Autonomous robotic crawler for in-pipe inspection
First Claim
1. An autonomous robot for traversing a conduit comprising:
- a body;
a drive system capable of extracting energy from a flow of fluid through the conduit and using the energy to advance the body along the inside of the conduit; and
at least one sensor mounted on said body;
wherein the drive system includes at least one set of pitched wheels and at least one set of non-pitched wheels;
wherein at least one of said wheels is supported on a suspension system and said suspension system is actuatable between a first position in which all of said pitched wheels contact said conduit and a second position in which at least one of said pitched wheels is retracted such that the section on which said retracted wheel is mounted can rotate freely within the conduit; and
wherein at least one of said wheels can be retracted by the robot in the event of a locomotion failure.
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Accused Products
Abstract
The specification discloses a robot for inspection adapted to travel virtually unlimited distances through small-diameter enclosed spaces such as conduits or ducts, preferably using a fluid-driven screw-drive propulsion system. The robot preferably includes a drive module having a plurality of wheels inclined at an angle greater than zero degrees and less than ninety degrees to the longitudinal axis of the pipe, a driver module having a plurality of wheels aligned parallel to the longitudinal axis of the pipe, and a power module. The driver module is preferably connected to the drive module such that the drive and driver modules are capable of providing the locomotive motion of the robot. The power module preferably provides the power to the drive and driver modules.
137 Citations
49 Claims
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1. An autonomous robot for traversing a conduit comprising:
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a body; a drive system capable of extracting energy from a flow of fluid through the conduit and using the energy to advance the body along the inside of the conduit; and at least one sensor mounted on said body; wherein the drive system includes at least one set of pitched wheels and at least one set of non-pitched wheels; wherein at least one of said wheels is supported on a suspension system and said suspension system is actuatable between a first position in which all of said pitched wheels contact said conduit and a second position in which at least one of said pitched wheels is retracted such that the section on which said retracted wheel is mounted can rotate freely within the conduit; and wherein at least one of said wheels can be retracted by the robot in the event of a locomotion failure. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45)
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46. An autonomous robot for traversing a conduit comprising:
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a drive module having a plurality of pitched wheels, said pitched wheels being oriented such that each of their axes defines a pitch angle greater than zero degrees and less than ninety degrees with respect to the longitudinal axis of the conduit, said pitched wheels lying in at least one helical row; a driver module connected to said drive module, said driver module having a plurality of wheels aligned parallel to the longitudinal axis of the conduit; and a power module; wherein said drive and driver modules cooperate to provide locomotive motion of the robot, and wherein said power module provides power for said locomotive motion, further comprising a suspension system supporting at least one of said wheels, wherein at least one suspension system is actuatable between a first position in which all of said pitched wheels contact said conduit and a second position in which at least one of said pitched wheels is retracted such that the section on which said retracted wheel is mounted can rotate freely within the conduit, and wherein said suspension system comprises cam-driven cartridges.
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47. An autonomous robot for traversing a conduit comprising:
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a drive module having a plurality of pitched wheels, said pitched wheels being oriented such that each of their axes defines a pitch angle greater than zero degrees and less than ninety degrees with respect to the longitudinal axis of the conduit; a driver module connected to said drive module, said driver module having a plurality of wheels aligned parallel to the longitudinal axis of the conduit; and a power module, said power module comprising a turbine system; wherein said drive and driver modules provide locomotive motion of the robot, and wherein said power module provides the power for said locomotive motion; wherein said turbine system is capable of producing power regardless of the direction in which fluid is flowing through the conduit; and wherein at least one of said wheels is supported on a suspension system and said suspension system is actuatable between a first position in which all of said pitched wheels contact said conduit and a second position in which at least one of said pitched wheels is retracted such that the section on which said retracted wheel is mounted can rotate freely within the conduit. - View Dependent Claims (48)
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49. An autonomous robot for traversing a conduit comprising:
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a drive module having a plurality of pitched wheels, said pitched wheels being oriented such that each of their axes defines a pitch angle greater than zero degrees and less than ninety degrees with respect to the longitudinal axis of the conduit; a driver module rotatably connected to said drive module, said driver module having a plurality of wheels aligned parallel to the longitudinal axis of the conduit; a power module for providing power to cause rotation of said drive module relative to said driver module; and a suspension system supporting at least one of said wheels, said suspension system comprising at least one cam-driven cartridge, wherein said suspension system is actuatable between a first position in which all of said pitched wheels contact said conduit and a second position in which at least one of said pitched wheels is refracted such that the section on which said retracted wheel is mounted can rotate freely within the conduit.
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Specification