Method for inspection of objects using surface adhering robot
First Claim
1. A method for non-destructive inspection of an aircraft having an outer surface, comprising the steps of(a) providing a robot comprising:
- (1) a base, said base having a bottom side and an upper side;
(2) a plurality of vacuum cups, each of said vacuum cups comprising;
(i) a foot, said foot having a low friction wear surface coating,(ii) a sidewall comprising one or more resilient accordion pleats (34),(iii) an outlet port, said outlet port having an inlet portion,(iv) a fluid limiting valve, said fluid limiting valve located in fluid communication with and adapted to at least partially close said outlet port when said vacuum cup experiences loss of vacuum;
(3) at least three points of support for said base, said at least three points of support for said base, spacing said base apart from yet located close to the workpiece surface being traversed, so as to limit compression of said vacuum cups between said bottom side of said base and the surface being traversed, and(i) providing at least two contact points having driving traction relative to said workpiece surface being traversed,(ii) providing at least one pivotable contact point adapted to allow said robotic device to turn along a direction of travel;
(b) mounting a surface sensor on said robot;
(c) positioning said robot on said outer surface, and positioning said surface sensor in contact with said outer surface of the aircraft;
(d) maintaining the interior of the aircraft at a first pressure;
(e) moving said robot in a selected path of travel over said outer surface with said sensor riding on said robot;
(f) tracking the movement of said robot and thus said surface sensor, to provide a first measurement of the spatial coordinates of said surface sensor;
(g) pressurizing the interior of the aircraft to a pressure greater than said first pressure;
(h) repeating the steps of moving the robot and tracking the movement of said surface sensor to provide a second measurement of the spatial coordinates of the sensor;
(i) and comparing the first measurement with the second measurement to determine whether the spatial coordinates at any selected location on said aircraft outer surface are outside of a given tolerance.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A surface clinging robotic device. The device includes a supporting structure or base, on which is mounted (a) a lead pivoting support surface, such as a pivoting wheel, and (b) two or more traction drives, such as drive wheels. Each of the traction drives are independently driven by a separate drive motor. A plurality of vacuum cups are mounted on the bottom of the base. The vacuum cups each have a low friction foot designed for movement over a surface with minimal friction while vacuum is maintained. The low friction foot portion is provided by a generally surface direction oriented C-shaped Teflon skin. The robotic device can move over gaps or obstructions in the surface without losing vacuum in all of the vacuum cups, using a fluid limiting valve at each vacuum cup to interrupt flow in the event of loss of vacuum in that vacuum cup.
110 Citations
15 Claims
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1. A method for non-destructive inspection of an aircraft having an outer surface, comprising the steps of
(a) providing a robot comprising: -
(1) a base, said base having a bottom side and an upper side; (2) a plurality of vacuum cups, each of said vacuum cups comprising; (i) a foot, said foot having a low friction wear surface coating, (ii) a sidewall comprising one or more resilient accordion pleats (34), (iii) an outlet port, said outlet port having an inlet portion, (iv) a fluid limiting valve, said fluid limiting valve located in fluid communication with and adapted to at least partially close said outlet port when said vacuum cup experiences loss of vacuum; (3) at least three points of support for said base, said at least three points of support for said base, spacing said base apart from yet located close to the workpiece surface being traversed, so as to limit compression of said vacuum cups between said bottom side of said base and the surface being traversed, and (i) providing at least two contact points having driving traction relative to said workpiece surface being traversed, (ii) providing at least one pivotable contact point adapted to allow said robotic device to turn along a direction of travel; (b) mounting a surface sensor on said robot; (c) positioning said robot on said outer surface, and positioning said surface sensor in contact with said outer surface of the aircraft; (d) maintaining the interior of the aircraft at a first pressure; (e) moving said robot in a selected path of travel over said outer surface with said sensor riding on said robot; (f) tracking the movement of said robot and thus said surface sensor, to provide a first measurement of the spatial coordinates of said surface sensor; (g) pressurizing the interior of the aircraft to a pressure greater than said first pressure; (h) repeating the steps of moving the robot and tracking the movement of said surface sensor to provide a second measurement of the spatial coordinates of the sensor; (i) and comparing the first measurement with the second measurement to determine whether the spatial coordinates at any selected location on said aircraft outer surface are outside of a given tolerance. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5)
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6. A surface clinging robotic device for clinging to a workpiece surface, said device comprising:
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(a) a base, said base having a bottom side and an upper side; (b) an outlet port, said outlet port having an inlet portion (1) a low friction foot, (2) a sidewall comprising one or more resilient accordion pleats (34), (3) an outlet port, said outlet port having an inlet portion (4) a fluid limiting valve, said fluid limiting valve located in fluid communication with and adapted to at least partially close said outlet port (c) three effective points of support between said base and workpiece surface, said three effective points of support including (1) a first truck mount pivotably affixed to said base, said first truck mount comprising a pair of wheels rotatably affixed to said first truck mount, (2) a second truck mount pivotably affixed to said base, said second truck mount comprising a second pair of wheels rotatably affixed to said second truck mount, and (3) a pivotable wheel affixed to said base, said at least three effective points of support adapted to limit the distance of said base relative to the workpiece surface being traversed, so as to limit compression of said vacuum cups between said bottom side of said base and the workpiece surface being traversed. - View Dependent Claims (7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15)
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Specification