KR101779667B1 - Solar cell cleaning robot and cleaning method using the same - Google Patents

Abstract

The cleaning robot for a solar panel according to the present invention comprises a camera, a corner recognition unit recognizing a corner area of the solar panel, Cleaning for solar panels that can be cleaned while traveling along a set path of cleaning of the solar panel surface, including four disc shaped drive wheels that can be individually driven and change the contact with the floor surface and change the travel speed And is a robot.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a cleaning robot for a solar panel,

The present invention relates to a cleaning robot for a solar panel and a cleaning method using the cleaning robot. More particularly, the present invention relates to a cleaning robot for a solar panel, The present invention relates to a cleaning robot for a solar panel and a cleaning method using the cleaning robot.

Generally, research and development and application of new and renewable energy are actively carried out to diversify energy supply sources.

Among renewable energy, solar energy can be produced irrespective of environmental pollution, and it is the fastest developing. Various related fields such as high efficiency solar cell development, power conversion device, power storage device, panel attitude control, .

Here, power generation efficiency of the solar cell panel is affected by various factors. Typically, there is a loss due to a leakage current caused by a leakage current between a frame constituting a panel and a solar cell module, a loss due to a high-temperature phenomenon of the panel, a pollution source on the surface of the panel, an obstacle and a loss due to occlusion.

The leakage current and the high-temperature phenomenon are a problem of the solar cell panel itself, and the most easily accessible factor besides the problem of the solar cell panel itself is pollution prevention of the solar cell panel.

Although it is not serious about the pollution problem of the solar panel, it is very important to maintain the surface of the panel cleanly by periodic panel management in order to maintain the power generation.

A robot system for cleaning the surface of a solar cell panel as disclosed in Korean Patent No. 1010341920000 for cleaning of the solar cell panel has been proposed.

However, since the self-cleaning system as described above must be manufactured at the time of manufacturing the first solar cell panel, there is a problem that it can not be applied to the existing solar cell panel. Accordingly, a mobile robot for cleaning the contamination of the panel while moving the surface of the solar cell panel has been proposed.

Korean Patent Registration No. 1272474 and Korean Patent Registration No. 0878880 are configured to make a leg using an adsorption method so as to be able to move on the surface and to clean the surface using a cleaning means such as a cleaning roller.

However, when the adsorbent is configured to move using the above-described adsorption method, when the amount of contaminants is proper, adsorption movement is possible on the surface of the panel, but when there are many contaminants on the surface of the panel, There is a problem that the robot falls.

In addition, since the moving surface is the surface of the solar cell panel, a coating layer is formed on the surface of the solar cell panel, and the coating layer peels off due to the movement of the adsorption method.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in order to solve the conventional problems as described above, and it is an object of the present invention to provide a cleaning method for a solar panel that can be cleaned while traveling along a predetermined direction, And a method of cleaning the robot.

In addition, the present invention provides a cleaning robot for a solar panel and a method of cleaning the same, which can be washed while traveling on the basis of an ultrasonic sensor and a camera to prevent falling from the surface of the solar panel.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a cleaning robot for a photovoltaic panel capable of obtaining information on a damaged portion of a surface of a solar panel through a camera, and a cleaning method thereof.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a cleaning robot for a solar panel and a cleaning method thereof, which can easily clean and maintain the surface of a solar panel in a large-scale solar power plant spreading in a high-altitude operation or in a large area.

According to the present invention, there is provided a cleaning robot for a solar panel cleaning a solar panel formed of inclined surfaces, the cleaning robot comprising: a robot body; At least one corner recognition unit installed on the robot body and recognizing a corner of the surface of the solar panel; A camera installed on the robot body to acquire image information of the surface of the solar panel; Four traveling wheels provided on the robot body so as to be rotatably driven independently of each other, the four traveling wheels being adjustable to have an inclination angle with respect to the floor surface; And a control unit for maintaining and changing a contact point between each of the traveling wheels and the floor surface by using the information obtained from the camera and the corner recognition unit to clean the traveling surface of the solar panel using the cleaning pad, And a control unit for controlling the rotating speed and the rotating direction of the traveling wheel.

Here, the corner recognizing part may be provided on each of the front, back, left, and right sides of the direction of travel of the robot body.

The corner recognition unit may be an ultrasonic sensor.

Also, when the inclination angle of the traveling wheel is controlled to be more than 0 DEG and less than 13 DEG, it is possible to exhibit the maximum cleaning effect at an optimum time.

In addition, the camera may be installed in front of the robot body in the running direction.

The apparatus may further include an auxiliary cleaning portion including a coupling portion coupled to the robot body and a roller portion coupled to an end portion of the coupling portion.

In addition, the four traveling wheels may be spaced apart from each other so as to be symmetrical with respect to the center of the robot body.

In addition, the control unit may control the four driving wheels to ride while cleaning along a predetermined washing path.

A method of cleaning a solar panel using the cleaning robot for a solar panel includes four traveling wheels separated from each other by a robot body and provided with a cleaning pad, a camera, at least one corner recognition unit, Preparing a cleaning robot for a solar panel that is independently rotatable and has a variable inclination angle with respect to a bottom surface thereof; The direction of rotation of each traveling wheel is controlled while keeping or changing the contact point between the traveling wheels and the bottom surface based on the edge recognition unit and the surface information of the solar panel obtained through the camera, Wherein the angle of inclination between each traveling wheel and the contact when cleaning the surface of the solar panel is greater than 0 ° and less than 13 °, .

The cleaning path may include a first cleaning path set in a straight line from the predetermined cleaning start point to a top corner area or a bottom corner area of the photovoltaic panel in a backing plate direction or a downward direction, Wherein the first cleaning path and the second cleaning path are alternately repeated so that the cleaning robot for the solar panel can run continuously, wherein the first cleaning path and the second cleaning path are alternately repeated So that the entire surface of the solar panel can be cleaned.

If the cleaning start point of the first arranged cleaning path is an apex region of any one of the upper left vertex region, the lower left vertex region, the upper right vertex region, and the lower left vertex region of the surface of the solar panel, The last point of the first cleaning path may be an opposite-side vertex area in the up-and-down direction of the surface of the solar panel with respect to the cleaning start point.

In addition, in the case of a path for backing up the surface of the solar panel in the first washing path, the four traveling wheels may have a driving force larger than a stop driving force in which the robot body is kept stationary on the surface of the solar panel And when the surface of the solar panel is descending downward in the first washing path, the four traveling wheels are provided on the surface of the solar panel with a driving force smaller than a stop driving force in which the robot body is kept stationary And when the surface of the photovoltaic panel travels in the left or right direction during the second cleaning route, the four traveling wheels are controlled so as to correspond to a descending force due to the inclination formed on the surface of the solar panel Can be controlled so as to be formed in the opposite direction.

Also, the difference between the driving force and the stopping driving force at the time of backlash can be controlled to be equal to the difference between the driving force and the stopping driving force at the time of descent.

In addition, when the solar washing robot travels along the washing path, it is possible to recognize the corner area and the vertex area of the surface of the solar panel through the edge recognizing part so as to be controlled to travel while being located inside the solar panel, As shown in Fig.

In addition, when the photovoltaic cleaning robot travels along the cleaning path, an image of the photovoltaic panel located in front of the direction of travel from the camera is acquired, and the photovoltaic cell is moved along a line formed by the photovoltaic cell of the photovoltaic panel Can be controlled.

According to the present invention, there is provided a cleaning robot for a solar panel and a method of cleaning the same, which can be cleaned while traveling along a predetermined direction on the inclined solar panel surface using a rotating traveling wheel provided with a cleaning pad.

There is also provided a cleaning robot for a solar panel and a method of cleaning the same, which is capable of washing while traveling on the basis of information obtained from a corner recognition unit and a camera, thereby preventing falling from the surface of the solar panel.

There is also provided a cleaning robot for a solar panel and a cleaning method thereof, which can obtain information about a damaged portion of the surface of the solar panel through a camera.

There is also provided a cleaning robot for a photovoltaic panel and a cleaning method thereof for facilitating cleaning and maintenance of the surface of a solar panel in a large-scale photovoltaic power plant deployed in a high-risk work environment or a vast area.

1 is a perspective view of a cleaning robot for a solar panel according to a first embodiment of the present invention,
Fig. 2 is a bottom view of Fig. 1,
Fig. 3 is a plan view of Fig. 1,
FIG. 4 is a detailed view of the first washing /
5 is a graph showing the efficiency of the solar panel after cleaning the surface of the solar panel according to the inclination angle of the traveling wheel,
Fig. 6 is a driving state diagram of Fig. 3,
FIG. 7 to FIG. 14 are control views of driving wheels of the cleaning robot according to the first embodiment of the present invention,
15 is a cleaning path diagram of a solar panel to be cleaned by the robot for a solar panel of the present invention,
Fig. 16 is a state diagram of the cleaning robot located in the first path of Fig. 15;
Fig. 17 is a state diagram of the washing robot located in the second path of Fig. 15;
Fig. 18 is a state diagram of the cleaning robot located in the fourth path of Fig. 15;
19 is a schematic view of a cleaning robot according to a second embodiment of the present invention,
Fig. 20 is a plan view of Fig. 19. Fig.

Prior to the description, components having the same configuration are denoted by the same reference numerals as those in the first embodiment. In other embodiments, configurations different from those of the first embodiment will be described do.

Hereinafter, a cleaning robot for a solar panel according to a first embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a cleaning robot for a solar panel according to a first embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a bottom view of FIG. 1, and FIG. 3 is a plan view of FIG.

1 to 3, a cleaning robot 1 for a solar panel according to a first embodiment of the present invention includes a robot body 10, a first cleaning travel module 21, a second cleaning travel module 22 (Not shown) including a third washing / traveling module 23, a fourth washing / traveling module 24, and a control unit (not shown).

The control unit may be installed in the robot body 10 or may be installed in a remote controller that can be remotely controlled. In this embodiment, the control unit is installed in the robot body 10.

The robot body 10 includes a battery, a GPS, a tilt sensor, at least one ultrasonic sensor, a camera 11, and at least two fans 12.

Information obtained from the GPS, the ultrasonic sensor, the tilt sensor, and the camera 11 is transmitted to the controller, and the controller controls the washing / driving module 20, which will be described later, based on each piece of information transmitted.

Here, the GPS transmits the position information of the cleaning robot, and the ultrasonic sensor transmits information for recognizing the edge of the solar panel surface 2, and the tilt sensor detects the position of the solar panel surface of the robot body 10 (2), and the information obtained from the camera (11) transmits information about the line formed by the solar cell located in front of the traveling direction on the solar panel surface (2) do.

Specifically, the tilt sensor transmits the sensed tilt value to the controller, and the control unit controls the angle and the number of rotations of the driving wheel of the washing / driving module 20, which will be described later, Can be maintained.

The balance of the cleaning robot can be maintained even on the inclined solar panel surface 2 by using the tilt sensor.

The camera 11 is installed at a position in front of the driving direction so that it is possible to acquire image information about the forward direction of the robot body 10.

Particularly, by acquiring image information about the line formed by the solar cell of the solar panel surface 2, the control unit can travel in a linear direction along the line formed by the solar cell.

At least one of the ultrasonic sensors 12 is installed on the robot body. Preferably, the ultrasonic sensors 12 are disposed on four sides of the robot body 10 with respect to the center of the robot body 10, The edge of the edge of the image can be recognized.

For example, when an ultrasonic signal is transmitted to the inner region of the edge of the solar panel surface 2, the time taken for the signal to return is approximately a constant value. However, when an ultrasonic signal is transmitted to the outer region of the edge, the time taken for the signal to return is greatly changed, so that the edge can be recognized.

In the present embodiment, the ultrasonic sensor is used to recognize the edge, but any element can be used as long as it can distinguish between the outside and the inside based on the edge.

The fan 13 is a member that sucks dirt collected from a driving wheel to be described later from below and discharges the dust to the upper side of the robot body 10. A predetermined dirt bag or the like is coupled to the discharged portion, So that the collected dirt can be collected in one place.

The washing and running module 20 includes a first washing and drier module 21 and a second washing and drier module 22 which are spaced apart from each other in front of the robot body 10 and are spaced apart from each other at the rear of the robot body 10 A third washing traveling module 23 and a fourth washing traveling module 24.

Each of the washing and drier modules is spaced apart from each other in a circle-symmetrical manner with respect to the center of the robot body, and the center of rotation axis of the driving wheel of each washing and drier module is installed parallel to the lateral and longitudinal directions.

Since the positions of the respective washing and washing travel modules are different and the constitution thereof is the same, the description of the constitution will be described only for the first washing and washing travel module 21 representatively.

FIG. 4 is a detailed view of the first washing and washing travel module of FIG. 1. FIG. Referring to FIG. 4, the first washing and washing module 21 includes a leg portion 210, a motor 211, a first traveling wheel 212, and a cleaning pad 213.

The leg portions 210 are formed in a cylindrical or prismatic shape. The motor 211 is installed to the leg portion 210 so as to be rotatable in all directions 360 ° by a predetermined rotating gear that rotates the housing of the motor 211.

Further, a disk-shaped traveling wheel is coupled to the rotating shaft of the motor 211, and a washing pad 213 is provided to the traveling wheel. The cleaning pad 213 is preferably detachable.

That is, the inclination angle of the first traveling wheel 212 can be varied by rotating the motor 211 in all directions.

In this case, when the inclination angle [theta] increases, the traveling speed of the vehicle becomes the same as that of an automobile wheel, and when the inclination angle [theta] is small, the contact area with the bottom surface increases relatively and the traveling speed decreases.

5 is a graph showing the relative efficiency of the solar panel after cleaning the surface of the solar panel according to the inclination angle of the traveling wheel. The relative efficiency of the solar panel shown in the figure is expressed as a relative value with 100 when the inclination angle of the traveling wheel at the highest is 2 °.

Referring to FIG. 5, when the inclination angle of the traveling wheel is set to 2 degrees, the relative efficiency of the solar panel is highest when the solar panel is cleaned, 72 at 13 degrees, 40 at 14 degrees The relative efficiency of the solar panel is drastically lowered.

That is, when cleaning the photovoltaic panel through the traveling wheel, the inclination angle of the traveling wheel is 13 °, which shows a proper cleaning effect.

When the inclination angle exceeds 13 degrees, the cleaning speed of the cleaning robot is faster than that of the washing robot at 13 degrees, which shortens the cleaning time, but the surface cleaning degree is significantly lowered. Accordingly, when the entire surface of the solar panel 2 is cleaned, it is possible to maximize the surface cleaning force with the optimum traveling speed by controlling the inclination angle of each traveling wheel to be more than 0 degrees and less than 13 degrees.

The control unit independently controls the first washing / traveling module 21, the second washing / traveling module 22, the third washing / traveling module 23 and the fourth washing / The rotation direction of each traveling wheel is controlled by maintaining and changing a point where each wheel touches the floor surface, so that the robot body 10 can be washed while traveling in one direction.

6 is a driving state diagram of Fig. 6, when the first washing traveling module 21, the second washing traveling module 22, the third washing traveling module 23 and the fourth washing traveling module 24 are rotated on the floor, The collected dirt is sucked upward through the fan 12 and discharged to the upper side of the robot body 10, so that the bottom surface can be cleaned.

Next, a traveling method of the cleaning robot for a solar panel according to the first embodiment of the present invention will be described. The running of the washing robot according to the first embodiment of the present invention is performed by the first washing traveling module 21, the second washing traveling module 22, the third washing traveling module 23 and the fourth washing traveling module 24, It is possible to change the contact point with the respective bottom surfaces and change the direction of rotation.

FIGS. 7 to 14 are control charts of driving wheels according to the first embodiment of the present invention; FIG.

Forward driving

7, the forward movement of the cleaning robot is such that the contact points with the bottom surfaces of the first traveling wheel 212 and the third traveling wheel 232 are positioned on the left side of the robot body 10 And controls the first traveling wheel 212 and the third traveling wheel 232 to rotate clockwise.

The contact point between the second traveling wheel 222 and the fourth traveling wheel 242 on the bottom surface is located on the right side of the robot body 10 and the second traveling wheel 222 and the fourth traveling wheel 242 ) Is controlled to rotate counterclockwise.

The first driving wheel 212 and the third driving wheel 232 are controlled to rotate in the clockwise direction and the second driving wheel 212 and the third driving wheel 232 are controlled to rotate in the clockwise direction, The traveling wheel 222 and the fourth traveling wheel 242 can be controlled to rotate counterclockwise to travel forward.

Rear travel

8, the rearward movement of the cleaning robot is such that the contact points with the bottom surfaces of the first traveling wheel 212 and the third traveling wheel 232 are positioned on the left side of the robot body 10 , And controls the first traveling wheel 212 and the third traveling wheel 232 to rotate in the counterclockwise direction.

The contact point between the second traveling wheel 222 and the fourth traveling wheel 242 on the bottom surface is located on the right side of the robot body 10 and the second traveling wheel 222 and the fourth traveling wheel 242 rotate clockwise.

Right-hand drive

9, the contact of the first traveling wheel 212 and the second traveling wheel 222 with the bottom surface is located at the front, and the first traveling wheel 212 and the second traveling wheel 222 The second traveling wheel 212 and the second traveling wheel 222 rotate clockwise.

The contact between the third traveling wheel 232 and the fourth traveling wheel 242 and the bottom surface is located behind the robot body 10 and the third traveling wheel 232 and the fourth traveling wheel 242 ) Is controlled to rotate counterclockwise.

Left-hand drive

10, the contact of the first traveling wheel 212 and the second traveling wheel 222 with the bottom surface is located at the front side, and the first traveling wheel 212 and the second traveling wheel 222 The second traveling wheel 212 and the second traveling wheel 222 rotate in the counterclockwise direction.

The contact between the third traveling wheel 232 and the fourth traveling wheel 242 and the bottom surface is located behind the robot body 10 and the third traveling wheel 232 and the fourth traveling wheel 242 ) Is controlled to rotate clockwise.

Right front diagonal drive

11, the contact of the cleaning robot with the bottom surface of the first traveling wheel 212 is located on the left side, and the traveling wheel 242 and the bottom surface And the contact point between them is located at the rear side.

Then, the first traveling wheel 212 rotates in the clockwise direction and the fourth traveling wheel 242 rotates in the counterclockwise direction.

At this time, it is preferable that the second traveling wheel 222 and the third traveling wheel 232 maintain a state parallel to the floor without making a contact in any one direction, .

Right rear diagonal running

12, the contact between the second traveling wheel 222 and the bottom surface is positioned on the right side of the robot body 10, and the third traveling wheel 222 So that the contact point between the robot body (232) and the bottom surface is located behind the robot body (10).

Then, the second traveling wheel 222 is controlled to rotate in the clockwise direction, and the third traveling wheel 232 is controlled to rotate in the counterclockwise direction.

At this time, it is preferable that the first traveling wheel 212 and the fourth traveling wheel 242 are not in contact with each other in one direction and are kept in parallel with the bottom surface, and they are rotated clockwise or counterclockwise .

Left front diagonal driving

13, the contact between the second traveling wheel 222 and the bottom surface is located on the right side of the robot body 10, and the third traveling wheel 222 The contact point between the first traveling wheel 232 and the bottom surface is positioned at the rear of the robot body 10 so that the second traveling wheel 222 rotates counterclockwise and the third traveling wheel 232 rotates clockwise .

At this time, it is preferable that the first traveling wheel 212 and the fourth traveling wheel 242 are not in contact with each other in one direction and are kept in parallel with the bottom surface, and they are rotated clockwise or counterclockwise .

Left rear diagonal driving

14, the contact between the first traveling wheel 212 and the bottom surface is located on the left side of the robot body 10, and the fourth traveling wheel 212 is moved in the left rear diagonal direction, The contact point between the first driving wheel 242 and the bottom surface is located at the rear of the robot body 10 so that the first driving wheel 212 rotates counterclockwise and the fourth driving wheel 242 rotates clockwise .

At this time, it is preferable that the second traveling wheel 222 and the third traveling wheel 232 maintain a state parallel to the floor without making a contact in any one direction, .

The vehicle can travel in the forward, rearward, rightward, leftward, right front diagonal, right rear diagonal, left front diagonal, and left rear diagonal directions as described above.

Next, a cleaning method using the cleaning robot for a solar panel according to the first embodiment of the present invention will be described.

In the cleaning method using the cleaning robot for a solar panel of the present invention, a cleaning path is set in advance.

The cleaning path includes a first cleaning path set in a straight line from the preset cleaning start point to a top corner area or a bottom corner area of the photovoltaic panel in a backing plate direction or a downward direction, And a second cleaning path set in a straight line by a predetermined distance in any one of directions.

The first cleaning path and the second cleaning path are alternately repeatedly arranged and set so that the cleaning robot 1 continuously travels while cleaning the entire surface of the solar panel 2. [

That is, when alternately repeatedly arranged, the starting point of the second cleaning path may be the last point of the first cleaning path, and the starting point of the first cleaning path arranged next to the first cleaning path may be the end point of the immediately preceding second cleaning path It may be the last point.

Here, if the cleaning start point of the first arranged cleaning path is an apex region of any one of the upper left vertex region, the lower left vertex region, the upper right vertex region, and the lower left vertex region of the solar panel surface 2, The last point of the first first washing path may be the opposite vertex area in the vertical direction of the solar panel surface 2 with respect to the cleaning start point.

The entire surface of the solar panel can be uniformly cleaned by running and cleaning the solar panel cleaning robot (hereinafter "cleaning robot") along the cleaning path.

An example of the washing path will be described. 15 is a cleaning path diagram of a solar panel to be cleaned by the robot for the solar panel of the present invention. Referring to FIG. 15, it includes a first path P ₁ , a second path P ₂ , a third path P ₃ , and a fourth path P ₄ .

The first path ( P _One )

The first path P ₁ is a first cleaning path. The cleaning start point a is set to the left lower apex region of the solar panel, and is set straight to the upper apex region.

When the washing robot 1 travels along the first path P ₁ , the washing robot 1 recognizes the left corner of the solar panel surface 2 through the corner recognition part and is always controlled to be located inside the left corner, (Not shown) formed by the solar cell in the forward image in the running direction obtained by the camera.

When the cleaning robot 1 arrives at the upper edge area, if the upper edge forming the left upper corner point is recognized through the edge recognition part, the left edge and the upper edge are simultaneously recognized through the edge recognition part 12 , The control unit switches the traveling direction of the cleaning robot 1 to the right direction. This point can be set to b, which is the last point of the first path P ₁ .

The last point b may be set through the edge of the solar panel recognized through the edge recognition unit 12 of the cleaning robot 1 or may be set using the coordinates of the solar panel surface 2, .

The control unit may control the rotation of the robot body so that the front side of the robot body is positioned in the right direction when the cleaning robot 1 is rotated in the right direction, So that the running direction is changed in the right direction.

Fig. 16 is a state diagram of the cleaning robot located in the first path of Fig. 15. Fig. Referring to FIG. 16, when the cleaning robot 1 is placed at a cleaning start point a, it slides downward (rearward in the traveling direction) due to inclination of the solar panel surface 2.

Therefore, since the cleaning driving force required to keep the cleaning robot 1 stationary is required on the surface of the solar panel, the control unit controls the four driving wheels so that the cleaning robot 1 can be kept stationary in place do. The stop driving force is preset through the surface material and the inclination angle of the inclined surface of the solar panel. In the present embodiment, the four traveling wheels are controlled so as to run in the direction of rising upward in the same direction as the stop driving force.

In this state, when the cleaning robot is cleaned while backing up along the surface of the solar panel, the four traveling wheels are controlled to have a driving force greater than the stop driving force.

The contact points between the respective driving wheels and the solar panel surface 2 are controlled such that the above-described forward running light is used along the running direction of the washing robot and the driving force is larger than the stop driving force.

The second path ( P ₂ )

The second path P ₂ is a second cleaning path which is a point moved from the end point b of the first path P ₁ to the right side of the solar panel surface 2 by a predetermined distance c (See Fig. 15).

Fig. 17 is a state diagram of the cleaning robot located in the second path of Fig. 15; Fig. 17, the washing robot 1 is controlled so that the force Fr due to the driving force corresponding to the force Fs descending due to the inclination of the solar panel surface 2 is formed in the rightward direction, So that it can be washed.

Here, the force Fs descending due to the inclination of the solar panel surface 2 is preset.

That is, each of the four driving wheels is controlled so that the driving direction of the washing robot 1 is formed in the right direction of the straight line. The force Fr due to the rightward driving force during driving of the washing robot 1, Is controlled to be formed in the rightward direction. In this way, it is possible to travel along the second path P ₂ in a straight line shape without dropping along the sloped surface of the solar panel surface 2, and at the same time, the cleaning can be performed.

In addition, when the cleaning robot 1 moves by a predetermined distance and reaches the point c, the upper edge is recognized through the corner recognition unit 12, so that the control unit moves the cleaning robot 1 in the direction in which the cleaning robot 1 descends .

Here, the control unit may control switching of the traveling direction in the descending direction by changing the contact point between the four driving wheels and the solar panel surface 2 when switching to the descending direction, Rotation control may be performed such that the front side of the robot body is positioned in the downward direction through rotation.

The third path ( P ₃ )

The third path P ₃ is a first cleaning path, which is a path for washing while traveling in a descending direction opposite to the first path P ₁ , and from the end point c of the second path P ₂ And is set to a straight line up to the lower edge area d (see Fig. 15).

Specifically, the third path P ₃ is set in a straight line from the end point c of the second path P _{2 to} the bottom edge area of the solar panel surface 2.

The cleaning robot 1 controls to have a driving force smaller than the stop driving force at the solar panel surface 2 for washing while running along the third path P ₃ . Preferably, the difference between the driving force and the stopping driving force at the time of descent is controlled to be equal to the difference between the driving force and the stopping driving force at the time of backing up.

This makes it possible to ensure the uniformity of the cleaning effect of the surface 2 of the solar panel by making the speed of the cleaning robot uniform during the back and forth movement. For example, when the value of the stop driving force is 20 and the driving force value at the time of backing is 30, the driving force value at the time of descent is controlled to be 10.

As described above, when the motor is controlled to rotate in the same direction at the time of back-up and down, motor control can be finer than control to rotate the motor in the direction opposite to each other at the time of back-up and down, The durability of the motor can also be improved.

Also, the point d as the last point is a point recognized by the edge or recognition portion of the cleaning robot, and may be a predetermined coordinate.

When the cleaning robot 1 arrives at the point d, which is the bottom edge area, the bottom edge is recognized through the corner recognition unit 12, so that the control unit switches the traveling direction of the cleaning robot 1 to the right direction . At this time, the traveling direction of the cleaning robot 1 by the control unit may be the same as the second path P ₂ described above.

The fourth path ( P ₄ )

The fourth path P ₄ is a second cleaning path and the fourth path P ₄ extends from the end point d of the third path P ₃ to the bottom edge of the second path P ₂ , E ", which is a position shifted by a predetermined distance in the rightward direction along the region (see Fig. 15).

Fig. 18 is a state diagram of the cleaning robot located on the fourth path of Fig. 15. Fig. Referring to FIG. 18, in order to allow the cleaning robot 1 to travel while running along the fourth path P ₄ , the driving force Fs, which is lowered by the inclination of the solar panel surface 2, So that the washing robot 1 travels in a straight line in the right direction and can be cleaned. Here, the force Fs descending due to the inclination of the solar panel surface 2 is preset.

That is, the four driving wheels are respectively controlled so that the running direction of the washing robot 1 is formed in the right direction of the straight line. The force Fr due to the rightward driving force during driving of the washing robot 1, Is controlled to be formed in the rightward direction. In this way, washing can be performed while traveling along a straight line along the fourth path P ₄ without falling along the sloped surface of the solar panel surface 2.

When the cleaning robot 1 moves by a predetermined distance and reaches the point e, the bottom edge is recognized through the corner recognition unit 12, so that the control unit moves the cleaning robot 1 in the direction . At this time, the driving direction of the cleaning robot 1 by the control unit may be controlled by turning the vehicle in the home position or may be controlled by changing the contact point between the driving wheels and the surface 2 of the solar panel.

On the other hand, when controlling to travel along the first path P ₁ , the second path P ₂ , the third path P ₃ and the fourth path P ₄ , the surface of the solar panel 2 of each traveling wheel ) Is controlled to be more than 0 DEG and less than 13 DEG, it can exhibit the maximum cleaning effect compared with the cleaning time.

The cleaning robot 1 sequentially arranges the first path P ₁ , the second path P ₂ , the third path P ₃ and the fourth path P ₄ in sequence, So that the entire surface 2 of the solar panel can be cleaned.

In the above example, the cleaning start point is set as the lower left vertex region, and the first cleaning path and the second cleaning path are sequentially and repeatedly arranged in the same manner as described above, regardless of which vertex region the cleaning start point is, The entire panel surface 2 can be cleaned.

Next, a cleaning robot for a solar panel according to a second embodiment of the present invention will be described.

 Fig. 19 is a schematic view of a cleaning robot according to a second embodiment of the present invention, and Fig. 20 is a plan view of Fig.

19 and 20, the cleaning robot for a solar panel according to the second embodiment is further provided with at least one auxiliary cleaning unit 30, and the front and rear or right and left sides At least one pair is installed in the room. In the present embodiment, a pair is shown, and they may be provided on the front, rear, left and right sides, respectively, as required.

The auxiliary cleaning unit 30 includes a coupling unit 31 coupled to the robot body 10 and a roller unit 32 coupled to an end of the auxiliary body.

The coupling portion 31 is formed in a long shape in one direction and is coupled to the robot body 10 in a downwardly inclined manner so that the roller portion 32 coupled to the distal end thereof abuts the bottom surface.

The roller unit 32 may be connected to a predetermined driving motor or the like so that the rotation speed of the roller unit 32 can be controlled by the control unit.

A predetermined brush or the like is coupled to the outer surface of the roller portion 32 to assist in cleaning the cleaning pad.

That is, at the same time when the cleaning robot is running, the auxiliary cleaning unit 30 can perform the cleaning simultaneously with the cleaning of the cleaning pad 213.

The cleaning robot for a solar panel according to the present invention as described above can clean the surface of the solar panel while traveling on the surface of the solar panel, and the efficiency of cleaning sunlight can be stably secured.

Also, surface coating damage, which has been a problem of the conventional adsorption type, may not occur.

The scope of the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, but may be embodied in various forms of embodiments within the scope of the appended claims. It will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes in form and details may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention as defined by the appended claims.

1: cleaning robot for solar panel 2: solar panel surface
10: Robot body 11: Camera
12: Edge recognition Section 12: Fan
20: washing / driving module
21: first washing and driving module 210:
211: motor 212: first traveling wheel
213: cleaning pad 22: second cleaning traveling module
222: second traveling wheel 23: third washing traveling module
232: third traveling wheel 24: fourth washing traveling module
242: fourth traveling wheel
30: auxiliary cleaning part 31:
32: Rollers

Claims (15)

1. A cleaning robot for a solar panel cleaning a solar panel formed of inclined surfaces,
Robot body;
The four traveling wheels being installed on the robot body such that the one side faces the bottom surface and is installed to rotate independently and the inclination angle and the contact point with the bottom face are variable, Four cleaning travel modules installed so as to be spaced apart from each other; And
And a cleaning device for cleaning the surface of the solar panel through the cleaning pad of each cleaning travel module while running on the surface of the solar panel through a traveling wheel of each cleaning travel module, , A rotation direction, an inclination angle with respect to the bottom surface, and a contact point,
Wherein the inclination angle of the traveling wheel controlled by the control unit is more than 0 DEG and not more than 13 DEG. The method according to claim 1,
Further comprising: at least one edge recognition unit installed on the robot body and recognizing the edge of the surface of the solar panel,
Wherein the corner recognition unit is installed at each of front, rear, left and right sides of the robot body in the running direction. 3. The method of claim 2,
Wherein the corner recognition unit is an ultrasonic sensor. delete The method according to claim 1,
And a camera installed on the robot body to acquire image information of the surface of the solar panel,
Wherein the camera is installed to be positioned in front of the direction of travel of the robot body. The method according to claim 1,
Further comprising an auxiliary cleaning portion including a coupling portion coupled to the robot body and a roller portion coupled to an end of the coupling portion. The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the traveling wheels of the respective washing traveling modules are spaced apart from each other with a center point of the center of the robot body so as to be symmetrical with respect to a circle. The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the control unit controls each traveling wheel so as to travel while traveling along a predetermined washing route. A method of cleaning a solar panel,
A plurality of wheels, each of which is rotatably driven independently and has a variable angle of inclination with respect to the floor surface, the four wheels being provided with a cleaning pad, a camera, and at least one corner recognition unit, Preparing a cleaning robot for an optical panel; And
The rotation speed, the rotational direction, the rotational direction, and the inclination angle with respect to the bottom surface of the traveling wheel, while maintaining or changing the contact point between the traveling wheel and the floor surface, based on the edge recognition unit and the surface information of the solar panel obtained through the camera And cleaning the inclined photovoltaic panel surface through the cleaning pad of each traveling wheel while driving along the set cleaning path by controlling the contact point,
Wherein the inclination angle between each traveling wheel and the contact is controlled to be greater than 0 DEG and less than 13 DEG when the surface of the solar panel is cleaned. 10. The method of claim 9,
The cleaning path,
A first cleaning path set in a straight line from the predetermined cleaning start point to the upper edge corner area or the lower edge corner area of the solar panel in the backing plate direction or the lowering direction,
And a second cleaning path set in a straight line at a predetermined distance in either the left direction or the right direction on the surface of the solar panel,
Wherein the first cleaning path and the second cleaning path are alternately and repeatedly arranged so as to clean the entire surface of the solar panel so that the cleaning robot for the solar panel can run continuously. 11. The method of claim 10,
If the cleaning start point of the first arranged cleaning path is an apex region of any one of the upper left vertex region, the lower left vertex region, the upper right vertex region, and the lower left vertex region of the surface of the solar panel, And the last point of the cleaning path is a vertex area opposite to the top surface of the solar panel surface with respect to the cleaning start point. 12. The method of claim 11,
Wherein the four traveling wheels have a driving force greater than a stationary driving force in which the robot body is kept stationary on the surface of the solar panel when the surface of the solar panel is upwardly rubbing the surface of the solar panel in the first washing path Control,
Wherein the four traveling wheels are controlled to have a driving force smaller than a stationary driving force in which the robot body is kept stationary on the surface of the solar panel when the surface of the solar panel is descending downward in the first washing path,
Wherein when the surface of the photovoltaic panel travels in the leftward or rightward direction during the second cleaning route, the driving force of the four traveling wheels, which is lowered by the inclination formed by the surface of the solar panel, The cleaning method comprising the steps of: 13. The method of claim 12,
Wherein the difference between the driving force and the stopping driving force at the time of backlash is equal to the difference between the driving force and the stopping driving force at the time of descent. 11. The method of claim 10,
Wherein when the photovoltaic robot is traveling along the cleaning path,
Wherein the edge recognition unit recognizes an edge area and a vertex area of the surface of the photovoltaic panel through the corner recognition unit and controls the photovoltaic panel to travel while being located inside the photovoltaic panel or to switch the traveling direction. 12. The method of claim 11,
Wherein when the photovoltaic robot is traveling along the cleaning path,
Wherein the control unit controls to move along the line formed by the solar cell of the solar panel obtained by acquiring the image of the solar panel located in front of the direction of travel from the camera.

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