Method of covering a surface of a building and robot therefor

• US 10,478,972 B2
• Filed: 05/23/2014
• Issued: 11/19/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 05/23/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Q-Bot Limited
• Original Assignee: Q-Bot Limited
• Inventors: Lipinski, Tomasz B., Childs, Peter, Holloway, Mathew
• Primary Examiner(s): Rodriguez, Michael P.
• Application Number:
  US14/890,215
• Publication Number:
  US 20160121486A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,006 Days
• Field of Search: None
• CPC Class Codes: B05B 12/084 responsive to condition of liquid or other fluent material already sprayed on the target, e.g. coating thickness, weight or pattern
• CPC Class Codes: B05B 12/18 using fluids, e.g. gas streams
• 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: B05B 13/0405 with reciprocating or oscillating spray heads B05B13/0436, B05B13/0442, B05B13/0447, B05B13/0468 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: B05B 13/0431 with spray heads moved by robots or articulated arms, e.g. for applying liquid or other fluent material to 3D-surfaces B05B13/0436, B05B13/0442, B05B13/0447, B05B13/0463 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: B05B 3/00 Spraying or sprinkling apparatus with moving outlet elements or moving deflecting elements
• CPC Class Codes: B05D 1/02 performed by spraying
• CPC Class Codes: B25J 11/0055 Cutting
• CPC Class Codes: B25J 11/0075 Manipulators for painting or coating
• CPC Class Codes: B25J 15/0019 End effectors other than grippers
• CPC Class Codes: B25J 15/04 with provision for the remote detachment or exchange of the head or parts thereof
• CPC Class Codes: B25J 5/007 mounted on wheels
• CPC Class Codes: E04B 1/76 specifically with respect to heat only heat insulation in general F16L59/00
• CPC Class Codes: E04F 21/12 acting by gas pressure, e.g. steam pressure
• CPC Class Codes: E04F 21/16 Implements for after-treatment of plaster or the like before it has hardened or dried, e.g. smoothing-tools, profile trowels E04F21/04, E04F21/165 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/0094 involving pointing a payload, e.g. camera, weapon, sensor, towards a fixed or moving target
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/0274 using mapping information stored in a memory device navigation using map-matching G01C21/30
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 901/01 Mobile robot
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 901/43 Spray painting or coating

Abstract

A method of covering a surface of a building, the method comprising spraying an expandable foam material onto the surface and allowing the foam material to solidify whereby to form a covering of the surface and a robotic vehicle configured to carry out the method.

Claims

1. A method of forming an insulative covering on an internal surface of a building, the method comprising:

introducing a robotic vehicle into an underfloor cavity of the building, wherein the underfloor cavity comprises a space between an underside of a suspended floor and the ground;

spraying, by the robotic vehicle, a thermally insulating material in at least one layer onto the internal surface, wherein the internal surface comprises the underside of the suspended floor, wherein the robotic vehicle comprises a spray nozzle coupled to a hose that is coupled to a source of the thermally insulating material, and further wherein the source is located outside of the underfloor cavity;

supplying, by the source, the thermally insulating material to the spray nozzle of the robotic vehicle via the hose; and

allowing the thermally insulating material to solidify, wherein the solidified thermally insulating material forms the insulative covering of the internal surface.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the thermally insulating material comprises an expandable foam material.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the expandable foam material comprises a polyurethane foam.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising shaping the thermally insulating material by applying a mould to the internal surface.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the shaping the thermally insulating material further comprises forming a desired 3D shape of the covering.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising machining, by a cutting tool of the robotic vehicle, the solidified thermally insulating material to remove excess thermally insulating material and to form a desired shape of the covering of the internal surface.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the cutting tool of the robotic vehicle replaces the spray nozzle during the machining of the solidified thermally insulating material.

8. The method of claim 6, wherein the desired shape of the covering is a desired 3D shape of the covering.

9. The method of claim 1, further comprising applying a surface coating to the solidified thermally insulating material.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the surface coating comprises polyurea.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein the robotic vehicle comprises a sensing device configured to monitor a thickness of the covering of the internal surface.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein the robotic vehicle is configured to apply the thermally insulating material autonomously to the internal surface in order to achieve a required thickness of the covering.

13. The method of claim 1, wherein the robotic vehicle further comprises a robotic arm coupled to the spray nozzle and configured to move the spray nozzle over the internal surface.

14. The method of claim 1, wherein the robotic vehicle comprises an umbilical cord that extends from the robotic vehicle to outside of the underfloor cavity, the umbilical cord comprising the hose for supplying the thermally insulating material.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein the umbilical cord comprises a power supply cable for supplying power to the robotic vehicle from outside of the underfloor cavity.

16. The method of claim 14, wherein the umbilical cord comprises one or more control signal wires for transmitting control signals to the robotic vehicle from outside of the underfloor cavity.

17. The method of claim 2, wherein the expandable foam comprises two parts, the method further comprising combining the two parts of the thermally insulating material in the spray nozzle.

18. The method of claim 1, wherein the spray nozzle is rotationally mounted to the robotic vehicle, and wherein spraying the thermally insulating material comprises rotating the spray nozzle to spray the thermally insulating material in the at least one layer to form the insulative covering of the internal surface.

19. The method of claim 18, wherein the spray nozzle is mounted for rotation relative to the robotic vehicle about two axes, wherein spraying the thermally insulating material comprises rotating the spray nozzle about the two axes to spray the thermally insulating material in the at least one layer to form the insulative covering of the internal surface.

20. The method of claim 18 further comprising:

rotating the spray nozzle to spray the thermally insulating material in a pattern on the internal surface.

21. The method of claim 1, wherein spraying the thermally insulating material comprises spraying the thermally insulating material to a controlled depth on the internal surface.