JP2002220049A - Intra-piping working robot - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an intra-piping working robot self-mobile in a piping, able to repair the piping, and applicable even to a small-bore piping not admitting a human access. SOLUTION: The intra-piping working robot is composed of a hollow body 10 in cylindrical shape furnished with a working apparatus 15 in its forefront, an air cylinder 17 with its body part 17b arranged parallel with the axis of the body 10, three crawlers 20 installed around the body 10 in rotational symmetry about the axis of the body 10, and a link mechanism 30 installed between the crawlers 20 and the body 10 and capable of expanding and shrinking in the radial direction of the body 10, whereby the air cylinder 17 is expanded and shrunk to cause the link mechanism 30 to move the crawlers 20 in the radial direction of the body 10. The robot runs for itself inside the piping P with the crawlers 20 for performing the grinding and coating of the piping inner surface, and this is applicable to various pipings P having different inside diameters and it is possible to compact the outside diameter of the vehicle.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an in-pipe work robot. More specifically, the present invention relates to an in-pipe working robot for self-propelling in a pipe and performing a pipe repair work in a gas pipe, a sewage pipe, a pipe of a nuclear power plant, a plant requiring repair work of a pipe inner surface, or the like.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Piping of sewer pipes, nuclear power plants, plants, and the like may cause power failure or water cutoff when corrosion or cracks occur, or may cause catastrophic events such as explosion in plants. Replacing the piping on a regular basis can prevent this situation, but replacing the piping is time-consuming and expensive.
Therefore, these pipes are regularly inspected, and any minor defects are dealt with by repairing the pipes.

Conventionally, a person can enter, for example, 50
In the case of pipes having an inner diameter of 0 to 1000 mm, humans actually entered and performed inspections and simple repair work. However, since the inside of the pipe is very narrow and the working environment is bad, even simple work is very difficult.For pipes of 500 mm or less, people can not enter, so inspection and repair can be performed. could not.

[0004] In recent years, self-propelled robots for inspection in pipes equipped with inspection devices such as a CCD camera and a position measuring instrument have been developed to inspect pipes on behalf of humans, and have small diameters that could not be inspected until now. Inspection of the piping inside.

[0005]

However, in the conventional self-propelled robot for in-pipe inspection, a defect in the pipe can be found by the installed inspection device. Cannot be repaired. Therefore, in order to repair the pipe, there is a problem that a person must enter the pipe and perform work. Further, in a small-diameter pipe into which a person cannot enter, there is a problem that even if a defect is found, the pipe cannot be repaired, so that the pipe must be replaced.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and has as its object to provide an in-pipe working robot which can run in a pipe by itself, repair the pipe, and can be used even in a small-diameter pipe which cannot be inserted by humans. Aim.

[0007]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided an in-pipe working robot, comprising: a hollow cylindrical main body having a working device attached to a tip thereof; and an air cylinder having a cylinder body disposed parallel to an axial direction of the main body. A cylinder and three crawlers provided around the main body at rotationally symmetric positions with respect to a center axis of the main body, and provided between the crawler and the main body, and expanded and contracted in a radial direction of the main body. The link mechanism moves the crawler in the radial direction of the main body when the air cylinder is expanded and contracted. According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the pipe working robot according to the first aspect, the link mechanism includes a slide frame slidably provided along an outer peripheral surface of the main body, the three crawlers and the main body. In between, each arm comprises a pair of arms that are rotatably connected to each other, and one arm rotates its tip to the tip of the crawler. The other end is rotatably mounted on the slide frame, the other end is rotatably mounted on the distal end of the main body, and the other end is rotatable on the crawler and the main body. The air cylinder is slidably mounted in the axial direction, and the tip of the rod of the air cylinder is mounted on the slide frame. According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the pipe working robot according to the first or second aspect, in the air cylinder, a spring is attached between a cylinder body and a tip of a rod. According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided an in-pipe working robot.
In the invention described in the third aspect, a driving unit for driving the crawler is attached to the link mechanism. According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, there is provided the in-pipe working robot according to the first, second, third, or fourth aspect, wherein one end of two crawlers among the three crawlers is disposed to be inclined in a direction approaching each other. Features.

According to the first aspect of the present invention, if the air cylinder is extended, the three crawlers provided at rotationally symmetric positions with respect to each other can be pressed against the inner surface of the pipe. In addition, it is possible to self-run even in an inclined pipe or a vertically provided pipe. Also, by using a crawler, the area in contact with the inner surface of the pipe can be increased, and by using an air cylinder, the crawler can be pressed against the inner surface of the pipe with a strong force. For this reason, the driving force increases, and even if a hose or the like is connected to the rear end of the main body,
The hose or the like can be pulled. Furthermore, if a hose or the like is connected to the rear end of the main unit, shots and paints can be sent from the hose together with high-pressure air into the main unit. Simply by replacing the nozzle with a nozzle, a shot or paint can be blown out from a nozzle or a sprayer to clean and coat the inner surface of the pipe. Furthermore, if the air cylinder is expanded and contracted, the three crawlers can be moved in the body radial direction by the link mechanism, so that the present invention can be applied to various pipes having different inner diameters. Further, since the main body and the cylinder body of the air cylinder are arranged in parallel, the outer diameter of the vehicle can be made compact. According to the invention of claim 2, when the air cylinder is expanded and contracted, the slide frame slides along the outer peripheral surface of the main body, so that the other arm is pushed and pulled back and forth through one arm. Since the other arm rotates while its rear end slides in the axial direction of the main body, it swings up and down with its front end as a fulcrum. Then, since one arm also swings up and down with the rear end as a fulcrum, the crawler can be moved in the radial direction of the main body with respect to the main body while keeping the crawler parallel to the main body. According to the third aspect of the present invention, since a force is applied to the rod by the spring to extend the rod, the force for pressing the crawler against the inner surface of the pipe can be further increased. In addition, the spring always applies a force in the direction in which the rod is extended, so that the crawler can follow the unevenness in the pipe better. According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, it is not necessary to provide a driving unit in the main body, so that the structure of the main body can be made more compact. According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, it is possible to prevent the occurrence of bias in a portion where the crawler comes into contact with the inner surface of the pipe in the width direction of the main body. Therefore, when the crawler is driven, the main body has a radius. Rotation in the direction can be prevented, and the vehicle can travel straight.

[0009]

Next, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a schematic right side view of the in-pipe working robot of the present embodiment. FIG. 2 is a schematic left side view of the in-pipe working robot of the present embodiment. FIG.
FIG. 3 is a front view of the in-pipe working robot of the present embodiment with the unit removed. FIG. 4 is a rear view of the in-pipe working robot of the present embodiment. FIG. 5 is a bottom view of the crawler 20.
In FIG. 1, reference symbol P indicates a pipe in which the in-pipe working robot of the present embodiment is used. As shown in FIG.
The in-pipe working robot according to the present embodiment includes a main body 10, an air cylinder 17, a spring 18, three crawlers 20,
It is basically composed of a link mechanism 30 and a driving means 40. The crawler 20 travels in the pipe P by itself,
For example, it is possible to perform repair work such as cleaning or painting of the inner surface of the pipe P.

First, the main body 10 will be described. In FIG. 1, reference numerals 11 and 12 indicate an outer cylindrical portion and an inner cylindrical portion which are hollow cylindrical members. This inner cylinder 12
Has a rear end inserted into the outer tube portion 11 from the front end of the outer tube portion 11, and the outer tube portion 11 and the inner tube portion 12 are fixed by a seal member 11h. That is, the main body 10
Is made lightweight, compact and high-strength by having a double tube structure. A front frame 13 and a rear frame 14 are attached to an outer peripheral surface of a front end portion of the inner cylindrical portion 12 and an outer peripheral surface of a rear end portion of the outer cylindrical portion 11, respectively. A working device 15 such as a shot blast nozzle or a coating sprayer is detachably attached to the tip of the inner cylinder portion 12, that is, the tip of the main body 10. The work implement 15 can be rotated by work implement rotating means 16 provided with a motor and the like.

Therefore, according to the main body 10, if a hose H or the like is connected to the rear end, shots, paints, and the like can be sent from the hose H into the main body 10 together with high-pressure air. Therefore, if a nozzle for shot blast is attached as the working device 15 at the tip, a shot can be blown out from the nozzle and the inner surface of the pipe P can be polished, that is, the target surface can be ground and cleaned. Further, by simply replacing the nozzle with a spraying device for coating, the paint can be blown out from the spraying device and the inner surface of the pipe P can be coated.

Next, the crawler 20 will be described. As shown in FIG. 3, three crawlers 20 are provided around the main body 10 at rotationally symmetric positions with respect to the center axis of the main body 10. In FIG.
Indicates a frame which is a vertically long plate-shaped member. A long hole 21h is formed at the rear end of the frame 21. The long hole 21h is formed so that its longitudinal direction is along the axial direction of the main body 10. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 5, a shaft of a driving roller 22 that is rotated by a driving unit 40, which will be described later, is rotatably attached to the end of the frame 21. A driven roller 23 is rotatably attached to the rear end of the frame 21.
The drive roller 22 and the driven roller 23 are rollers having grooves formed on the outer peripheral surface. The driving roller 2
A belt 24 is wound between the roller 2 and the driven roller 23. The belt 24 has a convex protrusion formed along the inner surface thereof.

Therefore, when the driving roller 22 is rotated by the driving means 40, the belt 24 rotates and the crawler 2 is rotated.
0 drives. Moreover, even if a force in the width direction is applied to the belt 24, the belt 24 is driven by the driving roller 22 and the driven roller 2.
It does not deviate from 3.

Between the drive roller 22 and the driven roller 23, a plurality of support rollers 2 are provided below the frame 21.
5 is rotatably mounted. This support roller 25
Indicates that even if a force is applied to the belt 24 from below,
It is for supporting so that it does not bend.

One of the three crawlers 20 is disposed parallel to the axial direction of the main body 10, while the other two crawlers 20 are disposed at an angle to the axial direction of the main body 10. Has been established. One end of each of the two crawlers 20 is disposed to be inclined in a direction approaching each other. For this reason, in the width direction of the main body 10, the crawler 2
Since it is possible to prevent the occurrence of bias at the portion where the belt 24 of the pipe P contacts the inner surface of the pipe P, when the crawler 20 is driven, the main body 10 can be prevented from rotating in the radial direction, and You can go straight to.

Next, the link mechanism 30 will be described. FIG.
FIG. 4 is a schematic explanatory view of a state where the link mechanism 30 is extended.
As shown in FIGS. 2, 3 and 6, a link mechanism 30 is provided between the three crawlers 20 and the main body 10. The link mechanism 30 includes a slide frame 31
And three arm portions 35. As shown in FIGS. 1, 2 and 6, between the front frame 13 and the rear frame 14 of the main body 10, a slide frame 31 is attached to the outer peripheral surface of the outer cylindrical portion 11 so as to be slidable back and forth. I have. The slide frame 31 is provided with three brackets 31b at rotationally symmetric positions with respect to the center axis of the main body 10.

Between the main body 10 and the three crawlers 20, three arm portions 35 are provided at rotationally symmetric positions with respect to each other.
Is provided. Each arm section 35 includes a pair of main arms 36 and a sub arm 37. The pair of main arms 36 and the sub arms 37 are rotatably attached to each other by a connecting member 38.

The bracket 31 of the slide frame 31
The rear end of the main arm 36 is swingably attached to b. The main arm 36 is a plate-shaped member, and its front end is rotatably attached to the shaft of the drive roller 22 of the crawler 20.

A front end of a sub arm 37 is rotatably attached to the front frame 13 of the main body 10. The rear end of the sub arm 37 is rotatably and slidably attached to the elongated hole 21h of the crawler 20 by a slide pin 39.

Therefore, when the slide frame 31 slides back and forth, the sub arm 37 is pushed and pulled back and forth via the main arm 36 and the connecting member 38. Then, the sub arm 37 rotates while its rear end moves back and forth along the long hole 21h, and swings up and down with its front end as a fulcrum. Then, since the main arm 36 also swings up and down with the rear end as a fulcrum, the crawler 20 can be moved in the radial direction of the main body 10 with respect to the main body 10 while keeping the crawler 20 parallel to the main body 10.

Next, the air cylinder 17 and the spring 18
Will be described. As shown in FIG. 1 and FIG.
0, three air cylinders 1
7 are provided at rotationally symmetric positions with respect to the center axis of the main body 10. Each air cylinder 17 has a cylinder body 17b disposed in parallel with the axial direction of the main body 10,
The rod 17a is attached with the rod 17a facing forward. The tip of the rod 17a of each air cylinder 17 is attached to the slide frame 31 respectively. Also, between the slide frame 31 and the rear frame 14,
That is, a plurality of springs 18 are mounted between the tip of the rod 17a of the air cylinder 17 and the cylinder body 17b.

For this reason, when the air cylinder 17 is expanded and contracted, the slide frame 31 of the link mechanism 30 slides back and forth.
0 in the radial direction. In addition to the air pressure, the rod of the air cylinder 17 has one spring.
8, the force is applied to the elongating part, so that the force for pressing the crawler 20 against the inner surface of the pipe P can be further increased. In addition, the spring 18 always applies a force in the direction in which the rod is extended, so that the crawler 20 can follow the unevenness in the pipe P better.

Next, the driving means 40 will be described. As shown in FIG. 1, a known motor 41 is attached to an intermediate portion of the main arm 36 of the link mechanism 30.
A coupling 42 is provided at the tip of the main arm 36.
Is provided. The speed reducer 43 includes a pair of orthogonal bevel gears, one of which is
The other bevel gear is attached to the main shaft of a motor 41 via a coupling 42. Therefore, when the motor 41 is driven, the drive roller 22 can be rotated via the coupling 42 and the speed reducer 43. Moreover, since the coupling 42 connects the main shaft of the motor 41 and the shaft of the drive roller 22 by two orthogonal bevel gears,
Even if the main arm 36 swings, the rotation of the main shaft of the motor 41 can be reliably transmitted to the drive roller 22.

As described above, according to the in-pipe working robot of the present embodiment, when the air cylinder 17 is extended, the three crawlers 20 provided at rotationally symmetric positions with respect to each other are linked by the link mechanism 30 to the inner surface of the pipe P. Therefore, the crawler 20 can self-propelled not only in a horizontal pipe P but also in an inclined pipe P or a vertically provided pipe P. If a hose H or the like is connected to the rear end of the main body 10, shots, paints, and the like can be sent from the hose H together with high-pressure air into the main body. Therefore, by simply replacing the working device 15 at the tip with a nozzle for shot blast or a spraying device for painting, the shot or paint is blown out from the nozzle or spraying device to clean and clean the inner surface of the pipe P. Can be. Furthermore, if the air cylinder 17 is expanded and contracted, the three crawlers 20 are moved in the radial direction of the main body 10 by the link mechanism 30,
Since the crawler 20 can be pressed against the inner surface of the pipe P, it can be applied to various pipes P having different inner diameters. Further, a cylinder body 17b of the main body 10 and the air cylinder 17 is provided.
Are arranged in parallel, so that the outer diameter of the vehicle can be made compact.

Next, the operation and effects of the in-pipe working robot of this embodiment will be described. As shown in FIG. 1, a hose H is connected to the rear end of the main body 10 of the in-pipe working robot of the present embodiment, and a shot blast nozzle is attached to the tip of the main body 10. Into the pipe P.

When the air cylinder 17 is extended in the pipe P, the link mechanism 30 is extended, and the three crawlers 20 are pressed against the inner surface of the pipe P. Next, if the motor 41 of the driving means 40 is driven, the driving roller 22 rotates,
The crawler 20 is driven. Since the crawler 20 has a large area in contact with the inner surface of the pipe P and is pressed against the pipe P with a strong force by the air cylinder 17 and the spring 18, the working robot in the pipe increases the driving force and pulls the hose H. To move forward in the pipe P.

If the shot is sent from the hose H together with the high-pressure air into the main body 10 while the in-pipe working robot is advanced, the shot can be blown out from a shot blast nozzle to clean the inner surface of the pipe P. Then, the rust and the paint adhered to the inner surface of the pipe P by the shot can be completely removed.

When the working robot in the pipe moves to the other end of the pipe P, the working device 15 at the end is replaced with a spraying device for painting, and the hose H is moved backward while the working robot in the pipe is retracted.
When the paint is sent to the inside of the main body together with the high-pressure air, the paint can be blown out from the sprayer, and the inner surface of the cleaned pipe P can be painted.

It is needless to say that the in-pipe working robot can clean the inside of the pipe P not only when moving forward but also while moving backward.

Furthermore, if an inspection device such as a CCD camera is provided in the main body 10, the operation can be performed while checking the inner surface of the pipe P, so that the operation can be performed reliably.

Furthermore, if a motor driven by air is used for the motor of the working unit rotating means 16 and the motor 41, there is no need to use electric wiring, so that there is no fear of disconnection or short circuit, and the work becomes safe. .

[0032]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, the crawler can self-propelled not only in horizontal pipes but also in inclined pipes or vertically provided pipes. In addition, it can be applied to various pipes having different inner diameters, and the outer diameter of the vehicle can be made compact. According to the invention of claim 2, if the air cylinder is expanded and contracted, the crawler can be moved in the radial direction of the main body with respect to the main body while keeping the crawler parallel to the main body.
According to the invention of claim 3, the force for pressing the crawler against the inner surface of the pipe can be further increased, and the crawler can follow the unevenness in the pipe better. According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, it is not necessary to provide a driving unit in the main body, so that the structure of the main body can be made more compact. According to the invention of claim 5, it is possible to prevent the main body from rotating in the radial direction, and it is possible to move the main body straight.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic right side view of a working robot in a pipe according to an embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a schematic left side view of the in-pipe working robot of the present embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a front view of the in-pipe working robot of the present embodiment with a slide frame 31 removed.

FIG. 4 is a rear view of the in-pipe work robot according to the present embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a bottom view of the crawler 20.

FIG. 6 is a schematic explanatory view showing a state where the link mechanism 30 is extended.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Main body 17 Air cylinder 17a Rod 17b Cylinder body 18 Spring 20 Crawler 30 Link mechanism 31 Slide frame 35 Arm part 40 Drive means

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A hollow cylindrical main body having a working device attached to a tip thereof, an air cylinder having a cylinder body disposed in parallel with an axial direction of the main body, and a periphery of the main body.
Three crawlers provided at rotationally symmetric positions with respect to the center axis of the main body, and a link mechanism provided between the crawler and the main body and capable of expanding and contracting in the radial direction of the main body, The in-pipe work robot according to claim 1, wherein when the air cylinder is expanded and contracted, the link mechanism moves the crawler in a radial direction of the main body. 2. A slide frame, wherein said link mechanism is slidably provided along an outer peripheral surface of said main body;
Between the two crawlers and the body
Arm portion, each arm portion includes a pair of arms rotatably connected to each other, one of the arms is rotatably attached to the tip of the crawler, the other end is the other end The other arm is rotatably attached to the slide frame, the other arm is rotatably attached to the tip of the main body, and the other end is rotatably mounted to the crawler and slidably in the axial direction of the main body. 2. The robot according to claim 1, wherein a tip of a rod of the air cylinder is attached to the slide frame. 3. The in-pipe working robot according to claim 1, wherein a spring is attached between the cylinder body and a tip of the rod in the air cylinder. 4. The in-pipe work robot according to claim 1, wherein a driving means for driving the crawler is attached to the link mechanism. 5. The in-pipe work robot according to claim 1, wherein one of the two crawlers of the three crawlers is arranged to be inclined in a direction approaching each other.