CN111982177A - Sensor thermal protection device and method and fire-fighting robot - Google Patents

Abstract

A sensor thermal protection device, a sensor thermal protection method and a fire-fighting robot are provided, wherein the device comprises a device body, a front cover, a water cooling structure, an air cooling structure and a control unit, wherein the device body is connected with the front cover, and an internal equipment cabin is arranged inside the device body; the water cooling structure, the air cooling structure and the control unit are positioned in the internal equipment cabin; the control unit controls the opening or closing of the front cover and the supply amount of the cooling gas and the cooling water; and the air cooling structure forms an air curtain in front of the sensor and cools the front end of the sensor. The method comprises the steps of starting a water pump to provide cooling water for a water cooling structure to cool a sensor; and opening the front cover, and starting the air source to provide cooling air for the air cooling structure to cool the sensor. The device provided by the invention can normally work in an environment of more than 1000 ℃ as a sensing element of the fire-fighting robot, and can greatly enrich the application scenes of special robots.

Description

Sensor thermal protection device and method and fire-fighting robot

Technical Field

The invention relates to the technical field of special robots, in particular to a sensor thermal protection device combining multiple thermal protection measures.

Background

The fire-fighting robot is one of special robots and plays a role in fighting fire and rescuing more and more. The sensor is a core component used for detecting the working state of the robot and intelligently detecting the external working environment and the state of an object by the robot. In order to realize the autonomy under the complex, dynamic and uncertain environment, researchers in various countries gradually and reasonably combine sensors with different functions such as vision, hearing, pressure, heat and force sensors to form a perception system of the robot, provide more detailed external environment information for the robot, and further prompt the robot to make real-time, accurate and flexible behavior response to the external environment change. The working temperature of a common sensor is below 150 ℃, and the high-temperature resistant requirement of the fire-fighting industry cannot be met.

The prior art is as follows: application number of spiral air curtain cooling lens cover of high-temperature industrial television: 200910183844.3, the patent mainly solves the technical problems that the cooling effect of the lens cooling cover is not high, and the dirt shielding at the lens is difficult to remove. The technical scheme is as follows: the air-inducing cover is provided with a cover body, wherein a through hole is formed in the center of the cover body, and an air inducing device which enables air vortex to be formed at the through hole is arranged around the through hole of the cover body. The scheme has low cooling efficiency, needs to consume a large amount of cold sources, is generally used on fixed equipment such as a high-temperature furnace, cannot be applied to a mobile carrier, and cannot be used in a high-temperature environment of 1000 ℃.

Light guide plate air curtain cooling device application number: 201020534916.2, the patent mainly solves the technical problems of uneven heat dissipation of the light guide plate, residual stress and influence on the quality of the light guide plate. The technical scheme is as follows: the utility model provides a light guide plate air curtain cooling device for the heat dissipation cooling of light guide plate, includes the fan, the fan have a casing, install the wind wheel in the casing, the air outlet has on the casing, wind wheel and air outlet pass through the exhaust passage intercommunication, the air outlet on be equipped with the air ducting that forms the air curtain, air ducting including a plurality of guide vanes and the more than one piece that opens and shuts of adjusting the wind direction, a plurality of guide vanes vertical set up side by side and can angle regulation, two pieces level settings that open and shut, two pieces both ends that open and shut rotate with the casing and are connected. The scheme is a conventional air cooling scheme, the heat dissipation efficiency is low, the problem of uneven heat dissipation of the light guide plate is mainly solved, and the light guide plate cannot be used in a high-temperature environment.

In summary, the thermal protection technology of the current sensor mainly cools the sensor in an external air cooling or external water cooling mode, the external air cooling method has fast internal and external heat exchange and low cooling efficiency, and if the temperature requirement is high, high-pressure gas and strong airflow are needed; the external water cooling method has high cooling efficiency, but cannot be used in a high-temperature environment with the temperature of more than 200 ℃; meanwhile, the thermal protection technology of external air cooling and external water cooling needs to consume a large amount of cold sources, is generally used on fixed equipment such as a high-temperature furnace and cannot be applied to a movable carrier.

Disclosure of Invention

In order to solve the defects in the prior art, the invention aims to provide a sensor thermal protection device which can ensure that a conventional sensor can normally work in a high-temperature environment of 1000 ℃.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a sensor thermal protection device, comprising a device body, a front cover, a water cooling structure, an air cooling structure, and a control unit,

the device body is connected with the front cover, and an internal equipment cabin is arranged in the device body;

the water cooling structure, the air cooling structure and the control unit are positioned in the internal equipment cabin;

the control unit controls the opening or closing of the front cover and the supply of cooling gas and cooling water;

and the air cooling structure forms an air curtain in front of the sensor and cools the front end of the sensor.

Further, the device body and the front cover adopt a heat insulation shell with a multilayer structure;

the heat insulation shell comprises an outer shell layer, a heat insulation layer and an inner shell layer;

the thermal insulation layer is arranged between the outer shell layer and the thermal insulation layer and has a multilayer structure.

Furthermore, the air cooling structure is a hollow structure, and also comprises an air guide cavity, an air guide groove and an air guide opening, wherein,

the air guide cavity, the air guide opening and the plurality of air guide grooves form an air curtain cooling gas passage together;

the air guide cavity is hermetically connected with the air guide groove.

Furthermore, cooling gas enters the air guide cavity through the air guide opening, an air curtain is formed in front of the sensor through the air guide groove, and the front end of the sensor is cooled.

Furthermore, an included angle is formed between the air guide groove and the axis direction of the water cooling structure.

Furthermore, the water cooling structure also comprises a sensor bracket, a cooling water cavity, a cooling water inlet and a cooling water outlet, wherein,

the sensor is arranged on the sensor bracket, and the cooling water cavity is arranged in the sensor bracket;

and cooling water flows in from the cooling water inlet and flows out from the cooling water outlet through the cooling water cavity to complete cooling circulation so as to cool the sensor.

Furthermore, the control unit comprises a controller, a water pump, an air source, a communication module, a temperature sensor, an execution element and a switch, wherein,

the controller is respectively connected with the water pump, the air source, the communication module, the temperature sensor, the execution element and the switch;

the controller is used for processing temperature and communication data and controlling the opening or closing of the front cover and system cooling;

the water pump is used for controlling water cooling circulation and cooling the sensor;

the air source is used for forming an air curtain by compressed air through the air guide groove and cooling the sensor when the front cover is opened;

the communication module is used for carrying out data communication with an upper layer system, remotely controlling the opening or closing of the front cover and reading environmental temperature information;

the temperature sensor is used for collecting the ambient temperature and the temperature in the cavity of the protection structure;

the actuating element is positioned in the air cooling structure, is connected with the front cover and is used for opening or closing the front cover;

and the switch is used for manually controlling the system to start/stop running.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention further provides a thermal protection method for a sensor, comprising the following steps:

starting a water pump to provide cooling water for the water cooling structure to cool the sensor;

and opening the front cover, and starting the air source to provide cooling air for the air cooling structure to cool the sensor.

Further, the step of cooling the sensor cooling water by the cold source for starting the internal equipment compartment further comprises the step of controlling the rotating speed of the water pump and the flow rate of the cooling water by the control unit according to the measured value of the temperature sensor.

Furthermore, the step of opening the front cover and starting the air source to provide cooling air for the air cooling structure to cool the sensor further comprises,

the executive component receives the control of the control unit to open the front cover;

the control unit adjusts the flow rate or pressure of the cooling gas according to the measured value of the temperature sensor to cool the sensor.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention further provides a fire-fighting robot, wherein the sensor thermal protection device is arranged inside the fire-fighting robot.

The sensor thermal protection device has the following beneficial effects:

1) time-sharing thermal protection and combination of various thermal protection measures (thermal insulation layer, air curtain cooling and water cooling) enable the sensor in a non-permeability or low-permeability sensing mode to work normally as a sensing element of a fire-fighting robot in a severe environment of 1000 ℃, and therefore application scenes of special robots can be greatly enriched.

2) The air curtain cools the air zone that forms the pressure-fired at the sensor front end, can effectively reduce the convection heat transfer between high-temperature gas and the sensor to prevent filths such as dust to a certain extent in getting into the cavity.

Additional features and advantages of the invention will be set forth in the description which follows, and in part will be obvious from the description, or may be learned by practice of the invention.

Drawings

The accompanying drawings are included to provide a further understanding of the invention and are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification, illustrate embodiments of the invention and together with the description serve to explain the principles of the invention and not to limit the invention. In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a sensor thermal protector according to the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a schematic view of an insulated housing according to the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of a sensor heat shield according to the present invention in a shielded state;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of an air-cooled structure according to the present invention;

FIG. 5 is a schematic view of a water cooling structure according to the present invention;

FIG. 6 is a schematic view of the operation of the thermal protection device of the sensor according to the present invention;

fig. 7 is a schematic block diagram of a control unit according to the present invention.

Detailed Description

The preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, and it will be understood that they are described herein for the purpose of illustration and explanation and not limitation.

Fig. 1 is a schematic perspective view of a sensor heat protector according to the present invention, and as shown in fig. 1, the sensor heat protector of the present invention comprises adevice body 1 and afront cover 2, wherein,

thefront cover 2 is arranged at the front part of thedevice body 1 and is connected with thedevice body 1 through a shaft;

preferably, the sensor thermal protection comprises two states, the state switching being effected by an actuator.

In the embodiment of the invention, in the protection state, thefront cover 2 is closed, and the device body and the front cover form a heat sealing structure, and the state sensor does not work; in the operating state, thefront cover 2 is opened and the sensor operates at a high temperature.

In the embodiment of the present invention, theapparatus body 1 and thefront cover 2 both adopt the heat insulation casing with a multi-layer structure, fig. 2 is a schematic structural view of the heat insulation casing according to the present invention, and as shown in fig. 2, the heat insulation casing according to the present invention includes anouter casing layer 11, aheat insulation layer 12, and aninner casing layer 13, wherein,

theheat insulating layer 12 is provided between theouter shell 11 and theinner shell layer 13, and has a multilayer structure.

Theouter shell 11 is made of heat-resistant steel, ceramic or other materials having a certain structural strength and oxidation resistance at high temperature.

Theheat insulation layer 12 is made of aerogel, mullite and other materials with good heat insulation performance.

Theinner shell layer 13 may be made of conventional metal materials, such as stainless steel, aluminum alloy, etc.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view showing the protection state of the sensor heat protector according to the present invention, and as shown in FIG. 3, the sensor heat protector of the present invention further comprises anair cooling structure 3 and awater cooling structure 4, wherein

Theair cooling structure 3 and thewater cooling structure 4 are respectively positioned in aninternal equipment cabin 6 of thedevice body 1,

theair cooling structure 3 forms an air curtain in front of the sensor to cool the front end of the sensor.

Awater cooling structure 4 is provided around the outside of the sensor to cool the sensor housing.

Fig. 4 is a schematic perspective view of an air-cooling structure according to the present invention, and as shown in fig. 4, the air-cooling structure 3 of the present invention includes awind guiding cavity 31, awind guiding groove 32 and awind guiding opening 33, wherein,

theair guiding cavity 31 is a hollow structure, and theair guiding cavity 31, theair guiding opening 33 and the plurality ofair guiding grooves 32 form an air curtain cooling gas passage together. (theair guide groove 32 and theair guide cavity 31 are both air passages, and the air guide groove and the air guide cavity are structurally and hermetically connected, and are generally connected by metal welding or a mode of screws and gaskets).

The cooling gas enters theair guide cavity 31 through theair guide opening 33, and forms an air curtain in front of the sensor through theair guide groove 32 to cool the front end of the sensor.

Fig. 5 is a schematic view of a water cooling structure according to the present invention, as shown in fig. 5, thewater cooling structure 4 of the present invention,

comprises asensor support 41, a coolingwater cavity 42, a coolingwater inlet 43, and a coolingwater outlet 44, wherein,

a coolingwater chamber 42 is provided in thesensor holder 41.

Thesensor 7 is mounted on thesensor holder 41, and the cooling water flows in from the coolingwater inlet 43 and flows out from the coolingwater outlet 44 through the coolingwater cavity 42, thereby completing the cooling cycle and cooling thesensor 7.

Fig. 6 is a schematic view of the working state of the sensor thermal protection device according to the present invention, as shown in fig. 6, theair cooling structure 3 delivers cooling gas (the front cover is opened) to perform air curtain cooling in the working state of the sensor, and the air curtain cooling can perform a thermal protection function at the front end of thesensor 7 to ensure that the sensor normally works under a high temperature condition; meanwhile, the air curtain cools the air area which forms micro positive pressure at the front end of the sensor, thereby effectively reducing the heat convection between high-temperature gas and the sensor and preventing dirt such as dust from entering the cavity to a certain extent.

Preferably, theair guide groove 32 and the axial direction of the sensor form a certain included angle to ensure that the cooling air flows towards the direction far away from the sensor, so as to protect the sensor from working normally.

Fig. 7 is a schematic block diagram of acontrol unit 8 according to the present invention, as shown in fig. 7, including acontroller 801, a water pump 802, anair source 803, acommunication system 804, atemperature sensor 805, anactuator 806, and a switch 807, wherein,

thecontroller 801 is connected to the water pump 802, theair source 803, thecommunication system 804, thetemperature sensor 805, theactuator 806, and the switch 807, respectively.

And thecontroller 801 is used for processing temperature and communication data and controlling the opening and closing of thefront cover 2 and system cooling.

And the water pump 802 is used for controlling water cooling circulation and cooling the protected sensor.

And theair source 803 is used for providing cooling air for theair cooling structure 3 when thefront cover 2 is opened, so that the effect of cooling the protected sensor is achieved.

Preferably, thegas source 803 is a compressed gas storage tank, a gas pump, or other device that generates gas by physical or chemical means.

And acommunication system 804 which performs data communication with a remote controller or other terminal devices in a wired or wireless manner, so that a user can remotely control the opening or closing of thefront cover 2 and read information such as ambient temperature as required. The communication modes include, but are not limited to, CAN, RS485, RS232, USB, ad hoc link, local area network, and wide area network. When the remote equipment is communicated with the remote equipment, the remote equipment can be connected to the server through the 3G, 4G, 5G modules and the like, and then the remote equipment is connected through the transfer of the server. Or after a plurality of devices are connected with a host through short-distance communication, the host communicates with the far-end device through the server.

And thetemperature sensor 805 is positioned in thewater cooling structure 4 and is used for acquiring the protected sensor and the ambient temperature.

And anactuator 806 for controlling the opening or closing of thefront cover 2.

A switch 807 for directly and manually controlling the start/stop operation of the system, when the system is first pressed, the measurement is started, thefront cover 2 is opened, the cooling system is operated, and when the key is pressed again, thefront cover 2 is closed, and the system is stopped.

In this embodiment, the water pump 802, theair source 803, and thetemperature sensor 805 form a cooling system, wherein the water pump 802 is used to provide high-power cooling for the sensor body and the device body, and theair source 803 is used to generate compressed air required to form the air curtain.

Preferably, when the system is in a high-temperature environment, the system controls the rotating speed of the water pump 802 in real time according to the temperature of the front end of the protected sensor at present, so that the flow of cooling water exchanging heat with the sensor in unit time is controlled, and the effects of cooling and controlling the temperature of the protected sensor are achieved.

Preferably, the air cooling system can be further activated when the system opens thefront cover 2 in a high temperature environment. The air cooling system includes atemperature sensor 805 and asource 803 of compressed gas.

In this embodiment, the system may adjust the flow or pressure of the compressed air based on the measurements of thetemperature sensor 805 or other functional requirements to adjust the flow or pressure of the air forming the air curtain. For example, adjusting the number of revolutions of the gas pump or adjusting the opening of the valve of the gas storage tank, or adjusting the concentration of the chemical reactant.

In this embodiment, the basic principle of the opening and closing of thefront cover 2 is as follows: thecontroller 801 controls theactuator 806 to open or close thefront cover 2. The stroke of theactuator 806 is fixed and accurate, so that thefront cover 2 can be controlled to accurately reach the opening or closing position, the overshoot of the mechanical system caused by the overshoot is greatly reduced, and the control logic is simplified.

In this embodiment, the control method of thefront cover 2 includes: 1) pressing the switch 807 to start the button to control the opening of thefront cover 2, at this time, the system works, and the front cover is pressed again to be closed; 2) the front cover can be controlled to be opened and closed by sending an instruction through wireless or wired communication of thecommunication system 804; 3) after the front cover is opened, when the protected sensor exceeds the set temperature for a long time, thecontroller 801 controls the front cover to be automatically closed so as to protect the sensor.

In the embodiment of the invention, the sensor thermal protection device can be arranged in the fire-fighting robot and enters a high-temperature environment for data acquisition. When the fire-fighting robot enters a fire scene, the structure is in a thermal protection state, a cold source in the internal equipment cabin cools the sensor cooling water, and the air curtain cooling is not started at the moment; after the robot got into the scene of a fire, needed the sensor during operation, the protecgulum was opened, and this structure is in sensor operating condition, and the air curtain cooling starts simultaneously, and the cold source cools off air curtain cooling gas, and air curtain cooling and water-cooling effect simultaneously this moment guarantee that the sensor normally works under high temperature environment (1000 ℃). The function of the heat insulation layer protection in the whole process is to reduce the heat transfer of an external high-temperature environment to an internal equipment compartment and prolong the working time of the sensor in the high-temperature environment, the specific time is determined by the carrying amount of the coolant and the severe conditions of the high-temperature environment, and the robot can work for 30min (the working time of the sensor is less than 30 min) in the environment of 1000 ℃.

In this example, the wind-guiding groove is 60 (numerical value is 0-90) with sensor axis contained angle and wind-guiding groove quantity 18 (numerical value is 3-36) to guarantee that air curtain cooling air current flows to keeping away from the sensor direction, simultaneously, the air area of pressure-fired is formed at the sensor front end in the air curtain cooling, can effectively reduce the convection heat transfer between high temperature gas and the sensor, and prevent filths such as dust to a certain extent and get into the cavity.

The application discloses sensor heat protector is applicable to non-permeability or low permeability sensing mode such as laser, visible light, infrared ultrasonic wave. Through time-sharing thermal protection and combination of various thermal protection measures (thermal insulation layer heat insulation, air curtain cooling and water cooling), the sensor in a non-permeability or low-permeability sensing mode can work normally as a sensing element of the robot in a severe environment of 1000 ℃, so that the application scenes of the special robot can be greatly enriched, and the problem that the sensor cannot work normally in a high-temperature environment is solved.

Those of ordinary skill in the art will understand that: although the present invention has been described in detail with reference to the foregoing embodiments, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that changes may be made in the embodiments and/or equivalents thereof without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Any modification, equivalent replacement, or improvement made within the spirit and principle of the present invention should be included in the protection scope of the present invention.

Claims (11)

1. A sensor thermal protection device is characterized by comprising a device body, a front cover, a water cooling structure, an air cooling structure and a control unit, wherein,

the device body is connected with the front cover, and an internal equipment cabin is arranged in the device body;

the water cooling structure, the air cooling structure and the control unit are positioned in the internal equipment cabin;

the control unit controls the opening or closing of the front cover and the supply amount of the cooling gas and the cooling water;

and the air cooling structure forms an air curtain in front of the sensor and cools the front end of the sensor.

2. The sensor thermal protection device of claim 1, wherein said device body and said front cover are a multi-layered structure of thermally insulating housing;

the heat insulation shell comprises an outer shell layer, a heat insulation layer and an inner shell layer;

the heat insulation layer is arranged between the outer shell layer and the inner shell layer and has a multilayer structure.

3. The sensor thermal protector according to claim 1, wherein the air-cooled structure is a hollow structure, and further comprises a wind guiding cavity, a wind guiding groove and a wind guiding opening, wherein,

the air guide cavity, the air guide opening and the plurality of air guide grooves form an air curtain cooling gas passage together;

the air guide cavity is hermetically connected with the air guide groove.

4. The sensor thermal protector according to claim 3, wherein the cooling gas enters the air guiding cavity through the air guiding opening, and forms an air curtain in front of the sensor through the air guiding groove to cool the front end of the sensor.

5. The sensor thermal protection device according to claim 4, wherein the air guide groove forms an included angle with an axial direction of the water cooling structure.

6. The sensor thermal protection device of claim 1, wherein said water-cooled structure further comprises a sensor support, a cooling water cavity, a cooling water inlet, and a cooling water outlet, wherein,

the sensor is arranged on the sensor bracket, and the cooling water cavity is arranged in the sensor bracket;

and cooling water flows in from the cooling water inlet and flows out from the cooling water outlet through the cooling water cavity to complete cooling circulation so as to cool the sensor.

7. The sensor thermal protection device of claim 1, wherein said control unit comprises a controller, a water pump, an air supply, a communication module, a temperature sensor, an actuator, and a switch, wherein,

the controller is respectively connected with the water pump, the air source, the communication module, the temperature sensor, the execution element and the switch;

the controller is used for processing temperature and communication data and controlling the opening or closing of the front cover and system cooling;

the water pump is used for controlling water cooling circulation and cooling the sensor;

the air source is used for providing cooling air for the air cooling structure and cooling the sensor when the front cover is opened;

the communication module is used for carrying out data communication with an upper layer system, remotely controlling the opening or closing of the front cover and reading environmental temperature information;

the temperature sensor is used for collecting the ambient temperature and the temperature in the cavity of the protection structure;

the actuating element is positioned in the air cooling structure, is connected with the front cover and is used for opening or closing the front cover;

and the switch is used for manually controlling the system to start/stop running.

8. A method for thermal protection of a sensor, comprising the steps of:

starting a water pump to provide cooling water for the water cooling structure to cool the sensor;

and opening the front cover, and starting the air source to provide cooling air for the air cooling structure to cool the sensor.

9. The method for protecting sensor against heat as claimed in claim 8, wherein the step of cooling the sensor cooling water by the cold source for activating the internal equipment compartment further comprises the step of controlling the rotation speed of the water pump and the flow rate of the cooling water by the control unit according to the measured value of the temperature sensor.

10. The method of claim 8, wherein the step of opening the front cover and activating the air supply to provide cooling air to the air-cooled structure to cool the sensor further comprises,

the executive component receives the control of the control unit to open the front cover;

the control unit adjusts the flow rate or pressure of the cooling gas according to the measured value of the temperature sensor to cool the sensor.

11. A fire fighting robot, characterized in that the fire fighting robot is internally provided with a sensor thermal protection device according to any of claims 1-7.

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