JP2007263579A - Intra-pipe inspection device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a technique which enables the running in the bent part of a pipe and certainly performs the treatment or the like of a signal transmission cable in an intra-pipe inspection device for inspecting a pipe wall using a tire type sensor. <P>SOLUTION: The intra-pipe inspection device 3 is constituted so as to inspect the pipe wall using the tire type sensor 47 of which the tire 75 is brought into contact with the inner wall of a pipe to oscillate an ultrasonic wave and equipped with an inspection truck 9 loaded with the tire type sensor 47, auxiliary truck 11 and 13 loaded with a control device or the like, a plurality of running trucks 5 and 15 for drawing the inspection truck 9 and the auxiliary truck 11 and 13 and a connection means 7 for connecting those respective trucks. The running trucks are arranged before and behind so as to hold the inspection truck 9. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an in-pipe inspection apparatus that inspects a pipe wall using a tire-type sensor that oscillates an ultrasonic wave by bringing a tire into contact with the inner wall of the pipe.

As an in-pipe inspection apparatus for inspecting a pipe wall using a tire sensor that oscillates an ultrasonic wave by contacting a tire with the inner wall of the pipe, the following is proposed.
An inspection device that is inserted into a pipe and inspects the pipe wall of the pipe, a rolling cylinder in which the inspection device is installed, a rolling shaft that supports the rolling cylinder so as to roll freely, and the rolling shaft An installed traveling carriage, traveling means for causing the traveling carriage to travel in the direction of the tube axis by causing the axial center of the rolling shaft to substantially coincide with the tube axis of the tube, and the rolling cylinder as the rolling shaft. An in-pipe inspection apparatus has been proposed, characterized in that the inspection device moves in a spiral manner when the traveling means and the rolling means are simultaneously operated. (See Patent Document 1).

In Patent Document 1, the traveling of a traveling carriage equipped with an inspection device is described as follows in the embodiment. A driving carriage 200 and an auxiliary carriage 300 are connected to the front and rear of the sensor carriage 3 by a universal joint coupler 400, respectively, and are used in a three-car configuration.
Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2004-3966 (see claim 1, [00040])

  In Patent Document 1, the structure of the sensor carriage equipped with the inspection device is described in detail, but there is no detailed description regarding the towing method and remote control for towing the sensor carriage, and as described above, the sensor carriage 3 It is only stated that the driving carriage 200 and the auxiliary carriage 300 are connected by the universal joint coupler 400 and used in a three-car configuration.

However, when trying to actually run the sensor carriage equipped with the inspection device in the pipe, various problems occur with respect to running at the bent portion of the pipe, processing of the signal transmission cable, and the like.
Accordingly, the present invention provides a technique that enables traveling at a bent portion of a pipe and processing of a signal transmission cable with respect to an in-pipe inspection apparatus that inspects a pipe wall using a tire sensor. The purpose is to do.

(1) An in-pipe inspection apparatus according to the present invention is an in-pipe inspection apparatus that inspects a pipe wall using a tire-type sensor that oscillates an ultrasonic wave by bringing a tire into contact with the inner wall of the pipe. An inspection carriage, an auxiliary carriage equipped with a control device, etc., a plurality of traveling carriages for pulling the inspection carriage and the auxiliary carriage, and a connecting means for connecting the carriages, wherein the traveling carriage is the inspection carriage. It is characterized by being arranged on the front and rear sides with respect to.
The traveling carriage may be arranged immediately before and after the inspection carriage, or may be arranged with an auxiliary carriage in between.

(2) Further, in the above (1), the traveling carriage is arranged at the head and the tail of the carriage group.

(3) An in-pipe inspection apparatus that inspects a pipe wall by using a tire type sensor that oscillates an ultrasonic wave by contacting a tire with the pipe inner wall, including an inspection carriage equipped with the tire type sensor, and a control device Etc., traveling carts that pull these inspection carts and auxiliary carts, connecting means for connecting the carts, cables for supplying control signals, power, etc. to the inspection carts and / or the auxiliary carts An operation panel that is installed outside the pipe and transmits an operation signal to the cable, and a tension applying device that is installed between the operation panel and the carriage group and applies a constant tension to the cable. It is characterized by.

(4) In the above-described (3), the inspection carriage is provided with a tire-type sensor on a rotating drum that is driven to rotate around the tube axis, and the operation panel has a rotational speed of the rotating drum and the traveling of the traveling carriage. A control signal for controlling the speed is transmitted.

  In the present invention, an inspection carriage equipped with a tire-type sensor, an auxiliary carriage equipped with a control device, etc., a plurality of traveling carriages that pull the inspection carriage and the auxiliary carriage, and a connecting means for connecting these carriages, Since the traveling carriage is disposed in front and rear of the inspection carriage, the traveling carriage can be smoothly run even at the bent portion of the pipe.

FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram of an in-pipe inspection apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, and shows a state in which inspection devices are inserted into a tube 1 to be inspected.
The in-pipe inspection apparatus 3 includes a front traveling carriage 5 that is disposed in front and pulls the subsequent inspection carriage 9 and the like, and an inspection carriage 9 that is connected to the front traveling carriage 5 by a coupler 7 and measures a pipe thickness. Two auxiliary carts 11, 13 connected by a coupler 7 and equipped with control / measurement equipment, a rear traveling cart 15 coupled by a coupler 7 behind the auxiliary cart 13, and a coupler behind the rear traveling cart 15 7, a connector carriage 17 connected by the connector 7, a power supply / high pressure air supply tube connected to the connector carriage 17, a cable pulling device 21 that applies a certain tension to the collective cable 19 that gathers communication and control cables, and the traveling carriage 5. , 15, a measurement / operation panel 23 for transmitting control signals for the inspection carriage 9 and the auxiliary carriage. Hereinafter, each configuration will be described in detail.

<Travel cart>
As shown in FIG. 2, the traveling cart 5 is configured by attaching wheels 33 interlocked with a drive motor 31 to traveling legs 29 that are expanded and contracted by a plurality of pneumatic cylinders 27 provided in the main body 25. Then, the wheel 33 is pressed against the pipe surface by the pneumatic cylinder 27, and the wheel 33 is driven to travel in the pipeline while pulling the subsequent inspection carriage 9.
The front traveling cart 5 is equipped with an illuminator 35 and a small TV camera 37 at its front end. The inside of the tube is illuminated by the illuminator 35 and the inside is imaged by the small TV camera 37.
The illuminator 35 and the small TV camera 37 are not mounted on the rear traveling carriage 15, and these are mounted on the rear end portion of the connector carriage 17.

<Inspection cart>
As shown in FIG. 3, the inspection carriage 9 is provided with a shaft shaft 39 penetrating the center of the carriage in the front-rear direction, the front and back of the shaft shaft 39, that is, the front and rear of the carriage, and the shaft shaft 39 is centered on the tube axis. The centering device 41 is arranged so as to be arranged at the center of the shaft shaft 39, that is, the rotary drum 43 is provided at the central portion of the carriage, that is, at the central portion of the carriage so as to be rotatable around the shaft shaft 39, and is rotatably provided on the rotary drum 43. The caster holder 45 and the tire type sensor 47 provided on the caster holder 45 are provided.
Hereinafter, the main configuration of the inspection carriage will be described in more detail.

[Centering device]
The centering device 41 is installed on the shaft shaft 39 and expands and contracts in the longitudinal direction of the shaft shaft 39, a link leg portion 51 that is rotatably attached to one end of the pneumatic cylinder 49, and rotates to the link leg portion 51. And a freely mounted wheel 53.
The centering device 41 has a mechanism in which the link leg 51 expands and contracts around the shaft shaft 39 by expanding and contracting the pneumatic cylinder 49 back and forth.

[Rotating drum]
The rotating drum 43 is rotatably mounted about the shaft shaft 39 and is driven to rotate by a geared motor 55 fixed to the front centering device 41 (left side in the figure).

[Caster holder]
The caster holder 45 holds the tire-type sensor 47 so as to be rotatable about the direction orthogonal to the pipe axis as a central axis.
The caster holder 45 includes a cylinder rod 59 of a cylinder 57 installed on the rotating drum 43, a U-shaped first support member 63 installed on a guide shaft 61 interlocking with the cylinder rod 59, and the center of the first support member 63. And a second support member 65 that is rotatably installed so as to be accommodated in the first support member 63.
And the tire 75 of the tire type sensor 47 is rotatably installed on the second support member 65. The tire rotation center shaft 67 and the turning center shaft 69 of the second support member 65 are eccentric. As a result, when the inspection drum 9 moves in the tube axis direction and the rotating drum 43 rotates around the tube axis, as shown in FIG. 5, the tire type sensor 47 is driven to advance spirally on the inner surface of the tube. It has become. The arrows in FIG. 5B indicate the movement trajectory of the tire 75.

[Tire type sensor]
As shown in FIG. 4, which is an enlarged view of a part of FIG. 3, the tire type sensor 47 includes a fixed shaft 71 installed on the second support member 65, and an ultrasonic sensor 73 installed on the fixed shaft 71. And a rubbery tire 75 that is rotatably installed on the fixed shaft 71 and easily passes ultrasonic waves, and has a structure in which a contact medium liquid 77 is enclosed between the ultrasonic sensor 73 and the tire 75. .

In the tire-type sensor 47 having the above-described structure, the ultrasonic wave oscillated from the ultrasonic sensor 73 passes through the contact medium liquid 77 and the tire 75, enters the tube plate, and is reflected by the outer surface of the tube and returned. Measure the tube thickness. When the outer surface of the pipe is corroded, the time until the light is reflected by the corroded surface is shortened, and the pipe thickness is measured thinly.
The position with corrosion can be measured by a distance meter (not shown) attached to the inspection carriage 9, and the measurement data is sent to a measurement / operation panel 23 described later and recorded.

An inspection method for inspecting existing piping by the in-pipe inspection apparatus 3 configured as described above will be described. FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram of the tube wall inspection method. In the example of FIG. 6, an auxiliary cart 79 is added to the one shown in FIG. 1.
When inspecting, for example, a resisting 81 is excavated for every predetermined section of the pipe 1 to be inspected on the pipe, a part of the pipe is opened, and an inclined guide pipe 83 serving as an insertion port for the device is attached. The inspection device is mounted on the end of the inclined guide tube 83 on the tray 85. The measurement / operation panel 23 and the collective cable 19 are installed on the ground part outside the pipe line, and the devices inserted into the pipe and the measurement / operation panel 23 are connected by the collective cable 19.

  The introduction of the equipment including the inspection carriage 9 into the pipeline is performed by expanding the traveling leg 29 of the front traveling carriage 5 with a cylinder, pressing the wheels 33 against the pipe surface, and causing the front traveling carriage 5 to travel to follow the inspection carriage. 9 and the like are pulled through the inclined guide tube 83 and inserted into the inspected pipeline.

  The inspection is performed while towing the inspection carriage 9, a plurality of auxiliary carriages, and cables in the inspected pipeline by the front and rear traveling carriages 5 and 15. In this embodiment, the front traveling cart 5 is arranged in front of the inspection cart 9 and the auxiliary carts 11, 13, 79, and the rear running cart 15 is arranged behind the inspection cart 9, the auxiliary carts 11, 13, 79. Therefore, the front traveling cart 5 pulls the inspection cart 9 and the auxiliary carts 11, 13, and 79, and the rear traveling cart 15 boosts the inspection cart 9, the auxiliary carts 11, 13, and 79. Therefore, even if it is difficult to travel by traveling with a single traveling carriage such as a bent portion of a pipe, smooth traveling can be performed.

  For the measurement, the centering device 41 of the inspection carriage 9 is expanded to hold the inspection carriage 9 at the center of the pipe, while rotating the rotating drum 43, a plurality of tire sensors 47 are pressed against the pipe surface by the cylinder 57, and the brush 45 is used. The contact medium liquid is applied to the pipe surface, and the process is performed in a spiral manner while wiping and removing adhering substances such as mud adhering to the tire 75 (see FIG. 5).

Since the spiral measurement pitch is determined by the running speed and the rotation speed of the rotary drum 43 as expressed by the following equation, setting and changing the measurement pitch is easy by setting and changing the running speed and the rotation speed of the rotary drum 43. Can be done.
P = V × S / R
V: Traveling speed, S: Number of tire sensors attached, R: Rotational speed In addition, measurement pitch setting / change, measurement operation, etc. are performed from the measurement / operation panel 23 installed on the ground via a communication / control cable. It can be carried out.

  As described above, the measurement pitch can be arbitrarily changed only by operating the traveling speed and the rotation speed of the rotary drum 43, and the measurement pitch can be set and changed from the measurement / operation panel 23 installed on the ground. As a result, the operability of the measurement operation is excellent.

Data measured by the measuring devices mounted on the auxiliary carts 11, 13, 79 are sent to the measurement / operation panel 23 and recorded in the data processor.
Further, the inside of the pipeline can be imaged by a small TV camera 37 attached to the traveling carriages 5 and 15, and the data can be sent to the measurement / operation panel 23 through the cable as needed, and can be observed from outside the pipeline.

When returning the inspection devices inserted in the pipe, the traveling is performed while pulling back the collective cable 19 with a constant torque type cable pulling device 21 that applies a certain tension to the collective cable 19. The rewound assembly cable 19 is wound around a cable drum (not shown). As described above, since the cable pulling device 21 applies a certain tension to the collective cable 19, the collective cable 19 does not obstruct the running of the inspection equipment when returning the inspection equipment. Return travel is possible.
When the inspection of one section of the tube 1 to be inspected is completed, the inspection device is once taken out and the inclined guide tube 83 is removed, and the inclined guide tube 83 is connected to the inspection tube side of the next adjacent section and the inspection device is inserted. And perform the same inspection.

  As described above, in the present embodiment, the traveling carriages 5 and 15 are installed with the carriage group including the inspection carriage 9 and the auxiliary carriages 11, 13, and 79 interposed therebetween. Therefore, a single traveling carriage such as a bent portion of a pipe is provided. Even in places where it is difficult to travel with the travel by, smooth travel is possible.

  In the above embodiment, an example in which the resisting 81 is excavated and a part of the pipe line is opened when inserting the inspection device into the pipe to be inspected is shown. However, it is possible to remove a valve or the like. If this is the case, the inclined guide tube may be installed in the same manner as above.

It is explanatory drawing of the whole structure of the in-pipe inspection apparatus which concerns on one embodiment of this invention. It is explanatory drawing of the traveling trolley | bogie which concerns on one embodiment of this invention. It is explanatory drawing of the inspection trolley | bogie which concerns on one embodiment of this invention. It is an enlarged view which expands and shows a part of FIG. It is explanatory drawing explaining operation | movement of the in-pipe inspection trolley which concerns on one embodiment of this invention. It is explanatory drawing of the inspection method by the in-pipe inspection apparatus which concerns on one embodiment of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

3 In-pipe inspection device, 5 forward traveling cart, 7 coupler, 9 inspection cart, 11, 13 auxiliary cart, 15 rear running cart, 19 collective cable, 21 cable pulling device, 23 measurement / control panel.

Claims (4)

An in-pipe inspection apparatus that inspects a pipe wall using a tire-type sensor that oscillates an ultrasonic wave by bringing a tire into contact with the inner wall of the pipe,
An inspection carriage equipped with a tire-type sensor; an auxiliary carriage equipped with a control device, etc .; a plurality of traveling carriages that pull the inspection carriage and the auxiliary carriage; and a connecting means that connects these carriages. An in-pipe inspection apparatus characterized in that the carriage is disposed in front of and behind the inspection carriage. The in-pipe inspection apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the traveling carriage is disposed at a head and a tail of the carriage group. An in-pipe inspection apparatus that inspects a pipe wall using a tire-type sensor that oscillates an ultrasonic wave by bringing a tire into contact with the inner wall of the pipe,
Inspection cart equipped with a tire type sensor, auxiliary cart equipped with a control device, etc., traveling cart pulling these inspection cart and auxiliary cart, connecting means for connecting each cart, the inspection cart and / or the auxiliary A cable for supplying a control signal, power, etc. to the carriage, an operation panel that is installed outside the pipe and transmits an operation signal to the cable, and is installed between the operation panel and the carriage group and has a certain tension on the cable. An in-pipe inspection apparatus comprising: a tension applying device for applying a pressure. The inspection carriage has a tire-type sensor installed on a rotating drum that rotates around the tube axis, and the operation panel transmits control signals for controlling the rotational speed of the rotating drum and the traveling speed of the traveling carriage. The in-pipe inspection apparatus according to claim 3.

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