francis Nguegang
• Inventors: Nguegang, Gino Francis
• Primary Examiner(s): ELDRED, JOHN W
• Application Number:
  US09/684,382
• Time in Patent Office: 644 Days
• Field of Search: 244/17.23, 244/23.R, 244/136, 244/137.1, 244/23.B, 118/323, 118/256, 401/191, 401/137
• US Class Current: 244/136
• CPC Class Codes: B05B 13/005 mounted on vehicles or designed to apply a liquid on a very large surface, e.g. on the road, on the surface of large containers
• CPC Class Codes: B05C 1/08 using a roller or other rotating member which contacts the work along a generating line
• CPC Class Codes: B08B 3/024 Cleaning by means of spray elements moving over the surface to be cleaned

Abstract

A Cleaning and Painting Robot having the capability to fly, and a cleaning or painting mechanism that can be located at various positions on the robot body. The robot comprises of a flying unit connected with a feeding tube to a ground-moving base that holds the pressurized cleaning solution or paint. A steering mechanism in contact with the surface being cleaned or painted for changing the direction of advance of the flying unit while the back propeller or main rotors pushes the flying body against the working surface. An array of sensors is mounted of the flying unit body to get the physical size of the working surface, avoid obstacles, maintain stability and control others critical characteristics.

Claims

1. A flying unit for cleaning and painting tall structures comprising of:

two electric-powered counter-rotating rotors for providing lift, stability and altitude control;

one back propeller for providing forward and backward motion and more importantly the pushing force needed to keep the flying unit on a vertical and sloped surface;

five control actuators for flight stability;

main rotors collective pitch for upward and downward motion, cyclic control for lateral motion, tail rotor pitch for backward and forward motion, and engine throttle;

a flux-gate compass for measuring heading;

three downward facing ultrasonic sensors (two mounted towards the front of the flying unit and one mounted below the back propeller) for determining roll, pitch, and altitude of the flying unit;

a gyroscope for sensing rotation around the vertical axis;

an interchangeable cleaning or painting apparatus;

two proximity sensors mounted on the cleaning and painting apparatus for avoiding obstacles and keeping the flying unit at preprogrammed distance from surfaces;

a revolution counter mounted on the cleaning and painting apparatus for measuring distance traveled on contact surface;

a programmable controller that receives the inputs from the sensors and guide and control the flying unit.

2. A flying unit as defined in claim 1 and having the capability to be self-controlled to clean or paint surfaces via the robot controller in which the surfaces characteristics are known such as windows sizes and distance between windows in all directions.

3. A flying unit as defined in claim 1, which is connected to a four-wheel ground unit vehicle that supplies pressurized cleaning solution or paint via a feeding tube and electric energy to the flying unit.

4. The ground unit of claim 3 having the capability to adjust the delivery pressure of the cleaning solution and paint from the altitude of the flying unit via its controller that works in parallel with the flying unit on-board controller.

5. The ground unit of claim 3 having the capability to adjust via its controller that works in parallel with the flying unit on-board controller the feeding tube length that is tied to a rotating barrel from the altitude of the flying unit.

6. A flying unit as defined in claim 1 and having the capability to paint stripes in different colors in which the painting apparatus will be composed of concentric roller paints, a paint delivery system that mixes the primary color supply by the feeding tube from the ground unit with dyes kept in separate containers, the mixed paint is delivered individually to each roller paint.