Intellectual working robot of self controlling and running

• US 5,465,525 A
• Filed: 11/14/1994
• Issued: 11/14/1995
• Est. Priority Date: 12/29/1993
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Tomokiyo White Ant Co., Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Tomokiyo White Ant Co., Ltd.
• Inventors: Tanaka, Tsutomu, Mifune, Hiroshi, Tomokiyo, Shigetaka, Kaneda, Teruo, Adachi, Tsugio, Furudate, Toshiharu, Saitoh, Satoshi
• Primary Examiner(s): Rowan, Kurt
• Assistant Examiner(s): Elpel, Jeanne M.
• Application Number:
  US08/338,677
• Time in Patent Office: 365 Days
• Field of Search: 43/132.1, 43/900, 43/124, 239/69, 239/71, 239/146, 239/172, 239/739, 239/750, 901/1, 901/43, 180/167, 180/6.2, 180/6.28, 180/6.5, 180/6.7
• US Class Current: 43/132.1
• CPC Class Codes: A01M 7/00 Special adaptations or arrangements of liquid-spraying apparatus for purposes covered by this subclass
• CPC Class Codes: B25J 5/005 mounted on endless tracks or belts
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 43/90 Liquid insecticide sprayer

Abstract

A robot system for exterminating termites living in wood structural members under the floor of an architectural structure. The robot system comprises a robot including an onboard computer which is electrically connected through radio communication with a host computer located outside the robot. The robot includes a main body and is equipped with a locomotive mechanism including a pair of caterpillars located on the opposite sides of the main body. The caterpillars are driven by driving motors mounted on the robot and can be independently operated. The robot includes a mechanism for controlling the vertical positions of various sections of the main body relative to the caterpillars. A nozzle mechanism for spraying chemical or insecticide and a CCD camera are mounted on the main body. The onboard computer and host computer are operatively associated with each other to control the driving motors, the vertical position controlling mechanism, the nozzle mechanism and the CCD camera.

Claims

1. A robot system for spraying chemical for exterminating termite, in a place under a floor of a structure, said robot system comprising:

a moving truck including an endless track mechanism which is able to horizontally turn, a pair of rollers operatively connected to said endless track mechanism and driven by a DC geared motor, and a main body having a tank containing the chemical and a radio circuit for outputting and inputting an electrical signal thorough radio communication;

a lift mechanism operatively connected to said main body to lift said main body relative to said endless track mechanism, said lift mechanism including means for changing a distance between said moving truck main body and endless track mechanism;

a detecting mechanism including an encoder operatively connected to said rollers and arranged to detect a travel distance and a rotational angle of said moving truck;

an automatic control mechanism including an onboard computer mounted on said moving truck main body, a host computer separate from said onboard computer, and a radio modem through which said onboard computer being electrically connected to said host computer, and arranged to automatically control operations of said moving truck;

a CCD camera mounted on said truck main body to confirm the location of the objective wood section in wood structural members under the floor;

a monitoring mechanism for displaying an image of said objective wood section;

corner section detecting means for searching an approach or contact of said moving truck main body to the structural members to find a corner section of the structural member;

means for detecting a distance between said moving truck main body and said objective wood section, and including an infrared sensor; and

an automatic operation mechanism including means for memorizing a location and shape of the wood structural members after confirmation of all the wood structural members to which chemical is to be sprayed, and means for accomplishing a next time spray of chemical in accordance with a memorized data derived from a preceding time spray.

2. A robot system as claimed in claim 1, further comprising means for detecting a location at which termite is living, mounted on said moving truck.

3. A robot system as claimed in claim 2, wherein said location detecting means is one selected from the group consisting of a surface temperature sensor for detecting a temperature of a surface of the wood structural members, an acoustic sensor for detecting sound generated by termite, and a pheromone sensor for detecting smell of pheromone.

4. A robot system as claimed in claim 1, further comprising means for forming a line of luminous paint on the wood structural members, an optical sensor for detecting the line of luminous paint, means for automatically operating said robot along the line of luminous paint.

5. A robot system for exterminating termite under the floor of an architectural structure, comprising:

a control system including a host computer;

a moving truck including a main body, an onboard computer which forms part of said control system and mounted on said main body and electrically connected to said host computer through radio communication, first and second endless tracks which are disposed on opposite sides of said main body, first and second drive rollers on which said first and second endless tracks are respectively movably mounted, means for selectively rotating said first and second drive rollers in accordance with a command from said control system, a plurality of vertical position control mechanisms each of which is for controlling a vertical position of a section of the main body, said vertical position control mechanisms being selectively controlled in accordance with a command from said control system;

means for spraying chemical for exterminating termite in accordance with a command from said control system, said means being mounted on said moving truck;

a CCD camera electrically connected to said onboard computer to search the place under the floor in accordance with a command from said control system;

means for controlling said drive rollers and vertical position control mechanisms in accordance with a command from said onboard computer; and

means for controlling said drive rollers and vertical position control mechanisms in accordance with a command from said host computer.