JP2547181B2 - In-pipe traveling body - Google Patents

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an in-pipe traveling body that travels in a pipe such as a water pipe.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, since deposits are formed on the inner wall surface of pipe materials such as water pipes and sewer pipes due to its use, it is necessary to periodically inspect the pipes and remove the deposits. For these operations, in-pipe traveling bodies that move in the pipe have been widely used conventionally. Although many types of such in-pipe traveling bodies have been developed, the in-pipe traveling body 50 shown in FIGS. 12 to 14 is generally used. This in-pipe traveling body 50
Is a technique disclosed in Japanese Examined Patent Publication No. 60-21321, in which the elastic body 5 is radiated in a rearward direction on the outer periphery of the main body 51.
6 guide arms 5 supported by 2 and projecting elastically
3 A roller 54 is rotatably supported at the tip of the guide arm 53.

A link mechanism 57, which is supported by the elastic force of a spring 56 inserted through a bracket 55 projecting from the front surface of the main body 51 at the front of the outer periphery of the main body 51, has six radial bodies like the guide arm 53. The roller 54 is rotatably supported at the tip thereof. Further, the pipe traveling body 50 is provided with brackets 55 projecting forward and backward respectively on both front and rear surfaces thereof, and the wires 5 extending from the winch mechanism 58 are provided on the brackets 55.
9 is connected and the in-pipe traveling body 50 is pulled back and forth in the pipe. The wire 5 for pulling the traveling body 50 in the pipe
The winch mechanism 58 around which the wire 9 is wound is arranged at both ends of the tube, that is, at the inlet and the outlet of the tube, and is configured to pay out or wind up the wire 59.

[0004]

In the in-pipe traveling body having the above structure, the link mechanism 57 and the guide arm 53 rotate in accordance with the inner diameter of the pipe. That is, when the in-pipe running body 50 is inserted into the pipe, the link mechanism 57 is rotated by the expansion and contraction of the spring 56 to bring the roller 54 into contact with the inner wall of the pipe, and the guide arms 53 are each caused by the elastic force of the elastic body 52 to cause the inner diameter of the pipe to move. Accordingly, the roller 54 is rotated so as to uniformly contact the inner wall of the tube. Then, when the in-pipe traveling body 50 is accommodated in the pipe, the winch mechanism 58 is driven to pull the in-pipe traveling body 50 by the wire 59.

However, in this in-pipe traveling body 50,
Since the winch mechanism 58 provided outside the pipe is driven to move inside the pipe, the traveling body 58 inside the pipe is moved inside the pipe.
First, the wire must be inserted into the tube before inserting the tube. If the tube has a long overall length, it takes a lot of time to insert the wire 59. There is a defect that the equipment of the traveling body 50 in the pipe including the winch mechanism 58 is extremely large.

Further, in this type of in-pipe traveling body 50, the guide arm 53 and the link mechanism 57 smoothly rotate in accordance with the inner diameter of the pipe when it is inserted into the pipe, and the in-pipe traveling body 50 is provided.
The guide arm 53 and the link mechanism 57 are elastically supported by the spring 56 and the elastic body 52 so that the guide arm 53 and the link mechanism 57 perform a flexible operation with respect to the unevenness in the pipe when the vehicle travels in the pipe. Therefore, when the traveling body 50 in the pipe is housed in the pipe, the main body 5
1. The guide arm 53 and the link mechanism 5 located below 1
7 rotates due to the weight of the main body, and the guide arm 53 and the link mechanism 5 located above the main body 51.
7 is a guide arm 53 and a link mechanism 5 below the main body 51.
The rotation of 7 further expands it. Therefore, the axis of the main body 51, which should originally coincide with the axis of the pipe, is located outside the axis of the pipe and is located inside the pipe, and as a result, the main body 51 is
It becomes impossible to attach a working tool or the like that rotates around the inner diameter of the pipe, and there is a drawback that the applicability is very poor.

The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and it moves in a pipe in line with the axial center of the pipe, and it does not require a towing means such as a winch mechanism as a means for moving in the pipe. Intended to provide the body.

[0008]

In order to achieve the above object, the traveling body in a pipe of the present invention has a drive source portion at the rear of the frame member, and is connected to the drive source portion to receive the drive of the drive source portion. The drive shaft that rotates by rotating is inserted in the frame member.
A work tool that rotates integrally with the drive shaft is installed at the tip of the drive shaft, and is configured to rotate along the inner wall surface of the pipe material. Further, in front of the frame member, a rotation conversion mechanism including a worm gear mechanism that rotates by receiving rotation of the drive shaft is arranged. A plurality of front wheel parts including rotatable front wheels are radially and rotatably attached to the rotation converting mechanism, and the front wheels of the front wheel parts and the output shaft of the worm gear mechanism are connected by a rotation transmitting member. There is.

On the other hand, a sliding connector which is movable along the frame member is also arranged on the frame member, and the sliding connector and the front wheel portion are openers rotatable at respective connecting points. It is connected. Furthermore, a plurality of piston cylinders are attached to the rotation conversion mechanism, and the piston cylinders are connected to the sliding connector,
The sliding coupler is configured to move along the frame member by the operation of the piston cylinder. A plurality of piston cylinders are attached to the frame member, and a sliding member that moves along the frame member by the operation of the piston cylinders is arranged. A plurality of rear wheel parts including rotatable rear wheels are radially and rotatably attached to the sliding member, and the rear wheel parts and the front wheel parts corresponding to the rear wheel parts are respectively connected to each other. Each is connected by a rotatable bar.

[0010]

When the piston cylinder provided in the rotation converting mechanism is actuated after the in-pipe traveling body having the above-mentioned configuration is inserted into the pipe, the sliding connector starts to move along the outer periphery of the frame member, and the sliding connector is moved. With the movement, the opener is the front wheel part,
The sliding connecting members pivot about the connecting points of the respective sliding connecting members, whereby the front wheel portion gradually expands. As the front wheel portion expands, the rear wheel portion connected to the front wheel portion by the bar also follows and expands. At this time, the piston cylinder connected to the sliding member does not operate and the sliding member is stopped on the outer circumference of the frame.

When the front wheel portion continues to expand, the front wheel comes into contact with the inner surface of the pipe, and the expansion of the front wheel portion is completed. At this time, the expansion of the rear wheel part, which has been expanded following the front wheel part, is also stopped, but the rear wheel is not in contact with the inner surface of the pipe depending on the position of the sliding member. To be precise, the rear wheel positioned below the in-pipe traveling body is in contact with the inner surface of the pipe, and at this time, the axis of the in-pipe traveling body is inclined with respect to the axis of the pipe.
In this state, when the piston cylinder connected to the sliding member operates, the sliding member moves along the outer circumference of the frame, and the rear wheel portion expands again as the sliding member moves, and all the rear wheels are opened. Are evenly contacted with the inner surface of the pipe.

Subsequently, the motor is driven, the drive shaft is rotated by the drive of the motor, and the rotation of the drive shaft is transmitted to the worm gear mechanism of the rotation converting mechanism. As a result, the rotation of the drive shaft is converted into the rotation around the axis orthogonal to this, and the rotation is output to the output shaft of the worm gear mechanism. The rotation of the output shaft of the worm gear mechanism is directly transmitted as the rotation of the front wheel of each front wheel portion by the rotation transmission member. As a result, the in-pipe moving body moves in the pipe.

On the other hand, the work implement provided on the drive shaft rotates integrally with the drive shaft as the drive shaft rotates, with its tip abutting against the inner surface of the pipe to remove the deposits in the pipe. Since the deposits on the inner surface of the pipe are removed by the work implement before the front wheel passes, the inner surface of the pipe does not have irregularities when the front wheel passes, and therefore the pipe running body always keeps its axis along the pipe axis. It becomes possible to drive. In this way, the traveling body in the main pipe has a characteristic that its axis can always move along the axis of the pipe, and on the other hand, since it travels inside the pipe by the drive of an integrally equipped motor, a winch mechanism or the like is provided outside the pipe. It is possible to travel in the pipe by itself without providing a traction means.

[0014]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. In FIGS. 1 and 2, reference numeral 1 denotes an in-pipe traveling body, and a drive source portion 3 installed at a rear end of a cylindrical frame member 2,
A drive shaft 4 that is inserted through the frame member 2 and is rotated by the drive of the drive source unit 3, a work tool 5 fixed to the tip of the drive shaft 4, and a rotation of the drive shaft 4 located at the tip of the frame member 2. A rotation conversion mechanism 6 for converting the rotation of the drive shaft 4 into rotation about an axis intersecting the axis of the drive shaft 4, and the rotation conversion mechanism 6 is rotatably coupled to the rotation conversion mechanism 6 and receives rotation converted by the rotation conversion mechanism 6 at its tip to rotate. Are supported by four front wheel portions 7 each having front wheels and a sliding member 21 which is movable along the outer periphery of the frame member 2 near the rear end thereof,
Four rear wheel parts 8 each having a rotatable rear wheel at the tip
And

The frame member 2 has a cylindrical shape, and a drive source portion 3 is installed at a rear end of the frame member 2. The drive source portion 3 is covered with a box-shaped cover 3a as shown in FIG. 7, and the motor 9 is provided on the outer rear end surface thereof so that the motor output shaft 9a is located on an axis parallel to the axis of the frame member 2. Is fixed. The motor output shaft 9a of the motor 9 projects into the cover 3a and is connected to the shaft coupling 10 there. The shaft coupling 10 includes an input portion 10a connected to the motor output shaft 9a and an output portion 10b connected to the input portion 10a,
An output shaft 10c, which extends to the front surface of the cover 3a and is rotatably supported by bearings, is integrally formed with the output portion 10b. The output shaft 10c has a drive shaft 4 which will be described in detail later.
The first gear 11 that meshes with the second gear 31 provided in is fitted and fixed, and is configured to rotate integrally with the output shaft 10c of the shaft coupling 10 when the motor 9 is driven.

A rotation conversion mechanism 6 is arranged at the other end of the frame member 2. As shown in FIG. 6, the rotation converting mechanism 6 has a guide hole 1 that extends through the center in the front-rear direction.
It has a casing 12 in which 2a is formed. The casing 12 has a cross shape having a projecting portion 12b whose cross-sectional shape is symmetrical, and the guide hole 1 is formed in the casing 12.
Two first transmission shafts 13 having an axis parallel to 2a and equally arranged on the pitch circle connecting the centers, corresponding to the protrusions 12b of the casing 12, and an axis of the first transmission shaft 13. Four protrusions 12b of the casing 12 are arranged with four second transmission shafts 14 corresponding to the respective first transmission shafts 13 and having axes in the intersecting direction.

The first transmission shaft 13 extends in the front and rear of the casing 12, both ends of which are rotatably supported by bearings provided in the casing 12, and the rear side of the first transmission shaft 13 has a third gear 32 of the drive shaft 4 which will be described later. Transmission gear 1 that meshes with
5 is fitted and fixed, and a worm 16 is integrally and rotatably fitted and fixed near the midpoint. Of course, the structure of the first transmission shaft 13 is the same as that of the four transmission shafts described above.

The second transmission shaft 14 is the casing 1
2 extends to the left and right, and both ends thereof project from the projecting portion 12b of the casing 12. However, this second transmission shaft 14
The amount of protrusion at both ends is not uniform on the left and right, and one of them protrudes more than the other. These four second transmission shafts 14
In the portion located inside the casing 12 of the first transmission shaft 13
The worm gear 17 that meshes with the worm 16 of FIG.
One sprocket 18 is fitted and fixed to each of the second transmission shafts 14 on the protruding end side having a large amount of protrusion from. The worm gear 17 and the sprocket 18 are configured to rotate integrally with the rotation of the respective second transmission shafts 14. The first transmission shaft 13, the second transmission shaft 14, the worm 16, and the worm gear 17 constitute a worm gear mechanism, and the second transmission shaft constitutes the output shaft of the worm gear mechanism.

Further, the outer rear end surface of the casing 12 of the rotation converting mechanism 6 is provided with a protrusion 4b corresponding to the protrusion 12b.
Notches 12c are provided at the respective places, and the rear portions of four piston cylinders 19 are fitted into each notch 12c. These piston cylinders 19 are rotatably supported at their rear portions by pins 12d which are laterally inserted into the notches 12c, and are rotatable with respect to the axis of the frame member 2, respectively.

Further, in the vicinity of the intermediate position on the outer periphery of the frame member 2, four piston cylinders 20 are arranged on the circumference of the frame member 2 in correspondence with the mounting positions of the piston cylinders 19 provided in the rotation converting mechanism 6. Are evenly distributed. The axis of the piston cylinder 20 is the frame member 2
Is parallel to the axis of the frame member 2, the rod 20a extends toward the rear of the frame member 2, and its tip is connected to the sliding member 21 fitted into the outer periphery of the rear portion of the frame member 2. As shown in FIG. 10, the sliding member 21 has a through hole 21a that matches the outer diameter of the frame member 2, and the protruding portion 1 of the casing 12 of the rotation converting mechanism 6 is outward from the through hole 21a.
A protruding flange 21b is formed in a cross shape corresponding to 2b. Further, a sliding connector 22 which is slidable along the outer periphery of the frame member 2 is fitted on the outer periphery of the front portion of the frame member 2. As shown in FIG. 9, the sliding connector 22 is provided with four connecting flanges 22b which divide the sliding member 22 into equal parts on the outer periphery of an annular member having a through hole 22a through which the frame member 2 can be inserted. This connecting flange 2
A tip of a rod 19a of a piston cylinder 19 pivotally supported by the rotation converting mechanism 6 and one end of an opener 23 extending from a front wheel arm 24 of a front wheel portion 7, which will be described in detail later, are pivotally supported by 2b. It

Casing 1 in the rotation converting mechanism 6
The front wheel portion 7 is rotatably arranged on each of the two protruding portions 12b. The front wheel portion 7 includes a front wheel arm 24 and a front wheel 2 rotatably supported on the tip of the front wheel arm 24.
5 and. The four front wheels 7 are installed in a cross shape on the protrusion 12b of the casing 12 of the rotation conversion mechanism 6. Since these four bodies have exactly the same configuration, the description of the front wheel portion 7 below will be made only for one body.

The front wheel arm 24 is made of two rectangular plate members, and is a second member protruding from the protruding portion 12b of the casing 12.
The lower ends of the transmission shaft 14 are fitted into both ends of the transmission shaft 14. That is, the protrusion 12b of the casing 12 of the rotation converting mechanism 6 and the sprocket 18 of the second transmission shaft 14 are arranged so as to sandwich the second transmission shaft 14 and the fitting portion with the second transmission shaft 14 is interposed.
A bearing is provided between the second transmission shaft 14 and the second transmission shaft 14 so as not to be affected by the rotation of the second transmission shaft 14. Further, between the front wheel arms 24 made of these two plates, there are three connecting rods 24a on the same line along the entire length.
Are arranged so that the plate members of the front wheel arm 24 are kept at a constant interval and shape. 2 of these connecting rods 24a
The connecting rod 24 located at the middle point of the front wheel arm 24
Below the a, the connecting flange 22b of the sliding connector 22 is provided.
The other end of a cylindrical opener 23 whose one end is rotatably supported is rotatably supported. A bar 30 described later is pivotally supported above the second connecting rod 24a.

As shown in FIG. 3, a front wheel shaft 24b is rotatably inserted between the two plate members at the tip of the front wheel arm 24. On the front wheel shaft 24b, a sprocket 26 having the same diameter and the same number of teeth as that of the second transmission shaft 14 rotates integrally with the front wheel shaft 24b so as to be located above the sprocket 18 provided on the second transmission shaft 14. It is fitted and fixed as much as possible. As shown in FIG. 8, the sprocket 26 and the sprocket 18 of the second transmission shaft 14 are connected by an endless chain 27 which is an example of a rotation transmission member, and the rotation of the second transmission shaft 14 is prevented by the circulation of the endless chain 27. It is configured to be transmitted to the wheel shaft 24b. In addition to the endless chain 27, an endless belt or the like can be used as the rotation transmitting member. A front wheel 25 is fitted and fixed to the front wheel shaft 24b next to the sprocket 26. This front wheel 25 is a wheel 25a and this wheel 2
5a and a rubber tire 25b that retains its shape by the air pressure that is enclosed inside. The front wheel 25 is connected by a wheel 25a so as to rotate integrally with the front wheel shaft 24b.

A rear wheel portion 8 is connected to the sliding member 21 on the outer periphery of the frame member 2 as shown in FIG. The rear wheel portion 8 includes a rear wheel arm 28 and a rear wheel 29 that is rotatably supported at the tip of the rear wheel arm 28. The rear wheel portion 8 is installed in four cross shapes for each of the protruding flanges 21b of the sliding member 21. Since these four bodies have exactly the same configuration, the description of the rear wheel portion 8 will be made below.
Similarly, only one body will be described.

The rear wheel portion 8 has a rear wheel arm 28 made of two plate members having the same shape as the front wheel arm 24, and the lower end of the rear wheel arm 28 has a protruding flange 21b of the sliding member 21.
And the protruding flange 21b and the connecting shaft 21c.
Is pivoted by. The connecting shaft 21c is rotatably supported by the protruding flange 21b, and is fixed to the rear wheel arm 28, so that the rear wheel arm 28 rotates with respect to the protruding flange 21b of the sliding member 21. It is possible. Further, as described above, the rear wheel arm 28 is made of two plate members like the front wheel arm 24, but the same number of connecting rods 24a are provided at the same position as the front wheel arm 24 to maintain the distance and shape. As shown in FIG. 5, a rear wheel shaft 28 a is rotatably inserted between the two plate members at the tip of the rear wheel arm 28.
8a has wheels 29a and tires 29 similar to the front wheels 25.
A rear wheel 29 including b is fitted and fixed so as to rotate integrally.

Since the protruding flange 21b of the sliding member 21 corresponds to the protruding portion 12b of the rotation converting mechanism 6, the rear wheel portion 8 corresponds to the front wheel portion 7, that is, the main body traveling body 1 When viewed from the front, the rear wheel portion 8 is hidden by the front wheel portion 7 so as not to be seen.
Is linked to the front wheel arm 24 located in front of it by a columnar bar 30 in a link shape. The connecting portions between the bar 30 and the front wheel arms 24 and the rear wheel arms 28 are rotatable, and the front wheel arms 24 and the rear wheel arms 28 are rotatable.
And are configured to work together.

A cylindrical drive shaft 4 is inserted in the frame member 2. The rear portion of the drive shaft 4 is the drive source portion 3
Is rotatably held in the cover 3a, and a second gear 31 forming a larger pitch circle than the first gear 11 of the drive source portion 3 is fitted and fixed on the outer periphery of the drive shaft 4 in the cover 3a. It is configured to mesh with the gear 11 and receive the drive of the drive source unit 3 to rotate. Therefore, the rotation speed of the drive shaft 4 is lower than the rotation speed of the output shaft 10c of the shaft coupling 10. The drive shaft 4 has a guide hole 12 for the rotation conversion mechanism 6.
The third gear 32 is fitted and fixed on the outer periphery of the rotation converting mechanism 6 so as to be rotatable integrally therewith while passing through a and protruding further forward. The third gear 32 is configured to mesh with the transmission gear 15 of the rotation converting mechanism 6 to transmit the rotation of the drive shaft 4 to the first transmission shaft 13.

At the rear end of the drive shaft 4, an air-hydraulic pressure supply port 4a which is not affected by the rotation of the drive shaft 4 is provided so that a hose (not shown) for supplying air pressure or hydraulic pressure can be connected thereto.
The pneumatic oil pressure supply port 4a extends to a pneumatic oil pressure supply pipe 4b which is inserted into the drive shaft 4 so as to extend over the entire length thereof.
A cock 4c for adjusting pressure of air pressure or hydraulic pressure in the pneumatic pressure supply pipe 4b is provided at a rear end of the pneumatic pressure supply pipe 4b inserted in the drive shaft 4, and a tip of the pneumatic pressure supply pipe 4b will be described later. It extends from the front surface of the holder 33 to the front of the main traveling body 1 so that a device (not shown) that uses air pressure or hydraulic pressure as a drive source can be used in front of the main traveling body 1.

On the other hand, a holder 33 having a flange portion 33a for attaching a work tool or the like is integrally rotatably fixed to the distal end portion of the drive shaft 4 protruding further forward from the rotation converting mechanism 6, and The working tool 5 having a length corresponding to the inner diameter of the pipe material is fixed to the holding tool 33. The work tool 5 is exchanged for use according to the inner diameter of the pipe or the purpose of use, but in the present embodiment, the work tool 5 is used which abuts against the inner surface of the pipe to perform the blasting work of the inner surface of the pipe. Therefore, the working tool 5 is composed of working arms 5a extending symmetrically around the holding tool 33, and a substantially cylindrical polishing member 5b whose upper surface connected to the tip of the working arm 5a has a curved shape.
The upper surface side of the scouring member 5b is covered with a resin material or a fiber material in order to protect the inner surface of the tube.

The in-pipe running body 1 having the above-mentioned configuration mainly runs in a water distribution pipe such as a water pipe or a sewer pipe, and its operation will be described below. As shown in FIG. 11 (a), when the main body traveling body 1 is carried into a pipe material such as a sewer pipe or a water distribution pipe, and air pressure is applied to the piston cylinder 20 of the rotation conversion mechanism 6 in the direction in which the rod 20a retracts, Piston cylinder 1
The rod 19a of 9 contracts, and along with this, the sliding connector 22 moves along the outer periphery of the frame member 2 in the forward direction of the in-pipe traveling body 1, that is, in the C direction in FIG. Since the rear portion of the piston cylinder and the tip of the rod are rotatably connected to each other, the piston cylinder 19 has its rod 19a.
It rotates in accordance with the movement of the sliding connector 22 accompanying the expansion and contraction of. Further, since the opener 23 is rotatably provided on the sliding connector 22 that moves along the outer periphery of the frame member 2, the opener 23 gradually changes its inclination angle as the sliding connector 22 moves. Rotate in the increasing direction. The rotation of the opener 23 is possible because the other end is rotatably supported by the front wheel arm 24, and the rotation of the opener 23 connects the front wheel arm 24 to the rotation conversion mechanism 6. A point, that is, the second transmission shaft 14 is used as a fulcrum to gradually expand.

With the expansion of the front wheel arm 24, the rear wheel arm 28 at the rear of the frame member 2 is driven by the expansion of the front wheel arm 24 by the tension of the bar, and the connecting shaft 21c of the sliding member 21 is connected.
Expand as a fulcrum. At this time, the piston cylinder 2
Since no air is supplied to 0, the sliding member 21 does not move along the outer periphery of the frame member 2, and the rear wheel arm 28 only rotates following the rotation of the front wheel arm 24. .

When the rod 19a of the piston cylinder 19 continues to contract, as a result, the front wheels 25 of the front wheel arm 24 come into contact with the inner wall of the pipe. Accordingly, the rear wheel 29 should also come into contact with the inner wall of the pipe. However, in such a mechanism, even if the parallelism of the bar 30 is increased with respect to the axis of the frame member 2 at the time of manufacture, the accuracy is extremely high. Unless the accuracy is high, the rear wheel 29 is driven uniformly on the inner wall of the pipe by following the front wheel 25.
Is never grounded. Therefore, the main traveling body 1
11, the rear wheel 29 does not uniformly contact the inner wall of the pipe when the front wheel 25 contacts the inner wall of the pipe.
As shown in (b), the main body traveling body 1 is located inside the pipe in a posture in which the axis of the frame member 2 is inclined downward with respect to the axis of the pipe. Therefore, in order to match the axis of the frame member 2 with the axis of the pipe, air is supplied to the piston cylinder 20 and the rod 20a thereof extends in the F direction in FIG. With the extension of the rod 20a, the sliding member 21, which has been stopped until then, starts moving toward the rear end along the outer periphery of the frame member 2, and the movement of the sliding member 21 causes the rear wheel arm 28 to move. 21c is further expanded with a fulcrum at 21c as shown in FIG.
As shown in (c), the rear wheel 29 is uniformly brought into contact with the inner wall of the pipe. When the rear wheel arm 28 rotates, the rear wheel arm 2
In the front wheel arm 24 connected by the bar 8 and the bar 8, since the bar 30 rotates about the support rod of the front wheel arm 24 as a fulcrum, the bar 30 does not rotate under the influence of the rotation operation of the rear wheel arm 28. Absent. The work implement 5 is positioned in the pipe of the traveling body 1 in the pipe, and is then mounted on the holder 33.

The above-mentioned operation describes the operation when the front wheel 25 comes into contact with the inner wall of the pipe before the rear wheel 29.
When the traveling body 1 in the pipe is carried into the pipe (state of FIG. 11a)
Depending on the position of the sliding member 21 in the in-pipe traveling body 1, the rear wheel 29 may come into contact with the inner wall of the pipe before the front wheel 25. At this time, after the rear wheel 29 comes into contact with the inner wall of the pipe, by operating the rod 20a of the piston cylinder 20 in the E direction relative to the operation of the piston cylinder 19, the axis of the in-pipe traveling body 1 can be easily moved. Can be aligned with the axis.

After the axis of the in-pipe traveling body 1 coincides with the axis of the pipe, the air supply to the respective piston cylinders 19 and 20 installed on the rotation converting mechanism 6 and the frame member 2 is stopped, and the piston cylinders 19 and 20 are stopped. Keeps that state and stops. When the piston cylinders 19 and 20 stop,
Subsequently, the motor 9 of the drive source unit 3 is driven to drive the motor output shaft 9
The rotation of a is transmitted to the output shaft 10c of the shaft coupling 10 so that the first
The gear 11 is rotated. The rotation of the first gear 11 is transmitted to the second gear 31 of the drive shaft 4 that meshes with the first gear 11, which causes the drive shaft 4 to rotate. However, at this time, the pneumatic pressure supply pipe 4b in the drive shaft 4, and the pneumatic pressure supply port 4a and the cock 4c at the rear end of the drive shaft 4 are not rotated by the rotation of the drive shaft 4. The rotation of the drive shaft 4 is transmitted to the transmission gear 15 of the first transmission shaft 13 that meshes with the third gear 32 located in the rotation conversion mechanism 6, and causes the rotation of the first transmission shaft 13. The rotation of the first transmission shaft 13 also rotates the worm 16 provided therein, and the rotation of the worm 16 is transmitted as the rotation of the second transmission shaft 14 by the worm gear 17 provided in the second transmission shaft 14. At this time, the rotation transmitted to the second transmission shaft 14 is converted by the worm 16 and the worm gear 17 into the rotation around the axis intersecting the rotation around the axes of the drive shaft 4 and the first transmission shaft 13.

By the rotation of the second transmission shaft 14, the sprocket 18 provided at the projecting end also integrally rotates, and the rotation of the sprocket 18 is provided on the front wheel shaft 24b of the front wheel portion 7 by the endless chain 27 wound around the sprocket 18. It is transmitted to the sprocket 26, and the front wheel shaft 24b is rotated. Since the front wheel 25 is attached to the front wheel shaft 24b so as to rotate integrally with the front wheel shaft 24b, the front wheel shaft 24b rotates simultaneously with the rotation of the front wheel 25. Will move in the pipe along. At this time, the rear wheel 29 is driven to rotate with the movement of the in-pipe traveling body 1. As described above, since the main body traveling body 1 can be moved in the pipe by driving the motor 9, the main traveling body 1 can be moved in the pipe without using a pulling means such as a winch mechanism, which contributes to downsizing of equipment. To do.

On the other hand, the holder 33 provided at the tip of the drive shaft 4 rotates integrally with the rotation of the drive shaft 4, and the working tool 5 attached thereto also rotates together with the holder 33. The polishing / cleaning member 5b of the work implement 5 rotates in the pipe with the upper surface of the work implement 5 grounded by the rotation of the work implement 5,
Scrap off the mud, rust, shellfish, and other deposits on the inner surface of the pipe. At the same time, as described above, the rotation of the drive shaft 4 is also converted into the rotation of the front wheel 25 to drive the traveling body 1 in the pipe, so that the work implement 5 removes the deposits over the entire length of the pipe. At this time, since the upper surface of the polishing / cleaning member 5b of the working tool 5 is coated with a resin material, a fiber material, or the like, there is little risk of scraping the inner surface of the pipe by the work of removing the adhered matter.

The rotation speed of the work implement 5 and the moving speed of the in-pipe traveling body 1 are closely related to each other. If the moving speed of the in-pipe traveling body 1 is faster than the rotating speed of the work implement 5, the adhered matter on the inner surface of the pipe is The removal becomes insufficient, and if it is late, removal of the adhering matter is surely performed, but the working tool 5 overlaps the inner surface of the pipe that has passed through one end, so that many useless operations are performed. Therefore, the rotational speed of the work implement 5 and the moving speed of the in-pipe traveling body 1 reliably drop the deposits in the pipe by setting the reduction ratio of the gears of the rotation conversion mechanism 6, the drive source unit 3 and the drive shaft 4. It is set to perform lean operation.

By providing this working tool 5, the irregularities due to the deposits on the inner wall surface of the pipe are removed before the front wheel 25 of the in-pipe traveling body 1 passes, and the axis of the in-pipe traveling body 1 always matches the axis of the pipe. become. In the unlikely event that the deposit remains on the inner surface of the pipe, the thickness of the residual deposit varies depending on the inner diameter of the pipe, but the thickness is very small with respect to the inner diameter of the pipe. Therefore, such residual deposits can be easily avoided by operating the piston cylinders 19 and 20 that adjust the rotation of the front wheel portion 7 and the rear wheel portion 8.

Further, when the work implement 5 rotates along the inner surface of the pipe during operation, the contact resistance between the polishing member 5b of the work implement 5 and the inner face of the pipe in the direction opposite to the traveling direction of the in-pipe traveling body 1 is naturally caused. Should occur, and this should be largely involved in the traveling operation of the in-pipe traveling body 1, but in the actual traveling, the in-pipe traveling body 1
Since the driving force of the motor 9 of the driving source unit 3 is higher than the contact resistance, the contact resistance with the inner surface of the pipe generated by the working tool 5 can be ignored during traveling.

Needless to say, the stopping operation of the main traveling body 1 can be achieved by stopping the driving of the motor 9. However, when the main traveling body 1 is stopped in this way, the ordinary traveling body in the pipe is stopped. If it is 1, the vehicle will run with some inertia.
However, in the main traveling body 1, the front wheels 25 rotate due to inertia after the motor 9 stops because the rotational force of the front wheels 25 is obtained by the engagement of the worm 16 and the worm gear 17 in the rotation conversion mechanism 6. Never. This utilizes the meshing characteristic of the worm 16 and the worm gear 17 that it is impossible to rotate both the worm 16 and the worm gear 17 even if the worm gear 17 is rotated on the input side. Even if it tries to rotate by, the torque is transmitted by the endless chain 27 to the worm gear 17 of the second transmission shaft 14,
Here, rotation is suppressed.

As described above, since the front wheels 25 cannot rotate when the motor 9 is stopped, the main traveling body 1 in the main pipe can be used even under the condition that the pipe is inclined, and when it stops inside the main traveling body 1. In addition, since the pipe does not move forward or backward due to the inclination of the pipe, and the input rotation from the front wheel 25 side is ignored even when the vehicle is running, the inclination should be accelerated when the pipe is directed downward. Instead, it is possible to travel inside the pipe at a constant speed.

Further, when performing work using air pressure or hydraulic pressure in front of the main body traveling body 1, a working unit (not shown) using air pressure or hydraulic pressure as a drive source is provided in the pneumatic hydraulic supply pipe 4b in the drive shaft 4. It is possible to easily carry out the work by connecting). At this time, the pneumatic pressure supply pipe 4b
Passes through the drive shaft 4 and reaches the front of the in-pipe traveling body 1, so that traveling of the in-pipe traveling body 1 and rotation of the working tool 5 are not hindered.

In the present embodiment, the front wheel portion 7 and the rear wheel portion 8 are configured to extend in a cross shape from the rotation converting mechanism 6 and the sliding member 21, respectively, but the effect obtained by extending them radially is also obtained. Similarly, the sprocket 26 is provided on the front wheel shaft 24b, and the front wheel 25 is rotated together with the rotation of the front wheel shaft 24b. However, the sprocket 26 is integrally formed with the wheel 25a of the front wheel 25 or attached to the wheel 25a. This is not difficult, and the effect obtained by such a configuration is not different from the effect obtained by this embodiment.

[0044]

As described in detail above, the in-pipe traveling body of the present invention transmits the rotation of the motor as a drive source to the drive shaft and utilizes the rotation of the drive shaft as the rotation of the front wheels.
It is possible to travel in the pipe by itself, which eliminates the need to install a towing means such as a winch mechanism outside the pipe to pull the traveling body in the pipe, and saves the work time of inserting the wire into the pipe before the work. Not only can the working time be greatly shortened, the equipment for the traveling body in the pipe can be greatly reduced, and the drive source part is integrally configured, so that it can be pulled forward and backward of the traveling body in the pipe. The protrusions such as brackets are eliminated, which makes it possible to provide various work devices at the front and rear portions of the in-pipe traveling body, which improves the applicability. Further, the front wheel arm and the rear wheel arm are connected by a bar, and the front wheel portion and the rear wheel portion are configured so that the opening degrees can be adjusted by the operation of the piston cylinders, respectively. If does not match with the pipe diameter, either the front wheel or the rear wheel that has not expanded to the inner diameter of the pipe should be expanded by the operation of the piston cylinder. Since the working tool for rotating and rotating to remove the deposit on the inner wall of the pipe is provided, it is possible to provide the in-pipe running body in which the axis of the running body of the pipe is always aligned with the axis of the pipe.
On the other hand, a worm is provided on the first transmission shaft that rotates in response to the rotation of the drive shaft, and a worm gear is arranged on the second transmission shaft that extends in a direction intersecting with the first transmission shaft. The worm and the worm gear are meshed with each other in the rotation converting mechanism in order to obtain, so that, for example, when the in-pipe traveling body is directed downward in the inclined pipe material, the in-pipe traveling body is accelerated by the inclination of the pipe. Even in the case of stopping in such a pipe, the front wheel does not rotate due to the inclination of the pipe and the traveling body in the pipe does not move forward or backward. As a result, the traveling body in the main pipe can always travel at a constant speed in any pipe material, and cleaning work of the inner surface of the pipe by the working tool can be always performed reliably.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a side sectional view of a main part of a traveling body in a pipe according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a sectional front view of a main part of a traveling body in a pipe according to the present invention.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of a main part of FIG.

4 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line AA of FIG.

5 is an enlarged partial cutaway sectional view of a main part of FIG.

FIG. 6 is an enlarged sectional side view of the rotation converting mechanism.

FIG. 7 is an enlarged cross-sectional side view of essential parts showing the vicinity of the rear part of the traveling body in a pipe of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of an essential part showing the vicinity of the front part of the traveling body in the pipe of the present invention.

9 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line BB of FIG.

FIG. 10 is an enlarged partial cutaway sectional view of an essential part of a sliding member position in FIG.

FIG. 11 is an operation explanatory view of the in-pipe traveling body according to the present invention.

FIG. 12 is a partial cross-sectional side view showing a usage state of a conventional traveling body in a pipe.

FIG. 13 is an enlarged sectional side view of a main part of a conventional pipe running body.

FIG. 14 is an enlarged sectional front view of a main part of a conventional traveling body in a pipe.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 In-pipe traveling body 2 Frame member 3 Drive source part 3a Cover 4 Drive shaft 5 Working tool 5a Working arm 5b Polishing member 6 Rotation conversion mechanism 7 Front wheel part 8 Rear wheel part 9 Motor 10 Shaft coupling 11 First gear 12 Casing 12a Guide Hole 12b Projection 13 First transmission shaft 14 Second transmission shaft 15 Transmission gear 16 Worm 17 Worm gear 18 Sprocket 19 Piston cylinder 20 Piston cylinder 21 Sliding member 21b Projection flange 22 Sliding coupling 22b Coupling flange 23 Opener 24 Front wheel arm 25 Front wheel 26 Sprocket 27 Endless chain 28 Rear wheel arm 29 Rear wheel 30 Bar 31 Second gear 32 Third gear 33 Holder

Claims (1)

(57) [Claims] 1. A drive source part is provided at the rear of a frame member, and a drive shaft which is connected to the drive source part and rotates by receiving the drive of the drive source part is inserted into the frame member, and the drive shaft is provided at the tip of the drive shaft. While installing a working tool that rotates integrally with the front wheel, a rotation conversion mechanism including a worm gear mechanism that rotates in response to the rotation of the drive shaft is arranged in front of the frame member, and the rotation conversion mechanism includes a front wheel that is rotatable. A plurality of parts are radially and rotatably mounted, and the front wheels in the front wheel part and the output shaft of the worm gear mechanism are connected by a rotation transmission member, and a sliding connection tool movable along the frame member is arranged. , The sliding connection tool and the front wheel portion are connected by an opener pivotally supported by each, and a plurality of piston cylinders are attached to the rotation conversion mechanism. While connecting the piston cylinder to the sliding connector, a plurality of piston cylinders are attached to the frame member,
A sliding member that moves along the frame member by the operation of the piston cylinder is arranged, and a plurality of rear wheel portions having a rotatable rear wheel are rotatably and rotatably attached to the sliding member. And a front wheel portion corresponding to a rear wheel portion, respectively, are connected by a bar that is rotatable at a connection point.