Vessel cleaning robotic system
AssigneeKing Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals
InventorsSamir Mekid, Ali Nasir, Muhammad Faizan Mysorewala
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A vessel cleaning robotic system includes a robotic cleaner having a cylindrical central unit from which three retractable legs extend. Each leg includes an omni-directional wheel at its distal end, a motor, up to three joints for articulation, and a collar for attachment to the central unit at a proximal end. An arm, also extending from the central unit, is configured to rotate around it, with a cleaning sub-unit at its distal end and a collar at its proximal end. The arm includes a vacuum pipe and a spraying device for cleaning purposes. Integrated within the retractable legs and the arm is a monitoring unit comprising sensors for operational monitoring.
Claims20
A vessel tank cleaning system, comprising:
- a robotic cleaner, comprising:
- a cylindrical central unit;
- three retractable legs extending from the cylindrical central unit, wherein the three retractable legs are in a tandem arrangement, wherein each of the three retractable legs comprises an omni directional wheel at a distal end, a leg collar at an end proximal to the cylindrical central unit, up to three joints and a motor;
- an arm extending from the cylindrical central unit configured to rotate about the cylindrical central unit, wherein the arm comprises a cleaning sub-unit at a distal end and an arm collar at an end of the arm proximal to the cylindrical central unit, and wherein a vacuum pipe and a spraying device are connected to the arm;
- wherein the leg collar of each the three retractable legs and the arm collar of the arm are positioned over the cylindrical central unit, wherein each of the three retractable legs and the arm are attached to the cylindrical central unit by the respective leg collar and arm collar;
- a monitoring unit integrated in the three retractable legs and the arm, the monitoring unit comprising a plurality of sensors, wherein the monitoring unit includes a controller having a processor with instructions configured to monitor an operation of the robotic cleaner;
- and
- a control unit integrated in the cylindrical central unit and in communication with the controller of the monitoring unit, wherein the processor is configured with instructions to communicate a set of information from the plurality of sensors with the control unit, wherein the control unit is configured to communicate to the controller of the monitoring unit to control movement of the robotic cleaner based on the set of information from the plurality of sensors;
- a control terminal configured to communicate a set of commands with the control unit of the robotic cleaner through a control cable, wherein the control cable is connected between the control terminal and the cylindrical central unit;
- and
- a pump connected to the arm of the robotic cleaner through a fluid hose and a vacuum hose.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.