Caterpillar type driving mechanism composed of vacuum pads for inclined panel cleaning robot

This work deals with the design of a robot's mechanism that can move and clean a panel up to a 40-degree slope autonomously. A caterpillar type wheel is adopted for the continuity of operation, and vacuum pads are attached to the caterpillars devote to prevent slipping that occurs in a typical caterpillar type robot. In order to overcome the load due to residual vacuum when the vacuum pad is detached from the panel, a mechanism for rapidly exposing the inside of the vacuum pad to atmospheric pressure is developed. In addition, by using the caterpillar wheel mechanism with vacuum pads attached, the folding problem of the vacuum pad is prevented through the flexible shape design of the caterpillar when the pad touches the bottom surface of the panel. Additionally, the robot is designed to cross the gap between panels by combining a two-degree-of-freedom robotic arm mechanism with each caterpillar wheel.